Branding Essay

â€Å"As a consuming population we have formed deep emotional bonds with our brands, to the extent that they now determine who we are and how we are perceived†. (Isaksen and Roper, 2008). Brands are everywhere we look. They are simply unavoidable. We wake up in the morning: brush our teeth with a brand of toothpaste, use our branded shampoo, put on several brands of clothes and then eat our branded toast. We simply cannot escape from them. So the questions I pose are: Why do we choose the brands we do? What do our brands say about us? Brand ersonality â€Å"refers to the set of human characteristics associated with a brand† (Aaker, 1997). When I talk about brand image or brand personality I am basically asking if this brand were a person who would it be? Or else when we buy these brands what do they represent? Our modern culture has become obsessed with brands so what do they mean? If you buy a BMW people will assume you are rich, if you are seen walking around with a pair of Beats you are seen to be cool. Every product we buy or service we use says something about us whether we want it to or not. Everything comes with an age or has a stigma attached to it. Even the music we listen to and the celebrities we admire have become brands in themselves. Take Kim Kardashian as an example she wasn’t heard of up until 2007 and now she is one of the most famous women on the planet with business ventures such as perfume, clothing stores, a T. V show and over 16 million followers on Twitter she has completely made a brand out of herself. Aaker (1997) suggests that â€Å"the personality traits associated with a brand, such as those associated with an individual, tend to be elatively enduring and distinct†. Such as when you hear Mercedes you think luxury, Guinness is tradition and Chanel is elegance. In colleges all across the country every student not only has the burden of exams and QCA’s but also how they look and it’s the brands they buy that decide this. You will be questioned if you’re not wearing the latest ‘Hollister’ gear or carrying a shiny new ‘iPhone 5’. ‘Hollister’ originated in California in 1922 and is a brand associated with the beach and surfing yet in most schools and colleges it has been turned into popularity contest of who can have the ost or the best or the newest. Brands are completely consuming us and it’s not Just spoilt teenagers anymore it is ranging from everyone from young kids of 5 years old right through adolescents up to adults. Primary school kids are coming home crying because they don’t have the latest brand of lunch box like their friends and middle aged men are going out buying ridiculously expensive phones and cars Just to stay feeling young because they believe that’s what those brands can offer them. They are willing to pay for Just a couple more years of feeling young and on trend. This leads into Bhat and Reddy (1998) and their theory of how brands can be functional, symbolic or both. â€Å"Functional brands satisfy immediate and practical needs. Symbolic brands satisfy symbolic needs such as those for self-expression and prestige, and their practical usage Is only incidental† (Bhat and Reddy,1998). People have taken a brand that was originally meant as functional such as clothing, phones and cars and turned them into something so symbolic that they actually covet them. You keep certain clothes for â€Å"good wear†; spend hours cleaning your car and people Jump ore now to save a talling phone than a talling baby. Bhat and Reddy ( 8) were able to prove this theory through different research groups and methods â€Å"For example, to owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, their motorcycle is not Just a mode of transportation†. (Bhat and Reddy, 1998). They have said â€Å"It is an experience, an attitude, a lifestyle, and a vehicle to express who one is† (Aaker,1996). Adolescents are influenced the easiest when it comes to symbolic positioning of brands. â€Å"As cognitive development progresses, adolescents are able to understand the complex ymbolism of brands and their role in defining the self†. Chaplin and Roedder-John, 2005) They want everything theyre friends have and are surrounded by images of celebrities showing off the latest fashions and technology. Several brands are even endorsed by the celebrities they look up to. Young girls are influenced so easily by the â€Å"beautiful people on television† so why wouldn’t they want to buy shampoo that will make their hair look like Cheryl Cole’s hair or make up that will make them look like Beyonc © or even clothes that will make them look like Rihanna. Even teenage boys are seeing images such as David Beckham sprawled across a billboard half naked so why shouldn’t they buy ‘Armani’ boxers to look like him and why shouldn’t they want to drive the luxury car brands like soccer players? Companies continuously aim products at teenagers through different mediums such as television, music, and celebrities. Isaksen and Roper (2008) suggests â€Å"brands which are placed in popular teenage television programs are likely to benefit from a positive image and be popular among adolescent consumers†. Teenagers have become walking brands but t isn’t their fault it is what they are surrounded by. In summary brands have completely taken over our lives. Everyone buys into them whether they mean to or not and we can all pretend to hate them yet they are such a big part of our everyday lives there is no escaping them. Companies have realised this and know exactly how to market their brands to the different markets so we have to accept them. We are influenced by them in ways we don’t even realise. They are part of our society and culture and the fashion of brands is only growing stronger so my final question is which brand are you?

English Composition Phase 4 Essay

The essay is â€Å"formatted on a paper which is 8. 5 x 11 inches in size† (Driscoll, 2007). The margin on top, bottom, left, and right is set to one inch (Driscoll, 2007). It should have a title page which consists of the following: â€Å"a running head for publication, title, byline, as well as, affiliation† (Driscoll, 2007). The page numbers are â€Å"written in the upper right-hand corner of each page† (Driscoll, 2007). Abstracts, headings, and visuals should be made available as well (Driscoll, 2007). Components of an APA Paper  The following are the components of an APA paper: â€Å"1) name of author; 2) date of publication; 3) title; and 4) publication information† (Minnesota School of Business, 2006). With regards to that name of the author, the last name is written first followed by a comma and the initials of the first and middle name (if middle name is provided), but if the work has no author indicated in it, place the title instead and then the date, and if authors indicated are more than three, state the first author’s name and followed by this: â€Å"et. l. † (Minnesota School of Business, 2006). Moreover, with regards to the date of publication, specify the year; however, if there is no date indicated, just place â€Å"n. d. † (Minnesota School of Business, 2006). Furthermore, with regards to the title, just write it as is whether it is a book, journal, or a magazine (Minnesota School of Business, 2006). Finally, with regards to the â€Å"publication information†: if the reference is a book, then the place of publication, as well as, the publisher should be included; if it is a periodical then include the place of publication, the publisher, the volume number, the issue number, as well as, the pages; and if it is a website then indicate the website address (Minnesota School of Business, 2006).

Higher Education

In Classical vs. Modern Education: The Principal Difference article from the second issue of Classical Homeschooling Magazine, Patrick Carmack compares and critizes the both classical and new modern education models in terms of effectiveness and ethics. Within the samples from Socrates’ classical education understanding, the article points out that altering education system becomes an inanimate occurrence which ignores the soul of human beings and considers them as a sort of computer, a creation solely having a brain to use as a data storage.As the author clarifies at the article by giving definitions of either type of education, education is much more complex than it seems, not merely gain information but also widen self’s horizon and learn to differentiate between good and bad, then being able to aim to goodness. Therefore the basic content of the education, what Carmack claims, should involve feelings, emotions – the most mentioned in the article is love- in o rder to have ‘‘well-rounded, cultured gentlemen and ladies, capable of addressing any problem or situation in life with the maximum likelihood both of success and personal happiness’’ (para. ). Carmack also touches upon the homeschooling issue, in a positive perspective in consequence of children who is educated or continue it by their family -except paramount situations- in a habitual, loving environment. Despite many obstacles and disadvantages author considers homeschooling as ‘‘the single greatest advantage’’ of progressive education. Another point is, the adoption of the German kindergarten model has lessened the early home formation years of children’s.Moreover this has received the chance from kids to learn culture of their homes. As Carmack mentions at the beginning, since every individual has distinct features and characteristics, it should be taken into consideration that not everyone has the same IQ, interests and culture. Thus, it is essential for a child to know self’s own culture in the cause of built their own identity solidly and this can be only learned in an environment which provides the necessary cumulative cultural factors.All in all, writer engages attention to Socratic way of educating love and, defends it against the modern, in another words progressive education, clarifies the misunderstanding about the education’s aims and, emphasizes the necessity of consideration on individuals which have diverse characteristics; IQ, learning type, interests, culture, etc.. Higher Education In Classical vs. Modern Education: The Principal Difference article from the second issue of Classical Homeschooling Magazine, Patrick Carmack compares and critizes the both classical and new modern education models in terms of effectiveness and ethics. Within the samples from Socrates’ classical education understanding, the article points out that altering education system becomes an inanimate occurrence which ignores the soul of human beings and considers them as a sort of computer, a creation solely having a brain to use as a data storage.As the author clarifies at the article by giving definitions of either type of education, education is much more complex than it seems, not merely gain information but also widen self’s horizon and learn to differentiate between good and bad, then being able to aim to goodness. Therefore the basic content of the education, what Carmack claims, should involve feelings, emotions – the most mentioned in the article is love- in o rder to have ‘‘well-rounded, cultured gentlemen and ladies, capable of addressing any problem or situation in life with the maximum likelihood both of success and personal happiness’’ (para. ). Carmack also touches upon the homeschooling issue, in a positive perspective in consequence of children who is educated or continue it by their family -except paramount situations- in a habitual, loving environment. Despite many obstacles and disadvantages author considers homeschooling as ‘‘the single greatest advantage’’ of progressive education. Another point is, the adoption of the German kindergarten model has lessened the early home formation years of children’s.Moreover this has received the chance from kids to learn culture of their homes. As Carmack mentions at the beginning, since every individual has distinct features and characteristics, it should be taken into consideration that not everyone has the same IQ, interests and culture. Thus, it is essential for a child to know self’s own culture in the cause of built their own identity solidly and this can be only learned in an environment which provides the necessary cumulative cultural factors.All in all, writer engages attention to Socratic way of educating love and, defends it against the modern, in another words progressive education, clarifies the misunderstanding about the education’s aims and, emphasizes the necessity of consideration on individuals which have diverse characteristics; IQ, learning type, interests, culture, etc..

Process Improvement Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example For every group of data, the points on the X-Bar usually represent its average. The range chart on the other hand displays the difference between the lowest and the highest dimension in the group (SPC 2013). Statistical control limits also known as confidence band is normally attached to the weakening line so as to reduce the unexplained error. The confidence interval in the regression is normally based on past data. Control limits are expressed in terms of positive or negative mean absolute deviation (MAD). MAD is normally simple and useful when obtaining tracking signal. It is used to denote the average error that is in the forecasts. It measures the dispersion of the observed values from the expected values. When sign is put in consideration in the computation of MAD, the control limits are obtained. MAD is calculated by obtaining the sum of absolute deviations and then dividing it with the number of data points. Control limits can also be expressed in form of standard deviations. Standard deviation relates to mean absolute deviation when the errors in the project are usually dispersed. ‘The standard deviation’ is normally a bigger measure. For instance, if the MAD of a set of points was estimated to be 60, then the measure for the standard deviation would be 75. ... It is used to indicate whether the average of the forecast is keeping pace with any upward or downward genuine changes A typical control chart has two horizontal lines that are called ‘upper control limit’ (UCL) and lower control limit (LCL). If the process happens to be in control, almost all the samples fall between them and hence no action needs to be taken. If a point plots outside of the control limit it is taken that the procedure must be out of control and hence investigation is necessary and corrective action should be taken in order to find and eradicate the possible causes for the behavior. The sample points that are on control chart are normally connected with a straight line to make it easier to visualize how the sequence of those points has been evolving over time. Even if all the points happen to plot inside of the control limits and they act in a non-random approach then this is a signal that the procedure might be out of control. These limits are calculat ed from Range and ‘SPC X-Bar’ values. They are plus/minus three standard deviations from the average calculated and represent 99.97% self-assurance factor that any of the reading that falls between the limits can is an attribute of the regular process discrepancies (Confidence intervals: how they work, 2013). Effect of Seasonal Factors Using Process Performance Data Control: Measurement will help in reduction of variation. They help reduce overruns in expenditure so as the objectives agreed on can be achieved. Management assessment: The concept for process performance involves meeting the planned established operating goals, detecting of deviations from the planned performance levels and then restoring these performances to the levels planned or even

Selection of US Supreme Court Justices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Selection of US Supreme Court Justices - Essay Example Constitution Article 3 Section 1") The US Supreme Court Justice System is on par in terms of power and influence as the President and the Senate. The US Supreme Court is mandated to uphold the Constitution in any issue. It is to determine the constitutionality of a ruling rather than the determination of innocence or guilt, or the legality of an issue. It is thus of extreme importance that a Supreme court judge be thoroughly cognizant of the US Constitution and to be able to set aside ideologies whether social, political or cultural. Special interest groups should have no hand in influencing the selection process. (Salvato, 2005) The first nine Supreme Court Justices were named in 1789, but it was not until 1816 that the Senate authorized the formation of the Committee on the Judiciary for the explicit purpose of considering and confirming (or rejecting) the nomination of an associate or chief justice for the Supreme Court. It was only at this time that some sort of check and balance was deemed necessary because of t he lack of specificity of the terms of the Constitution regarding the selection of justices. It gave the president too much leeway in selecting a nominee and left the confirmation of such an important post to the whims of a directionless Senate, who is supposed to "advice and consent". Note that deliberate and investigate is not included in this definition of the Senate's role in the justice selection. However, wise heads determined in 1816 that even if it was not subscribed in the Constitution, it should be established to confirm the legitimacy of the appointment. The system worked quite well but in 1987 the proceedings became quite contentious enough to arouse public interest. It was in the nomination of Robert Bork and the Roe v. Wade case that the Senate hearings became a matter of public debate. However, no other case has attained this level of public notice with regard to Supreme Court Justice selections since and between 1994 and 2005 was quiet because it was time that the nine members of the Supreme Court remained constant. This ended with the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in July of 2005 and the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist in September of that same year. President Bush found himself in a position compelled to name successors to the two vacancies. President Bush complied by naming John Roberts and first Harriet Miers and then Samuel Alito to fill the positions. (Dorsen, 2006) This sparked renewed interest in the process of selecting and confirming justices to the Supreme Court. This paper seeks to provide an overview of this process as well as the political aspects that has influenced the process in recent years. A brief description of the nominations of Roberts, Miers and Alito will serve as case studies to illustrate the current procedures and p ractices. The Process and the Politics Federal judges are assured of their positions for life or until resignation "during good behavior" as mandated by Article II of the US Constitution. This is to ensure that confirmed judges are free to rule on

Psycho Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psycho - Essay Example Fictional plots within a movie have been included to present a manipulated cast to focus on the motive in bringing entertainment. Horror and epic plots are the movie examples that have led to unrealistic denouement within the plot development. In the horror setting, the distinction is issued on the virtues that present threatening, measures to individual sustainability. Psycho is a movie created by Alfred Hitchcock in a time that experienced a varied form movie production including strong visual implementation of horror scenes. Through Hitchcock, the manipulation of the subconscious had been developed to present reality that was unimaginable to humanity. He managed to represent that provisions that contributed to an imagination that threatened the psychological view of a sound mind. Although Psycho had been a horror based movie, the presentations that had been issued on the middle class society in influencing progress and relationships were highlighted. The production of a horror film has been linked to the provisions that are presented in arguing and developing confidence and courage for the unknown. Greenberg (118) has presented the movie to be the reflection of Hitchcock’s view on human corruption and the vulnerable form of behavioral traits. Hitchcock had been linked to create themes that evoked human emotions to presents characters that had been recognized as impairments to progress. The nature that he created the scenes had cumulated to provide an experience to the viewer and linked the plot to a horrific event. Psycho is a story created around the life of Marion Crane who is explained to meet the challenges presented within the society. Her desire to achieve progress leads her down the scandal that involved $40, 000 dollars. The movie begins on a high note when the violence is created within the first 40 minutes (Taylor 30). This provision has been the developed plot within modern horror movies that creates the incent ive to evoke the

Scripture Interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scripture Interpretation - Essay Example In addition, verses like Job 9:6 suggest that the earth is flat which has already been proven to be incorrect. Hence, this illustrates that scriptures can be better understood by culmination of processes which involve understanding the history of interpretation of the bible as well as the times during which the interpretation was made. This paper will illustrate the history of scriptures and how they were written and interpreted over the years. In addition, there will also be an assessment on the different views that are taken by different religions and how the interpretations vary. Authors such as Karen Armstrong (2007) suggest that interpreting texts too literally is dangerous for society and has led to the rise of religious extremists in different beliefs. Armstrong (2007), states that there is a large amount of criticism by atheists accusing Christianity of many unethical acts whilst extremists that perform acts of terror quote the Quran. Historically there was no orthodoxy in the scripture from the beginning was never written in a monolithic voice, hence making it impossible to interpret literally. For example, the Quran is written in the form of parables as it is the only which can be used to describe God and likewise Jesus in the bible was such a significant figure that it was impossible to describe him with a single definition. This shows that the scriptures were never meant to be interpreted literally, as many individuals can create contrasting arguments both using scriptures in the bible. An example, of this is the argument for and against slavery. Sl ave owners were capable of providing a well supported argument using texts from the bible whilst slaves could use the same bible to oppose slavery. This point illustrates the issue of interpretation in the bible, in addition, the book was written by numerous authors who were all using the voice of God and at times did not

Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Global Warming - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is Global Warming as a constant problem. We have to turn off greenhouse gases now in order to avoid catastrophe in decades to come. If global temperatures rise by four degrees by century’s end, sea levels will rise five to six meters due to the melting of our polar ice caps. It’s time to connect the dots from those remote Arctic regions to our cities, towns, and backyards. Let’s consider what the future might look like if global warming continues unchecked. According to recent studies Americans rank climate change as the country’s most critical environmental problem. Current observations of global warming related data have solidified the speculation that it is positively an enhanced greenhouse effect that is causing the world to warm. The planet has experienced the biggest increase in surface temperature over the last century. Between 2003 and 2006, the Earth’s average surface temperature rose between 0.6 to 0.9 de grees Celsius; the last 50 years saw the temperature increase rate almost doubling. Sea levels have shown a rise of about 0.17 meters during the twentieth century. Low-lying coastal regions, with thick population, are especially susceptible to climate shifts, with the poorer countries and small island nations having the hardest time adapting. It has been estimated that by 2080, 13 to 88 million people around the world would lose their home to floods. This research will demonstrate that there are numerous opinions on the causes of climate change. Are they manmade or natural? Global warming is a convoluted subject. It’s easy to get confused by all the scientific arguments and conflicting claims. The purpose of this research is to attempt to get the scientific community to agree that global warming related variables can be combated more efficiently with better cooperation. Take politics, economics, greed, and self interests of various governments out of the debate and merely foc us on the facts, and labeling the problem whatever you desire, can and will support worldwide comprehensive improvements. Problem Statement: Global Warming is a constant problem. We have to turn off greenhouse gases now in order to avoid catastrophe in decades to come. If global temperatures rise by four degrees by century’s end, sea levels will rise five to six meters due to the melting of our polar ice caps. It’s time to connect the dots from those remote Arctic regions to our cities, towns, and backyards. Let’s consider what the future might look like if global warming continues unchecked. Rationale for the Research: This is an issue that is approached very differently by the scientific community. This topic could affect all living organisms, the environment not just in the United States, but the entire world. From 2003 to

Theoretical Perspective Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theoretical Perspective - Research Paper Example Project managers usually use emails and video conferencing techniques for a two way communication with his team members. Apart from this, special 3D and 2D satellite images are used by project managers for detecting the areas of oil spills and the working condition of the pumps. The manager then schedules the maintenance plan for the same. The oil and gas field can also be detected under the sea or on ground through 3D images of Stereo satellites. The companies are injecting the most advanced technologies to increase the efficiency of the workforce and also maximize the profit. Increasing use of these VPM tools is also helping the industry to decrease their operating expenses and this might also affect the price of oil and gases in the global market in future. Table of Contents Virtual Project Management 4 Virtual Project Management (VPM) Tools 4 VPM Tools in Oil Producing Environment 5 Current and Future Abilities for Project Implementation 6 Effect of New Technology on Projects and Members round the World 7 References 8 Virtual Project Management We often see that, the project teams are generally dispersed in many different locations of the world. The projects in MNCs are generally given to team, in which the members might be working from different parts of the world. Sometimes a single project is carried out by different companies. The geographically dispersed work or project is often called virtual projects. Virtual projects are called so because most of the communication regarding the project is done through email, video conferencing, telephone or using other forms of technology. The long distance communication methods and techniques are no longer expensive or prohibited. It helps the project managers to communicate with his project team frequently and openly (Mantel, Meredith, & Shafer, 2006, p. 56). Virtual Project Management (VPM) Tools In Virtual Management, the whole team is mainly depended upon the technological aspects. As such most of the work and decision making functions are undertaken through web-based technology such as internet. The tools that are used in virtual project management need to fit in the teams from all round the world. The main function that any VPM tool should have, is to allow the project team members to communicate with one another efficiently, as all the team member are in separate locations. Moreover, they might not have knowledge of each other's prior work experiences. In this case communication becomes the only key for discussing and formulating plans regarding the project. Secondly, the tools should also allow the team members to collaborate in the virtual space. The tools should also help the project manager to manage the project functions, schedule the resources and also track the progress of the tasks. The VPM tools are usually web based applications, which are used to create schedules and assign tasks. The resources and activities of team members are monitored and important documents are also exc hanged through these tools. VPM Tools in Oil Producing Environment Virtual project management tools are very useful in the field of natural resources such as minerals, oil and gas. Since, these natural resources are usually found in remote areas, so technological tools play a very important role in detecting and planning out the projects. In such cases, satellite, and airborne remote sensing technology is often used to select the oil and gas

Reflections on World's Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reflections on World's Leadership - Essay Example Effective leaders are capable of setting and achieving challenging goals along with taking speedy and crucial actions even in complicated circumstances. These activities are undertaken by the leaders to outperform their opposition and also to take designed risks for the purpose of persevering in the state of failure. Effective communication skills, confidence, ability to handle others and willingness to adopt changes also exemplify good leaders. Not all leaders are able to follow these broad aspects while deploying their leadership. However, those who are able to follow are characterized as good leaders but on the other hand those who are not able to comply with the fundamental aspects of leadership can be considered to be bad leaders (Daft, 2008; Fairholm, 2011). Correspondingly, the essay will specifically highlight a good leader i.e. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and a bad leader i.e. President Bashar al-Assad in terms of their stance in a societal context. The essay will also pr ovide an in-depth knowledge pertaining to the aspects that highlight both the leaders’ leadership style. In addition, the essay will also reflect upon valuable aspects of both the leaders that put them in good and bad leadership positions. In-depth knowledge in this respect would prove to provide valuable insights about both individual’s leadership patterns as well. Analysis of Leadership Dimensions of Two Leaders Background and Contributions of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum According to Daft (2008), certain desirable characteristics of a preferred leader whom the followers like to follow vehemently include forward thinking, honest, inspiring and competent. With this consideration, it can be apparently observed that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who is currently the Prime Minister and Vice President in the United Arab Emirates possesses these valuable qualities. He is also one of the rulers in Dubai. He has been holding these positions since the year 2006 begi nning from the month of January. He was born in the year 1949 on July 15th in the Al Maktoum house in Shindagha, which is located near a famous stream of Dubai. He has been deploying his wide assortment of duties since 2006 in a very skillful and effective manner, which substantiates his competence. Also, he has been able to work upon the interests of the public which puts him in a very good position as a forward thinking leader. He had been witnessed to get involved in various activities i.e. allowing free funds in mosques and launching initiatives to support the World Health Organization (WHO) among various other activities, which prove his loyalty for the people along with his forward thinking characteristic. In addition, he displayed his leadership attributes in a diversified and well-grounded manner. There are many instances and events that corroborate his valuable contributions towards the region where he leads. In the month September 2007, it has been reported that he launche d the Dubai Cares campaign. This campaign was primarily launched for the purpose of raising money in order to educate around 1 million children in most of the poor countries. The broader aim of the campaign was to ensure Dubai's active involvement to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. It was essentially targeted for offering the ‘Children’s Primary Education to every child’ in the UN by 2015. The amount which was donated for this campaign

Critiques on Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critiques on Finance - Case Study Example Rising fuel costs forced cost cutting measures and hence necessary upgrades were put on the back burner. Flight and crew scheduling systems, reservation and call-center systems all need to be upgraded if the airline wants to retain its passenger share. Parallels are already being drawn to People Airline Express, another low cost carrier that sank without a trace in 1997 under similar constraints as are being faced by JetBlue today. JetBlue however, still has something going for it in the form of a healthy balance sheet, and $699 million in cash. It has also re-structured its ambitious growth plans as it tries to consolidate its operations. The problem JetBlue is facing is basically that, "rapid expansion [has] outstripped management's ability to keep everything together". Rough and ready methods, suitable for small, low-cost operations contribute to profitability. But these methods start falling apart when the size of the operations cross a certain optimum level. At this stage JetBlue risks having the same overheads and union problems, as do other larger carriers, thereby nullifying the advantage of being a low cost carrier. In October 2005, after six years of double-digit growth, Avon sales suddenly slumped all over the world as, "the global diversity that had long propped up the company's performance suddenly began to weigh it down".

Hiroshima Diary Essay Example for Free

Hiroshima Diary Essay First of all, I would like to say that you have an overall good paper in my opinion. The first thing that I can suggest is a better hook. My attention wasn’t drawn into the paper. I suggest a quote by a scientist or other survivor, and/or a statistic – something that will make a reader think about the paper more. Another thing that I can recommend is to add a little bit more background on the two narratives, but just very brief (a couple sentences). Also I’d like to point out some things that you could use to improve your thesis. The essay is about â€Å"cause and effect† so it has to be mentioned in your thesis. Also mention the 2 things you will compare between the two stories so the reader has an idea where the paper will be going. Other things I noticed that sounded awkward are the way you used quotes. Introducing quotes is a better strategy than just using the quote as a sentence (paragraph 2) as it gives a better flow and gives a better explanation for your argument. Also in my opinion you could expand more on your analysis of both paragraphs and connect your argument to the thesis and to each other so you have a better evaluation of the discussed topic. There are several other small issues that I found. In paragraph 3 you used a long quote, which is 4+ lines, and it should be in a block format and indented. Also you used very short sentences such as, â€Å"Here are the quotes for the effect.† Using more complex sentences gives a better flow and a more professional look to your essay. You also had some good things in your essay. You provided very concise summary to inform a reader about the story and point out the most important information. You point. Also you have very good topic sentences introducing the argument of that paragraph. From your topic sentences I was able to know what they paragraph would be about, and you were consistent with it. After reading your essay and compared it to my own, I figured that I need to include a better summary. I do not give sufficient background information to be enough for my analysis. Junjie, you did a great job at providing accurate citations, great summary and good analysis. However, you could work on expanding your synthesis and evaluation of the argument in your body paragraph. Otherwise, good job.

History And Introduction Of Binary Trees English Language Essay

History And Introduction Of Binary Trees English Language Essay Tree is a data structure usually use in math concept can be seen as a graph. The data structure or graph are suited each other as the data structure does not only contain elements but the connection of the elements too. History of Tree was prevented by Cayley in 1857 (100 years before Malaysia got the independence). Cayley was the first man study about Tree then continues by Mckay. He discovers the vertices in database of tree into18 vertices and Royle maintains up to 20 vertices. Nowadays all their effort grant us to a lot of things we use the Tree concept in our daily live and the uses of Tree is very useful in science computer. A Tree is a set of line segment with all of the elements is connected whether left or right. We specified it into binary tree which is the concept of single parent (root or parent nodes) with at least 1 child (child nodes). Further study on binary tree is a full binary tree which meant that every root must have two nodes located left and right of the root. The entire tree is a bipartite graph. The connection point is called fork and the segment is called branches. That is a little bit about tree and we will learn more in next pages. Tree had become useful in our daily life. We can connect each data that we have to solve mathematic problems. We also had done a research on the application of binary tree in our daily life and their uses in science computer to develop well us as science computer student. Binary Tree Full Binary Tree TYPES OF BINARY TREE There are several types of binary tree. Two of them are stated as previous page and here are other types of binary tree: A rooted binary tree is a tree with a root node in which every node has at most two children. A full binary tree (sometimes called as proper binary tree or 2-tree or strictly binary tree) is a tree in which every node other than the leaves has two children. A perfect binary tree is a full binary tree in which all leaves are at the same depth or same level. (This is ambiguously also called a complete binary tree.) A complete binary tree is a binary tree in which every level, except possibly the last, is completely filled, and all nodes are as far left as possible. An infinite complete binary tree is a tree with levels, where for each level d the number of existing nodes at level d is equal to 2d. The cardinal number of the set of all nodes is. The cardinal number of the set of all paths is. The infinite complete binary tree essentially describes the structure of the Cantor set; the unit interval on the real line (of cardinality) is the continuous image of the Cantor set; this tree is sometimes called the Cantor space. A balanced binary tree is where the depth of all the leaves differs by at most 1. Balanced trees have a predictable depth (how many nodes are traversed from the root to a leaf, root counting as node 0 and subsequent as 1, 2, , depth). This depth is equal to the integer part of log2 (n) where n is the number of nodes on the balanced tree. Example 1: balanced tree with 1 node, log2 (1) = 0 (depth = 0). Example 2: balanced tree with 3 nodes, log2 (3) = 1.59 (depth=1). Example 3: balanced tree with 5 nodes, log2 (5) = 2.32 (depth of tree is 2 nodes). A rooted complete binary tree can be identified with a free magma. A degenerate tree is a tree where for each parent node, there is only one associated child node. This means that in a performance measurement, the tree will behave like a linked list data structure. PROPERTIES OF BINARY TREE After we had study the types of binary tree, now we need to study the properties for each types of binary tree. Perfect binary tree required this formula to find the number of nodes that is n  = 2h  + 1  Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 1  where  h  is the height of the tree and this formula n  = 2L  Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 1  where  L  is the number of leaf nodes in the tree. Nodes in Complete binary tree have a different formula that is minimum:  n  = 2h  and maximum:  n  = 2h  + 1   1 where  h  is the height of the tree. The number of NULL LINK is (n+1) and the leaf nodes in Complete binary tree is (n  / 2). Non-empty binary tree have different formula n0  leaf nodes and  n2  nodes of degree 2,  n0  =  n2  + 1. Thus n = n0  + n1  + n2  + n4  + n3  + n5  +. + nB-1  + nB and to find B is, B = n 1, n = 1 + 1*n1  + 2*n2  + 3*n3  + 4*n4  + + B*nB, NOT include n0. TRAVERSAL If one dimensional array was compared with data structures like link list, which have an official method of traversal, tree structures can be traversed in many ways. There three main steps that can be shown and the order of the binary tree. First of all is to perform defines the traversal type, next is to traversing to the left child node follow by right child node. This is the easiest method to describe a binary tree through recursion METHODS FIND TRAVERSAL IN BINARY TREES There are several common orders in which nodes can be visited with their own advantages. Here a three main order in binary trees: In-order: Left child, Root, Right child Post-order: Left child, Right child, Root Pre-order: Root, Left child, Right child In-order, Pre-order and Post-order traversal visit each node in a tree by recursively visiting each node in the left and the right subtrees of the root. If the root node visited before its subtrees, this is pre-order, if after so it is post-order and if in between this is in-order. Depth-First Traversal This is one of the concepts to find the traversal of the tree. We always attempt to visit the node farthest from the root we attempt to forget too but, through depth first we does not need to remember all the nodes we have visited. In Pre-order we should go through the root first then followed by left subtree and right subtree. But in In-order we will visit the left subtree first then we visit the root followed by right subtree. Lastly Post-order we start with subtree from the left followed with right then we will visit the root. Breadth-first Traversal Breadth-first traversal is which is opposite with depth-first traversal attempts to the closest nodes to the root. With this method a tree can traversed in level order, by going through from root to the lowest children. Example of Breadth-first traversal Preorder traversal sequence: F, B, A, D, C, E, G, I, H (root, left, right) Inorder traversal sequence: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I (left, root, right) Postorder traversal sequence: A, C, E, D, B, H, I, G, F (left, right, root) BINARY TREE APPLIED IN SCIENCE COMPUTER In computer science, binary tree can be applied such as in java, c/c++ programming, data structure and algorithms. In java, implementation is same in c/c++ programming, solution java is copying the solution in c/c++ and making the syntactic language. Almost every operation have two methods, a one-line method on the binary tree that starts the computation, and a recursive method that works on the node objects. For the lookup() operation, there is a binarytree.lookup() method that the client uses to start a lookup operation. Internal to the binarytree class, there is a private recursive lookup (node) method that implements the recursion down the node structure. This second, private recursive method is basically the same as the recursive C/C++ functions. In binary tree for data structure, a linked list structure is not efficient when searching for a specific item as the node can only be accessed sequentially. The binary search algorithm suggests a data structure which can be implemented using dynamic storage and allows searching to be done efficiently. EXAMPLE IN JAVA // BinaryTree.java public class BinaryTree { // Root node pointer. Will be null for an empty tree. private Node root; /* Node The binary tree is built using this nested node class. Each node stores one data element, and has left and right sub-tree pointer which may be null. The node is a dumb nested class we just use it for storage; it does not have any methods. */ private static class Node { Node left; Node right; int data; Node(int newData) { left = null; right = null; data = newData; } } /** Creates an empty binary tree a null root pointer. */ public void BinaryTree() { root = null; } /** Returns true if the given target is in the binary tree. Uses a recursive helper. */ public boolean lookup(int data) { return(lookup(root, data)); } /** Recursive lookup given a node, recur down searching for the given data. */ private boolean lookup(Node node, int data) { if (node==null) { return(false); } if (data==node.data) { return(true); } else if (data return(lookup(node.left, data)); } else { return(lookup(node.right, data)); } } /** Inserts the given data into the binary tree. Uses a recursive helper. */ public void insert(int data) { root = insert(root, data); } /** Recursive insert given a node pointer, recur down and insert the given data into the tree. Returns the new node pointer (the standard way to communicate a changed pointer back to the caller). */ private Node insert(Node node, int data) { if (node==null) { node = new Node(data); } else { if (data node.left = insert(node.left, data); } else { node.right = insert(node.right, data); } } return(node); // in any case, return the new pointer to the caller } BINARY TREE APPLIED IN DAILY LIFE Binary tree can be applied in our life. This can be shown in competition schedule in sports, family flows, organizations and others. The tree showed the flows of an organization so we can know who or how an organization is flowed. Besides that, we can know the header in an organization, our relation in a family or our competitor in a sport. Others, we can position in an organization so that we not mistake or just estimate someone position in an organization. We also can deal with someone based on the position in an organization and can save our time for dealings. EXAMPLE CONCLUSION We can conclude that binary tree a lot of usage in our life. The binary tree is applied not just in daily life but in computer system. This is because the usages of binary tree easy for the programmer to make a system. Other than that, the application of binary tree can be found in the computer science. In addition, we are pleased to see the chart and reduce errors during the program or enter into an agreement with an officer in an organization. Using the tree, we will know a persons position in an organization or in sports.

Fredrick Douglas And Harriet Jacobs Essay example -- American History

During the 1800s, slaves received treatment comparable to that of livestock. They were mere possessions of white men stripped of almost every last bit of humanity in them. African-Americans were constricted to this state of mind by their owners vicious treatment, but also the practice of keeping them uneducated. Keeping the slaves illiterate hindered them from understanding the world around them. Slave owners knew this. The slaves who were able to read and write always rebelled more against their masters. Frederick Douglass, author of "A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and Harriet Jacobs, author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," were prime examples. Both slaves had been taught how read and write at a young age, and both gained their freedom by escaping to the northern states. What they had learned also helped them stay free while in the northern states after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which left no slave truly free. The literate slaves thought wit h a more free mind and developed a sense of self-identity and denied the identity of a slave. Literate slaves caught on to the immorality and injustice of slavery on black people. Another problem slave owners had with literate slaves was the potential for them to educate other slaves and give them thoughts of escaping or helping other slaves escape. Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs both wrote of this in their books. Douglass was separated from his mother at an early age in order to prevent any feelings of attachment to her. His father was a white man, he might have been the man responsible for separating him from his mother. As a young child on the plantation, Douglass was exposed to the abuse of slave women received from their masters. Thi... ...rson's writing meant nothing legally, it helped out when escaping to freedom. Jacobs was able to send letters to Dr. Flint from inside her grandmother's attic space. She kept him traveling the northern states looking for her by saying she was in that state in a letter and had the postmark from that state. This was a very clever strategy on her part that ultimately played a big role in her gaining her freedom. If these slaves were not literate, it might have been more difficult to gain their freedom. Literacy saved Harriet Jacobs' and Frederick Douglass' sense of humanity from the dehumanizing institution of slavery. With the knowledge they had acquired, they published their books, "A Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass" and "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." They also played a huge role in the abolitionist movement and in advocating human rights.

Does science consist in the progressive development of objective truth?

Does science consist in the progressive development of objective truth? Contrast the views of Kuhn with one other writer on this topic. The philosopher and historian of science Thomas Kuhn introduced the term paradigm as a key part of what he called â€Å"normal science†: In normal (that is non revolutionary) periods in a science, there is a consensus across the relevant scientific community about the theoretical and methodological rules to be followed. (Marshall 1998). Paradigms tend to shift over time as new scientific discoveries are made, and anomalies or observations that conflict with the current paradigm begin to accumulate. Eventually this leads to a scientific revolution. There is a shift from one paradigm to another and a new period of normal science begins. So, what seems to be scientifically relevant at one time may not be so in years to come. An example of a paradigm shift would be when it was discovered that Earth was not the centre of the universe and that the sun did not revolve around the earth. This was a widely held belief up until, and even after there was proof to show that these beliefs w ere held falsely. Kuhn argued that the way scientists choose what conceptual and theoretical framework (what "paradigm") they should apply in framing their scientific questions and in seeking to resolve scientific puzzles is necessarily heavily influenced by subjective factors, including prevailing social norms and conventions. This implies that scientific theories are subjective and therefore so is the â€Å"truth† they aim to show. Kuhn argued that an old scientific paradigm is occasionally displaced by a new one and that in some senses the scientist finds himself working in a â€Å"different world†. For Kuhn, what counts as true in one paradigm is different from what counts as true in a different paradigm. Another way of putting this is that truth does not survive a scientific revolution. This means that Kuhn can be seen as a relativist as his argument suggests that there is no external reality by which we are able to measure the truth of scientific theories and that the truth changes with each new paradigm. Thomas Kuhn observed that science, as it's actually practiced, isn't the logical and cumulative building up of a true picture of the world that it was generally believed to be. He showed that there is no fixed, defined criterion for deciding bet... ...not there is an objective truth or reality. His main point is that scientific progress is a continuing refinement of our ideas about what might be the case. He says there's no single criterion for selecting one theory over another, not even success at predicting phenomena. The only judge is the consensus of the scientific community, and that clearly changes so it can't be used in advance to decide one theory over another. Popper also argued that we can never be sure that our theories will never be falsified and so all knowledge or truth is provisional and can change. It seems therefore that although Popper seems to follow a realist account of scientific progress and Kuhn a relativist one, that actually they both believed that there is progress in science but that we could not know if we were progressing towards an objective truth. . Ekelund, Robert, Jr. and Robert F. Hebert. A History of Economic Theory and Method. Fourth edition. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Second edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970. Popper, Karl R. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1959.

Essay --

Book Review of January by: Elizabeth Nguyen 8B â€Å"Henry Ford† by Regina Z. Kelly is a non-fiction biography, which follows the life of a clever man born in a town called Greenfield Township, Michigan. This book revolves around Henry’s personal life, his successes, and the problems he faced. Henry was born on July 30, 1863. Over the years, Henry always had a small talent creating and fixing devices. Although he was never the best at literature, he usually found an interest in mechanical things as he grew up. He detested farming, but loved how mechanics worked. In 1879, he decided that he wanted to go work in a mechanic shop in Detroit. He started in the Michigan Car Company, and as the years passed he worked at others, like the Edison Illuminating Company, ran by Thomas Edison. On New Year’s Eve in 1885, Henry met an eighteen year old girl named Clara Bryant, who he soon married three years later. Clara was one of the key people in this book, by being a great supporter to his ideas, even if they seemed unbelievable. Especially the one about the â€Å"horseless carriage.† It was an idea that Henry had thought of. He wanted to create an automobile that wasn’t dependant on horses but rather something better. He soon began to undertake experiments to tr y to create his first automobile. When he personally met Thomas Edison, he gained his approval of Henry’s first automobile he made, and from that day, they grew a strong relationship with each other. They always supported and spent quality time with each other. After resigning from the Edison Illuminating Company in August 15, 1899, The Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 with him and along with others. The Fo... ...gh man who was an executive of the business. Not many people liked him; Henry was only one of his close friends. For me, I would recommend this to other people only under a few circumstances. I find that biographies wouldn’t be a first choice for me, since I’m not really fond with them, unless it’s anyone I find intriguing. Yet, some people may be up for this type of book ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€ personal preference right? Ideally, the ones who enjoy biographies that tell the experiences of people who made an impact on the world would like this. But also, anyone who’s inspired to be a mechanic or a business person would enjoy this book, as they can get an idea of what might be happening in a business environment. Lastly, people ages ten and up will be able to read this book. Any person younger than that may not be able to understand the vocabulary and the main purpose of this biography.

Case 08-1

Pei Shan Liu Professor: David Hossain Accounting 495 10/1/2012 Case 08-1 Go With the Flow, Inc. 1. Insurance Settlement Proceeds According to ASC 230-10-45-12, the insurance settlement proceeds should be classified as an investing cash flow in the statement of cash flow. â€Å"All of the followings are cash inflows from investing activities: a. Receipts from collections or sales of loans made by the entity and of other entities' debt instruments (other than cash equivalents and certain debt instruments that are acquired specifically for resale as discussed in paragraph 230-10-45-21) that were purchased by the entity. . Receipts from sales of equity instruments of other entities (other than certain equity instruments carried in a trading account as described in paragraph 230-10-45-19) and from returns of investment in those instruments. c. Receipts from sales of property, plant, and equipment and other productive assets. d. not used. e. Receipts from sales of loans that were not spec ifically acquired for resale. That is, if loans were acquired as investments, cash receipts from sales of those loans shall be classified as investing cash inflows regardless of a change in the purpose for holding those loans.For purposes of this paragraph, receipts from disposing of loans, debt or equity instruments, or property, plant, and equipment include directly related proceeds of insurance settlements, such as the proceeds of insurance on a building that is damaged or destroyed. † Based on the above principle, the insurance proceeds of one of the company’s manufacturing facilities should be considered investing activities because the money received was an insurance settlement and the proceeds of the insurance were on a building that was destroyed. . Sale of Accounts Receivable According to ASC 230-10-45-14, sale of accounts receivable should presented as financing cash inflows in the statement of cash flows. According to ASC 230-10-45-12, Cash received from inte rest should be presented as an investing activity. â€Å"All of the following are cash inflows from financing activities: a. Proceeds from issuing equity instruments. b. Proceeds from issuing bonds, mortgages, notes, and from other short- or long-term borrowing. c.Receipts from contributions and investment income that by donor stipulation are restricted for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, or improving property, plant, equipment, or other long-lived assets or establishing or increasing a permanent endowment or term endowment. d. Proceeds received from derivative instruments that include financing elements at inception, whether the proceeds were received at inception or over the term of the derivative instrument, other than a financing element inherently included in an at-the-market derivative instrument with no prepayments. . Cash retained as a result of the tax deductibility of increases in the value of equity instruments issued under share-based payment arrangements that are not included in the cost of goods or services that is recognizable for financial reporting purposes. For this purpose, excess tax benefits shall be determined on an individual award (or portion thereof) basis. † Based on the principle, the accounts receivable from sales of the company’s inventory should be considered as financing activities because the company proceed from issuing notes.As seen in ASC 230-10-45-12 (a). â€Å"Receipts from collections or sales of loans made by the entity and of other entities' debt instruments (other than cash equivalents and certain debt instruments that are acquired specifically for resale as discussed in paragraph  230-10-45-21 :  ) that were purchased by the entity†, therefore, the beneficial interest received upon sale of receivable should be presented as a noncash transaction, and cash received from collections on the beneficial interest should be classified as an investing activity. 3.Acquisition of Property, Plant, and Equipment on Account According to ASC 230-10-45-13, the acquisition of property, plant, and equipment on account should be presented as an investing cash outflow in the statement of cash flows. â€Å"All of the following are cash outflows for investing activities: a. Disbursements for loans made by the entity and payments to acquire debt instruments of other entities (other than cash equivalents and certain debt instruments that are acquired specifically for resale as discussed in paragraph  230-10-45-21 :  ). b.Payments to acquire equity instruments of other entities (other than certain equity instruments carried in a trading account as described in paragraphs  230-10-45-18 through 45-19 :  ). c. Payments at the time of purchase or soon before or after purchase to acquire property, plant, and equipment and other productive assets, including interest capitalized as part of the cost of those assets. Generally, only advance payments, the down payment, or other amounts pa id at the time of purchase or soon before or after purchase of property, plant, and equipment and other productive assets are investing cash outflows.However, incurring directly related debt to the seller is a financing transaction (see paragraphs  230-10-45-14 through 45-15 :  ), and subsequent payments of principal on that debt thus are financing cash outflows. † Based on above principle, the company spends money to purchase the equipment and machinery would be considered as investing activities in the statement of cash flows as the company plans to pay off the payment soon after purchase.

Operations Management Essay

1. Discuss how just-in-time manufacturing might affect a Job Shop (Consider both positive and negative impacts on both internal and external operations). Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing may affect a Job Shop both positively and negatively. The most important affect is that it improves the performance of job shop production. JIT also eliminates waste and/or decreases work in progress (WIP) in that same sense. JIT allows for products that are produced to fulfill an immediate demand for them. JIT emphasizes on quality. Quality is very important in JIT manufacturing because it decreases or eliminates costs and increases profits by producing high quality products the first time around. JIT allows for quality products to be transformed from raw materials into finished goods as expediently and efficiently as possible without delay. Some of the negative affects are unskilled or untrained workers. They may not make quality products because they are not trained properly or often. It may affect external operations by promoting competitive bidding between vendors to provide needed inventory. Sometimes this can cause friction between long-standing vendors and the company when they’re out bid by another vendor. It can tarnish the business relationship. 2. You operate a dairy farm, raising cows for the production of raw milk products. Briefly identify the levels of vertical integration that you would anticipate being possible for such an operation (include both backward and forward integration in your response). Operating a dairy farm, raising cows, would be a very challenging business to conduct. The competition for market share is outrageous. One level of vertical integration that I would anticipate is to possibly setup my own distribution center. I would face some challenges because I’d have to hire workers with this type of expertise, along with the knowledge of farming. Though I’d have to invest more capital and purchase or allot warehousing space for the added inventory, in the long run it would be much more economically beneficial to my farming business. I would become my own distributor, thus passing these savings to my customers, while gaining market share. Another level of vertical integration would be that I’d purchase more land to have grass to feed my cows, instead of purchasing feed from a feed company. That type of integration is called forward integration. 3. Discuss the concept of the â€Å"Process Spectrum†. Use examples where appropriate. The Process Spectrum is made up of five major types of manufacturing processes that a company may use to get to an end product, or a finished good or service. The continuous flow process is characterized by the flow of material. During this process, the material hardly ever stops, but moves constantly from one process to another. Using the continuous flow process, the time to transform raw material into a finished project can be easily estimated. The Job Shop process is the most flexible of the processes. Unlike the continuous flow process, the Job Shop process it group’s similar equipment together. This most often allows for products to flow from one machine to a different type of machine and back to a previous type of machine, if needed, unlike the continuous flow process. This process fulfills an outside customer’s order by an agreed-upon date and whatever quantity ordered. The batch flow process is most similar to the job shop process, in that the equipment is grouped by function rather than product. Unlike the job shop process, it produces products in an established lot size that move into an inventory from which further production or final customer orders are filled. The Line Flow process mostly resembles a moving assembly line, such as in the auto industry. In contrast to the continuous flow, the line flow is more flexible, less automated, and more labor/worker driven. The hybrid process is where the first part of the flow of materials resembles the batch flow process, while the latter part resembles a line or continuous flow process. In a hybrid process, on process separates the inventory by parts or semi-finished inventory, to be passed to the other process for assembly or finishing. 4. Compare and contrast the â€Å"Worker Paced Line Flow Process† and the â€Å"Machine Paced Line Flow Process† as relates to capital use, process speed, pacing, and materials requirements. In comparing and contrasting the â€Å"Worker Paced Line Flow† and â€Å"Machine Paced Line Flow† processes in reference to capital use, it is fairly cheap to manufacture and or service the customer base in the worker paced line flow than the machine paced line flow. Though the equipment is specially designed to produce the quality products of the company, the difference in capital use is greater in the machine paced line flow because the operations are most likely larger in size than the worker paced line flow process. In a worker paced line flow, the process of making raw material into a finished product is increasingly fast, such as in a fast food restaurant. The customers expect to be served in a decent time frame and expect their food to be fresh, hot, and in good or great quality. The product flow depends on the immediate demand. The greater the customer base, the greater the need to produce products and in a faster pace. However, it is still dependent upon the pace of the workers and their pace is monitored and adjusted by management as deemed fit for customer demand. In a machine flow process, the process of speed is fast. This is based upon the speed of the machine producing the product. However, machines can be set to achieve a set goal by management. In reference to materials requirements, in a worker paced line the amount of material or inventory needed or required is closely estimated by the amount of sales. In a machine paced line flow process, the amount is not known for certain until a production plan is established. 5. Briefly discuss the concept of the â€Å"cost of quality†. Consider both positive and negative costs associated with a typical quality program in a manufacturing facility. My understanding of the term â€Å"Quality is Free† is to make the product to specifications the first time, as to avoid the costs associated with correcting all of the defects. Poor quality could lead to poor customer relations, which is bad because most businesses are advertised through â€Å"word of mouth†. To scrap means to start over from the beginning. That’s not good because you’ve made the product twice at twice the cost. Costs can be mitigated when the products are inspected and tested to detect defects at different stages of WIP, before rolling out to the market. This is a good process to have in place. Ensuring workers are properly trained and cross-trained is a good preventative measure to have in place. The more processes a worker can perform, the more productive the company can be.

Discussion Question on country competitiveness

Country competitiveness Is determined by a multitude of factors that ‘measures and compares the effectiveness of countries In providing firms with an environment that sustains the domestic and International competitiveness of those firms' (Sheehan & Lou: Chi. 5, p. 130). How a countries excel In bringing firms to contribute to the country competitiveness is the result of many factor that are evaluated yearly by the Forum in order to rank almost every country. The report is called Global Competitiveness Index, although it offers over 500 pages; the content is laid out in an orderly fashion and easy to follow.Let's have a look at how these factors/ determinants influence over FAD strategy. Country-Level, Industry-Level, Firm-Level, Individual-Level Factor-driven economies (Institutions, Infrastructure, Macroeconomic environment, Health and primary education) The level of competitiveness contributing to the country success can be well due to Its Institutional competitiveness; the competitive advantages that firms create In result of their operation wealth a specific circle of institutions is the driving capability to succeed in a socioeconomic context.Foreign firms will likely invest more where they know there is a good management of legal, lattice and economic institutions to protect their rights and property. Mature infrastructures facilitate connectivity, thus lessening the distance between territories. Strong network infrastructures interconnected with national market encourage economic development. Transport, communication and telecommunication infrastructure system is what allow entrepreneurs to do their business, quick stream of information increases global economic productivity by allowing businesses to interact and make decisions.Macroeconomic factor alone, even though stable does not Increase the country's competitiveness but a macroeconomic disorder can actively affect the economy. Workers need to be able to rely on good health services to avoid u nnecessary absenteeism. Good health has proven to enable workers to better function. Also, workers who are educated increase their efficiencies at work but are limited to more manual jobs than one where a more elaborate process is involved.Thus, a lack of basic education can also limit the growth off firm's capacity to develop. (Sheehan & Lou, up. 139) Mentioned that countries cannot be competitive on every level. Some of the week area can be mitigated through trade agreement. Paraguay is a known to experience frequent power shortages at peek hour. That may cause a MEN to choose to locate in another country if their productions demand usage of electricity.Efficiency-driven economies (Higher education and training, Goods market efficiency, Labor market efficiency, Financial market development, Technological readiness, Market size) Well-educated and continuous training is fundamental to firm who want attractive for a firm that evolves in the market technology and is always on a learni ng path to react and adapt to the fast pace IT progresses. To be better positioned in the racket, government with a well balanced set of market rules that does not restrict business productivity, but instead encourages foreign MEN to locate in the country.Per instance, restringing rules and heavy administrative paperwork causes delay that can result in missing out opportunities. In finance, there are always uncertainties, but putting all these factors together can provide a fair level of competitiveness. Not mentioned here though is the impediment of the financial economy when dealing with tax rate, interest rate, deficit and public debt in general also depend on how government manages its public accounts. An example would be a decrease in the FAD inflow in the U.S last year compared to the previous ones. Many factors that caused this decreased percentage of foreign investment are explained by Jackson,J. K. (2013) in a report prepared for committee member of Congress. Innovation-dri ven (Business sophistication, Innovation) In order to succeed in that factor, support from private and public sector is essential. For example, program subvention in R& D is often what create a breakthrough in many sectors. Developing countries don't often have the knowledge and the people like scientist to run that program.

Juvenile Justice Subsystems Essay

The role of the police is to enforce the law and maintain order in the community. In 2000, there were approximately 18,000 police agencies employing more than one million full-time sworn and non-sworn personnel. They are intimately involved in juvenile justice issues, they mostly operate locally, and are thus in close proximity to towns and neighborhoods. For juvenile offenders and victims, local police are often their first contact with juvenile justice authorities. The reason for this is simply stated: Juvenile offenders who break the law are frequently taken to the police as a first option, or the police may apprehend them while observing them committing an offense. Youths who have been victimized or whose welfare is at risk are likewise referred to police custody—for their own protection. The Judicial Subsystem The judicial component of the juvenile justice system is composed of many of the same personnel as found in the adult system. These include judges, administrators, prosecutors, and defense counsel. It is a civil (rather than criminal) system, so there is also a significant amount of participation by social workers, probation officers, case managers, and other professionals whose primary duty is to inform and advise the court on the status of each juvenile. The Corrections Subsystem Juvenile correctional institutions are regulated under state law and must comply with state and federal mandates for the humane treatment of youths who have been consigned to locked or other residential facilities. The underlying mission of juvenile corrections is to treat and rehabilitate youths. Although many facilities are highly restrictive, and confinement conditions can approximate those found in some adult facilities, it is the duty of this subsystem to â€Å"correct† the behavior of offenders.

Cultural Leadership

CONTENTS 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 2. Culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Definition Dimensions of culture 3. Cultural leadership†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Globalisation Global leadership behavior 4. Conclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 5. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 1. Introduction Cultural leadership is a study in which I sumarry colected some related ideas about culture, leadership and the impact of culture on leadership process. The project is structurared in two chapters, follow by a conclusion and bibliography. The first chapter begins by defining culture and describing the dimensions of culture with specific examples in every aria. Determining the basic dimensions or characteristics of different cultures is the first step in being able to understand the relationships between them. Because it is an abstract term, the word culture it is hard to define, and different people often define it in dissimilar ways. A definition which captured my attention is one which defined culture as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people. It is these shared qualities of a group that make them unique. Culture is dynamic and transmitted to others. In short, culture is the way of life, customs, and script of a group of people. (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988). Next, in the second chapter, I found it necesarry to talk about how leadership varies across cultures and which specific leadership attributes cultures universally endorse as desirable and undesirable. As individuals we have implicit beliefs and convictions about the attributes and beliefs that distinguish leaders from non-leaders and effective leaders from ineffective leaders. So, from the perspective of this theory, leadership is in the eye of the beholder. Leadership refers to what people see in others when they are exhibiting leadership behaviors. Because of that, I have presented in this chapter six types of leadership accepted worldwide based upon Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness –GLOBAL- Research Program. I chose this specific topic, because I am interested in the domains presented, culture and leadership, and I considered this occasion, like being a great opportunity to discover more information or facts regarding them. 2. Culture Definition Anthropologists, scientist, sociologists and many others have debated the meaning of the word culture. Because it is an abstract term, it is hard to define, and different people often define it in dissimilar ways. Below, I have tried to find out some definitions of culture as follows: Kroeber, A. L. , & Kluckhohn (1952). Culture: A critical review of concepts and definitions :† Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i. e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other as conditioning elements of further action’’. Banks, J. A. & McGee (1989). Multicultural education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon: â€Å"Most social scientists today view culture as consisting primarily of the symbolic, ideational, and intangible aspects of human societies. The essence of a culture is not its artifacts, tools, or other tangible cultural elements but how the members of the group interpret, use, and perceive them. It is the values, symbols, interpretations, and perspectives that distinguish one people from another in modernized societies; it is not material objects and other tangible aspects of human societies. People within a culture usually interpret the meaning of symbols, artifacts, and behaviors in the same or in similar ways. † Linton, R. (1945, p. 32). The Cultural Background of Personality: â€Å"A culture is a configuration of learned behaviors and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society† From a business view, when leading a multicultural group, it is important to be aware of the norms, beliefs, and values that the participants bring with them to the setting. These norms, beliefs, and values not only shape identity but they also affect perceptions, attitudes and assumptions. These aspects of individuals and groups are typically not visible and yet, they are extremely important to take into consideration during the planning and facilitative processes. Other aspects of culture implies institution, religion, education, language, material culture and life-style. Dimensions of culture Hofstede (1994) identified four dimensions of culture: The first one, individualism versus collectivism, refers to how people define themselves and their relationships with others. In an individualist culture, the interest of the individual prevails over the interests of the group. Ties between individuals are loose. People look after themselves and their immediate families. For example, a student from Colombia may study in the United States and earn a Ph. D. , teach at a distinguished university, and publish important books, but when he returns to visit Colombia, people to whom he is introduced will want to know to whom he is related. Colombians want to know who his family is because that places him in society much more so than any of his accomplishments in the United States. Individualistic cultures like USA and France are more self-centered and emphasize mostly on their individual goals. This kind of cultures tend to think only of themselves as individuals and as â€Å"I† distinctive from other people. They define people by what they have done, their accomplishments, what kind of car they drive. Individualist cultures are more remote and distant. Collectivistic cultures have a great emphasize on groups and think more in terms of â€Å"we†. In China, for example it is out of question to disagree with someone’s opinion in public. You will do that in a more private and personal atmosphere to protect a person from the â€Å"loss of face†. In collectivistic cultures a direct confrontation will be always avoided. The second dimension that the author presents is the one which indicates the extent to which dominant values in a society tend to be assertive and look more interested in things than in concerning for people and the quality of life. â€Å"Masculinity is the opposite of femininity; together, they form one of the dimensions of national cultures. Masculinity stands for a society which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. â€Å"Femininity stands for a society where gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life. † The Masculinity and Femininity dimension describes how cultures differentiate on not between gender roles. Masculine cultures tend to be ambitious and need to excel. Members of these cultures have a tendency to polarize and consider big and fast to be beautiful. In workplaces employees emphasize their work to a great extent (live in order to work) and they admire achievers who accomplished their tasks. Feminine cultures consider quality of life and helping others to be very important. The country which strives the most for maximal distinction between what women and men are expected to do, the culture that place high values on masculine traits stress assertiveness, competition, and material success is Japan, the last country being Sweden. The third dimension is power distance, or the way the culture deals with inequalities. Hofstede (1997,p. 28) defines power distance as â€Å"the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally†. Hofstede believes that power distance is learned early in families. In high power distance cultures, children are expected to be obedient toward parents versus being treated more or less as equals. In high power distance cultures, people are expected to display respect for those of higher status. For example, in countries such as Cambodia and Thailand, people are expected to display respect for monks by greeting and taking leave of monks with ritualistic greetings, removing hats in the presence of a monk, dressing modestly, seating monks at a higher level, and using a vocabulary that shows respect. In a high power distance culture, company bosses are â€Å"kings† and employees â€Å"loyal subjects† who don’t speak out. In the low power distance workplace, subordinates expect to be consulted, and ideal bosses are democratic. In more democratic organizations, leaders are physically more accessible. And finally, the last dimension is about uncertainty avoidance which expresses the deficit that people tolerate ambiguous situations and need formal rules. Uncertainty is â€Å"the extent to which the members of a culture fell threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. One of the dimensions of national cultures (from weak to strong). †. Some cultures need to have a strong uncertainty avoidance like France. In France many strict regulations are used and tasks are heavily centralized in companies and for meetings it is important to consider that. They are very careful with the details or any circumstances which could cause any kind of uncertainty for French business people. Germans and Finns have a less level of uncertainty avoidance and a medium level of power distance have the need for clearly specified competence to avoid uncertainty. They need specific procedures and distributions of tasks, instructions and rules. The co-ordination and control can be achieved through standardization and certification measurers. Americans and Chinese (Hong Kong) have a lower need for uncertainty avoidance and rather avoid too many rules and formalities. They are more likely to stimulate innovations and emphasize new ideas. They are more flexible and more acting than reacting on changes occurring inside and outside of business. In contrast cultures with very strong uncertainty avoidance display their emotions in the way that everything that is different, is dangerous. They resist in changes and worry about their future. 3. Cultural leadership Are leaders made or born? I think this is a question that most of us asked in a moment or another. In my opinion leaders are made but they must have some skills before that process too. If somebody have the desire and willpower, he can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things a leader must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. We can affirm that culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The mature values that create â€Å"tradition† or the â€Å"way we do things here† because as we should know things are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual leaders, cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything somebody dose as a leader will affect the climate of the organization. For instance, the cultural diversity of employees found in worldwide multinational organizations presents a substantial challenge with respect to the design of multinational organizations and their leadership. In my opinion, given the increased globalization of industrial organizations and increased interdependencies among nations, the need for better understanding of cultural influences on leadership and organizational practices is getting higher. Situations that leaders must face are highly complex, constantly changing, and difficult to interpret. More than ever before, managers of international firms face fierce and rapidly changing international competition. Globalization has also created the need for leaders to become competent in cross-cultural awareness and practice. Adler and Bartholomew (1992, p. 53) contend that global leaders need to develop five cross-cultural competencies. First, leaders need to understand business, political, and cultural environments worldwide. Second, they need to learn the perspectives, tastes, trends, and technologies of many other cultures. Third, they need to be able to work simultaneously with people from many cultures. Fourth, leaders must be able to adapt to living and communicating in other cultures. Fifth, they need to learn to relate to people from other cultures from a position of equality rather than cultural superiority. Additionally, global leaders need to be skilled in creating trans cultural visions. They need to develop communication competencies that will enable them to articulate and implement their vision in a diverse workplace. In sum, today’s leaders need to acquire a challenging set of competencies if they intend to be effective in present-day global societies. GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness) started a research program in order to describe how different cultures view leadership behaviors in others, and they identified six global leadership behaviors: charismatic/ value based, team oriented, participative, humane oriented, autonomous, and self-protective. These global leadership behaviors were defined as follows: Charismatic/value-based leadership reflects the ability to inspire, to motivate, and to expect high performance from others based on strongly held core values. This kind of leadership includes being visionary, inspirational, self-sacrificing, trustworthy, decisive, and performance oriented. Team-oriented leadership emphasizes team building and a common purpose among team members. This kind of leadership includes being collaborative, integrative, diplomatic and administratively competent. Participative leadership reflects the degree to which leaders involve others in making and implementing decisions. It includes being participative and non-autocratic. Humane-oriented leadership emphasizes being supportive, considerate, compassionate, and generous. This type of leadership includes modesty and sensitivity to people. Autonomous leadership refers to independent and individualistic leadership, which includes being autonomous and unique. Self-protective leadership reflects behaviors that ensure the safety and security of the leader and the group. It includes leadership that is self-centered, status conscious, conflict inducing, face saving, and procedural. Below, you have examples with leadership styles in different cultures: The countries from Eastern European have the idea of a leader which is moderately charismatic/value-based team-oriented, and people-oriented yet largely uninterested in involving others in the decision-making process. To sum up, this culture describes a leader as one who is highly autonomous, makes decisions independently, and is to a certain degree inspiring, team-oriented, and attentive to human needs. Quite different from the Eastern European countries, the Latin American countries place the most importance on team-oriented, charismatic/value based, and self-protective leadership and the least importance on autonomous leadership. As a fact ,those leaders tend to be moderately interested in people and their participation in decision making. An ideal example of leadership for the Nordic European countries is leadership that is highly visionary and participative while being somewhat independent and diplomatic. For these countries, it is less important that their leaders be people oriented or protective of their office. Nordic Europeans prefer leaders who are inspiring and involve others in decision making. They do not expect their leaders to be exceedingly compassionate, nor do they expect them to be concerned with status and other self-centered attributes. For countries in Africa, an ideal leader is modest, compassionate, and sensitive to the people. In addition, they believe a leader should be relatively charismatic/value-based, team oriented, participative, and self-protective. Leaders who act independently or act alone are viewed as less effective in these countries. In short, the African profile characterizes effective leadership as caring leadership. Like many other countries, these countries believe leaders should be inspirational, collaborative, and not excessively self-centered. Leaders who act autonomously are seen as ineffective in African countries. The leadership profile for the Middle Eastern countries differs significantly from the profiles of the other regions. Middle Eastern countries find self-attributes such as face saving and status are important characteristics of effective leadership. They also value being independent and familial. However, they find charisma, collaboration, and participative decision making less essential for effective leadership. To sum up, the Middle Eastern profile of leadership emphasizes status and face saving and de-emphasizes charismatic/value-based and group-oriented leadership. As we can see above, the dominant cultural norms endorsed by societal cultures induce global leader behavior patterns and organizational practices that are differentially expected and viewed as legitimate among cultures. Thus, the attributes and behaviors of leaders are, in part, a reflection of the organizational practices, which in turn are a reflection of societal cultures. 4. Conclusions After I have done this paper I realized that culture and leadership are like the two sides of the same coin. I believe that culture have a significant impact on leadership. First of all, culture shapes an individual ‘s self-definition of a leader through fundamental ideas about self and work. Second, the norms, values, beliefs or assumption an individual already learnt in the culture, makes him pass through cultural filters so that he perceive the world of work and leadership development different, meaning we don’t see the world through the same lens. We talked about culture, its definitions from different points of view, dimensions of culture and cultural leadership. Here we touched arias like: globalization, leadership’s styles accepted all over the world with regional examples. After all, the core of this project can be summarized in a couple of phrases, like the ones below. Leaders are immersed in their own societal culture, and they are most likely to enact the global leader behavior patterns that are favored in that culture. Founders influence the behavior of subordinate leaders and subsequent leaders by use of selective management selection criteria, role modeling, and socialization. Further, the dominant cultural norms endorsed by societal cultures induce global leader behavior patterns and organizational practices that are differentially expected and viewed as legitimate among cultures. Thus, the attributes and behaviors of leaders are, in part, a reflection of the organizational practices, which in turn are a reflection of societal cultures. At the present time, there is a greater need for effective international and cross-cultural collaboration, communication and cooperation, not only for the effective practice of leadership, but also for the betterment of the human conditions. As we view in this project, globalization has let its mark on the cultures of the world, which are getting more and more interconnected. As a conclusion, nowadays leaders should be encouraged or take initiative to reflect on their own values, see that multicultural differences exist and work to improve culture for all. 5. References Cultures and Organizations – Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival† Hofstede, Geert (1994) http://books. google. ro Cross-cultural approaches to leadership development by Clyde Brooklyn Derr http://www. cribd. com/doc/17743776/Nature-of-Culture-Its-Impact-on-Business http://www. via-web. de/conceptualization-of-culture/ http://www. ramergroup. com/pdfs/Concepts-of-Leadership. pdf http://www. online-leadership-tools. com/develop-leadership. html http://www. nwlink. com/~donclark/leader/leadcon. html :Concepts of Leadership http://www. thunderbird. edu/wwwfiles/sites/globe/pdf/process. pdf – Cultural Influences on Lea dership and Organizations: Project GLOBE ——————————————–

Market leadership strategies. Netflix, Walt Disney, Wal-Mart, Apple Essay

Market leadership strategies. Netflix, Walt Disney, Wal-Mart, Apple and Toyota - Essay Example A company that was able to achieve market leadership following a valued discipline was Toyota Corporation. Toyota was able to beat its US counterparts in the 80’s and 90’s by providing a superior product through operation excellence.The company makes car models of higher quality, better performance, greater fuel efficiency, and better overall value than the competition. The Toyota cars throughout the years have become very popular because they retain better resale value than other car auto makers. Toyota gained a brand value that accumulated over the years. In the 21st century other companies including some American firms like GM have caught up to Toyota in terms of innovation, but Toyota still offers superior value than most companies in the auto industry. In 2010 Toyota continued to be the market leader in global sales with 8.418 million units sold which represents an 8% sales increase in comparison with the previous year (Takahashi, 2011). Takahashi, Y. (2011). Toyot a Global Sales up 8%. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 7, 2011 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703398504576101190281234486.html 2. A firm that was able to achieve market leadership using a generic strategy is Wal-Mart Corporation. Wal-Mart is the market leader in the retail industry due to the fact that the company used a generic strategy focusing on cost leadership. Wal-Mart offers the best prices across the board in the retail industry. ... It becomes difficult for such a corporation to maintain a consistent corporate culture when the firm has multiple companies. The marketing efforts of the firm cannot be standardized because these firms serve different markets. A company that has been very successful at running multiple companies is Walt Disney. Walt Disney has diversified into different sectors including the movie industry, toy market place, vacation properties, and its traditional theme park operation. The US theme parks are run differently than the Japanese Disney theme Park operation. Despite the challenges of running multiple companies Disney has been a very successful enterprise. 4. Apple has always enjoyed a great brand value due to the superb products the company manufactures. The firm created a reputation in the computer industry in regards to producing the best computer systems in the industry. Steve Jobs and his managerial staff had the foresight and vision to make Apple a firm that produced some of the mos t innovative technological products in the world. Two of the mark key products the firm created which revolutionized the music and cellular industry were the iPod and the iPhone. The iPhone has become the industry standard in the smartphone segment. 5. Netflix is a firm that realized that the video industry reached its declining stage based on the traditional system of offering movie rental out of a video store. The firm created a new innovative system to rent video to movie watcher. Their $7.99 monthly price for unlimited video rental using the power of the internet to drive the system simply revolutionized the industry. The company became the