Pursasive Paper on Why College Gap Years Are a Good Thing.

Another reason gap years are a good thing is that is enforces responsibility. When a student wants to undergo a gap year there are a lot of steps and processes that need to be made. Some might say that this might just overwhelm the student anyways, but it will not. It helps the students understand the responsibilities to have this goal of their pursued. Gap years, like stated before, are not just for getting out of school work for a year. By organizing your own gap year you are forced to take ownership and responsibility of your plan.You will have to decide where you are going to go, what exactly you are going to do and how you are going to pay for your trip. You may have to make your own travel plans and living arrangements. You are ultimately responsible for all the details that go into making your gap year dream become a reality. A gap year student, Ashley Jamkins, graduate from University of Arkansas 2011 says, â€Å"When I first discussed gap year with my parents I did not real ize just how much planning and organizing was going to be needed to make this happen.I am thankful though, because it made me an all-around better organized person in all aspects, not just in my schooling. † (Green). College is a child’s first time away from home, where no one is going to tell them to go do the work that needs to be done, planning a gap year and pursuing one definitely helps students get their head around being self-motivated and self-organized to get what they need to get done accomplished.Every parent’s worst nightmare is seeing their son or daughter get kicked out of school because they were lacking in school work and responsibilities. Gap years only help in the following fall for the responsibility students will not only need in college, but the rest of their lives. In conclusion, Students who take a gap year tend to be self-motivated, not afraid of taking a risk, not bound by conventions and open to explore their interests and discover their passions.

The scene of a beach on a beach on a hot summers day.

I stepped out into a burning oasis. Somehow I suddenly forgot about my home it seemed a world away from where I was standing. My eyes fluttered as a peered at the sun, the grains of sand at my feet began to feel familiar. As I started to wonder over the dunes. In the distance figures darting across the white hills appeared. I stopped quiet abruptly, and turned to the sea. My eyes glittered as I studied the waves. Boats on the horizon seemed like pointless dots on a piece of paper; forgotten but will always purpose. I saw a lilo bobbing in the in the uncharted waves. A body was placed so lightly upon the plastic float with skin so tender the light kissed it. Children playing so innocently by the shore, sand castles scattered about all with a different story to tell. The children were white with sun block as they paddled in the tide. I carried on stumbling over the boiling sand. I noticed some surfers taming the waves, that tossed them carelessly aside. I started to walk closer to the sea, I felt the salty cooling breeze upon my face so pure. I took off my shoes and sat by the shore as I once did when I was a child, now I was no longer alone. The seagulls ‘cooed' gently, then I heard the complete opposite to the seagulls soft voices I heard people, yelling and laughing I turned and saw a busy promenade. The peer was in the distance, the old fun-fair temping me over though now the heat was overpowering me. I carelessly dragged my feet up the cobbled steps to the promenade. Shops piled upon shops, people piled upon people. Shops filled with food as I pushed closer I began to smell all too familiar smells, that all my life had reminded me of this wonderful place, the seaside. Fish and chip bars placed in every other window it was as if I was walking down I hall of mirrors. After looking around for a while I began to feel very hot and tired so I returned back to the beach, boiling and sticky I slipped onto the sand. I lay looking at the clear blue sky, blue like the waves that calmly lapped the shore. A mother and child sat quietly beside me, the child holding a green spade that caught the light and made my eyes squint whilst he dug furiously into the sand. His mother lay perched on a deck chair, sunbathing her eyes fixed on her child. â€Å"Alfie† she called â€Å"be carefully†, the young child covered in a white paste giggled and carried on. I turned over now alone with my thoughts, staring back at me was a huge grey donkey part of a fleet of them that marched like soldiers alone the beach every single day, tens of times. His eyes; seemed tired and weepy. I went on to imagine how thirsty he must be in this intense heat. Volley ball pitches were littered upon the flat open range to my left. The noise of laugher filled the air people were every where to be seen, deckchairs and coloured umbrellas with families around them continued in sequent's as far as I could see down the flat plain of sand. I turned to my right once again, it looked like a untamed world compared with what I had just saw it was much quieter here. There was only the silent mother and her child to be seen. The mother now cradling her child tightly to her chest. The child was now lapping up a ice-cream, it must have been ice cold to touch the child's lips. The sun began to set upon a day full of interest. The tide began to draw near, closer and closer the water came, the light bouncing off the tiny waves. As the water prudently teased my toes. I stood up and walked knowing away from my oasis.

Abercrombie and Fitch report Essay Example for Free

Abercrombie and Fitch report Essay ? Abercrombie & Fitch was established in 1892, and originally was a retailer of outdoor and sporting goods. In 1976, it went bankrupted and was acquired by Limited Brands in 1988. Michael Jeffries was nominated to become CEO in 1992, and he dramatically improved the status of A&F to be a global fashion retailer. Now the symbol of American style and beloved brand by many customers worldwide, Abercrombie and Fitch produces mainly apparel, fragrance and lifestyle goods targeting at consumers aged from 18 to 25. There are 4 sub-brands in A&F which are Abercrombie and Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks. Each sub-brand has its own characteristics and its positioning in the fashion market is slightly different. Abercrombie & Fitch is rooted in East Coast traditions and Ivy League heritage, it is the essence of privilege and casual luxury (Abercrombie and Fitch Co. 2012, P. 3). Abercrombie Kids is for the kids who want to be like their older brothers or sisters and the core concept of it is casual and preppy looks. Hollister’s heritage stems from Southern California and was designed to represent cool beach style. Gilly Hicks is the newest and smallest brand in A&F made only for the girls’ clothes or underwear. With the opening of a flagship store in Canada in 2005, A&F started to enter the global market. Now it has 139 stores outside of the US, and it recently opened stores in Seoul, South Korea and in Shanghai, China to expand into the Asian market. We chose Abercrombie and Fitch since we would like to see how successful this multinational apparel company can be by insisting its All-American style in different cultures. We wanted to explore its unique retail strategy and brand positioning as this brand is sought after a lot of young adult. Several controversial issues of A&F were the deciding factor in our choice of company. Work Oriented Culture Of all the methods which exist for explaining cultural differences, â€Å"the dimensional approach is more influential† (Peng & Meyer, 2011). Geert  Hostede, a Dutch professor, established the overarching theory consisting of five cultural dimensions. The first is power distance which outlines the expectation and acceptance of the unequal distribution of power by the less powerful members of a country (Peng & Meyer, 2011). Individualism vs. collectivism is the cultural dimension characterized by whether the  citizens view themselves as distinctly different or dependent upon group involvement. The third cultural dimension is masculinity vs. femininity which refers to the values, traditional male or female, which are held in the highest regard. Determining the extent to which an individual will embrace uncertain circumstances is the uncertainty avoidance dimension. Finally, long-term orientation deals with the emphasis the citizens place upon â€Å"perseverance and savings for future betterment† (Peng & Meyer, 2011). The US is the home country of Abercrombie and Fitch. Scoring a 40 caused the US to be in the lower half of the countries for power distance. Hierarchy is â€Å"established for convenience† (Geert-hofstede.com, 2014) as superiors are easily accessible and communicate informally. Information is free flowing as managers take input form their subordinates. The US received the highest individuality score of 91. Citizens are considered â€Å"the best joiners in the world† (Geert-hofstede.com, 2014). It is not extreme for Americans to work with people with whom they are not familiar as deep friendships are not commonly formed. What an individual is capable of doing or has already done will determine their value of being  hired or promoted. Ranking 15th on the masculinity scale with a score of 62 indicates a masculine nation. US firms create a culture of â€Å"live to work† (Geert-hofstede.com, 2014) where higher status and financial rewards are key driving factors. Leaders which are forceful and decisive are highly valu ed. Employees who are less visible and indecisive are not able to attain success With a score of 46, the US is shown to have a below average uncertainty avoidance. Innovation is extremely valued as new ideas are quickly accepted. As compared to firms in higher uncertainty avoidance countries, US firms will quickly go after new, emerging, and risky opportunities. The US is seventh from the bottom of the list for long-term orientation with a score of 29. While future planning is involved in US firms’ decision making process, quarterly reports are incredibly significant and limit the time firms can look ahead. Employees’ savings rates in countries such as the US are much lower than those in long-term oriented nations. Home Region Oriented Firm Rugman and Verbeke in 2004 established a triad of economic power consisting of Asia, the EU, and North America. Analysis of 380 firms determined how many were home-region oriented, bi-regional, host-region oriented, or global (Rugman & Verbeke, 2004). A home-region oriented firm has â€Å"at least 50% of their sales in their home region of the triad† (Rugman & Verbeke, 2004). To be a bi-regional company, at least 20% of all sales must take place in two regions, but the company cannot have more than 50% in the region where the company is based. If a firm has more than 50% of its sales in a region different than its home region then the firm is considered host region oriented. In order to be global, a firm must have â€Å"at least 20% of their sales in all three regions of the triad, but less than 50% in any one region† (Rugman & Verbeke, 2004). A&F is considered a home region oriented company based upon the released date from 2013. Of the $4,116.9 million in sales, 64.59% or $2,659.09 million is generated in the home region, North America. $1,116.78 million or 27.13% of all their sales take place in the EU region. Asia is far behind as the remaining 8.28% of sales, 341.03 thousand dollars, is dispersed across the  rest of the world. No calculations were needed as the sales figures and percentages were given. (Csimarket.com, 2014). The industry for which A&F operates can explain their sales distribution. As the company is in the fashion and retail industry, its’ sales are incredibly dependent upon the affinity of the customers for specific brands and styles. Since the company is based in North America, the firm is much more familiar with the prevalent style which would need to be present to increase sales. A&F also established itself in their home country before expanding. These factors could explain the firmâ€℠¢s international orientation. Ownership Advantages First, one downstream ownership advantage of A&F is the possession of a specific brand image which is not easily imitable. The firm operates under different brands – Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister, and Gill Hicks – for slightly different targets. Each sub-brand represents a different brand image but they eventually add up to one big image, â€Å"American Cool†. To the fashion retailers, the most important ownership advantage is their own irreplaceable brand image. In this context, A&F has its distinct position in the fashion market and is using their brand image successfully to attract the customers (Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 2012, P. 3). Second, the other ownership advantage of A&F is its’ in-store experience. A&F stimulates the customers’ senses of sight, sound, smell, and touch by utilizing handsome male models, music, fragrances, rich fabrics and interior design. Customers (mainly females) can get a chance to take a photo with the models, and this became a representative in-store experience of A&F. In addition to this, A&F uses certain perfume to attract customers and to make them remember A&F for a longer time than just seeing, which is called â€Å"scent marketing†. Also, the stores always play the video of the American beach to emphasize its â€Å"cool† brand image. A&F only sets up the flagship stores and controls them through the managers who are trained in the US and sent to the international flagship stores to monitor the whole operation. This system makes it possible to transfer this in-store experience to the newly established flagship stores very well. Therefore, all A&F stores, even those  overseas, are committing the standardized in-store experience by offering customers the same experience (Abercrombie and Fitch Co. 2012, p. 4). Uppsala Model & Network Internationalization Model – Differences â€Å"The Uppsala model views that market knowledge is gained only by operating directly in a market; thus the model focuses on experimental knowledge† (Childs & Jin 2013, p. 38). According to the Uppsala model, will increase their market commitment gradually based upon their experience in the market and based on the knowledge they gain in the market. On the other hand, according to the Network internationalization model, firms can start their internationalization before they enter the market by settling network relationship in advance. Therefore, firms do not have to follow the stages of the Uppsala model but â€Å"building a number of such relationships constitutes a large and important investment, and once established, a nd organizational or ownership advantage† (Vahlne & Johanson 2013, p. 195). Uppsala Model & Network Internationalization Model – Similarities Both models consider the network as important knowledge that firms should gain. The network facilitates information and experience by building up the trust in a relationship and also by learning from other market players. Within the Uppsala model, the core concept of the gradual extension of a company’s internationalization into a market, which gains the company valuable experience, should be based on the interplay with customers, suppliers, and other competitors. As the company’s network broadens, it can get more knowledge and at the same time its degree of internationalization will become higher. In this context, we can find similarity between the two models. International Trajectory In 2005, A&F first opened its’ flagship store in Canada. Starting from this, A&F entered the European market with opening flagship stores in major cities of the European countries, such as London, Milan, Paris, and Amsterdam. On December 15, 2009, A&F opened its first Asian flagship store in Tokyo as a starting point to enter the Asian market. Currently, A&F owns 19 flagship stores in Canada, 110 in Europe, and 11 in Asia. Among those stores, 39 are sales subsidiaries. In Canada, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong, A&F has wholly-owned subsidiaries because there are DCs in those countries, meaning that they are the most important countries in each continent (Abercrombie &  Fitch Co. 2012, PP. 19, 101102). Firms who have a strong brand image and possess asset specificity (a unique product or a unique way of doing business) are more likely to internationalize quickly (Childs & Jin, 2013). A&F is a good example of this case, so it could skip the lower stages of the Uppsala model, s uch as sporadic exports or exports through sales agents, and could set up the subsidiaries directly overseas, which only takes 7-9  years. Consequently, now we can assume that the company is already in a quite higher stage of the Uppsala-based stages model with its sales subsidiaries and wholly-owned subsidiaries. Degree and Nature of International Sourcing Abercrombie and Fitch does not own factories producing the products and it has not sourced more than 10% of its merchandise from any single member of its approximately 155 vendors in 20 countries, including the United States, China, Vietnam and Guatemala (Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 2012, p. 4). In particular, more than 90% of its suppliers are in Asia (Google.com, 2011). The company has established supplier product quality standards to ensure the high quality of fabrics and other materials used in the company’s products (Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 2012, p. 5). Abercrombie and Fitch has two distribution centers (â€Å"DCs†) in New Albany, Ohio. The two DCs were initially responsible for the distribution of merchandise to the stores and direct-toconsumer customers, both regionally and internationally. Since 2009, A&F has offshored its DCs by using a third-party DC (TNT Fashion) in Roosendaal, the Netherlands for the distribution of merchandise to stores and direct-to-consumer c ustomers located in Europe and a third-party DC in Hong Kong since 2011 for the distribution of merchandise to stores located in Asia. Its two DCs in New Albany, Ohio currently only support its North American stores, and direct-to-consumer customers outside of Europe (Abercrombie & Fitch Co. 2012, p. 5). The nature of offshoring the DCs is to broaden the direct-toconsumer business worldwide and facilitate the international expansion of Abercrombie and Fitch stores in Europe and Asia. Furthermore, Abercrombie and Fitch has a strong, cooperative and long-term relationship with its vendor factories. When the CEO Mike Jeffries was asked about the cost pressures from raw materials and labor costs, he emphasized  that a strong relationship with vendors has been key since they had assisted A&F and been fair in terms of cotton prices and other increases. He also added that A&F and vendors have been there for each other for the long term (Barrie, 2010). Strategic Advantages and Drawbacks of International Sourcing and Offshoring The first advantage of international sourcing is that A&F can hedge against the supplier risks. Since A&F has relationships with over 100 vendors in 20 countries, it can flexibly switch from one source to another when necessary. A&F has the ability to increase its total supply capacity. Even if there are a sudden wave of demand for certain products, having a strong relationship with over 100 vendors will ensure A&F a certain supply of products and therefore the supply chain will be more stable (Inboundlogistics.com, 2011). However, such global sourcing strategy also brings some disadvantages. The source of production activity is too dispersed; it is a challenge to find qualified executives who know the local business environment and understand the corporation’s inner workings especially in the Asia Pacific region (Inboundlogistics.com, 2011). We would advise Abercrombie and Fitch to send executives from the US to those countries and hire local managers simultaneously to ensure the production activity smooth. The primary advantage of offshoring is to reduce costs. Offshoring its distribution centers in Europe and Asia can save distribution and transportation costs of merchandise to stores in Europe and Asia. However, if the third-party distribution center in the Netherlands or Hong Kong shuts down suddenly, the distribution of merchandise in Europe and Asia will be totally disrupted. Therefore, A&F should leverage the risk by running an additional distribution center in some low-cost countries, such as Vietnam. This move will also support A&F’s future expansion. Opportunities and Threats in Vietnam Opportunities Labor cost in Vietnam are absolutely lower than that of China (JETRO, 2011) (NWPC, 2014). See Appendix 1 for figure 1. Government policy to attract FDI (Kim, Lee & Cheong, 2011). See AppendixThreats 2.  TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) – Cost reduction, lead time reduction, and tax benefit. See Appendix 3 for table 1. Currently only 16% of A&F clothes are produced in Vietnam (Google.com, 2011). See Appendix 4 for figure 2. Vietnam has a better status for lead times, infrastructure, and working circumstances than other developing countries (Kim, Lee & Cheong, 2011). As A&F doesn’t operate their own manufacturing facilities but uses vendors, it can be intense competition among the companies who want to attract vendors in Vietnam. Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka which have lower labor cost than Vietnam are trying to develop their infrastructure and manufacturing conditions to attract vendors. In the future, those undeveloped countries can be a threat to the Vietnam market. Minimum wage in Vietnam is increasing by 15% in 2013, and 17% in 2014 (Vettoretti & Huyen, 2013). Suggestions for the Emerging Market We suggest establishing a distribution center (DC) in Vietnam as a strategy to create synergy with the new manufacturing facilities in Vietnam. Currently, many global fashion retailers are trying to generate vertical integration in the emerging markets because they can control the demand fluctuation easily and simplify procurement and administrative procedures eliminating the need to deal with a wide variety of suppliers and distributors. If TPP is concluded, the degree of tariffs will decrease, so it would be better to concentrate on upstream investment in Vietnam. Because emerging markets are not wellorganized and there is more lack of conditions than the developed market, owning a DC will be more stable and protective. Eventually, a DC in Vietnam will create good access to the Asian market. In  overseas developed markets, A&F doesn’t own the distribution centers but uses third-party DCs in the Netherlands and Hong Kong. However in Vietnam, we assume that A&F would set up a distribution center as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The third-party logistics in outsourcing the whole distribution to a specialized company would reduce the cost. Now A&F has only third-party DCs in overseas and there is a threat to be shut down. In order to prevent this situation in advance, owning at least one wholly-owned DC is practical. Because a wholly-owned DC totally controlled by the company, the company can adjust to the demand fluctuation better than a third-party DC. Therefore wholly-owned DC will function as a safety net in a case there is an uncontrollable problem in a third-party DC. Strategic Objectives of Entering China With regard to market seeking, â€Å"China will represent the biggest market potential for our brands,† said Craig Brommers, senior vice president of marketing for A&F (Fashionunited.com, 2014). Undoubtedly, China is a huge and growing market with a population of approximately 1.4 billion. Therefore, A&F has been trying to locate its potential customers by opening the first flagship store in Shanghai and 8 Hollister stores in different cities since 2012. The company plans to open over 100 new stores under its Hollister and A&F’s label in China over the next ten years (Fashionunited.com, 2014). With regard to efficiency seeking, there are an abundant suppliers and a low-cost labor force. Specifically, over 60% of its vendors were located in China in 2011 (Google.com, 2011). Also, there has been a distribution center in Hong Kong since 2011. Therefore, A&F can achieve lower transportation costs since the delivery is closer to its target markets. Past Foreign Entry Modes Abercrombie and Fitch started its international expansion in London by opening the first overseas flagship store in 2007, and it almost adopted a single foreign entry mode in the last 7 years. A&F established a wholly-owned subsidiary when entering a new market, such as the Netherlands, UK, Hong  Kong, Singapore and Japan. However, A&F opened its first Hollister store in Dubai in 2013 through a joint venture with Majid Al Futtaim Ventures and an A&F flagship store is expected to open in Dubai in 2014 the same way (Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, 2014). For Abercrombie and Fitch, establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries is a better entry mode for international expansion. A&F can enjoy full control of the international stores since it pursues an intensely American retail and marketing strategy (Marx, 2010). Therefore, establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary enables A&F to integrate the operation of its subsidiaries tightly with itself and to control what the subsidiary should follow. In addition, it takes a lot of efforts to establish an effective relationship in a joint venture and the cultures of the companies may be incompatible. Financially, The parent company can consolidate the results of its wholly-owned subsidiaries into one financial statement (Basu, 2014).Considering that A&F is opening more international stores worldwide, the financial reporting would be too complicated if it engages in joint ventures in many different countries. Multinational Strategy – Home Replication Stage The multinational strategy of Abercrombie and Fitch closely resembles the home replication strategy. There are several evidences from practice. First of all, the local responsiveness of A&F’s international stores is very low. The staff greets shoppers in English, rather than the local language of the foreign countries. This results in foreign customer alienation since some customers will be forced to surface their rusty English during the transaction (Marx, 2010). A&F replicates its home country-based competencies such as brand positioning. Sex appeal is a big part of the brand’s charm in the United States; A&F also puts this masculine ideal into practice of its international stores. Particularly, many of the male staff members are half-naked in the stores (Marx, 2010). Finally, the implementation of its marketing strategy and operation is easier. The store design and the interior are the same worldwide along with extremely dim lightings, a strong smell of cologne and p erfume and the staff singing or dancing with the  pounding American songs. ‘Real-life’ Social and Environmental Dilemmas A ‘real life’ social dilemma has adversely impacted A&F in recent years surrounding its CEO. The official website of the company states the company strives to be â€Å"an inclusive environment that values the differences of its associates and customers† (Anfcareers.com, 2014). While this is the official statement, an interview with the CEO, Mike Jeffries, brought a contrasting view to light. Jeffries identified his target market by claiming, â€Å"a lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes]†¦Are we exclusionary? Absolutely† (Walker, 2014). A&F has since released an apology, but boycotts, negative celebrity statements, and petitions were enacted. This issue is an ethical dilemma to the firm because of their strategic place in the clothing market. In order to stay popular, an essence of exclusivity has been built around the brand, since the more exclusive the brand appears, the more interest the brand receives. This has been A&F’s approac h, but this strategy is not inclusive. The firm had to determine whether to increase their size options or continue with the current productive model. The most important stakeholders for this dilemma are the CEO and those who hold a large portion of A&F’s stock. If A&F is not able to effectively remedy the situation then the company’s profits will continue to suffer. A&F is a public company so their performance directly affects their stock. If the dilemma is not resolved quickly, it could trigger a chain reaction of a loss in profits which leads to lower stock causing several holders of the stock to drop it effectively dropping the value of the stock. The effects of this dilemma could have extremely long lasting repercussions. An environmental issue which has become a dilemma for A&F is the implementation of harmful chemicals in their signature fragrances. Within the fragrance Fierce, â€Å"11 secret chemicals that are not listed on the label† (Henricks, Malkan, & Shils, 2014) were found that heighten allergic reactions. This particular fragrance caused reactions from various activist groups such as Physicians for Social Responsibility, MomsRising, and others which total over 1.5 million people (Henricks, Malkan, & Shils, 2014). Utilizing harmful chemicals is an ethical environmental dilemma for A&F  because the current formula has generated incredible revenue. The official website of the company addresses large environmental impact areas such as limiting their carbon emissions, but nothing addresses something  which impacts the environmental on this particular scale. If A&F is able to hide these chemicals and still gain their desired sales results then it has little motivation to stop acting in this manner. The most important stakeholders surrounding this dilemma are not only the executives and upper management of the company, but also the lowest store employees. A loss in serious sales will affect most employees in a company, but this situation would directly affect individual store employees.Customers may stay away from the stores in order to avoid the negative side effects resulting in a loss of profit and jobs for store employees. Developing a Globally Standardized Strategy Currently, Abercrombie and Fitch already has an established a globally standardized strategy to cope with the selected dilemmas. The strategy is laid out on a website by the company which was created specifically for displaying the considerate side of A&F. Covering everything from the sustainability to collaborations to specific policies, A&F clearly display their globally standardized strategy to â€Å"ensure that the highest values of human rights are being upheld at our headquarters, in our stores and within our supply chain† (anfcares.org, 2014). A&F should have a globally standardized strategy. Even if ethical imperialism is not wise, the specific industry operations call for a globalized solution. Several ethical viewpoints are almost universal for garment manufacturing. Several unethical decisions such as environmental negligence and the use of harmful chemicals have resulted in scandals and dilemmas because of the accessibility of information. For example, the infamous interview with the CEO was conducted years before it gained notoriety. By having a globally standardized strategy, A&F could mitigate potential situations before they arise. The selected dilemmas have global relevance. Inclusion, the principle dealt with in the social dilemma, is incredibly important to a multitude of  cultures across the world. A store in the Netherlands which openly admitted to not wanting homosexual customers would experience a similar backlash. The environment issues also reaches across borders. Asthma, one of the problems which are heightened by the fragrances, is prevalent in â€Å"an estimated 300 million people† (Aaaai.org, 2014). Abercrombie and Fitchs’ Actions Compared to Unilever The actual solutions by A&F are not similar to the solutions practiced by Unilever. Both A&F and Unilever have explicit codes of conduct and plans to deal with ethical dilemmas which arise. Even though these plans exist, A&F has demonstrated that its actions do not always align with their official stance. Unilever’s approach to social impact such as gender equality has been greatly documented, and one of their main goals by 2020 is to â€Å"help more than 1 billion people improve their health & well-being† (Vis, 2014). The implementation of this policy is seen as Unilever has helped generate around â€Å"65,000 microentrepreneurs† (Vis, 2014). A stark contrast exists between Unilever’s actions and those of A&F. Unlike Unilever, the ultimate actions of A&F and their refusal to stock larger size clothing proves the company is dedicated to portraying a positive image without actually helping to make a positive change in society. A&F’s actions toward their environmental impact align almost with their actions for social justice. Although its’ official stance is to reduce its environmental footprint, the company has taken no action in light of the protests by environmental groups driven â€Å"to get rid toxic chemicals from the environment† (Lutz, 2013) which are the result of their colognes. Unilever’s approach towards economic longevity has been greatly noted as â€Å"75% sites [send] zero waste to landfill† (Vis, 2014). Unilever’s approach is much more preferable to A&F’s approach. From a social standpoint, Unilever’s actions have actively made a beneficial social change as Unilever continues to fulfill their promises. A&F continues to ignore their customer’s plight even though the company claims to truly care. From a corporate standpoint, Unilever’s approach is better because many news outlets have cited the company as making a positive c hange, while A&F continues to have controversies resulting in a sales drop of 10%. Overall, Unilever has a much better strategy than A&F. Figure 1: Average Monthly Wage of Asian Countries (Nwpc.dole.gov.ph, 2014) Appendix 2 Improvement of the Vietnam Government Policy on FDI (Kim, Lee and Cheong, 2011) The Vietnam government policy for FDI was dramatically improved by registering into WTO (World Trade Organization) and preparing for PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations). Besides, the government adopted global standards, abolished discrimination of foreigners, and opened the service part such as finance or communication. As a result, FDI into Vietnam broadened to various areas, for example, fabrics, mining, energy, finance, logistic and so on. Especially concluding PNTR between the US made it possible to participating into WTO and encouraged foreing investors to enter into the Vietnam market. Another important change in the policy is related to the modification of legal restrictions or rules. On 1st of July, 2006, the government changed the original law for FDI which had been adapted only to the local people into the newly modified law for FDI which is commonly adapted to the both parts of foreigners a nd local people. This was the effort of the government to create more competitive investment conditions which are changing subject of application, and abolishing double price and repatriation tax. Also the government has been modifying the original business law, investment law, land law, and corporate taxation. References 1) Aaaai.org 2014, Asthma Statistics | AAAAI. [online] Available at:http://www.aaaai.org/about-the aaaai/newsroom/asthma-statistics.aspx [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. 2) Abercrombie and Fitch 2012, Annual report 2012, Abercrombie and Fitch Co., New Albany, Ohio. 3) Anfcareers.com 2014, Abercrombie & Fitch Careers. [online] Available at:http://www.anfcareers.com/page/Diversity [Accessed 15 May. 2014]. 4) Anfcares.org 2014, A&F Cares Our Strategy. [online] Available at:http://www.anfcares.org/sustainability/environment/strategy.jsp [Accessed 16 May. 2014]. 5) Barrie, L. 2010, Abercrombie & Fitch sees opportunities in higher costs. [online] Just-style.com. Available at: http://www.just-style.com/analysis/abercrombie-fitch-sees-opportunities-in-highercosts_id109585.aspx [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 6) Basu, C. 2014, The Advantages & Disadvantages of a Wholly Owned Subsidiary. [online] eHow. Available at: http://www.ehow.com/info_8627934_advantages-disadvantages-wholly-ownedsubsidiary.html [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 7) Childs, M. and Jin, B 2014, Is Uppsala model valid to fashion retailers? An analysis from internationalisation patterns of fast fashion retailers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 18(1), pp.36 – 51. 8) Csimarket.com 2014, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) Jan. 31, 2014 Sales per Country and Region, Annual Report – CSIMarket. [online] Available at:http://csimarket.com/stocks/segments_geo.php?code=ANF [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 9) Fashionunited.com 2014, Abercrombie & Fitch aims to open 100 stores in China – Report Executive. [online] Available at: http://www.fashionunited.com/executive/report/abercrombiefitch-aims-to-open-100-stores-in-china-20142304495372 [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 10) Geert-hofstede.com 2014, United States – Geert Hofstede. [online] Available at: http://geerthofstede.com/united-states.html [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 11) Google.com 2011, Abercrombie & Fitch Production and Expansion – Google Maps. [online] Available at: https://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&t=m&vpsrc=6&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=2073664 88920603185286.0004b07bb7b95fb0f4d6c&dg=feature [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 12) Henricks, S., Malkan, S. and Shils, J 2014, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics : Abercrombie & Fitch: Stop Spraying Toxic Fragrance!. [online] Safecosmetics.org. Available at: http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=739 [Accessed 14 May. 2014]. 13) Inboundlogistics.com 2011, Supply Chain Gain: Global Growth – Inbound Logistics. [online] Available at: http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/supply-chain-gain-global-growth/ [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 14) Kim, T., Lee, J. and Cheong, J 2011, Firm Level Productivity and Survey Results for Korean Firms in Vietnam and Indonesia. KIEP Research Paper No. Policy Analysis-11-22, pp.16-180. 15) Lutz, A 2013, Reasons Why People Hate Abercrombie & Fitch. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-and-fitch-worst-controversies-20138?op=1 [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 16) Majid Al Futtaim Fashion 2014, Hollister to make its Middle East debut in 2013. 17) Marx, W. 2010, In Tokyo, Abercrombie Misses Its Mark. [online] BoF – The Business of Fashion. Available at: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2010/02/in-tokyo-abercrombie-misses-itsmark.html [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 18) Nwpc.dole.gov.ph 2014, Official Website of National Wages and Productivity Commission. [online] Available at: http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/statistics/stat_comparative.html [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 19) Overseas Research Department Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) 2011, The 21th Comparative Survey of Investment-Related Costs in 31 Major Cities and Regions in Asia and Oceania. p.68. 20) Peng, M. and Meyer, K 2011, International Business. 1st ed. London: Cengage Learning, pp.7276, 363, 458-459. 21) Rugman, A. and Verbeke, A 2004, A perspective on regional and global strategies of multinational enterprises. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(1), pp.3–18. 22) The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business 2013, Abercrombie & Fitch Equity Research Report. pp.3 – 4. 23) Vahlne, J. and Johanson, J 2013, The Uppsala model on evolution of the multinational business enterprise – from internalization to coordination of networks. International Marketing Review, 30(3), pp.189 – 210. 24) Vettoretti, A. and Huyen, H 2013, Vietnam Set to Increase Minimum Wages from December 31, 2013. [online] Available at: http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-set-to-increaseminimum-wages-from-december-31-2013.html/ [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. 25) Vis, J 2014, Making Progress, Driving Change. 26) Walker, J 2014, Abercrombie & Fitch: Sorry!. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/abercrombie-and-fitch-apology_n_3323668.html [Accessed 18 May. 2014]. Abercrombie and Fitch report. (2016, May 19).

Child Protection Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child Protection Services - Essay Example By 1926, nearly 18 states have developed their own versions of child welfare boards that were charged with the responsibility of coordination of private and public child0-related work. New Jersey joined the Child Service and protection bandwagon in 1974 when several states passed the child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) that allowed for federal funding for children protection services (Department of Children and Families, 2014). The child protection services in New Jersey fall under the jurisdiction of the State’s Department of Children and Families. Formerly referred to as the division of youth and family services (DYFS), child protective services department of New Jersey is the state agency that is concerned with protecting children and their welfare. The DCF was created in 2006 as the State’s first cabinet agency that was bestowed to ptrotect the most vulnerable children and families within the state. They ensure the safety and permanency, as well as the well-being of children. They strive to achieve this by providing support to the families. While it is the constitutional right for parents to raise their children without the interference the state, the state of New Jersey can interfere with this constitutional right in the event that a child is under serious physical, emotional or psychological harm as a result of a parent’s actions or omission. Since the inception of the Child Protection and Permanency services, the department has been tasked with investigating various allegations that involve cases of child abuse or neglect. They also have a mandate to arrange for the protection of the child, as well as for the treatment of the family. The department has undergone numerous changes in a bid to improve the quality of their services. For instance, the department recently initiated a rapid response initiative that oversaw the implementation of a child abuse hotline service.

Schools Discourage Creativity in Children and Teachers Essay

Schools Discourage Creativity in Children and Teachers - Essay Example A few unsavory truths about today's educational system would put our educationists in a tight spot. Educationists and researchers have long felt that this was an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre students, to restrict creativity and introspection, to deny leadership skills to students, and to ensure submissive and incomplete citizens. This was done in order to raise a generation that would be easily manageable. A generation of people who would be as trusting and unquestioning as children, a generation that would consist of grown-ups who are not ready to think out of the box, but let go of their originality and instead follow herd mentality in whatever they undertook. That education need not be linked to the number of years of formal schooling has proved true time and again. The twelve year schooling process might not necessarily be a complete learning process. History is witness to numerous successful people who rose and shone to great heights; either completely without a formal education or without having successfully completed their schooling process. Throughout most of American history, kids generally didn't go to high school, yet the unschooled rose to be admirals, like Farragut; inventors, like Edison; captains of industry, like Carnegie and Rockefeller; writers, like Melville and Twain and Conrad; and even scholars, like Margaret Mead George. Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln too are testimony to this fact. In recent times, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation is a classic example of a child who did not want to conform to the norms of mediocrity and monotony taught in schools. Under the garb of competition, today's education system has been successful in bringing out the primal instincts of fear, jealousy, immaturity, and greed among children and grown-ups alike; instead of leading humanity towards noble ideas and ideologies of excellence within the self and tolerance and appreciation of another's brilliance. Comparison and contrasting have become a daily exercise for both children and grown-ups alike. Manufacturers and entrepreneurs are having a field day as the present generation is into consumerism like never before. Large corporations and policymakers are the sole deciding agents for today's consumer.  

Comparison of equity and common law in the field of breach of a Essay

Comparison of equity and common law in the field of breach of a fiduciary duty in a trust - Essay Example In "Junior books v Veitchi (1983) 1 AC 520" recovery of economic loss was imposed as liability. And the elements for constituting negligence such as (a) A duty of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff (b) A bleach of that duty by the defendant (c) consequential damage suffered by the plaintiff (d) Such damages caused by the bleach are formulated. (Peter de Cruz 320) Equity is the Creation of Courts, it is innovative and it provides various quick remedies such as injunction, rescission, rectification and specific performance. Thus equity is not a separate law but it a supplement to the common law. Discretionary is common feature of equitable remedies. Equity has wider scope than the common law. The common law does not look into the conduct of the parties what is required is the claim has to proved. Once the claim is proved the damages are awarded. The common remedy in common law is awarding of damages. In Common law the courts have limited discretionary functions compared to law of equity. (Terence Ingaman 442) Common Law and equity is distinguished on concept of jurisdiction such as "Equitable property interest", "fiduciary obligation", "Unconsciousness" and "Proprietary remedies", which are the distinct concepts developed by the courts of chancery. 1. Equitable Property Interest. Where the interest in the property is vested under the law of equity such as interest in trust property, the interest of the beneficiary over the property in trust is enforceable not only against the trustee but also against the third party who acquires such property. Therefore the beneficiary interest is conceived as proprietary. The beneficiary is at liberty to convert the beneficial interest into the absolute ownership interest at any point of time. Where the interest in the property is vested under the Common law such as through transfer of property, the interest is absolute and the person can exercise such rights over the property for his sole lawful benefits. Where as in equity a trustee with equitable property right exercise his rights over the property for the benefit of the beneficiary and cannot exercised for his benefit. (Peter Cane 187) 2. Unconscionable Conduct: Chancery courts are conscience. As discussed in earlier topic the liability under the common law is strict liability caused due to reasonable misconduct or tortuous act. The Chancery courts under the law of equity are liberal in granting the remedies extending to suspected conduct. Unconscionable act is related to the strict liability to fiduciary and the negligence is to the strict liability in tort. The common law provides remedies to those subjected to harm due to negligence of others where as the law of equity stretches further and provides the relief against the unfair advantage taken by the others. (Peter Cane 191) 3. Fiduciary obligations: Fiduciary obligations are created in trust. The fiduciary in relation to the trust property must act for the benefit of the beneficiary but not for the benefit

Telecommunications and Networking (cloud computing) Essay

Telecommunications and Networking (cloud computing) - Essay Example As a result of this, the most notable changes are visible in the applications and approach of the Web servers. The web servers’ functions have undergone new definition in manner in which they facilitate the clients directly or indirectly (Terry, 2010).Cloud computing is defined as a scalable infrastructure on which the servers rely their operations. The data available in the remote networks and remote infrastructure allowing ease of access and rapid transmission (ACM, 2009). Cloud computing has number of characteristics to it which make it more distinctive and unique compared to the conventional form of web servers that were in practice in past. It also provides various applications and functionalities that separate them from their predecessors. These features include software as a Service feature, platform as a service feature and finally, infrastructure as a service feature. These three factors are the characteristic attributes of the cloud computing. Other features include advanced algorithms, service oriented architecture availability, massive broadband availability. New Functionality: Virtualization is another factor characteristic of cloud computing which differentiates it from the earlier technologies that were present in the market for the purpose of clients-servers operations (Josyula, et al., 2012). Cloud computing has an edge relevant to the capital expense as well and no major deployment is needed prior to the operations. It rather targets Operation expenses. The need for internally purchased servers is also eliminated with the help of cloud computing concept. More servers’ installation is another edge which can be enjoyed in the case of incumbent technology (Terry, 2013). Advantages: Other advantages include: economic advantages, reduction in the variable costs, ease of operations, scalability, disaster recovery and handling costs control, further enhanced automated network, data security, all these are few of the advantages served by Cloud computing technologies. 2-A central challenge of cloud computing is providing scalable, secure, self-managing, and fault-tolerant data storage for long-running services. What data models are supported by existing cloud-based storage systems? What are the technical trades-offs between the key-value stores commonly provided and relational databases? How do application developers choose a particular storage system? How does one design cloud-based storage systems to ensure that a user's data survives for 100 years, even as companies come and go? The data models employed ensure scalability and flexibility enabled infrastructure. Various models are in practice for these purposes which include one dimensional vs. multi dimensional models, access path optimization, and multi data centre models. Cloudy is another model designed for the purpose of bringing about more flexibility in the cloud mechanism and system. Relational model is another model in existence that is being used by Clou d computing technique for the purpose of service providing to the clients. Key value, queue, xml are few other models being incorporated (Weiss, 2007). Tradeoff: Consideration of the pricing, service level agreements, and Application program Interface are few of the technical tradeoffs. Performance trade off is a serious factor in Read Optimized data base. Limitations in the existing setups: Allowing for

Handgun control laws Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Handgun control laws - Research Paper Example Strict laws have brought differing outcomes; in Japan and United Kingdom, it has reduced violence rates but in Mexico and Brazil, it has led to extreme or substantial violence (Miron 1). Stricter handgun controls laws and licensing are necessary to save lives. Since the year 1934, there have been a number of gun control laws such as The Federal Firearms Act (1938), The National Firearms Act (1934), The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (1972), The Firearms Owner Protection Act (1986), and National Instant Criminal Background Check System (2007) (Schwartz 1). In 2011, the Obama Administration began a number of modifications designed to tighten penalties and regulations under the present laws. The changes will entail strengthening of the national electronic system through the collection of new information. This is an effort to make the background checks for buyers of handgun fast and simple. The checks under James Brady law will leave an electronic paper. The law is named after James Brady who was Ronald Reagan’s press secretary; in 1981, he was wounded after an assassination attempt on President Reagan. Other changes include tougher sentencing guidelines for the straw buyers (Solomon and Stone 1). However, in the past few months, the Obama Administration seems to have gone mum on gun control. In the courts, it remains alive despite the fact that it has gone dead politically. Gun control is generally seen as bad politics. In 1993, Bill Clinton passed the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act, however, after Republicans ended Democrats reign in 1994, Clinton blamed gun control. Since the 1980s, state legislatures have not fared well concerning gun control, for instance, more than 30 states have endorsed laws that make it easy for an individual without a criminal record to receive a permit to possess a concealed weapon (Winkler 1). A number of states have implemented laws that let individuals carry

General System Theory and The Internet Design Idea Essay

General System Theory and The Internet Design Idea - Essay Example The simplest definition of ‘Internet’ is â€Å"A worldwide system of interconnected networks and computers†. A more technical newer version is "A worldwide system of interconnected networks that use the Transmission Control Protocol - Internet protocol" (TCP/IP) (ibid). J.C.R. Licklider, a U.S. scientist wrote in 1962 about interaction through a ‘Galactic Network’ (Schnarr, 2008): Each network should be able to work on its own, requiring no modification to participate in the Internet. Each would have a gateway, to link it to the outside world, a larger computer. This gateway would cut-down workload and to speed up traffic, with no censorship. Packages would go through the fastest available route, bypassing jams. The gateways would always be open and its operating principles would be freely available to all networks, motivating them to carry out independent but coalescing research (ibid). The Americans set up their Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1957 (Griffiths, 2002). By 1968/69, research had developed sufficiently for ARPA to publish a plan for a computer network system called ARPANET (ibid). Data packet switching technology, invented in England in 1965 was imported for integration with their system. Packet switching allowed travel of messages from point A to point B across a network (ibid). Surviving a nuclear attack was not Arpanets motivation, nor was building a global communications network (Griffiths, 2002). â€Å"It was not about communicating over distances either, as we understand the net today. Arpanet was about time-sharing. Time sharing permitted research institutions to use other institutions’ computers when they had calculations to do for which they did not have the facility. This was the prime vision of the named luminaries about the Internet† (Peter, 2003). "What the Arpanet didnt address was the issue of

Automotive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Automotive - Essay Example The first person to cross the line is not automatically the winner because the race involves the concept of time taken to leave the station, and the route that an individual follows. The race emphasizes the time factor because the Christmas tree system coordinates the individual vehicles. It checks the time that a car takes from the beginning to the end. The competition allows participation of vehicles that are tested by qualified mechanics. It also considers the type of cars that take part in the race. In the standard racing, the losing car and driver exit the contest, while the winner goes on to race with other winners, until only one is left, based on a traditional bracket system. In standard formats, the pairings consider the lowest elapsed times. In bracket racing without a breakout, pairings depend on time compared to their index. In bracket racing with a breakout, the closest to the index is favorable (Boyce, 2012). There are different categories of drag races; each class has the requirement of one restriction. For instance, there is category in terms of weight, engine size and modification (Boyce, 2012). The category that I took part in is the dragster race that involves the young stars. This type of racing involves young people who have the experience in track racing. They take part in an eight-mile race that takes place for each pair. The race involves the young people in there activities. It is usually fun to attend such events because of the enthusiasm that they show when they participate in the races. The event is also thrilling to the spectators because of the showcase of talents by the drivers. Such events are legal, and an established institution organizes them. I participated in the event for the same reason. However, some events are usually illegal because they contravene the traffic rules. The state prohibits them by arresting the people that are involved in the practice (Boyce 2012). The

The VIctim and Victmizer Essay Example for Free

The VIctim and Victmizer Essay We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images. These were the word spoken by John Gardner and describe exactly what a reader goes through in Millers Death of a Salesman. A victim is the one against whom the act is perpetrated against and the victimizer is the abuser of the crime. Throughout Death of a Salesman, the main character Willy Loman both victimzes his wife and two sons and is also victimized. Linda, who is Willys loyal wife, is victimized by Willy through disrespect. Willy Loman usually has no time for her, he show impatience towards her and responds to her very abruptly. Willy complains when she buys a new type of cheese and throughout the play, he yells at her often when she is mending her stockings. LINDA: Oliver always though the highest of him   WILLY: Will you let me talk?  BIFF: Dont yell at her, pop, will ya?  WILLY (angrily): I was talking, wasnt I?  (Miller, pg. 38)  It is clear that even Biff notices the disrespect of Willy towards his mother and he is hurt by it. In another scene, Biff describes his parents relationship.  BIFF: He always, always wiped the floor with you. Never had an ounce of respect for you.  (Miller, pg. 30) Even so, the disrespect is evident when the story unfolds and the audience is made aware that Willy has been cheating on Linda and giving her stockings to another woman. However much outrage this may cause the audience, the disgusting and appalling behaviour of Willy towards Linda, she too victimizes her husband. Although it is completely clear that she is a well-caring mother and wife, no one can deny that she plays a part in Willys death. Linda finds out about Willys deliberate car crashes and about the ripples in the gas line. She still supports him and pretends she knows nothing about it. She could have stopped Willy and helped him change instead of brushing it under the carpet and being ignorant to what was happening. Through that change, Willys death would have been avoided. She is afraid to hurt Willy and doesnt want him to know that she is aware of his feeble attempts of suicide. She wishes not to let Willy think that he has failed as a father and as a husband and has failed his financial responsibility.  BIFF: Did you have it taken off?  LINDA: Im Im ashamed to. How can I mention it to him? Everyday I go down and take away that little rubber pipe. But when he comes back home, I put it back where it was. How can I insult him that way? I dont know what to do. (Miller, pg. 60)  Furthermore, Willy also victimizes his son Biff and has many flashback memories of his son. Willys feelings towards Biff are very strong and though he has two sons, he seems more inclined towards pleasing Biff. Willy loves Biff and has high expectations for him and at the end of the play, he thinks he has done Biff a favour by committing suicide. When he was young, Willy could find no fault with Biff and does not scold him for cheating or stealing. Once, Willy asks Bernard to give Biff the answers for the test and hence teaches his son immoral behaviour of cheating to get ahead in life. As a result, Biff is victimized because he grows up not knowing the real difference between right and wrong and what is immoral and correct. At the end, when Biff leaves, he goes for a last visit to Willy and tells him that his life as a failure is the fault of Willy. Willy refuses to accept it and accuses him of spite and continues to repeat that he wont accept the blame. Biff replies to his father. BIFF: I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! Thats whose fault it is!  (Miller, pg. 131)  He also tells Willy that he and him are nothing and to give up his hopes for him.  BIFF (crying, broken): Will you let me go, for Christs sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?  (Miller, pg. 133)  Even so, Willys victimization led to Biff victimizing Willy. Willy is caught by Biff when he is cheating on his mother and there is another woman with him in the room in Boson. Biff loses the respect for his father and he becomes sour and disillusioned. BIFF: You fake! You phoney little fake! You fake!  (Miller, pg. 121)  So, the attitude that Willy had towards his sons and his disrespectful behaviour and cheating towards his wife lead Biff to victimize him by becoming a failure and losing all respect for his father. He loses hope of ever being what his father dreamed of him being one day.  In comparison, Willys attitude and relationship between Happy is different in that he does not expect very much from him and he doesnt have the high hopes and dreams for him like he does for Biff. His victimization of Happy is when he ignores or giver very little attention to him although Happy tends to be an attention-seeker throughout the play. Willy hardly ever speaks to him and if he does, it is through Biff or related to him somehow. Happy also victimizes Willy by not letting him down about the other woman and he ignored and denies Willy as his father later in the story when they meet at the Chop-House. LEETA: Dont you want to tell your father   HAPPY: No, thats not my father. Hes just a guy.  (Miller, pg. 115)  He also tells lies about it to his mother when he is questioned by her.  He then goes to later lies about it to his mother, Linda, when she rebukes them for deserting him in the restaurant for girls,  LINDA (shouting after Biff): You invite him for dinner. He looks forwards for it all dayand then you desert him there. Theres no stranger youd do that to.  HAPPY: He had a swell time with us. Listen when I desert him, I hope I dont outlive the day!  (Miller, pg. 123) To conclude, Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman is filled with victimizations throughout the play whether they are directly or indirectly targeted. Willy victimizes his wife and his two sons but is also victimized by them throughout the play. But the real tragedy of his victimization is that it leads to more harm than he originally caused and he becomes the biggest victim of it also. In turn, the audience is shocked to see that he turns to victimize those closest to him. To some, he may be deserving of victimization, but others may sympathize with him and say justice has not been served.

Is Money Evil Essay Example for Free

Is Money Evil Essay Most people have heard of the phrase â€Å"Money is the root of all evil†. Often people will think this phrase is not true. In this society, everybody needs money to survive. Money rules over everything. Without it, you cannot purchase anything at all. So how can money be the root of all evil when life would be miserable without money? With money, you can support your family members, help friends with income problems or even donating to the needy people and have a higher standard of living. So the more money you have, the more you make your world a better place to live. However, for every advantage, disadvantages will also apply. The same goes for money, when there are benefits but there will also be setbacks. So then starts the origin of the phrase â€Å"Money is the root of all evil†. People can get so obsessed with money so much so that their character changes. A father can resort to violence to his family members, causing disputes resulting in his family to be broken due to financial problems. Because of money obsession, friends often betray one another over small money issues. When a person is overwhelmed by money, he tends to be greedy and chooses to rather lose his dignity over money. In the world today, there are many increasingly reported cases of theft, robbery and even murder cases due to money disputes as well as reports of siblings fighting against each other for their father’s inheritance. There are also cases whereby people murdered their love ones to claim the insurance money and also cases of people being cheated and conned out of money. There are also cases of kidnapping as well, kidnappers will then blackmail the victim’s family. Because of the greediness in people, money became a temptation on why people get addicted into gambling. Buying lottery, betting on horse racing and football matches, getting into the casino is all for the purpose of thinking to make lots of money in just a matter of time. In the hope of making big money, gamble addicts put all their money on stake. Most of them ended up losing all their savings and therefore they went to borrow more money from creditors to continue their habit of gambling. Instead of winning back their savings, they will probably lose all their money they had borrowed and ended up in more debts. Some were even pushed to the edge and committed suicide. Money is so tempting that people are willing to do anything for it. Some women are even willing to go into prostitution just to earn money for materialistic goods. Corrupted officials took bribes, using money in exchange for unfair advantages. People as young as in their teens would steal goods and trade them for money. Just think of how people are willing to risk their lives and ruin their future for the sake of having more money in their hands. The influence of money is so great that it affects everybody, even children as young as ten years old. There are reports in schools whereby school bullies exhorted money from their school mates, threatening to hurt them if they do not comply. Cases of theft within the family are also largely increasing due to the influence of money. Teenagers stole money from their parents to purchase materialistic items to suit their own needs. Money is so important to people that they can even neglect their own families. A father had to work hard outside to earn more money and seldom have the time to spend with his wife and children. Eventually, his wife and children would only see him as someone who provides money and hence there would not be any strong bonding between them. Money revolves around the world. The phrase â€Å"money is the root of all evil† meant that money issues is the main cause of the many problems faced in life. If you let the money take control of you, you would be obsessed with it and think that your money is never enough. It influences people generations by generations and can cause one to lose his conscience and humanity. Money is the one that manifests the evil in people hearts. So therefore shows why money is the root of all evil.

The Consumer Electronics Industry And Apple Company Marketing Essay

The Consumer Electronics Industry And Apple Company Marketing Essay With the global economy boosting rapidly and continuous development of high and new technology, the competition of consumer electronic industry is becoming more intense. Depend on the hi-tech, consumer electronics manufacturers are able to push forward the productivity (Robert G., 2009), constant develop the varieties of consumer electronics, improve quality of product and service to meet consumer changing needs (Jeffrey, 2006), create a better satisfied life and change the society deeply. In the past, consumers have only a little choice in the consumers electronics due to there were not have many manufacturers in this industry, consumers feel easily to select in purchasing decision process (Ralph, 2011), but consumers are overwhelmed by too many choices now. As the consumer electronics marketers have realized in coming face to face with the brutal reality that its more difficult and complexity than ever to beat the competitors, so great is the worry of being shut out of this growing market for global marketers of consumer electronics. Under this market background, the growing role of marketing is to be seen. Marketing is about business creates consumers interest in products and services to the right price and place at the right time (Philip Kotler, 2009). Marketing is relating to understanding the needs wants of consumers and finding ways to offer products services which consumer satisfaction (Adcok, 2001). Marketing as a process for manufacturing, communicating, delivering and exchanging that provide value for consumers (Hochbaum, 2011). The marketing aims at meeting the needs of consumers and consumer satisfaction in return for business profit (Mohan, 2005). The theory of marketing is enriched day by day, the successful marketing is essential to any marketers to succeed (Schultz, 2006). Thus, for being success of marketing as a practice, it can be composed of a coordination of four or seven roles called marketing mix and also is called 4Ps or 7Ps (Chekitan, 2005). Marketing mix as a useful framework is that describes and decides how marketers driven consumer behavior to gain competitive advantages (Dennis, 2001). Marketers use this practice to try to create the optimal responses in the target market by compounding variables in an optimal method (Keller, 2012). Increasingly consumer electronics marketers are also gradually conscious of maintaining their sustainable competitive advantage to marketing by translate their core values into a rational marketing mix framework to effect on consumer purchasing decision (Levinson, 2007), so in the process of marketing, the role of marketing mix are becoming more importance than ever before (Halborg, 2002). Nowadays, consumer electronics marketers strive hard to run their marketing scenario with the right marketing mix which will enable them to foster a strong and sustainable competitive advantage (Schnnaars, 1997), moreover, they are also attempting to come out with sophisticates, effective and aggressive marketing mix are used to drive consumer behaviors to achieve objective of marketing (Meerman, 2011). Despite marketing has own many different definitions, but no matter what, in short, they all try to clarity the essence of marketing is about meeting the wants or needs of consumers (Yelland, 2000). If marketers want to directly driven consumer purchasing behavior in marketing, the premise is that they must determine what the phases of consumer buying decision making process while buying a product (Blackwell, 2005) and which the major factors are affecting consumer purchase behavior in each phase of this buying process. In other word, marketers must to know the demographics of their consumers and demand preference (Rakesh, 2006). Therefore, marketing as management process, which products and services move from concept to the consumer (Caroline, 2003), it is a consumer focused marketing that drives the entire market. Consumer is a central to all marketing activities (Moreno, 2010). Understanding how consumer behavior when they recognizing it, searching for, purchasing to use, evaluating it and expected satisfying will creates potent and available marketing mix (Christensen, 1998). There are many different complex dynamics closely interwoven with marketing, but can exactly forecast consumer behaviors thereby develop effective marketing mix to drive the variables that achieve desired outcome in line with the concept of marketing where consumers are satisfied and marketers meets their objectives( Clayton, 1999). Moreover, once marketers understand their target market, it is most likely their competitive advantages will be delivered to their correct target market and change consumer behavior by marketing mix (Deborah J. 2012), resulting in an expected final sales. Meanwhile, theres more than one perspective to say is that consumer behavior is an analysis of people and it can be used to create marketing mix framework that as a marketing tool to achieve target segments (Harper Boyd, 2007). Hence when the marketing mix and consumers behaviors are intervened, marketers will be able to success in their marketing and higher profits in industry market and sustainable competitive to future marketing development (Baker, 2008). However, experience has taught us that due to the significant differences exist in the relationship between consumers demographic variables and their perceptions of marketing mix in marketing procedure (Michael, 2007). Therefore, leverage operating in this relationship can be deeply challenging. Against this background described above, the Apple will serve as a case study to understand how marketing will successful drive consumer behavior by their marketing mix, this research with explore a relationship between components of marketing about the Apple marketing mix and consumers choice of the Apple product based on effects of demographic variables. With the marketing mix and consumers perception for Apple product, the effects of marketing on consumer behaviors can be understand. The interest for this study will base on the increased attention toward Singapore. Apple is an international enterprise that makes consumer electronics, computer software and commercial service, their core product lines are the iPhone, iPad, iPod music players, Macintosh line of computers, software and iTunes media browser (Kuester, 2009). For now, Apple is one of the worlds largest technological consumer electronics firm and the pioneers of consumer electronic industry by led a technological innovation (Neal Goldsten, 2012), Apples core product had a large market share in current consumer electronic market. Apple is well known for its successful marketing with effective marketing mix, in this digitalize tide (Homburg, 2007), consumer electronics manufacturers create value in the mind of their consumers, but the perception of value is subjective and what consumers value this year may be quite different from what they value next year (Tyson, 2011). Facing this more fierce competitive market, Apple still can successfully analysis the next wave of trend and grasp the continuous change of consumer preferences every time. It is awfully strange: how Apple to drive their marketing with the right marketing mix framework which will enable them to became the current worlds most valuable company by used in different stages of consumer buying decision making process, how the effects of Apple marketing on consumer behavior? the reasons why Apple is really successful strategic secrets of marketing are still a mystery to people, but one thing of which can be sure is that it didnt happen overnight. This research attempts to find that in a successful marketing, if there is a higher influences relationship between consumer behavior and marketing mix based on demographic variables. Through analyze the consumers behavior and perception for marketing of Apple in Singapore, to understand what marketing factors influences on consumer purchasing decision and how marketing mix can change consumer behaviors. I am taking several core products of Apple, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Macintosh line of computers, software and iTunes media browser are involved on this subject research, why is Apple outsells most other companies? How they successful implement the marketing? How are these products becoming a market leading position? What makes consumers go for these products? 1.2 Rationale The rationale is selecting the Apple instead of others of many. Firstly, as my research is Apple centered rather than consumer electronics industry, because different companies have different effects of marketing on consumers buying behavior by different marketing mix framework, but can better understand the process of marketing through my research. The second reason is that only use core product will not broaden the scope of my study, this will benefit from data search that can be easily obtained. Apple started out to get a personal computer in the hands of everyday and unique of products succeeded beyond others. With the introduction of the iPod in 2001, Apple successful established itself as a leader in the consumer electronics market (Kumar, 2011), and transfers a single area of computer from a new direction (Napier, 2010). After these, the success of the iPad has subverted traditional concept of in PC market again (Schneider, 2011). Since 2007, Apple Inc. has published the mobile product of iPhone that it is mean the touch screen has emerged and a real mobile phone war has begun in the mobile world (LaMarche, 2011). Additionally, the iTunes success revolutionizes music industry when Apple rolled out it for the masses in 2003 (Jantsch, 2010). Few companies can disrupt an industry only with a single product is launched, but Apple whose history is filled with such technological world-changing moments. The third reason for using Apple as a case study is that Apple had many successes in marketing. Ill confident of get high quality data richly in my research. 1.2.1 Benefits to the Consumer Electronics Industry and Apple Company To analyze the marketing of Apple by its marketing mix will encourage more consumer electronics business obtain success in the future. This research will bring out the effective marketing mix in consumer electronics industry, which helps in marketers to better understand the needs of consumer and marketing communications to achieve the objectives of marketing. The study also will demonstrate how consumer electronics companies can align their competitive capabilities and core competences to marketing communicate with their consumers and better satisfying the needs of the consumers. Moreover that doesnt mean the Apple product will be the only consumer electronic for everyone and destroy every consumer electronic on the future market. Therefore, this research also will undoubtedly help Apple to better monitor the their marketing framework and their consumers, the research result of consumer purchase behavior will use as a guidance that help enterprise to strategic plan marketing by improve marketing mix for a sustainable competitive advantages, also effective marketing help they in innovate development based on existing products and services to attract more potential consumers and retain the loyalty of old customers, know clearly their future opportunities and threats are faced so that can continually keep an invincible position in future. 1.2.2 Benefits to the Academics and the Society This research will be expected to study marketing based on the relationship between the influence of marketing mix and consumer purchasing behavior with many theories, not much has be studied on what if any factors have effect on customers and their buying choices by business marketing mix in marketing procedure. This research will try to support the future research as much as possible, at the least to describe the latest trends and development of this subject. A study of the significant differences in consumer behavior and their perception of marketing mix based on a distinct geodemographics. Academics and society will benefit from the relative problems of this subject answered by this research. 1.2.3 Personal Benefits As a market researcher, Im particularly interested in the marketing relate to an effects of factors on consumer purchasing decision via marketing mix framework as the mediator will explicitly examined. This will also be a unique opportunity to study marketing that focus on consumer purchasing behaviors and business marketing mix, which will support me in my future career as marketing professional. In addition, as a future manager, this research will show my ability of expertise to recognize marketing planning while meeting tough limited budget and time requirement. This research also will demonstrate my determination in of engaged in marketing management after graduate and encourage my entrepreneurial spirit. 1.3 Research Aims The aim of this dissertation is to research the influence of marketing mix through attitudinal buying behaviors consumers and further to evaluate the effects of marketing mix on attitudinal buying behaviors consumers. To identify the significant differences exist in the relationship between marketing mix perceptions of consumers and their consuming behavioral intentions based on their distinct demographic variables. Determine the influences of Apple marketing mix on consumers and their self-demographic characters have been taken as independent variables, and consumers purchasing intentions toward Apple product would become as a dependent variable. Further how the above mentioned independent variables will impact the consumer purchase intention for an Apple product will try to be studied. To understand consumer behavior understands how they interact the marketing mix that more conducive to effective marketing. From investigate in term of how marketing mix of Apple influence the consumer purchasing decision in Singapore. Additionally, do identify and assess the successful marketing which would be more helpful to my future career way after graduation. 1.4 Research Objectives According to the research problem, rationale and main aim detailed above, my research objectives are: 1. To identify there is a significant differences exist in the relationship between consumers responses for Apple marketing mix and consumer buying behaviors according to demographic variables in Singapore market. 2. To evaluate there is significant differences exist in the relationship between demographic variables and consumer behaviors in Singapore market. 3. To evaluate there is significant differences exist in the relationship between demographic variables and the perceptions of consumers for the Apple marketing mix in Singapore market. 4. To identify there is significant positive relationship between consumers perceptions of Apple products and consumers intentions to buy according to demographic variables in Singapore market. 5. To identify there is significant positive relationship between consumers consciousness of prices for Apple products and consumers intentions to buy according to demographic variables in Singapore market. 6. To identify there is significant positive relationship between consumers perceptions of promotions for Apple products and consumers intention to buy according to demographic variables in Singapore market. 7. To identify there is significant positive relationship between consumers perceptions of channel devilry for Apple products and consumers intention to buy according to demographic variables in Singapore market. 1.5 Research Questions This research will try hard to offer an in-depth analysis of major research problem and seek to overall purposes of research, so research questions are highlighted to the following: 1. Will demographic variables make significant affect consumers intentions to purchase Apple product? 2. Will demographic variables make significant affect consumers perceptions for Apple marketing mix? 3. Will Apple marketing mix has a positive impact on consumer buying behavior? 4. Will the value of Apple product make positive affect consumers intentions to buy on alternative evaluation stage of consumer purchasing decision process? And will the value of money as a significant medium influence on post-purchase and customer loyalty? 5. Will the price of Apple product as a significant medium influence on alternative evaluation stage of consumer purchasing decision process? 6. Will the promotion of Apple make a positive impact on consumers intentions to purchase an Apple product? 7. Will consumption channel of Apple make consumers feel satisfied and comforted? And if has a positive impact on consumers intentions to purchase an Apple product? 1.6 Dissertation Structure CHAPTER TWO Literature Review 2. Literature Review 2.1 Concept of Consumer Buying Behavior Consumer buying behavior is study based on consumer purchase decision making process and act of consumers involved in buying and using products. (businessdictionary.com, 2010). Understand the needs of consumers and their purchase behaviors are important when a marketer comes to success delivering products to the market. (Sheth, 1973) However, the most challenging thing about that every consumer is unique and has his own reason for purchasing a particular product in satisfaction of his needs and wants. Consumer buying behavior also trends to move with change continually in influential factors. As marketers, they must know what factors influence consumer purchase. The earliest literature review on consumer buying behavior is the book of Golden Rules of Business Success by Tao Zhu Gong (Fan Li, 439BC), which record about the importance of understanding the current and forecasting the future consumer purchasing trends, and then educating consumers, thereby influence their purchasing decision (Kotler et al, 1994). There is a wonderful example of how does Apple through evaluate consumer behavior to obtain an effective online marketing. Apple assume about consumer behavior are reflected in their online shopping. In consideration of an assumption for consumers time presses and technical savvy, Apple focus on their products and technology, and design with a tag relating to their core products like iPod, iPhone, Mac and iTunes in website. The design aim at facilitate information intensive and more convenient to consumers online shopping based on Apple behavioral assumption for consumers. This is a minimalist method that Apple assumes their target consumers are suspicious of hard sell, so Apple tries marketing toward soft sell approach. 2.2 Six Stages Consumer Purchasing Process A consumer gets through six stages in any purchase (Vashisht, 2005) (see Figure 1). According to this model, a consumer must first be recognizing a problem based on his needs. This perceiving could be external stimulated by marketing communication, physical cues or seeing the product in use (Neal, 2006). When the consumers are aware of they need, and then meaning the identification of product consumer needs, this stage depends on how important the product is to consumer by socially, economically and psychologically (Adcock, 2001). Once the consumers have recognized a problem, they enter the information search stage on products that look for solutions to their problems. Consumers could undertake both an internal search (memory), and an external search from commercial or public sources (Belch, 2007). Consumers will also tryout the product if possible. The consumers will have a rank or shortlist from which they will buy the products by then. After the information search, the shortlisted products will be compared and evaluated by product attributes, subjective factors or personal criteria (Gilligan, 2007). By the end of alternatives evaluation stage, the consumers would have decided on an ideal product to buy. When the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumers will decide to purchase product includes from whom to buy, where and when to buy, even whether to buy (Vashisht, 2005). Khosla, Swati (2002) notice that marketer must facilitate the action of consumers on purchase intention. In the final stage of post-purchase evaluation, the consumer compares it with his expectations and ranks his purchase levels of satisfaction. The evaluation determines if the consumer will purchase this product again and tell others (Mullin, 2008). With the newest MacBook in June, 2012, a case about the influence of Apple successful marketing on a typical consumers purchase decision making process based on six stages mentioned above. At first a consumer is going to recognizing need. This problem is recognized by the stimulus, like Apples secretive press conference. The result as may not be a truly essential item but still become his needs and he so desperately want it. After recognizing his needs, consumer starts an information search stage. Depend on a high interest, he is going to search all pertinent information for the newest MacBook, because he want understand it better, it include opinions for others and reviews to weight his own options. During this consumer to evaluate the alternatives, the result in the newest MacBook is very different from others and it is an innovative product. Now to his purchase decision, he is inclined to purchase the newest MacBook base his evaluations on a truly need level. Lastly, when he has gained the newest MacBook, he feels satisfaction on the post purchase. 2.3 Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior Various analysts categorize the many factors influencing consumer behavior in different classification. Relevant ways are internal and external factors by Koudelka (1996) and categorization in to sociocultural and psychological factors by Hitesh Bhasin (2010). Mowen and Minor (2009) identifies five factors, which they categorizes in to Personal, Social, Cultural, Psychological and Situational factors effect on consumer purchasing decision (see Figure 2). This way is also endorsed by Kujnish Vashisht et al. (2005). 2.3.1 Personal Factors Gilligan (2009) opinion that each of us is unique traits such as age, knowledge, profession, personality, lifestyle and financial situation will influence our consumer behavior. Kotler (2009) identifies that individual factors are highly linked to the human psychological factors. According personal factors, Apple will segment market into a meaningful consumer groups, better serve toward target consumer groups, provide differentiated serve to target consumers and positioning themselves in the minds of consumers. Another compelling example highlights how does Apple utilizes personal factors to implement their marketing successfully. Due to Gilligans opinion for everybody is unique, Apple allow consumer according to their own favor to download the different software in their devices so that assemble into a unique product for theirself, such as iTouch allow consumers to download their own favor games, music or moves by iTunes, thus everyone has a unique iTouch that should aim to maximize consumer satisfaction. 2.3.2 Cultural Factors Bob Perry (2009) suggests that cultural factors has most important effect on consumer purchasing decision due to they are the major cause of a personal needs and behavior. Cultural factors include personal value, attitude, perception, etc. cultural factors dominated by personal social culture, geographical area, education level or religious belief and life experiences of shape the personal consciousness or behavior ways (Wilson, 2009). Berkman (1986) note that social status also plays a role will be reflected in the consumer purchasing habits by a combination of income, wealth, education, occupation and others. For example, consumers used to measure their social status by their consumption level, higher consumption level represents the higher social status, Apple successful utilizes this variable to induce consumers purchase Apple product on an expensive side. Owning an Apple product has become a contemporary social sign. It means that youre doing well enough financial conditions to piss away on a higher-priced consumption level. 2.3.3 Social Factors Human beings live in a society and social factors are really important influence for individual buying behaviors. Family members, friends, relatives or colleagues often form reference groups who play an important role in influencing the purchasing decision of individuals (Hoyer Haythornthwaite, 2002). Hence, Apple did a smart application about networking, public forums discussion, and online reports share to indirect influencing the consumer emotion. Based on the modern socially-connected world, Apple marketing has benefited to public praise, word of mouth way, social proof or media hype by this variable (Macinnis, 2010). 2.3.4 Psychological Factors Psychological factors include personal motivation, views, needs, attitudes or perception. Marshal (2007) believes that individually psychology is the biggest challenges will be managed. If a resource is scarce, people will put a lot of value to it, Fernbach (2012) said, consumers go nuts, and they want to buy it. The rarer a thing is, the more it is value has been become the Apples marketing mantra is used to driven consumers psychology. Fernbach also indicated two other psychological behavioral factors play a role in helping Apple draw their consumer behaviors to marketing are impatience and herd mentality. Apple thinks that when we see others doing something, we will automatically to following. When Apple release iPhone 5 in September 21st 2012, many consumers take the time to line up outside Meadows mall in order to first to get an iPhone 5 (Denver, 2012). Conformity psychological trend will add personal value, acknowledge and self-recognition (Herzberg, 1987). 2.3.5 Situational Factors Foxall (1998) identified that situational factors accounted for a large proportion of consumer purchasing decision. The act of purchase is influenced by many factors: physical environment (mood, weather or lighting), social surrounds (stores atmosphere) occasion (seasonal pressures) and even temporal perspectives (Stewart, 1987). 2.4 Types of Consumer Buying Behavior Henry Assael (1987) divide buying behavior into four types (see Figure 3), depending upon the extent of involvement and degree of difference among products: complex buying behavior, dissonance reducing buying behavior, habitual buying behavior and variety seeking buying behavior. 2.4.1 Brief Four Types of Consumer Buying Behavior Habitual buying behavior in results when the consumers choose between different substitute products with same features and functions, consumers will go for the one that they has been using before or familiar with it. Kotler (2009) is of the opinion that more due to brand loyalty than habit. Variety seeking consumer buying behavior is a randomly buy, the result when the consumer has decided on a different product every time. Adcock (2001) holds that switch a new brand not due to dissatisfaction for old brand, it only satisfy they to try out the new one. Dissonance reducing buying behavior as the third, consumers will be highly involved in this type of buying behavior due to the cost and risk of the purchase, but will recognize less or no product difference between the brands. They feeling distrust or disappoint (Wilson, 2009). Complex buying behavior takes place when highly involved consumers who compare with full brands of the products in the market. This type of consumer will go through a relative lengthy stage of information search and evaluation based on their needs (Baker, 2003). 2.4.2 The Application for Apple Company The analysis shows that four types of consumer buying behavior-based, Apple successful built their brand loyalists, this type consumers loyal to Apple brand goes beyond the product itself. For example, the loyalists who purchase Apple Mac because of them like and believe in the Apple brand. Apple positions their brand values in mind of consumers. Apple applies these values to design anything. If Apple were to sale a car as result in they should be also successful with their loyal consumers due to loyalists will believe that the same perceived across every Apple product they offer. In this research, according to the concepts, influential factors, purchasing decision making process and types of consumer behavior, consumers gender, age, education level, and income level as the most important demographic variables will be involved in Apple marketing. Apple applies these individual demographic factors to create marketing mix in order to cater consumers satisfactions. These demographic factors play a major role in consumer purchasing decision making process. Hence, the hypothesis one was stated as follow: H1: The significant differences exist in the relationship between demographic variables and consumers intentions to purchase Apple product. 2.5 Marketing Marketing Mix Adock (2007) using Neil Bordens 4Ps (1953) (see Figure 4), identifies marketing is that a right product, in a right place, at the right time and at the right price. Around this conclusion, the market competition between the businesses has moved from product, price, place and promotion to a single p-people, and that people are the consumers. Marketers are able to obtain more consumers that play a major role in deciding the winner in a diverse, complex and rapid changing situation (Uysal, 2005), because of they recognize that it look unlikely to produce one product that will satisfy all consumers in this competition. Instead, marketers must plan marketing mix to guide marketing. The marketing mix is the strategic framework to focus on developing best tactics and strategies to achieve marketplace success based on objectives of marketing. Marketing mix also as a strategic tool is that used in marketers to communicate their marketing objectives and control variables to their target market (Kolter, 2001). It includes 4 types of variables in marketing mix, also called the 4Ps: (1) product: supply of a tangible or intangible item to meet the needs of consumers, such as brand name, functions, design or packaging etc. (2) price: the amount of money a customer pay for the product, it may include pricing, discounts etc. (3) promoti on: the methods of communication that companies to delivery information to consumers, the means like advertising , sales promotions etc. (4) place: a location where is consumer to purchase, the decision such as distribution channels or transportation (Clemons, 2006). 2.6 The Extended Marketing Mix The Extended Marketing Mix of Booms and Bitner (1981) also called 7Ps (see Figure 5), as marketing tool that increase 3 variables based on 4 traditional Marketing Mix framework for seven. The 7Ps model is more useful for technological-intensive industries to attract and retain their consumers (Mauborgne, 2004). The expanded the marketing mix by replenishing the following three additional Ps: People refer to all individuals directly or indirectly involved in the consumption process. They include the workers, employees, management and consumers themselves. Process as methods, procedures of providing quality services and products and is an essential element of the marketing mix. Ph

All the Kings Men: Historys Importance :: All the Kings Men Essays

All the King's Men: History's Importance Throughout All the King's Men, history plays an important role in the motivations and lives of all the characters. History's importance is most noticeable, not surprisingly, in the story main characters - Willie Stark and Jack Burden - whose lives focus on and, in some cases, depend upon history and how they relate themselves to it. While Willie Stark views history as a tool with which to manipulate people for his own ends, an attitude resulting in his own destruction, Jack Burden's view of history changes over time and eventually allows him to accept his relationship to the past and, therefore, present. Since each man has such a differing view it is no wonder that history becomes important to each in different ways. Willie Stark must support his entire empire in a world of enemies and corruption, to do this he relies on the past to provide him with the foundation. "Dirt's a funny thing," the Boss said. "Come to think of it, there ain't a thing but dirt on this God's green globe except what's under water, and that's dirt too. It's dirt makes the grass grow. A diamond ain't a thing in the world but a piece of dirt that got awful hot. God-a-Mighty picked up a handful of dirt and blew on it and made you and me and George Washington and mankind blessed in faculty and apprehension. It all depends on what you do with the dirt."1 In this case, Stark is referring to the past as dirt - something to be used in many ways. The way he chooses to use it of course is as blackmail; "Then he would lean suddenly forward, at the man, and say, not slow and easy now, `God damn you, do you know what I can do to you?' And he could too. For he had the goods."2 Thus history is important to Stark as the device by which he maintains power. Both Stark and Burden use history differently according to the way it figures into their lives. To Stark, ultimate power being paramount, history is a thing to be used in the manipulation of others to