Cap and Trade Policy Paper Essay

Introduction: The issue of carbon emissions is an important one not only from an environmental perspective but also an economic one. While reducing carbon emissions is an important one for the health of human beings as well as that of the environment, the larger question is what type of policy strategy is best for both reducing such emissions which might have an impact on efforts to mitigate the effects of pollution on climate change. While ther are options to consider which does not rely on economics– technological or output standards achieved by command and control regulations–they are often fraught with political resistance by industry because they do not allow industry to make any choices or play a role in solving the problem of excessive emissions and the burden that these emissions place on others. Instead of such draconian measures based on fiat, the preferred options rely on economic tools instead to provide incentives to industry to police itself by either incenting investment in emission-reducing and/or energy saving technologies or to reduce production in line with the total/social-costs rather than just the private/ producer-costs of production. Two such economic policies to consider in this regard are emission taxes and cap-and-trade policies. Overview of Policy Problem: Carbon emissions reduction Consider a company that faces an increasing marginal pollution abatement cost curve as in the Figure 1. Left unregulated it will choose not to reduce its carbon emissions (a.k.a abate carbon emissions) and avert facing the costs of abatement represented by the area underneath the marginal abatement cost curve represented by area (B + C + D) in the diagram below. Figure 1: Marginal Costs and Marginal Benefits of Reducing Carbon Emissions [pic] Source: Econ 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade, 2012, n.pag. Suppose that policy analysts have determined that the economically efficient level of pollution abatement occurs at the point where marginal benefits of abatement equal the marginal cost costs of abatement as is suggested in economic theory. The resulting level of carbon emissions is e* (reduction in emissions is measured from the far right in the diagram above to the pointe*). The question is what policy to follow to achieve e*: either some type of fiat policy involving either some type of output restriction or requiring use of a particular pollution-control technology or some type of policy that involves financial incentives to reduce emissions. This paper hypothesizes that policy options involving economic incentives are preferable to those options that involve regulatory fiat. Specification of Economic Policy Models: 1) A Carbon Emissions Tax: One policy instrument that can be used to achieve this level of abatement is to set a tax where marginal benefit equals marginal cost — represented by the horizontal â€Å"tax† line in the Figure 2 below. Under such a scheme, the polluter will find that it is cheaper to reduce carbon emissions so long as the marginal cost is lower than the tax. Since the tax bill (A + B) is great than the marginal abatement cost bill (B) to the left of the point e*, the firm will choose to reduce emissions up to the level of C with the remaining emissions level indicated in figure 2 measured from the right in the diagram. To the right of e*, the marginal abatement costs, represented by areas C + D, are greater than the tax bill (area D) so the firm will choose to pay the tax and continue to emit pollutants beyond e*. Figure 2: The Carbon Emissions Tax [pic] Source: Econ 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade, 2012, n.pag. So long as the marginal costs and benefits of abatement can be known with certainty, an emissions tax can be set at the point of intersection of these two measures resulting in an efficient level of pollution emissions at e* with total abatement costs (including taxes paid) to the polluter of area B+D and providing the government with revenues represented by D (Econ. 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade, n. pag.). It is when these marginal costs and marginal benefits are either not measurable in their entirety or when there is uncertainty about the figures obtained that leads to added questions as to whether this would be the best policy to follow. 2) A Cap Policy: An alternative policy to an emissions tax to achieve reductions in emissions through the tools of economics is to set a cap at the point where marginal social benefit equals marginal social cost of reducing emissions/abatement — represented by the vertical â€Å"cap† line in Figure 3 below. The polluting firm must reduce its carbon emissions to e* where the marginal social cost of reducing emissions equals the marginal social benefit of the products produced by the polluter. Such a policy–if the social costs and social benefits can be measured accurately—results in an efficient level of emissions produced/reduced at e* with an abatement cost borne by Figure 3: Cap Policy for Each Firm [pic] Source: Econ 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade, 2012, n.pag. the polluter equivalent to area B (Econ. 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade, n. pag.). The issue is whether total social costs can be measured and measured accurately in order to set such a policy at the correct or efficient level of emissions for each firm. Normally such policies do not result in efficiency even though an efficient level of overall emissions can be attained since it does not account for different costs of abatement in different firms. That is, a level of emissions can be attained that is equivalent to that achieved under an economically efficient policy but the level is not achieved at the lowest overall cost. One way of obtaining individual caps is for the government to auction off emission permits that total the pre-set amount of emissions that it feels is optimal. Firms with higher costs of reducing emissions will bid higher than firms with lower cost structures. Again, the only problem is determining what the total amount of emissions should be reflecting all social costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions. 3) A Cap-and-Trade Policy An added twist on the cap policy allows firms to trade emission allotments between themselves based on the buyer of allotment bargaining with the seller over the proper price to pay for the extra allotment. A two-panel diagram is needed to better understand the logic of trading emission allotments. Figure 4 illustrates the marginal cost of reducing emissions of two firms. One firm is run on older technology with high abatement costs that goes from right to left with zero costs represented at the lower right-hand corner of the diagram. The other firm has newer technology in its plant with lower abatement costs that goes left to right with zero costs represented at the lower left-hand corner of the diagram. The width of the horizontal axis is the reduction in emissions that must be achieved overall to an efficient level. The intersection of the two marginal cost curves is where economic efficiency is achieved. That is, the value achieved Figure 4. Cap-and-Trade Between Firms Policy Source: Econ 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade, 2012, n.pag. from the last dollar expended on abatement must be the same across all firms in the market. This is known as the equimarginal principle (Boyes and Melvin, 2011,122). The total cost of attaining the efficient abatement/emissions level is equal to the area C + G + K. At the efficient level of emissions, e*, the low cost (of reducing emissions) firm should reduce more emissions than the high cost (or reducing emissions) firm. Such a policy can be implemented by issuing carbon permits to different firms and allowing them to buy and sell their permits in the open market. Normally, equal amounts of permits are issued to each firm since it is difficult to assess the true abatement cost a priori. In the end, the marketplace will help determine the differences in cost structure depending on how high a firm is willing to bid for an extra permit or two (Econ. 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade, n. pag.). As with the individual firm cap policy, the cap-and-trade policy is predicated on the government being able to determine the optimal level of total emissions desired reflecting social costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions. Combining the different economic policy options together, it is obvious that it is possible to achieve the same level of reduction in emissions by setting a tax at the same level as where the marginal costs of reducing emissions is the same between firms which is at the level represented by the horizontal line in Figure 4 above. As above, the polluting firms will notice that it is cheaper to abate carbon emissions as long as the marginal abatement cost is lower than the tax. The firms with the higher cost structure will reduce emissions to e* when measured from right to left and incur abatement costs equivalent to area K and pay taxes equivalent to area B+C+F+G. The firms with the lower cost structure will reduce emissions to e* when measured from left to right and incur abatement costs of C+G and pay taxes equivalent to areas J + K in Figure 4. Setting a cap on each individual firm will produce the same level of reduction in emissions, but given that it is difficult, if not impossible, to individualized caps based on different cost structures of abatement, an efficient outcome is difficult to achieve under such a policy even though emissions are reduced to the same overall level. Regarding the market failure due to the negative carbon externality, both a carbon tax and carbon cap-and-trade will achieve the same level of increased efficiency–assuming that measurements of costs and benefits can be measured accurately– by reducing emissions to the optimal level at minimum cost. The real difference in these policies is due to differences in the distribution of costs. In the carbon tax policy, the government receives added revenues while in the cap and cap-and-trade policies when permits are simply handed out to firms, the firm has no additional outlays other than the cost of abatement to stay within the cap or to purchase additional allotment from other firms. If the permits are initially auctioned off by the government, the additional revenues to the government should be nearly the same as with a tax scheme if marginal social costs and benefits have been measured accurately. However, the economics-based policies are preferable to policies based on fiat where specific technologies (e.g., smoke-stack scrubbers) or a uniform cap on emission outputs across all firms since these other policies fail to take into account social costs and benefits. With regard to the economics-based policies, the following added impacts may also occur. First, in addition to static efficiency–efficiency occurring within a single period of time–there may also be dynamic efficiency within these policy schemes whereby firms have an incentive to adopt new technology over time to reduce their marginal costs of reducing carbon emissions (Econ. 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade, n. pag.). Secondly, carbon emission taxes and/or auctioning permits will generate additional government revenue that might be used to offset various distortionary taxes on labour and/or capital (Econ. 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade, n. pag.). Evidence and Analysis: There are various problems associated with the design of emissions tax regimes warranting discussion. First, if such a tax were placed on individuals rather than firms without any offsetting changes in other taxes or government transfers, a carbon tax might be regressive suggesting that the highest tax burden would be placed on the poor (Poterba, 1991, 11). This is mostly applicable to gasoline taxes where a flat emissions tax would make up a higher percentage of the income of poorer over wealthier taxpayers; thus, an issue of equity arises here. Likewise, firms with higher profit margins would shoulder less burden from the tax than firms with lower profit margins given a similar costs of pollution abatement. Poterba (1991) suggests that this regressiveness could be offset by changes in either the direct tax system or in government transfers. Second, as the population grows and production totals continue to increase to meet the demands of this growing population, emission taxes will need to rise to keep emissions at a particular level; this may lead to a set of distortions in terms of domestic vs. foreign production whereby firms can transfer production to other jurisdictions that do not have such taxes in place. Thus, international trade leads to an opportunity to get around the tax scheme and the higher the taxes instituted, the higher the incentive to engage in such behaviour. Thus, if emission taxes differ significantly between two neighbouring jurisdiction–for example, the State of New York and Connecticut or even New York and one of its neighbouring Canadian provinces–there is an inherent incentive to move production outside of the jurisdiction with the highest taxes and import products from elsewhere. Third, a central issue regarding the design of carbon emissions taxes to harmonize such polities with other fiscal instruments designed to mitigate the effects of climate change. For instance, it is important to ensure that taxes on chlorofluorocarbons and emissions from fossil fuels are comparable to avoid distortions in consumption that may lead to a worse outcome for the environment than in the absence of such policies (Poterba, 1991, 27). Bosquet (2000) conducted a review of the evidence regarding the impact of carbon emissions taxes on the environment and the economy. She claims that environmental taxes involve the shifting of tax burden from employment, income, and investment to resource depletion and waste. She asks the general question of whether such tax reform can produce a double benefit by helping the environment and the economy simultaneously. Based on her reviews of the literature and available evidence, she concludes that when emissions taxes are instituted, they are generally associated with reductions in payroll taxes, and–if wage-price inï ¬â€šation is prevented–they often result in signiï ¬ cant reductions in pollution and small gains in employment (Bosquet, 2000, 19). Also associated with the implementation of such environmental taxes are also marginal changes–gains or losses– in production in the short to medium term, while investments decease marginally and prices increase. However, she cautions that the results of such environmental taxes in the long-term are less certain (Bosquet, 2000, 29). With regard to cap and cap-and-trade policies, the evidence is also available regarding the effectiveness and consequences of such policies. Stavins (2008) describes a graduated cap-and-trade scheme that involves initially just Carbon gasses with 50% of permits issued to polluters in the market free of charge and other half auctioned off. Over 25 years, the percentage auctioned off annually will gradually increase to 100% and other greenhouse gas emissions will be included over this time span. The idea is to implement a gradual iterative policy with a slow trajectory of emission reductions. As time goes on, other emissions are included in this scheme and the system provides for harmonizing this scheme over time with effective cap-and-trade systems and other emission credit reduction programs in other jurisdictions. This harmonization effectively addresses the issue raised with emission tax policies that are unilaterally established in one jurisdiction without consideration for the po licies in neighbouring jurisdictions. If there is an effective way to dovetail policies in different jurisdiction, then this would level the playing field between domestic and imported products. Regarding actual cap-and-trade policies already in place, Colby (2000) analyzes a cap-and-trade policy for limiting Sulfur Dioxide emissions. The changes stemmed from the Clean Air Act of 1990 which allowed for a nationwide cap-and-trade policy for industrial firms emitting sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Marginal costs of reducing emissions fell substantially duringn the 1990s due to reduced costs of installing scrubbers, reduced costs of flue gas desulfurization, and falling costs for low sulfur coal all due, to a large extent, to an active program of trading/buying allowances between firms that emerged after a few years of experience after the program was initiated. As Colby (2000) states, â€Å"The allowance trading market enhanced competition among the different methods that firms use to control emissions, adding impetus to cost reductions† (Colby, 2000, 642). Low allowance prices and falling marginal costs associated with reducing emissions produced earlier-than-predicted cutbacks in sulfur dioxide emissions. Allowance prices rose from lows of $80-90/unit in 1996 to about $215/unit in mid-1999 spurring further conservation efforts. Colby (2002) does mention that design and implementation of cap-and-trade schemes involves some important policy tradeoffs: equity among the players, balancing use levels with resource conditions, facilitating transactions between firms wishing to trade allowances, accurate accounting for externality costs, assuring adequate monitoring of emissions levels, and documenting welfare gains due to the policy. She says that efficient trading mechanisms can be more easily implemented when there is a strong political or legal mandate to cap resource use and trading allowances are sensed by all parties involved to be a way to ease adjustment to limits on emissions (Colby, 2000, 638). In choosing between the various policies, it is inevitably important to sense the level of uncertainty over measuring the items of interest. With regard to emissions taxes, it is important to have fairly accurate estimates of marginal social costs and benefits and with regard to cap-and-trade schemes, there needs to also be a fairly accurate means of estimating the optimal level of emissions given all the costs and benefits involved in reducing emissions. If it becomes difficult to measure these items accurately, then the expected deadweight loss and associate probabilities of various miscalculations needs to be assessed and compared across the different strategies to determine the policy that produces the smallest expected deadweight loss which is key from an economic perspective. Since policies based on fiat, such as technology mandates and non-economically based output standards, are not set with regard to these types of measures, it is likely that the deadweight economic loss associated with these policies will be greater than for either emissions taxes or better yet, cap-and-trade policies. Conclusion: The evidence suggests that economics-based emissions policies are preferred over policies based on fiat. Moreover, the strongest evidence for promoting investment in pollution control equipment and reducing emissions that mitigate the effects of climate change appear to involve cap-and-trade policies. Partially, this might be due to the flexible design of such policies which—through the auctioning and/or trading of allowances—account for changing market conditions. This policy, even more so than emission taxes, forces the industry to face current market conditions through the use of auctions and trading for emission allowances. As a result, the parties are forced to make choices based on strong economic criteria to obtain efficiencies over time. Works cited: Bosquet B. 2000. Environmental Tax Reform: Does It Work? A Survey of The Empirical Evidence. Ecological Economics. 34, 19-32, Colby G. 2000. Cap-and-Trade Policy Challenges: A Tale of Three Markets. Land Economics, 76, 638-658. Econ. 101: Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade. 2012. Website. Retrieved on June 5th, 2012 from http://www.env-econ.net/carbon_tax_vs_capandtrade.html Melvin W. Boyes M. 2011. Microeconomics. 9th ed. Marion, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning, Poterba JM. 1991. Tax Policy to Combat Global Warming: On Designing a Carbon Tax. NBER Working Paper. MIT-CEPR 91-003WP. Retrieved on June 7th, 2012 from http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/50159/28596145.pdf?sequ Stavins RN. 2008. Addressing Climate Change with a Comprehensive U.S. Cap-and-Trade System. Nota Di Lavoro 67.2008 Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. Retrieved on June 7th, 2012 from http://www.feem.it/userfiles/attach/Publication/NDL2008/NDL2008-067.pdf

Mercutio character in Romeo and Juliet Essay

In Romeo and Juliet each character has a specific role. Mercutio’s role is the most important. He is the kinsman to the prince and Romeo’s closest friend and confidante, and in this role he can be very inluential to Romeo and can influence the decisions made and the directions the play takes. He uses his humour and wit to lead the other characters to the climax. He is in a difficult position, as the friend of Romeo and the princes kinsman, but all these factors contribute to the memorable character he is. Mercutio is the driving force behind the play, as he fortells or is the cause of most of the major events. Before the Capulets party Benvolio advises they enter quietly, dance and leave, but Mercutio, the only person in this scene actually invited to the play, disagrees;  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœduns the mouse, the constables own word,  if thou art dun, we’ll draw thee from the mire’  Mercutio is saying that only a mouse should be silent and small. In this instance Mercutio is moving the play along by teasing Benvolio and Romeo into staying at the party longer, which turned out to be fatal. The party is a major event in the play because Romeo meets Juliet there, and consequently decides his love for Rosaline was nothing but a crush. The next major event in the play is Mercutio’s own death, this is often believed to be the climax in the play because from there on everything changes for the worse. In Mercutio’s last scene Romeo intervenes as Mercutio is fighting Tybalt and Mercutio is wounded under Romeo’s arm, Mercutio then makes Romeo question why he intervened and then to feel responsible for Mercutio’s death, he seeks revenge on Tyalt and is banished, which provides the complication for the story. These are just two examples of situations where Mercutio has either used his wit to manipulate Romeo into doing something (the party) or made Romeo question what is going on and who is to blame. Mercutio’s death is the only time in the play where he accepts that the feud plays a bigger role in his life than he likes to think. Before this he treats the feud as more of a joke, he doesn’t think about the consequences of bringing a Montague to the Capulets party. In fact, you could say that Mercutio enjoys the tensions between the two families as it provides situations where he can stir up some fun. He does this when Tybalt is searching for Romeo and Mercutio warns him that if Tybalt starts a fight Romeo will not back down, then, when Romeo will not fight Mercutio takes his place. â€Å"A plague on both your houses, they have made worms meat out of me† Mercutio does not say Tybalt has made worms meat out him, he says they, both the houses. As he is dying he curses the house of Capulet and Montague three times, he knows that his death was not caused by fate but from him getting to close to the feud. Romeo and Juliet is well known for being a Comedy and a Tragedy, yet when Mercutio dies so does the comedy. A comedy is a drama where satire or humour is used and this definitly defines the scenes Mercutio is involved in. Mercutio is the bearer of all the humour in the play; the only time any other character shows any wit is when they are in the company of Mercutio. This is shown in Act two, scene four, when Romeo and Mercutio have a battle of wits, when the scene before Romeo was almost begging the Friar to marry Romeo to Juliet. Because every one of Mercutio’s lines is full of multiple puns and jokes his lines previous to his death are noticed and remembered by the audience for the fact that he curses the houses, even Romeo’s and also states that he is hurt and ‘sped’. Romeo doesn’t really take him seriously at first:†The hurt cannot be much† Then, as soon as Romeo realizes Mercutio really is dying Mercutio renews his humour and makes plays on the word ‘grave’; this last bout of humour quickly turns into rage. He, Mercutio was dying from a scratch! â€Å"Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! A Braggart, a rouge, a villian, that fights by the book of arithmatic† When Tybalt’s challenge to Romeo arrived at the Montague house Mercutio told Benvolio that he hated Tybalt for his fancy dressing and manners to be accepted into society, and here he was, dying from a scratch delt by â€Å"The pox of such antic, lisping, affecting fantasicoes, these new tuners of accent. From here on the play descends to a Tragedy, a dramatic performance where the main characters are led to ruin and misery. The character of Mercutio is short lived but best remembered for his quick wit and humour in otherwise boring or serious situations, he plays a vital part in the play because he can move the play in new directions, being Romeo’s friend and the Princes kin. He finds it hard to stay neutral in the feud and this contributes to his death in the end. It is because of these characteristics that he is the most remembered character in Romeo and Juliet.

Community week three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Community week three - Essay Example Cleveland clinics give health talks to inform communities and individuals on prevention, management, and treatment of various health conditions. Secondly, the clinic offers management services for both acute and chronic diseases. To improve accessibility, Global Patient Services awareness should be done, as people are not aware of the seamless referral resource, which help to access care providers. Since the clinic is a nonprofit institution that is publicly financed, it should then consider the entire community’s needs in order to promote affordability. Its availability can be promoted through coming up with more centers to serve the growing population. The clinic is gaining more acceptability with the ranking it acquires in the health field because of competency in health care provision. However this can further be improved through reconsidering their charges which is a big barrier to accessing their services The growing demand for children and adolescent health care has necessitated improved technical expertise among the school nurses. Likewise, the nurses’ professional roles have increased. Today’s school nursing is not only about bandaging alone. A challenge comes in when this nurse is expected to handle a student who is managed by different health care providers for a certain condition. The nurse will therefore require the knowledge, skills, and equipments to provide quality care to this student while in school. There is quite a wide range of schoolchildren and teenage health problems that has called for the school nurse to be conversant with numerous technologies and protocols and Familiarize himself with variety of new drugs available for specific condition. (Cote et al 2013) There are different determinants to which health problem is prevalent to children and adolescents. (Nies & McEwen 2011). Some of them may include financial stability and locality. In inner city areas, conditions such as obesity are prevalent.

Internet censorship Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internet censorship - Term Paper Example Some of the reasons cited for internet censorship include the need to preserve social morals and to the need to safeguard national security. On the other hand, opponents of internet censorship argue that such a move by the government limits the freedom of speech and the access to crucial information thus leading to reduction of the citizens’ welfare (Zuchora-Walske 2). One of the arguments that have been put across for the censorship of the internet is the need to protect the social norms. Proponents of internet censorship argue that unlimited internet access exposes children to pornography and hate speech thus negatively affecting their morals. In addition, the government should censor the access to homosexuality sites and religious sites that try to propagate negative religious doctrines that may affect social cohesion in the society (Russell and Cohn 67). Opponents of this argument assert that parents have the primary responsibility of safeguarding their children from porno graphic sites by implementing internet filtering systems thus government should not censor the internet. They argue that censorship jeopardizes the right to information and right to conversation through the internet (Day 10). Another argument for internet censorship is the protection of national security. ... Google has in the past protested against China’s decision thus leading to removal of the servers. However, Chinese people can still access Google servers using Hong Kong name, but cannot access certain search names especially that deal with online entertainment sites and government information (Russell and Cohn 126). According to the proponents of internet censorship, the suppression of some internet information usually upholds the social values in the society. In fact, some countries have implemented different censorship strategies in order to uphold the existing values and traditions of the citizen. This type of censorship upholds the moral of the society. For instance, Asian countries such as China have blocked internet sites that promote homosexuality and internet gambling. According to this argument, it is the responsibility of the government to protect the moral fabric of the society such as the family values, the gender roles and cohesion through preventing access to in formation that is contrary with the morals of the society. In addition, censorship will protect the population from sexism, segregation and racism that is usually exposed to children and citizens in the social websites. A further related argument of internet censorship is a need to ensure religious tolerance through preventing the furtherance of negative religious doctrines that may expose the country to religious based violence. In addition, censorship ensures that customs and taboos of the society are preserved. The dress code, sexual expression and religious beliefs are preserved through censuring the internet. However, critics argue that social values, taboos, dress code and religious beliefs change with changes in the society.

National Curriulum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

National Curriulum - Essay Example The strategy required that students be given one hour of literacy classes on a daily basis. In other words, they were supposed to engage in reading and writing classed at any one time. (The BBC, 2009) While the latter strategy may seem like a good thing, there are certain concerns that have been raised about this issue with regard to the curriculum and lesson planning issues. However, before looking into some of these arguments it is essential to understand that there have been some positive outcomes in this regard. First of all, the literacy national strategy has led to better teaching of literacy skills through incorporation into the curriculum. Many experts argue that this may be one of the most important skills to be learnt from school by students. Additionally, the process of balancing the national curriculum with the national strategy is that it necessitated a massive training program for teachers consequently, leading to better knowledge with regard to the process of reading and writing. Through the national literacy strategy, there was a need to change the curriculum so as to incorporate new teaching aspects. For example, it has been found that aspects such as grammar and phonics (which had been previously left out) are now being put into consideration. It should also be noted that through the process of balancing the national curriculum with the national strategy, there have been greater amounts of resources that have been dedicated to primary education in the United Kingdom. In fact, experts assert that numerous schools within the region have restored their libraries and now boast of plenty of books which are now at teachers' and children's disposal. On top of the latter, there are many situations in which teachers have had to include activities and games in the lesson planning process thus making education more colourful and interesting for children. (DFES, 2006) However, it is not just these positive outcomes that have emanated from the latter strategy. In fact, it is a proven fact that whenever there is a government led project within the education sector, certain unintended consequences must emanate from it. For instance it is a big challenge for teachers to balance between three of the following aspects School league tables Targets Tests In the process of balancing between the national curriculum and national strategies, teachers have found that most of their time and attention has been driven towards the issue of tests instead of other learning issues. This matter is further compounded by the fact that there are high stakes in those tests. Most of the time, parents want to find out how their children performed and they usually use this issue as a criterion for success. In the end, the individual who suffers is the child who finds that their mind must always be on the tests. Learning then becomes a boring process for them. It can therefore be asserted that the aims for which these two aspects i.e. the national curriculum and the national strategy were intended in accomplishing actually end being sidelined. (Department for Schools, children and families, 2008) Most of the time, curriculum implementation needs to be done in such a manner that it allows for greater flexibility in the teaching and the learning process. However, the literacy national strategy eliminated this aspect through its rigorous and one size fits all strategy. The taskforce appointed to implement this aspect

The concepts of existentialism and how they have helped in the Essay

The concepts of existentialism and how they have helped in the development of the life journey - Essay Example The present research has identified that existentialism has a philosophical position which opposes the natural sciences around us. It explains that human beings are composed of many other components rather only mind, body and other scientific categories. Human beings cannot be understood by the scientific truths or the moral substances such as responsibility, character, values, blame, duty, and others. Existentialism thus defines that human conditions are not based on scientific or moral truths, but on further categories that come under philosophical theory and which are significant to understand human existence. The concept of existentialism emerged after the WWII when the violence had forced people to think that life was meaningless and there was no God. Existentialism explained that there is no God or higher power, no karma or reward system in this world. Every human is an individual who is free and responsible for his own actions. As there is no central truth that the world gover ns under, the concept can be liberating and also depressing. Humans themselves choose how they wish to be and are not influenced by other people or forces around them. Hence, the universe is amoral and humans can make their lives the way they want them to be. Understanding existentialism while observing the personal journey of life may be difficult for a religious person as the theory eliminates the religious concepts completely. However, apart from the religious views that it abandons, existentialism can help many individuals to live in an amoral world in their own ways.... onal journey of how I learned to live life in my own way without the interference or expectations of others helped me in many ways to understand the concepts of existentialism. It is true that our existence precedes essence and helps us to have freedom (Daigle 9). Soren Kierkegaard was the first philosopher who believed in existentialism. He had explained the concepts of freedom and individualism through his work and highlighted the significance of personal commitment and choice. This is an important point when an individual wants to understand the reality of life and matches with many features of a practical life. Today, everyone’s life is very practical and very few people still live in the traditional concepts of values, responsibilities and abstract thinking. During my personal journey, I learnt with the help of Kierkegaard’s work that feelings and emotions of individuals is what the humans face when they have to make tough choices in life (Flynn 32). Although Kierk egaard has focused on the distinction between man and god in his work, it is mostly focusing on the reality of life. His work reflects through my personal journey as I strongly believe that our life and choices are purely based on our own choices. We are not answerable to anyone for our deeds and are not bound by any other person or power. Our deeds are simply ours and we make our lives good or bad. The scientific and moral truths have little to do with our development and condition and our existentialism has more impact over us. When I judge my life with the concepts of Kierkegaard and his three stages of life, I found that the way I lived my life is according to the internal living. Kierkegaard described this way of life as looking at oneself more than looking at others because when you look at

Depersonalization as a method of representation and protection of Research Paper

Depersonalization as a method of representation and protection of personal data - Research Paper Example Computers and the Internet paved the way for more efficient and fast methods to gather, store and organize personal information. Since the 1970s the number of computer data banks or databases became staggering. There are the databases from Social Security Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Medical Information Bureau, state criminal justice systems, municipal data systems, credit card companies, telephone companies, Medicaid, and, recently, Google, Facebook and so much more. The huge amount of information that governments and businesses collect from individuals have become a cause of concern. Personal data collection encroaches on the individual’s right, particularly as it invades privacy or the right to control information about ourselves; there is a disclosure of private personal facts; and, the information can be used in such a way that a person is cast in a bad light or in a case of identity theft. The method of personal data collection, its use and security, hence, necessitate citizen protection. Through the years, laws have enacted that aim to protect personal privacy but they appear to be insufficient. This paper will explore depersonalization as an effective method of personal data collection, where privacy is still protected. ... 3. Access or the level of access provided to individuals on the gathered data about them. 4. Security or the responsibility of data gatherers to provide adequate protection for the information collected (Bidgoli 2004, 98). Based from these principles, a number of laws were enacted covering individual privacy across different sectors. For instance, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act protects personal banking information; the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides the framework for handling personal credit data. There are also laws that cover the collection and use of medical and health data, government records, children’s privacy, and so forth. Laws are also enacted in other countries such as the European Union Data Protection Directive, the OECD privacy guidelines adopted by countries such as Mexico, Australia, Japan and Czech Republic (Conrad, Misenar and Feldman 2012, 401). But these laws and even some ethical guidelines (see Kluge 2000), no matter how specific and comprehensive, still fail to address privacy issues. Neubauer and Kolb (2009), for example, noted that approaches and methods for protecting privacy often do not comply with legal requirements or basic security requirements without suffering any penalty, (7). Szeto and Miri (2007) revealed the same findings when they studied the Canadian experience. According to Hildebrandt and Gutwirth (2008), this is because most statutes builds on traditional ways of thinking data, personal data and their abuse, without understanding or recognizing the new type of knowledge that result from modern data processing (321). It was further argued that even when recent or updated laws were effective regarding personal data, they are still not equipped to deal with correlated data, which is persistent today

Philosophy- Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy- Business Ethics - Essay Example of the business is to protect the environment than a business shall be held accountable on ethical, moral as well as legal grounds however, if this is not the case, an organization shall only be bound by the violation of laws rather than violation of its implicit responsibilities. The businesses are only responsible to the extent of the law and it is the responsibility of an organization to follow the law in its true spirit however, externalities can result into significant deviation in the roles and responsibilities of the organizations. Bowie’s arguments are convincing due to the fact that there is an implicit difference between a consumer and a citizen. Segoff’s distinction between a consumer and a citizen is largely based on the ability of each to derive the value and is correlated with the preferences of both. However, Bowie does not make this distinction because a consumer and a citizen are considered as both the mass consumers of the goods and services produced by the organization. The distinction made by Segoff is firmly based on the assumption that an individual at one point in time can be a consumer as well as a supporter of the environment also. This potentially overlapping role of a consumer and a citizen therefore results into the i nstitutional change which can ultimately force the authorities and government to pass laws which can protect the environment and redefine the role of organization with the external world. Bowie’s ideas are however slightly different because of the distinction made between the legal and ethical responsibilities of the organization. Further, Bowie also attempted to define the role of organization from the perspective of its core competencies i.e. if an organization’s role is to protect the environment than any violations shall be the moral as well as legal responsibility of the organization however, if it is not than an organization shall not morally and ethically held accountable. What is also important to consider

Marketing Strategy College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Strategy College - Essay Example These products will be marketed with unique capabilities and innovative designs that would differentiate it from its competitors. The products would be positioned as a highly differentiated product that adds value to the customers. The high-technology market is very much competitive with existing rivalry between successful companies such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Each company desires leadership in the market and utilizes aggressive marketing strategies in order to position their products as the preferred product in the technology market. EJ's Innovation and More will be playing in the same market and would compete with these companies. The company aims to market its desktops and laptops in all the fifty states of United States and its territories. It is the goal of the company to penetrate the US market and acquire its share. The high-technology market can be segmented according to the different operating variables of the customers and their buying behavior. The table below summarizes the segmentation in the technology market. The end-users are mostly working in technology professions. The customers are made up of commercial artists, designers and creators. They are interested in the number of capabilities and the latest developments in computing. They are innovators who look for new ways to produce better service in their profession. They buy value-added computers at par with the value for their money. Pioneers (Secondary Target Segment of EJ's Innovation & More) The end-users are lured by friendly design of the product, technical support and reassurance from marketers. The customers are made up of high-tech managers and their assistants. They want computers that satisfy their need for status but are easy to use. Companies mostly purchase their computers. Skeptics The end-users have few motivations with few inhibitions to adopt technologies. The customers are made up of home producers and parents who prefer computers that can be used for a variety of purposes and are not highly priced. Paranoids The end-users should be offered high levels of reassurance about the safety and security of technologies. The customers are mostly businesses that deal with sensitive materials such as banks and government agencies. Laggards The end-users may be reached out by being offered streamlined and easy-to-use offerings. The customers are mostly modern students who prefer economical packages. Service Quality Joseph Juran, a quality management guru, emphasized the role of management and stressed the definition of good quality as satisfying customer requirements and demand (Beckford, 2002). In service quality, the perception of the customer is ultimately the measurement of quality such that measuring customer satisfaction is the most common method of determining quality. However, the issues which determine customer satisfaction are varied and are often affected with the mood of the customer as with the provision of service (Rowbotham, Galloway, & Azhashemi, 2007). The customers tend to evaluate service quality through personal comparison with what they expect against what they perceive and experience. Several factors can influence

Mentoring New Nurses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mentoring New Nurses - Essay Example The provision of mentoring programs may determine whether there will be a high turnover rate of new nurses or whether new talent will be maintained within the organization (Harrington, 2011). If senior nurses mistreat the new nurses, then they are likely to be demoralized and begin searching for new opportunities. For this reason, hospitals should have systems of ensuring that new nurses receive guidance and counseling from their senior counterparts. Research has indicated that every nurse has a need for a trusted mentor. Being new in the profession poses numerous challenges and the new nurses benefit immensely from having an individual who can hold their hand as they start their journey towards building their career. Many nurses undertake a four years training with the expectation that they will fulfill their dream of contributing positively to healthcare provision. Healthcare institutions need to keep that dream alive by providing new nurses with efficient mentorship. The selection of mentors for new nurses should bring on board individuals who are patient and those that pose other good qualities such as being trustworthy, good listeners, and being able to nurture talent. Mentors who lack these qualities may not be in a position to influence new nurses positively. For this reason, the type of guide selected determines the efficiency of mentorship.ConclusionMentorship programs developed for new nurses should seek to establish supportive and encouraging relationships.

Department of Defense Essay Example for Free

Department of Defense Essay Effective organization management is determined by the level and quality of public relations employed by the leadership in it. This has mainly been the case due to the direct demand for organizations to enhance their images to the external world upon which they rely on. Of greater importance are the services industries which directly rely on the consumers perceptions of their services as opposed to direct supply of products. Being considered as a direct intrinsic system to activate their system for external image, most of the leaders have been strongly embarking on it to ensure higher returns for their organizations. Such has been the case with the (DoD) Military Public Affairs system which has greatly tried to integrate itself with the community via offer of different services and direct interlink with them. Community relations objectives Arguably, ethical demands are considered to be intrinsically derived and externally displayed with emphasis on cohesive relations between organizations and the public. Therefore, it originates from the core of the management and effected by the established systems. In the theory of public relation ethics, Albert Sullivan argues that public relations involves a direct internalized system which is expressed externally via direct activities and interlink with the public (Pearson, 1999). Pearson continues to say that ethics begin with the people’s minds that must conceptualize it to become part of their system. Military Public Affairs has internalized the system by inculcating it to the immediate internal network necessary to develop the correct culture for the DoD. The Department emphasizes on its commitment to fostering good relations on mutually acceptable terms with the public, at home, and abroad on which the military depends on. Of greater importance is the emphasis by the DoD on the need for holistic adherence to human dignity and sanctity at all times (Department of Defense (DoD), 2007). Though military specialists have been calling for less involvement of the military with the public issues, the department has defied odds and ensured direct interface upon which the public have increasingly been informed on the roles and duties of the department in relation to their security and that of the international community. Besides, the policies of the Department of Defense have increasingly been taught to the public and opened for direct criticism as well as possible recommendations on improvements for the same. Direct support and integration with the community According to Russel (1966), human actions and desires are direct reflections for the sense of mind which is often used to denote the best possible consideration that would guarantee highest returns for them. However, this has been a major center for conflicts between the people and their systems in the society. Russel ethics indicates that external consideration is of essence for extended benefits. However, scholars have argued that care should be taken to reduce the negative effects that result from the actions perceived to be good. As a result, the Department of defense has been supporting organizations through loans and fund-raising. The head of DOD Component Command may provide a limited basis for equipments and logistical support to needy organizations especially those dealing with humanitarian services (Department of Defense (DoD), 2007). Besides, the Department officers have been offering voluntary support to these charitable organizations during their off duty periods to boost their development and human services capacity. The department also offers selective benefits and preferential treatment to specific organizations especially those in military operation regions. To ensure it commits itself to serving the community, the department dissociates itself from involvement and support to partisan political activities (Center and Jackson, 1995). Therefore, this assists it to be highly impartial and more effective in serving the community. Increased information and coordination with the public By the time Pearson wrote down the Public relations theory, it was clear that vast criticism had strongly risen on the implication of truth and direct impacts that resulted from its revelation. However, Pearson regards to truth as the direct mirror that indicates an individual or an organizations consideration necessary for establishing the correct picture is pasted in the respondent’s minds for making the correct decisions. Joint civilian meetings and instantaneous meetings with the management served as a direct platform for the system where most people were able to change their minds about the military as well as improve the direct interlink with the system (Department of Defense (DoD), 2007. Through this system, most people had benefited from assistance scheme of the department. Recently, strong appraisals have been posted to the department for ensuring increased information to the community as it directly provides the officers to the department. Conclusion Effective organization management is determined by the level and quality of public relations employed by its management and leaders. Arguably, this has been the main premises that the department of defense has embarked on to ensure better and effective disposal of its duties. Previously, there was strong misconception between the people regarding the role of military until the DoD moved in to clear its image. The direct interlink of the department by giving back to the community has not only raised the confidence of the people to the system, but also improved the general utility of the department. Organizations should struggle to establish better interlink with their consumers and public. Reference List Center, A. and Jackson, P. (1995). â€Å"Public relations Practices, Upper Saddle, N. J. Prentice Hall. Department of Defense (DoD), (2007). Department of defense directive: Public Affairs Relation Policy, Washington: DoD. Russel, B. (1966). â€Å"The elements of ethics† Philosophical essays. London: Longmans, Green. Pearson, R. (1989). Sullivan Theory of public relations Ethics. Public relations review. XV(1989):52-62.

Caroll is a subsidiary

Caroll is a subsidiary Introduction Caroll is a subsidiary of the Vivarte group since 1988. This brand is one of the ready-to-wear sectors successes, which has been known and appreciated by many women for over 40 years. Caroll is particularly renowned for the quality of its products. With over 350 stores, about 100 of which are abroad Caroll is a brand that is ever growing both in France and internationally. Carolls culture is based on a shared brand vision:  § Strong product identity,  § A high degree of adaptability,  § An innovative brand/distributor concept. The companys niche was knitwear only. The 1970s were boom years! In the 1980s, Caroll began to evolve†¦In 1980, it added a ready-to-wear collection and its first franchise shops in France. In 1984, Caroll opened its first branch shops. Four years later, Caroll International was listed on the stock exchange and the Andrà © group, which was to become Vivarte in 2001, purchased a large share in the company. The 1990s were revolutionary! In 1994, Caroll International defined a new positioning for itself, creating the â€Å"Caroll Paris† brand and introducing new strategies with a view to becoming a key player in the world of fashion, for a targeted yet sizeable female clientele, well informed and with high standards. In just a few years, Caroll International succeeded in completely changing its image and significantly increased its market share. After having transformed its network in France, Caroll International began to expand in other countries in 1997. Since 2000, Caroll has strengthened its image by taking on a huge challenge: the application of luxury codes to distribution. With a wealth of experience in its sector, the Brand is now particularly appreciated for the quality of its products, its expertise and its style. Part One: Marketing Audit A. Corporate Level 1. The company mission Caroll has its styling bureau in Paris. This bureau detects trends and creates collections it able to react quickly and design new products. Caroll missions are to design fashion clothes women, staying at the top of the fashion each seasons. The second mission is to sell this clothes and accessories by franchising new shops all around the world. 2. Company objectives goals In order to faced with constantly evolving fashion, Caroll has chosen to continuously renew itself and launch new models, new colours throughout the season. The goal is to keep up with the latest looks. Caroll has to answer to the women wants. So, clothes are perfectly cut, the choice materials are an important part of its renewed. Caroll doesnt offers only clothes fashion, it also sells accessories: scarves, jewellery, belts, bags, shoes, etc. B. Marketing Mix: 4 Ps  § Product: Caroll has a large range of products. All the products are based on three same styles that are based on the â€Å"details finishing† and the â€Å"high quality material† used. The silhouettes are really important: o 3 trends o 3 styles o 3 lines All the products shapes are well defined and cut in chosen materials, which offers a very elegant to order outfits. Caroll collection:  § Blouses  § Coats  § Dresses  § Jackets  § Pants  § Skirts  § Sweaters The Accessoires:  § Bags  § Jewels  § Stole Carolls activity is based on stitch and the brand has successfully diversified its product thanks to chain and weft. Its a great benefit for the brand because it allows to sell more products. In other words a customer comes into a shop with the idea to find a coat. But when the customer comes out the shop sure he buys a coat but he already leaves the shop with several accessories. Caroll knows how work with noble material like silk or Kashmir. Colours are also important because the brand has created specific range of colours. More than that with an international implantation the firm has to be aware of the cultural importance accorded to colours and she is. Caroll answers every women need or desire â€Å"clothes† â€Å"accessories†. The range of product is large and diversified: this is a good way to attract more and more customers and to enlarge at the maximum the profile of customers. But the range can be â€Å"City†, â€Å"Sportswear† or â€Å"Diva† it is always quite classical and modern. So every woman customers who belong to the middle class who like fashion and style can be seduce by Carolls products.  § Price: Caroll launches large range of price in order to attract every woman with a middle purchasing power. In that way the price is adapted to the purchasing power of customers. The price is totally in correlation with the target customers. Caroll is offering a good quality-price ratio. Place At the beginning, Caroll sold its products in retail shops. They start to open Caroll franchises in 1980. The decoration is simple but stylish to give an atmosphere of elegance. The stores are whites, black and grey. Those three colours are the symbol of sophistication and chic. In France, you can find the Caroll store in â€Å"chic† places; for example you will find a store in Paris Rue Vaugirard which is a street know for it chic stores. Places have to be on the same line that style of the stores. In France, Caroll possesses 70 stores which makes France the first place implantation (in terms of numbers of stores). The second one is Spain. The brand is also represented in Japan, Lebanon, Portugal, Martinique, Reunion Island, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia We can say that Caroll is already internationally well developed, with shops in many countries and in the most European Capital! Promotion Caroll communicates through well-know press magazine like  « Biba  »,  « Glamour  »,  « Mme Figaro  »,  « Marie-Claire  »,  « Gala  »,  « Elle, Marie-France  ». Those are French magazine for woman readers aged between 25 and 35 years old. That shows that Caroll targeted a special group of woman. The SWOT Analysis underline that Caroll has a strong experience in international market. One of the main opportunities for Caroll is that this brand profit from the Glamour image of Paris. Despite the international crisis the growth rate in developing country is stile positive (the Chinese growth rate objective for 2009 is 8%). So it exist strong opportunities for an implantation of the brand in developing country and especially in China. For instance the Chinese middle class is not able to buy the Caroll s clothes but more than 10% of Chinese have a purchasing power equal of European countries. So it represents at least more than 100 millions people. And in a close future it will touch much more. Caroll has to develop a strong communication with a good marketing strategy. But the Chinese market has its own cultural specificity and the company Caroll has to be conscious of that. D. Market Positioning E. Boston Matrix If we take a look at the three Carolls division, Clothes, Accessories, and customized Services, we can see that the first department generates the cash that is used to pay the several costs of the company, the salaries, taxes, supplier, etc. It means that the cash created is used for â€Å"the daily work† (or short term). The growth rate of Caroll is almost the same as the sector level. Accessories and bags also generate cash and have a higher growth rate than the clothes sector. The level of cash generated is lower but those products are the best growth of the brand. The return on investment is high for the stars and for the cash cow products. But actually the customized service does not have a lot of market share and the activity is decreasing. The Question Mark, it linked with the special materials that they are using. For example the silk which is used for a specific range of clothes. But this specific range is a trend and the special materials are not gone be used next season (or trend). Thats why they have to be aware of new trends and anticipate them in order to adapt materials to the future trends. Part Two: External Audit A. Chinese Colours Analysis The I-Ching regards black as Heavens colour. White represented gold and symbolized brightness, purity, and fulfilment. White also is the colour of mourning. The Chinese people, both ancient and modern, cherish the colour red. Red is everywhere during Chinese New Year and other holidays and family gatherings for it symbolizes good fortune and joy. Blue-green indicates spring when everything overflows with vigour and vitality. Yellow symbolizes the earth. The old saying, Yellow generates Yin and Yang, meant that yellow is the center of everything. Colour embodies an even richer culture in Chinese folk traditions. Yellow is the colour for emperors. Yellow often decorates royal palaces, altars and temples. So Carolls main problem is the colour that they are used normally for the brand. And black and white clothes are not a good colour code for Chinese implementation. To conclude Caroll has tow choices. They can adapt colours clothes to Chinese taste or it can count on the western countries fashion influence. Another option is to use both colours style. Of course this colour positioning will be the most expensive strategic choice. Thats why Caroll has to really take into account the cultural differences! Maybe hire local employee in order to create the most adapted range of product is the best option that they have to minimize risk of mistakes. B. Chinese Population evolution 2006 The age pyramid in 2006 shows that people between 25 and 49 years old represent the most important part of the Chinese population. It is exactly the target that Caroll has. C. Chinese Key figures One person on five of the planet is a Chinese. China counts more than 20 metropolises of more than 5 millions inhabitants. With 752 millions active Chinese, China is a reservoir of inexhaustible manpower. The current income per inhabitant is 1090 dollars (100th world rank) but increases very fast. 300 000 Chinese have a heritage exceeding 1 million dollars. China: 651 TV channel and 1000 radio stations. It is the 2nd market behind the United States. D. Carolls Target Caroll has an advantage it is a French brand. French brands are known as good taste in term of fashion. Chinese women like the â€Å"French Touch† so a French brand has a crucial advantage in comparison with non-French competitors. French clothes in Chinese women mind means: fashion, good quality. Actually, in China the middle class represents 80 millions persons. But in 2010 the Chinese middle class will represents more than 200 millions people! A huge and wide market in constant growth is opening for Caroll. According to the national office of Chinas government statistics the income of the Chinese population doubled between the year 2002 and 2006, evolving from 1.100 dollars to 2.010 dollars. More precisely Caroll segment is composed by active woman. These women have between 25 and 40 years old. They are described as active woman working in megalopolis cities. F. Porters Five Forces   Threats of new Entrants: Threats for Caroll to be faced with new competitors are high. As every one knows China is gone be the first world economy. More than that we have to bear in mind that one person on six of the world population is Chinese. In that way China is a new market opportunity and Carolls company is not in a situation of monopole. New inteznatà »Ãƒ ¿nao entranus hmve clso the0wil|ingness to takea syt in th} Chonese market. Move dungerous its the apparitionand$devmlopment,of à ½ocal fià ¶m!  ­But$Caro}~owinnovmotioon{liwuesringosladvcntages wo fight#new0gntsant'{ukh as: †¢+Absoluto cost aovantage†¢ Qrop{ietiv}p{owwwu~ve— Acessto }otwus†¢ Governmeà ¾v policy†¢ economie{ ofscale †¢!Capktal,reqy{emn}OÃâ€"Branà ¤$identià ´{  ­Bargainyno sowev of#Suppliess: If?Caroll necives wocwrk tive{tywwitx {hingsw wu|poiur{ yn5ordgr,for e}amp|ebto reduce the costs of transportation, the branf willbm gboe to reduce the products price in order to be equal to$the price market. Indeed working with the local supplier pezmkts o.rudco many costs and most of all to satisfy at best thu gustomers needs. There are a lot of potential Chinese supplie~s, so Carlo will be in a strong bargaining power compare to suwpoiwrw.$ oBwyerlPowerz The Carolls target is, at the launching ofthe%braodbin China, working women with a high purchesing power.pB}t-rap{dmy`witl uhg mconomic g~owth of China, more and more women would be able to buy Caroll clothes. So rapidly what was a niche market for Caroll will began a mass market. Threat of substitutes products: Clothes dont have threat to see enter substitutes products. Everybody needs clothes. But there is an important phenomenon that is counterfeiting. Chinese have a strong knowledge on counterfeiting. Chinese industry is known to copy everything especially clothes, shoes and accessories. The main risk for Caroll is to see its product ranged copied and sold at a very low price. Caroll rivalry among firms: In China Carolls main competitor is Alain Manoukian who is well established. Other fashion houses are also present. Caroll might find it hard at first, it will have to convince the Chinese customer of the quality of the product and also underline the French aspect of the range since the Chinese is very fond of French fashion. Part Three: Caroll Strategic Marketing Plan A. Product Caroll has to base his marketing product on developing special colours for Chinese woman. Caroll style is based on elegance and simplicity and the new products have to have the French Touch in order to seduce Chinese woman. They have to do marketing research on the customs, traditions and religion of Chinese people in order to avoid intercultural problems and sales decrease. The most positive colour is red so Caroll should develop a red range of clothes. Despite the superstition, black is getting more and more popular thanks to the western influence. The white colours should also be avoided in order to stay away issues on sales. The environment analysis shows us that Caroll should also take care of the climate that changes from one region to another. B. Price Caroll has to adapt its products prices according to the target. So to begin the brand should keep a high price to attract women with a high purchasing power. But rapidly (Less than 10 years) Caroll could get more customers thanks to China growth. This country will get more women with middle class purchasing power. So in order to catch this new population, Caroll could decrease a little the range price. C. Place / Distribution How to choose the opening of Caroll stores? One answer is based on the repartition of the population according to the purchasing power. A map of the different density can help Caroll to decide where to implement their store. China has an important density in the big cities like shanghai, Beijing, Canton, Hong- Kong, Schuan, Henan and Shenzhen. The east coast of China is the must interested part of china because the middle class population is there concentred. In the close future, the middle-class population will migrate to the big metropolis cities and a new class will appear. This target is the key success of the next five years. In the rest of China the population is very scattered. Opening stores there will be a waste of time and money. People are poor and are not very concerned by fashion. In China the most famous distributor place is mall, which is an American influence. As a result, Caroll should open its store in this mall in the biggest cities of the East cost. These malls create a fashion image and Caroll positioning will be higher. The target chosen is the common customer in those shopping centres. A French brand in this shopping place is certain to find the clients. It is a trendy place where the French touch will be appreciated. Chinese customers will be curious about a new brand of quality. Maybe Caroll could create a partnership with Carrefour (a French hypermarket group). The idea is quite simple, open stores in these hypermarket areas (not all off them of course). Hypermarket attracts people and Carrefour is actually well implanted in China. But these establishments could be harmful for the â€Å"Chic† image of Caroll†¦ Stores As we know Caroll stores decoration is white and grey. We saw that those colours are negative in the Chinese customers minds. The best colours could be red and black, we also saw that black is getting used and the negative impression decreased. Logistic organisation The production centre has to be in a city very accessible by airport or boat. The city has to be in the middle of the east cost in a city like Shanghais. The goods redistribution will be easier and also reduce costs. A study has to be made considering the local rent, the transportation plan, and the place of the different store. D. Promotion / Advertising In France, Caroll only uses magazine. In China, the company has to advertise a lot more because the brand is not very known. At first I think that the objective is to be known! The brand should use television ad, and continue the press magazine. Woman from Chinese middle class love read press magazine. The first store opening has to be a big event as Louis Vuitton, Caroll should organize a big private sales and a big party to promote the brand. To be well known in China, the TV campaign has to be strong at the launch of the brand. Caroll can also communicate trough billboard and trough Internet. Today feminine web sites are very developed and advertising in those sites is a good way to touch a lot of potential customers. The campaign has to be class by showing a group of modern workingwoman wearing Caroll outfits. The group will be composed on European and Chinese woman working together and having fun together. The ad message is that everywhere in the world, at work, or during the night, all nationality girls can were Caroll and be class during all day long. The ad will be in Chinese with French subtitles for example. Conclusion Even if the potential target is now small (a niche), we can forecast that in ten years, the middle class will have a purchase power multiplied by ten. So, it seems profitable to target this audience right now in order to be an established brand in couple of years. Especially in this case the marketing function is a determinant point of the long term strategy for Caroll. The company will also have to be cautious concerning the market environment and not enter it without studying the culture closer, the political environment†¦ The brand will have to adapt its products if it wants to answer the customers needs. Not only will it have to adapt its products, but it will also have to invest in advertising. Communicating the brand through specialized magazine will not be enough to gain notoriety, bill boarding, posters in bus stops and in subways, would be the best way to introduce the brand. This major advertising campaign should take place before Caroll opens its first shop. Endorsement will also be very important to implant the brand rapidly. There is no reason that Caroll should not succeed in the Chinese middle class market, because its competitor Alain Manoukian is well-established! à ° Caroll does a good marketing strategic choice to launch its brand in China and if the marketing mix is well respected, Caroll will have good opportunities to be present in Asia the future biggest continent in term of economy. Bibliography http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/data/anim/pop_ani.htm http://www.sinoptic.ch/textes/articles/2007/2007_Projection.population.Chine.pdf http://www.caroll.com/ http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/ansoff/ http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_five_forces_fr.html http://www.marketing-etudiant.fr/ http://www.societe.com http://goliath.ecnext.com http://www.transnationale.org http://chineseculture.about.com/ http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/businessculture.html

Ethics And Implications Of Computer Virus Information Technology Essay

Ethics And Implications Of Computer Virus Information Technology Essay Introduction A computer virus is a program that executes when an infected program is executed. It is capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer. Like biological viruses, computer viruses can spread quickly and are often difficult to eradicate. They can attach themselves to just about any type of file, and are spread by replicating and being sent from one individual to another. These are one of the few harmless viruses, simply replicating and spreading to new systems. There are a couple of different types of computer viruses: Boot-sector viruses Parasitic viruses Multi-partite viruses Macro viruses These classifications take into account the different ways in which the virus can infect different parts of a system. The manner in which each of these types operates has one thing in common: any virus has to be executed in order to operate (Lammer V., 1993) How in different ways those computer viruses can affect the IT industry and the society. What kind of implications they might cause? What kind of motivation motivates them to develop these computer viruses? Are they aware of the ethical matter surrounding their development? These are the issues that will be discussing in this report. History Many claims have been made for the existence of viruses prior to the 1980s, but so far these claims have not been accompanied by proof. The Core Wars programming contests did involve self-replicating code, but usually within a structured and artificial environment. It was not until the end of the decade (and 1987 in particular) that knowledge of real viruses became widespread, even among security experts. For many years boot sector infectors and file infectors were the only types of common viruses. The boot sector virus, dubbed the cBrain, was first incarnated written back in January 1986, considered to be the first computer virus for MS-DOS. It was programmed to infect the boot sector of storage media formatted with the DOS File Allocation Table (FAT) file system (Mary Landesman, 2000). In the early 1990s, virus writers started experimenting with various functions intended to defeat detection, among these were polymorphism. Polymorphic viruses are more difficult to detect by scanning as each copy of the virus looks different than other copies. Basically, polymorphic code mutates while keeping the original algorithm intact. Another introduction in the 1990s was the macro and script viruses, they were initially confined to word processing files, particularly files associated with the Microsoft Office Suite. However, the inclusion of programming capabilities eventually led to script viruses in many objects that would normally be considered to contain data only, such as Excel spreadsheets, Power Point presentation files, and email messages. This fact led to greatly increased demands for computer resources among antiviral systems. Email viruses became the major new form in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and while it is very visible and so tend to be indentified within a short space of time, but many are macros or scripts and so generate many variants (John Wiley, 2004). Computer ethics and computer viruses What impact did computer viruses have on ethics in the computer community? With the explosion of the number of computer viruses, this remains an unanswered question. In the years since viruses first appeared in the MS/PC-DOS computing environment, they have grown in both numbers and complexity at an alarming rate. They have become not only commonplace, but also extremely difficult to defend against. The virus creators have designed, compiled and released encrypting viruses, multipartite viruses, stealth viruses and viruses employing encryption techniques so bizarre that it warrants immediate concern. The scope of the problem has grown to the point where computer users are desperate for answers to their questions sand solutions to the computer virus dilemma (Ferguson, 1992). The  computer  ethics situation at present is as distorted and convoluted as it could have ever been imagined. Some of the more disturbing activities in the virus information channels recently, have been irresponsible postings of  source code, DEBUG scripts of live viruses and overall disregard of  computer  ethics and morals. To complicate matters, virus exchange Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) have cropped up where viruses and virus  source code  are freely exchanged. The people who engage in these activities have successfully shown their disregard for the remainder of the computing public. Perhaps these individuals have not given ample thought to the consequences of their actions. By allowing live  computer  viruses to freely filter into the public domain, they are ultimately responsible for any damage inflicted, either directly or indirectly, due to their negligence or disregard (Ferguson, 1992). According to the study of (Gordon, 1994) in which she has examined the ethics of virus writers using Kohlbergs ethical model, the observation shows that the virus writers are not a homogenous group, since they vary in age, education level, economical level, background, manner of communication, perspective of their society, and have different preferences. All of the foregoing will lead to different modes of thinking and different motivations behind their behavior. The adolescent and college virus writers are within the norms of their age group of the ethical development model, the reason for their behavior in writing and releasing viruses were unclear according to the collected information (Gordon, 1994, p15). While adult virus writers seem to be under the norm for their age group of the ethical development model and The Enemy seem to be Society (Gordon, 1994, p.15). It seems that virus writers desire to accomplish their goal conceals their vision from viewing the ethical issues, anot her reason could be their dissatisfaction with the society, since the ethics belong to it, and they want revenge against everything in their society including the ethics (Ahmad, 2005, p. 41). Implications may be for IT industry Computer virus implications on the IT industry may cause some company to upgrade their security to higher security level. The growing need for computer security specialists is predictable. Consultants may earn enviable income by telling corporate computer users how to protect their machines from catastrophic failure and how to use antidote and vaccine products. The computer specialists will be in a never ending game with each other. As they develop preventive vaccines and administer the viral antidotes, the viral breeders will also be developing new viruses to overcome the new security measures. (Lin Chang, 1989) The implications of the computer virus growth are especially important for Management Information Systems (MIS) as well. Management is becoming aware of the security considerations and internal policies of the firm. In order to prevent system contamination, employees should be warned not to use any unchecked programs. The MIS management should set more straightforward policies and the repercussions of not abiding by them. Similarly, any software used in the office should remain there and no place else. This is to safeguard against possible infections that could occur outside of the office environment. The focus of most policies will be on preventing external intrusions rather than internal threats simply for the sake of reducing external dangers (Lin Chang, 1989). Implications may be for society In early May of year 2000, the message I Love You appeared among emails of computer users worldwide. The attached virus since dubbed the Love Bug, infected up to 45 million computers, paralyzed bodies ranging from the World Health Organization to the Pentagon and is said to have cost business tens of billions of pounds in the UK alone. The Love Bug affected only software created by Microsoft, taking advantage of recent changes designed to improve performance, unfortunately over 90% of desktop computers were using Microsoft software. This software monoculture creates a system with an intrinsically high risk of catastrophic failure. Conclusion There are millions of computer virus developers out there in this world, creating the right virus all the time trying to expose the security of many kinds of system. As you can see, the number of computer viruses found in the world is increasing each year. Every time software and antivirus software developers invent new technology to prevent virus infection, computer virus writers thrilled the world with their ability to go around the new technology and develop the right virus for each age. There are hundreds of thousands of viruses out there (if not millions) and they often designed for different objectives, the writers of computer virus are not a homogenous group, their motivations could be the need to express their dissatisfaction with their social level, to achieve their revenge or to prove their technical ability, drawing attention, becoming famous and well known. It seems that computer virus writers determination to accomplish their goal may conceal their vision from viewing the ethical and legal issues (or they might not even care). Another reason could be their dissatisfaction with their society, since the ethics and legal codes belongs to it, and they want revenge for everything in their society including the ethics and legal codes (Ahmad, 2005, p. 43). The battle between the securities specialists against virus creators will never come to an end, as virus creators will always trying to overcome the security measures, antidotes and vaccines. These are just few of the impacts that can be expected on the computer industry. As for the computer society, the computer virus has become a fact of life. (Word Count: 1553) Bibliography Mary Landesman (2000) Boot Sector Virus Repair http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/a/bootsectorvirus.htm, online (Accessed 3/11/10)

Living Together Before Marriage Essay -- essays research papers

Living Together Before Marriage As the rate of divorce soars and as increasing numbers of marriages disintegrate, living together has become the popular alternative to many people in north America. Expersts estimate that "roughly 2.2 million people are currently sharing bed and board in a live-in arrangement, this is approximately 1% of the total population."("Family." Comptoms Encyclopedia. 1992 ed.) Living together, more formally known as non marital cohabitation, is an emerging lifestyle. In fact, "More than one fourth of all unmarried couples living together in the early 1980's were between 25 and 34 years old, and an additional 19 percent were 45 and over."("Today's Families."Detroit Free Press 18 October 1995: B17.) Although living together is not a recent invention, the relationship has yet to be legitimized with a respectable name. Existing terms such as "shacking up" or "living in sin" are just some of the crude names being tagged to people living together. Living together can be valuable a substitute for marriage, a cur e-all for marital problems, and a solution to the problem of frequent divorce.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A popular rationale for living together is that it is an ideal way to have a "try out." This trial marriage is a result of the ever increasing divorce rate. Many couples are afraid of marriage and decide to live together with the intention to persue marriage if the temporary arrangement is successful. The couples hope to "minimize their chances of a potential disastrous marriage; any conflicting attitudes toward social activities, economic arrangements, or domestic chores will be discovered and hopefully resolved while the couple live together." (Carter, Sharon. "Trial Marriage". Ladies' Home Journal 14 (May 1993): 12-13.) If an unsolveable conflict arises, the couple can cancel their wedding plans and escape the painful exercise of divorce. Living together ultimately can test the couple's compatibility and have them really get to know each other. Although evidence suggests that "couples who live together do not necessarily have more or less successful marriages than couples who don't live together before the wedding, studies show that non-marital cohabitors are more realistic about their demands and expectations of marriage.("Ross, Eshleman J. The Family: An Introduction. 5th ed. Detroit: Allyn,1988) Living toge... ...of divided energies among dating, career development, and economical survival. The burden of living can bee shared as the couple persue personal goal and ambitions. Living together, for example, can provide a harried student with emotional, physical, and sometimes economic support from a sympathetic partner. (Pearce, Jack M. Modern Day Marriages. New York: Abel- Hils,1990.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, more and more are turning to the idea of living together as the emotional, physical, social, economic, and legal benefits are much better alternative than the consequences that can arise from a failed marriage. Certainly, "not all couples choose to include living together as a temporary stage in their courtship, yet the option to cohabit is becoming increasingly popular."(Groode, Williams J. "Marriage" Comptoms Interactive Encyclopedia. (1996 ed.) The freedom associated with living together is an important aspect, because after a period of time the couple may decide to marry, to end the relationship, or simple continue living together. As future trends continue, and more marriages fail, the number of couples who live together are going to increase due to the valuable benefits.

I Desire a Masters in Science :: Graduate Admissions Essays

I Desire a Master's in Science    My interest in science dates back to my years in high school, where I excelled in physics, chemistry, and math. When I was a senior, I took a first-year calculus course at a local college (such an advanced-level class was not available in high school) and earned an A. It seemed only logical that I pursue a career in electrical engineering.    When I began my undergraduate career, I had the opportunity to be exposed to the full range of engineering courses, all of which tended to reinforce and solidify my intense interest in engineering. I've also had the opportunity to study a number of subjects in the humanities and they have been both enjoyable and enlightening, providing me with a new and different perspective on the world in which we live.    In the realm of engineering, I have developed a special interest in the field of laser technology and have even been taking a graduate course in quantum electronics. Among the 25 or so students in the course, I am the sole undergraduate. Another particular interest of mine is electromagnetics, and last summer, when I was a technical assistant at a world-famous local lab, I learned about its many practical applications, especially in relation to microstrip and antenna design. Management at this lab was sufficiently impressed with my work to ask that I return when I graduate. Of course, my plans following completion of my current studies are to move directly into graduate work toward my master's in science. After I earn my master's degree, I intend to start work on my Ph.D. in electrical engineering. Later I would like to work in the area of research and development for private industry. It is in R & D that I believe I can make the greatest contribution, utilizing my theoretical backgr ound and creativity as a scientist.

Characters of Sir Walter Elliot and Anne Elliot in Jane Austens Persua

The Characters of Sir Walter Elliot and Anne Elliot in Persuasion  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Persuasion, by Jane Austen, there are many exceptional characters. Perhaps two of the most memorable are Sir Walter Elliot, and his daughter, Anne Elliot. These characters are well shaped and have something about them that transcends time and social class, enabling readers of the all ages, to feel they have something in common with them. Jane Austen has created a very silly, vain man with immense family pride in Sir Walter Elliot. Sir Walter is extremely proud of his good looks, his family connections and above all, his baronetcy. The reader is introduced to Sir Walter at the beginning of the novel. Immediately his family pride is seen and the reader cannot help but associate Sir Walter with the aristocracy known to Austen. A simple character sketch of him reveals much: Vanity †¦ was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Almost unconsciously, the reader feels a strong dislike for a man who: considered †¦ beauty as inferior only to †¦ a baronetcy. Sir Walter’s pride and vanity is reinforced in many different ways: the way he acts in certain situations, his opinions of others, his dialogue, and others opinions of him. Sir Walter is a character who will always act in the same manner, no matter what situation he is involved in. Sir Walter uses his family name for authority and decision making. For example, when Lady Russell suggests economizing Sir Walter reacts: What! Every comfort of life knocked off!†¦even of a private gentleman. Another example is when Sir Walter leaves Kellynch Hall and is "prepared with condescending bows". In each of these examples, Sir Walter reminds others of his title, and that they are l... ... Persuasion is still popular today that emphasizes this universal and realistic world of Austen’s characters.    Works Cited and Consulted Austen, Jane. Persuasion. New York: Oxford, 1998 Curran, Stuart. "Women Readers, Women Writers." The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Ed. Stuart Curran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Fergus, Jan. â€Å"The Professional Woman Writer† The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Eds. Edward Copeland and Juliet McMaster. New York, Cambridge UP, 1997. (12-32). Radway, Janice. "Reading Reading the Romance." Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader, Second Edition. Ed. John Storey. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1998. Wiltshire, John. â€Å"Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion† The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Eds. Edward Copeland and Juliet McMaster. New York, Cambridge UP, 1997. (58-84).

What I Didn’t Learn in Business School by Jay Barney Paper

MG 69016 MG 69016 What I Didn’t Learn in Business School: How Strategy Works in the Real World A Book Report By: Kaitlin Bauer What I Didn’t Learn in Business School: How Strategy Works in the Real World A Book Report By: Kaitlin Bauer 08 Fall 08 Fall 1.What lessons do you learn from Justin’s experience in terms of the limits of some of the core strategy frameworks you learned in theory (examine for example, Michael Porter’s Five Forces and the challenges Justice faced in applying it, value chain analysis, the Resource Based View) Some of the concepts/models that are applied to strategic problems vary in meaning depending on the setting one is in whether it be in the actual real world or in the classroom.These concepts applied like the five forces framework or present value analysis are just â€Å"tools† and its up to the individual to determine how it should be used. As senior director, Ken McCombs states, â€Å"You can use a hammer exactly the wa y it’s designed to be used, but instead of building something beautiful or durable, you can build a pile of junk. It’s not the tool, it’s how the tool is used; it’s the skills, interests, and motives of the person using the tool that determine whether the outcome of an analysis is reasonable. † (Barney 53).Basically, these â€Å"tools† have to be applied appropriately in order to identify and develop an effective final strategy/overall result. An example of this would be in regards to the concept of core competency. In business strategy courses, this term is used in so many different ways, its actual meaning gets lost. Justin has a difficult time throughout the book adapting his understanding of business concepts to their real-world application. In a way, he looks more into situations as if he were â€Å"cracking the case† opposed to figuring out real world situations.This seemed to be a theme of the book that Justin uncovers as he con tinues on his journey with HBS. According to Justin, the more valuable, rare, and difficult to imitate the activities your involved in are, the more likely those activities would contribute to a firms core competencies as seen within the VRIO framework (81). By being able to do this shows a huge breakthrough point for Justin because towards the beginning of the book, he was struggling to determine whether core competencies allow firms to expand and navigate through new potential markets.As the book progresses, it starts to show how Justin is now able to determine what the real definition of core competency is as well as other concepts he had learned in school. To Justin, understanding the true meanings behind concepts was a breakthrough in thinking. â€Å"Core competence wasn’t just a buzz word for Justin now. VRIO or the other concepts was no longer just a lecture he has heard but are now tools that can be used to examine real-world strategies† (81).As many say, he is now applying the knowledge he acquired from business school and is now applying those concepts to everyday business situations. An example of this situation is closely embodied in Justin and Vivek’s conversation in regards to how technologies alone are not considered core competency but it's the actions taken to exploit these technologies that make them considered a core competency. If these technologies are considered rare and hard to imitate, they can sometimes be a source of sustained advantage (146).As you can see through this example, Justin has learned the true meaning behind the word of core competency and how it is used within the real world. Throughout the business school, we have learned the importance of utilizing strategy frameworks, which have been drilled into our heads in order to evaluate potential business decisions. The frameworks like Michael Porters Five Forces Analysis, NPV analysis, and VRIO among many others have deemed to be extremely useful and benef icial in organizing and arranging information provided for situations that can eventually lead to a recommendation in the end.This book is a prime example of how certain situations like we’ve read in the many case studies; don’t really depict the true nature of the situation in the real world. Justin’s situation expresses to the reader that the real world isn’t easy and how case studies don’t really prepare you, as they should in the end. Justin has learned that in order to evaluate new markets, putting to use these frameworks is necessary but he has also learned that there is more to it then just applying these methods. First, Porter’s Five Forces analysis method is used as an â€Å"initial step† in evaluating new markets.This method is first introduced in the book during Justin and Scott Beckett’s, VP and General Manager of Oil and Gas division at HGS, meeting in which they discussed their analysis of the men’s white d ress shirt industry. Beckett goes as far as using the Five Forces model to describe how all kinds of threats are high (Rivalry, Buyer Power, Substitutes, Entry, and supplier Power). Justin quickly buys into Beckett’s argument and how the men’s white dress shirt industry is not a viable option for Plastiwear to enter.This is an example of Justin deterring from his original views and altering them to agree with the other party, which cannot be necessarily correct in the situation regarding Beckett’s view. As senior director, Ken McCombs states, the most attractive industries according to the five forces approach would have no rivalry, no close substitutes, no threats, and no powerful buyers or suppliers. This type of industry makes us go with lower risk markets, which are considered a monopoly, and is not likely to be a viable option for a firm.As the book progresses, Justin learns that this framework is only an â€Å"initial step† due to the limitations it offers. Despite these limitations, both managers and consultants often use it in strategy development. Justin realized that HGS wouldn’t have many opportunities in any of its businesses given the highly competitive nature of the industries in which they compete. Although this is used in evaluating the competitive threats in an industry, it should be noted that it is not to be used to estimate the overall attractiveness of an industry which therefore doesn’t tell you very much about strategic choice.This put Justin in an â€Å"uncomfortable position† in regards to HGS’s situation because he was still thinking there was one clear solution waiting at the end; he just had to â€Å"crack the case†. Second, Net Present Value analysis (NPV) is a popular calculation to find what the expected returns on a project in question would be using information on things like past product extensions or market entries. From that calculation, its gives an individual a feel for the riskiness of a new project which are then incorporated into casework which we have done repetitively throughout the MBA program.However, Justin experienced the limits of the NPV framework that we have learned in theory through his meeting with Shirley Rickert, CFO at HGS. Through this meeting, he learned that NPV calculations in the real world aren’t as cut and dry as they are when used in the classroom. Since these calculations are based on past activities especially in the area of innovative products like Plastiwear, it didn't really offer much guidance for future activities in these areas. Most of the time, the data is either not sufficient or overly sufficient in which you don’t need the analysis.Rickert also states that even though NPV is a powerful tool for objective strategic analysis, there is often managerial biases baked into the analysis that could either be intentionally but it is often done unintentionally. An example of this would be through Beckett’s negative NPV calculations, which would therefore depict an overly risky project. Again, this framework can be used as one of the â€Å"initial steps† in the overall strategy formulation process. As Rickert states, â€Å"present value techniques-even when you are evaluating relatively straightforward investments-are just a way of keeping track of the financial implications of a strategy.NPV is one way to keep score in the game but it’s not the game. NPV is no substitute for having a strategy† (32). Third, the VRIO framework is finally used by Justin, which helps him be able to determine the viability of the Plastiwear business. The VRIO framework is used to determine whether or not a certain strategy was likely to be a source of a sustained competitive advantage, which depends on the answer to four questions. First, Justin needs to discover ways that the Plastiwear strategy is valuable. Without value, it’s noted that a strategy canâ€℠¢t be a source of competitive advantage for the firm.Second, HGS would need to posses unusual skills or other assets that this Plastiwear strategy must utilize. In other words, the strategy must contain â€Å"rarity† in order to have a point of difference for the firm. So â€Å"if many firms all have the ability to execute the same strategy, then that strategy will probably not be a source of advantage† (76). hence, the need for a firms strategy to be rare and different. Third, Justin looks into the possibility of whether or not a strategy can be imitated and if so, how long before other firms are likely to begin imitating pieces of the strategy?Justin has â€Å"learned that firms strategies can be difficult to imitate for several reasons. Some strategies can rely on assets that may be protected by patents, some required skills are needed that took firms years to develop, trusting relationships among a firm’s managers or between firm and supplier/customer which can end up being difficult and time consuming and lastly, it is often difficult for competing firms to describe why a particular firm has an advantage. Therefore, that is why firms implement valuable, rare and costly to imitate strategies because this is what makes it possible for firms to gain more sustainable advantages† (77).The last question Justin raises within this framework focuses on the organization and whether it has the ability to execute and protect its sources of advantage. Justin reflects that within the classroom, he learned that certain structure and controls enabled a firm to realize the full potential of its strategies. However, by answering the first three questions enabled him to â€Å"crack the case† so this last question didn’t require an answer. However, this framework led to the same conclusions that Livia had come to.For example even if there was demand for HGS’s shirt concept, there was no reason to believe that HGS embodied any special shirt-manufacturing skills. In other words, there was nothing rare in this area for HGS. Overall, Justin created his own matrix using the VRIO framework and through that he discovered the amount of information he didn’t know about Plastiwear as well as the types of opportunities that might exist within the different stages of the Plastiwear value chain. Overall, these strategy frameworks finally gave Justin the clarity to organize his thoughts into a more comprehensive structure for analysis.Especially in regards to the VRIO framework, Justin was finally able to see that the decision to implement Plastiwear was not dependent on the retail shirt market at all. He was finally able to see that the decision about Plastiwear was more about HGS’s ability to exploit its competencies throughout the value chain where they could gain and sustain an advantage. One of the most important points made throughout the entire book, â€Å"If you ask the wrong question, about the wrong industry, it doesn't really matter what the answer is† (80).Justin discovers that in order to â€Å"crack the real world business case†, you need to be asking the correct questions about the correct industry. He learns that since real life situations are not cut and dry like traditional business case studies done within the classroom, there tends not to be case questions at the end. However, it is Justin’s responsibility to figure it out. This can be tied back to Justin’s first client meeting as well as interviews. Justin learned that by knowing what questions to ask is key, which will help, lead you to the answer you need.Lastly, to touch on some of the struggles that Justin had experienced throughout the book was that of teamwork. As we have learned in the classroom, teamwork is a crucial and valuable method used within the real world, especially in business. It seemed to me that since Justin was a recent MBA graduate, he was still stuck in  "school mode† in which he treated his new job as if it were a case analysis he was doing within the classroom. He quickly learned that in the real world, it is vital that a team works together to ensure that the analysis is completed in the correct way, all the way through.As a new member of a team, working with and learning from the other members is extremely important to personal development and growth. It is also important to note that it was probably extremely difficult in this scenario because all these members of the team have never worked together before. Having the ability to understand that it really takes time to be able to learn each member’s personal strategies in completing the task at hand is critical. It difficult though in certain scenarios, like this one when there is a short time span to reach a final conclusion.Being able to really learn the traits and personal strategies of your team can be hindered due to certain set time spans. 2. Which key organiz ational and human level factors can you identify as obstacles to implementing the strategy formation process the way it appears in theory? [Hint: Consider individual motives, personal interests, stakeholder interests and political behavior]. Having the ability to implement the strategy formation process the way is appears in theory is deemed to be a very rare occurrence.The real world is filled with individual motives, personal interests, stakeholder interests as well as political behavior. In regards to individual motives and personal interests, different individuals of an organization might have different motives about the future of the companies given their role and this difference leads to different outcomes. In regards to stakeholder interests, Justin learned this through first-hand experience at HGS. Understanding and learning whom the key stakeholders are is both critical to Justin and the rest of the team hence a â€Å"team interest†.Supporting stakeholders and strate gy makers is an essential component of strategy implementation. According to Livia, she realizes that in order to successfully move ahead with whatever recommendation they think is best, they will have to make sure to address the interests of the key players in the company. To do that, knowing the difference between interest and influence is critical (6). Also, by knowing who the key players are in the company gave the team â€Å"the ability to figure out who could either help implement HGS’s recommendation or who could stop them from being implemented† (6).This was huge for the team. Having a good sense of the political landscape is critical because the â€Å"goal here is to use both the overall analysis and change management skills to transform those parties that are likely to resist recommendations into becoming supporters†(6). Some of these factors can intertwine in a way in which political behavior and personal interests have the possibility in clashing. An example of this is seen in Justin’s meeting with Shirley in which she describes how some of the strategy frameworks used can be manipulated to enhance someone’s already existing point of view.In organizations, personal benefits might come ahead of organizational benefits depending on the situation. In looking at both ends of the spectrum, optimists might be seeing a strategy as an extension of their current businesses whereas pessimists might not since their view is based on the department’s benefits and not the organization’s. An example is discussed during Justin and Shirley’s meeting on defining the importance of NPV in the real world.She stated that the most optimistic calculations view for NPV were done by the scientists involved with the invention of Plastiwear in comparison to the most pessimistic calculations view for NPV which were determined by the department heads who would be losing funding if the project went through. An example of th is view is discovered during the meeting between Justin and Scott Beckett. As you can see, really â€Å"cracking the case† and coming to a conclusion is a bit more difficult then what we have learned in the classroom.Real life scenarios have an infinite number of figures that can be found, and therefore, the personal interests of the people doing the research influences what numbers are used within the calculations. Lastly, both the optimistic and pessimistic views seemed to put into question an individuals motivation in regards to decision making. This was just distasteful to Justin which made him both confused and a little naive that the motivation of personal interests could overpower organizational interests in the decision making process. Later on when Justin meets withJerry Tucker, scientist credited for the invention of Plastiwear, he discusses how pleased he is that Plastiwear could be a huge success. However, he points out that â€Å"problems with modern companies i s that we really aren’t managed for owners but we’re managed to make the lives of the managers comfortable† (102). I found this point pretty interesting because this would mean the managers are in a way contradicting the importance of why knowing who the key stockholders are and why that is such a critical factor to know within your team if in the end. the managers are looking out for their self-interest and self-motives.Also, I think it is important to note in regards to the end all goal in regards to both organizational and human level factors, Jerry states that â€Å"truly innovative leaders must take the gamble of whether or not their product is a success or failure and if you aren’t willing to be risk loving, you can never know true excellence† (102). 3. How would you have navigated some of the minefields that Justin and his team faced? I thought this was very beneficial to read because as soon to be MBA graduates, we too will be navigating thr ough similar minefields that Justin faced personally as well as the minefields his team faced.I can closely relate to Justin’s drive and commitment to succeed throughout the course of this book because I to want to apply everything that I have learned in the classroom and make it happen out in the real world. However, it very interesting to read that the frameworks we have learned don’t lead you to the final conclusion which is what we learned while in school. They are more of â€Å"stepping stones† in the process. I can especially relate to Justin’s experience in trying to understand the difference between what is learned in the classroom and what is learned out in the real world.Going into the workforce with an open mind I believe will help the transition phase go smoother than Justin’s. He was focused on â€Å"cracking the case† and when he couldn't, he got frustrated. It is also important to be able to separate passion without the need o f emotion. Someone once told me that this concept is like a double edge sword. You must be able to show the passion for your work without letting emotion come into play. Justin was viewed as a â€Å"total rookie† because since he put a lot of effort and work into the presentation, Ken and Livia did not let him present his findings because it was evident of his emotional attachment (193).A more specific example of this concept would be when Justin showed his passion in trying to â€Å"crack the case† to figure out a solution but he let his emotion come into play when he allowed himself to get frustrated. Another example that new graduates can relate to is when you are going for a job interview for your dream job. During the interview, you want to show your passion and why you want this job by giving off confidence and desire for that role. However, even if you want this job so bad, you let your emotion get involved hence you get emotional during the interview.This doesn ’t project the professionalism you need to have within the business environment. By knowing the difference between the two and being able to keep those two factors separate is a key takeaway before going out into the real world. 4. What key lessons do you learn about strategy from the novel? How â€Å"neat† is the process in real life? In What I Didn’t Learn in Business School: How Strategy Works in the Real World, it clearly explains that strategy is not neat in the real world, it actually is more complex.As an MBA student, we complete numerous amounts of case studies on a daily basis and are usually supplied with questions to consider toward the end of each case. Its not that simple in the real world although many wish it were. In order to develop the questions that need to be analyzed further in order to â€Å"crack the case† or to even develop some solution that could be a possibly good strategy, an extreme amount of work and analysis goes into determ ining and creating this.From those questions, as MBA students we usually then determine what the recommendation is and how we are going to implement that into the existing business environment. In the real world, its more complicated in that it goes beyond answering the questions, which will lead to making a final recommendation, which then leads to how you are going to do it. In the real world, you need to embrace a complete strategy, not just a small segment focus. I also learned that strategy is about the large scope of things.It not just about evaluating one or two potential decisions and deciding which one is best in regards to the situation. Strategy formulation needs to consider all interests of both the players and the firm’s core competencies in order to be successful. When Justin realized that â€Å"he wasn’t just trying to crack the case but how he was actually helping to shape the future of a corporation-and all those who depended, or who might depend†(150) is a prime example of how during strategy formulation, interests of both the players and the firms core ompetencies were considered and recognized by members of the team which would in the end deem them to be successful. 5. Should organizations engage in the sort of formal strategy formation processes we study in Business School? With a complete and focused formal strategy formation processes, organizations won’t be successful. They will be deemed not successful because they lack the vision and direction needed in order for future growth.Real world strategy implementation might not be as simple as what we do in business school, but the concept is basically the same. In the classroom, the curriculum is designed in a way that with the frameworks learned can also be applied out in the real world. As discussed in one of the previous questions, being able to understand the difference between what is learned in the classroom to what is learned out in the real world is criti cal because when in the real world, things are not as cut and dry like they are in a traditional case study analysis.To answer the overall question whether an organization should engage in this process, I think it is extremely beneficial for businesses to have because not only does it provide a clear vision and direction but it also helps to create a clear understanding of the core competencies a company has. Even though the process that us MBA students have studied in school doesn’t directly apply to that of the operating business environment in the real world, I think of it as a good â€Å"stepping stone† that is helping prepare the young incoming workforce prior to them even entering into the real world.By giving business students years of practice in this semi formation process will help them when they eventually enter into the real world. It will minimize the amount of overall shock and even possibly some change as well. Overall, it provides a framework and outlin e for things to consider in strategy building. Work Cited Barney, Jay B. , and Trish Gorman. Clifford. What I Didn't Learn in Business School: How Strategy Works in the Real World. Boston: Harvard Business Review, 2010. Print.