My financial career analysis Essay

1) Introduction. A man of seemingly inexhaustible talents, Stephen Butler Leacock (born December 30, 1869) easily juggled being a humorist, essayist, teacher, political economist, lecturer, and historian. He received many awards and honorary degrees, among them the Lorne Pierce Medal the Leacock Medal for Humour was established in his honor and has been awarded annually since 1947 to the best humorous book by a Canadian author. At the height of his career from 1915 through 1925, Leacock was undeniably the English-speaking worlds best-known humorist. His parents, Peter Leacock and Agnes Emma Butler, had been secretly married Agnes was three years older than her new husband. When Leacock was about 7, his large family (ultimately ten brothers and sisters) moved to Canada and settled on a 100-acre farm. Despite living a hard life on the farm, and having a charming but shiftless alcoholic father, Leacock was fortunate in that his mother believed strongly in a good education. With her devo ted support and guidance, he did well in school, and graduated in 1887 as Head Boy from Upper Canada College. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1891. During this time, he wrote humorous articles for magazines for extra income. In 1900, he married Beatrix Hamilton, daughter of a well-to-do Toronto businessman. Her death from breast cancer in 1925 grieved him greatly, but he kept his anguish private, and spearheaded fundraisers to aid cancer research. Among his professional accomplishments, Leacock was appointed to full professor at McGill University in 1908. He was also appointed William Dow Professor of Political Economy and chair of the Department of Economics and Political Science, a position he held for 30 years until his forced retirement at age 65. Leacocks prolific written observations–sharp, funny, and timely–were critically applauded and loved by the public. He published what many consider his literary masterpiece, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, in 1912. Leacock wrote two excellent biographies Mark Twain, published in 1932, and Charles Dickens, His Life and Work, in 1933. In 1935, he published Humour Its Theory and Technique. He died of throat cancer in 1944, leaving his autobiography, The Boy I Left Behind Me, unfinished. It was published in 1946. But death did not sweep him from Canadas cherished memory. To mark the 100th anniversary of Leacocks birth, the government of Canada issued a six-cent stamp in his honor in 1969. Leacocks former homes were declared historic sites, more awards were heaped upon him posthumously, and in 1970,  a mountain in the Yukons Saint Elias range was named after him. 2) The summary. The sketch opens quickly with the narrators frank admission that banks and everything about them rattle him.He confesses to falling into a state of near idiocy at any attempt to transact business but is determined, now that he has more than fifty dollars in his pocket, to open an account. Timidly, he asks to speak to the manager. The manager takes him into a private room, locks the door, and proceeds to assure the narrator of utmost security. Because of the narrators air of confidentiality and distrust, the manager assumes he is a private detective or that he has a large sum to invest. Learning that the narrator has only fifty-six dollars, he unkindly turns him over to a clerk. The narrator is now flustered, mistakenly walks into the safe, and is eventually led to the clerks window, into which he thrusts the money. When assured that it had been deposited, the narrator quickly asks for a withdrawal slip. Meanwhile he feels that people in the bank are staring at him, th inking him a millionaire. Intimidated and miserable, he quickly withdraws his fifty-six dollars and rushes out. The sketch concludes with the narrators observation that he keeps his money in his pants pocket and his life savings in a sock. 3) The structure. This short story with ongoing tradition has traditional elements of structure. The principle of unity enables the reader to perceive the relationship between the individual units. Each incident contributes to the perception of that relationship there we can find an ordered arrangement of the parts. This story is written in accordance with dramatic pattern so it has the traditional structure of conflict, sequential action and resolution. This short story, though short in length and simple in characterization, also reflects its writers characteristics of narration and thought with its narrative structure. We can be alert on a storys structure even as we read it for the first time, primarily by paying attention to repeated elements and recurrent details of action and gesture, of dialogue and description, and to shifts in direction and changes of focus. Repetition signals are important connections to the relationships between characters, and connections between ideas. S hifts in direction are often signaled by such visual or aural clues as a change of scene, a new voice, and a blank space in the text. They may also include changes in the time and place of action or alternations in characters entrances and exits, or in their behavior. Or  they may appear as changes in the pace of the story and in its texture of language. The structure of stories can never be regarded as a matter of little importance The plot is the carrier of the structure. The plot is the sequence of unfolding action, and structure is the design or form of the completed action. Structure satisfies our need for order, proportion, and arrangement. A storys symmetry or balance of details may please us, as may its alternating of moments of tension and relaxation. The short story requires the readers utmost attention, a focus of the mind on each detail like a fine lyric poem. The structure of a traditional plot is essentially dramatic. There may be a geometrical quality to its plot structure. It follows Aristotles statement that a proposition is stated, developed by arguments and finally proved. Therefore a conflict, in this case – internal within the character, is stated at the beginning of a story, developed by a series of scenes, and resol ved at the end. Each scene, incident, and its resolution, but most also carry its bit of significance in the progression that it occupies. So we can divide My Financial Career into 4 logical parts. The exposition starts from the very beginning of the text and continues up to the procedure with the deposit of a narrator. In its turn, the exposition consists of the series of complications meeting with the manager, stepping into the safe, formalization process. Then goes the key event, which is the withdrawal of the money by making a mistake in a cheque. It was the point of highest emotional tension. The denouement is the last thoughts of the narrator, where he concludes not to have any deals with a bank any more. 4), 5) General atmosphere characters. The humor of the piece is achieved not only by the exaggerated situation but also by a skillful use of short clips of dialogue. The narrators psychological intimidation is clearly presented by an economy of detail in which the scene richly suggests more than it relates. It is a very funny piece that appeals to all ages. Perhaps as times change and we no longer refer to tellers as clerks at their wickets and we forget what the Rothschilds and Goulds represented and our banking experience is reduced to online transactions, it will become more difficult to identify with the situation of the main character. But the basic empathy with the embarrassment of someone in an unfamiliar environment remains. When he asks to speak to the bank manager and adds a conspiratorial alone without knowing why he does so, leading to a misunderstanding, we understand. We  understand because its the kind of inexplicable thing we recognize we do ourselves when were nerv ously trying not to appear nervous. The other characters have no vivid characteristics. The only things were an accountant was a tall, cool devil, the manager was a grave, calm man. These lines show us that the narrator see the bank clerks like something blurred and obscure. 6) The style. The most vivid characteristic is the usage of 1st person perspective. Stephen Leacock uses the first-person perspective in his short autobiographical story My Financial Career, and that is an effective narrative choice in comic fiction. First of all, telling his story in first person is more interesting. It is generally much more interesting to hear someone tell his own story than to hear him tell someone elses story. Readers would much rather hear him say I went to the bank the other day than Someone I know went to the bank the other day. Even worse is A guy went into a bank, which is more for spoken (stand-up) comedy than written comedy. Second, the readers know exactly what the character (in this case, the author) is feeling as he fearfully walks into the bank, armed with years of d istrust. While he could try to explain someone elses feelings, Leacock is certainly able to share with us exactly how humiliating this experience was for him. Third, the first-person point of view adds credibility to the story. This is not just something that happened to somebody at some point in time at a random bank this happened tohimand he knows the particulars and details which both add humor and make the story believable. Fourth, no one is hurt by his humor except for himself. It is often uncomfortable for readers to hear an author make fun of others somehow it is more humorous for us to know that the writer is making fun of himself, which gives readers the right to laugh, too. Finally, the story is told by a narrator, from the perspective of time, who can use humor to teach his readers the lessons he learned. We could not know what someone else might have learned from this banking experience, but we can know what Stephen Leacock learned because it is his story. The story is full of puns and innuendos, especially the text is filled with allusions Pinkertons, Baron Rothschild and young Gould. Some metaphors are used make a plunge, idiot hope struck me etc. 7), 8) The mail idea personal evaluation. The main topic of My Financial Career is a confession of Leacocks phobia about banks. This humorous essay is one of his most popular pieces because many of his readers share his fear of big,  imposing institutions. Banks in Leacocks time were more intimidating places than most of them are today. In fact, it is possible to do most banking without ever entering a bank. But Leacock picks out the aspects of the old-fashioned bank that were most intimidating. They had thick stone walls, high ceilings, uniformed and armed guards, bars separating tellers from customers, and imposing vaults with incredibly thick steel doors. The men and women handling all that money were deadly serious and also suspicious of any stranger. Leacock seems to have been most intimidated by the people in the bank. No doubt Leacock received many penetrating looks when he first went in to open his modest account. As with most humor and comedy, we laugh at him because we ar e really laughing at ourselves. When I go into a bank I get rattled. The clerks rattle me the wickets rattle me the sight of the money rattles me everything rattles me. After his interview with the manager, Leacock rose to leave the office. A big iron door stood open at the side of the room. Good morning, I said, and stepped into the safe. Come out, said the manager coldly, and showed me the other way. Personally, I must admit that Leacock wrote excellent and very readable biographies of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. He must have been influenced by the humor pieces in which Mark Twain confesses some of his own foibles and idiosyncracies. One of his best is about his feelings about barber shops. Another is about how he allowed a traveling salesman to put so many lightning rods and metal coils around his house that the big Victorian building attracted every bolt of lignting in the county. Another very funny essay by Mark Twain deals with how he couldnt get a ridiculous little jingle out of his mind until he passed it on to a friend, who was then stuck with it himself. To my mind, Leacocks humor, like Mark Twains, is built on exaggeration. Leacocks style is unpretentious, personal, friendly, and informal like that of Mar k Twain. Notice how short all of the paragraphs are in My Financial Career. Such short paragraphs and short sentences have eye-appeal. Leacock was an extremely popular writer at one time, both in Canada and the United States. He ranked with Robert Benchley and James Thurber as a popular humorist. He is not so well remembered today. But humor essays can become dated quickly. As for the text, the main idea is even deeper as I could imagine. My Financial Career deals with the idea of the emasculation (made to not feel manly) of the individual by societal exceptions. The man feels forced to  practice in banking which seems like a place of importance and masculinity. The individual fears of being emasculated or embarrassed because of his lack of wealth compared with supposed expectations leads him to perform idiotically and causes further embarrassment. The contrast between the bank managers expectations (that he is someone of importance financially or for situational reasons) and the reality of what the man is highlights this unavoidable emasculation of the individual due to societal expectations.

Arab Americans

The biggest consideration in any effort to infiltrate the community is the legal and ethical issues that would govern those actions. Immigrants have rights and they must be respected in the country. It’s important that these people would know that the government respects them as persons and as citizens of America. There are constitutional rights that must not be broken; otherwise, no immigrant in the country would ever feel safe. There are already many crimes against their race and I wouldn’t want to add to that list. I believe in getting their trust in order for them to cooperate and become loyal to the country.Loyalty can’t be bought nor can it be forced. It has to be their decision to express loyalty to a country that treats them well. Ethical issues need also be taken into account. For instance, would it be right for me to tap into people’s conversations even if those persons are exemplary citizens and have been positive contributors to the community? If there are times when it is absolutely necessary to spy on every person in the immigrant population, then, it will be done so long as needless deaths will be prevented. As for sending agents, I believe it is a must to have undercover people among them in order to filter out the rotten tomatoes.The undercover work’s goal is to identify, without a doubt, who are propagating extremist ideas in the community. Once identified, these people will be given the appropriate punishment under the law. The most important role I could play in the community is to make sure that even the immigrants and the Arab Americans will not become unwitting tools of terrorists. 2. Based on the reading assignments, what status, rights and protections would you afford someone who was an American citizen captured in the United States in the act of terroristic violence?How about someone who was a foreign national engage in terrorism in the United States? An American citizen fights American forces abroad? A foreign national, but not a member of a nation's military, fighting American forces abroad? Would torture of any of these subjects ever be justified if it could save lives? American Citizen An American citizen captured in the country committing terroristic violence will be captured and imprisoned under the rules of law. Since it can be considered treason to commit acts of terror in one’s country, then that person will not have the rights of a common prisoner.Foreign National A foreign national committing terroristic activity in the country will be detained depending on the Attorney General’s mandates, and will be tried either inside the country or outside it. The hearing would likely be before a military tribunal. American Citizen Fighting American Forces Abroad If the American citizen fighting American forces abroad will be captured, he will be treated as a prisoner of war provided that he meets the criteria provided for in the Geneva Convention. He will have the r ights of a POW and will be treated accordingly.Foreign National Fighting American Forces Abroad A foreign national who is not a member of a military unit will be accorded a prisoner of war status until such time that his status will be determined by the appropriate tribunal. If the foreign national turns out to be a terrorist, then, he will be punished the way terrorists should be punished in accordance to law. 3. What are the different perspectives concerning Just War? Can the war on terror be properly characterized as a just war? Under what circumstances would fighting terrorism cease to be just?Why? The different perspectives of Just War are: †¢ Just War is only permissible as a last resort when all other non-violent means have been exhausted. †¢ A war can only be just if it is conducted by who society deems to have the authority to do so. †¢ Just war happens to remedy the wrong committed against society. †¢ To fight a war that does not have a chance of succee ding is not just. †¢ The ultimate goal of just war is the re-establishment of peace. †¢ It is just war if the violence in the war is proportionate to the injury endured.†¢ A just war does not target civilians and all efforts must be made so as not to harm civilians. The war on terror can be considered just because the proper authorities are out to get the villains in order to make the society safe for the citizens. Terrorists do not discriminate between military and civilian targets, as such, they must be stopped to avoid the killings of civilians. Fighting terrorism ceases to be just when the country has endangered citizens in the process. For example, if the U. S.will engage the whole of Afghanistan in war just because the Al Qaeda had its beginnings in that country won’t be just. It’s not fair to generalize that every Afghanistan is a terrorist. Also, war will become unjust if the wrong people are targeted by the authorities. Say for example that ever y person coming from the Middle East and who looks like Osama bin Laden will be detained by authorities because of how they look, then, that action is not just anymore. It is already a discrimination against individual persons. 4. How serious is the problem of anti-Americanism here at home?Should people be accountable for inciting violence when they glorify violent acts against America but themselves do not engage in it? What remedies are available to the government, if any, to deal with schools, mosques, and charities that indirectly support terrorism while not actually engaging in it? What should the remedies be? Anti-Americanism in the United States is often on issues that involve the presence of troops in Iraq, the operations in Afghanistan and global warming. Many Americans do not want the American troops to continue being in Iraq.There are constant protests and demonstrations asking the government for the troops’ withdrawal. At the same time, the government’s cam paign in Afghanistan is viewed by many citizens to be unreasonable and should be stopped. Many American Muslims believe that putting all of the blame on Osama bin Laden and his group is not right. There are also a lot of demonstrations and protests calling for the government to do something about global warming. Meanwhile, Pipes (2005) reports that some American Muslim schools have been teaching things that tantamount to being anti-American.As an example, an American-Muslim student told the Washington Post in 2001 that for him, being American is just about where he was born, and it does not define him. Some schools are also teaching things against the Jews, while promoting the supremacy of Islam. Pipes relates that a textbook in a Muslim school in Virginia has stated that only Islam is the true religion, and all others are false. First graders are easily influenced and reading this text would make them believe that people who are not Muslims are inferior to their race.The government , especially the education ministry, has to take a direct control over what materials are being taught in schools. The schools must not be allowed to focus too much on religion. There must be a law prohibiting minority schools to engage in activities or teach lessons that would indirectly support and promote terrorism. 5. Give your overall assessment of the USA PATRIOT ACT. Do you think it has contributed to the lack of terror attacks in the United States since 9/11? If you were in Congress, would you vote to renew the act as is?Would you change anything? Why or why not? Before the USA Patriotic Act was passed into law, electronic surveillance had to undergo a lot of red tape before it can be approved. Sharing of information between intelligence units and law enforcement agencies was very limited because the law does not say to what extent should information be shared. This could have resulted to missed opportunities to prevent acts of terror in the country. When the Patriotic Act w as enforced, every ground rule was established on how information will be obtained and shared.Surveillance of every information, financial or otherwise, became permissible. Even phone conversations can be tapped into. Because of this, the terrorist groups have to devise new ways of communicating, which possibly thwarted further acts of terror after 9/11. In this sense, the Patriotic Act is able to curtail further terroristic activities in the country. There are, however, some parts of the Act that speaks of human rights violations. For instance, indefinite detention of immigrants is not reasonable. It would strike fear in the hearts of those who are being loyal and good citizens of America.While the innocent would fear the Act, it would make terrorists wary of committing acts of terror. They would have to be very clever to go unnoticed. Overall, the Patriotic Act has served its purpose despite flaws in some of its contents. If I were a member of Congress, I would vote to renew the P atriotic Act. It may not be perfect but it has kept the country relatively free of terror attacks after 9/11. However, there would be some changes on the Act, which addresses controversial issues like indefinite detentions, secret trials, and giving vast powers to the executive branch.As a democratic country, it is important that the laws of democracy would not be forgotten in the quest to end terrorism. References Ferraro, V. Principles of the Just War. Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved August 17, 2008, from http://www. mtholyoke. edu/acad/intrel/pol116/justwar. htm Pipes, D. (2005, March 29). What Are Islamic Schools Teaching? New York Sun. Retrieved August 17, 2008, from http://www. danielpipes. org/article/2489 USA Patriot Act (H. R. 3162). Retrieved August 17, 2008, from http://www. personalinfomediary. com/USAPATRIOTACT_Text. htm

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Biomolecular techniques (bitter taste perception of Research Paper - 1

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Number theory and RSA - Essay Example At this stage, the message is sent to the recipient, for the receiver to get the clear message, the message is decrypted back to original plaintext. The whole process usually rely on a key, this key give a way to encrypt the message by the sender and a way for the listener to figure out what the message says (decrypt). This can be enabled with the use of the old cryptosystem which used the symmetric keys or the newly and more advanced public key cryptosystem. In symmetric keys one had to possess the key that was used to encrypt the message so as to decrypt back the message at the other end; but for the public key cryptosystem knowing the message does not mean one can decrypt the message (Stinson, 2006). For example, the trapdoor function; in this idea, a function ? is for encryption, so, to decrypt one has to find the inverse, ; which is difficult to find, this means that even if you have ? and you understand the output is A, it is still hard to find (A). However, if it happens that you know k, (extra piece information that acts as a lever that lets the inverse fall through by opening the trapdoor), then from ?, A and k one can easily come up with (A), so in this system k is kept secret but the whole message can be displayed or heard by anyone and it does not pose any threat because nobody can decrypt the message. Number Theory In Number theory, theorems have been derived to explain the public key cryptosystem and the key exchange problem (Martin J. Erickson, 2008). Some studies introduce the sage commands to aid in performing basic number theorems such as Euler’s phi function and greatest common divisor. This happens when coding the algorithms and functions, but mathematically it is not a requirement as we will notice in the examples. In definition, integers greater than 1, and their positive divisors are only 1 and itself, then that is a prime number, otherwise if not then it is a composite number (Martin J. Erickson, 2008). The fundamental theorem of arithmetic is the base equation when dealing with number theory is; n The greatest common divisor of k and m, (gcd (k, m)), is the largest number that can divide both k and m. this two positive integers greater than 0 are relatively prime if gcd (k, m) =1. This can be shown by the extended Euclidian algorithm below (T. H. Cormen, 2001), Input: k, m Output: (d, x, y) subject to d=gcd(k,m) and kx + my = d d=k; t=m; x=1; y=0; r=0; s=1; While (t>0) { q = _d/t_ u=x-qr; v=y-qs; w=d-qt x=r; y=s; d=t r=u; s=v; t=w } return (d, x, y) In the above algorithm, these Invariants were used gcd(k,m)=gcd(d,t) kx + my = d kr + ms = t using the Chinese Reminder Theorem(CRT) (Loxton, 1990), we Let m1, m2, ,,, mk be integers subject to gcd(mi, mj) = 1, i j, and †¦ This means that there exist a unique solution modulo m= and this solution is given by (a1, a2,†¦ ak) = (? ) mod m, Where = m /, and = mod This idea can be proven by these four steps; 1. Set M = 2. Find such that + = 1(this is a Bezou t). 3. Note that = 1 if j 4. Therefore, the solution to the system equation becomes: Mentioned above is the Bezout’s Identity, which is a property in the greatest common divisor (Martin J. Erickson, 2008). The Bezout’s identify states that for any two natural numbers k and m, there exist integers x

New buses for corfu Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

New buses for corfu - Assignment Example In consideration to providing the cost saving approach in the business, business is planning to acquire the new services that would meet with the needs of services. Moreover, during the initial time of agreement Trivia appears to provide it services all across the island. In this consideration, later Trivia bus agency introduces accumulated buses service in order to meet the additional requirement of passengers. However, after six month of operation of Trivia buses in island, business recognizes to make some considerable changes in the route of buses in order to provide access more destinations. Moreover, with the implementation of this approach there was considerable dilemma in inhabitants, as they now have to travel with three different buses to reach their destination. Correspondingly, prior to the agreement of Corfu Transport Authority with Trivia the old public transportation system is very much friendly to the passages. However, with the introduction of Trivia, the drivers were employed to drive buses at those location based on the passengers reports. However, the drivers were provided with inferior wage system in comparison to Corfu Transport Authority. This resulted to lack of affection in the mind of the passengers to avail the services of Trivia and over the period of three years the rate of passengers has been diminished to two third whereby increasing the rate of private transportation. In this regard, the paper intends to highlight the account of failure to provide appropriate services by Trivia Buses in the island of Corfu. Besides, the paper also emphasizes over providing the method through which Corfu Transport Authority can command the transportation system. Additionally, the paper will reflect the benefits of integrated marketing approach to attract larger sections of Corfu’s islanders and tourists to avail the public transpiration system. Transportation is one of the fundamental as well as integral

Human Computer Interaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Computer Interaction - Essay Example From 1999 to 2010, the Yahoo website linked together a sequence of pages with Back/Next links. The developers created a parent page that links to all of the pages in this sequence, and allowed users to view them either in sequence or out of order. In this regard, the 1999 website was the most basic, and the 2010 version was the most advanced (Barrier 27). It is safe to say that all the Yahoo websites since 1999 to 2010 have been designed to support easy navigation by linking pages (Barrier 29). If a user clicks on a link and wants to go back to the parent page, there is a Back/Next link; if a user has gone back by mistake, for example, he/she can also go to the next page by clicking on the Next link. Visual Framework: From 1999 to 2010, the Yahoo website pages were designed to use the same basic layout, colors and stylistic elements, but give the design enough flexibility to handle varying page content. Going through the different versions, it is clear this aspect of design has been enhanced with time but it was a concept that was in use as early as 1999. When it comes to center stage, all the website versions from 1999 to 2010 put the most important part of the UI into the largest subsection of the page or window; cluster secondary tools and content around it in smaller panels. Context, size, color and headlines were applied in making the most important news and website sections stand out for easy recognition and identification by users. In terms of grid of equals, from 1999 to 2010, content items are arranged in a grid or matrix. Each item follows a common template, and each item’s visual weight is similar. Right/Left alignments are applied to good effect in all the website versions ranging from 1999 to 2010. Bullet points have been used from 1999 to 2010. However, their use was more prominent in earlier versions (1999-2003) than in 2005-2010. A good look would reveal that bulleted points are now used to highlight less important links, as compared to 1 999 when they were conspicuously placed and occupied a large section of the home page. Diagonal balance, collapsible panels, and module taps have been used to very good effect from 1999 to 2010, exemplifying good website design. They were less prominent in earlier versions (1999-2003) when compared to the 2005-2010 versions of the website. List patterns (thumbnail grids and list inlays) have been well designed and applied from 1999 to 2010, although they were less pronounced in the earlier versions (1999-2003). For instance, I looked at the button groups used in the 1999-2003 website versions and it was evident that due to their simple and primitive nature, they cannot be used in the 2010 version. Also, I examined the macros and progress indicators used in the 1999-2003 versions vis- a-vis the 2005-2010 versions. On a head-to-head matchup, the 1999-2003 macros and progress indicators seem even archaic when compared to the ones used in the 2005-2010 versions. This is understandable g iven that time and technological changes are very influential and inevitable. Thumbnail grids, list inlays, diagonal balance, collapsible panels, and module taps that are used in the 1999-2003 versions basically pale when compared to the 2005-2010 versions. These elements should be flexible, adaptable, comprehensive, and relevant as time changes, and although they may have

Cell Phones Are Dangerous Essay Example for Free

Cell Phones Are Dangerous Essay Having a cell phone in today’s society has become a regular part of life. Even I have a cell phone and I’m really not a big talker. What’s astonishing to me is kids seem to all have cell phones by the time they get into middle school. We rely on these communication devices for every aspect of our daily lives, whether for personal use or for work. To me we rely so heavily on the cell phone that it is becoming dangerous. Think to a time when you were driving down the road and came up on a slower vehicle. They were swerving within their lane, couldn’t keep a constant speed and just seemed like they were completely distracted and not paying attention to the road and the seemingly easy task of driving. You want to get by the person but every time an opportunity to do so came into view it would quickly disappear because the other driver would speed up or do something to avert your opportunity. Finally you get your chance and go around the person. You look over in an attempt to quench your curiosity and see the person is talking on their cell phone. It all makes sense now; they are paying more attention to the conversation they have going on than to their driving. Driving is a dangerous activity in itself, but when you add other distractions like talking and or texting on a cell phone, the outcomes can be anything but pleasant and lead to extensive consequences. Drivers are far more distracted while talking on a cell phone than just talking to a passenger in the car. Recently my wife and I were going to a store. I have driven this route several times and knew exactly where to turn, but because of the distraction of talking, I missed my turn. This happened with just a passenger in the car. I can only assume if I had a cell phone up to my ear, or even using a hands free device that the outcome could have been worse due to the higher level of distraction. A study at the University of Utah in 2008, led by Frank Drews, PhD, analyzed the driving performance of mostly young adult drivers paired with friends who served as conversation partners. In the cell-phone conversation condition, drivers conversation partners were at another location. In the in-car conversation condition, partners sat next to their drivers. In each of the experiments, one person was randomly selected to be the driver and the other the conversation partner. Throughout the extensive study, drivers talking by cell phone drove significantly worse than drivers talking to passengers. The cell-phone users were more likely to drift in their lane, kept a greater distance between their car and the car in front, and were four times more likely to miss their designated turn. Passenger conversation barely affected all three measures (American Psychological Association, 2008). Another study by a University of South Carolina psychology researcher provides a better understanding of why talking and listening on a cell phone interferes with visual tasks such as driving. In two different experiments, associate professor of psychology Dr. Amit Almor found that planning to speak and speaking put far more demands on the brain’s resources than listening. The study measured drivers attention levels and found people were four times more distracted while preparing to speak or speaking than when listening (University of South Carolina, 2008). This all makes sense to me, you are trying to multi-task and when you do that you are splitting your attention between two or more things, thus reducing your overall awareness. Yet, there are a lot of people that still believe they drive just fine while talking on the phone. People also believe because they use a hands-free device while talking it doesn’t affect their driving. I agree, but your still talking on the phone while driving. The National Safety Council has done extensive research studies and has stated, â€Å"drivers using hands-free phones and those using handheld phones have a tendency to â€Å"look at† but not â€Å"see† objects. These distracted drivers experience what researchers call inattention blindness. The drivers are looking out the windshield but they are not processing everything in the roadway environment† (National Safety Council, 2010). This inattention blindness causes slower reaction times, which is going to cause problems if anything unexpected happens around you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to read a bunch of studies to know that slower reaction times will cause you to miss things when you are driving. Since I’ve showed you how talking on the phone can be distracting, what do you think texting is going to do? Texting is the craze now, and it seems everybody is doing it. Why not, with these new smart phones that almost everybody has now days, it has become very easy to do. Even I do it on occasion, which is surprising because before I had a smart phone, if someone texted me I would just call them rather than text back. Teenagers have this texting thing mastered. I watch my teenage daughter text and ould swear she is typing 100 words per minute or more. With teens being the default experts at texting, do you think only they are irresponsible enough to text message while driving? If your answer is yes, then you are wrong. Yes, teens text, but according to an article in USA Today, â€Å"youre looking at around 10 million teen drivers, but about 180 million other adult drivers. Almost half of all adults admit to texting while driving in a survey by ATT provided to USA today, compared with 43% of teenagers. More than 98% of adults — almost all of them — admit they know its wrong† (USA Today, 2013). We know its wrong, yet we still do it. Is this setting a good example for our teens? I think we are setting them up for failure. Think about how long it takes for you to do a text and take into consideration your doing it with one hand since you need to keep on hand on the steering wheel. How long did you take your eyes off the road? Shockingly, texting drivers take their eyes off the road for each text an average of 4. seconds, which at 55 mph, means they were driving the length of a football field without looking (Davis, 2010). Yes there are a lot of excuses such as traffic was light, or I’m going slow, or I’m at a light. To me these are â€Å"just excuses†. Each time you take your focus off the road, even if just for a split second, you’re putting your life and the lives of others in danger. According to the U. S. Department of Transportation distracted driving-related crashes caused at least 5,500 deaths and nearly 450,000 injuries in 2009 (Johnson, 2013). I imagine these numbers have gone up since then with the advancement in technology and the rise in popularity of cell phones. The University of North Texas Health Science Center has looked at traffic data from the Fatality Accident Reporting System and texting data from the FCC and CTIA, and came to the conclusion that texting while driving is responsible for accidents that claimed 16,141 lives during the period of 2001 – 2007 (Chester, 2010). Common sense should tell you that texting and driving is dangerous, but plenty of people continue to do it. In an article from Psychology Today, statistics from surveys report that 97 percent of teens admit that texting while driving is dangerous, yet they still do it and 43 percent of them teens actually admitted to texting while driving. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to be in an accident. The National Safety Council says texting while driving is to blame for 1,600,000 accidents per year. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis Study accounts 330,000 injuries per year and 11 teen deaths every day according to the Institute for Highway Safety Fatality Facts (Lohmann, 2012). If these statistics don’t scare you and make you rethink how your possible bad habits affect other people then maybe you should just turn in your drivers license and take the bus. Due to all the distractions that cell phones create and the dangers associated with this, many states have established laws on cell phone use while driving. Eleven states, Washington D. C. , Puerto Rico, Guam and the U. S.  Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers, but thirty seven states and Washington D. C. ban all cell phone use by novice drivers, and nineteen states and Washington D. C. prohibit it for school bus drivers. Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. Currently, forty-one states, D. C. , Puerto Rico, Guam and the U. S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers. An additional six states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers and three states restrict school bus drivers from texting. All but four states have primary enforcement, which means an officer may cite a driver for using a hand-held cell phone without any other traffic offense taking place (Governors Highway Safety Association, 2013). You can see that the states are cracking down on cell phone use while driving and it all is in response to the related dangers and safety concerns. Texting-while-driving penalties vary wildly from state to state and range from $20 to $10,000. These are the maximum penalties when no accident has occurred. In cases where texting while driving results in damage or injury, the punishment can go up quite sharply (Gareffa, 2013). In my home state of Colorado, per Colorado Revised Statute 42-4-239, drivers younger than 18 are prohibited from using cell phones (handheld or hands-free) while driving with a few exceptions for emergencies. All drivers are prohibited from texting while driving. A person who violates these laws commits a class A traffic violation and the fines would be fifty dollars for the first offense and one hundred dollars for a second or subsequent offense (Colorado Peace Officer’s Handbook, 2013). If you don’t know what the particular laws are in your home state, I strongly urge you to research that information. Conclusion As I stated in the beginning, we all rely on cell phones way too much and this is causing us to make some bad decisions. Due to our multi-tasking society we all tend to think we can handle using the cell phone while we’re driving. The reality is we are far more distracted when we talk on the phone while driving and this causes us to lose awareness of the environment around us. With the newer smart phones of today, texting has become a part of our existence. When we try to text while driving we have to take our eyes off the road, even if only for a second or two. This behavior endangers you and anybody around you. The statistics and data presented here and that is available at other various websites should be more than enough evidence to convince you that using your cell phone while driving is a bad idea. If its not and you want to continue your current behavior then you will be responsible for the consequences. The consequences will come from your particular state laws that have been established in response to safety concerns. As I previously stated: Driving is a dangerous activity in itself, but when you add other distractions like talking and or texting on a cell phone, the outcomes can be anything but pleasant and lead to extensive consequences. I hope my words here make you think twice the next time you pick up your cell phone while driving. I know I’m not perfect and I’m guilty of talking on the cell phone while driving, but after writing this I know my behavior will be changing.

Global Organisational Environment Of IKEA

Global Organisational Environment Of IKEA In this topic, we learned about the pros and cons of different types of organizations and the main influences of the external and internal environment on these organizations. This subject also analyzes the expectation of the organizations major stakeholders. By using the stakeholder mapping power/interest matrix, the company can identify its major stakeholders, their expectations, and conflicts between the stakeholders. This is very important for decision-making process because if the company can understand thoroughly different stakeholders expectations conflicts, they can have the right strategy to deal with each stakeholder, and so gain the profit of the company. The concept that I found it is difficult is how to identify the correct stakeholders power and interest on the stakeholder mapping. When I did the example together with my classmates, we have different point of views. More or less power and interest of the stakeholder also depends on what view the companies are on. I should practice more from other big companies in the world to see how they identify the expectation of their stakeholders. I can also study from the websites http:www.stakeholdermap.com show us the important of the stakeholders to the growing of the company, and also how to analyze and map the stakeholders power and interest. The article Making Sense of Stakeholder Mapping of Ruth Murray and Peter Simon on 2006 provides us three basic important dimensions when considering stakeholders: power, interest and attitude Power: how much the stakeholders have the potential to influence in the organization Interest: how much they are interest in the projects of the organization Attitude: how they will back (support) or block (resist) to the organizations project. The article also states that if we only consider two out of three above dimensions, it just gives a partial and less than useful picture  [1]   Topic 2: International environment Organization and Institutions (Mark) Multinationals is the corporation that locates its management headquarter in one country (home country), and operates its business in other several countries (host countries). Through this topic, we see the good and bad sides of globalization. We learned the differences between the free trade and protectionism. The benefit of free trade is no longer tariff barriers, so there will be good prices for customer because of increasing competitions. However, the bad side of free trade is that it will create a big gap between rich and poor, harming the environment, and cultural convergence. On this chapter, we also learned more about the benefit of World Trade Organization such as promotes peace, constructive handling of disputes, free trade cuts costs of living, increase choice, raise income, and simulates economic growth. This chapter also includes types and level of integration as well as the effects of integration such as static effects and dynamic effects. The concept that I found it difficult to understand is the Krugmans objections. I do not really thoroughly understand what this concept is about. This is something that I need to spend more time to read more from the book or find more information from internet. It is obvious that the world today is becoming more global. Beside some advantages of free trade by globalization, there are still a number of criticisms that free trade brought to the worlds economic. The term free trade actually depends on the interest of powerful nations and corporations. For example, according to Criticisms of Current Forms of Free Trade article, there is the phenomena of brain drain. It means that some rich countries try to attract educated people from poor countries. Thus, increase bigger gap between rich and poor countries  [2]   Topic 3: Analysis of the Environment Understanding the Managerial Environment The topic, Analysis of the Environment Understanding the Managerial Environment is about learning the external and internal environment and how they are impact to the organizations. This session helps us to understand the different dimension of the environment such as complexity, stability, market diversity and hostility. It is very important for the company to understand the effect of the environment factors to the organization in the future so that they can have the right strategy to develop the company. We learn different types of the organization environment, and how to analyze the environment by using PESTEL framework (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal). PESTEL is a useful tool for understanding the industry situation as a whole; it allows us to have in-depth analysis of the external factors impacting on the organization. This topic is straightforward and was explained very clear in class, so I did not find any concept that difficult in this topic Topic 4: The Macro-economic Environment the Economy and the Role of Government In this subject, we indentified the macro-economy and its objectives. Macro-economic Environment is the first step of a strategic analysis; it is also referred as an external analysis (PESTEL analysis). It helps us to identify what will affect the growth of our industry as a whole. Four essential measures that are used in the macro-economy are inflation, economic output, unemployment, and balance of payment. This topic also raises the impact of the government in the economic system. Government has an important role in economy. These objectives include: a low rate of inflation, a reasonable rate of economic growth, low rates of unemployment, and a balance of payments in equilibrium or surplus. The government uses the fiscal policy to stabilize the economy by controlling interest rates and the money supply. Topic 5: The macro-economic environment. Understanding the Global Environment (Mark) This topic helps us get more knowledge about globalization and the forces that drive globalization. Globalization is increasing global business activities and multinational companies. Globalization also means rising political and social connection between government and people. Globalization helps to improve communication and share information worldwide. Friedman (2007) supposed that globalization is a flattening process. In this book named The world is flat, he indicated ten forces that flatten the world as follow: collapse of Berlin wall, Netscape public offering, work flow software, open source or uploading, outsourcing, off-shoring, supply chain, in-sourcing, in-forming, and the steroids. In other words, globalization is affected by the key drivers namely political, technological, and economic, market drivers, and cost and competition drivers as well. For example, outsourcing and off-shoring in China and India help many multinational companies such as Toyota, Sony and others probably reduce production cost because of low material and labour cost. This results in increasing competitive advantages. However, it also creates more highly completive market in the world. In addition to globalizations advantages, there are some plausible disadvantages in global competitive environment. Particularly, globalization makes to increase the gap between rich and poor countries and people as well. Globalization also leads to cultural convergence. Moreover, it is true to confirm that globalization makes contribution to cause environmental pollution. International expansion of multinational companies has aroused increasingly environmental issues in which they operate. Therefore, in global competitive environment, business organizations today have to confront with some key challenges such as cross-culture management, competition, sustainability as well as global rules. This chapter is straightforward and well explained in class. Thus, I can easy to follow and understand, and I did not find any concept that is difficult to understand. The article Critical Challenges of Globalization to Vietnam  [3]  on CDI website (Center for Development and Integration) states that globalization challenges Vietnam in two ways: Challenges to the country competitiveness: under globalization, the demand for competiveness is much higher. Competition is not only about products but also about competing social settlement Challenges to Vietnams labor, migration, and womens right: women play an important role in growing the countrys economic; however, womens work and value are less recognized than men Topic 6: The global environment: Emerging economic in three continents This topic provides an overview of emerging economies mainly in Asia, America and Africa and especially BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). In addition to this, the author would like to compare the different economic, political and other developments between countries. Chapter 14 Contrasting developments in the Americas shows US economic development and its hegemony in international affairs as well. Moreover, this chapter helps me understand the reasons why the BRIC countries have possibly achieved increasingly importance in the eyes of Western economists, investors and politicians. BRIC countries in order to secure their development Chapter 15 Asias economic potential indicates in-depth analysis the major Asian economies and their historical development. Indeed, this chapter describes major characteristics such as geographical, political, economic and cultural diversity of Asia through major countries such as China, India, and tiger countries (Hong Kong, S.Korea, Singapore and Taiwan). For example, at the present, there is no doubt that with high level of education, high saving and investment, modern technology and others, tiger countries completely compete to other countries in the world. Chapter 16 Africas struggle for reform describes a big picture of political, economic and social developments in Africa and major barriers inhibiting Africas development. In particular, African countries have to face some social problems in relation to poor education, housing and sanitation, low standard of living, disease, and poor public health care. Moreover, poor governance and inability of politicians are impossible to maintain stability. Besides, heavy debts have also become an urgent problem to many countries. It is undeniable that poor productivity and strong dependence on other donation has led African nations at the mercy of world markets. Based on this analysis, the author is willing to discuss the potential solutions to Africas future development and prosperity. Topic 7: The micro-economic environment market structures and industry analysis (Mark) This topic provide knowledge about different types of market structures and describes the link between market structure and companies behaviours and performance through analysis of Porters five forces. To start with, there are three kinds of market structures including monopoly (diamond market), oligopoly and perfect competition market. Especially, in term of oligopoly, in order to avoid price war and compete by non price methods, many companies choose to collude. In addition to this, this topic also describes industry life cycle. In period of introduction, customers buy products regardless of price because of products uniqueness. It is called fragmented industry where no firm has large market share and each firm share small pieces of big market cake. As new competitors enter this industry, prices drop as a result of competition. Companies use experience curve and economic scale to reduce cost faster than competitors. By the time an industry enter maturity, this is a consolidated industry which dominated by a few larger firms struggling to differentiate their products from the competition. As an industry moves toward decline, its products growth of sale begins decreasing; therefore, firms will convert their facilities to alternate uses or sell them to another firm. Moreover, Michael Porter, the author of competitive strategy, has highlighted evidently affect of the level of competition to the level of the specific business unit. Hence, it will help me obtain insight about the organizations competitive environment such as the dominant forces in the industry including threat of entry, power of buyers and suppliers, substitutes, and competitive rivalry, and the factors influencing on these forces. However, Porters five forces have a plenty of shortcoming. For instance, the model is effective in static situation. It assumes that the companies interest and profit always come first. Moreover, the business environment is competitive, hostile and predictable. More importantly, it ignores one of the most significant factors called human resource. In addition to Porters five forces, in oligopoly market, Game theory is considered as a branch of mathematics often used by economics that analyzes situations in which players must make decisions and then receives and then receive payoffs. It is applied for members of an oligopoly because they always face to a prisoners dilemma which is a game in which the gains from cooperation are larger than the rewards from pursuing self-interest TASK 2: IKEA REPORT I. Introduction 1. History IKEA is a home-furnishing retailer founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943. The Swedish company that sells and designs flat pack furniture, appliances and home accessories through its stores around the world at affordable price. Since then, IKEA has grown up rapidly and now it becomes the largest furniture retailer in the world. Its mission is to offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function, excellent quality and durability, at prices so low that the majority of people can afford to buy them (IKEA, 2010). 2. Vision IKEAs business idea: To support this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. And its vision is to create a better every day life for the many people (IKEA, 2010). To bring a better everyday life, IKEA are committed to provide well-designed, good quality and durable home furniture and keeps the low price for many people. Keeping low price is a cornerstone of IKEA; however, it does not mean that low price but not at any price. IKEA wants sustainability as a part of its business. In fact, it believes that taking about social and environmental responsibility of its customers, suppliers is a crucial for running good business. IKEA made decision for contribution to create a good world by providing products, service which are beneficial effect on people and environment. 3. Product range There are a wide range of products which inspired and developed based on the essential customers needs of home furnishing. In general, IKEAs product is a combination with three main characteristics: good design, function and low price. That means all IKEAs designers design goods with well designed and functional home furnishing available for everybody that at low price. 4. Store In 2010, there are 316 IKEA stores in 38 countries, and most of them in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia (Swedish Furniture, 2011). IKEA store format is a single-story, large blue buildings with yellow company name. The large numbers stores of IKEA are located suburban because of land cost and traffic access. IKEAs stores open for long hours, normally, 24 hours per day. IKEA always encourages customer to visit its store in order to look inside, touch, try everything, even if walk away empty handed. By this way, IKEA hopes that after leaving its store, customer will have a full of fresh ideas for their own home. II. Stakeholders mapping Employees IKEA does not have its own factories; they give orders to different factories in low cost countries. Hence, it is acknowledged that majority of employees still has low power and interest to the company. Global society / Local community Environmental issue such as friendly, reduced packaging is being promoted by the Government and is concerned by community. However, it may impacts negatively on IKEAs social responsibility and total cost. Thus, local community has high power and low interest to IKEA. Customers The power of the buyers is moderately low because majority of customers are consumers. The company targets the customer who is looking for value and is willing to do a little bit of work serving them, transporting the items home and assembling the furniture for a better price. The typical IKEA customer is young low to middle income family. Competitors IKEA operates in a highly competitive industry, characterized by other low priced furniture producers such as Galiform of England and retailers such as Wal-Mart of the United States. Domestically, IKEA faces the threat of potential entrants; as the dominant firm, holding 25% of the market in its native Sweden for example, there is a very real possibility that others will enter the market to challenge IKEA directly. Hence, competitors have low power and high interest to IKEA. Suppliers IKEA does not only create competition among suppliers but also treats them as long-term business partners. As IKEA offers nearly the same products in its stores all over the world, they can order very high volumes and therefore get cheap prices. Moreover, its suppliers are usually located in low-cost nations, with close proximity to raw-materials and reliable access to distribution channels. These suppliers produce highly standardized products intended for the global market, which size provides the firm with the opportunity take the advantage of economies of scale factors. In fact, IKEA is using its size when dealing with subcontractors in two ways. The first is to put pressure on the subcontractors to become more and more efficient. Secondly, IKEA can use its size to get good discounts from the suppliers. This is done by placing itself as a large customer to the supplier, to get some power in price negotiations. Local government Local government has high power and low interest to many companies. The reason is that changes of laws, regulationns and policies influence the production, total cost and sale of IKEAs products. Shareholders This group can also be considered high power potentially. This is more important in recent years where shareholder activity has increased significantly in the boardroom, and management of firms has been scrutinised much more and even given threats if certain actions favoured by the shareholders were not pursued. Managers Managers play an important role in controlling business activities and improving IKEAs global competitiveness by promoting timely, decision-making for operational matters. In other words, they possess high power and interest from the company. III. PEST analysis The Pest analysis tool looks at political economic, social, technology changes which are likely to affect on the business (Robert, 2004). These varieties of external environment factors in 2010 which IKEA faces are: Political changes: Governments regulation and policy change: Generally, there were sorts of challenges and chances, which IKEA faced in 2010. For opportunities: These host countries changed policies to encourage foreigner companies invest in the country such as reducing procedure papers, exported tariff -exempt,. By contrast, the countries also tied up protectionism and subsidies for its products in order to compete to foreigner products for instants, launching policy of rising imported tariff. Economic factors: Economic growth: Although global economy recovered slowly, it helped IKEA has boosted its market share because of its low-price goods which can compete to expensive retailers in 2010. IKEA group still opened continue to expanse their stores in other countries and increasing sales in emerging economic market-Asia where leading the global economy recovery in 2010. Inflation: It is a true that inflation rising which let price of all commodities rose remarkably in 2010 such as raw materials which led increasing IKEA inputs purchasing cost. In addition to this, fuel price also rose rapidly in 2010 which impacted on IKEAs transportation cost. All of this, affected on IKEA business performance as well as customer purchasing needs. Furthermore, increasing price implicated that IKEA has less competitive advantage in the furniture market. Competition: IKEA is a Sweden giant furnishing company which has strong brand, therefore, there are few competitors running in the market. However, IKEA should not underestimate its competitors. The company should launch innovative and eco-design products at low price for meet a wide range of customers needs. Social factors: Lifestyle: Becoming a global company that means IKEA faces challenges as different culture, language barrier, and taste. Thus, before opening new stores, it should have concrete plans of research market. IKEA has expanded its stores in emerging market like China, India, and Pakistan which society is distinct compared to Western countries. Generally, Asian is savers who do not spend too much money on purchasing. They are willing to buy durable and high-quality products in conventional retailers which are expensive rather than low-price ones like IKEA, a reputation of self assembly. Population growth rate: This factor plays a role for IKEAs development as well as helps IKEA make decision for opening new stores in these regions. These largest populations countries as China and India, people have huge needs for buying low-price products of IKEA. Thus, expanding new stores in the markets bring benefits for IKEA such as increasing business sale, number of subcontractors and so on. Technology: Normally, technology plays an important role for almost companys success especially a global company. For IKEA, it used quality technology to implement better communication services and software modules that communicate to a home base, delivery service and selling online via the Internet. Technology helps company to increase production and employees productivity, improve its business performance, and gain competitive advantage. IV. Market position and segmentation Market position There is no doubt that IKEA is a well- known furniture company in the world. In spite of world economic recession in 2010, IKEA has been growing up and has a leading market position in the future. There are some evidences demonstrating for statement above: total sale rose by 7.7 % to 1.1 billion Europe (FY 2010 report) compared to 2009. In fiscal year 2010, Ikea group opened 12 stores in 8 countries. Figure 1: Annual Sale, Billion Euros (Source: http://issuu.com/interbrand/docs/bgb_report_us_version?viewMode=presentationmode=embed) According to Branding consultancy Inter-brands Best Global Brands 2010( Top 100 brands) released on the fifteenth September 2010, the Sweden giant furniture- IKEA was ranked at 28th place the most valuable brand with brand value is 12,487 ( dollar million) and changing branding value is 4% higher than last year. Figure 1: Best Global ranks 2010 (Source: http://www.interbrand.com) Market segmentation: Market segmentation IKEA uses various mixes of segmentation bases including geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation. Geographic segmentation: IKEA stores are located around the world, however, most stores of them based in at Europe where get the highest sales ( 79%), meanwhile Asia and North America account for 6(%), 15%, respectively. Figure 2: Ikea, sales per region (Source: welcome_inside_2010, IKEA report 2010) Demographic segmentation: According to IKEA, it wants to bring a better life to many people. This means that its customers are people all over the world who are low and middle- income. In addition to this, IKEAs customer target is focus in young people and family who are appealed by stores decoration as well as can take time working together IKEA to design their products. V. SWOT Swot is an acronym of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which is a useful tool for helping organization to analyze current situation of the organization in order to solve its problems and take advantage to reach its objectives. Strength and weakness are internal environment such as management, operation, finance; meanwhile, opportunity and threat are external environment like economy, society, environment and technology (Andrew, page 7). Strengths: That is any resource advantage and capability of organization which gives competitive advantages in the market. Strengths are organization capabilities such as human resource, management, financial status, service, manufacturing and so on. Strength considers as a basic quality element for evaluating companys success. There are some IKEAs strengths below: Wide range product: IKEA is famous for its wide range of affordable and good-quality products which can meet almost customers needs. Furthermore, IKEA has restaurant, cafeteria, and children- playing room in the each IKEAs store in order to help their customer feel comfortable when shopping here. Less competition: IKEAs business model is quite unique, besides, IKEAs range product is wide that means it meets multi target markets. This leads to IKEA has little direct competition. Global brand: IKEA Company has strong brand reputation which appeals key customers. That also means it provides the same quality and a range of products. Advanced- technology and new materials: IKEA continues to introduce and apply new-technology as well as materials in its furniture industry in order to reduce cost and weight of its products for customers as well as eco-friendly environment. Low price strategy: Because of IKEAs business ideas is offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. That is a priority strategy of IKEA which make the company as a well-known brand. Clear vision and strong concept: IKEA wants to create a better every day life for the many people by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. Supplier-long-term partnership: Supplier plays an important role for IKEA Company. To maintain good-product quality as well low-cost, it creates long-term partnership with supplier. By this, IKEA can buy large volume with negotiable price over many years. Flag-pack furniture: Flag-pack furniture is becoming popular since it was launched by IKEA Company. The most crucial reason that makes flat-pack furniture popular is because of its saving-cost such as transportation and storage cost. In addition to this, flat-pack furniture is easy to carry for both customers and suppliers, assemble at home just following company instructions; minimize shipping damage, increasing inventory capability. Weaknesses: They are internal factors which make company cannot reach its success as well as its full of potential compared to others. Weaknesses can be controlled and eliminated. Each enterprise has to know its weaknesses in order to improve and manage its. IKEAs weaknesses including: Lack of customer service: Low-cost is the cornerstone of IKEA which may not attract customers who are used to go traditional furniture shopping. This lets the customers who feel that IKEA Company does not care about them. Furthermore, scale of company- a global company also makes it difficult to communicate with its customers. Lack of customer service will effect on IKEAs brand. Global company: As a global company, IKEA has encountered problems to control, operate and maintain its stores standard as well as quality of products through the stores chain in various regions. Difficult to balance between low cost and high quality: There is a said that, quality and price accomplish together. The fact that, it is easy to produce good- quality product for high price, but IKEA makes different ways. If it is too focus on cost-saving, it will effect negatively on products safety as well as user. Cost needs to be balanced against quality. Opportunities: They are chances in economy which helps businesses to gain competitiveness advantage, profitability and increasing production. In addition, opportunity arises suddenly, even if, these may arise from competitors, government policy, technology, thus organization should be careful and catch the chances whenever they arises. IKEAs opportunities include: Urban sprawl: IKEAs stores are located at outskirt of centers, because of land cost and traffic access. Nowadays, there is increasing number of people living in metropolitan areas to move far away center which places that are closed to IKEAs stores. In addition to this, most of them are young, educated and rich. IKEAs strategy meets new trends. Increasing demand of low-price products: Because of being effected by depressed global economy, citizens have trend for purchasing goods at low-price for saving their money. In order to meet rising customers demand as well as increasing its sales, the company may design new products, reviewing manufacturing process, materials or labour. This is a chance which IKEA should exploit. Selling online: Selling online is one of opportunities of IKEA. Online shopping makes a revolution to traditional shopping. For global company- IKEA, its online retailers have expanded all markets globally. Its customers in every region can shop just a click mouse and then waiting for goods delivered. This helps IKEA increasing sales, profits, and brand recognition. Expansion into emerging market: There are numerous countries of Asia which are potential markets for IKEA in the coming years. Meanwhile, the demand of citizens living in emerging markets focus on buying good-quality at low-price which is the IKEAs concept. Threats: Threats are used to external factors in environment which effect negatively for profitability, operation enterprise as well as growing new rivalries. Actually, if company is aware of external threats, it can plan to solve the problems. Threats of IKEA derived from: Increasing rivals: There is growing competitors entering low-cost furniture market which impact on IKEA Company such as Wal-mart, Ashley furniture, Howden. These competitors can copy low-cost value model. Therefore, IKEA needs to improve its product qualities to compete with other rivalries. Economic crisis: Businesse

Advertising Analysis :: Adverts, Advertisements

We see them in the subways, bus stops, magazines, and television, but what do they mean? How do they manage to catch our attention? Advertisements often find ways to sell their products by psychologically manipulating people. The advertising industry makes us envious of others and convinces us to be unhappy with what we have (Valko). Steve Madden ads usually feature women with absurdly large heads and hourglass bodies which try to force the audience to wonder what the ad is about. One of these odd ads appears in the March/April 2001 issue of Twist Magazine. It features a young woman with a big head helplessly running, as an airplane zooms over her at an abandoned airport. There are three characteristics within the ad that contribute the whole idea that Steve Madden shoes, clothes and accessories will improve your self image. The main purpose of Steve Madden ads is to suggest to its viewers that they will feel good about themselves by wearing his products. The model’s big head conveys self-esteem and self-pride and she challenges the consumer to look as good as she does. The young woman wears a face of apprehension and is running away from her old self to start her new confident life with Steve Madden products. The sleek black leather jacket on top of a sexy white shirt, short enough to reveal her stomach and curvaceous hips together with her tight low rider blue jeans, black pointy high boots, and trendy black bag complete her fashionable outfit. The embellished woman’s physique is aimed to appeal to women and girls between the ages of 16 through 25 in search of funky, hip, sexy clothes. Steve Madden likes to think of his clothes of as being distinctive and he illustrates his idea by setting an abandoned airport as the background for the ad. There is not a body in sight as the model runs across the old gum stained pavement. This calls attention to the idea that by wearing Steve Madden buyers isolate themselves from everyone else. She is too proud and conceited and cannot imagine being compared to anyone else. The Steve Madden logo in the ad also contributes to the main idea of the ad. It could have been anywhere on the page, why the sky? . Steve Madden ads always have their logos imprinted on the sky to imply that the â€Å"sky is the limit† with Steve madden products (Liza). Advertising Analysis :: Adverts, Advertisements We see them in the subways, bus stops, magazines, and television, but what do they mean? How do they manage to catch our attention? Advertisements often find ways to sell their products by psychologically manipulating people. The advertising industry makes us envious of others and convinces us to be unhappy with what we have (Valko). Steve Madden ads usually feature women with absurdly large heads and hourglass bodies which try to force the audience to wonder what the ad is about. One of these odd ads appears in the March/April 2001 issue of Twist Magazine. It features a young woman with a big head helplessly running, as an airplane zooms over her at an abandoned airport. There are three characteristics within the ad that contribute the whole idea that Steve Madden shoes, clothes and accessories will improve your self image. The main purpose of Steve Madden ads is to suggest to its viewers that they will feel good about themselves by wearing his products. The model’s big head conveys self-esteem and self-pride and she challenges the consumer to look as good as she does. The young woman wears a face of apprehension and is running away from her old self to start her new confident life with Steve Madden products. The sleek black leather jacket on top of a sexy white shirt, short enough to reveal her stomach and curvaceous hips together with her tight low rider blue jeans, black pointy high boots, and trendy black bag complete her fashionable outfit. The embellished woman’s physique is aimed to appeal to women and girls between the ages of 16 through 25 in search of funky, hip, sexy clothes. Steve Madden likes to think of his clothes of as being distinctive and he illustrates his idea by setting an abandoned airport as the background for the ad. There is not a body in sight as the model runs across the old gum stained pavement. This calls attention to the idea that by wearing Steve Madden buyers isolate themselves from everyone else. She is too proud and conceited and cannot imagine being compared to anyone else. The Steve Madden logo in the ad also contributes to the main idea of the ad. It could have been anywhere on the page, why the sky? . Steve Madden ads always have their logos imprinted on the sky to imply that the â€Å"sky is the limit† with Steve madden products (Liza).

Solomon vs. Socrates :: essays research papers

Solomon vs. Socrates: what they thought wisdom was, where it came from, and how it was taught. Solomon and Socrates are thought of as the wisest men in history. Solomon was a man of God who wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Songs of Songs in the Bible. The great philosopher, Socrates, lived in the Classical Age of Greece. Their styles of teaching and perspectives on wisdom were very different, but they did have their similarities. While Solomon and Socrates had the same perspective on what wisdom was, they had contrasting understandings on where it came from. Solomon’s definition of wisdom was the knowledge of making wise choices. Proverbs 1:2-3 says, Wisdom is instruction in wise dealings with others. Wisdom is instruction in righteousness, knowing the difference between good and evil. Wisdom is instruction in justice, knowing how to do what is right. It is the simple learning shrewdness so that they are not taken advantage of. It is the young learning knowledge and prudence. For both the young and the old it is an increase in skill, understanding and knowledge. In Proverbs, he was trying to show his readers how to make wise choices. All of what Solomon wrote came straight from God, and he believed that the only way that anyone could get wisdom was if they got it from God. 1 Kings 3: 5-13 says, In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou has  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  t kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

Cholesterol Essay examples -- essays research papers

Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the bloodstream and in all your body's cells. It's normal to have cholesterol. It's an important part of a healthy body because it's used for producing cell membranes and some hormones, and serves other needed bodily functions. But too high a level of cholesterol in the blood is a major risk for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. It's also a risk factor for stroke. Hypercholesterolemia is the term for high levels of blood cholesterol. You get cholesterol in two ways. Your body makes some of it, and the rest comes from cholesterol in animal products that you eat, such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, butter, cheese and whole milk. Food from plants — like fruits, vegetables and cereals — doesn't have cholesterol. Some foods that don't contain animal products may contain trans-fats, which cause your body to make more cholesterol. Foods with saturated fats also cause the body to make more cholesterol. Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. There are two kinds that you need to know about. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as the "bad" cholesterol. Too much LDL cholesterol can clog your arteries, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as the "good" cholesterol. Your body makes HDL cholesterol for your protection. It carries cholesterol away from your arteries. Studies suggest that high levels of HDL cholesterol reduce your risk of heart attack. What's the Difference Between LDL and HDL Cholesterol? Why LDL cholesterol is considered "bad"? When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, it can cause a heart attack or stroke. The levels of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in the blood are measured to evaluate the risk of having a heart attack. LDL cholesterol of less than 100 mg/dL is the optimal level. Less than 130 mg/dL is near optimal for most people. A high LDL... ...ce the risk of coronary heart disease as people whose cholesterol level is below 200 mg/dL. Half of all Americans age 20 and older have cholesterol levels that are too high (200 mg/dL or higher). The good news is you can make many lifestyle changes to lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. To reduce cholesterol in your blood, eat foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, lose weight if you need to and exercise for a total of at least 30 minutes on most or all days of the week. Some people may also need to take medicine, because changing their diet isn't enough. If you've been prescribed medication or advised to make lifestyle changes to help manage your cholesterol, carefully follow your doctor's recommendations. Learn the facts about cholesterol have regular screenings and, if you need to lower your cholesterol level, work with your healthcare professionals to set up a plan. Reduce your risk of heart attack — take responsibility for managing your cholesterol levels. By lowering your blood cholesterol level, you'll cut your risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke! Understanding And Controlling Cholesterol By Shelton Davis

Analysis of Jean Kilbourne’s Speech on Alcohol Essay

Content: Jean Kilbourne’s content use was very imagery based which is a very effective technique in persuasive speech. It is very apparent in her video that she does an extensive amount of research, and that she is extremely passionate about the content that goes into her videos. Kilbourne is a master when it comes to displaying images and information in a certain light to support her theories. Her entire thesis is based on a very feministic stand point and whether or not you necessarily agree with what she is saying it is hard to argue her point because she presents her points and ideas so well. The speech and direction used in her video is easy for all types of people to understand. Whether female or male she gets her point across and explains her ideas with solid proof. Kilbourne’s information and ideas are not the most original that I have ever seen but they are very unique in the sense that she appeals to every sex, race, and religion. Kilbourne is very well spoken and articulate and this helps her case as it only shows women in a very professional and educated light. She overwhelms her audience with an abundance of evidence and examples that are shown in the exact light that she needs for them for completely back her opinions and points of interest. Kilbourne’s supporting materials are in all of the content that she presents. She gives specific examples of every point that she makes with imagery, statistic and quotes from legitimate sources. Thoroughness is one of her strong points as well. Her examples are not only supportive or her ideas but, they directly relate to how she almost manipulates the viewer by showing us why she is right and how this is affecting women on a regular basis. Organization: Killing Us Softly was one of the most organized persuasive videos that I have ever seen. Although I did not fully agree with a lot of what her video was about I had to respect it because of just how well it was presented. During the introduction she gave her audience a very clear and thorough interpretation of what we were about to watch, and what her main concept and ideas that she was trying to get across were. She wastes very little time jumping right into examples of the message she is trying to get across. Kilbourne shows the audience countless examples over and over in an order hat may seem random to some but actually is very organized. She starts off with a strong example to set the tone and then gradually moves onto less extreme examples to show the varying levels of negative light being shown on women in advertising. Kilbourne’s main points are also very organized and clear. Almost like a check list as she went along showing the many different types of n egativity towards women in not only certain types of advertising but of all types across the board. Kilbourne shows just how enormous the advertising world is. It is a multimillion dollar industry that preys on intimidation and manipulation of women and their role in society. She exploits the very abundant and differing levels of exploitation of women in ads ranging from magazines, television, radio, billboards, and etcetera. Kilbourne’s conclusion was very strong and to the point. She showed a very funny but accurate commercial that shows men â€Å"acting† like women asking â€Å"Do I look fat in this? † or saying their hips are too big, that they have their mothers fat legs, â€Å"I will not let my dress size determine my self worth†; it ends saying â€Å"Men don’t obsess about these things, why do we? This is a very strong point to her conclusion because it shows how strong of an influence the media has on women and society as a whole. Delivery: Kilbourne’s entire speech comes across very confident and delivers her speech with conviction and authority. She is very passionate about her work and i deas and it seeps through in her video. Along with her numerous examples her very educated and clearly researched ideas are very evident during her speech. Kilbourne comes across extremely enthusiastic and energetic. Just by watching the way she performs her speech you know that she is very emotionally invested in her work and ideas. It rubs off on her audience because instead of just being perceived as â€Å"bitching† or â€Å"moaning† she is very thorough and accurate with her information. Even though a lot of it may be perceived my opinion by most she is so enthusiastic you can’t help but to really take a deep look and thought into what she is arguing. It is hard to judge Kilbourne’s eye contact and voice because we did not see her speech live, but from how she viewed the camera and the way that she presented herself it leads you to believe that she would be the same if not better in person. Like I stated before she comes across well educated and she is very articulate which compliments her arguments because she is a good poster-woman for all women. Kilbourne showed an abundant amount of visual aids and examples which in my opinion is what really made her speech. And as I stated before I don’t necessarily agree with everything she presented it is hard not to be moved by her speech because of how influential and well done it was.