Thursday, October 31, 2019

Researching a Critical Social Issue in Computerization Term Paper

Researching a Critical Social Issue in Computerization - Term Paper Example With the same inspiration, the chosen book encompasses details about the journey of technology and how it has successfully made mankind its slave rather than the opposite. Neil Postman was a technology critic, who doesn’t favor the uncontrolled growth of technology and the reliance on technology more than human intellect and judgments. His book â€Å"Technopoly† has addressed various professions ranging from medicine to education, advertising to business management etc. The current technological trends are troubling and causing impact on the lifestyle of individuals, culture, language and personal relations. Its gradual invasion has been unnoticed by many and has just been accepted as the eventual change of times. However, some people, like the author of the book, are conscious about the changes and try to repel them as much as possible to ensure that they are not overpowered by it. The book stresses on few main adverse effects that have been discussed in the paper. B. Main Concepts from the Book The book explains the gradual technological changes that have taken place in the history of mankind; the main factors that are considered harmful by Neil Postman are: Effects on cultural values Effects on human intellect Effects on social capabilities These three aspects are very important as they effect the social and mental development of humans, alongside the morals and traditions of societies. The power of technology overpowers the intellect of humans, changes cultural values and reduces the need for personal relations. These effects will be discussed in detail in the later sections of the report. These changes have not been sudden. On the contrary, man has witnessed varying degrees of integration of technology with the passage of the years. The author termed these changes as â€Å"ecological† i.e. the original form of something is altered due to some change. The author categorizes the changes into three main eras; tool-using culture, technocra cy and technopoly. Tool-using culture has been defined as the era in which tools were invented to solve problems. The tools did not threaten the cultures, traditions and mental capabilities of humans. Technocracy saw the integration of technology in the lives of the individuals; however industrialism and technical incorporation were still not strong enough to drive away culture, language and morals. Technopoly is explained as the prevailing era in which technology has overpowered human intellect as machines are considered more reliable than humans. It is due to the technological integration in the society that machines are considered more dependable than humans. 1. Effects on human intellect The advent of scientific management took place in 1911 by Frederick Taylor. The principles of scientific management were originally developed for the production processes in industries but soon the respective concept intervened in the whole society and started being followed religiously by peopl e who weren’t even a part of the industrial sector. Scientific management provoked the employees to perform their jobs strictly according to the rules and laws that had been laid down for their specific positions. This created the dependence on technology and freed the people from the responsibility of thinking creatively and making

Monday, October 28, 2019

James Spencer Essay Example for Free

James Spencer Essay Introduction The conditions for the poor were terrible at the time when Charles dickens wrote the novel a Christmas carol to express his concern about the conditions for these people. At first Charles was going to show his concern by writing a serious pamphlet explaining the conditions people were living in but after much thought he decided a book would be better because he was a famous author. Charles believed this would help by alerting people of the lives the people were living so they would donate to charity at Christmas a time of giving. Paragraph 1 In stave one of the book we are introduced to Scrooge and Jacob Marley. In the first stave scrooge is described as and evil man and also you can tell this from the things he says Every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holy through his heart. He replied to his nephew after he invited him to Christmas dinner this shows he dose not like Christmas and also he is very rude and is not afraid of sharing his point of view with others. Scrooge is rude to all the people who try to be nice to him in this first chapter from the men who asked for a donation for charity to his employee who asked for Christmas day off to whom he only just excepted say he needs to be in the earlier the next day. When scrooge goes home he sees the ghost of his ex-partner Jacob Marley who tells him he will have to mend his ways or he may end up with a similar fate. Paragraph 2 In stave two Scrooge is visited by the first of the three ghosts of Christmas the ghost of Christmas past. This chapter gives us a lot of important information on scrooge such as his time at school his work for Mr. Feziwig and his relationship that ended when he became obsessed with money I have seen you nobler aspirations fall off one by one until the master-passion, gain, engrosses you. Scrooges fianci e told him when she didnt want to see him anymore because he had changed at the begging of this chapter he is show as a hard working boy in school that didnt really have any friends but had a grate love for his sister. The chapter also tells us about the time he worked for Mr. Feziwig and how he used to have a good time and how he was bad employer because he didnt treat his staff to a good time. Paragraph 3 In stave three Scrooge meets the second of the ghosts the ghost of Christmas present who shows him what over peoples Christmas are like this shows the appalling conditions the Cratchits lived in and how his nephew disrespects him and what he says about him his offences carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against his. Fred said after he called a toast to his uncle later on at the meal they all insult scrooge. In this chapter we learn of the great poverty of the Cratchits were they have to share glasses and of tiny Tims illness and how he will die if scrooge doesnt help him. Paragraph 4 In stave for scrooge meets the last of the ghosts the ghost of Christmas future. In this chapter of the book scrooge finds out he has died and he realizes that no one liked him and that his money was not any use to him when he was dead he frightened everyone away from him when he was alive to profit us when he was dead! Ha, ha ha! The pawn broker says as we realizes all of scrooges possessions have been sold when they can no longer be any use to him as he is dead. In this chapter he realizes that being a bad person isnt any good to him and thats its better to be remembered as a good person than a bad one because thats all you have when you die. Scrooge has now changed and wants to be a better person and we see what he dose in the last chapter Paragraph 5. In the last chapter in the book scrooge seems to be happier person he dose this by trying to be nice to other people and by doing good deeds he also apologizes to bob and says a merrier Christmas, bob, my good fellow, than I have given for many a year! Ill raise your salary; endeavor to assist your struggling family. Scrooge said to bob on Christmas day he also gives the Cratchits a turkey anonymously and goes to dinner with his nephew and family this shows that scrooge has changed a lot and also want to be a better person. Conclusion I believe that by the end of the story scrooge is a better person and the only reason he became a bad person was because of his own ignorance to what was going on around him. Charles Dickens is try to tell his rich audience of readers that money isnt every thing and you can have a good time without it but if you do have it you should be generous and try to help over people have a good time and by doing that you will have a good time your self.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Fashion Magazines Define Females Beauty Standard Media Essay

Fashion Magazines Define Females Beauty Standard Media Essay Advertisements in women magazines has became active when marketer realised the purchase power of women, Marchland, 1985 suggested that in 1920s female purchasing power took over 80 percent of the whole consumer purchases. That was because the gender role of female at that time was home orientated, they were responsible for familial expenditure. As time changes, when the market of home orientated product got saturated, marketing then stereotypes women interconnected with sexuality. Courtney and Lockeretz suggested four general stereotypes of women were presented in print advertisement: A womans place is in the home; women do not make important decisions or do important things; women are dependent and need mens protection; and men regard women primarily as sexual objects (Courtney Whipple, 1983 pp.7). The beginning of media influence on beauty standard The advertising agencies referred women as General Purchasing Agent, as purchasing agents, women could command respect for exhibiting qualities previously honoured primarily in men-capacities for planning, efficiency, and expert decision making (Marchand 1958 pp.168). The G.P.A has became a corner stone of advertising in the field of female market, during this period advertising often adopt the theme of successful woman gain social acceptance and social approval through employing or consuming a particular product. McEwen suggested in 1976 that, from the field of social psychology, advertising agencies have employed the belief of the social self as a principle technique in advertisements by defining what was socially approved and what was not. During the phrase of social acceptance, the media portrayed the role of women as being responsible for broadening their social and intellectual interests as well as maintain youthful in order to be a modern companion for their husbands. They needed to preserve their youth so that they could beautify their husbands lives and keep pace with them during evenings of dancing and the theatre (Marchand 1985 pp.175).The importance of being self conscious of body image and appearance has been introduced through media, especially with the reinforcement of advertising in the late 1920s. In the middle of her mechanically engineered kitchen, the modern housewife was expected to be overcome with issue of whether her self, her body, her personality were viable in the so cio sexual market that define her job. Advertisements used pictures of veiled nudes and women in auto-erotic stances to encourage self comparison and to remind women of the primacy of their sexuality (McEwen 1976 pp.179). The idealised female images in which portrayed in media has always been changing, so is the standard of beauty perceived within the society. The media provides idealised body images of women by providing role models or examples of attractive women, for example, catwalk models and actresses. In which, audiences could compare themselves with the idealised body shape or appearance. The idealised body shaped has changed from being voluptuous and curvaceous in the 1940s and 1950s to being busty and narrow-hipped from the late 1960s through the 1980s (Straight 2005 pp.2) The reason of which the idealised beauty standard has always been changing was because companies need to create an unsustainable beauty standard to ensure targeted consumer will keep purchasing different goods to maintain satisfied with their appearance. Freedman, 1986 mentioned the beauty ideal was impossible to achieve and this could lead to feelings of inadequacy. The feelings of inadequacy were often fed by cosmetic and diet product manufactures, in which the primary objective of their advertisement campaigns were to persuade women they could improve their imperfections only by consuming their products. However the effects of media have on audience can vary due to individual differences. Audience with different personalities, pass experiences and social context interpret the messages of the media differently, in addition, different medium also provides different influence for audience, and for example, the influence of advertisement shall be strongest among the mediums, because the principle of advertising is to influence audiences behaviour and value. Ethical issues with advertising influence The internalization of an attractiveness ideal and a perception of body dissatisfaction may serve to mediate the relationship between media exposure and disordered eating (Stice et al, 1994). Media Awareness Network journal reported over three quarters of the covers of womens magazines include at least one message on how to alter and improve womans bodily appearance by cosmetic surgery or diet. The ratio of diet ads in mens and women magazine is 1: 10, in which the ratio of eating disorders in men and women is identical. This indicates a relationship between exposure to diet ads and eating disorders, however gender differences may also affect behaviour. Theories of media influence on beauty standard Social comparison theory A theoretical model using social comparison processes can be offered to explain how exposure to the socio-cultural thin and attractive ideal leads to increased body dissatisfaction (Heinberg and Thompson, 1992; Smolak et al, 1993; Thompson et al, 1991). This theory suggests that individuals make upward comparison with others who offers specific, valued attributes. It also takes individual differences into account, for example, the differences in regard of self-esteem. Mintz and Betz, 1988, conducted a research that shown female college students who felt dissatisfied with their bodies image were more likely to conform to the stereotyped body presented in the media as attractive. This theory suggested that social comparison does not only occurs through comparison with images in the media but also with social group, e.g. friends and families member. The studies of social comparison often reported positive correlation between social comparison and body dissatisfaction. Schema theory Self-schema theory envisages body images as a mental construction rather than an objective evaluation (Markus, 1977). A self schema is an individuals mental perception of the way they are. This mental presentation has established over time mainly through pass experience of what others labelled or referred them in a particular way. For example, I am attractive or I am skinny. These kinds of attributes are taken into account in self concept and self esteem. Schema have been defined as cognitive generalizations about the self, derived from pass experiences, that organize and guide the processing of self-related information contained in the individuals social experience (Markus, 1977 pp.64). According to Markus, 1997, schematics constantly evaluate stimuli that are relevant for their body weight. Media images are one of the stimuli that trigger new schemas. The buyer decision processes According to Nicosia, F. 1966, a consumer decision making process involves five stages traditionally, which are problem recognition, information search, evaluate of alternatives, product choice and outcome. Problem recognition occurs when consumer realises a significant difference between the consumers current state and the ideal state he/she desired. The consumer sees this as a problem and requires a solution to solve, when the problem has been recognised, consumer will need adequate information to resolve the problem, in which the consumer will enter the information stage. There are briefly two kind of information search, the internal search and the external search. Internal search begins when consumer search alternative product from prior experience and his/her existing knowledge on a particular product and its alternatives, external search is when consumer gathers informative from external cues, for example, friends and advertisements. Finally, the consumer will enter the stage o f evaluation of alternatives. The buyer decision model are often used in advertisements, taking the Rimmel Mascara commercial 2007 as an example, the commercial started with Kate Moss ( the famous model) putting on mascara while a male narrator saying the more you put on, the sexier you are. The commercial intend to show differences between the audience current and ideal state of desire by showing the image of Kate Moss with the Rimmel Mascara on. By using a model that majority regard her as attractive, this create an upward comparison with others who offers specific, valued attributes. This could refer to the social comparison theory. The Rimmel Mascara also offered a solution for the problem, the commercial emphasis the more Rimmel mascara the audience put on the sexier they will be. The positive reinforcement shows the cause and effect of the Rimmel mascara and this increase the likelihood of conformity. Industry background Advertising industry The United Kingdom advertising industry was worth over  £16.5 billion in 2001. There are estimated 600 agencies in London and 20 agencies among the 600 agencies are full service agencies. Agencies can be categorized as 5 distinct types of agencies Creative agencies Media agencies Direct marketing agencies Digital/online agencies Full service agencies Role of the agencies Creative agencies work on behalf of clients, develop creative ideas for an advertising campaign. Media agencies consults clients on where, when and how to spending advertising budgets. Direct marketing agencies provide clients direct and strategic communication with the target audience, for example, direct mail. Digital/online agencies profession at digital communication. For example, search engine marketing. Full service agencies combine all the services of creative, media, direct marketing, digital/online agencies. Research questions and objectives Aim To explore the methods and strategies that advertising agencies use to influence womens perception of beauty standard. Research question Which methods and strategies used my advertising agencies are more efficient to stimulate womens conformity to the presented beauty ideal? Objectives To discuss the methods and strategies used by advertising agencies to influence female beauty standard. To compare the difference, between female in the age groups of 12-18 and 21 27, their perception of beauty standard influenced by printed advertisement. To investigate the ethical issue of advertising the idealised beauty. Research methodology Research approaches Deductive approach Deductive approach is employ when a researcher develops a hypothesis that can be tested by a research strategy. Inductive approach Inductive approach is employ when researchers collects information and develops theory as a result of information analysis. Research strategies There are mainly seven research strategies that are being used in business researches. Experiment. Questionnaire. Interview. Case study. Action research. Grounded theory. Ethnography. Archival research. Sampling Statisticians have proved the larger the sample size, the nearer its distribution will be to the normal distribution, statisticians also suggested that a sample size of 30 or more will be more likely to result in a sampling distribution for the mean that is close to normal distribution. Stutely, 2003 suggested a minimum number of 30 for statistical analysis provide valuable rule of thumb for the smallest number in each group of the overall sample. Therefore the sampling size of my primary research will be 30. Strategies for my primary research Experiment Experiment is a classical form of research that owes much to the natural science, although it features strongly in much social science research, particularly psychology. The purpose of an experiment is to study casual links; whether a change in one independent variable produces a change in another dependent variable (Hakim, 2000). The experiment strategy concerns the relationship between two variables, it is often used in explanatory or exploratory research to find out why and how questions. The experiment usually takes place in a strictly controlled situation, for example, laboratory to eliminate threats to internal validity. However, whilst the strictly controlled situation enhances the internal validity, the external validity is often hard to establish, as the controlled situation is often not a real life situation. Strategies for my secondary research Multiple source secondary data Multiple source secondary data will be an amalgam of both documentary and survey secondary data. It will take account of books, journals, articles, newspaper and previous research. The secondary research will be used to cover objectives below. It will be a mixture of qualitative (theoretical) and quantitative (numerical) data. To discuss the methods and strategies used by advertising agencies to influence female beauty standard. To investigate the ethical issue of advertising the idealised beauty. The reason of using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative date is to produce that can be statistically analyse to identify relationship between variables and to have theoretical data to support my research. How the experiment will be conducted The experiment will be carrying out in order to fulfil objective two. (Compare the difference, between female in the age groups of 12-18 and 21 27, their perception of beauty standard influenced by advertisement.) The reasons of choosing the age groups of 12-18 and 21-27 are because of the significant differences in cognitive maturity. Adolescents are also more likely to conform due to the high need of social acceptance. Hypothesis Adolescents are more likely to conform to the ideal beauty presented in the media. The sampling 30 participants in each age group. Participants selected by random sampling in central London. The experiment will be conducted under a controlled situation, for example, a conference room in London. Method The method below will be repeated in both 12-18 and 21-27 age group. Divide each age group participants into experimental group and control group. Both groups will be given a survey questioning how satisfy the participant feel about their appearance. Experimental group will be given 10 printed advertisements with attractive female before they answer the survey. The control group will not be given printed advertisements before they answer the survey. Compare the results of both experimental group and control group. Statistically analysis the result of both age groups. Resources Internet access for secondary data. Library access for secondary data. Experiment will be host in the conference room of my uncles office, in which permission has been gained and cost free. Excel software to analysis primary research. Printer. Financial resources Transport fees for participants involves in primary research. Additional cost for employing participants in primary research if volunteer participants could not be found. Budget 5 pounds transportation fee for each participant. Cost of employing participant will be estimated at 10 pounds each. Total cost = 90pounds.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Religious Imagery in Flannery OConnors The Life You Save May Be Your

Religious Imagery in Flannery O'Connor's The Life You Save May Be Your Own The religious imagery in Flannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' gives the story a cynical undertone along with a healthy dose of irony. O'Connor uses allusions to Jesus and Christianity to examine the hypocrisies of the religion and its adherents. Her character Tom T. Shiftlet is portrayed paradoxically as both the embodiment of Christ and an immoral, utterly selfish miscreant. By presenting these polarities side by side within one persona, O'Connor shows the dichotomies between so-called Christian morality and the reality of the Church. During his first encounter with the Lucynell Craters, Mr. Shiflet appears to be a harmless, generous wanderer. As he approaches the Crater?s home he ?swung ...

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ch 9 and 10

How are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis different? Osteoarthritis usually affects people 60 or older and is caused by increasing wear and tear at the joint surfaces or from genetic factors affecting collagen formation. On the other hand rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition. It is caused by the body attacking its own tissues as well as allergies, bacteria, viruses, and other genetic factors. 2) When the triceps brachii muscle contracts, what movements does it produce? When the triceps brachii muscle contracts, it produces extension of the arm. ) Why is the inferior region of the shoulder joint most vulnerable to dislocation? It is most vulnerable to dislocation because it is the most mobile synovial joint. Because of this it is frail and relies only on the surrounding ligaments, muscles, and tendons for stability. 4) A high school student comes to the emergency room complaining of persistent pain and stiffness in her shoulder joint. In talking with her, you discov er that she has been spending many hours trying to improve her pitching skills for her school's softball team.What is likely causing the pain? A shoulder subluxation is most likely causing her pain. This is a partial dislocation of the shoulder and is caused by her overusing her shoulder. This may cause a loose shoulder where her shoulder capsule will be stretched out as well as the ligaments. This could further lead to chronic shoulder instability. 5) Mary wants to enter a weight-lifting competition and consults you as to what type of muscle fibers she needs to develop and how she should go about it. What would you suggest to her?Mary needs to develop her fast muscle fibers. In order to do this, she will need to have frequent, brief and intensive workouts. She also needs to create muscle hypertrophy which will create an enlargement of the stimulated muscle. She can gain this by repeated and exhaustive stimulation which will create more mitochondria. With repeatedly stimulated muscl es she can create near-maximal tension. 6) Describe the basic sequence of events that occurs at the neuromuscular junction and in the muscle cell.The first step is the arrival of an action potential at the synaptic terminal, next is the release of acetylcholine into the synaptic cleft, then Ach binds at the motor end plate and causes sodium-ion to rush into sarcoplasm which is then quickly broken down by AChE. The last step is it returns to initial state which occurs if another action potential arrives at the NMJ. 7) Many visceral smooth muscle cells lack motor neuron innervation. How are their contractions coordinated and controlled? Visceral smooth muscle cell’s contractions are coordinated by rhythmic cycles of activity that are controlled by pacesetter cells. ) A hypothetical genetic disease causes the body to produce antibodies that compete with acetylcholine for receptors on the motor end plate. Patients with this disease exhibit varying degrees of muscle weakness and f laccid paralysis in the affected muscles. If you could administer a drug that inhibits acetylcholinesterase or a drug that blocks acetylcholine, which one would you use to alleviate these symptoms? I would use a drug that inhibits acetylcholinesterase so that acetylcholine is not blocked.If the disease is producing antibodies that compete with acetylcholine than we would not want a drug that blocks it, we would want to inhibit it to activate the muscles. 9) Thirty minutes after Mary has completed a 25-km race, she begins to notice severe muscle soreness and stiffness in her legs. Her urine is dark colored. She wonders whether she may have damaged her muscles during the race. She visits the ER, and the doctor orders several blood tests. What kind of blood tests can help determine whether muscle damage has occurred?The type of blood tests that can help determine whether muscle damage has occurred include Creatine kinase tests, blood enzyme tests, kidney tests, electrolytes tests, red blood cells tests, and a complete blood count test. 10) Describe a motor unit. How many fibers does a muscle unit contain? A motor unit is controlled by a single motor neuron. It contains hundreds of muscle fibers that contract at the same time. All of the fibers will be the same type and the number of muscle fibers will vary within each unit. Usually, the number of muscle fibers innervated by a motor unit is a purpose of a muscle's need for polished motion

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Microsoft Corporation Marketing Strategy

Microsoft Corporation Marketing Strategy Marketing is an integral part in an organization; when devising the marketing strategy to adopt marketing managers need to understand the target market of their commodities. Different products are likely to have a number of customers in different parts of the world; marketers need to segment the market and decide the specific area, age-gap, economic status, and the social well being of the market to focus on.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Corporation Marketing Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Market segmentation is a marketing approach where managers establish their market segments or focus market: focus market is a homogenous subset of the main market, which share similar characteristics that make then demand/require similar goods. Whether in the service or good industry, companies need to have effective marketing policies; Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational headquartered in Redm ond, Washington. To sells its products; which are services, the company has enacted effective marketing policy (Anctil, 2008). This paper discusses the marketing approach as adopted by Microsoft. Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Corporation is an international developer, manufacture, supporter, seller, and licenser of a wide range of products and service for the computing industry. Although the company is located in the United States, it fetches its market from different parts of the globe; with the wide market the company has an aggressive marketing team. The company was initially incorporated to sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 on 04th 1975 however with innovationa dn invention, the company advanced its services to market MSDOS in the mod 1980’s. some of the competitors that the company has to contend with include IBM and Apple Inc. Describe the main line of business of the company Microsoft Corporation manufactures and sells operating systems for information comm unication gadgets like computers and laptops; currently the company has five main products divisions as Microsoft Business Division, Windows Windows Live Division, Online Services Division, Server and Tools, and Entertainment and Devices Division. Names four of the countries in which the company operates Microsoft operates in the following nations: United States, United Kingdom, China, and South Africa.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Marketing Mix for Microsoft With the similarities of a market segment, an organization is able to develop effective marketing strategy where focus shifts to devising the correct method to sell and address the needs of the target market. One common method in contemporary business environment to strategize for target market sales is the use of marketing mix (marketing mix looks into four main areas of the established market as price, p romotional, places, and product). In a nutshell, a marketing mix is meant to ensure that products are well promoted to customers, they are available when required by customers and they have a price that reflect the quality of the products/services must add value to consumers/users. Competition Although Microsoft Corporation is a leading developer, seller, and marketer of operating systems, the company has a number of competitors which include IBM, Apple, and Google, Linux Operating System, Mozilla, and Opera. To cub competition the company always improves its products with time. Target market Target market refers to the specific class of people with certain homogenous characteristics that a company focus on; After developing a marketing segment, Microsoft next step is to develop mechanisms to enable sales in the target market. Microsoft target market are manufactures and users of electronic gadgets that use their operating systems; to sell to the market, the company ensures its has an effective marketing campaign. For instance when selling to computer manufacturers, the management uses word of mouth to sell the products. The company’s effective marketing mix ensures that goods are available to the target customer, when they need them and they are affordable. Having the marketing segment in mind, then the company can know the kind of products that will be produced (Campbell, Edgarm Stonehouse, 2011). The following chart shows how a marketing strategy can be developed:Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Corporation Marketing Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Product strategy With advancement in information technology, research and development department at Microsoft have taken the initiative of undertaking wide research and coming up with products that are more user friendly and can handle more information transmitted via computers. With the product strategy, the company e nsures that it develops high quality packages are sold to customer; the success of the company is dependent on the quality and reliability of the products; when products are of the right quality and meet the standards of the people, they are likely to be competitive amidst competitor products. When a company is developing a product, there should be the need that the product is supposed to fulfill. The company ensures that it improves one product after the other, for instance since MsDos, there have been other better versions of operation which include window XP, Window Vista, Window 2003, and Window 7. Distribution strategy To reach to the target customers, the company has devised different method to reach the target customer; depending with the products/ the services, the company sells them in disks and over the internet where someone can download and use the services. The method of distribution enables the company to reach its target customers with ease; with the option of downloa ding a software, the company has been able to sell its products in different parts of the world successively (Kotler Denize, 2008). Communication strategy Having products and services is the start point, the company has to ensure that it communicates to the target customer of the existence of the products/services. To undertake this role, Microsoft uses a mixture of approaches. Marketing communication denotes the planned activity of disseminating certain information to a target audience in order to create a favorable and receptive scenario for certain a product, service or idea.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The most basis method that Microsoft adopts is the use of word of mouth; the approach is used for corporate customers where marketers physically sell the products to the companies; with the advent of competitive corporate culture, the relevance and urgency of marketing the method is effective to sell wide range of the company’s products. According to marketing gurus a well-designed and thoroughly crafted marketing communication strategy can provide a definite competitive advantage to an organization; at Microsoft, the marketing department is given the mandate of determining the best communication strategy that the company should implement. Microsoft marketing department looks at the prevailing corporate scenario, and then c up with the best policy to sell its services (Kotabe Helsen, 2004). Pricing strategy Microsoft sets prices that are competitive in the market and offer maximum returns; it ensures that the products reflect quality it is the policy of the company that pric es set should be attractive to the customers. The cost of services can break or make a company, it is likely to make services/products competitive and convincing the customer to buy them is fast. The company sets its prices using premium pricing approach and price skimming strategy. price skimming strategy and premium pricing approach are pricing methods where a company sets products prices at relatively high prices than that offered by the competitor; the strategy is particularly effective with unique or new products in the market. Price skimming strategy is an approach used by companies with strong brand name in the approach, Microsoft is one such company thus it uses the method to reach to target customers. The company use its name to charge expensively for their goods, as people will believe that they have good services; it also a strategy to capture the high-class people in the economy that think that expensive is quality. The reason for the pricing model and skimming method is because the model rewards a new innovation in a product which conforms to the nature of Microsoft; Microsoft has a strong brand name thus it can effectively use price-skimming strategy. According to marketing theory of brand extension, price-skimming strategy can be an effective method of pricing when the company using it has a strong brand name; Apple falls in the category (Fred, 2008). Describe any differences observed in the implementation of this concept, from one country to another Although Microsoft Corporation has a centralized marketing team, the company takes into account cultural, ethnical, and social-economic differences in different countries. With the above understanding, marketing campaigns are custom-made for different countries. For instance in developing countries where access to computers is limited, the company has concentrated on disk-software sales while in developed countries the company uses downloaded software method. References Anctil, E. (2008). Marketing and Advertising the Intangible. ASHE Higher Education Report, 34(2), 31-47. Campbell, D., Edgar, D.. Stonehouse, G.(2011). Business Strategy: An Introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Fred, D. (2008). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Kotabe, M., Helsen, K.(2004). Global Marketing Management. New York: John Wiley Sons. Kotler, P., Denize, A. (2008). Principles of Marketing. Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on Keyboard And Speakers

can be typed on a keyboard without reaching on QWERTY’s middle or home row. Dvorak’s Keyboard is known as the Dvorak Keyboard. An even better keyboard than the Dvorak version was called the Malt keyboard, which was created by Lillian Malt. The Malt keyboard has staggered rows, gives greater use of the thumb and makes it easier to reach the backspace and other normally out of the way keys. Unlike the DVORAK keyboard! There are many different styles of keyboards. There is even on the can fold up and fit in to your pocket. This style of... Free Essays on Keyboard And Speakers Free Essays on Keyboard And Speakers The Keyboard The keyboard is not just an accessory it is a necessity. If there weren’t a keyboard it would be very difficult to use a computer. What is a Keyboard? â€Å"Keyboard, in computer science, a keypad device with buttons or keys that a user presses to enter data characters and commands into a computer. Keyboards emerged from the combination of typewriter and computer-terminal technology. They are one of the fundamental pieces of personal computer (PC) hardware, along with the central processing unit (CPU), the monitor or screen, and the mouse or other cursor device.† A keyboard is an input device that gives information to the motherboard. The keyboard today is very similar to the first typewriter in 1873. Christopher Latham Sholes developed the first commercially successful typewriter. In 1873 the keys were arranged alphabetically. Quickly, people became adept to using the keyboard that the keys would jam when being struck quickly. To overcome this problem Sholes would try to make the job of typing as slow as possible. Sholes placed the most frequently used keys as far apart from each other as he could. His keyboard became known as the QWERTY keyboard. In the 1930’s a man by the name of August Dvorak put nine of the most used letters in the middle row of the keyboard. This allows the typist to write over 3,000 words without the fingers reaching. In comparison, only about 50 words can be typed on a keyboard without reaching on QWERTY’s middle or home row. Dvorak’s Keyboard is known as the Dvorak Keyboard. An even better keyboard than the Dvorak version was called the Malt keyboard, which was created by Lillian Malt. The Malt keyboard has staggered rows, gives greater use of the thumb and makes it easier to reach the backspace and other normally out of the way keys. Unlike the DVORAK keyboard! There are many different styles of keyboards. There is even on the can fold up and fit in to your pocket. This style of...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Augustines Confessions essays

Augustine's Confessions essays In the Confessions, by Saint Augustine, Augustine addressed himself articulately and passionately to the persistent questions that stirred the minds and hearts of men since time began. The Confessions tells a story in the form of a long conversion with God. Through this conversion to Catholic Christianity, Augustine encounters many aspects of love. These forms of love help guide him towards an ultimate relationship with God. His restless heart finally finds peace and rest in God at the end of The Confessions. Augustine finds many ways in which he can find peace in God. He is genuinely sorry for having turned away from God, the source of peace and happiness. Augustine is extremely thankful for having been given the opportunity to live with God. Augustine uses love as his gate to Gods grace. Throughout The Confessions, love and wisdom, the desire to love and be loved, and his love for his concubine, are all driving forces for Augustines desire to find peace in God. The death of his fri end upsets him deeply, but also allows him to pursue God to become a faithful Christian. Augustine often experiences darkness, blindness, and confusion while attempting to find rest in God, but he knows that when he eventually finds him his restless heart will be saved. Augustine started out in childhood with a restless heart because he had to live in two different worlds. These worlds consisted of that of his mothers religious faith, and the world of everything else. These two worlds confused and disturbed Augustine as a child. In his mothers world, talk consisted of Christ the Savior and about the mighty god who helps us especially to go to heaven. In the other world, talk was about achieving. It seems as if Augustine felt that if he were to live in both of these worlds, his life would turn out to be nothing. He believed he would not accomplish anything he would be remembered for. He became unhappy with the idea of his life amounti...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Thomas Edison- Invention of the Kinetoscope- The role it played in Essay

Thomas Edison- Invention of the Kinetoscope- The role it played in development of Cinema - Essay Example Amongst the technologies that Edison invention was the Kinetoscope, which completely changed picture coverage in movies resulting into motion pictures. This paper explores Edison’s invention of the Kinetoscope and the role it played in development of Cinema before 1980. Prior to the invention of the Kinetoscope, the filming industry was devoid of motion pictures. Movie fanatics in the modern world greatly enjoy clear and perfect images of popular movie stars and blockbusters, which make movies more appealing to the eye than ever before, thanks to the invention by an iconic inventor, Thomas Edison. The history of screen exhibition can be traced back to the invention of Kinetograph camera by Edison in his research laboratories between 1887 and 1891.1 The Kinetograph was a famous device for capturing of images up to the year 1896. The Kinetograph was unable to project films and the viewing of motion pictures. The Kinetoscope, a peeping-gadget, enabled the viewing of motion pictures in the Kinetograph, but the viewing was limited to one person for a specified duration.2 The compact design of the kinetoscope restricted the duration of the early films to 50 feet, which was a commercial limitation. 3 In 1883, Edison recruited an assistant, William K.L Dickson and later shifted to West Orange from Menlo Park in 1887 where Edison built a huge research and experiment laboratory from where he worked under the motivation of Marey and Muybridge. At West Orange laboratory, Dickson conducted most of the research work, which utilized the phonograph techniques developed earlier.4 Edison travelled to Europe on august 2, 1889 to see the outcomes Jules Marey’s roll-film Chronophotographe experiment. In 1890, Sacco Albanese, an employee at one of Edison’s laboratories became the first person to use cylinder technology in filming. However, the method exhibited huge limitations in its displays and the quality of the images were poor leading to the rejection of the

Friday, October 18, 2019

Do you believe photography of public places is an inherently Essay

Do you believe photography of public places is an inherently suspicious act that police should investigate when observed - Essay Example These raised concerns regarding photography in public places. However, these should not be enough to make the capture of photographs in public places an inherently suspicious act. This is supported by several legitimate arguments. First and foremost, there is the basic photographer’s right. Dannemann (2009) emphasized this when he pointed out that in most free society, the right to take pictures within the public sphere is inviolate and is guaranteed by fundamental laws (p.99). If a photographer cannot take photo in a public space, how could he create the desired composition and exposure of people, things and places if he is barred from doing so on account of being viewed as suspicious? The space is not owned by anyone and shooting pictures is part of a citizen’s freedom to do as he desires, without interference and certainly without prejudice from other people and the authorities. It is also helpful to determine why photography arouses suspicion. According to Mark Meyer (2013) this can be largely attributed to the impact of the what he called as movie plot threats: that we like to anticipate and predict attacks and threats and since we do not have anything to base such predictions from, we are driven by materials read in thriller books or seen in the movies where the bad guy does his photo surveillance. So viewing photography as suspicious is a manifestation of a society that is getting paranoid. People should just as well bury their heads in the sand or live under a rock if they are afraid of being seen in public. And it is not good to live in such environment where people instinctively view others and their actions in a negative way. Besides what could photographers possibly do with an image of an individual in public? Not all people are perverts, criminals or terrorists and the public recognizes this. Each of us must have used a camera in public at some po int in our lives so we understand the logic behind photography in public spaces. If there

Conveyancing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Conveyancing - Essay Example The entire such rights vest legally in a person only on registration. The registration procedure, therefore, places an official "seal" on a person's rights in fixed property. "Fixed property" is any land, whether enhanced or not such as a house, farm or sectional title flat. A conveyancing deal involves a chain of steps which begins with the deeds of sale and which continues throughout to the vital registration of ownership and the resolution of money and payments (BRACTON, H. de,2002). A conveyancer is considered as such by the High Court after having concluded a particular qualifying examination. In totaling, only a person who has been considered by the High Court as an Attorney, may perform as a conveyancer. the entire conveyancers are so, also attorneys (BRIDGMAN, o.,2004). To be considered, the person has to entire the requisite academic studies (typically four or more years for the obligatory law degree), then a stage of "articles" or labor in a law-office for the required familiarity and then an wide practical test. If the skilled attorney wishes to follow in the highly technical branch of the law commerce with fixed property, he or she has to do rigorous study of a large number of Acts of Parliament, regulations, High Court verdicts along with verdicts by Registrars of Deeds linking to fixed property. Then he or she has to surpass a conveyancing examination. Only after transitory this inspection will the High Court permit the attorney to carry out as a conv eyancer. Who can do conveyancing work' There are three options to get conveyancing done: - licensed conveyancer - solicitor - do it yourself. Before start organising conveyancing, it's essential to execute groundwork foremost. Who appoints a conveyancer' In South Africa, the customary practice is for the vendor to sign up a conveyancer for a assets deal, though this, like further aspects of a trade contract, can be assorted as a outcome of cooperation among the parties (BRITTON, 2005). The buyer may also hire a conveyancer to counsel him or her, but such charges will be larger than and over the conveyancing costs submitted by the seller's conveyancer, who will be performing the real transfer. Using a conveyancer In many countries, conveyancers ought to be licensed with the Office of Fair Trading. The majority conveyancers grasp an unlimited licence that allows them to carry out the complete range of conveyancing job for housing, business and rustic assets. Conveyancers are licensed to do legal job such as preparing documents, providing legal counsel on contracts and explaining the problems (BROOKE, R., 2002). Before a person chooses to utilize an exacting conveyancer, make sure if they are licensed with high court foremost. Licensed conveyancers should have expert guarantee indemnity to defend clients in case they build a blunder or are neglectful in their work.If they are deceitful with the money have entrusted to them, usually client may has right to use to the reimbursement Fund administered by the Office of Fair trading. Using a solicitor No doubt conveyancers and solicitors are evenly capable to perform conveyancing

Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown - Essay Example Berry Gordy, Jr., created a recording company that became a legend in the music industry and an icon of American culture. Gordy wielded tight control over the company’s business practices, famously micro-managing both Motown’s finances and the lives and careers of its musical talents.The formula he established,both from a business and creative standpoint,stood the test of time and turned Motown into a mega-million dollar concern Following intelligent business principles, Gordy diversified into other branches of the entertainment industry, such as film, and moved Motown from Detroit, the city with which it is still identified, to southern California. Today, Gordy’s holds the double legacy as a successful businessman and creative musical impresario. Keywords: Berry Gordy, Jr., music industry, Motown, Detroit. CREATING AN ICON 3 Creating an Icon: Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown For millions of music fans around the world, Berry Gordy and Motown Records are icons of the music industry and of popular culture in general. The â€Å"Motown sound† is still considered the most distinctive â€Å"urban† representation of the genre, an influence as seminal and profound in its way as Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Memphis had Stax and Sun Records, and Chess Records is still closely identified with the Chicago blues scene. Yet no music label has ever been more closely identified with a community than Motown with Detroit, a musical marriage the mere mention of which still encompasses its own aesthetic and mystique. All of this was due to the vision of Berry Gordy, the Detroit native whose foresight, business judgment and promotional flair helped grow a small, hometown label into a multi-media entertainment empire. As with any successful entrepreneur, once he was established as a leader in his field Gordy successfully diversified his business interests. Motown’s move into the film industry proved financially successful and by the tim e Gordy sold the company to MCA, it was worth more than $60 million. A Newsweek article from May 1983 ascribed the basis of Motown’s success to the fundamental desire of young people, both black and white, to dance to music with an infectious beat (Barol, 1983). This, the article contended, was the basis of Gordy’s genius: his faith in a formula that defined Motown like no other label. Its first great hit, â€Å"Shop Around† by Smoky Robinson, which sold a million copies in 1960, is a prime example of the timelessness of the music Gordy produced and the durability of his business formula as a music impresario. A true opportunist, Gordy leveraged the racial and cultural tumult of the 1960s, positioning Motown as CREATING AN ICON 4 a kind of unofficial urban musical â€Å"voice† of black America, and a symbol of Detroit, the city with which it is still identified, even though Gordy long ago moved his operation to Hollywood to take advantage of opportunities in the film industry. No sentimentalist, Gordy did not allow image to cloud his business judgment or convince him to act counter to his best interests. On June 28, 1988, Gordy sold Motown to MCA for $61 million, a deal that some said decidedly favored Gordy. â€Å"Right now, the company has nothing on the charts, it’s internally shot, people are looking to get out. It’s a sad ending to a good piece of American history. Berry Gordy is a great creative guy, but (he’s) not a strong manager† said a rival producer at the time (Ingham and Feldman, p. 195). It is a measure of Motown’s cultural power that Gordy came under such virulent criticism for having sold arguably the nation’s most visible black-owned business to a large corporation (p. 195). Motown may have been folded into a giant national conglomerate, but Gordy’s success was far from over. Motown’s subsidiaries comprised a considerable source of revenue, and Gordy brought th em under one roof in 1990 when he formed the

Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown - Essay Example Berry Gordy, Jr., created a recording company that became a legend in the music industry and an icon of American culture. Gordy wielded tight control over the company’s business practices, famously micro-managing both Motown’s finances and the lives and careers of its musical talents.The formula he established,both from a business and creative standpoint,stood the test of time and turned Motown into a mega-million dollar concern Following intelligent business principles, Gordy diversified into other branches of the entertainment industry, such as film, and moved Motown from Detroit, the city with which it is still identified, to southern California. Today, Gordy’s holds the double legacy as a successful businessman and creative musical impresario. Keywords: Berry Gordy, Jr., music industry, Motown, Detroit. CREATING AN ICON 3 Creating an Icon: Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown For millions of music fans around the world, Berry Gordy and Motown Records are icons of the music industry and of popular culture in general. The â€Å"Motown sound† is still considered the most distinctive â€Å"urban† representation of the genre, an influence as seminal and profound in its way as Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Memphis had Stax and Sun Records, and Chess Records is still closely identified with the Chicago blues scene. Yet no music label has ever been more closely identified with a community than Motown with Detroit, a musical marriage the mere mention of which still encompasses its own aesthetic and mystique. All of this was due to the vision of Berry Gordy, the Detroit native whose foresight, business judgment and promotional flair helped grow a small, hometown label into a multi-media entertainment empire. As with any successful entrepreneur, once he was established as a leader in his field Gordy successfully diversified his business interests. Motown’s move into the film industry proved financially successful and by the tim e Gordy sold the company to MCA, it was worth more than $60 million. A Newsweek article from May 1983 ascribed the basis of Motown’s success to the fundamental desire of young people, both black and white, to dance to music with an infectious beat (Barol, 1983). This, the article contended, was the basis of Gordy’s genius: his faith in a formula that defined Motown like no other label. Its first great hit, â€Å"Shop Around† by Smoky Robinson, which sold a million copies in 1960, is a prime example of the timelessness of the music Gordy produced and the durability of his business formula as a music impresario. A true opportunist, Gordy leveraged the racial and cultural tumult of the 1960s, positioning Motown as CREATING AN ICON 4 a kind of unofficial urban musical â€Å"voice† of black America, and a symbol of Detroit, the city with which it is still identified, even though Gordy long ago moved his operation to Hollywood to take advantage of opportunities in the film industry. No sentimentalist, Gordy did not allow image to cloud his business judgment or convince him to act counter to his best interests. On June 28, 1988, Gordy sold Motown to MCA for $61 million, a deal that some said decidedly favored Gordy. â€Å"Right now, the company has nothing on the charts, it’s internally shot, people are looking to get out. It’s a sad ending to a good piece of American history. Berry Gordy is a great creative guy, but (he’s) not a strong manager† said a rival producer at the time (Ingham and Feldman, p. 195). It is a measure of Motown’s cultural power that Gordy came under such virulent criticism for having sold arguably the nation’s most visible black-owned business to a large corporation (p. 195). Motown may have been folded into a giant national conglomerate, but Gordy’s success was far from over. Motown’s subsidiaries comprised a considerable source of revenue, and Gordy brought th em under one roof in 1990 when he formed the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Music Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music Report - Research Paper Example As a teenager, he enrolled to â€Å"The Secondary Institute of Industry† found in Jeddah upon where he received a diploma in art and industry. However, he ended up working in the post office even after attaining a commendation from a different course, which is not related to his area of work. Mohammed Abdu’s passion for love in songs was evident through is childhood life, where he sang mostly about, dramatic songs to equate it to the kind of tragic and sad life he lived as a kid. Omar Kadres the composer his song realized how much of a talent Abdu had, when he sang on a national Television program in Saudi Arabia, and that is how he put Abdu in the musical world Abdu began his musical career in the early sixties, when his career took a turn around from the industry and shipbuilding job to music. His music career kicked off well courtesy of one Abbas Faiq Ghazzawi, who helped Abdu after he sang about Baba Abbas in a radio show in 1960. The people of Saudi Arabia were fond of Mohammed Badu through his two songs, â€Å"Sakbat Dmouu El Ein† and â€Å"Aalle Albi†. In 1967, he did a song entitled â€Å"Lana Allah†, a song that played a positive impact in reviving his musical career. In 1971 two years later, he became more prolific when he released many other songs, which included his two massive songs â€Å"Lee Thalath Ayyam† and â€Å"Ashoufak kol Yom†. Throughout his musical career, he made concerted efforts by making sure his music spread not only in Saudi Arabia, but also across the borders in the Middle East and the larger Gulf terrain in the Arab areas. Throughout his journey of music, he has managed to release a number of albums that have turned out to be successful since, he released very popular songs that was well received in the Arab world. To elaborate how further he took his music, Mohammed Abdu entered into collaboration with a company called, â€Å"Sawt El Jazeera† to help make his music grow further. Under the guidance of the company, Mohammed

The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks - Essay Example The poem provides an insight into what a mother actually experiences after an abortion and the extent of love that a mother has for her children despite the fact that she never gave birth to them. Gwendolyn Brooks marks the theme of the poem in its very first line which states that an abortion for a mother is an experience of her life that she can never get over with. The first stanza deals with the emotions of the mother in which a mother is explaining about the things that she would never be able to do since she does not have children. The women is presenting with motherly activities that she is longing to perform but would never be able to do that. This can be seen in these lines, â€Å"You will never neglect or beat them, or silence or buy with a sweet.† She is clearly presenting that she would not be able to nurture children due to the abortion which includes looking after them, feeding them and being with them all the time. This shows her remorse over her incapability of performing all the activities with a child that is the desire of every mother. In the next stanza she explains that she understands that she has actually stolen away the rights of children who would have been like other beings in this world and performed all the worldly activities. They would have enjoyed this world and would have started their journey of life like other people which begins with being a helpless child till the time that he grows up and gets engaged in a relationship up to the end of his life when he reaches his deathbed. She knows that she has killed a human life which would have actually developed emotions, feelings and sensations if they had been given the chance to do so. But with all regret she tries to provide an explanation that at that point of her life she had no other choice. She justifies herself with these words, â€Å"Believe that even in my

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown - Essay Example Berry Gordy, Jr., created a recording company that became a legend in the music industry and an icon of American culture. Gordy wielded tight control over the company’s business practices, famously micro-managing both Motown’s finances and the lives and careers of its musical talents.The formula he established,both from a business and creative standpoint,stood the test of time and turned Motown into a mega-million dollar concern Following intelligent business principles, Gordy diversified into other branches of the entertainment industry, such as film, and moved Motown from Detroit, the city with which it is still identified, to southern California. Today, Gordy’s holds the double legacy as a successful businessman and creative musical impresario. Keywords: Berry Gordy, Jr., music industry, Motown, Detroit. CREATING AN ICON 3 Creating an Icon: Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown For millions of music fans around the world, Berry Gordy and Motown Records are icons of the music industry and of popular culture in general. The â€Å"Motown sound† is still considered the most distinctive â€Å"urban† representation of the genre, an influence as seminal and profound in its way as Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Memphis had Stax and Sun Records, and Chess Records is still closely identified with the Chicago blues scene. Yet no music label has ever been more closely identified with a community than Motown with Detroit, a musical marriage the mere mention of which still encompasses its own aesthetic and mystique. All of this was due to the vision of Berry Gordy, the Detroit native whose foresight, business judgment and promotional flair helped grow a small, hometown label into a multi-media entertainment empire. As with any successful entrepreneur, once he was established as a leader in his field Gordy successfully diversified his business interests. Motown’s move into the film industry proved financially successful and by the tim e Gordy sold the company to MCA, it was worth more than $60 million. A Newsweek article from May 1983 ascribed the basis of Motown’s success to the fundamental desire of young people, both black and white, to dance to music with an infectious beat (Barol, 1983). This, the article contended, was the basis of Gordy’s genius: his faith in a formula that defined Motown like no other label. Its first great hit, â€Å"Shop Around† by Smoky Robinson, which sold a million copies in 1960, is a prime example of the timelessness of the music Gordy produced and the durability of his business formula as a music impresario. A true opportunist, Gordy leveraged the racial and cultural tumult of the 1960s, positioning Motown as CREATING AN ICON 4 a kind of unofficial urban musical â€Å"voice† of black America, and a symbol of Detroit, the city with which it is still identified, even though Gordy long ago moved his operation to Hollywood to take advantage of opportunities in the film industry. No sentimentalist, Gordy did not allow image to cloud his business judgment or convince him to act counter to his best interests. On June 28, 1988, Gordy sold Motown to MCA for $61 million, a deal that some said decidedly favored Gordy. â€Å"Right now, the company has nothing on the charts, it’s internally shot, people are looking to get out. It’s a sad ending to a good piece of American history. Berry Gordy is a great creative guy, but (he’s) not a strong manager† said a rival producer at the time (Ingham and Feldman, p. 195). It is a measure of Motown’s cultural power that Gordy came under such virulent criticism for having sold arguably the nation’s most visible black-owned business to a large corporation (p. 195). Motown may have been folded into a giant national conglomerate, but Gordy’s success was far from over. Motown’s subsidiaries comprised a considerable source of revenue, and Gordy brought th em under one roof in 1990 when he formed the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks - Essay Example The poem provides an insight into what a mother actually experiences after an abortion and the extent of love that a mother has for her children despite the fact that she never gave birth to them. Gwendolyn Brooks marks the theme of the poem in its very first line which states that an abortion for a mother is an experience of her life that she can never get over with. The first stanza deals with the emotions of the mother in which a mother is explaining about the things that she would never be able to do since she does not have children. The women is presenting with motherly activities that she is longing to perform but would never be able to do that. This can be seen in these lines, â€Å"You will never neglect or beat them, or silence or buy with a sweet.† She is clearly presenting that she would not be able to nurture children due to the abortion which includes looking after them, feeding them and being with them all the time. This shows her remorse over her incapability of performing all the activities with a child that is the desire of every mother. In the next stanza she explains that she understands that she has actually stolen away the rights of children who would have been like other beings in this world and performed all the worldly activities. They would have enjoyed this world and would have started their journey of life like other people which begins with being a helpless child till the time that he grows up and gets engaged in a relationship up to the end of his life when he reaches his deathbed. She knows that she has killed a human life which would have actually developed emotions, feelings and sensations if they had been given the chance to do so. But with all regret she tries to provide an explanation that at that point of her life she had no other choice. She justifies herself with these words, â€Å"Believe that even in my

The Senate of the United States Essay Example for Free

The Senate of the United States Essay The national government of the United States of America is divided into three branches: the executive, legislative and judiciary.   The legislative branch is further divided into two, the House of Representatives and the Senate.   Indeed, the Senate is a law-making body, but what is its role and function in the political system of the United States?   How did it come into existence?   This research paper aims to discuss the history of the United States Senate, as well as its role and function in the United States political system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of the United States Senate began on July 16, 1787 (â€Å"Senate Created†).   During this date, those who wrote the U.S. Constitution, also known as Framers, decided upon what is called the â€Å"Great Compromise,† which is also called as the â€Å"Connecticut Compromise† (â€Å"Senate Created†; â€Å"The Senate†).   This compromise was responsible for the creation of a bilateral legislature; the Senate would equally represent all the states, and the House of Representatives would do the same, only â€Å"in proportion to their respective populations† (â€Å"Chronology†; â€Å"Senate Created†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Constitution Framers established the Senate to protect the rights of every state as well as the voice of the minority in a federal government (â€Å"Senate†).   In creating the Senate, the councils of colonial governors and the state senates that were derived from them were used as a pattern.   According to James Madison, the Senate had two roles (â€Å"Senate†).   The first one is â€Å"to protect the people against their rulers†; the second is â€Å"to protect the people against the transient impressions into which they themselves might be led† (qtd. in â€Å"Senate†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the compromise was made, the state delegates insisted that state representation must be consistent with the state size (â€Å"The Senate†).   This means that it is the population of the state that would dictate how many senators would represent them.   This would result in the Senate having the upper hand in the legislative branch due to their number.   After the Compromise was made, the Senate and the House were given equal allotment of power (â€Å"The Senate†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The equal allotment of power between Senate and the House was made for purposes of balance among the small and big states during the Constitutional Convention (â€Å"Senate†).   To secure the jurisdiction of the particular states, the Framers determined that the â€Å"state legislatures would elect senators† (â€Å"Senate†).   Consequently, the Framers gave these senators a term that lasts for six years, as opposed to House members term of only 2 years.   Madison explained that there is stability in a longer term. He reasoned that there are more House members than senators in the legislative branch; it is only through the giving of longer terms for senators that would prevent the legislative branch from being â€Å"overwhelmed† (â€Å"Senate†).   However, some people expressed concern over the possibility of aristocracy that comes with a longer term; as a result, it was established that the terms of the senators would â€Å"expire every two years† (â€Å"Senate†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Constitutional Convention also determined the number of senators per state (â€Å"The Senate†).   One senator did not seem a reasonable option.   This is because during the senators sickness or absence, no one would substitute for him and his state would have no representative at that time.   The next problem was adding too many people in the Senate.   If there are more senators, the Senate would be bigger and hold more influence than the members of the House. If the quantity of senators continues to increase, the quality of the Senate would decrease.   This is because an overcrowded Senate would not fulfill its role and function well.   In the end, the delegates had to decide between having two or three senators.   In the end, it was decided that every state would have two senators, as indicated in the Constitution.   On September 17, 1787, out of the 55 delegates of the Constitutional Convention, only 39 wrote their signatures in the Constitution (â€Å"The Senate†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On September 30, 1788, the first senators of the United States were elected (â€Å"Senate Created†).   They were Pennsylvania Senators Robert Morris and William Maclay.   The victory of Maclay was relevant; this is because he was the only one who maintained a diary of the sessions at the Senate at a time when they occurred â€Å"behind closed doors† (â€Å"Senate Created†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1789, March 4th marked the first assembly of the Senate at chamber in the second storey of Federal Hall in New York (â€Å"Chronology†; â€Å"Senate†).   That same year, on April 6th, the Senate accomplished its first quorum, with twelve members present (â€Å"Chronology†; â€Å"Senate†).   With New Hampshire Senator John Langdon as â€Å"president pro tempore,† the first task of the Senate was to convene with the members of the House to tabulate the ballots of the recent elections, in which George Washington emerged victorious in the presidential race (â€Å"Senate Created†). It was also the day when the senators elected â€Å"a doorkeeper, secretary, and chaplain† (â€Å"Chronology†).   Vice President John Adams took oath on April 21st; President Washington did the same on the 30th (â€Å"Senate†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On December 6, 1790, the U.S. Congress started to take residence in Philadelphia; they would stay in this address for a decade (â€Å"Chronology†).   On November 17, 1800, the Senate moved to the north wing of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., despite the fact that it was not yet finished.   Four days after, the Senate had â€Å"its first quorum in the new national capital† (â€Å"Chronology†). In the beginning of the Constitutional Convention, the Framers initially wanted to assign the authority of creating treaties and appointing judges in federal courts and ambassadors (â€Å"Senate†).   In the end, however, it was decided that these tasks were to be shared by both the Senate and the president.   The president is responsible for making the nomination, while it is the senators’ job to either agree or disagree. The Senate became responsible for giving consent on nominations and treaties given by the president (â€Å"Senate†). On June 24, 1795, the Senate exercised its power by approving Jay’s Treaty (â€Å"Chronology†).   On December 15th that same year, they also exercised authority over the federal courts as they rejected the nomination of John Rutledge for the Supreme Court (â€Å"Chronology†). December 1795 marked the end of the long tradition of having legislative sessions in private (â€Å"Chronology†).   On January 5, 1802, stenographers and note takers were granted permission by the Senate to enter the chamber floor (â€Å"Chronology†). There had been many changes that occurred in the U.S. Senate.   To begin with, the number of senators had significantly increased through the centuries (â€Å"Senate†).   In addition, the Senate now has committees, something that was not included by the Framers during the creation of the Senate.   Initially, the committees were temporary and were created for legislation.   At present, the committees have been made permanent.   The 1920s ushered in an era when the Senate committees have assumed a more substantial role, this time in the field of investigation.   The committees held investigations which dealt with issues in government, such the leasing of oil in the1920s, the Vietnam War in the 1960s and the Watergate Scandal of the 1970s (â€Å"Senate†). The United States Senate was initially created for state representation. The role of the Senate was preserve states’ rights and opinion, to equally distribute power in both federal and state governments.   Through time, it has become more relevant.   From approving nominations and treaties to taking part in crucial investigations, the Senate has assumed a bigger role in U.S. government.   In the end, it is the U.S. Senate that provides balance in the U.S. political system. Works Cited Baker, Richard. â€Å"Senate Created.† United States Senate. 15 April 2008 http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senate_Created.htm. Baker, Richard. â€Å"US History Companion: Senate.† Answers.com. 15 April 2008 http://www.answers.com/topic/united-states-senate. United States Senate. â€Å"Senate Chronology.† 15 April 2008 http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/chronology.htm. United States Senate. â€Å"The Senate and the United States Constitution.† 15 April 2008 http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitution_Senate.htm.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Li Fung: An Analysis

Li Fung: An Analysis Rahul Jacob, Inside Track: Traditional Values at the Click of a Mouse, Financial Times, August 1, 2000, p. 14. Online bookseller Amazon.com transformed the book industry forcing traditional book retailers to respond. Some information in this section comes from previous Harvard Business School Case Studies: Li Fung: Beyond Filling in the Mosaic-1995-98, (HBS Publishing No. 398-092) Michael Y. Yoshino, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Anthony St. George; January 1, 1998; and Li Fung (Trading) Ltd., HBS Publishing (No. 396-075) Gary Loveman, Jamie OConnell, October 26, 1995. With a press conference the following day, William was confident of the Groups performance and lifung.coms prospects. But he knew that important issues remained unresolved: Was there any chance of channel conflict or cannibalization between the offline business and the start-up? How would the market react to the start-up once it was launched the following year? And how specifically would e-commerce ultimately transform his familys century-old company? Company Background Li Fung was founded in 1906 by Williams grandfather, Fung Pak-Liu and his partner, Li To- Ming in Guangzhou, China as an export trading company selling to overseas merchants. In the 1920s and 1930s the company diversified into warehousing and the manufacture of handicrafts. Shortly after Fung Pak-Liu passed away in 1943, his son Fung Hon-Chu assumed charge of the company. Two years later, silent partner Li To- Ming retired and sold his shares to the company. The company retained Lis surname, a homophone Im not an Internet guy, Im a business guy, quipped William Fung, managing director of Li Fung Trading Co. Clad in his chinos and black American Eagle T-shirt, Fung looked much more like a new economy entrepreneur than the selfdescribed offline, old economy relic: Im 51, Im more than a grey hair in Internet terms, Im a fossil.1 Nor did lifung.com, his elder brother Victors new online company, resemble a typical Internet start-up, particularly with a 96-year-old parent born at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In August 2000, the day before beta launch of the new business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce portal, William described the challenges facing Li Fung: About three or four years ago, Victor and I discussed the Internet and how it impacts us. Our starting point was a defensive posture: Would the Internet disintermediate us? Would we get Amazoned2 by someone who will put together all of the information about buyers and factories online? After a lot of research we realized that the Internet facilitates supply chain management and we werent going to be disintermediated. The key is to have the old economy know-how and yet be open to new economy ideas. EXHIBIT 1 Li Fung Consolidated Income Statement (December 31, 1999), in HK$* 2000 1999 1999 1998 (HK$ thousands) (HK$ thousands) (HK$ thousands) (HK$ thousands) (June 30) (December 31) (June 30) (December 31) Turnover 10,267,606 16,297,501 6,583,730 14,312,618 Cost of sales (9,262,171) (14,585,881) (5,895,432) (12,891,709) Selling expenses (191,616) (354,124) (143,136) (287,524) Administrative expenses (87,741) (867,842) (56,436) (747,725) Profits before taxation 328,943 613,861 208,936 471,098 Taxation (29,805) (36,638) (14,536) (16,425) Profit after taxation 299,338 577,223 194,400 454,673 *In August 2000, US$1 _ HK$7.78. for profit in Chinese, which, along with Fung, a homophone for abundance, had an auspicious ring when combined. Li Fung relocated permanently to Hong Kong at the end of World War II, expanding its operations to include toys, garments, plastic flowers, and electronics. In the early 1970s, both Fung brothers had just returned from the United States: William had earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and returned to the business in 1972. Victor had recently completed his PhD in economics at Harvard University and, following a two-year stint teaching at Harvard Business School, rejoined the business in 1974. Their return heralded Li Fungs transition from a family-owned business to a professionally managed firm, with a planning and budgeting system in place for the first time. William and Victor, the third generation to run the company, felt that the next logical step in growing the company was to go public. In 1973, Li Fung became the holding company for the Group and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). Throughout the 1980s, Li Fung expanded its regional network of offices throughout the Asia-Pacific region as more sources of supply emerged in the rapidly industrializing Asian economies. In 1988 the Group was privatized and streamlined, incorporated in Bermuda in 1991, and its trading activities were again listed on the HKSE in July 1992. With the 1995 acquisition of Inchcape Buying Services (formerly Dodwell), Li Fung expanded its customer base in Europe while simultaneously shifting its sourcing network beyond East Asia to include the Indian subcontinent, the Mediterranean, and Caribbean basins. By 2000, Li Fung was a $2 billion global export trading company with 3,600 staff worldwide, sourcing and managing the global supply chain for high-volume, time-sensitive consumer goods. (Exhibit 1 shows recent Li Fung financial data.) By 2000, 69 percent of LiFungs sales were in the United States and 27 percent in Europe. Key customers included The Limited, Gymboree, American Eagle,Warner Brothers, Abercrombie Fitch, and Bed Bath Beyond. Tesco, Avon Products, Levi-Strauss, and Reebok had become customers within the last two years; Royal Ahold, GUESS? jeans, and bebe had signed on in 2000. Li Fungs product mix included hard and soft goods. Soft goods referred to apparel, including woven and knit garments for men, women, and children. Hard goods included fashion accessories, festive or holiday products, furnishings, giftware, handicrafts, home products, fireworks, sporting goods, toys, and travel goods. Hard goods provided higher margins than soft goods because, despite a generall y lower item value per unit, they required higher value-added services for orders that were also usually much smaller than soft goods orders. Hard goods items such as watches, shoes, suitcases, kitchenware, or teddy bears required an inspector for quality control evaluation for even the smallest batch order, thereby greatly increasing what Li Fung could charge. Margins for soft goods were roughly 6 percent to 8 percent, while we get an order from a European retailer to produce 10,000 garments. We determine that, because of quotas and labor conditions, the best place to make the garments is Thailand. So we ship everything from there. And because the customer needs quick delivery, we may Product Development Raw Material Sourcing Production Planning Factory Sourcing Manufacturing Control Quality Assurance Export Documentation Shipping Consolidation Fashion Accessories Festive Products Furnishings Garments Giftware Handicrafts Home Products Sporting Goods Toys Travel Goods Li Fung Total Value-Added Package EXHIBIT 2 Li Fung Total Value- Added Services Source: Company documents. divide the order across five factories in Thailand. Effectively we are customizing the value chain to best meet the customers needs. Five weeks after we received the order, 10,000 garments arrive on the shelves in Europe, all looking like they came from one factory.5 Li Fung clients benefited in several ways: supply chain customization could shorten order fulfillment from three months to five weeks, and this faster turnaround allowed clients to reduce inventory costs. Moreover, in its role as a middleman, Li Fung reduced matching and credit risks, and also offered quality assurance to its customers. Furthermore, with a global sourcing network and economies of scale, Li Fung could offer lower cost and more flexible sourcing than its competitors. In addition, through acquisitions and global expansion, Li Fung was extending this knowledge base to sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. Finally, Li Fung provided up-to-date fashion and market trend information to clien ts. As a result of its Camberley acquisition in 1999, it started offering clients virtual manufacturing or product design services. According to Victor, Li Fung does not own any of the boxes in the supply chain, rather we manage and orchestrate it from above. The creation of value is based on a holistic conception of the value chain. In recent years, however, Li Fung had begun to improve operations by controlling or owning strategic links in the chain. In some cases, Li Fung offered raw material sourcing. In the past when clients placed an order, Li Fung would determine the manufacturer best suited to supply the goods, and that factory would source its own raw materials. But Li Fung understood its clients needs better than its manufacturing plants did, so by offering raw materials to its suppliers, the company both ensured greater quality control and bought larger and thus more cost effective amounts of raw materials, thereby producing cost savings for each manufacturer. In such cases, Li Fung also earned revenue by charging its factories a commission on each raw material purchase they made. By mid-2000, ne arly 15 percent of Group sales involved Li Fungs raw material sourcing service. Joan Magretta, Fast, Global, and Entrepreneurial: Supply Chain Management, Hong Kong Style, An interview with Victor Fung, Harvard Business Review, September-October 1998, p. 106. Corporate Culture and Compensation From the 1992 privatization on, the division of labor between the Fung brothers was clear-cut: as Group chairman, Victor was primarily concerned with the Groups strategic issues and long-term planning; as Group managing director, William attended to everyday operations of the publicly listed trading arm, or as he joked in a recent interview, Victor is the deep thinker, and I just make the money.6 In another interview, Victor joked that William calls me the visionary, meaning that I dont really know whats going on.7 But both brothers lived in the same apartment building as their mother and sisters and conversed every day to keep abreast of developments at Li Fung. The duo created a strong synergy that was described by the CEO of the Groups e-commerce venture as A combination of both thought leadership and execution, with the unique relationship between Victor and William cementing the entire organization. They create a very particular kind of culture that blends pragmatism and, at th e same time, a recognition of and openness to innovation. According to Victor, once the business was successful, it was essential to keep an open mind and rather than resting on their laurels, that the challenge was to move past success and look forward. Furthermore, Victor held that it was imperative to cultivate a corporate culture that not only tolerated but encouraged diversity, or in his words, keep the culture so that it remains humble, agile, and responsive all the time and keep the people externally focused. Biannual retreats were held in Hong Kong, senior management meetings attended by division-level managers in order to foster communication across the Group. Li Fungs 3,600 employees were spread around the globe in offices ranging in size from 6 staff in Saipan to 1,100 in the Hong Kong head office. Five of the 48 offices were hubs-Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, and Turkey. Each 8 Joanna Slater, Corporate Culture, Far Eastern Economic Review, July 22, 1999, p. 12. (except the Hong Kong office) had 200 to 300 employees. Li Fung was entrepreneurial, allowing senior managers to run 90 small, worldwide management teams as separate and individual companies. These dedicated teams of product specialists focused on the needs of specific customers and were grouped under a Li Fung corporate umbrella that provided centralized IT, financial, and administrative support from Hong Kong. This decentralized corporate structure allowed for adaptability and rapid reaction to seasonal fashion shifts. As a meritocracy, performance-based promotion and compensation were cardinal principles. Each of Li Fungs top executives negotiated individual compensa tion packages. In contrast to companies that restricted executive bonuses to a fixed percentage of salary, Li Fung bonuses were based on profits with no ceiling. Its not every company that calls its executives little John Waynes. But for Li Fung, the image captures perfectly the drive, dedication, and independence of the companys far-flung managers. As Li Fung extended its geographic reach, it also expanded its mix of cultures. And to manage the mix it uses a simple formula: give managers the freedom to work as they see fit, so long as they get the job done.8 Tripartite Growth Strategy In 2000 Li Fung saw its future growth coming from a combination of organic growth, expansion through acquisition, and extension of its supply chain to new markets via the Internet. Organic Growth Since 1995, the Group had grown organically by receiving more orders from existing clients and by securing new mandates from strategic clients. Li Fung further extended its network and diversified its sourcing around the globe with new offices in places as diverse as Bangladesh, sub-Saharan Africa, and Manchester, England (see Exhibits 3 and 4). Louis Kraar, The New Net Tigers, Fortune Magazine, May 15, 2000, p. 310. Joanna Slater, Masters of the Trade, Far Eastern Economic Review, July 22, 2000, p. 10. The Mediterranean Cairo Denizli Florence Istanbul Izmir Oporto Tunis Turin South Africa Durban Madagascar Mauritius South Asia Bangalore Bombay Chittagong Colombo Dhaka Karachi Katmandu Madras New Delhi Sharjah North Asia Beijing Dallan Guangzhou Hong Kong Liuyang Nanjing Qingdao Southeast Asia Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Jakarta Johor Bahru Manila Phnom Penh Saipan Singapore The Americas Guatemala Honduras Mexico City New York Vancouver Seoul Shanghai Shantou Shenzhen Taipei Zhanjiang EXHIBIT 3 Li Fungs Global Network Source: Company documents. Central America 3% Hong Kong/PRC 40% Southeast Asia 20% South Asia 8% Korea 12% Taiwan 9% Europe 6% Africa 2% EXHIBIT 4 Li Fung Sourcing Markets (Q1 and Q2, 2000) Source: Company documents. David Wilder, Internet Key to More Gains for Li Fung, South China Morning Post, September 4, 2000, Business Post, p. 1. In 1996 Li Fung adopted a three-year plan system, one which William described as having been adopted directly from the economic planning system of the Chinese Communist Party, that allows the company to look ahead, but not too far ahead. William elaborated: We thought that the Chinese had a neat system. They have five-year plans, fixed; we have three-year plans, fixed. We dont want moving goalposts, we want set goals. At the beginning of every three-year plan we sit down and look at the business from its fundamentals. We use backwards planning, we recognize where we want to be in three years time, identify the gaps between that and where we are now, and see what we have to do to get there. During its first three-year plan (FY1993-1995), entitled Filling in the Mosaic, Li Fung focused on filling in the gaps in its network of offices to cover new sourcing markets. The second three-year plan (FY1996-1998), Margin Expansion, was launched immediately after the Inchcape acquisition to in crease its profitability. A third three-year plan Doubling Profits (FY1999-2001), established the goals of doubling profits every three years and achieving $3 billion in annual sales. Investors liked the results: Li Fung outperformed the Hang Seng Index by over 75 percent in 2000. The reward was inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Country Index for Hong Kong in May 2000, subsequent inclusion in the HSI in August 2000 and on the FTSE World Index Hong Kong Section in September 2000. With a market capitalization of $6.6 billion, by mid-2000 Li Fung was the nineteenth largest Hong Kong stock trading with a company record price to earnings (P/E) ratio of nearly 60_. A local newspaper declared: It is difficult to find a bad word [about Li Fung]. It could be a poster-child for shareholder value, with a return-on-equity of 60.2 percent at the end of last year. The firm is well positioned to benefit from the opening of the mainland market and Beijings accession to the World Trade Organization, with 40 percent of sourcing on the mainland and Hong Kong.9 Acquisitions Li Fungs acquisition strategy was based on buying rival sourcing companies, thereby gaining new client accounts, integrating their operations, and eventually bringing the operating margins of these acquired units up to Li Fung levels. In 1995 Li Fung acquired Inchcape Buying Services, a 100-year-old company roughly the same size as Li Fung and its closest competitor. The Dodwell acquisition brought access to sourcing markets on the Indian subcontinent and European export markets. This acquisition took nearly three years to be fully absorbed into Li Fungs operations. Within three years, Dodwells operating margins increased from 0.8 percent to 3 percent, primarily through the provision of Li Fung value-added services to Dodwell customers. In December 1999, Li Fung acquired the export trading operations of the Swire Group, Swire Maclaine and Camberley, which were Li Fungs next two largest Hong Kong-based competitors, and in the process became the only listed supply chain management company in Hong Kong. Like Li Fung, Camberley did not own its factories. Instead, it provided virtual manufacturing in the form of in-house design, pattern and sample making, and raw material sourcing. Manufacturing was subcontracted to factories in China. Through Camberley, Li Fung gained access to the design process- another link in the value chain-as well as access to new clients such as the Asia buying offices of Laura Ashley and Ann Taylor. As it had with Inchcape, Li Fung expected to bolster its own bottom line by raising the operating margins of these two companies. With a robust cash flow and the solid financial performance of past acquisitions, Li Fung was in position to continue growing its business by further acquisitions. By August 2000, Li Fung was nearly five times the size of its two closest local competitors, William E. Connor and Associates and Colby International, which had twice postponed the IPO of its B2B portal in 2000. See Appendix A for more details on the intranet and extranet. E-Commerce A core element of Li Fungs three-year planning system included an introspective look at whether we are still relevant, including whether or not we are going to be disintermediated. Part of its response was an Internet initiative of its own. In 1995 Li Fung launched an intranet to link the Groups offices and manufacturing sites around the world, thereby expediting and simplifying internal communications. The progress of orders and shipments could be tracked in real time, and digital imagery allowed for online inspection and troubleshooting. For example, past quality problems with Bangladeshi production would require an on-site Li Fung inspector to send physical samples to Hong Kong by express mail, whereas the intranet now allowed a high-resolution digital photo to be sent via the intranet for real-time response and remedy. In 1997, Li Fung launched secure extranet sites. Each site linked the company directly to a key customer and was customized to that customers individual needs. By 2000, 10 such extranets were in place, each taking nearly 6-9 months to fully implement, from design to testing of the user interface. Through each site, Li Fung could carry out online product development as well as order tracking, obviating much of the cost and time necessary to send hard copies of documents back and forth. Furthermore, with Li Fung as the key link between manufacturers and retailers, the extranet provided a platform for the two to interface, thus streamlining communications as the order moved through the supply chain. Customers could track an order online just as it was possible to track a UPS delivery. This monitoring of production also promoted quick response manufacturing. Until the fabric was dyed, the customer could change the color; until the fabric was cut, the customer could change the styles o r sizes offered, whether a pocket or a cuff would be added, and a number of other product specifications. According to William, some customers went as far as connecting their entire ERP (enterprise resource planning) system to Li Fungs extranet system. Li Fungs IT division had 60 people, all based in Hong Kong, but software development of both the intranet in 1995 and its extranets in 1997 was outsourced.10 Successful implementation of these systems provided the initial building blocks of Li Fungs e-commerce solution and with them in place, the Fungs became further aware of the extent to which integration of Internet technology enhanced internal efficiency and improved communication between Li Fung divisions and customers and began to consider extending the organizations online presence. Competitive Threats The Fung brothers said that they decided to go online to avoid being disintermediated. But a closer examination of local B2B portals and online exchanges led Victor to conclude that the online threat to their offline business was far less than first imagined. People from the first wave were so far out and garbled in their thinking that we felt that there was no immediate threat, he noted. Therefore, we needed to think through e-commerce properly, to formulate a proper response. In Victors words, B2B exchanges were a molecule thick and a mile wide, based on many depthless relationships. Li Fung preferred narrow and deep relationships nurtured with fewer customers and including value-added services. As William professed, The same reason why we were not disintermediated by the offline guys is going to be the reason why were not going to be disintermediated by the online guys. However, William discovered on a 1999 visit to the United States that Li Fungs old economy retail customers felt seriously threatened by Internet pure plays. At first this hype did not make much sense: I asked my friend at Toys R Us, Why are you concerned about eToys? It does about $28-$30 million in sales whereas you do $11 billion, and it loses as much as its entire turnover? How can you worry about them? And the first lesson I learned was that its not their size that is the threat but the fact that investors are throwing money at them. William discovered that Internet companies could use the money that was pouring in to damage offline competitors, often by acquiring them or their key people. They can hire away all of the talent that you have. The biggest weapon is the money they have. At one point, they could have hired away my entire management. Other possible threats came from online companies acquiring an old economy trading company, or from offline companies like Japanese trading companies or local sourcing firms that could partner with a dot-com and become a competitor overnight. William hinted that the Swire Maclaine acquisition was a defensive move to preempt acquisitions by new economy companies. William gave his view of the Internet revolution: I started off saying that the Internet is just another technology that affects the way information is transferred and people communicate with each other. It has a very dramatic impact, more dramatic than the fax. But for me its yet another in a series of technological changes that affects our business that we have to be keenly aware of. It may be the most important change until now, but it is probably not the last. According to Victor, The Internet is a revolutionary technology, but new technology is nevertheless still technology. Li Fung always has been aggressive in adopting new technologies. When the telephone came along, my grandfather was shocked. When the fax came around, the technology changed our turnaround time into just days. With Internet technology, now we get answers within hours. When broadband and WAP comes online, there will be even less lag. Bubble In Once the Fungs determined that Li Fung needed an e-commerce strategy, the remaining question was how and in what shape it would emerge, how specifically e-commerce would eventually add value to Li Fung, and whether it would use the existing IT department of 60 or absorb a new team of entrepreneurs. Victor felt strongly that their e-commerce strategy should come from within the company, not outsourced as the intra- and extranets were, or as he phrased it, bubble in, not bubble out. According to Victor, only if the solution was an internal one could he be certain that the technology would pervade the entire Li Fung organization. Neither did Victor care to start a brand-new entity separate from the parent: Im not interested in starting a dot-com division, getting a high valuation with, a $13 million cash flow, and then spinning it off. I want Li Fung to be around for another 100 years, not just 5 or 15. To start a pure Internet division is as equally absurd as starting a fax division, a division that exclusively uses faxes. To better grasp the fundamentals of embarking on a new IT venture, Li Fung added two new technical directors to its board, one a technology company CEO, the other an academic. According to William: The one thing certain about our business is that it will be constantly changing, so we need to install a mechanism for monitoring external environmental changes that impact our business. We decided a long time ago that we were an information and knowledge-based services company, so anything to do with information technology is crucial to us. We keep up with whats happening with board members who can help us scan the horizon. Enter Castling In 1997, Michael Hsieh (HBS 84), president of LF International Inc., Li Fungs venture capital arm and 15-year Li Fung veteran, received a telephone call from John Suh (HBS 97), CEO of Castling Group, an Internet start-up company that, like the chess move allows you to defend your king and simultaneously position your rook for attack, used the Internet to both defend the offline, old economy companies against online companies threat to their markets while simultaneously extending their own online presence. The two met in San Francisco to discuss how a focused combination of technology and supply chain reform could transform retail. Hsieh, well aware that Li Fung was working on its own e-commerce strategy, noted: As a VC, I see numerous business plans that say that with Li Fung behind an online exchange, we create significant value and therefore offer you 5 percent if you join us. However most of the plans do not make sense. They offer very little value and the founders lack either industry or technology expertise. John had the right blend of technology and business sense, the right mix of right and left brain. Like the Fungs, Hsieh favored a bubble in approach. He compared outsourcing e-commerce implementation to a third-party consultant for a $10 million fee as putting the fox in the chicken coop. It created a risky dependency on outsiders, particularly if future design changes were required and also provided outsiders with proprietary information, strategy, and the entire business model. Finally, Hsieh remarked: As a venture capitalist, I always have to think about the strength of the management team and what could go wrong with the venture. Can they deliver? Do they know the industry? Is this a credible business proposition? What if there is a negative reaction? By late 1999, the time was right to act on their initial meeting. Hsieh commented that both the evolution of Castling from B2C to B2B and Li Fungs needs complemented each other nicely; John had a real appreciation for the supply chain and a record for building successful e-commerce models. In December 1999 Hsieh joined Castlings board and LF International invested in Castling. They subsequently co-invested in an initial round of financing for lifung.com, and Castling committed key managerial staff to lifung.com. Suh described Li Fung as the perfect strategic partner. They have an entrepreneurial philosophy rooted at the core of their system. Theyve got an aggressive and visionary leadership team at the for efront of supply chain management. And theyre ready to operate according to the rules of the new economy. In one fell swoop, San Francisco-based lifung.coms management team was immediately staffed with Castlings professionals, serving as vice president of Business Development, vice president of Operations, director of Marketing, and CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Suh stepped down as CEO of Castling, retaining the position of nonexecutive chairman, and signed on as CEO of lifung.com. Apart from Suh and CTO Derek Chen, 20 percent of lifung.coms initial staff came from Castling, amounting to an in-house e-commerce incubation team that represented a slight twist on Victors bubble in strategy. Suh and Chen, the latter formerly of Andersen Consultings Advanced Network Solutions Group, brought along their experience from Castling e-commerce strategy projects for jcrew.com, hifi.com, giftcertificate.com, and ferragamo.com. The rest of the team came from either within Li Fung (e.g., the se nior vice president of Merchandising) or from outside the Li Fung organization (e.g., the vice presidents of Sales and of Marketing). To facilitate the integration of the new online entity into the Li Fung fold, a senior manager was tasked to provide an interface between the two groups. By Q3 2000, lifung.com had 40 full-time professionals and 25 consultants, with 80 full-time staff expected by years end. For B2B ventures, moving first and fast was often a prerequisite for dominance. Scarcely a year had passed since the initial meeting with Castling and its first round of financing. According to Suh, there were three stages of launching an online venture: the business strategy, the design-build-test phase, and then actual execution. Moving quickly, Suh remarked, Requires a fundamental trust in an organization that best arises from the experience of a team that has built things together, with members who know each others strengths and weaknesses. We do a lot of team building, becau se without trust you cannot move at the speed required. There are certain elements critical to the success of a dot-com . . . openness and constant communication are essential because there are so many skills and inter-functional dependencies that must be navigated for a successful launch. At lifung.com, we have a great mix of people, individuals with 30 years of merchandising experience, a deep operations staff,