Video Game Industry Analysis

Nintendo History, Development, and Growth In 1989, Fusajiro Yamauchi launched a small company called Marufuku Corporation in Kyoto Japan. The founded corporation later on turned to be Nintendo Company. Before turning into the renowned Nintendo, Marufuku was popular for the playing cards the firm produced to be used when participating in the Hanafuda, the Japanese game.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Video Game Industry Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company solidified its playing card business position between 1907 and WWII. Marufuku started to supply the Japanese communities with Hanafuda cards in 1925. The Japanese amusement market was greatly devastated by WWII, though Marufuku and the playing card industry advanced more than any other corporations. Whereas the manufacturing plant for Marufuku was damaged during the war, the corporation succeeded to forge ahead in the following periods. In 1950, Yamauchi assumed the position of the president in the firm and got on a variety of strategies with the purpose of rationalizing and modernizing the way the firm was controlled. Marufuku factories were consolidated by Yamauchi who then altered its name to Nintendo in 1951. In the postwar era when Yamauchi realized that the playing cards business boomed and there were shortages, he reacted by inspiring the corporation to produce quality plastic playing cards. While challenges were encountered in the preliminary plastic cards production, the firm began its mass assembly in 1953. Nintendo was able to sell playing cards that had the imprints of animation characters after completing a business agreement with Disney in 1959 whereby the firm had to share some profits acquired from selling the advanced cards. Nintendo opted to become public in 1962 when the company realized that the business was remarkably successful. 1960s to 1980s diversifications Nintendo pursued its drive to innov ate and diversify in 1960s and this helped the company to become common name in 1980s. The glowing company developed most of its new product lines in 1963. The game department was successful and in 1969, it built a unique game manufacturing plant in Uji Town. The first electronic technology was introduced by Nintendo in 1970.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An example of the Beam Gun Series technology produced by Nintendo was the shooting system called laser-clay pigeon. This company expanded its business of projection based games to the western markets. The arcade game technologies prospered in the subsequent periods and Nintendo was in the frontline. For instance, Nintendo cooperated with Mitsubishi Electric in 1975 to develop filmed game systems via the use of video player technology. The technology emerged as the first artless home video game in 1977. Nintendo also started to feature some of its high-tech amusement arcade games. In 1978, the company produced and used microcomputers to sell coin operated video games. Such innovations led to the emergence of Donkey Kong in 1981 giving the video games (arcade) its stereo sound and complex graphics. Nintendo similarly sold watch line and game products including football with digital quartz micro hardware in 1980s. The company was able to expand its markets to the US in 1982 as it focused on the marketing and developing household video technologies. Nintendo built new production plants in 1983 to meet Famicom production requirements in Uji town. Despite the reported losses in the video game industry in the late 1985, Nintendo used the swift selling Famicom to enter the US market. It however seized the US market by redesigning the Famicom to produce Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo Company became widely recognized for the numerous Pokemon pocket monster, Luigi, Zelda, Mario and other characte rs. The firm’s handheld gaming system also known as Game Boy has dominated the market from the time when it made its first debut. In fact, the Game Boy advanced to give the cutting-edge play station version while the Game Cube which materialized as its gaming console overhauled the Xbox. The latter product was deemed as the most prevalent and succeeding console to the PlayStation 2 that Sony tendered to the market. Although the console market has been ruled by Sony, the novel Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance have continuously steered the market for the handhelds despite the introduction of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) by Sony.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Video Game Industry Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Nintendo’s consoles gained a bigger market share, the firm has maintained to be the most interactive market game pioneer as a result of its continuous innovations, Silicon graphics and animated characters presently designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. After the stepping down of Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002, Nintendo appeared to have taken a new turn. The corporation assumed business as usual but offered low priced GameCube version to the Chinese market. Besides, Nintendo purchased 3% stake of the toy producer Bandai Corporation and Japanese software developer. Internal strengths Human resources capabilities Nintendo is capable of hiring employees with rare talents in building both software and hardware that supports video games. Moreover, the company has one of the few talents that can design and develop rare video games that attract large clientele not only in Japan, but also in other parts of the world. Having such rare talents within the workforce provides the firm with internal capability and increased competitive advantage. Investment in human capital has enabled the company to be more competitive through the value that the workforce creates for its custome rs. Financial resources capabilities With increased sales, Nintendo has accumulated enough financial resources that enable it to expand and finance its operations effectively. These financial resources have also enabled the company to enhance its research and development activities. As a result, the company has remained ahead in developing new products that are oriented to the market. Introduction of new products in the market has led to increased sales and revenue adding to the benefits of the firm. Besides, increased financial capability is the strength behind hiring highly talented and experienced workforce which has generally contributed to the value addition. Organization structure of the company The way the company is organized and managed has also increased its efficiency and effectiveness. The company has adopted the less bureaucratic structure that leads to efficiency in decision making. Even though the company has been divided into various branches, the line between the ma nagement and the bottom employees is extremely thin.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This has increased employee attachment not only to the business, but also to their working environment. Such a structure leads to effective and efficient management processes. Ultimately, the internal structural organization and effective management processes enhance the competitive advantage of the company and keeps it ahead of other firms in the industry. Technological capabilities Nintendo has technological capabilities that enable it to develop new game consoles. These technological capabilities have made the firm to lead in the video game market by introducing new products as soon as the popularity of one game diminishes. Besides developing new software and hardware, Nintendo is capable of developing security codes for its consoles and avoids counterfeit products. This internal technological capability has enabled the company to monopolize the Japanese and US markets for a very long time. Internal weaknesses Top Management Nintendo top management comprises of individuals from o ne family. Although the family is the founder of the company and the major decision maker, some individuals might lack the ability to manage the company effectively. As a result, the company performance may decrease leading to the loss in revenue and market share. Nintendo has not moved away from the old Japanese business models where the company is managed by family members despite incompetence. Such incompetence in the management may destroy the company reputation resulting into a profound reduction in the market performance. Distribution channels Although distribution channels that Nintendo uses to sell its products may be seen as strength, they may also be disadvantageous in terms of management. Managing such fragmented distribution channels may be cumbersome especially in a wide geographical location of US. Moreover, some of the channels may be less productive thereby increasing the cost of operations. Besides difficulties in managing distribution channels, the company also fac es difficulties in expanding to newer markets. This is primarily due to cultural differences. Most of its products are designed according to Japanese cultural aspects which might not fit well in other cultures. Porter’s five force analysis Rival sellers Nintendo has been a very strong player in the game console industry. The company competed with Sony in terms of unit sales of game consoles from 1995 to 2000. The GameCube released about the same time as Xbox cost $199 which was approximately $100 below Playstation 2 and Xbox’s prices (Sterman, Jekarl and Reavis, 13). Such a big difference in price permits the company to target at the low segment of the market; young people from 7 to 20 years of age who cannot afford to buy more expensive consoles and do not require more features as compared to mature age groups. Microsoft is also one of the leaders in game console market. The company’s Xbox has taken a big share of the market. This makes Microsoft a household na me in the industry. Xbox with its sequel is on top of the wave and has been competing with Sonny fiercely. The firm’s strong brand name in home electronics, software and game consoles makes it a big threat in the market, especially for future game consoles (all-in-one electronic devices supporting home entertainment, gaming and web browsing). The Xbox is Microsoft’s first entry into the market but aggressive marketing by the company has resulted in much awareness of the product among the gamers. Xbox attempts to beat Playstation in almost every feature, hoping to compensate for its late arrival and grab some market share. Moreover, Microsoft is notorious for overusing hardware resources for its operating systems and this leads to gamers suspecting that the use of more advanced hardware enhances the features of Xbox. Buyer bargaining power Since the game console is a consumer product, it is good to depend highly on sales. Thus, the consumer has a high bargaining power o n the Nintendo gaming consoles. The market according to the case has increased heavily because of Nintendo’s sport and fun games. Sales also increased after lowering the price of the game consoles. Suppliers bargaining power There is high bargaining power of suppliers in regard to hardware. Therefore, it becomes necessary to calculate the product prices regarding to the price of the hardware units used. Prices for preceding game consoles were high because the output of microprocessors was generally lower than expected. Again, there were shortages of inputs like blue Light Emitting Diodes required for the BruRay Drives. Game publishers and developers provide the games for Nintendo’s consoles thus the company has to listen to their demands and needs. The company is therefore compelled to have more games developed for the newer consoles than for the earlier version because of the complicated architecture. Threat of new entrants There is a very low risk of new entrants bec ause of the development phase which has to be completed to successfully release a new gaming console. That is, a lot of money is required to enter the gaming market. Already, market saturation has been reached with only three key console providers. Moreover, the key problem is that those who develop games would not create games for a new, unpopular and inexperienced platform when they are not sure how the new platform will sell. However, PC and home electronics manufacturers, software developers and handset makers may decide to enter the gaming market as they have the full potential in terms of resources and coverage. Substitutes The very threatening substitute is the upcoming Cloud Gaming Service commonly referred to as OnLive.com. There is a big potential that this expectation is not measurable yet because it is still in beta status. Other substitutes include PCs, calculators, game machines and cellular phones all of which have built-in games. SWOT analysis Strengths Establish ed and give a competitive advantage Robust revenue growth provides greater stability Weaknesses Dependence on suppliers Declining cash position Opportunities Positive outlook for entertainment industry Changing and positive trends in consumption patterns Threats Short product lifecycle Shift in consumer preference Currency exchange fluctuation Evaluation of Nintendo’s corporate strategy Nintendo Corporation created a strong brand name through innovation and licensing, although, this legend seems to fall apart as profits decline. The reasons for this decline are affected by crucial strategic issues which become the main disadvantage to the company. The first issue is associated with the company’s inefficient manufacturing structures that decrease the quality of products which affects the reputation badly and decrease the product competitiveness. The heart of most distinct management practice in Japan is their productivity improvement, quality control (QC) circles, total quality control (TQM) activities or the labor relation-collectively termed as â€Å"Kaizen† (DeWit and Meyer 156). It is argued that the implication of companywide quality control or TQC have been that the concepts have assisted Japanese organizations to build a way of thinking that is process-oriented and come up with strategies that ensure continuous improvement. In Nintendo however, the company failed to perform well or make improvement in Kaizen or develop an efficient manufacturing structure to ensure high quality products thus causing an enormous damage to the business. Nintendo’s failure to sustain an efficient manufacturing structure or implement Kaizen effectively to ensure high quality products damaged their reputation and incredible brand name causing them to lose their competitive advantage in the market. In building competitive advantage, an organization must meet the expectations and needs of its customers. The failure for Nintendo’s product qualities to meet the expectations and needs of customers completely swiped away the company’s reputation and decreased the confidence in the market. It is also pointed that, good reputation is what all businesses would wish to have, yet it is more valuable in some cases than in others. Good reputation is among the intangible resources for Nintendo which differentiates the firm from other competitors, enabling them to charge their excellent quality and product a premium price. Hence, the diminishing reputation of Nintendo weakens core competencies and creates a negative prejudice which affects its competitive advantage directly and thus becomes a significant threat to the business. Besides the reputation and quality issues, Nintendo is not swift in responding to market shift in demand and thus weakens its competitive advantage. For instance, the delays in launching of many consoles in Europe due to problems in manufacturing caused the company failure in fulfilling the market demands. This increasingly put Nintendo at stake since other strong competitors like Sony and Microsoft were swift in gaining a share in those markets. It enabled them to enjoy the first-mover advantages. First-movers may gain competitive advantages in creating distribution channels, gaining the consumer attention or linking with the specialized suppliers. Any product of class advertised first tends to impress more strongly in the minds of consumers than the ones that follow. As a result, Nintendo lost a large share of the market and its competitive advantage in the gaming industry; they did not benefit from first mover advantages leaving them behind other competitors in markets outside US and Japan. Business level strategy Since Nintendo’s conception, the business strategy was based on developing video game machines. The company focused all its strengths in innovating gaming consoles progressively. As the pioneer in the industry, the company developed a coin-operated video g ame machine called Famicom in the 80s which surpassed other competing products in terms of technology. The company focused on developing gaming machines that could support several games unlike the machines offered by competitors. Through licensing, the company was able to expand in Japan and the United States. As time went by, the company enhanced its innovation to capture the differing needs of consumers. For the United States, the firm redesigned the Fomicom to develop Nintendo Entertainment System that could fit and compete in the market. The company also opened new channels that would be more close to consumers. Through retailers, the business was able to expand to all major cities of the United States. This expansion and business monotony was also enhanced by the strategy of securing their gaming machines such that other games could not be played in them. With increasing competition, Nintendo’s business strategy focused more on innovation. The company led competitors in terms of product research and development. It was the first to introduce the 8-bit systems, 16-bit systems and 64-bit systems. These in particular made the company to succeed year after year and by 1992, the firm had acquired 60% of the market share. The company was already established well in Japan and US thus dropped licensing as the supportive business strategy. When Sony and other competitors penetrated the market with new products, Nintendo’s market share and profitability dropped significantly. The company responded by changing its business strategy and focusing on developing gaming machines using plug-in cartridges in conjunction with Silicon Graphics. This product which was targeted to children and young teenagers boosted sales until Sony introduced the Playstation. Nintendo could no longer compete effectively as more competitors such as Microsoft introduced more advanced technology in the market. As a result, the company’s GamaCube was not successful as expect ed. However, the company reinvented its business strategy and developed Wii. The strategy was to use off-the-shelf components to assemble a much cheaper gaming machine that could be offered at a cheaper price. The product was also targeted to a much wider audience through innovation that enabled motion sensitivity, wireless control that gave way to interactive games. This new innovation became the core competitive strength and brought back Nintendo to the leading position in the industry. Nintendo structure and control systems The strategic organizational structure of Nintendo is such that the decisions stems from the higher levels of management and flows down the ladder. It is a kind of centralized structure in which strategic decisions are closely held by middle and lower level managers. While the licensing and merging decisions are made solely by the management, product development decisions are a combined effort of both the managers and the developing teams. The managers trigger the product strategy when competition becomes too stiff and sales decline. The design and development ideas are the ingenuity of the research and development teams. Notably, strategy achievement and decisions incorporation are assessed through two mechanisms. First, the managers consider the operation measures in which they measure customer satisfaction and retention levels. The reason is that the major objective of the strategic decision is to capture a larger market and eventually increase sales. Therefore, customer perspective becomes a major control system. Secondly, the company is sales-driven. Competitive pressure is determined by the company sales as compared to other competitors. Therefore, innovation and learning are also control systems used in the company where sales growth is the measure. Throughout, the company has referred its success to sales growth of each product launched. Recommendations For the company to succeed in the future, it must invest in technological adv ancement. Technology will enable the company to remain at the elevated competitive edge. Also, the company will continue to use its technological advancement to introduce new products into the market ahead of its competitors. This capability will provide the company with a stronger competitive advantage. In addition, the company must produce games or items portraying the global outlook to attract as many markets as possible. The future of Nintendo does not necessarily depend on innovation alone. There are other elements to consider in order for the firm to capture a royal market share and drive sales. Target markets should comprise of consumers with the ability to sustain a high financial status, not just young kids. After all, the success of the business depends on the ability of the customers to make repeated purchases. As other competitors focus on innovation, Nintendo should differentiate by aiming to market its products in the untapped markets such as the emerging economies. It s financial position and brand name can act as the effective marketing strengths for this expansion. Given the level of competition in the gaming industry, Nintendo needs to offer unlimited interactive entertainment to all the consumers at average prices to enable it capture dominant market share. To realize this, the company must focus in the production of a product that it feels to have higher competitive advantage over other market rivals such as Sony and Microsoft. Works Cited DeWit, Bob and R. Meyer. Strategy: Process, Content, Context. New York, NY: Thomson International Business Press, 2004. Print. Sterman, John, Jekarl Kahn and Reavis Cate. 2008. Sony’s Battle for Video Game Supremacy. 2008. Web. This case study on Video Game Industry Analysis was written and submitted by user Samiyah Suarez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Scariest Halloween Happenings

Scariest Halloween Happenings Theres nothing like a good haunted house to get you in the spirit of Halloween. Remember going to your hometowns haunted house as a child? Creeping down spooky hallways, feeling the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you sense the presence of someone else nearby, screaming as they jump out at you and then laughing with relief when you make it to the end in one piece? Well, imagine this experience, only with large scale pyrotechnics, hundreds of actors dressed in creepy costumes, goosebumps inducing soundtracks, rides, shows and more. For those who love a good scare and want to experience the best, check out the following events: Tustin, California. The 17th Door Its a sure bet for those who want a really good scare. In fact, you might even get too scared, which is why the hosts give you a password that allows you to leave if you find yourself losing it somewhere among the pig-faced demons and other monsters that haunt the 17-room scare-a-thon. Uttering â€Å"Mercy† will get you a quick passage to safety. Expect to be touched and to possibly get wet. Los Angeles: Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood It boasts creepy mazes where youll encounter characters from AMCs The Walking Dead series, a Terror Tram called The Purge where youll be hunted by murderers in masks, a series of scary rides featuring scenes from The Transformers, The Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park, and a Simpsons ride to lighten the mood if it gets too intense. Finally there are four unique â€Å"Scare Zones† featuring chemically deformed monsters, a creepy Christmas theme, zombie soldiers and a lawless riot with murderers on the loose. The sets, actors and scenes are all top notch Universal Studios productions. Possibly the highest quality fright party on earth. Dark Harbor The Queen Mary crew hosts a terrifying event. Once aboard, youll find mazes, monsters, creepy music by composer Jaymie Valentine. Trapped on the boat with nowhere to go, youll have no choice but to let the terror overtake you. You can even book a room to take advantage of the creepy shows and nightmare inducing scare-a-thon. Orlando: Universal Studios It offers a totally unique Halloween event in Orlando. Featuring 9 haunted houses with themes like: Walking Dead, Freddy vs. Jason, Insidious, The Purge, An American Werewolf in London, 25 Years of Monsters Mayhem, Run: Blood, Sweat and Fears, 3D Asylum in Wonderland and Body Collectors. Seven scare zones and shows including Bill Teds Excellent Halloween Adventure, All Nite Die-In and Evils Roots. As always with Universal Studios, expect some of the most spectacular sets and special effects you could imagine. Las Vegas: Fright Dome Fright Dome at Circus Circus hotel is one Vegas biggest Halloween attractions. No costs have been spared to transform the hotel into an enormous haunted house. Make your way through giant spider webs, with man-eating spiders ready to pounce, be pursued by ghosts, goblins, Freddys and Jasons. Scary music, creepy lighting, mazes and live shows. Youll need nerves of steel to make it through this experience without screaming. Philadelphia: Terror Behind the Walls The former Eastern State Penitentiary transforms the enormous complex into the annual Terror Behind the Walls. Touted as one of the best haunted house experiences in the U.S., this event boasts 200 actors in full costume, animation and some of the most skin-crawling soundtracks, This year, two more attractions have been added to the traditional four. Returning are the popular Infirmary, Detritus, Lock Down, Machine Shop and debuting are Break Out and Quarantine 4D. Enter if you dare! Chicago: The 13th Floor The 13th Floor is a haunted house event that helps you understand why most buildings dont have a 13th floor. This nightmare-inducing experience is famous nationwide. With a ride that makes your stomach drop 13 floors, some of the best creepy actors and scary music, youll get your fright fix at this terrifying event. Buying a ticket allows you entrance to â€Å"Feral Moon† and â€Å"Dead End District: Wrong Turn† where you enter the truly twisted world of the events creators. Dont expect to sleep at night after visiting the 13th Floor. Whichever event you attend, make sure you steady your nerves and bring a friend to grab on to when the terror overtakes you. And if you prefer to scare somebody instead of being scared, you should try these Halloween pranks on your friends. Have fun and Happy Halloween!

Catcher in the rye5

Catcher in the rye5 Essay In The Catcher in Rye, Holden views the world as an evil and corrupt place where there is no peace of mind, or innocence. His perception of the world does not change as the novel develops however, towards the end Holden gradually comes to realize that he is powerless to change it. Ironically I think he does mature as the novel progresses. Although we are only told of a short period of Holdens life in the book, Holden is very successful in telling his point of view of the world, a crazy, and corrupt. After Holden leaves Pencey Prep and checks into the Edmont Hotel, is where I see most of his turmoil starts to begin. When he spends the evening in the Hotel he finds himself surrounded by morons and perverts. There were screwballs all over the place. He said. His situation only deteriorates from there on. The more he looks around at the world, the more depressing it seems. (He is generous to remind us that about every 5 sentences). On his date with Sally, he asks her if she ever just gets fed up, and wanted to know if everything would just get worse if you didnt do anything about it. I saw that Holden was in a state of turmoil and confusion in that scene. He wants to put his past behind him and start a new life. I feel that this is a sign of maturity because he is at a state which he has had experience with everyday life, and wants to get far away from it. In the novel I also never saw Holden as immature, I always saw him as a protector of the innocent. When Holden sneaks into his house and talks to Phoebe I feel that he is explaining what happened on his date with Sally, about his plans and all, but in a very symbolic and picturesque manner. He essentially tells Phoebe that he wants to keep children from growing up. It takes most of the book before Holden begins to realize that he is helpless to stop he corruption. Finally, he realizes that not only is he helpless to stop it but, there is nowhere he can go to hide from it. When Holden is delivering the letter to his sister he encounters a f*** you written on the wall. Holden rubs it in with his hand so as to protect the innocent children from reading it. Later on he finds another f*** you on a wall, but this one was scratched in. He discovers he cant deface this one. I felt that this was the beginning of Holdens realization that his dreams are infeasible. Ironically enough, it is one of the innocent children that he is trying to protect who helps him come to terms with this realization. It is Phoebe who challenges his plan to head out west. As he is telling her that she cannot run away, he discovers that he too cannot run away. You cant ever find a place that is nice and peaceful, because there isnt any. The final step in Holdens maturity comes near the end of the book when he is watching Phoebe on the carousel. All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid shed fall off the goddamn horse, but I didnt say or do anything. The thing is with kids is if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off they fall off, but its bad if you say anything to them. Holden at this point no longer regards himself as a child, taking into consideration the way her presents everyone else as kids and that he ultimately realizes that he cannot preserve the innocence of a child. Shortly after this statement Holden has a nervous breakdown. He knows with a sickening certainty that he is powerless to stop both evil and maturation. As a matter of fact it is bad to do so. READ: To Kill A Mockingbird3 EssayBibliography:

The importance of mission in the Strategic Management process Essay

The importance of mission in the Strategic Management process - Essay Example System of management is the main means of development and practical realization of the general program of the organization development and realization of its strategy. An ultimate goal of system of management is the performance of the company’s mission. Strategy of corporation is a business concept of the organization on the given strategic prospect, submitted as the long-term program of concrete actions which are capable of realizing the given concept and to provide the organizations competitive advantages in achievement of the purposes. Strategic management is a subsystem of organization management which carries out all the complex of concrete works on professional action under the strategic analysis, to development, realization and controlling strategy of the organization. These characteristics may be various and concern to the product (base service), and to the additional services accompanying base, i.e. to modes of production, selling, sales etc., specific to the organization and its product. Humger insists that mission, vision and values are the links that connect the integral parts of the company together. They describe the purpose of the company, the approaches that are implemented for successful result, and a general goal of the company’s existence. Defining and realizing these points will help both the staff and heads of the company get an integral image of the company, which would be helpful in their working process. These notions may sound abstract for people that are not involved into strategic planning, especially for people, that are occupied with practical activities and are focused on getting benefits and do not trouble themselves with such abstract notions. Such pragmatic people, or people, who consider themselves to be pragmatic, pass this very important stage of building up a successful base for future functioning of the company. It is extremely important to find staff and time to forge out mission, vision and

Technology impact on Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology impact on Business - Essay Example The product was developed based upon the expectations of a citizen, such as customization and multiple communication options as well as virtual personalized assistance.(Lyon, 2008). Features of the IRS contact center include round-the-clock customer access using one click that can access the customer’s desired choice of assistance, such as chat, video or audio help. Using this improved technology, more customers can be served using fewer resources, thereby resulting in improved efficiency and higher levels of customer satisfaction. The author has pointed out that as the technology evolves, it is likely to improve further and become more mobile, requiring fewer devices to function efficiently. This article also provides details of improved technology devices that can contribute to a cleaner, greener environment. One of these is the EPEAT, a project of the Green Electronics Council. This program is a tool that helps customers to compare monitors, desktops and personal computers in order to evaluate their impact on the environment in terms of the waste they generate. For example, some of these electronic devices may contain toxic or hazardous compounds and if these components are not discarded properly, they could pose a danger to the environment and can also harm public health. The EPEAT technology consists of three basic components. The first is a standard that contains fifty one environmental performance criteria IEEE 1680 to 2006 Standard for the environmental assessment of personal computers. Twenty three of these fall under the mandatory criteria while twenty eight of these criteria are optional, but all of them fall under eight basic categories – the selection of materials, reduced use of environmentally sensitive materials, conservation of energy, ensuring product longevity and ensuring they are designed with end of life management so they can be

Revolutionary Republicanism Essay Example for Free

Revolutionary Republicanism Essay Revolutionary republicanism is an ideal example of the American war fighting for their independence from England. The ideology of revolutionary republicanism is pieced together from English political ideas, Enlightenment theories, and religious beliefs. This was all constituted with the revolution in thought. Many lives, economies, politics, religions, and even thoughts were changed in effect to the American war. The Revolutionary republicanism by the American War caused a lot of change in many people’s lives. Native Americans, women, African Americans, and Loyalists were all affected by this change. Many Native Americans homes, family, and fields were destroyed by the war. The group from the Native Americans mostly affected by war were the Iroquois. In the summer of 1779, American troops launched raids into the Iroquois country. These attacks caused many burning villages, the killing of men, women, and children, and destroying a lot of corn. By the end of the war the Iroquois had lost about one-third of their people as well as many towns. Even though many Native Americans lost lives because of the war, it brought countless numbers of them to America. The second group of lives changed by war were women. Women still continued to fight for their rights and freedom but they continued to be denied franchise. Women had still never voted nor held office positions except on a few occasions. Then in New Jersey the constitution of 1776 opened the franchise to â€Å"all free inhabitants† who met property and residence requirements. Many women took advantage of this. After this women’s traditional roles took a new and improved political meaning. The third group that had their lives changed because of revolutionary republicanism was the African Americans. During the war many African Americans were enlisted in support of the revolutionary cause. Then after the war about 20% of African Americans went to behind the British lines to gain freedom. Most of the blacks saw England as freedom not tyranny. The slaves who fled behind British lines never sought out their freedom. Then lastly many Loyalists’ lives were changed. Most of the Loyalists gained partial reimbursement for their losses. All loyalists were deprived of voting, confiscating houses, and banishing from their homes. Also the punishing of Loyalists, accused of Loyalism, was popular. The American war didn’t just change people’s lives it changed the economy, religion, and politics too. After the War people were into politics like never before. Newspapers multiplied and pamphlets by the thousands followed the political debates. The expansion of popular politics resulted from an explosive combination of circumstances. The war also put huge stress on the economy too even though the war ended with an American victory. The war had caused many casualties, properties being destroyed, and the local economies being unbalanced. This conflict left the Iroquois and the Cherokee severely weakened. This opened the doors to the western expansion. The ideology of revolutionary republicanism is pieced together from English political ideas, Enlightenment theories, and religious beliefs. This was all constituted with the revolution in thought. Because the war had changed so many lives and thoughts the nation as a whole began to transform. By 1783 a new nation had come into being, and it was based on doctrines of republican liberty.

Macbeth :: essays research papers

The passing of decade’s, centuries and a millennium, man in some aspects, has not changed. With this passing of time, man remains gullible and optimistic. These two characteristics are essential in the development in the play Macbeth. This is evident in that Macbeth’s fate is influenced, by the witches’ predictions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the outset of the play, Macbeths encounters the witches who predict he will become â€Å"Thane of Cowdor† and that he too, will one day be king. Nevertheless, the witches do not oblige Macbeth to ultimately commit his actions. However, they do place within Macbeth a sense of wonder and optimism. The three witches intruded upon a part of man, which that he is gullible. Macbeth being gullible caused his wonder and brought forth a feeling of possibility. This is evident, when Macbeth tells his wife of what he has experienced. Upon revealing what was told to him, Lady Macbeth further on, appeals to Macbeth to take action when King Duncan comes to visit. Lady Macbeth urges her husband to fulfill his obligation and kill King Duncan. However, it is apparent that Macbeth is hesitant of such action and is at first unwilling to go forth with the plan. Once again Lady Macbeth alludes to the witches vision and with that, lusts upon the possible gains. The plan is ex ecuted and Macbeth becomes King. upon the vacancy of the throne. The witches’ vision is obtained, through the natural human sense of possibility and lust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second encounter with the witches, further reinforce the sense of power in Macbeth and the gullibility of man. Upon this encounter, the witches tell Macbeth that no man can be harmed by. Once more Macbeth believes what he is told and that he is invincible. This feeling of invincibility is shown in the final battle he undergoes, where he is attacking all those around him with no hesitation. The element of invincibility is deeply rooted in Macbeth, due to the fact of the fulfillment of he becoming king. The witches’ influence is apparent, in that in the battle with Macduff, Macbeth once again proclaims invincibility, yet soon realizes that is not the case.

Why and Why not

James Bond or Agent 007 – famed for his cunning stratagems, brilliant stunts, and sex appeal –still remains as one of the biggest stars even after 22 movie portrayals, with five actors playing the lead role. The character was brought to life by the famous journalist, Ian Fleming, an intelligence officer for the MI6, a British Secret Intelligence Service. Part of his job was to mingle with various people of different races and of different languages (Last n. p). This is not a role played by Agent 007 alone; rather, this is a role played by many other intelligence officers working for agencies across the globe.Intelligence officers are people with highest levels of personal integrity and professionalism. Resilience, self-motivation, and the determination to achieve results are also part of their credo. They have excellent interpersonal and liaison skills. They are confident and able to interact with people from different races (Intelligence Officers n. p). Thus, the quest ion as to how learning a foreign language may serve to the benefit or detrimental of intelligence officers is at hand. There are a number of reasons which point that learning a foreign language may be advantageous for intelligence officers.Although it is considered a common misconception that intelligence officers are required to learn or know a foreign language, it may be considered helpful if it were true (Intelligence Officers n. p). As their jobs involve intermingling with people of various races, which generally also speak in a different language, learning the language of the country or the person they are to interact with may make render communication smoother and much easier. There will also be less room for misunderstanding or a possibility for miscommunication. This may ease the investigation process and may make the job almost effortless (Putatunda n. ).A second advantage in learning a foreign language is that one can easily get the trust of a person from another race thro ugh their familiarity of language. In the case of intelligence officers, whose jobs involve having the ability to effectively interact with people of diverse cultures, a second language may be a great tool to gain people’s faith, especially if it is understood by the population that the officer will be working with. With the knowledge of their language, intelligence officers become more trustworthy in the eyes of the people who are under involved in certain cases or scenarios (De Bleu n. ). In addition, recent studies show that people who study a foreign language have higher scores in verbal standardized tests conducted in their primary language. There is also more willingness and ability to learn a third language, as well as an increase in their sense of identity while being sensitive to other cultures. This points that learning a foreign language may help intelligence officers learn another foreign language and culture easier. At the same time, it may also sharpen their ski lls in their own primary language.This may increase not only their intellectual capabilities but may also allow them to become more confident and capable, which is another benefit that is obtained from learning a foreign language (De Bleu n. p). Relative to an increase in the understanding of their own primary language, it has also been discovered that learning a foreign language helps in comprehending how language influences the shaping of thought patterns. Through learning another language, intelligence officers may become familiar to other cultures’ ways of expressing their ideas, and concepts.This may prove helpful as there is a probability that another cultures’ thought patterns are better than one’s own (Putatunda n. p). Another advantage of learning a foreign language is that it may give a feeling of security to intelligence officers. Security may result to better self-perspective and confidence. Being the main tool for communication, an intelligence offi cer equipped with the language necessary for the job, may invoke an assurance of job well done that may help build confidence and trust that anything is possible.This may make intermingling easier and smoother as there may be no room for nervousness and anxiety (De Bleu n. p). In accordance to the given bases, it may be said that learning a foreign language may have numerous advantages for intelligence officers. However, as other things that may be required for a job, it also has drawbacks. One of them is that it may not be easy for adults to learn a new language (Cohen n. p). Learning a new language involve activities that may be considered as mentally exhausting. The activities include memorization of new vocabularies, grammatical form or syntax.It also requires rehearsal or practice to sharpen the skills and to obtain the confidence to utilize what has been learned (Cohen n. p). For children who are just in the process of honing their primary language, inserting a new knowledge, such as a foreign language may be an easy job with the right strategies and proper guidance. However, with adults who have used their primary language for almost all their lives, acquiring a new knowledge that involves mentally-exhausting activities may be difficult, even with the right strategies.As such, requiring intelligence officers who are already adults may prove to be a disadvantage as it may consume a lot of effort and time both on the part of the officer and agency that he or she may be working for (Cohen n. p). In relation to the age, it has been found that learning a foreign language can sometimes become difficult, frustrating, and boring even to children who are interested to learn. This is a problem faced by parents who push their kids into learning another language other that his or her primary language.It becomes a waste of money and effort because any form of disinterest in the subject results to non-absorption of the things being taught (Andrews n. p) In the case o f adults being pushed by employers to study, it may be considered a bigger problem as adults have more tendencies to get bored on things that should have been done when they were younger. As such, it may become disadvantageous for agencies to have their intelligence officers learn a foreign language (Andrews n. p).Another disadvantage of requiring intelligence officers to learn a foreign language is that it may become very expensive especially if it will be shouldered by the officers themselves. Since learning a new language may take time for adults, this also means it will eat up more sessions or classes and more classes means more payment. As long as the student is having a hard time absorbing the language being thought, the classes will continue leading to a need for more money to sustain the learning process (Cohen n. p).Even if learning a foreign language may be done on one’s own to prevent a great loss of money, there are still studies that show that trying to learn it on your own leave little room for improvement since there is no one available to answer queries that may arise in mind during the process. Also, it may consume more time as there is a possibility of losing self-discipline and motivation (Andrews n. p). Given the above information, it may then be concluded that requiring intelligence officers to learn a foreign language has both advantages and disadvantages that may be taken into consideration by agencies.One of its advantages is that it may make the jobs of intelligence officers easier as it enhances communication skills, interpersonal relations, and sensitivity to other cultures. It also increases intellectual capacity, and confidence resulting to better and reliable agents. However, there are also existing disadvantages that may make agencies think before requiring their officers to learn another language. There is the factor concerning the capacity of the officers to acquire new information with regard to the foreign language the y are required to learn.Given that not all intelligence officers are fast learners, requiring an adult officer to learn a foreign language may involve consumption of great amounts of money, either from the agency or from the officers themselves. It may also require more time and effort that both parties may not be able to provide. As such, these should be taken into account and carefully contemplated before completely requiring intelligence officers to learn a foreign language.

Earthquake Sichuan

In May 2008, a memorial tragedy has carved our heart. More than 60,000 of our compatriots died in the Great Sichuan Earthquake. It was a once-in-a-year strong earthquake registering a magnitude of 7. 8 measured in the Richter scale. The province where the earthquake took place, Sichuan, is in western China and its capital is named Chengdu. It is surrounded by the Sichuan Basin. In the Great Sichuan earthquake, the epicenter was in Wenchuan County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, which is 80 km north-west of Chengdu; and its depth was 19 km. On May 12, 2008, the earthquake occurred at 14:28 (China Standard Time) and the first tremor was felt. The earthquake was so strong that it was felt by cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and neighbour places like Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam and Thailand also experienced tremors. The scope of the areas affected by the quake mainly included the north-east China along the Longmen Shan fault. The Sichuan Basin was created 55 millions years ago, where the Indo-Australian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate. These endogenetic forces create fold mountains, and therefore the Sichuan basin is bounded by mountains on all sides. As a consequence, areas around the Sichuan Basin are prone to earthquake. In 1933, there was a 7. 5-magnitude earthquake occurring in north-west of Sichuan, causing 7500 deaths. What has caused such a massive earthquake? To be precise, according to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred because of the motion on a northeast striking reverse fault on the northwestern edge of the Sichuan Basin. Since the crustal materials moved slowly from the high Tibetan Plateau, when they flowed to the strong crust underlying the Sichuan Basin and southeastern China, pressure gradually developed. The energy was then released in the form of seismic waves and thus led to the occurrence of the earthquake. Another possible cause is that the huge amount of water storage in reservoirs in Sichuan developed stress over the crust. The pressure stored may be released, causing an earthquake. There were not any official warnings prior to the main quake. This is attributed to the fact that earthquakes are hard to forecast, and the results are not always accurate. However, it is said that there was a sign revealing the earthquake: a large number of toads were migrating in Sichuan two days before the main quake. These animals’ abnormal acts may reflect in earthquake events. In the Sichuan Earthquake, the China Earthquake Administration did not find strong evidence to show that an earthquake was to be occurred. Therefore, when the earthquake came, evacuation could not be made effective and thus a huge damage was resulted. Then on 12 May, an earthquake indeed struck the area. The main quake of the Sichuan Earthquake took place at 14:28 local time, nevertheless, the rupture lasted for only 120 seconds. In the following three days, many aftershocks still threatened the people. There were 64 to 104 major aftershocks, with magnitude ranging from 4. 0 to 6. 1. These aftershocks continued to bring new deaths and casualties in the area. For example, on 17 May, an aftershock destabilized a slope and caused a landslide. On 25 and 27 May, the Qingchuan County had two aftershocks on the spot with magnitudes greater than 5. On 27 May again, an aftershock hit the Ningciang County. Till 29 June, the number of deaths has reached about 70,000 and over 370,000 people were injured. More than 17,000 people were missing, and many people were made homeless. More than 15 million people must be evacuated out of the area, and about 45 million people were affected by the incident. As a recent natural hazard, the Sichuan Earthquake is definitely a severe one, with a tremendous destruction. This earthquake caused the most serious casualties and deaths after the occurrence of the Tangshan Earthquake in 1976. Apart from the loss of lives, the earthquake brought about many impacts as well. The impacts can be divided into three aspects, namely social, economic, and environmental. First, 0. 21 million of buildings and houses were collapsed, including 7,000 schools. Many people lost their homes, and students lost their opportunity of education for a period of time. Later it was found that some buildings were too loosely structured; partly because of corruption. Some workers did not do their best to build the buildings. In addition, the communication network was destroyed. In Sichuan, Chongqing and Huabei, the communication was completely jammed. The traffic network was also disrupted. Many highways or railways were cracked due to great vibrations, and the international airport in Chengdu was closed. The roads must be closed for maintenance. These have led to difficulty in relief work. Finally, some victims of the earthquake stole or robbed stuff. After the earthquake, there were more crimes committed by the victims. On the other hand, the Sichuan Earthquake brought environmental issues. In the affected areas, clean water was inadequate. When people had to drink contaminated water, illnesses or diseases may be developed. Also, in the areas, corpses were everywhere and we know how unhygienic it was! Together with the warm temperature, the filthy place set up a good condition for diseases to spread. To make the affected areas more hygienic, the death bodies must be incinerated, and cleaning agents like insecticides must be sprayed regularly. Meanwhile, the affected areas were heavily polluted. The earthquake initiated poisonous gas leakage, explosions or fires, which in turn polluted the air. The ecology was disrupted as well. On the economic aspect, the disastrous events led to huge economic losses. The government used more than $400 billion for relief and rescue work. The Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange lost connection with Sichuan and Chengdu companies, the companies’ stock prices dropped substantially afterwards. Owing to fact that the earthquake has destroyed Sichuan so terribly, prompt relief and rescue work was crucial. The mitigation work involved the efforts of local government, regional and international aid. The central government sent different leaders to the affected areas to manage relief work. On 14 May, two days after the main quake, more than 11,000 people participated to give assistance to the suffered people. A team of medical helpers was sent to deal with health problems. The government also kept necessities and rescue materials which are to be sent to the victims. Different departments cooperate to restore Sichuan’s face. Until 18 May, more than 110,000 military personnel and policemen were sent to participate in rescue work. They saved thousands of lives, evacuated tourists and residents, repaired the highways and transferred materials to the affected victims. This devastating earthquake has called for help from all over the world. In Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the voluntary or charity organizations held many fund-raising campaigns to raise money or food to the Sichuan people. Even in the initial state of mitigation, the Hong Kong and Macau governments donated 0. 2 billion to China. Many helpers like policemen were also sent to Sichuan to help mitigation work. Apart from regional help, the earthquake victims gained help from international aids. For instance, Valley Tsinghua Network (SVTN) set up the â€Å"China Earthquake Relief Fund† to help victims involved in the massive earthquake. This China Relief Fund provided a convenient platform for individuals, organizations to donate money to the victims, where all proceeds went to the Red Cross Society of China to help restoring the infrastructure in Sichuan. Many countries including India, Singapore, Russia, America and Japan provided China materials, money, apparatus and services to search for lives and help the suffered ones. Some volunteered professionals reached Sichuan to give education to the children, to soothe the suffered people and to give counseling and care to them. The victims’ emotions must be calmed down to prevent emotional disorders. It seems that the Sichuan Earthquake had a perfect solution with the aids of different parties. In fact, there were many difficulties encountered in rescue work. After an earthquake, the immediate step is to save as many lives as possible. The first 72 hours are golden times. The Sichuan Earthquake, however, occurred in mountainous regions where relief efforts were hindered by the landscape. Added to the above, the transfer of materials was difficult because of blocked roads and water transports. The visibility was lowered as a consequence of heavy rains; thus the people could not find the survivors easily. As a result, the rescuers could not reach in time, and there were still a large number of deaths. As seen from the human responses, the earthquake has caught global attention and acquired help and assistance from people. But this still cannot redeem the lost lives. What are the lessons learned through this disaster? Since earthquakes give little warning in advance, the ultimate efforts should be put to mitigation and preparedness. The government has endeavored to pin down the number of deaths and casualties after the earthquake, but what about preparedness? Residents should be well educated about earthquake facts. They should know what to do when an earthquake indeed hits the area. Besides, preparedness includes recruitment of specialized and skillful rescue teams in case of an incidence of earthquake. Transport and communication networks should always be maintained. The apparatus used in rescuing people can be improved by means of technology. Finally, the government can also â€Å"prepare† by inspecting the quality of buildings. Construction codes have been modified to reinforce the buildings in order to cope with earthquakes. However, the privately-built housings were not reported. Therefore, buildings with bad quality are likely to demolish when earthquakes hit. It was mentioned above that the Sichuan Earthquake is the most disastrous one following the Tangshan Earthquake. In fact, both quakes have similar magnitudes and depths of epicenter. With a mountainous range in Sichuan, relief effort is difficult because the affected areas are hardly reached, and the materials are hardly transferred. So why did the Tangshan Earthquake cause much more deaths than the Sichuan one? The prime reason is that China restricted the spread of the news of Tangshan Earthquake, thus rejected help from others. As mentioned above, the suffered people in Sichuan Earthquake received many aids from all over the world. The mitigation was much better for the latter event. Thanks to everyone who has paid an effort to help the victims in Sichuan. Natural hazards are inevitable. It is heartbroken that the people lose their homes, their family or their beloved ones. To bring minimal loss after a disaster, all of us must cooperate to give help. It is glad to see that all people were giving a hand to the Sichuan victims, and it is nice to see that Sichuan today is recovered. The Sichuan Earthquake has given us a precious lesson: what we should do today is prepare for the worst, and when another outraging disaster strikes, we shall do our best to counteract it. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Tangshan_earthquake http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2008/05/21/a144365.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sichuan_earthquake

buy custom E-Business essay

buy custom E-Business essay PepsiCo is an American multinational corporation that formed in 1965 with the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, Inc. and deals with production, marketing, and distribution of beverages and grain based snack foods. PepsiCo has its headquarters in Harrison, New York with its presence in four major divisions (PepsiCo Inc., 2010). In 2009, PepsiCo Americas Foods, which deals in foods and snacks in North and South America, contributed 43% of the total PepsiCo net profit (PepsiCo Inc., 2010).. There is also PepsiCo America Beverages, a division that markets both carbonated and non-carbonated beverages in North and South America. Other divisions include PepsiCo Europe and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa. Globally, the company is the second largest food and beverages company and it operates in more than 200 countries (Marshall, 2010). In 2009, PepsiCo collected total revenue of $43.3 billion, and was rated the largest food and beverages company in North America. Pepsi Corporation distributes a number of brands, the key ones being those that generate annual sales of more than $1 billion each. These brands include Pepsi-Cola, 7Up, Fritos Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Doritos, Pepsi Max, Quaker Foods, Tropicana Cheetos, Miranda, Ruffles, Aquafina, Tostitos, Sierra Mist, Walkers, and Lays Lipton (UBM, 2010). Amid distribution of the brands, PepsiCo engages in charitable activities and environmental conservation programs like water usage in U.S, India and U.K, packaging and recycling, energy usage as well as pesticide regulation in India to ensure that the environment and the available resources are utilized properly. PepsiCos advancement in ecommerce has been evident, and that is the focus of this report (Romanik, 2007). Changing to ecommerce involves fully understanding the normal offline transactions and applying the principals of electronic funds transfer and electronic data interchange. Ecommerce also includes Internet marketing and inventory management systems through the World Wide Web, especially for virtual items. Changing to ecommerce entails complete overhaul of marketing techniques to accommodate new internet marketing strategies, electronic payments and training of employees to match the new electronic commerce and business. PepsiCos adoption of ecommerce led to the collaboration with Yahoo. In the deal, PepsiCo would promote Yahoo on 1.5 billion soft drinks bottles displayed in 50,000 stores (Business Day, 2000). In return, Yahoo would promote PepsiCo products on Yahoo cobranded site called Pepsistuff.com (Gerstman Meyers, 2002). This promotion started in August 2000 and has since led to advertisement cost minimization due to its ability to reach more people at ago through the website (Business Day, 2000). What does not work, according to Burwick, PepsiCos former marketing manager, is an advertising approach on television that in his view only entertains and moves. However, Burwick notes that internet advertisement on the website provides a platform for interaction, which is a more active experience that is likely to have a more positive impact on sales (Business Day, 2000). This web advertisement that included music sites, banner advertisement and internet sweepstakes and barter arrangement with Yahoo, helped PepsiCo establish loyalty among its customers, greater brand exposure among its consumers under 25 years old and at the same time obtained relevant data that enabled the company respond to customer demands. Pepsi also uses the extranet strategy where customers flash their names and continue the marketing efforts of tweaking websites. Other than its websites, PepsiCo has currently upheld its ecommerce strategy on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, which are social sites that provide interaction opportunities for millions of potential customers around the world. This has helped improve popularity of the corporations 19 major brands in all the four regions, and contributed to the revenue collected in 2009. Marketing the products plays a very important role in the consumer goods companies that consume $40 billion annually on non-internet advertising. Ecommerce in this regard plays a vital role in marketing, distribution, supply chain management, ordering and delivering of the products to the clients in all the four major regions. This strategy helps PepsiCo eliminate intermediaries in its business since consumers can order products directly. The company can also use banners on top of web pages to convey the information about its products. However, this has been eliciting responses that banners are too small and limit th e amount of information that can be conveyed through them. Besides Pepsistuff.com, PepsiCo also uses its website in providing information to all its customers and potential customers on the available products and the ordering and purchasing procedures as well as the charges involved for deliveries (Gerstman Meyers, 2002). The strategy of e-business is multifarious, is more focused on these internal processes (Romanik, 2007). Its objective is to reduce costs while improving efficiency, as well as reducing costs while improving productivity. E-business includes ecommerce, and both address internal processes and technological infrastructure like application servers, security, databases, and legacy systems. E-commerce and e-business involve generating new value chains amid stakeholders, such as a company like PepsiCo and its clients. Original Business Model Employed By PepsiCo PepsiCo initially used non-internet advertisement that included high impact television spots that were prepared to evoke emotional reaction among its customers, appealing to woe customers to purchase. The company also minimally used PowerPoint presentations of its products to that are flashed on the websites. According to Hill Jones (2008), PepsiCo changed its business model and the manner in which it differentiated its product. Before adoption of the ecommerce initiative, PepsiCo fully depended on five regions that include North America, South America, Europe, and Asia regions (including India) in manufacturing, marketing, and delivering. These activities constituted manual offline transactions (Heinecke, 2011). Any changes to the business model were necessitated by introduction of the e-Business inititive. The marketing, ordering, inventory management strategies, and the payment methods changed to adopt ecommerce methods. These necessitated change in PepsiCos organization structure and reduction of marketing staff and the cost of advertisement reduced by nearly 20% in 2010 (Heinecke, 2011). Through e-business, PepsiCo was able to effectively cut human errors and evade uneconomical duplications of duties that add little or no value to the business. Consequently, this saved the company business time, colossal amounts of resources. The introduction of ecommerce into PepsiCo also improved the speed, accuracy, and efficiency in which processes are carried out in the corporation, leading to increased productivity. E-business guarantees proficiency in communication within PepsiCo and reduces turnaround time in ordering, delivery, and payment of products, as well as fostering faster decision-making process. The networking brought about by the use of Internet services gave PepsiCo an opportunity to easily compare and rate its products against those from its competitors in terms of quality, availability, and pricing. Strategic Components of E-business Planning for the changeover to e-business from the offline business is a strategic component that determines the success of the ecommerce strategy. It involves action plans that include making available the amount of capital required, trained human resource, information technology skills, technology hardware, such as computers and internet connections. This component of e-business dictates the decision on implementation methods and tools used in the changeover, depending on strengths and weaknesses of the business and the opportunities presented by ecommerce according to the vision and mission of the PepsiCo (Cross Miller, 2009). Ecommerce business is an area faced with several risks. Therefore, companies need to understand it well to ensure that they are protected against such risks. PepsiCo faces such risks as well. Some of these risks include loss of merchandise as a result of fraud, misrouting during distribution process to wrong destinations (majorly when the merchants are untrustworthy and untraceable), leading to loss of both goods and money (Cross Miller, 2009). Any businesses adopting ecommerce should ensure that third party merchants are well known, registered, and traceable to curb the loss of customers merchandise and money to potential fraudsters. This is also applicable to the risks of customers disputes of the delivered goods leading to loss of payments. PepsiCo needs to ensure that during ordering, customers provide adequate information to be able to distinguish genuine customers from fraudulent orders. This will reduce the loss money through credit card payments, which poses impacts both on the company and merchants who are forced to pay the bank charges to compensate the losses. Accuracy in processing the transactions remain key to efficient deals to avoid experiencing chargeback costs that also occur when customers dispute the transactions sometimes due to inaccuracy in the amount involved, errors in processing, authorization errors and fraudulent issues. These costs can be avoided if transactions are accurately and efficiently processed. Therefore, this means that the new ecommerce technology should be well understood before the implementation stage takes effect, to be able to seal all the possible loopholes that are likely to give way to losses (Joseph, 2008). Provision of adequate infrastructure system that warns new clients who are not conversant with purchasing on the Internet is important in proving authenticity of the company. These systems should be in a position of protecting clients passwords to sensitive personal information like credit cards to avoid exposure to fraudsters and at the same time authenticate transactions when dealing with fresh cl ients before closing the purchase orders and delivering the products to the customers. Technological components must also be put in place for a company that needs to grow in the modern business environment that is full of competition through the use of high technology machines (Joseph, 2008). The technological platform where e-Business is carried out involves of technologies that have to be tailor-made, tested out and integrated into the business. This component is one of the essential e-business components that include widely approved technological standards and requirements that generate technical procedures and platforms than computers, but can be used to pass information. Technology infrastructure involves reliable Internet connections and adequate machinery, such as computers and browser connections. Technological constituents, such as middleware, are important since they help build broad and complex e-commerce systems. Employee development is strategy that works well for many companies, including PepsiCo. Employees first need to be prepared for the change to avoid unnecessary resistance during the implementation stage. Employee development also involves training workers to be technology compliant and improve their IT skills, which are mandatory in ecommerce having in mind that technology innovation and improvement takes place every time (Shajahan Priyadharshini, 2007). PepsiCo needs to train its clients on how to access information from the companys websites without risking exposing their information to non-deserving people, such as credit card fraudsters. This training can be done through seminars and online information that can be accessed by all existing and potential customers. Many clients are very skeptical when it comes to online purchases due to the widespread Internet fraud and may only be willing to do business with very organized and secure sites. PepsiCo also needs to segment its market during marketing and advertisement of the products. This segmentation can be done in terms of age, social class to provide products that all social groups can afford, and ensuring availability of these products from the distribution stores for the retail customers at all times. Reasons for Success and Of Pepsi Product Differentiation and positioning One reason that has led to the success of Pepsi products is the differentiation of its brannds that have been established and have built customer loyalty in those regions. Product positioning remains vital in building customer loyalty. This can quickly be done through internet marketing, which reaches more people at ago all over the world. Planning and New Technology The companys first strategy involving agreements with Yahoo picked up well and were very successful because of adequate planning, as well as embracing of the new digital technology. Other reasons include adequate planning, employee development, good management kills, infrastructure, and risk management systems. Reasons for Lack of Success and Of Pepsi Fraudulent transactions Fraudulent transactions that have always mired online transactions that make the merchants and clients lose both merchandise and money are the loopholes that have hampered Pepsis success. Thus, they need to be sealed in order to drive businesses to higher levels. Analysis of the PepsiCo Initiative PepsiCo being the second largest food and Beverage Company has very strong financial base, which is enough to implement the ecommerce strategy. Training of employees on the new internet marketing skills, supply chain management, inventory management. Implementation of the ecommerce Technology in PepsiCo involved provision of the computer gadgets and internet connection that to provide necessary platform for the change to e-Business (Shajahan Priyadharshini, 2007). PepsiCo also offered in-house trainings to the staff to be technology compliant ready to execute the ecommerce operations. The major stakeholders of the PepsiCo are the suppliers, customers, government, employees, and the management. The companys consumers need to utilize the ecommerce platform to order and pay for products conveniently, while maintaining and managing internet security risks. The internal control systems that are used to authenticate transactions need to be fully outlined with clear chain of command. The improvement of the technology has also provided good business growth opportunity enhancing PepsiCos strength in the market. The involvement of the society, production of healthy products with low sugar levels favorable for children, guarding them against health and lifestyle related diseases like obesity, diabetes, and the environmental protection projects, gave PepsiCo business advantage over its competitors, such as the Coca-Cola company. PepsiCo does this by converting its product portfolio, forming global initiatives like calorie labeling to increase nutrition education, and backup up programs that promote physical fitness centers (Romanik, 2007). Responsible Electronic Marketing In the ecommerce, PepsiCo has adopted a responsible electronic marketing strategy that teaches children that good eating habits at an earlier age contribute to their future health. PepsiCo adopted a policy in 2009 not to advertise and sell certain products that do not meet specific nutrition level to children under age 12. The policy took effect in 2009 for beverages globally and all snacks and food in the whole world on January 1, 2011. Pepsi plans to stop selling full sugar soft drinks directly to primary and secondary schools across the world by 2012. This policy is to help schools to provide a wider range of low-calorie and nutritious beverages to their students in primary and secondary schools (Ferrell Ferrell, 2010). PepsiCo plans to implement this policy fully by January 1, 2012 and it has announced this interest on the Internet. PepsiCo does not currently sell directly to primary and secondary schools full calorie drinks in Europe, Canada, and a number of countries in the Arabian Peninsula (Ferrell Ferrell, 2010). Currently the use of iPhone has spread to users many including school going children who can easily access the information. For this reason, PepsiCo implements the responsible e-marketing strategy to ensure that information reaches the only relevant people. Reasons for Not Adopting the Ecommerce In as much as technology is acceptable, many online clients have since withdrawn from transacting businesses over the internet due to the widespread internet crimes committed by fraudsters. Many clients have expressed reservations and they prefer offline business transactions to e-business. Bad experience of wrong delivery and erroneous processing of transactions has also contributed to the failure of ecommerce initiative. Pepsi should not just adopt Ecommerce marketing coverage strategy since it focuses on differentiated marketing, they should also consider other aspects that accompany the marketing strategy. Many clients do not have sufficient IT skills that are required in carrying out e-business. This gave the changeover a slow start in some regions, including India, with many insisting on continued offline transaction (Joseph, 2008). Conclusion Ecommerce and e-business have become the order of modern business. Many companies than need to compete have adapted the two innovations. Ecommerce and e-business involve the use of the Internet in the transaction of goods and services from production, order, delivery, marketing, and payment for the purchased goods and services. PepsiCo is one of the companies that have adopted ecommerce for about ten years and have used the new technology in inventory management, supply chain management, Internet marketing and electronic funds transfer. PepsiCo is an international company that deals in beverages and foods snacks in four major regions in North America, South America, Europe and Asia and African markets with a number of products like Pepsi-Cola, 7Up, Fritos Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Doritos, Pepsi Max, Quaker Foods, Tropicana Cheetos, Miranda, Ruffles, Aquafina, Tostitos, Sierra Mist, Walker's and Lay's Lipton. The company uses the Internet to market and sell these brands. Several strategies ensure all the stakeholders are successfully navigated through the navigation period. These include adequate planning, employee development, good management kills, infrastructure, and risk management systems. Buy custom E-Business essay

The Description of the Federal Reserve and Federal Open Market Committ Term Paper

The Description of the Federal Reserve and Federal Open Market Committee - Term Paper Example It has, therefore, maintained an inflation target of 2%, but it has been below the targeted value (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System). Fed is concerned of the level of inflation in the country. According to FOMC, the increase in the prices of oil has raised inflation and the expected inflation is targeted to be stable in the long run. To ensure that prices are stable, the Fed has to monitor the rate of inflation to minimize the general tendency of the price increase. The Federal Reserve aims to minimize unemployment by sustaining the current economic growth while maintaining stable prices. It achieves this by mopping out excess money supply when it purchases government securities and bonds. Moreover, Fed believes that unemployment challenges will be addressed by a comprehensive monetary policy. Through the open market operation, the Federal Reserve controls the buying and selling of securities by adjusting the interest rate. Increasing interest rate encourages people to buy while lowering discourages people to buy. However, in this scenario, the Fed has just used the mouth persuasion that it will buy mortgage-based securities and hold to long-term Treasury securities. In the ideal situation, Fed would have lowered the interest attached to these securities to ensure people sell back to avoid low return on investment. The Federal Reserve says that it will go on buying agency securities at a rate of $40 billion every month. This move helps in reducing the money supply from the housing sector to stabilize it after the collapse of the bubble in 2008. Moreover, the Fed aims to increase the grace period by which it holds treasury securities thereby decreases the frequency of injecting money to the economy. Fed also argues for reinventing agency debt along with mortgage securities. These measures Fed says are done to put prevent the rate of interest  rising thus helping the mortgage market and financial institutions.  

Project On Exchange Traded Funds Research Paper

Project On Exchange Traded Funds - Research Paper Example product tracking an international stock index, Sections 2, 3, and 4 are more focused on a typical ETF product tracking a bond index, currency and commodity. In 2001 the NYSE announced its request for regulatory approval for three active ETFs tracking international indexes, the Nasdaq-100 Trust Series ÃŽâ„¢ (â€Å"QQQ†), the Standard and Poor’s Depository Receipt Trust Series ÃŽâ„¢ (â€Å"SPY†) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average Trust Series ÃŽâ„¢ (â€Å"DIA†). Although these securities generated together an average daily trading volume of more than 4 $ billion, we have decided to focus the analysis of this section on the ETF SPY, the first successful ETF product tracking a stock index released by American Stock Exchange2 and characterised by an almost continuous average annual growth in assets since its inception. Designed to mirror the S&P 500 index by holding the same component stocks and matching its weighting scheme, this ETF stock index is structured to duplicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the total returns of the S&P 500 Index as confirmed by its share price structure corresponding to 1/ 10th of the S&P 500 index value. As a result of this underlying characteristic, the ETF SPY can offer potential investors a wide range of opportunities ranging from establishing long-term investments in the market performance of the leading companies to custom tailor asset allocations. However although this index seeks investment results corresponding generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 index, there is no assurance that the performance of the S&P 500 Index can be fully matched. Exhibit N. 1 displays a summary of the performance of ETF SPY in the past five years detailing both its 52 week range and current value as at December 3rd, 2009. The first part of this exhibit identifies an intense volatility in line with other ETFs tracking indexes and generating a large disparity gap particularly during 2008 and 2009. Such a discrepancy which normally