Apa module assignment

Association was founded in 1929 by a group of psychologists, anthropologist and research scholars. It is a method of formatting and citing the idea inside the document which was originally used by someone else in their article. In other words, PAP Is the style of giving proper citation to a statement, quote or idea of others that helps the reader for quick reference at the end of the paper. It enhances the legitimacy and originality of the writer.PAP Tyler Is worldwide accepted form of writing papers, where In text citation and references at the end of the paper proves the genuineness of the writing by Glenn proper acknowledgement to the original Idea of the writer. In-text citation Is used when writer Is using someone else's thoughts and quotes. In-text citations are necessary even If someone else's thoughts which are already published are written In your own words. In-text citations are Important, else Its considered as plagiarism that means to take someone else's work and prove to be yours own.In-text citations can be given by following few simple steps. There are different software's and even word documents that help for citations. In my previous assignment on school bullies I used the In-text citations. Example: Goodman (2013) provides facts and findings in the article, Bullied Kids Often Develop Physical Symptoms, Study Says, about the children bullied at school. According to the research among 220,000 school aged kids and 14 countries, it has been proven that frequent and unexpected physical illness is moon in school children when they are victims of bullying (Goodman (2013),Para. ). If we want to include any direct quotes in the document, it should be cited properly. Direct quotes are original words of the author and needs to be acknowledged by in-text citations. This can be done by following simple steps. Direct quotes should be included in inverted commas and needs to be in exact words as mentioned in the original source. Further it should have author s name and year the article was published. It's a good habit if we include page number or Para number or reference. All this is included in parenthesis.Finally at the very end of the paper Is the reference page which included the detail of the in-text citation. Example: â€Å"The results of this study suggest that any recurrent and unexplained physical symptom can be a warning sign of bullying,† (Gigantic Gin, 2013, Para. 5). Pap module assignment By insomnia someone else in their article. In other words, PAP is the style of giving proper citation style is worldwide accepted form of writing papers, where in text citation and preferences at the end of the paper proves the genuineness of the writing by giving proper acknowledgement to the original idea of the writer.In-text citation is used when writer is using someone else's thoughts and quotes. In-text citations are necessary even if someone else's thoughts which are already published are written in your own words. In-text ci tations are important, else its considered as plagiarism that common in school children when they are victims of bullying (Goodman (Barbara. Is the reference page which included the detail of the in-text citation. Example.

Investigate how a major event can influence the hospitality, travel and tourism industry Essay

Executive Summary Within this report it outlines how a major event can influence the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. It will go into great detail about the chosen event and how this particular event impacted these industries, with topics such as what an event is, the chosen event in detail, and how this event impacted these industries. Table of Contents I. Methodology II. Introduction III. Findings IV. Conclusion V. References VI. Appendices VII. Bibliography Methodology After already establishing the basis of the theoretical view of this report, it is now required to reflect on how the evidence will be composed to support the theory and research within this report. There are a number of ways in which this research will be collected. Firstly it will be important to establish what an actual event is as well as definitions of the terms hospitality, travel and tourism. This can be done through secondary sources such as books e. g. Allen, O’Toole et al 2011, websites and newspapers. The chosen event will then show how it has impacted the hospitality, travel and tourism industries in Belfast as well as how the Northern Ireland Tourism Board had this planned as part of Northern Ireland’s preparation of making Northern Ireland a huge tourist destination. Introduction The subject matter of this report is too educate how a major event can influence the hospitality, travel and tourism industries, looking a single event in particular, so that the impacts are more in a personal tone rather than generalising to looking into events as a whole. Definitions will be given of what an event, hospitality, travel and tourism actually are. Topics will include information on the chosen event that will be discussed in greater detail, Belfast as a tourist destination, important impacts on the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. Benefits of a major event within a city. How a major event can impact on a city or destination improvements, and a brief incite into Northern Ireland’s Tourist Board’s plan for Northern Ireland to become a huge and popular tourist destination in the future. Investigate how a major event can influence the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. For this report I have chosen to research and ‘Investigate how a major event can influence the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. ’ The event in which I aim on investigating is the opening if the Titanic Signature Building. This report will explain in detail how the opening of the Titanic Signature Building influenced the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. Within this report you will be introduced to the main question of this report. Topics will include talking about the building itself, its visitor numbers, Belfast as a tourism destination, the impacts the building had on Belfast’s hospitality, travel & tourism industry. â€Å"The hospitality and tourism industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry with 700 million international travellers per year around the world,† said Zainal (2012) in his book, ‘Current Issues in Hospitality and Tourism: Research and Innovations. ’ According to the oxford dictionary the exact definitions of what an event, hospitality and tourism actually are. â€Å"An event is described as a thing that happens or takes place, especially one of importance, a planned public or social occasion. † â€Å"Hospitality is the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers. † And the definition of tourism is the â€Å"temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activity undertaken during the stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater for their needs. † According to Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) the Northern Ireland vision is, ‘To create the new Northern Ireland experience and get it on everyone’s destination wish list. ’ As the well-known slogan for Northern Ireland 2012 was that â€Å"Northern Ireland 2012 is our time, our place† This means that NITB have stated that they think Northern Ireland is a rising tourist destination. And that Northern Ireland is trying to offer a unique way to be involved and to celebrate. And we as a city need to take our story to a wider audience. So as part of this transaction to take ‘our story’ to a wider audience, the Titanic signature building project started. Shone and Parry (2010) said that â€Å"for a town or city wishing to become a tourist destination, elements such as attractions, accommodation, transport, infrastructure and facilities must be present. † Belfast has been in the middle of this process over the past few years, and especially as 2012 was meant to be ‘our time, our place’ Belfast certainly lived up to this. And a huge part was the titanic signature building. The Titanic Signature building is the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction & 400,000 visitors were expected to visit the building per annum & 900,000 per annum footfall through the building. Within the first 6 months, 500,000 people had already visited Titanic Belfast. â€Å"One of the most important impacts is the tourism revenue generated by an event. In addition to their spending at the event, external visitors are likely to spend on travel, accommodation, and goods and services in the host city. Titanic Belfast was part of NITB’s plan to attract visitors to Belfast and Northern Ireland with a consequent increase in revenue, which will generate jobs and income. Based on projected visitor numbers its one off the most expensive buildings of its kind in Europe. It cost ? 77million to construct, with most of the funding (? 60million) coming from the public’s wallet. Mike Smith, the chief executive of the building said that, â€Å"We think the building is good value for money. † The opening of the Titanic Belfast produced instant employment benefits as it was estimated that 200 people would be needed to work in the building. The projected increase in visitor numbers, from within the UK and Ireland as well as internationally, will lead to a corresponding demand for local hotels and services, therefore generating job opportunities in the construction and hospitality sectors. Allen, O’Toole et al 2011, talked about how a major event has potential to bring ‘new money’ into Belfast from outside visitors. â€Å"The role event tourism is required to play in a destination’s tourism development efforts will vary according to the overall tourism strategy that is being pursued. † (Allen, O’Toole et al 2011) Belfast is now a popular short-break destination and one of Europe’s top visitor destinations. In 2006, Belfast had 6. 8 million tourists compared to 2011 when we had 7. 86 million tourists. There was quite a number if impacts the opening of Titanic Belfast had on tourism on not only Belfast but Northern Ireland as a whole. The Titanic Signature building is located only 5 minutes from the city centre, so therefore this increasingly popular tourism attraction is not difficult to travel to, there are buses to the Titanic Quarter every 10-15 minutes from the City Centre. It is also within walking distance. The city centre is always crowded with tourist companies who are there to promote tours of the city, these tours run every day and very frequently, they seem to be every popular and since the opening of the Titanic Signature Building, a new tour opened up that was solely about the Titanic alone and it’s attractions. â€Å"Events add to the range of experiences a destination can offer, and this then adds to its capacity to attract and hold visitors for longer periods of time. † (Getz and Wicks 1994) Since the opening of the Titanic Building, this saw Belfast’s biggest jump in hotel occupancy in March 2012 in nearly a decade and a 12% year on year hike in revenues. Then in April saw the year on year occupancy in Belfast’s leading hotels increase by 25%, the average is usually are 15% over April 2011. Belfast’s PWC partner Stephen Curragh said, â€Å"Overall, 2012 has been a successful year for Belfast hotels thus far, but it is off a very low base and will require sustained visitor numbers to bring Belfast back to pre-downturn levels of profitability. † Allen, O’Toole et al (2011) said that events can also provide a significant spur to both public and private investment in a destination. Large scale events can play in destination renewal and in the later development of a destination’s attractiveness and capacity as a tourist destination. NITB have identified excellent events and business tourism as two of their winning themes with the potential to deliver competitive advantages for Northern Ireland as part of their tourism Strategic Framework for Action 2004-2007. NITB said, â€Å"Note for the Excellent Events theme, research confirms that events are an effective tool for changing perceptions and attracting visitors. † Opportunity 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total Additional Visitors 150,00 333,000 200,000 150,000 833,00 Additional Revenue ?24 million ?52 million ?34 million ?30 million ?140 million Created Jobs 612 1,326 867 765 3,570 This table, which can be found on NITB’s 2012 guide, shows NITB’s goal for the future, which is to increase tourism spend to ? 1 million by 2020 and to increase visitor numbers to 4. 5 million by 2020 It shows NITB’s plan in more detail. In 2013 their plan is at its peak by expecting to have 333,000 additional visitors into Northern Ireland which will then create 52 million additional revenue and will generate 1,326 extra jobs in Northern Ireland. Events can affect the hospitality, travel ; tourism industries in many ways. In Belfast due to the opening of the titanic building we have shown you that there has been quite a high incline in Belfast as a tourist destination. Overall we found that the Titanic Building has had an positive impact on hospitality and tourism in Belfast. â€Å"2012 is about changing global perceptions and trying to get tourists to come to Northern Ireland,† – Arlene Foster.

Harlequin Enterprises: the Mira Decisions Essay

The primary issue facing Harlequin is the â€Å"steady loss of share in a growing women’s fiction market†, due to the growing popularity of single-title novels. With the volume sales dependence that is inherent in series publishing, the unit sales stalling that occurred in the late 80’s and early 90’s acted as a warning signal to Harlequin. A change in pricing strategies enabled revenues to continue to rise, but this was a short-term solution and Mira has the potential to become a long-term solution. However, there are a number of issues surrounding the launch of Mira. As the world’s largest publisher of romance fiction, Harlequin has a strong global foothold in series publishing with a presence in more than 100 international markets and 23 languages. Indeed, Harlequin has been able to create high barriers to entry in the series market through the development of brand loyalty and excellence in product quality and supply chain management. Brand loyalty comprises a strong readership base, which has been cultivated through brand recognition, trust, and long-term relationships. This is evidenced by the direct-to-reader Book Club, which currently provides 3/8 of US Sales at significantly higher margins than indirect sales. The low-price, consistent, high-quality product is well packaged and positioned ideally to take advantage of customer expectations, supported by a large and capable author/editor base. Standardization has enabled Harlequin to take advantage of significant economies of scale in printing, distribution and advertising; and simplifies retailers’ positioning and marketing strategies. While standing order distribution enables Harlequin to more accurately predict sales and returns, and therefore benefit from predictable cost-based accounting practices to achieve better margins. However, with limited diversification, Harlequin has little expertise in the broader realm of women’s fiction outside of the romance genre, which may limit their abilities to select and develop successful authors and titles, as was the case with the 1987 Worldwide Library failure. Although, the Worldwide experience gives Harlequin a true appreciation of their strengths and provides a strong foundation from which to avoid future mistakes. Harlequin’s inferior presence in traditional retail environments for single-title novels and limited advertising portfolio centred on print media somewhat restricts their sales to their existing, or stereotypical, customer base. Existing distribution partnerships are unlikely to resolve this issue and may force Harlequin to seek out new partnerships and/or mechanisms. According to the market research, â€Å"customers were reading as many single-title romance and women’s fiction books as series romances. This implies that there is significant overlap with other subject areas and market segments within Harlequin’s existing readership base and it should be possible for Harlequin to cultivate their customer loyalty and translate it to direct-to-reader sales in other genres. Mira also provides the opportunity for authors to develop beyond the series format without moving to another publisher, and still remain available to the Harlequin series genre. This promotes emp loyee loyalty and job satisfaction, while allowing Harlequin to invest in promoting individual authors and benefit from the cross-segment marketing. The overheads that Mira would incur, although substantial, would remain competitive with other publishers and would benefit from Harlequin’s global infrastructure. Foreign language markets, in particular, would be accessible to Mira through the use of existing translation services, distribution networks and retail relationships. Mira would also provide Harlequin the opportunity to create economies of scale through the centralization of rights acquisition activities already being undertaken in some international subsidiaries. Conversely, Mira represents an extremely high risk undertaking for Harlequin with significantly higher costs for production, distribution and marketing. A single-title novel is a unique product, which requires a publisher to generate higher per-unit sales volumes; create individual design, marketing and promotion campaigns; and provide higher returns to authors and third parties. Production changes, at least in terms of product dimensions, could have significant unforeseen impacts on the economies of scale currently enjoyed within the production and distribution supply chains. If Mira is to compete with existing single-title publishers, long-term author contracts, royalties and advances could put extreme financial pressure on Harlequin and represent a significant level of investment, which may or may not be realizable in the long-term. Therefore, the failure of a single-title novel to achieve break-even sales targets has far-reaching consequences; and can seriously damage reputations upon which future sales would depend. Nevertheless, the most significant threat to the success of Mira is its potential in the US market. The truce with Simon & Schuster achieved at the end of the Romance Wars may not be sustainable, if Harlequin launches Mira in direct competition with S&S in single-title publishing. This situation would be especially difficult given that Harlequin is entirely dependent on S&S for distribution of its series titles within the US market, and its lack of experience with mainstream retailing avenues. By pursuing Mira, Harlequin risks losing a highly efficient and profitable relationship with S&S and having to completely redevelop its distribution chain within the US. Upon consideration, Harlequin has the resources and capabilities it needs in order to succeed with Mira. Although the company currently has a different business model, it has the same basic components and critical resources necessary to create and manufacture the product. The author/editor base that Harlequin has at its disposal represents a considerable asset, and somewhat mitigates the risk of talent selection and development that can be associated with single-title novels. Historic market positioning and the reputation of Harlequin as a romance eries publisher may overshadow attempts to create the Mira brand; but Harlequin has reached the point where it must expand beyond the romance genre. The direct-to-reader sales, marketing and distribution mechanisms would require few adjustments or adaptations, and would provide Harlequin with an ideal test market from which to make the leap into the mainstream. Existing production and distribution expertise would sustain development of Mira , while Harlequin spends time putting mainstream distribution mechanisms and publicity expertise into place. It is conceivable that successful single-title authors who published their early works with Harlequin could be convinced to return to Harlequin, depending on the financial incentives; but, this is a long-term question, governed by authors’ contractual obligations and the success of Mira in the short-term. However, the back-list of novels created by successful authors who published their early works with Harlequin comprises an easily marketable, cost-effective and potentially profitable resource, that would enable Mira to capitalize on established reputations and in-direct publicity. The downside is that Mira may risk alienating or offending fans of established authors, by publishing works that did not meet reader expectations because of their quality or adherence to Harlequin conventions. Therefore, I would recommend that Harlequin perform a limited launch of Mira by re-developing titles in their back-list and generating direct-to-reader sales through the Book Club, while it explores global distribution and marketing relationships. References: Richard Ivey School of Business Case Harlequin Enterprises: The MIRA Decision #9B03M007

Effect of the exchange rates and inflation on the investment Statistics Project

Effect of the exchange rates and inflation on the investment - Statistics Project Example Further, the use of PPP will help in determining the effect of inflation rates on exchange rates in each of the two countries. The knowledge about the inflation rate will conclusively lead to comparison of the intensity of investment between the countries. Accessing the relationship between exchange rates, interest rates and inflation is essential in understanding the intensity of investment. The necessity of PPP theory in this project arises because it acknowledges the changing patterns of trade usually witnessed between two countries as the result of the difference in inflation rates. In order to achieve the objective of the project, the baseline is to analyse the change of exchange rates between UK and USA through testing the PPP theory. Data given for the quarter period will be used in performing regression in Minitab thereby giving information on the differences about the exchange rates. Intuitively, the basis of this project is that absolute form of PPP cannot be used because i t does not acknowledge the differences in prices thereby calling for the use of relative form. The project involves testing the relevance of PPP theory through a real life situation comparison of the exchange rate and inflation rate between UK (pound) and US (dollar) for the period of 10 years quarterly (from 2000 to 2009). Success in carrying out this test calls for perusing through the EIU database. In this case, US and UK were selected as the subjects for comparison followed by acknowledging the period of time as from 2000 to 2009.

How has education changed for the black community since 1963 Research Paper

How has education changed for the black community since 1963 - Research Paper Example The Americans referred to them as Negroes and worked as servants in their houses and farms. However, there existed no law to protect the Blacks, which made Massachusetts to take advantage and pass a statutory that declared all Blacks as slaves and forbid intermarriage with the Americans. This brought inequality in education among other aspects that the Blacks fight for to date. The big question one would ask is, if there are any changes that have occurred in the education for the blacks since 1963 after passing of the civil rights. Civil Rights After Abraham Lincoln took over the presidency, he abolished slavery but this did not mean that Blacks had equal rights with the Whites. It was until the year 1963 during the biggest ever demonstration in the history of America with about 250,000 people that segregation ceased a bit. It resulted in major gains for the blacks in education, social life, politically, legally and economically (â€Å"FAQs† web). In the year 1964, an act was passed that outlawed discrimination in public facilities. In addition, an anti- poverty law that ensured equal employment rights to all Americans and voting rights act were passed (â€Å"FAQs† web). Before this, there were diverse schools for the blacks and others for the whites and no white would join a Black school or vice versa. With the passing of these laws, racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional and any black or White child had a right to join a school of their choice. Besides the fight yielding equal educational opportunities for the blacks, it attained curriculum provisions. For the first time in history, curriculum included courses that taught the history of Black Americans as well as their contribution to the Americans history, the fruits. However, this did not last long because the Whites sent their children to private schools, reducing the prestige of public schools. The quest of inadequate education is not yet over since most Blacks cannot take their children to private schools. Does Racism affect Education Today? Black segregation remains, which has affected the education systems to date. Although decent housing is a basic right in America, many black Americans have to put up with poor housing because of unfair treatment. Some of the Black Americans can afford better housing but racism and bending of the law blocks them out. Therefore, they have to join their poor counterparts and rent houses in the ghettos with poor neighbourhoods. Apparently, housing is a major cause of educational differences between the poor and the rich. It is clear that the Blacks and the whites live in distinct neighbourhoods and thus attend nearby public or private schools. This has fostered differential treatment between the black schools and the Whites schools, reducing young Blacks’ chances to quality education and good jobs. For instance, a visit to a well-off public or private schools will lead to spotting up-to-date textbooks, comput ers, VCRs, and numerous curriculum activities to round out their education. On the other hand, public schools in the inner or poor estates use old textbooks, old equipment, and no special programmes. In the places where the whites and the Blacks attend the same schools, either race hangs around with those of their own (Wilmore web). Other Neighbourhood Challenges In addition, living in poor neighbourhood

Employee relations are one of IHRM. Critically analyses how cultural Essay

Employee relations are one of IHRM. Critically analyses how cultural differences might affect it. Illustrate your answer with examples - Essay Example This is to ensure justice prevails, and suitable measures are taken. This calls for the supervisors to consider progressive discipline and regulatory measures in effecting disciplinary actions. These measures are also required to resolve grievances and appeals from the employees. There are employee relations policies that outline steps that supervisors are supposed to take to address work performance and behaviour. Steps in these policies are not rigid procedural requirements that should be used in every situation. The measures are helpful in establishing guidelines to help supervisors monitor and ensure workers meet the expectations. Communication is a crucial tool in employee relations (Stewart, 2010). Employees require proper communication so that they can feel as part of an organization. Thus, it is necessary for supervisors to provide information to employees to promote good understanding of the goals and policies of the organization. This information is also important to employees as it helps in correcting poor performance, personal issues and other duty misconducts. Suitable advice is given to employees on legislation, applicable regulations and other bargaining agreements. It is through these advices that all indifferences are taken into account ranging from economic, social and cultural factors. In this process, employees are advised on the way to present their grievances in an organization (Chew & Chan, 2008). In this process, there is a proper understanding of organizational measures in labour provision. Employer’s main objective is work quality. It is obvious that happy employees create customers who are happy thus suitable business results are achieved. It is the need of every employee to get a respectful, fair, and a healthy workplace. Work motivators determine the work quality and the ability for workers to deliver at their level best. They include job security, workplace

Assault Rifles Should Be Banned In Washington State Essay

Assault Rifles Should Be Banned In Washington State - Essay Example 7 should be banned because these rifles are most commonly used in mass shooting incidences, the ban will result in safeguarding the lives of defense officials and the ban is completely constitutional. One of the main reasons due to which assault rifles should be banned is that these fire arms provide an advantage to the shooter and allows them to take more lives and spread more fears in a very limited amount of time. These rifles mostly contain more than 10 rounds and are easy and much faster to shoot and due to this several lives are taken away in a very small period of time. For example: in the Sandy Hook case the shooter, Adam Lanza used an assault rifle known as Bushmaster and within a matter of 10 minutes ended up taking a total of 27 lives at a school (Flegenheimer 1). Another reason due to which assault rifles should be banned is that it restricts the defenders of the nation in carrying out their duties in the best possible manner. It does not only become an obstacle in the way police men carry out their duties, it has even resulted in the deaths of several policemen while they try to safeguard the citizens of Washington. According to Mathews, there has been an increase in the number of police officials being killed since the removal of the ban on assault weapons, he notes that during the period of 2009 there was an increase of 24% in the number of police officials being killed due to gun fire as compared to 2008 (Matthews 1). Banning of assault rifles is completely constitutional and does not infringe upon the citizen’s right to purchase and carry arms as stated in the Second Amendment. During the period of 2008, Justice Scalia held in a verdict that the Second Amendment protects the right of the Americans to own and carry firearms but the amendment does not cover fire arms that are dangerous and unusual (Fuchs 1). This means that if Washington State bans assault rifles they would not be going against the constitution because these weapons are very

The era of the plutocrats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The era of the plutocrats - Essay Example He was not merely a financier and a banker but a philanthropist and an art collector. He gained his education in both US and Germany. He was trained as an accountant at Sherman and Company and in 1867, was transferred to his father's banking company Drexel, Morgan and Company where he became a partner in 10 years. In 1895, the company was renamed as J. P. Morgan and became a world renowned banking house. He was responsible for arranging the merger between Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houson Electric Company. The new company formed, General Electric came on to become the main electrical equipment manufacturing company in the country. He financed Federal Steel Company and merged it with Carnegie Steel Company which came on to become United States Steel Corporation. With the help of his network in London, he was able to attract British investment for growing industrial corporations in the U.S. as he played a major role in attaining capital for companies. He became a member of th e board of directors of many of these companies, most of which were rail road companies. This meant that by 1902, Morgan had control over 8,000 km of railroads in America. To gain control over major corporations, he concentrated his efforts on acquiring control of several banks and insurance companies. He was at times criticized for his hunger for power and his urge for gaining control (Simkin, JP Morgan) Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25th, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland to a handloom weaver. The Carnegie family had to immigrate to the United States in 1848 because of the economic depression. In America, Andrew began to work at the age of 12 at a local cotton factory while pursuing his education by attending night school. At 14, Andrew Carnegie took the job of messenger boy where his talent was duly noticed by the superintendent of the western division of the company, Thomas A. Scott. When during the Civil War Scott was made secretary, he took Carnegie along with him to Washi ngton to work as his right-hand man. Organizing the military telegraph system was part of Carnegie’s job. On becoming superintendent, Carnegie wisely invested in many promising ventures, one of which was Woodruff Sleeping Car Company and many other small iron mills and factories, the most important of which was the company which he owned a one-fifth share in: Keystone Bridge. Some of the major milestones he achieved include the opening of his steel furnace at Braddock, writing a series of books and articles through which he voiced his opinions that the rich should help the poor and a man that dies rich is disgraced. He also set up a fund which finances 3,000 public libraries (380 in Britain), the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. By the time of his death, he had donated $350,000,000 (Simkin, Andrew Carnegie). Born in New York in 1839, John Davidson Rockefeller at the young age of 16 became a cler k in a commission house. He wanted to work for himself and in 1850 by saving every penny he earned, he with an Englishman, Maurice Clark, opened his own company, Clark & Rockefeller Produce and Commission which sold farm implements, fertilizers and household goods. He sold his successful business for the more lucrative business of refining crude oil and started a company called Standard Oil. He was able to minimize costs by setting up an exclusive deal

Revisit my anwser to the question in week one What is Wisdom Essay

Revisit my anwser to the question in week one What is Wisdom - Essay Example My initial conception of this view mainly derived through the book, The Last Days of Socrates by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant, has been reinforced by further readings of authors like William Thomas, Aldous Huxley, Joseph Piper, Victor Frank. Before reading Socrates, I was focused on the materialistic concepts of wisdom, believing that wisdom, within context of modern life, refers to the success a person achieves materialistically. But after mulling over the philosophical musings of these renowned authors, I became aware that one’s spirituality definitely plays a key role in evolving his individuality by which he strives for the pursuit of wisdom, and there by acquires happiness. Thus my distorted perception of human wisdom and welfare transformed drastically through the treasure trove of knowledge I could acquire from the profound works of these great men. They promulgated the concept that living the life of a values, guided by spiritually and motivated by true virtues, for the common good of humanity is one philosophy that can salvage the man’s soul rather than hours together spent in religious rituals or millions of sermons chanted to appease gods. It now transpires to me that wisdom is the essential thread that holds together the astute concepts of spirituality, philosophy, ultimate happiness and there by supreme attainment of the soul. This, I understand, is the true meaning or purpose of life. The impact of this has enabled me to think positively and see life in a new perspective and meaning as the realization dawns on me that overall what the present world lacks is the essential insight into the need of spirituality due to which its focus const antly shifts to the wrong direction of materialism. And, unfortunately humans fail to realize where this ignorance, that entails from the lack of wisdom, is going to take them. The works of authors like Socrates, Thoreau, Huxley, Piper and Frankl read and

The role of international law and human rights in the cold war and the Essay

The role of international law and human rights in the cold war and the post cold war eras - Essay Example Countries sign agreements that bind them to follow certain regulations and standards that they set. It is divided in to public and private or conflict international laws. The public international laws entail things like the maritime laws, United Nations and Geneva conferences. The private international law simply tries to come up with where and how a case can be handled. On the other hand, human rights are said to be freedom that every individual has a right to experience. Examples of rights are: right to life, education, culture, work, freedom of expression and civil rights. Every nation has its own rights clearly set and understood by its people. International human rights are practiced in all the nations (David, pp. 3-20). International law and human rights are very vital tools that have played a major role in protecting individuals from subjection to torture and abuse. Very many countries have joined in the practice of international law and human rights but some remain stubborn. During the cold war and post cold war era, individuals are seen to believe that the two fields will become better. Implementation of the laws has not been easy either and to reach to perfection is expected to take time. During the cold war era, the human rights and international laws were not given very much attention. This was so because human right laws were considered as a forceful intervention. During the era, citizens of various countries were experiencing suffering due to lack of human rights to protect them. The constant subjection to suffering led to the formation of institutions that work internationally like the United Nations. Further more, the Geneva conferences led to the formation of the international laws. To date, many nations have become members of the United Nation and its main agenda is to protect individuals internationally from torture that comes from civil war and poor governance (David,

Early Reading Essay Example for Free

Early Reading Essay Fostering a sense of articulation Foucus on how young children learn to read and write? What is effective practice? Artcials reflect reasearch on how children learn to read and write.. grounded in what is know about child development We know that roal language is the foundation for literacy develpomen tand that oral lang continues to supposrt lit dev. thourghout the early yrs and beyound. Lang development are interdependen, what we do to supposrt oral lang contributes lit and vice versa. virtual fields trips to bulid up a vocab and build up a background knowledge. family story bk reading at home helps.. reading allowed. The key predictors of long term lit learning.. start children off to a good start and ensure continue success Julie Bowtell Proessional Leas: Primary Eng, School of edu, uni of herefordshire teachers tv ITE lectures Early reading teaching lit. reading and writing are mutually beneficial, one impacts positively on the other. Primary currciulaum is predicated on childrens ability to read, write, speak and listen. What is reading? Reading is much more than the decoding of black marks upon the page: it is a quest for meaning to be an active participant. English for Ages 5 to 16 (The cox report) 16. 2 (1989). Reading is an active process of getting meaning from print. Reading is always a message getting activity 2 aspects Decoding.. word recog, high frequency words comprehension of whats being read As fluent skilled reading we are reading for sense, menaing.. searching for the menaing that the autor intended. Simple view of reading: language comprehension and word recognition Rose review came up with the model and the wording the simple view of reading BIB Gough, P. B. (1972). One second of reading. In J. F. Kavanagh I. G. Mattingly (eds. ), Language by ear and by the eye (pp. 331-358). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Aalto university Essay Example for Free

Aalto university Essay Student reports serve as an important source of information for potential outgoing exchange students in regards to the various exchange programs available to GSOM students. An individual’s study abroad experience is as unique as the exchange programs provided by GSOM. As every report will be available for viewing at the GSOM website, these contributions will aid in the decision-making process for future outgoing exchange students. The topics below are meant as an aid only. Students are encouraged to use their imagination, while remaining as specific and detailed as possible. The use of pictures, articles from different sources or any other materials that would contribute to the report would be of great use to these reports. Please send your reports and any other supporting materials to GSOM International Office by e-mail [emailprotected] pu. ru FOR REGISTRATION: Skvorcova Ekaterina Your host university: Aalto University School of Business Your study program at GSOM: Master in Corporate Finance Your level and year (for ex. : bachelor, 3rd yr. ): 2nd year Master The semester and year that you studied abroad: Fall 2012. See more:  First Poem for You Essay BEFORE DEPARTURE WHAT DO YOU WISH THAT YOU HAD KNOWN BEFORE LEAVING FOR YOUR HOST SCHOOL? INVITATION/VISAS Firstly I received a letter from my host university, it offered me to fill an application form with approximate choice of courses. Then I was offered to book an accommodation and only after it Aalto University sent me an invitation for visa. It was worth asking them to scan it, because by post it took 3 months. The cost of visa is 250â‚ ¬, it’s called a permission for living, it was done in 3 weeks. For this permission one needs valid  passport, 4 photos, insurance and an invitation from Aalto University. AFTER ARRIVAL INTERNATIONAL SERVICES Helsinki Assosiation of Business students is known for its reliability. They’re called ‘buddies’. They organize plenty of programs for incoming students – picking-up service, parties, travels and so one. I really liked Walrush Day, Sport Days and some parties orgabized by KYY Assosiation. INTERNATIONAL INTRO WEEK? Unfortunately my permission for living was giving to me from 8th of September, but an Orientation Day was held the day before. I heard, that Orientation program took a few days or one weekend, where all incoming students had possibility to know the University, city center and each other. CULTURE SHOCK My host University were really helpful, every professor or coordinator were eager to help with every problem. As for culture shock, it was not so severe, because our nordic cultures are similar somehow. CAMPUS FACILITIES Comparable with GSOM facilities, the building is not so pretty, but all the services are the same – Wi-Fi access, computer access, library. It was not necessary to bring your own computer. ACADEMICS COURSES Every semester consists from 2 parts – for example, fall semester, the 1st part – from 10th of September till 22th of October, the 2nd part – till 15th of December. Before the beginning of each part a student have some time to choose courses, definitely, it’s worth not wasting your time and register for them in the very first day of registration. Needles to say, one should read carefully the description of the courses and priority of students, I was rejected to registration of two courses, because one of them was only for CEMS and another for finnish students as priority audience. Finally I passed 4 courses: New Product Development, Behavioral Finance and Decision Making, Management and Strategy Making, and Spanish Business Communication. In general the workload is not heavier comparable with GSOM, but it depends on the courses and teacher’s methods. TEACHING The style of teaching is not dramatically different from GSOM one, the material is covered sometimes more deeply, speed is lower. Quality of teaching is perfect, class participation is obligatory. Style of teaching is mixed with seminars, lectures, a lot of group projects. EXAMS I’ve taken 3 common exams and 1 book exam. If you have less time, it’s better to pass a book one, moreover you have 3 chances to pass them. CORPORATE CONTACT AND INTERNSHIPS Was there a strong corporate presence at your host university? Were you able to use the host schools career services and were there any internship opportunities? LANGUAGE COURSES If your exchange period is less than half a year it’s not worth studying Finnish, because it’s quite complicated. But Aalto University offers a lot of other opportunities for you with foreign languages such as Spanish,  German, French mostly with native speakers in a very interactive mode. HOUSING FACILITIES One of the first steps in filling the documents was choosing my accommodation. Aalto is a partner with HOAS which offers different kinds of accommodation for incoming students, you can choose whatever you want. I’ve chosen a room in 5 km from University, almost in the Center (5 min by train), it costs 390â‚ ¬ per month. COSTS/EXPENSES †¢ accommodation 390â‚ ¬ per month †¢ textbooks everything you can find in a library †¢ local transportation (buses, trains) 22â‚ ¬ per month. †¢ food/groceries (is this more or less RUR than in St. Petersburg? ) 200â‚ ¬ per month †¢ entertainment – very expensive BANKING If your stay in Helsinki is less than 2 years it’s not worth to open up a bank account, because in this case it would be not free, you can easily use your Russian bank account, everywhere you can pay using it. Finnish people use cash very rarely, so it’s not worth taking a lot of cash, just for the case when something is wrong with your bank account. STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES There is a health care insurance for all students who buy a student card, I’ve never used it. It costs 50â‚ ¬. SOCIAL EVENTS I’ve noticed that mostly exchangers associate mostly with domestic students rather than with others. It’s good to join KYY Association, they offer a lot of entertainment. SPORTS/RECREATION Unisport (gym + group trainings) is the best way to keep fit here, it’s not so expensive for students (42â‚ ¬ per 3 months) STUDY TOURS/FIELD TRIPS Excursions are not mandatory, their duration depends on the place. It’s good to know that everything is twice more expensive. WHAT TO BRING Laptop, camera, sleeping bag (for trips). GENERAL IMPRESSIONS The school is really worth visiting with all of their facilities, exchange students are crazy that’s why your stay will be unforgettable, but as for me Finland is not so friendly. REPORT CARD On a scale from 1- 5 (with 5 being best, 3 being acceptable) rate your host university on: 3 Academic value of your stay: 4 The experience in general: 4 Are you willing to give us permission to list your e-mail address at the end of this report so that students can contact you if they have questions? [emailprotected] ru.

Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal: Quality Management

Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal: Quality Management Executive Summary This report is prepared to study the issue Facebook recently faces. It is in news because of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal in which the personal information of Facebook users have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica – a data mining and political strategy firm. When the scandal exposed the CEO and Chairman of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg had to apologize publically for the data breach and said that it was a mistake made by Facebook for not designing a process to restrict third party developers to work on Facebook API. He also pledged to make changes in the design and reform the privacy policy. This study gives an understanding of loopholes in Facebook’s quality management system and how it could have been prevented if they have followed the theories of quality management gurus. By understanding different theories described by these gurus, a strong quality management system can be placed from the design stage itself. It also states that customer loyalty is a very important value which can be gained by continuous improvement in quality management system. A poor system result in loss of company reputation, customers and monetary value. 1.0 Introduction Facebook is an American social media company providing social networking services to people around the world. It was founded in 2004. Mark Zuckerberg is the Chairman and CEO of the company. It has more than 2.2 billion active users. People use Facebook to stay connected to their friends and family and to share and express their views. 2.0 Issue of data breach Recently Facebook’s data privacy scandal came into limelight where Facebook members’ data were improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a data mining and political strategy firm.   These data were accessed during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Cambridge Analytica accessed the data for more than 2 years. This is the biggest public relation crisis Facebook has faced. In April 2010, Facebook launched a platform called Open Graph to third party apps. This allowed the external developers to reach out to Facebook users and request permission to access their personal data  (CNBC, 2018). In the year 2013, Cambridge University’s researcher named Aleksandr Kogan created an App called â€Å"thisisyourdigitallife†.   The app prompted users to answer questions for a psychological profile. About 270,000 people downloaded the ‘app’ and shared their personal information. This gave Aleksandr Kogan to access data of not only Facebook users but also of the users’ friends. These information were shared with Cambridge Analytica and used to know about the personality of the people and to effectively target political advertising on people. Cambridge Analytica obtained the information in total violation of Facebook’s rule and didn’t tell anybody that the data will be used for political campaigning.   (Casey, 2018) In the same year Facebook was made aware about this violation of accessing data of not only who installed this app but also of their friends. Facebook demanded Cambridge Analytica to delete all the data and they agreed to delete all the data. Aleksandr Kogan in reality never deleted the data and later on Facebook never investigated whether they have deleted the data as promised (Casey, 2018). In 2014 Facebook changed their rules for external developers and restricted them from accessing user’s friends’ data without taking permission from them. With the approaching 2016 Presidential elections, Cambridge Analytica did not have time to create its own data for election campaign. It went to Aleksandr Kogan who created Facebook app that paid users to take a personality test  (The Guardian, 2018). In the year 2016 â€Å"The Guardian† reported that Cambridge Analytica is helping Ted Cruz’s presidential election by sharing psychological data based on their previous research. Facebook waited for more than two years before suspending Cambridge Analytica even after knowing about the data breach.    In mid March 2018, this scandal was exposed by The Guardian and The New York Times. Facebook admitted that it did not read the terms of the app that accessed the data of 87 million people and apologised for the â€Å"breach of trust†.   Facebook’s CTO Mike Schroepfer told U.K. lawmakers that Facebook did not notify the U.K.s data protection watchdog after it learned of the sharing of data with Cambridge Analytica and it was their mistake. (Ryan, 2018). According to U.K.’s data protection law, sale or use of personal data without user’s consent is banned. In 2011, after Federal Trade Commission complaint, Facebook agreed to get clear consent from the users before sharing their data. The FTC now started investing whether Facebook violated privacy protection of their users. The U.S.A. and U.K. lawmakers are investing in their own way. Mark Zuckerberg apologized on behalf of Facebook by publishing a personal letter in all major newspapers and make changes and reform the privacy policy to prevent such kind of breaches. By doing this Facebook has breached the trust of users and privacy policy law.   A customer or user shares information with a company trusting that personal details are safe. A company’s name and reputation makes people to trust on them.   Quality of the brand is very important in building and growing a company. Facebook is a very well know networking site and it has monopoly in the market. People joined Facebook and disclosed their personal details knowing that whatever information they share about themselves and their friends will be confidential and will not be disclosed anywhere outside without their consent. 3.0 Referring to statements made by Quality management Gurus It is very important for a company to have a well defined quality management system in place. For a company like Facebook, where the personal data of people are at risk, there is a continuous risk of hijacking the data for misuse. How a good quality management system can be placed, has been described by many Quality management gurus. Mentioned below are some of the points stated by these gurus: According to quality management guru W. Edwards Deming there are seven deadly diseases that are described as barriers in understanding the basic quality management system statistical principals. One of the diseases says that – A company runs on visible figures only. Deming argued that apart from the visible figures there are many costs and figures that are not know and cannot be calculated.   Customer loyalties gained as a result of continuous quality improvement are the numbers that are unknowable and management has to consider this  (Deming, 2012). It is also very important to gain confidence of the customers by building trust. In case of Facebook data breach scandal, it was very important for the company to monitor and improve the system. Once Aleksandr Kogan accessed the data of the Facebook users and their friends, it was important for Mark Zuckerberg to monitor and improve the system putting a barrier for third party developers to access data. This would have resulted in maintaining the confidentiality of the users’ data. Based on the quality management guru J M Juran’s trilogy, it is very important to plan, improve and control quality. Quality Planning A proper quality plan should be in place. This involves creating a process that will be able to meet the goals .Once the process is in place it will not be difficult to respond to customer needs. Quality Improvement It is important to continuously improve the quality and run the process with optimal effectiveness. Quality Control – To control and maintain good quality it is important to create a process that required minimal monitoring. This will help in running the operations in accordance with quality plan (Juran, 1986). Facebook should have created a process to maintain the privacy of their users’ information. This process should have barred the third party developers to run their app in Facebook API. Quality guru Genichi Taguchi emphasized on improving the quality of the product and process at the design stage rather than achieving quality through inspection. Taguchi also developed a concept of quality loss and worked on it rather than just quality.   He defined quality loss as loss to the company cost such a reworking on design, scrapping and maintenance and also loss to customer through poor product or service and low reliability. (Taguchi, n.d) After the scandal exposed, Facebook has faced huge loss in terms of its reputation, breaking customers’ trust and monetary value. Many users deleted their Facebook   Ã‚   account feeling that their personal information are not secured and can be misused by the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4.0 Conclusion It is very important for a company to develop a quality system at its designing stage and to control and improve the quality system with minimal inspection requirement. It is also important to know and understand the unknown costs and figures like customer loyalty that can be gained by continuously improving quality. A proper system should be in place with zero defects. A poor quality management system will result in loss of reputation, customers and monetary value. 5.0 References: (2018, March). Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/19/facebook-data-cambridge-analytica-privacy-breach (2018, April). Retrieved from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/10/facebook-cambridge-analytica-a-timeline-of-the-data-hijacking-scandal.html Casey, N. (2018, April). Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/10/17165130/facebook-cambridge-analytica-scandal Deming, E. (2012, Janauary). Retrieved from https://www.qualitymag.com/articles/88324-quality-management-2-0-deming-s-7-deadly-diseases-of-management Juran, J. (1986, May). Retrieved from The Quality Trilogy: http://app.ihi.org/FacultyDocuments/Events/Event-2930/Presentation-16071/Document-12762/Tools_Resource_C7_Juran_trilogy1.pdf Ryan, B. (2018, April). Retrieved from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/26/facebook-cto-admits-firm-didnt-read-terms-of-aleksandr-kogans-app.html Taguchi, G. (n.d). Retrieved from British Library: https://www.bl.uk/people/genichi-taguchi

Affirmative Action :: essays research papers

In the United States a process called Affirmative Action is used to help to overcome the affects of past societal discrimination by granting jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. The policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and by the Equal Employment Opportunities Act of 1972. While many people believe it is a step in the right direction in stopping employment discrimination, it is taking jobs from qualified persons because they are not of a certain race or gender, in turn doing the same thing that was done to minorities and women for years. I do not support affirmative action for several reasons. This policy would enable two people who apply for a job in an office building for the same position to be judged differently. One applicant is white and the other is black. Only one slot is available. The two applicants have the same exact level of education and work experience. They both have great recommendations and great credentials. According to affirmative action, however, the person of African American origin is automatically better qualified, in an attempt to â€Å"integrate† the work place of higher employment positions. So, in essence, the person of African American heritage is receiving the job only because he is a different race. Now, in the early 1970’s this policy was invented to help put a stop to racial discrimination in the work place, but with this policy you are doing the exact same thing you set out to stop, but to the other race. I do not think it is fair to integrate our work forces at s omeone else’s expense. One specific group of people that do not support the policy is, surprising to most, the Asian-American society. Many Asian Americans, specifically Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese, argue that affirmative action policies ultimately harm them. While these policies exist to help the underrepresented, they claim that they are over represented. Their argument is, therefore, similar to that of the white majority. They state that race-based policies such as affirmative action should be abolished based on the argument that group-based affirmative action hurt individuals. Those against affirmative action claim that eliminating affirmative action would increase the Asian American admission rate. They say that Asian American achievement and integration into American society is a proof that affirmative action programs are no longer needed and they hinder opportunities for "qualified" Asian Americans.

Comparing King Arthur and With Honors :: Movies Film With Honors King Arthur Essays

Comparing King Arthur and With Honors Have you ever watched a movie or read a novel without a plot? Most likely your answer to this question would be no, because it would be dull. No one wants to hear a story with no intrigue or conflict. As you read a novel or watch a film, you want to connect with the characters and feel you can relate to the situations they’re dealing with. In every film and every story there’s a conflict the main character(s) is facing. The story of King Arthur, and the film With Honors appear at first to be on opposite sides of the entertainment spectrum. However, both are excellent examples of searching for ones inner human, and life’s meaning. While watching the film With Honors one could pick up on a lot of symbolism, foreshadowing, and numerous heroes’ journeys. Each character goes through their own search and personal development. For example the character Courtney played by Maria Kelly. In the beginning of the film she’s head over heals for her roommate and close friend Monty played by Brendan Fraiser. As the story unfolds, Courtney’s eyes are opened to see Monty’s true inner human qualities. The biggest heroes journey in the film With Honors is the journey Monty a Harvard law student goes through. During a heavy snowstorm one night, his computer freezes up, while he’s in the middle of working on his thesis paper, which he needs to pass in order to graduate. He goes to the library to make a copy of what he already has saved, but then he trips and drops his thesis into the basement of the library. Once in the library he finds a bum burning up his thesis for heat. The bum whose name Simon played by Joe Pesci. Simon makes a deal with Monty he will give him back his thesis page by page, for every good deed he does towards him. As the story unfolds Monty and Simon change each other’s lives. Monty starts off as an uptight, stereotypical, close-minded young man. Before knowing Monty, Simon is very set is his ways, and unapproachable. Because Monty and Simon’s personalities are so different, they are FOILS. As Monty earns back pages of his thesis Simon becomes a father figure to him. He shows him what is really valuable in life. Simon keeps rocks from memorial places; the rocks represent Simon’s life.

Race And Law In Philadelphia :: essays research papers

RACE AND THE LAW IN PHILADELPHIA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you’re ever driving down I-95 through Philadelphia, you will notice an exit for Allegheny Avenue. Allegheny Ave is one of the most dangerous parts of Philly you can drive through. Predominantly black with some Puerto Ricans and a handful of whites, Allegheny is situated between the Delaware River and abandoned industrial complexes. Windows are kept closed and doors are locked as you drive past bums, drug dealers, scorched abandoned cars, sleazy strip bars, cops and crack heads. You can buy cocaine and marijuana on almost every side street just by driving down with your window rolled down. Corners with lots of shoes hanging from a single telephone poll advertise heroin and crack. Once you drive under the L-train, you can amuse yourself by playing the spot-the-prostitute-game. Paddy wagons are never parked to far away and cops patrol by, ignoring the misdemeanors around them and just trying to make worthwhile arrests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you go no more than 20 minutes west, you’ll end up in Manyunk, which is directly on the border of Philadelphia, and to residents, is considered part of it. Unlike Allegheny Ave, the main street is littered with import stores, hip coffee houses, yuppie bars and colorful banners that welcome you to the town. It’s a perfect place for happy couples and families to go for shopping, dinning, and entertainment. The surrounding neighborhoods mainly consist of white people who have grown up in Philadelphia. There are plenty of barking dogs, swing sets and kids who play street hockey without a worry besides being home by dinner. The families are mainly blue-collar workers that are able to send their kids to parochial schools. Everyone knows everyone else in the neighborhood and you get the sense that people watch out for each other. Occasionally a cop will patrol by but nothing ever really goes on besides the occasional breaking of the noise curfew. All in all, there isn’t a lot of law enforcement there because there doesn’t need to be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You’re probably wondering why these two neighborhoods are different. A lot of different factors come into play but I will attempt to explain it anyway. First, environment definitely seems to be a big factor in the direction a community will take. Allegheny Ave is pretty much detached from a lot of the city. The schools are seriously over-crowded and are known to be dangerous.

What is Advertising?

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common. Advertising messages are usually paid for bysponsors and viewed via various traditional media; including mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television commercial,radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages. 0 Ways to Advertise your Business If you have a work at home business that you run over the internet with a website you will need to get the word out and attract people to your site. There are several ways to do this. Just remember to have a budget and stick to it. Make a plan and do something every day to advertise your work at home business. It is a competitive world out there so try to be unique and original. Your advertising needs to pop out at people to get their attention. If they’ve seen it a hundred times, they’re not going to pay attention to yours. Make your potential customers want to see what you have to offer and want to keep coming back for more. It can be challenging and hard work, but in the end it will all be worth it when your business is a success. These are some of the things you can do to advertise your work at home business. Advertising both online and offline can bring customers to your business. Here are some ideas 10 Ways to Advertise your Business – Make a unique†¦ (Page 2 of 4 ) Make a unique and exciting web page. If you are working online, this will be the heart and soul of your business. Make it as interesting as possible. You want potential customers to want to stay and read all the information you have to offer and buy your products. Write original articles and submit them to article directories. Use your website in your resource box and people will visit your website if the article intrigues them enough. Submit your website to link directories. The more exposure and back links to your site you can get, the better. Find link directories that are popular and have lots of traffic and you’ll have visitors in no time. Place online and offline classifieds. Find classified sites, there are paid and free, and submit eye catching ads. Make the title pop so people will instantly be drawn to it. Hand out flyers with your website address on them. Make flyers with a slogan or picture that will make people stop and look at it. Don’t be afraid to use some color. 10 Ways to Advertise your Business – Get some business†¦ (Page 3 of 4 ) Get some business cards made up with your website address on them. Hand these out whenever you get a chance. You can add color to these also. Make use of the many traffic exchanges on the internet. Find as many as you can and pick the ones that interest you. Use as many as you’re comfortable with because you’ll have to surf and click for an hour or so a day to earn views to your site. Post in forums. Giving people advise on the things you know is building a reputation for you and putting a signature with your name and website address may send people to your site. It’s also a great place to learn from others that are doing the same or similar business as you are. Tell everyone you know about your business and before you know it they will tell others. It’s like a chain reaction, word of mouth can be powerful. Make a capture page. Sometimes they are called squeeze pages or splash pages. Make it short and to the point to grab the attention of the person reading it. They will put their name and email in the opt in form and become a subscriber in your list. You can send them your offers for as long as they are a subscriber. About the Author: Tara Martindale specializes in helping people find the best work at home business opportunities available. Visit Tara's Work at Home Business Opportunities site for details. Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers The print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via newspapers or magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and the magazines sell the advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the position of the advertisement (front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the publications. For instance an advertisement in a relatively new and less popular newspaper would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular newspaper with a high readership. The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they appear, for example an advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the newspaper supplement which uses a mediocre quality paper. Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools and techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor advertising are billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. The billboard advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in order to grab the attention of the passers by. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the company products but also make for an effective advertising tool to promote the company's products. Organizing several events or sponsoring them makes for an excellent advertising opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even exhibitions for advertising their products. If not this, the company can organize several events that are closely associated with their field. For instance a company that manufactures sports utilities can sponsor a sports tournament to advertise its products. Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes several branches like television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. The radio jingles have been very popular advertising media and have a large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact that many people still remember and enjoy the popular radio jingles. Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies Covert advertising is a unique kind of advertising in which a product or a particular brand is incorporated in some entertainment and media channels like movies, television shows or even sports. There is no commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is subtly( or sometimes evidently) showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the famous examples for this sort of advertising have to be the appearance of brand Nokia which is displayed on Tom Cruise's phone in the movie Minority Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movie Matrix Reloaded. Surrogate Advertising – Advertising Indirectly Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to health are prohibited by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other products that might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the cigarettes or beer bottles of the same brand. Common examples include Fosters and Kingfisher beer brands, which are often seen to promote their brand with the help of surrogate advertising. Public Service Advertising – Advertising for Social Causes Public service advertising is a technique that makes use of advertising as an effective communication medium to convey socially relevant messaged about important matters and social welfare causes like AIDS, energy conservation, political integrity, deforestation, illiteracy, poverty and so on. David Oglivy who is considered to be one of the pioneers of advertising and marketing concepts had reportedly encouraged the use of advertising field for a social cause. Oglivy once said, â€Å"Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest – it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes. . Today public service advertising has been increasingly used in a non-commercial fashion in several countries across the world in order to promote various social causes. In USA, the radio and television stations are granted on the basis of a fixed amount of Public service advertisements aired by the channel. Celebrity Advertising Although the audience is ge tting smarter and smarter and the modern-day consumer getting immune to the exaggerated claims made in a majority of advertisements, there exist a section of advertisers that still bank upon celebrities and their popularity for advertising their products. Using celebrities for advertising involves signing up celebrities for advertising campaigns, which consist of all sorts of advertising including, television ads or even print advertisements. The advantages and disadvantages of advertising boils down to one aspect key aspect – cost. BENEFITS Advertising is generally costly, but has to be viewed as an investment and a cost that is going to pay for itself many times over. There are many different types of advertising and not all forms of advertising cost money. The most effective form is word of mouth – when previous customers make recommendations to others. This type of endorsement is invaluable and comes off the back of good service previously delivered. Word of mouth advertising however rarely delivers massive results, instead it is more likely to bring a steady stream of business and enhanced reputation. Media advertising through television, radio and newspapers is a reliable way of driving sales and results, but is an expensive venture. Selecting your target audience and the medium best suited to reach that audience is an art in itself, but when completed properly provides great returns. DISADVANTAGES The downside of advertising is that you have to have your business geared up to cope with additional demand, as well as targeting the right audience. If you spend money on a campaign and do not have the stock or manpower to deal with the demand that follows, it could end up being counter-productive. Being unable to match demand or meet promises can be very damaging to the reputation of a company. If customers are let down or not happy with the service they receive following an advertising campaign, it could be a long time before they consider doing business again. A well planned, targeted advertising campaign can revolutionize a company, bringing them to the public attention and creating a market that can continue to pay dividends for months to come. By keeping the message straightforward and simple a campaign can create a favorable impression, leading to inquires and orders, and giving the company the opportunity to maximize business and profits.

To What Extent Did the Russian Economy Improve in the Period 1894 to 1914?

The Russian economy is universally declared to have been a thoroughly backward prior to 1890s therefore it is highly likely that there was economic improvement in the given period; however the extent of this is difficult to define due to the varying manifestations of economic improvement and the independence with which they may occur. The finance minister during this period was Sergei Witte, and to him the majority of the improvements are credited, yet the improvement was not universal. Whether this was him personally or simply a product the awful conditions which the Russian economy rose from is to be decided. In 1897, 82% of the Russian population were peasants, leading one to the believe that any economic improvement must be both partially caused by and result in improvements in this area. This is because generally the greater the economic improvement the greater the amount of people are involved in bringing it about and the greater the number of people it affects for the better. The situation in 1894 was a mass of peasants that owned small and mainly subsistence farms. This meant that they sold very little of their produce and therefore had very little money. This was bad for two reasons. Firstly if they sold little then the state would have very little to sell to other countries, meaning that no extra wealth was coming in to Russia. Secondly, if the peasants had little money than they would not be able to buy much. If we acknowledge John Keynes’ theory of demand as true, this lack of it can only be seen as a severe impediment to the Russian economy. To answer the question, one must therefore decide if either the peasants started producing enough to sell or if less people were peasants. There is evidence to suggest that between 1890 and 1910 there was an increase of 38 million tonnes of cereals produced. One could argue that this shows economic improvement because they were working the land more efficiently, and therefore selling more so getting richer, the extra wealth generated would be pumped into other areas such as manufacturing due to the rise in demand. In addition the extra grain acquired by the government could be sold to other countries, and this money could then be spent on industry, improving the economy. This theory is complemented by the fact that between 1897 and 1914 Odessa, the major gain exporting port, saw a rise in population from 403 thousand to 499 thousand, which would lead one to believe that more eople lived there because there was more work to be done because there was more grain to export. On the other hand it could be believed that this does not show an improving economy firstly because it 74 million tonnes in 1910 is actually a lot less per hector then more developed countries were able to produce. They were still poor in comparison with other countries s uch as England which had experienced the industrial revolution and therefore had more efficient farming. In addition it must be taken into account that the population of Russia was rapidly increasing at this time, it doubled between 1861 and 1914 to 130 million people, therefore this increase in food production would not have lead to a vast amount of either overseas income or surplus money because they needed to eat most of it. This argument would lead one to the belief that on both an international and internal scale the agriculture of Russia shows very little economic improvement. It is, however commonly acknowledged that a failing of Witte’s was his lack of action in the agricultural department. The fact that in 1914 four-fifths of the population were still peasants that we have already asserted helped very little towards an economic improvement puts into great doubt the scale of such an improvement. Nevertheless it is possible for large change to be implemented by few people therefore instead of passing judgement based only on Witte’s weakest area of economic reform the others must be examined. Transport is highly necessary for a good economy because it allows workers to move to where there are jobs, business to trade goods with ease and ideas to spread quickly. Witte was aware of this and therefore undertook a massive project of railway extension going from 19510 miles of track in 1891 to 43850 miles in 1913. This included the Trans-Siberian railway which stretched from Moscow to Vladivostok and was meant to encourage the migration of workers from remote area to the manufacturing centre. Unfortunately this project was a disappointment internally as east-west migration did not increase significantly, which perhaps in explained by the fact that in 1914 sections were still incomplete. One could argue that the smaller scale railways were just as important because they allowed peasants to move from the overcrowded agricultural land to the cities where they could benefit the economy by working in factories. This may have happened to a small extent however we have already concluded that the majority of the peasants stayed peasants, besides by law peasants had to gain permission from village elders to move , stifling the desired rural to urban migration and therefore economic improvement. It must therefore be decided that internally the transport revolution helped to improve the Russian economy to an unexpectedly small amount. However the railway system in its vastness attracted international attention that was to improve the economy in other ways. The Trans-Siberian Railway was seen by other countries as a symbol of Russian enterprise and advancing society; this positive attention encouraged them to trade with Russia, therefore bringing in money, which in the long term would create demand and subsequently improving the Russian economy. Figures to back this are those of the comparative industrial output which rose from 109. 5 in 1904 to 163. 5 in 1913. As four fifths of the population were virtually incapable of buying this, we can only assume that the excess was either sold abroad or used on the railways. This will have brought money into Russia, improving the economy. One must then decide if the benefits of the foreign trade and the kick starting of industry was worth the massive amount the railways would have cost the government. In the long term it must be considered so, as without both something and someone to trade with the Russian economy would have taken much longer to improve. In addition, although the intended benefits were not seen within the given period, they may have appeared later, if the country had not been disrupted by war. However in the given time span economic improvement due to the railway was limited to the sector of foreign trust and therefore sales. The actual production of goods is often a good indicator of the success of an economy. There is no doubt that this happened in the years 1894 to 1914. For example between the years 1890 and 1913 the annual production in millions of tons rose from 5. to 35. 4 in coal, 0. 89 to 9. 1 in pig iron and 3. 9 to 9. 1 in oil. This is proof that in the industrial sector there was economic improvement. However it is known that much of this improvement was state directed, which would be fine if it were not for the fact that this direction was financed heavily by overseas loans. This meant that though the economy did improve, it was not strong in the way the France and Britain’s were because it firstl y needed state intervention to keep it going and secondly could not finance itself. If the improvements in this period in the economy could be continued over another twenty years, then it is probable that the loans would have been paid off and state intervention no longer necessary to such a large degree, however in this time period such drastic improvements were not possible. Therefore it must be understood although the industrial part of the economy did improve in measurements such as output and turnover during the given time period, it did not stabilise in a way that would make it strong. The improvement of an economy is all comparative, as well as comparing the Russian economy to how it way at the start and finish of the given period we must also compare it’s improvement to that of other countries, so as to create a more contextual answer. Of the five great powers, Russia shows the least increase in national income between 1894 and 1913 at 50% however its growth in national product between 1898 and 1913 is the highest at 96. 8%. The latter figure shows that Russia’s production of goods had gone up by fa more than its rivals, showing that the economy defiantly improved. After our inspection of both the industrial and agricultural sides of the economy it is possible to say that this improvement was almost entirely in industry. Never the less this shows great economic improvement. On the other hand the fact that Russia’s national income had increased the least shows that the people of Russia were not richer in comparison with the rest of the world. This may be firstly explained by the great increase in Russia’s population. Although production may have increased, the profit from it had to be shared out between more people. Therefore as a country the economy had improved but for the individual it was hardy better. Although this is still economic improvement it is far more precarious as unhappy individuals may lead to economy damaging strikes such as the 3574 in Russia, in 1914. The fact that other countries such as Britain invested in Russian economy supports the idea that the country as a whole was improving economically, as these advanced countries would not risk their money otherwise. The reason for this was firstly the railways, as has been discussed but also the fact that in 1897, the Russian currency was put on the Gold standard. This gave it strength when exchanged with other currencies, again helping Russia in the international climate but making it harder for Russian inhabitants to buy anything as prices naturally increased. Although putting the Russian rouble on the gold standard helped to stabilise the currency itself, it was not so powerful a move as to stabilise the economy and in fact added to the instability by further decreasing home sales. Therefore the Russian economy was improving greatly in comparison with its rivals in overseas sales and production, but this improvement was limited by domestic instabilities that Russia’s rivals had to a much lower degree. In conclusion the Russian economy did improve greatly between 1894 and 1914 however this improvement was confined to a very small sector of the economy. That sector was industry on a national scale. On an individual scale this improvement of the economy amounted to very little, with wages not allowing a significant growth in home demand. The agricultural side of the economy also improved very little, meaning that by 1914 four fifths of the people were not involved in the economical improvements to any great extent. The fact that the economic improvement was restricted to one area meant that it was unstable. On the other hand, although it must then be assumed that this improvement was greatly superficial in 1914, Russia was starting from the very bottom and therefore it is unlikely that a vastly improved in all areas and stable economy was possible in 20 years. If Russia’s economical improvement was extended at that rate for another 20 years then it would have had time to both gain security and reach out into other sectors that were overlooked in 1914, such as light industry. Therefore it must be concluded that between 1894 and 1913 there was great improvement in one area of the economy, which, due to its confinement was superficiality in an economic overview, yet due to the awful conditions in which this improvement operated in, it must be deemed substantial.

Logic and logic gates Essay

1 describe using examples how numeric and alphanumeric data can be coded within a computer system M1 explain using examples how data travels around the processor D1 create complex logic circuits made up of arrays of simple logic circuits P2 describe how analogue data can be converted and stored in computer systems M2 create logic circuits using simple logic gates and provide truth tables and explanation as to their operation D2 compare and contrast two different processors. P3 convert numeric data between different number systems including floating point. M3 create low-level programs which involve decision making and branching P4 carry out manipulation of numeric data held in three different number systems M4 describe the difference between astable and bistable flip-flops. P5 describe the key components of a computer architecture and how they interact P6 describe the features of a processor P7 describe the operation of logic gates using truth tables P8 create, document and test low-level Programs BTEC National Unit 9 Computer Architecture Assignment 2: Computer Components and Features Criterion covered P7, M2, M4, D1. For these tasks you are required to produce a report using drawings or diagrams and appropriate technical language. Make sure you use appropriate headings and subheadings to identify separate tasks and requirements 1) Use logic diagrams, and truth tables and narrative to describe the operation of the following logic gates: [P7] 2) Use simple logic gates (eg AND, OR, NOT) to produce a logic circuit to: a) Show a security circuit which includes input from a movement-sensing PIR (passive infra red sensor) and a light sensor. While there is movement sensed, and it is dark, the security light must be lit. b) Describe the logic circuit for accessing an electrical cabinet. For safety reasons, a high voltage electrical maintenance cabinet can only be accessed if the power is off, a special key is inserted, and the high tension line is earthed. c) Describe the logic circuit for a Half-Adder. Be sure to include the logic diagram, Boolean algebra statement and truth table for each and a description of how each works. You will also need to provide keys to any letters used to represent inputs and outputs. [M2] 3) Describe the difference between astable and bistable flip-flops using appropriate diagrams. [M4] 4) Build complex logic circuits from arrays of simple logic circuits to: a) Use Half-Adders and further logic gates to build a Full Adder b)build a logic circuit including Full Adders to add together the contents of two eight-bit registers. The formula for working out the number of possible outputs is 2n. N is the number of inputs. E. g.if there are 2 inputs than the formula would be 22. The answer is 4. This means that there are 4 possible outputs. Truth Table Input Output A. AND GATE In AND gates the output can only be 1 if all the inputs are all 1 and if either of the output are 0 and the other input is 1 than output will always be 0. The two inputs AB and output Q represent the expression which in effect is right because the stands for AND. Truth Table Input Output ABC Z 0gate can have more than 2 inputs. The above NAND gate has 3 inputs. Therefore the formula to work out the number of output is 23 = 8. The truth table is on the side. Even though the formula to work out the number of outputs for the truth table is the same, the actual gate is completely opposite because if the can only be 0 if all inputs are 1. The output will always be 1 if the inputs are mix of 0 and 1. The input expression for this gate is . The line above stands for NOT. The circle on the symbol is called a bubble and is generally used to indicate the inverted (active-low) input or output. The output can only be 1 is all the two inputs are 0 and if the output is 0 that means that the two inputs are 1 and 0 or 0 and 1. The expression for this gate is . This means that Q Gate also know as an â€Å"Inverter†, there is always 1 input. If the input is 1 than output is 0 and if the output is 1 than output has to be 0. The logical expression is which means This type of gate is implemented in computers for binary addition. If both the inputs are 0 than the output will also be 0 and if both the inputs are 1 than the output will also be 0. XOR is actually short for exclusive OR. The logical expression for the XOR gate is which means that   This type of gate is simply the inverse of XOR (exclusive OR). You can only get a result of 1 is both the inputs are same either 00 or 11. If the inputs are different e. g. 0 and 1 or 1 and 0 than the output will be 0. The expression for this type of gate is. North Warwickshire & Hinckley College.

Management Case Study Essay

I.CURRENT SITUATION A.Past Corporate Performance Indexes i.Marvel Enterprise Incorporated Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is an industry-leading firm whose core business is character-based entertainment. Marvel’s foundation and success is built on their proprietary library of over 4,700 characters featured in a variety of media for nearly seventy years (1939-2004). Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing agreements, and publishing of comic books through the division of Marvel Comics. ii.How it was formally organized: First Management Marvel had its first taste of corporate culture when founder Martin Goodman sold the publishing outfit that began life as Timely Comics to Perfect Film and Chemical– a company known for film processing and mail order drug sales in 1968. Perfect grouped Marvel under the Magazine Management brand. 1972 saw Stan Lee stepping in for Goodman as publisher, while parent company Perfect rebranded itself as Cadence Corporation the following year. The wonky Magazine Management Co. now officially became known as Marvel Comics Group. iii.New World Pictures purchased Governance of Cadence Industries for Marvel Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (Marvel or MEG), the parent company of Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions, was put up for sale as part of the liquidation of its then parent corporation, Cadence Industries. Marvel was sold to New World Pictures. Cadence Industries, formerly Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation, was an American conglomerate owned by Martin â€Å"Marty† S. Ackerman. In 1989, Ronald Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings group of companies bought Marvel Entertainment Group from New World for $82.5 million, not including Marvel Productions, which was folded into New World’s TV and movie business. â€Å"It is a mini-Disney in terms of intellectual property,† said Perelman. â€Å"Disney’s got much more highly recognized characters and softer characters, whereas our characters are termed action heroes. But at Marvel we are now in the business of the creation and marketing of characters. iv.Going Public, Bankruptcy and Acquisition: Perelman’s Governance Marvel made an initial public offer of 40% of the stock in July 1991, giving $40 million from the proceeds to Andrews Group, Marvel’s then direct parent corporation within MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings. Marvel purchased the trading card company Fleer within a year of going public. In April 1993, Marvel acquired 46% of ToyBiz, for the rights to make Marvel toys.] The Andrews Group named Avi Arad of ToyBiz as the president and CEO of the Marvel Films division and of New World Family Filmworks, Inc., a New World Entertainment subsidiary. New World later became a fellow subsidiary of the Andrews Group. In 1993 and 1994, Marvel’s holding companies — Marvel Holdings, Inc. and Marvel Parent Holdings, Inc. — were formed between Andrews Group and MEG and issued over half a billion dollars in bonds under the direction of Perelman, secured by Marvel’s rising stock, which was passed up in dividends to Perlman’s group of companies. Marvel continued acquisitions with Panini, an Italian sticker-maker, in August 1994, and SkyBox International in April 1995. Under the governance of Perelman, Marvel also purchased Heroes World Distribution, a regional distributor to comic-book shops. Marvel’s attempt to distribute its products directly led to a decrease in sales and aggravated the losses which Marvel suffered when the comic book bubble popped.While licensing revenue reached $50 million in 1995, MEG laid off 275 employees on January 4, 1996. Perelman offered to have the Andrews Group purchase additional shares with an issue for $350 million in November 19 96, which would have required ToyBiz to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel. Meanwhile, Carl Icahn began buying Marvel’s bonds at 20% of their value and moved to block Perelman’s plan. The Marvel group of companies  filed for bankruptcy on December 27, 1996, but the note holders, led by Icahn, blocked this. v.Marvel as Disney Subsidiary On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion, with Marvel shareholders to receive $30 and about 0.745 Disney shares for each share of Marvel they own. The voting occurred on December 31, 2009 and the merger was approved. The acquisition of Marvel was finalized hours after the shareholder vote, therefore giving Disney full ownership of Marvel Entertainment. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange under its ticker symbol (MVL), due to the closing of the deal. On June 2, 2010 Marvel announced that it promoted Joe Quesada to Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. In June 2010, Marvel set up a television division headed by Jeph Loeb as executive vice president. Three months later, Smith & Tinker licensed from Marvel the character rights for a superhero digital collectible game for Facebook and Apple’s mobile platform. On October 1, 2010, Marvel moved its offices to a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) suite at 135 W. 50th Street, New York City, New York, under a nine-year sublease contract. Stan Lee Media’s lawsuit against Marvel was dismissed again in February 2011. In July 2011, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Marvel characters co-created by Jack Kirby would remain the property of Marvel. In March 2013, Feld Entertainment agreed with Marvel to produce a Marvel Character based live arena show. Marvel was also launching a new pop culture and lifestyle web show, â€Å"Earth’s Mightiest Show†. Current Mission Marvel Enterprises Inc. aims to successfully meet the needs of its customers by continuing to design, develop, market and distribute character superheroes that made the Company’s name famous. It also aims at offering its customers fresh and different characters all the time. Not only that, but Marvel’s goal was also to secure the â€Å"best-in-class† licensing partners in all categories of its divisions in business. Current Objectives 1.To determine if Marvel can still increase the growth in their profit at a higher level. 2.To widen the range of their licensing activities. 3.To continue to maintain control over the quality of the product, from design to final engineering and execution. 4.To determine if Marvel could continue to capitalize on a limited set of prominent characters, most notably Spiderman or could decide to shift focus to a larger set of lesser- known characters that might have the potential of becoming blockbuster characters but were largely unknown to the wider public. 5.To determine if Marvel could venture beyond its current business model and take on more capital-intensive but also profitable activities. Current Strategies Marvel was acquired by Toy Biz and was named as Marvel Enterprises Inc. In line with the change of its name was the total change in its management. The start was a difficult one. Marvel’s new strategy was first aimed at monetizing the content library via licensing characters for use with media products (such as toys, apparel, collectibles, and food). Managing the library of characters to foster long-term value was the second key focus of Marvel’s new management. Retaining some form of control over the creative process- to ensure the quality of the content that featured Marvel characters was the third main strategic dimension. Marvel’s management team hired well-known artists and writers to lead its creative efforts in the publishing division, including popular writers from the film and television industry, and had started to sign exclusive contracts with key creative talent. Current Policies Some of the policies implemented by Marvel Enterprises Inc. to its management are: 1.Excluding its â€Å"Spider- Man† character from the deal with TBW (Hong Kong based independent Company) in creating the product design, marketing  and sales because Spider-Man has a separate deal with Sony Pictures. 2.Maintaining an incredible performance for its Toy division because competition was so intense at this industry. 3.Maintaining a wide channel of distribution of its products. 4.Pursuing a diversified base of studio partners, both to ensure their commitment to each project and to mitigate risks regarding Marvel’s motion picture division. 5.Widening the range of its licensing activities for its characters. 6.Investing in profitable investment-related activities. 7.Strictly implementing rules and regulations in its management. 8.Maintaining an effective internal control over its management. II.Corporate Governance A.Board of Directors i.Directors Marvel’s Board of Directors has three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms. Sid Ganis and James F. Halpin were elected at the 2008 annual meeting as Class I directors to serve a three-year term. Morton E. Handel, F. Peter Cuneo and Isaac Perlmutter were elected at the 2007 annual meeting as Class III directors to serve a three-year term. Richard L. Solar was elected, along with Avi Arad, who later resigned, at the 2006 annual meeting of stockholders as a Class II director to serve a three-year term. The Board of Directors elected James W. Breyer to replace Mr. Arad in June 2006, and Mr. Breyer is serving out the remainder of Mr. Arad’s term. In July 2007, the Board of Directors increased the size of the Board by one Board seat and elected Laurence N. Charney to serve as a Class II director until this annual meeting. Each of Mr. Solar, Mr. Breyer and Mr. Charney has been nominated for election to a new three-year term at this annual meeting. ii.Other Directors James W. Breyer (Class II), 47, has been a Marvel director since June 2006. Mr. Breyer has served as a partner of the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, Accel Partners, since 1995. Laurence N. Charney (Class II), 61, has been a Marvel director since July 2007. Mr. Charney retired from his position as a Partner of Ernst & Young LLP in 2007, having served that firm for over thirty-five years and engagement acceptance across all service lines. Mr. Charney served previously at Ernst & Young as an audit partner and was Marvel’s audit partner for its 1999 through 2003 audits. Mr. Charney is a senior advisor to Plainfield Asset Management LLC, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, CT that specializes in special and distressed situations. Richard L. Solar (Class II), 69, has been a Marvel director since December 2002. Since February 2003, Mr. Solar has been a management consultant and investor. From June 2002 to February 2003, Mr. Solar acted as a consultant for Gerber Childrenswear, Inc., a marketer of popular-priced licensed apparel sold under the Gerber name, as well as under licenses from Baby Looney Tunes, Wilson, Converse and Coca-Cola. iii.Directors Who’s Terms Are Continuing For each member of the Board of Directors whose term of office as a director continues after the annual meeting, set forth below is the director’s name, age as of March 9, 2009, principal occupation for at least the last five years, selected biographical information and period of service as a director. Sid Ganis (Class I), 69, has been a Marvel director since October 1999. Mr. Ganis is the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that awards the Oscars. Mr. Ganis has been President of Out of the Blue†¦Entertainment, a company that he founded, since September  1996. Out of the Blue†¦Entertainment is a provider of motion pictures, television and musical entertainment for Sony Pictures Entertainment and others. From January 1991 until September 1996, Mr. Ganis held various executive positions with Sony Pictures Entertainment, including Vice Chairman of Columbia Pictures and President of Worldwide Marketing for Columbia/TriStar Motion Picture Companies. James F. Halpin (Class I), 58, has been a Marvel director since March 1995. Mr. Halpin retired in March 2000 as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of CompUSA Inc., a retailer of computer hardware, software, accessories and related products, with which he had been employed since May 1993. Mr. Halpin was a director of Life Time Fitness, Inc. from February 2005 until August 2008. F. Peter Cuneo (Class III), 64, was Marvel’s President and Chief Executive Officer from July 1999 through December 2002 and served as the part-time Special Advisor to Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer from January 2003 through December 2004. Mr. Cuneo has been a Marvel director since July 1999, and since June 2003 he has served as a non-executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Cuneo is a senior advisor to Plainfield Asset Management LLC, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, CT that specializes in special and distressed situations. Mr. Cuneo is a also director of Iconix Brands, Inc. Morton E. Handel (Class III), 73, has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Marvel since October 1998 and was first appointed as a director in June 1997. Mr. Handel served as a director of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. from June 2005 until November 2008 and as a director of Linens ‘N Things, Inc from 2000 until February 2006. Mr. Handel is also a Life Regent of the University of Hartford and is active on the boards of not-for-profit organizations in the Hartford, CT area. Isaac Perlmutter (Class III), 66, has been Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2005. Mr. Perlmutter has served as a senior executive of Marvel Characters B.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. that owns and licenses Marvel’s intellectual property library) and its predecessor-in-interest Marvel Characters, Inc. since January 2007 and has been employed by Marvel as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors since November 2001. Mr. Perlmutter has been a Marvel director since April 1993 and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors until March 1995. B.Management i.Board Meetings and Committees The Board of Directors held at least 10 meetings annually. Each incumbent director attended, during the year, at least 75% of the aggregate number of Board of Directors meetings and applicable committee meetings held during the period in which he served as a director. The Board of Directors’ committees include the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Film Slate Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. ii.Corporate Governance Committee The Corporate Governance Committee’s function is (i) to identify individuals qualified to become members of the Board of Directors; (ii) to recommend individuals for selection by the Board of Directors as nominees for election as directors at the next annual meeting of stockholders; and (iii) to develop and recommend to the Board of Directors a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines and the modification of those guidelines from time to time. The Corporate Governance Committee is comprised of Messrs. Halpin (chairman) and Ganis. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met three times annually. The Board of Directors has determined that each of Messrs, Halpin and Ganis is â€Å"independent† iii.Audit Committee The Audit Committee’s function is (i) to directly appoint, retain, compensate, evaluate and, where appropriate, terminate Marvel’s independent  registered public accounting firm; (ii) to assist the Board in its oversight of: the integrity of Marvel’s financial statements, Marvel’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and the performance of Marvel’s internal audit function and the independent registered public accounting firm; and (iii) to prepare the report required to be included in Marvel’s annual proxy statement, which follows. The Audit Committee is ultimately responsible for pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by its independent registered public accounting firm including the compensation to be paid for those services. The Audit Committee has established a policy regarding pre-approval of audit and non-audit services, and has delegated its authority to pre-approve audit and non-audit services to its chairman, who reports any such pre-approvals to the Audit Committee at its next meeting. In accordance with the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policy, the Audit Committee does not engage its independent registered public accounting firm to perform non-audit services that are precluded by law or regulation or any services that would impair the firm’s independence. iv.Compensation Committee Our chief executive officer is invited to attend meetings of the Compensation Committee and to offer recommendations on compensation of other executives or directors, but he does not vote in the committee’s final determinations, and decisions concerning his own compensation are made in his absence. The Compensation Committee has the authority to retain compensation consultants to assist it in making its decisions. During 2008, the members of Marvel’s Compensation Committee were Messrs. Halpin and Ganis. Neither of those individuals was an officer or employee of Marvel, or of any of its subsidiaries, during 2008 or formerly, nor did either of them have any relationship requiring disclosure in â€Å"Transactions with Related Persons, Promoters and Certain Control Persons,† below. None of our executive officers served in 2008 on the compensation committee of any  other company that had an executive officer serving as a Marvel director. None of our executive officers served in 2008 as a director of any other company that had an executive officer serving on our Compensation Committee. . v.Executive Officers Below are the positions held with Marvel, and selected biographical information for our executive officers, other than Mr. Perlmutter, whose information is found under â€Å"About Our Directors,† above. 1.Alan Fine , 58, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Marvel Characters B.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. that owns and licenses Marvel’s intellectual property library) and its predecessor-in-interest Marvel Characters, Inc. since May 2007. Mr. Fine also has served as Chief Executive Officer of Marvel’s publishing division since September 2004. Mr. Fine served as Chief Executive Officer of Marvel’s toy division from August 2001 until that division was closed in early 2008. 2.David Maisel , 46, has served as Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive since September 2006 and became Chairman of Marvel Studios in March 2007. From September 2005 until September 2006, Mr. Maisel served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and from September 2005 until March 2007, Mr. Maisel served as Vice Chairman of Marvel Studios. From January 2004 to September 2005, Mr. Maisel served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Marvel Studios. From October 2001 to November 2003, Mr. Maisel headed Corporate Strategy and Business Development for Endeavor Agency, a Hollywood literary and talent agency. 3.Simon Philips , 40, has served as President, Worldwide Consumer Products since October 2008 and as CEO of Marvel Animation since January 2008. Mr. Philips served as President, Marvel International from November 2006 to October 2008. From November 2003 to November 2006, Mr. Philips served as the Managing Director of 4Kids Entertainment International. Mr. Philips served as chief executive officer of LDI, a licensing and merchandising company, from 1996 to 2003. 4.John Turitzin , 53, has served as Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive since September 2006. From February 2006 until September 2006, Mr. Turitzin served as Marvel’s Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Turitzin has also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel since February 2004. 5.Kenneth P. West , 50, has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since June 2002. vi.Code of Ethics Marvel has adopted a code of ethics applicable to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and persons performing similar functions. We have also adopted a code of business conduct and ethics which is applicable to all employees and directors. III. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS A.Social Environment Economic/Demographic Forces Entertainment industry is targeting segmented groups that have been long ignored including ethic cultures, language, religion and women and in case by case basis adult’s only products. Technological/Physical Forces Entertainment is available in variety of ways including online, cell phone, and on-demand video. Sales in traditional entertainment merchandise has dropped. Social/Cultural Forces Entertainment has reached out to the community conscious in educating it on events and beliefs in the community. Political/Legal Forces Entertainment outlets are facing parental lawsuits to prevent particular products from being place and/or sold in a market or setting. Producers must  keep vigilant on product content in order to deal with either self regulated or government regulation in order to guarantee an investment return. The threat of piracy and illegal licensing is at stake in the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry lobbies to protect copyrighted product. B.Task Environment Competitors The entertainment industry no matter how fragmented it appears much of what is produced. In terms of entertainment is held closely by three US based media conglomerates, Disney, Viacom, and Time Warner. These conglomerates direct the entertainment market and the direction of the media. The Licensing segment competes with a diverse range of entities that own intellectual property rights in characters. These include DC Comics (a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc.), The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal, Inc. (a subsidiary of General Electric Company), DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. and other entertainment-related entities. Many of these competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do. The Publishing segment competes with numerous publishers in the United States. Some of the Publishing segment’s competitors, such as DC Comics, are part of integrated entertainment companies and may have greater financial and other resources than we do. The Publishing segment also faces competition from other entertainment media, such as movies and video games. The Toy segment competes with many larger toy companies in the design and development of new toys, in the procurement of licenses and for adequate retail shelf space for its products. The larger toy companies include Hasbro, Mattel Inc., and Jakks Pacific, Inc. Many of these competitors have greater financial and other resources than the Company. The toy industry’s highly competitive environment continues to place cost pressures on manufacturers and distributors. Discretionary spending among potential toy consumers is limited and the toy industry competes for those dollars along with the makers of computers and video games. The Film Production segment competes with other film producers, including major studios such as Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures (which also produce films licensed by our Licensing segment). Many of these producers are part of integrated ente rtainment  companies and have greater financial and other resources Threat of New Entrants There is always the possibility of new entrants in the entertainment industry. Producers and/or manufacturers may create a product to carve out a particular market or segment niche. The industry has a history of employees banding together to create a new product to compete in the already in the full field, but getting a local or national distribution is challenging smaller entertainment providers team with already established distribution unit have an excellent chance of breaking ground into the market. Threat of Substitute Products The threat of any type substitute in the entertainment industry is high. Most often than not, the threat comes in time of gift giving season when marketing dollars are spent more to sway people from one product to the other. This time of the year is also filled with hopes of new products entering the market to capture a hungry audience. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers are creating new outlets for the entertainment industry through technological advances. The winner for battle technological supremacy will lie solely on which technological outlet has the most partners. Bargaining Power of Buyers Consumers have the ability to patronize or not to patronize an entertainment outlet. However, the limited ownership prevents consumers from believing they will never deal with a company they have been dissatisfied with in the past. IV. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES A.Corporate Structure Marvel is a multidivisional company that has three segments which are highly integrated and vertically differentiated. ï‚ §Licensing – The Licensing segment earns revenues from selling rights to movies, television production companies, video game publishers, and merchandise manufacturers to use its  character properties. The licensing business concentrates on a few large licensees, and attempts to manage and re-segment opportunities with its characters, creating â€Å"classic† editions, â€Å"youth† editions, and â€Å"movie† editions to take advantage of every revenue opportunity. ï‚ §Publication – The Publishing segment produces, markets, and sells comic books. This business publishes comic books and novels about the company’s characters, and licenses characters from other sources and turns them into graphic novels. ï‚ §Toys – The Toys segment collects royalties and service fees from Hasbro. The company has an exclusive to y merchandising agreement with Hasbro (HAS) until December 31, 2011, that began in 2007. Prior to this, most revenues in the Toy segment were made from toys produced by Marvel. ï‚ §Movie Production – The movie production arm of the company was set up to independently produce films and grow revenues. The new Films segment produces films featuring Marvel’s characters like Iron Man. B.Corporate Culture Honesty and integrity are the key organizational values of Marvel. The company gives importance in maintaining company reputation as well as fairness and awareness even with competitors. Marvel considers its almost 5000 character library as 5000 assets. The company looks forward to become even larger with the Disney merger. The company shares many shared values and maintains a constant renewing process. Marvel provides its people with Corporate Governance Guidelines, Corporate Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and Code of Ethics for CEO and Senior Financial Officers. These provides them with a brief description of their obligations and offer guidance concerning how to conduct their business in a manner consistent with their high ethical value. C.Corporate Resources 1.Marketing 2.Finance 3.Research and Development 4.Operations and Logistics 5.Human Resources 6.Information Systems