Saturday, August 31, 2019

The making of Doctor Zhivago

Arguably one of the most famous epic films of the last fifty years, David Lean’s 1965 adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago still continues to garner acclaim world-wide and was recently voted number thirty-nine in the recent AFI (American Film Institute) poll of the best hundred films of all time (‘100 films, 100 years’ www. AFI. com ), yet the road to the silver screen was not a smooth one.That the novel itself was ever published is the result of both luck, determination and civil disobedience. Semi-autobiographical in nature, an attempt perhaps on Pasternak’s behalf to make sense of some of the horrors he witnessed during the Russian Revolution, even though his limp prevented his being called for active service, Pasternak’s own love of art, beauty and poetry and the ability to discover those things even in a land shadowed by tragedy was mirrored in his protagonist Yuri Zhivago.Like Zhivago, Pasternak’s own poetry, while affording him a highly respected reputation also resulted in problems with the politicians of the day, with his 1932 autobiographical poem ‘Spectorsky’ resulting in accusations of anti-sociability and leading him to concentrate his time thereafter mainly to the translation of foreign playwrights and poets. (Press Book, Doctor Zhivago, Turner Entertainment Co).Although parts of Doctor Zhivago were written during the revolution, and also into the 1920s (Wikipedia) it was not until 1954 that the completed novel was to be ready for publication, originally submitted to (and declined by) the Russian journal Novyi mir, the manuscript was smuggled out of the country in 1957 by the Italian publisher Giacomo Feltrinelli , who despite receiving orders form the communist Russian government to return the manuscript unprinted, published the novel in Russian, with English and Italian translations appearing the following year.Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 195 8, but like his hero Zhivago, could not conceive of leaving his beloved Russia and so, due to the communist principles of the ruling state was forced to decline his prize, explaining ‘I am bound to Russia by my birth, my life and my work. For me to leave my country would be to die. ’ (Press Book, Doctor Zhivago, Turner Entertainment Co). Pasternak was to die just two years later, eighteen years before his magnum opus was be published in his home nation.Acclaimed British film director David Lean, known for such masterpieces as ‘The Bridge Over the River Kwai’ and ‘Lawrence Of Arabia’ saw in Pasternak’s story more than simply a story about the Russian revolution, but a highly complex love story, what he himself termed as ‘†¦the drama, the horror, the turbulence of the Revolution simply provides the canvas against which is told a moving and highly personal love story. ’ (Press Book, Doctor Zhivago, Turner Entertainment Co) .With an estimated budget of eleven million dollars, filming took place between December 1964 and October 1965 with a principle cast including Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenyy and Rod Stieger. (IMDb) The press book for the film claims that over a six month period, around 780 men, including 120 carpenters were responsible for transforming a ten acre area of the Madrid suburb of Canillas into an accurate representation of Revolutionary Moscow.Filming for the demonstration scene, and the revolutionary chanting accompanying it was said to have been so convincing that local residents at first thought that the demonstration was real and that Spanish Dictator Generalissimo Franco had been deposed, leading to subsequent filming of the scene to be closely monitored by the police. (IMDb)The two other most famous locations in the film could be said to be the ‘ice palace’ at Varakyno which in reality was fashioned from a specially formed type of wax and the snowy plains of Finland doubling for the Russian Steppes, shown during the long train journey which lead in turn to one of the film industries most famous urban legends – namely that a stuntwoman fell under the train during filming, losing both of her legs. (Snopes.com) In reality though, although she did indeed fall, and was injured, the injuries were not severe and she returned three weeks later to re-shoot the scene. Above all else though, what is remembered about the film itself is the love triangle of three ordinary people just trying to make sense of love, life and the terrible times they are living in and although the premise of the film itself is in no way a happy one, it stands as a testament to the endurance of the human spirit.References: Doctor Zhivago Special Edition 2 disc DVD (Warner Home Video) IMDb – The Internet Movie Database – http://www. imdb. com Wikipedia – http://www. en. wikipedia. org Press Book, Doctor Zhivago, Turner Enter tainment Co – From the BFI (British Film Institute) http://lean. bfi. org. uk/material. php? theme=1&type=Press%20Book&title=zhivago&folder=dr_zhivago_1&fcount=2 American Film Institute (AFI) http://www. AFI. com Snopes. com – http://www. snopes. com

Friday, August 30, 2019

Silence Kills, Animal Farm Essay

Haley Zrnchik Mrs. Hawkins Honors English 1, Red 1 13 December 2012 Silence Kills In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Benjamin, a soft-spoken donkey, finds his once peaceful home transformed into a tyrannical dictatorship led by a power-hungry pig named Napoleon. Because of Benjamin’s reserved nature, he ultimately was able to lead Animal Farm into its oppression. Benjamin’s silence, his ability to follow without question, and his inability to share his wisdom with the other animals turned him into one of the main contributors to the tyrannical behavior that occurred and the loss of freedom and equality on Animal Farm.When someone keeps their thoughts silent, it usually allows wrong to happen; in this case, Benjamin and his reserved nature is what helped to fuel the farm’s oppression. So when: â€Å"Benjamin . . . seemed to understand, but would say nothing† (109) he allowed the other animals to go without knowing about Napoleon’s true intentions . Perhaps Benjamin assumed that his silence would protect him, and that by staying silent, he was not creating more drama and instead helping to minimize it. Even though Benjamin is one of the more intelligent animals on the farm, his standoffishness is what helped Napoleon lead as a dictator: â€Å"Benjamin . . nodded his muzzle with a knowing air† (109) Benjamin had the ability to share his wisdom with the other animals on the farm. However, instead of spreading the truth about Napoleon, Benjamin kept to himself and refused to meddle in what he considered to be â€Å"nonsense†. Benjamin refused to voice his thoughts and because of that, he allowed his friends to die, his home to be destroyed, and his life to be turned into that of a follower. Instead of speaking up, Benjamin quietly followed the orders he was given. So while he never volunteered to do extra work, he never did less than what he was supposed to: â€Å". . . ven . . . Benjamin . . . did [his] shareâ₠¬  (60-61) Because Benjamin did not try to overthrow Napoleon, he allowed Napoleon to become a stronger and more influential dictator on Animal Farm. Had Benjamin not allowed himself to be turned into a follower, he most likely would have been able to prevent the farm’s oppression. More often than not, it is the followers that help to fuel a tyranny: â€Å"Benjamin was watching . . . [silently and] intently† (102). Followers sit, watch, do what they are told, and they listen. While Benjamin may not have agreed with Napoleon’s rulings, he never objected to any of them either.Benjamin is a follower and he always will be, because even though he possesses the qualities of a leader, he doesn’t have the strength, the care, or the willpower to speak up. Benjamin was always quiet soul, but when he lost Boxer, the pain in his heart only intensified. Benjamin tried to save his dear friend before he was sent to the â€Å"knacker’s† but alas, he wasnâ €™t fast enough: â€Å"Come at once! They’re taking Boxer away! † he shouted . . . Sure enough, there was a . . . van, drawn by two horses . . . And Boxer’s stall was empty . . . â€Å"Good-bye, Boxer! † [The animals] chorused . . . â€Å"Fools! Fools! † shouted Benjamin . . . â€Å"Fools!Do you not see what is written on . . . that van? . . . Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer . . . They are taking Boxer to the knacker’s! † . . . But the van was already . . . drawing away from them . . . [And] Boxer was never seen again. After losing Boxer, Benjamin recoiled deeper into his shell of silence. Little did Benjamin realize that if he chose to harness his anger and use it as a tool to fight against Napoleon, he probably would have been victorious. Even though he spoke in a condescending and undermining tone before, after Boxer died, Benjamin chose not to speak at all: â€Å"Only old Benjamin was much the same as ever . . except . . . since Boxer’s death, more morose and taciturn than ever† (128) Benjamin’s growing silence caused him to become a bigger contributor to the loss of freedom and equality on Animal Farm. At this point, he wouldn’t speak up; Benjamin confirmed his spot as a follower and never as anything more. Sometimes silence is the deadliest weapon. Benjamin proved that by remaining quiet through a time of oppression, one would only be helping to promote a leader’s totalitarianism.His stubborn silence, his adamancy towards following his orders, and his taciturn attitude after the death of Boxer only stood to show that a follower sometimes can be the strongest contribution to a tyranny. Napoleon’s dictatorship, while strong, would not have been as successful had it not been for his followers. Benjamin and the others, while they may not have realized it, were key attributes needed to lead to the ultimate removal of freedom and equality on Animal Farm. Works Cit ed Orwell, George. Animal Farm: With Connections. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1999. Print.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Huntoon & Balbiera Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Huntoon & Balbiera - Essay Example However, they should differentiate offering management consulting as an additional service. Auditing is the most logical choice because despite the decrease in profits from this service are from 2000 to 2001, it is still the most important aspect of the company's operations. This will allow them to have an edge over other auditing firms without the need to lower their costs, thus justifying their current fees. In terms of client industry, the company's future plans must focus on specializing in manufacturing. Municipal clients tend to stick with their auditing firm for as long as they perform satisfactorily. Hence, the firm must simply make sure that they continue to offer these clients with the best service possible in order to keep them. However, a market that the firm can potentially benefit from is manufacturing. With a 22 percent increase in its share of profits, manufacturing is the most logical choice for the company to focus on, if they decide to specialize. Specialization, however, may not be the best strategy for a firm like H&B.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Company analysis - Bancolombia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Company analysis - Bancolombia - Essay Example The different culture and characteristics of the three banks participated in the merger were not easy to be managed. The recent retirement of the firm’s CEO would set the future of Bancolombia in risk, if the new CEO would not be able to understand the firm’s culture but also the employees’ needs. Table of contents Executive Summary 2 Problem Statement 4 Supporting Evidence 4 Key decision criteria 7 Recommendations 8 References 11 Appendices 12 Problem Statement The development of the problem statement in regard to this study requires the reference to a series of events that led to the formation of Bancolombia, as in its current form. Bancolombia is an organization resulted from two mergers. In its initial form, Bancolombia resulted by the merge between the Banco Industrial Colombiano (BIC) and the Banco de Colombia. The above merger took place in 1998 and led to the establishment of Colombia’s most powerful firm in the banking industry (case study, p.3). Bancolombia, the firm resulted by the above merger, reached a market share of 11.5% (case study, p.3). ... The identification of effective HR management practices was of critical importance in Bancolombia, as a business entity established in 1998. In the context of the second merger, a similar issue has appeared. The second merger took place between three firms of the Colombian banking industry: Bancolombia, Conavi and Corfinsura. These firms used different approaches in regard to the management of their HR: a) in Bancolombia, emphasis was given on cooperation for ensuring that organizational targets in regard to profitability are met; the ‘Added Value System, (ADV), a customer profiting strategy’ (case study p.4) was used in Bancolombia to achieve this target. In addition, managers in Bancolombia have promoted a scheme called ‘Cultural Transformation Workshops’ (case study p.3) for ensuring that employees in Bancolombia are fully aware of the culture of the firm; b) in Conavi, employees’ needs were highly valued; in fact, ‘high job stability and con tinuous interaction between employees and managers’ (case study p.5) have been the key characteristics of the firm’s HR strategy; c) in Corfinsura employees had to deal mostly with ‘large corporate clients’ (case study p.5); therefore, most of the firm’s employees were experts in investment banking services (case study p.5); Bancolombia, in its final form, had to deal not only with investment banking services but also to retail services. This problem has been highlighted by managers in Bancolombia, after the firm’s merger with Corfinsura. According to the above, this study’s research problem could be described as follows: would Bancolombia be able to secure high employee performance taking into consideration the important differences in the HR strategies of the three firms participated in the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Britain's relationship with European Union Essay

Britain's relationship with European Union - Essay Example However as Schmidt suggests the problems of Britain in adapting to European policies are not related with the EU changes in government practice or EU related changes in the policies of the EU nations although these changes seem to have been significant for these countries and have affected politics, governance and decision making. However the fact that Britain has problems adjusting to EU changes could be related to the fact that the EU policy changes have never been justified or explained within the context of discourse on EU policies or EU law (Schmidt, 2006). Schmidt points out that France had greater changes in policies and practices and greater challenges to ideas than Britain although in cases of Germany and Italy there haven't been too many significant changes due to EU policies. Thus Britain's adjustment problems with EU policies should be comparatively less than France but more than certain other nations. Baker (2005) studied on the enlargement and expansion of the European Union to its membership of 25 as also the agreement on the EU constitution and elections of the EP. These events occurred in 2004. Baker focuses on the fact that the Blair government emphasises on helping to promote better relationships between the US and the EU and although this constrained the EU policy for Britain, the fact that Blair had some support for EU policy was a tool to influence the British public which is obviously more pro Europe rather than pro America. Within the British parliament, Britain's policies on the EU and its policies towards America seem to have contradictory implications and in certain cases spark intra party and inter party disputes (Schmidt, 2006; Baker 2005). Political analysts have argued that despite Britain's apparent closeness to the United States in recent times especially during the Iraq war; historically Britain has been much closer to Europe than to America. Although it was widely speculated that Britain's membership in the EEC could lead to a complete breakdown in its relationship with America, 30 years now, this may not have really happened. In fact the question of Britain's relationship with America is not so much under speculation or doubt as Britain's ambiguous relationship with the European Union. Britain unsuccessfully applied for membership within the EEC in 1961 but within the context of major controversies and the fact that the UK had a special relationship with the US in terms of sharing nuclear weapons. However despite Britain's reluctant approach to the concept of the European Union, Britain joined as a member of the EEC in the 1970s. The election of the Labour party in 1997 led to a more euro friendly approach of government although Blair also seems to emphasise on UK as acting as some sort of bridge between the EU and the US. The 1997 Amsterdam treaty helped Britain maintain its own border controls and despite its membership into the EEC, Britain seems to have stayed away from the crux of EU policies and approaches giving rise to speculations on whether Britain's relationship with EU will ever be resolved and whether Britain could ever be fully integrated within the European Union. The remark made by Ernest Bevin, who was the Labour Foreign secretary in 1949: "our

Monday, August 26, 2019

CSR and challenges faced by MNCs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

CSR and challenges faced by MNCs - Essay Example 3). Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are found to experience intense pressure for performing socially responsible activities in their global operations. However, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the global perspective and its management by the MNCs are still less understood. There has been an increased promotion of CSR activities followed in the business environment worldwide. In addition to this, various voluntary initiatives and global guidelines are emerging to facilitate improvement of CSR in global operations. MNCs can be considered to be consisting of differentiated network which are significantly complex in nature. They are associated with internal heterogeneity and are required to face various complex situations related to managing across units that are globally diverse and dispersed (Barlett, Doz, and Hedlund, 1990). MNCs have to face diverse environments related to their stakeholders spread over all their international operations in various geographical areas of the world. The MNCs are required to address diverse issues of their stakeholders in diverse contexts and multiple levels of their operations. Managing of CSR by MNCs globally also involves cross border management and transfer of CSR activities across different geographical locations where they operate. MNCs are also required to manage the local CSR practices that are suited to the regional and local context of their subsidiary units. Hence, the MNCs have to face multiple and demanding challenges regarding management of their CSR activities across the globe. This paper entails about all those demanding challenges that are being faced by most of the MNCs worldwide today and how they are managing to do so in an effective manner to ensure their sustainable growth and development in future. CSR and Challenges Faced by MNCs The interests of the society are recognised through the CSR practices followed by an organisation and it takes the responsibility of the various impacts that its b usiness activities can have on the shareholders, employees, community people and the external environment. CSR can help in serving different purposes for a business organisation. It helps to ensure the fact that the business process is being conducted by the organisations in an ethical way and in alignment with the corresponding interests of the community. It helps in responding in a positive manner to the emerging priorities in the society. CSR serves the purpose of developing willingness amongst the organisations to act beyond the regulatory confrontation. It also helps in maintaining a balance between interests of the shareholders of the company and the wider community. As mentioned earlier, corporate social responsibility has received renewed attention in the business world in the recent years. CSR is now considered to be a critical issue that is needed to be followed by the MNCs mainly because of the increasing demands and expectations from the society, and are also driven by v arious factors like the campaigns organised by the NGOs, managers of the companies who are ethical minded, and seeking opportunities to improve the reputation of the organisations. It is unfortunate that most of the companies begin with big words and come up with responsibility policies and statements,

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Improving Education with IT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Improving Education with IT - Research Paper Example d to have a significant impact on the world of education and literacy and carries promising prospects for improving the status of education in the modern world through the gamut of facilities it offers to mankind. Before the coming of the internet, the education curriculum was kept restricted to the subjects and topics in which either the teachers enjoyed expertise or for which the institute’s library provided resources. But today, with the advent of the World Wide Web, the horizons of education have spread manifold. The students no longer have to confine their learning to the resources supplied by the library or remain dependent on the teachers’ lectures. They can choose their own subject of interest and gain endless knowledge and information on the same with just one click. Online courses have become increasingly popular nowadays, wherein the students get an access to customised curriculum, at any time and from any place of their choice. This is especially useful for the students who stay at remote places devoid of proper educational institutes and channels. Traditionally the students would blindly follow and memorise theories, models and formulae dictated by the books and teachers, at times without even understanding them. But now, with the help of IT tools like spread sheets and concept maps, they can not only understand concepts better, but also cross-check and verify them if needed. Education is the most important armour that equips a person to face the series of challenges posed by life and to successfully conquer the hardships that one comes across during the journey of life. It is that ingredient of our life that remains constantly with us throughout our life and helps us to steer through the odds of life. It is not just a part of one’s academic or professional life, but also an equally vital component of one’s personal and social life. Education shapes up the way in which we perceive the society and interpret the world. Hence the advancements and

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The Innocents of Jack Clayton Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Innocents of Jack Clayton - Movie Review Example Mrs. Giddens’s need for affirmation lead her to escape for her native town and obtain a new job based on lies.   At the beginning of the story, the audience becomes aware that Mrs. Giddens wants to escape from her everyday reality. She seems to be unhappy in her native small town as she applies for a job that is far away from her home.   The new job in a large house in the countryside opens up the opportunity to start a new life as a governess.   Furthermore, during her first job interview, she tries to convince her possible employer that she can do and be whatever she needs to do in order to be hired. She states: â€Å"But above anything else, I love the children† (The Innocents).   Mrs. Giddens appears to be a typical, traditional woman.   She wants to receive approval and she has an obvious need to be accepted. Her wish to work with children can be interpreted as a normal motherly instinct, but it also could be interpreted as something more sinister: Mrs. G iddens needs to be in control and the audience could notice that she does have a low level of self-esteem. Mrs. Giddens realizes that the need to hire a new governess is an emergency and so she takes advantage of that situation. She pretends to be a good person in whom the uncle of the two orphan children can trust.   The director portrays Mrs. Giddens as a rather pretty, normal person who will do whatever needs to be done to make the children happy.   At first, it is not obvious that there may be some hidden intentions behind the pleasant exterior of Mrs. Giddens.   When she mentions that her goal or priority is making the children happy rather than to give them a good education this shows that she is not logical and objective. Mrs. Giddens does not have a clear idea that the role of a governess is to educate the children and make them into productive individuals.   She takes advantage of the situation showing herself as a compassionate person who wants the children to be happy. This suits the uncle, who is not very interested in the welfare of the two children. He just wants to enjoy himself without any worries. Both of the adults betray the children by neglecting their real needs.

Victorias Secret Product Strategies and Customer Loyalty Essay

Victorias Secret Product Strategies and Customer Loyalty - Essay Example This research provides coherence into all of the various marketing activities of Victoria's Secret for the past decade. The conclusion of this research shows that the main reason Victoria's Secret has thrived for so long is due to the fact that they market their products specifically for all body types, and classes of women in society, not just the more affluent clients, or one size fits all customers either. Therefore people from every walk of life have been customers of this company at one point in time or another which has given it is irrefutable status in women's lingerie, body fragrances, clothing line, and accessories for years now. The company, "Victoria's Secret" has developed into one of the largest female retailers of classy but sexy undergarments for women throughout the past thirty five years. Not only have they entered into one of the top retailer chains for women but they also provide other items that are variant from their main line of lingerie and body fragrances which has boosted their sales and increased their revenue year after year. Since the introduction of the Victoria's Secret lingerie line in 1970, they have been advertising and marketing their products in a habitual manner. Although there have been costs to the advertising it has worked well for the company in gaining customer loyalty to their products (White 2006). The many benefits of advertising that Victoria's Secret has gained are many as well. Advertising can give many ideas about a product to a consumer such as, various price information, availability of it, and the improvements that might have been made on a specific product as well. Without advertising, customer loyalty and interest would definitely be slim for Victoria's Secret or for any company for that matter. What advertisers try to do is impress the consumer and draw them in to the company. Through the years, Victoria's Secret has worked this in a way that if one product that they carry is more appealing to consumers then they have advertisers work on launching a bigger and better campaign to make that product appear to stand out and become more impressive to the consumer (White 2006). In 1982, Victoria's Secret was bought out by Limited Brands and since that time has continued to grow and lure in young, middle aged and even older customers. Once in the hands of The Limited, the company rapidly branched out to many malls throughout the United States, with 100 stores opening in record time in the late 1980's (White 2006). Also, the company's advertising campaigns during that period and even continuing on into today's time have always been strong and exemplary of what sexy really means. This shows in such ads like the one in 2003 titled, "What is Sexy" This ad earned the company a great deal of gross sales but not only that it earned them the number one spot in advertising within a 15 second time frame (Advertising Age 2003). It could be said however that the company really started to become influential in the feminine undergarment business in the early 90's as research shows that it actually redefined American's

Friday, August 23, 2019

Luftwaffe's Failure to Win the Battle of Britain Essay

Luftwaffe's Failure to Win the Battle of Britain - Essay Example Britain planned for German invasion called operation sea lion and this plan was to establish German air superiority over southern England and the English Channel, and aimed at attacking RAF and anything attached to it (Turner, 2010, p.38) resulting to the first world’s strategic bombing campaign and battle in the air, the battle of Britain. During the opening phase of the battle of Britain, the German planned to gain air superiority and this resulted to an attack by the Luftwaffe on the RAF fighter airfields named Eagle Day (Wyatt, 1940). Luftwaffe decided to attack British domestic shipping in the English Channel to draw out the RAF and suppress their fighting strength and even though the Germans made daily strikes against ship convoys, after sometime, Luftwaffe lost about 248 fighters and bombers to RAF’s 148 fighters lost and this encouraged RAF to fight on and win the battle (Wyatt, 1940). This essay presents an account for the for the Luftwaffe’s failure to win the battle of Britain. Â   About twenty years ago, Europe lay at Hitler’s feet and Britain faced its darkest hour as it was outnumbered and friendless as the German force continued its advance and this made them to see their defeat as being inevitable and their victory became legendary. RAF focused on shooting down all German planes from northern as well as eastern France (Clayton & Craig, 2011, p.18). RAF had the high-performance Hawker Hurricane and Super marine Spitfire fighters whereas the Luftwaffe's principal fighter planes were the Messerschmitt Bf109, the Messerschmitt Bf110, and numerous bombers Wyatt, 1940). The Luftwaffe failed to win the battle because they failed to destroy the air defences of Britain to enable them launch an invasion- Operation Sea Lion, and they as well failed to bomb Britain into surrender since RAF had a well-established and effective spitfire and hurricanes controlled by advanced radar system and this prevented Luftwaffe from emerging v ictorious. Luftwaffe focused on using air campaign to threaten Britain and this campaign was aimed weakening RAF in order to make Britain vulnerable to attack from the air, and to fulfil the basic precondition of invasion by establishing air superiority over the invasion of the South East England (Bungay, 2010, p.27). At the beginning of the battle, Luftwaffe focused on attacking shipping in the English Channel as well as coastal towns but later on, Goering changed his focus to completely destroy RAF, by attacking airfields and their radar bases. When the battle commenced RAF had less than 500 aircraft that were not capable of reaching German territory and therefore, the British preparations was based on avoiding defeat and conquest (Overy,2010, p.6-7). Many factors can explain the Luftwaffe’s failure to win the battle of Britain and many scholars have contributed largely in providing an explanation of the air battle and how the air campaign was developed. Firstly, German pla nes were constructed and designed for short distance tactical tricks and local air superiority, they lacked heavy bombers (Wyatt, 1940), and they lacked quality fighters with the fuel endurance to act as escorts to the bombers they had. Germany lacked long-range bombers and was not able to field its first strategic bomber during the battle (Correll, 2008). On the contrary, Britain had a much more experienced and better equipped fighting force and generally, RAF was strong and massively outnumbered German forces. Accordingly, more and better British fighters were available and ready to help RAF during the battle

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Human Evolution Essay Example for Free

Human Evolution Essay The Evolutionary History of Life on earth traces the process by which living and fossil organisms have evolved since life on the planet first originated until the present day. According to research earth formed about 4.5 Ga (billion years) ago and life appeared on its surface within 1 billion years. The similarities between all present day organizes indicate the presence of a common ancestor from which all known species have diverged through the process of evolution. Every organism has an evolved life history pattern. A life history pattern in which the way time and energy are allocated between growth, maintenance and reproduction. The Evolution of Human Behavior promotes there have been three major life history transactions toward later sexual maturation and longer lifespan. Such as; Prosimians to Monkeys, Monkeys to Apes and Apes to Humans, these patterns of life history characteristics resulting in parental care over long developing periods of human life’s expendency. In my opinion, in order for one must first find out what their genes have been up to in their past history and what they want in their present type of environment plays a big part as to where their future lifespan reaches. We have to consider both the successes and problems causing failures of attempts to use natural instincts to understand fully human behavior and reproduction. Human sexual selection is also an explanation for human social differences in which the human race evolves. Another behavioral perspective is the conclusion concerning the evolutionary base for differences in behavioral between men and woman. In addition, using survival skills such as; behavior in planning, consciousness, emotions, awareness and moral sense that often accompany what we do plays a big part in our destiny. According to anthropologist George Armelagos, ancient teeth tell us secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorte r life spans. Prehistoric remains are providing strong, physical evidence that people who acquired tooth enamel defects while in the womb or early childhood tended to die earlier, even if they survived to adulthood. The idea that many adult diseases originated during the fetal development and early childhood. Teeth are like a snapshot into the past, the evidence is  there and it is indisputable. Over half of the baby boomers here in America are going to see their hundredth birthday come to an excellent health. There will also be the other percent that will get to experience a shortened lifespan due to the lack of health effects in evolution ending in aging without children. Insurance companies are trying to promote and incorporate- The Die Younger plan so they can save millions of dollars on social security since they are running out. Not only are insurance companies promoting this plan but the child’s parent or guardian is also the cause of their shorter lifespan. The plan is pushing to encouraging Baby Boomers to smoke, eat fatty food, drink excessively, not exercise, and to generally burn the candle at both ends. In addition, the retirement age to be raised so Boomers have to keep working and live under a lot of stress causing them to have a shortened lifespan. The parents are not taking care of their healthy lifestyles but promoting bad eating and lack of exercise habits. In conclusion, health is an important role and affects one’s lifespan in evolution. So, unless we start taking better care of our health and habits we will not be able to elongate our life’s but shorten it instead. As the saying goes, what you do now reflects on your future.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

PESTEL analysis of the Chinese and German flooring industries

PESTEL analysis of the Chinese and German flooring industries Since 1979, China adopted an export-manufacturing strategy successfully following with Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The Golden Bridge Co., Ltd is one of the beneficiaries. It was founded in 2007 with flooring as its main products. The product is of high quality by utilizing advanced technology and equipments imported from Germany and Italy. The glue and lacquer materials for production are also imported. In current stage, Golden Bridge has a total capital of 800 million RMB and exported to 35 foreign markets including the U.S., Canada, Japan and Germany. In order to help it to expand the business, our consultancy company attempt to analyze the China business environment and seek a foreign market to relocate the manufacturing of this company with proper entering and competing strategies. This essay first illustrates the business environment of flooring industry in China and German with PESTEL analysis. Then it evaluates the threats in Germany market by following Porters five-force mode l. Later a recommendation would be given on how to properly enter into the targeted country. PESTEL analysis of china market: The PESTEL analysis is used to assess the macro environment and identify the challenges Golden Bridge faced with in china market in order to make an appropriate suggestion. Political: The Chinese political system characterized as one-party communist dictatorship makes a great contribution to national stability, enabling the economy keep dynamic and sustainable. Nevertheless, when the economic system was deregulated from the command economy to market economy since 1978, the power of economic management was increasingly decentralized, raising the issue of uncoordinated development of regional economy. Currently, though the central government has made effort to alleviate the gap among different areas in terms of developing standards, provinces tend to give a priority to local profits rather than considering the integrated advancement of the whole country. Local protectionism exerts detrimental influences upon market expansion of Golden Bridge Company in nationwide and deters the establishment of a comprehensive distribution channel. Economical: China is valued as one of the most vibrant countries in terms of economic development among the world. The reform opening up in 1978 accelerated Chinas GDP growth from 362.4 billion RMB to 30 trillion RMB within a 30-year period. Moreover, in 2010, China has been the second largest economy instead of Japan whilst the value of export accounted for 10% of world. Based on these statistics, judgment can be made that manufactures in China including flooring industry may keep an optimistic attitude to their future prospects in some extent. Nonetheless, Chinese economy may suffer unpredictable circumstance in the future. Labor resource is one double-edge sword. Once being an advantage of China, abundant labor resource and economical labor price make a great contribution to progress of those labor-intensive manufacturing industries. This is also the primary reason that China flooring industry is quite profitable though China is a net importer of timber. However, as cited by AME info (2005) there is a growth in the minimum wage standard, labor may not be regard as a perpetual advantage of China if this trend continues. In Addition, appreciation of CNY since 2005 against USD may imperil the export of Golden Bridge Company (Goldstein, M. and Lardy, N., 2006). Social: It is claimed by Su and Littlefied (2001) that China is an extremely high-context country where people prefer to receive implied messages. For establishing a business in China, strong private-relationships with different stakeholders is the key to success. However, this is extremely time-consuming while the maintenance is also expensive. Potential conflicts in interest may easily erode it. Besides the relationship, corruption is another issue in China. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, China was positioned 72nd among all 179 countries in 2008. However, damages caused by corruption may be far more hazardous than anticipated, particularly to the economic development. Corruption has been treated as a vital barrier for operating in Chinese market due to enormous back-stage expenditures as well as resulted injustice. For Golden Bridge to gain more import quotas and pay less tariff, costs may be made up of not only normal ingredients such as transporting, but also implied expense for smoothing the network. Technological: China wood flooring industry is experiencing a relatively laggard technological standard in its initial stage of development. According to Cheng and Song (2006), the level of timber utilization was 61% in 2004 with a considerable disparity with developed countries (nearly 90%). Additionally, imbalanced technological support aggravates the long-term conflicts between wood supply and demand in Chinese domestic market. In 2004, though the total domestic timber supply is 273.6 million cubic meters and exceeded the total consumption of 241.5 million cubic meters, scarcity of raw material still existed in some parts of timber manufacturing industry. Environment Legal: Chinese government proposed the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP) nationwide in 1998 to limit exploitation of natural forest resources. The legislation made the supply of domestic natural timber restricted. Between 1997 and 2003, natural timbers supply decreased from 32.05 million cubic meters to 12.145 million cubic meters (Cheng and Song, 2005), which was extremely insufficient to satisfy demands of the highly prosperous timber industry in China. Timer manufacturing companies in China have to depend on importing. Statistics shows that in 1997 the quantity of imported timber only occupied 23.56% of total wood consumption, while the number soared to 53.78% in 2004. The expenditure of imported timber was $33.96 higher per cubic meter compared with the price in 2007, which increased the material coast of Golden Bridge Company. PESTEL analysis of German market: Since this essay has analyzed the macro environment of the china flooring market, further looking at the political, economic, social and technological factors of the German can help advance and strength the logic of the whole assessment. Political factors: Germany is a home of secure, legal and rewarding investment. The World Economic Forum has rewarded its legal system as the most efficient and this fact has also gained international recognition. Flooring coverings are categorized according to German and EU laws and building products should be subject to the EU construction products directive and the German construction products law. The directive and law are mainly focused on environmental, health-related, material and usability sectors and most people agree that by considering the environmental restrictions, the EU can be the strictest market. Moreover, with the transnational economic environment, it is predicted by experts that the approval criteria for flooring is likely to decrease and there seems to be a limited permission of eco-labels for flooring products. Further, comprehensive incentives  are provided to both home and oversea investors by German government, individual federal states and the EU. Economic factors Germany is the largest economy in Europe and in general German is export-oriented. Since 2003, German has been the largest exporter machinery, vehicles, chemicals and household equipment, with an annual export increase of 8%. However, factors that may prevent Golden Bridge from entering into and developing itself in Germany also exist. They can be excessive dependence on euro currency, tight credit markets and an increasing rate of unemployment. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKELs second term will increase Germanys record budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 5% of GDP in 2010. The EU required Germany to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP until 2013. A new constitutional amendment likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016. Technology factors: Germany is claimed to be the leading nation in high-tech development and receives high turnover accordingly. In 2007, the high-tech products exported by Germany accounted to a value of RUR 114 billion, ranked first in Europe and third worldwide. More than 27% turnover of German manufacturing factory is generated from high-tech products, compared to a European average of 19%. Social factors: Social factors also need consideration. Hofstedes analysis of Germany shows the emphasis on individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Power distance and long-term orientation are both ranked considerably lower than the others. Germany believes in equality and equal opportunity, as well as its ability to change and adapt rapidly. Another arising issue is the social awareness of pollution, which leads Germany to use more environmental-friendly materials. Abstract for the use of five-force model: After analyzing the macro-environment of both countries, it is reasonable and necessary to apply Michel Porters five-force model in order to provide a thoroughly understanding of the German flooring market before the Golden Bridge company entering into it. According to this model, the competitiveness of an industry is influenced by such five forces and their collective strength and thus determines the ultimate profit potential of this targeting industry. These five forces covered in the analysis are competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, the threat of substitution and the threat of potential new entry. However, the five-forces framework is not a set of principals per se, instead is a tool for systematically use these principals to assess the current status and likely evolution of an industry. Competitive Rivalry: The internal competitive rivalry in German flooring market seems high. There are three main reasons. First, the switching cost is low because flooring products are homogenous with little product differentiation. Another reason is that the German flooring market is saturated with a relatively low growth rate. The flooring production in 2008 suffered a 15.1% decline while the total consumption slumped for about 12.19% (FEP, 2008). Also the number of competitive companies in German flooring market and the intensity of rivalry also determine the high threats of rivalry. There are a large number of companies competing in the German flooring market and these companies are divided into three categories, they are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Domestic Leading Manufacturers (DLMs) and Niche Market Brands (NMBs). First of all, SMEs has the largest number in the German flooring market (Roadmap, 2010). These SMEs are often manufacturers provide low-grade flooring with low price. Their marketing strategy is just reverse to Golden Bridges. Thus Golden Bridge is suggested to treat them in an abstemious way. However, there are also a few numbers of large flooring manufacturers who operating on European and/or global base. It is suggested by German Timber (2007) that few DLMs account for the majority of the total market share. These companies usually possess strong competencies, highly recognized reputation and well-established brand image. One main rivalry is the Krono Group, who is one of the world leading producers of high-quality flooring. Founded in 1897, it has accumulated years of experience and extensive knowledge know-how. It delivers products to 80 countries worldwide while has its own production-base in 18 countries. In 2004, its production capability of flooring reached 310 million à £Ã … ½Ã‚ ¡, took up about 1/3 of the world market share with total sales revenue of 24 billion RMB. It also has an annual RD investment of 15billion RMB with over 200 scientists doing research in Krono International Laboratory. In addition, there are Niche Market Brands (NMBs) with several well-known brands like Espirt and Kaindl, holding part of the flooring market (FEP, 2007). These companies merely provide certain kinds of flooring to meet the special needs of a group of customers. Furthermore, in order to gaining competitive strength, the NMBs together with some foreign brands such as Balterio from Belgian and Vito from Austria have formed a conglomerate named Beamy International, a commercial platform allowing them to compete on both domestic and global markets (FEP, 2008). As the competition is fierce in German flooring market, Golden Bridge is suggested to adopt a niche strategy and doing effective promotion after entering the market. To explain, the original German wood flooring manufacturers already gains economy of scales and undeniably enjoy a cost advantage. Advanced distribution channel comparing with those new entrants also allows them first mover advantages. Cost disadvantage and lacking reliable cooperators are main barriers for Golden Bridge to survive in German market. Insufficient in capital determines that an aggressive expansion strategy is also irrational. However, one advantage Golden Bridge occupies is that it has been doing export business within German importers for couple of years and its products did have certain reputation in this highly competitive market. By offering additional value, Golden Bridge can efficiently differentiate itself among the rivals with a brand image of reliability, valuable, and symbol of statuses. This may help obtain sustainable brand loyalty among German customers. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitution refers to the extent to which different products used in place of a companys products or offered by other industrials. Flooring is not restricted on only wood but other materials such as textile and stone/ceramics are also widely used. For instance, in German market in 2008, textile took the largest raw material market share (i.e. about 37.4%) for making flooring. This is followed by stone/ceramics of 28.6%. Comparably, the laminate only had a market share of 13.9%, ranked in the third place. In terms of switching cost, the result can be distinct regarding to different objects of study. To individual consumers, there is almost no switching cost exists because choose one kind of material instead of another is just a matter of personal taste. However, this can be criticized in depth for the reasons that wood-made flooring has its own characteristics and functions that other materials may not have. To some extent and to specific customer groups, for instance, those who have fixed-decoration style, the switching cost can be relatively high. However, to large wholesalers (e.g. Beamy International) who previously dedicated in wood-made flooring, the switching cost would be extremely high, as they may lose the stable distribution channels with their current wholesalers or retailers, and also the price advantage provided by the long-term cooperative producers. This means the substitution threat is less considerable because their past investment in developing stable distribution channels with retailers and producers offers them an advantage in current market and this may make them unwilling to undertake risks of operating and competing in a new and highly competitive market. Summing up the above, it is the end-user customers that Golden Bridge should pay close attention to. First of all, it is advised that a regular customer survey to be conducted to make a comprehension of customers preferences and what they really appreciate. The company should also emphasize the exclusiveness and unique utilities of their products, making it cost more for the customers to switching to other substitutes. In the meantime, though as mentioned the future trend seems favor wood flooring industry, Golden Bridge should cause enough value that the technology development is always indeterminate. Thus in order to avoid sudden shock of new technologies that brings in comparable substitutes, Golden Bridge should invest continuously in Research and Development to keep pace with the times. Threat of New Entrants: Threat of new entrants is moderate. As put by European Commission (2001), the main barriers to enter German market include certification approval and the quality standards and label, while the incentive to enter German market depends mainly on its impeccable infrastructure system. The extensive unified intensification, which has been mentioned before in PEST Analysis of German, increase the starting investment of new entry, accordingly has negative effect on new entrants to the market. There are totally fourteen member countries of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP). Under the Single European Market policy, twelve of them have reached an agreement on moving goods, service and capital freely internally, giving companies in these markets strong mobility. To put it simpler, a flooring company located in Germany for example, can either choose to develop domestically or entre into either of the other 11 member countries of EFP, in support of the unified system. Once entering into the consolidated FEP, the new members deserve this privilege with little hindrance, however, the legal entry requirement, especially for flooring companies compliance with environmental protection, is said to be quite strict in European Market, which is especially true in Ge rmany. Thus it can be expected that in order to harmonize to European standards, a large quality of funds will be needed to invest in order to fulfilling the standards ranging from environmental protection to individual healthcare. What is more, the sophisticated infrastructures that Germany possesses nationwide make the market considerably attractive to those adventurous entrepreneurs. As known to all, Germany lays in the center of the Western Europe, with large-scale transportation centers such as International airport in Frankfurt and seaport in Hamburg (ELA, 2010). Centering in a fast and efficient logistic network covering almost all the main markets in Europe, flooring companies in Germany can procure raw materials namely timber on a global scale, and reach the external markets with relatively lower transportation costs. Therefore the threats of new entrants would be moderate in German flooring market. For Golden Bridge, the corporate should create a marketing and brand image and keep customers loyalty, tie up to both suppliers and distributors. More important, it should sign a patent to protect the intellectual property of their high-tech products. Buyer Power: Buyer power, which is determined by the individual customers ability in negotiating purchase prices with suppliers, is at an intermediate level in German market basing on four crucial reasons. Firstly, according to the previous analysis, competition in the wood flooring manufacturing is largely intensified by a large amount of incumbents. Hence, purchasers are more unrestricted in choosing their suppliers with considering competitive advantages of products, and price may be a decisive factor for some customers. However, it is important to note that Wholesalers have more bargaining power than individuals. Being the large-volume buyers, they are not only main customers where companies earn profits from, but also controllers of dominant distribution channels. By stark contrast, individual customers with smaller purchase volume may be positioned less vitally in suppliers minds. Secondly, the buyer power is attenuated by the availability of substitutes of wood flooring in German market. E xcept for this category of flooring, more choices are supplied on the market. Despite competition reinforces customers bargaining power, the phenomena of demand surplus in German wood flooring alleviates this circumstance. According to the research of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP), the consumption of German wood flooring is about 17.88 million square meters, while the production of German wood flooring is only about 11.04 million square meters (Slides Stats 2008). In additionally, German culture also plays a significant role in lessening customers bargaining power. The spirit of the nation, such prudence and fixation lead to a fairly strict standardization in both work and life. Germans are used to calculating a precise price based on all dimensions. Hence, they dislike dealing with situations out of their planning, enabling bargaining become very difficult. Ten percentage cut in price is the biggest range they will agree in they dealing with foreign buyers. (LeMont Schmidt, 2001). Supplier Power: Supplier Power refers the power of suppliers to drive up the prices of raw materials, supplies, equipment or inputs. Your company purchases the glue, paint and equipment, and employs labors from Germany and imports the wood from Russia. There are some crucial factors performing low supplier power of your company. Firstly, German is not used to bargaining, which is mentioned in Buyer power. Hence, it is meaningless for German suppliers to drive up the price of material and equipment. Negotiating power is weak in Russia as well. Although the nation is one of the largest wood producers, there are a large number of wood suppliers ¼Ã…’which provide a strongly competitive circumstance in Russia. Admittedly wood is a kind of nature product so that customers are sensitive to the price of wood. Because of high standard of transparency, the switching cost is low in Russia. On the other hand, many substitutes with lower expenditures are becoming increasingly prevalent such as marble, carpet, plastic flooring. High standard of substitutes threat can restrict the suppliers to drive up the price and reduce the power of suppliers. However, high labor cost strengthens the supplier power. The German labor cost is one of the highest in world. According to Common Protocol of Salary, Labor wage need be determined by the negotiation between wood flooring industry and backwards industry (Fact about Germany, 1996). Therefore, the security of labor force is quite completed. Unions are powerful to argue with unfair wage or welfare. For example, Michael Sommer, the head of the trade union federation(DGB) , claimed that is necessary to increase labors wage with the upturn of economy in 2010( Guardian ¼Ã…’2010). Supplier power and buyer power, which exert a moderate threat on Golden Bridges development in German, can be alleviated through several ways. From one aspect, to limit bargaining power of large-volume wholesalers, the company should give priority to building up a distribution network itself by developing new franchisers rather than depending on the primary channels of wholesalers. In terms of individual customers as well as challenges from substitutes, enhancing the products benefits would be the most efficient way to reduce their bargaining desire as most of affluent people value quality more important than price. From the other aspects, labor relationship, the most considerable barrier in lessening German supplier power, should be harmonized through affording sufficient welfare to employees, as well as building a relative democratic organizational culture by the company. Moreover, it is supposed that importing a few skilled workers from China would benefit the company not only by more economical labor cost, but also reducing the significant dependence on the German labor market. Limitation of the 5-forces: Porters five-force model is not perfect but based on the assumption that from the view of any one firm, all the other firms no matter whether they are supplier, competitor or buyer are threats to the profitability. However, according to Brandenberger and Nalebuffs value net theory, interactions among firms can sometimes enhance profits. Thus critics raised and attentions on cooperation are much more paid. The cooperation between the Golden Bridge Company and other foreign flooring companies will be analyzed and evaluated in the later recommendation part. Recommendation By illustrating the German macroeconomic environment and its circumstance of flooring industry, it is thought that the most recommended strategy for Golden Bridge is to build a joint venture with one or several German covering floor manufacturing enterprises, whilst maintaining the manufacturing section and primary market system in China. Joint venture can be explained as a collaborative formation among companies that each party invests parts capabilities to constitute a new enterprise, thereafter determining the distribution of ownership according to corresponding contributions. Nevertheless, two preconditions should be taken into consideration before making an alliance with German incumbents. Firstly, as a dominant barrier in Chinese market, capital insufficiency would also limit the investment ability of Golden Bridge in German to a large extent. Consequently, small-to-medium incumbents are more desirable as cooperators rather than large-scale companies in terms of ensuring a rela tively high proportion of ownership of Golden Bridge in the new joint venture. Moreover, it is imperative to illustrate compatibility of potential partners based on a number of philosophic criteria, including similar experience, common principles and agreed future target as well (Kanter, 1994). Where extremely intensive competition takes place, German market would tend to pose more threats than opportunities on the Golden Bridge if the company attempts to entirely entry the market alone. In comparison, cooperating and aligning with local companies would be a much safer and efficient measure from two aspects. First, by giving joint ventures preferential treatment, the Golden Bridge gains a good opportunity to penetrate the German market in a relatively short period with minimum risks as the company is unnecessary to expose abundant long-term investments to gain market shares in German wood flooring industry. Instead, it can utilize those important strategic assets of local cooperators such as complete distribution channels, customer relationships and brand loyalty. Moreover, Golden Bridge is still deficient at technology and management comparing with the local German companies. Through setting up a joint venture, advanced technology and managerial know-how can be more easily accessible by Golden Bridge, which is beneficial to its development in China market as well. Nevertheless, possible issues relating to joint venture cannot be neglected by the Golden Bridge. First, operational dissimilarities caused by political and economic divergence between China and German may be a vital problem for Golden Bridge. For instance, blind spots in law or financial systems will damage the corporate profits at initial stage. Additionally, cultural and managerial difference may be difficult to consolidate as different authority, reporting and decision-making patterns (Kanter, 1994), therefore leading to possible mistrust and misunderstanding between Golden Bridge and its partners. It has been widely recognized that German managers are prudent and rigid in dealing with regulations and rarely consider the influences of the network relationship, which is fairly distinct from Chinese managers conceptions. Conclusion: In conclusion, according to the PESTEL analysis, there are a number of challenges in China. These challenges can be the unbalanced market condition in china because of local protectionism and insufficient infrastructures, under-developed technology and managerial skill led to the low efficiency of timber industry in China, Natural Forest Protection Program limits the domestic nature timbers supply as well as the increasing labor cost in flooring industry due to Chinas economy prosperous. The complexity of interrelationship of different parties involved in the business environment also cannot be neglected. The PESTEL analysis of German market was further conducted to make the assessment more comprehensive. Later the consultants use five-force model to assess threat of entering the German flooring market. For instance, the competitive rivalry and threat of entry in German flooring market is extremely high. In terms of threat of substitution, it is much more complex. The supplier power and buyer power are both at an intermediate level. However, Porters model is criticized for lacking of corporation with other market players. Thus, a recommendation is made by our consultancy company for Golden Bridge to organize a joint venture and thus with other reliable and competitive companies for instance, the Beamy International. Facts about Germany. (1996). Frankfurt am Main: Società ¤ts Verlag. LeMont Schmidt, P. (2001). Die amerikanische und die deutsche Wirtschaftskultur im Vergleich: Ein Praxisbuch fà ¼r Manager. Gà ¶ttingen: Hainholz Verlag. Guardian (2010) German steel workers demand 6% wage increase http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/germany-angela-merkel http://www.roadmap2010.eu/wisd/pdfs/68-81.pdf http://ecotec-energiesparhaus.de/Daten/Holztechnik-Forest-and-wood-industries-in%20Germany%20at-a-glance.pdf http://www.tarkett.com/group/en/company/Tarkett-at-a-glance http://www.homeinstitute.com/types-of-flooring.htm http://news.frbiz.com/parquet_floor_once_again_leading-440481.html http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004D0275:EN:NOT

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Developing a marketing strategy at Tesco

Developing a marketing strategy at Tesco Marketing is to establish, maintain and enhance relationship with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met. This is achieved by mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises. Brassington F and Pettitt S( FT Prentice hall,2006) Developing a marketing strategy is a very fragile process and all organizations make extra effort for it to gain customers. Customers knowledge is very essential to gain them. Marketing strategy has a vital role to play in an organization. Customer relationship is very important for a business. Customer needs should adhere to organisational objectives and this is important. In a nutshell we are statisfying needs of customers with profit. According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing, they offer recognised qualifications and trainings and also provide advice on marketing, their base line is : SATISFYING NEEDS AND WANTS OF CUSTOMERS AT PROFIT Marketing strategy should be adhered to customer needs and wants. Customer is an essential factor of an organisation, his likes and dislikes, thoughts and wants change with time. Its very natural, that human beings change their attitude, desires after a certain time period. The strategy should respond to those changes effectively. To capture market, companies should adopt affective techniques. Customer should know what we are doing. Monitoring and control after strategy implementation is very important. COMPANY PROFILE OF TESCO Tesco PLC holds the leading position among food retailers in Great Britain, with a market share that exceeds 15 percent. In England, Scotland, and Wales, the company runs 588 supermarkets, 257 of which are superstoresstores that sell food items in addition to a variety of other products, including gasoline, clothing, housewares, and alcoholic beverages. Tesco also operates 32 stores in Northern Ireland and 77 in the Republic of Ireland under various brands, 43 in Hungary under the Global and Tesco names, 31 in Poland under the Savia name, and 13 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia under the Tesco brand. In Northern Ireland, the company also runs 52 Wine Barrel off-license outlets. Tesco is the largest independent gasoline retailer in Britain; its 288 gas stations sell 12.5 percent of the gasoline sold in the United Kingdom. Recent company innovations include the Clubcard loyalty card as well as offerings from Tesco Personal Finance, which include a grocery budgeting account called Clu bcard Plus, a Tesco Visa Card, and a Tesco savings account. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/11/Tesco-Plc.html BASIC PLANNING RULES FOR A STRATEGY VISION AND MISSION All companies have their vision and mission statements which describe the organization.Some organizations have two statements. Reputed companies have one vision statement. It is a small description of an organizations future. What is the business? Customers? How value of customer can be increased? Tesco Vision is EVERY LITTLE HELPS A LOT Concept A strategy should be customer oriented, customer knowledge is essential. To know your customer, customer diversification in categories is important. They can be divided into segments according to their liking and disliking trends. A market research can be conducted to know the trends. After trend analysis, competitive advantage can be attained. According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. For quality oriented customers we should make a strategy that draws their attention to our quality products and prices. Strategy should match our strengths. After strategy formulation, customer awareness is important. We need to develop channels to makle the customers aware of our offers. Systematic Approach To develop a systematic approach is hard and fragile task then all the other marketing tasks. Its id nutshell which includes all the companies objectives and plans.(Malcolm Macdonald,2008) Sequencing and scheduling of Activities Organisational managers are responsible for executing all the marketing activities and scheduling them. The main steps to make the execution on time are: 1 Identify activities to be performed 2 Determine the time required for activity completion 3 Determine the activity sequence. 4 Timing of all activities. 5 Assign responsibility(O.C Ferrel,Michael D,2007) Integration of activities Integration are of two types Simple Complex In simple, organizations subcontract the easy activities to other countries and keep complicated duties to themselves. Small companies support this strategy. In complex, the companies make decisions at the headquarters.(Bradley F,2005) Resource requirements Companies go with diversification if they have strong assets. Such Organizations introduce themselves in markets where the resources are according to their abilities. They have more opportunities if the resources are general. (Bradley F,2005) Time Scaling Time scaling is of two types 1 Production time scale 2`Commercial time Scale Both of them have different requirements according to the production and Marketing departments of the organization.(Suerie C,2005) Implementation and control:- A plan is nothing unless it degenerates into work.(peter drucker) Control is the way that we catch faults in strategy. Types of control:- Annual plan control Profitability control Efficiency control Strategy control STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS This Process consists of a pattern of sensible steps that are taken to arrive at a Marketing plan. The next step would be to analyze the Market. Inorder to analyze the market there are some dimensions which need to be covered. Growing submarkets Size of Markets Market growth Profitability of Market Structure of Cost Distribution system Development and Trends Success indicators (Mcloughlin D, A.Aker D, 2010) SETTING MARKETING OBJECTIVES There are two factors Customer oriented objectives Market oriented objectives Both objectives should be designed to earn profit and gain customer. Goal setting should keep the organizations internal and external environments in centre. Only then a realistic business strategy can be developed. The goals should be smart, measurable, realistic, achievable, specific and time bound. (McCorkell G,1997) http://www.businesslink.gov.uk STRATEGIC MARKETING A strategy is a plan that integrates an organizations major goals,`policies,decisions and sequences of action into cohesive whole.(Proctor T,2000) MARKETING STRATEGY A marketing strategy should be coherent to the marketing plan. It should always be the same practically. SEGMENTATION In order to put in place a marketing strategy, the first step is to understand the market. Divide the market in to different categories. E.g. the business sector is huge market. This market can be categorized business nature. Banking industry is separate market. Steel industry is a separate market and similarly Textile is a separate market. The next step is to analyse, number of businesses working in each sector. Size of each business, their level of working. After doing this analysis, customer trends need to be analyzed , what do they want. Then after analysing we should be understand where we have the competitive advantage. And how can we bring it to use. POSITIONING Positioning means to make an image in the mind of the customer. His perception about us. What he thinks about us. What do we want him to think. How can we do that is part of the marketing strategy. Some businesses want to offer quality and some offer cheaper rates. This is where we want the customer class comes in. Does he fall in the higher class, middle class or lower class. MARKETING MIX Afetr segmentation, market selection and positioning the product, the next step is to make a marketing mix. Business should then evaluate its different marketing mix strategies which include the 4 ps. According to Adcock et al The right product, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right price PRODUCT Organizations should work on the product. How the customer values the product. It also depends a little on the company where it wants to draw attention. Existing products should have a different line of action on how the product should be modified. PRICE The price aspect is critical. If customers want quality at any price. Then in the above P(Product), the company might focus on quality. If the price set is low then the customer might see it as low quality, others might favour it to meet the finances. PLACE Accessibility is the answer to gain customers. Products available to customer in his local area, then this is an advantage. Because if products are of basic or daily needs, customers have many options and will prefer the nearest one. Internet shopping is another plus point. PROMOTION Customer awareness to product is also important. Either through internet, media or print media. Until and unless the customer does not have the knowledge, we wont make any sales. Tesco Tesco,s way promotion are advertising, public relations, direct mail, sales promotion and personal selling http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php These were the 4ps. For more detailed and comprehensive study, 3 more ps were included: PEOPLE An organisation needs to make sure that its resources such as the employees are fully trained. They should have enough product knowledge to satisfy customers. PROCESSES The processes of the company should be efficient enough to handle customers and satisfy them according to their needs. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE This factor refers to the companys appearance. How the employees look, the premises. These elements put an immense impression about the business in their mind. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk DISADVANTAGES These tools are just like the ingredients of a strategic marketing plan. If any one of it is not focused and given a detailed consideration then chances are of failure. TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES SWOT ANALYSIS If an organisation works honestly with it self, this will lead to success. A business should look in its internal and external environments. For every business it is important that it analyses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats (SWOT analysis). Then it realises where it stands. After it knows what its actual picture is, then accordingly strategies should take shape. A companys strength could be Good customer service Good offers, packages Excellent knowledge According to a report some of Tesco,s strengths are Diverse ranges of products à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Open 24 hours service à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strong flow of cash à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Increasing turnover and profits à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strong Balance Sheet à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Growing Supermarket Chain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brand Awareness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Online Shopping http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php Weaknesses Weaknesses could be like Lack of resources Average reputation Accounting system is not good Tesco,s weaknesses There is a mind positioning of low quality -(Tesco value brands) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lack of local knowledge of customers and culture THREATS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Competition which is strong à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unpredictability in Price of raw materials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recession à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shift of market to globalisation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Takeover bids http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php Opportunities Internet as a source of new markets New technologies can help product improvement. Threats New competitor in market http://www.businesslink.gov.uk In order to identify the Macrofactors, we use Step: stands for Social, Technological, Economic, Political factors Steeple: Social, Technological, Economic, Ecological, Political factors, Legal and Ethical Fators. Pestle: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Ecological factors. Now these three tools vary from organization to organization.(Blythe J, 2006) PESTLE External environment includes the forces outside the organisation. Its called the PEST analysis. PEST are the factors that make the business wade in the external environment. But businesses have to survive. POLITICAL Political changes also affect the business. If a new regulation is imposed like taxes, this could effect the companies cost. TESCO After the European Integration and agreement of free trade, the market has opened up for British Companies to invest in Eastern Europe. Tesco already has 60 Hypermarket store in Hungary.  Ã‚   ECONOMIC Economic factors like change interest rates, exchange rates also affect the business. SOCIAL Social factors include change of lifestyle, fashion, attitudes of people which change demand for certain product. Tesco Changes in consumer demands, trends and lifestyle show both opportunities and threats for the company. Opportunities in terms of new market and consumers, however, there are added threats of developed Swedish retailers. http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php TECHNONLOGICAL Technology has immensely changed the way businesses work now. Tesco Changes in retailing sales through the Internet is now very common. Paperless operation, access through secure servers; provide flexibility in the business running. Sweden is going through technological development with companies like Ericsson, Tesco would enjoy the logistic and distribution channels already in place http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php LEGAL Tesco National legislation for health and safety both in terms of consumer rights and also in terms of production of own natural renewable resources for making clothes ENVIRONMENTAL Businesses do not have control over these factors what they can do is react to these changes by accordingly adjusting the SWOT environment. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk BCG MATRIX Stars ? Cash cows Dogs This tool is used by businesses to evaluate their different business units (SBU).It was developed by the Boston Consulting group. It places the different SBUs of the business in each quadrant according to their market share and reputation STARS These products are market leaders have good market share and growth CASH COWS These products have high market share in low growth markets. QUESTION MARK These have low market share in high growth markets. These products need considerable thought if they should be supported or not. They are not generating much income. DOGS These products have low share in low growth markets. Very poor performance and should be withdrawn.(L. Kurtz D,2008) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE It is a model which represents the life of a product. It has four basic stages INTRODUCTION The product is developed and introduced in the market. GROWTH This phase of the cycle is where the product gains market share and generates income. MATURITY In this stage the product has achieved the maximum share and is at its maturity point. DECLINE After achieving the maximum share the product undergoes a decline phase where it has no more demand for it self.(Saaksvuori A,Immonen A,2008) Product Life Cycle Model PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL Threat of new Entrants Industry competitors Bargaining power of Supplier Bargaining power of Buyer Substitute Threat Porter argued the strategy is not just as series of models at the corporate level of strategy. He noted that strategy includes analyzing potential entrants, suppliers,buyers,substitutes, and competitors. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYER It is the ability of the buyer to bargain. This power increases as the buyer has more options to buy from. NEW ENTRANTS These are the new companies entering into the industry and are a threat to the existing ones. BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIER It is the ability of the suppliers to decide the price for their product and the terms. SUBSTITUTE THREAT Alternate products offered by companies for a particular product are also threat to existing entities.(Michael J. Stahl, DavidW. Grigsby,1997) MARKETING STRATEGY OPTIONS According to Michael Porter, orgaizations can continue with three strategies, 1 Differentiation Strategy 2 Cost Leadership 3 Focus Strategy DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY This strategy is used by an organization to make itself different from other businesses. This strategy helps the organization to charge more from customers as compared to competitors. One thing is for sure that if customers get extra value they can pay more. Rolex watches charge more for there product. They earn their reputation by the quality of metal, stainless steel. They undergo special test for quality assurance. COST LEADERSHIP This strategy is used by companies to boost sales. They reduce their cost slightly below the cost of rivals and sell the products more. Timex has been a cost market leader for long. They make simple watches at low price for mass market. FOCUS STRATEGY Organizations using this strategy focus at particular market or group of buyers. Organizations might make thier focus using differentiation or cost leadership strategy in that specific market.(Ricky W. G,2007) CORE COMPETENCES These are skills used by organizations to provide customers with extra benefits. Competences could be Speed Consistency Acuity Agility Innovativeness (Hamel.G, Prahalad CK,1996) RISING EXPECTATIONS Customer expectation has increased due to companies continuing improvement towards their product to satisfy them. Since every company competing with Tesco is giving almost comparable products so the only way to get an edge is to give something extra to surprise them. Employee training is also very important to cope with customer expectation like giving a free delivery at home. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Technology is changing at a very fast rate so companies need to be good supporters or followers. Tesco can and is improving towards reducing the ques inside the stores by improving the websites so grocery orders can be taken online. COMPETITION Competition has increased tremendously in many industries and so many companies who were weak have fallen out, due to added factor weak economic conditions. Tesco club card scheme has really helped it to get through the economic condition. GLOBALISATION In this era every business considers and makes decisions according to the international market. Now the world has developed it self to be a global village. Spread of information, media, internet many different of doing business online has raised the competition even more. (Doyle.P, Stern. P, 2006) Tesco is becoming a growing chain and is one. This chain has helped it to secure strong profits.It has and should continue to operate in other countries to gain customer bank and explore new markets. IMPLEMENTATION. Tescos functional areas are Administration The administration department should keep the internal operations maintained. Finance Finance department should take care of cash flows and also take measures to control cost with out effecting profit. Marketing Marketing department should focus on sales increase and product training for employees. Research and development Research and development should maintain the standards of product quality. Information Technology Tesco has introduced self checkout machines through which people can pay themselves instead of waiting in ques. If the objective is to increase sales. To increase the sale, Tesco should work on its sales and marketing Department. Employee training is important. Product knowledge for employees so that customer satisfaction is guaranteed. It will help the human resource to market the product and give the customer what they need. As a result, we will experience an increase in sales. Customer awareness is very essential. E-marketing is also an important tool in this era to make it easy for people to buy products online. It is more easy for people to do transactions online and get delivery on time. CONCLUSION In a nutshel, i would say that marketing should have proper department in every business and it should work on an genuine plan. The rules and principles of marketing should be adhered to make the marketing plan successful. A company should also keep up with its functional areas so that the plan work smoothly.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The canadian criminal code Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Evolution of the Canadian Criminal Code The laws of the United States have been revised numerous times, and the Criminal Code of Canada is similar. The Criminal Code is a systematically arranged body of law dealing with crime. The code has been revised multiple times over the past century by the federal government to help accommodate the numerous laws that have been applied to Canadian citizens. The history of homicide in the Criminal Code has evolved from having no degrees of murder in 1892 to having three types of culpable homicide (Leyton). The Canadian Criminal Code has changed over the years to accommodate the needs of changing times, such as amendments for gun control and the elimination of the death penalty. In 1892, the Criminal Code of Canada was established, copying much of the English 1878 bill. â€Å"The Canadian Criminal code which copied the English bill of 1878 has been revised numerous times to accommodate the needs of the Canadian citizens† (Monroe). At that time there was no distinguishing between different types of murder through degrees of severity, because the punishment for every type of murder was the death penalty, and manslaughter was a life sentence in prison (Designs). In 1955, a major reform was carried out and the Canadian Criminal Code was reduced from 1100 sections to only 753. The president of the Law Reform Commission of Canada did this major reform and noted, "It is too complicated. It is too illogical. It is poorly organized. It is not comprehensive and it is too intrusive. We deserve a Criminal Code that is modern, simple, logical, coherent, comprehensive, organized, understandable and restrained" (â€Å"What †). One of the advantages of the reform was the addition of a constitutional principle that no person was to be convicted of an offense unless it had been provided specifically for in a statute. Even though the reform brought many new changes, the Criminal Code was not fully revised because in 1961 there were other changes done to the Code. In this change, the code included degrees of murder and divided the murders into capital and non-capital murder. The punishment for capital murder was death, while non-capital murder was punishable by life in prison (Leyton). Capital murder was categorize... ...s well as other countries, Canada uses the lethal injection and the electric chair as methods of punishment, although the lethal injection is by far the most common. Indeed the laws for Canadian citizens have changed numerous times over the years to help them accommodate the changes in their nation. Works Cited Bralove, Alisa. â€Å" Mass murder to get new sentence.† Dolan Media Newswire. 09 September 2003: Page 1. Designs, Alissa. â€Å"The History of Homicide in the Criminal Code.† Victims Of Violence. Online 13 October 2003. < alissa’sdesigns@rogers?subject=victims%200f%20violence.com> Dessert, James. â€Å"Criminal Timeline of Canada.† Canada's Criminal Code: A History. Online. Internet. 11 October 2003. Garibay, Maria D. Personal Interview. 16 October 2003. Geter, Peter. â€Å" Murder of Crying baby was premeditated.† Daily Record. 23 June 2003: Page 1. Leyton, Elliott. â€Å" Homicide.† Canadian Encyclopedia. 1998 Ed. Monroe, Susan. â€Å"Criminal Law.† Criminal Timeline of Canada. Online. Internet 09 November 2003. â€Å"What is first-degree murder?† World Wide Information Association. Online. Internet. 09 November 2003.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Role of Penelope in Homers Odyssey Essay examples -- Odyssey essa

   Odysseus's wife, Penelope plays a very important role in Homer's Odyssey.   She provides the motivation for Odysseus's return to Ithaca.   She is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself.   The objective of this essay is to analyze the important role of Penelope in Odyssey.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Penelope is the reason for Odysseus's return to Ithaca.   He is driven throughout his entire journey to go back and see his wife.   He turns down immortality with the beautiful Kalypso to return home:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ... ...ohen, ed., The Distaff Side (Oxford 1995), pp. 93-115. Homer.   The Odyssey.   Trans.   Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1996. Marilyn Arthur Katz, Penelope's Renown: Meaning and Indeterminacy in the Odyssey (Princeton 1991). Nancy Felson-Rubin, Regarding Penelope: From Courtship to Poetics (Princeton 1994).

recycling plastic :: essays research papers

Plastics are durable, lightweight materials that were invented in 1909. They are normally made from oil and natural gas. Using plastics to replace packaging materials such as metal and glass has allowed manufacturers to make packages that are more efficient. For example to bottle eight gallons of a beverage would take only two pounds of plastic but would take three pounds of aluminum, eight pounds of steel and 27 pounds of glass. The light weight of plastic packaging helps reduce transportation costs. It takes fewer trucks to transport plastic compared to metal or other materials. Fewer trucks mean less fuel usage and therefore less air pollution from truck exhaust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recycling plastic containers helps to conserve landfill space and natural resources and to cut down on pollution. Since the number of landfills continues to diminish, keeping plastic containers out of landfills is important. Plastics do not degrade in landfills. Therefore, containers you throw away will be taking up landfill space hundreds of years from now. Making plastic products from recycled plastic also reduces air and water pollution, and energy used for making plastics from raw materials. Recycled plastic is used to make products such as plastic lumber, toys, containers, carpet, fiber fill for jackets and flowerpots. There are over 1,500 products made with or packaged in recycled plastic. Such uses reduce natural resource consumption and pollution because fewer raw materials are required and less energy is needed to make recycled plastic products than to make plastic products entirely from raw materials. There are different kinds mixtures of resins that make thousands of types of plastics. Ink pens, car parts and plastic bags are all made from different resins. In order to recycle plastics, the different types must be kept separate. Therefore, plastic packages are coded to indicate the type of resin used to make them. The code numbers are found inside the chasing recycling arrows on the bottoms of containers. These numbers help you separate plastic containers for recycling collection or drop off. Uncoded plastics, such as plastic pipes, cannot be recycled but can be reused.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recycling is a six step process. First they must be cleaned and separated by the type of plastic and by color. The first step is the most important one in the process. Colored plastics cannot be mixed with clear plastics, and plastics with different code numbers cannot be mixed together. Mixing plastics can cause entire bales to be rejected and possibly to be sent to a landfill. They are then compacted and shipped off to the processing facility.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Beowulf Epic Hero

An epic hero is a character in an epic poem that is brave and noble and is admired by his followers for their achievements. Beowulf is an epic hero. He fits every description and is talked about in elevated language. In the story it is Beowulf duty to protect his people and defeat hideous monsters. When he hears about a wicked monster that killed Hoarder's son In a far off land he took It as another opportunity to prove himself. This was the first case of showing Beowulf as a hero because the wind and sea helped him and his men travel safely ND quickly and that didn't happen for Just anyone else.When they arrive and the watchman Is at first suspicious but realizes he Is Beowulf here to kill Greened and Warthogs welcomes him and treats him with high honor as only heroes get treated. In the battles throughout the story he Is put up against beasts that no other man can conquer. However, Beowulf Is able to defeat Greened with his bare hands showcasing his strength, Grenade's mother to sh ow us that Beowulf will get rid of the root of the problem and go the extra mile to defend people.Against the dragon he is t least 80 and is still able to defeat the dragon and this tells us that he can live longer than anyone else at the time. Beowulf is often â€Å"talked up† throughout the story. Elevated language is a technique used to describe all epic heroes. It talks about Beowulf hands being the hardest hands in the world, and Beowulf is even called â€Å"mighty protector of men. † This is a giveaway that he is an epic hero. In conclusion, Beowulf is an epic hero. He is braver, stronger, and smarter, than anyone in the world. Also, he is talked of in an elevated language to make sure he stands out from the rest of his people.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Impact Technology Has on Small Businesses Essay

Technology has given the world a 360 degrees turn, as well as all businesses. Technology has a great impact on our society, culture, businesses and education. This essay will not only prove why it has an impact on small businesses but also prove how it makes technology so much better and efficient. | The Impact Technology has on Businesses The impact that technology can make on a small business is huge. Technology has made the world a more efficient and more organized place to succeed, and can help a small business be a big success and accomplishment. By making a website for your business, you can help the business expand by selling products through the website, by doing this you expand the business world wide and can increase profit. You can also organize your business in all aspect, simple tasks made in a business such as book keeping and record keeping can make so much simpler by using technology. Technology is not just computers but is phones also, which is an essential for any business to have. With technology small businesses can become world-wide businesses and exceed the main purpose and achievement of the owner. To begin with, technology has made businesses grow. By using computers to achieve simple task as book keeping can make the job easier and keep all papers organized. Computers can help perform many tasks that offices have to do, like book keeping. Microsoft excel can help you perform this task in one single page without confusions and with less work than by paper. This is because excel can perform calculations for you once you adapt it, it is as simple as that. You can perform book keeping, record keeping, and perform all kind of calculations fast, understandable and visible in a single page. Now a day, you can have your meetings with business partners who are around the world in front of your computer! You can use Phones which are also a part of technology, and without them you can’t make orders for your business, or talk to others business people who can help you make your business grow while making you grow as an owner and entrepreneur also. Productivity can also improve in so many ways by using technology. Technology is exciting and can make things happen in a blink of an eye, work can be so much easier for employees. For example, now supermarkets have advance machines in order to ring the customer’s supplies, if an error occurs the employee can easily delete it instead of ringing everything up again. Without the advance technology we have today, the employees would have to put all prices by hand meaning they have to memorize all prices and if an error occurs, they will have to ring everything up again in order for the total to be correct. Also by having meetings done at that instant online you can save all the time of flying across the world to meet with a business partner, so whatever was in concern can be fixed and finish what you have to do, meaning more progress and productivity. By producing a website for your business can you can help it grow and expand your business to many other countries and produce more profit. By making a website many more people can see what your business bring to the world and have to offer. While a website is world-wide, your customers are world-wide, meaning more goods and services the business provide will be obtained and sold. If you sell your merchandize through the web you can perform a test and see how many states and countries, would like to have one of your businesses around based on the location wants and needs and construct the business in that specific location. For that fact, that the owner can make the business grow in difference ways, he/she can grow as an entrepreneur also. Finally with technology, you can produce more profit. By using technology in several ways you can increase the income of the business. Obviously, if you can produce and sell more not only in your location of business but in the web and around the world in which you will expand your business to, you will sell and increase profit. The entrepreneur’s income will increase and his success will exceed what was thought to be achieved. Anyone can be an entrepreneur but only the ones who force themselves to do better, can achieve excellence. I think that to install various businesses is not what makes an entrepreneur is how you keep those business stabilize and running is what makes a great entrepreneur. Technology doesn’t have to be imported into the business, business can be technology. There are many businesses in which technology is the main purpose, some businesses produce and sell technology, all kinds and types of it. From computers to printers to phones, not only phones but smart phones and templates which can be made into computers, mp3 and iPod. These are gadgets that are nothing without technology; technology is what brings all these gadgets to live. Some businesses cannot produce without technology if you think of it. For example, supermarkets, when you go pay at the registers, most supermarkets are now complete made of technology, the weigh in order to know the prices of fruits and vegetables are connected to the computer which transfer the weight and gives you a price, the screen you look at to keep in check the prices, that’s connected to the same monitor and it all combines to the register. When you are ready to pay and it’s with your credit card, you pass it through a machine which is connected to all and the internet to get an approval. This all needs technology to function. Matthew Hohn said â€Å"Together with the advancement of science and technology, technological innovations grew along with it, resulting to the emergence of new equipment and gadgets. No matter how big or small your company is, technology brings both intangible and tangible benefits to become cost efficient and to meet the growing demands and needs of customers† in the article. I agree with him in every aspect, technology has advance the way to look into our world and experiences, and by connecting businesses with technology and the way it can change the whole business completely is incredible. It’s truly amazing how technology has changed our world in many different ways and completely. In conclusion, technology has gave business the chance to expand and grow in many ways, by increasing profit, increasing chances of making a being a better one and achieving all the success it thought it will. With technology small businesses can become a world-wide business which will exceed achievement. By becoming world-wide the business will exceed the main purpose and achievement of the owner. Technology can go a really long way especially when it’s combined with business and greatness.