Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Evolution of Racial Inequality free essay sample

Larrin History 105-14 March 13th 2013 The Evolution of Racial Inequality On a day to day basis, humans interact with one another, despite of their race or ethnic descent. However, that is not the way it has always been. Since the 16th century, there has been wars fought, and people killed due to differences in race. Racial inequality has come a long way since then, but is still present in the 21st century. Most societies deny that racial inequality is still present today, but the fact of the matter, it is. The term â€Å"race† is used to define a single human being. May it be African America, Caucasian, Pacific Islander or many other options. On job applications, doctor and dental forms, college applications and many other forms of documents, society is forced to check a box that identifies them. The question of the matter is what does it matter? The term â€Å"race† came from racism itself. We will write a custom essay sample on The Evolution of Racial Inequality or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Dating back to the 16th century segregation has played a key role in history. Not only for the United States, but worldwide. When societies began to see differences in cultures, such as having that different skin color, different foods or different languages, the different communities formed hatreds for others who were labeled as â€Å"different†. This began the racist movement that we still see today. Groups began having different names or titles which is now considered a race of people. Since the sixteenth century, race and racial inequality has changed in multiple ways. For example, in 1904 the European powers began taking over southern Africa where the ethnic group Herrera’s resided. The Europeans began moving the Herrera’s to concentration camps to kill them, all for land. In the 1940’s Hitler wanted to form a new order of Nazi Germany. He did this by forcing the Jewish, African Americans, and any other race that was not European or at the least resembled European decent to concentration camps. Just like the Herrera’s the majority of those placed in these camps were killed. However, Hitler did not do this for power or land; he did this to form a perfect land. He wanted everyone to be what he considered perfect, white, blonde, and had blue eyes. Jumping over to America, slavery of the African American race and sometimes the Indian race, were shipped to America in the 16th century and up until the 19th century, these people were forced to work. Unlike the European power, America’s goal of this group was not to exterminate them, but to use them as work. The African Americans had many rules and restrictions that prevented them from living a normal and equal life as the whites. We also forbid them from displaying for sale at the market or from carrying to private houses for sale of any commodity, was on rule for the slaves that was established under Code Noir. Slavery was made illegal after the American Civil war in the 1860’s. However, The climax of the history of racism came in the twentieth century. This is due to those of different ethnic backgrounds trying to become civilized in society. Crime rates shot up and police brutality rose with aim to those whose race was of African descent. Those races had a nearly impossible time getting jobs which meant they had to live in poor communities. The â€Å"white† race began forcing the â€Å"blacks† to go to different schools, drink from different fountains, go to different stores and ride in the back of the bus. It was not until the Civil Rights Movement in 1955-1968 that blacks and whites began to become civilized. As one can see, racism has manifested itself into world history playing a key role in major wars fought, protests, and mass exterminations. Even though there are no more concentration camps, and slavery has been made illegal, racism is still present today in the 21st century. Today, racism is not as harsh and brutal as it was in the past; it has become more or less a humor. On comedy shows there is often a â€Å"token† character. Typically this character is African American and is made fun of by the other characters. These jokes are found to be funny and laughed at. The reality is that the jokes made are racist. A common form of humor is a meme. A meme is a typographic joke. Some are of a black man where it is joking about committing a crime; some are of an Asian man who is joking about either the shape of his eyes, or how Asians are said to be smarter than the average person. These memes are found all over the internet and are simply laughed at by all races. The biggest racial inequality argument happens to be racial profiling by police. Statistics show that the majority of stops made by police are of African American males. There have been several reports of police harassing and being unfair to these individuals. However, when an individual of European descent is stopped, they are given a warning if it is their first time and treated fairly. Little wonder that black parents, regardless of class, routinely drill their children in how to act when stopped by the police, something few white parents ever think about. Despite the jokes and the racial profiling, American society fails to recognize racism today, even though it is clearly present. All in all, racial inequality has been a major issue since the 16th century. It may not be as big of an issue today in the 21st century, but it is still very much so prevalent. Racial inequality has come a long way since the 16th century, let alone the 20th century, so it is easy to see an assurance of equality in the future. However, societies such as American must overcome their ignorance of being racist in order for that to happen. Bibliography Fredrickson, George. â€Å" Racism, A Short History†. (Princeton University Press) Peabody, Sue. † Slavery, Freedom, and Law in The Atlantic World†. (Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins) Rosenburg, Paul. † Birth Certificates and Unconscious Racism†. (Aljazeera, 11 May 2011) [ 1 ]. Sue Peabody, Slavery, Freedom, and Law in The Atlantic World. (Boston: Bedfords/St. Martins) [ 2 ]. George Fredrickson, Racism, A Short History. (Princeton University Press) [ 3 ]. Paul Rosenburg, Birth Certificates and Unconscious Racism. (Aljazeera, 11 May 2011)

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Buying Wholesale Electronics

Buying Wholesale Electronics Free Online Research Papers Selling wholesale electronics might be a great business especially among young customers who love appliances. This is a certain fire way to earn money. Yet, you require to know how to purchase wholesale electronics inorder to raise you can get the best deal and healthy returns, so provide yourself with cognition and sense over decision making ablity for right selection . Presenting here are some useful tips for your absulote accuracy. It is favorable to buy locally in your own state than to buy overseas. Purchasing overseas has more disadvantages than benefits. For one, you require to pay for the shipping fee, which can be really huge if you purchase wholesale electronics from the overseas sides of the world. Also, other nations have their own quality and buyer regulations. You are not sure if they would meet your states own regulations. Finally, it takes a long span of time to ship products from different country than that of yours. So to save yourself from these worries, simply purchase being locally. Be suspicious of wholesalers who are dealing outdated or last years models of electronic products. Some companies sell their last year goods with old model products for a cheaper price just to dispose them because the newest and current merchandises have just been embarked to them by the producers of innovative electronics. The less told correct condition for this is closeout, not really wholesale. Closeout wares are usually less expensive than wholesale products. And unless you desire to trade old patterns of electronic appliances, you may want to bond to purchasing wholesale electronics. Acknowledge the specifications of the electronic products that you want to purchase. Wholesalers have not much cognition about this, so it all reckons on to you. Before you inspect any maker or fabricators, make sure that you have in your mind a list of goods you are looking for. Electronic gadgets must be shipped containing warranty. This way, you and your buyer are protected if the something suddenly went wrong with the product. Ask the wholesaler about warranty scheme or if they have some kind of undertakings or arrangements earlier you bargain their product Electronic gadgets must be shipped containing warranty. This way, you and your buyer are protected if the something suddenly went wrong with the product. Ask the wholesaler about warranty scheme or if they have some kind of undertakings or arrangements earlier you bargain their product Research Papers on Buying Wholesale ElectronicsRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanDefinition of Export QuotasMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaTwilight of the UAW

Thursday, November 21, 2019

MGM465-0801A-05 Business Strategy - Phase 1 Individual Project Essay

MGM465-0801A-05 Business Strategy - Phase 1 Individual Project - Essay Example Warden International, Incorporated is a conglomerate international firm is in the process a merger & acquisition deal to purchase Able Corporation. The target investment, Able Corporation, is a company dedicated to manufacturing portable and electric power tools. This report provides a qualitative analysis of different aspects that the newly formed management team of Walton & Able must consider in the planning process to develop a strategic plan for Able Corporation by the stipulated deadline of June 11, 2008. Able Corporation has been in business for a while and has lots of experience in their industry. The human capital that has been developed in-house in this firm are hold valuable information which can not be reproduced by any other means other than directly retrieve the information directly from the source. The employees of the company at all levels are the first place to look in order to build a new mission statement for the newly acquired subsidiary of Walton International. The employees should also be part of the strategic planning process since the data needed to create alternative solutions concerning important business functions such as risk management and corporate social responsibility strategies within their minds. The identity of the company was defined through years of harmony and synergies that was lived by the employees of the company who determine the corporate culture of the company. A corporate culture is a system of shared actions, values, and beliefs that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members (Schermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2003). During the initial phases of the negotiation process between the board of directors of Able and the executive management team the topic of organization cultural integration had to be discussed. As the merger moves forward the company needs to determine the best exploit the competitive advantages that can be achieved with the union of two workforces. A way to initially

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Actors and Acting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Actors and Acting - Essay Example Just like the stories being told, there are also various categories that these actors fall into, depending on the role being portrayed. The 5 definitions of actors are impersonators, interpreters, personality, wild card and characters. These are the actor types that I will be discussing in the following pages. To get started, I first want to discuss the Impersonator. Our text clearly defines this type of actor as "suggesting that the actor has simply copied the manner, dialect, and behavior of a character, instead of creating the character." Examples of effective character acting provided as an example include the portrayal of Phillip Seymour Hoffman of Capote, an impersonation job which, due to its effectivity, won the actor an Oscar, and Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth in The Queen. As an impersonator, they were required to be as similiar as possible to the real life person they were portraying. For Hoffman, it was the trademark lisp, for Mirren, it was her uncanny resemblance to t he actual Queen. Aside from these two people, another effective personator who comes to my mind is Frank Langella in Nixon. His similarity in looks and his ability to copy the actual speech pattern of Pres. Richard Nixon helped the audience immerse in a total viewing experience. He was not just acting as the president, there were actually times when you would believe that he was the president because of the way he conducted himself while in character.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

TLMT312 WEEK 7 FORUM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TLMT312 WEEK 7 FORUM - Assignment Example ding value-added, property, income tax, and inventory as a strong consideration in the supply chain design introduces various issues for supply chain management. Such issues are tax policy dynamics, infrastructure concerns, and activity integration. Infrastructure supports supply chain activities. For example, infrastructure attracts supply chain value-added to both local and regional countries. Supply chain managers need to understand the implications of infrastructure issues and be able to communicate the issues with the planners in order to evaluate the design strategy (American Public University System). Also, local and regional tax strategy regarding inventory may motivate production, thuspositively influencing supply chain. Some firms manage regional and local inventory from different countries. For example, Singaporepurchase products from local or regional production operation by having a Singaporean entity.The firms obtain the local or regional production operation at the standard production cost and the firms resell to markets around the world. Reselling will enable the firms to generate profits in a tax preferred environment, thus encouraging the need of supply chain.The use of local and regional tax strategy regarding income tax and property can have a greater impact on the supplychain. For example, in high-margin firms that produce large amounts of taxable income, their supply chain is positively affected since there will be a need of supplying more products. The rise in the supply of the products will help the firms in fetching more income tax from different countries (Amer ican Public University System). In conclusion, supply chain and logistics managers need to understand the interactions and dynamics. Particularly, what is the possible impact of value-added, property, income tax, and inventory taxes on particular supply chain

Friday, November 15, 2019

Strategic Decisions for Sustainable Competitive Advanatage

Strategic Decisions for Sustainable Competitive Advanatage Introduction Competitive Advantage According to Daft, strategy is the plan of action that allocates resources and activities and aims at dealing with the environment, achieving a competitive advantage and attaining the organisations goals. Competitive advantage refers to what sets the organisation apart from others and provides it with a distinctive edge for meeting customer needs in the marketplace (Daft 2006, p.274). The choice that will make the organisation different is the essence of formulating strategy (Porter 1996). In order to remain competitive, companies need to focus on core competencies, develop synergy and create value. According to Kotler, competitive advantage is a companys ability to perform in one or more ways that competitors cannot or will not match (Kotler 2006, p.150). A competitive advantage is said to be sustainable when it has the means to edge out rivals when competing for the favours of customers (Porter 1980). Although sustainability is the ideal case for advantages, the most common competitive advantages are leverageable, which means that a company can use them as a catalyst to new ones. The competitive advantages that companies develop will fail if the costumers do not value them as important. Therefore companies must focus on building customer advantages. Porter argues that competitive advantage results from a organisations ability to perform the required activities at a collectively lower cost than rivals, or perform some activities in unique ways that create buyer value and hence allow the organisations to command a premium price (Porter 1991, p.102). This report will try to investigate the strategic decisions to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Four different theories will be examined: The SCP paradigm, Porters generic strategies, the resource-based approach and the core competences model. These theories, along with the the compliance and choice paradox will be tested through application in practice at the industry of gaming consoles. The SCP framework In the structure conduct performance (SCP) framework (Anonymous 2007), the way in which the organisation acts is determined by external forces in the industry (market or industrial structure). This school of thought argues that the structure of an industry will determine the strategies (conduct) and that this in turn will determine performance. Market structure: the degree of market concentration, product differentiation, barriers to entry and exit, vertical integration and diversification. Conduct: goals of the organisations, strategies, anti-competitive practices, research and innovation, advertising etc. Performance: a number of performance indicators, output growth, sales revenue growth, profitability, technical progress, employment, efficiency, added shareholder value, added economic value. Therefore, the structure of the industry is the key parameter in the formation of strategy. Not all strategies are appropriate for all industries, Successful strategies may fail (not produce the intended outcome) if applied as-is in a different environment. However, this linear paradigm proves itself too deterministic. When strategic managers apply this approach, they take the industrial structure as a given. In this way, their job is to respond to the external forces and plan their strategies in an automated way by analysing the competitive environment. However in many industries the environment follows turbulence change. Strategists tend to change the environment by designing strategies that will shape it to their needs and their advantage, instead of being spectators to the change. In these cases, the industry structure is being shaped by the strategies, and not the other way round as the SCP paradigm argues. Five Forces and Generic Strategies Michael Porters (Porter 1980) work is organisationally rooted in the SCP paradigm. According to his approach, two factors underlie the choice of competitive strategy. Industry attractiveness and the factors that determine it. The determinants of relative competitive position within an industry. In order to analyse the industry attractiveness, Porter developed the Five Forces model. According to that, in any industry competition is mutually influenced by five forces: The entry of new competitors, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the rivalry amongst the competitors. Although the Five forces model roots within the SCP approach, Porter differentiates in that he argues that an organisation is not a prisoner of its industry structure. Through their strategies, organisations can shape industry by influencing the competitive forces. For example, industry leaders can influence buyers, suppliers and other competitors, and subsequently shape the underlying industry structure. Competitive strategy is also influenced by the specific relative position within the industry. Through positioning, organisations can possess two basic types of competitive advantage: low cost and differentiation. These types of competitive advantage result from the ability to cope with the industrial forces better than the competitors. Porter introduces three generic competitive strategies for achieving above-average performance in an industry. Cost leadership, when the organisation tries to become the low-cost producer or operator of the industry. Risks associated with cost leadership include: Changes in technology allow new entrants to become themselves the cost leaders. This risk is minimised by constant research and development, but obviously such investments require rise of costs. Margins fall when costs rise (by internal or external factors). In such scenarios, the differentiation advantage may overcome the cost leadership one. Differentiation, when the organisation seeks to be unique within the industry along some dimensions that are valued by buyers (higher quality, more functions etc). If it succeeds, it is then rewarded for its uniqueness with a premium price. However, when choosing to differentiate, companies should seek appropriate ways that lead to a price premium greater than the cost of differentiating. Risks of this strategy include: Costumers may choose another differentiated product which they value more, or their needs change over time. Costumers may choose the low-cost products, especially when the price difference tends to be high. Other competitors may imitate the chosen differentiation. Focus, which rests on the choice of a narrow competitive scope within an industry and the optimisation of the strategy for the target segment. In cost focus an organisation seeks a cost advantage in the target segment. In differentiation focus, the organisation seeks differentiation in the narrow segment. Risks associated with focus are: The focus strategy is imitated. In order for this to be avoided, entry barriers are required (e.g. assets valued by the costumers such as customer care services, reputation, etc). The target segment becomes unattractive. Broadly targeted competitors dominate the segment. Again, entry barriers will sustain the competitive advantage experienced. Organisations that try to position on more than one generic strategy but fail to achieve any of them are stuck in the middle. Not only they do not possess a competitive advantage, but they are in a disadvantage situation, since the cost-leader, the differentiators or the focusers are already better positioned. Although Porters positioning framework is an industry standard for more than twenty years, Mintzberg (1998) argues that it constrains creative thought. Strategists do not think outside the box and the given options (cost leadership, differentiation and focus) tend to minimise the process of strategic thinking. Resource-based view According to Barney (1991), the environmental models of competitive advantage have assumed that organisations within an industry are identical in terms of the resources they control and the strategy they pursue. Further, they assume that if resource heterogeneity develops within an industry, it will not last long since strategic resources are highly mobile (they can be bought and sold). The proposed resource-based view substitutes these assumptions. The model assumes that strategic resources can be heterogeneous and that these resources may not be perfectly mobile. Organisations resources include all assets, capabilities, processes, attributes, information, knowledge, etc, controlled by an organisation that enable it to implement strategies that promote efficiency. In order for a resource to hold the potential of sustained competitive advantage, it must have four attributes. It must be valuable, exploiting opportunities and neutralising threats. It must be rare among existing and potential competitors. A valuable resource cannot be considered as a source of competitive advantage if it is shared amongst a large number of organisations, because all organisations will have the capability to exploit it and will be lead to a common strategy It must be imperfectly imitable. Valuable and rare resources can only be sources of sustained competitive advantage if competitors that do not possess them cannot obtain them. There cannot be strategically equivalent substitutes. Organisation resources are strategically equivalent when they can be exploited separately to implement the same strategy. That is, an organisation may be able to substitute a similar resource that enables it to conceive and implement the same strategy. Further, very different resources may also be strategic substitutes. The proposed framework reasons that resources heterogeneity and immobility within an industry allow organisation resources to be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and not easily substitutable. Such resources will then lead to exploiting opportunities and neutralising threats, in order for sustained competitive advantage to be achieved. It should be noted that a distinction is drawn in the literature between resources (tangible) and capabilities (less tangible) (Anonymous 2007). The framework of Barney unites both resources and capabilities under the umbrella of resources. Core competences There are some capabilities that are much less visible and they are more difficult to imitate and establish competitive advantage. These are referred to as core competences (Anonymous 2007). Phahalad and Hamel (1990) take the resource-based approach one step further, through the notion of core competencies. They argue that in the long run, competitive advantage depends on the ability to build core competencies at lower cost and more speedily. Management should consolidate corporate-wide technologies and production skills into competencies that empower individual businesses to adapt promptly to environmental changes. Three criteria are being used in order to categorise a capability as a core competence. A core competence should provide potential access to a wide variety of markets. It should make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end-product. Finally, it should be difficult for competitors to imitate. Examples of core competencies include Apples ability to create from scratch and innovate and Sonys ability to miniature. According to this framework, the common mistake that companies do is to outsource and finally lose their core competences, led to this by the strict perception of competitiveness in terms of price/performance. Although a more competitive product may result, competitiveness cannot be sustained as core competences will be surrendered. Another common mistake is that companies often miss opportunities to establish competences that are evolving in existing business. At the Strategic Business Unit level, existing core competencies are often being sabotaged by underinvestment and improper allocation, which may result in atrophy and missing opportunities. Case study: Seventh Generation of video gaming consoles The seventh generation of video gaming consoles is a competition between Sonys Playstation 3, Microsofts Xbox 360 and Nintendos Wii and started on November 2005 with the release of Xbox 360. Although gaming is the main characteristic and attribute of these products, the war of High-Definition (HD) video formats between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, two incompatible formats that tried to improve and replace the DVD standard, affected the industry (ref: wikipedia HD war). Microsoft and Sony approached the market with cutting-edge graphics and expensive technology as well as HD video capabilities. Both consoles target hard-core and casual gamers. Microsoft, being a member of the HD-DVD alliance chose to offer the HD-DVD option as a peripheral for its device, while Sony, a founding member of the Bly-ray alliance chose to integrate the Blu-ray player within PS3. On the other hand, Nintendo chose to differentiate. Nintendo did not take any sides at the format war. Wii targets a broader demographic than that of Microsofts Xbox 360 and Sonys PlayStation 3, as Nintendo planned to attract current hard-core and casual gamers, non-gamers, and lapsed gamers by focusing on new gameplay experiences and new forms of interaction with games. The differentiating feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect acceleration and orientation in three dimensions. Positioning of the rivals Competitive Scope: As analysed before, Microsoft and Sony both targeted the hard-core and the casual gamers. Nintendo on the other hand targeted broader demographic including non-gamers and lapsed gamers. According to Porters framework, the generic strategies can be divided into two categories in terms of the competitive scope: Broad Target and Narrow Target. Therefore, in the console industry Nintendo can be positioned within the Broad Target while Microsoft and Sony are positioned within the Narrow Target. Cost: The choices of the competitors regarding their hardware shaped their manufacturing costs to a great extent. Indeed, Sony chose to compete using a new cpu processor (Cell) with a high production cost as well as by integrating the newly arrived Blu-Ray technology. Thus, Sony became the high-cost producer of the industry, with each console costing around $800 to produce (ref:Joystiq). Microsoft utilised industry standard high-end CPUs and GPUs and although they strongly supported the success of the HD-DVD format, they decided to offer the HD-Dvd option as a peripheral component. This resulted in Microsoft being the low-cost producer of the Narrow Market (Cost Focus). Nintendo managed to keep the manufacturing costs very low by not following the path of high-end graphics. Wii (ref: Kotaku) is not only the console with the less production cost, but it is the only one that has an actual profit from every unit sold (Cost leadership). Differentiation: In the Narrow Target, Sony is the company that differentiates its products with the integration of the Blu-Ray drive, which enables the consumers to enter the High Definition video era (Differentiation Focus). In the Broad Target, Nintendo differentiates the whole idea of gaming experience and fun by installing the Wii Remote (Broad Differentiation). The success on the Nintendos case is that the company differentiated the attributes but the costs did not rise. What is clear from this table in combination with the actual sales numbers is that Nintendo managed well in positioning in more than one generic strategy. That of course was a risk, as Porter (1985) claims that achieving cost leadership and differentiation is usually inconsistent, and may lead to stuck in the middle situations. Also, it should be pointed out that the type of Differentiation that Sony chose (Blu-Ray integration) involved high risks. At the time of the launch the battle for the domination of a new HD format had just started. In the case of a possible win of the HD DVD format, it is obvious that Sony would lose that differentiation competitive advantage and would need to re-plan its strategy. On February 2008 Toshiba, HD DVDs creator, announced plans to cease development, manufacturing and marketing of HD DVD players and recorders, giving an end to this war and announcing Blu-Ray as the winner (ref:wikipedia HD war). Its obvious that Sonys differentiation policy will start to pay-off from now on, but until Toshibas announcement the differentiation policy was not valued highly by the consumers, thus not constituting a competitive advantage. Compliance and Choice: The Nintendo case A question is raised on whether or not an organisation should attempt to shape its industry. If an organisation can lead industry developments, the results will be attractive. If the industry norms that are being questioned prove themselves immutable, the attempt might prove suicidal. When the structure of the industry cannot be influenced, compliance to the industry norms is the strategic rule and managers should adapt the organisations to the industry context. On the other hand, when they have the ability to influence the industry structure they should break industry norms by exercising their freedom of choice. In this case managers efforts should be on the direction of changing the terms of competition on their own advantage (De Wit 2004). Up to the seventh generation of video gaming consoles, the industry rules dictated that the consoles should compete in a range of different characteristics such as graphics power, cpu power and exclusive game titles. If a company could top these characteristics, their console would dominate the industry. Sony dominated the sixth generation taking advantage of their ability to have a wide variety of anticipated exclusive game titles. At the seventh generation, Sony and Microsoft compete by following the industry recipe of cutting-edge graphics and exclusive titles. Nintendo tried to shape the rules, by choosing not to compete on the graphics war, but instead pushed the industry to another direction. The Wii Remote controller makes games more fun and gamers experience new forms of interaction (ref: wikipedia 7th generation). The reception of the console by the press was a great success. The console received many different awards, including an Emmy for Game Controller Innovation by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, a Golden Joystick for Innovation of the Year 2007 at the Golden Joystick Awards and the award in breakthrough technology by Spike TVs Video Games. The reception by the market was even greater. Wii is the best selling 7th generation console worldwide. It even outsold Microsofts 360, which launched a year earlier (ref:wikipedia Wii). Nintendos choice of not following the industry recipe paid off. This move granted a competitive advantage because consumers valued the industry shift. If Nintendos estimations regarding the perception of the value were wrong, the company would have failed in this generation. But since they proved correct, they can claim that they are the 7th generation industry leaders. Microsofts Resources and Core Competences Microsoft decided to seek competitive advantage in the industry by utilising their capabilities and competences. One of the main capabilities of Microsoft is creating operating systems and software. Therefore, they developed the Xbox Live service (ref: wikipedia Xbox Live), a unified online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service which integrated many different features that added value to the console, including Friends list and Recent player list Windows Live messenger integration Voice and Video Chat Video Chat Multiplayer online gameplay Parental controls, limiting childrens exposure to other users (Family Settings) This capability of Microsoft is a core competence because it fits the description: It provides potential access to a wide variety of markets (software market, services market, gaming industry). It makes a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end-product. Finally, it is difficult for competitors to imitate, since neither Sony nor Nintendo have software expertise. They both developed online services through outsourcing but they still have not managed to make them as unified and full of features as the Xbox Live. Competing with Sony for the hard-core and casual gamers, Microsoft used its core competences and resources and finally managed to gain competitive advantage. The task was not so easy because the brand name of Playstation was almost a synonym for gaming console in the previous generations. However, the sales numbers indicate that Sony is far behind Microsoft in the 7th generation consoles war. Conclusion The search for competitive advantage is of great importance for every organisation. This report investigated the strategic decisions to achieve sustainable competitive advantage through the examination of four different theories. The SCP framework is a deterministic approach. It is argued that the structure of an industry will determine the strategies and that these in turn will determine performance. Porter, although routed in the SCP framework, recognises that an organisation is not imprisoned by the structure. He introduces the Five Forces framework to analyse the industry attractiveness which plays an important role, but also argues that an organisations competitive success depends on the competitive position within the industry through three generic strategies: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. However, Mintzberg criticises in that the given options of generic strategies minimise strategic thinking. The resource-based view and the core competences models argue that sustained competitive advantage resides on the development and usage of resources, capabilities and competences. In the 7th generation of video gaming consoles the three competitors tried to gain competitive advantage through different ways. Microsoft utilised its core competences (software development) and resources and established an online environment to support its Xbox 360 console. On the other hand, Nintendo achieved competitive advantage by positioning at both Cost Leadership and Differentiation. In addition to that, Nintendo risked by choosing not to comply with the industry norms of high-end graphics but to try to shape the industry towards innovative gameplay experience. As the numbers indicate the competitive strategies chosen by both Nintendo and Microsoft have paid-off. Sony risked by choosing to differentiate with the integration of the Blu-Ray optical drive. If the format war had ended in favour of HD DVD, Sonys differentiation would have been vanished. In addition, the differentiation introduced by Sony was not highly valued by the consumers while the war was in progress, and th e numbers indicate that Sony has already fallen behind. The application of the theories in practice revealed that differentiation strategies involve high risks. However, if successful, the rewards can be enormous. Not following the industry norms is again risky, but managing to finally shape the industry will show the way to the market leader position. References Anonymous (2007), Strategic Analysis and Choice Module Book Edition 12, Management Centre, University of Leicester Barney, J. B. (1991), Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 99-120. Daft, R. L. (2006), The new era of management, International Edition, South-Western, London De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. (2004), Strategy: Process, Content Context 3rd edition, Thomson Learning, London Joystiq, http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/18/playstation-3-estimated-to-cost-900-per-unit/, [25 February 2008] Kotaku, http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/wii-autopsy-discovers-manufacturing-cost-221736.php, [25 February 2008] Kotler, P. and Keller, K. L. (2006), Marketing Management 12e, Pearson Prentice Hall Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (1998), Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management, Simon Schuster, New York, NY, 1998, p. 119. Phahalad, C. K. and Hamel, G. (1990), The core competence of the corporation, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, No. 3, May-June, pp. 79-91 Porter, M. E. (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors, Free Press, New York Porter, M. E. (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance, Free Press, New York Porter, M. E. (1991), Towards a Dynamic Theory of Strategy, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, 1991, pp.95-117 Porter, M. E. (1996), What is Strategy?, Harvard Business Review, November December 1996, pp.61-78 Seekingalpha, http://seekingalpha.com/article/34357-game-console-wars-ii-nintendo-shaves-off-profits-leaving-competition-scruffy, [25 February 2008] Wikipedia 7th generation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoles_%28seventh_generation%29, [25 February 2008] Wikipedia HD war, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_high_definition_optical_disc_formats [25 February 2008] Wikipedia Xbox Live, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Live, [25 February 2008] Wikipedia Wii, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii, [25 February 2008]

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Language and motor Development in Early Childhood Essay

Children experience different rates of language and motor development. There are many factors, which contribute to the deference that exist in the rates of both developments. There are the social, environment and genetic factors that play a part in childhood development. Children show various weaknesses both in their physical and social development. As a result of the differences, children there are various strategies that are used to enhance childhood development. Different strategies are used depending on a child because every child has unique needs. In the given case where Sara exposes loneliness character, various strategies can be used to enhance her social participation. One of the ways that Sara can be helped is by encouraging her to befriend more sociable child. This would make Sara be influenced by the sociable child to become social. This may take time but after sometimes but after sometimes Sara would start following her friends actions. By this, her confidence will also be build up gradually. The child who she is encouraged to be friends with should be younger than she is. This will help her to be the guide and senior, which will help her increase her self esteem. She will be in a position to feel the responsibility and she will learn a lot because her mind will analyze some situations. This will also help her improve her communication skills. (Cassidy & Asher, 1992). Sara should also be encouraged to join group activities. This will assist her to, as she will require communication and socializing. She will be able to lean to express herself in front of the group members and share her abilities. Her participation will also make her feel proud of her achievements, which will act as one way of boosting her confidence. This process may not be easy at the start because she may be hesitant but by being shown that this is a safe activity, she will get attracted. She should be guided to start participating in small groups, which will not scare her because she cannot be ignored easily. This will also enhance her chances of leading the group because there will be fewer choices. When she is comfortable in the small group, then the group can be increased in size gradually. This will make her adapt to social life in the school and she will finally be able to socialize fully with other children. Sara can also be helped to stop her loneliness by being given specific tasks. This should be applied at home and in school. (Cassidy,   & Asher, 1992).This will help her learn some strategies and techniques, which she can apply when she is undertaking group activities. She should be allowed to undertake the specific tasks alone so that she can realize that she can be trusted. The only thing that is d eeded in this case is monitoring so that she does the right thing. A teacher can also assist Sara by looking at how the school curriculum may be helpful to her in developing her social skills. This is because there are children who may benefit by being allowed to have opportunities to express their feelings of loneliness or sadness by use of manipulation, music, drawing or use of other creative activities. The strategies will allow Sara to have more positive experiences, which will assist her build her confidence and assertiveness. These two qualities are necessary for a child to be able to develop better social skills (Kontos & Wilcox-Herzog, 1997). References Cassidy, J., & Asher, S. R. (1992). Loneliness and peer relations in young children. Child Development, 63(2), 350-365. EJ 443 494. Kontos, S., & Wilcox-Herzog, A. (1997). Teachers’ interactions with children: Why are they so important? Young Children, 52(2), 4-13. EJ 538 100.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Nursing Dilemmas Essay

There is a set of regulations or guidelines that guide the behavior of nurses in a clinical set up. These are responsibilities towards the patients and other workers in the organization. One of the clinical dilemmas encountered when genetic test made on a case reveal a high risk of development of a medical challenge such as breast cancer. The indecisiveness comes in when as a nurse is deciding on how to handle the situation and how to break the news the patient. Some nurses and physicians will recommend regular screening and, on the other hand, others will propose surgical interventions. There will be a set of uncertainties but using the Ustaal’s nine steps of coming to a moral decision will help solve the situation. Identifying the dilemma is the first step toward realization of the best decision. It involves determining the type of a dilemma whether clinical or legal (Davis, 2010). Identifying the potential outcomes of a decision made will enable one to know the best option that will have least effects on the patient. The nurse should be able to guide the patient on the implication of either having regular checks or taking a breast surgery. By reviewing the ethical codes guiding that kind of a situation, will be helpful in following the clearest moral code. A nurse is also supposed to consider various actions that can be taken towards the situation and decide the most appropriate way to communicate them to the client. It is vital to list the possible consequences of choosing a particular course of direction towards solving the experienced dilemma and as a registered nurse one will have the best knowledge on what path to follow. Finally, a nurse will chose the best course of action, involve the patient in the decision through soliciting clients inputs in the decision and eventually, the implementation of the strategy will take place. Works Cited Davis, A. (2010). Ethical Dilemmas & Nursing Practice. USA: Julie Alexander Publishers.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Recycling Composite Materials

Recycling Composite Materials Composite materials, known for their durability, high strength, excellent quality, low maintenance, and low weight, are widely being used in automotive, construction, transport, aerospace and renewable energy industries. Their use in  numerous  engineering applications is a result of the edge composites provides over traditional materials. Recycling and disposal of composite materials is an issue that is being increasingly addressed, as it should with any widely used material. Previously, there were very limited commercial recycling operations for mainstream composite materials due to technological and economic constraints but RD activities are on the rise. Recycling Fiberglass Fiberglass is a versatile material that provides  tangible  potential over conventional materials such as wood, aluminum, and steel. Fiberglass is produced by using less energy and is used in products which result in fewer carbon emissions. Fiberglass offers advantages of being light weight yet has high mechanical strength, impact resistant, is chemical, fire and corrosion resistant, and a good thermal and electrical insulator. Even though fiberglass is extremely useful for the reasons previously listed, an end of life solution is needed. Current FRP composites with thermoset resins do not biodegrade. For many applications where fiberglass is used, this is a good thing. However, in landfills, this is not.   Research has lead to methods such as grinding, incineration, and pyrolysis being used for recycling fiberglass. The recycled fiberglass finds its way in various industries and can be used in various end products. For instance, recycled fibers have been effective in reducing shrinkage in concrete thereby increasing its durability. This concrete can be used best in freezing temperate zones for concrete floors, pavements, sidewalks, and curbs. Other uses for recycled fiberglass include being used as a filler in resin, which can increase  mechanical  properties in certain applications. Recycled fiberglass has also found its use together with other products such as recycled tire products, plastic wood products, asphalt, roofing tar and cast polymer  countertops. Recycling Carbon Fiber Carbon fiber composite materials are ten times stronger than steel and eight times that of aluminum, along with being much lighter than both materials. Carbon fiber composites have found their way into the manufacturing of aircraft and spacecraft parts, automobile springs, golf club shafts, racing car bodies, fishing rods, and more. With the current annual worldwide carbon fiber consumption being at 30,000 tons, most waste goes to the landfill. Research has been conducted to extract the high-value carbon fiber from end-of-life components and from manufacturing scrap, with the goal to use them for creating other carbon fiber composites. Recycled carbon fibers are used in bulk molding compounds for smaller, nonload-bearing components, as a sheet-molding compound and as recycled materials in load-bearing shell structures. The recycled carbon fiber is also finding uses in phone cases, laptop shells and even water bottle cages for bicycles. Future of Recycling Composite Materials Composite materials are preferred for many engineering applications because of its durability and superior strength. Proper waste disposal and recycling at the end of the useful life of composite materials is necessary.  Many current and future waste management and environmental legislation will mandate engineering materials to be properly recovered and recycled, from products such as automobiles, wind turbines, and aircraft that have lived their useful life. Although many technologies have been developed such as mechanical recycling, thermal recycling, and chemical recycling; they are on the brink of being fully commercialized. Extensive research and development are being done to develop better recyclable composites and recycling technologies for composite materials. This will contribute to the sustainable development of composites industry.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

41 Words That Are Better Than Good

41 Words That Are Better Than Good 41 Words That Are Better Than Good 41 Words That Are Better Than Good By Michael The soul of writing is specificity, yet all too often, we lean on general-purpose words instead of choosing the most precise ones. Most of our daily communication probably depends on less than 1,000 words. Of course, that includes words such as you, I, is, are, of, and for, which are already the best words for the job. I admit that sometimes in conversation, I deliberately limit my vocabulary because I dont want others to look at me quizzically: Who does he think he is, anyway: one of the authors of a writing tips blog? The result is vague, even boring, conversation, using words so general, they could fit almost everything in the world. How was your trip? Fine. How do you feel? Good. Choosing other words is no improvement, if we always choose the same words. A world where everything is cool or awesome is not much more interesting than a world where everything is fine or good. So lets buck the trend. Here are 41 alternatives to good that cant be used to describe everything in the world because they each have specific meanings, or at least, different connotations. breathtaking amazing, surprising, astonishing, enough to make you gasp with pleasure, and almost enough to make you forget to breathe. choice preferred, prized, specially selected. In New Zealand, the exclamation Choice! is used similarly to Great! in the United States. dazzling amazing, splendid, brilliant, shining so bright that its hard to see it. delectable highly delicious, usually describing food, from the Latin for delight. delightful causing joy, delight or pleasure, producing positive emotion, with the same Latin root as delectable. deluxe high quality, related to luxury, from the Latin for excess. enjoyable pleasant, bringing pleasure and satisfaction bringing joy. excellent superior, best in its class, of the highest quality, making a person shout Excelsior! exceptional uncommon, rare, and better for being so. exemplary an example of high quality, a model for others. fine delicate, exquisite, almost as good as it gets. Related to the French and Latin words for finished and exact. Overused until often it merely means acceptable. exquisite exceptionally fine or rare, with the sense of extreme favorable helpful, encouraging, positive, convenient, such as getting hoped-for results. first-rate exceptionally good, in the highest class. Describing a British naval vessel with more than 100 guns. first-string the starting players on a sports team; that is, the best of them. Many other expressions begin with the word first. five-star from the hotel rating system in which a five-star hotel is among the worlds best. formidable causing awe, respect, wonder or even fear, perhaps because its so large or strong. gilt-edged high quality, from the practice of putting a thin layer of gold on the edges of a book. gratifying pleasing, satisfying, making someone content. incredible amazing, beyond belief, almost too good to be true. luxurious fine or comfortable, such as an expensive hotel room. I use it to show gratitude for a gift that is too fancy for my tastes. magnificent splendid, elegant, noble. From the Latin word for great deeds. opulent showy, extravagant, magnificent, sumptuous more than luxurious, with the sense of more than you really need pleasing giving cheer, pleasure, or enjoyment something that pleases you positive certain, good, favorable. Currently used in expressions such as positive energy or positive vibes. precious beloved, valuable, worthy, of high price. Precious writing is euphuistic: overly cute and takes itself too seriously. prime first, as in first quality. rare uncommon, scarce, and therefore valuable. The gravestone of an influential English playwright is inscribed with the (misspelled) tribute O rare Ben Johnson. satisfying sufficient, pleasing, more than adequate. select privileged, specially chosen, high-quality. shipshape well-organized, fully prepared, meticulous, tidy. Before you embark on an ocean voyage, you want your ship to be in shape. sound healthy, solid, secure, complete. If a floor is sound, you wont fall through. sterling of high, verifiable value, as in sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure silver. Originally referring to British coins, which had a star or a starling on them in the Middle Ages. striking impressive, memorable, calling to mind the striking of a coin. sumptuous costly, expensive, as in a meal with many courses of great variety. Weve got a whole article about sumptuous. top-notch belonging to the highest level, possibly from some 19th century game that used notches to keep score. subtle clever and crafty, though thats an older meaning. A subtle flavor is not overbearing, and the chef will be pleased if you tell him so. up to snuff meeting the standard, adequate, sharp. Snuff is a more expensive powdered tobacco, which was sniffed by higher-class gentlemen as a stimulant in the 19th century. valuable worthy of esteem, having high worth or value. welcome anticipated, a pleasure to see, received with gladness, as in welcome news. From the Old English for â€Å"a wished-for guest. well-made built right, properly constructed, sound. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Types of RhymeOne Sheep, Two Sheep, One Fish, Two Fish . . .48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Corporate Governance frameworks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Governance frameworks - Essay Example Summary and conclusions Page 10 7. References 1. Introduction Corporate governance is vitally important to the economic well being of a modern capitalist economy. In complex organisations with variety of interested parties and many potential conflicts of interest, corporate governance can inform these parties about the organisation’s activities and also protects stakeholder’s rights through monitoring and control. This report aims to critically compare the UK and US systems of corporate governance, where this term is more narrowly defined as relating to the accountability of decision makers, and excludes from consideration the role of corporate governance in increasing organisational efficiency. The report is structured in to six sections. The first section, this introduction, explains the purpose of the report and gives a broad outline of the way the argument will be constructed, as well as what bases of evidence it will draw from. The second section gives an overview of the generic role of corporate governance, its history and development, as well as explaining why it is necessary. The third section will describe the different approaches to corporate governance in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively. ... The UK and US responses to such scandals will be contrasted and the relative advantages and disadvantages of their systems of corporate governance will be discussed.the The sixth and final section will summarise the arguments made and outline the major conclusions resulting from the analysis. 2. The aims of corporate governance Although, various definitions of corporate governance exist, this report will take the following as its working definition (Sir Adrian Cadbury (2000) in 'Global Corporate Governance Forum', World Bank), because it effectively highlights the key issues that the following analysis will address: "Corporate Governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The corporate governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources." This neatly summarises the reason for the institution of corporate gov ernance. Modern businesses have a variety of stakeholders whose interests may conflict; however, it is the case thatthe control of the organisation is skewed heavily towards a single subset of this group, the managers. Therefore, a system of checks and balances is required to safeguard the rights of all stakeholders. Corporate governance can be viewed either through the ‘lens’ of Principal-Agent Theory, or Stakeholder Theory. Principal-Agent Theory is in the tradition of economic studies of asymmetric information (Mirrlees, 1975) and theories of the firm (Gibbons, 2005) and provides a focused analysis by distilling the problem down to the basic separation of ownership and control – that shareholders own the

Friday, November 1, 2019

Management Managerial Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Managerial Process - Essay Example In fact, there is no technique or method that could ensure that a risk would not occur during the project. In this scenario, every project manager is well aware of the fact that they have to deal with a variety of risk all the way through the project life cycle. In the context of a project, a risk can be an action or event that can have an effect on the project. However, the nature of this effect can be either positive or negative. Additionally, a risk can have a cause and it takes place in the result of an event. For example, a cause can be related to changes in scheduling which can affect other activities of the project. In addition, the majority of the project risks can affect project duration, budget, schedule, and quality. Moreover, project risks are managed through project risk management approach. In this scenario, risk management is the process of identifying and managing project risks. Figure 1Risk Management Process, Image Source: (Gray, Larson and Desai 209) (Gray, Larson and Desai 207) presented a risk management model to deal with project risks. Figure1 presents a graphical representation of this model. This model is divided into different phases and each phase performs specific tasks. The first phase is risk identification where a detailed analysis is carried out on the project in order to determine the sources of risks. At this phase, the project management team determines the holes that can cause any risk during the project. Once this phase is completed this process moves to the next phase that is known as risk assessment. At this stage, the project management team further analyzes the identified risks. In this scenario, they analyze these risks on the basis of their severity level, probability and so on. For instance, if a risk occurs then what impact it will have on the project. After the completion of this phase, this process moves to the next phase that is known as the risk response and development phase. At this stage, a project management team develops the strategy or plan to deal with identified risks. At this stage, the project team finds the solutions to minimize the impact of these risks on the overall project. The last stage of this process is known as risk response control. This phase involves monitoring and controlling the project risk strategy (Gray, Larson and Desai 209). A risk is anything that may potentially hinder with successful completion of the project or business task (CIO Archive; Kerzner). A project can involve a wide variety of risks. Some of the well-known kinds of risk can include: Time Risk This kind of risks is very common in projects. In this scenario, the time duration for the completion of a project can increase, which can create various problems for the project management team such as the need for additional resources and budget. Cost Risk The majority of projects has fixed budget and the project team needs to complete a project within this budget limitation. However, in some cases, the pr oject budget can increase which cause various problems for the project. Legal Risk International projects involve the execution of project tasks in various countries so it can require compliance with laws and regulations of these countries. In case of not following these rules and regulations can cause serious problems for the project and organization. Technological Risks Some projects involve the implementation of latest tools and technologies.