Analysis and Recommendation for Hallmark

          Each time I post an assignment, I realize I'm providing opportunity for someone else to cheat.  To take my words and try to make them their own.  I even provide references for the sake of the reader and not the cheater.  I have decided I will not to include references on my blog but in a different file. 
 

          The final assignment given in one of my accounting classes, was to create an analysis and recommendation on a company recognized by its trademark.  Initially, I picked Coca-Cola - but my research provided more information than I knew what to do with.  Frankly, I was overwhelmed with how many pies Coke hands have been dipped into (so to speak) and wasn't interested in doing a recommendation on a company that seemingly owned so many others.  And so I changed it.

          While using the T.V. remote, and using the grid to see what would be on, Roland suggested that I research more about the Hallmark company.  What a marvelous suggestion!  I was totally impressed with what I found - and even by what I didn't find.  I couldn't do a market analysis as part of my recommendation as the financial records are not released for public information.  I like that!  Here is what I ended up with:

           "Many of us recognize the logo associated with the golden crown over the cursive letters that spell out the word "Hallmark" - which has gone beyond more than just a trademark of greeting cards.  According to Hallmark Trivia, their logo is recognized in more North American retail outlets than McDonald's. (Trivia, 2016). Hallmark also has the great slogan: "When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best" (Murtaugh, 2017).   This slogan was created in 1944 by Ed Goodman, a sales and marketing executive at Hallmark.  This is what Hallmark stands for.  For many, Hallmark means caring and quality (Corporate, 2018)

           "The Hallmark Corporation has been around for over 100 years which is one of the reasons why I would recommend this company. Their innovative ideas and wholesome products are a major contribution to their success. Their marketing skills and connection with the public interest is awesome.  It is a company that makes people happy and take pride in sharing.

           "There is a rich history that goes with the Hallmark industry. The business was started in 1910 during a time when every proficient member of each household contributed to the family finances if at all possible.  Joyce Clyde Hall, or J.C. as he was called, along with his brothers William and Rollie, would carry shoeboxes full of postcards as they traveled from door to door to sell their goods (Franzen, 2013). 

            "As a young teenage boy, J.C. was quite innovative and became interested in creating a business as the picture postcards provided inspiration. He and Rollie created a business with selling cards.  In 1915, when the public showed a desire for a more private communication than the postcard would allow, the Hall Brothers'  business created personal greeting cards that came with custom sized envelopes (History, 2018). The brothers continued their business under the name "Hall Brothers, Inc." until 1928 when they decided to use a "hallmark" or trademark on the back of their cards using their name Hall in the mark and the sign of the crown, thus the Hallmark logo was born (Corporation, 2018).

            "Hallmark is a family owned business that does not share financial statements with the general public, nor are they listed on the stock exchange as they are privately owned and unavailable for purchase. There is, however, the opportunity of investing in franchising and personal ownership (Corporation, 2018). There are over 30,000 independently owned retail stores that sell Hallmark products.  Some of these store names can be found under the names "Shoebox" or "Ambassador" in addition to Hallmark (Incorporated, 2018).

            "Hallmark does offer paid internships for both creative and corporate positions. "The internships we offer are hands-on and one-of-a-kind. As an intern at Hallmark, you will work on projects tied to Hallmark's business priorities and gain exposure to Hallmark’s leaders" (Hallmark, 2018).  Employees have the opportunity of investing in a deferred compensation plan as well as opportunities to became shareholders if they so desire (Corporation, 2018). Hallmark employs over 28,000 people worldwide.  It is so awesome to know that there is such a large and recognized worldwide business that continues to be privately owned.

            "It was suggested by some that Hallmark's biggest competitor in greeting cards has been with American Greetings (Barmash, 1983) though Hallmark is a more recognized name and trademark (Star-Gazer, 2010).  By the 21st century, I think the biggest competition has been with the internet where everything is instantaneous and comes with several options, such as voice and movement (Verge, 2013).  However, the internet does not always gratify the desires of recipients or senders. People still like to receive tangible items in the mail. The personal touch that one would like to achieve is often not found on the internet.

            "There is also a new 3-D card company on the rise called LovePops (CNN, 2017) that may be headed in the direction of Hallmark competition. According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans purchase 6.5 billion greeting cards per year.  Hallmark publishes in more than 30 languages and serves over 100 countries.  (Darrisaw, 2017).  LovePops does not include written words but leaves it up to the consumer, thus their cards do not need to be translated into other languages (Carter, 2015).

            "Though greeting cards may be what started the business, they are only a fraction of the Hallmark trade.  In 1917 gift wrap was introduced to consumers.  Colorful prints with inviting designs gradually replaced the trite brown or butcher wrap used to wrap gifts and packages (Hallmark, 2018).  The empire has built up from there. In 1951, the Hallmark Corporation not only provided us great commercials but had also invested in presenting us with wholesome movies which aired under the name "Hallmark Hall of Fame" (Franzen, 2013). " In the more than 60 years since, Hallmark Hall of Fame productions have won 81 Emmy Awards" (Corporate, 2018)

            "By 1960's Hallmark had added much to their line by introducing party items, candles, calendars, stickers, mugs, and toys to name a few (Stafford, 2016).  These were well-received by consumers and continue to this day.  By 1973, Hallmark had introduced us to special keepsake ornaments (Franzen, 2013).  Many patrons look forward to the holiday season as they search for the ornament that offers such a personal meaning.  In 1983 Hallmark was a three billion-dollar-a-year card company (Barmash,1983) and became the parent company to Crayola in 1984 (Crayola, 2018). Throughout all of this was their incredible advertising and marketing that tugged at the heartstrings of a people who desired for the wholesomeness and "feel good" moments that Hallmark brought. This, of course, carried over to advertising Crayola to provide family fun and creative activity through their products.

            "Not every year has been a financial success for the company. There have been some years in which the corporation had its struggles. By 2009, there was a 5.4% decrease in revenue for the greeting card industry (Franzen, 2013).  That seems pretty good when taken into consideration the recession of the entire economy during that time. Even with their struggles, Hallmark always seems to overcome and add more ideas and creativity to their line of products and marketing. If an item becomes outdated or does not sell, new products are created. As of now, they are over four billion strong (Business, 2018). 

            "In addition to their in-store products, Hallmark now offers two cable channels, over 80 million viewers and another Hallmark Channel on the horizon (SWOT, 2018). I do not see a high competitiveness with the Hallmark compared to other cable networks as Hallmark is focused on inspirational and feel good movies for lifting people.  [Note that this report was written before Hallmark Drama made its debut]

            "Though some of the other cable stations do offer said movies at times, they are not consistent about continually reaching out to a wholesome audience as does the Hallmark Channels. Unnecessary language gets censored such as NBC's "Frasier" and USA's created "Psych", each running in syndication on one of the Hallmark Channels.  It appears there are some viewers who are upset about these censors, but there is still a wide range of cable stations to choose from for those who desire a more crude or off-colored language.  Nobody is limited to just the Hallmark stations though censored and clean entertainment as a whole does seem limited to Hallmark (Ihnat, 2017).

            "There are 10% of shareholders through Crown's common stock.  Hallmark still has control on 90% of the Hallmark movie and channel industry (Whitehouse, 2016).  Hallmark was the only cable network that topped double digits on the entertaining charts according to TV AV Club (Ihnat, 2017).  It is refreshing to know how many sponsors and patrons will support family values and decency.

            "Hallmark also plans to introduce a digital book publishing business for aspiring authors;  it is proposed that not only will it benefit the author, but may be an advantage to Hallmark in the movie industry as well.  As eBooks are submitted and published, opportunities will be provide in finding scripts that can become movies. Another proposal is taking some of the aired movies and making them available on eBooks. (Lafayette, 2017). 

            "Certainly, finances are important when recommending a business, but what appeals to me most is the ethics and values of the company.  Hallmark is family owned and there has always been a Hall as acting CEO for the last three generations and will continue on to the next.  Only corruption would prevent Hallmark from serving us another century or so. As long as there are citizens who uphold decent values and personalized respect, Hallmark is here to stay.

           "Hallmark is family oriented - not just because it is a family owned business, but also because their products are "feel-good" products as is their marketing and wholesome media.  Hallmark believes that when people care enough, they can change the world (Business, 2018).  Hallmark is more than just a golden crown over the cursive letters.  It is about caring and giving.  It is about bringing together the best of each other."

Spoke Too Soon!

          For two weeks now, I have been sleeping sound all through the night.  Yesterday I posted about how cold it’s been and right now I am up because it’s too hot to sleep – even after turning on the A/C.  I ended up waking up instead of going back to sleep.  GRRR . . .

          Google says that the temperature is only 56 outside, but there is obviously no breeze.  No circulation.  Currently I have the fan on in the other room, and Roland is buried under the covers.  It’s quite sickening.  It did get up to 86 when I had checked less than ten hours ago.  

Too Late To Plant?

         It has been said that plants and seeds should be introduced to the ground before Mothers' Day ends . . . or perhaps it's just seeds?  Roland and I are both city bred, but have tried our hand at living in the country.  Our yard is an ugly mess right now.  We were late planting last year.  I think we may have missed opportunity this year . . . but then again, the weather has been crazy enough that we may be okay to purchase a tomato plant or two.  Our garden won't have as many plants as what we tried last year.

          We purchased some strawberry plants and something called "Hula Berries" which we have never heard of before, but thought we would try it.  Roland tugged at the buds as they came up saying our harvest would start this year rather than last.  It may be the only crop we have.  Trick is weeding it without pulling up the plants.  As an added challenge, we'll have to put netting around it in order to keep the deer out.  I don't understand why they would walk through other houses in the neighborhood to get to ours.  It's not like we're in a large or open area.

         

          Roland likes to do the yard work when the sun is blazing overhead.  I prefer not to do yard work at all.  But if I must be out there, I would prefer the sun was not - especially when it's directly over us.  I need some shade.  Last week seemed to be the best time as it's been rather cool - and even cold at times. Often, our last week of May this year, looked and felt like November.  The temperature reached 79 one time I think, but the winds have been blowing over 10 mph and so it has always felt cooler.

          It is said that if you don't like a particular area to stay there for five minutes, and the weather will change.  I suppose it's like that all over the nation.  We had that saying in Utah and I have heard it in Oregon.  Only Oregon was not supposed to be like that. The temperature was supposed to be consistent.  And without fires.  It's been cool enough to change that, I suppose. 

          Yesterday the sun was out, but it was still cold.  At 10:00 a.m. it was still only 56 degrees outside. Sun is up again right now.  I'm predicting it will be warmer than yesterday.

PowerPoint part 4: Death by PowerPoint

          I've been going over some notes, or suggestions rather, on how to make for an interesting PowerPoint: no more than 20 minutes for entire presentation and no more than 10 slides.  Hey, instructors, I guess this doesn't apply to you then, does it?  It should.

          I changed my slide show.  Kept half with clips and the others were boring but included the premises and conclusions . . . blah, blah, blah . . .

"What is Daylight Saving Time and why do we have it?  This country started practicing DST during Ward War I to conserve on energy. This helped to cut down the cost of coal for heating and candlelight (History, 2012).  But what has happened to us over a century later?  Many people have a problem with changing their sleep patterns. 

"Researchers have found several people complaining of headaches.  One study found a 10% increase in heart attacks on the Monday and Tuesday following the Sunday in which people “spring ahead”. There has also been an 8% increase in strokes (Strickland, 2018).  Productivity among employees seems to go down.  This is what many of us look and feel like when we are trying to adjust to the time differences (Top 3, 2018).

should have changed last premises to say: Adjusting the clock every six months

is not good for sleeping patterns

 but  kept for example in the 3rd slide

"We have 24 hours in each day.  Setting the clocks ahead seems like an attempt to cheat us out of an hour.  So that first Sunday feels like only  23 hours.  But when we set our clocks back in the fall, we have a Sunday with 25?  That extra hour does not make up for lack of sleep during daylight.  It doesn't make up for ailing health (Feltman, 2015).   If someone were to invent a way to take that extra hour of sunlight and apply it to the winter, then I would be impressed.  But the hours of daylight that we have in the summer do not carry over to the hours of darkness that we have in the winter.  The amount of daylight is always the same whether the clock reads 6:00 in the morning or if it reads 5:00.  We need to keep the hours of the clock consistent to what our bodies believe (Dunning, 2009).

"Why wouldn’t we want to keep DST?  One reason would be to promote safety. Children on their way to school can see be seen easier which cuts down on the number of pedestrian accidents which take place during darker hours (Holodny, 2015).  There are fewer traffic accidents as drivers are able to better notice one another (Top 3, 2018). And there is less crime. And why would crime rates be down? People driving home during daylight hours may discourage perpetrators as they will be easier to recognize.   More people outside accounts for more witnesses (Holodny, 2015). It is said that extra hour of sunshine promotes positive activity (Feltman, 2015).  Perhaps the criminals enjoy the light also and would rather be out enjoying the sunshine than committing crimes.  Just a thought.

"There are statistics given on each side of the argument.  There are also fallacies which may seem illogical or unsound to one’s reasoning (Bearup, 2015)  Here, I have given two examples, and hopefully, I have attached the correct name to each.  The con premises refers to adjusting the clock.  Of course, the very notion of  “adjusting one’s clock” by itself does not make us unhealthy; rather the constant cycle of interrupting sleeping patterns is what would account for unhealthiness. 

referenced PRO fallacy, but used my own fallacy to explain the CON
I still don't know the accuracy of providing the correct name of fallacies

"For the pro, I chose the phrase about crime:   Since more crime is committed in the darkness, daylight savings will provide more light in which crime will not be committed.  The keywords here are “might” and “ probably”. Statistics have shown that more crime takes place in the summer than in the winter (Dahl, 2012).  I have noticed that both sides give similar reasons for why we should or shouldn’t have DST.  Is it a fallacy to say that each side is correct? Let me post another argument for you.

"From the time I was in elementary school I had always been told that DST was an agriculture thing.  Everybody in the entire world had to adjust their clocks so that farmers could get their work done - or so I believed.  It was not until I started doing research for this project that I learned that farmers were opposed to DST.  Just as with our bodies unable to adjust to the time difference, cows don't adjust their bodies according to the time on the clock. 

note each sentence, crossout, and clip were brought in one at a time

"They will milk when they are ready to produce.  That extra hour of sunlight isn't going to change that.  And because Bessie and friends won't produce at the given time, milk does not leave the farm until an hour later causing a chain reaction of one-hour delays for all other businesses involved (Feltman, 2015).  But not all farmers are dairy farmers.  What about the farmers that rely on crops? Crops can be picked right after the sun has dried the dew.  Moving and operating equipment seems like it would be easier to do in sunlight.  Again, safety reasons (Dunning, 2009)"

            I had noticed that I had given a reference that was not accurate.  I searched through my notes for the correct reference, but could not locate the article and so typed in some keywords and found even more references and statistics to prove why the crime rate was higher during daylight - again, no statistics found to back up the pro side.  In fact, the only statistic I could find attached to the pro was saving 2% - 4% on electric and/or gas, with the con side saying the spending had raised 2% - 4%.  Seriously?  The amount is NOT worth my LOSING sleep and RISKING health.  Come on!

            I did not look up what the ratio of accidents in the summer are compared to the "darkness" but had heard this Memorial Day Weekend that it was one of the deadliest times for traveling on the road.  Wow.  Memorial Day takes place during DST.  Did the "pro" seekers take that into account when they said daylight promotes safety?  I think most of the "pro" arguments are fallacies (but then again it's probably a fallacy on my part to write it that way.)

             One slide that I would have liked to do for fun - which was really not pertinent to the slide presentation, but an interesting fact about DST.  George Vernon Hudson was a scientist from New Zealand who had proposed the idea of DST so that he could study bugs.  His proposal was for a two hour set back.  Can you imagine?  The idea of two-hour change every six months beats William Willett's (a British builder) idea of having to adjust the clocks twenty minutes for each Sunday of a specific month.  That seems like a lot of work!  On the other hand, it might be easier for us to adjust our sleeping hours by twenty minutes as opposed to an hour or two.

            I would have brought in my slides and pictures one at a time concluding that all of our lives may be upset because some guy wanted to look at bugs.

            I incorporated my slide of Utah and Arizona  - though not in it's entirety.  The mapping of the standard/daylight/standard may not be accurate, but it still proved my point. Roland said I shouldn't have that many clips on one slide anyway.  But it was to illustrate the confusion.

"Daylight saving upsets the farmers, Amtrax, the airlines, sleeping patterns.  I mean take a look at this:  don’t forget to set your clocks one hour ahead at 2 a.m.  What???? I have to set my clock to remind me to set the clock and lose more sleep!  Is that confusing?  Is there too much activity going on for just one slide?  Your eyes don’t know where to focus?  Maybe you have a headache?  This is how I feel about daylight saving time.  And it’s not just me.  I know many people who feel the same way."

each of these clips would have been brought in one at a time before the entire screen was cluttered

good sources for daylight policy found here and here along with all my other references from all slides (gosh, aren't you thrilled?)

PowerPoint part 3: DST is so Annoying!

       As I was somewhat stressed by the midterm and final of my history class, I decided to get a jump start on the final for my philosophy class (which ended May 26 this year).  I ended up changing the PowerPoint three times however as I was supposed to work fallacies into the document - which I didn't foresee as a problem until I was told I'd have to provide the name for the fallacy.  Oh, Oh ... I thought that might be a problem. 

       So we were supposed to pick a topic and have premises and conclusions for the Pro as well as the Con . . . my original PowerPoint was very one-sided and so I had to redo to include the opposite.  I brought in a fallacy slide which didn't feel like it belonged.  I didn't think I'd receive full credit as it still felt one-sided.  It was hard!  The more research I did, the more biased I was about having to set clocks every six months.  So this was the very first slide that I created:

 

I brought each of these in one at a time as I would discuss them

            "With online universities, it doesn’t matter if the instructor lives in Florida and her students live in 16 other states, lectures at the university I attend happen to start on Mountain Time as they are based out of Utah. Two weeks ago a student signed on five minutes before the lecture ended. This student lives in Arizona and according to her clock, it was 5:00 Mountain Standard Time.  

           "Utah and Arizona are both on Mountain Time. But not all of Arizona observes daylight saving time.  Utah happens to be on daylight time.  This time confusion made her late for class. Though Utah and Arizona are in the same time zone, their clocks are in sync only six months of the year.  Except for certain parts of Arizona.  This pink area observes daylight except for the reservation in this red section. Except for this purple tribe which observes daylight saving time.  There are some places in Arizona which display two clocks as to display each time.  How confusing is that?"

         I have always found that adjusting our clocks every six months extremetly annoying.  Until I'd been given this assignment, I didn't realize how harmful that is as it disturbs our sleep patterns.  There are statistics and proof of studies in which disturbed sleeping pattern may lead to stroke, heart attack, headaches and so forth.  Forget DST being inconvenient (which it is) maintaining proper sleep patterns and thus better health is a great reason to do away with DST.

         The Pro side will also argue that the extra hour of sunlight is good for one's health as it helps with the adrenaline.  I could not find any statistics.

         My initial  PowerPoint included a slide to point out that DST upsets both farmers and travel industries. As with many others, I had grown up believing that DST was an agricultural thing.  Research shows that it farmers were just as opposed to DST as I am - although the only statics given was specifically for dairy farmers

              Have you ever heard that saying about trains always running late or never on time?  After my research, I think I have figured it out.  It's too much cost to change the schedule every six months. Especially when not all states or countries use DST.  Daylight Saving is harmful to airlines as well as the traveler.

           The pro side argues that daylight is better for business - certain businesses maybe.  Like those involved in retail or selling merchandise.  Malls use to be flooded with consumers.  But guess what?  Some malls are a thing of the past (see here).  Over 25 malls across the nation have shut down.  We have entered a new century where online shopping has become a hot item.  What difference does it make where the sun is in the sky when we're online shopping?

             If, with all the technology that has taken place throughout time, someone were to invent a way to actually take that extra hour of sunlight that is supposedly "saved" during DST and apply it to standard (so that children are standing in "daylight" waiting for bus ALL year round especially in the winter) I'd be impressed.  I remember waiting for the bus in the dark.  And you know, we're always going to have the same amount of hours of darkness in the winter and light in the summer regardless of whether those hours fall between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. or 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. - so why not just go with one or the other and leave our clocks where they are and avoid adjusting them every six months?

PowerPoint part 2:my last class in 2016

          As with my instructors, I find I recycle the same design for my PowerPoints.

Though the majority of instructors have seemed to go for a darker design, I have always tried to go with a white background. 

But did try my hand at a dark background for one of my projects in History. The first was a midterm

In the assignment, I was to choose from four events or movements that had been discussed in the first two weeks (Immigration and Expansion) and two  (Business and Technology).

I chose immigration and transportation.

I started out by talking about immigrants who had come to the US in search of a better life and how many dreams were not met.  Many had taken jobs in the factories and textile mills just to help make ends meet

"It wasn't just the men who worked, but women and children would put in long hours as well, still dreaming of a better life.  Some had come to acquire land that they might grow crops or raise cattle. It hadn't been their dream to stay in New York to invest their lives in somebody else's dream.  They worked long hours in very primitive conditions.  They had no say.

"But the growth of the textile industry gave some an opportunity to migrate westward.   In 1807 Robert Fulton introduced this nation to the steamboat.  The steamboat could carry product as it made its way up and down the river.  This made it easier for delivering cotton to the Textile mills and distribute product which created more jobs.

That gives you a small taste of the PowerPoint I had created.

          I did not use animations or transitions. I was supposed to have 200 words per slide, but misunderstood and so did not receive full points, but the instructor let me know that she was impressed with the amount of research I had done.

          For my final, I took I quick tour of history throughout the centuries.

We were asked to make a timeline in the form of a PowerPoint.  The two groups I decided to focus on were slavery and the women's movement and their fight for equality over the centuries.

"By 1770, more than 2 million people lived and worked in Great Britain's 13 North American colonies (Col. America). Men and women were expected to fulfill certain roles.  A woman could not own property.  She was expected to stay home and provide for the family.  A man was expected to work, but there were no specific guidelines on how or if he would provide for his family.

"For over a century, African men, women, and children were being stolen away from their native land and brought to America.  They were chained and brought to the colonies in ships.  Upon their arrival, they were auctioned off and sold as slaves.  Meanwhile, the colonists were getting fed up with the misconduct between themselves and the British law.  It didn't seem fair that they were taxed at the expense of a king many miles across the ocean. They wanted rights.  They wanted freedom. They wanted equality."

 

"Many men failed to see that their woman and slaves also wanted a sense of freedom and equality(Colonial America (1492 - 1763). "

I brought each amendment in one at a time.  Words missing from

this slide "unless you were a woman" following "the right to vote"

I continued on with more statistics.  In this slide, I used animation and talked about each amendment one at a time.

"Fast Forward into the 20th century - almost 100 years after the Civil War. 

Though blacks were granted their freedom, they continued to fight for equality and equity, particularly in the south where the states have enforced segregation and treated the "coloreds" less than second class citizens. In many ways, it seems like it was worse to be black than in the times of slavery.

In 1957, nine black students were admitted to an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

"On November 14, 1960, a first grader named Ruby Bridges was admitted to William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, Louisiana. She had to be escorted to the school by four state marshals - two would walk in front of her and two would walk behind.  They were there to protect her from the mobs who would bully her with their ugly words of hatred.  For a full year, it was just Ruby and her instructor, Mrs. Henry.    White parents had pulled their children out of the school thinking the policy would change back to an all-white school.  Thankfully, Ruby continued to be brave and assisted with earning more freedoms for others who wanted a better education

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. Although she died in 1962, a report was made to improve fair hiring practices, pay for maternity leave, and affordable child care; an equity that women suffrage had been searching for over a century before."

"There have been several advocates acting in the name of Women's Rights, or Civil Rights - equity or equality.  Many groups have received the attention of the media.  Some attention has been less positive than others.  But all attention brought results. 

Obama was still in office of President during this class

"Starting January 20, 2009, our nation saw our first black president lead this country for the past eight years.  This year (2016) Hillary Clinton represented the Democrat Party in the Presidential Delegates.  She got a lot closer to becoming president than did Victoria Woodhull back in 1872.

I have just briefly mentioned two groups of people who have fought for freedoms and equality.  There are certainly many more that have existed throughout the centuries. Regardless of what group we may be in, we all continue to fight for freedoms and equality.  May we find the equity needed to truly make us free.  Thank you for your time. "