Assignment Question Discuss The Ways Business Essays - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1695 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Culture denotes the way people lead their lives. Corrado (1996) says that culture has an impact on a persons life which can be seen in his consumption behavior also. For example Indians eat their food with their hands and some of them may lick their fingers too, whereas Chinese use chopsticks to ear noodles. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Assignment Question Discuss The Ways Business Essays" essay for you Create order An Englishman on the other hand may not relish his food until and fork and knife are given to him. All this forms a part of the culture which pervades all forms of living standards. As far as the definition of culture is concerned, culture is defined differently by different thinkers. For example, Hofstede (1980, P.21) defines culture as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from another. Tylor (1871) defined culture as that complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, laws, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Ronen (1986, p.18) sees culture as the frame of reference of individuals, and Harris and Moran (1987, p.102) discuss the mental frameworks which groups, organizations and nations develop. Kluckhohn (1951, p. 86) provides that the fundamental webs of culture constitute a patterned way of thinking, acting, feeling and interpreting. Hofstede (2001) defines culture as software of the mind which provides a guide for humans on how to think and behave Hill (2009) asserts that culture has an influence on conduct of international business and a marketer cannot succeed unless and until he understands the various cross cultural influences which have an influence on demand of consumers in the market. Impact of culture on International business and implications for Multinational enterprises Hollensen (2004) describe culture as the learned ways in which a society understands, decides and communicates. Daniel and Malhotra (1993), contends that culture differs among different countries and without keeping in mind the cross cultural characteristics which may have an impact on consumption pattern of consumers, an international marketer cannot succeed in the market. Thus culture has an important meaning for the international marketer and its implications for multinational enterprises can be understood through a number of examples which highlight the importance of understanding culture for an international marketer. Hill (2009) asserted that culture of a country influences the cost of doing business in a country. Prince and Hoppe (2004) say that a company incurs heavy cost of doing business in a foreign country if it enters the country without understanding the culture of the host country. Hill (2009) demonstrates that a multinational corporation should know that there are d ifferences in work related practices in different countries. For example, there are some cultures which observe more holidays than others. A company entering such a cultural backdrop must adjust the scheduling of labor accordingly even if this involves extra costs. Hofstede (1980) in his study at International business machines (IBM) have identified that an international marketer needs to understand four dimensions before entering into a new territory. These four dimensions include power distance, individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity versus femininity. Hofstede (1980) argued that different countries have different scores on the above four variables. In his study, Hofstede (1980) rated twenty countries on a scale of 0 to 100. Hofstede (1980) showed that an international marketer before targeting a country should keep the scores in mind and accordingly formulate marketing strategy to target the market. Hill (2009) asserts that modification of str ategies by an international marketer will result in his success in the market. For example two different economies which consist of Pakistan and Arab countries represent more masculine and collective countries compared with feminine and individual North Europe, and as a result there are also some systematic differences in their values. An international marketer cannot target the countries in Pakistan and Arab economies with the same products as is done in case of North Europe. Hofstede (1980) further contends that culture includes values, norms, religion, language and social class in the society. All these cross cultural characteristics have to be kept in mind by the international marketer before targeting these countries. Hofstede five dimension model is shown below: (Source: https://www.provenmodels.com/files/d616c20f1759b51f1e57bf17ee4cafcc/five_dimensions_of_culture.gif) In 2001, Hofstede expanded his concept of culture by including a fifth dimension to the above four dime nsions. This dimension was termed as Confucian Dynamism or Long term Orientation by Hofstede. Hofstede (2001) contended that the dimension of Confucian Dynamism deals with the aspect of individual countries towards time, persistence, respect for traditions and reciprocation of gifts and favors among the individuals in the country. Hofstede in his initial study has highlighted the fundamental building blocks of culture. Hofstede (1980) contended that culture includes values and norms. Values are concerned with ideas as to what society believes to be good, right and desirable (Hofstede 1980) According to Hofstede; values include the attitude of individuals towards their freedom, loyalty, justice, responsibility and personal relations. On the other hand norms are the rules and regulations which prescribe the behaviors which should be followed by individuals in certain situations. Hofstede (1980) has contended that by understanding the cultural dimensions a company can target the consum ers by providing products which suit to the culture of respective country. There are many examples of companies which have gained success in the market by understanding the culture of the country. Cross cultural issues have an impact on multinational enterprises because they influence the cost of doing business in the country. These examples highlight the importance of considering cross cultural issues which need to be understood by the marketers before framing adequate marketing strategies for targeting the company. For example, Shoji (1991) discussed the case of DeBeers which is a raw diamond supplier in many countries. Shoji (1991) showed how by understanding the cross cultural differences the company gained success in a situation which was deemed as failure. The company ran its advertisement of diamonds in Japan that showed western couples in evening dress which shows the standard mentality that equates diamond with grandeur. The company analyzed that its advertisement is not re sulting in addition of its sales. The company through a thorough analysis of Japanese culture learnt that Japanese woman do not smile and kiss their husbands when they receive diamonds as presents. Instead they shed a few tears and pretend they are angry at their husband for spending so much money. This presented the need for chaining advertisement by DeBeers to suit to the culture of the Japan. The company changed its Christmas campaign and showed a tired wage earner and his hard working wife in their tiny apartment. Upon receiving the sparkling present, she snaps at her extravagant spouse by saying Oh, You stupid! This advertisement was a marketing success, boosting the popularity of diamonds in Japan and showed the importance of understanding cross cultural issues by a multinational enterprise. Another example of not understanding cross cultural issues can be analyzed in the case of Ford (Kwintessential article 2008). The company introduced its new car Pinto in Brazil. The com pany observed that it has very good features but still its sale is not increasing. The company analyzed the reasons and find that its sales does not pick up because Brazilians did not want to be seen driving a car meaning tiny male genitals which was the meaning of Pinto in language of Brazil. The company changed the name of the car and observed that the car gained popularity in Brazil. Cassie (2007) in his article highlighted that even small products like a curling iron are inhibited by language. For example, Clairols Mist Stick forgot that Mist is a German slang word for manure. This resulted in failure of products. The thorough analysis of culture which includes language, religion, rituals and values and norms influences the cost of doing business in the country. Kwintessential article (2008) highlight that culture is the reason why many hotels in the USA or UK do not have a room number 13. Another example is of Nippon Airways which is operating in Japan and it do not have seat n umber 4 or 9 not considered auspicious Kwintessential article (2008). The article shows that apart from language, a company needs to be careful in using images also for the various advertisement campaigns. For example at one place the image may appear to be very attractive but the same image may result in retaliation in another country. It is very common to see the pictures of women wearing bikinis in advertisement posters in UK and US but such images would result in outrage and retaliation in Middle East. Another example of a mismatch between culture and product of a country can be seen in Africa where majority of food products sellers often show the pictures of food in the package because majority of people cannot read English. In this scenario, Gerber introduced its baby food with the picture of a cute little baby on the carton. This created horror in Africa among the consumers. The company has to change the carton to suit to the market. All these examples shows the need of under standing culture before introducing new products, new marketing or advertisement campaigns in a country and the inability of the company to follow this will result in failure of products as well as rise in cost of doing business in the country. An international marketer needs to understand the cross cultural issues apart from just understanding the economic environment of the host country. Culture has an influence on cost of doing business in a country and the failure or inability to understand cultural differences between countries has been the cause of many of the business and product failures. There are many examples of companies which have gained success or failure as a result of understanding or failure to understand cross cultural issues in international marketing arena. Hofstede (1980, 2001) in his model has identified the importance of understanding the various dimensions of culture by a marketer who is entering into a foreign market. In his studies of 40 countries, he has r ated various countries on the different dimensions of culture and has shown that before targeting a new country, an international marketer should ensure that culture of the country should be understood otherwise it would result in failure of product and loss of investment for the company.

Parenthood Is A Health Care Provider - 1730 Words

Planned Parenthood is a health care provider that focuses on supplying women and men of all ages and backgrounds with health care and sex education. This includes, but is not limited to, contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, screenings for cancers, sexual education courses, and, most notably, abortions. Planned Parenthood finds itself at the center of much controversy specifically for its role in terminating pregnancies, as well as providing students with sex education instead of abstinence only programs. This controversy has led to debates over whether Planned Parenthood should receive federal and state funding, and whether its clinics should be closed altogether. There are two opposing claims in the debate over Planned Parenthood. A claim is an appeal that a specific issue needs to be addressed. In this case, one claim is that Planned Parenthood provides its patients with essential health care and sexual education and for that reason should receive full funding and recognition as a legitimate health care provider. The opposing claim is that Planned Parenthood should not receive federal or state funding and would preferably be shut down altogether because it commits murder when it aborts a baby and corrupts the minds of the youth by encouraging casual, even dangerous sex. Each of these claims is made by a claimsmaker, or a person who works to convince others that his or her issue needs to be paid attention to. In this case, each of theShow MoreRelatedParenthood : A Middle Ground1483 Words   |  6 Pagestransmitted infections, fertility, pregnancy care, and breast and cervical cancer no matter if they perform abortions. This has been reversed by President Trump. Trump has signed legislation to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other groups that perform abortion. This was a move defended by conservatives that have demanded to impose curbs on reproductive rights. â€Å"Trump has showed ambivalence about planned parenthood, voicing support for its health- related services other than abortion, andRead MoreParenthood, A Non Profit Healthcare Group1574 Words   |  7 PagesThe History of Planned Parenthood and the Constitutional Right to Abortions Planned Parenthood, a non-profit healthcare group has been under fire with the public hoping to defund the clinics. Planned Parenthood is a health care provider that was funded 100 years ago. In 1916 a Birth control organization was created by Margaret Sanger . When it was first created, it didn’t consider the health or rights of women as a motive. Instead it was founded in order to stop child labor and infant mortality (PrimroseRead MoreA Social Problem That Is Currently Occurring Is Rather1748 Words   |  7 Pagesrather federal funding should continue to keep Planned Parenthood open. Donald Trump has recently joined other Republicans in their vow to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood, solely based on the idea that Planned Parenthood health care services provide for patients to receive an abortion. The percentage of abortions that Planned Parenthood actually does are less than 3% (Planned Parenthood Statistics). Taking funds away from Planned Parenthood creates a pr oblem not only in America but internationallyRead MorePlanned Parenthood Is A Widely Known Nonprofit Organization.1046 Words   |  5 PagesPlanned Parenthood is a widely known nonprofit organization. They are the health care provider for millions of people within our nation. When people hear the words Planned Parenthood they automatically assume abortion. Yes, abortion is a service that they offer yet, they deliver much more than that. They deliver and educate us about birth control, cancer, men and women’s sexual health, pregnancy, sexual orientation and offer the Morning-After Pill (emergency contraception) and sexually transmittedRead MoreHealth At Stake . There Has Been A Recent Event Where The1441 Words   |  6 PagesHealth at Stake There has been a recent event where the House of Republicans defunded an organization for one whole year, which can save many lives. People rely heavily on Planned Parenthood, being the nation’s health care provider, as it provides them with reproductive health benefits. These benefits include, but are not limited to, access to contraception, cancer screenings, and basic preventative care. However, there are numerous amounts of people who concur with the decision to defund thisRead MoreAbortion : The Pro Life Action League873 Words   |  4 Pagesparticipate in marches, pickets, prayer vigils, and also raise awareness by holding large abortion pictures on busy streets to show what the end result of abortion is on an unborn child. They also hold a monthly protest at Planned Parenthood in Aurora, one of the busiest Planned Parenthood clinics, and protest pro-abortion politicians and other public figures that oppose the rights of unborn babies. Some of the other objectives of t his group are to confront abortionists, abortion promoters, infiltrate pro-choiceRead MoreThe Importance Of Planned Parenthood1459 Words   |  6 PagesThe responsibility and the care of a child are often decisions people face when they find out about the announcement of the pregnancy. Fear of growing up fast and the responsibility of a child are often not something people can handle. For millions of men and women across the country, they turn to Planned Parenthood who not only deals with pregnancy but also is resource in birth control, informative about sexual health but STD testing, screenings (â€Å"Sexual Health Topic†). April 14th of 2017, PresidentRead MoreShould Planned Parenthood Be Federally Funded?846 Words   |  4 PagesShould Planned Parenthood Be Federally Funded? Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization that does research into and gives advice on contraception, family planning, and reproductive problems. Recently Planned Parenthood has had controversy for many pro-life members creating videos that pro-life members have altered to making many believe Planned Parenthood organizations harvest and sell fetal body parts, and give abortions when they women are too late during their pregnancy. While Planned ParenthoodRead MoreParenthood Should Have More Government Restrictions1228 Words   |  5 PagesDefunding Planned Parenthood Although my view is consistent with a capitalistic micro government, Planned Parenthood should have more government restrictions. Most people would beg to differ for several reasons. This issue has a two sided debate and there is no wrong or right answer. The only way to come down to a fair conclusion is by making a pros and cons list, so one can see each side instead of being close-minded. Planned Parenthood has been controversial due to the services it provides to womenRead MorePlanned Parenthood : A Controversial Topic Sweeping The Nation Of America With Political And Moral Issues1379 Words   |  6 PagesPlanned Parenthood is a controversial topic sweeping the nation of America with political and moral issues. Every day one could come across a new article on it, stubble upon a news article in their local paper or even on their local news station. Planned Parenthood directly provides reproductive health services, is involved in teach young students about sexual education, contrib utes to research in reproductive technology, and interacts with legal and political efforts aimed at protecting and developing

Gross Domestic Product GDP Free Essays

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country is commonly defined as the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year. The fact that it is measured regularly and quite consistently in practically all countries of the world allows a direct comparison of the standard of living in individual countries. The frequent measuring also makes it possible to quickly recognize changing trends. We will write a custom essay sample on Gross Domestic Product GDP or any similar topic only for you Order Now For example, it is used to determine whether an economy is growing faster or slower than in the previously measured period and to compare it with other economies in the world. When GDP is calculated in relation to the population of a country, one speaks of the average GDP per capita. This is often used as an indicator of a country’s standard of living. However, as a measure of the standard of living in a country, GDP has its limitations and shortcomings. ? It does not differentiate between economic output that actually benefits the population and economic bads in a country, such as, for example, expenses for warfare, pollution-producing industries, etc. It does not include unreported activities such as illegal trading or black-market labour. ? It does not reflect non-market activities such as unpaid housework, childcare, and care for the elderly at home, community services or similar activities. The distribution of wealth within a country can be very uneven. When there is a high concentration of enormous wealth in a very small group, and the vast majority of a population is very poor, the average income may be relatively high, although the standard of living of the majority population is low. GDP can only measure the material standard of living, without taking into account the quality of life as perceived by each individual, which cannot be standardized across a population or countries. ? Economic output can increase due to technological advances requiring less employment, thereby decreasing the employment ratio. ? The age distribution within a country may be such that a relatively small group of working-age people have to support a large group of old people, resulting in a lower employment rate and consequently a lower standard of living. How to cite Gross Domestic Product GDP, Papers

Comparative Progress Global Business Systems

Question: Discuss about the Comparative Progress Global Business Systems. Answer: Introduction Modern Israel was established in the year 1948 with a very small population. In just a period of two years, the population of the country doubles. This lead to an increase in the gross domestic product per capita income. Various economic factors and conditions led to the transformation of the state. The assignment analyzes the economic factors such as interest rate, Gross domestic product, interest rate, technology, population and other factors. The country has the second largest start up companies in the world with the GDP of US$37,032. It is a developed nation and was ranked in seventeenth position in the world in the year 2010 (Aharoni, 2014). It is technically advanced economy. The economy plays a leading role in the supply of solar energy industry. The industries that are established in the country are metallurgical industries, chemicals, food, metal products, transport equipments and diamond cutting industries. The economy of Israel is relatively poor in natural resources and h ence depends on imports of natural resources from other countries such as petroleum, raw materials, wheats and other natural gas reserves (Bental et al., 2016). The industrial sector of the economy is advanced and technologically upgraded. The nation has established a free trade agreement with European Union, United States, Turkey, Mexico and other countries of European free trade association. Economy of Israel is also a tourist place with 3.54 million foreign tourists visiting the nation in the year 2013. The export goods of the nation include telecommunication equipments, machinery equipments, agricultural products, textiles, metals, and chemicals. Its main export partners are United Sates, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and China. The import goods and materials that are imported by Israel are raw materials, natural resources, petrol and petroleum products, fuels, consumer goods and investment goods. The importing partners of the country are United Sates, Italy, Germany, China and Switzerland (Yaron et al., 2013). The condition of statehood had put the economy of Israel in crisis. The unemployment rate was high and the foreign currency reserves were scarce in the period 1949 to 1959. An agreement was signed with West Germany where Germany agreed to pay money to Israel for the development of the nation. This was done to compensate the Jewish property that was stolen by Nazis. Israel is nation that is religious in nature. The state mainly comprises of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The priority was given for the development of industries. The policies of the nation concentrated on industrialization (Blinder, 2013). Development of two policies has helped the economy of Israel develop. The first policy was Jewish immigration and the second policy was peace process. In the early 2000, the economy of Israel went again into crisis due to the crashing of dot com bubble. It hampered the startups of many new industries that put the economy at stake. The economy of Israel was able to sustain the crisis o f 2000. A growth in GDP was encountered in 2009 along with capturing low rate of unemployment (Bakalyar Galil, 2014). Economic policies that led to economic transformation Economic policies Israel gained independence in the year 1948. Economic policies are the policy that is set by the government of nation to transform the economy and form strategy that will benefit the economy. The economic policies included attributes such as interest rates, government spending, money supply, inflation rate, cash rate, taxes and various monetary and fiscal policies. Changes in any one of the economic policies affect the entire nation (Benchimol, 2016). For example, increase in money supply in the economy increases the demands, investment and the inflation rate. The population of Israel was very low during the time of its establishment. In two years, the population of Israel almost doubled due to rise in the migration of people. The political, social and economical structure of the country was developed in the year 1948. The two main factors that led to the development and growth of the economy of nation was immigration and capital inflows. The population of the country doubled from 56 ,000 to 630,000 due to huge immigration of population (Balassa, 2014). These mainly included the refugees, from Central and Eastern Europe. Immigration of large amount of population led to increase in capital inflows and funds. There was rise in the national funding and private funding. The two developments Since the early 1990s two developments has led to the transformation of the economy of Israel. The first development was the immigration of Jewish people. This led to an increase in the citizens of Israel especially from the people of former USSR. The population increased by one million Jewish people due to immigration of people. The benefit was that people who immigrated were highly educated people, which now comprises of sixteen percent of population. Rise in the population has both the advantages and disadvantages on the economy (Ben-Elia, 2016). Rise in the population in Israel led the country to establish new start up industries and create demand for products. The establishment of startup industries led to an increase in investments. Rise in aggregate demand and investments leads to economic growth. The above diagram shows that rise in the investment leads to the outward shift of both the aggregate demand and aggregates supply. This is due to the rise in the capital stock. The outward shift of the curves leads to a rise in the GDP and hence encourages economic growth. Rise in immigration and population The growth in the population has negative impact as well. Israel was successful in sustaining the rise in the population. The housing and employment needs of the people were fulfilled by the policies used by the economy. A new economic policy came into enforcement in the year 1952. The policy concentrated on curbing of monetary policies such as interest rate and money supply, relaxation of price controls and rationing, relaxation on restraints and exchange rate devaluation. The encouragement of immigration was curtailed to sustain and absorb the masses from previous immigration (Breznitz Ornston, 2013). Peace treaty The second development that led to the transformation of the economy is the signing of peace treaty between Israel and Jordan at peace conference held at the Madrid conference (Budge Laver, 2016). Technologically advance economy: Israel is technologically advance economy that attracts large amount of foreign investment. It is an industrialized economy where the concentration is on industries and service sector. The transformation of the economy of Israel led the economy become globalized with high tech industry, multinational labor and increase in consumer culture. It also led the gap between the rich and the poor to increase (Horowitz Lissak, 2012). Increase in foreign investments Increase in the capital inflow from foreign countries was one of the reasons for the economic growth. Real Gross National Product increased by rate of eleven percent and annual gross national product increased at a rate of six percent. The capital inflows was in the form of unilateral transfers, loans from the United States aids, inflow from Germany in the form of reparations, and transfers of loans and unilateral transfers from other agencies such as that of Jewish institutes (Carmon, 2016). The availability of resources for consumption in domestic nation increased both the private and national consumption in the economy. Import substitution was promoted for the development of new industries by adopting protectionists measured through the government budget. Government also enabled subsidies that were involved in export of goods. This was done to increase exports and the revenue collected from these exports (Checherita-Westphal Rother, 2012). Changes in the economic fluctuations in the economy of Israel were mainly due to flow of immigration. The economy encountered high rates of growth in income and GDP till the year 1973 after which the rate of growth was not as high as those of previous years did. The economy of Israel fell into recession in the period from 2001 to 2003. The income of the nation has said to rise in the end of twentieth century that was similar to many developed and industrialized nations (Khattab et al., 2016). The contribution of industrial sector towards the GDP growth is maximum. The change in structure of economy increased the importance of industrial sector and declined the contribution of agricultural sector. The other reason for the economic transformation was development of technology and industrialization. From the traditional industries, the industry transformed itself into high tech sophisticated industry. This was a major step from the transformation of economy of Israel (Kirzner, 2015). The capital inflow in Israel after the global crisis. In 2013, the foreign capital recorded a hit high of 7022 billion dollar. Increase in the capital inflow of the economy is the reason why the economy of Israel is able to maintain the deficit in current account. Rise in capital inflow also led to an increase in the currency of Israel strengthening the currency of Israel that is twenty-three percent (Konnikov Raijman, 2016). Liberalization of economic policies The economic policies of the economy were changed from government control to a more free policy. The government released its control over the economy to help it develop and grow. A policy of economic liberalization was followed by the nation. A free trade treaty was signed by Israel with many countries to encourage export. The restriction of imports was changed from quantitative protection to tariff protection. The economy encouraged both import and export by flexible exchange rates (Maddison, 2013). The economy transferred itself from fixed exchange rate to floating exchange rate system where the exchange rate was fixed through the system of exports and imports. The floating exchange rate system can be depicted in a following diagram: Trade and open market of Israel After the independence of the economy of Israel, the economy followed trade restriction by imposing import substitution and quantitative restrictions on imports. This was done to encourage domestic production and reduce the imports if the economy. A new economic policy was generated in the year 1952 that concentrated more on liberalization of the economy. A free trade agreement was signed between the countries where the economy encouraged export and quantity restriction on imports were replaced by tariff protection. This helped the economy encourage exports and imports that led to industrialization in the economy (Martin, 2014). The foreign exchange currency was changed from fixed exchange rate system to floating exchange rate system where the government had less control on the economy. The state driven economic policy transformed the economy of Israel. The economy of Israel transformed from a central economy to a mixed economy where both the public and the private sector thrived and the government had less control on the economy. Liberalization of the economy led to an increase in the exports and strengthened the economy (Metzer, 2014). The GDP per capita of the economy rose and the purchasing power. The economy of Israel transformed itself into more competitive market structure, that was market oriented and pen in nature. The average tariff rate in Israel is 0.9 percent (Webber Smith, 2014). The economy and the government puts several restrictions on the import of agricultural products to encourage the local farmers and help them increase and improve the standard of living. This can be analyzed from the following diagram of tariff restriction. Tariff restriction reduces the amount of goods that a country can import but also helps the government earn revenue in form of tariff rates. Tariff rates are the taxes that are imposed by the government on the economy (Morata Sandoval, 2012). Change in the role of government The role of the government changed in the economy. The control of the government on exports, imports, process and others were controlled. The role of the government shifted to other programs such as health care centers, infrastructure, and other social welfare benefit. The policy of social welfare payment such as unemployment benefits, transfer payment, pensions, insurance, helped the economy reduce the inequality gap of income (Magazzino, 2015). Due to the increase in transfer payments by the government, Israel was on e of the developed nations with the least income inequality gap. Occupation settlement enterprise Israel was one of the nations to have encountered the largest economic growth for the period of six years. The main factor for encountering largest economic growth in a period of six years apart from industrialization and liberalization was establishment of occupation settlement enterprise. The major reasons for the growth of the economy of Israel were trade liberalization, industrialization, less control of the government over the economy, global and new economic policies, encouragement of imports and exports and free functioning of the economy. Apart from these, the other reason for the transformation of the economy of Israel was use of high and sophisticated technology in the agricultural and industrial sector (O'Connor, 2013). This occurred in a period from 1967-1973 where the rate of economic growth or the GDP growth arte almost doubled. The major reason for this was establishment of occupation settlement enterprises. The major transformation took from 1948 to 1956. The economic policies have made the economy of Israel a lender and not a borrower, which is mainly due to the macroeconomic policies that the economy follows (Perez, 2013). Decline in the interest rate The interest of the economy was declined to encourage the economy towards the path of growth. Decline in the interest rates led to an increase in the money supply. Rise in money supply in turn led to an increase in demand and investment. Taking loans from the banks became more interesting and lucrative that led to an increase in the investment. Increase in investment led to an increase in the start up of industries that helped in employment generation. Decrease in the interest rate will reduce the price for loan able funds and increase the demand. This will lead to an increase in aggregate demand and investment. Economic Miracle The unemployment rate is low in Israel as compared to other nations. This is mainly due to two factors. One is the refusal of the government of Israel to aid the public money at the time of crisis. This helped in curtailing the risk that was involved with the policy. The second was the adoption of the policies set by Bachar commission that helped in management of finance of the economy. The economy of Israel is said to have gone through the phase of Economic miracle. Israels tremendous growth in the economy was remarkable (Plessner, 2012). The GDP growth rate was ten percent annually. Along with this, the economy was also successful in absorbing immigration, maintain security, fight the wars, maintain, and establish infrastructure. This was termed as economic miracle of the nation. The optimal utilization of the available resources and capital was one of the reasons for economic growth and development of the nation (Ram, 2013). The countries successful policies managed the immigrants successfully which contributed towards the growth of the economy. The economy was also successful in sustaining the global economic crisis. The economic growth of the nation was relatively high in 2006 as compared to other developing nations. Israel was one of the few nations to have encountered a positive economic growth in 2009 after the period of global recession (Richardson, 2014). GDP growth rate Table: Economic growth rate of Israel Year GDP growth rate (annual %) 2001 0.2 2002 -0.1 2003 1.2 2004 5.1 2005 4.4 2006 5.8 2007 6.1 2008 3.1 2009 1.3 2010 5.5 2011 5.0 2012 2.9 2013 3.4 2014 2.6 2015 2.5 (Source: Data | The World Bank. 2016). The growth rate is fluctuating in the economy. Initially the growth rate was rising. It declined in 2009 due to global recession and crisis. The economic growth rate was positive even at the time of recession. The other developing countries experienced negative economic growth rate but Israel experienced positive economic growth though it was low. Economic challenges Though the economy has experienced high rate of economic growth in past there are several economic challenges that an economy face. This includes both short term and long term challenges. The short term challenges that Israel economy face is the problem in developing the telecommunication industry that changes the economic outlook and perspective of the economy. The economy is also not being successful in promoting large multinational companies that controls the employment of large number of peoples. The rise in dependency of labor force participation of orthodox Jews with less knowledge hampers the economy in long run (Cingano, 2014). Due to the high dependency ratio the poverty among the orthodox Jews rise that is harmful for the economy of Israel. The two main challenges faced by the Israel economy are that of terrorism and work force participation. Terrorism: Rise in terrorism is very harmful for the economy. It affects the functioning of the economy in a negative way. The resources of the economy deplete and it leads to rise in the pollution. The number of tourists visiting the economy also declined due to which the revenue that the economy earns from tourists also declined (Rudnitzky, 2014). The rise in the terrorism hurt the exports and the foreign investments too as foreign companies were apprehensive too invest in the nation. Israels economy began to grow after the war ended. The strong point of Israels economy was that it was able to sustain the risks of terrorism (Sadeh, 2014). Work force participation: lower level of workface participation is harmful for the economy as it reduces the wealth generation and production of products in the economy (Scully, 2014). Inflation: The prices are rising with the advancement in technology and economy. The problem of income inequality between the rich and the poor is increasing. Israel is a mixed economy where both the government and private sector work together in the economy. The challenges and economic problems faced by the economy of Israel are same as that of an industrial country. This includes problems and challenges associated with reconciling innovation in industrial products and methods. The industries face problems in transition stage when replacing the traditional activities with high tech sophisticated machines (Stiglitz, 2014). It is essential for the economy of Israel to figure the ways of fitting in the global economy that is marked by two major markets of European Union and United States. The economy also faces challenges due to the relationship that it holds with other Arab countries. The economy is always under the threat of war and terrorism due to which the major part of capital is wasted in maintaining the security and army. Peace can lead to productive utilization of products. Political security also helps the economy attract foreign i nvestments that is beneficial for the economy. The educational qualification of the economy is high in Israel (Thrisdttir Karlnudttir, 2014). Conclusion Israel gained independence in the year 1948 after which the economy captured a tremendous growth in the economy. The population size of the economy doubled and the gross domestic product. The economic growth almost doubled in the economy. The economy of Israel transformed from a central economy to a mixed economy. Various economic factors led to the transformation of economy of Israel. These factors include economic liberalization policies, free trade, decline in interest rate, occupation settlement enterprise, economic liberalization, and less control of the government. Industrialization and rise in immigration are some of the other factors that led to the transformation of the economy. The economy experienced the growth in the GDP per capita income by forty percent. The economic growth doubled in the economy. Privatization of the economy and increase in capital inflow led to an increase in the economic growth. The foreign investment led to an increase on demand and start up industr ies. High tech technologies led to an increase in startup industries. The economy has low inflation rate, low unemployment rate and interest rate that led to an increase in foreign debt. Economy of Israel was able to survive the recession of 2009 and encountered a positive economic growth. References Aharoni, Y. (2014).The Israeli Economy (Routledge Revivals): Dreams and Realities. Routledge. Avidor, J. Building an Innovation Economy: Public Policy Lessons from Israel. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1856603 Bakalyar, I., Galil, K. (2014). Rating shopping and rating inflation in Israel.International Review of Financial Analysis,33, 270-280. Balassa, B. (2014). Development Strategies'.International Economics and Development: Essays in Honor of Ral Prebisch, 159. Benchimol, J. (2016). Supplement to" Money and monetary policy in Israel during the last decade". Ben-Elia, N. (Ed.). (2016).Strategic changes and organizational reorientations in local government: A cross-national perspective. Springer. Bental, B., Yonay, Y., Kraus, V. (2016). Ethnic and gender earning gaps in a liberalized economy: The case of Israel.Social Science Research. Blinder, A. S. (2013).Economic policy and the great stagflation. Elsevier. Breznitz, D., Ornston, D. (2013). The revolutionary power of peripheral agencies explaining radical policy innovation in Finland and Israel.Comparative Political Studies, 0010414012472466. Budge, I., Laver, M. J. (Eds.). (2016).Party policy and government coalitions. Springer. Carmon, N. (Ed.). (2016).Immigration and integration in post-industrial societies: Theoretical analysis and policy-related research. Springer. Checherita-Westphal, C., Rother, P. (2012). The impact of high government debt on economic growth and its channels: An empirical investigation for the euro area.European Economic Review,56(7), 1392-1405. Cingano, F. (2014). Trends in income inequality and its impact on economic growth. Data | The World Bank. (2016).Data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://data.worldbank.org/ Horowitz, D., Lissak, M. (2012).Trouble in utopia: The overburdened polity of Israel. Suny Press. Israel Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption. (2016).Heritage.org. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://www.heritage.org/index/country/israel Khattab, N., Miaari, S., Stier, H. (Eds.). (2016).Socioeconomic Inequality in Israel: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis. Springer. Kirzner, I. M. (2015).Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press. Konnikov, A., Raijman, R. (2016). Former Soviet Union Immigrant Engineers in Germany and Israel: the Role of Contexts of Reception on Economic Assimilation.Journal of International Migration and Integration,17(2), 409-428. Maddison, A. (2013).Economic progress and policy in developing countries. Routledge. Magazzino, C. (2015). Economic growth, CO2 emissions and energy use in Israel.International Journal of Sustainable Development World Ecology,22(1), 89-97. Martin, S. (2014).The Economics of Offsets: Defence Procurement and Coutertrade(Vol. 4). Routledge. Metzer, J. (2014). Some Perspectives on the Israeli Economy: Stocktaking and Looking Ahead.Israel Studies,19(2), 133-161. https://dx.doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.19.2.133 Morata, F., Sandoval, I. S. (Eds.). (2012).European energy policy: An environmental approach. Edward Elgar Publishing. O'Connor, A. (2013). A conceptual framework for entrepreneurship education policy: Meeting government and economic purposes.Journal of Business Venturing,28(4), 546-563. Perez, N. (2013). The privatization of Jewishness in Israel (or, on economic post-Zionism).Israel Affairs,19(2), 273-289. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537121.2013.778089 Plessner, Y. (2012).Political Economy of Israel, The: From Ideology to Stagnation. SUNY Press. Ram, U. (2013).The Globalization of Israel: McWorld in Tel Aviv, Jihad in Jerusalem. Routledge. Richardson, N. R. (2014).Foreign policy and economic dependence. University of Texas Press. Rudnitzky, A. (2014). The Contemporary Historiographical Debate in Israel on Government Policies on Arabs in Israel During the Military Administration Period (19481966).Israel Studies,19(1), 24-47. https://dx.doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.19.1.24 Sadeh, T. (2014). Is an economic peace possible? Israel and globalization since the 1970s.Israel Affairs,20(4), 530-565. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537121.2014.955657 Scully, G. W. (2014).Constitutional environments and economic growth. Princeton University Press. Stiglitz, J. E. (2014).The lessons of the North Atlantic crisis for economic theory and policy(pp. 335-347). Cambridge, Mass. and London: MIT Press. Thrisdttir, H., Karlnudttir, K. E. (2014). The Boom and the Bust: Can Theories from Social Psychology and Related Disciplines Account for One Country's Economic Crisis?.Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy,14(1), 281-310. Webber, M., Smith, M. (2014).Foreign policy in a transformed world. Routledge. Yaron, H., Hashimshony Yaffe, N., Campbell, J. (2013). Infiltrators or Refugees? An Analysis of Israel's Policy Towards African Asylum Seekers.International Migration,51(4), 144-157.

A Bed for the Night

MiG-17 Fresco Soviet Fighter

MiG-17 Fresco Soviet Fighter With the introduction of the successful MiG-15 in 1949, the Soviet Union pressed forward with designs for a follow-on aircraft. Designers at Mikoyan-Gurevich began modifying the earlier aircrafts form to increase performance and handling. Among the changes that were made was the introduction of a compound swept wing which was set at a 45 ° angle near the fuselage and 42 ° farther outboard. In addition, the wing was thinner than the MiG-15 and the tail structure altered to improve stability at high speeds. For power, the MiG-17 relied on the older aircrafts Klimov VK-1 engine. First taking to the sky on January 14, 1950, with Ivan Ivashchenko at the controls, the prototype was lost two months later in a crash. Dubbed the SI, testing continued with additional prototypes for the next year and a half. A second interceptor variant, the SP-2, was also developed and featured the Izumrud-1 (RP-1) radar. Full-scale production of the MiG-17 began in August 1951 and the type received the NATO reporting name Fresco. As with its predecessor, the MiG-17 was armed with two 23 mm cannon and one 37 mm cannon mounted under the nose. MiG-17F Specifications General Length:  37 ft. 3 in.Wingspan:  31 ft. 7 in.Height:  12 ft. 6 in.Wing Area:  243.2 sq. ft.Empty Weight:  8,646 lbs.Crew:  1 Performance Power Plant:  1Ãâ€" Klimov VK-1F afterburning turbojetRange:  745 milesMax Speed:  670 mphCeiling:  54,500 ft. Armament 1 x 37 mm Nudelman N-37 cannon2 x 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannonsup t0 1,100 lbs. of external stores on two hardpoints Production Variants While the MiG-17 fighter and MiG-17P interceptor represented the first variants of the aircraft, they were replaced in 1953 with the arrival of the MiG-17F and MiG-17PF. These were equipped with the Klimov VK-1F engine which featured an afterburner and significantly improved the MiG-17s performance. As a result, this became the most produced type of the aircraft. Three years later, a small number of aircraft were converted to MiG-17PM and utilized the Kaliningrad K-5 air-to-air missile. While most MiG-17 variants possessed external hardpoints for around 1,100 lbs. in bombs, they were typically used for drop tanks. As production progressed in the USSR, they issued a license to their Warsaw Pacy ally Poland for building the aircraft in 1955. Built by WSK-Mielec, the Polish variant of the MiG-17 was designated Lim-5. Continuing production into the 1960s, the Poles developed attack and reconnaissance variants of the type. In 1957, the Chinese began license production of the MiG-17 under the name Shenyang J-5. Further developing the aircraft, they also built radar-equipped interceptors (J-5A) and a two-seat trainer (JJ-5). Production of this last variant continued until 1986. All told, over 10,000 MiG-17s of all types were built. Operational History Though arriving too late for service in the Korean War, the MiG-17s combat debut came in the Far East when Communist Chinese aircraft engaged Nationalist Chinese F-86 Sabres over the Straits of Taiwan in 1958. The type also saw extensive service against American aircraft during the Vietnam War. First engaging a group of US F-8 Crusaders on April 3, 1965, the MiG-17 proved surprisingly effective against more advanced American strike aircraft. A nimble fighter, the MiG-17 downed 71 American aircraft during the conflict and led the American flying services to institute improved dog-fighting training. Serving in over twenty air forces worldwide, it was used by the Warsaw Pact nations for much of the 1950s and early 1960s until being replaced by the MiG-19 and MiG-21. In addition, it saw combat with the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces during Arab-Israeli conflicts including the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Though largely retired, the MiG-21 is still in use with some air forces including China (JJ-5), North Korea, and Tanzania.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 46

Case study - Essay Example hains under the umbrella of Inditex are involved in various business industries such as manufacturing, textile, real estate, and finance among others (Ghemawat and Nueno 7). Despite being under the same umbrella of Inditex, each chain operates independently, a factor that has contributed to Zara’s massive success in comparison to the other chains. With an expansion strategy from the firm’s founder, Amancio Ortega Ganoa, Zara has been able to open new stores in the past years with the first opened in upmarket shopping street in La Coruna, in 1975, in Spain, Zara’s home base (7). Expansion has however, seen it go international with other store being opened beyond the Spanish boundaries from which it has been able to expand substantively especially in logistics and IT (9). Zara has been able to beat its competitors in the market by making customer preference their priority, enabling for the production of distinctive products that meet the customers’ needs. In a strategy named ‘vertical integration,’ Zara observes the current trends in the fashion industry and works towards production of products that are considered the next trend in the fashion industry. Ideally, this has been the greatest success orientation for Zara. In addition to expansive marketing, Inditex, as an umbrella organization through its supply chains including Zara, has established effective and able management team that run each of the chains with utmost objective in achieving success (6). This aspect has as well contributed immensely towards the overall success of Inditex and its chain units. Despite the success orientation that Inditex has been to experience in the past years, difficult times are looming in the new future for this firm considering that a majority of the stores under it are working on expansive strategies that would see them acquire new market bases. This could be disastrous to Inditex considering that each of the chains operates on an independent basis. Other than the

Human Learning and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Human Learning and Development - Essay Example until Sigmund Freud developed his psychodynamic perspective. In the present essay, I would like to focus on the newer theories of human cognitive progress, which are: Albert Bandura’s behaviorist approach, Erik Erikson’s psycho-social theory, Jean Piaget’s cognitive perspective, Roger’s humanistic study. It needs to be noted that the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers to great extent correlate with modern developmental searches. The ideas of social education (or, more precisely, education-in-environment ) were articulated in earlier Rousseau’s writings : †All children are perfectly designed organisms, ready to learn from their surroundings so as to grow into virtuous adults. But, due to the malign influence of corrupt society, they often fail to do so† (Astington et al, 1988, p.56). The most effective path of child education was the removal of the child from â€Å"from society (i.e., to a country home) and alternately conditioning him through changes to environment and setting traps and puzzles for him to solve or overcome† (ibid, p.57). Albert Bandura and the other foundators of behaviorism took this idea for their developmental theory. The Social Learning (ibid) approach focuses on the roles of enviromnet and the influences of social on life-span development. From this viewpoint, learning is almost the same as development, as it involves new experiences and activizes them. Human personality and thoughts are a result of experiences the individual faces, so Bandura and Skinner hold that human-being is a product of environment (Gopnik, 1990). Furthermore, Bandura also optimized educational model and adjusted it to behaviorist approach. Operant conditioning, which includes punishment and reinforcement, is considered the most applicable in present-day school settings, as its modus operandi is quite simple and effective in terms of dealing with 6-8-year-old children. Briefly, positive

Canadian Liberalism vs Canadian Conservatism Essay

Canadian Liberalism vs Canadian Conservatism - Essay Example At one side, liberals are progressively change and reform oriented. On the other, conservatives rely on self-induced political conduct that is relatively resistant to massive and outright reforms. In the Canadian context, liberal and conservative parties hugely disagree on governance, economy, and taxes. Notably this disconnection can be explained by the left-right ideology. The Liberal Party takes policy positions that advocate for equality of opportunity, true fiscal responsibility, and relatively raised taxes for a sustainable economy (Canadian Liberal Party, 2013). On the other hand, the Conservative Party stands for balanced budgets, Canadians-driven economy, and low taxes; leave more money with the Canadians (Canadian Conservative Party, 2013). In the light of the liberal-conservative policy positions, the left-right ideology comes into play. Progressing and reforming the economy may necessitate economic changes in the country, taxes included. The conservative view of creating jobs, promoting economic growth, and ensuring long-term economic prosperity (Canadian Conservative Party, 2013) may not necessary result in equality of opportunities. Also, leaving more money in the hands of Canadians may negate the balanced budget realization. Liberal approach to these matters makes the Liberal Party’s ideology more leftish and essentially aligned with its social, economic, and political policy

Critical analysis of management issue faced by Starbucks

Critical analysis of management issue faced by Starbucks 2. Introduction Essay two will carry out critical analysis of management issue faced by Starbucks. First of all it will discuss on the management issue faced by the company and further on will examining at the strategy that uses by Starbucks as part of their plans to recover from the management crisis. Marketing and advertising play an importance role in the part as the strategies on managing the issue. Critical analysis will be focus on the social media marketing strategy. Starbucks social media campaigns on Facebook will be examining from different viewpoints. Beginning with the success factor following by rewards that the company gained, additionally both risks and challenges of Starbuck might be facing in the future. In year 2008 operating income of Starbucks took a sharp drop, the majority of which stems from restructuring charges, related to store closures in the US and value share growth drop 0.5% from the year 2007 to 2008 (Euromonitor international, 2009). Chairman and CEO of Starbucks announced in year 2008 that unfortunately Starbucks would force to close down 600 stores this end of 2008 and lay off 12,000 employees. Its a blow, but far from fatal for a company with more than 6,700 locations in the United States and nearly 16,000 worldwide. (TheNewYorkTime, 2010). Figure 4 Revenue vs profit 2002-2008 of Starbucks. Source: Euromonitor international 2009 Figure 5 Comparable Store Sales, source: annual report of Starbuck 2008 In resolve part of the problem, Starbucks gone further that involved cutting costs and in the first three quarters of 2009 in few different areas, part of the cost cutting focus on marketing and advertising and this has resulted in savings of US$370 million(Euromonitor international, 2009). However gaining more sales will be the main objective for a healthy growth. Marketing and advertising will be the key element on increasing sales volume. Based on this principle, Starbucks will need to find and alternative way as a substitute for the traditional marketing and advertising. Figure 6 Starbucks Facebook social networking site page screen shoot. Source: Facebook.com 2010 Analysis, planning, implementation, control (APIC) system by Philip Kotler has been effectively as the subtitle of his Marketing Management (Kotler, 1994). As the management issue for Starbucks, managing the communication mix need to take place for solutions. Firstly Analysis of the present situation as the question of where are we now, Starbucks has a high reputation for their company and products that have a great market value. However in the crisis with limited budgeting, Planning will need to take place on reforming on the objectives and positioning. Starbucks has taken the opportunity by utilized the advantages of social media for their reorganization. With the objectives of create high engagement and create positive relationship with their customers through actively engaging in social media that provide the advantages on cost effective and efficiency. In addition Starbucks has formed a social media team to take control, monitor and evaluate the process and development of the us ed of social media. Started on October 2008, Starbucks began to actively engaging in social media, official Starbuck Facebook fan page is one of the major social networking sites for the company. Starbucks started to connect in to the cyber world of social media, and that is speak for itself in the  number of Fans the company is engaging with. Facebook as a social media platform that has incorporates with different types of videos, content, and has active interactive activities with the fans. 2.1 Social media marketing strategy Starbucks has a small social media team with only six people; however they obtained a high level of engagement with their consumer in social media. (ENGAGEMENTdb , 2009) On the other hand Starbucks has building social media as a key part in their marketing mix, a stable platform for advertising and promotions. At the same time it creates a centre of attention to attract web traffic to the social networking site fan page with heavy advertising and promotion activities. Alexandra Wheeler, Director of Digital Strategy of Starbucks stated that, We live in the physical world with thousands of natural touch points, so when we laid out the vision for our social strategy, it felt like home for the brand. Its about the relationships we form with our customers. (ENGAGEMENTdb , 2009) Figure 7 Social media marketing source: www.awarenessnetworks.com The social media marketing strategies that Starbucks are using include special offers, coupons, sapling and discounts distributed through Facebook, because Facebook is the main social networking site for Starbucks. Promotion event on Facebook by Starbucks with the title of Free Pastry Day promotion allowing executively for Facebook fans of Starbucks to print out the online version of coupons for complimentary item with a drink purchase. Through this particular event in July 2009 it further added 200,000 fans just in a week. In the same year, by promoting the launch of the branded ice cream, Starbucks offering coupons for free pints via the Facebook application. Besides, Starbucks also used Facebook to promote a Taste Challenge together with the launch of Starbucks VIA instant coffee, offering participants with a free cup of Starbucks coffee will be given on their next purchase and discount of USD 1 with the VIA instant coffee purchase. (Mark Walsh, mediapost.com, 2010) Figure 8 Push-Pull continuum for digital marketing Source: anovagrp.com Figure 9 Push and Pull promotion strategy. Source: Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong  2009 Throughout the examples from above it is clearly presented that marketing theory of push and pull strategy are being used. A push strategy involves pushing the product of information through marketing channels to final consumers (Kotler and Gary Armstrong, 2009). Two types of push strategies were being used, first the push promotion strategy with the online version of coupons and discount on product purchase, flowing by push marketing with the channel by using Facebook social networking site to transmit the message across their audiences. Objective of the promotion is to gain immediate sales at the same time promote the fan page through the social networking side. Starbucks successful created high level of attention throughout the product promotion on Facebook with encouraging results. Based on a Razorfish study (2009) that generated a conclusion that traditional direct marketing practices for example offering discount and promotion are the keys on building engagement on social networking sites moderately focusing on to create deeper relationship and connection to a brand (Razorfish, 2009). CEO of social media management firm ViTrue, Mr. Reggie Bradford illustrious that Starbucks has the advantage on take in charge and managing all the Starbucks stores, provide an easier way to run standardized marketing programs that team up with Facebook. More significantly, Starbucks well manage with various types of updates that content, and interesting that includes blog articles and videos sharing that cover all aspects of coffee that includes how to grow coffee beans, pieces of writing about Starbucks and Starbucks employees. The tone and pitch of the updates is informative and relaxed, in addition even on their own product updates are kept in a wide-range that enough to remain interesting, for example, by offering and introduction up reviews of new music and books to be displace and for sale in their cafes. Therefore, the well managed and quality status update content has achieved a very engaged fan base, with every update on the social networking site will receive thousands of feedbacks and comments. 2.2 Success Following by reviewing the successful social media marketing strategies that used by Starbucks and the way the coffee giant fully utilized the opportunities of social media to create an interactive and interesting business approve. The level of engagement of a brand in social media will bring different level of success. As Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks said Were not just selling a cup of coffee, we are providing an experience (Business Week 18 November 1991). This implies that customers satisfaction is given top priority. In order to do so Starbucks serve coffee with great taste and quality. Not only quality the treatment of customer is excellent and the variety of beverages served is  good (Kotha Glassman 2003). Based on the principle of providing an experience to the customers social media is a latest and most advance technology in communicate that can be personalize between the company and their customers. Coffee house giant Starbucks continue to develop its soc ial media operations in attempt to extend its relationship with its end users. The reason for advertisers using social media is to go where consumers are and to provide a valuable and meaningful brand experience, according to Alexandra Wheeler. Although the challenges of the economic downturn, Starbucks posted profits of $242m in Q4 2009, as revenues rose 4%, to  £1.7 billion, mostly as a result of improved Starbucks store sales (Financial Time.com, 2010). From the research paper on the title of related to how Social Networks Improve e-Commerce, stated that creativity is an extremely important elements when come to approaching a social network (Gayatri, Christo Bryce, Kevin, and Ben Y. Zhao, 2009). Few of the successful principles are value need to be added to the interaction and use the naturally viral nature of community instead of forcing the marketing message through. On social network it have to communicate with people before selling, traditional ad campaigns and promotions should not be forced on the potential customers immediately (Social Media Optimization, 2007). Social network is all about building a community around the brands and the products, promoting, sharing and discussion (Brown, 2009). Get involved in the social network regularly, completely understand the content and focused to the topic is being said amongst the social network community, and the targeted audience before engaging (SocialMediaOptimization, 2007). Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks stated that the global economic recession has very much shaken consumer confidence and retailers which wish to stay relevant in the future will have no choice but to recognize and respond to this new reality and to continue and to accelerate. Starbucks current direction with continue to improve, innovate, and focus on strengthening the relationship with their customers. (The Seattle Times, January 28, 2009). Figure 10 Engagement Scores of Top 100 Global Brands. Source : ENGAGEMENTdb, 2009 Figure 11 Engagement Varies by industry, Source : ENGAGEMENTdb , 2009 In the year 2008 Starbucks promoted the worlds biggest Facebook ad campaign that including Facebook members in 16 that will be served ads for a Starbucks (RED) charity sing along of The Beatles All You Need Is Love when user log in. Starbucks undertook the biggest global Facebook ad campaign the purpose is to raise awareness of the project, which was a celebration of its partnership with (RED), the charity with the aim to fights Aids in Africa (Jennifer Whitehead, brandrepublic.com, 04 December 2009). This particular campaign has invited people to take part in stores which Starbucks donated a percentage of the cost of each selected product sold. The social media campaign that carries out this initiative received as the most viral impression ever; result of millions of people aware of the Facebook digital invitation which given respond (Wheeler, 2009). On Starbucks promotion Free Pastry Day where pastry will be give away for free with every drink purchased, resulting nearly 600,000 people who expressed an interest in that particular promotion on the social networking site Facebook. On the other social networking site Twitter also generated good respond with a similar promotion event. Besides on the public social networking sites Starbucks also has its own platform My Starbucks Ideas on online community that allows customers and staff to put together suggestion to the company, in August 2008 total of 75,000 of suggestions have been recorded (AdWeek, WARC, 2009). Based on the number of people involved has created a strong awareness outcome at the same time it had increase the sales at the period of time. The result on social media has the similarity outcome with the advertising objective that can be achieve through the social networking site. Starbucks persist as one of the brand that gains most popularity on Facebook, with sites now launched globally in 14 countries. In 2009 the consultancy company Altimeter Group, positioned Starbucks is of the brands make good use of the web properties, and Schultz stated that they would be integral to its operations going forward. The importance of our social media expertise continues to grow, and we evolve the conversation with our core customers, (Altimeter Group, 2010) Figure 12 Multi-step flow and personal influence model, (Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong  2009) Engaging with the millions of consumers through social media is a success. Multi-step flow is the extension of two step flow theory. A strong multi-step flow and personal influence model being involved in the process. Fill (2002) provides a clear description of the potency of word of mouth that can give a depth of credibility other form of communication cannot. Because of the nature of social media, the process of opinions and comments flow around in the social media, at the same time the social media management team will be able to monitor and provide instant reply. Starbucks brand, content and online vice president Chris Bruzzo, toldAdAge.com: Its like weve taken the version 1.0 of last year and now they are really doing it at scale and going to a lot more places where their customers already are and people are saying this is going to be a big year for social media and they are a microcosm of that. While last year it was a curiosity, this year its a core part of the program. (WARC, 2010). 2.3 Rewards This section will present the rewards that Starbucks gained throughout the Facebook campaign, based on the success factor that had been discuss on the above paragraph Starbucks also picked up a lot of benefits throughout the process. Financial performance correlates with engagement will determine the rewards that the company gains from the involvement in social media. Survey of Syncapse Consultancy Company, in an effort to gain understanding of the long term business value that generate by social network. The target research company in this survey is based on twenty most popular corporate users actively engaging in social network that includes Coca-Cola, Starbucks, McDonalds, Dove, Gillette, Nokia, Nike, Victorias Secret and Red Bull. The result found out that consumers who like a product in the Facebook feature were found to spend  £93 a year on the item in question, $71.84 more than the shoppers who have not performed the action (Syncapse, 2010). Starbucks is one of the brands th at scores at least 80% in the category of building empathy among their fans. Besides, the products of Starbucks scored over 90% associated with the feeling consumers that result in warm, gratified or happy. Fan value is cyclical and ever changing based on the ongoing marketing performance, (Syncapse, 2010). The result in the survey illustrate that long term brand value can be build by using the social network, independent social network campaign should be taken to increase the value of their company through their fan. Figure 13 Average value of Fan source: Syncapse 2010 Director of worldwide interactive marketing of Coca-cola Michael Donnelly acknowledged that end users perform activities of sharing information via using Facebook meaning that the fan-page of an organization is an additional way to promote and take immediate sharing information in the platform that the users are spending time with, based on the highly engagement platform it create a channel to listen and collect feedback s from consumer. The varies quick feedback that can be received from different methods for example photos, videos or status updates from the page and the message will rapidly share among their network (WARC, Brand Channel, 2009). Relationships are a form of organizational capital that provides value for the organization, the view that relationships are an enabler for resource exchange is well supported by relationship literature (Baxter Matear, 2004) The involvement of social media has became a importance role in achieving this aim, one of the Starbucks campaigns join together with Project Red to help promote fight AIDS in Africa, which was promoted using social media Facebook, where Starbucks has more than 5.5 million fans in end of 2009 that became the most popular brand second by Coca-cola and does not take long for Starbucks to achieved 10 million Facebook fan in July 2010. Schultz mentions that the effort of creating the world largest campaign ever on the Facebook social media platform is further strengthens Starbucks unique connection with their customers (Starbucks, 2010). Alexandra Wheeler stated that the campaign has became the most viral event in the history of Facebook and meant that this not only were trigger customers excited about the Starbucks at the same time the customer also came together on one day to accomplish something excellent. Take as a whole; she asserted that Facebook helps them get a pulse on the impor tant to their customers. The organization can have a direct communication dialog with their customers about the values and ideals that they gained and share the valuable experience with them. (Brand Channel, 2009) Figure 14 Engagement correlates to Financial Performance, source: ENGAGEMENTdb 2009 According to a report by ENGAGEMENTdb 2009 with the title of top 100 worlds most valuable brands, who is most engrage? In the report it divided brands in to four profiles with different levels of engagement, depending on the figure of channels and how intensely they are engaged in the brand. Starbucks fall in to the category of Mavens has been description as brands that are engaged in seven or more channels and have a greater than average engagement score. The brands are able to maintain a high level of engagement throughout multiple social media. The Mavens are not just a healthy strategy and enthusiastic teams focused on social media, but also make it a core part of their marketing strategy. Companies in this category will operate with a strong presence in social media. Company like Starbucks with deeply and widely engaged in social media outshine their competitors in term the performance in both revenue and profit by a large difference. Mavens group they have sustained strong reve nue and margin growth in spite of the current economy. (Figure 14) Further on with a strong engagement and multi-step flow and personal influence model it will develop on the principle of relational exchange theory. A brand relationship is being established, self-interest is best maximized by the returns available through cooperation in a relationship (Blau, 1964). In this approach, the analysis of interim relationships moves from the focal firm to the dyad or network level in an effort to understand interorganisational relationships (Cook Emerson, 1978; Bradach Eccles, 1989; Husted, 1994). There is interest in relationship quality that stems from trust and the high degree of certainty of predictable and obligatory behavior that leads to sales giving the seller integrity and the process a high degree of certainty (Crosby, Evans and Cowles, 1990). Based on a study, brands with more supporters and fans on Facebook more likely to involve in discussions, and could gain higher returns (Vitrue, 2010). According to chief product officer at Vitrue Michael Strutton stated that it is important to know that to build up a Facebook fan base will need consistent and well management. The learning process from customer can perform through social media. According to Bruzzo one of specialist members of staff at Starbucks stated that If you approach it as a customer relationship and as a multi-faceted human connection between Starbucks and customers, then we can have more than a conversation about products it can be a customer-insight channel and we can learn things from them. (Seattle PI, 2009).General Manager of advertising and customer engagement of Microsoft, Gayle Troberman, said social media offers a highly engaged audience who keen to know information about the company. She also mention that part of the social media strategy, is to focu s on honesty and authenticity, as well as attempting to respond to users as quickly as possible. (Seattle PI, Warc, 2009). 2.4 Risk On the above paragraphs it discuss about the success and reward of using social media of Starbucks, at the same time the risks of using social media need to take in consideration as well. As different social media evolved there will be multi channel for communications, at the same time communications professionals have a various options to connect with audiences. Worldwide audience can easily be reached with web 2.0, but the heady possibilities come with potential liabilities. Errors or mistakes in communication will be amplified. This is the reason why a lot of companies find the concept of social media as a risky media. The innovation of internet and World Wide Web have brought the world closer, and since social media are available on this technology there are different rules and regulations in different part of the world to protect the end user. From a international point of view for example regulations in the United Stated with the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive guards against false representation, Securities and Commission (SEC) and their Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) which set to protect the use of the social media. Beside in the EU there are also protecting against the use of social media for example EU privacy rules that against collection of personal information and email addresses on website. Because social media is an open world for every user around the world, different rules and regulations in different part of the world might come into conflict when it operates in business related activities on social media. Further on move on to the use of social media internally under a company. The use of social media should be guardian by rules and regulations, managing social media a company is agreed to allow employees to wiring blog, tweet or post Facebook comments updates. In the past companies tried to control risk on social media by disallowing access to cyberspace, however that will not work with the current situation of the use of social media. Robert Stroud, international vice president of ISACA, said in a statement. Companies should embrace it, not block it. But they also need to empower their employees with knowledge to implement sound social media governance. (ISACA, 2010). This managing process is apparently with high risk than not permitting whatever thing out of the usual channels. In particular if the social media management teams include top level executives or the CEO, where regulations exist which govern the disclosure of information by publicly traded companies. According to a stu dy by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA, 2010) employees who dabble in social networking both on and off the job could expose their companies to a variety of risks. Malware, brand hijacking, lack of content control, noncompliance with rules over recordkeeping, and unrealistic expectations of Internet performance were the top five social-media risks to businesses (ISACA, 2010). 2.5 Challenges All kind of social networking challenges will be face by organization. Following this section will discuss the possible challenges for organization that are using social media as part of their marketing strategy. Social media providing a lot of benefit to an organization, a well managed of the use of social media will bring great future for the company, at the same time the hard work of minimize the challenges will be the best practice for prevention. 8% of companies had terminated employees because of the usage carelessness of social media (Proofpoint, 2009) for example a very frequent causes that might happen including sharing confidential or sensitive information or data on a network channel. Figure 15 Challenges of social media, Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com According to David Arman, there are five possible challenges that every organization should be thinking ahead (Harvard Business review, 2010). The connection and linkage of social media cover almost every aspects and function of a business. All organizations will eventually grapple with integrating social into their entire ecosystem adopting either centralized, distributed or hybrid approaches (David Arman, 2010). The first challenge is regarding integration, because of the broad coverage of social media alongside the business, the decision of form up a specialize team to supervise the social media process is a judgment to be consider. Following by the second challenge governance, has been described as task to control and recognize both the contents produced for the public and also information that internal used around employees. Organization will need to keep attention on the internal contents among the company as well as set rules of engagement in the process how employees responding to the social media. The next challenge is that every organization have their own culture on the spectrum either being more transparent of the way they operate and collaborative or keep knowledge internally. Through using social media, organization can strengthen their company policy by managing customers and employees by using this channel, however it have to manage it intelligently and with purpose. The fourth challenge is related to the human resources of a company, emerge of social media business, rules and regulation of human resources will also need to keep up to date. Because of the fast moving and changeable technology set of rules and regulation will be an ongoing development process. At the same time organizations will need to train employees on the use of social technologies for work. The fifth challenge is on the measurement and return on investment. There will be difficulty on measuring the results on using social media, however it is measurable but to work out the financial definite will be a challenging task. 2.6 Conclusion After critical analysis on the achievements and threats, a conclusion can be made that the best practice to maximize on return and minimize risk of using social networking is to develop a well planed social media marketing strategy that cover a large part of the business. By minimizing the risk companies should develop social media policies and build up training meeting and classes to educate employees about the use of social media. The social media policies should includes personal use of social networks as part of the job description and also the personal use outside the work place. The use of visual in the social network is one of the way to stand out from the crow, visual communication is part of the design elements should be consider on how to communication with the audience by using design principles.

Frosts mending Wall Vs. Floyds the Wall :: essays research papers fc

From Robert Frost's Mending Wall to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, humankind erects and maintains real and symbolic barriers to protect and defend opposing stances, beliefs and territories. Although each "wall" is different they serve the same purpose and both Frost and Floyd oppose them. Robert Frost's Mending Wall is a very popular poem. This poem consists of two characters: the narrator and his neighbor. In this poem the two neighbors are mending a stone wall that separates their property. The wall mending has been a pastime of the neighbors for many years and occurs every spring. Over the winter the wall has fallen victim to both hunters and the frozen ground and, therefore, contains gaps that must be filled.In the poem the narrator questions the sense of even mending the wall . He concludes that neither of the farms contain animals, only trees, which would be enough of a boundary. There is no physical need for the wall, so why go through the trouble of fixing it every year for no apparent reason. Although the narrator is right the ignorant neighbor insists that they mend the wall by saying "Good fences make good neighbors."(Frost) The neighbor repeats this saying although he doesn't know why the wall is necessary nor does he know why it will make them better neighbors . Frost is criticizing the ignorance of the neighbor here. Mending Wall, although it doesn't appear it on the surface, almost parallels to a popular Pink Floyd song, Another Brick in the Wall. The speakers of the song are students and the poem is directed towards teachers. In this song, as in Mending Wall, a barrier is discussed, but this time it is a phsycological barrier instead of a physical one. This barrier has been put up by society and is being built up by the teachers. The students are calling out against this building up of the wall. As it is stated in the song: "All in all you're(teachers) just another brick in the wall."(Floyd) This barrier being put up is restraining the students' freedom of thought, a process that has gone on and become reinforced over a long period of time. Floyd has realized this barrier and is calling out against it as he says:"We don't need no thought control."(Floyd)The barrier put up by education is just as unnecessary to Floyd as the stone wall is to Frost.

Market structure

Four basic types of market structures are: 1- Perfect competition 2- Monopolistic competition 3- Oligopoly 4- Monopoly There is also another market structure called Monopoly. 1- Perfect competition It is considered more theoretical than practical, because it is very rare. In perfect intention a large number of firms sell identical products, where none of them has pricing power. There no berries or very easy to enter to the market by any new farm. Prices. For example if we go to normal retail shops to buy vegetables, we will get at same prices from each and every shop.Fish market at Male' is a very good and a simple example, where inside the market lot of sellers will be selling same fishes. Prices will be set by the demand and supply. Neither buyer nor seller sets the price. It is more like automates pricing. Characteristics of perfect competition include large umber of small firms, identical products, perfect resource mobility and perfect knowledge. 2- Monopolistic competition It is almost like perfect competition where large number of small firms sells similar but not identical products. Relative freedom of entry, to and exit from the industry.It means buyers will have substitutes to choose from. Alternatives to buy for fulfill their needs and wants. Examples of industries structures as monopolistic competition includes, clothing industry, restaurants, and shoes and so on. 3- Oligopoly It is a market situation where products are supplied by small number of firms where ACH of them has influence over pricing and supplies which directly effects the position of the competitors. I oligopoly there is a special case where there is only two producers are called Duopoly. 4- Monopoly This is a market structure where only one producer in a market who has to the total control.Buyers do not have substitutes and have no choice. They have total control over supply and prices. In this market structure, seller is always happy and consumers suffer. They take more profit with a huge marginal value from the products. Characteristics of monopoly includes single seller, unique product, berries o entry and specialized information. The fifth type of market structure which is not included in basic structures is Monopoly. It is upside down of a monopoly where there is only one buyer. If we relate to a Mammalian context, government is the only buyer for the explosives and guns. Where there may be many sellers.Exhibit 1 Perfect Competition Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly Monopoly Number of Sellers Many Few One Barriers to Entry Very Low Low Very High Type of Substitute Products Very good Good substitutes but differentiated Very good differentiated substitutes No good substitutes Nature of competition Price only Marketing, features and price Advertising Pricing Power None Little Little to significant Significant As mentioned above, from 1988 to 2005 telecommunication industry of Maldives was a monopoly market. The following will elaborate how it was a monopoly a nd what was the situation during the monopoly. 988-2005 Draught monopoly in Maldives It was history that people used to call Draught as â€Å"Blood Suckers†. When the company started in the Maldives in Maldives there was a telecommunication service by cable and wireless which uses USB set to communicate between the islands. After their establishment as one and only telecoms service provider in 1988 they brought a major upgrade to their network in 1989 in Male and introduced paging service in the Maldives. They also introduced internet service for the very first time in Maldives in 1996 followed by mobile phone service in 1997 which was upgraded to GSM in 1999.Being the only company to provide the service and major share controlled by the government of the Maldives, they introduced services at a huge marginal value. Consumers have no substitution in the market, which lead Draught to grow up and cake huge profit and extended its service to nationwide, while charging extraordina ry high charges to cover its expansion costs and making more profit. It is usual to charge more from the consumers in monopoly market structure. In monopoly, always seller is always happy and consumers are unhappy.Some pros and cons of monopoly are: Advantages Disadvantages Large capital scale benefit to the company More money to invest on development Earning national export revenues Price discrimination between consumers Very high market share Restricts production potential Do not actively pursue new clients Poor product quality Unfair wealth distribution Entry barrier for new comers When Waiting telecoms Maldives (presently called Ordered) started their service officially in Maldives on 1st August 2005 shortly after they were licensed on 1st of February 2005, the market structure changed to an oligopoly.Oligopoly In economics oligopoly means that there are few sellers of a certain product in a market. Usually these sellers are always in a high competition with each other. In this type of markets sellers knows very well about their competitors. They have a high power to in pushing their products to the consumers. When on seller makes a change, it will directly affect other sellers. There is a special case in oligopoly which is called duopoly. Which is when the there is only two sellers in the market. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of oligopoly.Advantages Lot of control Ability to fix prices Competitive pricing More profit making Perfect knowledge of the market Price controlling will be a disadvantage for consumers Creative ideas may fail to realist Difficult for small firms to establish in the market Not much of competition No fair wealth distribution Oligopoly in Maldives telecoms industry From 2005 Ordered became the major and the only competitor to Draught. As usual they have initiated their business with a huge investment to make existence of their network across the Maldives.It was a huge challenge for them to establish when there was a well- established and government controlled seller in the marker for almost a decade, market share was 100% controlled by monopolized Draught. Immediately after starting the service in the market by the new comer, the unhappy customers of the monopolized industry started to change their service provider. They started with introductory promotional prices which was far much better than the ajar market controller, which directly affected the business of Draught. Competition, strengths and weaknesses.When there are two or more sellers are there in a market, it is obvious that the competition will be born in the market. It is very interesting to study about the competition between Ordered and Draught. Luckily I have got very good connections at the top levels of both the companies, which made me to sit and talk about their respective companies. I found that they are tightly in competition with each other. Pricing: When Draught was alone in the industry, consumers pay around USED $100 average u ser used to pay around MOVE 2000 per month for the usage. Call rates are sky high.Rates differ from calls from mobile to mobile and mobile to landlines. When the competition started and if we see current situation, we have choices for individuals and businesses depends on what consumer needs. There are some consumers who want more talk time than data while others doesn't care about the talk time but data allowance the service provider offers. Those used to spend around 2000 per month now are spending less than 500 per month because of competitive pricing by the competitors. Advertising: Earlier days Draught keeps and average advertising.Unlike that now each and every TV channel is occupied by both Draught and Ordered advertisements. All the islands with more population see those companies' bill boards near harbors and schools. It is very clear that Ordered is doing more aggressive advertising while Draught use more informative advertising. Corporate Social responsibility: We used to say that both the companies do corporate social responsibility to a certain extent. But in real, in my study I found that rather than corporate social responsibility they both do corporate philanthropy. They do not actively participate in social activities.But they do help by donation some money to do the social activities by others. That is a form of advertisement they both do. They are present in the activities as bill boards. Just to advertise the company name. For example: Thieved league football tournament is always sponsored by one of these two companies. Competitive advantages: Draught uses â€Å"first in Maldives† â€Å"Largest network† and so on while Ordered uses â€Å"best network for smart phones†. Draught is first to come and still holds 65% market share while Ordered is gaining market share at a rapid speed.Bad the backbone of the company is much better with latest technologies while Draught is upgrading its backbone. Subsidized handsets to consum ers: Ordered started offering Samsung handset to its consumers with contract for the very first time in Maldives. And soon they will be starting offer apple handsets on contract, while Draught is working with apple to introduce subsidized apple handsets with contract. Apple currently certified Ordered network for their products while Draught is doing upgrades to obtain certification of using Apple products on contract. Is this industry good for the society?Unlike the history of the monopoly in the telecommunication industry in the Maldives, with existing oligopoly (duopoly) consumers are happy now. As is economic theory, human wants are unlimited with the scares resources available, people are still aiming for mush cheaper services with better quality. As mentioned earlier in this report, consumers' expenses, for the use of telecommunication are decreased by 60 percentages. We never heard of handset for installments by service providers before. But it is started now. We have heard a bout subsidized handset with contract with carrier locked, from other parts of the world.We never imagined that a small country with a small population like us will get phones on contract with subsidized prices. But it is soon to happen. Unlike perfect competition and monopolistic competition there are no much of sellers. So competition and pricing of the products will not be according to the demand and supply. Sellers will have the power to set the prices. Consumers are very happy when there is a perfect competition and monopolistic competition. Consumers are sad at most when there is a monopoly. But than they used to have, the monopoly. It is an average good for the society. Market structure Four basic types of market structures are: 1- Perfect competition 2- Monopolistic competition 3- Oligopoly 4- Monopoly There is also another market structure called Monopoly. 1- Perfect competition It is considered more theoretical than practical, because it is very rare. In perfect intention a large number of firms sell identical products, where none of them has pricing power. There no berries or very easy to enter to the market by any new farm. Prices. For example if we go to normal retail shops to buy vegetables, we will get at same prices from each and every shop.Fish market at Male' is a very good and a simple example, where inside the market lot of sellers will be selling same fishes. Prices will be set by the demand and supply. Neither buyer nor seller sets the price. It is more like automates pricing. Characteristics of perfect competition include large umber of small firms, identical products, perfect resource mobility and perfect knowledge. 2- Monopolistic competition It is almost like perfect competition where large number of small firms sells similar but not identical products. Relative freedom of entry, to and exit from the industry.It means buyers will have substitutes to choose from. Alternatives to buy for fulfill their needs and wants. Examples of industries structures as monopolistic competition includes, clothing industry, restaurants, and shoes and so on. 3- Oligopoly It is a market situation where products are supplied by small number of firms where ACH of them has influence over pricing and supplies which directly effects the position of the competitors. I oligopoly there is a special case where there is only two producers are called Duopoly. 4- Monopoly This is a market structure where only one producer in a market who has to the total control.Buyers do not have substitutes and have no choice. They have total control over supply and prices. In this market structure, seller is always happy and consumers suffer. They take more profit with a huge marginal value from the products. Characteristics of monopoly includes single seller, unique product, berries o entry and specialized information. The fifth type of market structure which is not included in basic structures is Monopoly. It is upside down of a monopoly where there is only one buyer. If we relate to a Mammalian context, government is the only buyer for the explosives and guns. Where there may be many sellers.Exhibit 1 Perfect Competition Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly Monopoly Number of Sellers Many Few One Barriers to Entry Very Low Low Very High Type of Substitute Products Very good Good substitutes but differentiated Very good differentiated substitutes No good substitutes Nature of competition Price only Marketing, features and price Advertising Pricing Power None Little Little to significant Significant As mentioned above, from 1988 to 2005 telecommunication industry of Maldives was a monopoly market. The following will elaborate how it was a monopoly a nd what was the situation during the monopoly. 988-2005 Draught monopoly in Maldives It was history that people used to call Draught as â€Å"Blood Suckers†. When the company started in the Maldives in Maldives there was a telecommunication service by cable and wireless which uses USB set to communicate between the islands. After their establishment as one and only telecoms service provider in 1988 they brought a major upgrade to their network in 1989 in Male and introduced paging service in the Maldives. They also introduced internet service for the very first time in Maldives in 1996 followed by mobile phone service in 1997 which was upgraded to GSM in 1999.Being the only company to provide the service and major share controlled by the government of the Maldives, they introduced services at a huge marginal value. Consumers have no substitution in the market, which lead Draught to grow up and cake huge profit and extended its service to nationwide, while charging extraordina ry high charges to cover its expansion costs and making more profit. It is usual to charge more from the consumers in monopoly market structure. In monopoly, always seller is always happy and consumers are unhappy.Some pros and cons of monopoly are: Advantages Disadvantages Large capital scale benefit to the company More money to invest on development Earning national export revenues Price discrimination between consumers Very high market share Restricts production potential Do not actively pursue new clients Poor product quality Unfair wealth distribution Entry barrier for new comers When Waiting telecoms Maldives (presently called Ordered) started their service officially in Maldives on 1st August 2005 shortly after they were licensed on 1st of February 2005, the market structure changed to an oligopoly.Oligopoly In economics oligopoly means that there are few sellers of a certain product in a market. Usually these sellers are always in a high competition with each other. In this type of markets sellers knows very well about their competitors. They have a high power to in pushing their products to the consumers. When on seller makes a change, it will directly affect other sellers. There is a special case in oligopoly which is called duopoly. Which is when the there is only two sellers in the market. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of oligopoly.Advantages Lot of control Ability to fix prices Competitive pricing More profit making Perfect knowledge of the market Price controlling will be a disadvantage for consumers Creative ideas may fail to realist Difficult for small firms to establish in the market Not much of competition No fair wealth distribution Oligopoly in Maldives telecoms industry From 2005 Ordered became the major and the only competitor to Draught. As usual they have initiated their business with a huge investment to make existence of their network across the Maldives.It was a huge challenge for them to establish when there was a well- established and government controlled seller in the marker for almost a decade, market share was 100% controlled by monopolized Draught. Immediately after starting the service in the market by the new comer, the unhappy customers of the monopolized industry started to change their service provider. They started with introductory promotional prices which was far much better than the ajar market controller, which directly affected the business of Draught. Competition, strengths and weaknesses.When there are two or more sellers are there in a market, it is obvious that the competition will be born in the market. It is very interesting to study about the competition between Ordered and Draught. Luckily I have got very good connections at the top levels of both the companies, which made me to sit and talk about their respective companies. I found that they are tightly in competition with each other. Pricing: When Draught was alone in the industry, consumers pay around USED $100 average u ser used to pay around MOVE 2000 per month for the usage. Call rates are sky high.Rates differ from calls from mobile to mobile and mobile to landlines. When the competition started and if we see current situation, we have choices for individuals and businesses depends on what consumer needs. There are some consumers who want more talk time than data while others doesn't care about the talk time but data allowance the service provider offers. Those used to spend around 2000 per month now are spending less than 500 per month because of competitive pricing by the competitors. Advertising: Earlier days Draught keeps and average advertising.Unlike that now each and every TV channel is occupied by both Draught and Ordered advertisements. All the islands with more population see those companies' bill boards near harbors and schools. It is very clear that Ordered is doing more aggressive advertising while Draught use more informative advertising. Corporate Social responsibility: We used to say that both the companies do corporate social responsibility to a certain extent. But in real, in my study I found that rather than corporate social responsibility they both do corporate philanthropy. They do not actively participate in social activities.But they do help by donation some money to do the social activities by others. That is a form of advertisement they both do. They are present in the activities as bill boards. Just to advertise the company name. For example: Thieved league football tournament is always sponsored by one of these two companies. Competitive advantages: Draught uses â€Å"first in Maldives† â€Å"Largest network† and so on while Ordered uses â€Å"best network for smart phones†. Draught is first to come and still holds 65% market share while Ordered is gaining market share at a rapid speed.Bad the backbone of the company is much better with latest technologies while Draught is upgrading its backbone. Subsidized handsets to consum ers: Ordered started offering Samsung handset to its consumers with contract for the very first time in Maldives. And soon they will be starting offer apple handsets on contract, while Draught is working with apple to introduce subsidized apple handsets with contract. Apple currently certified Ordered network for their products while Draught is doing upgrades to obtain certification of using Apple products on contract. Is this industry good for the society?Unlike the history of the monopoly in the telecommunication industry in the Maldives, with existing oligopoly (duopoly) consumers are happy now. As is economic theory, human wants are unlimited with the scares resources available, people are still aiming for mush cheaper services with better quality. As mentioned earlier in this report, consumers' expenses, for the use of telecommunication are decreased by 60 percentages. We never heard of handset for installments by service providers before. But it is started now. We have heard a bout subsidized handset with contract with carrier locked, from other parts of the world.We never imagined that a small country with a small population like us will get phones on contract with subsidized prices. But it is soon to happen. Unlike perfect competition and monopolistic competition there are no much of sellers. So competition and pricing of the products will not be according to the demand and supply. Sellers will have the power to set the prices. Consumers are very happy when there is a perfect competition and monopolistic competition. Consumers are sad at most when there is a monopoly. But than they used to have, the monopoly. It is an average good for the society.