1. Company Description and Background a. Weight Watchers was created by Jean Nindetch in 1963 when she began to invite her friends and neighbors so that they can discuss their weight loss issues and how they could lose weight successfully. The basic concept of WW plan consisted of two components: the WW program and group support. Comprised of a food plan and an activity plan. WW eliminated counting calories by introducing a point system. b. Targeted women 25 to 55 c. 2017 about 1 million members who attended 32,000 WW meetings around the world organized by more then 9,000 leaders who had successful lost weight using WW. d. Record high revenue 2011 $1.8 billion, in 2012 a slight reduction occurred but beat all pre-2011 numbers, in 2013 is when business began take a turn for the worse. e. December 2015, WW launched a SmartPoints system which was a scale for food management. It was introduced to work along with a new weight management program called “Beyond the Scale.” Even thought doctors and nutrition’s approved the program, then-CEO David Kirchhoff felt it wasn’t enough because the programs didn’t take into account social, environmental and behavioral factors that led members to fail at their weight loss journey. Shortly after in August 2013, CEO Kirchhoff resigned in order to “pursue other opportunities” which left WW struggling to adjust their business strategy in the Internet Age. 2. Problems Posed In The Case a. CEO Jim Chambers resigned in September 2016 afterward a tumultuous year with stock prices dropping 54% that year alone and seven straight quarters of declining sales. b. Next generation diet programs and online apps like MyFitnessPal and FitBit were providing the same services for free of charge. CEO Chambers admitted that “consumers have changed and that WW hadn’t kept the pace.” c. As obesity levels increased worldwide, the market for weight loss products was growing exponentially, however, WW had to increase customer value and seek new target segments to fend off competitors from traditional rivalry’s like Nutrisystem, Slim Fast, Medifast, Jenny Craig and the Biggest Loser. d. Emergence of fad diets e. Decreased effectiveness of marketing and advertising programs f. The need for developing new and innovative products and services that could be delivered online or via mobile apps g. WW International faced stock price volatility because of rival weight management options such as the over-the-counter weight-loss drug Alli launched by GlaxoSmithKline in June 2006 and the development of Allergan’s Lap-Band device. h. Worldwide Health Organization estimated 2.3 billion people to be overweight by 2015 and more than 700 million obese. i. The development of effective weight-management methods i.e. pharmaceuticals, surgical options such as the Lap-Band. 3. Financial Analysis a. In 2017, revenue was 1.3 billion and in 2018 revenue was up by 5.77% at 1.5 billion. 4. Strategic Options a. During the dot-com era they creat.

1. 1. Company Description and Background
a. Weight Watchers was created by Jean Nindetch in 1963 when
she began to invite her friends and neighbors so that they can
discuss their weight loss issues and how they could lose weight
successfully. The basic concept of WW plan consisted of two
components: the WW program and group support. Comprised of
a food plan and an activity plan. WW eliminated counting
calories by introducing a point system.
b. Targeted women 25 to 55
c. 2017 about 1 million members who attended 32,000 WW
meetings around the world organized by more then 9,000
leaders who had successful lost weight using WW.
d. Record high revenue 2011 $1.8 billion, in 2012 a slight
reduction occurred but beat all pre-2011 numbers, in 2013 is
when business began take a turn for the worse.
e. December 2015, WW launched a SmartPoints system which
was a scale for food management. It was introduced to work
along with a new weight management program called “Beyond
the Scale.” Even thought doctors and nutrition’s approved the
program, then-CEO David Kirchhoff felt it wasn’t enough
because the programs didn’t take into account social,
environmental and behavioral factors that led members to fail at
their weight loss journey. Shortly after in August 2013, CEO
Kirchhoff resigned in order to “pursue other opportunities”
which left WW struggling to adjust their business strategy in
the Internet Age.
2. Problems Posed In The Case
a. CEO Jim Chambers resigned in September 2016 afterward a
tumultuous year with stock prices dropping 54% that year alone
and seven straight quarters of declining sales.
b. Next generation diet programs and online apps like
MyFitnessPal and FitBit were providing the same services for

2. free of charge. CEO Chambers admitted that “consumers have
changed and that WW hadn’t kept the pace.”
c. As obesity levels increased worldwide, the market for weight
loss products was growing exponentially, however, WW had to
increase customer value and seek new target segments to fend
off competitors from traditional rivalry’s like Nutrisystem, Slim
Fast, Medifast, Jenny Craig and the Biggest Loser.
d. Emergence of fad diets
e. Decreased effectiveness of marketing and advertising
programs
f. The need for developing new and innovative products and
services that could be delivered online or via mobile apps
g. WW International faced stock price volatility because of rival
weight management options such as the over-the-counter
weight-loss drug Alli launched by GlaxoSmithKline in June
2006 and the development of Allergan’s Lap-Band device.
h. Worldwide Health Organization estimated 2.3 billion people
to be overweight by 2015 and more than 700 million obese.
i. The development of effective weight-management methods
i.e. pharmaceuticals, surgical options such as the Lap-Band.
3. Financial Analysis
a. In 2017, revenue was 1.3 billion and in 2018 revenue was up
by 5.77% at 1.5 billion.
4. Strategic Options
a. During the dot-com era they created a WW.com where they
sold a wide range of branded products and services including
meetings, subscriptions, licensed products sold by retailers,
magazine subscriptions and various publications.
b. In addition, the company put its name and point values on a
variety of food products sold in super markets such as Progresso
soups
c. WW also created a separate WW menu for certain restaurants.
d. In 2014, as a part of new tech strategy WW announced that
members could sync third-party open API’s such as Fitbit and

3. Jawbone for an integrated weight-loss experience.
e. In order to stay competitive in a digital market, WW acquired
Silicon Valley based weight-loss start up Wello in 2014, which
was an app that allowed people to attend fitness classes or one-
on-one fitness training through any Internet or webcam-enabled
device.
f. Reliance on variable cost structure had enabled the company
to maintain high margins.
g. WW at work program
5. Opportunities
a. Obesity was on the rise in developed countries especially in
North America and by 2014 the weight loss, health and fitness
industry constituted a $64 billion-a-year industry in the US
alone. The number of Americans dieting dropped from 31
percent at the peak of 1991 to 19 percent in 2014.
b. Improving economy and mean are new target group
Conclusion and Reflection
Points program introduced in 2010
Dropped celebrity spokesperson Jessica Simpson and Jennifer
Hudson to provide a sense of regular people dealing with
regular weight issues. Not realistic as real people’s before-and
after transformations.
Expanded to men and growing Hispanic population.
Business-to-business model by partnering with major health
care plans and large self-insured corps which offered subsidized
WW memberships to eligible members and employees.
2017, Oprah lost 40 lbs. started investing in WW in 10 2015 and
obtained 10% stake in company by paying 43million. Increased
number of subscriptions by 10% and her stake in company is
worth $70,300,000
Argumentative Research Essay

4. Assignment Description
In upper level courses, you will often be asked to demonstrate
your ability to converse with other scholars in your field. Your
job is to make a claim about a debatable topic and to persuade
the reader to accept your claim. Your paper must be written so
that it is convincing even for a skeptical audience. In other
words, be fair and unbiased when acknowledging what others
say about your topic, but then prove why they are wrong using
logical reasons and credible evidence. In this essay, you must
synthesize various sources while persuading the reader to accept
your viewpoint. You do not want to simply report what others
are saying, but engage in a dialogue with them.
Your research paper MUST include the following:
· A clearly stated thesis in the introduction that articulates your
position and what you want to argue in your paper
· Clear reasons with supporting evidence
· A synthesis of sources; do not simply summarize your source
material, but show how they are connected and respond to them
· A fully-developed counterargument / opposing viewpoint with
a fully-developed refutation. A fully-developed
counterargument requires more than one sentence
· A minimum of three credible and relevant sources
· A minimum of three pages in MLA format, not including the
MLA Works Cited
· A Works Cited page in MLA format with corresponding in-
text citations
Purpose and Learning Objectives
The purpose of this assignment is to practice persuasive writing
and synthesis of sources. You will increase your critical
thinking skills by analyzing yours and others’ assumptions,
evaluating multiple perspectives, and developing a clear
position. Writing, research, and eloquent written expression are

5. vital for a successful future. You will express all of these skills
in this assignment. This essay will be used as the English
department assessment for the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board’s mandated core curriculum assessment of
Student Learning Outcomes (SLO). This essay will address the
SLO objectives of critical thinking and written communication.
Your research paper should demonstrate the following learning
objectives:
· Awareness of the audience to whom you are speaking
· Awareness of the purpose of your argument
· Ability to enter into a scholarly conversation
· Ability to write a qualified and narrow argumentative thesis
statement
· Ability to synthesize information from various sources
· Ability to craft an argument with different types of relevant,
credible, and detailed support
· Ability to research and identify academic sources
· Ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote while citing
correctly in MLA to avoid plagiarism
· Ability to converse in standard, academic English
Minimum Requirements
Length:. 6-8 pages not including works cited page. Style: Essay
needs to conform to MLA standards, including double spacing
in Times New Roman font, and must include a Works Cited
page with correct in-text (parenthetical) citations for all quotes,
paraphrases, and/or summaries. Sources: Three (3) sources
minimum. One of your sources must be a counterargument that
you will refute.
Due Dates: FRIDAY, MAY 17th by midnight.
Process of Completion
1. Choose a topic (or a specific essay depending on your
instructor’s requirements). Get it approved by your instructor.

6. 2. Write down everything that you know about your topic in
your notebook. What can you verify? What is common
knowledge and what needs a source to prove that it is true? Find
credible sources to prove anything that is not common
knowledge.
3. Begin preliminary research to discover more about your
topic. Do a basic Google search and read popular sources to
broaden your knowledge. Remember that dot-com and
Wikipedia are tertiary sources and not credible for citing in an
academic essay. You are just gaining more knowledge right
now.
4. Narrow your topic and formulate a working thesis. Then
come up with research questions to guide your research.
Remember that good research begins with questions, not beliefs.
5. Begin research using the Richland library databases
http://www.richlandcollege.edu/library/. Academic Search
Complete is the best database to begin your research. Do a web
search for credible sources to include in your essay. Use
newspapers, organizations, or government websites. Find a
minimum of three credible sources to use in your essay.
6. Be sure you have at least ONE source that you disagree with
in order to include a counterargument in your essay.
7. In your notebook, annotate the three sources you want to use
in your essay. Take careful notes over the author’s claim and
purpose. Respond in your notebook. Do you agree, disagree, or
have mixed feelings about the ideas in these sources?
8. Put together an outline to help organize your ideas.
9. Choose the sections of your sources that you want to include
in your essay. Be sure to include a variety of paraphrases,
quotes, and summaries.
10. Write your rough draft. Don’t worry about grammar now;
just put your thoughts down on paper.
11. Put your essay away for twenty-four hours before revising it
for grammar and punctuation mistakes. Visit the English Corner
for more help with revision or expanding your ideas.
12. Come to all peer reviews and turn in all drafts. Review

7. carefully your peers’ comments before submitting the final
essay to me.
13. Review your Safe Assign report for plagiarism BEFORE
turning in your final draft!
14. Reread your essay one last time and make any final edits or
changes before turning in your final!
Helpful Resources
The English Corner has several handouts that can help you draft
your essay. Please see the English Corner website:
http://richlandcollege.edu/worldlanguages/english-
department/english-corner/handouts/
Plagiarism
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism includes failing to
cite a direct quote with quotation marks and an in-text citation,
borrowing someone else's work without a correct citation, bad
paraphrasing (Safe Assign will not identify a good or fair
paraphrase), purchasing a paper, having someone else write
your essay, or turning in the same paper to two different
classes. Any paper with plagiarism, even accidental (I forgot to
cite that!), will receive a zero as a final grade. The best way to
avoid plagiarism is to cite correctly. See both MLA citation
PPTs on eCampus or visit Purdue OWL for more help
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/