Accounting Irregularities at Groupon - 1017 Words

Accounting Irregularities at Groupon Introduction In September 23 2011, Groupon (the Company), a rapidly growing online coupon merchant was forced by the SEC to file a restated S-1 registration statement. The reason for the restatement was that the SEC objected to the accounting methods that Groupon used in the calculation of its revenue, causing it to be overstated. According to Villanova University (2012), Groupon’s auditors at Ernst Young stated that Groupon was not setting aside sufficient funds to cover potential refunds to customers and this was allowed to persist due to â€Å"material weakness in the company’s internal controls†. Background When a customer purchases a coupon through Groupon’s website, the Company and the†¦show more content†¦Restated Income Statement Prior to Groupon’s IPO, the SEC forced the Company to restate the S-1 financials for 2008, 2009 and 2010 under GAAP. Gone was the ACSOI accounting metric that allowed it to inflate its revenue figures. The company also reported in its updated 10-K filing that it had started to use an improved refund model to better track and ensure that it maintains a reserve for anticipated refunds. The new more subdued figures can be seen below in Figure 2. Figure 2 Conclusion Having reported their earnings in the S-1 filing with less stratospheric revenue figures, investors were afforded the ability to approach the titan coupon merchant with a less gullible sense of enthusiasm and a more realistic sense of skittishness that should be warranted with an IPO sporting such inflated figures. As of this writing, the company does show good revenue growth but net income has been bumpy with consistent losses in the hundreds of millions. The new numbers show a company with an unproven business model and a justifiably meek stock price near an all time low of $3.83 for investors who might be looking for a lottery-ticket quality investment. In an age where corporations like Xerox and Enron have managed to scam investors with accounting irregularities, the fact that this questionable practice was discovered prior to the Company’s IPO makes this a story about how sometimes the system works. References Catanach, A. H. (2011).Show MoreRelatedEssay about Jet Task 1 Financial Analysis.8422 Words   |  34 Pagesto gain additional data. Trend percentages shall help us with indication of what direction Competitive Bikes are taking. b. Review the vertical analysis, analyze the results, and discuss operational areas of concern. As learned from Horngren, Accounting, 8th edition, we know that â€Å"vertical analysis is analysis of a financial statement that reveals the relationship of each statement item to a special base, which is 100% figure.†-1 We will be performing vertical analysis of income statement where

What Shoud You Do Free Essays

The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin’s enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. We will write a custom essay sample on What Shoud You Do or any similar topic only for you Order Now Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his innovation. He established website Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. 2. Kaolin’s knowledge In finance and counting indeed helped him in rising and handling money. He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very limited source of capital, he made sure to keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholy could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Khan’s belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough to refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the UAPITA – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up In overcoming any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin’s enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his Innovation. He established website Melancholy and started to promote credit sales. 2. Khan’s knowledge In finance and accounting indeed helped him in rising and handling money. He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very limited source of capital, he made sure to keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholy could keep the price low while keep the quality up. Khan’s belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough to refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the capital – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up in overcomi ng any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin’s enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his Innovation. He established website Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. 2. Khan’s knowledge In finance and accounting Indeed helped him In rising and handling money. He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very Melancholia could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Kaolin’s belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough to refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the capital – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a spontaneity, he never gave up in overcoming any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin’s enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his innovation. He established website Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. . Kaolin’s knowledge in finance and accounting indeed helped him in rising and handling money. He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very limited source of capital, he made sure to keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholia could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Kaolin ’s belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough o refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the capital – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up in overcoming any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin’s enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows is firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. 2. Kaolin’s knowledge in finance and keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholia could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Kaolin’s belief and courage. With no savings and precious little Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up in believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. How to cite What Shoud You Do, Papers

Introduction to the Law of Contract (Clarendon)

Question: Discuss the extent to which, and the ways in which, the courts and parliament have eroded the concept of freedom of contract with reference to relevant case and statute law? Answer: Several rules have been created by the courts and also by the Parliament regarding the law of contract that has made an impact on the concept of the freedom of contract. Freedom of contract enjoyed by the parties is the liberty enjoyed by the parties to decide the terms of a contract without any type of interfering by the government (George Mitchell Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds). The notion of freedom of contractor also been significantly impacted by the recent legislation. For example the Unfair Contract Act has made a significant impact on the notion of freedom of contract. Section 12 of the legislation cannot be excluded from a contract. Likewise, the parties to a consumer contract cannot exclude the provisions mentioned in Sections 13 to 15. This legislation prescribes several requirements and in case these requirements are not fulfilled, a contract can be considered as unfair by the court and therefore not enforceable. In the same way, unfair terms in consumer contacts regulations, 1999 also imposed certain restrictions on the freedom of contract enjoyed by the parties in the past. Section 2(1), Unfair Contract Terms Regulations provide that the parties cannot include any term restricting the liability of a party in case of a death or personal injury suffered by the other party. Similarly, S 2(2) also says that the term that has been inserted in a contra ct with a view to restrict the responsibility of the party for a loss of property should be reasonable. Under these legislations, the terms of a contract have to pass the test of reasonableness. As a result, in case the court comes to the conclusion that any of the terms of the contract can be considered as unreasonable, such a term of the contract can be refused to be enforced by the court. For example, common law has prescribed several limitations on the amount of damages that can be contracted by the parties which are known as the restrictions on liquidated damages. In the same way, Common law also prescribes restrictions on the maximum length of the agreements regarding not to compete with the employer. It also needs to be noted that in particular during the last 60 years, a large number of rules have been promulgated by the legislative bodies that impose restrictions on the freedom of contract. There are several matters like labor and insurance regarding which it can be said that in a sense they have been removed from free-market. In the same way there are several other commercial activities that have been limited in scope by certain laws, like the antitrust laws. In the same way, another example of the restrictions imposed on the freedom of contract of the parties can be described in the form of a duty prescribed for the employees according to which, the employers cannot discriminate against their employees on the basis of gender, race or religion while making decisions relating to employment. There is an agreement among the researchers that the rules proposing restrictions on the freedom of contract can be justified if they have been promulgated with a view to protect the parties within the contract or with a view to protect the parties outside the contract. The common law duress includes duress to person, goods and economic duress. It is based on the will theory and the underlying principle can be described as the compulsion of the will of the victim due to which the consent of the victim is appreciated and in this way, also the freedom of contract of the victim. In Lawson v Supasink Ltd (1984) 3 TRL 37, deals with reasonable care and skill as provided by The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. In this case damages could be recovered because Supasink had not followed the plans. These rules limit the freedom of contract enjoyed by the parties. But these rules can be justified if the freedom of contract enjoyed by the parties will be harmful for the society due to reason that the parties or the parties that are outside the contract are not in a position to properly protect themselves. Sir George Jessel MR had strongly favored the freedom of contract enjoyed by the parties in the decision given in Printing and Numerical Registering Co v Sampson. However, it needs to be noted that the strict principles that have been mentioned in this case have been nearly abandoned during the 20th century as stated by Lord Denning in George Mitchell v Finney Lock Seeds. In this way, since the time of the judgment of Lord Jessel MR, there have been significant changes made in the principle of the freedom of contract enjoyed by the parties. Now it is considered that the capability of the courts to restrict the terms that can be considered as unfair, that has also been granted by the Parliament, allows for the adoption of more sensible principles that can be used for interpreting contracts. Now there is no requirement for the courts to change the sense of the words in order to arrive at the just result as the courts have the power to scrap the unfair terms of a contract on the basis of the unequal bargaining power is held by a party. In this way, the parties are not at the utmost liberty to include any terms in the contract regarding which they have agreed and therefore the notion of the freedom of contract has been significantly impacted by the Parliament and the courts. References Kessler, F. 1943, Contracts of Adhesion Some Thoughts About Freedom of Contract 43(5) Columbia Law Review 629 Atiyah, P.S. 2000, An Introduction to the Law of Contract (Clarendon) Collins, H. 2003, Contract Law in Context (4th edn CUP) Case Law Printing and Numerical Registering Co v Sampson (1875) 19 Eq 462 George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd [1982] EWCA Civ 5 Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd [1980] AC 827 Levison v Patent Steam Carpet Cleaning Co Ltd [1978] QB 69 Sze Hai Tong Bank Ltd v Rambler Cycle Co Ltd [1959] AC 576 Kessler, F. 1943, Contracts of Adhesion Some Thoughts About Freedom of Contract 43(5) Columbia Law Review 629 Collins, H. 2003, Contract Law in Context (4th edn CUP) Atiyah, P.S. 2000, An Introduction to the Law of Contract (Clarendon) Photo Production Ltd v Securicor Transport Ltd [1980] AC 827 Levison v Patent Steam Carpet Cleaning Co Ltd [1978] QB 69 Printing and Numerical Registering Co v Sampson (1875) 19 Eq 462 George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd [1982] EWCA Civ 5 Sze Hai Tong Bank Ltd v Rambler Cycle Co Ltd [1959] AC 576

Prescriptive Jurisdiction and Enforcement Jurisdiction in International Law

Even though parliament can reprimand any action through its local regulation, global law does not allow the State to impose its rule outside its land. For instance, Saudi Arabian (SA) law states that infidelity is a felony that is punished by stoning to death.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Prescriptive Jurisdiction and Enforcement Jurisdiction in International Law specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This rule is applicable only in Saudi Arabia (Dupuy Kerbrat 2010, p. 64). It cannot be applied in other places even if a citizen of Saudi Arabia was found committing adultery. This takes us to the earliest code in the Lotus case, which says that a State cannot apply its rule in any shape in the land of another nation unless there is a global tradition or principle allowing the State to do so (Dixon 2007, p. 87). The UK-Netherlands accord of 1991 can serve as an example, where UK got approval from Netherlands before in dicting two Libyans charged with the Lockerbie intimidation (Shaw 2003, p. 23) Therefore, a jurisdiction centers deeply on the power to prescribe (Sweeney 2007, p. 50) in addition, this is what the paper will focus on. A state’s jurisdiction in the modern international system refers to its power to control the actions of individuals and property. Again, jurisdiction can be either civil or criminal (O’Keefe 2004, p. 736). Jurisdiction in real terms is not a universal concept that is; its meaning is not common to all people. The ancient activities of states and doctrinal inscriptions enables people comprehend that jurisdiction is broadly categorized into two major forms, that is, prescriptive and power to enforce. In the criminal context, jurisdiction to prescribe refers to the power of the state to invoke its criminal law in arbitrating certain actions. Jurisdiction to enforce on the other hand refers to the power of the state to employ criminal law practically through its criminal justice system that is, arresting (police), arbitrating (courts) and correcting (Amerasinghe 1994, p. 14).Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Whereas jurisdiction to prescribe might be extra-territorial, the power to enforce is strictly territorial. This implies that any state cannot take its criminal justice system (CJS) to another state since this might be considered intrusion. In case a state would wish to prosecute its citizen abroad, it has to issue an arrest warrant to the foreign state and urge the same state to assist in arresting the culprit. It is therefore evident that the power to prescribe and the power to enforce are not compatible at all (O’Keefe 2004, p. 740). Jurisdiction to prescribe and the power to enforce are rationally self-sufficient. However, the two forms of jurisdictions are intertwined. The state has the authority to make laws as long as they benefit the public. The same laws are not applied universally since environments are different. Laws apply well where they originate since the procedure employed in making them is logical. For prescriptive authority, utilization of force to implement an opinion is more realistic inside state boundaries than outside. When it takes place outside state boundaries, the possibility of inter-state disagreement is inevitable. A state in the international system may decide to punish its citizen or a resident of another state in case its interest is in danger (Simma Paulus 1999, p. 21) This brings about hostilities among states, which may cause wars. International law allows a state to issue an arrest warrant even when the suspect is not available in the state, what is referred to as arrest in absentia. The best example is the mutatis mutandis case that applies to individuals based on citizenship, flaccid personality and service in the military. States have rights to prescri be laws according to the internationally established standards (Lawson Bertucci 1996, p. 69) Through this, the rule of law is guaranteed in the international system. The implementation of prescriptive authority based on a jurisdictional nexus instituted after execution of the offence is a type of ex post facto criminalization.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Prescriptive Jurisdiction and Enforcement Jurisdiction in International Law specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is disgusting because a substantive public criminal proscription and its subsequent castigation are applied to the offender only after execution of the impugned behavior. It is not a matter of following a proficient public process (O’Keefe 2004, p. 743). Enforcement jurisdiction pertains directly to the use of coercive authority. Between the two forms of jurisdiction, Enforcement type is the narrowest. This implies that it survives only w hen the criterion for prescriptive authority exist (Domingo 2003, p. 54). Enforcement Jurisdiction is applicable only with respect to people, belongings, or behaviors. The connection between the two forms of laws is comprehensible. A state cannot implement enforcement jurisdiction unless it subscribes to prescriptive jurisdiction (Brownlie 2008, p. 38). A good example that elucidates this connection is the Canadian Criminal code, which states that the state can exercise authority over any individual within Canada. An individual can be impeached whether in a foreign state or in his own country as long as he/she committed an offence. Judges Higgins and Kooijmans categorize this type of jurisdiction accurately. Prosecuting an individual present in the state is termed as ‘in personam’. Prosecution of an individual who sought refuge to another state is termed as ‘in absentia’ (O’Keefe 2004, p. 755). The decision to implement international law uniformly is meant to bring peace and tranquility in the global society. List of References Amerasinghe, C 1994, The Law of the International Civil Service, 2nd edn, Vol. 1, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Brownlie, P 2008, Principles of Public International Law, 7th edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dixon, M 2007, Textbook on International Law, 6th edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Domingo, OR 2003, The New Global Law, Cambridge University Press, New York. Dupuy, MP Kerbrat, Y 2010, Droit international public, 10th edn, Dalloz, Paris. Lawson, E Bertucci, ML 1996, Encyclopedia of human rights, 2nd edn, Taylor Francis, New York. O’Keefe, R 2004, â€Å"Universal Jurisdiction, clarifying the basic concept†, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol. 2, no. 3. Shaw, MN 2003, International Law, 5th edn, Cambridge University Press, Oxford. Simma, B Paulus LA 1999, â€Å"Symposium on method in International Law: The Responsibility of Individuals for Human Rights Abuses in Internal Conflicts: A Positivist View†, American Journal of International Law, Vol. 93, no. 302. Sweeney, B 2007, â€Å"Combating Foreign Anti-competitive Conduct: What Role for Extra-territorialism?† Melbourne Journal of International Law, Vol. 8, no. 35. This essay on Prescriptive Jurisdiction and Enforcement Jurisdiction in International Law was written and submitted by user Lauren D. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Strategic Competitiveness Example

Strategic Competitiveness Example Strategic Competitiveness – Case Study Example E-Activities E-activities are so helpful in learning. They enable the to easily and fast create flash activitiesfrom a library of customable templates. Many teachers and lectures mostly engage their students in e- activities since they tend to make their work easier (Watkins, Pg. 100). In this work, I am going to discuss the first e-activity we had. From our first e-activity, the Cox Cable Company is found to be the most completive. Its two primary drivers are; ability to bundle core service offer discounts and faster internet speeds, better picture quality through Verizon. The first primary driver is the most influential. Apart from high quality services, many customers are normally happy when they are offered some discounts since human beings are rational, and they always want to minimize the cost. The company’s ability to bundle core service and offer discounts is, therefore, what influences many clients and, as a result, make the company be the most competitive in the mark et (Watkins, Pg. 101). In determining strategic actions, the input-output model (I/O model) only concentrates on gathering the most important resources to execute the strategy dictated by the circumstances and limitations in the outside environment (Watkins, Pg. 101). On the other hand, the resource-based model concentrates more on the internal environment of a firm than the external environment. The model looks at the internal environment on bases of its resources and abilities. It is, therefore, the most effective in determining strategic actions than the input-output model which only focuses on the internal environment (Watkins, Pg. 102). Out of the above two models, the resource-based model is, therefore, the best model that can enable the Cox cable company earn average returns. Companies, therefore, should be advised to use this model in determining their strategic actions so as to earn above average returns.Work citedWatkins, By Ryan, â€Å"Developing interactive e-learning activities.† Performance improvement, 44.5, (2005): 5-7, print

Strategic Competitiveness Example

Strategic Competitiveness Example Strategic Competitiveness – Case Study Example E-Activities E-activities are so helpful in learning. They enable the to easily and fast create flash activitiesfrom a library of customable templates. Many teachers and lectures mostly engage their students in e- activities since they tend to make their work easier (Watkins, Pg. 100). In this work, I am going to discuss the first e-activity we had. From our first e-activity, the Cox Cable Company is found to be the most completive. Its two primary drivers are; ability to bundle core service offer discounts and faster internet speeds, better picture quality through Verizon. The first primary driver is the most influential. Apart from high quality services, many customers are normally happy when they are offered some discounts since human beings are rational, and they always want to minimize the cost. The company’s ability to bundle core service and offer discounts is, therefore, what influences many clients and, as a result, make the company be the most competitive in the mark et (Watkins, Pg. 101). In determining strategic actions, the input-output model (I/O model) only concentrates on gathering the most important resources to execute the strategy dictated by the circumstances and limitations in the outside environment (Watkins, Pg. 101). On the other hand, the resource-based model concentrates more on the internal environment of a firm than the external environment. The model looks at the internal environment on bases of its resources and abilities. It is, therefore, the most effective in determining strategic actions than the input-output model which only focuses on the internal environment (Watkins, Pg. 102). Out of the above two models, the resource-based model is, therefore, the best model that can enable the Cox cable company earn average returns. Companies, therefore, should be advised to use this model in determining their strategic actions so as to earn above average returns.Work citedWatkins, By Ryan, â€Å"Developing interactive e-learning activities.† Performance improvement, 44.5, (2005): 5-7, print

A Study Survey on Home Building Industry

The housing boom kept this country afloat during the darkest moments after September 11, 2001 when other industries like travel, hospitality, entertainment, energy and telecommunications seemed uncertain. One can argue that such a relationship is cyclical; what comes around goes around in the manner of economic trends such as recession and depression but this is not the case with this correlation. People will always need housing. Below are strategies housing providers can implement to continue stimulating growth. Bennett Hecht writes that economic strategies for housing begins on the local level. He writes, â€Å"Housing development is a site-specific, self-sufficiency strategy designed to help developers create jobs and other income-generating opportunities for residents of their properties† (p. 1). This economic development strategy is founded on four objectives: (1)Decrease Cash Outflows from Housing Developments. Whenever possible, developers should purchase goods and services from sources within their housing developments, instead of â€Å"importing† them from other communities. This promotes local growth and activity. (2)Better Use of Space. Housing developers should use available space to sponsor the delivery of much needed services or facilities, such as child care, GED classes, or a convenience store. (3)Increase Cash Inflows. Nonprofit developers should also use available space to increase income to the property and residents by leasing space to paying commercial tenants, by entering into profit-sharing ventures with commercial tenants, or by providing services and products to outsiders. (4)Build Contracting Capacity. The ability to increase cash inflows is directly related to the ability of businesses to compete for work outside of the housing developments. By controlling the awarding of contracts, the developer can â€Å"incubate businesses† by awarding work to residents over a period of time until they can develop the work and contract management experience to, among other things, secure bonding necessary to compete for larger contracts. The beauty of these objectives is that they can be implemented at both the urban and suburban levels. In this respect all parties benefit from the strategy during a time when many housing companies are not planning for the future but riding out the wave of present economic growth. A Study Survey on Home Building Industry The housing boom kept this country afloat during the darkest moments after September 11, 2001 when other industries like travel, hospitality, entertainment, energy and telecommunications seemed uncertain. One can argue that such a relationship is cyclical; what comes around goes around in the manner of economic trends such as recession and depression but this is not the case with this correlation. People will always need housing. Below are strategies housing providers can implement to continue stimulating growth. Bennett Hecht writes that economic strategies for housing begins on the local level. He writes, â€Å"Housing development is a site-specific, self-sufficiency strategy designed to help developers create jobs and other income-generating opportunities for residents of their properties† (p. 1). This economic development strategy is founded on four objectives: (1)Decrease Cash Outflows from Housing Developments. Whenever possible, developers should purchase goods and services from sources within their housing developments, instead of â€Å"importing† them from other communities. This promotes local growth and activity. (2)Better Use of Space. Housing developers should use available space to sponsor the delivery of much needed services or facilities, such as child care, GED classes, or a convenience store. (3)Increase Cash Inflows. Nonprofit developers should also use available space to increase income to the property and residents by leasing space to paying commercial tenants, by entering into profit-sharing ventures with commercial tenants, or by providing services and products to outsiders. (4)Build Contracting Capacity. The ability to increase cash inflows is directly related to the ability of businesses to compete for work outside of the housing developments. By controlling the awarding of contracts, the developer can â€Å"incubate businesses† by awarding work to residents over a period of time until they can develop the work and contract management experience to, among other things, secure bonding necessary to compete for larger contracts. The beauty of these objectives is that they can be implemented at both the urban and suburban levels. In this respect all parties benefit from the strategy during a time when many housing companies are not planning for the future but riding out the wave of present economic growth.

Computer Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Computer Security - Essay Example Frequently, programs bundle spyware with freeware or shareware, though it can also arrive via email, instant messages or web downloads. On the other hand data breaches occur when personal consumer information is lost or stolen, and can result in the loss of hundreds or millions of records. This information can then be used to commit crimes, including fraudulent unemployment claims (Goodin, 2008), fraudulent tax returns (McMillan, 2008), fraudulent loans (Hogan 2008), home equity fraud (Krebs, 2008), and payment card fraud. Consumers can also suffer the burden of increased loan interest rates, being denied utility services, civil suits or criminal investigation (Baum, 2004). While the consumer costs incurred from credit card fraud may be negligible, out of pocket expenses can reach thousands of dollars. It is results of all these effects of spam that there had to be changes in infrastructure made. The anti-spyware legislation is currently under consideration in 27 U.S States as well a s in the U.S. Congress is one of these changes. It aims to prohibit spyware from delivering advertisements to a computer under certain circumstances..

Information for Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Information for Decision Making - Essay Example The research methodology used in the paper is both qualitative and quantitative. Sampling has played an important role in data collection process. The sampling was supported through questionnaire. Data analysis provides the results based on findings. Cost and time table further emphasises on the need of budget and time for the research. Conclusion and recommendation gives an overview of the limitations and important of technology in an organisation. Table of Content Introduction 5 Background 6 Problem Definition 6 Research Objective 7 Research Design 8 Sampling 9 Data Collection 9 Questionnaire 10 Data Processing and Analysis 11 Reporting 12 Cost and Timetable Activities 12 Conclusion & Recommendation 13 Reference 15 Bibliography 18 Introduction Marketing research can be defined as the process of analysing, collecting and devising the required information. Marketing research is an important procedure for any company wanting to market its product in a new territory (Burns & Bush, 2007 , p.7). Marketing research methodology involves the explanation of the problem and the process to find the desired solution. The cause of problem and the research methodology plan are directly proportional to each other. Marketing research is an important component to collect the desired market information. Marketing research helps in identifying the problems and opportunities by linking the consumer and the marketer. It further evaluates and enhances the understanding of the marketing process and helps in finding the methods to make certain activities of marketing more presentable and effective (Schmidt & Hollensen, 2007, p. 19). Marketing research helps an organisation to modify the marketing-mix and also supports the activities which lead to the customer satisfaction. It is an important tool to make sure that both demand and supply are being taken care of by an organisation. In a broader sense it helps to develop a good equation between the customers and the suppliers (Bradley, 2 007, p. 4). Background The Royal Mint is the worlds oldest and the leading mint exporter. Founded over 1,000 years ago the Royal Mint has achieved the status of national treasure (Royal Mint, 2012). It is not only known for its art of coin making but high quality and craftsmanship makes it a worldwide leader. The Royal Mint is not subjugated to coin making only but is associated with craftsmanship of medals as well. UK might be the home to the company but it has its presence in more than 50 countries. The company which makes coins for UK has been roped in to make commemorative medals for the Olympics 2012 to be held in London. Over 1000 years of history and maintenance of the high quality artistry has made the company most sought after by different countries around the world. Technology has further improved the company’s structure and functionality. Technology has helped the company to keep a database of the customers and also build customer relationship through CRM system. P roblem Definition The problem definition is related to identifying the broad topic associated with research. The broad topic in relation to the research can be the problem faced by the Royal Mint in achieving the target of making medals for the Olympics 2012 along with meeting the deadline. The broad topic is further divided into narrow topic. The narrow topic is more related to the problems which can have an impact on the broad topic of the

Politics And History Of Japan Essay Example for Free

Politics And History Of Japan Essay Nazi rule in Germany was unleashed after the Reichstag Fire in Berlin and almost 3 years after this, the February 26 incident helped to introduce militaristic rule in Japan. The February 26 incident awakened the sleeping giant that was Japan and triggered off major world conflicts. The February 26 Incident On February 26, 1936 a breakaway faction of the Imperial Japanese Army composed of young junior officers and swearing allegiance to the Kodo ha faction within the Army, slipped into the middle of Tokyo and captured key government buildings including the one which housed the Diet or Japanese parliament and Army headquarters. Groups raided the residences of the Prime Minister and senior officials in an attempt to assassinate them.   Prime Minister Okada Keisuke had a narrow escape when the rebels killed his brother in law instead. Others, among them the Finance Minister, were murdered. Subsequently that day, the rebel faction went to the Army Minister to make their demands. They declared the government unfit to lead the affairs of Japan not able to do enough for it as a military power, instead more involved with politics and their self- interest. The action, the group declared was taken in the name of the Emperor. They demanded an immediate dissolution of the Government and the installation of a military General sympathetic to their cause. However, this infuriated Emperor Hirohito who was appalled at the killing of senior colleagues. He summoned Aide de Camp General Shigeru Honjo and declared the faction members as rebels who were acting without the authority of the Imperial Army. The Emperor wanted the rebellion to be squashed. But Army retaliation was not forthcoming as senior officers were still in agreement with the agenda of the rebels. However   the ‘Toseiha’ faction in the Army which was against the doctrines of the Kodo Ha, volunteered full support to the Emperor and even the Imperial Japanese Navy sprung into action, moving its ships into the Tokyo Bay to cut off the rebels. When Emperor Hirohito was informed about the reluctance of the Army to take decisive action, he vowed to personally lead his ‘Imperial Guard ‘into the fray. The following day, martial law was declared and the rebels were boxed in and pamphlets of the Emperor’s declaration were circulated indicating that there was no support from any of the forces for their attack. General Honjo, once a believer of Kodo Ha doctrines was on the Emperor’s side. The offensive lasted till February 29 when the army moved in to capture the rebels and senior members of the faction were ordered to commit ‘seppuku’ or ritual suicide rather than lose their honor in a public trial. Other junior officers were spared. Altogether, 70 coup members were arrested and prosecuted for the crime.[1] Subsequent Events   Ã‚   The four day siege resulted in martial law being stretched to July. The army, sensing an opportunity, used the power provided by martial law to expand its powers and budget. Prime Minister Okada was replaced by Koki Hirota. This effectively ushered in totalitarian rule in Japan which was to set the stage for the Second Sino – Japanese War.[2] Historical Background of Militarism In Japanese history, the role of the military, or to be more precise, militarism has had an overwhelming role in shaping Japan’s world view. Militarism stands for a nation’s strength and should play a dominating role in political as well as social life. The influence of militarism goes back to the days of the Meiji Restoration, known in Japan as the Meiji Ishin or Revolution. This period stretched back to the days of the Tokugawa Shogunate and caused far reaching social changes in Japan of the late 19th century. This was a direct reaction to the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry’s fleet of American ships on Japanese shores. Commodore Perry forced a treaty – ending 200 years of Japanese insulation in matters of business – enabling trade between Japan and the United States. The Restoration came into being with the Satsuma Choshu Treaty which ultimately led to swearing of complete allegiance of the ruling Shoguns of that time to the Emperor. This was a creed forbidding all defiance to the Emperor (as Japanese history of that period depicts). Most Japanese leaders of that period were of Samurai descent and swore by the codes of the ancient Samurais – loyalty and allegiance to the ruler, dignity and honesty. The Japanese perception of events of that time was that the country’s sovereignty was threatened by outside forces. This justified building up a strong economic and military base to counter such a threat. This tradition continued till the 1800’s when mass conscription to the army and navy was considered an indication of unquestioning loyalty to the Emperor. Part of the reason for the widespread intrusion of militarism through to 1878 was the complete detachment of the forces from civilian society. The Staff commands established by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were responsible for formulating all defense strategy and were directly under the command of the Emperor. The Staff Chiefs were therefore under no obligation to the Prime Minister or any form of civilian law, During the Taisho period there was a return to democratic governance when the Washington Naval Treaty was signed and Japan participated in the League of Nations only to crumple with the onset of the Great Economic depression in 1929 when the world economy collapsed and caused trade barriers to be imposed by western nations. This was also coupled with domestic problems at home where several radical groups surfaced and there was even an attempt on the Emperor’s life, in 1932. These distressing events gave rise to patriotic feelings (maybe misplaced) in Japan. Such jingoism saw the military as the only solution to Japan‘s seemingly unending series of crises. The romantic notion that it was time for an Asian resurrection under Japanese rule took root. With the signing of the London Naval Treaty in 1930 by Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi and his party, the Navy was severely curbed in influence. This was seen by both the opposition and the military as endangering the country’s security. This whipped up jingoistic sentiment to the extent that Hamaguchi was killed in 1930 and the brief interlude with democratic rule came to an abrupt end. Subsequently, patriotic fervor in Japan gave the military free rein in Asia.[3] This was responsible for Japan’s involvement in several Asian conflicts: the Boxer Rebellion, World War 1, the Russo – Japanese War. The infamous Manchurian Incident of 1931 led to Japanese forces’ take-.over of all Manchuria – to protect Japan’s interests, chiefly Manchurian oil fields. The idea of military expansionism drove Japan into successive conflicts with China. In fact, there even was an attempted coup in Tokyo labeled the ‘Imperial Colors Incident’ which failed but was not made public knowledge. Ultimately, however, the swaggering domination of Japanese militarism failed to establish a dictatorship. The first nails into its coffin were driven by the government of Konoe Fumimaro, when, following wartime priorities his government, through the National Mobilization Law, brought all of Japan’s assets under its purview.   Also, in 1940, the formation of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association led to a single party political rule much discrediting the military.   On February 26, 1936, the rebel officers would hardly have been to foresee all this when they tried to take over Tokyo’s streets and were unleashing a murderous campaign. Until recent times, much romantic lore still surrounded military campaigns which allude to the glory of Japan’s military and Samurai like allegiance to the Emperor. The Emperor still remains a symbol of sovereignty in Japan and is much revered, being treated like a Head of State but is no longer the supreme authority over all Japan’s matters specially armed conflicts. Yukio Mishima spoke about the glory of Japan and the Emperor just before committing suicide inside a military barracks in 1970 and he was a well known literary figure in Japan   who wrote a novella on the February 1936 Incident–   proving that modern Japanese society still retains vestiges of its old fascination for matters martial. The members of the group that was behind the failed coup in 1936 are even being seen by some academics as. These were misguided bunch of young radicals who were only acting for Japan and God. They were not as ruthless as members of Hitler’s army were during the days of the Putsch.[4] February 26, 1936 – It’s Implications Under Koki Hirota’s rule m Japan and China engaged in the biggest war Asia right through 1945 from 1937 onward. The trend of militarism and military aspirations made stronger by the February Incident increased Japanese military aggression in Asian territory mainly to buttress its economic interests. The Second Sino – Japanese War was directly the result of Japanese policy toward China aimed at exploiting its natural reserves like oil.   Equally aggressive was the Chinese stance founded upon a new found realization of the unity of the Chinese people and their right to their own territory. A series of comparatively smaller sized conflicts led to a full scale conflagration. In 1937   The invasion of Manchuria – described above and particularly, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937 led to the war. Lugou Bridge in China is also known as the Marco Polo Bridge because Marco polo is supposed to have referred to this bridge while on his travels. It was controlled on its west end by the Japanese army and on the East by the Chinese Kuomintang Army. The bridge was a lifeline to Beijing to all areas under the Chinese army’s command – if this bridge fell – Beijing would too.[5] On June 1937, Japanese forces sent a message to the Kuomintang on the western end of the bridge about a missing soldier who might have gone over. They asked to be allowed to carry out a search on the opposite end. The Chinese refused the request acting under orders from their command chain. The Japanese countered this with a threat to open artillery fire if they were not allowed through. The prolonged aftermath saw led to the Japanese finally crushing the Kuomintang resistance and driving on toward Beijing and taking it over following which Japan had assumed control over the North China Plain, a strategically important region. The North China Plain has Beijing to its North East edge and Tianjin , an important industrial center on its North coast, What the Japanese actually did was to set up a ‘puppet’ state called Manchuoko , in Manchuria, installing the last Chinese Emperor   as a figurative head. This region actually prospered and its steel production exceeded Japan’s. Japan even gave up its membership of the League of Nations in 1933 after international protests over the incident but continued with its aggression in Chinese territory. Following the Marco Polo bridge incident, China and Japan engaged in full scale conflict from 1937 till 1945. On December, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a full scale attack on the American Fleet docked at Pearl Harbor.   The compulsion of Japanese militarism post the February 1936 Incident and its acquisitive instincts in Asia made Japan very sensitive to the presence of others in the region. Its attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a preventive strategy aimed at halting what its military leaders saw as a build up of American interests in the region. Preventive conflicts have always risen because one or the other side believes that an offensive will result in preventing some projected or future incident. In Japan’s case it was its apprehension that American presence in the region was building up and would result in counter aggression for control over its territories in Asia and the Pacific. Pearl Harbor was the base for the American Naval Fleet and was attacked by almost 6 carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.   Waves of air attacks were also launched from the Navy vessels and over 300 aircraft flew over Pearl Harbor and destroyed the standing American fleet of ships. By this attack, America was forced to abandon its position of neutrality and enter into World War 2. For long America   was also building up its armed presence in Indo – China as we; as the East Indies as part of a series of counterbalancing moves aimed at keeping a check on Japanese movement in the region which was aggressively aimed at securing Asia and therefore its supreme position as its leader. Japan. Specifically, the objective of the Pearl Harbor attack was to secure Japanese advances into the East Indies islands and Malaya, both rich sources of oil and rubber. President Roosevelt was conscious of this when he ordered his fleet be strategically stationed in the Philippines region. According to Japanese assumption – a complete halt to American activity in the Pacific region – turned out to be completely wrong and it eventually had to surrender to American troops in 1945 bringing an end to World War II.[6] The Axis Pact In September 1940, Japan entered into a pact also known as the Tripartite Pact, with Fascist Italy and Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany which was the official declaration of the Axis Powers against the Allied powers. At the height of their power all 3 members commanded huge territories in Europe and Indo-China. Japan was under Emperor Hirohito and its main objective of signing the Pact was to protect its protect its military and economic bases in the pacific region. When Europe was engaged in its conflict with Germany, Japan insidiously moved into European colonies around the Pacific. America was the only nation to alert to Japanese intentions in this part of the world and countered Japan. Japanese believed that a war with the West was inevitable given its cultural differences but, given its unbridled militarism, Japan’s intentions were also materialistic. However, a certain section of the military leadership believed the conflict was to be aimed at hemming in Soviet Russia. But relations with the USA were also strained with American sponsored embargos on Japan m partly in response to its offensives against China. Japan saw US action against it as an act of western Imperialism and proceeded to band with Germany and Italy through the Tripartite Pact. Japan rushed headlong into its military inspired acquisitions also honed by the oil embargo imposed by the USA, which made it dependent on the resources of other countries. Many in Japan believed the conflict with the Americans could be resolved through negotiations but military leaders insisted on stepping up military offensive in Asia. When Germany was carrying out its Blitzkrieg in Europe m Japan was doing the same in Asia having control over large parts of Asia including Taiwan and Manchuria. But uncontrolled military offensives inevitably end and so did Japan’s end in the Battle of Midway when its fleet was destroyed by American ships.[7] The atom bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki preceded by the declaration of war by the Soviet Union broke Japan’s military might forcing it to surrender to America in 1945.   The international War Crimes Tribunal sentenced Japanese military leaders to death. Japan’s militarism blinded it to the might of America’s military might and made it underestimate Chinese resistance. Its territories were taken under American control.   The Japanese also miscalculated the output of the war machinery in America which h outrivaled that of Japan’s. Truly Japan’s military leaders had become complacent and could not realize that they were going through a death wish which was to almost obliterate Japan (the atom bombings) from the face of the Earth.[8] In conclusion it should be stated that one good outcome was Japan’s access to American industrial technology and Japan’s subsequent rise to the world’s major industrial leader. Today, largely because of this Japan is also a technology leader and makes business conquests in place of military ones through its electronics goods ad cars. Japan wages its own internal battles with rising economics problems and unemployment and job cutbacks but the collective Japanese psyche has grown wise to blind nationalism and tries to blend with the world. It now enjoys a stable democracy and single party rule with its armed forces under the command of the prime Minister, Japan has no need for war and a Pacifist constitution has m in fact been built into the Constitution which forces it to renounce aggression and armed conflict .this was bequeathed to it by America after the .defeat of 1945. Japan is well on its way to new millennium bidding goodbye to its aggression and the February Incident will always remain a blot on its history and its pacifist character. Bibliography: Goddard, J; Nation Management: Making the Most Out of It (Christchurch: Howard Price. 2006) pp 433-5 Gervers, V; Japan at War (Melbourne: HBT Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2000) pp 167 Knott, P; Analysis of US Wars (Dhaka: Dasgupta Chatterjee 2005) pp 188-9 Kumar, H; Justice of Winners: Win Some, Lose None (Auckland: HBT Brooks Ltd. 2005) pp 334 Manning, C S; Principals and Practices of War Industry: Trade of Death (Christchurch: National Book Trust. 2004) pp 279 Powell, M; Anatomy of Modern Crusades: Independence to WWII (Wellington: ABP Ltd 2001) pp 49-53 Prawer, H A; Kingdom of Japan (Dunedin: Allied Publishers 2004) pp 221-5 Tyerman, J; Invention of the Japanese Great War (Dunedin: Allied Publications 2001) pp 233-37 [1] Tyerman, J; Invention of the Japanese Great War (Dunedin: Allied Publications 2001) pp 233-37 [2] Prawer, H A; Kingdom of Japan (Dunedin: Allied Publishers 2004) pp 221-5 [3] Goddard, J; Nation Management: Making the Most Out of It (Christchurch: Howard Price. 2006) pp 433-5 [4] Gervers, V; Japan at War (Melbourne: HBT Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2000) pp 167 [5] Manning, C S; Principals and Practices of War Industry: Trade of Death (Christchurch: National Book Trust. 2004) pp 279 [6] Powell, M; Anatomy of Modern Crusades: Independence to WWII (Wellington: ABP Ltd 2001) pp 49-53 [7] Knott, P; Analysis of US Wars (Dhaka: Dasgupta Chatterjee 2005) pp 188-9 [8] Kumar, H; Justice of Winners: Win Some, Lose None (Auckland: HBT Brooks Ltd. 2005) pp 334

Cyranos Inevitable Destiny Essays -- essays research papers

Cyrano's Inevitable Destiny Who should take the blame for this tragedy? In Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano is portrayed as a valiant hero who exhibits humorous intelligence as well as great generosity. However, if we examine the play more carefully, we would find that Cyrano is personally responsible for his downfall; his constant aspiration for perfection and excessive deception eventually leads to his death. Such ornery behavior is exhibited when he adamantly insists on being himself, when he feigns the love letters for Christian, and when he hesitates to tell the truth and confess his love to Roxane. These acts ultimately aid in his defeat, leading us to conclude Cyrano is the only one to blame for his own destruction. Throughout the play, Cyrano exhibits his obstinate and presumptuous personality. He adamantly believes that his way is the only way and he defies any opposing force that comes against him. He refuses to listen to any sound advice from his friends. The most obvious example is when he refuses De Guiche's offer to be his patron. Instead of accepting the advice from his best friend, Le Bret, he has a rousing â€Å"No Thank You† tirade in front of the Cadets where he openly refuses to be under De Guiche’s patronage, proclaiming that living under another man's honor is beneath him. â€Å"Seek for the patronage of some great man, And like a creeping vine on a tall tree Crawl upward, where I cannot stand alone? No thank you!† (Cyrano, p.75) However, Cyrano should have realized that with De Guiche’s support he would have a higher status and a more stable economic source. The reason why Cyrano's ingenuity is never publicly recognized is because his poems are never published. Not only does he not have funds to pay for their publication, but his poems are often spontaneous and thus recapturable in their context without the situation to which it applied. A number of his poems are also on the objectionable because of the merciless way he regards others. If he would seize this brilliant opportunity, he would have made more friends and fewer enemies, and he would not have died so young. It was his impudent satire that infuriated his enemies to the point of conspiring his "accidental" death. This somewhat rash action reflects on Act I when he threw a bag of gold to th... ...rano thinks that Roxane doesn’t have to know the truth since it doesn’t mean anything anymore. It is ironic in Roxane’s discovery that it is Cyrano who has waited his whole life to tell her he loves her. It is hard to understand why Cyrano has waited so long to unfold the truth. If he had confessed his love to Roxane earlier, Roxane would definitely appreciate it and the couple then would have lived happily together. Instead, Cyrano’s ornery behavior has caused Roxane to love only once, but to lose that love twice. This is not fate nor coincidence. In complete control of his life, Cyrano is arrogant, deceptive, and hesitant in his actions; this ultimately leads to the great tragedy. As a result, we conclude that Cyrano has technically jeopardized himself. If Cyrano had not been so stubborn when he refused to be under De Guiche’s patronage, had not been so generous to feign the love letters for Christian, and had he not been so hesitatant when he deciding to confess his love to Roxane, the tragedy could become a romantic love story with a sweet ending. Again, Cyrano must hold all the responsibility for his actions and he must recognize that only he is to blame for this tragedy.

American Minorities and Sports Essay

Sports have always had an enormous impact on American society and culture. People use sports at all levels, whether it’s youth, high school, college or professional, to help build an identity, connect with others and grow as individuals. Even though American is a diverse country made up of different races, nationalities and ethnicities, discrimination has been in issue throughout America’s history. Sports took on an even greater meaning for some minorities during the 20th Century, especially Europeans and blacks. They used sports as a means of vertical mobility in order to advance themselves socially in America. The idea of social mobility was one concept that originally drew many immigrants to the country. Between 1880 and 1915, around 26 million immigrants moved to the United States, and about half came from several areas of Europe (Moore, 2011a). America offered the chance for people to better themselves and someone from any background could become successful and rise above their parents. During this time, Americans were already viewing sports as an important and democratic part of life, because it judged people on their talent and skill alone (Reiss, 1980). Competition was an opportunity to prove and show off your â€Å"manliness† and power. Sports were also seen as a way to gain vertical mobility, and for Europeans, it was a way to become more accepted into the American culture. Although they received more respect than blacks, they mostly were not considered truly â€Å"American† (Moore, 2011a). Boxing was a popular sport among young immigrants. Boxing was a sport that proved â€Å"manliness† and toughness, and turning professional meant chances to earn prize money. Most immigrants from Europe lived on the East Coast in cities that quickly became crowded and poor, and fighting was a functional skill to learn while living in the ghetto neighborhoods (Reiss, 1980). Boxing became a social ladder for ethnic groups since one group seemed to dominate until another group became better. Whoever were better boxers at the time were viewed as the tougher race. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s the Irish held most of the Heavyweight Championship titles, with boxers like John L. Sullivan, Jack Kilrain and Gene Tunney (Sowell, 1983). In the 1920’s and 30’s Jews began to have success in the ring, with 1913 being the only year in since the start of the century that there was no Jewish champion. In the two decade span they held 18 titles (Moore, 2011a). These champions were important to the Jewish in proving their worth to the country and countering the discrimination that the Nazis in Germany were trying to spread. Boxing for European ethnic minorities served as a way to prove their race’s toughness, and prizefighting was a way to leave the poor ghettos and make a decent life for themselves. Italians were slower than other groups in their involvement with sports. Between 1899 and 1924 about 4 million immigrated to the United States and settled in the crowded East Coast cities (Reiss, 1980). The Progressive movement was gaining popularity at the time, but because of their past in Italy, many Italians mistrusted governments telling them what to do and what their children should do (Moore, 2011a). However, 2nd generation Italian-American children were given opportunities to play sports through the creation of the Public School Athletic League. In 1905 historian Camillo Cianfarra tracked the Italian youth development in sports and observed: â€Å"In our public elementary school competitions, our children are not inferior to the children of other nationalities, in the lists of gymnastic [track and field] winners the Italian names appear quite frequently as they appear in the rosters of teams involved in inter-high school competition† (Reiss, 1980). Baseball soon became a popular sport with the Italians, and they became very successful with the sport. By the time of the Depression, Italians were becoming a majority in the Major Leagues (Moore, 2011a). Italians success in baseball gave them social mobility, but they were also still discriminated against. Some of the best players in the league in the 1930’s were Joe DiMaggio, Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti and Ernie Lombardi (Baldassaro, 2005). Joe DiMaggio helped Italians gain more exposure and respect when he became the best player in the league and an American celebrity (Moore, 2011a). Blacks in the United States had similar involvement as the Europeans with ports and social mobility, although they faced much more discrimination and rejection than the other minorities. Blacks used sports as a main way to try and prove their equality to the rest of the country. They viewed successful black athletes as heroes and passionately supported them, and used them as a more subtle channel to showcase their fight against the discrimination and hate that they faced daily. Boxing featured several black champions and was a popular sport, just like it was with the European minorities. One of the earliest black champions was Peter Jackson, an Australian who won the Heavyweight Championship over there in 1886. He traveled to America in 1988 to fight John L. Sullivan, who held the Heavyweight Title, but Sullivan refused to fight him because he was black. Besides that setback, he was considered one of the best boxers of the time, and blacks loved him because he was a respectable man and proved black equality with his victories. Frederick Douglass at the time said, â€Å"Peter is doing a great deal with his fist to solve the Negro question† (Moore, 2011b). He was also respected within the white community because he never bragged or belittled an opponent (Moore, 2011b). People around the country of any race looked up to him as a role model. Although Peter Jackson helped gain some respect for blacks in white America, it wasn’t until Joe Louis that Americans found a black athlete that was embraced as an American hero. Louis was born in Alabama in 1914 as the son a sharecropper and great grandson of a slave. His family moved to Detroit in 1924 where he soon took up boxing. After ten years of hard work he won the Golden Gloves as a light heavyweight and his career took off from there. One of his biggest victories was against former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in front of a crowd of 62,000 at Yankee Stadium (Official Site, n. d. ). Louis’s symbol as an American hero though didn’t fully happen until he avenged his loss against German champion Max Schmeling with a first-round knockout in 1938, during the time of the Nazi’s dominance in Europe. It was this victory that caused the American people to see him not as just another black fighter, but as an American hero. It helped to counter the impression of successful black athletes that Jack Johnson, the previous black heavyweight champion, had left, and in a way almost transcended his race (Schwartz, n. d. ). â€Å"What my father did was enable white America to think of him as an American, not as a black,† said his son, Joe Louis Jr. â€Å"By winning, he became America’s first black hero† (Schwartz, n. d. ). In the 1960’s, black athletes used the world’s biggest sporting stage to fight racism and show their protest against the discrimination that they were still facing. In October 1967 the Olympic Project for Human Rights was established by sociologist Harry Edwards and others, mainly athletes. The goal of the organization was to protest segregation and racism in sport and society. A boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics was suggested but never happened, yet several members still used the Games as an opportunity for the organization. Many on the US Track and Field team wore black socks as support of the black community, or badges of the OPHR (Henderson, n. d. ). The most famous act of protest however was from sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished 1st and 3rd in the 200m final. On the medal podium, they each raised a fist while wearing a black glove. The act led to the International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage, suspending them from the rest of the competition and forcing them to leave (Moore, 1991). Although the protest had negative consequences for the sprinters, it was another key moment in sports that showed how the black community rallied around its athletes and used sports as a way to come together and fight for civil rights. Sports and competition were important in minorities efforts to advance in 20th century America through vertical mobility, although the reasons were different for each race. Europeans struggled with adjusting to a new country and culture, and sports helped serve as a way to assimilate more with the American culture and be accepted. Because of the large numbers of immigrants in the late 1800‘s and early 1900‘s, most lived in poor, crowded urban areas. Being successful in sports meant a chance to become professional, leave behind poverty, and make a life for yourself. It was essentially the â€Å"American Dream. † Sports had a slightly different meaning for black Americans. The United States was still a country of discrimination and oppression, and black society used their successful athletes to empower and unite them. Through heroes like Joe Louis, they fought against the discrimination and tried to prove their equality to whites. Both minorities in the 20th century viewed sports as a key tool in their struggle for acceptance in American society.

Animal Farm Extended Response Essay

Do you think Animal Farm’s message would come across effectively to someone who knows nothing about soviet history or the conflict between Stalin and Trotsky? What might such a reader make of this story? George Orwell’s novella ‘The Animal Farm’ is directed at Russia during the Stalin era. The novella’s characters reflect on actual people during the Stalin era. The novella tells of what happened during Stalin’s reign including the controversy with Trotsky. Many of Stalin’s traits were shown through Napoleon as he made his decisions on the farm but whether or not the reader could connect it to Stalin is another matter. For an individual to read this book and fully understand what it is talking about, the reader would definitely need a vast understanding of the era and the personality conflicts. The novella portrays Stalin as a power hungry pig that swindles his way to the top, with the assistance of some associates as well (further pigs). This is exactly what transpired during the soviet era when Stalin took control. For an individual to make that connection they would need to first try link the actions of Napoleon and the similarities should give it away, but for someone who doesn’t identify anything about the era then no, they have nothing to link it to, but it is still possible for the individual to notice the communism occurring throughout the farm and make the connection to the politics side of the aforementioned. Stalin and Trotsky’s controversy is easily depicted through the two main animals, Napoleon and Snowball, but only to those who have the knowledge of their disputes. If someone without this knowledge tried to make sense of it then they wouldn’t understand the soviet side to it but they would still understand the logic in Napoleon being worried about Snowball taking first actions against him and taking him out of the picture. George Orwell’s message in Animal Farm is quite obvious. The reader will get the message but not the social commentary. The novella includes all the historic moments of the Soviet Russian world and lifestyle even if the  reader cant link it to history it still can play a big part in today’s society as it can be applied to many day to day occurrences such as family, work or generally everyday life.

The concept map for teaching spoken English

The concept map for teaching spoken English Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on The concept map for teaching spoken English specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Differences between the two concept maps The first map is a simple representation of what the teacher would involve in teaching spoken English. On the other hand, the second map is a detailed map with explicit contents of all elements of teaching spoken English, implementation, and evaluation. The first map provides an overview of the lesson and its fundamental concepts. After the teacher had reviewed materials for teaching the spoken English to ESL class, he developed the second map based on new knowledge gained. Thus, the second map provides all features that the teacher requires to implement the lesson effectively. The first map only presents various features of the spoken English. The second map gives different details of what the teacher should teach in the spoken English lesson. For instance, sp eaking skills, pronunciation, and listening skills are core aspects of spoken English, which are in the second map. They also extend to highlight specific levels of teaching i.e., word and sound levels.Advertising Looking for coursework on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Under pronunciation, we can see that drilling is the best approach for vowels and consonants as highlighted in the first map. However, the second map breaks it down to aspects like voicing, place, and manner. Moreover, there are other elements of pronunciation, which one can identify, such as communication, sounds, variations in sound production, and other non-fluency features like repetition. It is also important to note that the second map has clearly identified specific roles of the teacher and students. One can also identify different levels of students’ capabilities like beginner or elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels . The second map has introduced detailed elements of teaching. For instance, we have the whole lesson, the distinct phase, and the integrated phase. In the second map, the teacher can also identify assessment details of the spoken English lesson. The second map has included planning details so that the teacher can have a logical way of teaching lesson contents. Therefore, the teacher can implement the lesson effectively without challenges. These features are not in the first map. The second map has unique features, which interlinks the entire lesson and planning processes to all other activities of the lesson. For instance, there is a direct arrow from the whole lesson to lesson planning. Such arrows are also present in stages of lesson planning and the role of the teacher and students. In addition, there are also curves, which show the direction of movement between activities. They show that the lesson is unified whole, and the teacher must follow sequences for effective implementa tion. This shows that knowledge acquisition in the spoken English lesson requires an integrated approach. The first map lacks pictures. In the second map, there are pictures embedded within the lesson. For instance, effective teaching of spoken English requires the teacher and learners to interact.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on The concept map for teaching spoken English specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The picture identifies interaction between the teacher and the learner in the learning processes. In addition, there is also a picture of learners engaged in role-playing (student-student interaction) and playing in order to learner voicing, place, and others. Overall, the second map is a detailed presentation of how a teacher can implement a lesson plan of the spoken English in the ESL class. It shows logical sequences of learning and integration methods of teaching the second language and knowledge acquisiti ons. An approach of teaching English I would use in the future The initial approach would be to let students to understand the importance of spoken English in their lives. It is necessary for students to understand that the need to learn and apply spoken English has increased significantly among people from different parts of the world. Students must understand that such needs arise due to international activities like trade, job opportunities, tourism, further education, and travelling or tourism. Thus, people of different ages and nationalities want to learn spoken English to meet such needs. Learning spoken English will ensure that students can communicate clearly with self-confidence and effectively deliver their messages. They must also understand that English is a global language. At this study level, (our study level is intermediate) the teacher knows that students will not be able to learn English as children do because it is a foreign language. Given the complexity of teach ing spoken English (see the concept maps), it would be important to emphasise the role of practice in order to reduce effects of the first language on English. I will let the student know that they need an extra effort to speak fluent and accurate English. I would also be interested in understanding what factors may hinder or motivate my students to learn spoken English. As a result, my future approach of teaching spoken English would be a comprehensive approach based on needs and motivation of students.Advertising Looking for coursework on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More My students are Saudi Arabia intermediate English students. They have learned English in the previous years. However, I do not expect them to exhibit high-levels of confidence, accuracy, fluency, and vocabulary usages when speaking English. Thus, my approach of teaching spoken English will also motivate learners to overcome their difficulties. My lesson would reflect the importance of teaching skills in listening, pronunciation, and speaking. These are important elements of effective communications. On this note, I would strive to understand general abilities and weaknesses of students in these aspects of spoken English. Herbert asserts that teachers should identify challenges, which students have in order to focus on such challenges when teaching (Herbert, 2002, p. 188-200). I will recognise that teaching pronunciation goes beyond sounds. As a result, I will incorporate word stress, intonation, and stress in sentences as parts of pronunciation for ESL learners. There are also linka ges in words, which my lesson would explain. During my lesson, students would note the role of their mother tongues and their influences on pronunciation of English words. However, an effective practice would ensure that students gain confidence and improve their communication skills (Hewings, 2007, p. 30). It will also be important to let students to know that it would be unrealistic to achieve the level of a native speaker in English pronunciation. It would also be important to encourage students to practice pronunciation whenever they find an opportunity to allow them lessen the effect of their native language on English. Students will also learn speaking and listening skills. However, the choice of these skills would depend on the level of students’ abilities (intermediate). Initially, I shall encourage my student to master discrete skills in learning spoken English (Rost, 1990, p. 99-177). They will recognise various forms of words, cohesive text elements, and key words in spoken English. These may form the basis of the lesson. However, I will introduce students to interpretive processes of listening in which we will engage in understanding conversation and discourse. Students shall engage in reading written texts loudly. During this process, I will emphasise the role of students whenever they are reading texts aloud. For instance, contemporary approaches of teaching listening skills require students to be active participants in the process of learning. In this regard, I would encourage my students to develop their listening skills by using various strategies to enhance, monitor, and assess such skills. Thus, my class would emphasise the role of students as active listeners. Doff observes that students must acquire both listening and speaking skills in order to realise successful conversations (Doff, 1988, p. 78-90). Traditionally, students would repeat what the teacher has said, memorise a conversation or a story and provide answer to drills. Thes e were sentence-based approaches to achieve proficiency in repetition or drill approaches. However, I would apply a communicative-based approach to teach spoken English (Richards, 2008, p. 1-2). In this context, I would encourage my students to develop speaking skills through generating ideas and solving tasks with the aim of developing fluency, accuracy, and vocabulary. Thus, I would apply information-gap and encourage students to use spoken English in real communications based on knowledge acquired previously. This strategy would allow students to acquire skills in communication and engage in meaningful negotiations, which would help them to develop effective oral skills. I shall encourage clarity and observation of grammar rules as Hedge notes (Hedge, 2000, p. 259). Teaching requires effective planning of the lesson plan. According to Butt, good planning, classroom management, and sustained performance are the best ways of ensuring effective learning (Butt, 2006, p. 65-80). As a teacher, I would make sure that I carefully plan my lessons by organising them in terms of introduction or warmer, pre-task activities, during tasks, and post-tasks activities. Warmer activities would be useful for preparing students for active participation in the spoken English lesson. At the intermediate level, students will engage in discussions, peer-to-peer activities, self-tests, and evaluation. Every stage of the lesson would indicate the role of the teacher and students. The aim of planning my lesson is to ensure that students remain active throughout the lesson. Baker and Westrup pointed out that engaging students in a lesson usually makes them active and apply acquired skills in learning (Baker and Westrup, 2003, p. 21-30). Engaging students in the lesson would ensure that they concentrate on learning activities. Besides, I would be able to encourage slow learners to participate in various activities. Activities in teaching spoken English would be able to motivate student s to contribute in learning and developing self-confidence for effective communication in English. Hedge encourages teachers to balance their lesson plans in spoken English so that students can develop both accuracy and fluency (Hedge, 2000, p. 259). At the intermediate level, I would focus on both accuracy and fluency as we develop fluency because my student would not have mastered accuracy in spoken English. In my class, I shall encourage the use of information gap, restricted conversation, storytelling, role-play, jokes, discussions, and use of games. I have also learned the importance of a good learning environment for learners. I shall ensure that the class has a favourable environment, which will encourage all students to take part in oral presentations. This would ensure that we do not leave slow learners as others progress. Collie and Slater note that a favourable classroom environment can promote learning of fluency (Collie and Slater, 1993, p. 8). In this context, I would focus on effective topic presentation, classroom management and student participation. Student errors and feedback will form the basis of developing an evaluation plan. I shall provide feedback and encourage students to generate correct answers. No feedback shall upset any student. I shall pay special attention to student assessment. Validity, reliability, and practicality of students’ assessment tools are critical for evaluation of the teacher’s lesson outcomes. It would be important to ensure that tests have a suitable scoring and grading rubric in order to enhance reliability of assessment tools. Burgess and Head note the importance of knowing test criteria among students (Burgess and Head, 2005, p. 99-120). I would use different methods to test students learning outcomes. These may include information gap, interviews, and controlled interviews. I shall expect to see some levels of improvement among slow learners while fast learners will display improved fluency and accuracy. Overall, my teaching approach would encourage students to master English speech sounds like vowels and constants, stress, intonation, and rhythm as they also recognise manner and place. It will encourage a reasonable level of accuracy, use of vocabulary, and fluency among students. Thus, students would know what to say, and how to say it in any given context. References Baker, J., and Westrup, H. (2003). Essential Speaking Skills. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Burgess, S., and Head, Katie. (2005). How to Teach for Exams. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Butt, G. (2006). Lesson Planning. London : Continuum International Publishing Group. Collie, J., and Slater, S. (1993). Speaking 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Doff, A. (1988). Teach English: A Training Course for Teachers-Tachers Workbook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Herbert, J. (2002 ). PracTESOL: Its not what you say, but how you say it. In J. C. Richards and W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching (pp. 188-200). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hewings, M. (2007). Pronunciation Practice Activities: A resource book for teaching English pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C. (2008). Teaching Listening and Speaking: From Theory to Practice. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Rost, M. (1990). Listening in Language Learning. London: Longman.

Introduction to mass communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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A Marketing Plan For The Company Apple

A Marketing Plan For The Company Apple Apple Inc has been very successful especially when it revolutionized its business and customer-focus by providing an operating system which was specifically designed with graphical user interface, even when it has been experiencing rigorous competition in both software and hardware marketing. Out of Apples major visions are its marketing strategies such as differentiation, unique design, own-store retailing, complete solution and brand loyalty that in turn have helped the company achieve sustainable competitive advantage and create its very own market with long-term profitability. Apple has been amazingly impacting the technology, society and the world at large and it continues to innovate to the date. Computer and digital music machines have long been presumed to be high-tech devices reserved for scientists, mathematician, intellectuals and professional musicians, but Apple, with its technology and innovation, has turned them into an essential tool of everyones daily lives. Framing of the Research Issue The main issue being discussed in this paper is the retail store marketing strategy adopted by Apple Inc and its impact on Apples overall business. This piece of research work is an attempt to explore and answer what is Apples retail-marketing and why Apple Inc has chosen this strategy? The paper will interpret the advantages of implementing the own store retailing strategy to Apple Inc and analyze how this has contributed to its business success. Apple Inc is one of the large multinational companies of today and its marketing strategies, that have helped it achieve this success, have gained increased popularity and attracted attention of academic and business experts. Companies use different strategies at different times. Some of them may turn to be highly useful while others may not be so. Due to a number of factors like globalization, fierce competition between firms, technological advances and changing consumer behaviour, business contexts have become increasingly complex (Grover and Kettinger 1995, p. 58 ) and companies therefore require adopting effective strategies to survive these challenges and complexities. Apples retailing strategy has been thus an effective ideology it used to survive competition and other marketing challenges. As Pearce and Robinson (2004, p. 6) stressed, strategic issues usually have multi-functional and multi-business consequences. Decisions regarding strategies like customer mix, competitive emphasis, organizational structure and customer focus necessarily involve a number of firms strategic business units, divisions and programs. These strategies will yield positive outcome when they are well structured and effectively managed. When it comes to Apple Inc, a number of marketing strategies it adopted has been found to be extremely beneficial to the companys success. This research paper relates to one of its strategies- own store retailing. Research Contexts, Scope and Limitations No area of marketing and economic development has perhaps been more popular than retailing. Retailing has long been a critical pillar of a strong economy (Findlay, Paddison and Dawson 1990, p. 21). Similarly, retailing has been found to be a powerful marketing element that contributes much to the economic and financial well-being of a company as well. Many large multinationals operate retail stores, may be as part of its Supply Chain strategy or to promote direct marketing of their goods or services to the customers, with an aim to seize enormous opportunities of retailing. Large scale retailers like Wal-Mart, Sainsbury, TESCO and others have been studied extensively to assess their effectiveness and find the secrets behind their success. Their marketing techniques and how their retailing helps them maintain long-term profitability have been studied by a number of researchers. But, the significance of retailing as a strategy being implemented by a particular large-scale company is seldom explored, except that some of the researchers have indentified retailing or own store retailing only as a strategy with no extensive research on its importance and contributions to the company. Rather than generally talking about the importance and benefits of retailing strategy adopted by Apple Inc, this paper aims to explore literatures regarding the same and articulate specific factors that explain why it is important to adopt retailing strategy to a company like Apple Inc and what are the major benefits of it. The researcher would like to learn different aspects of using retail marketing to a large-scale business, Apple Inc, and for this purpose, researcher would review and evaluate the literatures and examine how customers respond to this marketing facility, what consequences of such retail marketing can have on the reputation and customer satisfaction of the business. The researcher will review literatures to find relations between retail marketing of Apple Inc with a number of marketing variables like customer satisfaction, brand building, brand loyalty, customer relationship, value proposition etc. By reviewing the literature about Apples Retail-marketing, the researcher would establish the importance of using retail-marketing as a marketing strategy to enhance greater long-term profitability and gain sustainable competitive advantages. This research is merely about Apples retail-marketing and therefore the findings and conclusions of this research may not be directly applicable or closely comparable with other businesses or manufacturing firms. Statement of Research aims and objectives This research paper aims to illustrate the benefits of retail-marketing to Apple Inc and find out how retail-marketing has contributed to Apples unique success stories in recent years. The main objectives of the study are: To define and explain retail-marketing with relation to its implementation by Apple Inc. To study and interpret the literature review of the importance and benefits of using retail-marketing as a business strategy, To ascertain what literatures talk about Apples retail-marketing strategy and how this has helped the company achieve its organizational goals like gaining sustainable competitive advantages, To examine how retail-marketing is closely related with various other marketing variables like customer focus, customer satisfaction, better servicing, direct marketing, brand loyalty, brand equity and customer relationship marketing etc, To suggest some successful measures and techniques that can be used along with retail-marketing strategy in order to help the company achieve its business goals. To establish what results can bring a retail-marketing on the competitive advantages of a firm, from the case of how Apple has successfully used it. Structure of the dissertation The introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the structure of the research paper and an introduction in to the main issue being discussed in this paper- retail marketing of Apple Inc. The framing of the research issue, the scope and limitations of researching retail-marketing in relation to Apple inc, and statement of objectives of the research are detailed in the introduction. In order the research to be clearer, it is highly important to have an outlook into Apples business and its various marketing strategies. Second chapter will briefly examine Apples business overview, market-share, market strategies, competition rivalry and value propositions it delivers to its customers. The researcher considers various literatures to be reviewed in chapter 3 and discusses previous works and studies in retail marketing of Apple Inc. Chapter 4 provides an overview in to the theoretical framework and methodology that this research uses for studying retail marketing of Apple Inc. The findings and results of literature review will be discussed in chapter 5. The researcher will summarize and list out major findings, results, suggestions and recommendations, based on the research in the conclusion chapter. Chapter 2 APPLE INC: MARKET OVERVIEW In todays highly rigorous competitive market landscape, Apples hot selling of iPod, iPhone, 3G phone, and digital music players, directly or through its own-store retailing, promises to revolutionize the market opportunities of digital entertainments as well as to meet varying customer needs for advanced technology. Brand loyalty, unique hardware and software design, differentiation and own store retailing have been some of its strategies that helped the company gain greater competitive advantages. Porter (1998a, p. 29) emphasized that an effective marketing strategy take either an offensive or a defensive action in order to create a defendable position against major competitive forces. Apples marketing strategies, especially its retail-marketing and unique hardware design were more or less capable of establishing strong defense against major competitive forces like Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, Microsoft etc. Walker (2003, p. 4) found that Apples management has guided the company to create a focal point for effective decision making which in turn has been extremely useful for the company in certain ambiguous and uncertain situations. Basically, a strong marketing vision, with support of certain effective strategies has helped Apple Inc maintain a very strong profitability and ever-increasing sales figures, as accounted to be $42,905 million in financial year ending of 2009 (Datamonitor 2010). Company Profile Apple Inc is a multinational company, headquartered in Cupertino, California, that is engaged in designing, developing and marketing of personal computers, severs, communication devices, network solutions, portable music digital players and relate accessories (Datamonitor 2010). It delivers its hardware and software products and services through its own-retail stores, online stores, sales force and third party sellers (Sander and Slatter 2009, p. 81). Apple Inc has always been prospering on innovation. It has ignited the personal computer revolution in early 1990s with the development of Apple-II, reinvented the personal computer within the next decade by the development of Macintosh and gained a very successful and deeply routed brand loyalty with its iMac by 1990s (Kerin, et al, 2005, p. 395). Finally, it identified vast opportunities for very new technologies that the market until then was less aware of them and developed new markets with iPod, Apple i-phone, and 3G i-Phone in very recent years. Apple Inc, through out its plants, offices and retail stores, employs 34,300 employees around the world and offers a wide range of products and services including iPods line of portable digital music and video players, iPhone handsets, iPad portable multimedia and computer machines and software like Mac OS, iLife, iTune, iWork, and internet applications such as Safari, Quick time etc (Datamonitor, 2010). The companys inexorable efforts on ease of use, utility, customer value, simplicity, efficiency and fun have helped Apple Inc make iPhone, 3G iPhone, and other products seem to be a very different species from that of the competitors. These newer products have recently turned to be more approachable and ultimately very desirable that many or almost all brands in the market (Newsweek, 2007). Apples major competitors are Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard company, IBM, Lenovo group limited, Microsoft Corp, Motorola Corp, Nokia Corp, Oracle Corp, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba (Datamonitor, 2010). Apple designed a number of marketing strategies to compete with these large companies and grab a better slice of the highly competitive market pie. Market-Share Analysis Latest reports show that Apples share in the worldwide PC market is constantly surging, as more and more customers have continuously been preferring Mac PCs even when there were rumors of iPad and iPhone that have grabbed news-headlines. According to Gartners report, Apple has become the fifth largest PC seller in the US market for the first three months quarter in 2010. Around 1.398 million Mac computers were shipped by Apple inc and thus it stands just behind HP, Dell, Acer and Toshiba (Tilmann, 2010). Apple sold 1.4 million Macs in the first quarter of 2010 which remains to be highly impressive and has been recorded to be a very healthy 34% year on year growth. With 8% market share, Apple stays to be fifth largest in worldwide PC market (Kahney, 2010). The company has recorded a total revenue of 42,905 million US Dollars during the financial year ended in September 2009, showing an increase of 14.4 % over 2008 figures. The increase in sales has been mainly due to the growth in sales of iPhones handsets and third party digital contents and other utilities, through its online as well as own-stores. iTune stores too played an important role in its increased revenues in 2009. The operating profit of the company during 2009 has been accounted as $11,740 million, showing an increase of 41% over the same of 2008. The net profit also has been recorded to be $8,235 million, with an increase of 34.6% over 2008 figures (Datamonitor, 2010). Gartners (2010) research reported that Apple is the third largest Smartphone marketer in the world just after Symbian and Research in motion. In worldwide cell-phone marketing, Apple holds 2.7 % market share, being the seventh largest worldwide cell-phone marketer. It is observed that Apples share in worldwide cell-phone market has been growing with a 112.2% increase in mobile device sales. iPhone OS release and Apples focus for the new communication service providers in UK markets increase its opportunities and to gain greater competency in its markets (Gartner, 2010). Chapter- 3 LITERATURE REVIEW Company-Owned retail marketing Large-scale companies implement a number of different marketing strategies like its-own retailing, franchising, merger and acquisition and so on. Company-owned retailing is not a new marketing strategy, but has first been used by IBM in early 1980s. Mohr, Sengupta and Slater (2009, p. 326) found that IBM opened its first product centre and own-store retailing for the personal computer in New York City in April 1982. By 1986, the number of IBMs own stores had grown to 84. Gateway expanded aggressively in to its own stores retailing during the PC industry boom, but it had to shut all 188 stores in 2004. Sony also launched its own-stores retailing in United States to showcase its products to the customers and expanded them in 1996, and reached 57 stores by June 2008 (Mohr, Sengupta and Slater 2009, p. 326). Manufacturers own retailing thus has long been considered to be a strategically powerful tool to enhance better marketing. Many of firms adopted own-store retailing has found success where as many other failed to continue retail-operation. Gateway and IBM failed and others like Apple Inc succeeded with this direct retail channel strategy. Companies found it successful were able to cut middlemen costs and middle men profits and thus to make its products quite cheaper to the customers, to establish closer relationship with customers, to deliver quality services directly to the customers and create brand loyalty to enhance long-term profitability. Marketing mix and Companys own retailing Company-owned retail marketing strategy is closely related to the place element of the Marketing-mix concepts. Out of the four Marketing-mix Ps, namely product, price, place and promotion, place or distribution is a very critical element that determines the extent of businesss success. The channels a marketer chooses for marketing its products always largely influences its marketing effectiveness. The above depiction illustrates how theoretically and strategically Apple designed its marketing-distribution strategy through its own-store retailing. As Hill, OSullivan and OSullivan (2003, p. 243) emphasized, distribution addresses the issue of how to establish an appropriate and more profitable relationship with the maximum number of relevant customers at the minimum cost to the organization. A well-designed and developed distribution strategy can lead to coverage of a wider audience, accessing more numbers of customers and enabling existing customers to have a more satisfactory expedience. When it comes to Apples case of retail-marketing, there are three factors to be highlighted, a) profitable relationship, b) with maximum number of potential customers and c) at the least costs being possible by eliminating all middle-men involvement. It thus not only attracts wider audience but also delivers all those that can increase satisfaction of the existing customers. For a manufacturer, choosing own-stores for retailing is generally justified on the ground that it eliminates middle-men costs, reduces risks of handling inventories, enables closer relationship with consumers and delivers maximum satisfaction to them. But, Raysman (2002, 4- 4) argued that the most effective form of retail distribution is likely to be through third party distributors who are well-established in the market place and have a strong distribution infrastructure, though it is possible for technology product producers to sell directly to their own retail outlets. He justified his argument that selling through third party established firms can help the producer relieve from significant logistical concerns, and third party distributor will give the producer easy access to markets which may otherwise have been time-consuming and helps reduce the producers overhead expenses (Raysman 2002, 4- 4). Apple has virtually been integrating different distribution channels. It not only used third parties for sale, but also online stores and its own retailing stores in order to grab the maximum potential opportunities from the existing market. Third part sellers helped Apple spread of its valuable information over regions and countries, its won store retailing helped it maintain closer relationship with customers and deliver direct services to them. Retail marketing / Own-store marketing strategy of Apple Inc Apple Inc used a number of different distribution channels including own store retailing or retail marketing, online store, sales force and third party sellers. Among these channels, retail marketing remains to be a very specific and unique marketing strategy that helped the company overcome difficulties associated with big-box sellers and their staffers who are ill-informed of Apples products. More over, this marketing strategy helped the company establish stronger relationship marketing in order to create customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Apple opened its first own-store retail-marketing in McLean, Virginia in 2001. By June 2008, with phenomenal records of greater success throughout its stores, Apple operated 215 retail stores in six countries, they are USA, Australia, UK, Japan, Canada and Italy. By 2008, these 215 stores were able to contribute nearly 20 % or more as growing of Apples total revenues (Mohr, Sengupta and Slater 2009, p. 326). Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz (2005, p. 395) found that Apple has been thriving on innovation from Apple- II to Macintosh, to Apples PCs and iMac, but its step forward to starting its own store retailing in 2001 was merely a better promise to revolutionize its market landscape. As Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz (2005, p. 395) noted, beginning with one or two stores in 2001, Apple Inc has been able to launch more than 25 stores per year. By 2004, about half of the US population were residing within 15 miles of an Apple store. These stores created an atmosphere where consumers were able to experience the thrill of owning and using Apples complete line of Macintosh computers, wide range of entertainment equipments and utilities like digital cameras, camcorders, and the entire iPod family devices. Apples retail-stores were selling its products and services exclusively, targeting tech-savvy customers within its store-products presentation and workshop. These stores facilitated displaying of a full lines of its products, software and accessories and Genius Bar staffed by an Apple specialist (Kotler and Keller 2006, p. 485). These stores were friendly places where all of its customers, especially Mac and PC users are freely allowed to play with and explore Apples technology-lines and get software or useful utilities (insidecrm.com, 2011). Rationale Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2009, p. 339) found that Apples management has been dissatisfied with how third part distributors were selling the computers and others products of the company and this has been the main reason behind Apples thought of starting own-store retailing. Apple observed that some third party distributors buried Macintosh displays inside major retail stores, surrounded by PCs running the more popular Windows operating system by Microsoft. This brought their attention to hire a retail executive to develop a retail strategy. Mainly due to the disappointment regarding Apples resellers, the company announced that it would begin opening and operating its own Apple stores. Steve Jobs conveyed his major concern that most resellers had been unsuccessful in making the products of Apple stylish and more appealing at customers level (Gitman and McDaniel 2008, p. 345). Most of the literatures, apart from the two mentioned above, stressed that Apples thought to start retail marketing has been mainly driven by its findings that third party resellers didnt deal with its customers in a way Apple expected how it should be. The retail stores not only must be able to sell the products to the final customers, but also, these stores must be able to deliver quality services, valuable information and facilitate customers entertainment etc. Apples stores were designed by considering all such important factors. What was predicted about Apple-stores? When Apple Inc first opened its retail-store in May 19, 2001, there were rumors and many experts and media predicted the failure of its specialty stores. They argued that Apples users already knew where to buy Apples products and therefore Apples investment in establishing retail-stores would bring nothing more that higher fixed costs (Gitman and McDaniel 2008, p. 345). Such specialty stores might increase Apples expenses and its products will be more expensive to the customers, as Apple might like to cover its costs by increasing the prices and this ultimately cause less-appeal to the mass consumer. Knowing Apples attempt to launch of retail stores in 2001, Business Week wrote Sorry Steve, Here is Why Apple Stores Wont Work. The street.com opined Its desperation time in Cupertino, Calif. Well known retail-consultant David Goldstein predicted I give (Apple) two years before theyre turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake (Jerry, 2007). A number of business experts and media were looking Apples retail stores quite surprisingly as an attempt for no use. They found nothing more than just add costs to the company and to the customers. But, the story was surprising to them that its design, outlook, services offered in-store and amenities being provided to the customers were extremely appealing to them and it finally added greater share of its total revenue. Those who predicted failure of Apples store might have generalized what was known about CompuAdd, IBM, Gateway and Microsoft. Dvorak (2010) stated that the retail-marketing has been tried by a few computer companies before Apple tried it out and they all except Apple failed for obvious reasons. CompuAdd, once a head-on-head competitor with Dell and IBM, rolled out a number of stores which in turn bankrupted the company. IBM opened few stores, even before CompuAdds stores. IBM aimed at more professional market and therefore had to shutter them all at once. Gateway opened many stores called Country Stores, but stores themselves were boring and ominous and they too created almost same story. Microsofts stores opened in 1999 were not up to the mark due to that there were no buzz or energy in the place. Apples experience of unique success with Retail-marketing Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak didnt realize that they were establishing one of the most multibillion-dollar PC industry of all times when they invented the Apple-I in a garage on April 1976 (Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz, 2005, p. 247). The same story repeated for its retail-marketing as well. Apples retail-marketing, despite predictions of experts and media about it to be failure, has become one of its greater achievements to be unparalleled as a wise move. These stores achieved $1 billion revenues faster than any retail business in history, just taking three years to reach that success-point. Around 40 % of the people purchasing items from Apple stores are new customers (Kerin, Hartley and Berkowitz, 2005, p. 395). Gitman and McDaniel (2008, p. 345) found that Apple Inc, just three years after opening its retail stores, was attaining around one-seventh of its total revenues from its stores alone. More interestingly, customers attracted to these stores were not just current Mac or other Apples products users, but rather, half-of the Mac sold in these stores were to first time Mac buyers. Though Apples launch of a line of new retail stores in 2001 was met with major skepticism around the US, Apple has been able to turn its retail-stores to be one of the crowning achievements of the resurgence (OGrady 2008, p. 14) that many other large retailers failed to achieve. When Gateway announced closure of its line of retail-outlets in April 2004, Apple reached its retail-market growth by opening its 53rd store. OGrady (2008, p. 14) identified that this great success has been the result of effective strategic planning. Apple built a prototype store in one of its warehouse near the Apple campus to test the concept and possibilities and it arranged a combination of photos, videos, music and kids. By October 2007, it announced completion of 200 retail-stores throughout USA and other five countries. The Fifth Avenue location in New York was able to attract more than 50,000 customers per week. Apples store sales has become the top in the industry, with an average earning of $4032 per its square foot (OGrady 2008, p. 14). Twice (October, 2008, p. 28) reported that, TWICE was awarding Apples retail-stores the Award of Excellence in Retailing in the Best Vendor Retailer category in 2008. It opined that Apples retail stores, from just one in 2001 to reach 200 by 2008 is an excellent and rather a very unique success in retailing history itself. Twice (2008) found that Apple has been providing consumers a hands-on way to experience its products which are displayed in a variety of specific-categorized areas that encouraged customers to test and play with Apples products. These stores have also carried third-partys accessories and software titles that are compatible with Apple products. Twices (2008) observations about Apples stores designs, customer attraction, revenue-generating capacity and customer feedback have led it decide to give its award to Apples stores. As Twice (2008) observed, The Genius bar facilitated in Apples retail stores and moreover its sales growth of 40.5% in 2007 from the sales of 200 6 have been some other very significant factors that are highly impressive about Apples stores. Most amazingly, Apple stores have won Twices Excellence in Retailing Award four times from 2006 to 2010. Olenick (2010, p. 30) reported that Apple continued to pipe up TWICE retail awards as Apple took home the Best Vendor Retailer trophy, which was the fourth time it gained since 2006. As Olenick (2010) opined, Apple was able to take this award home due to its ongoing ability to operate unique destination stores and because of its merchandising excellence, store designs, customer service and retail innovation etc (p. 30). Apples retail-store design Apple always thrived on innovation. When it comes to its products, unique design created the brand Apple. When it comes to its retail-stores, design played pivotal roles in its success, even when many large-manufacturers own retail stores created failure-stories. For no doubt, Apples innovative store design has been one of the very powerful tool it strategically used to make its retail-stores winning. As Davis (2009a, p. 340) evaluated, Apple-owned retail stores have been designed and facilitated in a way that it has become a cultural phenomenon, with their bright lighting, clean layout, easy access to products and almost museum-like zeal for captivating its products-displays. Customers are automatically encouraged to play with its products and all of its stores have arranged an in-store Genius Bar which offers customers a place to ask questions and get answers for their doubts and troubleshoots. Jones, Comfort and Clarke-Hill (2009, p. 243) found that Apples stores, for instance one of its store opened in 2004 on Londons Regent Street, offer a variety of programs for customers. the 24,000 square feet store offers free basic getting started workshops, including showing customers how to set up a new Mac, connecting to the internet, sending e-mails, downloading or uploading photos and transferring music and television shows to an iPod etc. Apple stores have facilitated a Personal Shopping program which the company claims as new way to shop which is intended to give customers attention and allow them to take all the time they need to test drive the products they are interested in. As Danziger (2006, p. 12) noted, Apples retail-stores are clearly revolutionary in todays increasingly cluttered retailing environment and its very specific layout is the key to a unique shopping experience. the sparkling contemporary design showcases each computer and piece of peripheral devices, with minimum of products on displays. Customers are always welcome to get hands-on with computer machines, check their e-mail, use networking, and make test drive of the computer machines. This very different store design and layout is intended to guide the intellectual and emotional experience of the customers through the store (Danziger 2006, p. 12). Apple consistently listens to its network and customers at large. One of the very significant point in its store is Genius Bar, a tech-support station, which answers customers questions and deal with their troubleshooting and thus serves as Apples commitment to superior customer service. Superior customer service comes to life in the form of problem solving and helping build bigger loyalists out of Apples customer base (Davis, 2009b, p. 98). There are many strategic elements that the company planed carefully about the effectiveness of its retail store in any new location and carefully considered how each floor space can be converted in to long-term profitability. Floor (2006, p. 206) stressed that Apple opened its stores only when it expected them to be profitable within a short period of time itself. As Apple believed, using a computer is as simple as buying one would be. The store layout was so simple and logical and its design and fixtures are kept as simple as possible. Apples stores were white box with a lot of lighting, being equipped with materials like stone, metal, glass, transparent synthetic and beech-wood. Large pictures and glasses are used to differentiate departments within its stores. As the image above illustrates, Apple has designed its store in a way it can maximize net profit per square foot of the available space. Customers enter or exit the store from cashwrap area and all varieties of Mac and iPods are located in the