Cis 101 Quiz

Exam Name_ ______ Chapter 6 MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1) The main advantages of a notebook computer are all of the following EXCEPT: 1) __D____A) Wireless Internet access is easy to install.B) They take up little space.C) They are portable.D) You get more speed for a lower price.2) The main disadvantages of a desktop computer as compared to notebooks are the following EXCEPT: 2) __D____A) A desktop computer is harder to move around.B) A desktop computer requires more space.C) A desktop computer is difficult to transport for repair.D) A desktop computer is more expensive.3) CPU speed is measured in: 3) __D____A) nanoseconds.B) megabytes.C) bits per second (bps).D) Hertz.4) The amount of RAM recommended for most systems today is measured in: 4) __D____A) Megahertz.B) Gigahertz.C) KB.D) GB.5) ________ are fast becoming the most preferred means of portable storage. 5) __D____A) DVDsB) CDsC) Floppy disksD) Flash drivesRead also Quiz Week 46) All of the following can be connected to your computer through a port EXCEPT: 6) ___C___A) scanner.B) an external hard drive.C) RAM.D) a printer.7) Each of the following is a type of port EXCEPT: 7) ___C___A) FireWire.B) Ethernet.C) FSB.D) USB.8) An expansion card that translates binary data into images is a(n): 8) ___D___A) game card.B) sound card.C) audio card.D) video card.9) A MIDI port allows you to connect: 9) ___C___A) scanners.B) notebooks.C) electronic musical instruments.D) digital cameras.10) The technology that transmits data between two devices using infrared light waves is called: 10) _B____A) Wi-Fi.B) IrDA.C)FireWire.D) Bluetooth.TRUE/FALSE. Write ‘T' if the statement is true and ‘F' if the statement is false.11) The CPU is located on the motherboard. 11) __T___12) The CPU is the temporary storage location for all the data and instructions the computer needs when it is running. 12) __F___13) Accessing data from the hard drive to send to the CPU is faster than accessing data from RAM. 13) __F___14) Hard drives have the largest storage capacity of any stora ge device. 14) __T___15) The main distinction between a desktop and a notebook is Internet connectivity. 15) __T___16) CPU stands for computer processing unit. 16) __F___17) When there is not enough RAM installed in your system, the system becomes memory bound. 17) __T___18) A sound card is attached to the inside of your computer's speaker. 18) __F___19) RAM is your computer's permanent storage space for data that is entered from the keyboard. 19) __F___20) The amount of memory your video card needs depends on what you want to display on your monitor. 20) __T___SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.21) The time it takes a storage device to locate stored data and make it available for processing is called ________ time. 21) _Access Time__22) RAM is an example of ________ storage because when the power is off, RAM is cleared out. 22) _Temporary___23) The technology that uses radio waves to send data wirelessly over short dist ances is ________. 23) __Bluetooth Technology__24) USB stands for ________. 24) _Universal Serial Bus_25) The primary circuit board of the computer system is the ________. 25) _Motherboard_

Compare and contrast the arbitration laws of two countries Essay

The significant increase in the role of international trade in the economic development of nations over the last few decades has been accompanied by a considerable increase in the number of commercial disputes as well. Today rapid globalization of the economy and the resulting increase in competition has led to an increase in commercial disputes. At the same time, however, the rate of industrial growth, modernization, and improvement of socio-economic circumstances has, in many instances, outpaced the rate of growth of dispute resolution mechanisms Keeping in mind the broader goal of exploring links between the quality of legal performance, this assignment is an attempt to critically evaluate arbitration in India as a legal institution and to judge the growth and development of the same and to see the exact footing of India in the international front a simultaneous comparison of the arbitral laws of USA to that of India has also been made. In this assignment, the evolution of arbitration law and practice in India has been explored. This assignment is divided into three parts Part 1 explores the evolution of Arbitral laws in USA and India, the underlying idea behind this is to see the process through which arbitration came into being and how the old is the law and its due development in the respective countries. Part 2 explores the present arbitral laws in light of The Federal Arbitral Act and The Arbitration and conciliation Act. Part 3 compares the laws and arbitral process in India with that of USA this part shows the similarity and distinction of the laws in both the countries and also highlights the common meeting point of both the laws. HISTORY OF ARBITRATION LAW IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Native Americans used arbitration as a means of resolving disputes within and between tribes long before Europeans journeyed to America’s Atlantic shores.However the use of arbitration was introduced in America by the revolutionary war by the colonists who had had business experience in Europe. The use of arbitration in the ports of Europe was already known at that time among maritime and trade businesses. The experience of arbitration as a means of dispute resolution which minimized conï ¬â€šict and allowed continuation of the business relationship was brought to Atlantic by the people coming to live and work in North America. In England, arbitration is a much older concept than the common law system, which the United States courts later adopted. In fact, in England arbitration was used as a common means of commercial dispute resolution from as long as 1224. George Washington, the first President of USA incorporated an arbitration clause in his will that basically stated that, ‘ if any dispute should arise over the wording of the document that a panel of three arbitrators would be implemented to render a final and binding decision to resolve the dispute.’ In the ï ¬ rst decade of the 20th Century, several major trade groups applied arbitration beneï ¬ ts of simplicity, speed and minimal enmity. When New York’s The Association of Food Distributors, Inc. (originally known as the Dried Fruit Association of New York) was formed, its bylaws included an arbitration panel for the resolution of disputes. This was done to reduce the risk that its disagreeing members in case of any dispute and after its settlement would find ,themselves unable to resume their business relationship.1 Until the early 1920s, the only law governing arbitration proceedings in the United States came from court decisions, some dating made in the cases in17th and 18th Centuries. In 1925, The Federal Arbitration Act was enacted. It was a recognition of the several beneï ¬ ts of arbitration and it thereby established a national policy which promoted arbitration.It was initially designed to overcome the judicial hostility that was existing towards arbitration which had evolved from the English courts. With the increasing industrialization and growth and development the reluctance of people to adopt arbitration decreased. With the rise in number of disputes mainly involving â€Å" a transaction of commerce† AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION was established by Moses Grossman in 1926 and an era of Alternate Dispute Resolution was started by Charles Bernheimer2 . The National Labour Realtion Act passed in 1930 marked the a steep rise in the concept and usage of Arbitration in USA. The second woeld war was the turning point for arbitration law in America the economic depression and arising conflict led to more and more dispute settlement by means of arbitration by the War Labour Board. A major milestone regarding Arbitration Law was Achieved in the 1970 when when the Uniform Convention on the  Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (The New York Convention)3 became law in the United States by the addition of Chapter 2 to the Federal Arbitration Act.This convention is still effective and provides for International Arbitration Awards which is considered to be more reliable and consistent than the existing court judgement framework in the country. Bibliography LINKS REFERRED: Alternative dispute resolution – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Development and Practice of Arbitration in India –Has It Evolved as an Effective Legal Institution? – CDDRL www.uniformlaws.org/shared/docs/arbitration/arbpswr.pdf www.kaplegal.com/upload/pdf/arbitration-law-india-critical-analysis.pdf www.williamwpark.com/documents/Arbitral Jurisdiction IALR.pdf Conflict resolution research – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia www.utexas.edu/law/centers/cppdr/portfolio/2010 Symposium/Stipanowich New Litigation Final.pdf www.kaplegal.com/upload/pdf/arbitration-law-india-critical-analysis.pdf unctad.org/en/Docs/edmmisc232add38_en.pdf STATUTES REFRRED: The Abitration and Conciliation Act 1996 The Federal Arbitration Act 1925 United States Arbitration Act The Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1940

Evaluate feyerabend's argument that society needs to be defended Essay

Evaluate feyerabend's argument that society needs to be defended against science. to what extent does science deserve the specia - Essay Example In these two books, he expresses and defends his ideas on the nature of scientific methods, concluding that there are no ground rules on governing scientific methods. He opposed the idea of having a single rigid scientific process to which all scientific research is carried out with the argument that this would make science predictable thus denying it the opportunity to evolve (Feyerabend 2000). In this study, Feyerabend shows that new findings in science, on which theories are later founded, have enormous influence from past events, theoriesand facts. Scientists researching in a new area of study do not only apply old scientific methods in fresh observations but they also observe the field under study under the mental influence of old theories and already existing facts. To this effect, much of their findings will be subjected towards what they already know in this field, such that their new work appears to marchnew observations to old facts and while improving them to come up with new theories. This process shows high levels of falsification in science, where scientists will do anything to defend their theories and ensure that they fit in with significant facts to avoid dismissal (Feyerabend 2000).With these and other arguments, Feyerabend uses philosophical facts and methods to show reasons why the society should be defended from science. This paper evaluates Feyerabend’s argument that the society should be protected from science, and the degree to which science warrant the special epistemic status it enjoys. The paper achieves its aim by looking at science and society, and then narrows down to the effect of science on eduation and religion. Through this, this essay will cover the need of protecting the society from science and the significance of science in such areas, which warrant its use in them. Science and Society- Scientific Methods Feyerabend developed an anarchistic philosophy of science. Anarchism is a political philosophy in which all forms of state authority are viewed as undesirable and unnecessary. Anarchists advocate for a free society that is based on voluntary participation in activities, and freedom of association between individuals and groups. Anarchism involves opposing the influence of authority and hierarchies that affect human interaction within a society within a state. These societies advocate for a society with no hierarchies and have no influence from state institutions. Feyerand advocated for separation of the state from science in the same manner that religion is detached from the state in the modern world (Feyerabend 2000). He envisioned a society where all traditions have equivalent treatment with equal privileges in accessing attention and central power. The period of the late 90’s was when science was honourable and viewed as a great privilege. Scientific facts were treated with great reverence to the point where individuals sacrifices their traditional and cultural believes Feyerand thou ght that too much credit was given to science in a situation where the society was not fully equipped with enough information and facts on the true nature of science. The society was therefore, exposed to science without proper information on the traditions, theories and functionalities of science. This was done since it was a new

The fundamentality of Holdens alienation-- a form of self protection Essay

The fundamentality of Holdens alienation-- a form of self protection to resist the process of maturity - Essay Example The book was banned in certain communities, however, because of Salinger's free language and frequent use of profanity. Catcher in the Rye is a book about an adolescent boy caught between desire to appear grown-up and suave, while at the same time being repulsed by what he feels is phoniness in the adult world. The novel represents Holden Caulfield's attempts to come to terms with both of these polarities. Throughout the novel, the reader is presented time and time again with Holden's revolving patterns-his attempt to connect and his habit of alienating himself both from the adult world and people he meets. This essay will take a look at Holden's patterns of alienation, which in the writer's opinion represent his attempt to avoid the process of maturity. By constantly 'running away' Holden manages to evade the demands and pressures The novel describes a period of time of three days in Holden Caulfield's life. Holden sums it up in his talk with the psychiatrist: "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." (The Catcher in the Rye, 1) "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth," (1) This first interaction that we witness already sets forth some of Holden's patterns. Holden anticipates what the psychiatrist will ask him, but has no desire to talk about details. This is one of Holden's repeating patterns throughout the novel-he reveals only as much as he sees fit, but rarely does he tell the whole truth. He does not feel comfortable revealing his inner self to an adult, and we will see this again and again in the novel. But his attitude about sharing is not limited to adults only; Holden often "shoots the bull" with his peers as well, but his words are evasive. The bottom line of his resistance to self-disclosure is that he does not feel comfortable in the world. In fact, he feels that he is a part of the world in which he feels he does not really belong. This is often a typical adolescent attitude, but what sets Holden apart from his peers is that he searches for the truth, the truth about himself and the truth connected to innocence. Holden's story starts on "the day [he] left Pencey Prep" (The Catcher in the Rye, 2). There is a football game going on, but Holden does not participate. He instead wishes to feel some kind of good-bye as he is leaving the school. Holden is getting kicked out as he did not "apply [himself]" (4) enough to the subjects. His non-committal attitude towards the school work might be puzzling to the reader, as he is very bright, but it reveals his deep resistance to "play the game" of life by the rules set forth by others. He does not believe

Compare and contrast King Gilgamesh with Enkidu Essay

Compare and contrast King Gilgamesh with Enkidu - Essay Example Actually, it was to foil Gilgamesh that the gods created Enkidu, purposely to bring balance to the city of Uruk, which Gilgamesh’s abuse of power terrorizes. Thus Enkidu becomes Gilgamesh other self – a reflection of his weakness, as Enkidu made him painfully realize his inherent limitation as a human – his mortality, which drove him to seek eternal life. This, according to Davis (2000) is the underlying question in the epic: â€Å"Why have the gods withheld eternal life from humanity?† (p. 70). â€Å"Gilgamesh, where are you wandering? The life that you are seeking all around you will not find. When the gods created mankind they fixed Death for mankind, and held back Life in their own hands.† (Kovacks, 1989, p. 85) And it was in his search for eternal life, as he challenges death, that the answer to this question is revealed. The gods denied humanity of eternal life, because what makes human life precious, thus meaningful is no other than death. Af ter Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh desire to escape of death gave him the reason to live. It is also his fear of death that transformed Gilgamesh from a ruthless ruler to a responsible one, by which he left behind a legacy that outlived him. As Brown (1996) explained, â€Å"without death [Gilgamesh’s] life would be meaningless, and the adventures that make up the epic would disappear. In celebrating Gilgamesh†¦ we celebrate that which makes us human.† (para. 6) On the other hand, Gilgamesh is Enkidu’s strength, since with the elders entrusting Gilgamesh to his care implies recognition of Gilgamesh’s weakness of the wilderness. As such, serving Gilgamesh has given Enkidu his worth. Gilgamesh, do not put your trust in (just) your vast strength, but keep a sharp eye out, make each blow strike its mark! 'The one who goes on ahead saves the comrade.'1 'The one who knows the route protects his friend.' Let Enkidu go ahead of you; he knows the road to the Cedar Forest, he has seen fighting, has experienced battle. Enkidu will protect the friend, will keep the comrade safe. Let his body urge him back to the wives (?). (Kovacks, 1989, p. 25) Gilgamesh and Enkidu although sharply different are very much alike. If Gilgamesh is a civilized man born two-thirds god and one-third human in the city of Uruk, yet acts uncivilly and inhumanely, killing the sons and raping the daughters of his people, on the other hand, Enkidu is a primitive man born akin to a wild beast, yet acts with compassion with the beasts whom he grew with, protecting them from trappers and freeing them whenever trapped (Kovacks, 1989, pp. 4, xix). Such difference portrays the contrast between the civilized and the primitive. That civilization, as Brown (1996) noted, transforms the primitive man with no return, corrupting his innocence and weakening him, yet giving him wisdom to see life beyond the wilderness (para. 9-10) allowing him to grow and enjoy the luxuries that c ivilization could offer to life like wine, women, and comfort. Though born and raised differently, both similarly possess super-human physical strengths that made them both feared: Gilgamesh by his people and Enkidu by the trapper. Thus both are to be tamed: Gilgamesh by the people of Uruk to live peacefully, whereas, Enkidu by the tra

Eye witness account Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Eye witness account - Assignment Example There are no tables, no seats, just a long table. The darkness sets in, Kim is sent to work in the chief’s house. He brings leftovers home. The family eats them up hungrily and happily that they can get extra food. As days pass, Kim has scars, he is abused by the chief’s boys. The family suffers malnutrition. They look thin and sickly. The new people do not converse, everyone runs their life and does their job. They work for more than twelve hours a day in community gardens and rice fields. Twice a week they meet for a meeting under the chief for an hour or more. The Angkar government is all they hear of. Landmines are on the edges of the place to protect the people. If people are sent to work there, they are blown off and soldiers shoot them to kill. No religion is practiced. All areas of worship are destroyed. The temple ruins are full of art, animals of the wild, gods and goddesses sculptured and drawn. Monks are killed if they do not convert to Angkar. The working hours increase and young men are forcefully recruited to be soldiers. Khouy is forced to marry a young girl to avoid recruitment. Soldiers rape young women and the families can do nothing. The slavery and bondage goes

STIGMA and prejudice can have a big impact on the lives of people Essay

STIGMA and prejudice can have a big impact on the lives of people dealing with mental illness - Essay Example In addition, the paper will allow an in-depth analysis of the ways treatment can be provided to schizophrenic people. Understanding the Peculiar Terms In literal terms, schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which an individual who breaks down his or her thought process depending upon the emotional experience. Schizophrenia is greatly characterized by a number of factors of which stigma is one with profound impact (Lucas & Phelan, 2012). Stigma is referred to as resistance by public and person’s own attitude towards schizophrenic situation. Also to note is the fact that critical attitude have created notions and prejudice in societies where it has become critical for the schizophrenic patients. Herein, prejudice means an act of decision-making without making any necessary investigation into the issue (Ries, Miller, & Fiellin, 2009). According to the article entitled, â€Å"STIGMA and prejudice can have a big impact on the lives of people dealing with mental illness†, peo ple with mental illness have delayed early treatments because they have been under severe stigmatic fears. The questions remain regarding the factors which have rather created the fear of stigma among mentally ill person to a high degree (Heath, 2013). As a matter of fact, the factors involved with stigma against schizophrenic people are no different from other mental sickness such as depression, anxiety, hypertension etc (Knifton & Quinn, 2013). Public Stigma There are a number of factors and issues which have made stigma and prejudice a critical barrier for people with mental illness in seeking early treatment. General public involved in stereotyping and prejudice making stigma as a critical hindrance point against people with mental illness, especially patients with schizophrenia, include employers, relatives, family, friends and service providers. Each set of these people have maintained different attitudes and behaviors against mentally ill person. It is one true fact that almo st every person in the world has one or more mental problems that they deal with each day. Some of them reach to a higher degree of mental state which is probably treatable when they are provided a normal daily routine with maintained social interactions with other members of the societies (Goffman, 2009). It has often been noted that employers deny opportunities to employees with mental illness. This takes away job and accommodation from a person. It will not be incorrect to state that such an attitude towards mentally ill person creates an air of stigma in the society. This clearly gives an idea that a person who might be aware of his or her symptoms indicating schizophrenia would not opt for treatment from a psychiatrist because of the fear of stigma (Osuji, 2012). Thus, it can be said that employers play a major role in creating stigma for people with mental illness. Stigma, often called as social distancing has been noted in different walks of life. Be it relatives who would no t like to associate with a schizophrenic person. In addition it is expected of inconsiderate relatives that they would make it more critical for the person with mental illne

Traits of a Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Traits of a Leader - Essay Example The creation of an image can be learned, and should be part of your constant education. Your actions also show what type of leader you are; if you are effective you're your message, and whether or not your peers and employees with stand with you. Unwillingness to "walk the talk" portrays a dictatorship and your employees' resistance will be seen. Leading by doing is a more effective, powerful way in expressing what needs to be done in the company, and that you are not afraid of doing it yourself. While not every management position provides this opportunity, your people should know you would do whatever it takes to do the job right. The image portrayed will be one of strong character and dedication. Your company will gain respect, new customers, and stronger appeal for investors. The image of the leader of an organization is the image of the company. Is your image the one you want the world to see If not, change what needs to be changed. Do you know who you are as a leader What actions are you willing to take What actions are you willing to avoid If you lead, would you follow where you were going Creating a leadership image is the ability to ask yourself these questions. How you speak, act, direct, advise, and ask for advice demonstrates the leader you are (or are not). Elizabeth I essentially judge... She created the life she wanted, the leader she wanted to be, and the Queen a country followed. You must create the image you want or someone will create it for you. Learning from mentors, both in person and through reading, cause you to think, act, and become the leader you want to become. The greatest tribute to competent, effective leaders with legacies is duplicate their actions within your own life. Incorporating the best of their legacy into your own life causes better decisions and reduces the mistakes. It will also offers a frame of reference on how to advise a peer, direct an employee, and lead your organization, the same as asking someone in person. Do not be afraid to ask for assistance when you need it, and demand it from the best. Vulnerability in leadership causes personal and professional growth. When unclear of your decision's impact, ask for advice from someone you trust. Affects of Change Evolution, great for adaptations in nature, is also beneficial in business and leadership. Change and growth are advantageous when they are evolutionary and not radical. Utilizing the procedures and protocols that work and adapting or altering the processes that do not, can push your company forward by leaps and bounds. However, change management as a fix is risky, given that you are radically removing and replacing a lot of what does not work in an organization. Internally you will feel resistance and resentment instead of easing into transition. As a leader you want your people to work with you not against your every decision. Realization of what you already have working for you and integration of the new is less traumatic and foreign to people, and adjustments will be smooth. Elizabeth I

Environmental Scan Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environmental Scan Paper - Essay Example Evaluation of the internal and external environments is then followed by crucial decisions regarding long and short term goals and finally organizes for the implementation of the plan of action. This writing describes the internal and external environments of Lego and Harley Davidson companies using an environmental scan. The argument of this writing is to carefully examine, evaluate and analyze both the internal and external environments of Lego and Harley Davidson that enable them gain competitive advantage in their respective industries. Lego is a company that has been successful in the toy and over 150 different types of products for the last 60 years and above. Lego Company has remained successful because of her great global and competitive strategies it has employed. LEGO Group has strived to beat her competitors in the industry due to her initiative of embracing new technology. Internal Environment According to Metcalf & Lafranco (2013), inbound logistics which emphasizes on r aw material is fundamental in the company’s operations. It acquires her main bulk of chemical materials from Lanxess, a German company which provides standardized ingredients without any bottleneck that may interfere with Lego’s company. Lego further focuses on her product’s future demands by ensuring proper product mix. ... The company’s patented plastic ingredient ensures durable product and desirable colors as well as adherence to the European CE-labeling thus ensuring conformation with the European Union legislation (Hjuler & Robertson, 2009). Additionally, Lego has outsourced her distribution to DHL Excel Supply Chain in Eastern Europe hence reducing excess capacity during summer when sales are low. It further helps them to concentrate in the production services and letting experts do her distributions. Lego has also diversified her operations such as entering into a strategic partnership with organizations such as Lucas Arts and Warner Bros that has enabled Star Wars and Harry Porter act as the savior of Lego (Metcalf & Lafranco, 2013). Hjuler & Robertson (2009), posit that several businesses combinations that Lego has entered itself in make it enjoy indirect marketing thus contributing to their dramatic increase in sales. The company has been expanding her production facility closer to thei r customers as well as numerous promotional strategies such as conventional media and philanthropic charity. The company also uses superior prices and avoids any engagement in price strategy and associates her high prices with better quality. It has also integrated some of her programs with educational institutions as a way of improving her products. External Environment Considering Lego’s bargaining power, her significant supplier is within the chemical market which is very competitive thus reducing the supplier’s bargaining power. The company has categorized her suppliers based on riskiness hence making their largest suppliers to be in low risk countries and smaller group of suppliers in high risk countries. Companies in the toy industries including Lego have ensured low

Technology Assessment Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Technology Assessment Plan - Research Paper Example 1.2 IT Management Structure The IT management structures comprises of for management posts with hierarchical functional delegation flow from top down ward. The management consist of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as Todd Hoppens; Chief Information Officer(CIO) as Jared Campbell; Chief Technical Officer (CTO) as Felix Yanez; and finally IT VP as Nicholas Williams. Apart from the management team, there are implementation teams or IT experts that execute the technology plan. A reporting chart 1.3 Technology Plan Goals A technology roadmap is a plan that complement short-term and long-term objectives with precise technology solutions to assist meet those goals or objectives. It is a strategy that is applicable to a new product or procedure, or to an up-and-coming technology. Technology is very dynamic and ToJa & FeNi Corporation cannot remain on business if they do not capture new innovation of chocolate production. The objective of this plan is to recognize the IT Infrastructure requirem ents for the next 2 years for ToJa & FeNi Corporation by providing (Bolan, & Cullin, 2007): An inventory of current technology assets. IT Infrastructure documentation identifying future needs. A prioritized plan, including a budget, for addressing these needs. 1.4 Plan Review The technology plan is a responsibility of the ToJa & FeNi Corporation management and IT department. The CEO, CIO, CTO and IT VP are responsible for the plan execution. Technological review and update must be done as soon as a new technology emerges. So the company must always budget for technology upgrade. Innovation subsection must be created to assess technologies emergence and advise the management with proper recommendation. 2 Executive Summary The technology plan strategy of ToJa & FeNi Corporation involves: defining the accessible technology strategy; identifying the requirement; design, develop and purchase necessary technology; implement and train the staffs; and finally maintaining and continue learni ng. Technology plan is essential for the growth of the business. By focusing on its strengths, its major customers, and the fundamental values necessary, ToJa & FeNi Corporation will augment sales progressively in its first two years after technology implementation, while also sustaining the gross margin on sales, with a focus on  cash management and working capital. This technology plan leads the way. It renovates the company’s vision and strategic focus: adding value to the target market share, and reinforcing connections with businesses in the local markets. It also provides the step-by-step plan for enhancing sales, production, gross margin, and profitability. Technology plan enhances the connection with relevant stakeholders through networking. Technology advances is the background and basis of any business progress thus the need for ToJa & FeNi Corporation to handle technology plan. The executive management must embrace the fact that technology is dynamic and need to be continues and planned for. Launched confectionary products are manufactured with the usage of the cut edge technologies. Modern high capability equipment,  strict devotion to the production technologies, only high excellence raw materials ensures

Eveline & staying at her home Essay Example for Free

Eveline staying at her home Essay I agree with the decision made by Eveline of staying at her home. As a responsible lady with two young kids to take care of, Eveline should stay at home in order to ensure that the children needs are met. She has the responsibility of keeping the house together and making sure that her two younger siblings who were left under her charge by their late mother went to school and get their meals regularly. Furthermore, her father was no longer responsible to the family given that he used to squander his money, so she had to work extra harder to be able to provide food on the table for the family together with little support from Harry. Though it was a hard life, she had to honor her obligation and take good care of her siblings and family at large. There is no need for her to go given that she has a shelter and food together with a family to look after. At an age just above nineteen is promising for someone to marry. Eveline does not have to hurry in marriage in an attempt of looking for happiness, peace and respect. She has to consider both sides of the coin in that although there may be some sort of freedom, there are also bottlenecks found in marriage. In addition, she love her family more so her father whom she used to view at first as a threat because he has recently become old and thus harmless to her. Her father was sometimes very nice to her and he will miss her if she chose to go. Harry was her favorite brother and it will be painful for her to leave them. She had to work hard in the business where she used to earn seven shillings a week. If only she want to get married, she can wait a little longer till her two siblings are through with their schooling after which they can continue their love life with Frank. Consequently, Frank was a deck boy who has to move from one destination to another and this means that most of the time Eveline will be staying alone in their home if she would have chose to go. One does not solve a problem by running away. So there is no good for her to run away her employer just because they are not in good terms. She has to stay and face the situation in view of the fact that respect and happiness is a reflection of one’s perception. She can be happy at any place provided she chose to be happy and forget all hurts of the earlier periods. In terms of security, she was free from danger given that her father used to treat her as â€Å"mother of the house† and there was no way in which he could have hurt her. In a light shade, together with Harry they were able to support the family and her father used to give her money to make shopping every Saturdays for the family (James, n d). In conclusion, the way Frank was to marry her was not right. How is she supposed to leave her home without the consent of her family members? If at all they wanted to get married, they would have done it the right way of incorporating their parents. By so doing, they would have been free from guilt, shame and fear. If she would have left her home, her family would have been worried of her where about and the experience would have turned out to be fatal especially to her old father. Furthermore, her younger siblings who used to depend on her would have left school due to lack of care and food given the dad was a squander of money and not concerned strongly with family issues. In summary, Eveline move of staying is the best for it carries much benefit with it both to her and her vital role in the family. Works Cited James Joyce (n d) Eveline. Viewed on August 3 2010 from http://www. readprint. com/work-880/Eveline-James-Joyce

The Non Renewable Energy Sources Environmental Sciences Essay

The Non Renewable Energy Sources Environmental Sciences Essay Non-renewable energy sources is widely used for its relatively cheap price, it is readily available, its location, integration, and economic benefits. Nonrenewable energy sources are a lot cheaper to mine and utilize versus the alternative renewable energy resources. The United States Energy Information Administration states that power plants fueled by coal and other nonrenewable energy sources produce electricity at a cheaper cost than when generated by renewable energy source, wind for example. Biofuels, derived from plants, are more expensive to produce and yield a worse miles per gallon rating than non-renewable source petroleum. Many people have supported the use of renewable energy, but have not thought of the negative effects it can bring to society if it were to completely replace non-renewable energy sources. It can lead to an increase in unemployment if this were to happen. Fossil fuel industries employ millions of people and generate more than a trillion dollars in revenue . The transition of adopting an alternative energy will provide jobs but the magnitude of such action will only be hard to do. Renewable energy can only be sited in certain location and its distribution is no readily available to that of petroleum. Petroleum, a fossil fuel, can be easily distributed through pipelines to most areas at a relatively low cost. This provides a better alternative than that of alternative energy sources. Take wind turbines as an example, an electric-producing generator that requires areas that have significant amount of winds are not as effective as utilizing oil that is readily available. Global infrastructures are designed to use non-renewable energy and the integration of renewable sources is one that is hard to implement. Making this transition will require wholesale changes in energy production and its distribution. Biofuel, an alternative energy, requires its own pumps and well which require a huge investment of capital on part of the seller. Just li ke non-renewable energy, sources have its advantages it also has its disadvantages (http://www.ehow.com/list_7221490_benefits-nonrenewable-energy-sources.html). Non-renewable energy sources, fossil fuels, is highly sought for being the cheapest alternative other energy, but many disadvantages exists with its use. The issues entangled with such energy source are that it is a finite source, produces pollution, environmental issues, and human dependency. Non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels will eventually run out and humans must shift to other alternatives. It takes millions of years for fossil fuels to form and we are consuming them at a fast rate. Once this finite source runs out, humans will need to invest in alternative energies and if not done in time, it can stunt economic growth. Fossil fuels when utilized produce a byproduct known as carbon dioxide, which is the culprit to hurting the human health. Many industrial companies produce tons of carbon dioxide and sulfur oxide into the atmosphere causing a greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the main contributor to global warming, the process of earths increase in temper ature due to the destruction of the ozone layer. This contributes to the melting of ice caps, which in return will raise the ocean and destroy habitats. During mining for coal and drilling oil there are many dangers to the environment involved. It creates an imbalance to our ecosystem by destroying the land and the surrounding habitats. Oil spills caused by drilling in the oceans damages the marine life and the natural balance of the underwater ecosystem (http://www.ehow.com/info_7823431_disadvantages-nonrenewable-sources-energy.html). Non-renewable energy source mainly consist of coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power. In the United States and many other countries the most well-known fossil fuel is coal. Coal has been used as a power source since the dawn of the industrial revolution. Coal was formed from plant life buried in the Earth millions of years ago and it is carbon based. (http://www.universetoday.com/73708/what-are-fossil-fuels/#ixzz2MtbMpSsF). It is the largest non-renewable energy sources consumed in the United States. During 1997, U.S. coal production reached a record high of 1,087 million tons, an increase of 2.3 percent, or 25 million tons, above 1996 production levels (PDF). Coal is commonly used to produce electricity in power plants, fuel for heating, and for making steel. Many chemicals derived from coal are used to produce and manufacture nylon, paints, plastics, and rubber among other products. Coal is ranked based on the amount of heat it produces. It is ranked, in increasing order, brown coal, subbituminous coal, bituminous coal, and anthracite. Bituminous is the most common type and is soft coal. Just as coal is sought for its properties and use, oil is also a strong non-renewable energy source. Crude oil comes in a variety of characteristics it ranges from a very fluid volatile liquid to a viscous like fluid, close to semisolid. Their density varies, according to how dense the crude oil is, it is described as heavy, average or light. The lighter it the density the more gasoline it contains, a preferred refined product. It can come in multiple colors in its crude state. Colors consist of black, green, yellow, or even transparent. Gasoline, also known in its raw form as petroleum is another fossil fuel. Everyone knows about gasoline because the important role it plays in our economy. Gasoline powers the majority of automobiles and vehicles on the planet today. The combustion engine made using gasoline a cheap and efficient source of energy for powering these vehicles (http://www.universetoday.com/73708/what-are-fossil-fuels/#ixzz2MtbCUaYE). Crude oil, a hydrocarbon, is composed entirely of carbon and hydrogen with some minor impurities of sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen. It has multiple applications, once refined, such as gasoline, kerosene, furnace oil, and many other types. Petroleum is a crude oil that can be distilled to make lubricating oils, asphalt, and other products. Along with coal, it is one of the major producers of energy. In combination, coal and petroleum produce 60 percent of U.S. energy consumed today and their use is expected to generate 20 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity by 2015, up from a 1995 level of 11.4 trillion kilowatt-hours (PDF). Another non-renewable source composed of hydrocarbons is Natural gas. Natural gas is a mixture of flammable gases, mainly the hydrocarbons methane and ethane that occurs beneath the surface of the Earth. Natural gas is commonly found in association with petroleum due to the same favorable condition they are found it. It can be manufactured directly from coal and petroleum as well. Natural gas is favorable as an energy source because it inexpensive to transport via pipelines from one place to anot her. It is estimated that about 100 million metric tons of natural gas are reserve, estimated to last about 100 years. Another non-renewable energy source was expected to a clean and cheap alternative but lacked support. Nuclear power does not produce pollution such as greenhouse gasses compared to fossil fuels. Many believed this energy, at one point, be cheaper and outlast many other non-renewable resources. Many electrical power plants take advantage of nuclear energy as an alternative for producing electricity. Nuclear reactors provide the energy to heat the water that is converted into steam, which then drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity. The fission of uranium atoms allows the production of heat in the reactors to also produce the steam. Uranium is the fuel for nuclear reactors. It is an abundant and naturally radioactive element found in most rocks and as it decays it produces heat inside the Earths crust. This process is similar in a nuclear reactor. Heat is produced in a nuclear reactor when neutrons strike uranium atoms, causing them to split in a continuous chain reaction. There are several commercial reactors distributed around the United States whose design consist mainly of heavy steel pressure vessels surrounding the reactor core. This reactor core contains the uranium. Nuclear power, a non-renewable energy source, deemed to be the best compared to others in terms of clean efficient energy but its lack of management stunt its growth. Construction costs and the numerous regulation imposed by the government led this project to more expensive than originally predicted making it a nonprofit source, something not acceptable. Along with its poor management there posed many dangers with handling nuclear power. Nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine raised many concerns about its safety. The United States has not built a new nuclear facility in over twenty years, a relatively complex energy source (http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/How_Does_Nuclear_Energy_Work). Non-renewable energy as a source has been controversial for many reasons but humans are highly dependent of it. There are not any alternative and more efficient energy sources that can provide the world with cheaper and more readily energy than fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are frowned upon for the pollution they create. Even strong supporters of fossil fuel use will agree. The pollution leads to climate change, health risks from overexposure, and the highly controversial global warming. Whether it is about the release of greenhouse gases being release or spills of petroleum in natural habitats, the dangers are very real. We can assume that increased coal production and consumption will lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from fossil fuel power plants. Thus, not only is coal consumption increasing but, more importantly, carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas emitted from burning coal, will also increase (PDF). Scientists are looking for better ways to harvest and use fossil fuel. Some include a hybrid mixture of a non-renewable source with a renewable source. The mixing of gasoline with biofuels have shown to provide a cleaner form of carbon fuels such as natural gas and bio matter from livestock (http://www.universetoday.com/73708/what-are-fossil-fuels/#ixzz2MtbWMHIE). Besides the negative environmental impact of fossil fuels, the economic impact also is very damaging. Non-renewable are becoming more scarce and this will increase the price to obtain such needed energy. Non-renewable sources such as coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power will eventually run out or harder to produce leading humans to find more efficient renewable sources (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nonrenewableresource.asp#ixzz2Mtc6J7RE).

A Servant Leadership Analysis Leadership Essay

A Servant Leadership Analysis Leadership Essay In many situations we are able to draw associations or determine one situation resembles another. Â  When individuals in leadership roles give of themselves so that others may have it is often associated with a negative connotation. Â  Although giving and serving is not viewed in the political or religious aspect, leaders tend to develop their own views and formulate ideas that have been tampered with by politician or religious leaders. Â  Many of the political and religious leaders have a major influence of the day-to-day operation and views of society. We first have to know what leadership is. Leadership is the ability to get other to follow you willingly. A leader must have a vision and know exactly where to go. They also have to take the vision and act upon it and not sit back and let the followers do all the work. Within the vision, they have to communicate with their followers to the point that they are with the vision as well. It also takes dedication to be a leader. They have to do whatever it takes to make sure that they can get to the next step of the vision. There are more qualities but this is some of what take to be a leader. Now, what is servant leadership? Robert K. Greenleaf describes servant leadership as a type of leader that serves others, rather than the followers serving the leader. Doing so will have the followers achieve and improve. As any leader, they are responsible for the followers and those that are not on the same level as others. The people served grow as individuals, becoming healthier, wiser, more autonomous and more likely themselves to become servants (Greenleaf, 1977). There are 10 characteristics that will be briefly discussed: Listening being able to hear what your follower have to say about how they feel in certain situations is very important. Empathy being able to show empathy for your followers, even when some will not accept some views from their co-workers. This will help take more difficult situations Healing healing means a process when something or someone takes time to repair themselves. As a leader, you have to acknowledge the good and the bad situations in life while being able to do well (spiritual). Awareness the leader have to be aware (or in other words, constant communication) of the surroundings of themselves and others that follow them. Persuasion being able to convince and inspire your followers that the vision that you have for the group will benefit not just for the internal (the group), but the external as well (the company to the clients). Conceptualization with the vision at hand, the leader have to think beyond the current goal. They have to see the big picture. They have to have ideas and plans to figure out any problems that may occur. Foresight in order to develop this characteristic effectively, the leader have to be able to analyze any situation and have a great amount of discernment when it comes to decision making. There would be times that the powers that be will expect the leader to complete some tasks that may not suit too well with the leader. Foresight will help the leader to come to a sensible conclusion that will satisfy both their bosses and their followers. Stewardship leaders are stewards first. To become a great leader, they have to be a great follower. Although leading the people, their goal is to serve others. This trait is used continuously with pastors that lead the church. Commitment to the growth of people in order for the world to recognize the changes, the leader must first change themselves. If you are not able to change for the better, whatever changes that are made may not be accepted. Building community the community is not completely healed. Leaders have to take proper actions to help make the community better and not just healed, but to be made whole. One way to do this is by simply being active in the community and show an example that teamwork is very effective when you work together. Servant leadership is heavily influenced by the Christian faith. All Christians are called to be servants, even when you are called to be a leader. In order to be a leader, you had to be a good and obedient servant in order for God to call you higher in ministry. Jesus showed a great example of servant leadership when he washed the feet of the disciples. He also showed us that we need to put aside our personal gain and makes sacrifices to fulfill the needs of others. You have other that will would climb up the ladder and only motivate themselves and not help others. This is something that Jesus did not demonstrate throughout his ministry. The Hinduism religion exemplified servant leadership. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the political and spiritual leader of India. He used the ahimsa philosophy which means total nonviolence. He was known to tell the truth and encourage those who followed him to do the same. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that Gandhi was indeed an example of a person that showed servant leadership because Gandhi was not all about him and trying to control the people of India, but to serve them so they can recognize their dignity and power. Even through the process of gaining independence from Great Britain, Gandhi gave India hope that this vision can come true. He never claimed himself as a leader but became a catalyst to many Hindu leaders after him. The Islam religion also exemplified servant leadership. The prophet Mohammad said this about servant leadership: A ruler who has been entrusted with the affairs of the Muslims, but makes no endeavor for their material and moral upliftment and is not sincerely concerned for their welfare will not enter Paradise along with them. (Al-Bukhari, 1997, p.166) Mohammad wanted to show the people that the servant is the leader of the nation, not the leader. Islams concept of servant leadership is serving the workers and the community as their main priority. Like Christians, Islam want to provide services to others, to be an integral part of the community and to further understand their spiritual side of their organizations. A couple of years ago, the past moderator from the Eastern Shore Virginia/Maryland Baptist Association wanted to do something that will help families that could not afford anything (food, toys, clothes) for Christmas. He called it Christmas Without Walls. As an example of the characteristic stewardship, he took it upon himself to buy turkeys, toys and clothes to help these families in his area in order for them to have a better Christmas then they had years before. This led the church to follow his example and they too started to donate items to the less fortunate. In the last couple of years, they were able to bless more than 300 families and looking to do more this year now that other churches are joining to do the same in their own communities. He also showed another characteristic of building communities as becoming an example to show that once you put out, others will follow and together we all can do anything. To model yourself as a leader from a servant leadership approach, self awareness is important. You have to know your own strengths and weaknesses, what inspires you, what motivates you, and how you relate to others. This will allow you to give more of yourself to others when it comes to relationships as this will build up your self esteem and confidence. Emotional intelligence allows you to evaluate others emotions as well as your own. As a result, you understand yourself, your goals, intentions, responses, and behavior. This also led to understanding others and their feelings. Being able to understand other peoples feelings mean that you care about their values and beliefs, even when some of theirs do not agree with your own (this is an empathy characteristic of servant leadership). It do not matter on the religion but no how we treat others in general. Our beliefs may be from a religion but we are given free will on how we treat others. If you are able to put self aside and help ot hers, you will be showing an example to others and will follow you and even inherit your ways.

Elizabethan Theater :: essays research papers

Elizabethan Theater Elizabethan times in the 1600s was a progression for the world of the theater. A period named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, it is from this period that modern day society has its foundation for the entertainment industry. From the violence that was prevalent because of the Black Death, people turned to the theater for its poetry and romance. During this time period, there were two types of theatrical performances that were available for the people’s viewing, comedies or tragedies. These two genres were never really intertwined until the time of William Shakespeare. His play, Romeo and Juliet, is an example of both a comedy and a tragedy. It starts off as a comedy with Romeo weeping like a baby because of his love Rosaline, who did not love him back and ends as a tragedy when Romeo and Juliet, a pair of star crossed lovers, commit suicide because the lost of each other. It was also during Shakespeare’s time that writer were finally acknowledged by the people. Befor e this time, writers were not considered upper classman. Another group of people that began to rise into a higher social class were the actors. Actresses were not present back then because women were not allowed on stage. It was considered unladylike to have a female actor. Men played all the parts. Theater owners were dependent on actors to make them a profit. Rehearsals for the plays were fairly short, only lasting for about a week. The performances themselves would only show for three to four days. Actors were expected to memorize hundreds of lines at a time. While one play could be performing, actors would be practicing lines for their next show. Play writers also began to make roles for the actors in the theatrical pieces. The theaters that actors performed in were roofless so that the sun could be used as lighting. Theatrical shows were held in the afternoon because it provided the best amount of light for the show. When the people gathered into the theater, the different clas ses of people were separated by where they could afford to sit and watch the show. The lower classmen were situated on the bare earth where it was dirty and smelly because it was never cleaned. The owners’ of the theaters found it less expensive if they did not keep high maintenance of their establishments. Higher classmen sat under a roof and for a penny more, they could buy cushions for their seats. Elizabethan Theater :: essays research papers Elizabethan Theater Elizabethan times in the 1600s was a progression for the world of the theater. A period named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, it is from this period that modern day society has its foundation for the entertainment industry. From the violence that was prevalent because of the Black Death, people turned to the theater for its poetry and romance. During this time period, there were two types of theatrical performances that were available for the people’s viewing, comedies or tragedies. These two genres were never really intertwined until the time of William Shakespeare. His play, Romeo and Juliet, is an example of both a comedy and a tragedy. It starts off as a comedy with Romeo weeping like a baby because of his love Rosaline, who did not love him back and ends as a tragedy when Romeo and Juliet, a pair of star crossed lovers, commit suicide because the lost of each other. It was also during Shakespeare’s time that writer were finally acknowledged by the people. Befor e this time, writers were not considered upper classman. Another group of people that began to rise into a higher social class were the actors. Actresses were not present back then because women were not allowed on stage. It was considered unladylike to have a female actor. Men played all the parts. Theater owners were dependent on actors to make them a profit. Rehearsals for the plays were fairly short, only lasting for about a week. The performances themselves would only show for three to four days. Actors were expected to memorize hundreds of lines at a time. While one play could be performing, actors would be practicing lines for their next show. Play writers also began to make roles for the actors in the theatrical pieces. The theaters that actors performed in were roofless so that the sun could be used as lighting. Theatrical shows were held in the afternoon because it provided the best amount of light for the show. When the people gathered into the theater, the different clas ses of people were separated by where they could afford to sit and watch the show. The lower classmen were situated on the bare earth where it was dirty and smelly because it was never cleaned. The owners’ of the theaters found it less expensive if they did not keep high maintenance of their establishments. Higher classmen sat under a roof and for a penny more, they could buy cushions for their seats.

Creating New Enzyme Actions De Novo Essay -- Biology Catalyst

ABSTRACT Enzymes are molecules, specifically proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. Enzymes, like all catalysts, accelerate the rate of a reaction by lowering the activation energy. Nucleic acid RNA molecules called ribozymes can also act as enzymes and catalyze reactions. The development of new enzymes for the synthesis of chemical reactions, pharmaceuticals, and tools for molecular biology is a new and upcoming interest. Work has previously been done in the development for modifying and improving already existing enzymes. There is also much to still learn involving the designs and evolution of enzymes because it is greatly reliant on extensive knowledge of the mechanisms of these reactions. In this paper it is shown that new enzymatic activities can be created de novo, which means from scratch or very differently. There is no need for previous mechanistic information. This is done by selecting from a naive protein library, or one in which it is not designed to do what they are actually doing with it. This library is made up of a trillion different proteins with different amino acid sequences, so there is not much need for a plan. Messenger RNA, RNA used specifically to translate proteins, display is used and the proteins are covalently linked to their encoding mRNA, meaning that they share stable chemical bonds and are tethered to each other. Functional proteins are selected from an in vitro translated protein library. This is not an obvious way to link the genetic information that encodes it together. It is done without constraints imposed by any in vivo step, which simplifies the process when it is in vitro. This specific technique has been used to evolve short or small proteins called peptides as well as specific prote... ...enzymes is much less guided process. Future research will involve continuing to optimize the enzyme’s activity, i.e., seeing if they can get it to catalyze RNA ligation even faster. Sources Cited Denison, R. Ford. "Evolving enzymes in the lab." Weblog entry. 11 Sept. 2007. This Week in Evolution. 15 Nov. 2007 . "Researchers Evolve Artificial Enzymes in the Laboratory." HHMI Research News. 16 Aug. 2007. Howard Hughes Medical Inst. 14 Nov. 2007 . Sadava, David E., et al. Life the Science of Biology. 8th ed. USA: The Courier†¨Companies Inc, 2008 Seelig, Burckhard, and Jack W. Szostak. "Selection and evolution of enzymes from a partially randomized non-catalytic scaffold." Nature 448 (Aug. 2007): 828-833.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald Essay examples -- essays papers

Francis Scott Fitzgerald Thesis: Francis S. Fitzgerald was a talented writer; his only flaw was that he liked the combination of alcohol and the night life. One of the most widely recognized writers of the 1920’s and 1930’s was Francis Scott Fitzgerald (Beebe 339). He followed his dreams of being a writer, until he finally succeeded. Francis Scott Fitzgerald was a talented writer; his only flaw was that he liked the combination of alcohol and the nightlife (Coale 190). He spent his life writing and trying to be happy with his wife, Zelda Sayre. His life served as a resource for his novels. Perhaps writing about his life helped him deal with his grief. Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. (Coale 190). Francis Scott was the only child of Edward Fitzgerald and Mary Mollie McQuillan (Beebe 339). Fitzgerald was named after a distant member of his father’s family (Beebe 339), who happened to be the author of â€Å"The Star Spangled Banner† (Bruccoli xix). Edward Fitzgerald was the father of Francis S. Fitzgerald. Edward’s business, the production of wicker furniture in St. Paul, Minnesota, failed. (Bruccoli xix). Due to this, his family moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1908 (Bruccoli xix). In New York he became a salesman for Procter & Gamble; in 1908 he was dismissed (Bruccoli xix). After his dismissal they returned to St. Paul and moved in with Mary Mollie McQuillan’s mother (Bruccoli xix). Her mother was an Irish immigrant who became wealthy as a wholesaler grocer in St. Paul, Minnesota (Bruccoli xix). When the family finally decided to stay in St. Paul, Minnesota, was when Fitzgerald was encouraged to study at the St. Paul Academy (Beebe 339). From 1911 to 191... ... characters of Dick Diver and Nicole Diver somehow resemble Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre. Dick Diver resembles Fitzgerald by being young and talented. Nicole Diver resembles Zelda Sayre by both being the force that held them back. Bibliography: Works Cited Beebe, Maurice. â€Å"Francis Scott Fitzgerald†. Encyclopedia Americana. Deluxe Library Ed. 1996. Bruccoli, Matthew J., and Judith Baughman. A Life in Letters: F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York. Simon & Schuster Inc. 1994. Coale, Samuel Chase. â€Å"Francis Scott Fitzgerald†. The World Book Encyclopedia. Scott Fetzer Company, 1996. Eble, Kenneth. F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York. Twayne Publishers Inc, 1963. Meyers, Jeffrey. Scott Fitzgerald: A Biography. New York. Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 1994.

Infosys Case Analysis Essay

? Case analysis – infosys document structure We have approached the case by first analyzing the identified issues, and then associate root causes to those issues. Further to it we have used two frameworks, â€Å"Web of Change† and â€Å"Hewitt Best Employer Characteristics†, to theoretically assess the weaknesses in Infosys Human Resource and Change Management policies. These frameworks can be used by organizations to better plan their change management and human resource management initiatives. We have used â€Å"Hewitt’s Best Employer Survey†, to identify the key initiatives which Infosys should undertake to enable it to reach its target of â€Å"Best Employer† by 2011. Further to it we believe that â€Å"Best Employer† and â€Å"Best Performer† are complementary goals, and it’s difficult to achieve one without the other, and hence we have identified the key initiatives which can help Infosys to achieve â€Å"Best Performer† target without compromising on its â€Å"Best Employer† objective. about infosys Infosys is the second largest Indian IT software services company. Infosys has reached pinnacles of success in short span of 20 years, through innovative business strategies and human resource practices. Currently it is facing challenges around balancing between business growth and employee satisfaction. About its business Model Infosys delivers IT services to its clients globally in a model called GDM (Global Delivery Model). The main characteristic of this model is that it decouples client location and project execution. Project is executed in locations which provide best combination of cost and talent. Project teams are spread across client site and offshore development centers in countries like India, China, and Mexico etc which provide rich availability of talent at competitive cost. Usually teams at client site document requirements and manage client relationship and offshore team manages delivery. This is a human resource intensive industry and the challenge is exacerbated by the fact that most of the resources are highly skilled professionals (engineers, MBAs, computer scientists etc). Being an industry where human resource is your only asset and your only competitive advantage, managing, ssues and Root Cause analysis In this section we’ll analyze the issues identified in the case and will attempt to identify root causes which led to employee dissatisfaction. After our analysis we believe that issues mentioned in the case is symptomatic of gaps in general principles of leadership, change management and HRM. Policies are not written in blood and stone, and they change ov er the lifetime of organizations. What should not change are basic organizations principles around human resource management. Our assessment is that policy changes in Infosys were reflective of external environment and business imperatives. However, diverging from the basic principles of Change management, leadership, communication and employee development in implementing new policies is what led to its fall in Best Employer ratings. â€Å"Stock Options started lacking luster to the new employees and created equity imbalance among employees† Stakeholders involved New Employees Discontentment Impact Inequity of income/wealth effect in the company which created tension between employees. New employees who had seen Infosys from outside as an organization committed to fairness, equity, and employee wealth creation got disenchanted. Root Cause Failure to Manage Expectations This issue primarily arose because of incorrect expectation setting of new employees. Infosys kept on using stock options and the millionaires’ stories as branding activity, even when stock options were no more an incentive to new recruits. Company should have made it very clear about its new compensation philosophy when it discontinued ESOPS. 1. Managing scale and attrition risk Stakeholders involved Employees Managers Discontentment Impact Infosys was growing at a speed where it was doubling its organizational strength every 1-2 years. However organization was plagued by high attrition rate. Employees felt lack of motivation, due to repetitive process tasks, which the business model demanded. Due to high growth, a lot of employees moved up the managerial ladder, but lacked proper training and orientation and hence couldn’t connect to employees Root Cause Lack of Employee fulfillment ( from the job ) Detached Lleaderships To stress on the need for the above two, we’ll give two examples from Indian public sector. Indian Railways Indian railways has recently transformed itself into a highly profitable organization, and according to the officer on special with Railways, single most critical factor which contributed to this success is involvement and commitment of employees of railways despite having a poor compensation structure. Employees of Indian railways take great pride in their work, since they believe they are contributing to the running of the country’s biggest infrastructure and are responsible for transporting of 2 crore customers every days. This association with organizational goal and pride in your organization is what makes an organization for perpetuity. Due to changing business needs, Iinfosys couldn’t connect to its employees in motivating them. Indian Army A unit commander in the army is able to inspire its soldiers to give up their life, compensation etc notwithstanding. The only reasons soldiers are so committed, is their immediate leader. It depends on the unit commander’s ability to connect to his soldiers, motivate them and show a genuine concern for their wellbeing, is what motivates the soldiers to do the unthinkable for their leader. According to research in human resources field, people leave managers and not companies. The leadership skills of managers are the greatest source of employee fulfillment at work. Lack of engagement and commitment of managers towards their subordinates, was probably the single biggest reason for high attrition rate at Infosys. 2. Strong formalization and process orientation, which came as part of growth, took away bandwidth to innovate from employees. Stakeholders involved Employees Discontentment Impact Employees who were used to getting the thrill and satisfaction from using their skill on technical challenges were feeling cocooned because of new process driven and re-use methodology. Similar impact was observed in people policy issues. All personal policies were getting more and more formalized. Root Cause Lack of employee Motivation Resistance to change One of the basic principles of organization design is that you don’t use strong formalization from highly skilled agents (employees). Formalization is for low skilled repeatable tasks. Infosys should have come up with business models aimed at high end, value added services much earlier. This would have kept its inherent talent not only motivated but better utilized for higher margins. In 1990s moving away from body shopping to GDM provide this opportunity, but in early to middle 2000s, Iinfosys couldn’t reinvent itself. Formalization in organizational policies when it grows out from entrepreneurial stage is inevitable. It’s actually needed to ensure consistent implementation of policies and create a sense of equity and fairness among employee. Dissatisfaction on this front could be attributed to resistance to change, and hence effective change management principles should be employed for disruptive changes. 3. Introduction of variable pay Stakeholders involved Employees Senior Management HR Department Discontentment Impact Variable pay was received with a lot of skepticism by the employees, fearing that it was introduced to reduce their compensation Root Cause/s Change Management Failure Lack of Leadership engagement Communication Failure This was probably one of the most disruptive changes introduced by Infosys. The amount of skepticism and distrust displayed by employees was a first in Infosys. Immediate reaction of employees was that this policy has been introduced to cut employee costs to satisfy shareholders demand for higher and higher profitability. The fact that a vast majority of senior management were shareholders in the company added to employee distrust. There was no clarity among employees how this policy will pan out. A lot of employees were not comfortable in linking their performance to factors outside their control (market conditions, decision taken by management etc). Also since the amount of variable component was high (more than 50% for project managers and above), employees could not understand how much their monthly take home were. This is a classic case of failure in change management and involvement of leadership at every level. Infosys data on variable payout shows that most of the time company has delivered 100% payout and even higher percentage to high performers. So employee skepticism bore from lack of clarity and communication on this policy. Lack of clarity, communication and involvement of employees was to such an extent that even middle management was taken by surprise by this policy. Many managers, who couldn’t appreciate the policy implementation, were reluctant in communicating the changes to the employees. For an employee first point of contact for clarification is his/her immediate line manager, hence it’s important to fully equip leadership at every level with information. To understand the role what leadership plays in motivating, retaining employees, we should look at armed forces. Unit commanders are able to motivate their employees to give their life, despite the fact that compensation package of soldiers is one of the lowest. This commitment in subordinates comes because of total commitment of their leader in engaging with them and motivating with them. Immediate line managers are the biggest reason employees leave an organization and are also the main reason employees go beyond their capabilities to outperform. 4. Retaining Organizational Culture with fast track growth Stakeholders involved HR Department Employees Discontentment Impact Due to business growth imperatives, and its business model, Infosys was doubling its employee strength every 1-2 years. To accommodate this type of growth, it had to lower its hiring standards and quality and culture was a victim of this. Root Cause/s Lack of Employee on boarding ( orientation) planning This issue had an impact on multiple facets. It led to a feeling disenchantment in existing employees, as they felt their brand equity in the market was getting diluted. New employees, who were not able to appreciate infosys inherent culture, didn’t felt comfortable and had a feeling that the organization is biased toward old employees. Root cause of this issue was that although organization had changed its selection criteria, it didn’t change its employee orientation strategy, or training methodology. Infosys should have changed its orientation program to be more customized offering for similar group of employees and using existing employees as mentor to help develop organizational culture and values in new employees. Similarly if you are hiring for quantity and not quality, it should have modified its training plan to be more exhaustive. 5. Broad Banding and promotions Stakeholders involved Employees Discontentment Impact Lack of faith in the organization Chaos and confusion in employees minds Root Cause/s Change Management Communication Leadership This policy again created a lot of employee discomfort since they didn’t knew the details of change. It’s again a classic change management failure. Although the policy was designed to bring more clarity in role structure and bring equity amongst similar roles, across the organization, poor communications created fear and scientism in minds of people. We can observe from the reinvention of Indian Railways, one of the reasons organization could progress on the growth trajectory, was employee commitment to the cause of Indian Railways, despite of low compensation. Employees felt proud to be part of the world’s biggest railways and were motivated to excel. Some of the senior managers lacked clarity about policies, hence they were apprehensive of clarifying the policy. This shows a major organizational failure in terms of change management and engagement of leadership with people. Similarly as discussed above, since employee appraisal parameters were not clearly defined, an employee could not appreciate how his/her appraisal going to impact promotions? Web Of Change – Change Management Framework To do substantiate our above understanding of issues at Iinfosys, we used â€Å"Web of Change†, a change management framework to understand the change management issues at Infosys. â€Å"Web of change: is the framework proposed by Stephen Thomas. This model defines 8 change elements as shown below and the web of change helps us to see how the values of each element changed during the Organization Change process in Infosys. The baseline score is the value of the Change elements in Infosys during the glory years of 1990’s and the re-assessment scores the value of the same change elements in the 2000’s when Infosys was going through the â€Å"Growth pangs†.

Microsoft Office Essay

Each employee could have a standard hourly rate between $10.00 and $30.00 per hour. †¢ Each employee qualifies to earn overtime at a rate of 1.5 of his or her hourly rate for every hour greater than 40 hours. †¢ Each employee will have a standard 7.65% deduction for social security †¢ Each employee will have a standard 14.00% deduction for Federal Taxes †¢ Each employee will have a standard 5.33% deduction for State Taxes Explain how you will structure and format your worksheet, including titles, column headings, and formulas to calculate payroll variables for each employee to determine â€Å"Net Pay† including and not limited to Total Hours, Gross Pay, Social Security Tax, Federal Withholding Tax, and Sate Withholding Tax. In addition, determine how you would extract overtime hours from a calculated value of â€Å"Total Hours† using a conditional formula. In addition, your supervisor will need this weekly payroll report on a weekly basis and instructed you to keep the payroll history of all weeks within â€Å"1† workbook but has allowed you to decide if you would rather keep the payroll running on one worksheet or by assigning a new worksheet for each week. Using your knowledge learned in this class, descriptively explain whether you would keep all weekly payrolls in one worksheet or assigned to new worksheets by week. Defend your reasoning’s on the approach your take based on what you have learned in this course. (Points : 40) The creation of the Weekly Payroll Workbook Since this is a weekly payroll for construction workers, the computation for Excel will be on a weekly basis. Here are the insights as to how to create the Payroll workbook. Using a separate worksheet, like Sheet1, you need to indicate the Week Number in the sheet. This represents which week in the calendar the payroll is computer. Normally we have 52 weeks in one year so Week Number can be Week 1, Week 2, †¦ Week 52. In this same sheet, enter the names of the 15 employees in the first Column, starting from cell A4 to provide enough cells for heading. You can add and delete rows after this. In cell A1, enter your company name. In cell A2, enter Week No.: 1 for the first week. In cell A3, enter â€Å"Employees† or Employee Names† which will serve as the heading of the table. In cell A4 through A18, enter the names of the employees. For the cell B3 to F3, enter the 5 working days of the week. For G3, enter â€Å"Total Hours Worked†. Now Merge & Center the range B2:F2 and then enter the heading title â€Å"Daily Hours Worked† Now all headings are done and we proceed to entering the formula to compute the total hours each employee had worked. For cell G4, enter the formula =SUM(B4:F4). Then drag to copy this formula up to G18 for the last employee. For I3 enter the heading â€Å"Hourly Rate†. For J3 enter Overtime Rate. Enter the formula for overtime as =I4*1.5 since it will be 1.5 of the regular hourly rate. Column K will be the Hourly Pay and the formula shall be =IF(G4>40,40*I4,G4*I4). This means that if the total hours is greater than 40, it will compute only for 40 hours since the remainder will be an overtime. If it is less than 40, it will compute the actual number of hours multiplied by the rate. Column L is for Overtime Pay and the formula is =IF(G4>40,(G4-40)*J4,0). This means that the computation is done this way: If total is greater than 40, then you subtract the total with 40 and the remainder will be the overtime hours. This will be multiplied by the overtime rate. If it is less than or equal to 40, overtime is set to 0. Column M is for Gross pay and it is the total of Hourly Pay and the Overtime Pay. For the deductions, use columns N, O and P for Social Security, Federal Taxes and State Taxes respectively. The formulas will be: Social Security => =M4*7.65% (Gross Pay times 7.65%) Federal Taxes => =M4*14% (Gross Pay times 14%) State Taxes => =M4*5.33% (Gross Pay times 5.33%) For the total deductions use column Q and the formula shall be =SUM(N4:P4) as the sum of all deductions columns. The NET Pay is Gross Pay – Total Deductions and it can be in column R. Also, it is better to use ONE sheet per weekly payroll so that it will be organized better. You can also easily export sheets to other workbooks in the future if the Excel file gets too bloated after long period of use and the accumulated data in it. 2. (TCO 3) You currently work for an automotive parts supply store. Your company is growing and is considering expansion. The company currently has three locations (North, South, and Central) in one state. Each parts supply store carries inventory in four categories. You have been presented with the sales figures for the last three years for each location and inventory category by store. Based on this information, you’re tasked with analyzing current sales for each store by category and overall total sales by store  and category. Note: This is a four part question. 1.) Explain your approach to setting up your worksheets and organizing the data. 2.) Explain how you will visually represent the data for the total sales of the individual inventory categories for each location for the time periods shown. 3.) Explain how you will visually represent the consolidated data for the sales of all stores and all inventory categories for all time periods in one chart or graph. 4.) Once you have finished the above tasks, you plan to send the Excel workbook to your manager for evaluation. Your manger is presenting your findings to the Board of Directors for justification for additional capital expenditures. The visually representations need to be concise and clear by able to support the requested expenditures. Explain how you would use the integration features of MS Office to incorporate the Excel information into other presentation media. (Points : 40) For the automotive part: 1) Explain how you will visually represent the data for the total sales of the individual inventory categories for each location for the time periods shown. The data can be represented by an Excel chart. Just use the total sales against the corresponding categories compared with the data on store locations. 2) Once you ahve finished the above tasks, you plan to send the Excel workbook to your manager for evaluation. Your manager is presenting your findings to the Board of Directors for justification for additional capital expenditures. The visually representations need to be concise and clear by able to support the requested expenditures. Explain how you would use the integration features of MS Office to incorporate the Excel information into other presentation media. This is easily done by integrating the actual Excel table or range in the PowerPoint presentation. Even better yet, you can â€Å"embed† an Excel chart with live data in the presentation itself. This is a good approach so that the data in the presentation will change when the data in the actual embedded Excel file changes. Look the EXCEL FILE 3. (TCO 4) You are given a spreadsheet with daily sales numbers ordered by date from January 1st to December 31st. You have been tasked with finding the average sales of each month, then to reorder the months so they are listed in order from highest to lowest average sales. Give a step-by-step explanation of how you will rearrange the data so you can analyze the best and worst months. Note: This is a one part question. (Points : 40) For this question, suppose the sales and dates are listed by rows so that January 1st to December 31st are the row labels. A pivot table will help in this task. I will create a pivot table of the data; put the Order dates in row labels and the Average of Sales in Values. Then, I will right click on the dates, select group, and then select groupings by month. This should create a table of Monthly Average sales. Next, I will click the dropdown box under row labels, click More Sort Options, and choose Descending Order by Average of Sales. From here on, I can analyze the best and worst months and make preparations in the following year. 4. (TCO 5) You’ve just joined the staff of the XYZ Manufacturing Company (XYZ, for short). XYZ manufactures only one product, the gizmo. It comes in two sizes, the mini-gizmo and the magna-gizmo. Both are difficult to manufacture, and consequently, the company closely monitors rejected units. The company has three locations, each of which produces both the mini and the magna-gizmos. You are automating the weekly production reports so that you can easily calculate total production for the entire company each week. The mini-gizmo is priced at $3.25 per unit. The magna-gizmo is priced at $7.00 per unit. The unit cost for a reject mini-gizmo is $1.75. The cost for a reject magna-gizmo is $3.50. Respond fully to the following questions regarding this task: Note: This is a two part question. 1.) The managers will e-mail their weekly reports to you on Monday of the following week. You will then produce the summary report. Explain the process for doing this. Give a sample formula to total the number of mini-gizmos produced by the entire company in a week. 2.) Each week, you will present the combined report to your boss, who wants to see both the summary and the individual sheets for each location. You want to add a header with the date and your name to each page. What is the easiest way to do this? Explain the process. (Points : 40) First, I will consolidate the worksheets into one workbook by doing Home-Cells-Format-Move or Copy sheet. Now, for this data, I will expect the columns to be separated, with labels proper mini-gizmo, proper magna-gizmo, rejected mini-gizmo, rejected magna-gizmo, and row labels of days in the week. After that, I will sum all of the column data below, so I will arrive at the sum of all proper and reject gizmos. Suppose the proper mini-gizmos are in column B and rejected mini-gizmos are in column D, then a sample formula to total all the mini-gizmos produced in a week would be Sum(B2:B8,D2:D8). This is already located in the Summary worksheet, after consolidating the data from four locations. This is assuming that the data is given per week, divided into 7 days. I will do the same for the magna-gismos. Afterwards, just below the Sums, I will put another row labeled Revenue. Then I will multiply the Sums by the respective prices, 3.25 for the proper mini-gizmo, 7.00 for the proper magna-gizmo, 1.75 for  the rejected mini-gizmo, and 3.50 for the rejected magna-gizmo. 5. (TCO 9) You have been tasked with analyzing an extremely large amount of data and to ultimately produce a report to share with the board of directors. The data is currently in a text file and has over two thousand records of data. Explain how you would use Excel to analyze this data and organize it to prepare a written report. Be very specific on the variety of tools you would use and the steps you would go through to analyze the data and to ultimately prepare a detailed report with recommendations. Since the data is in text file, I have to open Excel first. Then, I will go to File-Open, and then choose All Files. I can now open the text file in Excel. Upon opening, a Text Import Wizard will appear. I can choose Delimited or Fixed width, depending on the data. Click next, then I can choose my own delimiters if it is Delimited. I can also click anywhere on the preview box to separate the data to my liking. After that, I can designate their Text Formats. After clicking finish, I have a whole data of text file in Excel. Since it came from a text file, there may be formatting issues. For example, I will click all the numbers in the data, then Find and Replace spaces with nothing so that the numbers are not in General Format but in Number Format. I will also spellcheck the whole worksheet for grammar and spelling errors. After all this is done, I can now start with the analysis. There are lots of things I can do from summing the data to averaging them to creating pivot tables and even pivot charts. In charts, I can choose to add trend lines and data tables for the charts to be more detailed. After all the analysis is done, I will prepare a written report in MS Office by copy pasting the charts (the visual representations of the analysis) and explaining and interpreting them afterwards. Then, I can provide conclusions and recommendations to complete the analysis.

Best Buy Marketing Plan

2012 4/26/2012 Marketing Plan The Micro Environment The Company: Best Buy’s mission statement is â€Å"Our formula is simple: we’re a growth company focused on better solving the unmet needs of our customers—and we rely on our employees to solve those puzzles. Thanks for stopping. † Their company perspective is the following â€Å"Our vision is to make life fun and easy. Our business strategy is to bring technology and consumers together in a retail environment that focuses on educating consumers on the features and benefits of technology and entertainment products, while maximizing overall profitability.We believe our stores offer consumers meaningful advantages in store environment, product value, selection and service, all of which advance our objectives of enhancing our business model, gaining market share and improving profitability. † Best Buy strives to continue its growth and innovation in order to come up with new ideas and new ways to intr igue their customers and also new ways for their employees to work as a team and work together.One of their goals is to offer solutions for entertainment and technology that will meet their customers’ needs, â€Å"end-to-end. † Best Buy’s core competencies is simply to make technology and entertainment products affordable and easy to use for their customers. â€Å"We're world-class in store experience, customer orientation, inventory management, executing new store concepts, and rallying our people around common goals, as well as, marketing, merchandising and related disciplines. † Some areas of improvement that Best Buy is currently undergoing are to be greener.In order to do so, they have to add more green vehicles when it comes to transportation and also stocking more green products in their stores so they can educate their customers about the impacts they may have by purchasing green products. Competitive review: Best Buy’s top three main compe titors include Wal-Mart, Target, and RadioShack. Wal-Mart not only engages in the retail sale of electronic goods, but also offers food, health and beauty aids, apparel for women, girls, men, boys, and infants, jewelry, and a wide variety of many other products.Their market cap is $211. 51 B, which as you can see is much larger than Best Buy’s market cap, but the reason is simply because Wal-Mart specializes in selling a wide range of products and not solely electronics. Wall-Mart is the world’s largest retailer and grocery store by sales, which amounts to almost 50% more than its closest competitors combined, such as Target and Sears. One of Wal-Mart's biggest strengths is that many suppliers give in to Wal-Mart’s pressure because they depend heavily on the discount retailer that they offer for a majority of their sales.One of Wal-Mart’s weaknesses has to do with their reliance on Chinese-made imports because the company may become vulnerable to a weaken ing dollar or strengthening of the Yuan. Since Wal-Mart purchases the majority of their products from China every year, if the Yuan dollar strengthens, Wal-Mart will soon have to pay more for their merchandise that comes from China, which will further affect Wal-Mart’s bottom line. Target is very similar to Best Buy and like Wal-Mart they offer far more then just consumer electronics.Most of their stores include clothing, furniture, and a grocery department. In the last year, their stock has hit a 52-week low of $45. 28 and 52-week high of $58. 95, compared to that of Best Buy, which has a low of $19. 79 and a high of $32. 85. The reason the stock for Target is worth more is because they offer a larger variety of products so they have a larger market share then Best Buy. When you compare the quality of electronic products between Best Buy and Target you will see that Best Buy has the advantage.For example with TV’s, Target will offer more of the smaller named more affo rdable televisions. These TV’s can not compare to the quality of the big name products that Best Buy offers, such as Pioneer Elite. The biggest strength that Target has is their wide array of products from many different departments. But they also have a weakness for their customer service. Many times you can go into the store and never be helped by one of the employees. Then when you find one, they are uneducated on many of the products.RadioShack is similar to Best Buy since they both engage in the retail sale of electronic products and services. Some products include home entertainment systems, scanners, GPS products, digital camera, and many others. â€Å"As of March 31, 2011, the company operated 4,467 company-operated retail stores under the RadioShack brand name in the United States; and 1,304 kiosks located in Target and Sam’s Club stores. † Their market cap is a total of 732. 80 M, compared to Best Buy’s market cap of 8. 88 B.RadioShack recently launched a new low price guarantee on mobile phones in order to attract customers and show them that they are offering the best deals. It is also has a Trade and Save program which allows customers to trade in their used mobile phones and other electronic devices for immediate credit toward their next purchase. The company also has a new Mobile Product Support which provides customers with free specialist support to help them resolve any of their mobile phones or other device-related issues at no additional cost.RadioShack is currently undergoing a plunge in their stock price due to the significant growth of the online retail market, such as eBay and Amazon. Corporate partners review and channels: Best Buy is an electronic retail store, according to the Best Buy 2011 fiscal year report, they operate 1,099 US Bes Buy stores, 6 Magnolia Audio Video Stores specializing in high-end electronics, 6 Audio Visions Stores, 117 Best Buy Mobile Stores and 35 Pacific Sales kitchen and bath cent er Stores (in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada).Best buy also operates on the international market with 71 Best Buy Stores in Canada, 2440 Best Buy’s in Europe – Small Box, 6 Best Buy’s in Europe – Big Box, 166 Five Star Stores, 8 China Best Buy Stores, 10 Best Buy Mobile Canada, 6 Mexico Best Buy Stores, 2 Turkey Best Buy Stores and 146 future shop stores throughout Canada. In the U. S. Best Buy has a 1,200 square foot Best Buy Mobile store as well as a 20,000, 30,000 and 45,000 square foot Best Buy big box store. In Canada, Future Shop stores average 26,000 square feet and Canadian Best Buy stores average 32,000 square feet.In Europe, The Carphone Warehouse and The Phone House stores average 800 square feet. Best Buy also operates online, allowing Customers to purchase product on line at www. bestbuy. com. The main challenge associated to Best Buy distribution is that the company relies on a handful number of vendors for the supply of their prod uct. Best Buy only accounts for 60 percent of the merchandise it purchases, therefore if any supplier is unable to supply or there is disruption and lost from any vendor, the company may not be able to meet the demand of the customers. Product review:Best buy offer product such as electronic, home office product, entertainment software, appliances and related services. Consumer electronic is their largest product category which includes video and audio equipment such as television sets, DVD player, audio system, portable audio player and car stereo. Some of the Home office products are computers, telephone, cellular phone, copier and calculator. Entertainment software offered are CD, DVD, computer software and video games. Best Buy home appliances are dish washer, air conditioners, washing machine, dryers, ranges and refrigerator.Best Buy offers sales on multiple of their items which are computer, tablets, home theater, mobile phones, IPod, cameras, car GPS, appliances, home, finess es, music instrument, video games and movies. However, Best Buy’s most famous sale is on black Friday, they are among â€Å"the top 3 brick and mortar retailers† according to blackFridayads. com. Best buy has a price matching guarantee police they state â€Å"Best Buy will match the price if you find a lower price on an identical available product at a local retail competitor's store, a local Best Buy retail store or BestBuy. com.Simply let us know when you are making your purchase or during the return and exchange period. † Matching prices to competitor such as Amazon and Wal-Mart. The Bureau of Economic Analysis recorded negative growth rate for retail stores during the third and fourth quarters of 2008. Best Buy is the largest U. S consumer electronic retailer by revenue, with $40 billion in net sales in fiscal 2008. Best Buy revenues have increase since 2007 it went from 35. 9 billion in February 2007 to 50. 3 billion in February 2011. The gross profit has a lso considerably increased by 46. 5% since 2008. There is also a considerable increase in their net income, it went from 1. 38 billion to 2. 70 billion in 2011. However, and their operating incomes have also increased, due to an increase of 92. 14% in the depreciation and amortization. In overall their profit has been increasing since 2007. Market/industry description and overview: Over the last few years the consumer electronics retail industry has taken a big hit. One of the big factors for this is the recession; people have less money to spend on material possessions then they used too.The big retail stores such as Best Buy and Target have lost profits due to customers looking to find the best deal possible to save money. Some of Best Buy’s biggest competitors, Amazon for example, have been able to take advantage of this by selling items online at a much lower price. Many times it is a price that Best Buy and many other large retail stores cannot match. An article from htt p://ledfrog. com/blog/2011/04/the-future-of-big-box-retailers/ stated, â€Å"I can go to the store, check out a new camcorder or surround sound system and then decide if it’s something I want.If it is, I’ll ask the manager if they can match Amazon’s deeply discounted price. If he can, I’ll buy it at Best Buy. If not, I’ll go home and order it online. † Because of the online shopping, the market for electronic retailers is shrinking so it will be important to capitalize on the market that is there. The Macro Environment Culture Best Buy wants its main consumers to be in the middle to upper class. It is because of this that they do not specifically target any one gender or race. As long as the consumer has the money to spend Best Buy will want to service them.Those apply to Best Buy as a whole throughout the country; regionally things are a little different. Depending on what region the store is located Best Buy will have to focus on different things. For example in South Los Angeles where the population is predominantly Hispanic and primarily speak Spanish, the employees that are hired there are going to have to know how to speak Spanish, and many of the product signs can have Spanish written on them too. So Best Buy can have the same message throughout the company, but you are going to have to focus more on the little details of where the store is regionally so you do not offend the customers.Demographics: As a company Best Buy has divided its core customers into five different demographic segments, and they call it customer centricity. They have given a name to each one of these segments, Barry, Jill, Buzz, Ray, and Mr. Storefront. Barry is a man in the age range of 24 to 45 who is an affluent tech enthusiast; typically he will be in the higher income bracket and spend more money. Jill is a suburban mom with a targeted age of 24 to 45; she is also in a high income bracket but does not like the whole shopping experienc e for tech products. Buzz is either male or female with a targeted age of 18 to 24.They would be young shoppers into gadgets, video games, and movies, and is in a low income bracket. Ray is a price-conscious family guy between the ages of 24 to 45; he will be looking for the best deals and likes to see advertisements, also he is in a middle income bracket. Mr. Storefront is a small business owner in any age bracket and any income bracket. They have also divided two other segments of customers who are outside of their core targets. The first is named Carrie and she is a young single woman in a low income bracket between the ages of 18 to 30.The second is targeted at empty nesters they are both male and female between the ages of 45 to 55 they are in a middle income bracket and are named Helen and Charlie. The purpose of the customer centricity program is so that a store can meet the needs of its main shoppers. You have to first find out the find out what type of shopper goes to a sto re most and then tailor that store to their desires. For example if you have a store that is tailored to a Barry and Jill that store will have a lot of lighting and fixtures to meet the needs of Barry and personal shopping assistants to help the Jill’s find their products.Best Buy as a whole has decided to focus its demographic segments on people in the income bracket of the upper to middle class. The reason for this is that our core customers are in these income brackets, and knowing this allows the company to build the store to what those classes want. I would not consider dropping any of these customer segments because they cover a vast majority of the shoppers that Best Buy receives. The customer centricity program is what helped keep Best Buy so profitable when companies like Circuit City went out of business. I would however create a new segment named Andy.Andy will be a single man living on his own. This person will be in the mid to high income bracket and be a new tec h and gadget shopper. His main purchases would be in home theater and computer. Social trends: Social trends are one of the biggest driving factors for the income that Best Buy receives. But they also can have a negative impact if we do not address the trends properly. It is very important to keep up with the social trends to help keep our business relevant and in the news for positive reasons. One of the bigger trends right now is marketing through Face book and Twitter; about 41. % of Americans are active users of Face book. That is a lot of people we can market to at a basically free price since Face book and Twitter are free to use. Price sensitivity is also a major concern to deal with. If we only have high end products that are very expensive to buy you are limiting your customer demographic which will in turn lower profits. The best way to deal with this is to carry the high end products but also carry similar products that are at a lower cost. One of the bigger concerns that we have to deal with is energy consumption.The Go Green social trend is a big thing right now and three of our big departments, Home Theater, Appliances, and Computers. These departments not only consume a lot of energy in the store but the products we sell do too. I feel that we can capitalize on this market by purchasing products to sell that are more energy efficient, and advertising these products. This can help drive up our business while also having a greener impact on this earth which looks good for our public relations. Other macro environment factors: Current technological trends have had a negative effect on Best Buys current and potentially future success.One of the main tech trends eroding Best Buys business model is the increased utility and web capabilities of smart phones. With the increased web capabilities of phones a new type of shopper has emerged known as the â€Å"mobile price matchers† (Smith). According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet project â€Å"More than half of adult cell phone owners used their cell phones while they were in a store during the 2011 holiday season† (Smith). These customers routinely use their phones while in retail locations to price match, find product reviews, and/or ask friends for advice.This trend has been especially damaging to Best Buy who is a chief victim of this new style of shopping. It is not uncommon for customers to walk into a local Best Buy view a product and immediately search for reviews or better prices on their smart phones. It is possibly to use this technology to our advantage. One way is to develop a smart phone app for Best Buy that is fun, interactive, and informative. This will allow the customer to use the app to find if the product he wants is in the store, and compare it to other major retailer’s prices for the same product.The economic situation is quite possibly the most damaging thing for Best Buy. When the country, let alone most of the world, i s in a recession it affects the number of customers that come into the store and the amount that they are willing to spend. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s America was at its highest. People had more money then ever and they were looking to spend it. Then when the big recession hit in 2008 customers still were looking to purchase products but their style of purchasing changed. For a while there, a lot of customers did not care what they spent for their item, they just wanted it.Now they are looking for the best deals out there, it does not matter how they get their product as long as they get the best deal for it. This is where it has hurt Best Buy the most because they can not compete with most online store prices, and still be able to make a profit. The key for future success for Best Buy may be to offer more variety of products at a lower cost. This can help them drive more consumers to the store and make purchases. Marketing Strategy Sustainable competitive adv antage: Best Buy enjoys a sustainable competitive advantage because to this date, they are the biggest U.S specialty electronics retailer. Although they are currently experiencing financial problems due to the recession a few years back, Best Buy still seems to have many loyal customers that continue to keep shopping at their stores. The reason why Best Buy contains such a sustainable competitive advantage amongst their competitors, such as Walmart or Amazon, is because it relates not only to product excellence, but customer and locational excellence as well. Best Buy has achieved product excellence through offering the top of the line products in consumer electronics.This is why Best Buy has a lot of loyal customers; they provide products with great quality and high perceived value. They know that if they buy a product from Best Buy that this product will last them a long time, especially if they buy the warranty for it. Another reason why Best Buy enjoys a sustainable competitive advantage is because they also have customer excellence. Best Buy contains a service, known as the Geek Squad, which is a group of employees that help customers with problems they may be having with their electronics. Also, customers are able to rely on the well rained employees when they have a question regarding certain products. Best Buy also has locational excellence since they have over a thousand stores both domestically and internationally. Many say â€Å"The three most important things in retailing are location, location, location. † With this many stores Best Buy is going to be an appealing choice to those other than loyal customers, because it’ll become more convenient to go to a Best Buy that is less than 20 minutes away from your house. There are plans to open up at least 100 stores by 2013 http://www. innovationexcellence. com .This will not only help with their sales, but it will also allow for more customers to become loyal to Best Buy because it’ ll be convenient for them to go to their local Best Buy. Growth strategies Best Buy pursues a marketing penetration strategy. The company employs existing marketing mix and focuses the firm’s efforts on existing customers. Best Buy attempts to increase market share by using existing products and services. The company wants to attract new customers to the current target market and encourage current customers to patronize the firm more often, or buy more merchandise on each visit.In order to accomplish its goals Best Buy has to develop great marketing effort, they have to increase advertisement, sales, and promotions. For instance, Best Buy will broadcast ads on TV every time they want to advertise a new product in the store, such as the latest IPhone. The company wants their current costumers to be aware that the store is carrying new products and new costumers to know what kind of products they sell. During holidays and events such as black Friday, the company advertises thei r deals, so their current costumers buy more merchandise on each visit. SWOT STRENGTHS: Large amount of retail outlets in prime locations * 1,099 US best buy stores, * 6 Magnolia Audio Video Stores * 6 Audio Visions Stores, * 117 Best Buy Mobile Stores * 35 Pacific Sales kitchen and bath center Stores * Brand Loyalty * Very strong brand name * Stores are large * Flexibility exists to add new product lines due to ample space * Value adding customer service * Excellent customer service and technological know how * Geek Squad WEAKNESSES: * Best Buy relies on vendors to supply a large percentage of products which can potentially lead to supply disruption. Example: If Sony and Apple decide to no longer supply Best Buy it would be devastating. * Weak online presence * Late start in e-commerce * E-Bay and Amazon far better online Limited product selection in OPPORTUNITY: * Capture emerging â€Å"mobile price matchers† market * Use social media to reach out to this market * Capitaliz e on iPhone ; Smart Phone market * Pursue the business of young bachelors more aggressively * Undervalued customers with high interest in technology * Social Media * Utilize Face book and Twitter more effectively build relationships * Going green Can lead to potential overhead savings and good public relations THREATS: * Retail discounters such as Wal-Mart and Target * Discounters are stealing electronics market share due to higher foot traffic fueled in large part to product mix * Consumers spend more time at discounters locations because they can buy food, clothing, and entertainment under one roof * Rising trend of â€Å"mobile price matchers† * Consumer deciding to buy elsewhere while in Best Buy can prove to be fatal because it negates all other core competenciesObjectives/Goals and Problem to be Addressed Based on the results of your SWOT analysis, clearly state the Problem that you are planning to address (once you have described the current situation of the company, y ou should be able to articulate the specific problem you want to address and the goals of your marketing plan. ) Please make sure to clearly identify your specific Objectives/Goals. Segmentation (See Chart in Index) When making the market segmentation we decided to separate it into three different segments, gender, age, and income.We chose these segments because they provide the bulk of our customers that shop at a store. Gender was first because that is the most identifiable one. It is easy to separate and calculate who is coming to the store based on their gender. Age is a big factor because we can determine the type of customers that are coming into the stores, a young person will see things much differently then an older person and they both will be looking to buy different things. Finally we picked income because it will tell us how much money people have and are willing to spend at our stores.If we have a store that is getting a lot of low income people going into it, we can n ot have it stocked full of products that they can not afford. Using this we were able to create a customer segment chart. (See Customer Segment chart in the Index) After making the Customer Segment chart we found that we had 18 different segments to work with. Each segment is a little different, but as a whole they make up most of the customers that shop at our stores. When looking at the chart you can see that each segment has something different. The chart covers male and females from different ages to different income levels.You can see that in segment 1 you have males who are under 17 and are in the low income, which is different then segment 4 who are the same but middle income and segment 7 who are in the high income. The information provided by the chart will be very useful in determining which segments to target, and which segments will be unprofitable so we can eliminate them. Targeting Market segments 1. Gender: Male and Female 2. Age: teenager 17 and under, young adult 18 -29 and adult 30-59 3. Income: middle class and upper class Segment attractivenessIt is essential for Best Buy to evaluate segment attractiveness for each of these segments. They first must determine if the segments are worth pursuing, using specific criteria: is the segment identifiable, substantial, reachable, responsive, and profitable. Identifiable: * Teenagers 17 and under have high interest for video games and cell phones. They are aware of the new technology innovation but don’t really use complex ones which might be to high-tech for them, therefore Best Buy will have to take in consideration that they might not be able to know how to use a MacBook Pro as a young adult would. Young adults 18 to 29, such as college students, are more open to try new technology which would later build up in lifelong brand-loyal customers. As a result Best Buy always tries to keep up with the latest technology, offering the newest version of Mac laptop or the last android. * Older adults age 30 to 59 tends to stay with products they are accustomed to. They have difficulties getting used to new technology or do not have the actually time to keep up. Older adults have long working hours or have children to take care of; they do not really have time to used new technology.Most even have to rely on their children in order to know how some electronics around the household work. Best Buy should also consider the differences in incomes among the classes. They should divide customers by their incomes in order to provide services and products that are affordable to all. We consider middle and to upper classes since they are the ones who can purchase higher priced electronics. The middle class which is price sensitive makes between 30,000 to 50,000 dollars a year. They have the ability to purchase electronics such as computers, cell phones or TVs but only at affordable prices.In the upper class, customers are ready to pay high prices for high end goods. However we wouldn†™t target gender because it just represents one segment. Best Buy doesn’t sell one type of product that attract men and another that attract women; they do not focus on gender differentiation. For instance they are no special gadgets or section for women in the store. Substantial: This criterion consists on measuring the target markets. If a market is too small it is insignificant and it will not generate sufficient profit.If it’s too big it might need a bigger store. In this case we should consider the segment of Loyalty; loyal consumers are lifelong customers which make them a substantial segment. Most loyal consumers are those living near the location. For instance it would make more sense for a customer to go grocery shopping at a Vons store that’s 2 miles away and become a regular customer, than drive 20 miles to an Albertson store. Database such as census. gov can be really useful to determine how many people live in the area or how long they have been l iving in that area.For instance 1,068,344 people in Los Angeles have been living in the same house since 2005, which is 33. 2% of the population in Los Angeles. So this means that some of the 33. 2% might be loyal customers to their local store. We wouldn’t consider occasion consumer because they don’t represent a large enough market segment. Since they are not a usual customer it is hard to consider them as a significant segment. Video game companies always promote a new game, and teenagers like to be up to date and purchase the latest one, which is profitable on the long run.Young adults also represent lifelong consumers, since they are interested in technology innovation. For instance college students like to purchase new gadgets to work on their school work or just to stay in touch with their friends, classmates or family members. It would be a good idea for Best Buy to use census data to allocate to younger consumers. Reachable: It means that the consumers know th e product exists, understand what it can do for him or her and recognize how to buy it. It is essential for Best Buy to care different types of technologies at different prices.Their product must attract all ages and be affordable for all Incomes. Different items are offered at different prices, which means everybody can afforded regardless of their incomes. * Middle classes are price sensible, they want to own technology but at affordable prices. It is easier for a company to reach them during sales and holidays, where they purchase items in large county, buying for family member, friends or just for the good deals. * Upper classes are easily reachable; they want to get high end products and are ready to pay the price.They usually want to purchase the latest high-tech product, new IPhone or biggest 3D TV. They are mainly up to date and are aware of new innovation through the different media outlets. Both young and old generations should be aware that Best Buy caries different types of technologies. For instance phone with lots of different applications and new innovations. Such as the iPhone, it attracts younger crowds, whereas less complex gadgets mainly attract an older crowd. * Teenagers and young adults are usually aware of the latest technology and where to purchase them.They have easy access to media; they follow TV and internet ads. Moreover, young generations share information among each other talking about the latest Apple computer or Android. * Older adults found out about new technology or where to purchase them from their children, friends or coworkers. They are also easily reachable; they have access to internet, TV or older media such as newspapers. Loyal consumers are the most accessible; stores mainly collect their information; email addresses or phone number.It makes it easy for the store to send them ads about new products or inform them about a sale on existing products. Loyal consumers also frequently come in the store to check on new prod uct or get information about items they want to purchase. Responsiveness: The customers in the segment must react similarly and positively to the firm’s offering, move toward firm’s product and services and accept the firm’s value proposition. It is easy for a company to measure the responsiveness of loyal consumer, since loyal consumers are highly responsive to a company’s product.They have learned to appreciate what the firm has to offer and accept their value, which lead them to become usual. Companies have to make sure they can properly respond to their consumer needs and wants, if they can’t provide them with the product they want, they shouldn’t target them. For instance, Best Buy would probably fail if they decide to sell bridal gal to attract more female customers. Best Buy is known to offer technological products and their consumers come in the store looking for electronics. They would be confused to see an electronic store selling bridle gal.Teenagers are highly responsive to new technology, they always want to upgrade to newest and fastest gadgets. For example if new video games come out, teenagers are the first to line up at the store and purchase it at any price. Young adults are open to trying new technology, therefore it would be easier to get them positively respond to new innovations. They are the early adopter of new media and technology. The middle class are price sensitive; however they are open to spend money when the deal is right. They are more responsive during sales period, such as black Friday and holidays, such as Christmas.They are big spenders compared to the upper class; which according to the book â€Å"The millionaire next door† put 20 percent of their money into investments and savings accounts. During sales and holidays the middle class purchase in large quantities, as they find the best deals to buy for family and friends. Nevertheless the upper class is still responsive to new innovation; they want to possess the latest technology no matter the price. They like to purchase luxury electronics that provide the experience and the comfort that high-tech has to offer. Profitability: Market segments that generate profitTeenager: According to the U. S census Bureau, there are 247,215 out of 3,772,486 people in Los Angeles who range from 10 to 14 years old, which is 6. 6%. 273,419 out of the same number are between the age of 15 and 19, it represent 7. 2%. let say out of the 520,634 teenagers 10,000 (2%) play and purchase video games on regular bases . The average video game at Best Buy cost 19. 99$. Video games are realize every 5 to 6 days, which mean there is a realize every week. We will consider they purchase the video game every 2 month when they receive pocket money.Variable cost would represent 1/3 of the price sold 6. 66$. Best Buy spend 10,325,000 on fixed cost a month and they have 1099 stores which means each store spends 9,394. 90$. It is 112,738. 8 0 a year Segment size 520,634 X Segment adaptation percentage 2 %X Purchase behavior (19. 99*6) X Profit margin percent (19. 99-6. 66)/19. 99 -Fixed cost 112,738. 80 = 724,022. 08 Best Buy would make a profit of 724,022. 08 a year by selling video games to teenagers. Middle class: 176,674 out of 1,314,198 household in Los Angles make between 35,000 to $49,999 which is considered as middle class income.Most of these household spend a large quantity of money during holiday. Especially during Christmas on gift items, which mean they would purchase them 2 a year IPad is really famous not only among children but also adults. It is a great birthday or Christmas gift. Let say 500 of this household purchase iPads, at least two iPad per household either own by two children or one child one adult or two adults. 100 iPads. One iPads cost 499. 99$. The variable price is 259. 60$. Segment size 176,674 X Segment adaptation percentage 0. 3 %X Purchase behavior (499. 9*2) X Profit margin percent (4 99. 99-259. 60)/499. 99 -Fixed cost 112,738. 80 = 141, 66571 Upper class: 62,319 out of 1,314,198 household make between $150,000 to $199,999, they are the Upper-class. They like to purchase brand new electronics as gift or because it is the brand new model. We will consider 3 purchases a year; birthday gift, holiday gift and the realize day for the brand new model. 5000 of the 62,319 household purchase iPads the same year. Upper class family usually do not have a lot of children, high income just represent 5. % of the working class with families. They buy 5 of them a year, 2 birthday gifts for children and wife/husband, for they realize of the new model and Christmas gift for friends and family 2. Segment size 62,319 X Segment adaptation percentage 8 %X Purchase behavior (499. 99*2) X Profit margin percent (499. 99-259. 60)/499. 99 -Fixed cost 112,738. 80 = 2,280,262. 94 Best buy would definitely make a higher profit if they target the upper class for the sale of IPad. Market targe ting strategy We will use the Differentiated (segmented) marketing as our market targeting strategy.Differentiated marketing strategy is a market-coverage strategy in which a firm decides to target several market segments and designs separate offers for each segment. This strategy is the most appropriated for Best Buy since its goal is to target specific market segment. It wouldn’t make sense for them to practice an undifferentiated marketing strategy, which involve ignoring the different segments and going after the whole market. Moreover, Best Buy is a retailer of consumer electronics, which means they sell all types of electronics coming from different brands, they are already able to provide the consumer with a wild varieties of brands.By using the differentiated marketing strategy they can assist all of their consumers regardless of their preference, income or age. They would provide them with the exact product they want. This strategy is also profitable in the long run, helping build up lifelong consumer. The consumer is able to get the product that he wants and also has varieties of other options, which gives you an advantage over your competitors. The practice of concentrated marketing strategy will not allow Best Buy to have the flexibility to offer different electronics, this strategy only concentrate on a single target market.Micromarketing strategy wouldn’t apply to Best Buy because it only focuses on satisfying the need and want of a single consumer, whereas Best Buy groups his Customers within segments. Perceptual Positioning Map (See Index at the end) Positioning: One of the reasons Best Buy has been so successful over the years is because of its brand loyalty. We believe that this was created from the good customer service that we provide and the relatively low prices we maintain, as you can see from the chart. Some of our competitors have lower prices than us but the ones that do tend to have poor customer service.One of the bigg est concerns that we as a company have to worry about is the low prices that Wal-Mart offers. As the economy continues to be in a recession people are looking for the best price possible as they have to be thriftier with their money. Wal-Mart has dominated the low price position for years and it will be very hard to compete with the prices that they offer. One of the ways to compete with them is our price match guarantee, that way if they have the exact same product at a lower price we can keep our customer by matching the price. Another concern that we may have is with Apple.They have built one of the strongest customer loyalty companies in the world. People are willing to spend more money on Apple products and services just because of the strong brand name that Apple is. Even now that Best Buy is offering Apple products in our stores people will still choose an Apple store over ours. We believe that that main reason for this is the customer service that Apple has provided over the years. They are known for having some of the most advanced technology in their market. For us to gain the loyalty that Apple has we will have to focus on meeting all of our customers’ needs.Most notably the place on the map we would like to be is at the lower right side at low price and high customer service. This is a position that is not covered on a map that there will be a wide open market for. Target, Wal-Mart and online stores such as EBay are able to offer lower price on many of the products that we sell, but they do not provide the quality of service that we do. If Best Buy can keep or even improve its customer service while at the same time lowering many of our prices, we can open the doors to a much larger market.The best position to be taken by Best buy would be one of cheaper prices and better customer service. Now it is true that Best Buy has fairly cheap prices already and with Geek Squad they have fairly good customer service but my belief is they need go furt her with what they have already accomplished. Given the facts and findings there is an entire untapped market of lower priced products and great customer service that would be incredibly lucrative. Now the obvious reasoning behind why there is an untapped market in this area is the financial problems.There isn’t an easy way to have cheap products and great customer service because of the fact that customer service is expensive. However there is one way to successfully do it. As stated earlier they need to target their ideal markets better and literally know when a customer walks in where he or she would be best suited to go and make that area the most appealing. Maybe give the areas themes that would attract the ideal market. The next thing that they would have to do is steal customers away from places like Wal-Mart and Apple because it is the fact that they are loyal to those companies that is the most damaging to Best Buy.Now granted this would not be the easiest thing to d o. They would have to consistently promote cheaper products and better customer service. After they have done that however, the number of customers that they have would make up for the cheaper prices, the increased customer service, and the advertising (in theory). And if this is successful they would have gained access to an un-tapped market where they literally could not be touched, because no one could compete with them. The way the company is currently focused is on targeting wealthier customers.Our store associates are trained to spot customer demographics in the middle to upper class and push our products to them. In many cases this can cause them to focus too much on a one demographic and leave out great customer service to other social classes. If we change our position and start offering similar products at a lower price than our high end products, we will attract the thrifty spenders to Best Buy. So by offering these products at lower prices but still providing top notch c ustomer service we can see a large growth in customer loyalty.The most important thing to this is to treat the lower income families just as well as we would treat the higher income families. This is where places like Wal-Mart and Target fail, they offer the better bargains but it is hard to find good help from an employee when you go into the store. Marketing Mix Products and Services Best Buy is currently one of the last major consumer electronics retailers out there because they provide a wide variety of products that customers can choose from.Since Best Buy sells everything from televisions to refrigerators, which are two completely different appliances, what more can Best Buy offer? Instead of introducing new products, Best Buy should consider offering cheaper prices for their current products in order to attract a different group of customers. Currently, Best Buy is more focused with attracting the wealthy consumers by providing them with products such as the iPad and Blu-ray televisions to keep those customers interested and loyal to their company.By offering cheaper prices, this could allow the middle-/lower-class to be able to attain great quality products with affordable prices. Since our marketing positioning is to target those customers with lower incomes, what better way to do so than lowering their prices on certain products to show that Best Buy products are great and affordable for everyone? As far as their products are concerned, the main modifications they need to make to existing products is providing a wider range of video games and gaming systems.Since the younger generation is becoming more accustomed to using electronics at such a young age, it might be an advantage for Best Buy to sell more video games, which will in turn attract the younger audience to convince their parents to bring them to the store. The company will not only benefit in bringing in the younger crowd, but will also bring in their parents, who will more than likely bec ome attracted to the big screen televisions and wide range of laptops that Best Buy has to offer. Also, Best Buy should consider hiring qualified employees for the Geek Squad in order to minimize customer complaints.Since this service provides customers with assistance for their broken electronics, some one who has background knowledge and has had experience fixing broken laptops, cameras, etc.. should be the one assisting them with their problems. The Geek Squad is known for hiring employees who have not had past experience with fixing broken electronics. Although the Geek Squad does a good job, customers will be more comfortable knowing that the â€Å"geek† helping them with their broken electronics is someone who knows what they are dealing with.Best Buy provides many products for their customers, some that even some people wouldn't expect for their store to provide. For instance, the company should consider dropping the home appliances section because since Best Buy is kn own more as an electronics store, kitchen accessories such as refrigerators and microwaves seem to be products the company is selling just to make extra profit. From past experiences of visiting the store, the home appliances section is always either empty or with very few people taking a look at their washers and dryers.Most of Best Buy's customers are concerned with the laptops and televisions, and to sell kitchen appliances doesn't go along with the â€Å"entertainment† feel that Best Buy provides. Also, now that technology is improving and more people are switching to buy Blu-Ray televisions, Best Buy should consider dropping the VHS section. Since people are learning to adapt to the new technology, more customers are interested in buying Blu-ray DVD's since they provide better quality than VHS. Pricing In the consumer electronics retail business having competitive pricing is of the utmost importance.This is due in large part to the ultra-competitive nature of the electro nics business. Consumer electronics such as new TVs and the latest computers/tablets are highly desired by the masses. However, these items tend to be highly elastic in there demand, making pricing a key component in attracting customers. Furthermore, in today’s consumer electronics market many major retailers regardless of specialty carry consumer electronics, making it possible to purchase socks and a computer all under one roof.Moreover the emergence of e-commerce has made it easier than ever to perform real time price comparisons. The growing practice of online price comparisons has given online retailers who benefit from lower overhead costs an advantage, because they possess the ability to offer low prices along with a massive selection. Taking the preceding factors into consideration it is clear that the importance of being price competitive is greater than ever. As a result we have conducted a price analysis of Best Buys top selling product lines. The retailers compar ed to Best Buy in this nalysis are Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target. The products to be compared consist of top selling T. V. ’s, Tablets, Laptops, and Mp3 players. T. V. Price comparison: Televisions have been of Best-Buys top selling product lines for years and a vital component of any future success. It is important that Best-Buy continue to dominate television sales if we hope to remain atop the consumer electronics retail mountain. Continued dominance in television sales will be a problem. Due to increased competition from retailers who now offer a host of televisions for sale, Best-Buy is losing market share.Because consumers are more likely to frequent Wal-Mart and Target for every day purchases such as soap, it is important to convey value through pricing when customers enter our doors. Our price survey shows that Best-Buy continues to be highly competitive on television prices. For example, a Samsung 51† (PN51D450) television can be found at Amazon for $697, but Be st-Buy and Target are not far behind at $699 and Wal-Mart is priced highest at $799. Amazon beats Best-Buy by 2 dollars but the added convenience of in-store pickup outweighs the slight price difference.Generally Best-Buy is the lowest price if not it is very close to its competitors. The television price strategy is spot on. However, offering a one-time sale of loss leader 32† could go a long way in establishing Best-Buy as the go to retailer for television purchases. Tablet price comparison: Tablets are the hottest devices in the electronics market today. Tablets continue to rise in popularity and it is likely that they will eventually replace laptops as the device of choice for mobile computing. Because of tablets rising popularity it’s important for Best-Buy to capture market share in this product line.The best-selling tablet and industry leader is Apples ipad3 this product is currently offered by all of Best-Buys competitors at the same price across the board. It i s unlikely that any retailer will ever have a price advantage on Apple products. Next in line behind the iPad is the asus eepad, this tablet has the potential to one day compete with the iPad. Best-Buy offers the eepad at the lowest cost on the market at $349; Target can match this price but struggle to keep stock levels up. Amazon and Wal-Mart offer the eepad at $359 and $379 respectively.Offering the next best option to the iPad at the lowest cost puts Best-Buy in an excellent position to capture market share. Laptop price comparison: Although tablets continue to increase in popularity the staple of mobile computing continues to be the Laptop. The versatility and portability of Laptops have kept it in high demand. It is likely that tablets will not possess the computing power to replace laptops anytime soon because of this Best-Buy must remain a major player in this market. A price comparison of laptops shows that this is an area Best-Buy can improve in.For example, HP 17† d v7-6c90us laptop is priced $1029 at Best-buy, but is $959 at Amazon. The price difference is between Best-Buy and Amazon is $70 in favor of Amazon. A savvy consumer armed with a smartphone can quickly discover this, and it is highly likely that Best-Buy would lose this sale. Large price discrepancies such as this one hurt Best-Buys reputation in the long run. Consumers are quick to share the news of their cost savings with friends and family which will in turn make them less inclined to look towards Best-buy for electronics.The loss is two -fold, because not only did Best-Buy lose the sale but it also lost the opportunity to capture the most powerful form of advertising; word-of-mouth. Best-Buy must drop its prices on laptops to the point where they can beat Amazon who consistently sell laptops at a lower cost than Best-Buy. (See Price Chart in the Index) Place Best Buy has a few of different forms of distribution. The first is in-store shoppers who physically come in the store and purchase the products. Our stores need to make sure that we have a full inventory for the product that our customers are looking for.To do this we have to have a good computer program that keeps track of our inventory, as well as near by stores inventories, and the distribution centers inventory. With this information we can tell customers about another store that may have their product. Or we can specially order it from the distribution center and give them an accurate time of when it will be delivered to our store for them. The second distribution strategy and the most important one for our companies growth is our online store. Distribution for www. BestBuy. com needs o be fast, efficient, and available for our customers to make their purchase. Online shopping will allow customers to purchase the products without ever having to step foot on  a sales floor. With the purchases made online they can have the products shipped to their homes, or they can choose in-store pickup (which is free) where they have the option to possibly get the product that day if it is available. The third distribution strategy is the Best Buy vending machines found at Airports and major hotel chains. These vending machines will hold small electronics for customers to purchase.They can hold many things such as gift cards, pre paid cell phones, ear phones, mp3 players, and even movies. What is important about these is it will provide a strong advertisement for the Best Buy brand for new customers traveling the world, who might not know what Best Buy is or experienced one yet. The biggest change that needs to be made with the Best Buy distribution strategy is how many physical stores there are in America. Back in 2006 Best Buy was on top of the world when it came to consumer electronics and we over expanded in America.As the recession hit like everyone else profits began to drop. By having too many stores costs were now a lot higher and revenue was a lot lower. So in America we should actually be closing down stores that do not have enough of a demographic to keep them running and profitable. But the international expansion should continue as a slow and steady process. This way we can find out where our company works and where it doesn’t. The biggest area of need in our supply chain is how fast we can get products to our store that are shown online, but are not physically in the store.There are many customers who see a product on the website but do not purchase it there because they want to actually see the product before the purchase is made. It is important to be able to get that product to the store as soon as possible to help the customer make their purchase. To do this we have to have a distribution center that can process our request that minute so we can get the product to the store within the next day. The best way of doing this is running a real time processing program that is connected to all the distribution centers.When the order is placed the program will find the product and the fastest way it can be shipped to the store. Advertising and Promotion Our Best Buy advertising message is â€Å"Help you get more from your technology†. This message best conveys the image of our company. Best Buy focuses on providing the best customer service possible, through training. Our employees acquire a vast knowledge of the different technology in the store, so they can better assist customers and help them get more from their technology. We also assist our customers through our technology and repair department, Geek Squad.Geek Squad offer services such as TV and computer home setup. The goal of our company is to help customers choose the right technology based on what they are looking for. For example there are a large number of customers coming in our store looking to purchase a computer but they do not know exactly which one to get. Our employees help them identify the right brand and model, based on their interest and taste. The advertising Medias that we have chosen are Television, Newspaper, Internet and direct Mail. Each of these mediums have specific characteristics that make it suitable for meeting specific objective. 1.Television offers a mix of visual and auditory techniques and it provides a wide reach. Television advertisement allows us to both show our products and verbally talk about it. Best Buy has a wide reach; they can reach usual customers as well as potential customers. TV helps us catch the attention of the audience and then reinforce their retention rates by repeating the message. TV has a mass appeal, individuals watch television for different reason: to watch a movie, the news or any other sports. People from different segments watch TV, which helps you reach a large variety of individual with different background.Moreover, well done TV ads are appealing to the audience. For instance, every super bowl viewers not only looking forward to watch the games, but also the commercials. The y want to witness the latest creative Super Bowl commercial, it can help build up a loyal customer base. 2. Newspapers offer flexibility, they are timely and help you localize a precise segment. Newspaper Ads can easily be modified to adapt to changes. They are also timely which means they are more affordable deals than TV Ads, since they are usually advertised once in a while.Newspaper Ads allows you to target a certain segment of customers. There is a certain demographic that reads the Newspaper such as older adult or intellectuals. Moreover, most people expect advertising in the newspaper, some even purchase it for the advertisement and the deals they offer. Newspapers allow you to communicate certain extra information such as a telephone numbers or price. It also helps you offer deals such as coupon which couldn’t have been possible on TV. 3. Internet can be linked to detail content.An internet Ad on any webpage will link the customer to the website of the company if he c licks on the Ad. It allows the company to provide more information about the product to the potential customers and promote other products or just the company itself. Internet offers a vast reach; it allows a company to promote their product on a wider market. A good medium would be social network website, such as Facebook or twitter. These social networks provide the ability to reach an international market. Moreover, social networks allow a company to interact with their customers.They can post feedback on the company Facebook wall or suggest ideas on their twitter page. Internet also offer flexibility, you can change an Ads any time or add extra information. Internet advertising offer targeting method that allows you to reach a specific segment, those who see your ads are the ones most likely to buy. 4. Direct mail is highly targeted, it focuses on a specific segment, mainly the consumers who purposively signed up for them or are frequent costumers. It is a useful medium to send sale advertisements to customers and promote new products as well.The company has a direct control over who they are targeting and which product they are offering. A letter can be personalized via mail-merging techniques and you can also use a more informal language in writing your Ad. The company can develop graphics and design the way they want, they don’t have to go through newspaper regulations. Best Buy chooses to focus more on reach. Reach allows a company to build product awareness. Since Best Buy is a retailer of consumer electronics, we get different electronics coming from different companies on a regular base.These different items include new models of the previous technology. We need to inform costumers of the new product entering the market. Most of the companies that come up with a new product, do not want to spend a lot of money on advertising the product on the different advertising Medias, therefore Best Buy is the one who was to promote the new product. The goal of our company is to reach a broad audience; as a result we promote our new product during major sporting events and holidays. During a major sport event, such as the super bowl, there are a large number f people who turn in to watch the game. And as we said earlier some are as eager to watch the commercials. Holidays are also a perfect time to promote a new product because people are looking for presents to give to their loved ones. Consumers are looking for inspiration everywhere, mainly through TV Ads, magazines, or newspapers. Companies want to persuade the costumer that their latest Smartphone is the best Christmas gift for their teenager, or that the brand new MacBook pro is the exact gift their husband was dreaming of.Costumers are more likely to trust a holiday Ad than any other, they don’t have the time to think of an original gift and they mostly believe the Ads stating that â€Å"this is the hottest items of the holiday, a must have! † Reach is also use ful for a product with long purchase cycle. Since Best Buy sells electronics, all the Items have a long purchase cycle. People buy phones, laptop, TV, video game once in a while. They usually purchase new ones after a year or so. Our main advertising objective is to remind.Reminder advertising is a communication used to remind or prompt repurchases, especially for products that have gained market acceptance and are in the maturity stage of their life cycle. According to www. twice. com Best Buy is the No. 1 retailer on this combined list of consumer electronics and major appliance retailers in the United States. Our company has gained a market acceptance coming before stores such as Wal-Mart and Sear’s that are usually known for their low cost. Best Buy’s goal is not to promote lower cost but quality which is promoted through our customer service.Best Buy believes that customer service is the key to provide a quality service and build up customer loyalty. Therefore our company provides training to all of our employees working on the floor, we teach them how to interact with a customer, and we provide them with the sufficient knowledge about the different gadgets in the store so they can give better advice to the costumer. Our advertisement mainly focuses on the quality customer service that we offer. We want to remind the costumer, why they always chooses us first in retail electronics.Best Buy has established an image of professionalism, knowledge and assistance through its customer service. We want the consumer to know that he is in good hands every time he comes to one of our store. Best buy uses information appeal to portray its products and persuade consumers to purchase them. Our company uses factual information and strong arguments to attract consumers. We want our costumer to evaluate our products on the basis of the key benefits they provide. Best Buy offers different high tech products that are sometime really complex, so it is in our b est interest to inform our customers on how to use those products.For example, Apple iPhones offer and develop new features that might be too confusing for our regular costumer, so Best Buy develops Ads that explain to costumers how to use them. Our goal is to improve our customer knowledge; therefore they can enjoy the entire attributes their new gadget has to offer. Consumers are more willing to buy a product that they understan