The three world of bali Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The three world of bali - Movie Review Example These midnight-to-dawn performances can be viewed from either side of the screen and also from behind the puppeteer. The ancient literary texts, collected in the old Javanese language of Kawi and Sanskrit (The Balinese Digital Library), are captured on Lontar leaves. These leaves come from Lontar trees that belong to the family of palm trees. The Lontar manuscripts are placed in boxes or bags for proper protection. The older women dancing in Gambuh dance and other performances are seen to be dancing closer to the ancestral shrines in temples. They do so as to honor their ancestors in this endless cycle of rebirth. For Balinese, the idea of time differs from ours. Flowers are seen to have a short time cycle, a rock to be have a much longer cycle while humans are somewhere in between. For them, there is never an end, but a continuous cycle. Balinese Hindus call their religion "Agama Tirtha" because water plays a very important role in their life. Water, represented by a circle in the Hindu tradition, symbolizes completeness and the un-manifest. The Balinese carefully plan out and stagger the use of Balis water supply. Water temple rituals promote a peaceful relationship between people and their environment. When changing the system, many problems were faced with problems such as of water, mice and other pests. Eka Dasa Rudra, in Bali, is held every one-hundred years. In 1963, upon the urging of then President Sukarno, Balinese priests organized to hold the ritual before the exact date it was supposed to be held on. Preparations were met with the first eruption in recorded history of Balis great volcano. This terrible disaster was seen as a confirmation of the gods and demons powers and the necessity of honoring the traditional calendar. The central temple was miraculously spared when the volcano erupted. The Balinese people saw this as a grand

Organisational System Security Internet Security Issues Essay Example for Free

Organisational System Security Internet Security Issues Essay Adware – Is a software which you get when you have downloaded a different program or software for free or at a reduced price. Its main purpose is to download adverts to your computer screen when you visit websites. Adware is seen by a developer as away to recover costs of making software. But to the general user adverts on there monitor are annoying because it puts them off of what there doing and they have to close every advert down manually. Blackhat – Is a name given to a hacker whose purpose is to access data with out permission and to damage it or change it. Blackhat hackers can do this for arrange of reasons to make profit or as a hobby. They may also send other users viruses, internet worms or spam them. This type of hacker is known as the bad guy in the computer world. Botnet – Is a software robot, when a spammer sends out viruses to general users a Bot is attached to it. Once the spammer has control of the infected computers then they will have to purchase a Botnet which then lets them operate the controlled computers, then the spammer will send out a message to the computers cause them to send spam to mail servers, resulting in users opening up there mail will have tons of junk. Denial of service – Is an attack which leaves users with out use of the services of a website which they would normally use. The DoS attack does not normally mean the controller of it has stolen information, but has cost the company which it has targeted money and time. This can cause users that use that company’s website to purchase what they want from another website meaning that company’s business rivals are making money from the DoS attack on them. Exploit – Is a software which contains commands that take advantage of a computer system with weak security, the purpose of an exploit is to give a user more privileges on a computer system allowing them to access more data which was previously restricted from them. A weakness in the exploit is that it stops running when a newer version of the software is installed. Keylogger – Is a device which you can get as software or hardware it is connected or installed inside your keyboard. Its function is to log in keystrokes. There are many different reasons why we may use this such as helping fix computer system errors or seeing how an employee users there keyboard to see if there good at there job. You can purchase Keylogger’s off the internet. Malware – Is a software, its task is to damage a computer system such as to give a computer system a virus. Malware gets its name from the beginning of the word malicious and the ending of the word software. Malware’s include arrange of harmful programs such as computer viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits and sometimes adware. Packet sniffing – Is a software or hardware which is used to analyze traffic that is passing through over a network. The packet sniffer checks each packet then decodes them so that they can be analyzed, to check there content. The analyzing is useful for finding out network problems, monitor network usage from users and debug client and network protocols. This will help maintain a network. Phishing – Is a term given that is a breech of security by a hacker. Such as attempting to acquire sensitive information on other computer users like there usernames, passwords and credit card information. The hackers target popular websites such as eBay, MySpace and PayPal. They get hold of user’s personnel information by sending fake emails pretending to by your bank. Piggybacking – Is a computer word which refers to a user connecting there laptop or computer to another persons internet connection. Then using the internet without the permission of the owner of the internet connection. But if you own a cafà © and have a hotspot this is not considered piggybacking because you have given permission to people to use your hotspot to connect to the internet. Spyware – Is a computer software that is secretly installed on to your computer and can take control over something’s that you do on it. It can install software which you did not want on your computer also it can make you go on websites that you did not click to go on and it could led you to harmful viruses that could affect your computer. When turning off your computer spyware can even change your computer settings. Trojan – A Trojan is a computer virus that appears on your computer designed to cause your computer harm. It has been know to be similar to a worm. Some Trojans may not cause harm to your computer but the six main types of Trojans are ones that cause remote access, data destruction, download, get on to a server, anti – viruses software disabler and denial of service attack. Whitehat – Is the name given to a hacker, who’s purpose is to prevent a breech of security within a company or organization. They are normally employed by a company to protect against there counterparts blackhat hackers who want to hack and steal information and data that does not belong to them. In the computing world the Whitehat hacker is know as the good guy. Worm – Is a computer program which sends copies of its self to networks, designed to cause harm to the network that they have targeted. It likes to eat up the bandwidth used on the network. Worms can also cause serious harm and damage to a computer operating system by attacking the weak parts of the computer. Zero-day Attack – Is a threat to computers, by trying to take control of computer applications that are unknown or patchfree. The attacker that controls the zero-day attack normally sets it up on a public forum because of the number of users that it could affect. Zombie – Is a computer that has been attached to the internet by a computer hacker. The owners of zombie computers do not know that there computers have be compromised. They are normally used as part of a botnet, but while they have been put in zombie mode the hacker can use other user’s computers to send Trojans or other harmful viruses. Resources Adware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adware Blackhat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hat Botnet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botnet http://www.ibiblio.org/botnet/flora/indexstart.html Denial of service http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid92_gci213591,00.html Exploit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploit_(computer_security) Keylogger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystroke_logging http://www.actualspy.com/ Malware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/alerts/info/malware.mspx Packet sniffing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_sniffer http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/hackertools/a/aa121403.htm Phishing http://www.antiphishing.org/ http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/phishing.html Piggybacking http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piggybacking Spyware http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware Trojan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing) Whitehat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hat Worm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm#Protecting_against_dangerous_computer_worms Zero-day Attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-Day_Attack http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-zero-day-attack.htm Zombie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_computer

Effects Of Globalization On Business Education And Employment Economics Essay

Effects Of Globalization On Business Education And Employment Economics Essay There is a common saying that is being used today that goes The world today is a small village. This is as a result of the many economical, political and technological inventions and changes that have been in place in the recent past that have made improvement in communication, transport, and trade. These advanced technological advances have made it easy for individuals from different locations and regions in the world to invest in different locations in the world and this has resulted to globalization. Globalization is a process where a local society, culture, economy, or practice is integrated to surpass the local boundaries to a point were the local culture and economy reaches the people from other cultural backgrounds that arent from the same cultural background (Schifferes, par.3). These local regional practices are integrated internationally through the improved systems in the communication, transports and trade. These ensure that there is an improved communication, trade and transport mechanism that is the most effective organs that boosts globalization. Globalization has got some effects that accompanies some of the effects of globalization to the society includes positive and negative effects that it has on the economy, political and socio -cultural fields. This paper highlights the ways that globalization has affected the Business field, Education sector and Employment sectors. Employment is one sector amongst the many sectors that are affected by globalization; this sector is affected by globalization in two ways. These are positive and negative ways. In this section we are going to highlight on these effects of globalization in the employment sector beginning with the positive impacts. Globalization has improved the media coverage in the globe; this has led to sensitizing the people and enabled the people to know there rights. It has also lead to the creation of many employment opportunities that are varied. For example, the employment of the media personality, the introduction of the international Non Governmental Organizations (NGO), and other innovative groups that will in some point create the employment opportunities (Tutor2u, par.4). Globalization has resulted to the growth of employment opportunities in the various countries especially in the developing worlds. The most notable multinationals companies that have shifted their production to developing countries includes the Finland multinational company Nokia moving to Asia where there is cheap labour and plenty raw materials thus providing employment opportunities to the locals of the countries (Tutor2u, par.5). Globalization has also improved employment opportunity through the introduction of expatriate employment. These are cases where people are employed in other regions that arent there native and provide expert roles to the companies that they are employed. For example is the way the diplomats are deployed in various countries to represent there countrys interest in the country that they are deployed (Tutor2u, par.4). Globalization has also resulted to the growth of employment, because it has produced equal room for competition among the local and multinational companies. This is for the reason that there is equal room that will ensure that the companys will be in a position of getting a straight market for there products. This will result to the development of companies enhancing competition and the companies will employ the people to work in the industries. For the negative aspects, globalization also renders many people jobless especially in the developed worlds. Consequently, making the people from the developed world jobless; on the other hand, the once in the developing world are employed in these multinational companies (Tutor2u, par.2). Globalization has positively and negative affects the education sector, some ways in which education is positively affected is the by the technological improvements that led to the introduction of the internet, social media, global information and telecommunication systems. These improvements have positively affected the education system as the students can learn from there rooms or in a place that has internet access. Thus making education easy and interesting to the students as it is more interactive compared to the way it was initially (Chinnammai, p.3). Globalization has also resulted to internationalisation of the education system this is where the student can be in a position to learn what is being taught in another region in the world. This is because of the system that is aimed at making the students in the region to be with the same education that is accepted universally. For this reason, the students in the high schools and universities engage in other university transfers thus making them to be diverse in their respective area of specialization. The students know the ways in which the other regions are well and what they experience thus exposing the students to the different environmental settings of the people (Schifferes, par.5). The invention of electronic equipments and good storage facilities has resulted to the improvement of education in the world. This is because the students can be able to reach all the relevant materials that are necessary for their education (Chinnammai, p.2). In that they will be in a position to get the necessary information they need in class as they will be in soft copy and posted by the teacher in the internet. Thus each student will be able to access the information easily without any problem. This will improve the education system as the students will be in a position to pass their final examinations as they will be in a position to deliver in there class works. Therefore, education has also made interesting as a result of globalization. This is because the teaching and standard that are provided by these companies will be improved thus improving education of these groups (Chinnammai, p.4). Globalization has positive and negative effects on business, some of the positive effects is when it provides equal opportunity for companies to advertise their products and thrive in the world market. The improved communication facilities has made it easy for the companies to reach their respective customers world wide; thus providing equal room for businesses and other business opportunities to thrive in these regions. Globalization has also resulted to improved quality and production by the companies and this has made the consumer have value for their money ([emailprotected], par.4). This is experienced when the companies that are producing the same products aims at making the best quality of their products than there competitors. For example the mobile phone companies that are mostly competing in making the best products thus make the customers have a wide range of choice when buying a phone (Schifferes, par.2). Globalization has also resulted to the rapid development of the developing countries thus improving the lives of the countries citizens and at the same time reducing the gap between the poor and the rich. For instance in countries like India, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, Argentina and China among others developing companies, that have turned out to become countries whose economy are rising faster. This is because of the many multinational industries set their base in these countries and in the process these companies and countries mutually benefiting from each other. Thus helping the country economy to grow thus ensuring that the countries economy grow steadily ([emailprotected], par.2). Globalization has resulted to the globalization of the world markets; this is when the producers of the products have shifted their attention in producing products that are suitable for the specific markets. The multinationals will evaluate at the requirements of the people in which it has set its camp. This will make the company check on the likes and dislikes of the people in these regions and from that make products that are well appreciated with the locals. Also the companies get increased returns in the form of there increased sales, an example is when the General Motors GM looks at the likes of the Indian market and from the evaluation the make a vehicle that goes in an Indian name this automatically appealing to the Indian motor vehicle buyers (Tutor2u, par.1). Globalization has also played a leading role in killing of the local industries in the developing countriesThus making it difficult for the companies to survive thus the collapse and cease to survive due to lack of support from its citizens (Schifferes, par.4). Its evident that globalization has also as well resulted to the degradation the natural reserves in the third world countries and this has resulted to reduced economy of the countries and a the same time making the population of the people to be more poorer (Tutor2u, par.2). Globalization has also resulted to the difficulty of the third world companies to take care of there increasing population; this is because the companies products are sold at low costs. This eventually makes the government collect low revenue which is inform of taxes (Tutor2u, par.4). This result to the country resorting to borrowing from the developed worlds and the donors that will help the country sustain itself. As a result, the country becomes imprisoned with debts that it cant relieve itself from; thus making it difficult for these developing countries to benefit from the global trade as they are denied the room of expanding and at the same time they are exploited with the multinational companies. Work Cited [emailprotected] Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry http://business.mapsofindia.com/globalization/india-industry/ Chinnammai, Singh. Effects of Globalisation on Education and Culture, 2005 Schifferes, Steve. Globalisation shakes the world, 2007. Tutor2u, globalisation and business effects on business 2010

Cartoons: Land Of Imagination :: essays research papers fc

Cartoons: Land of Imagination Just as Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive the ten commands, the following are the ten laws that govern my most interesting place. 1. Any body suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation. 2. Any body in motion will tend to remain in motion until solid matter intervenes suddenly. 3. Any body passing through solid matter will leave a perforation conforming to its perimeter. 4. The time required for an object to fall twenty stories is greater than or equal to the time it takes for whoever knocked it off the ledge to spiral down twenty flights to attempt to capture it unbroken. 5. All principles of gravity are negated by fear. 6. As speed increases, objects can be in several places at once. 7. Certain bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot. 8. Any violent rearrangement of feline matter is impermanent. 9. Everything falls faster than an anvil. 10. For every vengeance there is an equal and opposite revengeance. These laws are the laws of the Cartoon Universe. The Cartoon Universe is not a tangible substance, rather an exploration into imagination. It is this facet that makes this universe more appealing than our own. One is free to create and manipulate not only the physical actions of a character, but the mental behavior as well. If my recollection serves me correct, aside from hypnosis, there is nowhere else that this is possible. In the cartoon world, "anything goes." There are no boundaries to which one is confined. With a little ingenuity and imagination one can create a place or being that has never existed before. Scribble, scribble, squeak, squeak, the colored pencils glide effortlessly over the white canvas. A dab of golden yellow, a speck of sky blue. Within several minutes I have create my ideal woman. Blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a tight fitting black mini-skirt. Perfect in appearance and poise, and nothing but words of encouragement and love linger in her black caption. For a raging hormonal man of eighteen, this scenario is a dream come true. Cartoons, however are not just a group of characters jumping off cliffs, and getting shot out of cannons. On the contrary, cartoons often have incredible meaning. With the recent presidential elections, many cartoons have been invented representing the two current candidates: Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Political satire, although often humorous, is meant to convey a message to the reader. The cartoonist has cleverly transposed his own thoughts, into that of his characters. Many environmental issues have been tackled as well.

Coloplast Case Essay

Executive Summary Coloplast has been in operations in Denmark for nearly 60 years. The company specializes in producing medical devices such as disposable ostomy bags, antifungal cremes cleansers and moisturizers. For 42 years, all Coloplast operations were contained within Denmark, however 97% of its revenue was generated by exporting its products beyond its national borders. In 1999 the company changed its philosophy and began to investigate off shoring its production facilities. In 2001 the first Coloplast production facility opened its doors outside of Denmark. The expansion took place in Tatabanya Hungary. This location was chosen because of cheaper labour and land rates, as well as a more favourable tax rate. The city is located in the Western region of the country which provided better infrastructure. Coloplast had no blueprint to navigate through the expansion process, and had to learn and develop best practises by trial and error. By 2004 the management team in Tatabanya had advanced the production system to the point where it was outperforming the longer established Danish facilities. In 2005 Coloplast revealed an aggressive plan of Strategy 2008. In this plan the company states it will strive to achieve a profit margin of 18% while maintaining 10% organic growth. A key pillar of this plan is the continued relocation of volume production to Hungary and further expansion to China. Coloplast is at crossroads, it needs to decide if it has learned enough from its first international expansion that it can duplicate and improve its success in new locations, or if it should delay new locations and focus on fine tuning its operations in Denmark and Hungary. Issues Coloplast’s expansion into Hungary was executed with no prior international expansion experience to draw from. Eventually over time, it proved to be a successful operation which surpassed quality levels of its Danish facilities . The company believes it can successfully take the lessons learned in Hungary and apply them to other international locations. Coloplast also believes that the Tatabanya operation could still be fine tuned and improved to improve its results even further. Some of the problems that need to be improved upon are. Knowledge sharing / Communication styles The production expansion in Hungary has revealed to Coloplast that decentralized approach to knowledge sharing may not work in all situations or locations. The old configuration in Denmark had most facilities and staff within a 30 min drive from each other. This allowed for more direct contact between facilities sharing processes, best practises, policies and ideas. This approach was not as successful in Hungary, Tatabanya is far from Danish headquarters and needed to have a much more direct approach. The decentralized system actually put the Hungarian operation at a disadvantage as there was a lack of manuals and instructions for them to work with in any language, not just Hungarian. Accounting procedure – Danish Kronner currency 93% of all products created by Coloplast was exported outside of Danish borders, this allowed the company to reach much larger markets then just its small domestic population. When an order is invoiced it is done so in the Kroner, the local Danish currency. This forces the company to exchange currency on the majority of all its transactions, exposing a currency risk if not managed carefully. It was estimated that currency exchange contributed up to 2% of overall loses in 2004. Outsourcing jobs negative impact on Danish workforce Coloplast has a large knowledge pool of its existing workforce in Denmark. With its volume production facilities shifting to new markets it is finding it challenging to maintain its Danish workforce in their existing roles. The company would like to be loyal to its Danish workforce and keep them employed, maintaining high morale. Coloplast would like to avoid expensive severance payments and negative public relations of reducing staff in Denmark while expanding operations internationally. Analysis Coloplost needs to continue to expand and grow it business. Internal estimates indicate that by 2010 the company will require double its current product volumes. At the same time they have set aggressive profit margin and growth goals. The international production expansion strategy is an important part of its goals. Coloplost hopes to meet the growing demand of its customers and achieving revenue goals by expanding production facilities in countries with lower operating costs One of the lessons learned by  Coloplost after the expansion in Hungary is the importance of the transfer of knowledge and communication between all segments of the business. This area needs to be improved prior to further expansion to China. During the last expansion management was so busy dealing with communication issues that they failed to fully take advantage of local sourcing opportunities, instead importing more expensive options. Management in Denmark must also decide how to properly utilize their dom estic workforce, when many of their current production positions are shifting to new countries. This will be a very important decision as these employees hold a high level of tacit knowledge of the company that it does not want to lose. The reporting of sales/conversion back to Danish currency represented a 2% loss. Continued expansion into new markets in both production and sales will make this issue even larger then it currently is. It is in the companies best interest to retain its Danish workforce when possible. These employees have the best understanding of the operations and can contribute to the companies success in training and perfecting best practises instead of focusing on production. Coloplost is still in a growth phase and redeployment/training of these people will save on severance costs and maintain a positive image for the company. Recommendations By improving the Hungarian operation and exploring further expansion opportunities such as China the company is demonstrating how essential expanding into low cost markets is to its overall long term strategy. A presence in the Asian marketplace will expose Coloplost to a massive consumer base to build its sales. This international market diversification will reduce the company’s dependence on its traditional European customers who’s health care systems are under reform and potentially not as profitable as before. A new strategy must be formed for the changing European markets, by expanding revenue streams, it provides the company time to assess reality of the new market conditions. Another benefit of having operations in Asia is increasing logistics options for the Coloplast. A Chinese distribution point could also be created providing better coverage in Asia and potentially shipping to North America as well. The Danish location will continue to ship to Hamburg and exp ort to North Europe while the Hungarian facilities will by pass by-pass Hamburg and ship directly to Southern  Europe. This plan will streamline the shipping process cutting costs for the company. The decentralized approach employed by the company while it was only operating in Denmark does not work on a global scale. Communication between all locations the company must be improved and two changes should be made immediately. First all processes and procedures needs to be documented in written form in all of the languages of the countries that the company will operate in. Coloplast has a large workforce in Denmark that will be shrinking in size due to the off shoring process. The company should select their most experienced and specialized staff to work on this project, providing new employment opportunities while reducing costs of retraining and severance fees. Second, the company should invest in a knowledge management system that will allow for file and idea sharing between all locations world wide. Coloplost should adjust its accounting procedures and no longer invoice in Danish kroners, instead they should invoice all sales in Euro’s. This will reduce the need to perform a foreign exchange transaction on all sales. If the company must later convert the currency to Kroners, they can do so when the exchange rate is in their favor. To further protect themselves from foreign exchange risk, they should hedge their transaction and purchase an option contract of swapping Euros for Kroner. Further shifting of volume away from Denmark is forecasted to reduce the Danish workforce by approximately 600 jobs over the next 5 years. It is best to get ahead of it and continue to offer early retirement and retraining packages to its employees. By utilizing its most knowledgeable employees to assist in training and manual creation, Coloplast hopes to retain the assets in its workforce that have the highest amount of the knowledge of its processes and production. This will help keep staff reduction to a minimal. Alternatives Delay further expansion – focus on improving Hungarian operations This option will make it difficult for the company to reach its long term goals. Make it possible to rotate management staff in different international facilities to help spread knowledge and share best practises among all operations Create a strong emphasis in using top Danish production workers as trainers to help develop new operations. write training manuals, proven to work well with Danish employees in the past. Development of a team from experienced staff  to assist in trying to source products locally may be a win win scenario. Keep Danish staff employed while reducing costs for the company. These employees would know systems best. Creation of secondary distribution points to better serve new markets. China could handle Asian and North American markets, Hamburg (Danish port) could handle traditional Northern European markets and a new distribution point could be created to funnel Hungarian supplied prod ucts to Southern Europe and beyond

The Case of Barnes and Noble Bookstores

This paper will analyse the current stock performance of Barnes and Noble Bookstores which are based in New York. The company, which started more than a century ago started out as a printing press and turned out to be one of the largest bookstores in the world. Tracking the company’s stock price performance in the New York Stock Exchange in a five-day period from August 6 up to August 10 for the current year as well as providing a forecast for its future performance can be attributed with several factors.One of the factors that affect the stock price performance of the company is the internal decisions that guide the company. Currently, under Steve Riggio’s term as CEO, the stock price of the company at NYSE has already soared to its current level of 30+- barrier through a lot of innovative as well as daring in-store offerings. In 2007, all of the Barnes and Noble Bookstores in the United States totalled to about 840 in all with average store openings of 30 to 40 every year. The stock price of Barnes and Noble has also been affected by the modern comfort offerings within all its stores which have Wi-Fi connections with modest separate fees.The Barnes and Noble stores also have the cafe offerings such as Starbucks coffee which greatly provides convenience to its customers. This could probably be one of the reasons why the company has been enjoying a modest growth for the past years. In 2006, revenues for Barnes and Noble and its subsidiaries reached $5. 3 billion USD. It could then be said that the modern as well as cosmopolitan outlook of the bookstore company would keep its stock prices as well as revenues up or the next couple of years or so.That is also according to the current figures provided by the company’s solid 57,000 employees as of the 1st quarter of 2007. Explaining how these internal factors could affect the fate of Barnes and Noble stock prices, it would have to be attributed to the image that the company projects towards thei r customers as well as their investors. The offerings are the company’s way of differentiating themselves from other conventional bookstores in the book retail industry.And with a market as volatile as that of the United States, market differentiation is really important for Barnes and Noble to win market shares as well as investors who would finance their planned expansions in the future. This would have to be coupled by other aggressive marketing strategies for their books as well as other future offerings which investors will dig out as good investments. External Influences Another important aspect in determining the future stock price performance of Barnes and Noble in the New York Stock Exchange are the external factors or those that are way beyond the control of the company.External factors may include the over-all performance of the retail industry, the situation of the US Stock markets as well as regional markets which may affect the company such their source of raw m aterials as well as major retail subsidiaries. In this case of Barnes and Noble, it can be said that the popular bookstore’s stock performance may be at the mercy of the bearish US stock market which as Ben Bernanke announced, could lead to a slight slowdown in the US economy as the US real estate draws to a halt.This could greatly affect Barnes and Noble which attributes most of its profits from high consumer spending. If and then the US economy would in fact be slowing down, the bookstore will experience a hard time making customers come back and purchase reading materials. Although the bookstore has offerings which may still entice customers to come back without even buying a book or a magazine, this situation could still greatly affect the performance of not only the bookstore’s stock price performance but for most American companies as well.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)In 1979, Dr. Norman Rosenthal moved from his home in South Africa to New York. Over a short period of time he found that the short days, compared with those in South Africa, were affecting his energy levels, and that these feelings would usually persist until spring. In 1984 at the National Institute for Mental Health, this one doctor's brush with seasonally induced depression began the study of what is commonly called winter blues, or more clinically, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).What is it and who gets it?Affecting approximately 5% of the US population SAD is a seasonally induced depressive disorder that manifests itself during the darker months of the year, typically between October and April, with symptoms often completely abating shortly thereafter. A person with SAD has problems responding to the seasonal changes in light. Though nearly anyone can potentially be affected, the prototypical SAD patient is a woman in her 20's or 30's living in a far northern climate experiencing feelings of anxiety and fatigue.seasonal affective disorderIn order to meet the clinical definition of suffering from SAD, a person must exhibit the symptoms through two consecutive winters. (Morano, 2003)Americans are more than twice as likely than European to have SAD. This can be the result of several factors, including cultural response biases, genetic differences, seasonality and climatic variations. (Lam, 2002) Women are also more than 4 times as likely as men to exhibit symptoms of SAD. (Hardy, 2004) Children of SAD sufferers are also likely to suffer from SAD, as this order is believed to be genetic, and hereditary.SAD definitely has a stronger prevalence as you move into northern climates, but studies have only shown this prevalence to be modest (Lam, 2002).SymptomsSAD tends to generate a 'hibernation-like response' (Morano,

How To Double Your Facebook Reach With Rebekah Radice [Podcast]

How To Double Your Facebook Reach With Rebekah Radice [Podcast] Organic reach: How do you boost yours? It’s one of those things that you might find to be a mystery, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Today we’re talking to Rebekah Radice, a social media strategist and the Chief Marketing Officer of Post Planner. With her help and expertise, Post Planner managed to double their Facebook organic reach. Rebekah has one of the top 10 social media blogs for 2015 and 2016, according to Social Media Examiner. She’s the author of the e-book, Shine Online, and she has been featured on NBC, Social Media Today, Steam Feed, Maximize Social Business, and others. She’s also a keynote speaker and is passionate about educating entrepreneurs and future business leaders. Some of the topics that you’ll hear discussed today include: Some information about Post Planner, as well as details on what Rebekah’s position as CMO entails. The biggest challenge with Facebook that marketers struggle to resolve. How Post Planner has achieved such great success with Facebook, and why organic growth is their main focus. How having big, crazy goals and a narrow focus contributed to Post Planner’s success. The importance of visual marketing and letting your personality shine through in your content. Rebekah’s advice for marketers who want to improve their Facebook organic reach.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 23

Management - Essay Example Fly Emirates has won international awards such as, Global Airline of the Year and the Fastest Growing Airline in the world. In 2007, this airline was ranked tenth amongst the top carriers worldwide in terms of revenue and passenger kilometer. In 2009, it was ranked as seventh largest airline in international passengers carried and fourth largest in scheduled international passenger kilometers flown. Recently in 2009, research consultancy firm Skytrax selected it as the fifth best airline in the world. Emirates provide quality service to its customers, flights are punctual, adequate and quality food is provided on boards and a lot of personalized services such as personal television and film library are complemented to the customers. Emirates Airline has also sponsored various events held in Dubai such as Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Summer Surprises, Dubai World Cup, Dubai Desert Classic and Dubai Tennis Championships. There are four major types of information systems, i.e. executive support system, management support system, decision support system and transaction support system. These are designed to support all organizations in carrying out their daily operations effectively and efficiently. All these four information systems correspond to each organizational level; Transaction Support System (TSS) operates at the operational level. Operational level system is the lowest level where the operational managers keep a sound track of all the primary activities and transactions that occur within the organization. The operational manager has to track sales, receipts, cash deposits, payroll, and make credit decisions and manage the basic flow of activities (Laudon, 2007). All these activities are carried out in a computerized system that performs and records the daily activities of the business. United Arab Emirates Airline might use this information system in booking Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6 Management - Essay Example 2011). The idea of launching the organization was to satisfy the needs of the families in diverse businesses. Families in the past face difficulty in coordinating family affairs and business. The business requires adequate concentration just like the family. Most of the businesspersons that coordinate with both family and business have faced intensive challenges. This illustrates that, for both the family and business to become successful, the businessperson needs to balance between the two entities. The introduction of the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ was mainly an idea to rescue the Los Angeles parents from both family and business frustrations. In the initial stage of the establishment of the organization, the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ faced challenges in attaining members (Your membership.com. 2011). Owners of the family members were not willing to join the organization because of the lack of enough information concerning the organization. Being a mem ber of the organization, the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ has enabled me to acquire skills in maintenance of the family business and remains responsible to the family affairs. In most cases, the owners of the family business lack the knowledge of maintaining an intimate relationship with the family and perform business activities. For this reason, the businesspersons fail in one of the fields because of failure in management of the family business and the other family related issues. ... It is not an easy task to maintain the business and other family responsibilities. For this reason, the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ has been doing a recommendable job in ensuring that the business owners are capable of achieving the best management skills. However, there are several diverse challenges that the Family Firm institute Inc has been facing in the past few years. The problems have given a negative feedback to the performance of the organization hence affecting the number of new enrollment staffs (Robert, 2011). However, one of the key problems that the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ is facing is the lack of a common understanding among the members of the organization. In any given organization, there should be an equivalent understanding between the employees and employers in terms of background and gender. The correlation of employees with each another to deliver outstanding duties and roles at the expected time interval. Conflict in the ‘Fa mily Firm institute, Inc’ arises majorly because of diversity in the educational backgrounds of the people, political difference and preferences, ethical heritage, gender and personal experiences (Robert, 2011). The conflict that arises between the employees has made it almost impossible for the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ to achieve its expected goals. The management and the employees lack the appropriate reinforcement to works together as a team to accomplish the roles and duties of the organization. The challenges affect the progress of the organization thus reduce the competence of the employees. The perception of the managers has even made it hard for the problem to be solved in the organization. The key role of the ‘Family Firm institute, Inc’ is to instill professional

Industry Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Industry Analysis - Essay Example There are many factors that have made Unilever successful and some of these factors include management, employees, technology, customers, and product quality and product size among others. Unilever has an effective management that focuses on achieving the organization’s objectives and goals. The management cooperates with the employees to ensure that all organizational activities are carried out effectively. Strong and talented management is very important in any organization, it is the key success factor in an organization, and having a good management team is necessary, as it will get all activities done on time and effectively. Employees form part of important success factors in an organization. Employees’ turnover and commitment is very important as this determines the productivity in an organization. The presence of educated and dedicated employees increases the company’s success rate. Therefore, highly qualified and educated management team and employees de termines organization’s productivity, effectiveness and success. Technology also is a determining factor in an organization since there is no company that can survive or flourish without dated and high-tech. the quality and type of technologies used in a company determines its position and success based on the quality of the products it produces. In addition, for the company to be successful, it must have potential and consistent customers who increase the company’s profitability. The company needs to satisfy its customers and retain them in order to generate more profits. If customers feel happy and satisfied, the company will be able to attract more consumers and retain the existing ones hence more profit. Furthermore, product quality and cost also determine the success of a company. For instance, the company should offer high quality products at an affordable price to its customers. Today, many customers are

Elements of Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Elements of Literature - Essay Example The conflict between rationality and a deliberate slipping into the dream world and the character of Willy who simply refuses to see reality make the story realistic and one with which one identifies. Willy Loman’s character is said to be trapped in adolescence. Though he has reached the ripe age of sixty and is the father of two grown up sons he still idolizes the romantic concept of the rags to riches story. To him his uncle Benjamin represented ideal manhood. He is still mesmerized by the aura of his uncle who used to say on his accumulating huge wealth â€Å"Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. [...] And by God I was rich" (Miller 48). His obsession with virility and machismo might be understood as his failure to live up to society’s expectation of a successful male. He would boast about his being a successful salesman in his youth and tried to take refuge in an imaginative past. He wanted his sons to be what he could not. Willy wanted his sons to be popular, famous and well-established but failed to incorporate in them the tenacity and diligence required to be an achiever. Like a child Willy would go by apparent and temporary moments of joy and victory but did not have the far-sight to chalk out the right directions for his sons. He lived in an illusion that his sons were the best and the brightest among all the other kids in the vicinity. But when he came to realize the truth it was too late. He has become an old man and both of his sons were men in their thirties and yet not settled with a job and a wife. He was all the more depressed when he found that the others have gone way ahead of him in terms of money, social status and established children with secure future. Charley whom he used to pity is father of a successful and renowned son. Willy’s disillusionment is complete when he understands that he had over estimated

Sources of Middle East terrorism. How and why did Isis form Essay

Sources of Middle East terrorism. How and why did Isis form - Essay Example The power of ISIS has grown over the last three years, especially with the beginning of the Arab Spring, to such an extent that it has been able to directly challenge some governments within the Middle East and make significant territorial and strategic gains against them. These advancements have made it essential for studies to be conducted concerning this organization as well as its rise. ISIS came into existence because of diverse factors, which include political, economic and organizational factors that have turned it from a small jihadist force into a potential state. ISIS was formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq and it was formed after the American invasion of Iraq as a means of opening an al Qaeda front within this country. As an al Qaeda franchise, this organization took most of its direction from the leadership of the latter and it is through financial support from al Qaeda that it was able to gain a lot of strength within Iraq (Fishman 46). Its founder, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, swore allegiance to al Qaeda and it as under his leadership that this organization was able to build a powerful network within Iraq. However, the United States and its Sunni allies were able to destroy this organization’s influence in Iraq and kill al Zarqawi, essentially eliminating it as a serious threat (Phillips 64). However, the Arab Spring gave this organization a new lease of life as it joined other jihadist groups in Syria in the fight against the Assad government. The result was that it increasingly took on a more radical approach and it came to a point whe re it came into direct conflict with another al Qaeda affiliate, the al Nusra Front. The conflict between these two groups showed the emerging cracks between al Qaeda in Iraq and the leadership of the al Qaeda organization and this relationship was broken abruptly when the latter broke off all associations because of the extreme and brutal nature of the former. It

Water shortages at Jordan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Water shortages at Jordan - Essay Example Almost 70% of all water is used for agricultural purposes and less than 30% is consumed by people (Jordans Water Shortage, 1998). Overall, this issue requires immediate response not to get worse. This problem requires complex approach and collaboration of people, government and even countries that border with Jordan. First of all, the government develops the water management model to make sure that the supply of water is growing and the demand is decreasing. Second, strategic relationships with Israel and Syria make sure that Jordan is backed up by its neighboring countries. Moreover, investments into existing water supply infrastructure strengthen the position of the country and avoid exploring new resources of water which is quite costly for the country. Finally, the country maintains clear data about water consumption on its territories in order to see how the above-mentioned activities influence on the situation with water shortage in Jordan. Government, local people and activists seem to be involved in the issue; they control their water consumption and support governmental

Finance for managers essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Finance for managers - Essay Example There are generally no hassles when owned capital is employed for executing budgetary plans. But problems arise on use of debt capital. These problems of debt financing are as under: 3. Financial leverage or gearing of the capital employed affect future funding for the business. For example during periods of depressions the entities will find difficulties in raising capital through issuance of equities. On basis of study conducted by Catherine Stenzel and Joe Stenzel (page 82)2, it may be observed that irrespective of model of the budget adopted, budgets normally incorporate three mistakes that limit the scope and decision taking abilities of the entities. Those three mistakes are as under: It is seen that budgets do not align resources to strategic objectives of the firm. Budgets do not reveal the business strategies. Logically the budgets should translate the strategic goals into actionable operations in quantitative terms. But this does not happen. Budgets and strategic objective some time appear far apart in planning the use of resources. Budgets are constructed keeping in mind the resources in hand. There is no planning under budgetary process to create resources to meet strategic objectives. Entities declare mission statements and strategic objectives enthusiastically in big way. It is seen that during budgeting, very few so called flaccid budgets, that are presently in operations, care for business plans and plan activities to achieve those strategic goals. In words of Catherine Stenzel and Joe Stenzel ‘one final flaw that can reduce budgeting relevance and lead to flaccid budget centers on parochial claims to resources.’ That is to say resources under budgetary process are allocated on competitive basis and not as per preferences set out in the strategic objectivity. Conventional budgets do not describe methods for arriving at budget proposals or at allocation of funds. The methodology

Sources of Middle East terrorism. How and why did Isis form Essay

Sources of Middle East terrorism. How and why did Isis form - Essay Example The power of ISIS has grown over the last three years, especially with the beginning of the Arab Spring, to such an extent that it has been able to directly challenge some governments within the Middle East and make significant territorial and strategic gains against them. These advancements have made it essential for studies to be conducted concerning this organization as well as its rise. ISIS came into existence because of diverse factors, which include political, economic and organizational factors that have turned it from a small jihadist force into a potential state. ISIS was formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq and it was formed after the American invasion of Iraq as a means of opening an al Qaeda front within this country. As an al Qaeda franchise, this organization took most of its direction from the leadership of the latter and it is through financial support from al Qaeda that it was able to gain a lot of strength within Iraq (Fishman 46). Its founder, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, swore allegiance to al Qaeda and it as under his leadership that this organization was able to build a powerful network within Iraq. However, the United States and its Sunni allies were able to destroy this organization’s influence in Iraq and kill al Zarqawi, essentially eliminating it as a serious threat (Phillips 64). However, the Arab Spring gave this organization a new lease of life as it joined other jihadist groups in Syria in the fight against the Assad government. The result was that it increasingly took on a more radical approach and it came to a point whe re it came into direct conflict with another al Qaeda affiliate, the al Nusra Front. The conflict between these two groups showed the emerging cracks between al Qaeda in Iraq and the leadership of the al Qaeda organization and this relationship was broken abruptly when the latter broke off all associations because of the extreme and brutal nature of the former. It

Finance for managers essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Finance for managers - Essay Example There are generally no hassles when owned capital is employed for executing budgetary plans. But problems arise on use of debt capital. These problems of debt financing are as under: 3. Financial leverage or gearing of the capital employed affect future funding for the business. For example during periods of depressions the entities will find difficulties in raising capital through issuance of equities. On basis of study conducted by Catherine Stenzel and Joe Stenzel (page 82)2, it may be observed that irrespective of model of the budget adopted, budgets normally incorporate three mistakes that limit the scope and decision taking abilities of the entities. Those three mistakes are as under: It is seen that budgets do not align resources to strategic objectives of the firm. Budgets do not reveal the business strategies. Logically the budgets should translate the strategic goals into actionable operations in quantitative terms. But this does not happen. Budgets and strategic objective some time appear far apart in planning the use of resources. Budgets are constructed keeping in mind the resources in hand. There is no planning under budgetary process to create resources to meet strategic objectives. Entities declare mission statements and strategic objectives enthusiastically in big way. It is seen that during budgeting, very few so called flaccid budgets, that are presently in operations, care for business plans and plan activities to achieve those strategic goals. In words of Catherine Stenzel and Joe Stenzel ‘one final flaw that can reduce budgeting relevance and lead to flaccid budget centers on parochial claims to resources.’ That is to say resources under budgetary process are allocated on competitive basis and not as per preferences set out in the strategic objectivity. Conventional budgets do not describe methods for arriving at budget proposals or at allocation of funds. The methodology

Student Management System Essay Example for Free

Student Management System Essay The student management suite from Applane allows you to automate the processes around student needs from admission to their transportation while ensuring seamless communication between the school, students and their parents. It has been developed keeping in mind the need to bring in efficiency in student management while providing a sense of security and safety in the minds of students and their parents or guardians. The key modules in the Applane Student Management suite include: Student Information System. Applane provides a completely integrated Student Information System that maintains a comprehensive profile of the student which acts as the core of Student Management. This enables all supporting student management processes to connect seamlessly with each other. Using this fully automated, on-cloud solution †¢Maintain a detailed student profile along with information such parents/guardians profile, sibling details, personal ID details such as passport and visa details, etc. †¢Categorize and manage all student documents submitted in scanned form using a pre-populated mandatory check-list. †¢Input detailed course and subject information for every student that acts as a base or core for the Education Delivery suite. †¢Request section change through the system with an in-built approval workflow . †¢Request and append personal information such as address change and contact number with ease and maintain in a central database for all future communication. †¢Students parents can login at school website to view profile and place request for change in contact details and section change. Student Admissions For a school, student admissions is the most important process at the start of an academic session and one that requires a very efficient and seamless operation. Applane brings in the much needed clarity and reliability to the process while helping in conducting it in a fast and fair manner. Using Applane, †¢Parents and students can submit Online/Offline admission enquiries and get a response instantly. †¢The School can open admissions to various courses and send invitations in an automated way. †¢School can sell application forms online. †¢School can manage the admission applications by filtering and categorizing them as per their scoring criteria. †¢School can announce and confirm the admissions online on the school website. †¢School can also auto-email to successful applicants. †¢As an additional function, student promotions and Re-registration can also be done seamlessly on the Applane system. Student Transportation A key part of student management requires providing safe and timely transportation to students from their boarding station to the school and back. Applane provides a fully automated system for managing this crucial requirement for schools where they have to manage the routes of hundreds of students travelling on their school buses daily. Applane allows †¢Students or their parents to request availing/withdrawing/change of transport facility online. †¢Schools to create and plan routes, assigning bus stops. †¢Schools to manage vehicles with maintenance schedule and papers schedule. †¢School to send auto reminders/email to the transport in-charge for maintenance and taxation/insurance dues. †¢Schools to monitoring vehicle movement to ensure complete safety of students. †¢Schools to maintain a fuel log book to ensure that there is no over invoicing by the drivers. †¢Schools to generate reports including route report, vehicle report, maintenance schedules, fuel log-book, etc. †¢Schools to send SMS to the student of a route/all routes for bus delays/changed timings, etc. Information Flow Communication A seamless and timely information flow between the school, students and their parents/guardians is not only an important function to keep everyone updated on various school matters but also a critical function to ensure safety and compliance of the students as per school rules and regulations. Using Applane, the school can communicate with students and their parents using auto generated Email and SMS facility on various matters such as †¢Attendance of the student. †¢Fee reminders. †¢Notices/circulars regarding Parent Teacher meetings, events, holidays, etc. †¢Examination results of the student. †¢Transport delay/change. †¢Library overdue books. †¢Confirmation of requests regarding address change, section change, etc. †¢Festival greetings

An Introduction to Photosynthesis

An Introduction to Photosynthesis Assignment 1 Photosynthesis 1. Photosynthesis-Every plant goes through different type of plant processes, which mainly effects growth and development of a plant. The photosynthesis process is very essential part of a plant. It happened in the green plants containing chlorophyll. It also uses water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to make food in the plant. 6CO2+6H2O-à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  Light-à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  C6H12O6+6O2 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Release Energy How the photosynthesis is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) All the plant processes are interrelated to each other.   The food which is made by the photosynthesis process, respiration takes energy from it. It breakdown the food which is through photosynthesis process. Defective Photosynthesis Symptoms In this process sunlight is very important. If the defective problem on plant photosynthesis, the colour of the leaves will change. Plant also become pale. Plant growth stop and looks dull. The rate of photosynthesis is affected by these factors: Light intensity More light high rate of photosynthesis water supply Good water supply also help for the growthCarbon dioxide availability it is also very important in this process. The rate of photosynthesis affected by the oxygen and carbon dioxide.Temperature suitable temperature is also required for photosynthesis. Heat- Heat has also an affect on the rate of the photosynthesis. 2. Respiration- After photosynthesis, the second process occurred is respiration. In this process it takes energy from the food, which is produced by photosynthesis. This process doesnt require any sunlight because it can happen anytime. In the simple words respiration means breakdown of food, this is produced by photosynthesis. Defective Respiration Symptoms- if defective problem on plant respiration, In poor respiration, we can see affect on the new growth. New growth will be look dull. Apart from this less vegetative growth occur. How the Respiration is related to other internal process (, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) This process is also related to the photosynthesis. Because in this process the breakdown of food which is produced by photosynthesis occurs. So it also plays a key role in the other internal plant processes, which helps the plants for a better growth. Factors- Temperature At low temperature the rate of respiration is very low. At the same time high temperature does not have any significant effect on the rate of respiration.   Starvation The plants have low starch have low rate of respiration. So this is also main factor for respiration. Respiration decreases with decreased available oxygen. Under circumstances where no oxygen is present, like in poorly draining soil, anaerobic respiration occurs. The rate of respiration for most plants peaks around the normal oxygen level in the atmosphere 3. Translocation- The next plant growth process is known as translocation. In this process more water is pulled up from the root of the plants via xylem. This process is very essential for the health of the plant. How the Translocation is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) Translocation is important process because in this process water pulled up through the roots to xylem. It also helps in the nutrient uptake. So this process is also related to the photosynthesis as well as nutrient uptake Defective Translocation Symptoms- If translocation rate is low then we can see this affect on the growth of the plants. Low rate transpiration leads to plant in a stage where plant is not healthy and leaves are drops and plant affected by plant diseases. Factors Temperature- Temperature also plays a key role in the growth of plants. At high temperature the rate of translocation is low. So balance of temperature is very important to increase the rate of translocation Light- Light has play an important roles in the life of the plants and all other plant processes such as photosynthesis, respiration etc. 4.Nutrient uptake-: nutrient uptake means take the nutrient from the soil for the plant growth and development. Nutrient uptake occurs with the active transport. It needs the energy. Nutrient uptake absorbs the important nutrient like NPK. NPK is very important for plant growth and cell division. How the Nutrient uptake is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) Water moves up the plants through the xylem and some micronutrients, which are in the water. With the help of this plant produce chlorophyll, which is produced by photosynthesis process as food Defective Nutrient uptake Symptoms- If the defective problem on plant Nutrient uptake, the colour of the leaves will change. If the nutrients are not available to the plants, fruit development of the plant is also affected. Factors- As for the first class of these factors, for example, we must consider the nutrition characteristics of the species and varieties to be grown. These special features include the morphological characteristics of plants, the ratios of their shoots and roots and also the characteristics of their root development. Other factors that we must not overlook are the specific nutrient requirements and nutrient dynamics. Different plants also differ in their temperature requirements, which naturally also affect their nutrition processes. 5. Photoperiodism: Basically it means physiological reactions of the organisms in the plants. This means the growth of the plant affected by the length of night. Short day plants needed short days and long nights for their better growth.   On the other hand, long day plants needed long days and short night for good growth. Sun flower is one of the examples for long day plants. There are day neutral plants are also one of the category of the plants. They can flower any time of the year tomatoes are example of the plants. Defective Photoperiodism Symptoms- If the defective problem on plant Photoperiodism, Plants will never produce the flowers. I other words, by defective photoperiodism plant will never go to its flowering stage How the Photoperiodism is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) It plays a key role to promote flowering in the plants. Some plants require periodic exposure to introduce flowering. It helps the plants to provide environment, which is suitable for flowering. So it leads the plant towards fruit development. Factors-There are several types of factors which affect the process of the photoperiodism. Temperature is one of the factors which affect this process. Apart from this, moistures also play a key role in this process. Excess of moisture or lack of moisture can affect the process of photoperiodism. Soil structure also plays a key role in water uptake. So its directly effect on the growth of the plant. Apart from this, other biotic factors also affect this process. 6. Vernalization- This is a stage in the development of many plants, most notably bulbs, fruit trees, and nut trees. This stage involves exposure to cold temperatures for a set period of time, followed by a period of increased photosensitivity which allows the plant to start producing flowers. There are a number of reasons why vernalization is important to plants, and it is also useful to be aware of when forcing plants to bloom indoors or to bloom earlier than they usually do. Defective Vernalization Symptoms- If the defective problem on plant Vernalization, if the no vernalization occurs in the plants, plants will never produce flowers.withot flowers we cannot expect fruit formation in the plants. How the Vernalization is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) Basically, vernalization is a process of flowering in the plants. So it has directly affect on the fruit development of the plants. Factors-The most important influence of temperature on flowering time is the vernalisation response. Many plant species, such as winter cereals, must go through a prolonged period of cold that winter conditions before flowering occurs 7. Dormancy Definition: A period in which a plant does not grow, awaiting necessary environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, nutrient availability. This is a time when plant go into sleep mode after its production season. Kiwifruit is one of the best example for this. After producing fruits in spring season it goes into dormancy stage in winter season. How the Dormancy is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) Dormancy is a important stage of the plants. It helps in the all other plant processes fruit development, flowering etc. DefectiveDormancy Symptoms- If the defective problem on plant Dormancy, Plant will not produce new growth and not available for next year. Factor- Temperature- Temperature has a great affect on the dormancy. In the high temperature, some plants cant survive in its dormancy stage. So its important that the suitable temperature available for the plants. Climate- Climate is also a key factor for dormancy, too much rainfall or too much cold environment can affect the dormancy stag of the plants. 8. Senescence Basically it means lifecycle of the plants. In this process plant goes through all the stages of lifecycle such as seedling vegetative etc. All living organisms have a definite life span. A plant, be it annual or perennial has a vegetative growth phase after germination. The formation of flowers or development of reproductive structures marks the arrival of reproductive phase. The plant becomes mature by this time. Defective Senescence Symptoms- If the defective problem on plant Senescence, The plant will look dull . Factors- Environmental factors, primarily photoperiod (daily length of darkness) and temperature, play important parts in governing senescence and death in plants. In annual plants, death is the natural conclusion of development; thus, conditions accelerating development automatically advance senescence.. 9. Fruit development Fruit has its beginnings in the pollination process. This process is the transfer of pollen from the male to the female part of the flower. The male is referred to as the anther, while the female is called the stigma. This process not only occurs inside the same flower, but the pollen is also spread to neighbouring flowers by the wind, animals and a variety of insects. Grains in the pollen erect a tube on the flower that travels all the way down into the female part of the plant. The female part of the plant is at the base of the pistil, which houses the developing pollen tube. The pollen tube will react with a ovule in the female part of the plant to fertilize an egg. The egg and the ovary develop together, and a sheath or protective layer is formed around a seed. The ovary itself becomes the actual fruit produced by the plant. Depending on the number of eggs per ovule, multiple ovaries can become fruits. In some flowers, there is only one seed or one ovule, producing only one fruit at a time. Each fruit contains a protective layer, water, nutrients and a seed. Some fruits will have numerous seeds that can be planted and harvested. Defective Fruit development Symptoms- If the defective problem on plant Fruit development, the size of the fruit is not good, or drop, the fruit discoloration can occur. How the Fruit development is related to other internal process (respiration, water and nutrient uptake, fruit development etc) As we all know that all plant processes, interrelated with each other. Fruit development very much depends on the flowering process. Factors- Following are the factors, which affects in the fruit development process. Such as Low temperature, early season fruit, Chilling sensitivity, the potential for physiological disorders, increased moisture loss, relatively higher temperatures. Plant growth regulators Hormones are chemical substances produced in small amounts in one tissue and transported to another tissue where they have an effect. They are chemical messengers which regulate growth. There are five important hormones which are found in nearly all seed plants and these coordinate the growth of the plant as a whole. Many of the effects of the external environment on development are mediated by the distribution of these hormones within the plant. 5 different type of plant regulators Auxin The main function of auxin is to help plants grow. Auxin stimulates plant cells to elongate, and the apical meristem of a plant is one of the main places that auxin is produced. Auxin is manufactured in shoot tips, embryos, fruit and young leaves. Auxin promotes the elongation of shoot tissue cells. Auxin is the hormone involved in geotropic responses of shoot tips to gravity. Cytokinin The presence of cytokinin will stimulate the differentiation of vascular tissue (eg xylem). Cytokinin stimulates cell division. Buds which are inhibited by apical dominance may be released by cytokinin. Cytokinin delays the ageing process and senescence, in leaves. Gibberellin Gibberellin is an important hormone in stem elongation. Many dwarf plants are the result of diminished gibberellin in the stem. Gibberellin also promotes bolting (Bolting is when agricultural and horticultural crops prematurely produce a flowering stem (or stems) before the crop is harvested), rapid elongation of the stem Element 2 Early and late maturity in Potatoes Potatoes vary in size, shape, colour, texture and time to maturity. Maturation time is the most important variable, because potato tubers grow best when soil temperatures range between 60 and 70 degrees. Early Maturity: Early varieties that mature in less than 90 days are good fits for any garden. Creamy, round Irish Cobbler, purple-skinned Caribe, and prolific Red Norland fall into this group, along with King Harry, which is resistant to Colorado potato beetles. Midseason varieties mature in 100 days or so, and include Yukon Gold and Red LaSoda, which is often the top-producing potato in warm climates. Late Maturity: Late varieties need 110 days or more of growing time, but they typically produce a heavy set of tubers that keep well in storage. Butte is an all-purpose brown-skinned potato that performs well when grown in the Midwest; Katahdin and Kennebec rule in the Northeast. In order to achieve our desired predetermined result we should do different type of horticulture activities. We should control pest and diseases. Apart from this, we should control the weeds. For example: in order to get out of season production we should grow our crop in greenhouse. We should maintain hygiene. In order to achieve early maturity we should grow early maturity new varieties. We should modify the soil as well as use fertilizers to increase the growth and production of the crop. Good irrigation and good air movement also give a boost to the internal plant process. It helps in the plant growth and production or crops. 2.1Describe how you achieve Early maturity in any chosen crop Chosen crop- Tomatoes In order to achieve early maturity of the Tomatoes crop, we can use early variety of the plants. These plants belongs to special; category of the plants, which can mature early than normal growing plants. So we can achieve early maturity of the crop by growing early maturity variety plants of selected crop. How to achieve early maturity: If we want to achieve early maturity in tomatoes than we have to grow early maturity verities of the tomato plants. In this way we can achieve early maturity in our selected crop 2.2 What is late maturity and how you achieve this in any crop. Late maturity: Late maturity means that delaying the plant process to achieve late maturity of the plant. For doing this we have to control the internal processes such as photosynthesis, water uptake. In order to reduce photosynthesis we should grow our crop or plant in a shady environment. How to achieve late maturity- In order to achieve late maturity in the plants, we should promote more vegetative stage of the crop. It can be done through by the use of nitrate fertilizer, which helps the plant to increase vegetative stage. 2.3 Describe what out of season production and how you achieve in chosen crop Selected Crop- Tomatoes Out of season production means that grow our crop in a season when conditions are opposite to grow the crop. For example producing tomatoes whole year by growing them inside a glasshouse. In the glasshouse we can control the environment, less chance of pest and diseases.   It can possible through using new varieties of crop or plants. In the glasshouse more sunlight and suitable temperature available for the plant which help the plant to grow quickly and produce the products. 2.4 Describe how you can achieve production outside normal growing climate areas. In order to achieve production outside normal climate, we have done some practices to achieve our goal. We can take example of Tomatoes. Tomatoes are commonly grown in summer. So, in order to achieve production in cold climate we have to use certain techniques which are mentioned below- Glass house Production- In order to grow tomatoes in colder climate, best way of growing tomatoes is inside a glasshouse. Its provide suitable temperature for the plants. Apart from this, we can also grow early maturity variety of the plants. In order to grow tomatoes in open field in cold climate we should cover our young plants. And we have to select area for planting which is surrounded by shelter. 2.5 Define crop yield and how you achieve optimum yield of any crop Yield- Yield is refers to the amount that how much production achieve through manipulating the plant processes. For example produce crops or plant products in of season. For example 200 kg/per hector potatoes has been increased by achieving early maturity of the crop. How to achieve optimum yield- Trimming- pruning and trimming is very important because with the help of pruning we can encourage the plants for new growth. Irrigation- Proper irrigation is needed for good growth of the plants. So its very important for internal plant processes. Pest and disease control- we should control pest and diseases in the crop. In this way, we can achieve optimum production of our crop. 2.6 Describe storage characteristics of any crop Chosen crop- Potatoes The storage means that keep the potatoes for a long period of time in a control environment. To store the potatoes we should keep them in a cool store. We should also maintain a suitable temperature to avoid humid conditions. Apart from this, we should also have an eye on the moisture of the cool store. In this way, we can store the potatoes for desired time, without any diseases and pests. Question-3 Chosen Crop- Kiwifruit In order to achieve predetermined results in kiwifruit crop. We have to perform certain activities. These activities are different and also done in different seasons. After harvesting the crop kiwifruit goes into dormancy stage. So this is the time when we have to start our activities. Pruning- In the process of pruning we cut the old kiwifruit canes, which are used to produce fruit in previous season. In this process we use different type of tools such as loppers, secateurs etc. After cutting down the old kiwifruit canes new canes are put on the wires and tied them with plastic clips. Vegetative Stage (summer)- After the pruning kiwifruit started to develop new leaves and buds in summer season. This is the time when, kiwifruit go through variety of activities such as bud thinning, tipping, zero leaf cutting, male plants pruning, girdling etc. In this season kiwifruit plants are in their vegetative stage and flourish with leaves and new shoots. Summer pruning also done in this season. Basically this is the process of cutting down the fruitless shoots from the plants. Fruit development Pollination- When both male and female kiwifruit plants started to produce flowers. It leads to the next process which is known as pollination. It can be done by two methods. But most of the kiwifruit growers use bees to promote pollination in plants. Honey bees took the pollen from the male flowers and put on the female flowers. The other method of pollination is spraying the pollen directly into the female plant flowers. Fertilisation- After the process of pollination, the next process is fertilisation. Basically this is process of fruit formation. Pollen goes into the ovary with the help of pollen tube which help in the fruit formation. Harvesting- When the fruit is completely developed and fulfil all the requirements of quality check, which is conducted by the pack house. After that fruit is ready for harvesting. In the process of harvesting the workers pick the fruits and loaded into the plastic or wooden bins. After that these bins are loaded into the truck and these trucks go into the pack house for packing. Storage and packing: Harvested kiwifruits store in cool store house. These cool stores are under the supervision of the pack house. The cool store staffs maintain a suitable temperature and environment for the plants. The packing of the fruits also happen in the pack house after packaging of the fruits in trays the kiwifruit is ready for export to the other countries by the companies. Question 4 Briefly explain the factors which influence the following plant processes Early maturity- In simple words the meaning of the early maturity means achieve early growth of the plants by using an early maturity variety of the crop. Following are the factors which influence early maturity. Factors- Light- Light is important for every plant. If the less light is available for the plant. The growth of the plant will stop. Because light is very important for the photosynthesis, which is a food making process of the plants. Temperature- High temperatures cause increased respiration sometimes above the rate of photosynthesis. This means that the products of photosynthesis are being used more rapidly than they are being produced. For growth to occur photosynthesis must be greater than respiration. Variety selection- The selection of variety is very important part for early maturity. So its important to select a good early maturity variety of our selected crop. Seed sowing- Seed sowing is also a factor which influence early maturity. So its important sows the seeds in a correct depth. Because deep seed sowing can delay the germination of the seeds Fertilizer- fertilizer is also an important factor. By using too much fertilizer it can lead the plants towards long vegetative stage. So while growing early maturity we have to use suitable fertilizers and avoid those fertilizers which delay early maturity. Late maturity- Late maturity means that encourage our plants for a long vegetative stage it can be done by fertilizers, pruning etc. Flowing are the factors. Factors- Climate- Climate has also a affect on the plants too much cold or too much warm climates can also affect on the growth of the plants. Fertilizer- Nitrogen fertilizers are commonly used to prolong the vegetative stage of the plants. So its important to put nitrogen fertilizer to get late maturity in our crop or plants. Pruning or trimming Pruning and trimming of the growing shoots also allows the plants to produce new leaves. So its also a key factor to get late maturity in the crops. Planting season- Planting season is also a key factor to achieve late maturity of the plants. So its important to plant the seeds in a suitable season Light- Too much light or less light can also affect the late maturity of the plants. Because light plays a important role in photosynthesis. Out of season production- Out of season production means produce the products in environment which is against the normal growing conditions. Following are the factors which influence Out of season production. Factors- Humidity- Humidity is important factor in out of season production of a crop. Too much humidity can affect the plant growth. Temperature- its important to maintain suitable temperature for the plants inside the glasshouse or plastic house because too much temperature can damage the plants. Greenhouse or plastic house growing- its important to grow out of season crops in a plastic house or greenhouse. Pest and disease control- We should control the weeds and pests. Production outside normal growing climate areas-  Ã‚   Production outside normal conditions means growing crops in conditions which are adverse to normal growing conditions. Factors- Water- Good and control water supply should be available for the plants in order to produce production in outside normal climate. Light- Light is also a key factor. So before growing the crop we should know that suitable light is available for the plants or not. Irrigation- Good irrigation system is also necessary for production outside normal growing season. Yield- Yield simple meaning is that production. It refers to the overall production of a crop from a piece of land. Following are the factors. Factors Temperature -High temperature have affect on the plants. It can reduce the quality of the fruits. Light- If the too much sunlight available to the fruits, it can cause burning spots to the fruit. Pest and disease Pest and disease control is also very important, good pest and disease control can result as a high production or yield. Irrigation Good irrigation system has also a important role in the production. Good water management also increase the production of the crop. Storage Characteristics- Storage characteristics means that suitable environmental conditions to store vegetables and fruits. Following are the factors. Factors Moisture- Its important to maintain suitable moisture in control suitable moisture in control environment because too much moisture can poor the quality of the stored fruits. Temperature- Temperature is also factor of a cool store. So its important to maintain a suitable temperature for stored products. 4.2 How would you use planning to determine which influence will be altered and by what amount to be manipulated that plant growth to meet predetermined results. Cultivation- Cultivation is very important before growing a plant or crop. Because in this process we break the upper layer of the soil. Its beneficial for the crop because with help of cultivation we can have good drainage, good water holding capacity and good soil aeration. Seed sowing After cultivation the next process is seed sowing. We should know about the good depth for sowing the seed. Because if we sow the seeds too deeply it can result delay of the seedling stage. Irrigation- After sowing the seeds good water management or good irrigation is very important. Too much water or less water can also have a effect on the growth of the plant. Excess of water can cause result poor soil structure. Pruning training- In vegetative stage pruning and trimming of the plants is very important because it helps to promote new growth and also help to remove dead parts or infected by any pest or disease. Weeding Removal of the weeds also a important part. Because weeds can grow faster than our crop and also increase the insect activities. Pest and disease control- pest and disease control is also needed because they can damage or kill the crop. So we need to use suitable insecticides or herbicides. Harvesting- Last and final stage of the crop is harvesting. For harvesting a crop we can use machines as well as labour also. The time of harvesting is vary according to the crop. Question-5 Name of the plant-Potatoes Prepare seeds- The seed potato needs to be prepared before planting. This takes 4 6 weeks. Lay the potatoes out in a single layer in a warm, sunny sheltered spot. The potatoes will turn green and sprouts will appear from the eyes of the potatoes. These eyes will grow into shoots. When the shoots are 3 4cm long, the potatoes are ready to plant. Just prior to planting, remove all but 3 of the thickest and healthiest sprouts. Planting- Plant seed potatoes after frosts have passed in early spring through to early summer. Seed potatoes are planted in furrows about 150mm deep. Plant each seed potato at least 250mm apart from each other. Lay the sprouted seed potato so that the sprouts are pointing up in the furrow then cover with soil, taking care not

Shamanism and the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia Essays -- Cultural Ant

Shamanism and the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia Shamanism plays a role within most tribal communities of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Within the community the shaman has many roles; one of his[1][1] main roles is that of a healer. The function of the shaman is closely related to the spirit world (Eliade 71). A shaman uses ecstatic trance to communicate with spirits. Spirits are integral to a shaman’s ability to heal within his community. â€Å"Shamanic activity is generally a public function† (Grim 11-12). Shamans are highly respected members of the community. â€Å"Shamans are of the ‘elect’;† recognition of a shaman can only be bestowed by the entire community (Eliade 7, 17). Without the community, a shaman is not a shaman and cannot function as such. An example of this situation would be vocational or self-made shamans, who are not chosen by the community, ancestry, or the underlying ‘numinous encounter’ to shamanize. The entire community does usually not recognize vocational shamans; they are not as effective as shamans and even viewed as frauds (Grim 45).[2][2] Therefore not anyone can be a shaman. â€Å"It is to the . . . shaman that tribal peoples turn for aid in dealing with the urgencies of life† (Grim 8). Due to the harsh Arctic environment, the shamanism of the indigenous peoples of Siberia is closely related to the struggle for existence in their world. The shaman is sought to aid the community in surviving by curing the sick and attacking or destroying evil spirits, among other roles (Hinnells 293-294). Within the community, the shaman has multiple roles including priest, magician, medicine man, mystic, poet and psychopomp (Eliade 4). One of his main roles is that of medicine man or healer. Accordin... ...d A Serpent’s Skin and A Bears Fur.† The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon: Siberian Folk Tales. Interlink Books. New York: 1991. 88-91. Waida, Manabu. â€Å"Problems of Central Asian and Siberian Shamanism.† Numen 30.2 (1983): 213-239. Notes: [1] ( The masculine pronoun is used throughout to describe the shaman. It is noted that not all shamans were males; in some tribes the majority of shamans (shamanesses) were female. However the masculine case is used from simplicity, since the gender role of the shaman is not being discussed in this case.) [2] For further discussion of numinous, see page 3 of this paper. [3] a main aspect of a shaman’s entrance into ecstatic trance [4] Most of this source covers the Ojibway Indians of the Great Lakes Region. However, Siberian Shamanism is used as a classical model from which Ojibway shamanism is derivied (56).

Writing Techniques in Art Spiegelmans Maus and Kurt Vonneguts Slaught

Writing Techniques in Art Spiegelman's Maus and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five BAM! ZONK! POW! ZAP! What images do these words bring to mind? For many people, they illicit scenes of Batman and his sidekick Robin, fighting their way through a legion of bad guys while arriving only seconds after their arch-villain has escaped. From these short, succinct, nonsense words, images of battles are painted over a much larger canvas; the delicate balance and constant struggle between good and evil is illustrated in black and white terms. Unlike comics or television, life does not fit within these binary opposites. In a war there are good guys, bad guys, and everything imaginable in-between. ZONK! POW! Did a bad guy get thrown into a pile of crates or did our hero get knocked out from behind? These simple words are not enough for us to distinguish the difference between good and bad or right and wrong. At the same time, no artist or writer or illustrator could ever hope to present a situation in its entirety. How would a sentence like, ‘the hero, who although he treats his wife in a derogatory manner, punched a bad guy to save a damsel in distress’ serve as a gauge of morals or justice? It is not the creator’s job to portray an entire event, but rather, to present the event in a way that the audience can understand and draw their own conclusions from. In Maus, Art Spiegelman does not make any apologies about what he includes or leaves out from his story. Maus is not meant to be a story that encompasses World War II or the Holocaust, but rather, a story about the life of his father, Vladek Spiegelman: I still want to draw the book about you†¦/The one I used to talk to you about†¦/About your life in Po... ... but rather, that it was humanity itself which suffered. It is interesting that we cannot definitively say that either Maus or Slaughterhouse Five was intended to be an anti-war book. For an author to have taken a side would have opened their book to more criticism and opposition than they already harbor. Instead, both Vonnegut and Spiegelman chose to mask their true meaning behind subtle hints and allusions. We cannot put either book into the black or white category of pro or anti-war. Even Vonnegut by his own admission states that, â€Å"all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen† (Vonnegut 2). Maus and Slaughterhouse Five are not about proving a point or pushing an agenda. Instead, they present the absolutes of good and evil in a simple and concise way so that we may be able to distinguish all of the many gradients that lie in-between.

The Walt Disney Company Case Study

BUSMRH 4490 Strategic Management Case 2 The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King Kaitlyn Kisiday Alex Maicks Chelsea Parker Jonathan Russ Ryan Terek 1. ) Why has Disney been successful for so long? Disney has sustained prolonged success for a variety of reasons. One source of success was the way Walt and Roy Disney decided to manage the company internally when the organization was founded in 1923. Disney emphasized teamwork, communication, and cooperation in the workplace to make employees feel valued and strengthen their commitment to the company.These values remain at the core of Disney’s corporate culture, and have been formally incorporated into their new-hire training program at the company’s corporate university. With the use of animation, Disney can control an entire entertainment experience, unlike actors, because cartoon characters and their environment can be created and controlled by imagination. Disney’s most distinct corporate skill, according to former CEO Michael Eisner, is the ability to manage that creativity. Eisner encouraged innovative ideas and was protective of the company’s creative efforts even at their earliest development.Emphasis on this development allowed Disney to take advantage of opportunities in the market and often become the first mover. Disney has proved successful at determining which advantages would be sustainable and which should only be temporary. The main contributors to prolonged success have been the results of the key strategic decisions made by the organization regarding diversification. Disney has used diversification to create additional sources of revenue beyond cartoon shorts and feature films by expanding vertically into television, theatre, retail, and the internet.Creating divisions outside production, such as Disney Music Company, Disneyland, Disney Cruises, and DisneyQuest, created cross-promotional opportunities among Disney’s products, services, and strengthened t he brand itself. Disney’s ability to effectively manage both vertical and horizontal integration into a wide array of business activities and projects continues to drive the company’s progress and profit. 2. ) What did Michael Eisner do to rejuvenate Disney? Specifically, how did he increase net income in his first four years?Michael Eisner entered Disney as CEO in 1984, and committed his efforts to producing annual revenue growth and return on stockholder equity in excess of 20%. He also pledged to strengthen the Disney brand and protect corporate values of quality, creativity, entrepreneurship, and teamwork. Believing that â€Å"managing creativity† was Disney’s most unique corporate capability, Eisner was to able harness Disney’s creative and innovative capabilities to maximize profits from new and existing operations. Rebuilding the strength of their television programming and films was an important part of this strategy.Disney increased its pr esence on network television to re-establish Disney as a producer of quality programs, and increase demand for Disney’s other entertainment ventures. The Disney Sunday Movie, debuted on ABC in 1986, and was followed by the popular Golden Girls on NBC, and production of syndicated non-network shows. Disney also increased their screen presence and generated revenue by selling older programs to other networks through a newly created syndication operation. A struggling movie division produced two films, held only 4% of box office share, and generated a profit of only a $1 million 1984 [Exhibit A, page 6].To increase film output, Eisner used the Touchstone label to compete in new segments of the film industry, predominantly comedies, without diminishing Disney’s core audience. These films were produced on moderate and closely managed budgets with intent to be profitable rather than to become the next box-office juggernaut. Disney also increased the output of their animated films though investment in new technology and human capital and the decision to release these films every 12 to 18 months, versus every 4 to 5 years.After four years, the Disney film division reached an averaged output of 15 to 18 films per year, produced the highest earning film in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and became the market leader with 19% box office share. Most impressively, income from the movie division grew from $1 million in 1984, to $34 million, $54 million, $131 million, and $186 million in each corresponding year. Income from Disney theme parks increased more than 200% during Michael Eisner’s first years, from $186 million in 1984 to $565 million in 1988 [Exhibit A, page 6].New national advertising, increased park capacity, expanded hours of operation, and increased ticket prices contributed to the short term increase, while investments in new attractions, event spaces, and hotel development would help sustain steady profits into the future. In 1984, income from consumer products totaled $54 million [Exhibit A, page 6]. The new leadership and direction of the company under Michael Eisner from that time renewed the strength of Disney’s brand equity. A stronger brand supported development in the consumer products division of the â€Å"retail as entertainment† concept.The Disney Store, launched in 1987, achieved twice the average rate of sales per square foot in the retail industry. By 1988, income from consumer products totaled $134 million, increasing by more than 140% during Eisner’s first years as CEO. Successful leadership by Michael Eisner at Disney’s top resulted in financial success at Disney’s bottom line. Disney’s net income increased from $242 million in 1984 to $885 million by 1988. Over the same period of time, income growth averaged 40% each year, and Return on Equity reached 24% and 25% in 1987 and 1989, respectively. 3. Does Disney pursue vertical integration? Apply transaction co st economics to understand Disney’s vertical expansion decisions. Disney pursued vertical integration in a variety of ways. Aside from cartoon shorts and animation films, Disney expanded to enter the television, internet, and theme park markets with creations such as Disneyland, DisneyQuest, and the Disney Channel. Disney saw the internet as a possible distribution channel for its film library and its sports and news programming. Disney believed that the internet would soon be where entertainment in the home consolidates.Disney also pursued forward vertical integration. Disney ended their relationship with distribution partner RKO in 1953 and created Buena Vista to save distribution costs for their animated films. Disney was able to save ? of their gross revenues due to this decision to distribution their movies themselves. Disney also further improved the bottom line by avoiding exorbitant salaries by developing the studio's own pool of talent. Disney also employed forward i ntegration through the initiation of Disney Stores.This provided Disney with a wholly owned retail outlet to distribute product through that generated sales per square foot at twice the average rate of traditional retail. Disney Stores allowed Disney total control of customer experience and brand management in that space. The EuroDisney project is an example of Disney’s use of vertical disintegration. Although responsible for the design, development, and operation of the park, Disney did not have a majority ownership. Investment from outside parties limited their initial investment and share of risk.Disney chose to give up sole claim to the profits of EuroDisney in exchange for a fixed percentage of ticket sales and revenues. In many its operations, Disney employs a vertical integration strategy because it eliminates much of the transaction costs that come from working with the market, such as the possibility that the markets may fail. Creating contracts is another cost, as c ontracts take time and are difficult to form in a way that satisfies both parties involved, in an attempt to cover all possible contingencies. In addition, companies have their own, unique motives.When working in the market, there is always risk these other companies will work in their own favor as they come across opportunities that only benefit them. Also, Disney is very committed to holding to their values. This may create another cost in the form of conflict because they may come across differing views and cultures with other companies that do not run their business the same way. 4. ) What corporate strategy does Walt Disney employ? Identify and explain all types of diversification/integration within Disney’s overall corporate strategy.Disney employs both vertical and horizontal integration as part of their corporate strategy. The Walt Disney Company pursues a highly differentiated strategy, operating primarily in five distinct segments: Theme Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products, Media Networks, Studio Entertainment, and Internet and Direct Marketing. Theme Parks and Resorts is Disney’s second highest grossing segment. Included under this segment are all Disney Theme Parks, with the exclusion of EuroDisney, and all other resorts and resort activities.Sports teams, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Anaheim Angels, as well as regional entertainment facilities like ESPNZone and DisneyQuest, are within this business line. Media networks, Disney’s highest grossing business line, can be broken down into two subcategories: Broadcasting and Cable Networks ; International. Broadcasting consists of ABC Television and Radio Network along with associated TV and Radio stations. Cable Networks and International includes ESPN, Disney Channel, Toon Disney, and SoapNet. Various newspapers and periodicals acquired through the ABC merger also fall into this business line.Studio Entertainment is a very diverse segment including: Television, Film, Home Vid eo, theatrical, and music production, as well as, distribution and syndicated TV. Disney has created or acquired multiple movie production companies including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, and Miramax, each company producing a very distinct product with a separate target audience. A similar pattern is identifiable with Disney’s various music production companies; each produces a distinct product with a distinct target market. Television production includes program development in the form of live-action, animation, and pay television services.Consumer Products consists primarily of licensing arrangements with various retailers, promoters, and publishers, where Disney allows third parties to use â€Å"Walt Disney†, Disney characters, and other intangible properties for specific purposes. Consumer Products also includes Disney Stores, Disney’s direct retail outlet. Finally, Disney also produces books, magazines, and audio and computer software for entertainment and educational purposes. Internet and Direct Marketing includes all of Disney’s’ online activities as well as the Disney catalogue. This includes entities such as the Disney catalogue, ESPN. om, Disney. com, GO. com, Etc. Aside from all the aforementioned business activities, Disney is or has been involved in many more projects and lines of business. Disney started an in-house travel company to work with travel agents and airlines to draw customers to Disney Parks and Resorts. Disney created the Disney Development Company to find the best way to utilize Disney’s unused acreage. Disney also has been involved in timeshares, night clubs, theatre operations, Disney On-Ice, and the Disney Parade. 5. ) Evaluate the benefits and costs of each type of diversification.From this analysis state and justify (through quantitative analysis) whether Disney is creating or destroying value via diversification? After analysis, Disney has an obvious benefit of diversification, m ainly because it allows them to expand their initial business idea into several different markets. Disney was able to take a relatable set of characters and ideas in the film industry, and not only maximize the profits from those characters in the form of amusement parks, resorts, and other entertainment facilities, but also expand their business into other markets which may seem nrelated. While the initial start-up cost and recurring operating costs of theme parks, studios, and media networks are high, they have proven to be one of Disney’s highest grossing business ventures. For example, in 2000 theme parks generated $6. 803 billion in revenue and operating income of $1. 62 billion [Exhibit A, page 6]. These theme parks help create and support much of the Disney brand that people think of today, which is one of their strongest sources of value. In the media networks, Disney earned $9. 615 billion revenue in 2000 and produced an operating income of $2. 98 billion. The benefi t of this venture is that Disney is able to spread their brand across the country by reaching cable audiences with the Disney Channel and ESPN stations, as well as local viewers, after their purchase of ABC. Once again, the costs and risk of creating a channel and buying a major television channel comes with high cost, yet Disney is still able to make a profit from this segment of their business. While the film industry had revenues of $5. 994 billion, expenses for the segment are high as they only saw an operating income of $110 million.This is one of Disney’s original lines of business, but it appears Disney has peaked in this segment. Even though profits aren’t as high as other segments of their business, the benefits of this segment still outweigh their costs. Additionally, due to the relatively cheap cost of consumer products line, in 2000 Disney was able to record an operating income of $455 million and with revenues of $2. 622 billion. Disney benefits by selling products related to their highly desired brand, and for a relatively low cost.Unfortunately for Disney, their internet and direct marketing line saw an operating loss of ($402) during 2000, the fourth consecutive loss for this segment. Disney once again tried to carry success over from their well established brand into a new segment. However, the costs and demands of owning and running an internet and direct marketing line appear to be outside of Disney’s core competencies. Even though they may have foresight to predict the importance of e-commerce in retail, Disney has yet to make a profit of this segment.Further supporting the benefits of Disney’s diversification is Disney’s Index on the S;P 500, having reached over 1,000 for the last three years of data provided (1998-2000. ) These marks were the highest Disney has ever reached in this Index, according to the data provided, and achieved at the height of Disney’s diversification. This upholds the posit ion that Disney does produce value through its diversification into many different business ventures. 6. ) Which expansion modes have Disney utilized to implement its corporate strategy?Use facts from the case to identify the benefits and costs of each expansion mode. Disney has pursued three primary forms of expansion: Vertical expansion, Horizontal expansion, and Geographic expansion. Vertical and Horizontal expansion refer to Disney’s various product and business lines, and geographic expansion refers to Disney’s physical presence. Disney owns or has licensed parks on three different continents. By expanding geographically, Disney has become one of the most recognized brands in the world, in large part due to their physical presence.By having operations in multiple counties in several parts of the world, Disney is able to gain expertise and knowledge that can help it more closely connect it to its target market. Creating new parks, resorts, or other entertainment fa cilities carries huge initial start-up costs and recurring fixed costs. It also adds numerous employees and operations that can become difficult to manage efficiently. Expanding horizontally allows firms to take advantage of economies of scale by lowering the average cost per unit by spreading fixed costs over greater production.Another key advantage is the potential to gain new distribution channels. Following the ABC merger, Disney gained over 20 radio stations and many print media outlets. Seemingly, the primary motivation for Disney to integrate horizontally appears to be for economies of scope. Economies of scope is the utilization of a wider array of available resources to new create synergies. After Disney merged with ABC, they were able to utilize economies of scope through cross-promotion. They could advertise and tie-in Disney products on the acquired ABC media outlets and vice versa.Another advantage of vertical integration, made obvious through the merger with ABC, is th e gain in market share. Though not stated explicitly, it’s not difficult to image that Disney may have gained substantial power in negotiations with cable and satellite television providers after merging with ABC. A major cost of horizontal integration comes from a new, bloated company. Departments become redundant across the organization, and the company becomes inefficient. Acquisitions like this also are accompanied by months and months of paperwork that ultimately distracts from the company’s primary operations.Disney and ABC were forced to mesh together two distinct corporate cultures. This can irritate and de-motivate employees, ultimately causing further inefficiency. Vertical expansion can create better coordination within the supply chain. When Disney created its own distribution company, Buena Vista, they were able to directly control all operations involved in the distribution of their media, eliminating the potential costs of negotiations and hold-ups. Anot her benefit captured by creating Buena Vista was the ability to capture downstream profit margin.Vertical expansion could eventually lead to Disney gaining more core competencies. Achieving lower unit cost, better coordination, and increase in core competencies create higher entry barriers for potential competitors. Vertical integration can also cause a firm to become too large and complex to efficiently manage. Owning and operating completely different business’ under the same corporation requires expertise in many different areas be successful, which can be a substantial cost. Exhibit AThe Walt Disney Company Financial Data, 1983 – 2000 ($ millions)