The Biggest Myth About Religion Essay Topics Argumentative Exposed

The Biggest Myth About Religion Essay Topics Argumentative Exposed Your readers want to see the entire picture, and that's what you should concentrate on. Simply, you ought to aim to make them interested in furthering their discussion independently even when they are finished with the reading the writing. It is very important to get started with demonstrating the principal idea of the entire piece so you and your readers are going to be on the exact same page. Since you may see, there's a multitude of different argumentative paper titles you'll be able to utilize. Understanding how to compose a strong argumentative paper will help you advance your very own argumentative thinking. If you own a list of strong and intriguing topics, you are going to have better likelihood of writing a compelling essay. If you decide on boring, bland or irrelevant topics, you aren't going to have an extremely prosperous paper. It is possible to download our sample essay papers at no cost. When it has to do with writing an argumentative essay, the most significant issue to do is to select a topic and an argument you can really get behind. With terrific arguments, it is going to be effortless to produce your standpoint. When you are requested to pick a great topic for your argument, start with something you're familiarized with. To earn argument logical emotions should not be regarded as as a tool. It's possible to restate your argument, which is a rather common practice amongst essayists. The student should investigate a topic, evaluate evidence, collect, generate, and set a standpoint on the subject in a powerful and concise way. Actually, the action of arguing involves providing proof to back up your claim, with or without emotions. What You Should Do to Find Out About Religion Essay Topics Argumentative Before You're Left Behind The role of assigning an essay to middle school students is to make awareness and permit them to develop writing skills. With proper main topics, they can reach good results. At various classes, they learn how to perform great articles. Too many students will select the previous stand-bys. Religion Essay Topics Argumentative Can Be Fun for Everyone If you don't have an urge to waste time on choosing the best topic and writing the entire argumentative essay from scratch, don't forget you have a loyal group of professionals by your side. It's possible to select an intriguing topic from any area of science. If you're struggling, you always have the option to obtain help by employing an essay writing service such as ours. Many students make the most of our title page generator. Religion Essay Topics Argumentative Fundamentals Explained There are lots of aspects about a sport that may be argued in an essay. In many professional contexts, respectful argumentation is the thing that leads to the growth of new suggestions and perspectives. You have to be able to use persuasive language. Where to Find Religion Essay Topics Argumentative The thesis gives you a guideline about how to go about with writing the essay. Your essay will be nice and interesting only as long as you're interested in the issue. If you must write your whole essay in 1 day, do your very best to give yourself breaks so you don't burn out. To locate argumentative essay topics easy on various platforms, you want to comprehend about the argumentative essay. When you are finished with your essay, you must not merely check it for spelling and grammatical errors, but nevertheless, it also has to be checked for logical fallacies. Argumentative essays are a few of the best that you can write as a student. An argumentative essay is a certain sort of academic writing. All argumentative essays should have a conclusion paragraph. The Do's and Don'ts of Religion Essay Topics Argumentative One of the absolute most ideal domains to carry a research is on distinct religions and distinct beliefs. There's no point if one selects a topic that isn't even understandable. There are many procedures that may help you to select a topic. It's important to select debatable argumentative essay topics since you need opposing points that you could counter to your own points. You don't need to find super technical with legal argumentative essays, but make sure you do your homework on what the recent laws about your preferred topic actually say. Around the world, immigration is a popular topic as countries suffer from war and financial disasters. It's possible to pick topics from several lists of ready themes. Recent argumentative essay topics that are related to society is going to do. Want to Know More About Religion Essay Topics Argumentative? A number of potential paper's subjects allows students choosing the best ones employing personal wisdom and number of different explanations. Doing sports in college ought to be mandatory. Our crew of professional writers with the required experience and writing skills is always prepared to fulfill your demands and exceed your expectations. Another reason is to observe how well students argue on unique views and demonstrate understanding of the studied subject.

Essay about Negative Impact of Advertising to Children

The Negative Impact of Advertising to Children As citizens in the modern world, we are used to being bombarded with over 3,000 advertisements over the course of our day (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2006). Advertisements are so common that we often do not realize we are viewing them. Originally, an advertisement was a way to reach the world. In the early days of television, the programming had to be entertaining for many demographics, because there were only a few channels that targeted a mass audience. During this time, a focus was not placed on audience segmentation, because there were not enough media channels to segment an audience. Today, audiences are segmented through all forms of media. Through this increased segmentation,†¦show more content†¦Through sponsorships, advertisers would buy an hour or half hour program and use that time to promote their product. A radio club was beneficial to both the advertisers and the radio networks because a child would listen to the radio program and buy a specific number o f products to join the club (Children and Advertising, 2010). With the creation of television, advertisers built on the practice perfected by radio of weaving sponsorships into the programming. In 1955, Mattel was one of the first companies to advertise to children on television. Mattel bought a year worth of sponsorships on the Mickey Mouse Show. The sponsorships often included an advertorial and plugs from the programs characters. Today, advertising is everywhere and directed at nearly everyone (Table and Home, 2004). A 1999 study found that children, on average, spend three hours per day watching television and six hours and thirty-two minutes per day in front of a screen. As this study was presented over ten years ago and technology has rapidly advanced, these numbers have undoubtedly grown. At this rate, by the time a person reaches seventy years old, they will have spent 7 to 10 years just watching television (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2010). Advertisers reach children t hrough all of the media they access and just about everywhere outside of that media as well. A young child is not mentally equipped to understand point of view and persuasion like aShow MoreRelatedThe Negative Impact of Targeted Advertising on Adolescents and Children2406 Words   |  10 PagesAt the current time advertising can be represented in many ways - as a business, a fundamental ingredient of entrepreneurship or as an alternative way of communicating (William F. 2004). Originating from ancient times, its main purpose is to sell a product. William F. (2004, 6) claims that â€Å"every consumer is exposed to hundreds or even thousands of advertisements every day†. We view advertisements everywhere: on TV, banners, Web-sites, in magazines, newspapers, on sport events or even printed onRead MoreNegative Influence of Advertising1524 Words   |  7 PagesNegative influence of advertising on society Advertising by definition is a paid form of  communication  intended to  persuade  an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas, or services. We are taken  into what the advertisers exactly want us to do - buy their products. Advertisements in themselves are not bad. They do perform an important  role in the society and that is the promotion of products and services  so that people will become aware ofRead MoreAdvertising And Their Influence On Children1516 Words   |  7 PagesEthics in advertising and their influence on children: Introduction Advertising has grown massively due to the expansion of technology and this has transformed the advertising industry. Organisations are spending heavily in advertising to differentiate their brands and cut throat competition among advertising companies is a priority. However, in this race for standing out, advertisers and marketers might overlook the ethical policies. Ethics in advertising has become critical in today’s scandalRead MoreEssay about Effect of Television Viewing on Child Development952 Words   |  4 Pageseveryday lives. Children have begun to turn to television for their main source of entertainment .Television has its own good sides but research shows that the disadvantages of television watching for children outweigh the advantages. This is because it will affect children’s health, children’s educational development, children’s cognitive skill and also children’s behaviour. There are many negative health impacts of television watching for children. First of all, children who love to watchRead MoreThe Media And Its Effects On Teen And Young Undeveloped Brains1237 Words   |  5 PagesThe advertising business views teenagers in society as a viable market section, due to their immature understanding of the media and its dazzling impact on teen and young undeveloped brains. The media is progressively specializing in children and adolescents to captivate with advertisements. according to market research corporations, teenagers are vital to marketers because they can pay a considerable open income, spend family cash easily, and they are easily able to influence their families to spendRead MoreEffects Of Advertising On Children And The Overall Effects It Has On Our Society1404 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Marketing to children is not a new phenomenon; however, there have been many ethical debates on its rightness; is advertising to children a gentle persuasion of the innocent or a sinister threat to our society? There’s too much as stake if we remain silent and simply assume that marketing companies have our children’s best interests at heart; the truth is they don’t. This paper will explore to implications of marketing to children and the overall effects it has on our society. I willRead MoreSocial and Environmental Factors Causing Obesity in Children809 Words   |  3 Pagesobesity in the UK have remained consistently high and the percentage of children aged between two and fifteen years’ old classed as obese from 16% in 2008, to 19% in 2010. From what we know by World Health Organization, there were nearly 40 million children under 5 years’ old overweighed in 2010 across the world. Obesity is a medical condition that children who carry excess body fat accumulated which may have a negative impact on health. This problem is mostly caused by constantly consuming more caloriesRead MoreNegative Effects Of Advertising On Children1261 Words   |  6 Pagesadvertisements. Children are especially vulnerable to the negative effects from advertising as many argue they are unable to decipher media content from an advertisement. The center for disease control reports that the obesity rates in children ranging from 2-11 has more than doubled in recent years. The majority of the research for this critique comes from the United States but can be applied to nations with similar media exposure like Canada. One predicted cause of the increase of obesity in children is dueRead MoreRestrictions on Advertising Aimed Towards Children641 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Marketing towards children should have some form of restriction. A number of ethical perspectives confirms this fact, which is well elucidated in Stephanie Cliffords A Fine Line Wh en Ads and Children Mix which ran in the New York Times. The basic premise for why there needs to be restrictions on advertising aimed towards children is that children do not have the cognitive prowess or development to distinguish between clever marketing and items of consumption that they actually need. This factRead MoreThe Negative Effects of Television on Children in Society Essay1308 Words   |  6 Pagesaverage, children watch 28 hours per week. The effect of television creates negative development in children. Television is one of the biggest contributions to the growing amount of obese children in North America. The amount of glorified violence in today’s society can be attributed to children watching high rated television shows. Many young children are involved in promiscuous behaviour. This might be a result of what they had seen on a television program. A good deal of advertising companies

Competitive Strategy And Innovation of Virgin Group †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Competitive Strategy And Innovation of Virgin Group. Answer: Introduction In this dynamic global business environment, changes are taking place which affects the performance of the business. It is vital for the business to cope with these changes of the dynamic business environment. Various challenges are being faced by the business due to these changes of the business environment. These challenges include competition, change in technology and change in the availability of resources. For coping with these challenges and enhancing the chances of survival, success and growth of the business, there is a need to adopt competitive strategies and innovative strategies or approaches. Organisations are utilising the strengths and capabilities for gaining competitive advantage. Innovation is an important part of the dynamic business environment so as to stay competitive in this competitive business environment. Different strategies are being adopted by the businesses for gaining a competitive advantage over the others and implementing innovation strategy. The case of Virgin group has been selected for the execution of this assignment. Virgin group is a private company which is operating in the conglomerate industry. Headquarter of Virgin group is located in London, United Kingdom. It is offering services all around the globe. Products or services which are being offered by Virgin group are banking, books, commercial aviation, commercial spaceflight, consumer electronics, films, healthcare, internet, jewellery, mobile phones, music, radio, retail and travel (Virgin Group, 2017). Virgin group is operating in the dynamic business environment and is coping with the changing aspects of this business environment in a successful manner. For gaining an advantage over the others in the industry, there is a need to adopt a competitive strategy and providing innovative services or products to the customers. Expansion of the business is dependent on the manner business adopt strategies for gaining competitive advantage and providing innovative se rvices by using innovation. Virgin group has adopted various competitive and innovation strategy for overcoming competition and changes in the technology. Challenges faced by Virgin Group There are various aspects of the business environment which act as a challenge in front of the business. These challenges can affect the performance of the business at large. For the purpose of coping with these challenges, initiatives need to be taken on the part of the organisation. Virgin media has faced various challenges which may have affected the performance of Virgin group. These challenges are listed below: Increasing competition: one of the most important challenges which is being faced by Virgin Group is competition. Competition in the business environment is increasing due to which the performance of the Virgin Group is getting affected. There are various companies which are operating in the same industry and using various strategies for attracting the customers towards them. The rise in competition affects the performance, profitability, growth and chances of success (MENA Report, 2012). Virgin Group is operating in different industries as it is offering a wide range of products or services. It is facing tough competition in the industry due to technology, cost, availability of resources and structure of the organisation. There is a need to overcome the weaknesses and utilise the strengths available for enhancing the performance of the business. Strategies need to be adopted for dealing with the increasing competition and analysis need to be done in the market for analysing the tren d of competition in the market (Schofield, 2017). Availability of the resources: there are various resources which are being used by the business for the purpose of performing the operations of the business. Execution of the operations of the Virgin group is dependent on the availability of various resources. These resources include the requirement of effective and efficient human resource, availability of raw material, finance and machinery. These resources need to be arranged properly and in adequate quantity. These resources need to be utilised in the most suitable manner for the purpose of obtaining the desired outcome. Virgin group need to analyse the need of the resources and make an arrangement so as to meet the needs and expectations of the customers of the business (Taylor, 2013). Expansion: another challenge which is being faced by every business is expanding. Every organisation is operating with a motive to expand the area of operation in which it is operating. Expansion enhances the chances of growth and success of the business and helps in gaining large market share for dealing with the competition. Virgin group is offering a wide variety of products or services and is operating in different industries at the global Focus on Virgin Group is in the expansion of the area of operation by utilising the resources in an effective manner. For the expansion of the area of operation and attaining success in the different businesses of Virgin Group, there is a need to establish coordination between these businesses (Murphy, 2008). Lack of coordination between different business: a broad range of brands are being managed by the Virgin Group as it is operating in different industries for providing a wide range of services or products to the customers. The focus of Virgin Group is on enhancing the customer base of the business. But Virgin Group has faced lack of coordination between the different businesses. Virgin Group is not preparing any consolidated commercial and financial reports for the whole group. Virgin Group has faced negative cash flows in few businesses which have created a proper for the Virgin Group. Coordination between the different businesses of the Virgin Group is required for conducting the operations of different businesses in a better manner. This has affected the profitability of the business at large. The reputation of the whole Virgin Group is at risk as this lack of coordination and negative cash flows are affecting the reputation of the business adversely (Virgin Group, 2010). Irrelevant diversification: competition in the business environment is increasing with the change in the various factors of the business environment. Virgin Group has entered different industries at the global level and lack of coordination between these different businesses has affected the process of diversification of Virgin Group. Diversification can be done in an effective manner with the support of the whole group in a better manner. Relevant diversification promotes better implementation of the plans and attainment of the objectives of the organisation. Diversification strategy is implemented with a motive to expand the area of operation and enhancing the success chances of the business. Diversification needs to be done in a relevant manner and must be related to the other businesses of the group (Jia Jing, 2012). The complicated structure of the organisation: a complicated organisational structure affects the growth of the business. An organisational structure of the business must be simple so as to effectively incorporate the changes in the business environment. Organisational structure of the business creates an impact on the projects of the business. Virgin Group has a complicated organisational structure which has resulted in negative synergy. The environment of the workplace and behaviour or attitude of the employees may get affected due to the complicated organisational structure. An appropriate organisational structure needs to be adopted for promoting flexibility so as to implement the changes in a better manner (Galliers Leidner, 2010). Change in the technology: Another important challenge which is being faced by the organisations is changing in the technology used by the business. Technological advancements are taking place in the business environment which is affecting the performance and operations of the business. Virgin Group is focusing on this factor of the business environment so as to cope with the changing technology and enhancing the performance with the use of technological advancements. Analysis needs to be made of the technological changes taking place so as to analyse whether to use the technological change for enhancing the performance or not (Issa-Salwe, et. al., 2010). Concentrated profits: Profits of the Virgin Group are concentrated as there are different businesses being run by Virgin Group and few of these businesses are earning profits and few are suffering negative cash flows. This negative cash flows and dependency on few businesses for profits affect the performance of Virgin Group. This situation increases the dependency of the other businesses on one business. For enhancing profitability and effectiveness of the different businesses, there is a need to focus on profits generated by every business. Virgin Group is facing a challenge due to concentrated profits and is focusing on resolving the issue (Robinson, 2012). Competitive strategy and innovation Competitive strategies and innovations are crucial aspects of a business as these are effective in shaping the performance of the business. Competitive strategy and innovation strategy enhances the performance by developing competitiveness in the business for coping with the competition present in the business environment. Different strategies have been used by Virgin Group for enhancing the performance and coping with the various challenges faced by the group. Factors present in the business environment are creating an impact on the performance of the Virgin Group and strategies have been implemented by Virgin Group for managing the performance of the business (Qin, 2015). For being competitive and for maintaining a strong customer base business needs to adopt new technologies. These new technologies will help Virgin Group in gaining competitive advantage and performing well in the industry. Virgin group has used innovations for the purpose of dealing with the changing business envi ronment. Strategies which are being adopted by Virgin Group for being competitive and dealing with the challenges faced by it include growth strategies, unrelated diversification strategy, differentiation strategy, risk management strategies, pricing strategies and new content strategy and recruitment and selection strategy (Virgin Media, 2009). Growth strategies have been followed by Virgin Group for gaining a competitive advantage over the others in the industry. According to the business growth, strategies of Virgin Group plans to need to be prepared for the long-term duration for setting goals which business need to achieve. This has helped Virgin Group in analysing the risk factors and opportunities available to Virgin Group in the future. The focus of the business growth strategy of Virgin Group is on gathering a great team which performs the operations of the business as a team and supporting each other. Support is required from each other for performing the roles assigned. This strategy has enhanced the internal support to Virgin Group which has helped it in enhancing the performance and gaining competitive advantage (Lazo Kase, 2010). Unrelated diversification strategy has been adopted by Virgin Group. Differentiation strategy is being used by Virgin Group for enhancing the performance and coping with the challenges faced by the group. Virgin Group is offering various products and is operating different businesses. This strategy is a corporate strategy for the purpose of entering the new market or industry effectively and coping with the increasing competition. In this competitive world, there is a need to be competitive and provide innovative services (Notis, 2015). Virgin Group has entered different product lines for the expansion of the area of operation and enhancing the customer base of the business. Changes have been made in the manner in which expansion of the business of Virgin Group is done. Virgin Group has entered different sectors of the economy for the purpose of enhancing the performance. Unrelated diversification strategy has been adopted by Virgin Group for ensuring that the company is covering a l arge share of the market for different products or services (Vincent, 2010). Risk management strategy is being adopted by Virgin Group for the purpose of coping with the risks faced by the group. Challenges present in the business environment results in an increase in the risks faced by the business. Virgin Group is engaged in long-term planning for formulating plans so as to take better decisions and enhancing the chances of growth of the business in the long run. Long-term planning is required for the purpose of forming a base or outline which will help in laying out a plan on the basis of which activities of the business will be carried out (Jones, 2011). Two risks have been faced by the Virgin Group are a dependency of the brand on Branson and cash crunch within companies. New products are being identified by the Virgin Group for the purpose of identifying the need of the customers and trend in the market. Virgin Group is operating independently and operating different businesses in different industries. This strategy will enhance the competitiveness of V irgin Group as the focus of Virgin Group is on performing well in the competitive business environment. Risk management strategy has helped the Virgin Group in dealing with the risk factors in a better manner and ensuring that these risk factors are not creating any impact on the performance of the business (Moreira, 2014). Pricing strategies is an effective competitive strategy which is being used by Virgin Group. In this competitive business environment, competitors of Virgin Group are reducing the prices of the products and on the other hand, Virgin Group is providing additional services and enhanced services for enhancing the satisfaction level of the customers. Prices of the products or services of Virgin Group are set by analysing the pricing strategies of the competitors for gaining knowledge of the industry (Macleod Clarke, 2011). Virgin Group is performing well in the competitive environment with the use of this competitive strategy. Pricing strategies affect the profitability of the business as well as customer base of the business. This strategy has contributed towards the increase in the customer base and profitability of Virgin Group. Different products are being offered by Virgin Group on different prices so as to attract the customers by offering products of high quality at affordable pr ices (Redpath, et. al., 2016). The new content strategy has been used by Virgin Group in which it has used big data. The motive behind adopting big data is to enhance the situation and to draw a better-targeted content strategy. Virgin Group has undergone a huge transformation in the last 10 years. Social platforms are being used by Virgin Group for the promotion of the products or services and enhancing the customer base of the business. With the use of this strategy, Virgin Group has been successful in attracting the customer or potential customers and analysing the needs of the customers of the business (Pisano, 2016). This strategy has helped Virgin Group in targeting the audience who are strategically important for the company. Identification can be done of the content areas with the help of this strategy and appeal to the target market. Different businesses are using new content strategy for targeting the customers and making an appeal to the targeted audience in a better manner. Knowledge of the audience of the business is developed with the help of this strategy. This strategy will enhance the performance of Virgin Group by enhancing the capabilities of Virgin Group (Feloni, 2015). Recruitment and selection strategy has been adopted by Virgin Group for hiring effective and efficient workforce for the execution of the operations of the business. Recruitment and selection process is crucial for every business as the performance and productivity of the business are dependent on the quality of human resource. During the screening process of the recruitment and selection program, six key characteristics have been set for screening new employees (Rosenberg, 2015). These six characteristics ensure that efficient employees are being hired which enhances the productivity of the business. Forgetting hired in Virgin Group one need to have a passion for new ideas, making the creativity apparent and disclosing a record of thinking in a different way. Virgin Group has described the employees of the group as questioning, honest, amusing, cheeky, disruptive, restless and intelligent. This innovation has helped Virgin Group in enhancing the quality of the human resource of the group and performing the operations in a better manner. This strategy has enhanced the competitiveness of the Virgin Group (WBS, 2015). Digital and social media marketing strategy has been followed by Virgin Group for enhancing the marketing function of the business. Use of social networking platforms in the business is increasing due to the variety of reasons or benefits. Social networking platforms are being used by the businesses for promoting or marketing the products or services in the market and attracting a large number of customers towards the business. Virgin Group has used social networking platforms for the purpose of promoting the different products which are being offered by the group and attracting the customers and potential customers. Social networking platforms have reduced the cost of the business as well as efforts of the business involved in the marketing of the products or services. Social networking enabled Virgin Group in reaching a large number of people in less time as social networks are being used by a wide number of people. Virgin Group is using these platforms for the analysis of market t rends and demand and expectations of the customers (Ankeny, 2012). Thus, these strategies have acted as the strength of Virgin Group and enhance the competitiveness of the company. Competitive strategies and innovations are an integral part of the business as these increases the chances of growth and holding large market share by dealing with the competition in the industry. All these strategies have been adopted by Virgin Group with a motive to enhance the performance and provide better quality services and products to the customers. Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that being competitive is an important element of the business environment. Every business needs to stay competitive and innovative so as to enhance the performance and deal with the changes taking place in the industry. Various strategies are being adopted by the business for the purpose of bringing innovation and competing with the competitors. Virgin Group is operating in different industries at the global level and it is must for Virgin Group to implement strategies for surviving and expanding the area of operation in the environment. Various challenges are being faced by the Virgin Group due to the change in the business. These challenges include rising level of competition, change in the technology, change in the availability of resources and change in the economic condition of the economy. These challenges need to be dealt in an effective manner with the application of suitable strategies or approaches. Virgin group has adopt ed various strategies with a motive to cope with the challenges faced. These strategies are being adopted by Virgin Group and implemented for enhancing their performance. Strategies adopted by Virgin Group include pricing strategies, new content strategy and recruitment and selection strategy, growth strategies, unrelated diversification strategy, differentiation strategy and risk management strategies. References Ankeny, J., 2012, Richard Branson on Building an Empire, Enterprenur. Feloni, R., 2015, Here's a breakdown of the philosophy Richard Branson used to start over 400 companies in the Virgin Group, Business Insider. Galliers, R. D. Leidner, D. E., 2010, Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems, Routledge. Issa-Salwe, A., Ahmed, M., Aloufi, K. Kabir, M., 2010, Strategic Information Systems Alignment: Alignment of IS/IT with Business Strategy, Journal of Information Processing Systems, Vol. 6. Jia, C. S. Jing, G., 2012, The Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities in Brand Extension, Halmstad University. Jones, G., 2011, Business groups exist in developed markets also: Britain since 1850, HBS. Lazo, B. B. Kase, K., 2010, Virgin Finance: Sir Richard Brandsons pursuit of a significant presence in retail financial services, MPRA. Macleod, D. Clarke, N., 2011, Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement, DERA. MENA Report, 2012, Australia : Virgin Australia announce financial results.(Financial report),Mena Report. Moreira, M. E., 2014, An analytical model for the assessment of airline expansion strategies, Journal of Airline and Airport Management, 4(1). Murphy, R. E., 2008, competitive strategy of Virgin group, Richard E Murphy. Notis, I., 2015, Virgin Atlantic Airways: A Look Inside the Airlines Green Initiatives, Undergraduate Honors Theses, Paper 795. Pisano, G. P., 2016, Towards a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition, Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16- 146. Qin, D., 2015, Virgin America Airline differentiation strategy in US airline industry, Medium. Redpath, N., OConnell. J. Warnock-Smith, D., 2016, The Strategic Impact of Airline Group Diversification: The Cases of Emirates and Lufthansa, DSpace. Robinson, R., 2012, Insights on Integrating Special Projects with Organizational Strategy, ABARIS. Rosenberg, M., 2015, Strategy sustainability: a strategic logic for engagement with the environment,Palgrave Communications. Schofield, A., 2017, Split stable: as dust settles down on Virgin merger, Alaska addresses fleet strategy,Aviation Week Space Technology, 179(4), p.26. Taylor, E., 2013, Virgin Australia's rule of attraction,Airline Business, Issue 869. Vincent, J., 2010, Unrelated Diversification A look at the Virgingroup, Word Press. Virgin Group, 2010, Virgin Groups Corporate Responsibility And Sustainable Development Report, Virgin Group. Virgin Group, 2017, About us, [Online] Virgin Group. Accessed on: 29 September 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.virgin.com/virgingroup/content/about-us Virgin Media, 2009, Virgin Media Annual Report 2009, Virgin Media. WBS, 2015, Strategy and Practice Study materials, WBS.

Psychosocial Treatment of Schizophrenia free essay sample

The early psychosocial treatments of first episode psychosis is of crucial importance in the improvement of the prognosis of the illness. When ensuring successful care, timely maintenance of treatment response is optimal in regards to better long term outcomes. The appropriate use of psychotherapeutic drugs to suit each individual can be a difficult task as the side effects of the medication can impact on adherence to treatment. Psycho-education in regard to illness and medication. The treatment of more established schizophrenia has significant differences compared to first episode psychosis. Treatment options and medications can differ as can dosages of antipsychotic medication. The aim of this essay is to discuss the differences between treatment of first episode psychosis and more established schizophrenia. The average age for onset of schizophrenia differs between the sexes. The average age for males is between 15 and 25 years with 39% of males having their first episode of psychosis before the age of 19 years. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychosocial Treatment of Schizophrenia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Twenty-three percent of females with schizophrenia have their first episode of psychosis before the age of 19 and the average onset is between 25 and 35 years (Gearing Charach, 2009). Gearing and Charach (2009) state the primary reason for hospitalisation in psychiatric institutions is for psychotic disorders. The average length of stay for adolescents is between 25 to 45 days. Perkins, Gu, Boteva and Leiberman (2005) state there are at least two reasons why it is important to understand the causes and consequences of untreated psychosis. Firstly, the period of untreated psychosis is a potentially variable prognostic factor, and understanding its relation to outcome could guide the way to enhanced therapeutic strategies and public health schemes. Second, a relationship of duration of untreated psychosis to outcome may indicate a neurodegenerative process and so have significant implications for understanding the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. On the other hand, the duration of initially untreated psychosis could possibly be associated with the severity of illness and as a result may be a marker rather than a determinant of outcome (Perkins, Gu, Boteva, Leiberman, 2005). Perkins et al (2005) state the possibility of relapse, even with total recovery from a first psychotic episode, is especially high. Within five years of initial treatment response, more than 90% of these patients will experience a relapse of psychotic symptoms (Perkins et al. , 2005). The major results from a meta-analysis and review by Perkins et al. found that a long-lasting episode of psychosis experienced prior to the commencement of antipsychotic treatment is linked with poorer levels of symptomatic and functional recovery from the first psychotic episode. It was also found that period of initially untreated psychosis is connected with severity of negative symptoms but not with severity of positive symptoms or general psychopathology at the primary clinical evaluation (Perkins et al. , 2005). The decision on which antipsychotic drug to prescribe first for a patient with psychosis can be difficult as there are no clear recommendations that exist for this choice (Johnsen, Kroken, Wentzel-Larsen, Jorgensen, 2010; Kumra et al. , 2007) . Second generation antipsychotic drugs are usually considered first line agents for people with first episode psychosis. This is based on their ability to alleviate not only positive symptoms but also negative symptoms of schizophrenia (Abbasi et al. , 2010; Johnsen et al. , 2010). Rosenheck (2008) found little or no advantage for the use of atypical antipsychotics as compared to the older typical antipsychotics, for use with patients suffering chronic schizophrenia. When atypical antipsychotic drugs were compared to typical antipsychotic drugs like intermediate-potency perphenazine or high potency antipsychotics which were used in low doses or used with prophylactic anticholinergics, there were no advantages found (Rosenheck, 2008). Kumra et al. (2007) state there are concerns about the severity of side effects and the lack of efficacy of first generation antipsychotics (FGAs) for use with children and adolescents with first episode psychosis. This prompted a search to find an agent which was more effective, was tolerated better and had fewer side effects, for use with younger, antipsychotic naive, patients. Second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) include drugs such as risperidone, olanzepine, quetiapine, ziprasidone and clozapine. These drugs, as a class, have reduced tendency to cause adverse motor side effects and prolactin increase when they are compared to FGAs of similar strength (Kumra et al. , 2007). Maguire (2002) states an increase in prolactin levels can result in serious short and long term problems. Short term problems include depression, menstrual irregularities and sexual dysfunction and long term problems include osteoporosis and decreased bone density. These short term problems can be a cause of non-adherence due to the sexual dysfunction and depression. Relapse   psychosis can occur due to non-adherence (Maguire, 2002). Other factors such as impaired cognition, other side effects, and lack of insight are all associated with non-adherence among young people with psychosis. Another important determinant of patients and families attitude toward treatment is the quality of the relationship they have with their clinicians during acute admission of first episode psychosis (Kumra et al, 2007). Non adherence to medications are being acknowledged as the other drug problem, as stated by Robinson, Harris, Harrigan, Henry, Farrelly, Prosser, et al. 2010). Non adherence to antipsychotic medication is associated with negative clinical outcomes and occurs in 20-56% of people with a first episode of psychosis (Cassidy, Rabinovitch, Schmitz, Joober, Malla, 2010). The rising costs associated with non-adherence and subsequent relapse and readmission to hospital extends into tens of billions of dollars annually (Robinson et al. , 2010). A study by Petersen, Jeppersen, Thorup, Abel, Ohlenschaeger, Christensen et al. 2005) compared integrated treatment with standard treatment to find whether there were any positive effects on clinical and social outcomes for patients with first episode psychosis. It was found that the integrated treatment enhanced clinical outcome and compliance to treatment. The integrated treatment was assertive community treatment. The treatment was provided by two multidisciplinary teams and included specific family involvement and social skills training. It was offered to each patient for two years. It also included psycho-educational family treatment for 18 months, in a multi family group with two therapists. This focused on problem solving and development of specific skills designed to help patients and families cope with the illness (Petersen et al. , 2005). Compliance with treatment ought to be associated with lessening in symptoms during the early phase of treatment, and therefore, symptom change offers a construct which can be used to confirm different measures of compliance.

International real estate market essay

International real estate market essay International real estate market essay International real estate market essayInternational real estate market is one of the most attractive investment options for SMEs. Although the market itself is perceived as one of the most secure ones, there are both risks and opportunities associated with emerging real estate markets. Emerging markets became more attractive for SMEs after the U.S. housing crisis of 2007-2008 (Howard, 2010). However, taking into account higher risks associated with marketing strategies and policies in emerging countries, the optimal strategy for SMEs is to diversify their real estate investments or to purchase real estate and resell it in the short- or medium-run period. It should be noted that many countries have favorable regulations aimed at boosting the housing market and allow SMEs to purchase and sell out property.Most buyers of real estate belong to middle and upper class, and the proportion of upper class buyers recently increased due to the recession which took place in 2008 while middle-cl ass buyers chose to save instead of investing (Howard, 2010). The major number of real estate purchases is made by home owners for personal use; the remaining purchases are made for SMEs and wealthy individuals for resale and sometimes for rental purposes. There is also a category of buyers who belong to emerging economies but tend to invest into real estate in developed countries.European real estate market is largely characterized by purchases for local purposes, while real estate customers in Russia, China and in the Middle East are very active and tend to purchase property abroad (Van der Borght, 2012). European SMEs prefer to purchase real estate in Spain, Greece, Cyprus and in French Riviera. The criteria for choosing real estate among European SMEs are taxation, recreational opportunity and safe environment. In general, the preferences of European buyers from different countries such as Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Finland and Netherlands are similar.Russian SMEs seek for expensive real estate purchases the number of affluent Russian customers searching for luxury real estate above â‚ ¬2 million increased to 8% (Van der Borght, 2012). Russian customers focus on the following countries: Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Montenegro, Italy, Cyprus, Germany, Greece and France (Van der Borght, 2012). Key psychological factors driving the purchases of Russian buyers are the prestige of foreign possessions and the need to secure investments against political and economic instability. The criteria for purchasing real estate for Russian SMEs include proximity to well-developed European countries, personal experience and opportunities for tourists.Chinese SMEs also demonstrate strong interest to real estate overseas, primarily due to heavy regulations and control measures used for the internal real estate market. Statistics shows that 30% of Chinese home buyers started looking for overseas real estate (Dunning, 2008). In particular, the investors from mainland Chi na and Hong Kong constitute 10.8% of real estate seekers in the United States (Garvin Artermis, 2009). Chinese SMEs also actively purchase real estate in Australia and Europe and are most attracted to countries with large Chinese diaspora. Chinese buyers pay a lot of attention to educational opportunities for their children, and view investments into real estate overseas as a means of securing their future and the future of their relatives in the case of problems in China.Middle Eastern real estate buyers express notable interest to the European market and moderate interest to the real estate market in the United States. Middle Eastern SMEs prefer purchasing premium segment real estate objects. Customers from Middle East pay significant attention to the UK real estate market, primarily due to the historical links created between Middle Eastern countries and the UK in the colonial era. For Middle Eastern buyers, the prestige of the location and the neighborhood are very important re al estate characteristics.Regarding Cypruss position in real estate market, it is possible to assess it as emerging. The country is now challenging real estate positions of such market leaders as Spain and Greece. While Spain is viewed as a more expensive investment location and Greece is perceived as the economically unstable market, Cyprus emerges as an important real estate player with reasonable real estate prices and sufficient level of economic development. Although Cyprus is located relatively far from key European countries, its integration with the EU made real estate market more attractive for European buyers. Russian buyers also demonstrate notable interest to real estate in Cyprus. Further improvement of economic situation and social stability combined with loyal fiscal policies and encouragement of foreign investment will attract more international customers to Cyprus and fuel real estate market.

What You Should Know About Unequal Treaties

What You Should Know About Unequal Treaties During the 19th and early 20th centuries, stronger powers imposed humiliating, one-sided treaties on weaker nations in East Asia. The treaties imposed harsh conditions on the target nations, sometimes seizing territory, allowing citizens of the stronger nation special rights within the weaker nation, and infringing on the targets sovereignty. These documents are known as unequal treaties, and they played a key role in creating nationalism in Japan, China, and also Korea.   Unequal Treaties in Modern Asian History The first of the unequal treaties was imposed on Qing China by the British Empire in 1842 after the First Opium War. This document, the Treaty of Nanjing, forced China to allow foreigner traders to use five treaty ports, to accept foreign Christian missionaries on its soil, and to allow missionaries, traders, and other British citizens the right of extraterritoriality. This meant that Britons who committed crimes in China would be tried by consular officials from their own nation, rather than facing Chinese courts. In addition, China had to cede the island of Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years. In 1854, an American battle fleet commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry opened Japan to American shipping by threat of force. The U.S. imposed an agreement called the Convention of Kanagawa on the Tokugawa government. Japan agreed to open two ports to American ships in need of supplies, guaranteed rescue and safe passage for American sailors shipwrecked on its shores, and allowed a permanent U.S. consulate to be set up in Shimoda. In return, the U.S. agreed not to bombard Edo (Tokyo). The Harris Treaty of 1858 between the US and Japan further expanded U.S. rights within Japanese territory, and was even more clearly unequal than the Convention of Kanagawa. This second treaty opened five additional ports to US trading vessels, allowed U.S. citizens to live and to purchase property in any of the treaty ports, granted Americans extraterritorial rights in Japan, set very favorable import and export duties for U.S. trade, and allowed Americans to build Christian churches and worship freely in the treaty ports. Observers in Japan and abroad saw this document as a portent of the colonization of Japan; in reaction, the Japanese overthrew the weak Tokugawa Shogunate in the 1868 Meiji Restoration. In 1860, China lost the Second Opium War to Britain and France, and was forced to ratify the Treaty of Tianjin. This treaty was quickly followed by similar unequal agreements with the US and Russia. The Tianjin provisions included the opening of a number of new treaty ports to all of the foreign powers, the opening of the Yangtze River and Chinese interior to foreign traders and missionaries, allowing foreigners to live and establish legations in the Qing capital at Beijing, and granted them all extremely favorable trade rights.   Meanwhile, Japan was modernizing its political system and its military, revolutionizing the country in just a few short years.  It imposed the first unequal treaty of its own on Korea in 1876.  In the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876, Japan unilaterally ended Koreas tributary relationship with Qing China, opened three Korean ports to Japanese trade, and allowed Japanese citizens extraterritorial rights in Korea. This was the first step toward Japans outright annexation of Korea in 1910. In 1895, Japan prevailed in the First Sino-Japanese War. This victory convinced the western powers that they would not be able to enforce their unequal treaties with the rising Asian power any longer. When Japan seized Korea in 1910, it also nullified the unequal treaties between the Joseon government and various western powers. The majority of Chinas unequal treaties lasted until the Second Sino-Japanese War, which began in 1937; the western powers abrogated most of the agreements by the end of World War II. Great Britain, however, retained Hong Kong until 1997. The British handover of the island to mainland China marked the final end of the unequal treaty system in East Asia.

Freinheit 451 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Freinheit 451 - Term Paper Example The book is an excellent piece that combines enchantment with enlightenment and awakens the imagination of humanity. Fahrenheit 451 is set in the twenty-fourth century and brings up a new environment where the media controls the people, in addition to the problems of overpopulation and censorship. An individual citizen is not readily accepted and the intellectual is seen as an outlaw in that society. In this society, television has taken up the common belief of family ties. The fireman has become an igniter of fire and destroyer of books instead of an insurer against fire and its dangers. Books are seen as evil and illegal because they influence people to think and ask questions about the way things are done in that society. The story begins with an incitement where Montag meets Clarisse McClellan. Montag works as a fireman who burns books for a living. One day as he walks home from work, Clarisse who introduces herself to him approaches him. Clarisse is young, beautiful, and energet ic. She presents herself as an antithesis of anyone that Montag has ever met as she engages in a conversation with him especially in things that Montag has never considered. She is very inquisitive and she ponders about things such as love, happiness and the contents of the books that Montag burns. This character fascinates Montag (Bradbury, 1967). Over the next several days, Montag encounters a series of disturbing events that begin with his wife, Mildred, wanting to commit suicide through swallowing a full bottle of sleeping pills. This is followed by a strange occurrence that he encounters as he responds to an alarm about an old woman who has a stash of hidden books. When he reaches there, the woman stuns him by choosing to be burned along with her books. A few days after this, he learns that young Clarisse has been hit dead by a speeding car. This heightens the dissatisfaction in his life and he begins to find a solution by reading books from the stash that he stole from the fir es he started. When Montag fails to report to work, his manger visits him at his home and explains to him that it is normal for a fireman to wonder what books give and he elucidates how books came to be burned. As Beatty explains, special interest groups and other minority groups laid their objections to books that offended them. Soon, all books were written with intent not to offend any person. He explains that this was not enough and the society as a unit decided to burn books instead of permitting differing opinions from authors. Beatty tells Montag to take 24 hours, read the books, and find out whether they have anything important and then give them off for incineration. This turns Montag into a long and frenzy night of reading (Eller & Touponce, 2004). When he becomes overwhelmed of reading, he turns to his wife for support but his wife prefers television to his company and does not understand why her husband takes the humiliating task of reading the books. When he remembers Pr ofessor Faber, he decided to visit him so that he can help him. Faber tells him that the value of the book is in the awareness of the life in them. He tells Montag that he needs the leisure to read them and the freedom to act upon the ideas of the books and offers to help him read. Faber will contact a printer to reproduce books and Montag will plant them in the residence of firemen to harm the reputation of the profession and destroy censorship. This leads to a completely

Tax Accounting Questions. Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tax Accounting Questions. Assignments - Essay Example For example, the collection of fees in advance will be recorded in GAAP when it earned while according to tax accounting it will be considered as rent taxable income automatically. Another example is the recording of depreciation of fixed assets. Under the GAAP it asset will depreciated using different methods such as straight-line while under the tax accounting only one method is allowed known as MACRS. Under both the depreciation methods, the effect is on the net income. The difference resulting from both the accounting methods may cause differed tax assets or liabilities which can be transferred from one accounting period to the other depending on the financial situation of the company. Another difference between GAAP and tax accounting is the recognition of other revenues or items. For example, the revenue earned from municipal bonds is recognized as interest earned in GAAP whereas such revenues are exempt from federal taxes accounting. The filing status depends on an individual’s marital status and his/her family situation. There are five possible filing statuses. These are married filing jointly, surviving spouse, head of household, single, and married filing separately. Although there are five filing statuses, only four rate schedules or tax tables are used because surviving spouse and married filing jointly usually use the same rate. The characteristics that distinguish each of the filing statuses are based on four factors which also determine how much tax rate is applied to each of them. These factors are maintenance of household, having any dependents, marital status, and citizenship. The characteristic of a surviving spouse is that he/she has to maintain a household, have dependents such as a daughter or a son, the marital status remains the same for atleast two years and is a citizen. The tax rate is that same as that of

Civil Engineering Pesonal Statement Essay Example for Free

Civil Engineering Pesonal Statement Essay It was this quote by Theodore von Karman in my high school physics book that sparked my interest in engineering. Engineering allows for the designing and constructing of structures that most people could only dream of but they could not live without. From bridges spanning oceans to connect countries to artificial islands on which building complexes can provide housing for thousands of people. This notion is what made me want to become an engineer. I have always been interested mathematics and science since grade school, but it was in high school that my curiosity flourished when I joined an engineering program. There I learned about the different fields like electrical, structural, and robotics. But it was civil engineering that I pursued. Something that became evident when we were given the chance to build bridges from balsa wood which strengths would later be tested. Although my bridge was not the strongest, it was in the top five and the most aesthetically pleasing out of the twenty bridges that participated. That experience was enough to make me decide to pursue a career in civil engineering. Later when I entered college and began to take courses working towards my degree, I learned more about emerging new technologies which could benefit both the people and the planet alike. I am concerned about environmental issues which our world is currently facing and hope to use engineering to resolve these problems while also improving peoples lives. My mathematical skills also developed and I relish the opportunity of using these mathematical techniques to solve real-life problems. Studying further mathematics has proved more demanding than I anticipated, but I have found the extra challenge very rewarding. Furthermore, it has shown me the extent to which mathematics is ultimately present in every aspect of our lives. I am involved in extracurricular activities. In 2010 I joined Sigma Alpha Lambda a national leadership and honors organization and their local chapter. With them I have participated in Relay for Life and Food Fight Against Hunger. Two national initiatives aimed at fundraising and bringing awareness to cancer and hunger respectively. For Relay for Life I helped to decorate our team campsite according to the theme that year and for Food Fight Against Hunger I helped collect can foods as well as monetary donations. Outside of school I am also involved in my church. There I serve as a Sabbath School teacher for children in pre-K and kindergarten and as a general volunteer. My responsibilities range from helping the children learn songs to helping organize a blood drive, but also as a congregation we go visit elderly folks in a retirement home and volunteer at a shelter to feed the homeless on a monthly basis. Engineering offers us the chance to make the world a better, safer and more exciting place; this is what attracts me to the subject. I am confident that the challenges offered by civil engineering appeal to me and will inspire me to do great things. Engineering has always been fundamental in developing the world and is a field in which I would love to be involved.

Government: Less is More Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Government: Less is More      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Land of liberty, land of freedom, a land by, for, and of the people. Have you honestly ever affected one word the government has spoken? Do you do anything in daily life without the subtle involvement of Uncle Sam? Everything you see and use is government approved, or else it is illegal to use it.    There are many groups adamantly protesting, or rather complaining, about the amount of control the government has. I am not of the belief that the government is out to get us and we should buy as many weapons as possible to fight them off. I also don't believe we should not obey laws because we are not happy with them. I do feel, however, we need to become aware of the problems we face because of this excessive control. Let's look at some of these problems.    First of all, our government knows more about us than we know about ourselves. They have access to virtually any information they could ever want. There is no apparent harm in this, but why is it necessary? And if it is, maybe we should change our programs so it's not. There is a potential, a highly unlikely one I will admit, for our government to take advantage of that information to our detriment. Why take the chance?    Most of the areas our government has too much control over involve money. For example, the welfare system in our "free enterprise" society is simply the government taking our money, whether we want to give it or not, not to mention how much of it they want, and distributing it as they feel best. I can understand the need for welfare during the depression. It was a plan of action for a time of crisis, and it worked. We have been out of that crisis for seventy years. I think it's time to change. Our curr... ...y, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or how to behave we don't. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom. I learned the awesome power of disobedience from...every great man who led those with right against those with might." (Heston) Works Cited    Belz, Joel. "Wrong Without a Remedy." World. Nov. 20-27, 1999 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Major Provisions of the Welfare to Work Legislation." CBPP Web Page. Cbpp.org/609wtw.htm, URL#325298, 6-9-98. De La Rocha, Zach. "Snack Charmer." Evil Empire. Sony Entertainment 1996. Heston, Charlton. "Winning the Cultural War." Speech given to Harvard Law School Foru. Feb, 16, 1999 Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983 Thomas, Cal. "Outlaws and Their Guns." World. Nov. 20-27, 1999.

Wall Mart of the Internet

From â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore† to â€Å"everything to everybody† to â€Å"Wall Mart of the Internet† to â€Å"World’s most customer-centric company†, Amazon has been tagged with these kinds of labels by its customers and followers. The reason for these many labels is because of the Amazon changing business model. Starting from Single-product and an intermediary with little inventory in 1995-1997 to Multi-product, profit-making, customer-oriented, investor, Services provider in 2000 Amazon has been changing its business model according to market conditions.One indication of a smart company is to continuously change its business model; it is an indication of smart company and ultimately the smart management team. It is also an indication that the company is learning and adopting itself to the external and internal environment. Amazon is the clear market leader for the largest US e-retailing categories of books, CDs and DVD movies. In var ious consumers’ polls, when respondents are asked for their experiences of e-shopping, Amazon â€Å"streaked ahead† of all others as the world’s favorite e-retailer.This means that Amazon is the undisputed favorite on considerations such as convenience, reliability and customer service. Amazon has achieved worldwide success and brand recognition due to paying attention to extensive offline advertising, which helped the company to become one of only three dot. com brands in the Interbrand world league table. It is an illustration of the power of branding that Amazon is the world’s top e-retailer. Before the dot. com downturn in the spring of 2000, the word â€Å"Internet† keyed into what seemed pervasive optimism for a new century.It meant youth, new possibilities and an opportunity to break with traditional business and create new rules. However, in 2000 things drastically changed as many e-commerce start-ups failed to return expected profits and w ent bankrupt. After this came valuable lessons across e-commerce, and evidence for incumbent retailers that factors such as having an established brand provide significant advantages in e-retail and play a part in customer loyalty and increased profit. Analysis of dot.com failures and comparison with traditional retailers in the same industry, for example eToys, which folded in 2000 and was subsequently bought by an established toy retailer, vs. Toys R Us, which successfully opened an e-retail channel through collaboration with Amazon, has revealed several advantages for the established retailer. Newcomers usually build their initial strategy on attracting new customers through aggressive marketing, brand-building and advertising, which logically lead to massive expenses and cash shortages.Amazon, however, has an existing customer base and can build on brand values that are already in place. Amazon’s marketing budgets allow the company to attempt new online projects or busine ss lines, unlike many start-ups. Founder of Amazon. com, J. Bezos rejected the traditional model for retailing. Having known that the usage of Internet is increasing every year with gigantic steps, – some resources report about 2000% usage increase annually, – Bezos decided that his retailing model should be intrinsically connected to Internet.While opening new physical retail outlets can expand the geographical reach of a business and add convenience for consumers, retailing online not only carries these benefits, but also offers further returns that are more specific to online trading. Bezos put books as Amazon’s core product, because they almost ideally correspond for the model of e-retailing. Low unit price, low risk cost, easy to pack and ship, and finally in a high and growing demand, books have become a perfect solution for Amazon’s model. Now books are by far the largest e-retailing category in the US.Research carried out by many companies illustr ates that about 65 per cent of the purchases made by Web shoppers in the US consisted of books. For newly created company, the Internet had global reach and provided the opportunity to trade internationally. For Bezos, Amazon’s broad benefits included the ability to trade 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and operate with lower overheads in terms of staff and space, while more particular advantages included the ability to increase the number of customer â€Å"touch points† and build more personalized customer experiences, products and relationships.However, again for J. Bezos these e-retail advantages did not imply that an online presence is a recipe in itself for success; that kind of thinking was tried and failed with the dot. com boom and bust. Instead, if there was any recipe for successful integration, Bezos found it in variants of established business practices, such as an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the business, for example in relation to technology awareness, which is a good indicator of e-commerce success.Amazon’s mission and strategy is quite simply â€Å"to offer Earth’s Biggest Selection and to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy online and [we] endeavor to offer our customers the lowest possible price. † The company accomplishes this by operating six global internet sites: www. amazon. com, www. amazon. ca, www. amazon. de, www. amazon. jp, www. amazon. co. fr and www. amazon. co. uk.Through their zShops, auctions, affiliate program, [email  protected] and Amazon Marketplace programs, Amazon, and their sellers and partners, offer new and used collectibles and products in categories such as apparel and accessories, DVDs, electronics, computers, books, music, videos, cell phones, tools and hardware, the list is almost endless. In order to maintain quality, the company packages and ships all of its merchandis e. They also continue to negotiate volume deals with suppliers to meet their goal of lowering prices.Additionally, Amazon has formed partnerships and alliances with publishers, other on-line retailers, technology providers, either handling their web site operations or linking them to its virtual portal. As part of their diversification strategy, Amazon recently acquired Internet Movie Database www. imdb. com (IMDb), which is an authoritative source of information on movie and entertainment (Dennis et al, 2004). This acquisition is one of many Amazon is making expand its product and service offerings.The company is also preparing to sell internet domain names and already has received the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approval. In order to improve customer service the company is investing in operational facilities, like its multi-lingual customer service support center in the Netherlands, to meet its rapid growth, increase selection and meet future operat ional needs while building efficiencies. This strategy helps Amazon increase its low profit margin, decrease its operational cost, increase customer response and order processing services and pass that savings on to the customer.Amazon strives to provide customers with the best possible online shopping experience by leveraging their powerful and innovative technologies. Part of the company’s competitiveness lies in their proprietary technology, which is licensed to companies like Target to run their e-commerce site. Its patented portal technology allows the customer to customize their on-line experience with personalized home page, product recommendations, email notifications on orders and new products, the ability to post reviews, 1-click ordering, search functions, up selling, and secure shopping cart functions, to name a few.Furthermore, they use technology to drive customer relationships. As an example, the company uses pop up daughter windows to quiz customers about Amaz on. These pop up windows survey the customer about Amazon related facts and in return the customer can get up to . 25 cents a day put in their account for answering questions. Building on this use of technology the company recently received patent approval and plans to add a chat function to enhance the customer experience and help consumers find products through each other.Through its Web Services development and affiliate program it encourages web site owners and developers to create applications capable of interacting with Amazon’s catalog, search engine, shopping cart and merchandising tools. In an effort to remain competitive and preempt new technology Amazon has an ongoing program to develop, update and add software and hardware including partnerships like it’s recently inked deal with Google. com. This will allow them to avoid service disruptions; slow response times, poor levels of customer service, and delays in information delivery.Amazon uses its proprietary technology to transform the online purchasing experience into the easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience online. The site communicates to the customer a visual feel of being in a one stop shop where they can find and purchase virtually anything they want. The site loads quickly, is easily navigated, allows the customer to instantly see an array of products, and provides a host of other customer driven enhancements designed to drive customer satisfaction. Amazon’s site conveys to the customers they can have it their way, all day.And by placing its image on everything it touches Amazon continually reinforces its brand, making it one of the most recognized customer-centric brands in the world. For the first time in year 2000, Amazon management has set its focus on making profit. Again, it is an indication of nothing but smart, opportunistic management that utilized its strength to grow. It is very clear that Amazon management team is very focused. In order to meets its future targets, Amazon has implemented a restructuring plan.It will allow Amazon to reduce operating costs, reduce employee staff, and strengthen some of its fulfillment and customer service operations. According to the quarterly report released by amazon. com for quarter ended September 30, 2004 â€Å"There has been a steep decline in operating costs† (Amazon, Quarterly results, 2004). This has improved the performance of the company. Since its beginning, Amazon has adopted various e-Business model to increase its customer base and recently set its focus on making profit. Given below are the strategies adopted by Amazon.Amazon has a track recording of first gaining expertise in the market and then scaling into other areas. For example, Amazon started with a web-based bookstore model and after gaining expertise in various operations expanded to other segments and geographies. Another example is, after capturing the US market; it expanded its business to Europe, namely the U. K, France and Germany and then to Japan. One advantage of this approach is that the incremental costs to expand the business, whether to multiple product line or geographically are small.This strategy of perfecting before scaling helps in long-term survival and growth of the company. Since its beginning, Amazon has always kept focus on the needs of its customer and never lost sight of it. This gives Amazon a strong foothold of the internet retail business. Playing on this customer strength, Amazon has struck deals with industry leaders retailers Toysrus. com, Borders, Drugstore. com, and Target to help them draw customers to their Web sites, thereby giving birth to its services segment. Amazon is playing on its strength here and in the process creating a place for itself as a provider of e-tail services.Under Amazon’s cooperative model, the partners do not compete with each other and try to lessen each other risks. This cooperation represents a symbiotic relationship, where t he two partners do what they do best while depending on each other to eliminate respective weaknesses. On August 10 2000, Amazon and Toyrus announced a strategic alliance. According to the press release by Amazon â€Å"The two companies have entered into a strategic alliance under which each company will assume responsibility for specific aspects of the toy and video games and baby products stores.Toysrus. com, in collaboration with its majority shareholder, Toys â€Å"R† Us, Inc. , will identify, buy and manage inventory; Amazon. com will handle site development, order fulfillment, and customer service, housing both Toysrus. com's and its own inventory in Amazon. com’s U. S. distribution centers† (Dennis et al. , 2004:118). This alliance helped Amazon in eliminating its inventory risk, as it does not have to purchase or store any toys until the customer have ordered and paid for the goods. Under Amazon’s coopetitive model the two parties act as provider and customer.Both the parties compete with each other but one party tries to lessen other risks and in return gets the share of others business. On Apr 11, 2001 Amazon and Border announced strategic alliance. According to the press release by Amazon on Apr 11, 2001, â€Å"Amazon. com will be the seller of record, providing inventory, fulfillment, site content and customer service for the co-branded site. The new site will continue to offer content unique to Borders. com, including store location information and in-store event calendars† (Prior, 20001:6).In this case Amazon will continue to sell books on its own, but will also provide services to Border. In return Amazon will get a share of every sale by Border. According to an article on Informit. com â€Å"The Click and Brick model allows an existing offline business to profit from partnering with an emerging online presence†. [5] In this regard, Amazon has struck a deal with electronic retailer Circuit city. This wil l give the customer, the advantages of picking up their purchases from hundreds of stores rather then paying for shipment charges.Amazon will receive a share of the revenues for all Circuit City electronics goods sold through Amazon. Amazon will be responsible for processing the transaction while Circuit City will be responsible for order fulfillment and product-related customer service. In all these cases, Amazon is extending its channel expertise in Web retailing to â€Å"e-nable† other retailers. With a full year’s experienced retailers under its belt, Amazon is set to scale the service model. The Borders and Circuit City deals are important steps in that direction.The coopetitive model is converting Amazon into a â€Å"product-less platform provider†, directly impacting its bottom line, with no inventory costs. The business model adopted by Amazon has given it a boost in its online business. By making strategic alliances with the industry leader and making t he life of customer has made Amazon a profit making company. According to 2004, financial results Amazons’ â€Å"Operating cash flow was $567 million for 2004, compared with $392 million for 2003. Free cash flow grew 38% to $477 million for 2004, compared with $346 million for 2003.Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards outstanding totaled 434 million at December 31, 2004, compared with 433 million a year ago. Net sales were $2. 54 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $1. 95 billion in fourth quarter 2003, an increase of 31%. Net sales, excluding the $85 million benefit from changes in foreign exchange rates, grew 26% compared with fourth quarter 2003† (Amazon, 2005). Amazon business model has steadily evolved and over the years the large retailers have realized the importance of Business-to-consumer e-commerce.In contemporary context, along with other e-commerce companies Amazon experiences several problems. Financial and marketing analytics indicate that due to increased online competition, Amazon is gradually loosing its market share. Experts and investors indicate that Amazon’s technology and content costs soared 59% in the quarter, while the company keeps spending heavily on marketing campaigns, free-shipping promotions and other marketing activities to attract customers to shop regularly on its site.It is not surprising that Amazon is spending estimated 60 percent of their revenue on numerous marketing activities and building an appropriate brand image. Amazon’s brand allows company to be known, distinct, and credible in the minds of existent and potential customers, consumers, and stakeholders. Amazon’s brand facilitate the building of relationships with existing and potential customers, consumers, and stakeholders. In addition, company’s brand communicates the benefits offered to buyers and stakeholders that embody the value system of the company.Due to increased online comp etition, the brand image strategy utilized by Amazon is justified because it helps to retain existing customers and to attract new ones, gradually making them returning. For every business, particularly online e-retailing, good customers’ returning rate is an indication of a healthy business. That’s why Amazon should pursue this aggressive marketing and branding strategy to keep its customers. Many analysts discuss merger opportunities for Amazon. The merger will help Amazon. com expand the market share in E-commerce and create a new passageway.For instance, Amazon. com can merge with Wal-Mart, which has $26 billion market value and only $756 million debt. Now Wal-Mart is interested in E-commerce and online shopping. If Amazon. com merges with Wal-Mart, they will become the largest retail company in E-commerce. Amazon. com will also increase its market share. In addition, after the merger, Amazon. com can gain more marketing resources from Wal-Mart to create a new sale s passageway. For instance, customers can purchase the products from Amazon. com on the Internet and pick the items, or return them at Wal-Mart.It will provide additional choose for customers. The merger may help Amazon to create new customers and products. Bertelsmann has $14 billion market value and the company’s strategy now is focusing on music retailing and book sales. Their business is related to Amazon’s business. The CEO of Bertelsmann is also trying to open their business in American market (Brynjolfsson & Urban, 2001). If Amazon. com merges with this company, it will gain the new customers from Bertelsmann. Furthermore, integrating the products from Bertelsmann, Amazon.com can create new products on their website. Finally, a merger can improve and cover the financial loss of Amazon such as net sales loss, long-dept and cash loss. For instance, if Amazon merges with General Growth Properties, which has 136 malls in 37 states and owns $2. 8 billion market value , Amazon. com can still keep the power of operation and exercise the new marketing strategies (Brynjolfsson & Urban, 2001). Moreover, Amazon. com can gain the financial support from this company to cover its long-debt $2 billion. In addition, the merger will help Amazon.com increase the financial resources such as the amount of cash flow, and also decrease the cost and expense of the company. Another future prospect is to invent a new E-business strategy. E-commerce is one way that people can trade on the Internet. This trading system is very important, but it is not the only thing that the e-commerce enterprises should focus on. Amazon. com is a giant in E-commerce and the company uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to trade, but Amazon cannot make profits even though the company has very strong technological support.Some specialists point out that communication, resources allocation, and project management guarantees success in E-commerce. Effective communication, which can improve bu siness performance, is one of the objectives that Amazon. com should fulfill. Effective communication includes two aspects: internal and external. First of all, internal communication emphasizes negotiation. Necessary and correct information must be communicated precisely between the employees or the departments. Secondly, external communication emphasizes on empowerment and good timing.For instance, Customer Services is a department that helps customers to solve problems. They have to communicate with the customers and understand what the customers want and need, and then report to the departments or the board. If the customer service department has the power to react immediately from the problems of customers and has good communication and relationship with the customers, it will create more business opportunities for Amazon. com. The second key that helps industry to succeed in E-commerce is resources allocation. There are various resources in the enterprises such as human resour ces and customer resources.First of all, concerning human resources, Amazon. com should understand employees’ particularities and arrange them in appropriate positions. If the employees are set in the right positions, the company should become more efficient. Secondly, in regard to customer resources, Amazon should collect information, such as suggestion, complaint or demand from the customers and then try to improve their products or services to provide better services to the customers. If the services satisfy the customers, Amazon will create more and more opportunities and new customers in the near future.For example, new outsourcing strategies should be used to collect focus group to survey customers’ opinions. The third key that may become helpful for Amazon is project management. A successful E-commerce enterprise should focus on project management. Project management emphasizes teamwork (Epstein, 2004). There are many teams in the company and each team has its d ifferent project and goal. Each team also has its power to make the decision. The responsibility of the team is to achieve the product. The responsibility of the enterprise is to manage the teams and make sure that the projects can be finished effectively.Distributing the limited resources to different teams and projects is the great challenge to the project management. The best way to overcome this challenge is to emphasize effective communication and negotiation Amazon. com is now considered as the world’s largest e-retailer of books, CDs and DVDs. The Amazon’s web portal is user-friendly, enabling e-Shoppers to find books quickly by title, author or subject. Users can find their title in seconds from a few keywords. Synopses and contents lists are provided, along with a list of other relevant books.Amazon keeps a record of customers’ preferences and advises when new books likely to be of interest are published. During many years, Amazon is renowned for custom er service, security and fast delivery. However, in current business context, the company is loosing market share, though is still well-recognized leader in online industry. The company keeps heavily investing in its brand through aggressive online and offline marking, building appropriate brand awareness among its current and potential clients. References Amazon, Inc. (2004). Quarterly results, Available at < http://media. corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/97/97664/reports/91338ACL. pdf> Amazon, Inc. (2005). Press release Q4 Financial Results, Available at < http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/irol/97/97664/news/Release_Q4_04. pdf> Retrieved June 5, 2006 Dennis C. , Fenech T. , Merrilees B. (2004). E-Retailing, Routledge, London Brynjolfsson E. and Urban G. (2001). Strategies for E-Business Success, Jossey-Bass Epstein M. (2004). Implementing E-Commerce Strategies: A Guide to Corporate Success after the Dot. Com Bust, Praeger Prior, M. (2001). â€Å"Amazon to Operate Borde rs. com. † DSN Retailing Today, May 1, 40(9): 6.

Planning for Management Information System

The biggest challenge and most critical success factor in reengineering projects are persuading the people within the organization to cooperate. When you begin to computerize a legacy system considers the advantages; reduced clerical cost, quicker processing time and improved customer service. Everyone knows that the computer capabilities alone make life a lot easier for all managers. The advantage of time and accuracy spread over the lifespan of the information system means improved long-term vision and focus for top, middle and lower managers. A management information system (MIS) focus is on information that management needs to prepare its job. This task becomes much more difficult when the major players have a tradition of high independence, are often confrontational to management, and are irreplaceable independent contractors. CIO's in major business organizations face exactly this situation; further complicated by the fact that the reengineering effort is crucial to the continued existence of the organization. Such discussion has driven the software industry to focus attention on software specifically designed to support the team approach essential to most service and customer oriented organizations. The importance of teamwork can not be over emphasize in achieving overall organizational goals, and the need to capture and manage an organization's knowledge base remain crucial. This teamwork enables the organization to achieve and sustain competitive advantage in their business. In considering the framework for an information system (IS) each level operational, tactical and strategic planning requires different IS. At the operational planning system, the IS collect, validate and record transactional data relating to acquisition or disbursement of resources. The data for account receivable and payables, payrolls, inventory level, shipping data, printed invoice and cash receipts recorded as they occur. The operational-level IS characteristic are repetitive, predictable, emphasizes the past and detailed in nature just to name a few. The focus of the operational system is the daily tasks performed at the user level. The operational level manager uses this data to check every day tasks, i. e. ordering, shipping, inventory control, the essence of the business processes. The second level in the framework is the tactical system. This system provide middle-level managers with information to monitor and control operation while allocating their resources efficiently. The data is summarized, aggregated, or analyzed with a wide range of reports, i. e. , summary, exception and ah hoc reports. The tactical information system differs from operational information system in the basic purpose: operational support the execution of tasks and a tactical information system supports a manager control over those tasks under their area of supervision as well as the allocation of resources to meet the company objectives set by top management. The data input and the information produced as outputs differ from the type of data involved, tactical characteristics are periodic in nature, with unexpected findings, comparative in nature with both internal and external sources. The tactical information system purpose and the regularity of report produced within the information system are drastically different from an operational system. The third level in the framework is strategic planning, designed to provide top managers with information that assist them in making long-range planning decisions for the business. The different in strategic and tactical are not always clear, because both types of information systems may use some of the same data, you might say that the systems sometimes overlap with the difference being in the data that the system uses. Typically, top management uses strategic planning system to forecast long-range company objectives. The characteristics are ah hoc basis, unstructured format, external source, and subjectivity, summary and predictive in nature. A MIS provides information for effective planning and tactical decision making, which is the foundation of operational level data system. A tactical planning system provides middle-level management with the ability to monitor and control resources. The tactical information system does not support the execution of operational tasks, but allow managers visibility over the operation. Information systems are costly, to deploy and maintain, yet the maximization of economic value of IS in the long-run balance out over the initial set-up cost. The right software products enable teams of people to integrate their knowledge, work processes and applications to achieve improved business effectiveness. It has been suggested that the implementation of such technologies is more difficult and yields more unintended consequences than is typically acknowledged. First, how such technologies are used reflect the effects. Second, how these technologies are likely used when alternative tools co-exist, meaning predictability is difficult from technological characteristics. Third, because people use groupware with other people, one person's choices about how to use groupware may have consequences for other group members, user satisfaction. The measurement for an effective MIS must be the users; usage and satisfaction have a strong correlation. Obvious, the effectiveness of MIS depends upon the use of the system and if the employees accept it. The information system department, managers and users together make the MIS process successful. The managers implement the MIS, their behavior and motivation play an important part in the variables for the system to be effective. Each designed MIS produce information for decision making throughout the organization. Let†s examine several case studies with the implementation of MIS as seen in three distinct companies, an insurance company, a food marketing company and a social service agency. The insurance company normal routine consisted of tons of policy paperwork generated daily to accomplish the company objectives. The company started on line systems supporting policy screening, creation and issuance in the 70†³s. An employee could key in new application information at his or her computer terminal, after the compilation of information an underwriter can evaluate the insurability of potential customers. After the approval process, the information system produces a policy data sheet. This business process makes it possible to handle inquiries from individual policyholders and sales agents seeking personal data information about policyholders. The home office linked to all locations of their sales agencies allowing sales agents to inquire on-line about policies with the capability to edit application information at their site. The home office can still update policies as well. Yes, this service provides the agencies with a competitive advantage in product marketing and customer service. The home office outsourced and purchased software that enable the sales agents to analyze alternative companies† product and service options, resulting in winning the customers† loyalty and a quicker sales. The company continues to grasp the future for innovations and anticipating their customers† needs in the future. This approach along ensures valuable information for the senior-level management to plan as well as reduce overhead cost with improved productivity and better decision-making ability. Next, let look at the food industry and view how information system improved their process. The MIS geared toward physical distribution at the operational level, where update orders and invoices sent to the distribution centers and the system updates the account receivable and associate system files. The system prints invoices at the origin and destination location, resulting in reduced cost and faster payments equal more cash flow. The food company produced numerous reports that enabled the managers to conduct on-line credit checks from their account receivable status report, and identify delinquent accounts, before shipping the merchandise to the distribution centers. The customer services personnel have immediate access to open account allowing for immediate visibility and response to customer inquiries about deliveries and shipments, similarly cash payments received automatically applied to customers† on-line account. Let us not forget to look at the marketing advantages with MIS as well. Sales analysis reports reflect the customers† history product information file; this data generates report by product line in each territory each month for middle-level managers to forecast demands for any specific product item. Normally, this begs the question about production and if the company can continue to support the demands of the customers. At this junction, the IS gives managers additional insight about demand and the need to forecast for future buys. The company established a bill-of-material file, which computerized the ingredients for each product line and created batch size for all products. This process minimized the work process and improved the manufacturing ordering process for each customer batch orders. The product specification file served as the database of reference information enabling the manager the ability to print text on all purchase orders. The text file produced a finished goods inventory, which is transferred to the branch warehouse stockroom in various locations; this information is based on sales analysis report (demand). In the finance and administration department, the updated account receivables correlates with customers' billing and cash receipts. A monthly exception report generated from the aged balances spits out a collection letter automatically to the respective recipients at specified intervals. The MIS enabled the food marketing company to process orders more timely, manage inventories more efficiently and organize their production section. Bottom line cost savings of MIS results in more revenue and a better customer relationship and senior-level managers focusing their attention on emerging trends in the market. A social service department utilizes MIS in the public sector by providing financial assistance to the residences, i. . medical assistance, food stamps, facilitate foster home and adoption, day care, school service, family planning, housing and legal services. The MIS processes new applications and payments. The applicant applies and become eligible then the system creates an on-line record for them. The system automatically prints an identification card for the payroll master file that entitles the recipient to service for which the bill goes to the social service department. An on-line inquiry and update of the applicant record are also possible. The payroll master file sorts, generates the welfare check, and lists them on the payroll register, which generates historical report for managers. In all three case studies, the information systems support transactional processing. The user involvement in each of the project selection ensures the effectiveness of the information system and its acceptability. How do you measure utilization and performance in MIS? The term utilization is the extent that the intended users use the information system (IS) for its intended purpose. The term performance measures the improvement of the business process that supports the IS implementation. These measurements observed through business records, visual or electronic inspections and take the personal opinions and attitudes out of the decision-making loop. The multiple variables sometimes are difficult to identify, but the IS department must be impartial if the true value is realized of a successful IS project. A successful IS project can be measure best with psychometric tests of attitude, interests, and opinions such as user information satisfaction in the broadest sense. The performance measures of the business determine the effectiveness of the MIS. You can see that information technology give companies a competitive edge, once an information based service enters other company either catch up or eliminate the original innovator competitive advantage thus raising the stake for those participating in the marketplace. Today, company can link its customer to its order entry system, thus improving efficiency and improve business performance. Sure, an effective information system, if efficient reduces needless paperwork and allows the customer access to available stock information before committing to the purchase of goods and services. Let not forget about effective too, the information system provide better service to its customers, for instance, i. e. the creation of electronic travel supermarket through on-line reservation system, i. e. www. priceline. com or www. Travelocity. com, which is transforming the basis of competition within this marketplace. To compete efficiently in this world, companies must establish information partnership as an integral part of successful business processes.