Defense Attorneys Essay

Discuss the role of defense attorney’s in the courtroom workgroup. A defense attorney is a lawyer who provides legal representation for a person who has been arrested and charged for breaking the law or when an individual been served with a lawsuit. For example, when another individual filing the lawsuit goes after money for damages or justifiable relief of some sort. A very small portion of lawyers actually discuss that they work as criminal defense attorneys. This is because of the negative labeling assigned to the profession by American Social Forces. However defense attorneys are very important in the criminal justice system. They work to protect the innocent from being falsely convicted, and they work to protect the constitutional rights of all defendants. When a criminal defendant cannot afford to pay for the services of a private legal attorney, the United States Supreme Court requires that a defense attorney be appointed to represent the defendant. This expense is covered by taxpayers. There are three major categories of defense attorneys to help assist criminal defendants: * Private attorneys usually referred to as retained counsel.

Rene Descartes

Rene Descartes Rene Descartes was a brilliant man. His works on philosophy, physics and mathematics are still heavily influenced much to all of these studies today in our modern world. Descartes was born in March 31, 1596 in La Haye, France; he was named after one of his godfathers, Rene Bruchard des Funtaines. Descartes parents were Joachim and Jeanne Descartes, he also had one brother and one sister and two half siblings. Growing up Descartes had health issues â€Å"infirmity of the lungs, (Rene Descartes). When he was enrolled in school around eight years of age at Jesuit college La Fleche in Anjou he had permission to wake up at eleven in the morning instead of earlier like all the other school kids, in regards to his fragile health. Descartes kept this daily routine for almost the rest of his life he believed that, â€Å"the only way to good work in mathematics and to preserve his health was never to allow anyone to make him get up in the morning before he felt inclined to do so; an opinion which I chronicle for the benefit of any schoolboy into whose hands this work may fall, (A Short Account of the History of Mathematics’). Descartes left school at around 1912 and they began to study law at Poiters, and graduated with honors for his degree and license in law, although he didn’t pursue a law degree. In 1617 Descartes chose to join the army rather than the church; He served in the army of Prince Maurice of Orange and then Breda. He was more of a mercenary for the Catholics and Protestants. One day in late fall of 1618, Descartes was walking around and saw a Dutch placard, which spiked his curiosity; and by luck the person he stopped was Isaac Beckman.Beckman was a highly educated Dutch philosopher; he translated for Descartes in return if Descartes would work out the problem. After a couple of hours passed, intrigued by Descartes, Beckman â€Å"sparked his interest in mathematics and the New Physics, he concluded that his real path in life was the pursuit of true wisdom and science, (17th Century Mathematics-Descartes). † During his leisure time in the army, Descartes studied mathematics; in November 10th-11th, 1619 he had a series of dreams that he believed is one or the most important days of his life.The visions he had were his first ideas of new philosophy and his works of analytical geometry. He continued to serve in the army under his family traditions and influence and was persuaded to volunteer under Count de Bucquoy in the army of Bavaria, and then he resigned his commission in 1621. Descartes traveled throughout parts of Europe for a couple of years still purely giving himself to mathematics in 1628 while residing in France he met Cardinal de Berulle, the founders of the Oratorians. Berulle loved his conversation with Descartes, â€Å"and he encouraged Descartes to devote his life to the study of truth, (Rene Descartes-Biography). For the nest twenty years Descartes lived in seclusion in Holland and made regular trips to France. In the course of time Descartes wrote a piece of his collections, â€Å"Le Monde†, he didn’t want it to be published in that time; because the Catholic church had burnt all of Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632) and him in house arrest. Descartes had lived in fear the same thing could happen to him if he didn’t correspond with the rules. Yet he was book â€Å"Le Monde† was published many years later.Despite not being able to release that book, he did write another book in 1633 and was published in 1937. â€Å"In 1637 Descartes published Optics, Meteorology, and Geometry, a collection of essays. The preface to the collection is titled Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences, (Rene Descartes-Biography). † â€Å"La Geometrie† is what his contribution to mathematics is still used till this day. Before his discovery mathematici ans used capital letters (A,B,C) for known quantities in algebraic notation and unknown quantities were lower case letters (a,b,c).In the â€Å"La Geometrie† he gave his ideas and instead of using capital and lower cases letters, he shifted it to just (a,b,c) as know quantities and (x,y,z) for unknown. In that time he also in verbal expression of exponents such as â€Å"square, cube at etc†, he replaced it with numeral superscripts. Descartes argued that, For the square of a magnitude did not differ from it in kind, as a geometrical square differs from a line, rather, the square the cube and all powers differed from the base quantity only in the number of â€Å"relations† separating them respectively from a common unit quantity.That is since: 1: x=x; x2 =x2: x3=†¦ (Descartes: Mathematics and Physics) Descartes â€Å"rule of signs† a law given for determining whether the number of positive or negative real roots of polynomials â€Å"Descartes’ â€Å"rule of signs† does not give the solution of a polynomial equation, but it does give information on the number of positive and negative roots of the polynomial, (17th Century Mathematics-Descartes). † He also proposed in â€Å"La Geometrie† that each point in a two dimension form can have two numbers on a plane, giving a horizontal and vertical locations; which is known as Cartesian coordinates. He used perpendicular lines (or axes) crossing at a point called the origin, to measure the horizontal (x) and vertical (y) locations, both positive and negative, thus effectively diving the plane into four quadrants, (17th Century Mathematics-Descartes). † With the Cartesian Coordinates, Descartes showed that the x and y axis supported simple equations of straight lines, to more complex coordinates of equations with different exponents. For example y=x2+4 is a curve parabola. Descartes was more famously known as a philosopher giving his two sense in things a nd pursuing to uphold the truth.He continued to keep adding to his collections of writing Meditations, Principia Philosophiae and others. In 1649, Queen Christina of Sweden invited Descartes to live in Stockholm to tutor her in philosophy and she insisted in working with him at 5 in the morning; which he was used. The early hours and the harsh weather affected his health and he died of pneumonia in early 1650. Besides his great deal of being dubbed â€Å"the father of modern day philosophy† Descartes math contributions are value of us today.His idea of the Cartesian coordinate is in our mathematical calculators and the coordinates are what we use in math in almost all grade levels. Without Descartes influence exponents wouldn’t have been as simple, and also being able to determine positive and negative real roots. Descartes believed everything can be related to math and that there was always an answer, even if it was imaginary numbers too. His contributions in all area s of studies helped shaped the modern studies. Rene Descartes was a brilliant man indeed. Works CitedBall, W. W Rouse. ‘ A Short Account of the HIstory of Mathematics' (4th edition). 1908. Biography, Complete Dictionary of Scientific. Descartes: Mathemtics and Physics. 2008. December 2012 . Rodis-Lewis, Genevieve. â€Å"Descartes' lofe and the development of his philosophy. † Cottingham, John. The Cambridge Companion to Descartes. 1992. p 21-58. School, The European Graduate. Rene Descartes-Biography. . Unknown. 17 Century Mathematics-Descartes.

Hitler Able to Establish a Dictatorship

Was Hitler Able to Establish a Dictatorship Because He Banned Other Political Parties? BY 002910 â€Å"Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship because he banned other political parties†. Do you agree? Explain your answer. The rise of Hitler as a dictator was one Involving many deferent factors. The political parties caused him a very challenging problem, and by banning them it undoubtedly helped him secure all-out rule. But was It the only reason why Hitler managed to establish himself as a dictator, and If not, Is It the main one?Hitler knew that the many opposition parties would pose him ND his government a real threat. He Instantly acted against them by getting Hindering to pass a decree stating they had to be Informed 48 hours In advance If a political meeting was to be held. This let Hitler take control of his political surroundings as It meant he would know when and where to go to break up a political meeting. It gave the Mans a strong foothold In the election that w as approaching and a good starting point to establishing his dictatorship as he was already limiting what others could do and was getting his way.However, he only got 4% of the vote at the election. With other political parties still around to vote for Hitler could never have had a dictatorship as he did not have a mandate to rule. Therefore, eradicating the other parties would appear to be how he became a dictator. We must consider what it is to be a dictator, and with any sort of political opponent around a dictatorship is implausible to establish. First, all choice of opinion must be taken away. In this way, banning political parties has to be a good reason why Hitler managed to become Germany's all out ruler.On top of this clear idea that e could never have absolute power with political parties still around is the fact that the Enabling Act, which to an extent was the blockage of power for any other party, really sealed Hitter's position as Germany's next dictator. What he said now became law, and he could do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't anger Hindering, the Industrialists or the Army too much. In this sense, it looks like when Hitler finally banned the formation of political parties on 14th July it was this that gave him the status as a dictator of Germany . He made the laws, and there was no other view to go against his.However, we must look at the other reasons why Hitler secured this power. By no means was banning political parties the only reason why he became an all-out ruler. Even if he had banned the political parties, without the support of the other groups which got him into power he wouldn't last long as Chancellor. The Night of the Long Knives is one of the main reasons why he became a dictator as It kept on side those who had the power to overthrow him. Room's proposals to take over all German businesses did not sit well with the Industrialists as they would lose all their rower, money and influence.He also wanted to merge the Army Into the S. A. , onto popular move with the Army generals. By choosing to arrest and kill Room Hitler made sure that he held onto power; without sling with these groups they could well have forced Hindering to sack him as Chancellor. But by choosing the Army and Industrialists over his own party he showed that, although there were no longer any political parties, Hitler was still not the dictator of Germany as he was being forced to but did still have outside factions to impress.Therefore, it was also the death of Hindering and the oath by the Army which made Hitler the dictator of Germany. With no one above him to get rid of him, Hitler could then declare himself F;here and make the Army swear an oath to defend him. Now the outside groups had no one to complain to if they didn't like what was going on. They were also now bound to follow him; the Army had to give their lives to him, which meant no threat of any military coup, and the Industrialists could not speak out against him as they could be arrested and sent to concentration camps.Yes, the banning of political parties gave Hitler the opportunity to declare himself ruler, but that opportunity could have been taken away if he hadn't managed to keep them onside throughout. Hindering could still have been pressured into sacking Hitler as Chancellor (he had done this to others many times before in the previous years), thus stopping Hitler getting the chance to become supreme ruler all together. As well as this, Just banning political parties would never have been enough to become a dictator due to one very obvious blockage; the Reichstag.With it still in the country the country was still democratic as the parties had a say in how the country was run. Hitler could not ban any political parties without getting rid of the Reichstag first. It was this that the Enabling Act actually got rid of so that Hitler could start to rule the country on his own. It was not actually the banning of political parties in Germany that set in motion the wheels of dictatorship but the demolition of democracy and the Whimper constitution.But at the same time this could also be seen as a reason why the banning of political parties as the reason why Hitler established himself as F;here. In reality, the Reichstag is made up of political parties, so getting rid of it could be seen as getting rid of the parties. This could be both for and against the statement in the question, but I believe that the Reichstag has to be treated as a separate thing. In conclusion, I think that although Germany's political parties did pose a major problem to Hitler and that banning it did help him to become a dictator, by no means is it the sole reason why he became one.Really, the Night of the Long Knives is more important as it is the point when everything could have collapsed for the Nazis. The start of Hitter's rule was all about pleasing those around him and trying to stay in power. Therefore, keeping the Army and Industrialists on side at this point was key to making sure he lasted out Hinderers life. The Reichstag is a mixture of both sides of the argument, but it still backs up the point that banning political parties was not the only reason why Hitler became a dictator and isn't the main reason why either.

BUSINESS ETHICS AND THEIR INPACT ON BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Essay

BUSINESS ETHICS AND THEIR INPACT ON BUSINESS COMMUNICATION - Essay Example Descriptive and analytical research methodology is applied in this research paper. The findings of paper are purely based on a code of business ethics which should be implemented in every single organization in objective and effective way. The subject of Ethics is from the subject of Philosophy. It is liable to addresses questions about morality and no doubt it is an important part of every one’s life. There are two levels of ethics; theoretical and applied ethics. Business ethics is one of the most imperative parts of the applied ethics. In this paper, I will try to discuss some of the major ethical philosophies that are applied to business ethics such as teleological ethics, utilitarianism, egoism, deontological ethics, etc. The purpose of this study is to represent which ethical approach is appropriated in business. Keywords: Ethics, Business Organizations, Code of Ethics, Ethics in business, Communication, Ethical theories.â€Æ' Introduction Governments of all countries of the world have either prepared a strong code of business ethics for the organizations to follow these codes to deal with the customer and to handle the daily activities of organization, or they ask business entities to schedule their own code of business ethics to implement it but this code of ethics must be within the rules and laws made by the government of that country. But the best method among these two is that government should itself prepare a strict code of ethics for the business entities to follow with the consultation of the association of business organizations. In this way, government will be allowed to look after the ethical affairs of business and to ask them to follow those ethical principles effectively, strictly and completely (Jalil, Azam, & Rahman, 2010). As the most brilliant creator of the Lord, we live to progress, to grow and to move ahead. All of us are in an age of innovation, where the free markets are getting rapid growth, a nd so the economy of the entire world. Latest technological products, roles of the government bodies, and every person on this globe is facing new challenges, exploring new opportunities for making growth, facing the demands from public and bearing the limitation. Most of the people are working to make their life error free and nations are working collectively having an aim of spreading freedom and democratic principles; to look after the free markets of the economy, to protect the individual’s rights, and to encourage respect for human rights, the rule of law, and the environment (Siltaoja & Lamsa, 2011). Every person wants to live in a good and well mannered society and this why a majority of people is worry about the ethics within the society. Any organization is related to each individual of the society and the entire economy. Behavior of an individual is a central to the business life and ethical principles have an important influence on individual’s behavior. For that reason, it is clear that the entire business is influenced by the individual’s behavior. Now each of the organization has completely or partially prepared their own code of ethics (Gulcan, 2011). Businesses on this planet are developing and apply ethics in their business dealings in order to address the legal, ethical, social responsibility, and environmental issues they face. If a business analyze and evaluate these problems in a more systematic way, it can improve its own business performance with ease. The ethical codes can also help expanding opportunities for growth, and contribute to the development of

Minix 2 operating system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Minix 2 operating system - Essay Example so after line no. 21021, declare these counters. Now add hit_counter as I have said in the previous doc. And the time should be incremented each time any function in cache.c is called. So you must add variable time at 21070 & 21035 after having written the code ++hit_counter & Time_requiredtofree_block++. Remember, you have to add printf statements wherever you make an increment to these counters. Initialize hit_counter & time to zero (this is important). Well, I had written two 'C' files named fil1.c and fil2.c, which added and subtracted two numbers. When I ran this statement on bochs, I got the output of the printf statements. The tests of performance was a two step process. In the first part, don't make any changes to the Block_size and the Hash table, but include the variables hit_counter and time. Run the command and see the results. Then increase the BLOCK_SIZE & the Hash table size and then run the same command again. You will definitely find a change in the results. The answer to this lies in question 3. The first set of values was obtained for the variables hit_counter and Time_requiredtofree_block, when the value of BLOCK_SIZE and size of the hash table was 1024. The second values were obtained when the size of BLOCK_SIZE & hashTable was increased. I have found out a few more points which you can use... The second values were obtained when the size of BLOCK_SIZE & hashTable was increased. 5) fifth it says initialize the variables how and where Initialize hit_counter & time to zero at line no. 21021, where you declare them. FEW MORE FINDINGS I have found out a few more points which you can use for your presentation. This is regarding the Lru chain, which can be completely discarded. Instead we can use a circularly linked double linked list. FRONT PIVOT REAR The figure is a bit crude, but I think it can deliver the idea. Frst, the pivot is connected to the hash table entry. The FRONT is the end which contains those blocks that are least needed and the REAR contains those blocks that are expected in the near future (same as LRU). Now, this linked list has the added advantage at the time of reading the next block from this chain unlike reading from the disk thru I/o. in this, the code can be written such that the REAR is used as fast as the FRONT will be accessed. This will ensure that the performance of the cache is enhanced further over the LRU scheme. The reason being that under LRU, for accessing a REAR, it has to traverse to the end, while here, we could use sioimple logic (like a flag where if flag=1 go along front i.e. clockwise from pivot or if flag=0, go along rear from pivot i.e. anti-clockwise). Believe me, this will speed up the cache. It is extremely useful, when under our modified code, contiguous blocks will be accessed fro m the disk. So the OS will perceive that the next necessary block will be the contiguous one and it will place it at the REAR. Then accessing under theis scheme will be much faster than the one under the LRU.Pls feel

What's the difference between the hacker's viewpoint on access to Research Paper - 1

What's the difference between the hacker's viewpoint on access to information on the Web and yours - Research Paper Example They are highly despised and avoided. Being a hacker is a one-way ticket to being an outcast, both socially and morally. These points show that hackers are not just talented programmers but are also really intelligent people with a great IQ. But their presence has been marred by a similar, but little known class of separate computer geeks known as crackers. The website THE JARGON FILE identifies them as Therein lies the whole mystery of the famous cyber war and confusion of the entire world, Crackers do it and hackers have to face the consequences. Crackers are the ones who love to look into people personal accounts all over the world by getting past security passes. And as people are not knowledgeable about it so they blame the poor hackers. Even the Encarta dictionary tells about the difference between them: â€Å"cracker is someone who is a computer user, and who gains unauthorized access, to a computer or system data, belonging to someone else, and hacker is somebody who is interested or skilled in computer technology and programming.† Hackers first got recognition in 19060s by the hacker culture around TMRC an the MIT labs. This term was used by teenage radio hams and electronic tinkerers in the mid-1950s. This community world-wide is very protective of their rights and cultures. And have many variant points on their work and how it affects the normal human community. The normal human community deems them unsafe. The many questions asked are , can hackers be trusted, do they do any good, how do we identify them. This paper will answer these questions while following the following points of interest: The hackers are a community of highly intelligent people, who are intent on making the internet a better and friendlier place to be. All they require in return is unlimited access to all the possible internet they can have. But they certainly don’t in any way require

Moral, ethical and legal issue surrounding cell phones Research Paper

Moral, ethical and legal issue surrounding cell phones - Research Paper Example Recent researches have shown that cell phones have given rise to many ethical problems related to exchange of adult material resulting in sexting, child and adult pornography. In addition to that, there are also studies supporting the notion that cell phones usage has serious consequences during driving. Many countries and states have devised several laws which prohibit exchange of nude/ semi-naked material and use of cell phone for bullying, harassment, and cell phone use’ during driving however a policy model is required which would keep ensure the use of cell phone for unethical activities. With the use of cell phones comes moral responsibility of information rights, property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality and quality of life. Due to excessive use of cell phones, one of the fundamental moral comprises arise from invasion of privacy. It is a right of every individual to be free from surveillance or interference from individuals, organizations and state and have complete control over information regarding him. In U.S., individual privacy is protected by various laws such as First Amendment (freedom of speech), Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search and seizure), Additional federal statues (e.g. Privacy Act of 1974) etc (Lauden & Traver, 2012). There is an extensive research performed on cell phones and ethical issues arising out of it. Other than breach of privacy, forced intimacy, inane conversations, inappropriate timings of usage, and disregard for immediate others are some of the major issues considered as violation of etiquettes (J ohnson, 2003). Other than the basic ethical dilemmas mentioned above, another area which requires immediate attention is the use of cell phones for the purpose of exchanging pornography, sexting, sex-oriented tele-conversation and adult pornography. Most of ethical issues

Many cultures use animals for ceremonial or celebratory purposes, and Essay

Many cultures use animals for ceremonial or celebratory purposes, and often this means the animals must be killed or eaten - Essay Example Firstly, the argument for the preservation of animal lives at the expense of humans is hypocritical stance. The development of humans alone jeopardizes animal and natural surroundings. According to several studies, the expansion of human industrial and domestic areas has led to the extinction of numerous species and endangered others (Taylor, 191-222). Therefore, based on the same argument, it would be illogical to deny humans a living area at the expense of animals and the same applies to neglecting old traditions to save animal lives. Human traditions are an essential part of society and key in the development of future generations. Traditions and rituals are a mode of linking each person to his or her past and ensuring that certain factors are preserved within the community. Therefore, the act of killing animals for rituals is a symbol of a broader meaning with a more substantial value than the life of the animal. It resembles a community, its history and is the basis upon which future generations are formed. Therefore, this shows the importance of human tradition and the necessity of the animal killings that are performed in the

Rhetorical criticism using Ernest bormann's Fantasy theme approach and Essay

Rhetorical criticism using Ernest bormann's Fantasy theme approach and Neo-Aristotelian approach on Barack Obama's first Inaugur - Essay Example To a good number of America the election of president Obama represented hope for a new beginning and a chance to perform reforms for the better. However, many Americans questioned his ability to lead with enough background and skills to address these concerns. This thesis examines the president 2009 inaugural address. The analysis of this speech shows how the president rhetorically managed to alleviate the concern of the USA’s people. And, in what manner he was rhetorically able to convince Americans that he is the right person to led the nation to the right direction through this difficult times. First, present and explains the chosen theories within classical rhetoric and the genre of the address. He then uses the selected theories to analyze the Obama’s inaugural address. The writer then makes assessment and discussion of the thesis statement from this analysis. The thesis has Ernest Bormann's Fantasy theme approach and Neo-Aristotelian approach to determine the type of speech, the usage and appeal form used. By utilizing this approach, it was possible to deduce whether Obama’s inaugural speech was rhetoric. The Obama’s rhetoric inaugural address has its own genre. ... Inaugural address is supposed to be non-partisan and unifying. They should make people feel that if they come together they can achieve more (Fafner, 1998). Most of the Americans have a major concern about domestic and international issue. With the election of a new president, people want to feel that the needed reforms are steered for the better especially with the new leader in power. Obama’s inaugural address was an opportunity for him to show off his prowess with respect to his capacity to alleviate the concern of the Americans. In this regard, therefore, the thesis will answer a number of questions such as question: 1) how did the president rhetorically manage to alleviate the concern of Americans? 2) In what way was president Obama rhetorically able to win the hearts and minds of the Americans convincing them that he is the right person to lead them through this trying time? Method of Analysis To answer the question, the author describes theories used for them. Then a rh etoric analysis of the president inaugural address will be made based on the selected theories. While accounting for the selected theories, the focus will be linguistic analysis that utilize five cons of Aristotle ‘classical rhetoric, (memoria, action, elocutio, disposito and inventio) and the three appeal forms- (ethos, pathos and logos.) Background and literature review Classical rhetoric arose in 5th century in Athens Greece. Rhetoric refers the art of speaking and is the theory about shaping the language in a way that both the person speaking and the intended audience gains sympathy. The objective of rhetoric is to convince actuate and stimulate the audience. In the recent past the

Sturken and Cartwright's Account of Ideological Considerations Essay

Sturken and Cartwright's Account of Ideological Considerations - Essay Example Though films and television programs still use similar techniques as those from the OJ Simpson era, News Media at least must have gotten better, right? The question is both yes and no. In the recent Trayvon Martin scandal, than man that admitted to killing him, George Zimmerman, had many of his own pictures portrayed throughout the media. While media did not make the explicitly editorial decisions they made in the OJ Simpson case. This essay will not discuss the particulars of the horrible tragedy that occurred on the night that Trayvon Martin was killed, but rather the editorial choices that occurred in the portrayal of George Zimmerman. The choice of photographs used on television or news portrayals of the man, however, were chosen specifically to underline his supposed guilt or innocence. The most commonly used image of George Zimmerman, especially immediately after the tragedy, was a mug shot for an unrelated incident some days before, presented below. The choice to use this imag e immediately was somewhat understandable: mug shots are quite accessible to news media, and this would have been one of the only pictures available in the opening hours of the tragedy. Quickly, however, some other images began becoming available, including the one presented left. Both pictures represent George Zimmerman`s likeness fairly well, and they even have somewhat similar framing. Upon the second, and many other photo`s wide use in news media, however, the mug shot image continued to be used quite frequently. The choice of which photos to used represented an ideological slant on the case in fairly clear ways. The initial photograph of George Zimmerman is clearly identifiable as a mug shot taken by police during an investigation. There are very few other cases in which a subject would be framed so narrowly (as for an identification) on a white background with a flat, unsmiling face. Furthermore, and unofortunately for Zimmerman, he was wearing a particularly brightly colored orange shirt on the day that the photograph was taken. Orange is constantly used throughout American prisons as a way to identify prisoners should they escape, make them readily viewable from a distance if the correctional officer needs to see the, and so forth. An unsmiling face, as is used in a mug-shot, also frequently makes people look cold or mean, because there is a social more that people in photographs smile. Finally, the last aspect is the color of Zimmerman`s skin. Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, had parts of his skin look much darker because of the contrast from the glare on his cheeks, which also highlighted his black hair. As ironic as it is to racially profile a person accused of killing through racial profiling, many viewers probably connected Zimmerman`s ethnic heritage, especially in the context of a mug shot, with criminality, deviancy, violence or other social ills. Zimmerman`s second and other subsequent photos differ greatly. He is smiling, for one, and the frame o f the photo is slightly wider, making it look more like a year book photo or something else. He is also much more nicely dressed, in a suit, and has a much more uniform skin tone, making it look less dark than in the mug shot. Gone is the probably villainous person who certainly got arrested and generally looks ``no good,``

My Suggested Economic Policy For Mr. President Essay Example for Free

My Suggested Economic Policy For Mr. President Essay First of all Mr. President , I will like to congratulate you on your victory as the new president of the United states of America and I wish you a successful and prosperous administration as the president. The success of any administration depends massively on the policies that the commander-in-chief and other government stakeholders put out and how effective the policies are enforced. The past administration had much of their efforts on war, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction while economic concerns were often relegated to the back burner. I am not saying that security measures are not important to the policies of nation but we cannot ignore the market forces and turn them to our utmost advantages. Policies on international economy are very essential to the prosperity of any nation and that is why I would like you to look into some areas, which I would suggest for your final decision. A New Global Order There are new emerging market economies and china and India are the main point of view. These two countries are becoming world-class competitors in diverse range of sectors and this development will require even more rapid improvement in the skills of U. S. workers and the flexibility of U. S. -based companies. It will be important if your administration continue and develop new reforms that will increase the countrys competitiveness and diligent negotiations on trade and other international issues. However, new competitors also offer attractive markets for U. S. exports and investment. They are valuable suppliers of high-quality, low-cost goods. And if properly incorporated into the global economy—and paired with effective domestic policies in the United States—they will lead to new gains in global growth, as well as improvements in U. S. productivity that will further magnify the benefits of globalization for the United States. Credit Check Going by standards and recent analysis, the United States is the world’s largest deficit and debtor nation. This poses a threat and risk to both the U. S. economy and foreign policy. ). The continued buildup of debt owed to foreigners, moreover, will steadily erode national income over time. This status, I will like your government to look into; and advising your administration to work towards restoring a sustainable current account and international financial position. Energy Drain Energy is another area in the Unites States that is very vulnerable when looking at it from both economic and foreign policy points of view. This is due to the ineffective policy from the past administration. Over the recent years, the leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are allowed to manipulate world energy prices, holding them 50 to 75 percent above market levels in recent years. This has resulted to the rise of the cost of energy as a share of U. S. GDP by triple fold since 1997. The inflation of energy costs has caused a depression to the U. S. GDP and I believe that an effective policy in this area is very important. This area need lots of attention because if this administration do not look into it, the United states government will probably be forced to continue launching periodic military interventions to satisfy its tremendous appetite for energy. Therefore, Mr. President, as your adviser, I believe that effective policies in these areas will bring about economic boos in your administration. REFERENCE Dolan, Edwin G. , and Lindsey, David E. (1991). Economics. Chicago: Dryden Press.

Global Warming Essay Example for Free

Global Warming Essay The global carbon cycle is one of the most important biogeochemical cycles in nature and should be considered with special emphasis because of constantly increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Basically, the term â€Å"global carbon cycle† describes the movement of all forms of carbon, which is the fourth abundant chemical element in our universe and essential for the structure and/or energy production for every living organism, between the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere and geosphere. Two main parts of the carbon cycle can be distinguished, i. e.the geological carbon cycle (with a turnover time in the range of millions of years), and the biological carbon cycle (which operates at time scales ranging between days and thousands of years). In short, in the geological cycle, processes like weathering and erosion are forming carbonates from atmospheric CO2 and water which are reacting with minerals in the earth’s surface and eventually washed the into the oceans where they settle in sediments. The much faster carbon turnover in the biological cycle includes processes like photosynthesis and respiration, both key phenomena of life. 2. A greenhouse gas is a gas in the atmosphere that allows sunlight enter the atmosphere and reach the earth’s surface, but then prevents a certain portion of the reflected radiation (mainly this is the infrared or â€Å"heat† part of the spectrum) to leave the atmosphere towards open space again. Due to this effect, a â€Å"greenhouse† effect, similar to that wanted and used in agricultural greenhouses to grow plants faster and earlier due to warmer temperatures, develops and gradually heats up the atmosphere. This leads to global warming with all the negative effects discussed in the next paragraph. CO2 is both, a naturally occurring and man-made greenhouse gas, that together with other natural (water vapour, methane and nitrous oxide) and man-made substances (e. g. gases used for aerosols and cooling liquids) is responsible for global warming, the man-made amount of atmospheric CO2 however alarmingly rising. 3. â€Å"Global warming† describes the slight, but constant and gradual elevation of our atmosphere’s temperature, especially realized as a man-made effect within the last decades. Although times of global warming have repeatedly occurred on our planet long before humans could contribute (e. g. ice-age and warming periods), the dramatic increase of man-made atmospheric CO2 due to industrialization, excessive agriculture, and transportation leads, due to the previously described greenhouse effect, to a global rise in temperatures. With growing certainty that rise is understood to be responsible for an increasing occurrence of catastrophic events such as changes in weather (storms and hurricanes, heavy rain and snow, desertification), elevation of sea level (flooding), or melting of glaciers and arctic ice shelves. 4. There are diverse causes of global warming including natural processes such as carbon dioxide exhausting from rotting organic matter, atmospheric water vapour or natural gases like methane. However it is more and more agreed that the recent dramatic increase in global warming is mainly caused by a man-made elevation in atmospheric CO2 by transportation, agriculture and industries. Such elevated concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere and all their negative effects (see above) not only cause global warming by direct influence, but also interact with natural processes, altogether outbalancing the global carbon cycle and destabilizing our climate with unpredictable consequences. 5. The Kyoto Protocol has been signed by the United Nations on Dec. 11th 1997 in Kyoto, Japan with the intention to set measures against progressive climate changes. For the first time in history, the participating nations (until today 136 nations signed and ratified the protocol) agree on threshold levels and the reduction of the production of greenhouse gases within the protocol’s validation period from 2005 until 2012. 5. Unfortunately shaming poor. The United States signed the Kyoto protocol when it was initiated, but (together with Australia) never ratified the agreements. However, Australia started to ratify the agreements in the year 2007 after a change in their government, leaving the USA (who under President G. W. Bush shows no intention to ratify the contract in the near future) back in shame alone†¦ 6. Of course YES! The US considers itself as one of the world’s leading nations. Doubtlessly it is one of the world’s leading industrial nations, which is good for wealth and progress, but also implies a big responsibility, since due to its industry the US is also one of the leading producers of CO2. Thus, the US contributes a major part to the worldwide greenhouse effect and therefore to global warming as well. So why does the US not act responsible in terms of environmental issues? Profit and industrial interests are a strong power worldwide and very often refuse sustainable actions and environmental care, but in contrast to the US the other nations who signed the Kyoto Protocol at least start acting responsible. To my opinion it is a shame for the US to ignore alarming facts and signs of global warming and not even try to show some responsibility for our planet and future generations. So, even if the Kyoto Protocol is certainly not the final solution to growing environmental challenges, it is a beginning and can be the start of a sustainable and more responsible human future. However, to allow that beginning, cooperation and good will of all nations, including the US is essential.

Current business situation of H and M

Current business situation of H and M Hennes and Maurits was founded in first 1947 by Erling Persson and later acquired Mauritz Widfoss in 1968. It is a Stockholm- based fashion company. After the business success at home, in 1964, Hennes launched its first overseas store in Norway, and 3 years later HM entered the UK market and started her expansion strategies. By the mean time, HM has more than 1600 stores in 32 countries and had become the 3rd largest clothing retailer in the world. Hennes Mauritz (HM), the probably most legendary fashion retailing firm in recent years, has spared out branches all over the world. In Europe, North America, Asia and even Middle East you can find HMs stores. After achieved successful sales goal and fame, HM has entered a very challenging market, Japan, by launching its first shop in Ginza, Tokyo. Although at the beginning HM has seemed to get great response and do a good work, Japan has long been struggled with economic recession and continues sales drop. Could HM keep its unbeatable records in Japan? The followings should analyse and recommend the retail strategies in Japan market HM should take. Fashion and Quality at the best price is the model of hers. HM produces Women, men, youngster and children wear. Besides garments, HM also has its own line in accessories, footwear and cosmetics. The King of Fast Fashion has its own production offices in Asia and Europe in order to keep the price down. Business situation is always critical for a companys success or failure. Both the global situation and Japans market, there are factors that favor or discourage business sales. In the global level, the mode of fashion retailing has been changing in recent years. Firstly, the influences of new brand or store chain are growing in the international market. For examples, store chains like Zara and Gap, they make hugh profits and arouse publicity in international level. They gained reputations and captured high percentage of market shares. Despite the past fashion industry that mostly the high fashion retailers could gain their influences, nowadays chain stores that sell street fashion for middle or lower classes can get their plaes in the fashion market. And it shows different fashion firms can gain market shares and impacts in the fashion industry. Secondly, the changed life style of the customers of the fashion companies also gives opportunities. Nowadays fast fashion is prevailing and people are getting more conscious and paying more attention to fashion. The market for fashion industry is growing. More important is that customers want fashionable items with lower price rather than expensive high couture, as they would like to change their wardrobe less than one month. That is why fast fashion is getting popular. Thirdly, e-market is one of the fields that fashion retailing firms paying affords in. The sale in e-market is growing, as the sales in internet has no geographic boundaries. Also internet is a good media to promote its company and products. On the other hand, business of fashion companies also faces a very serious problem economic tsunami. The economics tsunami affects customers confidence in buying and purchasing. Also customers tend to save rather than spend. The sales volume of many firms dropped significantly within 1 or few months. More than that, the sales volume predicted to drop continuously in next 1 or few years. Facing the economic difficulties and negative information about the markets future, it further discourages the customers buying behavior also the business sales. In Japan, the business situation is beginning described as challenging and advent HM. Japan is a fashion capital in Asia and even the world. People especially youngster group paid much attention in trends and fashion. They tend to spend much on clothing and other relatives item to fashion. Due to the great fashion awareness, fashion firms and chains can get ideal sales in Japan usually. Besides, Japan is the model and trends for the neighboring in countries, for example Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Success in Japan means easier entry into the markets in these Asian markets. Moreover, statistics show that the mens wear market in Japan is great. In the past years, mens wear sales were comparable with womens wear. In 2007, mens wear sales were over the sales of womens wear. It shows that the mens wear market is in great potential for firms to enter and provides great opportunities. Although Japan seems ideal for fashion companies to get in, therere also shortcomings of Japan market. Japan faces economic downturns in recent years. In the past 10 years were the recessions of Japans economy. The sales volumes dropped and market for clothing and footwear declined. In the past 2 years things had been once better, however unfortunately there are global economic tsunami. International predicts that in future years Japans economy will remain in its downturn. Secondly the competition between firms in Japan is ardent. As mentioned above, Japans market is a paradise for old and new fashion brands. It attracts many international brands for examples the high brands like Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Hermes and also bringing like Zara, Gap that operates stores in modes that similar to HM. The competition between brands is keen. Also the local brands in Japan like Uniqlo abstract high market shares. For the entering of new brand, its important that one can stand for the harsh competiti ons. In additions, the aging problem is another concern for the market. As fashion is always viewed as the interest of younger people, the aging problems directly affect the sales of fashion firms. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Company HM Zara Gap Uniqlo Start from Sweden, 1947 Spain, 1975 America,1969 Japan,1984 employees 68,000 150,000 Target market few middlemen buying in large numbers having in depth knowledge and understanding of textiles few middlemen buying in large numbers having in depth knowledge and understanding of textiles few middlemen buying in large numbers having in depth knowledge and understanding of textiles few middlemen buying in large numbers having in depth knowledge and understanding of textiles price Low middle low low Growth strategy Fashion and quality at the best price with own design increase the number of stores zero advertisement Increase the number of stores Design a new style every two week A lot of brand inside Low advertisement Fashion and quality at the best price with own design Cooperate with design and other brand Sponsor some ball game team Total stores 1,600 3,100 3,139 800 The number of Japan stores 4 30 130 750 (99in Tokyo) Start in Japan 9.2008 1998 1995 1984 Stores size 1,000 square meters 1,500 square meters 1,000 square meters Figure 1 Refer to Figure 1, analysis is below. As we know, HM is a huge brand in the world. It started at 1947 in Sweden. It has 1,600 stores in 32 countries HMs major competitors are Zara, Uniqlo, and GAP in Japan. They are the entire well-known brand in the world. Although HMs history is longer than them, it not mean HM is much better than them. Zara and Gap have more stores than HM, but their target market is very similar., They also target for a few middlemen, people who can buy in large numbers and having in depth knowledge and understanding of textiles, so that HM have a big challenge. Their price range also between middle to low, it can make more people afford it. HMs missing is that fashion and quality at the best price and increase the number of stores. However, Uniqlo also have the same missing, it want to provide a good customer service at the best price and own design. Moreover, Zara can design a new thing every two weeks. It can design 10,000 produce every year, it much fast than HM. Their stores also increase very fast. HM only have 4 shops in japan, but Zara, Gap and Uniqlo have much more stores in japan, especially Uniqlo. Moreover, they have a long history in Japan, but HM just enter Japan market in 2008. It is a big problem for HM, its competitor have more stores and stable customer. ANALYSIS ON HM EXISTING MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE HM has a clear hierarchy structure as shown in Figure 2 The Annual General Meeting (ACG) is the highest decision-making body where shareholders exercise their rights to make decisions for the company. Board of directors manages the company on behalf of the shareholders. The board gives directions and instructions to the managing director. Hence, the managing director performs daily management as directed by the board. Underneath, the executive managing team and country managers are responsible for central functions and sales countries respectively. Figure 2.1 In most cases, large organization generally has a complex structure. Here, HM has a matrix organization which is a mixed form of functional and divisional structure. Typically, matrix organization structure has two axes. On one axis of the matrix is a range of functional groups and on the other are the products or projects with a manager responsible for each. (Boddy, D., p246, 2005) In the case of HM, the project is organized by regions and each region has a number of stores. There is a manager in each country and he/she is responsible for profitability in their country and thereby has an overall responsibility for all the functions within the region. (refer to Figure 2.1) On the other hand, HM also organize and work on their tasks in project and team bases. By using these methods, managements not only organize their work more flexible with lower costs, but also giving out a faster response for their project or task. (Boddy, D., 2005) Here the executive management teams of HM responsible for each function are responsible for the results of work within their function in each country. What is more, specialists from various departments also brought together to form a project team and work on different projects. Figure 2.1 Regarding the matrix structure adopted by HM, some benefits are summarized as follows: simplifying the creation of appropriate routines and control systems, smaller units enable closer supervision, higher flexibility, faster response, enabling comparisons between the different companies within HM. However, this may lead to a significant drawback, which is low uniformity. Since there is high division of departments and regions, it is often hard for the central management to control the management and operation of different units. To enhance uniformity throughout the whole company, management documents like guidelines and manuals are delivered within the company. Moreover, the code of ethics permeated the entire company, describing the way employees should act in relation to the company and the outside world. For store operations, detailed instructions have also been given to store staffs in order to control daily work in the stores. Though guidelines and manuals are written by central departments, in 2006, inventory of the guidelines was carried out within each department so as to check any guidelines should be updated or created. This showed respect towards each units opinions. Evaluation and modification of guidelines and manuals result in better efficiency of work. To further explain HMs management structure, the degree of centralization could be examined. The code of ethics, internal policies, and manuals are created by central management. Important decisions that are strongly related to the companys profits are also made by the top management. Purchasing is centrally organized by the head office in Sweden as well. From the above, we could see high degree of centralization is exercised in HM. Nevertheless, HM has a decentralized system. There are 20 production offices dealing with 800 suppliers, and 20 country offices within 33 sales countries, handling all business affairs for the region it responsible for. Planning and organizing, such as store operation, advertising are carried out by managers. There are certain advantages and disadvantages of HMs decentralized system with centralized management. From the good side, uniformity can be enforced through clear and strict regulations and guidelines. Besides, this enables higher flexibility in tackling small problems in each department and region. On the contrary, higher risk of unsuitable merchandise for the sales countries may be resulted due to centralized buying decision in Sweden. In Japan, consumers are quite different and demanding on quality clothing which usual HM products may not satisfy them enough. To avoid such problems, more intense research and country-oriented approaches are needed. It is suggested that research or buying teams located in the respective sales regions could be set up to perform closer watch on trends and social affairs that could alter sales greatly and too quick before response come from the head office. ANALYSIS ON HM EXISTING RETAIL STRATEGIES HM is a very successful and expansive Swedish fashion group and also a famous company in Japan. HMs retail strategy has been developing in different aspects. The Best Price Strategy HM aims to give the customer unbeatable value by offering fashion and quality at the best price. It has been developing the Best Price Strategy. It maintains the best price by limiting the number of middlemen, buying in large volumes ,relying on our in-depth, extensive expertise within the design, fashion, and textile industries, buying the right merchandise from the right production markets, being cost-conscious at all levels and having efficient distribution systems. In Japan, the product price of HM is lower than others. Most foreign brands come to Japan and charge more than at home. HM is aiming to match global pricing. So now HM is one-half the price of Zara in Japan, thereby making most other Japanese retailers look relatively expensive. If Japanese consumer spending continues to decline, this will play into an even stronger position for HM. Main Collection Sub-Collection The buying function focuses on customers, fashion and composition of the range. HMs clothing collections are created in Sweden by around 100 internal designers, 50 pattern designers and around 100 buyers. It operates with two main collections per year, one in spring and one in autumn. Within each season, however, there are a number of sub-collections so that customers can always find new goods in stores. The aim of the company is to find the optimal time to order each item. Fashion For Everyone HM offers a wide range of fashion using many different concept, from updated classics and basics to clothes that reflect the very latest international trends. In addition, they sell clothes, accessories and cosmetics. The wearing range consists of everyday clothes to partywear. To make things clearer for the customers, it has divided up a range into a number of different concepts for women, men, teenagers and children. The clothes also have a high fashion content within each collection, so that customers can easily combine different garments and find their own personal style. Online Shopping Service HM have three sales channels, stores, the Internet and catalogues. In 1998, HM began its shopping online service which has since been continuously improved. A considerable expansion of mail order and online sales is being prepared to complement the stores in the existing markets. Stores continue, however, to be the main distribution channel. The strategy behind the owning of it is that HM can maintain control of the expansion strategy and of business locations. But Japan does not provide online shopping service, the sales channel is narrow. The Best Location Strategy The Best business location has been a firm principle of HM since 1947 and is less important nowadays. The HM store is now a well-established presence in most prominent shopping streets with considerable customer flows around Europe. In London, for example, they are located on Oxford Street. HM opened the store in Japan in Ginza, Shibuya and Harajuku. Before establishing stores in a new market they conduct a thorough analysis of demographics and purchasing behaviour. They also carry out a local survey of the shopping areas and shopping centres, document their size and where their competitors stores are located. Product Quality Control In order to maintain the fine quality of merchandise, they carry out quality controls. They strive to ensure that garments have been manufactured with the least possible impact on the environment and under satisfactory working conditions. HM is known as the king of fast fashion and spots emerging fashion trends, quickly creates knock-off designs and variation using 100 in-house designers. In Japan, the customers are nit-picking and require an extremely high quality fashion. HM may not satisfy their needs. OVERALL SWOT ANALYSIS OF HM The SWOT analysis is the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a company. A SWOT analysis actually has two parts and both are equally significant. Strengths and weaknesses are the internal analysis; the opportunities and threats focus on the external environment. Internal is regarding the information about companys market segments, their competitors relative weaknesses and strengths as well as the industry as a whole. When conducting an external situational analysis, the business customers, market and competitors are analysed. The overall SWOT analysis included the global situation and Japan environment of HM. Firstly, strengths and weakness of HM is discussed as below. Strengths HM was established in Sweden in 1947; it has a long history and is around 62 years. The past 62 years, HM did a great expansion worldwide. In 2009, there are 1,700 stores spread over 33 different countries and markets, and employ over 73,000 people. HM offer each country exclusive preferences and needs. Also there is exclusive clothing designs for online stores, and this system is provided in some of the European countries, such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Informational website is also one of the strengths of HM, everything about HM shown in the official website. It is convenient for customers to get the newest issues of HM, and also provides useful and updated information to all types of users. HM Magazine provides a good idea of how HM views fashion. It offers readers a mix of fashion, inspiration and the latest lifestyle trends. It is issued four times a year and is aimed equally at customers and staff. Like all HMs communication, the mag azine can be seen as an invitation to HM. It is important for building the brand in the long term and is also available on the HM website. Besides of the exclusive online shopping, HM also collaborated with fashion designers, designer labels, fashion models and celebrities to offer customers the exclusive collection, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Viktor Rolf, Kate Moss and Madonna. On 20 September 2005, HM announced they have dropped Moss for the advertising campaign of their autumn clothing collection, stating that her image was inconsistent with HMs clear dissociation of drugs in light of recent drug allegations. HM did concerned about the society. In November 2008, Comme Des Garà §ons, a significant figure in modern fashion Japanese designer, exclusive collection for HM sold in 200 stores worldwide, including Japan, Hong Kong, US and UK. One of the most significant figures in modern fashion, Kawakubo has created a full mens and womens collection for HM, complete with accessories and a unisex fragrance. HM provides variety in fashion, different kinds of clothing and accessories that could easy for customers to match up with. The stores are refreshed daily with new fashion items. As with HMs clothing heritage, the idea across the Home collection is that consumers mix and match items and add to their existing dà ©cor and colour schemes. The first home collection will be available from February 2009 in the markets: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Cushion cover and bed linen sets are the key pieces. The materials are mostly cottons, linens, viscose-cotton mixes and organic cotton. The long-term investment in organic cotton is continuing at HM, aims to increase the use of organic cotton and the development of new green materials such as recycled cotton, wool and polyester. HM offering garments that are both fashionable and environmentally compatible. HM had a fantastic response to their eco-fashion, which shows that the customers care about both the environment and design. Weaknesses HM business concept is to give the customer unbeatable value by offering fashion and quality at the best price. When comparing with competitors, the garment quality of HM is doesnt at high level. Since all stock is displayed on floor, there is no backup stock for customers. The customer service is relatively low if the customer could not get any help from the salesperson. For the garment production, HM does not own any factories, but instead buys its goods from around 800 independent suppliers, primarily in Asia and Europe. The problem is that HM cannot get tightly controlled to the distribution network to get new product to the stores. The online shopping store is only provides in European countries, such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The online store could not gain worldwide customers attention. In Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria HM offers fashion by Internet and catalogue sales. For the employees, ther e is not a fundamental respect for the individual, which applies to everything from fair pay, reasonable working hours and freedom of association to the opportunity to grow and develop within the company. Opportunities It is the positive towards future expansion of HM and the companys business opportunities. In the past few years HM has been experimenting with new fascias including market company, which it debuted on Londons Regent Street in March 2007. A second company store will open this week in Westfield and the retailer believes there are further opportunities for the offer in the UK. The 14th store in Europe will open next spring in Paris. Since HM has signed a contract for its first store in Japan in end of 2006. The store is opened in 2008 November. It has been HMs dream to open in Japan. says Rolf Eriksen, CEO HM. There will be more stores in Japan in the future. HM has entered into franchise agreement with Match Retail Ltd. for store openings in Israel. The first HM store is planned to open during 2010. HM provides online shopping in a few European countries, but still hasnt announced plans to do so in Asia, North America and Middle East. It is a large market for HM. There is an opportunity to set up online store in those countries. The designer cooperation is the most significant for HM. The crossover series with the famous designer have made a stir in fashion industry. Many designers are willing to cooperate with HM, see it as a stage for showing their new design. It brings the new concept to the HM product and enhances their product competitive. HM crossover with Matthew Williamson do a spring collection for 2009. As the Japanese has a strong interest in fashion and Japan is a big fashion market. Japan fashion market is maturing, with competition between global companies intensifying in the Japanese market and with consumers becoming more and more selective about merchandise that they purchased. There is growing presence of shopping centers and fashion malls in and around cities giving consumers increasing choices of locations for shopping. This is causing change in the structure of the Japanese fashion market as well as consumers buying patterns. Threats There will be a keen competition between the similar style competitors, such as Zara, Gap Inc., and Uniqlo in Japan. And, the changes in consumer behaviors are also the threat of fast fashion. End of fast fashion as shoppers allegedly switches to less throwaway items. Weak holiday sales, economic downpour sales will be conducted in HM stores. There also will be frantic battles over products, the poor quality compete with the luxury goods; fast fashion compete with high fashion. Exchange rate fluctuations are strongly related to the export quantities of firms. Since there are a lot of stores all over the world, the rate changes is a big issue of the company. Internationally, HM has experienced some sales declines in recent months and sales across the business were two per cent down year on year at established stores in September. However, refuses to admit any serious threat to HMs success, stressing again its solid offer. It is not about value, but value for money and HM think they are unique when it comes to combining price, quality and fashion. It is the feedback that HM get from customer and it is their success factor. 3 RECOMMENDATIONS In order to raise the competitiveness of HM in Japanese fashion market, some retail strategies are recommended. We provide some suggestions based on 4Ps. Place For place aspect, it is suggested that HM should offer various distribute channels for increase the sale and enhance its competitiveness. First, providing On-line-shop is a good way to sell HM products. According to Mark Hogan , GM Group vice president said, Japan is the Internet giant of Asia. There are 47.08 million Internet users. 62 percent of them use e-commerce. It can prove that online shopping is a popular shopping method in Japan. Besides, there are no limitations of online shops locations. It means that even there is only 1 HM shop in Tokyo, people who live outside Tokyo can still buy its products though the online shop. Thus, On-line-shop can help HM broaden its demographic market to boosting its sales. Second, providing Automatic Vending Machine (AVM) can help HM to be successful. Japanese demand for automation. According to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association report , there are 5.51 million machines in Japan in 2007, Japanese spend nearly 7 trillion yen (around US$ 58 billion) a year by shopping though AVM. It is a popular buying behavior in Japan. Third, it is suggested that HM should allocate AVM at Railway stations. According to a survey about Japanese Commuting conducted by japan-guide.com , train (JR) is the most commonly used of transportation for commuting in Japan. 53% of students and 48% of company workers indicated to commute to school/work by train or subway. Students and workers is the main target of HM. Thus, the suggestion is a fabulous idea for HM undoubtedly. Product For product aspect, release family-set outfit is a potential product for increase the sales. Most Japanese love wearing family-set outfit. Providing family-set outfit can attract those family targets. Besides, family-set outfit is complementary merchandise product. It means that if parents select and decide to buy an outfit, they should but another one to their child. The sale can increase doubly. Second, HM should improve its quality of products in order to succeed in Japan. The cloth of HM is not top notch quality. Japanese are known notoriously for rejecting products for minute reasons such as poor stitching, loose button, and inferior fabrics and the like. Moreover, manufacturing standards are so uniformly high in Japan that a business modal cannot succeed on design and bargain pricing alone. However, Uniqlo, one of the HM competitors, provide high quality products with a reasonable price. If HM thirst for success in Japan, it is important for it to improve the quality of its products. Promotion For promotion aspect, effective promotion is needed. Promotion can introduce merchandizes to customers and also attract them to come to the shop.There are so many ways to promote the merchandizes. Choosing suitable ways are very important because it affect the effectiveness of the promotion. First, mobile phone is a good media for promotion. Nowadays, nearly everyone have one mobile phone. Through mobile phone, messages can be easily and successfully transfer to many different people. SMS (Short Message Service) is one common method. In Japan, lots of people like to use SMS to communicate with each other, especially for the youngsters. Recently, Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology surveyed over 10 thousand students. In 5 secondary school students, there is one sending at least 50 messages by mobile phone every day. 7% of them even said that they sent about 100 messages every day. This shows that most of the teenagers like using SMS. Therefore, SMS is really a good method to send messages in order to promote products. Another common method for promotion is using matrix code (2D barcode). 2D barcode is a two-dimensional way of representing information. It is similar to a linear (one-dimensional) barcode, but has more data representation capability. 2D barcodes are in patterns of squares, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns. QR Code becomes the most popular type of 2D barcodes in Japan recently. The QR is derived from Quick Response. QR Codes are commonly found in the Internet and magazines. Most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera of the mobile phone conveniently. QR Code can encode Japanese Kanji and Kana characters, music, images, URLs, emails. Through this kind of barcode, information can be easily stored and attract people to get it. The QR Code Price Apart From using mobile phone, some programs can be launched in order to promote the merchandizes. Price deal is an example. Price deal is a temporary reduction in the price in a short period of time. It is very effective because low price can attract customer to go into the shop and pay more. Price deal is suitable for short period promotion. Another good example is loyal reward program. Consumers can collect points, miles, or credits for purchases and redeem them for rewards. In order to get the rewards, customers would like to come more frequently and buy more products. This program can last for longer period, usually a month. Launching different kinds of programs can increase sales effectively. Not only promotion, a good pricing is also very important to strengthen HM in Japanese fashion market. Low price should be maintained. HM have already set low price for the goods. Most of the products are affordable. This can attract customers, especially youngsters who cannot afford high price. The products are already at a best price and it is also one of the competitive advantages. Therefore, low price should be maintained. Another suggestion for pricing is that there should be a price cut for the last seasons fashion. Last seasons product have less attractiveness than the new products. In order to sell them more

The Gospel of Mark :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sermon Hold on, Help is on the way! Text: Mark 6:45-52 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, â€Å"Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.† Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:45-52 Title: Hold on! Help is on the way Thesis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jesus immediately made his disciples get into the boat to set off for Bethsaida before dispersing the crowd. Mark’s Gospel gives us no meaning to the sense of urgency to why Jesus compels the disciples to pull up the anchor and leave. He dispatches them along with the crowd and goes up the mountainside to pray alone. Distances from their master, the disciples undergo an ordeal, struggling against the wind. The storm does not endanger their lives but they find themselves trapped in the middle of the lake, fighting against the wind after rowing in a constant strain. Jesus looking from land can see this battle-taking place hour after hour as evening turns into the early morning hour. One must assume Jesus supernaturally sees the struggle in the darkness and comes to rejoin them *walking on the sea. As I examined the text, I realized that there is no condition too chaotic that God cannot change, no calamity that cannot be transformed into hope, no dilemma that cannot be solved. The word teaches that the God we serve specializes in being a divine deliverer for His people as in the mythos of Israel and his disciples. Similarly, I believe that God can deliver His people in this contemporary age if only we trust, persevere, pray, and have faith in Him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Regardless of the barriers, regardless of the antagonistic attitude and reluctance to assist us as African Americans, we are not going to let go or give up but continue to press our way and hold on to God’s blessed assurance.

The Importance of Music in Life Essay -- Papers Musical Art Essays Pap

The Importance of Music in Life Music is an important component for all people to posses in their lives. A child should be introduced to music at a very young age. The introduction of every type of music from classical all the way to modern rock is important. This gives a child the ability to form their own opinion to what they might like the best. Classical music can teach a child every aspect of music including, harmony, themes, dynamics, polymeters, and polyrhythms. These are the components that are scarce in modern music today. The three major components of variation are melody, rhythm, and meter. Variation is an important key to teach a child so that they understand the there are many different ways to approach music and life. The composer Lucien Caillet wrote many variations on the theme ?Pop Goes the Weasel?. Most children have heard this tune in cartoons or songs at school not realizing the classical context. This is a wonderful piece for children because of the dramatic and calm instrumentals followed by the variations of the theme. The music has a whimsical cheerful feel to it and is a perfect example for an introduction, theme, five variations of the theme followed by a coda. These are all important parts of a piece for a child to recognize. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a remarkable composer that all children should study. The piece, ?Ah, Vous Dirai-je, Maman? is perfect for a child in that it resembles a well known nursery rhyme, ?Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?. This piece is also an example of variations of theme. This begins as a simple melody transforming into a complex variation containing a difference in meter throughout the variations with in an increase in tempo. The composition has a ver... ...istmas along with presents and a Kingdom of Sweets is enough to keep a child delighted. Music in any form is important for all people to have in their lives. When a child is introduced to various forms of music at an early age it helps to broaden their minds and see the beauty outside of material things. It is important for a child to learn to have an open mind before the mishaps of life have a chance to close them. Bibliography: Works Cited Bond, Judy and Vincent Lawrence. Share the Music Third Edition. Macmillan Publishing Company, 1995. Bond, Judy and Vincent Lawrence. Share the Music Second Edition. Macmillan Publishing Company,1988. Staton, Barbara and Merill Staton. Music and You Fifth Grade. Macmillan Publishing Company, 1968. Staton, Barbara and Merill Staton. Music and You Forth Grade. Macmillan Publishing Company, 1978.

Justice at the Scaffold in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Ess

Justice at the Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Richard Harter Fogle acknowledges the aspect of the superhuman as "the sphere of absolute insight, justice, and mercy: few of Hawthorne's tales and romances can be adequately considered without taking it into account" ("Realms of Being and Dramatic Irony" 309). This superhuman aspect surfaces through Divine Justice in The Scarlet Letter. On the other hand, the merely human application of justice emerges through the Puritan laws, or Earthly Justice. The struggle for supremacy in the novel between Earthly and Divine Justice becomes a central theme, reflected in multiple aspects of the plot. However, the focal point in this struggle manifests itself at the scaffold in Boston, where Divine Justice materializes and ultimately triumphs over Earthly Justice.    The thematic struggle at the battleground of the scaffold unfolds and develops through Hawthorne's three scaffold scenes. Earthly Justice dominates the first scene, where the Puritans force the stoic Hester Prynne, bearing the scarlet "A" on her bosom, to stand on the scaffold in front of the cackling, condemning Puritan crowd. Hawthorne explains that "shame...was the essence of this punishment" (41). Moreover, Ernest Sandeen verifies that a sinner "feels shame before his fellowman and fear before his God" ("The Scarlet Letter as a Love Story" 360), meaning that Earthly Justice induces shame as Divine Justice creates fear. Therefore, since Hester's punishment reduced her to shame on the scaffold, Earthly Justice dispensed its punishment, asserting its authority, in this first scaffold scene.    Also, Dimmesdale's reluctance in this scene to admit his guilt diminishes the hope for Divine Justice, which is fo... ...werful yet merciful Divine Justice that unfailingly watched over them.       Works Cited    Abel, Darrel. "Hawthorne's Hester." The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: Norton, 1988. 300-308. Feidelson, Charles, Jr. "The People of Boston." The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: Norton, 1988. 371-375. Fogle, Richard Harter. "Realms of Being and Dramatic Irony." The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: Norton, 1988. 308-315. Sandeen, Ernest. "The Scarlet Letter as a Love Story." The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: Norton, 1988. 350-361.

Rhetorical analysis of “The Scarlet letter” Essay

Pearls have always held a great price to mankind, but no pearl has ever been earned at as high a cost to a person as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s powerful heroine Hester Prynne. Her daughter Pearl, born into a Puritan prison in more ways than one, is an enigmatic character serving entirely as a vehicle for symbolism. From her introduction as an infant on her mother’s scaffold of shame, Pearl is an empathetic and intelligent child. Throughout the story she absorbs the hidden emotions of her mother and magnifies them for all to see, and asks questions nothing but a child’s innocence permit her to ask, allowing Hawthorne to weave rich detail into The Scarlet Letter without making the story overly narrative. Pearl, at times, is a vehicle for Hawthorne to express the irrational qualities of Hester and Dimmesdale’s illicit bond, and at others a forceful reminder of her mother’s sin. Pearl Prynne is Hester’s most precious possession and her only reason to live, but also a priceless treasure purchased with her life. Pearl’s strange beauty and deeply enigmatic qualities make her an increadably powerful symbol. The product of Hester’s sin and agony, Pearl was a painfully constant reminder of her mother’s violation of the Seventh Commandment: ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’. Hester herself felt that Pearl was given to her both as a blessing and also a punishment worse than death. She is tormented by her daughter’s childish teasing and endless questioning about the scarlet â€Å"A† and it’s relation to Minister Dimmesdale and his maladies. After Pearl has created a letter â€Å"A† on her own breast out of seaweed, she asks her mother: â€Å"But in good earnest, now, mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean? — and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom? — and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?† Pearl implies that she knows much more about the scarlet letter than she lets on. Throughout the conversation Pearl is impish and teasing, saying one thing and contradicting it soon after. She refuses to say just what she means, which makes it hard for Hester to give a straight reply. Hester is  shocked that her playful daughter has lead their conversation to the topic of the scarlet letter, and even more disturbed that she has assumed Hester’s letter and Dimmesdale’s habit of pressing his hand to his heart branch from the same issue. Pearl, in bringing this forbidden and painful subject about, unwittingly inflicts agony upon her mother. Hester cannot tell her daughter what has passed between the minister and herself and come clean. Pearl symbolizes a hidden part of her mother that has not, and will never be exposed and therefore washed free of sin. Pearl was always drawn to the â€Å"A†, and seemed to twist the symbolic knife in Hester’s bosom every time she thought she was free of her weighty burden of sin. Pearl’s questioning wrenched Hester’s heart when the child seemed to somehow know about the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne herself realized that Pearl was unlike other children, and prayed that she was not sin incarnate. When Hester finally frees herself of her sin and removes the scarlet letter after years of it’s leaden weight on her chest, it was little Pearl who brought the reality of her eternal condemnation back to Hester with a stinging blow. She was â€Å"the scarlet letter endowed with life†. Pearl represented the part of Hester to be always dulled by the searing judgment of others in that she was Hester’s ceaseless reminder of the sin she had committed, but also symbolized everything about Hester that was free and alive. She brings Hesters inner feelings to life, magnifying them for the world to see. Pearl is the only happiness in Hester Prynne’s lonely life. Without a child to care for, teach, and love, Hester would have long ago given her soul and life over to evil. Yet she is also the contradictory pain that weighs down Hester’s shoulders. If Pearl had never have been born, she would not be condemed to her sinned concience. This wonderful child is symbolizing the strong connection bettween two rivaling forces; love and pain. Although Pearl is the product of an illicit bond bettween two people, she is also the only thing Hester has to live for. When town authorities, shocked at Pearl’s apparent belief that she was plucked from a rose bush and not created by God, recommended she be taken from Hester and placed in a school, Hester responds with the following: â€Å"God gave me this child!†¦ She is my happiness, she is my torture none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life!†¦Ye shall not take her! I will die first!† Pearl, though Hester understands that she was God-given as a constant reminder or her sin, is her only love and a friend that does not judge her by things past. Later, Hester comments that she would have â€Å"signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood!† if they had taken Pearl from her. Her daughter is her only earthly salvation, as well as her only friend. Pearl is a blessing upon Hester in that her light-heartedness and seeming innocence allow her mother to forget about her troubles. To see Pearl playing on the beach and creating a fascinating world of her own is to allow Hester to momentarily throw off the shackles imposed on her by Puritan society and be truly happy. The Scarlet Letter is overflowing with masterfully crafted symbolism and representation, but Pearl Prynne is the purest and deepest symbol in the story. She was born not only out of utter sin, but out of the deepest and most absolute love imaginable. She serves as a messenger of God’s salvation through pain, and as a symbol of all that is blissful and content in Hester Prynne’s life. In the end, it is Pearl who kisses Arthur Dimmesdale as he lies dying on the scaffold, having admitted his sin. She breaks a spell that had lain over the dyad in adultery and herself – the product of their sin -, completing her service as a symbol of pain and hardship, but more importantly a symbol of love, salvation, and the deep bond between two lovers condemned by the strict decorum of the Puritan days.

Bags of Reactions Lab Essay

* Problem/Purpose * Background Information: The Law of Conservation of Mass was created by Antoine Lavoisier in the 18th century. This law stated that mass could matter could neither be created nor destroyed. During a reaction the bonds of the reactants are broken and form new substances. As stated in the Law of Conservation, matter can neither be created nor destroyed; because of this the products should have the same number and type of atoms as seen in the reactants. * Purpose: Test the Law of Conservation of Mass. * Hypothesis: If we weight the mass of the materials before and after the reaction, then we can prove if the Law of Conservation of Mass is true. * Materials: * Goggles * 25mL graduated cylinder * 2 resealable bags * Scale * Antacid tablet * Scoopula * CaCl2 , Calcium Chloride * NaHCO3 , Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate * Universal Indicator * Procedure Part A 1. Measure 25mL of water and put into a resealable bag. Flatten air out of the bag and seal it. Record the mass in Table 1. 2. Record the mass of the antacid tablet in Table 1 3. Tip the bag sideways, and while holding the bag this way, add the tablet and water so not mix. Do not trap any extra air in the bag. Reseal the bag. 4. Let the tablet drop into the water. Observe the reaction until it comes to a complete stop. Record the observations. 5. When the reaction is complete, record the mass of the bag and its contents in Table 1. Part B 6. Add two scoops of CaCl2 to the second bag 7. Add one scoop of NaHCO3 to the bag and shake gently to mix. 8. Determine the mass of the bag and its contents. Record in Table 2. 9. Measure 25mL of water in a graduated cylinder. Add 10 drops of Universal Indicator to the water. 10. Tip the bag sideways, and while holding the solids in the upper part of the bag, pour the water into the bag so the solids don’t mix. 11. Keeping the trapped air to a minimum, reseal the bag. Hold the bag and let the liquid move from one end of the bag to the other until the contents are mixed. 12. Observe the reaction until it comes to a complete stop. Record your observations 13. Record the mass of the unopened bag in Table 2. Clean up your work and wash your hands before leaving the laboratory. * Data/Results Table 1: Antacid and Water| Mass of bag and water| 27.085g| Mass of tablet| 3.21g| Mass of bag and reactants| 30.305g| Mass of bag and products| 28.14g| Table 2: CaCl2, NaHCO3, and Water| Mass of bag and dry reactants| 4.09g| Volume of water| 25mL| Mass of water| 24.925g| Total mass of bag and reactants| 29.015g| Mass of bag and products| 27.37g| * Analysis/Conclusion A. Analysis Questions: 1. How do the values for the total mass before and after each reaction demonstrate the law of conservation of mass? The values seem to be in the same general value 2. What were three observations you made that indicated a reaction had occurred in part A? The tablet started to fizz, the bag began to fill with gas, and you could hear the tablet reacting with the water. 3. An indicator changes color when the acidity of a solution changes. What evidence is there that such change occurred in Part B? The universal indicator changed to a yellowish orange color 4. Did the reaction in Part B become more acidic or basic? More acidic B. Conclusion: The lab showed us that the Law of Conservation of Mass is correct. I feel that there were some mistakes in the lab. The size of the scale we were using was not large enough to fit the entire bag on for weighing. I feel that this affected the results we recorded for mass. If I were to redo this experiment I would be sure to use a bigger scale. I feel the data was also affected by extra air left in the bag. The results are close enough to show that the Law of Conservation of Mass is possible though when you take into accounts the problem we had with the lab.

International Trade and Finance Speech Essay

This speech delivered by the Speaker of the House to a group of reporters surrounding the topics of international trade, foreign exchange rates, import surplus and how they each impact different constituencies. It will also explain why the government would not be able to restrict importation of goods from China, or if wanted to impose tariffs. The Economy and international Trade The United States was once the highest exporter in all the world. Today, the United States has a negative balance of trade, because of the fact that we now import more goods than we export goods. An example of an import would be oil. The oil that we have imported impacts our businesses and our consumers by making gasoline and other oil derivatives more expensive. This makes prices increase because consumers will have to pay for goods from the fact that the cost of driving will go up. This is a major reason why the government is trying to encourage the development of alternate forms of energy such as coal or natural gas. The goods that the United States imports are not always negative. American consumers have benefited greatly from the imports such as electronics or apparel that is made mostly in Asia. The cost of production for these goods are lower in China and most other Asian countries, making it much cheaper for Americans to buy these types of goods that are being manufactured overseas. The reality of international trade is that production will naturally shift to places where goods can be manufactured more efficiently and at a lower price. What the United States has to focus on is developing new technologies and products of higher quality. With a focus based on innovation and quality instead of labor costs. International trade has an impact on the country’s GDP, the financial markets, and importantly university students. The GDP of the United States becomes stronger when we export goods more than we import goods. If negative trade balances become consistent it can lead to deficits, which will in turn cause the government to borrow more. If the government borrows more this will have an impact on the financial markets which could in time make it more costly for the United States to cover all its deficits. We need to promote our exports in order to help the GDP and make our country more impressive to investors. A healthier economy will create enough employment for those needed, especially university graduates that will be trained for the field. The quotas and tariffs regarding the government’s choices has a direct impact on our trade and the relations that we have with other countries. Reducing tariffs and participating in free trade agreements helps our export businesses. This is a reason why our government has in the past worked for establishing trade agreements with countries as South Korea, Panama, and Colombia. When a free trade agreement takes place the trading partners will erase their quotas or tariffs against products from America, this makes it easier for us to send our products to those countries. Trade is a two way engagement, where both are finding a way to benefit, with consumers benefiting as well and our exports getting higher. Foreign exchange rates are the rates of one type of currency converted to another. Such as the rate for exchange between American dollars and Japan’s Yen which is 76 Yen per dollar. Some currencies are fixed with others. The rates of floating currency is determined by the supply and demand. An example is if the European demand for the dollar increases, the supply and demand relationship between them will cause the price to increase of the dollar in relation to the euro. There are many factors that affect exchange rates that include interest rates, unemployment, political instability, inflation, and GDP. When our GDP becomes higher and our exports become level with our imports, the stronger our currency will be and we will have a better overall financial health. There are some people that believe in protectionist policies that include restricting goods that are coming in from China and several other countries, including imposing tariffs that would increase costs for purchasing of goods in the United States. This kind of policy would be populist and fueled with the good intentions of trying to protect our American jobs, its actual consequences would be an elevating trade war with an opposite effect. History proves that when governments have attempted to restrict trade and enforced protectionist measures, other countries will attempt to retaliate and adopt similar policies. An example is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which broke records by increasing tariffs on 25,000 goods which had an end effect of reducing imports and exports by 50% as trade partners began with similar style tariffs. This will translate into more unemployment as companies that will export their goods will see a drastic demand drop. Restricting imports from China woul d bring drastic measures from the Chinese government, and our companies would struggle as they would be unable to export goods to that part of the world. References Colander, D. C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th Ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin International Trade, ISSN 0020-7810, 2011, Volume 45, Issue 1, p. 79 The Journal of Economics, ISSN 0895-3309, 2007, Volume 21, Issue 3, p. 105 Foreign Policy, ISSN 0015-7228, 11/2003, Issue 139, p. 20 The American Foreign Trade, ISSN 0002-8282, 12/1928, Volume 18, Issue 4, pp. 706 – 713

Green Mountain Coffee Essay

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters opened as a cafe in 1981 in Vermont. They roasted their own coffee and before long, demand grew and local restaurants and inns began to order their premium roasted coffee as well. Today the Company has extensive wholesale, direct mail and e-commerce operations. Green Mountain Coffee now has a distribution facility and two production sites in Vermont, and a manufacturing and warehousing facility in Knox County, TN (GMCR.com). GMCR’s operations are managed through two business units. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands, including Tully’s Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee and Newman’s Own Organics coffee. The Keurig business unit is a leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems and markets its patented single-cup brewing systems for consumers at home and away-from-home. K-Cup portion packs for Keurig Single-Cup Brewers are produced by a variety of licensed brands, including Green Mountain Coffee, Starbucks, and Tully’s Coffee (GMCR.com). Keurig, Incorporated, which became a subsidiary of GMCR in 2006, is the second business unit of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Keurig was launched in 1990 by Peter Dragone and John Sylvan, who asked themselves why do we brew coffee by the pot when we drink it by the cup? From this question, the concept of Keurig K-Cup portion-pack brewing was born. Keurig brewing systems employ a design that utilizes single serving pods of coffee grounds that the machine pushes hot water through and into the waiting cup. The result is a fresh, hot cup of coffee that has not been sitting in the coffee pot waiting to be poured. In 1998, after eight years of development, Keurig released an industrial-strength, single-serve machine that delivered a perfect cup of coffee or tea every time. Keurig brewing systems employ a design that utilizes single serving pods of coffee grounds that the machine pushes hot water through and into the waiting cup. The result is a fresh, hot cup of coffee that has not been sitting in the coffee pot waiting to be poured. K-cups are offered in 249 varieties on the Keurig website. Most retail grocery stores sell several varieties of K-cups. There are two types of Keurig brewers, the K-cup system and the new Vue brewing system. There are 12 different K cup style brewers. In the spring of 2012, Keurig released a Vue brewing system that gives the consumer the ability to customize their drink by offering more cup size options and by brewing specialty beverages, such as lattes and cappuccinos. To date, there is only one model of the Vue brewing system available. Competitor Analysis The market for single-cup coffee brewers is a fairly new one and has very few companies selling single-cup brewing systems. The market is an oligopoly, with GMCR’s Keurig holding approximately 75 percent of the US market share (Foxbusiness.com), followed by the Tassimo by Kraft, Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto and Senseo. The global leader is Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Nespresso system with 35 percent, followed by Senseo brewers with 18 percent, and Kraft Food’s Tassimo with 8 percent. Green Mountain ranks fourth globally with almost 8 percent (Geller & Dalal, 2012). Almost all of the coffee brewers in the market are priced between $75 and $175. For around $100, the consumer has a choice of a hand full of basic brewers. The single-cup brewers each have their own system with pods or cups that work exclusively with their machine. Most of the companies in the market make most of their profit from the sale of their coffee as opposed to their machines. Mr. Coffee released a new machine in the fall that is compatible with Keurig’s K-cups specifically to edge in on Keurig’s share of the market. It is compatible with Keurig’s K-cups and is less expensive to the consumer. The main competitors in the mainstream single-cup coffee system market in the United States are Keurig, Tassimo, and Senseo. The less competitive players in the market are Mr. Coffee and Nescafe, while Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Nespresso is currently the only serious contender in the high-end market in the United States. GMCR invests significant resources and capital in engineering and research and development in order to keep Keurig’s position as the leader in the single-cup brewing market. As a result, they have a strong and growing portfolio of market-leading, proprietary technology. Keurig’s integrated engineering team drives fast and original product development in brewers, portion packs, and high-speed packaging lines; all three areas that supported Keurig’s single-cup system. The engineering team at Keurig includes mechanical, software, and nutritional science, as well as quality assurance and industrial engineering. The company’s emphasis on quality products, easy-to-use features, and innovative technologies has earned Keurig high marks in customer satisfaction. GMCR started distribution of the new single-cup Keurig premium coffee system to office coffee service and food service providers in 1998. Keurig’s strategy to gain market share in the office market is to sell machines to distributors and encourage them to give the machines away or lease them for a small fee. The economics of the strategy works for distributors because the real profit is in selling K-Cups. Keurig sells it’s machines, both to distributors and to individual consumers, at near cost and gives the machines away or rents them cheaply to businesses, in order to secure the customer’s business. They make up the cost in less than six months just on the sales of their K-cups. Keurig has licensed several additional coffee roasters to package gourmet coffee and teas into K-Cups, all of which pay royalties to Keurig based on the number of K-Cups shipped. In addition to offering Green Mountain Coffee and Newman’s Own Organics and Celestial Seasonings Tea brands, which are packaged and sold by Green Mountain Coffee, Keurig offers several other North American K-Cup brands, such as Caribou, Folgers and most recently, Starbucks (Starbucksdrinks.com). The weaknesses of GMCR’s Keurig are that the K-cups are not recyclable and create more waste than traditionally brewed coffee, since the cups are made of plastic and aluminum. The company has received some bad press for being not eco-friendly enough. Another significant weakness is that Keurig’s strategy relies heavily on selling K-cups. The company makes most of it’s profit from the sale of coffee. However, in the fall of 2012, two of Keurig’s patents expire and other companies will likely begin producing pods that are compatible with Keurig brewing systems. Already, there are reusable cups on the market that consumers can buy to fill with the ground coffee of their choice. Tassimo is made by Kraft and was first introduced to the market in 2004. There are three Tassimo single-cup brewers currently on the market. Tassimo brewers use non-reusable plastic beverage pods called Tassimo discs (T-Discs), which are produced by Kraft. Each has a barcode printed on its label, which the machine reads to calculate the amount of water, brewing time, and temperature for the specific beverage. The strengths of Tassimo’s strategy are centered around their unique barcode. While Keurig pods are pre-measured to have one amount, no matter how strong or how large you want your coffee, the barcode on the T-Disc tell the Tassimo brewer exactly how to make the perfect cup of the drink in the disc. Tassimo’s T-Discs also use liquid milk, instead of powdered milk in their T-Discs and is capable of making beverages with frothed milk (Tassimodirect.com). The result is that the consumer can make better specialty drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos in their Tassimo. Also, the market has already seen the introduction of reusable cups for the Keurig, that the consumer can fill with the ground coffee of their choosing. This is bad news for a company that makes virtually all of its profit from coffee sales. There are also reusable pods for the Senseo. Tassimo is the only system that is protected because of their unique barcode system. The weakness that is holding Tassimo back from taking more market share is the lack of popular brands of coffee available in T-Disc form. While Keurig has lots of big name coffees available in K-cup form, Tassimo’s most well-known brand available in T-Disc is Maxwell house. A very recent, and concerning, weakness is that Tassimo recalled 835,000 coffee makers in the United States and another 900,000 in Canada after dozens of reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves (http://www.cpsc.gov). There have been 140 reports of incidents with the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers, including 37 reports of second-degree burn injuries. This is very bad for Tassimo because when people do internet research to help them decide which single-cup brewer is right for them, this recall is the first thing they will see. Senseo is made by Sara Lee, who recently bought the brand from Philips, and was one of the first single-cup brewers on the market in 2001. Unlike the other single-cup systems, the Senseo uses coffee â€Å"pods† instead of cups. The pods are made of coffee-filter paper and the consumer has the option to use one for a regular strength, or small, cup of coffee or to use two pods for a larger cup, such as a travel mug, or for a stronger cup of coffee. The ability to choose one or two pods is Senseo’s biggest strength. Reviews from coffee critics consistently give Senseo high marks in flavor and quality when compared to the other popular single-cup coffee systems. Senseo’s weaknesses are that they have built an unattractive brand image and that they do not have contracts with any well-known coffee companies and have very little variety in the coffee pods that are available. They produce 11 coffee blends, all under the Senseo name, for the Senseo brewer (senseo.us). In an interview in February, Sara Lee’s Executive Chairman, Jan Bennink, told Reuters that the Senseo is â€Å"a very unsexy machine† (reuters.com) and that young people do not want to be associated with the brand. Market Analysis Worldwide coffee sales peaked at $70.86 billion in 2011. Sales of single-serve packets accounted for $5.75 billion of that, or 8 per cent (Geller & Dalal, 2012). The single-cup coffee market grew at a rate 31 percent from 2010. Most Americans who consume coffee are still drinking traditionally brewed coffee. Coffee brewed in a single-cup machine from a pod, K-cup or T-Disc cost more than twice as much as the average ground coffee brewed in a drip coffee maker. There are few barriers to entry into the single-cup coffee market. Companies that already have brand-name recognition are more able, and likely, to produce their own single-cup system. One barrier to entry is that there are already some highly recognized names in the market that will make it difficult for an unknown company to compete. Another barrier is the high cost of entry into the market. Developing the technology to create a single-cup brewing system that will take market share from the established players is a daunting task that will discourage small companies from attempting to move into the market. The most interesting potential entrant to the market is Starbucks. In March, 2012, they announced that they will be releasing a single-cup coffee system later this year (Andrejczak, 2012). This is interesting because Starbucks and GMCR struck a deal in 2011 to sell Starbucks coffee in K-cups. The K-cups have been a huge success for both companies. So far, both companies are denying that the release of Starbucks’ Verismo will negatively affect the sell of Keurig machines and K-cups. The Verismo is being marketed as a high-end, high-pressure, specialty coffee system, more similar to the Nespresso than the Keurig and Tassimo, but considering how popular the Starbucks K-cups are, it will be interesting to see how it’s release affects Keurig and the single-cup coffee market. The Nespresso is worth mentioning in the potential entrants section because although they have been making single-cup machines for some time, they are only recently trying to grow in the United States ma rket. They are opening small boutiques in major cities, most recently in San Francisco this year, and advertising on major television channels. They market their product as a high-end system, but it will be interesting to see how much of Keurig’s market share they take. The substitutes in the single-cup coffee brewer market are traditional drip brewer coffee makers, caffeinated sodas, energy drinks and coffee from a coffee house, such as Starbucks, or from a fast food restaurant. McDonalds has invested a lot of money and advertising in the last five years reinventing their image as a hip coffee shop. Consumers can now get good coffee and specialty coffee beverages like cappuccinos and frappuccinos through the drive-thru window at a reasonable cost. Suppliers have moderate bargaining power in the market. If companies that produce coffee do not want to put their coffee in K-Cup or T-Disc form, that hurts the companies that manufacture the brewing systems. Senseo has no relationship with coffee producers, and it has drastically affected their business. Customers have moderate bargaining power as well. Most of the pods, discs and cups for the systems are sold in grocery stores or mass merchandisers. If Wal-Mart throws their support behind one of the companies, that company is more than likely going to experience growth in sales, while the other companies will be negatively affected. Likewise, if customers decide that they do not agree with the values, cost, etc of one of the companies in the market, they can take their business elsewhere and the loss of sales would hurt the company. However, if they are particular about the brand of coffee that they drink, they are tied to the company that sells that brand in a form that can be brewed in their machine. Keurig is the only machine that sells Starbucks coffee, for example, at least until the Verismo debuts this fall.