...INDUSTRY AND COMPETITORS The funeral home industry has been at a steady decrease for the past decade. Not only is this present at a local or regional level, but at a national level. The traditional funeral service and burial are becoming less favored. Instead, across the country, families are preoccupied by external distractions. These distractions have nothing to do with the funeral homes’ capabilities, but with the growing popularity of cremations. “Our cremations have tripled in the past 5 years,†said Jason Monell, a funeral director in Northern Kentucky. Cremation has been a popular choice in the West for years, but the trend is sweeping the country as cremation gains wider acceptance. “In 2002, arrangements for 22 percent of all deaths in the United States included cremation, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. By 2010, the association expects that to nearly double†(Conner). There are many reasons why cremations are going to take over the industry down the road. This causes funeral directors to create other services and opportunities to make their businesses profitable. The first main reason why cremations are gaining popularity has to do with the environment. This is probably one of the most apparent and obvious reasons. Cemeteries are starting to run out of land causing people to develop a concern. However, there are measures currently taking place to help conserve land. For example, Highland Cemetery in Northern Kentucky has dedicated...
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...War in the 1860’s. Families of soldiers killed in the battle wanted to have their bodies returned home. Dr. Thomas Holmes found a way. His system was the forerunner of todays “embalming”. In almost all cultures, an individual’s death is marked by a ritual. Funerals in the United States and a few other countries and cultures serve purposes such as religious, social, and personal (M.Mahon, 2009) Unlike taxes there’s no way to get around death. Our days are numbered. That’s why the world needs funeral directors (Mosca, 2011). Mourning the loss of a loved one is a traumatic experience we must all suffer during our lives. For many of us, making the necessary funeral arrangements while in an emotionally fragile state can be a frustrating, painful experience without the help of an experienced and caring funeral director. The career of a funeral director can be an emotionally rewarding job .Funeral directors are also counselors, aiding people during one of the most difficult times of their lives. Families need compassionate counseling and guidance, and a funeral director can offer support and assistance in making end-of-life decisions. Funeral directors also handle all arrangements . They often need to travel to private homes, places of worship, and cemeteries and crematoriums. They also need to travel to hospitals and accident sites to transfer bodies. Becoming a funeral director requires education, licensing, and training. Most states require applicants to be twenty-one...
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...president of Adams Funeral Homes? Why or why not? And if the meeting should be scheduled for the following Thursday”, the next paragraph will answered and elaborated more based on the case given. Charlie is Robert’s son who apparently is the equal owner together with Rick of the family business known as Adams Funeral Home. He is also Rick’s nephew and a potential fourth generation successor. In my opinion I would suggest that Charlie should be chosen as the next president of Adams funeral Home. The reasons why I say this are as follows; Charlie is experienced and educated. Having an experienced working can be a help businesses attain their goals. At the age of seven years old, he started working alongside his grandfather in the family business and when he was at the age of eleven or twelve years old he had been regularly helping his father running the family business. Charlie is also educated, the fourth generation member attended Georgia State University and graduated in the year 1999, later on he joined a mortuary school for a year and after completion he joined the family business. Furthermore, Charlie is very excited to join his family business and is very hardworking; he is excited to grow the business keeping in mind of the reputation and brand that has built for the business in three generations. Also, he first joined the family business as a funeral service intern and worked his way to the top. He started with jobs like embalming, coordinating funeral service, helping...
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...RYAN FUNERAL HOME CASE INTRODUCTION On a warm Chicago evening in August 2005, Regina Ryan leaned back in an overstuffed armchair in her brightly lit apartment above Ryan Funeral Home. Seventy-five years old and a widow, Regina smiled as she looked at the sons and daughters gathered before her: Maureen, Patrick, Sean, Brendan, Conner, and Siobhan. Finally she spoke: “Your father was proud to own his own funeral home. He built this from nothing to what it is today. By serving local families so well, the name Ryan Funeral Home has come to mean compassion, integrity, and quality to those in this area. Reputation is everything in the funeral business. “He’s gone now, and I must decide what’s to become of all this. I always thought it would be a simple decision: pass the business to the next generation.” “It’s not so simple. The funeral industry has changed dramatically from what it was when we started out. It’s much harder to make a living than it once was. Nonetheless, I know that the reason your father started this business was because he wanted something to pass on to his children. This was to be his legacy.” As her mother spoke, Maureen thought about how important the future of Ryan Funeral Home was to her personally. She was the only one of the six children who had become a funeral director, and she has worked alongside her father for eleven years. Maureen often met with families to make funeral arrangements when her father was busy elsewhere...
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...SECONDARY RESEARCH REPORT ON potENTIAL LOCATION OF FUNERAL HOMES Marketing Research Methods RSMT 5001 SECONDARY RESEARCH REPORT ON potENTIAL LOCATION OF FUNERAL HOMES Marketing Research Methods RSMT 5001 Contents 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 2 2.1 Fair Share Analysis 2 2.2 Annual number of deaths 2 2.3 Areas with more than 170 deaths on average per annum 2 3.0 ANALYSIS 3 4.0 APPENDIX 4 5.0 REFERENCES 7 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to analyze the potential locations of where an organization can set up funeral homes for business outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In our analysis, we considered three possible options in determining where to locate the funeral homes: an area with a high number of old people and low death rate in their population, an area with a high number of old people and high death rate in their population and an area with low number of old people and high death rate. We also used the fair share calculations and areas with at least 170 deaths per funeral on average every year as part of the metrics 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Fair Share Analysis Based on the fair share calculations, which is total market divided by the number of funeral homes in the market. The four potential locations would be St Catharines with the highest fair market share of 9.87%; Kingston with 8.51%; Hamilton with 7.84%; London with 7.19% and Cambridge with 6.36%. We would highly suggest that the organization...
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...In The Embalming of Mr. Jones, Jessica Mitford reveals an in-depth look into the embalming practices of the funeral industry. As a long tradition, the relatives would view the process of embalming within the deceased’s home. However, funeral directors have slowly relocated the embalming to funeral homes and discouraged the relatives from attending. Mitford postulates if American were to know the funeral industry’s practices, American would reject the services. Therefore, it is in the best financial interest of the funeral industry to shroud their practices in secrecy. Mitford discusses the terminology that embalmers use to refer to themselves, “dermasurgeon.” Mitford further states the title was positively corrupted to “demisurgeon.” These embalmer utilizes multiple medical tools, such as scissors and forceps, and chemicals to successfully embalm. Mitford expresses her disdain by stating the tools and techniques used are crude compared to a proper surgeon. Many different types of chemical are for specific uses. A vast array of cosmetic products and aid are used in dressing the body. John Eckels, president of the Eckels College of Mortuary Science, explained the process would take a short amount of time in skilled hands. No matter how damaged the bodies are, the bodies can be restored into a resemblance of normalcy. First, the embalmer drains the blood from Mr. Jones’s body through one of the arteries. Each embalmer has their own favorite artery to work with. Embalming fluid...
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...family must call a funeral home/crematory to handle the disposition. Typically, the family usually has made up their mind if they want to bury or cremate the deceased person or the deceased has already made pre-arrangements. Sometimes the deceased person might have in their will if they want to be buried or cremated. The funeral home or crematory will then have to assist the family with the necessary paperwork. This paperwork will include legal forms, information for the death certificate and obituary, and a contract that will show the family the...
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...Chapter 2 Application Questions 1. Imagine yourself as the CEO of a large firm in an industry in which you are interested. Please (1) identify major trends in the general environment, (2) analyze their impact on the firm, and (3) identify major sources of information to monitor these trends. (Use Internet and library resources.)As I am striving to work in the Funeral or Death Industry as a Funeral Director, I am observing the change in our industry from traditional burial to cremation. This shift in the industry which reduces the price of a funeral by three or four thousand dollars depending on the demographic area, these trends can be followed in Funeral Industry standards such as the NAFD, a Funeral Directors Organization 2. Analyze movements across the strategic groups in the U.S. retail industry. How do these movements within this industry change the nature of competition?The retail industry is driven by young consumers. These consumers make decisions for their group by purchasing the goods and services that they want. Making the decisions changing competiton for everyone. 3. What are the major trends in the general environment that have impacted the U.S. pharmaceutical industry?More easily accessible drug information. Help with drug costs through programs from the pharmacy and the drug companies. Rewards programs. 4. Go to the Internet and look up www.kroger.com. What are some of the five forces driving industry competition that are affecting the profitability...
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...America Funeral Process Funerals are some of the most difficult activities for most individuals to experience, especially when they involve the death of a loved one. Over the years, there has grown a common and yet distinct American custom when it comes to how funerals are perceived and conducted (James 348). However, most Americans still hold unto the traditional funerals as opposed to modern ones. Unfortunately, the American funeral customs put a lot of more emphasis on some activities that turn out to be very costly. Worst of all, the economic burden that this traditions put on the bereaved families is even more detrimental. Most of the old folks are the greatest defenders and proponents of the traditional funeral customs. Since these are people who have the greatest if not the final say when it comes to family matters, many American families have found themselves becoming slaves of this old and outdates funeral practices whose greatest achievement is soaring the expenses of such a process. Yes, that is very true. American funerals are one of the most expensive funerals to undertake in the whole world. The funerals expenses plans or insurances have done nothing but to augment the funerals expenses as well (Leamy). It is very important for Americans to realize that there are many hidden charges that come with such plans. Funeral rituals have remained part of the American funeral process for many years. Just like in other parts of the world, the history of the funeral services...
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...be part interview and part essay. A local funeral director was interviewed about final preparations, the purpose of a modern funeral, how people cope with death, and unusual request for funeral services. A brief discussion how some modern funeral traditions were originated and why death is almost always attached to fear will also be addressed. Death is still reacted to with fear even with all the modern scientific and medical knowledge that is available to our society. Since no one has ever died and returned to tell about what death is really like, we as humans have a natural fear of what is not understood or cannot be controlled (www.wyfda.org 1). The typical response to death is avoidance because death is not a pleasant topic of conversation. Most speak of people dying and not focusing on themselves. Fear has been a response to death since primitive times; this fear started the first burial rituals, that were meant to protect the lining from the spirits, which caused the death (1). Along with the burning of corpses to destroy evil spirits, some cultures would eat the deceased as a show of respect to the person who died (www.anthropology.uwaterloo.ca 2). The fear of the dead carried over into religious thought and sacrifices of all kinds were made in honor of the dead and to appease the spirits. A modern funeral for most cultures is a spiritual experience. According to a local funeral director, Charlie Kurrus (Kurrus Funeral Home), wakes that are held today are derived from...
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...September 21, 2013 TAX FILE MEMORANDUM FROM Latisha Gooley SUBJECT Peaceful Pastures Funeral Home, Incorporated prepaid income for services. Today I spoke with the owners of Peaceful Pastures Funeral Home Incorporated’s owners, with respect to their July 28, 2013 letter requesting tax assistance. Peaceful wishes to know if they could include their prepaid income in the year that the services were rendered. FACTS Peaceful Pastures is an accrual basis taxpayer who provides a full line of prepaid funeral services and sells goods related to those services to its clientele that will be provided to the customer when the customer becomes deceased. Peaceful Pastures goods and services are refundable upon the purchasers request, up until the purchaser uses the services. Peaceful Pastures wants help determining when they are to claim taxes for earnings in their prepaid program for their funeral home. ISSUE Does Peaceful Pastures Funeral Homes Inc. claim their prepaid income in the period in which it was received or can Peaceful Patures claim the income in the period in which the services are rendered? CONCLUSION Peaceful Pastures, reported the income correctly on their taxes the year that the services were rendered. Peaceful Pastures Funeral Homes Inc. must realize the income in the year that it receives prepaid income from a buyer and not in the year the goods and services are rendered. Therefore the IRS is correct and Peaceful may owe back taxes as well as penalties and interest...
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...In this paper I will provide a SWOT analysis of the A.A. Rayner Funeral Home of Chicago. In the analysis I will provide an analysis including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths A.A. Rayner and Sons was established in 1947. Ahmed A. Raymer was a graduate of Prairie View University, Worsham College of Mortuary Science and John Marshall Law School. The A.A. Rayner Funeral home has a rich family history in Chicago and has been a staple in the African American community since its inception. The A. A. Rayner and Sons has 2 locations 318 E. 71 St. and 5911 W. Madison St. The business is currently managed by the third generation of the Rayner family. Its annual estimated revenue from each funeral home is $500,000 - $1,000,000. The Rayner’s were involved in historically high profile burials. Emmett Till, a young African American man who was killed in Mississippi and his and the late Mayor Harold Washington. A. A. Rayner Jr. was a pilot in the Air Force and one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. He was also elected to the Chicago city council to the 6th ward in 1967. “We are honored to have been able to serve our community, and we consider it a privilege and an important responsibility to offer our very best. A.A. Rayner & Sons leadership and commitment to affordable, ethical and professional service will continue for generations to come. “ The Rayners’ are one of the few funeral homes that provide services for recipients of public assistance. The Rayners’...
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...America Funeral Process Funerals are some of the most difficult activities for most individuals to experience, especially when they involve the death of a loved one. Over the years, there has grown a common and yet distinct American custom when it comes to how funerals are perceived and conducted (James 348). However, most Americans still hold unto the traditional funerals as opposed to modern ones. Unfortunately, the American funeral customs put a lot of more emphasis on some activities that turn out to be very costly. Worst of all, the economic burden that this traditions put on the bereaved families is even more detrimental. Most of the old folks are the greatest defenders and proponents of the traditional funeral customs. Since these are people who have the greatest if not the final say when it comes to family matters, many American families have found themselves becoming slaves of this old and outdates funeral practices whose greatest achievement is soaring the expenses of such a process. Yes, that is very true. American funerals are one of the most expensive funerals to undertake in the whole world. The funerals expenses plans or insurances have done nothing but to augment the funerals expenses as well (Leamy). It is very important for Americans to realize that there are many hidden charges that come with such plans. Funeral rituals have remained part of the American funeral process for many years. Just like in other parts of the world, the history of the funeral services...
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...MARCH 4, 2002 The Loewen Group, Inc. (Abridged) In March 1999, John Lacey and the management team at the Loewen Group, Inc., had to decide what course of action to take in light of the company's imminent financial difñculties. On January 22,1999, Lacey, a renowned turnaround specialist, was appointed chairman of Loewen, the second largest death care company in North America. Headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, Loewen owned over 1,100 funeral homes and more than 400 cemeteries in the U.S. and Canadá; it also owned 32 funeral homes in the United Kingdom. The company had come a long way since its modest beginnings in Canadá, where Ray Loewen, the founder (and, until recently, chairman and CEO), started out helpinghis father run the family funeral business in the late 1950s. During the last two decades, Loewen Group had grown explosively, mainly by acquiring small independent funeral homes and cemeteries in densely populated urban markets; in recent years the company had also acquired several large established funeral chains. Over the last five years alone, Consolidated revenues had grown by nearly 30 percent a year, on average, from $303 million to over $1.1 billion. Despite its impressive growth, the company faced a major financial crisis. It lost $599 million for 1998, compared to earning $43 million the previous year. Loewen's on-going acquisitions program had been aggressively ñnanced with debt. At year-end 1998, total debt stood at more than $2.3 billion—more...
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...respected member of the community. With all these basics in place, it is the goal of Loving Arms to engender an organizational culture that thrives on teamwork and celebrates diversities both within the organization as well as the diversities within the community we serve. Loving Arms needs to do outreach and research regarding what and where the needs of the community are. We also need to attend and participate in community meetings, advertise our newly formed business, and create pamphlets with information about local, state, and federal laws as well as facts sheets. A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. Not only do they provide these services but they also treat or should treat at least every client like a family member. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral if a church is not available. They also offer crematory services. The director is there through...
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