ICT E-commerce business analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ICT E-commerce business analysis - Essay Example Swift flow of information allows organizations to excel in their respective businesses and gain a competitive edge over the competitors. In today’s age, there are seldom any organizations that can avoid the use of technology in their business. It has become an integral part of every activity and the point of differentiation is now determined by the efficiency of the system involved. The more efficient the system, the better the operations and this reflects in the overall success of the business and its standing in the market. An appropriate and successful e-business plan can not only assist and compliment the business but also create growth opportunities in the long run. The availability of reliable and low-cost communications through the use of technology is providing new challenges and opportunities to every industry, especially the airline industry (Jiang, 2014). Relevance of technology to a business determines the effectiveness of its existence on the web. Airline industries over the world have accepted technology as an integral and unavoidable aspect of their business. Travelers require convenience and service along with information and timeliness. Use of the internet to obtain travel packages, flight information, itineraries, ticket booking and boarding details have revolutionized travelling and the airline industry greatly. Whether it’s advertising, being more mobile friendly, having an efficient response system at hand or merely being ranked above all as a result of search engine, the competitive e-business environment has had its due effect on the airlines industry too. With the shift in power from the companies to the customers, now they are at the liberty to research several options and opt for the one they find feasible for themselves (Lankes, 2008, pp. 667--686). For air travel, several website offers services like comparing rates and getting the best deal. In these circumstances, an airline company has to focus on

Equal Opportunity in Early Childhood Essay Example for Free

Equal Opportunity in Early Childhood Essay Children should be treated and respected as individuals in their own rights. Like any individual, children have rights to shelter, food and education. They too should be treated fairly and equally. Many a times, we have failed to recognise these needs and as adults, we think we know best for the child. If we are able to recognise these rights, it will greatly assist in a childs development both emotionally and spiritually. According to Bruce and Meggit (2002), equality of opportunity means opening up access for every child and family to full participation in early childhood services. There can be no quality in early childhood services unless there is equality of opportunity. Children should not be denied of their rights based on their race, nationality, gender or abilities, boys and girls should not be treated differently. Also, equal opportunities can be defined in general as not discriminating a person by his or her race, gender, family orientation or whether they belonged to the minority in the society. I truly agree with this statement and advocates for equal opportunity to be practiced in every way. It is now the 21st century but can we safely say that children in this world are treated equally? Some parents tend to treat their children differently if they are a boy, especially in the Eastern culture; succession is through boys instead of girls. Several parents have stereotyped the colours that their children should wear, boys should be in blue and gals should be in pink. Stereotyping basically means unduly fixed mental impression (Oxford, p. 546). Society too, plays a role in influencing the parents when it comes to bringing up their children in this part of the world and to a certain extent the childrens interest will be sacrificed. Children are expected to excel academically and those who do not will be branded as slow and they will be frowned upon by the society due to the competitive environment. Parents are ? pressured to have an academically sound child and as a result, children will feel ? inferior if they are unable to excel academically and this would hinder their fitting into the society in the future. In order to uphold the rights of the children in the world, UNICEF introduced the Convention on the Rights of the Child which was adopted by Unite Nations General Assembly on the 20th November 1989. (http://www. unicef. org/malaysia/UNICEF_FS_-_Understanding_the_ CRC. pdf). There are four principles that the Convention rests on and they are; non discrimination, best interests of the child, the childs right to life, survival and development and respect for the views of the child . (http://www. unicef. org/malaysia/UNICEF_FS_-_Understanding_the_ CRC. pdf ). The main idea of having this convention is to recognize that children should be treated fairly as human beings and they should be brought up in a safe and conducive environment in order for them to realize their full potential in life. Malaysia signed the convention in March 1995 and being a multi cultural country that also advocates for human rights has made many changes to its legislation to adopt the convention especially in the area of education and healthcare. However, a question that many Malaysians will ask today; are the changes sufficient to provide the children in Malaysia equal rights? Here, let us look into the two major areas to analyse the impact of the convention on Malaysias legislation concerning children. According to article 28 of the CRC, The child has a right to education, ? (CRC, p. 19). Malaysia however has reservation on seven articles and article 28 is amongst them. The preschool education is Malaysia is under the responsibility of a few government departments and social agencies such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of National Unity and Social Development, Ministry of Rural Development and also several states departments (http://porta;. unesco. org/education/en/ev. php-URL_ID=46167URL _DO=DO_TOPICURL_SECTION=201. html) Under the Child Care Centre Act 1985, there are 2 categories of childcare centre, one being a home based childcare centre which takes in less than 10 children. The other being an institution based centre which caters for 10 or more children (The Star, 24th March, 1996). The curriculum guidelines of pre-schools are guided by the Ministry of Education and it has to provide a holistic development of the child being in social skills, intellectual skills, physical skills and spiritual skills (www. unesco. org/wef/countryreports /malaysia/Rapport_1. html) which is in accordance to article 29 of the CRC (CRC, p. 21) Due to the increasing awareness of the importance of early childhood education and also the increase in women joining the workforce, many private childcare centres have sprung up especially in the urban areas. These centres are mostly run by the private sectors that cater to mostly working parents from the middle to high income families and they charge a fee for their services. For the poor or rural areas children, the pre school programs are run by the government agencies and to a certain extent Non Government Organizations (NGOs). (http://unescodoc. unesco. org/images/0012/001279/127984e. pdf). The next area that Malaysia made changes to embrace the principles in the Convention is the healthcare policy. Child mortality in Malaysia has decreased significantly due to the effective healthcare programs that the government has implemented since the First Malaysia Plan 1996 (http://www. unicef. org/malaysia/ /children_4162. html). The most widely available health care service in Malaysia is public hospitals and for the rural community, there are over 1600 community health clinics (http://www. childpolicyintl. org/countries/Malaysia. html). Generally, children in Malaysia are provided with very comprehensive health services from vaccination to clean water supply and also sanitation. The government has taken steps to promote health programs to children in the rural areas integrating the promotion of health in its rural development strategies and programs. This is in accordance to Article 24 of the CRC where it states The child has the right to the highest standard of health and medical care attainable. Although Malaysia has taken various measures to improve its education system to embrace the CRC, sad to say that there are still children in Malaysia who are deprived of the right to education. This is especially apparent in vulnerable groups like children from the indigenous populations and also children in the rural areas. The indigenous children in Sabah and Sarawak have very little access to education and the curriculum in government schools do not cater to them culturally. Also, Malaysia has lifted its reservation on Article 22 which guarantees the childs rights seeking refugees status in 1995 but until today, there have not been changes when it comes to undocumented children (New Sunday Times, June 25th 2006). Undocumented children basically mean children who are born in Malaysia to migrant parents. Children in this category are deprived of education due to fact that they are not even recognized as Malaysian citizen. Although children in Malaysia are rather well taken care of in terms of healthcare services, there are still children who do not have access to their basic needs like healthcare. These are children born to poor parents, sex workers, alcoholics and sex workers. (New Straits Times, p. 19). Also, with the increase in HIV/AIDS cases in Malaysia and many children and women from the rural areas are still complacent of this disease. A childs formative years are extremely important as it will affect their growth in the later years. If Malaysia sees the significance of its younger generation, the government should seriously look into its commitment to uphold the Convention guidelines Firstly, awareness amongst the community is extremely important if Malaysia seeks to promote equal opportunity in the early childcare settings. Government should take steps to promote awareness amongst the people in order to change their attitudes towards children and this can be done by including the CRC as part of the school curriculum (The Star, p. N47). Secondly, early childhood education should be made compulsory to all children in urban or rural areas and available to all children in regardless of their background as every child has the right to education. Curriculum for children below the age of four should also address the current issues like AID/HIV and sex education. Materials and books used in the early childhood education should contain pictures of the different ethnic group in Malaysia. Activities organized by the childcare centre should be diversified as this would promote respect of various cultures amongst the children. More importantly, the curriculum should be sensitive to children from various cultural backgrounds especially the indigenous group. After all, Malaysia takes pride in its diversity of culture. Teachers in the early childcare sector should be trained in gender studies and also human rights (http://www. europeanchildrensnetwork. org/resources/infoDetail. asp? ID =12592). As childcare practitioner, the attitude of the person is utmost important in making sure that children under their care is not being discriminated. They have to be fully aware of the childs rights in order for the child to grow up in a positive environment as it is damaging for the child development. A childs potential to learn and develop their full potential should not be limited by prejudice (http://ferl. qia. org. uk/content_files/resources/organisations/caderdale_ council/sharon_chapman/equalops/prejandisc. htm).

Strategic Justifications In The US Wine Industry

Strategic Justifications In The US Wine Industry Mergers refer to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid in, finance, or assist a growing company in a given industry. As outlined by Lawrence Gitman, it is the combination of two or more firms, in which the resulting firm maintains the identity of one of the firms usually the larger. The primary reason for a merger is to improve a companys financial and strategic position. (Gitman, 2009) Determining whether the merger or the acquisition in the U.S. Wine Industry is offensive or defensive is dependent on each companys perspective. International Beverages quest for seeking an acquisition was considered a defensive action put forward by the company and it needed to lengthen its life within the organization. This company was known as a leading producer and marketer in the wine industry. This company being slow at achieving internal growth as their revenues grew at a mere 10% per year as a result of aggressive acquisition strategy. They needed to make an acquisition to prevent it from becoming a market failure as lack of any acquisition resulted in a no growth rate for the Company. This needed to be done to achieve growth internally and to refrain from going under. The wine industry has showed desirable preferences for change to higher end brand which placed International Beverage in a very dangerous position as customer would show a great deal of preference for the highe r end brand wines. International Beverage then had to take the initiative and move strategically in order to remain in the market as a key player, thus alleviating any adverse effects that would occur as a result of the new emerging preference in the future. One of the other companies to be acquired was Starshine. One of the main compositions of companies that International Beverage acquires was the fact that they were all producers of low end quality wine. Starshine was one of them. They too were also facing the fact that they could eventually lose in the market shares as the market began leaning towards a higher end brand of wine and Starshine were offering mid range labels in the market. Since Starshine produced only mid range brand wines, it would have been in their best interest to merge with the other company Bel Vino in order to secure a share in the market. This would have been their defensive action. The merger was crucial because had they not merged with Bel Vino, International Beverage could have acquired their company as the urgently needed some pull out, keeping in mind also that International Beverage also needed some fix for themselves to retain their market share. Starshine would then now be able to deal with their cost issues and competition from foreign producers. The merger between Starshine and International Beverage would be a defensive action with respect to the emerging market changes and also to avoid not having a say in the future business of the company. Bel Vino was producers of high-end wine with a very strong brand. Despite this, they also had sluggish performance, there prevalent management conflicts, these were the internal problems the company was faced with; also their inability to form good distribution lines, have a bad management team and as a result, has unflattering performance levels (Luehrman Kester, 2009). The market change favoured Bel Vino prospects as it allowed them to have more clients to form a better distribution line which will then have positive effects on its revenues. Bel Vino did not need a merger neither an acquisition because it could have solved the aforementioned issues by itself. Despite this fact, there was the option of solving these issues by taking advantage of the already established distribution lines and high earnings of both Starshine and International Beverage (Luehrman Kester, 2009). Given these reasons, Bel Vino is the only one that would be taking offensive action in both instances with respect to merger and acquisition. Question 2 What primary advantages did your company bring to the table? An acquisition of or merger with Bel Vino would benefit both company as Bel Vino, is the company that offered classic vintages and strong brands (Luehrman Kester, 2009). This would give them the comparative advantage over the other companies since these other companies, Starshine and International Beverage, deal mainly with lower end and mid range labels (Luehrman Kester, 2009). From the fact that industry has overcome the wine glut the demand for wine has shifted to the higher end products which neither of Bel Vinos competitors possess (Luehrman Kester, 2009). This was an advantage for Bel Vino since they were able to use this for their negotiations. This would be beneficial also for International Beverage and Starshine providing the opportunity to gain a market share and for their survival in the new market transformation. Bel Vino also benefited from the low cost advantages with respect to the merger with Starshine given the fact of the apparent cost control issues. (Luehrman Kester, 2009). Management in Bel Vino were able to utilize their finances as opposed to overspending on advertisement as Starshine did. All in all, Bel Vino brought several advantages to the table during this negotiation, all of which benefitted each of the companies of way or the other. Question 3 Compare the market positions, financial performance, and future prospects of Bel Vino and Starshine. What are the most significant sources of synergies for the potential transactions? Market position can be defined as the ranking of a brand, product, or firm, in terms of its sales volume relative to the sales volume of its competitors in the same market or industry (Business Dictonary, 2009). In analyzing the three companies, it was found that from the years 2006-2010 Starshine continually had higher net sales to that of Bel Vino. In 2006 Starshine had 475 million compared to Bel Vinos 359 million and International beverages 2980 million. In 2007 Starshine had 495 million compared to Bel Vinos 360 million and 2999.9 million. In 2008 Starshine had 525.1 million compared to Bel Vinos 366 million and 3019.9 million. In 2009 Starshine had 557.2 million compared to Bel Vinos 382.1 million and 6100.4 million. In 2010 Starshine had 591.5 million compared to Bel Vinos 390.1 million and 6141.2 million. (Harvard Business School 2009) This shows that Starshine had a greater market presence than that of Bel Vino and that Bel Vino was finding it difficult to generate sales esp ecially in the international markets to compete with its rivals. This was possibly due to its poor distribution lines. International Beverage could help Starshine and Bel Vino increase their market share both domestically and internationally and also help improve Bel Vinos distribution line. Financial performance refers to the measuring of a firms policies and operations in monetary terms. These results are reflected in the firms return on investment and return on assets (Business Dictionary, 2009). As the formula for return on assets is Net Income/Total Assets, the Return on assets for Starshine through the years 2006 to 2010 are; in 2006: 11.1/498.3 = 2.23%; in 2007: 8.6/503.9=1.71% ; in 2008: 17.4/507.5=3.43 ; in 2009: 28.3/531.5=5.32 ;in 2010: 36.9/556.9= 6.63%. In comparison, the returns on Assets for Bel Vino throughout the years are in 2006: 4.2/425.9=0.99%, in 2007:18.8/406.8=4.62%, in 2008: 27.7/389.4=7.11, in 2009: 33.2/403.6=8.23%,in 2010: 36.1/409.1=.8.82%. This shows that Bel Vino had a higher return on assets than Starshine. Our return on assets are as follows; in 2006: 162.2/1227.2=13.22%; in 2007: 109.9/1461.5=7.52; in 2008: 97.5/1544.5=6.31; in 2009: 423.7/22.32.7=18.98; in 2010: 446.6/2770.2=16.12. This again shows that our company, International Beverage company is a larger better run company. In relation to the future prospects of these companies, Bel Vino had to focus on the protection of their brands, increase in distribution lines and increase in sales volumes. Pertaining to Starshine, they need to cut costs and break into the high end market. Question 4 What was the rationale behind the choice of target for the opening bid and our overall bidding strategy? As we were in a better position than both companies, we were faced with the decision of it to stay as we were and run the risk of both companies merging or if to acquire on of the companies. We decided that were not under any pressure and we were going to keep our bidding low as we felt it was in the other companies best interest to merge with us. We started by making a bid for Starshine as we felt that with their greater presence in the markets would help us to gain an even stronger market share. We thus made an opening bid of $45 per share to Starshine. This bid was rejected. As a result our share price dropped by $0.50 to $64.70 while starshines rose by $2.26 to $56.64. We decided to start the bidding at such a low price so during negotiations; the ceiling price would not get too high. We realised that Starshine offered Bel Vino 1.05 new Starshine shares for each existing Bel Vino Share. So we decided to give Bel Vino something to think about by offering $39 per share. This was lo wer than their share price at the current time which was $45.96. We were not prepared to buy out any of these companies while incurring huge debts. This was another reason why our bids were kept so low. Bel Vino didnt see our bid as attractive despite the fact that we could improve their distribution line internationally considerably. So they rejected our bid. We thus decided it was not worth it to acquire any of the two companies as they lacked the vision to see that they could only benefit by merging with us. In the end Starshine accepted Bel Vinos offer and the companies merged. Question 5. If you were not successful at completing a transaction, why do you believe this was the case? Do you think it represents the best outcome for your shareholders? Would you do anything differently if given another chance to negotiate? According to the confidential information our team was provided with, both Bel Vino and Starshine were potential prospects for a merger. Our main prospect was Bel Vino since they sold high end products and our company would have received more value from this merger. We also noted that a merger with Bel Vino would have added worth to our company. Therefore in the long term, shareholder value will also be increased. In order to increase shareholders value, it is imperative that a company implements strategic planning. This can be done by increasing cost base while maintaining revenue and by increasing revenue share and by reducing cost (Ezine Article, 2010). A merger between Bel Vino and Starshine would have reduced cost of goods sold by roughly $3 million to $ 5 million. In addition, their Research and Development cost would decrease by a significant amount, roughly, one million on an annual basis. Bel Vino showed strategic planning and they recognized the goal of the company and beca use of their financial operations which were done effectively and efficiently, they were able to develop their working capital. There was a possibility of mergers between Bel Vino and Starshine, which actually came to fruition. Before any negotiation is made by any organization and for it to be successful it is critical for them to look over key issues that will affect their organization in the long run. In other words preparedness is one of the main key to successes in any business organization. In addition, a good strategy is also important for a healthy and long term existence of that company. Our team definitely lacked in the area of preparation was resulted in International Beverage not being able to merge with any of the two prospective companies. Our team members were definitely not ready to negotiate because we did not conduct enough background work in terms of focusing on our operating assumptions which included domestic and international revenues. In addition, due to the lack of understanding the game and time, we were not capable of making enough offers to the other two wine companies These factors needed to be decided upon before we ventured into the negotiation process. We also need to focus more on our balance sheet and make comparisons between Bel Vinos and Starshines balance sheets. Despite our unpreparedness, we were able to make bids by offers to both Bel Vino and Starshine at prices, $48.81 and $58.57 respectively. Both companies rejected our offers. We assumed that they believed that their companies were worth more than what we were offering them. At the end of the simulation, Starshine and Bel Vino merged. In conclusion, the wine simulation was a learning experience for our team and we realized the importance of conducting our homework before venturing into negotiations. It is important to learn about your counterparts in detail, as opposed to looking on the surface. Details such as financials are crucial in getting into mergers. If given the opportunity to negotiate again, we will definitely make serious preparations for the negotiations.

Greek Tragedy :: essays papers

Greek Tragedy The tragedy was a large part of people's lives in ancient Greece. Tragedies became prominent long before Christ was born. A tragedy, or goat-song, usually were seen during festivals in ancient Greek times. Tragedies gradually increased in seriousness until they were given utmost importance. Greek tragedies began at a festival in honor of a god, there were three great tragic authors, and all tragedies include a tragic situation. Greek tragedies began at a festival in honor of Dionysius, who was the god of wine. At the early festivals, drinking, quarrels, and sexual activity occurred frequently. Later on, tragedies gained much more respect and were taken very seriously. The plays dealt with man's relationship with god(s). These plays also dealt with a specific instance of life. The chorus wore goat-skins and served a great purpose in the tragedies, themselves. Thespis, the father of the tragedy, created an actor who talked with the leader of the chorus to further make the importance of the chorus seen. In Greek tragedy, three masters were paramount. They were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. These three playwrights all wrote for the festivals of Dionysius, but none of the three were alike. Aeschylus writes about Athenian power, arrogance, and ancient rule. Sophocles accepts the gods as the way they are. He does not believe in the violation of cosmic order. Euripides questions spirit. He also faults the old way of doing things. Every tragedy has a tragic situation in which the tragic hero finds himself. There are two basic tragic situations. The most common situation is a man between two clashing principles. Every situation results in sorrow and suffering for the protagonist, or tragic hero. Creon is the tragic hero who suffers dearly for his situation. A choice is imperative to a tragic situation. In tragic situations, a conclusion must be made, or has already been made, which results in suffering for the hero.

Explore the Role of Trading Blocs on International Trade Essay

International Business In this assignment, I will be defining international trading bloc and their purpose before outline all the different examples of trading blocs such as WTO, Customers Unions, and Common Markets before explaining how these impact on the international trade. I will apply the trading blocs and examples to Jaguar – Land Rover, a multimillion-pound car manufacturer distributing worldwide. Trading Blocs Trading Blocs is a group of countries in a geographical area that gets together to protect themselves from countries outside the group, working together to make goods or services move more easily and placing restrictions on the number of goods or services being brought into the area. Some organizations help to make these countries work together and move goods or services more easily. These organizations include World Trade Organisation and other common markets such as the EU. World Trade Organisation (WTO) The WTO makes sure that countries can trade with each other as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible so that businesses can sell their goods all over the world. The WTO has negotiated agreements between countries so that businesses trading have legal rights and agreements to protect them. If there are disagreements or arguments between two countries then WTO will step in and assist the situation. WTO has a positive impact on international trading as they ensure all businesses trade fairly and legally and ensure that no one is ripped off or miss sold goods. Customs Unions and Common Markets In some areas of the world, customers unions and common markets have been established to allow free trade to take place between those different countries. This allows businesses more rights and opportunities to trade with each other with the support of the common market to ensure everyone is trading and operating legally and effectively. The EU The EU was established in Second World War through European Economic Community. At the start, 6 countries joined the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Over the next 60 years, more and more countries joined the EU, 28 countries including the UK joined by 1973. The EU was a very crucial in international trade as they set up their own internal market which allowed countries to move and trade goods or services even freer between the countries involved. It achieves the above through a number of different ways. – It has its own currency, the Euro. – It provides EU citizens the movement to other countries without VISA`s as long as they are a member of the EU. – They have their own set of rules they must adhere to in order to maintain a member of the EU. Mercosur Rather like the EU, this group was established to help the third world, less developed countries increase the trading opportunities between each other. Countries involved within the common market are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, all less developed countries who can`t afford the scale and size of international trade deals occurring in the EU, hence why they are a part of the Mercosur. They have more land and size than the EU, however, have made little progression when compared to the EU, however, have similar aspirations and goals, wanting to make international trade and movement as easy as the EU do. The effect it has on the countries involved is that it provides them with a platform to trade internationally and increase the size of deals, bringing in more money to the country and helping to improve local economies. They still have the same legal rights and regulations when it comes to b2b trading. The above have a massive positive impact on countries who are a part of the Europe Union as it provides plenty of other countries the opportunity to trade freely between each other using the same currency and operating under the same legal rules and regulations. If any deals went downhill and a business within the EU was miss sold goods or not paid the full balance then they can appeal to the EU for support and guidance, allowing them to take legal action against the other business. Jaguar – Land Rover will be impacted in different ways by the above trading blocs due to the size and scale of them having a negative impact towards local businesses. If Jaguar – Land Rover are having a positive impact on the economy of a country, increasing the countries revenue through their taxes and increasing employment rates then the government for that country may increase the easiness of movement of goods across the country, encouraging them to continue trading within, benefiting the country as a whole. The World Trade Organisation has a big role in the trade deals of Jaguar – Land Rover as the deals they are working on is worth millions of pounds and therefore involve high risk and liability if they go wrong, this is where the World Trade Organisation will step in, resolve the issue and ensure the deal is still going to go ahead. They will ensure no party is ripped off or miss sold goods and that all parties are aware of the terms and conditions througho ut the deal. The Customs Unions and Common Markets and the EU allow businesses or countries within a certain area free trade and more rights to trade between each other. This would have a negative impact on Jaguar – Land Rover as they would have to pay importation and exportation taxes, increasing the expenditure for each product meaning they can`t be as competitive on pricing as other businesses within the market. The Mercosur won`t have an impact on Jaguar – Land Rover due to the size and scale of them and how the Mercosur id directed at smaller, less established businesses acting as a platform to boost them. Jaguar – Land Rover will not face the competition from this market as the size and scale will counterbalance the benefits that Mercosur provides the smaller businesses with. Conclusion In the above assignment, I have listed, explained and evaluated the impact different common markets have on international trade for the countries involved. I have explained the different reasons for how they work and the benefits they bring. All markets have similar aims and understandings, have the same legal rules and regulations and all believe in fair, free movement of goods or services.

To what extent were the policies the Republican governments 1921-29 responsible for both the economic boom Essay Example

To what extent were the policies the Republican governments 1921 To what extent were the policies the Republican governments 1921-29 responsible for both the economic boom Essay To what extent were the policies the Republican governments 1921-29 responsible for both the economic boom Essay Essay Topic: History The Republic The economic boom and bust of the 1920s would have occurred without the Republican economics policies that were introduced. The Republicans felt that it was necessary to allow the economy to grow without state intervention unless it was urged upon by the industry. Such freedom did in fact allow for the likes of Henry Ford to innovate and take advantage of the beneficial circumstances brought about by the First World War. The significant increase in trade wasnt sustainable and for the reason that it wasnt stabilised the economic collapse took place in the absence of Republican policies to regulate growth. The Republicans built on the conditions that were provided by the First World War. After the War, Europe was dependant upon American industry to be provided by American products ensuring trade for America. However, credit can be given to the Republican government for the introduction of the Fordney-McCumber tariff. This raised import duties on farm products, chemicals, textiles, chinaware, cutlery, guns and other industrial goods. This move towards Protectionism ensure that there wasnt a two-way trade between America and Europe, allowing for a domestic market to grow whilst the Europe dependant on the US economy. This policy in Hardings government can be seen as the basis of US economic prosperity and indicates the importance of the policies made by the Republicans. Although policies were infrequent they encouraged widespread production, which could be considered as a major contribution to the economic boom and the subsequent economic collapse. The policy for small taxes was a strong belief of the Republican Party and achieved the rise in industry. Otherwise an increase in taxes would have reduced the disposable income that was vital for the growth in companies that sold domestic appliances. It could be said that these Republican policies did not just contribute towards the boom but actually were responsible for the initiation of the boom by providing the perfect conditions for a quick boom. The lack of regulations ensured that prosperity wasnt hindered and businesses werent deterred from expanding. This started the possibilities of the get rich-quick schemes that flooded America causing a nation to make money without having to consider the long term consequences. Republicanism contributed to this short-sightedness within American society that instigated the economic collapse. Encouraged by Republican policies this quick-fix attitude was enlarged by the start of credit that was highly dependant on both consumer demand and confidence. Consumer products were bought on a massive scale on the basis that the customers were certain that they could make the repayments in order to keep such domestic appliances. This new grown confidence of prosperity and belief in economic growth shared by many families brought about the demand for these new products. Confidence was so high in the economy that ordinary people began buying on the margin, the purchase of shares on the credit that the shares were definitely going to increase in value, enough to pay off the credit and to leave people with profit. This heightened the reliance on the growth of the economy and instigated further confidence, causing the economy to be uncontrolled by anyone, meaning that a small stumble would bring about total. The delicate nature that the economy wasnt completely due to the Republican policies, however, the Republicans didnt feel that there wasnt any need for state intervention since it wasnt seen to be a national issue. Therefore the lack of policy in regulation in the banking system that created an increase in buying on the margin caused the fragile economy that collapsed precisely due to the lack of intervention. Although the Republicans were responsible the confidence and the increase in credit was due to the fact that it was probably the first time that the public had more money than required to survive and felt that it was to continue and didnt know what to do and thus brought about the lack of savings. The boom wasnt a long term growth that raised society than what could have been achieved by regulation. Using the word boom it refers to the significant rise in a short space of time and therefore as a consequence means that it would have to fall suddenly unless the economy could be underpinned by a stronger infrastructure. Long term would have ensured that 33%of the total national income in 1929 wasnt held by just 5% of the population. Such a figure can question whether it was in fact a national boom at all, since it failed to permeate to lower sects of society, however caused for those lower sects to be confident that they would find prosperity and go onto purchase products on credit. The fact that prosperity didnt reach the whole of society meant that the marker became saturate with the sale of the same domestic products without the people to purchase them because either they already had them or had too many loans. The Republican Government with the introduction of taxation would have brought greater support in need, who could fuel the economy further since groups like blacks, rural workers and urban poor would be able to purchase the appliances and increase share purchase. However, the lack of taxation mean that growth took place exponentially and during the period of growth there would be no slow down. On the other hand, collapse was made certain by the lack of support given towards the economy and bringing about the end of such growth. It must be remembered that this was the first time that such mass growth took place in American history and meant that it wasnt possible to create a model for the growth of the economy because noone really had an idea what this expansion would result in. The flaws within the system, causing a brittle economy should be held more responsible because I dont feel that there would have been a collapse, rather more of a slowdown throughout the nation. These flaws were triggered by the lack of regulation by the Republicans but the However, perhaps the most compelling argument in their defence is the lack of precedent. Never before had such growth been seen as even possible, nor the depression which was to follow. In such light, it is perhaps unfair to judge Republican policies too harshly for their inability to anticipate the hitherto unknown. It is also clear that Republicanism was not responsible for initiating the Roaring 20s, but rather for adopting a policy of non-intervention which allowed the boom to proceed almost entirely unimpeded. As a result, Republican responsibility must be judged in terms not of what they did, but what they did not. In doing very little to regulate nor intervene in the boom from 1921-29, successive Republican administrations were, to the greatest extent, responsible for ensuring that what occurred was not a long-term trend of steady, social economic growth, but a short-lived boom. Furthermore, rather than making efforts to convert this into growth which permeated throughout, bringing even longer-term benefits to American society as a whole, these policies were content to sit back and allow America to become a gambling den on a majestic scale, almost entirely dependent on the fickle nature of human confidence and reliant on an impossibly limitless demand for new products which soon reached saturation point. As a result, Republican policies must be seen to a great extent responsible for shaping the nature of the economic boom, if not instigating it, and in doing do, directly responsible for the inevitable bust which followed.

Culture and Self Cultural Specifics

Culture and Self Cultural Specifics Psychological specifics of an individual depend on a variety of factors, starting with the peculiarities of the early parent-child relationships to the role that the specified individual is used to playing in the mini-society at home, at school or at work. However, by far the most influential element that shapes the process of psychological analysis and at the same time makes it more complicated is the cultural specifics.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Culture and Self: Cultural Specifics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ying Zhu and Shihui Han explore the ways in which the cultural differences in self shape the philosophical, psychological and scientific concept of self in their article â€Å"Cultural Differences in the Self: From Philosophy to Psychology and Neuroscience.† In their turn, Kwang-Kuo Hwang and Jeffrey Chang take the problem even further, exploring the problems related to self-cultivation in th e setting of a Confucian society in their research â€Å"Self-Cultivation Culturally Sensitive Psychotherapies in Confucian Societies.† Although both authors provide a fairly detailed account of the way in which cultural background and the development of self are intertwined, the latter research seems to focus on the application of the findings related to the sphere of culture and self, while the former research establishes the links between the two elements, making the case for creating a branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on the changes in one’s identity. Like any other studies, the given researches both have their strong and weak aspects. To start with, it is necessary to admit that both studies offer a very detailed account of the background research that needed to be conducted to provide a theoretical basis for the papers. For example, it is rather impressive that the study by Zhu and Han offers not one, but several approaches towards philoso phical implications of self based on philosophical thinking, cognitive processing and neural basis of a human mind. In its turn, the study by Hwang and Chang consider self from three perspectives offered by Confucius, i.e., the relational self (the self and society), authentic self (the self considered as a separate phenomenon) and the nonself (i.e., the state of nirvana).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More By offering a full analysis that includes the consideration of every element in the existing nomenclature of the subject in question, the papers offer an objective evaluation of what self is and how self-cultivation can help one reach the state of enlightenment. It is necessary to mention, though, that each of the papers also has its weak points. In Hwang and Chang’s study, the weakest point comes when the authors come to describing the research methodology. Offering little to no information concerning the methods used in the study, they make their paper look weaker. Zhu and Han’s paper could also use some improvement, especially when it comes to discussing cultural differences – the researchers ought to have offered several examples from different cultures. Nevertheless, each of the researches comes as a strong, solid statement concerning the phenomenon of self. Therefore, it can be considered that both researches offer a very clear and thorough study of the way in which the concept of self is related to the cultural background. As it has been mentioned previously, the research conducted by Kwang-Kuo Hwang and Jeffrey Chang seems the continuation of Ying Zhu and Shihui Han’s study, since the latter prove that there is a link between the two, while the former introduce a new concept of self-cultivation and, which is even more important, analyze the effect of the given phenomenon on the Confucian society. Two interesting vie ws on the way in which cultural background shapes people’s self, these studies are of great significance to the development of psychology.

MBA Online Program at Cleveland State University Essays

MBA Online Program at Cleveland State University Essays MBA Online Program at Cleveland State University Essay MBA Online Program at Cleveland State University Essay Cleveland State University has a long history of MBA programs. It was founded in 1964 and offers various undergraduate and graduate programs. The online MBA program goes under its Monte Ahuja College of Business where students can find many areas for getting a final degree. This business has been accredited by AACSB which represents the best accreditation an online MBA course can have. The accounting program of this school has also received AACSB accreditation. The only thing you need to do is file up the application and get ready for getting advanced knowledge in your field. The Cleveland State University online MBA programs are preparing the students for life after they graduate. Their curriculum has been made to serve any student in order to become the best in his/her area. They tend to cover many areas of interest for the students to find their perfect place. The students will be able to find many eye-catching and advanced courses such as Labor Relations, Human Resources Management, Marketing Management, Financial Management and Managerial Accounting. If you are interested in any fields in particular, be sure that you will get the best education. The students won’t feel any difficulty getting these programs. The staff is online 24/7 enabling you to get through any technical issue that might come up. They have very simple programs that will get you through online learning and provide you with easy assistance. The Cleveland State University wants to assure you that every question you might have will be answered right away. All students will be required to take a standard admission test. There are couple of ways you can avoid being tested for admission, but most of the students will have to take it. The score for passing the test is 50% and above for getting qualified. The tuition for signing up for these online MBA programs here is the same like in the other universities. The difference here is that Cleveland State University offers financial aid for all students to get into their courses. All students have the right to apply for financial aid. So far, 70% of all students have used financial aid from the university. The tuition includes course materials and books, iPad 4G with Verizon contract for each student until the end of the program. Cleveland State University offers flexibility. You will be able to gain access to the required materials every time you need them. The only thing you need is an Internet connection. The professors are also able to interact with the students and provide them with additional materials for learning. Choosing Cleveland State University gives you the right to be among the best.

Cafe D. Pownd Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cafe D. Pownd - Case Study Example This is prepared by two to one chef.Lastly; the cafe has a payment line (L3) that has two cashiers who work even in the peak hours. Due to huge number of the residence the cafà © has experienced major challenges in the congestions due to the layout of the cafeteria. Ordinarily the cafeteria that is found at the learning institutions should enable the student’s food without wastage of time whatoever.However; this has been in the opposite. The general layout of the cafà © including the serving area was not done appropriately. This is because most of the activities are done in the building thereby causing congestion. The problem with the cafà © is that it lacks space to accommodate the large number of people during the peak seasons. The congestion has caused more problems since there is confusion in the queues. This is because many people fail to understand the line they are in especially when there is much congestion during the peak season. This therefore wastes the time of people as they have to make several rotations to get the right line thereby wasting more time. The congestions have also affected the beverage service significantly. The customers have to cross the precooked and the interactive lines before going to the serving zones. This causes father congestions and more spillovers. The customers have also been affected financially as the beverage and the food timings are not congruent and therefore the customers have to buy more beverages compromising their budgets. As it has been seen there has been congestion in the cafeteria. These congestions have caused the customers to experience long waiting hour. The precooked average time to get the food is 5.8 minute. This means that this time will be used for student to get to the counter and order the food. The customer will take 5.12 minutes for him/her to pay the bills. This implies that the

The Use of Information Systems to Aid Communication and Financial Assignment

The Use of Information Systems to Aid Communication and Financial Management in Business - Assignment Example This research will begin with the statement that information is one of the extremely important elements in a business organization because of that it serves as a support tool for business operation, decision making, managerial functions and organizational activities. Information is normally considered to be the most powerful asset in a business. Many businesses are effectively utilizing the information that is rich with and succeed in a market by achieving competitive advantage whereas many other firms fail in managing it and thus to surviving in the market as well. This piece of research work presents a brief report on how the information system can effectively be used to aid communication and financial management. No matter how small or large the business is, information is highly critical to it and it can help the business attain its goals. Information is essentially important for financial management for various reasons like decision making, and there have been efforts to bring e ffectiveness in approaching the information and the outcome is that an information system approach has been developed. It is important to identify, explain and evaluate how the information system is used and how it can be successfully used in communication and financial management. Stair, Reynolds, and Reynolds pointed out that information system is a set of inter-related elements or components that collect, manipulate, store and disseminate data or information and provide a corrective reaction to meet a specific objective. Information System is thus a process or system approach towards collecting the data or information as inputs, manipulating them through processes, storing them as either tacit or explicit and making use of them once they have been disseminated as outputs. An organization can be said to use information system if there is a system in which people, process, technology, and information are aligned and integrated.

Political Science Discussion Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Political Science Discussion - Article Example Moreover, the article highlights on the diplomacy role of Obama administration in addressing the situation. The spat in public by Mr. Kerry is seen as affecting negotiations that have been there between United States and Russia in resolving the crisis in Syria (Gordon, Sanger and Schmitt 1). Moreover, the article addresses the reluctance of Obama administration in engaging directly in the political situation, in the country. The inaction is seen as the administration pulled back the threat of cruise missile strike (Gordon, Sanger and Schmitt 1). The only move the administration has taken is trying to provide support to opposition forces and handling of humanitarian crisis. In addition, the article talks of some meeting of different countries intelligence chiefs. The meeting came with a plan to provide rebels with most sophisticated weapon as a solution to Syria civil war (Gordon, Sanger and Schmitt 1). The idea was out of realization that diplomatic attempts of addressing the crisis has failed. The article helps in highlighting the challenges and failures in addressing the situation, in Syria (Gordon, Sanger and Schmitt 1). Moreover, it helps in showing response by leading players in the world politics on situation. It has also helped in showing why diplomacy has failed. However, in my opinion, the situation in the country can only be addressed in the warring parties are disarmed instead of arming both sides. Gordon, Michael, Sanger, David and Schmitt, Eric. â€Å"Middle East.† Nytimes.com. Web 20 February 2014.

International Marketing Strategy of Starbuck in China and In the UK Essay

International Marketing Strategy of Starbuck in China and In the UK - Essay Example This paper will discuss the way Starbuck Corporation in China and UK was created and how it changed over time especially with increased competition in a marketing environment based on cultural differences. More significantly, this study wants to emphasize the strategic thinking about all the factors involved in applying and analyzing the increasingly enthusiastically satisfied customers served by Starbuck’s management unlike its competitors in the international market. More considerably, the main debate on this subject is on the impact faced by Starbuck Corporation in its expansion globally into China and UK based on regulations, international marketing strategy to increase profitability and increased competition. As a remarkable company, Starbucks Coffee Company has grown into a global brand since it was founded in Seattle, the United States, in 1970 and is focused on building increased customer satisfaction as it treats every customer with respect and dignity. As a company, focused on building its market share, profitability and productivity, Starbucks Coffee outlet began in the 1970’s as a single shop offering high-quality coffee and brewing products. More so, Starbucks Coffee outlet has grown to be the largest roaster internationally with over nineteen thousand stores as it offers the high standard of excellence in all aspects of purchasing, fresh delivery of coffee and roasting as it provides increased customer satisfaction. Over the years, Starbucks has enriched its service in offering roasted coffee sold out to customers its enriched Italian style espresso coffee beverages in all Starbuck stores and branches along with pastries and other coffee-related products. More remarkably, the chain of outlets seeks to give its consumers increased service reliability, high product quality, and management of operations as it seeks to increase its business growth and sustainability. As a result, Starbucks embrace cultural diversity in different regions through its employees who seek to blend with different cultures thus, developing increasingly enthusiastically satisfied customers.

Ecommerce Assignment (National Bank of Dubai) Essay

Ecommerce Assignment (National Bank of Dubai) - Essay Example According to a study, by the Department of Psychology at Middle East Technical University, organizational success (of a web site) may be considered by the site's user-friendliness.4 The criteria specified in the study ("rollovers, pop-up menus, and search capabilities") to determine user-friendliness is, however; met by the NBD's web site. Therefore, based upon these criteria, it must be concluded that the site is an organizational success. The non transaction interactivity of the web site is sufficient and dynamic, yet rudimentary. The most attractive (and unique) aspect of this area is the "careers" section which shows the depth the bank has undertaken to inform potential employees of unique career paths. There is a very well formatted "site feedback" questionnaire as well as a separate link to contact the bank directly. However, an attempt to contact the bank, via this method (during working hours,) did not receive a reply as of the time of this writing. Privacy and security is a prime concern for all banks and customers and NBD appears to have a fairly good handle on the process.

Task 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Task 2 - Assignment Example At least 4 % of residents in Australia are suffering from diabetes i.e. 990,000 people. However, the rate has risen by a rate of 1.5 from 1990 hence, the need to make it a national priority. Pregnancies that are associated with diabetes are 44,000 women between 2005 to 2007 thus associated complications. Risk factors include overweight and obesity while people suffering have increased chances of cardiovascular diseases. Many funds are spent in treatment. 1,507 million dollars were spent in treatment between 2008 and 2009 (Cunningham et al, 8). Mental health is a large cause of disability accounting for 24 % of total years lost due to disability in Australia and is becoming increasingly apparent. An estimation of 3.2 million people in Australia has a mental disorder aged between 16 to 85 years. The mental health services report provides recent information on characteristics and activity of mental health care services. The mental and palliative care is responsible for analysing and r eporting mental health care service information contained in reports. However, mental illness has been associated with dementia, cardiovascular disease and alcohol abuse (Tempier et al, 2009). Australian government health priorities for a nursing profession have the aim of improving the health care outcomes of all members in the country and ensuring sustainability of the health system by the implementation of the National Health Reform Agreement. A registered nurse ought to show competence at the work place with appropriate skills and knowledge. He should have the abilities of working interdependently and show responsibility and accountability for their practice. A nurse ought to respect all and should be well trained. In the study, mental health and diabetes are the identified government health priorities. However, these will have some implication on the nursing priority influence on healthcare delivery. Diabetes implications call for the development of sensitization

International Marketing Strategy of Starbuck in China and In the UK Essay

International Marketing Strategy of Starbuck in China and In the UK - Essay Example This paper will discuss the way Starbuck Corporation in China and UK was created and how it changed over time especially with increased competition in a marketing environment based on cultural differences. More significantly, this study wants to emphasize the strategic thinking about all the factors involved in applying and analyzing the increasingly enthusiastically satisfied customers served by Starbuck’s management unlike its competitors in the international market. More considerably, the main debate on this subject is on the impact faced by Starbuck Corporation in its expansion globally into China and UK based on regulations, international marketing strategy to increase profitability and increased competition. As a remarkable company, Starbucks Coffee Company has grown into a global brand since it was founded in Seattle, the United States, in 1970 and is focused on building increased customer satisfaction as it treats every customer with respect and dignity. As a company, focused on building its market share, profitability and productivity, Starbucks Coffee outlet began in the 1970’s as a single shop offering high-quality coffee and brewing products. More so, Starbucks Coffee outlet has grown to be the largest roaster internationally with over nineteen thousand stores as it offers the high standard of excellence in all aspects of purchasing, fresh delivery of coffee and roasting as it provides increased customer satisfaction. Over the years, Starbucks has enriched its service in offering roasted coffee sold out to customers its enriched Italian style espresso coffee beverages in all Starbuck stores and branches along with pastries and other coffee-related products. More remarkably, the chain of outlets seeks to give its consumers increased service reliability, high product quality, and management of operations as it seeks to increase its business growth and sustainability. As a result, Starbucks embrace cultural diversity in different regions through its employees who seek to blend with different cultures thus, developing increasingly enthusiastically satisfied customers.

Task 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Task 2 - Assignment Example At least 4 % of residents in Australia are suffering from diabetes i.e. 990,000 people. However, the rate has risen by a rate of 1.5 from 1990 hence, the need to make it a national priority. Pregnancies that are associated with diabetes are 44,000 women between 2005 to 2007 thus associated complications. Risk factors include overweight and obesity while people suffering have increased chances of cardiovascular diseases. Many funds are spent in treatment. 1,507 million dollars were spent in treatment between 2008 and 2009 (Cunningham et al, 8). Mental health is a large cause of disability accounting for 24 % of total years lost due to disability in Australia and is becoming increasingly apparent. An estimation of 3.2 million people in Australia has a mental disorder aged between 16 to 85 years. The mental health services report provides recent information on characteristics and activity of mental health care services. The mental and palliative care is responsible for analysing and r eporting mental health care service information contained in reports. However, mental illness has been associated with dementia, cardiovascular disease and alcohol abuse (Tempier et al, 2009). Australian government health priorities for a nursing profession have the aim of improving the health care outcomes of all members in the country and ensuring sustainability of the health system by the implementation of the National Health Reform Agreement. A registered nurse ought to show competence at the work place with appropriate skills and knowledge. He should have the abilities of working interdependently and show responsibility and accountability for their practice. A nurse ought to respect all and should be well trained. In the study, mental health and diabetes are the identified government health priorities. However, these will have some implication on the nursing priority influence on healthcare delivery. Diabetes implications call for the development of sensitization

Time Warner Beta Essay Example for Free

Time Warner Beta Essay Introduction – Definition of Beta Beta, which is represented by the Greek symbol, is also denoted as the Beta Coefficient and is identified as the slope of the linear regression of the portfolio in which within a specific period or point served as benchmark. (Risk Management,) Beta is the assessment of the market risk or ‘volatility’ of the stock. With this, it may help investors to make the right decisions when investing stocks because of some fluctuations in price of the stocks. (Beta: Gauging Price Fluctuations, July 29, 2005) Volatility which is the measure of the uncertainty or risks accompanied in investing due to fluctuation of the prices is determined its relativity by approximating its Beta. Volatility is associated with security’s value which means that when the investment is said to having a higher volatility, there is a bigger potential of security’s value for expansion over a larger range. Thus implying that within a shorter period of time, price of the security can vary significantly. On the contrary, a lower volatility insinuates that the fluctuation in security’s value is unnoticeable; however there are small alterations of the value within a stable range of time. (Volatility,) With that, Beta being the measurement of volatility, it offers meaningful significance to the market risk compared to the greater market. Furthermore, Beta is used for comparison along with the other stock, estimating the overall volatility of the return of the security in contradiction of the return in the market. Computation of Beta ÃŽ ²   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In investment and finance, Beta is the connection or the coefficient of a portfolio or an individual stock in contrast to the market all together. So as to compute for the beta, the regression analysis is used. The Beta of an asset is calculated using the formula: where in, ra is the gauge of yield profit of the asset; and rp is the evaluation of the rate of the yield profit of the portfolio of which the asset is a component. (Beta Coefficient,) Furthermore, the cost equity of a company can be projected using the Capital Asset Pricing Model in which the operation of equity beta of the company and again, equity beta is the operation of both the weight and asset risk. This is calculated using the formula: where in, KE is the cost of equity of the company, RF is the rate of return on a risk free investment also known as the risk-free rate, RM is the market portfolio return, and ÃŽ ²E is the equity beta which is computed: which is derived from this formula: , and the formula of a Firm Value (V) Firm Value (V) = Debt Value (D) + Equity Value (E)(Beta Coefficient,)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Applying this entire concept in chosen business which is the Time Warner, the world’s largest media company, had beta of greater than 1 which indicates that the price of security will be more volatile than the market. This means that the investors accept the additional risk accompanied to attain the possibility of more rewards. The Time Warner had a fixed exchange rate during their merger with the AOL. The conditions contain include the 1.5 shares of AOL Time Warner would be given to the Time Warner for each share their stock and America Online shareholders will get one share of AOL Time Warner stock for every share of stocks that the America Online owns.(Dignan, 10 Jan 2000 ) Using the Charts in Beta, investors could observe the fluctuations and changes in the charts, its opening, closing prices and the high and low points in a specific period of time (Time Warner Inc.,). References Beta Coefficient [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 23, 2007 from http://www.answers.com/Beta. Beta: Gauging Price Fluctuations [Electronic (July 29, 2005). Version]. Retrieved May 23, 2007 from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/01/102401.asp. Dignan, L. (10 Jan 2000 ). AOL, Time Warner tout broadband future, synergy [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 23, 2007 from http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,2076198,00.htm. Risk Management [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 22, 2007 from http://www.tradetrek.com/Education/risk_management.asp. Time Warner Inc. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 24, 2007 from http://finance.yahoo.com/charts#chart1:symbol=twx;range=1d;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;logscale=on;source=undefined. Volatility [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 23, 2007 from http://www.answers.com/volatility.

Assessment for Learning techniques and the teaching of Science

Assessment for Learning techniques and the teaching of Science The purpose of this literature review is to research recent literature and research conducted into Assessment for Learning (AfL) techniques and relating directly to the teaching of Science as a subject within Primary Education. This literature review is predominantly designed to address the following research questions: Which are the most commonly used techniques of AfL in science? How is constructivism linked to AfL in Science? Do other subjects use different AfL techniques than are used in science? How common is the use of AfL in science? What is the impact of the use of AfL on pupils understanding of scientific concepts? How does AfL impact on the application of scientific skills at KS2? To research these questions, searches were made using Athens, searching the British Education Index (BEI) and The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Australian Education Index (AEI) research systems for articles and books relating to Assessment for Learning (AfL), formative assessment and science education which had been published since 1990. Hand searches were also made through Primary Science Review, Science Education and School Science Review. Assessment for Learning (AfL) has been defined as: the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. (Assessment Reform Group, 2002) The application of scientific skills at KS2 has been encapsulated by the Welsh Assembly Government in their new Welsh Curriculum documents introduced in 2008 as: Learners should be taught to relate their scientific skills, knowledge and understanding to applications of science in everyday life, including current issues. They should be taught to recognise that scientific ideas can be evaluated by means of information gathered from observations and measurements. (Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, 2008) Research into AfL (e.g. Black William, 1998 and Osborne Freyberg, 1985) has indicated that whilst it is evident that all children benefit, it is not something added to teaching, but is integral to it (Harlen, 2006b, p. 176). In essence, AfL cannot be an addition to the pedagogical process; conversely it must be inherently encompassed within all teaching and learning practices. Harrison and Black (2004) develop the ideology behind Black and Williams work (1998) relating to AfL techniques and research directly to the subject of Science. Whilst predominantly focussed towards secondary science teaching, this work is still relevant to Primary Education. In this work, they develop the reasoning behind the advantages of the use of AfL within Science lessons. Science provides the means by which learners can interact with the world around them and develop ideas about the phenomena they experience. So, when they attempt activities such as germinating seeds, their studies in science equip them with ways to observe and question what is happening. Through experiments they can begin to work out and predict what might happen if conditions for the growing plant change. To be able to learn science in this way, student needs help in developing process skills to investigate, and communication skills to question and discuss findings. Formative assessment fits well into this learning scenario, since its purpose is for teachers to sift the rich data that arise in classroom discussion and activity, so that professional judgements can be made about the next steps in learning. (Black Harrison, 2004, p. 3) In her paper presented to the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Moody (2009) highlights the generally accepted techniques of AfL used within the classroom, which many articles are generally in agreement with, which are: Peer and self-assessment Sharing learning goals and success criteria Effective questioning and dialogue Effective teacher feedback In addition, the importance to an effective classroom climate where children are encouraged to share their thoughts and unconstrained by the correction of wrong answers and the feeling that being wrong is a negative rather than the opportunity to share initial ideas, is essential. When researching methods into AfL and its introduction into the primary classroom, history determines that the Plowden Report (1967) must be mentioned and discussed regarding her research and finding that showed, according to Bell (2008) in hindsight, amazing vision when it indicated that a successful education should include: child-centred approached to teaching a topic based curriculum discovery learning The core principles and values that directly relate to modern AfL techniques and philosophies require that: childrens views are highly valued and actively sought out that their learning engages them in a way that they can actively relate them to other aspects of their lives the learning of skills across the curriculum enables children to be equipped to deal with a variety of situations rather than a single subject discipline. Critics of these ideals as Gillard (2004) describes are the writers of the Black Papers and their followers who criticised much of what the primary schools were doing and blamed the Plowden Report at least in part for what they saw as undesirable trends during the 1970s and 1980s. Driver (1983), however agrees with the underlying philosophy behind the Plowden report findings, stating that It is, after all, the coherence as perceived by the pupil that matters in learning. Driver was also part of the Childrens Learning in Science Project (CLISP) which researched the area that it is as important in teaching and curriculum development to consider and understand childrens own ideas as it is to give a clear presentation of the conventional scientific theories (Driver, 1983) In their article, Lindsay and Clark (2001) describe ways in which AfL strategies (and specifically self- and peer-assessment) can be used to develop a constructivist classroom where children participate in creating and reflecting on their learning (p. 15). They also identify advantages to these techniques specifically develop scientific skills stating that children become more scientific in their enquiriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦encourages children to be constantly involved in the scientific process and their role within it (p. 18). Black and Harrison (2004) also discuss the importance of discussion within the science classroom where students feel they can reveal current understanding and be helped to further understanding and feel that this is an essential ingredient to making formative assessment function in the classroom (p. 9). With regards to talk within the classroom, many writers have defined three different kinds: Triadic dialogue (three stages usually teacher initiation, pupil response and teacher evaluation), Authorative discourse (teacher conveying information to the pupils) and Interactive or non-interactive talk. Chin (2006) suggests that the triadic dialogue method is often perceived to have restrictive effects on pupil thinking (p. 1316), that ideas conveyed by the teacher using authorative discourse tend to be ignored and that interactive talk is described as dialogue. Generally in agreement are Asoko and Scott (2006) who propose that effective teaching involves all these approaches (p. 163). Hodgson (2010) describes the sharing of success criteria with the children in a Primary classroom as a key AfL strategy and is linked directly with feedback. Black and Harrison agree with this point in their summary of what they believe are the essential factors of effective feedback: should motivate the child to discuss his or her thoughts with the teacher or a peer (p. 12) in order to initiate the self-development of the child encourages instantaneous action relates back to the success criteria (p. 13) Allows learners to compare their own ideas of achievement against that of the teacher or peer Indicates to the child where to go for help and what they can do to improve (p. 13) (Black Harrison, 2004) Leakey (2001) carried out a study where she reported on her own experiences with experimenting with sharing learning objectives and success criteria with children of a range of ages and believes it to be a successful AfL strategy because it gives children ownership of their own learning (p. 68). Leakey also suggests that it is only with the insight of what it is that they are trying to achieve can children are able to make connections with any feedback that they subsequently receive. Koegh and Naylor (1996) delivered a lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University sharing their ideas that: Constructivist views of learning in science suggest that learners can only make sense of new situations in terms of their existing understanding. Prior knowledge is used by learners to interpret observations; meaning is constructed by individuals in a process of adding to or modifying their existing ideas. (Keogh Naylor, 1996) and cited the works of others who share the same view (Driver (1983); Osbourne Freyberg (1985) and Scott (1987)). The inferences behind the constructivist theory relating to education are that the teacher is required to find out childrens ideas (elicitation) in order to take them into consideration when planning their teaching to provide teaching and learning experiences which will develop the childrens ideas and challenge their understanding of a specific area. Within science education, there has been a great deal of research into the benefits of using constructivism as a method of AfL with many teachers appreciating the concept of constructivism within the science classroom. Curriculum resources have been developed along with specific research including the (Science Processes and Concept Exploration (SPACE) project (1990-92) and as a result research by Nuffield Primary Science who have used this research to develop many pedagogical aids and teaching resources for teachers within the classroom. However, Bentley and Watts (1991) discussed their concerns that there is a distinction between what they define as the strong characteristics of theoretical constructivism and the ability of teachers to apply it to their teaching resulting in a weak version of constructivism that is delivered in the classroom. Leeds (1992) describes that although teachers find it easier to plan activities following an elicitation session where learners preconceived ideas have been identified, the practicalities of tailoring an inclusive education where all childrens learning issues relating to a specific area is near impossible when faced with a class of 30 differing ideas. In relation to the difference between the amount of research into the benefits of a constructivist approach to teaching and the teaching resources and pedagogical guidance available, Claxton (1986) described the mountain of examples of childrens alternative conceptions (p. 126) which were available at that time and noted that the guidance for teachers on how to restructure the learners ideas was less prominent in the literature. More recent research also focuses more closely on the elicitation of ideas, but much less is written about methods and techniques which allow teachers to restructure these ideas as a whole class exercise. The aim of the SPACE project was to: start where the children are, building on the ideas children bring with them to lessons and helping them to develop their understanding of scientific concepts. (Nuffield Foundation) Nuffield Primary Science developed a series of books covering the Science Curriculum, which included many misconceptions of children in each area along with examples of concept cartoons and examples of activities that could be used in order to restructure the highlighted misconceptions and develop childrens thinking, in order to aid teachers within the classroom to enable children to test out their own ideas through practical hands-on activities and investigations. These publications are now unfortunately out of print; however the reports relating to the SPACE project continue to be available from the Nuffield website (Nuffield Primary Science). The use of specific strategies such as concept cartoons (Keogh Naylor, 2000) and mind mapping (Stow, 1997) introduce researched methods of elicitation within the science classroom and offer an effective way of concluding any project where children can revisit the original idea and discuss how and why they have developed throughout the study period. However, teachers require the flexibility and space within the curriculum in order to effectively put these theories into practice in order that the benefits can be maximised. AfL will only be successful when both teachers and children are committed to its process and where both use it as a method for developing current learning and developing and expanding their skills and knowledge base. This idea is supported by the following: Assessment for learning only works if pupils and teachers take action on learning needs. (Ward, Roden, Hewlett, Foreman, 2005) Black and William best summarise the use of AfL within the classroom as follows: There is a body of firm evidence that formative assessment is an essential feature of classroom work and that development of it can raise standards. We know of no other way of raising standards for which such a strong prima facie case can be made on the basis of evidence of such large learning gains. (Black William, 1998)

Research Paper :: essays papers

Research Paper â€Å"As a child, I loved athletics and physical activities. I was talented, but my talent was not appreciated or approved of by most. I watched my brothers compete on school teams. It didn't matter that in the neighborhood pick-up games, I was selected before my brothers. Society dictated that I should watch, and that they should compete. So at home in the backyard, I would catch as my brother worked on his curve ball, I would shag flies as he developed his batting prowess and, as I recall, I frequently served as his tackling dummy. The brother I caught and shagged for, and for whom I served as a tackling dummy, went on to Georgetown University on a full athletic grant. He later became vice president of a large banking firm. So, while I rode in the back seat on the bus of opportunity during my lifetime, I want my daughter's daughter and her peers to be able to select a seat based on their abilities and their willingness to work. Don't deny them the things that I dreamed of."-- Exce rpts of a letter sent to OCR in spring 1995 by Joan Martin, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Monmouth University, New Jersey In April of 1993 the film The Sandlot premiered. The movie took place in 1963 when a group of 12-year-old boys spent their summer playing baseball at the local sandlot. In one particular scene in the movie, the boys got in a verbal dispute with a team of 12 year olds from the privileged side of town. The argument was over who was the more skilled baseball players. The camera switched back and forth from one kid to another as they exchanged insults. Then the camera stopped dramatically. One of the boys said the most heinous thing any young male can say to another, â€Å"You play ball like a girl!† It was like the other boy had just been hit with a bullet. The eyes of all the other boys involved in the argument widened and their jaws dropped. All that was heard were gasps from the rest of the kids in the movie. In 1963 that was the feeling of many people. The insult, â€Å"You play ball like a girl†, was one of the biggest insults a male could ever give anyone. Ho wever, since 1972 the Title IX law has changed many people’s opinions on females in the athletic world.

School Should Begin Later in the Day :: Argument Argumentative

School Should Begin Later in the Day   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many teenage high school students are tired during the school day, distracting them from their studies. That is just one of the many good reasons that the starting time of school should be later in the day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people may say that the brain not being fully functional until 9:30 is just a matter of opinion. Studies have suggested that the average adolescent brain doesn’t even start to fully function until around 9:30 am. Many schools already use the suggested later arrival time, so there students can be ready to learn when they arrive at school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another thing that everyone knows or remembers about high, school is all of the homework that needs to be done for tomorrow. Plus projects that are due, persuasive essays that need written, and the time you need to be a teenager. Most students even have so much work that they’ll stay up all night just to get it done. When needing a minimum of 9 hours of sleep as a teenager, getting up at 6:30 to be ready for school is just not enough time. It’s easy to think that students will just procrastinate even more, but the average teenager is smarter than you may think.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It sounds absurd to think that students sleep during the school day. The fact is that many students fall asleep during class. Remember that sleep isn’t something you can make yourself not want. Throwing water on your face, listening to loud music, or taking a shower cannot make your bodies craving for sleep disappear. The fact is puberty demands more sleep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are also risks involved with not getting enough sleep. Most people will be very sleepy and drowsy during the day, mood and behavioral problems, and even increased vulnerability to drugs and alcohol. These things could also develop more into serious sleeping disorders. Experts advise to not read or

Levis Strauss & Co. an Analysis

Levi Strauss & Co. An Analysis EEP 142 Group Project Young Lee James Moon Michael Lin Problem †¢The Levi Strauss company is experiencing losses and is continuing to under-perform in the denim jean market. †¢The firm faces the general problem of a dominant firm losing market share when more firms enter the market. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Background – History †¢The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 primarily selling wholesale dry goods. The company was founded in San Francisco, California. A tailor named Jacob Davis thought of an idea to use copper rivets to reinforce the points of strain on pants. †¢Davis and Strauss purchased the patent of the idea of using copper rivets in clothing on May 20, 1873. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Background – Company Growth †¢The innovation of the rivets in the jeans differentiated Levi’s j eans from others because of its increased durability. †¢Over the years, Levi’s jeans have become more popular, initially due to its durability. Jean products expanded, targeting different consumers. Levi Strauss & Co. eventually captures most of the denim jean market, becomes the largest manufacturer of jeans, and profits reach $1 billion by 1974. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Background – Time Line †¢1853: Levi Strauss begins selling dry goods in San Francisco. †¢1873: Levi Strauss & Co. patent riveted jeans and begin selling them. †¢1912: Koveralls, denim playsuit for children, is first nationally sold product for the company. †¢1935: Company sells first blue jeans for women. †¢1940s: U. S. overnment issues denim work clothes for employees in the defense industry. †¢1974: Company sales reach $1 billion †¢1986: Company introduces Dockers as a new casual line of clothes Problem B ackground Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Successes – Monopoly †¢Since the patent of the rivets in jeans in 1873, the company achieved monopoly power. †¢Monopoly power was gained through entry barriers. –The patent granted the firm monopoly rights to sell riveted jeans. †¢Also by product differentiation –The rivets on the jeans allowed for longer durability, a form of vertical differentiation. Product differentiation and barriers to entry allowed the company to gain more popularity and market share. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Successes – Expansion †¢By 1977, Levi Strauss & Co. is the world’s largest jean manufacturer. †¢Department stores and boutiques sell Levi’s products and are additional channels of distribution for the company. †¢Levi’s provides a wide range of products that target different market segments, capturing demands. †¢After the release of the 501 product line, Levi’s enjoys worldwide market dominance in the denim jean market. Levi Strauss & Co. maintains it’s image as an American Icon and the originator of American jeans. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Successes – Positioning †¢Other marketing strategies, like the position of the product, created increased differentiation, contributing to the companies market power. †¢In 1930s, the company survived the Great Depression due to increased interest in Western culture. –Jeans were positioned as being worn by â€Å"cowboys. † cowboys. † †¢Levi’s jeans were issued to employees in the defense industry (including veterans) during World War II. Post World War II, veterans that went to college wore Levi’s jeans on Levi’ campuses, increasing popularity. †¢WWII veterans were regarded as heroes. –Jeans were shown to be suitable for casual wear, rather than work. work. –During the Baby Boom era, Levi’s targets younger consumers and Levi’ positions product as â€Å"cool. † cool. † †¢Early movie stars wore Levi’s jeans. An example of celebrity endorsement Levi’ †¢Consumer demand shifts from durability of jeans to fashion of jeans. –Culturally, jeans became symbol of youth and rebellion In 1960s, student protesters wore jeans as a uniform †¢In 1970s, company sells bellbottom jeans †¢ The firm positioned its products with changing times and changing demands, keeping existing customers and capturing new markets. Increases in sales ultimately increased profits Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Competition – Effect †¢Levi Strauss & Co. was threatened by competition, because barriers of entry were relatively low in the jean market. (excluding the patent) †¢S ome of Levi’s competitors include: –Calvin Klein –Gap Jeans –VF Corp (Lee, Wrangler) –Tommy Hilfiger The entrance of new competitors had many effects on Levi’s. –Levi’s no longer has monopoly power more competitive prices Levi’ lower profits –Availability of substitutes firm faces increase in elasticity of demand –Consumers prefer other brands. Levi’s customers buy from competition Levi’ lowering Levi’s market share. Levi’ †¢These newer upstarts are able to â€Å"chip away† at Levi’s market dominance because they are able to capture segments. –VF Corp captures low-end jean consumers; Calvin Klein captures highlowhighend consumers. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Competition – Strategies †¢Competitors successfully were able to take from Levi’s market due to heavy advertising and branding. Branding was especially effective for companies like Calvin Klein that targeted high-end consumers. †¢Some of the marketing strategies that competitors like Calvin Klein used to differentiate their product and brand included: –Celebrity endorsements (Calvin Klein and Brooke Shields) –Up-to-date European product designs (low-rise, tighter) Up- to(low–Advertise jeans as â€Å"designer. designer. † †¢These advertisements were used as a barrier to entry, because of spurious product differentiation. Although Levi’s jeans may be physically the same as its competitor’s, consumer preferences are affected by brand name. †¢In addition to the idea of branding, Levi’s largest consumer market were Baby Boomers , and by the time competitors increased in the 1980s, the Levi’s brand was perceived to be â€Å"mommy jeans. † This reinforced the more youthful perception of other brands. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Competition Premium Jeans †¢Levi’s failed to recognize and enter a new and booming premium jeans market, originating in 2000 and led by brands such as Seven For All Mankind, True Religion, and Rock & Republic. †¢Levi executives themselves admitted failing to see the premium jeans trend, and the company was forced into radical cost-cutting, closing dozens of factories and laying off thousands of workers. †¢The premium jeans market has over the last five years largely driven the growth of an otherwise stable jeans market, as premium jeans sales grew at a 40-45% rate for multiple years. Levi’s failure to adequately respond to this trend was a large part of its posting declining sales in nine out of ten years prior to 2007. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Solutions – Advertising †¢With the rise of competitors and decrease in brand image, Levi Strauss & Co. makes use of edgy advertisements. †¢Brand Loyalty –Many of Levi’s ads stress brand loyalty to maintain existing customers. Levi’ The word â€Å"original† is used many times. original† –Some tv ads are set in the late 1800s, stressing the historic value of the company. Brand Image –At the same time, Levi’s ads stress the â€Å"youthfulness† of their brand Levi’ youthfulness† jeans. –The 501 product line and the Red Tab collections offer jeans that appeal that to younger consumers competing with the high-end jean competitors. high–Television advertisements a re more innovative and target younger crowds. –http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=CSG807d3P-U http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=CSG807d3P–http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=skWFyop_pxU&feature=related –http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=W-SZN1VRIl4&feature=related http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=W- These marketing strategies however did not help with the worldwide decrease demand for jeans. This implies that other clothing is becoming a substitutable good for jeans. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Solutions – Alternative †¢Although Levi Strauss & Co. had worldwide market dominance in the 1980s after the release of 501 product line, profits continue to plummet due to: (1) decrease of demand for jean products and (2) more competition. †¢In 1996, revenues were reported at $7. 6 billion and a U. S. market share of 18. 7%. By 2001 revenues drop to $4. 5 billion and U. S. market share of 12. 1%. †¢I n order to maintain revenues, the company releases the Levi’s signature jeans. –This product line appeals to the low-end consumers. –Decrease in demand for jeans causes market price to drop, so consumers want cheaper jeans. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Solutions – Alternative (cont. ) †¢In 2002 Levi Strauss & Co. makes an agreement with largest retailer Wal-Mart as a supply-chain strategy to massmarket consumers. –Levi’s Signature brand to be sold in Wal-Mart stores exclusively This was an excellent strategic move because Wal-Mart was making large sales while Levi’s could not keep up in sales. This had potential to benefit both parties. –By 2002, Wal-Mart was #1 in the Fortune 500 rating. –Levi Strauss & Co. was ranked #383 in 2002. †¢Although this partnership was a success, Levi Strauss could not offset the slowdown in the aggregate denim jean market, continu ing to loss profits. –2008 Rating for Levi’s: 522 from previous 510 –Profits continue to fall. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Solutions – Alternative (cont. ) Forced to re-evaluate itself by years of declining sales, Levi’s has been able to find some degree of success with primarily the introduction of the Signature line and a largescale streamlining of costs and it’s business. Levi’s is also being helped by its international presence and is currently being benefited by impacts from the global currency exchange market, as the company benefited from the weak dollar. †¢The company is still trying to find a way into the lucrative premium jeans market, introducing a new premium line and hiring famous artists to liven up the brand. Competitor VF Corp. ecided to purchase Seven For All Mankind as their market entry. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclu sion Q&A Responsibility – Background †¢Levi Strauss & Co. is a family owned worldwide corporation with headquarters in North America, Europe, and Asia. –The company is vertically integrated, meaning it owns/has owned factories for every level of production for the jeans. –The company employs about 10,000 people worldwide. †¢Historically Levi Strauss & Co. is recognized as a caring and corporately responsible company. –After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, he company continued to pay workers as it was rebuilding factories and buildings. –During the Great Depression, the company kept workers busy installing new floors in factories rather than fire them. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Responsibility – Background (cont. ) †¢Levi Strauss & Co. has also taken the lead on social issues. –During the 1940s, the company desegregated its factories bringing white and black worker s together. –In 1980s, the company was very involved in educating people about AIDS providing $37 million to HIV/AIDS services. One of the first companies to extend healthcare to their workers’ spouses. †¢Levi Strauss & Company approach to business: â€Å"profits through principles. † –†As business leaders we have the obligation, both individually and collectively, to make our enterprise not only a source for economic wealth, but also a force for positive social change in the conduct of our business. This principle of responsible commercial success is embedded in our more than 150-year experience, and continues to anchor how we operate today. † Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Responsibility – Sweatshops †¢With increased competition from other jean producers in the 1980s and 90s, like any profit-maximizing corporation, Levi Strauss & Company closed many factories and subcontracted production. –Subcontracted production is cost-minimizing because labor is relatively abundant and wages cheaper. –In order to compete with prices, subcontracting work makes sense. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Responsibility – Sweatshops (cont. ) †¢The company had 6 subsidiary factories in Saipan, capital of the U. S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. –The U. S. Department of Labor cited that workers were paid sub-minimal wages, 7 day work weeks with 12-hour shifts in â€Å"slave-like† conditions. †¢The subcontractor, Tan Holdings Corporation, had to pay a fine of of $9 million as restitution to 1,200 employees. †¢Levi Strauss & Co. claimed no knowledge of the offense, cut-off cutties to Tan Holdings, and issued labor reforms. †¢1999, Sweatshop Watch, Global Exchange, Asian Law Caucus, Unite, and workers filed a class-action lawsuit 3 times to 27 U. S. retailers, including Levi Strauss & Co. Levi Strauss was the only defendant to win the case. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Responsibility – Environmental †¢Continuing on the approach of â€Å"profits by principles,† in 2006 Levi Strauss & Co. launches the Eco clothing line. –Jeans are certified to be made from 100% organic cotton and fully sustainable production processes. This includes cotton untreated by chemicals, pesticides, and manufactured at sustainable carbon emissions. –The jeans are also packed in 100% recyclable and reusable materials. †¢Economic implications Organic jeans are more expensive, due to the added costs to certify these genes to organic standards. –However, discouraging the use of chemicals for cotton is a step toward the right direction. Pesticides have externality costs to the environment and workers, because they are mostly improperly used in poor countries. A reduction in externalities improves social welfare. –In the long-run, sustainable production has the possibility to being profitable. –Corporate responsibility also has long-run profits. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A Conclusion †¢Levi Strauss & Company had most of its early success because the firm was behaving monopolistically. The company patented the riveted jeans, increasing durability, and gaining popularity. †¢Over the years, the company maintained profits by providing a wide range of products, capturing new markets, and increasing its market shares. The company created barriers to entry by patents and trademarks, and by differentiating its product from generic jeans. †¢However as more firms entered the market, the company started losing customers and incurring losses. The upstart companies captured niche market shares from Levi’s immense market domination. †¢Despite these reduction of sales, Levi Strauss & Co. maintained its corporate responsible image and progressive stance on social, labor, and environmental issues, which may have long-run profit opportunities. Problem Background Successes Competition Solutions Responsibility Conclusion Q&A References Frith, Maxine. â€Å"The Ethical Revolution Sweeping Through the World’s Frith, World’ Sweatshops. † commondreams. org. 16 April 2005. 2 May 2008 Sweatshops. † commondreams. org. .