The business and financial performance of an organisation over a three Dissertation

The business and financial performance of an organisation over a three year period - Dissertation Example The company ranked within the Top 20 of all the online businesses. In the category of fashion clothing, footwear, jewelry, and accessories, ASOS has claimed the number 1 spot and now believes itself to have no competitor. Most probably, the management means that the other companies have stores while ASOS does not maintain stores. The organization is guided by its desire to give importance to people and the environment. To achieve acceptable working standards towards providing quality consumer goods, ASOS joined ETI or Ethical Trade Initiative, a business alliance of trade unions, and NGOs (non-government organizations) that try to improve people’s lives. It has its own â€Å"ASOS Ethical Code of Conduct†. (See appended key principles in Exhibit I) The economy is presently still recovering from the effects of recession after two years. ASOS is one of those corporations based in the UK that faced a great challenge against the recession, except for one big difference. As o f April 13, 2011, this fashion retailer which operates online far exceeded the performance of UK in terms of recovery from the economic recession. â€Å"In the three months to the end of March, international sales rose 161% to ?48.4 million compared with a year ago.UK sales were up 24% to ?44.9 million.† according to BBC (2011b). ... This provides an opportunity to utilize Financial Accounting tools and the Qualitative Techniques for a careful analysis of the business operations in order to discover how the company performed its business operations. It helps to identify the various sources of funding the business has used and its ability to takeout any more loans, the costs it’s incurring and its returns. It also allows to assess the risks involved in its operation and to make an estimate for its future performance. It will be a challenge to unravel the mystery of ASOS performance. There was no news about how the company arrived at an excellent result of operations. But there were praises. First of all, the company Annual Reports are available online. Secondly, this is a modern way of doing business in the fashion clothing industry, because most retailers are selling mostly through departments stores opened in many countries, while ASOS focuses more on online fashion retailing. Knowing more about financial management for such operations will add more education and insights for the eventual readers of this formal paper. Studying the financial data, strategies, and other aspects surrounding the business of ASOS will also lead to discoveries about the risks involved, the opportunities of investing by buying stocks of ASOS in the near future, and factors or indicators about the prospects of good or bad future performance. Finally, this kind of business is new to most people. The hope is that by analyzing the available information, something new will be added to the field of knowledge. 1.2 Project objectives The objectives are: To be able to review and analyze the Annual Reports using the qualitative and

The Benefits Of FDI To MNCs

The Benefits Of FDI To MNCs Globalisation commenced after the World War II, but grew explicitly after the mid-1980s driven by the technological progress as well as rising liberalization of trade and capital markets. However, according to Hood and Young (2000) globalisation began at the time of World Economic Crisis in 1970 (Asian crisis, oil crisis, post-Vietnam war). During that time Western industrialized countries experienced slow down in economies, reduction in profits as well as strong competition. As a result, the following strategies were used in order to tackle these problems: cheap labor usage in manufacturing process, new market exploration as well as strategic alliances formation. MNCs began to cut their costs by utilizing cheap labor from developing countries, such as Mexico, Tunisia and Taiwan. (Hood and Young, 2000) According to Strange (1997) observations globalization has increased mobility of capital, knowledge and information. (Hood N. and Young S., 2000) The globalization process has let multinationals desire to optimize market competitive variable and costs within a liberalizing trade and investment environment. (Hood N. and Young S., 2000). During the process of globalisation following institutions were established: the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), as well as World Trade Organisation (WTO). The later played a significant role in favouring free trade, instead of protectionism. FDI deregulationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦has played an important role for investment into privatezed firms as well as the domestic economy growth and price stabilization. . (Hood N. and Young S., 2000) will research moreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦More information in terms of deregulation should be at beginning when you start the globalization Benefits of FDI MNCs may be motivated to undertake foreign direct investment to get more demand as well as get into the markets where they could generate greater profits. Both these motives are usually based on opportunities to get higher revenues in foreign markets. Other motives are related to the cost efficiency, when using foreign factors of production: raw materials or technology. Moreover, MNCs may be involved in FDI in order to protect foreign to protect their foreign market share, to respond to exchange rate changes, or to evade trade restrictions (can be used in conclusions) For instance, a company considering FDI in Asia or USA may still be attracted by Asia due to higher growth potential for a company as well as higher profit margins. Moreover, if case the local currency depreciates there will be less costs necessary to establish a subsidiary. MNCs may decrease its exposure to economic conditions by expanding their business activities between different economies. When foreign direct investment occurs, constant reassessment is needed in order to anticipate whether further expansion should take place. The decision is influenced by the economic conditions in the subsidiarys country, parents country, host country government as well as MNCs experience in operating abroad. MNCs which will not experience problems will be the ones which will employ local labour as well as manuacture the goods that have no direct substitutes in a foreign country. Usually the ideal FDI is the one by the means of which the problems of local unemployment and technological scarcity is solved with no threat to the local firms. Global markets join those who may offer capital and those who require capital, hence promoting economic growth. Moreover, global markets create pleasant conditions for mutually beneficial trading. Economists tend to favour free flow of capital due to the following reasons: Get the highest rate of return Reduce the risk by diversifying the lending and investment. Huge corporations, like Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Gillette took advantage of the globalisation by spreading their international operations across boarders, hence to become more competitive, meet global demand as well as cut their production costs.  [1]  Investing into emerging markets has brought much of success to these companies. Like any investor, an MNC is valuating its risk and return, when forming international projects. The portfolio of all projects determines the MNC as a whole. In fact, the riskier the country, the less probably the investors will invest, however this might anticipate higher returns. In fact, risky project may offer negative returns, however a high-risk alliance might be successful and bring high returns, for example, Google. Lower risk investment is likely to offer positive returns. Therefore, when choosing a portfolio a company should evaluate how much extra return is needed in order to offset the extra risk or how much extra return the company is ready to sacrifice in order to have lower risk. Project portfolios generate higher returns than the individual ones due to the diversification characteristics. The less the correlation in project returns the less should be the project portfolio risk. Along the efficient frontier of project portfolios, there is no portfolio to be said as an optimal for all MNCs. This is due to the fact that MNCs differ in readiness to accept risk. If the MNC is very cautious and may select between the portfolios reflected by the frontier it will probably favour one that shows low risk. However, more risk tolerant strategy would be to undertake the projects risk return close to the top of frontier. In fact, the location of frontier is determined by the business MNC is undertaking. For example, Eurosteel plc trades steel only to European markets, then its frontier of efficient project portfolios indicate high risk, as this company sells only one product as well as it trades with countries whose economies are correlated. However, Uniliver plc sells variety of products worldwide, hence due its diversified range is less exposed to the project portfolio risk. Here is assumed that the Uniliver plc is well informed about all the products as well as the markets where it operates. MNCs may get more attractive risk-return from the projects portfolios if they enough diversify among products as well as geographic markets. Moreover, it may However if it is a new company it international investment activity is affected by the country risk. The risks may overtake the returns. For example: Conclusions: Usual motivation for foreign direct investment relates to international diversification. This lets MNC to stabilise its cash flows as well as lessens its risk exposure. Such a goal is desirable because it may reduce the firms cost of financing. International projects may let the company to be exposed to lower risk than if undertaking solely domestic projects and not sacrificing its expected returns. International diversification impacts risk reduction if FDI is performed in countries whose economies are low correlated to MNCs home country economy.

Sin in The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Sin in The Scarlet Letter Since the dawn of time people have read, studied and enjoyed books in which the hero or heroes fall from grace. No matter who those heroes are- the human race in The Bible,the demon prince Lestat in Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles"or a certain Thane of Cawdor in "Macbeth"- sin plays a greatpart in all of their downfalls and subsequent ressurections.And the three main characters in Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"-Dimmesdale, Chillingsworth, and Hester Prynne- are no different. All three characters are flung from the normal rolesthat society has laid upon them- minister, housewife, doctor-into new roles- sinner, whore, and vengance crazed sadist.These new roles are not necessarily apparent to all in town.However, even though the townspeople do not know of thesinners, God does. And in God's eyes, whose sin was greater?That, I cannot answer. But in this mere mortal's opinion, the sin of Chillingsworth far outdid the sin of Dimmesdale or Hester Prynne, for Chillingsworth's sin was one of revengeand one of secrecy. He was not driven by an anger at his ownsin, but by the sin of others. He used deception andmanipulation to make the life of another miserable. He wasnot flung from society's view as if he were a dirty secretlike Hester was; he was embraced by it. However, his sin didtake it's toll. He was disfigured horribly and became atwisted man, scarred by sin. He also was robbed of thepleasure of destroying Dimmesdale which was his reason forliving. He died shortly after Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne, however, was the complete opposite of Chillingworth in that her sin gave her life, not destroyed it. She took her punishment and embraced it, using it to rebuild herself not as a pathetic sinner, but as a pseudo-saint. At first, the town shunned her as a sinner. However,after they saw that she was good, and her sin was of love,the same town embraced and loved her. Her sin drew her moredeeply into the society of Boston than she ever was before.And when her time to die came, she did so with honor. HesterPrynne - sinner and saint. However, Hester's sin was shared. Whereas she was asinner on the outside and a saint on the inside, ArthurDimmesdale is the reverse, both literally and figuratively.

Banking and Finance Law Essay

Joint account holders, case: Arden v Bank of New South Wales (1956) VLR 569 Combination of account, the bank’s right to combine accounts is dependant on the accounts being the same or closely similar. The right to combine accounts without express agreement: accounts must be held by customer in the same capacity, must not be an agreement or course of dealing with the customer which has negated the bank’s right to combine accounts, customer’s indebtedness must have been incurred to the bank as an banker and not in relation to other business carried on by the bank eg travel business. The main case of this rule is: Garnett v McKewan 1872. Knowing Receipt: Case: Thomson v Clydesdale Bank Ltd (1893) AC 282 APPLICATION Fantastic Landscapes is a customer of the Red Bank because it has accounts in this bank which are overdraft account with has a borrowing limit of $100000 accepted by Red Bank and another account has $20000 (Account No 2) Applying to the content of the contact, Fantastic Landscapes has signed an agreement form that is an express terms made between Red Bank and Fantastic Landscapes. The general terms and conditions included the following clause 12: upon receipt of each monthly overdraft account statement, the account holder shall read the statement and notify the bank of any errors contained in the statement within 15 days. Failure to notify the bank of any errors within that time will be treated as a breach of contract by the account holder entitling the bank to its remedies at law. Applying to the bank’s duty of confidentiality, the Red Bank recorded transactions between it and its customer (Fantastic Landscapes) and reported to its customer every 15 days as written in the general term. However, Red Bank did not complete its duty to question valid mandate because the cheques drawn by Minnie (one of the director of Fantastic Landscapes) within a period of 3 months are unusual drawn on Fantastic Landscapes’ overdraft account. When according to joint account holders, Ben actually is an innocent joint account holder, so he has a right to sue the Red Bank for the breach of contract. However, applying to the duty of customer in section duty to organize business, following cases: Lewes Sanitary Steam Laundry Co Ltd v Barclay Co Ltd (1906) 95 LT 444; and (6. 1) National Bank of New Zealand Ltd v Walpole and Patterson Ltd (1975) 2NZLR 7. The Red bank has an absolute advantage in this case because of the express term written in the contract Another director of Fantastic Landscapes, Ben has failed when sue Red Bank to recredit account which Minnie has stolen because he did not check overdraft account during 3 months, and in the contract with Red Bank has asked he to rea d and notify the bank of any errors contained in the statement within 15 days. Therefore, Ben or Fantastic Landscapes could not claim back $50000. When apply to combination of account, the Fantastic Landscapes has won in this lawsuit. The Red Bank has combined overdraft account and Account No 2 without any notice because they hear that this company has just lot a large landscaping contract and not working any more. Moreover, Red Bank has agreed Fantastic Landscapes to borrow maximum $100000, so they can not combine account without any notice to this company even though its overdraft account has reached to $100000. Therefore, Red Bank has to pay $10000 penalty fee for Fantastic Landscapes to the finance company. According to duty of the banker, the BLB (Big Lender Bank) does not have any duty to Fantastic Landscapes because in this case, its customer Minnie just is its client. Therefore, BLB do not have any duty to her company although she is a director in that company and she has committed fraud. Moreover, BLB do not care about how Minnie paid off her debt because Minnie did not withdraw money in the trust account. In addition, according to Thomson v Clydesdale Bank Ltd (1893) AC 282. BLB does not need to care about its customer detail particularly. Hence, the chances for Fantastic Landscapes win in this case in not to high than the case it won before when against Red Bank to reclaim $10000 penalty fee for finance company. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the Fantastic Landscapes has won in the case against Red Bank for compensation for $10000 penalty fee when they applied their case to combination of account. They won because Red Bank has committed the rule when combine two accounts without any notice to its customer. On the other hand, although the main fault belong to Minnie, the Fantastic Landscapes has failed in the case to recredit, its account when apply express term between it and the Red Bank. After all, the BLB do not have any duty to Fantastic Landscapes for compensation because when apply knowing receipt rule via Thomson case.

Eight Elements of Communication Essay

With the importance of communication placed on the development of the human society, it is indeed necessary to understand the different elements that make it sensible for creating the necessary involvement within the human communities around the .world. To have an overview and understanding of the said elements, this paper shall discuss the different impacts of the elements upon the improvement of human relations within a globally connected society. Â  The discussion of the eight elements shall be discussed separately to individually identify their strong effects on the developmental procedures of the human society. (A) Message Sending Approach Every conversation begins in the process by which the speaker sends the message to the listener. The procedure by which the listener catches the message however depends on the process by which the sender sent the idea that he wants to convey to the listeners. (B) Receiving the Message As it could be observed, the ways by which the listener receive the message depends on the way the speaker primarily sent the idea through the approach that he made in the speech that he adapted while sending the message. (C) Evaluating the Message Evaluation of the message depends on the listener’s background regarding the idea being sent to him. It is through this background that he is able to make careful amends with the ways on how he is to evaluate the idea shared to him through conversation. (D) Understanding the Message Understanding involves the capability of the listener to make connection between the message and what he already knows about the topic being presented in the conversation. (E) Responding to the Message The response that the listener makes on the message that has been sent to him depends on how far he was able to understand the idea that is presented to him. Responding is the way by which the conversation is brought towards the development of continuum. (F) Making the Conversation Work The exchange of thoughts makes conversations work. The effective use of the different elements of communication makes it possible for the listener and the speaker to continue exchanging their ideas. (G) Sending the Right Message through Body Language At some point, the body language of the person speaking coveys at least 40% of the words that he is actually speaking. It is through this that people are able to make amends on the different flaws that the speaker makes during the conversation. (H) The use of Facial Expressions If body language gives 40%of the speech being sent, facial expression at least shares a 20% of the message that is sent to the listener. Through the enumeration and definition of the eight elements of communication, it could be noted that conversations are bound to become effectively disposed through the different background and bodily presentations of the message on the part of both the listener and the sender of the message. Being able to do so makes it possible for people to constantly create possibilities in making conversations work for the best results for the ones involved in the discussion.

Tom edison essays

Tom edison essays There is one inventor that stands out among the rest his name is Thomas Alva Edison, Thomas Edison is one of the most famous inventors ever known to history. Thomas has taken credit for more than one thousand inventions in fact one thousand and ninety three like the incandescent electric lamp, the phonograph, the carbon telephone transmitter and the motion-picture projector. Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan Ohio on the 11 of February 1847 and sadly pasted away on October the 18 1931. At the age of ten he was taken out school and was taught by his dear mother Nancy Edison. In the summer of 1868 he invented the first electrical vote recorder this was a big success. Thomas Edison promised that he would invent a minor invention every ten days and a big invention every six months. He also proposed to make inventions to order. Before long he had 40 different projects going at the same time. Edison announced he would invent a safe, mild, and inexpensive electric light that would replace the gaslight in millions of homes. ...

Change management in McDonalds The WritePass Journal

Change management in McDonalds Introduction Change management in McDonalds IntroductionOverview of the companyScope of changeProblems in implementing changeRecommendationsConclusionReferencesRelated Introduction Change management can be defined as ‘the process of continually renewing an organisation’s direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever changing needs to external and internal customers’ (Moran and Brightman, 2001).   As per Burnes (2004) change is a feature which is always present in the life of organisation. It exist both at operational and strategic level. The organisation is aware about where the change is required and is fully capable of planning and implementing these changes in its structure .According to Burnes 2004; Rieley and Clarkson, 2001, the organisations strategy and organisational strategies are something which goes hand in hand and cannot be separated. In the words of Graetz, 2000, ‘Against a backdrop of increasing globalisation, deregulation, the rapid pace of technological innovation, a growing knowledge of workforce, and shifting social and demographic trends, few would dispute that the primary   task of   management tod ay   is leadership of organisational change.’ In early times the theories believed that if the organisation keeps changing management system then it can no longer run effectively nor can it make any improvement in performance (Rieley and Clarkson, 2001). It was believed that the company had to bring new management theory into routine in order to achieve efficiency and improvement in the performance. This Means that an organisation has to give ample time for a particular change to be adopted and settle down in daily routine so that it can be run in efficient manner (Luecke, 2003).However in today’s time It is believed that staff of the organisation should go through continuous change to achieve efficiency (burnes, 2004; Rieley and Clarkson, 2001) According to Grundy, 1993 ‘change which is marked by rapid shifts in strategy, structure or culture, or in all three.’ Senior, 2002 adds to it saying that this kind of sudden change or implementation can be caused only due to malfunctioning of the internal structure or it can be caused due to external pressure. Every organisation is looking to move forward by implanting a management system with will boost organisations strength and capability, enhancing its competitiveness. An organisation has to deal with unforeseen situations in today’s highly competitive environment and to deal with this it has to be more flexible and ready for any situational changes that it will have to make, like adoption of new technology or some latest development in theory for current market. In the fast moving economic environment there continuous changes in the type of technology, the way the product is marketed, trends etc. the organisation has to be more flexible to adopt changes in order to remain competitive in the global market. Change can be good in a way; it can make complex work very simple and helps to improve lives through new innovations. Organisations bring change in their working structures to be more competitive and providing the best to their customers. As per Carlpio (1998) change is something to do with implementation of new innovative ways of doing things, enabling the room for improvement in the system through practice. Number of changes can be introduced in the system but the one which brings success to the organisation is considered to be the most important one of all. A change in management system is important specially when a particular system which the running organisation is facing difficulties or has some problems with it. Changes are brought in to improve the organisations performance.   Changes are mostly brought due to forces which can be internal or external yee, 1998.   Changes can be brought at different level of an organisation (Swenson, 1997) The modification needed or which can be done maybe many or quite a few (Reigeluth, 1994). There could be various factors for change (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Change can be either internal or external. External include new technology which is current requirement of the industry or trend in the current economy which may have direct impact on profitability of the business. A structured method of change was adopted in 1946 by Lewin (Bamford and Forrester, 2003) what lewin had to say was something different than the old theories, he mentioned that in order to apply any new theory or change management an organisation will have to first discard it’s old management structure or system. Management of changes pays a role in identifying objectives of the organisation and then sets goals accordingly. Its role is to implement new changes in the organisation in which it can be noticed that these changes ultimately bring innovations. The first step towards organisational change is to understand the requirements of the organisation and issues with the current management structure. The purpose of the paper is to provide insight of change management process in the chosen company which is McDonalds and provide solution and recommendation for the same. Overview of the company McDonalds is a company with mile stones of success which was started in 1954 by Ray Kroc as a burger shop which was then turned through extensive marketing planning and campaigning making it a global brands in today’s time. It is renowned fast food brands all over the world with more than 32,000 branches in 117 countries. McDonald’s trade mark was a carefully created and was a successful hit which was a clown with a smile. The big Mac is one of the most successful products of McDonalds. McDonalds offers a menu which is almost the same all cross the world. The menu includes burgers, hamburgers, cheese burgers and drinks include soft drinks with fries. McDonalds target customers includes kids, teens and families. It is now the most renowned brand in fast food that sells ready to eat and quickly served fast food. In spite of being a famous brand McDonalds is still facing some issue and needs to change its management structure and image as the people in current time have a bit different expectations then those in previous days (McDonalds 2010) In today’s time people have become more diet and health conscious and are now moving towards food which is healthy and has more nutritional values. Fast food has always been known as junk food with no nutritional value and the popular opinion was that fast food results into obesity by increasing fats in the body. Today’s generation is more figure conscious and are looking forward for food which is low fat and high in proteins. McDonalds is facing problems as it is a well established fast food brand and fast food is always related to unhealthy and fattening food, while competitors of McDonalds have already made a move towards health conscious products by introducing entire new range which is healthy and non fattening. McDonalds needs to change the way it markets itself and also need to introduce a new line of products, as per expectations of new generation’s customers. Scope of change Advertising and marketing places an important role in establishing an image of the company in the eyes of the society in which it operates. The scope of change widely lies in the implementation of integrated marketing strategy. In this paper the importance is given to marketing and advertisement part as to launch new range of healthy products, the company has to implement new marketing practises. The new marketing campaign will adopt a new health conscious process which will flow along with a trend of fitting with health related issues like obesity in young children’s and create awareness about health eating practises. The main objective of this campaign is to promote its new products which are healthy and contains low fats. This will help create positive image of McDonalds among the customers and make them aware of new products which are healthier than the earlier once. To execute these plans the company has to plan its new strategy of advertising and marketing ideas and put a team in place to implement this strategy. The company has also introduced new smoothes and shakes along with healthy breakfast which is available before 12 in all the branches in UK. The marketing integrated campaigns main aim to reflect company mission and new attitude is been seen by the public through companies new promotion and marketing plans. Problems in implementing change When implementing change, conflicts will always follow. There are always conflicts on the route towards changes either before or after it has been initiated. Change in management can be the reason to bring success or failure to an organisation; however conflicts can bring problems if there are not resolved in time as they can bring obstacles in the new management structure introduced. The management has to be aware that it should be capable of not only introducing necessary changes but also be able to implement them effectively clearing all the obstacles. The main reason to bring changes in the organisation structure especially through marketing campaign is to improve the image of the organisation and to make the company more competitive in its industry.   The company might have to face many obstacles in doing this and these obstacles can be both external and internal. It is important to know the consent of the stakeholders of the organisation as they are very important part of the organisation. Stake holders include share holders, customers, supplier and employees. It is important for an organisation to keep all its stakeholders happy because if they are happy then it’s beneficial for the organisation. But there will conflict due to changes as there will be resistance from the side of employees or customers themselves as often people resist changing. There may be employees or customers who would accept the change happily but the problem is with those who do not agree with new management system which is to be implemented. Most of the time they may think that the change which has been brought is nothing to do with the issue or it may worsen the situations. I it may also happen that within employees they might not trust people who are in charge of this new change. Employees are not the only one who creates obstacles for change sometimes even the customers are not ready for change. If they do not take to change positively then this may create issue for the company to achieve its goal for the change. Along with this another problem that McDonalds may face is finding the right staff to drive this change that will be responsible to deliver these changes in department of marketing and communication. In addition to from employees and customer’s resistance there can be other barriers this may affect the process of change. The strategic implementation is important part of changes; complications in this can be problematic for the company. There can be many other issues which can create barriers in changes such as conflict in view of share holders or the problem in finance and lack of budget of the company another problem can be sustaining the process of change. As per carlopio 1998 innovation is something that does not happen in a day it takes series of phases to finish the process of change. Staff involved in this change management process must undergo some kind of training and learning procedure to make them competent to sustain the series of change until it attains success. Inability to handle or lack of experience and knowledge in implementation of strategic change may not be able to achieve integrated marketing and communication strategies. So to overcome the problem of negative response the management of the company should make the staff go through necessary training and development programmes. The training programme should be such that it should provide complete understanding of the programme to the members of the staff. It should make sure that none of the information is missed in the training programme. After the programme there should be a follow up to check if all the members have understood and have sufficient information to support change. There can be internal conflicts between the members of the staff due to cultural issues. This bring problem in harmony of the members in the organisation, leading to conflict within the company. McDonalds must understand the cultures of its employees and should identify the problem that may be caused because of the conflicts if any (wikins and Dyer, 1998) McDonalds should incorporate governance in the system to enhance the quality of staff and the time spent by them at the work place. Different appraisal policies can help to boost employees. Working environment can also be improved so that staff members can have a good time while working for the company which at the same time also benefits the organisation. Strong organisation culture along with good management team is needed to solve such internal conflict issues. The second most important change is to sustain the success that had been achieved through implementation of new management process. Change is part of the society and it comes again in regular interval of time (Carlopio, 1998). For the success of change management it is important that all the stakeholders know or are made aware that current change has been brought for the betterment of them. The management of the organisation should constantly analyse the current market trends and predict future scenarios, so that it can prepare itself for next set of change that will be required for the success of the organisation. Recommendations The success of the new changes in management cannot be correctly predicted as it completely depends on the attitudes of the young generation and the society. Changing the image from fast seller to a company who provides healthy meal is not a easy process, but with strong marketing campaigns and advertisement the message can be sent to people and there is a chance that this message will be delivered. It is imperative that the new image of McDonalds reaches all 117 countries. After this message has been promoted there is a chance of getting rid of the critic’s comments that McDonalds brands have unhealthy and fattening. In other words innovation can be explained as a bunch or new ideas which have been successfully implemented (Kuhn, 1993). Innovation can be led by two factors which is technology based innovation and the second one is demand based innovation. However most of the innovations are charged up realisation of demand instead of technology. Changes are mainly driven by constant research and development, performed by companies and RD is given a lot of attention. Apart from RD there can be other ways of bringing innovation and one of the simplest ways to keep improving working practises while in the daily routine. Combination of knowledge and extensive work experience can help to innovate a new a better way of doing things. Radical innovation always come from the RD department of the company but innovations which are incremental can only come from through practice (Lundvall, 1992). McDonalds will have to plan and implement its new marketing campaigns effectively with effective ways of doing it. The company has to take care that its internal staff is competent in delivering the outcome and that is minimum resistance from the internally. There is a good chance that McDonalds can change its image in food industry from junk food supplier to a health conscious meal provider.    Conclusion As per beverage 2003, the management of the organisation has to be on toss all the time to keep the organisation up to the market expectation. They have to continuously analyse and monitor current market conditions so that that they are aware of the current standing of the company in the market. To bring innovation the management will have to keep a check on which ideas are working and which are not doing well when implemented and accordingly change the management structure. To implement a management change the leader must create a environment which is safe and will support new changes in the organisation. A above all It can be said that a change in management is good only if that particular change has potential to improve companies competitiveness in the market and bring more success to the organisation. The organisation should keep monitoring current situations and make changes only if it is felt necessary, as change in organisation is a complex decision and has direct impact on the image of the organisation. With proper care and preparation and organisation (McDonalds) can survive the toughest competition. References Carlopio, J., (1998), â€Å"Implementation: making workplace and technical change happen†, McGraw-hill publication, Sydney. Yee, J.A., (1998), â€Å" Forces motivating institutional reform†, ericdigests.org/1999-1/reform.html. Accessed March 2011. Swenson, D.X., (1997), â€Å"Requisite conditions for team empowerment†, empowerment in organisations, Vol. 5 No. 1 Reigeluth, C. M. (1994). The imperative for systemic change. In C. M. Reigeluth R. J. Garfinkle (Eds.), Systemic change in education (pp. 3-11). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. Wilkins, A., Dyer, W. Jr (1988), Toward culturally sensitive theories of cultural change,  Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13. Kuhn, R.L., Ed., (1993), â€Å"Generating Creativity and Innovation in Large Bureaucracies†, Quorum Books, London Lundvall, B. A.,   (1992), â€Å" National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive learning†, Pinter, London. Beverage, w. M., (2002), â€Å"slow change in fast culture†, Educause review, pp. 10-11. Moran, J. W. and Brightman, B. K. (2001) ‘Leading organizational change’, Career Development International, 6(2), pp. 111–118. Burnes, B. (2004) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics, 4th edn (Harlow: Prentice Hall). Rieley, J. B. and Clarkson, I. (2001) ‘The impact of change on performance’, Journal of Change Management, 2(2), pp. 160–172. Graetz, F. (2000) ‘Strategic change leadership’, Management Decision, 38(8), pp. 550–562. Luecke, R. (2003), â€Å" Managing Change and Transition†,   Harvard Business School Press, Boston Burnes, B. (2004) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics, 4th edn (Harlow: Prentice Hall). Bamford, D. R. and Forrester, P. L. (2003) ‘Managing planned and emergent change within an operations management environment’, International Journal of Operations Production Management, issue 23, Vol. 5 McDonalds, (2010), â€Å"about McDonalds†, aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd, viewed on 5th march 2011.

Biography of William Shakespeare, Famous Playwright

Biography of William Shakespeare, Famous Playwright William Shakespeare (April 23, 1564–April 23, 1616) wrote at least 37 plays and 154 sonnets, which are considered among the most important and enduring ever written. Although the plays have captured the imagination of theatergoers for centuries, some historians claim that Shakespeare didn’t actually write them. Amazingly, little is known about Shakespeare’s life. Even though he is the world’s most famous and popular playwright, historians have had to fill in the gaps between the handful of surviving records from Elizabethan times. Fast Facts: William Shakespeare Known For: One of historys most famous playwrights, who wrote at least 37 plays, which are still studied and performed to this day, as well as 154 sonnets, which are also highly regardedAlso Known As: The BardBorn: April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon,  EnglandParents: John Shakespeare, Mary ArdenDied: April 23, 1616 in Stratford-upon-AvonPublished Works: Romeo and Juliet (1594–1595), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595–1596), Much Ado About Nothing (1598–1599), Henry V (1598–1599), Hamlet 1600–1601, King Lear (1605–1606), Macbeth ( 1605–1606), The Tempest (1611–1612)Awards and Honors: After Shakespeares death, a funerary monument was erected to honor him at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he is buried. It depicts a half-effigy of The Bard in the act of writing. Numerous statues and monuments have been erected around the world to honor the playwright.Spouse: Anne Hathaway (m.  Nov. 28, 1582–April 23, 1616)Children: Susanna, Judith and Hamnet (twins)Notable Quote: All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. Early Years Shakespeare was probably born on April 23, 1564, but this date is an educated guess because we only have a record of his baptism three days later. His parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, were successful townsfolk who moved to a large house in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, from the surrounding villages. His father became a wealthy town official and his mother was from an important, respected family. It is widely assumed that Shakespeare attended the local grammar school where he would have studied Latin, Greek, and classical literature. His early education must have made a huge impact on him because many of his plots draw on the classics. Shakespeare’s Family At age 18, on November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway from Shottery, who was already pregnant with their first daughter. The wedding would have been arranged quickly to avoid the shame of having a child born out of wedlock. Shakespeare fathered three children, Susanna, born in May 1583 but conceived out of wedlock, and Judith and Hamnet, twins who were born in February 1585. Hamnet died in 1596 at age 11. Shakespeare was devastated by the death of his only son, and it is argued that Hamlet, written four years later, is evidence of this. Theater Career At some point in the late 1580s, Shakespeare made the four-day ride to London, and by 1592 had established himself as a writer. In 1594, an event occurred that changed the course of literary history: Shakespeare joined Richard Burbage’s acting company and became its chief playwright for the next two decades. Here, Shakespeare was able to hone his craft, writing for a regular group of performers. Shakespeare also worked as an actor in the theater company, although the lead roles were always reserved for Burbage himself. The company became very successful and often performed in front of the Queen of England, Elizabeth I. In 1603, James I ascended the throne and granted his royal patronage to Shakespeare’s company, which became known as The King’s Men. Shakespeare the Gentleman Like his father, Shakespeare had excellent business sense. He bought the largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon by 1597, owned shares in the Globe Theater,  and profited from some real estate deals near Stratford-upon-Avon in 1605. Before long, Shakespeare officially became a gentleman, partly due to his own wealth and partly due to inheriting a coat of arms from his father who died in 1601. Later Years and Death Shakespeare retired to Stratford in 1611 and lived comfortably off his wealth for the rest of his life. In his will, he bequeathed most of his properties to Susanna, his eldest daughter, and some actors from The King’s Men. Famously, he left his wife his â€Å"second-best bed† before he died on April 23, 1616. (This date is an educated guess because we only have a record of his burial two days later). If you visit Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, you can still view his grave and read his epitaph engraved into the stone: Good friend, for Jesus sake forbearTo dig the dust enclosed here.Blessed be the man that spares these stones,And cursed be he that moves my bones. Legacy More than 400 years after his death, Shakespeares plays and sonnets still hold a special place in theaters, libraries, and schools around the world. His plays and sonnets have been performed in nearly every major language on every continent, notes Greg Timmons writing on Biography.com. In addition to the legacy of his plays and sonnets, many of the words and phrases Shakespeare created infuse dictionaries today and are embedded in modern English, including these sayings from some of his plays: All that glitters isnt gold (The Merchant of Venice)Alls well that ends well (Alls Well that Ends Well)To be-all and the end-all (Macbeth)Break the ice (The Taming of the Shrew)We have seen better days (As You Like It)Brave new world (The Tempest)Brevity is the soul of wit (Hamlet)Cruel to be kind (Hamlet)Its Greek to me (Julius Caesar)Something wicked this way comes (Macbeth)Star-crossed lovers (Romeo and Juliet)Wild-goose chase (Romeo and Juliet)The world is my oyster (The Merry Wives of Windsor) Few writers, poets, and playwrights- and Shakespeare was all three- have had the influence on culture and learning that Shakespeare has. With luck, his plays and sonnets may still be revered and studied four centuries from now. Sources â€Å"IWonder - William Shakespeare: The Life and Legacy of Englands Bard.†Ã‚  BBC.â€Å"Shakespeares Words Phrases.†Ã‚  Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.Timmons, Greg. â€Å"William Shakespeares 400th Anniversary: The Life Legacy of The Bard.†Ã‚  Biography.com, AE Networks Television, 2 Nov. 2018.â€Å"Who Was William Shakespeare? Everything You Need to Know.†Ã‚  Childhood, Life Achievements Timeline, thefamouspeople.com.â€Å"William Shakespeare Quotes.†Ã‚  BrainyQuote, Xplore.

Witches - A Discussion of Superstition and Myth Research Paper

Witches - A Discussion of Superstition and Myth - Research Paper Example Since the beginning of time, humans have attempted to understand the environment around them and make sense of occurrences that oftentimes had little to no reasonable explanation; or so it seemed. As a result of this, the creation of gods and legends helped to define what would otherwise be considered a very chaotic and disturbing environment; one in which death and acts of calamity were all too present. Oftentimes these myths were relatively harmless and did not contribute to any one member of society being persecuted or harassed. At other times, rituals and superstition demanded that a particular type of individual should be shunned, mistreated, or even hunted down and killed. The focus of this particular discussion is on the superstitious origins of the term â€Å"witch† and the manner through which this particular identification has come to be propagated for such a very long period of time. It is the further intent of the analysis to point to the illogical and unrealistic mechanisms through which a â€Å"witch† has been defined and correlate these to the manner in which individuals that are considered as â€Å"aberrant† to society are oftentimes grouped. Before delving directly into a discussion of witches throughout history, it is necessary to note that the definition or determination of a â€Å"witch† throughout history has been an individual that did not ascribe to the norm. As such, whether for reasons of disability, unsightliness, or mental illness, a witch has oftentimes been a societal label for an individual that could not integrate or fit in with the remainder of society (Schwartz, 2004). Naturally, within this understanding, it is vital to realize that the label of a witch has absolutely nothing to do with magical powers or some type of collaboration with a mythical dark spiritual force. Instead, it is merely a cruel way in which societies have chosen to label people that do not abide by a given set of norms and standards that they have set forward to group their society by.  Ã‚  

Research report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Research report - Essay Example The main principles included the social settings, social relationships, cultural practices, and present trends that can be used to provide an ethnographic description of the term. Findings were also compared and contrasted to some of the theories that relate to the topic of the study. Consequently, the study provided an all rounded understanding of the barbeque through time and various trends that have changed. The project was carried out in Melbourne, one of the major towns in Australia where the barbeque culture has been adopted by time. The location was strategically chosen due to factors such as financial, accessibility and socio-cultural backgrounds among others. The research took place over a period of one month, a calculated period that would provide substantial data to the projects. Additionally, there were also variations that were put in place due to changes in time caused by weather and other unwanted causes. However, the study took place at the specified time and date was strategically collected from the locals. It also focused on some of the local celebration that involved lamb and pork barbeques. The location was chosen based on factors such as tourism and entertainment that the town has been well for been known. Moreover, the locality has an added advantage due to its proximity to the ocean; that is used in transportation for social and cultural integration. The participants included some of the town folks and those from neighboring residential areas. The variation in the participants was due to the changes in cultural and social backgrounds due to the rural-urban migration. However, a detailed literature review of the study provided a foundation for the right locations to gather information. The population sample included individuals ranging from the age of forty to seventy years. The age bracket had an added advantage because the subjects had longer experiences of most of the social and cultural activities in the

Environment Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Environment Pollution - Essay Example The Environment Protection Agency promotes the construction of green buildings through which we can understand that this stream of engineering offers a great advantage to environment. A research paper on Capacity planning for waste management systems tells us about the application of engineering concepts to solid waste management. By studying different research papers we can understand the application of engineering principles to these areas of responsibilities in order to regulate them and make the environment pollution free. In recent times the climate has undergone drastic changes. Every time we mishandle the natural resources or create imbalance without thinking about tomorrow and use them without a proper protocol or procedure we modify the most important natural phenomena by affecting the climate. Each and every non environmental friendly procedure or product has a direct or indirect impact on the climate which results in drastic changes in timing of seasons. Of these the rocketing emissions of green house gases are considered to be the main culprit. The green house gases in the earth's atmosphere capture the heat increase in green house gases cause to rise in earth's temperature which ultimately results in rise in sea level and change in weather patterns. Welsh Assembly Government has taken numerous steps in order to stabilize the emissions of green house gases and work together with the UK government to develop various proposals to the climate change bill. WAG responds to the internal changes and proposes long term plans to solve the problem. It aims to cut down carbon dioxide emissions to 60% by 2050, maintain reliable energy supplies, to promote competitive market and to ensure that each and every home is adequately heated. It has also been proven that the measures that were set for climate change program in 2006 have been successfully implemented by the UK government. A study on all the potential impacts of climate change on different sectors in Wales is been conducted which shows the areas of action. Developed strong evidences against the impact of climate change in different sectors in Wales and develop tools and skills which would ultimately result in lessening the impact. Construction of houses and administrative buildings using sophisticated technologies so that there would be less usage of heating systems and electricity is very much relevant to my engineering discipline. Ex: Green buildings increase the energy efficiency by using modern technologies. The UK climate change Bill, UK Government's F-Gasesand Ozone Depleting Substances consultation papers, Carbon Reduction Commitment announced in the UK Energy White Paper 2007, European Union (EU) Emission Trading Scheme and the powers passed to Welsh ministers make the assembly government to offer their extended support to public authorities on climate change policies and their adaption and it also provides them with the authority to taking necessary action if a public body fails to do so. Our engineering disci

Digital Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Digital Economic - Essay Example competition is a factor that is brought about by the fact that there are many sellers, who in turn make the firms that are available to be price takers. It also includes the sale of homogenous products. Because of this, as is the case that is presented by Thomson, there are chances of both easy entry and exit. However, it is involved with the perfect knowledge about the product, as well as adequate information about their pricing. The speculations were raised because, with the explosive growth of the internet, it was thought that there would be the availability of perfect information on the prices and products at the fingertips of most of those involved. With this, the consumers would be better placed to get the best deals. Thus, it was perceived that it would be a brave world whereby the profit margins of retailers would be competed away and they would be forced to price at a cost. They thought that the internet would reshape the world of commerce by dominating most of the businesses in existence within the established trading environments. As such, it would in the long run attain a position of dominion within the global market. However, the current trends in internet retailing have revealed that this has not happened as the earlier commentators have realized that most of their speculations were rather overblown since the high street market has weathered the storm. This is mainly because the retailers who are taking part in the activities are not making their own custom cannibal; the marketplace is not being fully dominated by the virtual merchants and the fact that the high streets have not been completely put out of business. Thus, most of the predictions that were made at the dawn of the internet era have not come to reality. This is in spite of the fact that some of speculations have come to pass. They include the vital role that is currently being played by the electronic intermediaries, especially on the aspect of making one-on-one marketing become a

Equine Rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Equine Rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1) - Essay Example Respiratory symptoms are the most common manifestation in young horses but the outbreaks reported in many areas are usually due to the neurologic form. Frequent outbreaks of the respiratory form occur in young foals in areas where concentrated populations exist. The disease is highly contagious and spreads by the aerosol route through the inhalation of virus laden respiratory secretions. Horses under three years of age are particularly susceptible and the virus quickly spreads and multiplies in the respiratory epithelium. 2-8days post exposure, symptoms of depression; inappetance, nasal discharge and fever are manifested (www.oie.int). Laboratory examination reveals neutropenia and lymphopenia with serous nasal discharge, pharyngitis, malaise, cough and inflammation of lymph nodes. Foals suffering from EHV1 show diphasic fever patterns (merckvetmanual.com). If complications of secondary bacterial infection don’t occur, the disease is usually followed by complete recovery after 1-2 weeks but causes substantial distress to animals which affect their training and racing schedules. Abortions occur in infected pregnant mares 2-12 weeks after initial exposure to the virus. This usually happens between the 7-11th month of gestation (merckvetmanual.com). Aborted fetuses appear fresh with minimal autolysis unlike abortions with EVA (Equine Viral Arteritis). There is no damage to the reproductive tract of the mares and they usually recoup to attain normal conception ability after recovery. Outbreaks with neurological symptoms result in symptoms which may range from mild incoordination to posterior paralysis with the animals assuming recumbent positions. There is a loss of bladder control and tail function. Paralysis in its severest form can result in quadriplegia with eventual death. It is difficult to make distinction from clinical symptoms between EHV1, Equine Influenza and EVA. Virus isolation from nasopharyngeal swabs,

Security Administration and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Security Administration and Management - Essay Example From our analysis, by focusing on differentiation strategies in the security industry, Securitas AB success can be attributed to its vast experience in the market, product differentiation, and assorted brands. Securitas AB by using its trademark experience and know how both product differentiation and cost leadership strategy means the company has a focus strategy, focusing on cash on transit and other security system. It business concept of ", packaging, counting and storage of physical values such as cash and precious metals". This has become part of the company's culture. According to Johnson & Scholes (2007), organisational culture is a tool in management strategic armory which appears to be invisible yet it influences "why" "how" "what" and "when" things are done in an organisation or "it is the way things are being done here" (Johnson & Scholes 2007:66 Today's business environment is increasingly becoming more turbulent, chaotic and challenging than ever before and to survive, it is vital that a firm can do something better than its competitors ( Wonglimpiyarat 2004:1). ... 1.0 Introduction Today's business environment is increasingly becoming more turbulent, chaotic and challenging than ever before and to survive, it is vital that a firm can do something better than its competitors ( Wonglimpiyarat 2004:1). Globalisation has not only altered the nature and the intensity of competition but has had to dictate and shape organisations in terms of what consumers wants, how and when they want it and what they are prepared to pay for it (Hagan 1996:1). Kanter (1995:71) on his work of "Mastering Change" argues that success in the present day business is not for those companies that re-engineer the way they do things, or for those fixing the past. According to Kanter (1995) such an action will not constitute an adequate response. This is so because success is based on an organization's ability to create, rather than predict the future by developing those products that will literally transform the way the world thinks and view it self and the needs (Kanter 1995:71). Within the context of today's global competition, businesses and firms no-longer compete as individual companies but try to corporate with other businesses in their activities (Wu & Chien 2007:2). These researchers went further to argue that, this strategy has become quite common in many businesses including the retail clothing chain stores. The conventional vertical integrated company based business model is gradually being replaced by collaborative relationship between many fragmented, but complementary and specialized value stars and constellation (Wu & Chien:1). This paper aim at examining the external environment of the United Kingdom Mobile phone industry, this

Equine Rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Equine Rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1) - Essay Example Respiratory symptoms are the most common manifestation in young horses but the outbreaks reported in many areas are usually due to the neurologic form. Frequent outbreaks of the respiratory form occur in young foals in areas where concentrated populations exist. The disease is highly contagious and spreads by the aerosol route through the inhalation of virus laden respiratory secretions. Horses under three years of age are particularly susceptible and the virus quickly spreads and multiplies in the respiratory epithelium. 2-8days post exposure, symptoms of depression; inappetance, nasal discharge and fever are manifested (www.oie.int). Laboratory examination reveals neutropenia and lymphopenia with serous nasal discharge, pharyngitis, malaise, cough and inflammation of lymph nodes. Foals suffering from EHV1 show diphasic fever patterns (merckvetmanual.com). If complications of secondary bacterial infection don’t occur, the disease is usually followed by complete recovery after 1-2 weeks but causes substantial distress to animals which affect their training and racing schedules. Abortions occur in infected pregnant mares 2-12 weeks after initial exposure to the virus. This usually happens between the 7-11th month of gestation (merckvetmanual.com). Aborted fetuses appear fresh with minimal autolysis unlike abortions with EVA (Equine Viral Arteritis). There is no damage to the reproductive tract of the mares and they usually recoup to attain normal conception ability after recovery. Outbreaks with neurological symptoms result in symptoms which may range from mild incoordination to posterior paralysis with the animals assuming recumbent positions. There is a loss of bladder control and tail function. Paralysis in its severest form can result in quadriplegia with eventual death. It is difficult to make distinction from clinical symptoms between EHV1, Equine Influenza and EVA. Virus isolation from nasopharyngeal swabs,

Leadership 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership 1 - Assignment Example This paper compares and contrasts these two leadership models. In addition, this paper also explicates under what conditions these theories would be utilized, what is important about them, and how they would be significant to the nursing profession. In defining leadership, Couig (2012) elucidates the four elements that make up leadership. Firstly, there must be a procedure or course of action between a leader and his or her adherents. Secondly, the leader must have authority or control over the adherents. Thirdly, leadership must occur in a group set-up with a universal target, and fourthly, projected objectives must be achieved. Leadership theories are based on these elements. Situational leadership theory was coined in by Hersey and Blanchard in the 1970s and was originally referred to as life-cycle theory. At first Ledlow and Coppola (2010. p. 73) notes that "Hersey and Blanchard identified four possible styles of leadership: telling, selling, participating, and delegating". Telling involves giving instructions to the followers on how to behave and conduct their activities; selling denotes giving directions while at the same time encouraging followers; participating involve crating connections or affiliations; and delegating involve allocating specific roles to followers but at the same time offer supervision (Ledlow and Coppola, 2010). According to this theory, the leader is obliged to consider the range of attributes available in a particular state of affairs in order to make an informed decision. According to Couig (2010), the leader is also obligated to alter or transform his leadership approach and align it with the level of preparedness of adheren ts, their level of motivation, and capability. For instance, employees with low levels of motivation require a different approach as compared to those with high motivation levels. The second leadership theory is

Web-based Geovisualization of Renewable Energy

Web-based Geovisualization of Renewable Energy Table of Contents (Jump to) 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to renewable energy 2.2 Web based Spatial Data Visualization Method 2.3 Geovisualization Tools Bibliography Table of Figures Figure 1: Map of share renewable energy for gross final energy consumption and electricity generation in European Countries (European Comission) Figure 2: BMU-Brochure â€Å"Renewable energy sources in figures – national and international development†, provisional figures. Provided by BEE (Federal Ministry for the Environment, 2012) 1 Introduction Geovisualization is set of tools and techniques to analyze geospatial data with the use of interactive visualization. It’s identical with large datasets of spatial data, means creating geovisualization requires large datasets handling. In the past it was almost impossible to visualize and analyze this large spatial data, but it changed since the rapidly development of technology these past decades, as tools have been developed by individuals and organization. As a result, spatial information becomes more available and accessible to support the use of location information for other related fields in order to produce better analysis and clearer visualization. Many researches have been conducted in geovisualization field. Different approaches are implemented to create a number of software such as: statistical data exploration, graph drawing techniques, exploratory visualization with multiple linked view, visualizing individual spatio-temporal behavior, design of spatio-temporal data visualization tools, etc. The technologies and approaches are applied based on type of data to be visualized and the result expected for geospatial. For example: flow map is used in analysis of migration and disease spread in the U.S. this flow map purpose is to show a form of weighted location-to-location network, the pattern movement of people or disease from one location to another location. Whereas, another map visualization will be preferable with different aim of visualization such as chloropleth map is to show statistical data aggregated for each area such as state or city by coloring or shading these regions. Generally in choropleth map, differences in hue are used to indicate qualitative differences, such as land use, while differences in saturation or lightness are used to indicate quantitative differences, such as population. In renewable energy area, Eurostat has published time series (per year) web based map with statistic illustrated for Renewable energy generation of European Union member. The map created is a cloroplath map using different colors that refers to percentage range of renewable energy share of each country in gross final energy consumption and electricity generated from renewable energy. Figure 1: Map of share renewable energy for gross final energy consumption and electricity generation in European Countries (European Comission) The percentage of share renewable energy used by each country not only identified by color and number range in agenda, but also shows by mouse over effect, when user pointed certain area in map, text and percentage of renewable energy generation will be appear. This thesis aims to create web-based geovisualization of renewable energy to monitor the growth of renewable energy share in Germany especially in electricity production. Data is obtained from enerymap.info that collects data from EEG messages in form of csv file. Two main ways to visualize data proposed are graphs and maps. Main visualization result will be the different aggregation level of area in Germany (based on states and counties), time series and statistics. To be able creating web based geovisualization, mapping technology and graph tools creator becoming issue. There is a need of tools that provide functionality to create map and graph with fast response that support web based application performance. Topojson is proposed to be used as mapping visualization combined with graph to show the statistical illustration. One tool free available that has the ability to connect topoJSON map and data in array format to create maps and graphs is D3.js. This JavaScript library is fast and efficient to handle large dataset and enabling maps with interaction and animation (Kà ¶bben, 2013). To create web based geovisualization, this thesis proposes the use of free tools to develop the web based application. However, because of the input data is in German format, all numerical values that are needed for statistical illustration is saved in text values, pre processing to re format data is necessary and will be done in arcGIS using phyton code. Additio nally, geo processing tools from arcgis are also needed in the pre processing stage to group and select important data from the large dataset to be visualized in the web based geovisualization. Shapefiles result of geo processing will be stored in topoJSON contains both gemotry values and properties that will be processed as input for final visualization using web based tools and d3.js library. 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to renewable energy According to European Energy Security Strategy document(strategy, 2014), energy is a vital part of Europe’s economy that motivates European commission to secure energy supplies and open access to energy sources in order to provide affordable price. There are several policies to rule energy supplies: EU’s 2020 energy and climate policies, energy efficiency and renewable energy policies. In between 1995 and 2012, total demand of energy decreased gradually due to economic crisis, structural changes in EU’s economy and significant increase of crude oil price. During that time period, crude oil still dominate the energy demand among other sources, but surprisingly the number has declined slightly from around 21% to 17%, in contrary, share of renewable energy has doubled to almost 11%. The increase share of renewable energy has helped European countries to gradually suppress demands of energy imports, even though oil still holds the largest quantity for almost 90% impo rt dependencies for energy sources. Germany as one of EU member has set national integrated climate and energy package as follows for EU’s 2020 energy and climate policies. One of the main focuses of the national commitments is in electricity generation considering electricity has relatively high share in many sectoral levels such as: industry, agriculture, residential, service and transport. Figure 2: BMU-Brochure â€Å"Renewable energy sources in figures – national and international development†, provisional figures. Provided by BEE (Federal Ministry for the Environment, 2012) From above figure of electricity generation from renewable energy, wind gives the largest contribution in electricity generation followed by hydropower, biomass, biogas and photovoltaic sequentially. Governments set goals to increase share of renewable energy in electricity sector for around 25-30% by 2020(EEG, 2012) by offering support of stable policy for the growth of renewable energy and feed-in tariff of fixed price of every kilowatt-hour electricity produced by renewable energy in 20 years. The feed-in tariffs have been introduced through the electricity feed act(StrEG) in 1991. StrEG was then replaced by Renewable energy resource Act (EEG) in 2001. Based on EEG amendment in 2014, federal network agency officially operates the official plant register. Energymap.info with aim to support EEG and the visibility of renewable energy in Germany publishes publicly data available in the website. Data is combined from EEG messages and assigned to each region. Then calculate non-trading energy produced for all areas and create top 10 regions that achieve highest target for renewable energy. 2.2 Web based Spatial Data Visualization (Geovisualization) Technique Nowadays, spatial information is more available influences by the growth of web GIS technology and supporting tools. One of the purposes of developing geovisualization with web-based mapping technology is to increase the accessibility of spatial data through online system. However, because geographical data is identical with large dataset, needs technology and database with fast response to develop a web-based GIS application because both of aspects will influence over all website performance. A paper with title: Developing Efficient Web-based GIS Application has published nand this research focuses on the comparison for mapping technology and databases for webGIS application(Adnan, et al., 2010). Based on this paper, tile based maps are preferable than static map renders. Tile based map can handle large data set by divided maps into different zoom levels. Various popular use tile based maps geovisualization technique are Google maps, yahoo maps and open layers. This map is faster to load because only respond to user specific location requests. However, at the end section of this paper, writer proposes preferable database and mapping technology to be implemented in webGIS application to give better performance for web application. Flash map that based on vector images becomes the final choice for fly rendered map capability and it’s developed along with popular tools adobe illustrator and already integrated with an API in ArcGIS (ArcGIS Flex API) and flash with google map API. While for the database of web GIS requires efficient performance of database in response user request, because the nature of GIS web-based application needs large amounts of geographically referenced data to be displayed from database. Oracle is final choice to handle large dataset among other databases free available tools. However, both for mapping technology and database are commercial software, not free available even though both offered great functionality to create web GIS ap plication. Moreover, flash map requires flash player in the web browser to enable user view the map. In another research, Luca Morandini writes: Getting the best performance for GeoJSON Map visualizations: PostGIS vs CouchDB back-end, explains another possibility to visualize map through online system with technique called TopoJSON. This research mentions Geojson is one possibility to send geometries data from server to client. Geojson is formed by encoding geographic data structure into one object. Geojson supports various geometry types such as: point, lineString, polygon, multipoint, multiLineString, multiPolygon, and geometryCollection. However the extended of GeoJSON called TopoJSON format is considered to be more effective for geographical data because the reduction of response size by applying a topological approach. GeoJSON is handy dealing with browser but causes duplication of polygon’s border, while topoJSON is encoding topology that creates geometry simplification and defines polygons as arcs collections that shared by adjacent polygons that reduces file size. Acc ording to this research, TopoJSON data size is reduce about 30% from original geoJSON(Morandini, 2013). The reduction of file size used in web application will improve the performance and response of user request. In addition, tools to create both geoJSON and topoJSON are freely available. 2.3 Geovisualization Tools D3.js provides many functions for graph and also map to build customize visualization framework. D3.js is easy to use and written in a functional style that can be reuse and add specific functions to create desired content. D3.js gives full customize ability to developer to create the visualization by support of various d3.js functions(Anon., n.d.). d3.js is used in web application to utilize web page communication with data that are with form of JSON or loading external data: csv, geoJSON, topoJSON or database. D3.js is a JavaScript library to manipulate Data Object Model (DOM) by binding data, apply transformation and transition to create interactive data visualization. D3.js library works with combination of other tools such as HTML and CSS to create web based visualization system (Maclean, 2014). Two main focuses for using d3.js in this thesis are to create graphs and mapping visualization. In creating graph, external or JSON data can be used. Firstly, create canvas with svg object by setting margin and graph area. This svg will be the container to bind data to be visualized in the application. Then, data rendered with data() command. Next, set scales domains and ranges of x and y axes with domain() and scale() commands. Lastly, add text or modify the appearance of the graph(Mulder, 2014) Not only to create graph visualization, d3.js is also can be used to create mapping visualization. D3.js includes several common projections in it’s library to support mapping visualization. There are 3 main steps to create mapping visualization using d3.js: create projection function with projection system options from d3.js, create path function that will store all geometry values, using geojson or topojson as object data to draw map in path (Jenson, n.d.). All geo functionalities to build the map are provided by d3.js. There are significant invested amount of time to learn geoJson structure but once user familiarwith the function and data structure, visualization can be easily to create. Thus, d3.js can be utilized to create various geovisualization techniques such as: stack display, iconic display, dense pixel display and also interaction techniques that can be added to create a more interactive visualization, such as: standard, projection, filtering, and zoom (Dykes, et a l., 2005) . D3.js is also fast and efficient to handle large dataset and enabling maps with interaction and animation (Kà ¶bben, 2013) Bibliography Adnan, M., Singleton, A. Longley, P., 2010. Development Efficient Web-Based GIS Applications. London, CASA. Anon., n.d. Dashing D3. [Online] Available at: https://www.dashingd3js.com/why-build-with-d3js [Accessed 16 January 2015]. Dykes, J., Fabrikant, S. Wood, J., 2005. Exploring Geovisualization. In: Exploring Geovisualization. London, Enschede: Elsevier, p. 4. EEG, 2012. Act on granting priority to renewable energy sources, s.l.: EEG. EREC, 2009. Renewable Energy Policy Review, Germany, s.l.: Intelligent Energy Europe. Federal Ministry for the Environment, N. C. a. N. S., 2012. Renewable Energies Driving Germanys Energiewende, Berlin: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Public Relations Division. Jenson, G., n.d. d3.js Geo fun. [Online] Available at: http://www.hashbang.co.nz/blog/2013/2/25/d3_js_geo_fun [Accessed 15 JAnuary 2015]. Kà ¶bben, B., 2013. Using the D3 library for web-mapping in an SDI environment. May, pp. 14-17. Maclean, M., 2014. D3 Tips and Tricks Interactive Data Visualization in a Web Browser. s.l.:Lean Publishing. Morandini, L., 2013. Getting The Best Performance For GeoJSON Map Visualizations: PostGIS Vs CouchDB back-end. Nottingham, At Nottingham, UK . Mulder, P., 2014. Getting Started with D3. [Online] Available at: http://thinkingonthinking.com/Getting-Started-With-D3/ [Accessed 15 January 2015]. strategy, C. S. E. e. s., 2014. COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT: In-depth study of European Energy Security, s.l.: s.n. 1

Dead Poets Society :: essays research papers

The spine twisting movie that should be used as a role model to all parents would be Dead Poet’s Society. This movie gives parents a lesson in adolescent parenting skills. Skills that are usually over looked by every parent. Pushing your child you may have thought was good to a point, pushes some kids to the thought of suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This movie is about Welton an all boys college preparatory school for the rich. Mr. Keating who is the new English teacher there, was once a student there also. He enters the class room with a different style of teaching. While other teachers were stiff neck and had a conventional style of teaching, Keating came in with a style that was unorthodox and the other teachers feared this. He came into the class room preaching â€Å"Carpe Diem† which means seize the day. He taught the kids to be free thinkers, and ways to read poetry deeper that just the words. The biggest thing that he introduced his students to was the Dead Poet’s Society, an organization that sucked the bone marrow out of life was started with Keating himself and ended when he graduated. The students were intrigued and started this secret society as soon as they could. The students soon realized the true meaning of poetry. They were able to be come better poets and interpreters of the tr ue meaning of poetry. The students start to realize that this is there life and their parents cannot make all there decisions. Once one of the students realize this he has a tragic accident. Mr. Keating is fired because the administration blamed him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Neil Perry was a student at Welton. He was very fortunate to go there, his parents made some great sacrifices. In return for the sacrifices his parents had to make, his father felt it was necessary to make his decisions for him. Mr. Perry would not allow Neil to participate in any extra-curricular activities. Neil went behind his fathers back and auditioned for a play, and received the lead role. He needed a letter of approval from his father, so Neil wrote it himself. Once his father found out he flipper and said, â€Å"Neil I will not allow you to ruin this great opportunity to be an actor, what are you stupid.† Mr. Perry also told his son that he must drop out of the play the day before its premiere.

Nora Essay -- essays research papers fc

Nora Nora Helmer, Ibsen’s strong-willed heroine is far from being a typical victim of male domination. She is master of the domestic world, dedicated enough to nurse her husband through illness, courageous enough to forge a signature and confident enough to pay back all her debts even in the face of enormous difficulties. But that is not what exactly sets her apart from convention—neither the energy or the initiative she exudes throughout, nor her decision to shatter her notions of marriage and seek independence. Rather, it is the intention or the motivation with which she carries herself throughout the text and more importantly the sub-text of the play that makes her different. Nora, despite her disenchantment and climactic decision, comes across as a less than innocent woman ambivalently portrayed, incredibly adept at manipulation and who does not, in the end, deserve the full sympathy that the thrust of the dominant narrative demands. She walks into a comfortably and tastefully furnished room, as soon as the play begins, with a bunch of parcels and immediately asks for the Christmas Tree to be hidden â€Å"carefully†, pops a few macaroons into her mouth and then cautiously goes to her husband’s door and listens, eventually remarking â€Å"Yes he is in.† The reason for such cautious behaviour seems quite uncertain as her husband’s presence inside the room is immaterial to her secretive actions (that of eating macaroons) as he is clearly out of sight, which makes us conjecture that perhaps such stealth is part of her normal behaviour. When Torvald does appear however, something that becomes very noticeable is the way Nora uses her movement, repetitively, like an application, to alleviate Torvald’s argumentative tone. For example, when her husband vehemently opposes the idea of borrowing, Helmer: †¦ and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle. Nora: (moving towards the stove) As you please, Torvald. Helemer: (following her) Come, come, my little skylark must not droop her wings. What is this! Is my little skylark out of temper? (Taking out his purse.) Nora, what do you think I have got here? Nora: Money! Nora deliberately moves away from him, making Torvald uneasy of the emptiness, which results in his softening down and taking out the purse. Nora’s mood suddenly changes on seeing the bag. Remarkably, she repeats t... ...g† could never happen which is also why she was so terrified of it. She left blaming Torvald for something he wasn’t aware of, though he readily agreed to change himself for Nora, she left her children who loved playing hide and seek with her and took lodging at Mrs. Linde’s for the night. Ironically, Nora is the one who asked Mrs. Linde, â€Å"Tell me, is it really true that you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him?† Nora therefore proves herself to be ambiguous and very unreliable and even though forfeiting her family and a decision to face the world seems quite a large step for a dependent woman like her, Nora’s motivations remain deceptive as she is forever caught between the world of pretense and reality. Perhaps Nora realizes that, and when she does talk about â€Å"change† at the end of the play, she refers to herself being removed from the mask she is used to wearing. Bibliography Claridge, Laura. â€Å"Tess: A Less than Pure Woman.† Havel, Vaclav. â€Å"Writing for the Stage†, 1986. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. trans. Farquharson Sharp. Bantam, 1958 Ingham, Patricia: â€Å"Fallen Woman as Sign† Miller, Arthur: â€Å"On Social Plays†, 1955.

Ethics in Criminal Justice Administration Essay

Nowhere is ethical behavior more important than the administration of criminal justice. Lack of ethical behavior undermines the purpose of the criminal justice system. The cost of unethical behavior will be the downfall of the criminal justice system and only by gaining a true understanding of what ethical behavior is and how to maintain it will the system continue to flourish. While the ethical standard individuals develop through the years are important; utilizing critical thinking skills ensuring ethical standards stay in place. Many people assume that good ethical behavior is part of an individual’s makeup but in reality ethical behavior is learned and therefore not the same for everyone. Ethical and moral behavior begins developing from the time individuals are young and continues to develop and change during adulthood. It is important to understand that the initial ethical values a person gains usually come from the home environment and are highly influenced by the ethical behavior displayed by parents and family members. Should this life be impacted by crime and violence then this behavior could become the norm and this individual’s ethical values and standards would be outside of the societal norm. As individuals grow into adults life experiences continue to impact ethical and moral standards. Many people live by the assumption that while something may be unethical it is not illegal so no one cares but right and wrong do not always deal in legalities. Just because something is not illegal does not make it right. In the administration of criminal justice ethical considerations are the basis for the use of discretion, force, and due process required to make sound moral decisions. The study ethics helps understand the consequences of actions and the moral principles used. In the administration of criminal justice ethics must be a permanent part of management and policy making related to punishment. Ethics are also a vital part of decision making in regards to rehabilitation, deterrence, and sentencing. Individuals working in the field of criminal justice maintain authority over other individuals lives (Banks,  2004). This power must not be taken lightly. These individuals must be aware of the power of the position and the ethical standards required when carrying out those duties. So how can the system ensure that individuals maintain ethical standards? Training is the answer to ensuring ethical standards. Most individuals are receptive to training and understand the necessity of maintaining ethical standards. The cost of legal fees, litigation and damages from claims of ethical violations could cost millions and it seems simpler to maintain training for staff than pay millions if claims. A recent increase in claims against officers for unethical behavior only substantiates this ideal even more (Eastvedt, 2008). It is important for professionals in the criminal justice field to understand the ethical framework where individuals gain their approach for decision making. The first concept is idealism where it is believed the desired outcome may be obtained through using the appropriate action. The issue for these individuals is choosing the correction action in a given situation. The second concept is relativism. This concept is derived from the ideal that while the desired outcome is preferred, everything is relative to circumstance and therefore undesirable outcomes are inevitable no matter the action taken. There are four approaches to ethical decision making and knowing these will help to identity the orientations of those whom you employ. Situationists believe that everything is relative and base the actions taken on the assessment of the situation. These individuals choose not to acknowledge the universal moral code or rules followed by society. Subjectivist also believe in the relative and reject societal codes however these individuals maintain personal moral principles used when assessing situations. Absolutists follow idealism believing that the best outcome is attained by following the universal moral principles. Exceptionists follow the same belief as absolutists with the slight difference. They believe that certain situations allow deviation from these beliefs (Bailey, 2009). Another important training module is critical thinking. Critical thinking helps individual’s reason right from wrong to ensure good decision making skills. Critical thinking helps individuals make objective decisions when analyzing information. At the core of critical thinking are cognitive skills and affective dispositions. Cognitive skills are used during interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. Affective  dispositions require and individual to be inquisitive, maintain a concern for being well-informed, know when to employ critical thinking, be aware of one’s own bias, and willingness to reconsider or revise when needed. Making an ethical decision does not occur instantly. Individuals usually have time to consider the action and any alternatives. This is where crimtial thinking plays an intricate part. Critical thinking allow the individual to consider what to believe or what action to take (Meisel & Fearon, 2006). The Williams Institute and the APPA are working together to introduce the compliance based model and responsibility based model into ethics training. The Williams Institute maintains a belief that ethical responsibility is not based on rules and codes rather relationships and responsibility for ones actions. By giving people the tools to make the right decisions, TWI believes that individuals will make the right decision. The first step is to remove fear from the decision making process and enable individuals to be responsible for the decision made (The Williams Institute, 2001). Ethics training for individuals in the field of criminal justice requires an understanding of individuals within the field and the roles held. Individual within this field are analyzed and judged on the decisions made whether ethical or unethical. Discretion is required of all individuals in all areas within the system. Understanding of the discretionary roles of each person is vital to understanding how unethical issues can occur. Legislators have the power to define what is considered illegal and punishable under the law. Police officers have a great amount of discretion during decision making on arrests, citations and investigations. Prosecutors often face the least amount of scrutiny based on the faith placed on them upholding the law. Prosecutors maintain discretion when filing charges, downgrading charges, influencing officers, and the death penalty. Judges maintain discretion over plea bargains, sentencing, reviewing the law, and rules of evidence. Individuals working in corrections have discretion over probation, determining appropriate behavior, supervision of inmates and parole. Each of these individuals has a responsibility for enforcing the law and protecting the rights of the constitution. Training for these individuals should include analytical skills and reasoning, and the ability to recognize the consequences of actions. The five goals that should be attained once the ethical training is completed are being aware and open to ethical issues,  become personally responsible, develop critical thinking skills, understanding how the system often encourages coercion, and the exploring individual feelings (Drylie, J.). Individuals must learn to uphold the rights and liberties of the suspect, the interests of the community, and the law (Albanese, 2006). Ethics in the administration of criminal justice go hand in hand. Individuals who work in the field of criminal justice must maintain ethical integrity to ensure the law functions as designed. As individuals grow and take their place in the world the ethical and moral values from childhood change based on life experiences. Knowing the ethical framework that people use to define their ethical outlook helps administrators develop a plan of action for working with these individuals. By providing training and education to individuals within the criminal justice field society can ensure those values are maintained within the system. References Albanese, J., 2006, Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice: Being Ethical When No One is Looking, retrieved May 12, 2013 from: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Professional+Ethics+in+Criminal+Justice%3A+Being+Ethical+When+No+One+is†¦-a0158093018†³>Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice: Being Ethical When No One is Looking. Strahlendorf, P., Professional Ethics, Ryerson University, School of Occupational and Public Health, Session No. 174, Retrieved May 12, 2013 from: http://www.bcsp.org/pdf/PresentationsArticles/714_1.pdf Banks, 2004, the Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice, retrieved May 12, 2013 from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/4031_Banks_Chapter_1_Proof.pdf Drylie, J., Ethics in Criminal Justice, Week 1, CJ3750, Kean University, retrieved May 12, 2013 from: http://www.kean.edu/~jdrylie/docs/Microsoft%20PowerPoint%20-%20Ethics%20Week%201.pdf Eastvedt, Steven R., 2008, Criminal justice ethics- a view from the top, retrieved May 12, 2013 from: http://www.correctio ns.com/news/article/20030 Meisel, S. I., & Fearon, D. S. (2006). â€Å"Choose the future wisely†: Supporting better ethics through critical thinking. Journal of Management Education, 30(1), 149-176. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195719245?accountid=35812

Business Model of Nike Essay

Introduction Nike Inc. was founded in 1962 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as a partnership under the name, Blue Ribbon Sports. Nike’s main products are sports shoes, sportswear, sports goods. In this paper, we will talk about ‘The Challenge of Entrepreneurship’ ‘Competitive Business Model’ ‘Solid Strategic Plan’ ‘Feasibility Analysis’ and ‘Business Plan’. All of these topics are very important when we study the ‘EOE and SBM’, and in each topic have more than one point. We got ‘The Benefits of Entrepreneurship’ ‘Competition’ of ‘The Challenge of Entrepreneurship ’; ‘Core Competencies’ ‘Innovations’ ‘Sustainable Competitive Advantage’ ‘Key Success Factor’ of ‘CBM’; ‘Vision and Mission’ ‘Objectives and Goals’ ‘SWOT’ ‘Competitor’ ‘Business strategy’ of ‘Solid Strategic Plan’; ‘Industry and Market Feasibility’ ‘Product or Service Feasibility’ ‘Financial Feasibility’ and ‘5Forces Model’ of ‘Feasibility Analysis’. Now, we are going to show you the detail. The Challenge of Entrepreneurship The Benefits of Entrepreneurship Surveys show that owners of small businesses believe they work harder, earn more money, and are more satisfied than if they worked for someone else. (Via Dr. Josà © A. Torres Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Powerpoint) Opportunity to Create Your Own Destiny. Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger(now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight’s automobile. According to Otis Davis, a student athlete whom Bower man coached at the University of Oregon, who later went on to win two gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Bower man made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting a claim that they were made for Phil Knight. Says Davis, â€Å"I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don’t care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bower man made the first pair of shoes for me. People don’t believe me. In fact, I didn’t like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bower man make  them from the waffle iron, and they were mine.† (Via HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) Opportunity to Make a Difference. In 1979, Nike Air cushion technology â€Å"Air†, by the inventor of the m. Frank Rudy patented, first applied on the Tailwind running shoes, the gas film in running shoes soles for the protection of the cushion. And Nike has created many print and television advertisements with Wieden+ Kennedy, Wieden+ Kennedy remains Nike’s primary ad agency. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan â€Å"Just Do It† for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Walt Stack was featured in Nike’s first â€Å"Just Do It† advertisement, which debuted on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to â€Å"Let’s do it†, the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and regions throughout the world.[16] In 1990, Nike moved into its eight-building World Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon. (Via HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) Opportunity to Real Improve profits. In 2005, Nike â€Å"Air Jordan 20 generations†. Nike Free series, also in protecting the foot, like barefoot training is provided for the wearer. Nike as of May 31, total annual profits had 13.7 billion dollars, a 12% growth in the past fiscal year. On December 19, 2013, Nike Inc’s quarterly profit rose as a result of global orders for merchandise for delivery by April increased 13 percent. Future orders of shoes or clothes for delivery between December and April, rose to $10.4 billion. Nike shares (NKE) rose 0.6 percent to $78.75 in extended trading. (Via HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) Opportunity to Contribute to Society and Be Recognized for Your Efforts. NIKE Charity Organization, is a Non-Governmental Organization Headquartered in PORT HARCOURT RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA. It is autonomous and submissive to the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They are determined to achieve our dreams and purpose of giving hope to the less privilege and to discharge our duties as members of non-profit organization in accordance to our core  values at National, State and Local Government levels. We are prepared to harness, strengthen and efficiently direct our efforts as much as we are out to join hands with other organizations, and individuals in the fight against the Girl Child Abuse. (Via HTTP://saccharinity.com/about_us.php) Competition NIKE is a consumer products company and the relative popularity of various sports and fitness activities and changing design trends affect the demand for our products. The athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment industry is highly competitive in the United States and on a worldwide basis. We compete internationally with a significant number of athletic and leisure footwear companies, athletic and leisure apparel companies, sports equipment companies, and large companies having diversified lines of athletic and leisure footwear, apparel, and equipment. We also compete with other companies for the production capacity of independent manufacturers that produce our products and for import quota capacity. Our competitors’ product offerings, technologies, marketing expenditures (including expenditures for advertising and endorsements), pricing, costs of production, and customer service are areas of intense competition. This, in addition to rapid changes in technology and consumer preferences in the markets for athletic and leisure footwear and apparel, and athletic equipment, constitute significant risk factors in our operations. If we do not adequately and timely anticipate and respond to our competitors, our costs may increase or the consumer demand for our products may decline significantly. (Via Nike-2013-form-10K) Designing a Competitive Business Model Core Competencies Nike’s quality , technology and brand is famous . Nike’s Air cushion technology is almost using in every basketball shoes ,it’s good for athlete’s foot . the Nike having its own core competence due to organization’s own skills and core competence it has taken a competitive advantage and now is taking a large market share. The core competence of Nike is to specialize in athlete’s foot wear and other sports items. As we know every organization has its R & D department .The R &D department of Nike is playing a vital role because of its innovations in foot wear how the  consumers can feel comfort by wearing their shoes and the quality that’s the most important factor to be given in shoes and they have different categories of shoes which is running shoes nick shocks, Jordan, and other types that is targeting different type of consumers having different perceptions. But most important thing of Nike is they don’t make shoes they design and then give their design to the production companies in Korea and china or Vietnam. Due to which they are more specialized in their innovation and in this way they have made their core competence in making innovative design of athlete shoes. Innovations Nike believe his research and development efforts are a key factor in nis success .NIKE strives to produce products that help to reduce injury , enhance athletic performance and maximize comfort success . (Via Nike 2013 Annual Report) Nike also find many expert in chemistry, exercise physiology, engineering, industrial design, sustainability and related fields ask they advices to fixed Nike’s shoes and clothing . Nike’s air cushion shock absorption technology is famous in the basketball shoes area .Nike’s Brand shoes like LBJ , Kobe and KD has many color and types . Sustainable Competitive Advantage External Analysis : Nike’s brand awareness is famous all over the world ,everyone buying shoes first chose is Nike . Nike sponsored the top athletes and gained valuable coverage. , like Jordan , LeBron James , .From the Nike’s 2013 annual report will find that Nike growing up every years . Nike has many competitors , like Adidas , Puma , Reebok and so on , but Nike’s market share is more than any other . Internal Analysis :As we know ,Nike’s product is quality , Nike’s has own R&D center to creative new technology ,like air cushion shock absorber technology ,environmental technology and so on .It’s basic technology to Nike’s product .Nike always find many creative thing to put in Nike’s product ,like knitting technology in his shoes .That’s awesome . Nike has employed creative marketing and advertisement platforms in building brand awareness and equity of its diversified products. For instance, the company uses Tiger Wood s a skilled golfer to build its line of golf products. It further employs professionals in various departments that include distribution, marketing, finance,  product management, research and design, information technology, and product development so as to sensitize the market of its diversified products Nike also operates an internship program every summer lasting for three months giving students an insight on the diverse brands. Other avenues Nike accomplishes diversification strategy is through mergers, joint ventures, takeovers, and acquisitions. The company also has an R&D unit called the innovation kitchen located in the main parent company in Oregon, to enable it to continue producing unique products such as the cushioning system in shoes. Key Success Factor Jordan Brand : Jordan brand is a big part of the Nike. Jordan’s shoes is popular in all over the world .Jordan shoes occupy the USA 10.8% market share in 2009 .Jordan shoes sales almost two times of Adidas . (Via :http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2009-09-12/16084584096.shtml)So Jordan brand is a key success factors of Nike .) Jordan brand is popular in young people , every young people want a Jordan’s shoes it’s beautiful and comfortable .Especially Jordan’s air cushion technology , using in every basketball shoes . Technology :In addition to Nike’s own staff of specialists in the areas of biomechanics ,chemistry , exercise physiology, engineering , industrial design, sustainability ,and related fields , we also utilize research committees and advisory boards made up of athletes , coaches, trainers , equipment managers , orthopedists , Podiatrists , and other experts who consult with us and review designs , Materials , concepts for product and manufactur ing process improvements and compliance with product safety regulations around the world . (Nike Annual Report ) Advertisement : Advertisements play a significant role in the athletic apparel industry, as consumers rely on catalogues and online advertisements . Nike has many endorsers ,like Jordan ,James ,Durant and so on. These guys bring many customers .Nike has online store ,you can buy many things in this store ,before new product star sales ,you’ll get an e-mail about this product .Nike’s advertisement not only online but also in everywhere .It’s very amazing! Adidas :Adidas is a very famous company ,it’s very popular in world too .But in these years, Adidas’s market in decrease very fast .Because Adidas’s endorsers did not famous than Nike’s endorses .Adidas’s endorses including Yao Ming ,A.I ,D.Rose and so on .But they hurt or retied .Adidas’s  quality and technology is also well known .But Adidas lost because the endorses . New Balance :New Balance (I will call New Balance as NB for short ) is known as a most comfortable shoes .They has many new technology ,such as BIOSHIELD ,ABZORB EX ,REVAX ,ENCAP ,and so on .And NB is popular in young people ,you will find many youn g people wear NB in the street .IT’s a huge market to NB. Building a Solid Strategic Plan It’s a significant part of a successful business. It keeps the company to where they oriented, to meet their mission, goals and objectives, and lead it on the right way. A Strategy plan is to build a competitive advantage. It involved Vision and Mission Statement, also Objectives and Goals, SWOT Analysis, Competition Analysis and Formulate Strategies. We are going to find out what does Nike different from others, why it is unique, and what it has that others don’t. I am about to use Five Forces Model to analyze the competitive advantages for Nike. Vision, Mission, Goal and Objective Nike’s vision is â€Å"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.† The legendary University of Oregon track and field coach, and Nike co-founder, Bill Bowerman said, â€Å"If you have a body, you are an athlete.†. It’s their mission. (Via http://help-en-us.nike.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/113/p/3897) Their goal is to become and keep the number one sportswear brand all over the world. Their objective is keep down the manufacturing cost and keep their price down then they can occupied the market in some less developed countries who can become the economically dependent in the industry. (Via http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_objectives_of_Nike_company) SWOT Analysis. Strengths As one of the ‘Fortune 500’ company, Nike has numerous strengths. It is positioned at being the number one sportswear brand globally, it Offers their products worldwide, it has a very strong marketing campaign that increases brand familiarity, and it has no factories, it uses OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to get the work done. It has contracts with above 700 shops globally in about 45 different countries. it also has offices in these different countries. It has chains of retail stores like  Niketown so that it can sell there. Its famous ‘Swoosh’ is instantly recognizable, and Phil Knight even has it tattooed on his ankle. Weaknesses The organization does have a diversified range of sports products. However, the income of the business is still heavily dependent upon its share of the footwear market. This may leave it vulnerable if for any reason its market share erodes. The retail sector is very price sensitive. Nike does have its own reta iler in Nike Town. However, most of its income is derived from selling into retailers. Retailers tend to offer a very similar experience to the consumer. Can you tell one sports retailer from another? So margins tend to get squeezed as retailers try to pass some of the low price competition pressure onto Nike. Opportunities Product development offers Nike many opportunities. The brand is fiercely defended by its owners whom truly believe that Nike is not a fashion brand. However, like it or not, consumers that wear Nike product do not always buy it to participate in sport. Some would argue that in youth culture especially, Nike is a fashion brand. This creates its own opportunities, since product could become unfashionable before it wears out i.e. consumers need to replace shoes. There is also the opportunity to develop products such as sport wear, sunglasses and jewelry. Such high value items do tend to have associated with them, high profits. The business could also be developed internationally, building upon its strong global brand recognition. There are many markets that have the disposable income to spend on high value sports goods. For example, emerging markets such as China and India have a new richer generation of consumers. There are also global marketing events that can be utilized to support the brand such as the World Cup (soccer) and The Olympics. Threats Nike is exposed to the international nature of trade. It buys and sells in different currencies and so costs and margins are not stable over long periods of time. Such an exposure could mean that Nike may be manufacturing and/or selling at a loss. This is an issue that faces all global brands. The market for sports shoes and garments is very competitive. The model developed by Phil Knight in his Stamford Business School days (high value branded product manufactured at a low cost) is now commonly used and to an extent is no longer a basis for sustainable competitive advantage. Competitors are developing alternative brands to take away Nike’s market share. As discussed above in weaknesses, the retail sector is becoming price competitive. This  ultimately means that consumers are shopping around for a better deal. So if one store charges a price for a pair of sports shoes, the consumer could go to the store along the street to compare prices for the exactly the same item, and buy the cheaper of the two. Such consumer price sensitivity is a potential external threat to Nike. (Via Nike 2013 Annual Report, http://www.quality-assurance-solutions.com/swot-analysis-nike.html, http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/account-management-provides-special-treatment-in-marketing-administration-marketing-essay.php http://www.marketingteacher.com/swot/nike-swot.html) Analyze the Competition. Nike has some competitive Direct competitors- Adidas, New Balance and Li Ning. They offer the product that Nike does, and all of these companies have different key success factors. Adidas, is the most competitor od Nike with do doubt, they compete with Nike for No.1 sportswear branding for over 40 years But in these years, Adidas’s market in decrease very fast .Because Adidas’s endorsers did not famous than Nike’s endorses .Adidas’s endorses including Yao Ming ,A.I ,Derrick Rose and so on .But they hurt or retied .Adidas’s quality and technology is also well known .But Adidas lost because the endorses; New Balance is known as a most comfortable shoes .They has many new technology ,such as BIOSHIELD ,ABZORB EX ,REVAX ,ENCAP ,and so on .And New Balance is popular in young people ,you will find many young people wear New Balance in the street . IT’s a huge market to New Balance; Some Significant competitors like Under Armour and Skechers, they offer similar products like apparel or footwear, they compete with Nike in some fields. Some Indirect competitors like The North Face or Columbia, both of them are the most of the famous outdoor brand, they offer windbreaker or accessories that Nike does. They have impacts to Nike in some mutual markets. Conclusion: Nike does perfectly in quality and endorsement, they almost signed all significant players and teams all over the world. Adidas has no most strength but all factors are averaged. New Balance does best in technology, it can makes sneakers more comfortable. (New Balance has never signed any endorsers since it founded, so its score is little bit lower) Cost leadership. Nike uses Business Simulation Strategy. It has no factories, it uses OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to get the work done, and it doesn’t has stores mostly. It offers products to Franchised retailers, and let them sell the products. It saved money from factories and rent, so its overhead is low. No shop, no labors,. quantity of materials, low too. If a supplier increases costs, Nike can easily change a new one with lower cost, Nike can do this because of its ability. Nike definitely has low cost access to factors of production. The enormity of Nike in respect to their suppliers gives them a huge advantage in production negotiations. Due to their high volumes for products, the cut-throat low cost nature of selecting a manufacturer, and coupled with the fact that Nike’s suppliers depend so heavily on them for their own success that they have little to no bargaining room toward raising prices, allows Nike to continuously enjoy low costs of production. Nike’s hardware and software technology implementations of using the not only using the best materials but creating them in a vertical fashion and housing an innovation culture from the top down, allow Nike a first move advantage into cost savings. However most of these advances only bring definite savings for a short time due to competitive parity within the industry, their creative nature definitely does benefit over the long run. Nike reduced costs by cutting some of its endorsements. Company research suggested the endorsement by the Italian soccer team, was not achieving the desired result. Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and a few other endorsers were retained while some other like Italian soccer team, were eliminated, to saving over $100 million. Nike does incredible in cost control. (Nike 2013 Annual Report) Differentiation. Differentiation strategy by Nike is used to gain market share advantage in the broad foot ware market. Aside from foot wear, the company boasts of products such as clothing, equipment, and even accessories. The strategy is achieved by producing consumer goods and services that customers perceive to be of high quality or have added unique features. This has been achieved by the company innovating state of the art athletic shoes that are publicized through dramatic â€Å"guerrilla† marketing. Marketing of the different products is designed to coerce customers that Nike’s shoes are not only superior but also a high fashion statement which is a necessary part of a lifestyle based  on athletic or sporting interests. The company has also differentiated itself by using highflyers that are best used in distinguishing sporting disciplines hence enabling the company reach its target market, for instance, the Brazilian national soccer team or even Michael Jordan. Also, Nike is different from others in their Ads. They show not only their technology but also leading endorsers like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Cristiano Ronaldo in their Ads of new products. At the same time, their Ads are also very creative and with imagination, make people who watched them unforgettable. (Via Nike 2013 Annual Report) Focus.