Chinese Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chinese Contract Law - Essay Example China views this as a way of enhancing political stability. Labor and business interest groups have been the most affected by the contact law. Many businesses have been forced to close as the cost of production increased. History and role of contract law Contracts are perceived to be the backbone of any market economy. China adopted a contract law in 1999. The law was divided into general and specific provisions. Besides, the contract law had supplementary provisions. The Chinese borrowed heavily from UNIDROIT principles. The laws had been drafted to cover a wide scope of contract issues. However, the Chinese needed a superior law that would sustain the economic growth. This led to enactment of another contract law in 2008. Contractual relationships are the essence of business transactions. Many countries agree that one of the keys of economic development is contact enforceability (Chow 2002). The usage of credit and capital is critical to the mechanism of market economy (Glinow & Te agarden 1988). Contracts are enforceable in a court of law, and this secures the possibility of credit sales. Weber argues that rationalization is one of the major characteristics of the modern society. Tasks are completed through broken down processes. The specialized rules are accessed in terms of the exact figures. Through this, future events are managed in a rational way. The process enables large-scale transactions to be conducted (Kitch 1980). A telling example is modern accounting. Accounts are broken down in balance sheets. This is followed by profit and loss accounts. The financial status of a business can be explained in terms of assets and liabilities (Zhang 2006). This explains when contract law is viewed as influential when it comes to economic and infrastructural development. China is no longer a place where cheap knock off products are developed (Jespersen & Skjoett-Larsen 2003). Although the practice of producing counterfeits continues, the quality of modern counterf eits is improved tremendously. The Chinese contact law puts immense emphasis on the clarity of contracts. Article 12 stipulates and describes what the contents of a written contract should be. Advantages of contract law China is nearly meeting the international standards when it comes to contractual legislation. The contract law has eliminated ambiguities when it comes to guidelines on entering into contractual agreements in China. Therefore, the outcome of foreign business contracts is predictable. Benefits The major provision of that gives credible interpretation to Chinese contact law is article 125. The contractual obligations can be supplemented through the provisions of the law (Yongping & Weidi 2008). This occurs when something vital fails to be captured in a contract. Some of those sources include the provision of laws, principle of good faith and transaction usage (Yongping & Weidi 2008). Articles 5 and 6 are firm on the concepts of good faith and fairness. These are some o f the benefits of the Chinese contract laws to the foreigners (Jespersen & Skjoett-Larsen 2003). There is an intentional move by the Chinese contract law to create a conducive environment for the foreigners. However, some of the provisions of the new law have an impact on the profitability of the foreign businesses. The article 92 of the Chinese contract law governs post contractual duties between the involved parties. The article suggests an employee is expected to act in a reasonable way

Obscenity Laws and the Canadian Charter of Freedom and Rights Essay

Obscenity Laws and the Canadian Charter of Freedom and Rights - Essay Example Canadians are now at risk of suffering from perverse and obscene acts basically due to the Human Rights Act of 1998 overshadowing these laws. The main issue here is that it is impossible for the children of Canada to be safeguarded and protected from instances of child pornography and other ill affects because these laws can not be relied upon fully to efficiently protect their rights in particular. There is no doubt that this holds inexplicit validity as, instead of the obscenity law really helping, it is placing more adverse repercussions onto the children due to the fact that it is unreliable. How can a child find any normalcy and guaranteed protection for their life from child pornography if a court is going to rule it a piece of art Therefore, not only are the children at risk of harm by such actions but the parents who are trying to guard them from being confronted with the various negativities associated with obscenities such as child prostitution and pornography are as well. This is not only off balance in protecting the children's rights and mental health but it is an issue of inequality as well for it appears that the idea of what is art holds more credence in the courts than does the life and well being of a child in particular and there is no equality in that. In this regard these laws are not wholly fair and it is agreed that the following research is true to the f act that these laws are unjust at times. For example, a person accused of child pornography can only be prosecuted if the gathered material is found to be eliciting youth who are underage in obvious sexual acts and even then the proof must be irrefutable1. Undoubtedly, where the main problem with the law is coming in at is in how the Courts are having to ensure that even the violators rights are upheld as well. For instance, an individual can be charged with breaching the obscenity law with regard to child pornography but they can argue that their material is strictly of art and is therefore not obscene. In order to protect each individual's rights in Canada the court must pause and consider the weight of the evidence and decide what degree of obscenity it actually holds if any. As was stated, it isn't fair to the children to even allow room to question child pornography in this regard as it is hurting the children of the country, not helping them. In other words, a child being sexu ally solicited for the false idea of making art is totally wrong and how the courts could construe the law to see it in this light is an injustice to the children and parents of Canada. Pornography is pornography, period. It does not make sense to try and find an art form in child pornography when it is demoralizing the children of the country to do so. However, it is also the law that individuals must show valid proof that an obscene act limited or impinged upon their constitutional rights. If they are unable to provide the factual basis of a claim then the courts will dismiss the case, which too many is unfair as well as unjust in upholding

The History And Origins Of Conference Industry

The History And Origins Of Conference Industry This chapter assumes a literature review of the conference industry. It begins by establishing the scene of conference through the history and origins of industry, and a reflection about industry structure. Furthermore a review the industry growth is taken into consideration. It follows with a close examination of conference impacts such as economic, environmental, technological, social and cultural, also a consideration on employment generation. Finally, it analysis the future challenges of the conference industry. 2.2 The history and origins of Conference Industry Conference has been existed for a long time as there have been people, the meeting has been happening. Researches and investigations of ancient cultures, archaeologists have found evidences of primitive ruins that has been used by people to meet and to discuss interests, or either celebrations (Spiller, 2002 p. 3). A launch event of contemporary conference was held from June 1814 to September 1814, called Congress the Vienna. The purpose of Congress de Vienna was to establish the territorial divisions of Europe at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and representatives included all of the major world powers of the day (Rogers, 2008; Davidson and Cope, 2003). Industrialisation spread throughout the Western Europe and America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth. The development of industry and commerce increases the need of meeting between businesspeople and professionals, aimed to discuss and exchange ideas (Spiller, 2002 p. 5-6). The origin of the conference industry is very recent, hardly 50 years of age in North America and Europe, in addition in the most rest of the world still very younger. However, conference and meetings of people have happened since early days of civilisation progress (Rogers, 2003). Nowadays, conference sector is believed to be one of the most lucrative and attractive sector of tourism industry, despite partly to the high economic benefits for the hosting community (Crouch and Louviere, 2004). The conference sector of the business industry is valued in a hundreds of billions of pounds per year on a global scale (Rogers, 2003). Since earlier 60s, conference sector has been supported by investments received in the whole infrastructure, helping to a steadily growth during the 90s, which was a decade with one of the highest sustained investments recorded. Even if the industry is maturing fast, due to its vigorous, a lack of some necessary description needs to be more established, such as appropriate training and education structure, and well-defined terminology. The conference industry has to address these weakness to claim a deserve position (Rogers, 2003). 2.3 The Suppliers In response to an extensive and diverse demand for meetings and conferences of all kinds, suppliers have to offer a wide variety of services, facilities and infrastructures to attend the great variety of events (Davidson and Cope, 2003). These have augmented in diversity and quantity, at the same speed the industry has grown over the past 50 years (Rogers, 2003). However, quite few of these suppliers are committed to the conference industry only (Rogers, 2003; Leask and Spiller, 2002). Rogers (2003) has separated the industrys supply into three leading type of venue as subsequent. 2.3.1 The Venues Venues are the places where business tourism events take place, in theory almost any type of building could be promoted as a conference venue (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2001). Additionally in Britain there are over 3500 venues supported as suitable for meetings and conferences (Rogers 2008). However, according to Leask and Spiller (2002), for venues develop an input of the conference industry, they should have certain characteristics, such as offers a purpose-built facilities that present multiple usages, flexibility in their design and having suitable lighting system and breakout space. Nevertheless, Rogers, 1998 and Leask and Spiller, 2002 emphasis that many venues such as hotels, academic venue and unusual venues do not focus on the conference segment entirely. The figure below represents an analysis of the different types of conference venues in the UK. Figure 2.1 Analysis of the UKs conference venues and type Source: Adapted from British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) in Rogers, 2008. 2.3.1.1 Hotels Despite the increase of many different forms of venue, hotels are predominantly vital to the corporate market sector, creating around two-thirds of all conference venues (Rogers, 2003; Davidson and Cope, 2003). The advantages of holding an event in a hotel are that guests can easily walk to the meeting rooms, which costs for transportation can be avoided (Allen, 2000). A vast range of hotels can both offer accommodation and quite a few conference and meeting-style facilities (McCabe et al., 2000). Rogers (2003) come across that hotel represents two third of all conference venues, being mainly significant to the corporate market sector and the main types of hotel active in the conference market are showed in the table below. Table 2.1 Main types of hotel active in the conference market Hotel Characteristics Central business district hotels A hotel located in the central business district of the town tends to be business-oriented, provides quality conference and meeting facilities and capable to handle corporate business. Additionally, hotels located close to large conference centres are also able to provide delegate accommodation whilst major conferences are hold. For several companies, the central location of venues is very attractive, as they comprise an effortlessly access to business offices, restaurants and entertainment. Resort hotels These types of hotels are liable to be popular for the reason that they are situated in advantageous locations with both recreational and sporting facilities in close proximity, therefore to provide an opportunity for delegates to include extra pre-and- post conference activities. In many resort hotels, the conference sector recompense the seasonality of the leisure tourism, and is acknowledged as a high-spend and high-yield business. Airport hotels Airport hotels have the prospective contribution of an additional time-saving advantage, were originally most has been built to lodge clients staying for a night, who those having a stop before, after, or in between flights. However, many companies are increasingly use them as a cost-effective way of provide a meeting for delegates travelling from between state. Also airport hotels are growing in popularity for the reason that many people are using low-cost airlines. Despite from the benefits of competitive price, convenience, and location they also provide excellent choices of meetings and conference rooms and supporting business services. Source: Adapted from McCabe et al., 2000; Rogers, 2008; Davidson, 1994; Lawson, 2000; Gosling, 2003. 2.3.1.3 Purpose-built conference centres Purpose-built conference centres can be residential and non-residential, usually provides designed areas to host meetings and conferences of large numbers of people, sometimes including an exhibition. In additionally, they normally provide halls with appropriate infrastructure to hold exhibitions and trade shows, some large rooms for plenary sessions, variety of meeting rooms, breakout areas, banqueting facilities, a business centre, offices and administration space. They also provide catering facilities simultaneously with a trained professional meetings and conference team to hold the event (McCabe et al., 2000; Davidson and Cope, 2003). Furthermore, it is argued that the future for purpose conference venues is bright (Whitfield 2007; Lau et al., 2005; Litvin, 2003), in addition, a conference venue plays an important responsibility in recovering the destinations economy as well as recuperating its neglected areas (Lawson, 2000; Laslo and Judd, 2004; McNeill and Evans, 2004; Clark, 2004; Fenich, 1992). It become visible the reason why many destinations around the world are investing in the expansion or development of their convention facilities (Laslo and Judd, 2004), and it is identify that the conference industry offers a variety of opportunities at all possible levels, national, as well as organisational or individual (Getz 2005). 2.3.1.4 Academic and civic venues An increase number of academic venues, such as universities, colleges and public schools, which are investing in the construction of quality conference facilities and accommodations, are available throughout the year during the students holiday, (Walker, 2004; Rogers, 2008). Although Rogers (2008) complete saying that many of those accommodations are equivalent to considerable 3-star hotel standards. As can be seen in McCabe et al. (2000) the cost of accommodation in academics venues are liable to be inferior than in hotels, and consequently they tend to be mostly attractive to some non-profit organisations and associations that have limited budgets. In many places civic venues include council chambers and committee rooms, town halls and other civic facilities are also available for external hire (Rogers, 2003). In UK, academic venues particularly universities are playing a considerable responsibility in both responding and stimulating to the growth of the conference and meetings market, despite the fact that earning income for educational establishments (Davidson and Cope, 2003). 2.3.1.5 Unusual venues Unusual venues have been characterized as involving an ample range of facilities that are used for conference and meetings, including art galleries, museums, historical houses (Leask and Hood, 2000 in Davidson and Cope, 2003). In additional, cultural and entertainment venues, such as theatres, sporting venues, television studios; tourist attractions, such as historical sites, theme parks, castles and heritage centres as well as transport venues, including cruise ships, ferries, steam trains and canal barges can also be included as an unusual venue (Rogers, 2003). The attraction of those venues is that they can provide an event with a special appeal, which can create it memorable experience for delegates. Although some venues have high-quality conference and meeting facilities, others can be more limited in this aspect, however the setting in which the event is being organized tends to recompense for such limitation (Rogers, 2008; Davidson and Cope, 2003). As far as most of venue types has been highlighted. The table below compare the advantages and disadvantages of those venues. Different factors regards as the conference and meetings been hold in a high quality from the corporate sectors point of view and better value for money from the associations points. 3.1 Advantages and disadvantages of venues Type of venue Advantages Disadvantages Hotels Everything under on roof All inclusive quotes Airport hotel: time saving Mixing leisure and business guest Can appear to frivolous Unsuitable for large events Lack of flexibility with syndicate rooms, etc. Purpose built-conference centres Space for large events Extensive range of technology available, plus technical know-how Many offer exhibition space May not always be suitable for the growing number of smaller events No on-site accommodation Universities Good value for money Learning ambience Everything on site Ancient/modern styles Range of sizes of meeting rooms Lack of comfort and facilities May be limited to holiday periods Large sites problems of orientation between buildings Unusual venues Memorable, novelty value Cruise ships: all-in prices Limited by design restrictions due to primary function Unlike to be used several times by same client novelty value fades No on-site accommodations Source: Davidson and Cope, 2003 2.4 The Growth of conference industry The industry has experienced outstanding growth from 1960s due to a number of features from the demand and supplier sides. Regards a larger demand for conferences and meetings, various specific aspects has contributed to the industry development. Such as the growth of multinational corporations, expansion of government and quasi-governmental organization has brought the need for meetings in a public and private sector (Spiller, 2002 p. 5-6; Lawson, 2000; Davidson and Rogers, 2006). The conference industry is growing and maturing very fast, it is youthful and vibrant. In America and Europe it is hardly 50 years old and even younger in the most part of the world. Nowadays the industry itself claims to be the worlds largest, helped with international investments in large scale infrastructure projects have been undertaken all through Asia and Pacific, East European countries such as Czech Republic and Hungary, in a number of African countries, in the Middle East (Rogers, 2008). The growth of the industry is demonstrated in Rogers (2008), the evaluation of the industrys major trade shows, which is held in Barcelona. The European Incentive and Business Travel and Meeting Exhibition (EIBTM) shows that in 1988, 54 countries were represented as exhibitors, the exhibition was held in Geneva; in 2005 the numbers has doubled to 95 countries held in Barcelona. Although, the number of visitors in the same period increased from 2850 in 1988 to 5689 in 2005. 2.5 Impacts of conference events Positive and negative impacts can be generated by the conference industry. The conference sector has been generally accepted for it is high-yield, year-round market and the possibility of gathered substantial economic gains that characterize the main motivation for many destinations to follow the conference market (Davidson and Rogers, 2006). Employment Generation Stimulation of Investment Contribution to Government Revenue Foreign Exchange Earnings Positive ImpactsAccording to McCabe et all (2000) the conference sector is an important generator of tourism expenditure, foreign exchange earnings, investment and employment. The figures below show the positive and the negative impacts of the conference industry. Figure 2.1 Positive impacts of the conference industry Source: Adapted from Davidson and Rogers, 2006 The figure above reviews some of positive impacts that conference industry can generate to the community development. In additionally, it can be see that conference sector is well accepted for a high-yield year around market boosting substantial economic gains (Davidson and Rogers, 2006). However, while the positive impacts of conference are normally noticeable and progressively more claimed by the conference industry itself, a number of unfavourable effects related to hidden cost of developing and operating conference industry and affects the host community (Rogers, 2008). The diagram below represents the negative impacts of the conference industry. Negative Impacts Infrastructure Costs Promotional Costs LeakageFigure 2.2 Negative impacts of the conference industry Source: Source: Adapted from Davidson and Rogers, 2006 2.5.1 Economic impacts The conference industry has been considered as the healthiest and well growth-orientated segment of the tourism industry. Business people and professional travel all throughout the year to attend conferences and meetings, affecting considerably in particularly tourism and hospitality industry. The reason is the need of those participants to meet, eat and sleep. However, many other direct impacts can be seen, such as cultural and sporting activities place, tourism attractions, restaurants, local shops and transport facilities (McCabe et all, 2000). The conference market is critically in nature and vulnerable to change in the business environment. The current slow-down in the global economy and recession can decrease numbers of conference and meeting activity (Weber and Chon, 2002). 2.5.2 Environmental impacts The value of the environment is vital to the successful performance of the conference and business industry (Rogers 2008). Constructive environmental impacts at basic levels, towns and cities hosting conferences need to ensure that the physical environment is maintained in a clean, tidy and healthy condition. Delegates will be expecting to find conference localities at least clean and attractive, and this is particularly when there is a motivational component to the conference (Davison and Rogers 2006). Davison and Cope (2003) say that customer concern in excess of possible and actual unconstructive impacts of mass tourism ahead the natural, built and human environments of purpose is achieving importance. Business Travel have an effect on towns and cities where conventions and exhibitions take place, open the citys potential for professional and business location and development. These are the causes why almost all big cities have situated convention centres in close combination to a high-amenity, creating a good impression to delegates. However, awareness groups are placing increasing force for conference industry to bring in more environmental consciousness. Moreover, Swarbrooke and Honer (2001) say that there are important certifies that conventions and exhibitions centres are functioning in an environmentally friendly approach, and supporting environmental schemes. 2.5.3 Technological impacts The future of the conference industry has a midpoint on the technology issues; the concern is if the advantage technology such as videoconferencing, virtual trade shows and webcasting will replace the need of face-to-face meetings (Weber and Chon, 2002). However studies suggest that has been a slow reluctance to establish state-of-the-arte technologies, simply because it often comes without adequate training staff and suitable backup support by the IT providers in difficult circumstances (Weber and Ladkin, 2001 in Weber and Chon, 2002). Thus, according to McCabe et al. (2000), the significant communication services that are available to organisers and participants of conference events are showed in the table below. Table 2.2 Communication services SERVICE CARACTERISTICS videoconferencing an electronic medium that transmits the picture of the speaker, product, or explanatory graphics teleconferencing enables sharing of ideas in real time with enhanced audio and graphics electronic data transfer allows transfer of large amounts of data between computers separated by long distances Facsimile enables quick and accurate transmission of large documents virtual exhibitions computer simulations and human computer interfacing, this takes place through a combination of visual, audio and kinetic effects Source: Adapted from McCabe et al., 2000; Medlik, 2003; Rogers, 2008. Furthermore, it is clear that information technology (IT) can be generate massive benefit for those who operating function of conference organiser and the conference venue itself, also can be noticed at operational, tactical and strategic level, Consequently, it appear that the technology, predominantly the Internet, have substituted the traditional conference diaries or filing and paper trail systems (McCabe et al., 2000). 2.5.4 Social and cultural impacts Different generation are emerging into the conference industry, those who having grow up and spending much time on the PC and using email. They are bringing very different approach to communication and require a different learning style (Weber and Chon, 2002). Another issue related to social impacts are the trend toward an aging population. An increase number of people are chosen to retired early; also many of those may decide to engage in associations (Weber and Chon, 2002). 2.5.5 Employment The industry creates an increase level of business and improvement of employment opportunities. It is seen as an attractive employment area for those who may become employees for the first time or a looking for a carrier change. It is view as dynamic industry and one that offer many career opportunities and the expectation for fast career development. The industry is responsible for a significant part of the jobs found in the transport and hotels sector, such as specialist conference professions related to the suppliers (McCabe et all, 2000; Davidson and Rogers, 2006). However the industry is not resistant to the high staff turnover and shortages in labour supply found within the tourism and hospitality industry (McCabe et all, 2000). Fenich (2005) claims the employment benefits of conference industry can stimulate construction or renovations of hotels, restaurants, retail units and entertainment facilities. Because of the stimulus a range of skilled and unskilled job opportunities are created For example, these would include meeting planners and marketers, hotel and convention sales, and promotion staff, secretarial and business services, catering staff, retail clerks, taxi drivers and security staff etc. The impact of employment may vary between cities, town and countries due to the structure of the economy. 2.6 The future of the conference industry Predictably, many people outside and inside the conference industry attempt to forecast the industry growth, and whether in the years it will experience growth or decline, even through many issues can be come across due to unpredicted circumstance those can affect conference industry (Rogers, 2008; Swarbrooke and Horner, 2001). The present slow-down in the global economy and recession has the potential to diminish conference and meetings activity in the future. Many others factors impact the current growth and health development of the segment such as social, economic, technological and environmental trends (Rogers, 2008; Weber and Chon, 2002). 2.6.2 Social trends In terms of social trends, changes happen into the work population, including an increasing number of womens conference delegates, older delegates or coming from diverse cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Additionally, many employers are developing a wide range of work-life options, for example tele-working or taking portfolio careers (Rogers and Davidson, 2006) Different generation are emerging into the conference industry, those who having grow up and spending much time on the PC and using email. They are bringing very different approach to communication and require a different learning style. Another issue related to social impacts are the trend toward an aging population. An increase number of people are chosen to retired early; also many of those may decide to engage in associations. All these social trends are going to have several implications for the conference industry (Weber and Chon, 2002; Rogers and Davidson, 2006). 2.6.3 Economic trends Despite on-going divergences and continuous intimidation of terrorist attacks worldwide, the global economy should continue to recover over the next five years, which is excellent news for the conference industry as it clearly depends on the worldwide economic situation (Davidson, 2004). In addition, the economies of Central Europe maintain expanding; Western European countries will fairly certainly experience an augment in business travel from the new EU member countries (Rogers, 2008). The expenditure on business travel and tourism in Europe, according to the World Travel Tourism Council reached $190 billion in 2003, representing 39%of the worldwide total of $488.8 billion. Although, is expecting an increase spending on business travel in Europe by approximately 75% over the next 10 years, reaching by 2013 roughly $ 330 billion (Mintel, 2003). 2.6.4 Technological trends The 21st century is involved especially about Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Buhalis (2008). Technological trends will continue to develop at the remarkable speed. It will contribute to the industry offering important prospective and benefits to buyers, suppliers and intermediaries (Rogers, 2008) However, the industry has been using ICT for many years, with e-mail and the Internet. Conferences organisers can take advantage to reach potential delegates by using email addresses or to set a web site related to the event, conference or exhibition. Nowadays, registration for various events can be possible done on-line, permitting the organisers to be and keep the web information up-to-date, also contact any delegate by their email addresses (Davidson et al, 2002; Buhalis, 2008). By the end of this decade, the conscientious for cost saving and efficiency in distribution will affect the industry (Davidson and Rogers 2006). The preferred distribution channel for making reservations, check in, registration to a conference also many other forms of business travel will be done by the internet (Cline, 2001). A report from IBM business consulting service, forecasted that on-line travel bookings would roughly double between 2004 and 2007 (OÂ ´Connor and Piccoli, 2003). The future of the conference industry has a midpoint on the technology issues; the concern is if the advantage technology such as videoconferencing, virtual trade shows and webcasting will replace the need of face-to-face meetings. However studies suggest that has been a slow reluctance to establish state-of-the-arte technologies, simply because it often comes without adequate training staff and suitable backup support by the IT providers in difficult circumstances (Weber and Chon, 2002; Weber and Ladkin, 2002). 6.4.5 Environmental trends The value of the environment is vital to the successful performance of the conference and business industry (Rogers 2008). Constructive environmental impacts at basic levels, towns and cities hosting conferences need to ensure that the physical environment is maintained in a clean, tidy and healthy condition. Delegates will be expecting to find conference localities at least clean and attractive, and this is particularly when there is a motivational component to the conference (Davison and Rogers 2006). Firstly, considering the damage of environmental issues like global warming, carbon emissions and others cause to the planet. Swarbrooke and Horner (2001) criticized negative impact on the environment, particularly in terms of transport sector. For example, pollution and fuel costs of air travel and the use of private car to take the business traveller from one destination to another. Regarding International legislation, airlines have already done a lot to reduce their environmental impacts. Davison and Cope (2003) argument saying it is obvious that the majority international business journeys are made by air, the extremely polluting form of transportation. Aviation is identified to be the highest increasing source of greenhouse gas emissions and key donor to climate change. They also criticize the police of aircraft and aviation fuel an airline tickets are zero rated for value-added tax (VAT), this means that society contribute is subsiding air transport. It should be discuss how those issues are becoming usual worries and challenges inside conference and convention industry (Rogers, 2008). Cassar (1995) mention the environmental concern will continues indoors the conference venues. It is essentially how about venues can congregate their responsibilities to anxiety for conferences and exhibitions. The positive environmental impacts generate the desires for municipalities to preserve eminence of their built and natural environment, the conference industry in addition has the potential to produce beneficial results on the environment of destination by contributing to environmental development and conservation. The conference industry has as well added large appraise to urban conservations programme, particularly during the replacing into conference centres of buildings that perhaps have been destroyed. Innumerable examples of architecturally precious buildings have been saved by their renovation into conference amenities (Davison and Rogers 2006).

Engineering and National Defense :: essays papers

Engineering and National Defense Francis Dietz, a Government Relations worker for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in Washington, D.C., is calling upon engineers to help our policy makers in making decisions concerning defense research and design. In testimony to Congress given by the Department of Defense Task Force of ASME's Inter-Council Committee on Federal R & D, "†¦an increasing number of peacekeeping deployments to various parts of the globe, combined with relatively stagnant budgets, have combined to put a severe strain on the ability of the Department of Defense to appropriately plan for its future technology needs†¦" (Dietz 34). To further explain this claim of consequence, The group goes on to say, "†¦the basic research of today largely determines the technological advancements of a decade or more from now." (Dietz 34). This article states the importance of funding for national defense. It hopes to inform the reader about how the budget cuts in basic research have left the country vulnerable. In order to defend against the three major national security threats of nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, and breeches of information technology infrastructure, Congress will need to supply appropriate funds in science and technology (Dietz 34). In writing this article, the author hopes to gather enough support to lobby for more funds. The argument contains all three parts of the logic triangle. Logos is used when he states that a decrease in funding for R & D has made it harder to attract and retain talented engineers. Dietz also uses logos when he quotes Harry Armen saying, "If you don't design and build new systems, then someday when you need something new, there'll be nobody there who knows how to do it." (34). Ethos is found in the people and committees he gathers much of the information in the article. He uses groups like by the Department of Defense Task Force of ASME's Inter-Council Committee on Federal R & D and people like Rep. Julian Dixon as authorities to substantiate his claim. Pathos is used in the form of fear when the consequences of poor funding are realized. The article implies the US is leaving itself open to conventional, nuclear, and cyber attacks. The article was exactly right in my opinion.

Tobacco Industry Analytic

The barriers to entry in the tobacco industry are initially low and it is easy for small local and regional companies to enter into the market, but the barriers to enter the market nationally are very high. The economies at scale in manufacturing, distribution costs, and marketing at the national level make it very difficult for start-up companies to enter into the national market. There are substantial costs in raising the capital needed to build manufacturing facilities that can mass-produce tobacco products at the national level. Also, the costs of packaging goods such as cigarettes, at a mass level can generate high costs. Brand identity can also pose a barrier to entry for new entrants. Advertising restrictions imposed on electronic media by the U. S. government make it hard for any new entrant to gain brand awareness and also make it difficult for current top players in the market to increase their brand awareness. While many companies once relied on brand incentives in order to increase customer loyalty, they agreed to no longer use these incentives in the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) in 1998. Also with many already established brands such as Altria’s Marlboro Cigarettes brand already have a huge stake in the market place. They have generated a lot of brand loyalty and awareness making it difficult for a new company to generate enough brand awareness to enter the market. Suppliers In the tobacco industry farmers supply the tobacco to dealers and manufacturers. Many of the tobacco farmers in the U. S. are located in the Southeastern states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Farmers usually sell their tobacco at public auctions to the highest bidders. A federal program that started with the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 once protected tobacco farmer’s prices. The tobacco growers were guaranteed minimum prices in exchange for limiting their production through allotments and quotas. U. S. grown tobacco is generally more expensive than non-U. S. grown tobacco because of the U. S. governments price-support system. Then in 2004 the government allowed for buyouts of the quotas, thus eliminating the price support system. However, in recent news many tobacco farmers are protesting for the entire buyout of their quotas and equipment. They say that the U. S. tobacco growing industry is on the verge of disappearing and they blame the high taxes on cigarettes and cheap tobacco imports. Thus illustrating that the farmers have little bargaining power due to the government interaction. Buyers Buyers in the tobacco industry are greatly affected by the economy and the level of their disposable income. Whenever a buyer’s disposable income declines, they are more likely to purchase cheaper brands of tobacco, and if a buyer’s disposable income increases, then they are more likely to buy more expensive brands. Buyer power was displayed in 1993 whenever Phillip Morris USA Inc. slashed their prices on leading brands such as Marlboro by 20% to raise their share of the market, thus leading many other leading companies to also reduce the prices of their popular brands. After many companies lowered their prices, discount cigarette brands saw a drop in their percentage of the market. However, in 2003 premium cigarette brands raised prices, then allowing discount cigarette brands to gain more of a share in the market, but the discount brands share in the market has been declining ever since. Consumers in the United States are now increasingly becoming more concerned with health issues. Consumer health awareness has hurt the market for tobacco sellers and has also led to the increase for government regulation. Many companies are now going international to focus on the increasing demand for tobacco products abroad. They are focusing on developing countries where the population is increasing much faster than in the United States and many of these countries have less government regulation, which can help with advertising and prices. Countries that have less taxation on tobacco sales can lead to higher revenues and sales of tobacco products because the costs involved are less. Industry Competitors/Intensity of Rivalry Within the tobacco industry there are three main competitors that control 90% of the domestic market. These three main players are: Altria Group, Inc. (Domestically known as Phillip Morris USA); Reynolds American; and Carolina Group. Phillip Morris USA, the United State’s largest tobacco company since 1983, controlled 50. 3% of the market share in the year 2006. Phillip Morris USA’s leading brand Marlboro had a 40. 5% share of the market in 2006; thus, displaying the importance of brand identity in the tobacco industry. Phillip Morris USA also offers different brands such as their premium brands Virginia Slims and Parliament, while also targeting the discount market with its brand Basic. The United States second largest tobacco company is Reynolds American, which offers premium brands such as Kool, Winston, Salem, and Camel; and two different discount brands, Doral and Capri. Reynolds American controlled 29. % of the market in 2006 and is also the second largest moist smokeless tobacco producer in the United States. The third largest company in the United State is Carolina Group with their premium menthol brand cigarette Newport that controlled 9. 7% of the market in 2006. For the cigarette industry unit volumes have declined and the price of cigarettes has increased,thus creating higher net revenue for companies. Many companies are u sing cost efficient strategies and are merging to help gain profits in the industry. For example, R. J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson Tobacco merged and now have a higher share of the market. Tobacco consumption declined a lot from 1994 to 2004 and the decline has started to slow down in the past couple of years, the growth rate is still not what it once was. [pic] Figure 1 : Market share holders in 2006 Rivalry in the menthol sector of the tobacco industry has been a strong focus of the leading companies in recent years. Menthol cigarettes offer a chance for domestic growth opportunities and premium pricing in the tobacco industry. Carolina Group controls this sector with its leading brand Newport, while Reynolds American offers two brands, Kool and Salem, which have been in the market for a long time. With the potential growth in the menthol sector, the leading tobacco company Marlboro introduced their menthol brand with strong promotions to compete with already existing brands. Other potential areas of domestic growth in the tobacco industry include cigars, which are on the rise again; and snuff or smokeless, which is one the rise due to smoking restrictions in public places. By using the Porter’s Five Forces Framework I was able to discuss the five basic competitive forces within the tobacco industry. The level of difficulty for new entrants; the lack of bargaining power of suppliers; the bargaining power of buyers between different brands; the high level of potential substitutes; and the competition rivalry, as well as domestic growth areas; were all analyzed within the tobacco industry using the Porter’s Five Forces Framework. Dominant forces such as government regulation and health awareness influence change in the tobacco industry. The potential impact that theses forces could play on the tobacco industry could be harsh if companies don’t adjust and change with them. Strengths: Altria and R. J. Reynolds both display much strength within the tobacco industry. Both companies display high levels of brand identity and brand awareness with many different well-known brands. Altria has dominant control of the market with their diversified Marlboro brands of cigarettes that dominate the market, contributing a 40. 5% share in the market. R. J. Reynolds also has many well-known diversified brands such as Kool, Winston, Salem, and Camel that help to control 29. 8% of the market. Both companies can use their strong brand awareness to build customer value with existing and new products. B oth companies are aligned with their mission statements to provide for their customers and maintain levels of responsibility and integrity for their operations. Altria, for instance offers a wide array of information concerning health issues, tobacco laws, cigarette ingredients, and youth smoking prevention on their website. While R. J. Reynolds offers information to the public on legal and regulatory issues, maintaining responsible marketing, and also health issues related to their products that consumers can access on their website. Also, both companies produce mass amounts of tobacco products and in order to be the top two producers in the United State they must both have strong manufacturing infrastructures. Weaknesses: Both companies face the weakness of selling dangerous products to consumers. Tobacco products obviously involve a great deal of health risks and consumers have been made well aware of the risks involved in tobacco use. Both companies face liability issues and litigation for the sale of such a dangerous product, which can cost the companies a lot of money. These companies must place a great deal of concentration on defending themselves in numerous lawsuits that come about frequently due to the health liability issues. Recent cases involving the â€Å"light† cigarettes have been brought against Altria, these cigarettes have lighter amounts of nicotine and tar but still can be just as harmful as regular cigarettes. Also a lot of blame for such high health care costs in the United States is placed on these companies as well. Another weakness that Altria and R. J. Reynolds suffer from is their dependencies to rely solely on the sale of tobacco products in order for them to remain such profitable companies in the market place. Sales from 2000 to 2005 declined at around an average rate of 4% a year and a decline of about 1% in 2006. If sales continue to decline every year, this could lead to substantial effects on profits. With the cigarette consumption declining, companies such as Altria and R. J. Reynolds have began to look towards international markets with growth opportunities. With so much concentration on tobacco sales both companies also have the weakness of being so heavily invested in the success of the tobacco industry. These companies could face a great deal of losses if the tobacco industry keeps declining. Opportunities: Both Altria and R. J. Reynolds have the opportunity to expand the ir companies internationally to target new customers in areas that provide potential for growth in sales. With the help of countries with rising personal incomes, high per capita cigarette consumption, and less government regulation in foreign countries Altria is taking action to expand their horizons abroad. An article from Wall Street Journal by Vanessa O’Connell describes how Altria is using spin off, Phillip Morris International to focus on international markets such as Pakistan, where smoking consumption is up 42% since 2001; Ukraine, where smoking consumption is up 36%; and Argentina, where smoking consumption is up 18%. She also explains how China offers 50 million more tobacco buyers than in the United States, thus showing that China offers great potential market opportunities. R. J. Reynolds is also focusing on the global market with creation of R. J. Reynolds Global Products. R. J. Reynolds is participating in joint ventures in European countries and Japan, collaborating with other companies to produce American-like brand cigarettes in foreign markets. They have also been establishing a business presence in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and are supplying cigarettes to the U. S. military outlets and U. S. Duty Free sectors. R. J. Reynolds also manufactures cigarettes to be sold by other companies in foreign countries. Both companies are taking advantage of the potential growth in international markets. Another opportunity that both companies are focusing on is the opportunities of marketing new tobacco products to consumers. With more consumers looking for alternatives to smoking Altria has been f ocusing on developing its smokeless tobacco product line. With snuff being providing potential growth in the market, Altria is exploring the moist snuff or chew market as well as a new product called Snus. Altria is currently test marketing its Marlboro Snus products and its Marlboro moist smokeless tobacco in certain areas of the United States. They are also using the strong brand identity of Marlboro to help their new products enter into the market. R. J. Reynolds is also developing new products that have potential market opportunities. Reynolds is developing new exotic brands of Camel cigarettes and also trying to capitalize on smokeless tobacco opportunities with their brand of Camel Snus. Both brands are using their already existent brand awareness to help romote new products in the market. Threats: Companies in the tobacco industry such as Altria and R. J. Reynolds have a negative public perception because of providing such dangerous products and must deal with this perception accordingly in order to remain in the market. With the threat of being seen so negatively in the public eye companies must provide support in educating consumers about the dangerous health risks involved wi th smoking. Government regulation also poses a threat to both companies. In the 1998, the Master Settlement Agreement between tobacco companies and the government came to an agreement that tobacco companies would have to pay $250 billion over a 25 year span to help reimburse healthcare systems for to higher costs due to many patients with tobacco use related illnesses. The threat of government regulation poses high cost threats dealing with litigation and taxes. Both companies have been affected by the high taxes placed on the sale of tobacco products, thus causing them to have to raise prices, which could have a negative effect on sales. Also the threat of changes in the legal atmosphere pose a problem on companies. As new laws are adopted both companies must adapt to stay profitable, such as the new public smoking laws that threatens both these companies that rely on cigarette sales. The threat of Altria’s and R. J. Reynolds’ consumer base growing old and dying off from tobacco related illness and America’s new focus on healthy living styles display how these companies are affected by the benefits of substitutes for smoking and quitting smoking. There has also been a huge decline in the number of smokers in the United State over the past 40 years, which has cut the consumer base in half. With the number of smokers in the domestic market declining both companies also face the threat of marketing restrictions in the United States. Tobacco products cannot easily be marketed to consumer in the United States, which threatens the growth of tobacco products. Both Altria and R. J. Reynolds are aware of the threats that they face and that can explain why they are developing new products and moving towards international markets. The SWOT Analysis displayed how strengths such as brand identity have played a huge role in the success of both Altria and R. J. Reynolds. Altria leads the market with its well-known brand Marlboro and is taking on opportunities with new products and international markets. While R. J. Reynolds has a smaller share in the market they are also trying to grow by focusing on the same opportunities. Both companies also face many of the same weaknesses and threats, that being in the tobacco industry pose, such as government regulation and health awareness. They are taking action to deal with them by exploring new opportunities.

Development and Globalisation Essay

Development and Globalisation Development A process of social and economic advancement in terms of the quality of human life. Development can involve can involve economic, demographic, social political and cultural changes. Development is a term that can be used in many different contexts whether it is social, economical, political etc. However generally development refers to an improvement in certain areas: †¢ Economic o An increase in the country’s economy with a shift from secondary to tertiary industry which becomes less dependent on FDI. †¢ Demographic An increase in population and a more ageing population as standard of living increases. Birth rates and death rates drop as life expectancy increases. †¢ Social o An increase in the range of services, increased land prices and a more multicultural society. Greater access to education, health care and communication †¢ Political o More democratic and more influence on the ‘global stage’. Stabl e government, no dictatorship. †¢ Cultural development o Greater equality for women and better race relations in multicultural societies. Measuring Development GDP- Gross Domestic Product – the value of all the goods and services produced in a country in a year, in $US, usually expressed as â€Å"per capita† (per person). PPP (purchasing power parity)* figures are more useful. *Adjusted for loss of living GNP- The total value of goods and services produced by one country in a year, plus all net income earned from overseas sources, in $US. HDI- Human Development Index: It is a summary composite index that measures a country’s average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Life Expectancy †¢ Literacy Rate †¢ Standard of Living (measured in GDP per capita) It gives a more complete picture of development of a country than GDP alone as it considers social factors and not just economic factors. Development Continuum Originally there were three groupings that made up the development continuum, they were: †¢ First World (those developed countr ies that had a democratic government and a strong economy) †¢ Second World (communist countries) †¢ Third World (UN developed countries) However as time has gone on newer economies have started to develop caused by different development patterns and speeds. The Development gap †¢ The gap between rich and poor countries †¢ Most commonly, the gap is thought of in terms of income/economics †¢ It also social, environmental and even political aspects There was a suggested North/South divide originating from the Brandt report in 1980, where the north accounted for 80% of GDP but only 20% of the population; however this too requires some artistic licence and is a very general way of dividing countries. There are more accurate ways of grouping countries as listed below and as countries move through the development continuum countries pass from one category to another: †¢ Developed (MDC’s – the most well developed countries eg. UK) †¢ Developing (Countries which are undergoing development – arguably they all are. Eg. Malaysia) †¢ LDC’s (Least Developed Countries – eg. Ethiopia) †¢ NIC’s (Newly Industrialised Countries – Have just finished development (10 years or so) Eg. China) †¢ RIC’s (Recently Industrialised Countries – Further behind than the NIC’s eg. Dubai) Centrally Planned Economies (The few remaining communist countries eg. North Korea) †¢ Oil Rich Countries (Countries rich in oil eg. Saudi Arabia) Causes for the Development Gap †¢ Colonialisation – colonial powers took resources from poorer countries †¢ Price of commodities is often controlled by TNCs ensurin g high profits for MEDC firms and low prices paid to LEDC producers – Fair trade set up in reaction to this. †¢ LEDCs are now primary producers – producing low cost commodities, e. g. bananas †¢ Primary commodities have fallen in price, or stayed steady, while commodities they need has increased, e. . oil What is preventing the Development gap from closing? †¢ Many LEDCs main industry is as primary producers – generally low profit †¢ Internatnioal trade dominated by TNCs †¢ Rapid The Asian Tigers Who or what are the Asian Tigers? Asian economies that have progressed economically at such substantial rates that have come to rival the earning capacity and quality of living of those being first-world countries – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. Globalisation Globalisation: The increased inter-connection in the world’s economic, cultural and political systems. Positives |Negatives | |Allowed the movement of people m ore easily |Uncontrolled migration | |Increased foreign trade |Inequality in wealth | |More access to food, services, healthcare etc. ll over the world |Heavy environmental cost | | |Loss of countries individual cultures, global cutters | †¢ Globalisation began in the 19th century as there was the beginning of movement of people and goods; †¢ Increase in independence †¢ Increase in trade as well as the spread of industry †¢ Beginning of Trans National Corporations. Globalisation continued in the 20th century and was shaped by a number of factors including: 1. Emergence of free markets (capitalist economy) 2. Deregulation of world financial markets 3. The establishment of the General Agreements of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) –the WTO which sought to lower trade barriers. 4. The emergence of trade blocs 5. The establishment of the IMF and the World Bank 6. Development of global marketing and the continuing rise of TNCs. Flows †¢ Capital o ICT allows cheap, reliable and almost instantaneous communication o Allows sharing information o Allows transfer of capital o Allows Marketing around the world †¢ Labour o Improved transport for people Size of air craft o Low cost airlines o High speed rail links o Specialised workers- doctors, ICT etc. o Unskilled workers †¢ Products and services o Integrated networks o Goods handling o Computing logistics o Container revolution o Improved transport for goods o Global marketing, the world as one market and create products that fit various regional market places e. g. coca-cola and McDon alds Patterns of production, distribution and consumption Manufacturing has gone from developed countries to lower wage economies. This is known as the GLOBAL SHIFT, which is brought about by FDI by TNCs. Many LEDC’S have benefited from the transfer of technology which has meant these countries can raise their productivity without raising their wages to the level of the developed countries. This has lead to the de-industrialisation of richer countries and the focus on tertiary and quaternary industry. There has also been outsourcing of service operations, such as call centres, Mumbai, this extends the influence on a global scale also the employment costs are a lot lower even though there is a highly educated workforce. Positive and negatives of the global shift Positives for MEDCs |Negatives for MEDCs | |Movement of polluting industries away from their country |Could lead to wide spread unemployment | |Growth in LEDC’s may lead to demand for exports from MEDCs |Loss of skills | |Cheaper imports can keep the cost of living down benefiting the retail |Negative multiplier effect | |sector |Large gap between skilled and unskilled workers who may experience | |Labour market f lexibility and efficiency |extreme redeployment differences | |Development of new technologies leading to investment |deindustrialisation of some areas, such as the North | |Help to reduce inflation | | |Positives for LEDC’s and NIC’s |Negatives for LEDC’s | |Development of new industries Rapid urbanisation and rural-urban migration | |Increased employment |Westernised approach to economy | |Helps to reduce development gap |Increased environmental damage die to polluting industries | |Increased FDI and investment which can lead to improved services such as |Exploitation of labour | |infrastructure, health care and education |Disruptive social impacts | |Increased exports helps BoPs, and increases income and GDP |Over-dependant on one industry | |New technologies |Destabilises food supplies, less agriculture | | |Health and safety issues because of tax legislation | Patterns of production and processes In manufacturing there has been a global shift of marketing f rom MDC’s to LDC’s. Guests are encouraged to participate in low impact activities – o guided nature/bird walks, o cycling, fishing o Day or night game drives are conducted in open-sided 4Ãâ€"4 vehicles †¢ Lodges work closely with the local community and support several enterprises, schools and an orphanage. †¢ Guests can visit a group of widows that craft sisal baskets, a group that makes jewellery from recycled paper and a rug weaving factory. †¢ The lodges only sell what is made by the community and pay a fair price. †¢ A large percentage of the price is donated to the community fund. †¢ Every year, children from the local community and schools are invited to participate in ecotourism workshops †¢ To protect and improve their environment.

Comparison of Egyptian and Mesopotamian Art essays

Comparison of Egyptian and Mesopotamian Art essays Egyptian and Mesopotamian art share both similarities and differences. For instance Mesopotamian art focused on less monumental structures, while embracing a pronounced literary element that Egyptian art lacked. Because of the constant threat to Mesopotamian societys security, a lot of their architecture created to fulfill the purpose of protection. It was made to impress yet intimidate the visitors to their cities; so as to present themselves as strong people. However Egyptian art wasnt meant as protection, their work mostly represented empowerment and control. This can be seen in their architectural work of places, shrines, and temples. These differences have their roots, partially in cultural differences, as Mesopotamians lacked access to the great stones that Egyptians could import for their monuments. Egyptian also were able to organize laborers to build these great temples, however this was difficult for the Mesopotamians whose soils were constantly under attack. The differences owed something, finally, to different beliefs, for the Mesopotamians were not as concerned as the Egyptians were, with preparations for the afterlife, which so motivated the great tombs and pyramids that have made Egypt and some of the pharaohs immortal in human memory. Comparisons in politics, culture, economics, and society suggest civilizations that varied substantially because of largely separate origins and environments. The distinction in overall tone was striking, with Egypt being more stable and cheerful than Mesopotamia not only in beliefs about gods and the afterlife but also in the colorful and lively pictures the Egyptians emphasized in their decorative art. Also striking was the distinction in internal history, with Egyptian civilization far less marked by disruption tha n its Mesopotamian counterpart. Therefore Mesopotamian art portrayed this insecurity and the attacks they face. In terms of similarities both of th...

Richard Long essays

Richard Long essays The term Conceptual Art is based on the simple but revolutionary premise that art should be mainly about ideas instead of material objects. In other words, artists should focus on what they think, not on how things look. Conceptual artists usually set aside the traditional processes of art like painting or carving. [Sol LeWitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art] Consequently, their work can be confusing because it does not fit the conventional definitions of what art is and often it doesn't even fit comfortably into the places we associate with viewing art, such as galleries or museums. One such conceptual artist is Richard Long who essentially makes art out of nature. Some of his pieces are long spontaneous hikes designed to bring art into nature, such as his clockwise spiral walk through central England, entitled A Thousand Miles, A Thousand Hours. Other works include bringing his journeys and hikes into museums and galleries where he draws simple figures like circles out of the sediment from the places he has been. Although, his work may seem very simple and mundane there is a fascinating quality about his work and he is an important conceptual artist who is well worth studying. [www.richardlong.org] Richard Long was born in Bristol, England in 1945 and has been a major figure in the development of the Minimal and Conceptual art movements of the early 1970s, using his direct interaction with nature as the subject matter of his art.[Article, RICHARD LONG: HERE AND THEREON VIEW AT THE MODERN AT SUNDANCE SQUARE] Working in nature has been the source of Long's art for almost 30 years. During solitary journeys across various terrains throughout the world, he arranges temporary archetypal forms; circles, spirals, and lines, using natural materials such as stone, wood or mud naturally available at the different sites he visits. He also brings his experiences of nature indoors, creating similar works on the wal...

A Analyzing Of Cash Budgets And Hoe Its Used To Make Decisions Finance Essay

A Analyzing Of Cash Budgets And Hoe Its Used To Make Decisions Finance Essay Regardless of the type of business, the ability to gauge performance using budgeting is a matter of life and death in the business world. Hence, to make decisions on the organization most managers use the cash budget, which forecast cash inflows and outflows. Moving from organizations budgeting systems, then comes another important element for products, the unit cost. Adding up, unit cost relates resources consumed to outputs produced to help managers to make better management and resource allocation decisions. Moreover, looking at pricing, it is the most important decision that is made in an organization upon its products and services. Never the less, there are many approaches to pricing, some scientific, some not. Yet, all the methods are been used by organizations managements to become the market leader by taking the righteous pricing decisions. Besides pricing decisions, one of the most important long-term decisions for any business relates to investment. Investment is the purch ase or creation of assets with the objective of making gains in the future. This is discussed further in the body of the report. Last but not the least, records that provide an indication of a company’s assets and debts, are well known as financial statements. There are main financial statements, which helps managers to forecast and make better decisions on the organizations issues. Furthermore, these financial statements differ from one business type to another. In addition, these can be justified annually using a number of ratios. Introduction Just as there are several organizational models for delivering extension services to the public, there are a number of ways to finance those services and to keep track of the money. Financial management may be fundamental to success. Poor financial management, on the other hand, often accompanies and contributes to failure. Managing financial resources and making decisions look upon principles related to money matters. Managers apply these concepts as appropriate to situations they face in their own organizations and in accordance with the rules and customs of their own countries. Because people are more readily inclined to apply ideas that deal with practical concerns, this discussion will be organized around practical problems. Task 1 (P3.1) Case Study – Budgets Analyzing of Cash Budget and how it’s used to Make Decisions Every organization knows the significant of a cash budget and how it can be determine the future directions of its business. In fact, cash budget is one of the key components of a master budget. Never the less, it is the most difficult budget to prepare as compared to the rest. Cash budget in reality is a foretell of cash inflow and cash outflow actions, which are likely to take place in the future. It can be a net cash surplus or net cash shortfall position. Cash Inflows Operating Activities From sales of goods and services From returns on invesment ÄÂ °nvesting Activities From sales of plant, property and equipment From sales of invesment From collection of principal on loans to other companies Financing Activities From sales of equity securities (issuing company’s own stock)

Lisa Benton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lisa Benton - Essay Example In this regard, the main reason that lead Benton to her problems was that her immediate colleagues, Scoville and Linton, actually made it impossible for her to simultaneously express herself in both respects. Benton, on the other hand, inevitably was comparing her situation at Houseworld with that at Right-Away during her summer internship, and it was hard for her to accept that the harmony between professional progress and relations with people at workplace, which she experienced at Right-Away, may not always exist. It is interesting to ponder if there was something Benton could do differently in order to had changed her situation. I think that the main negative factor that existed from the very beginning and was inevitable for Lisa, was her assignment to a minor department, the fact that she herself realized and regretted. In this case, ambitions of Linton, seemingly aimed at promoting the significance of Pure & Fresh brand, could be ambivalent - on one hand she aimed for successful performance of her brand, on the other hand she probably was anxious about the recognition of her personal role in this success, moreover that she did not have an MBA.

Public and Private Goods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public and Private Goods - Essay Example Examples of public goods include street lighting, roads, television broadcasts, fresh air and clean water. Street lighting is referred to as a public good. This is because the there is a unison demand of the product. The demand and supply of the good is the same to all consumers. The service s offered by street lights cannot be depleted by one individual. Additionally, the ownership of street lights cannot be dictated one person. The elasticity of the good cannot change any form since the demand does not change. Television broadcast as a good is public good. Broadcasting has indirect demand thus the elasticity of its price does not change. It is categorized as public good since there are no rights for ownership for individuals. The demand of another person does not affect the supply of another (Guess, 2003). Roads are the most common public goods. They are used by every individual regardless of the use. They cannot be owned by an individual and the price elasticity of roads cannot change since its maintenance funds do not affect the consumers directly. Fresh air and clean water are the most available public goods (Meyer, 2010). They occur naturally hence cannot be owned by an individual. There is equal demand on the commodity and the supply to an individual does not affect the supply to another person. These are goods that have financial benefits to individuals (Guess, 2003). They are excludable and the owners can exercise the right to ownership. They are scarce and have competition. They have a varying elasticity of demand depending on the demand and quality. They include food, clothing, electronics, cars and furniture. Food as a private good has competition. The demand of food is usually much higher than the supply of food. There is competition for the commodity. Owners of the good have the right to own the goods and dictate the pricing of the

Methods of Quality Improvement Statistics Project

Methods of Quality Improvement - Statistics Project Example Furthermore, the R-chart shows no points outside the upper control limit or lower control limit. Therefore, the process is under statistical control and we can say that from the perspective of process variation, the process is in control. x-bar chart measures the central tendency (accuracy) of a process and indicate whether changes have occurred. R-chart measures the variability (dispersion) of a process. R-chart indicates that a gain or loss in uniformity has occurred. R-chart is independent from process mean. x-bar chart and R-chart are used together to monitor variables in process are in control (or not). R-chart is monitored before the x-bar chart. This is because the x-bar chart limits rely on the average range and if process variability is not stable and is affected by special causes, then is not a reliable estimate of variability, and thus the x-bar chart limits are less meaningful (Moore et. al., 2011). The R-chart indicates that the process variability is in control, as all the ranges for the subgroup are in-between upper and lower control limits and there is no unusual pattern, as we move from left to right on the R-chart. However, the x-bar chart indicates that the process accuracy is not in control, as not all the means for the subgroup are in-between upper and lower control limits. Rational sub-groupings are used in constructing control charts so that the individual observations within the subgroups have been measured under similar process conditions. The main idea behind rational sub grouping is that if the individual observations within the subgroups are as homogeneous as possible, then any special causes disrupting the process will be reflected by greater variability between the subgroups. When special causes are present in the process, rational sub-grouping attempts to maximize the likelihood that subgroup statistics will signal that the process is

Literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Literature review - Essay Example Geologic, fossil and ecological records have provided the evidence for the variable nature of the climate whose occurrence in the past has caused the evolution of various eco systems of the earth (Emmanuel, W.R, Stughart, H.H, Stevenson, M, 1985, p.29-43). The change caused in the precipitation rate which is one of the resultant effects of the climate change is expected to affect the interaction between the checker spot butterfly larvae and its host plant. This reason when coupled with the disturbance of the habitat of the butterfly would aggregate the problem when it is observed in relation with the dispersal ability of the species. The study was taken with the hypothesis that extinctions of two populations of the checkerspot butterfly, Euphydryas editha bayensis, were caused by a combination of habitat loss and regional climate change in the form of increasing variability in precipitation (McLaughlin et.al, 2002). Euphydryas editha bayensis is a beautiful and charismatic butterfly species which is a resident species of Western North America. (Dyke, F.V, 2008,p.128). Taylor, K. E. and Penner, J. E. (1994, pp. 734 – 737) has described the major cause of climate change as man made carbon and other Green House Gas emissions in addition to the natural changes in climate. Several detrimental effects like Sea-level rise, Hurricanes, Diseases, Famines, Desertification and Species loss has been pointed out as the impacts of climate change.(Morris, Julian 1997,p.5-17). Though this study had only general indications towards the impact of climate change on species loss, this indication has been reiterated by a number of literatures which state that climate change would affect the population of animal and plant species. Christina Figueres & Maria Ivanova (2002,p.205) has argued that climate change would affect the major components of our biosphere including air, the ocean, the range of animal and plant species and the climate system itself. A study by J. B. Hughes,

Learning about plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learning about plagiarism - Essay Example y too soon, not publishing negative results, publishing results too early, skimming over or ignoring drawbacks, and â€Å"buffing† the results by showing them in the best light (Crossen, 1994, p. 167), in his work which is very similar in meaning and words with the original passage. Secondly, the student has also plagiarized another line, â€Å"Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers (Crossen, 1994, p. 167)† in his main body paragraph which is similar in wordings, meanings and sentence with the original one. When quoting the similar sentences, it is important to write them within the quotation marks in Italics and also, to enclose them with proper in-text citation as required for avoiding plagiarism. It is important to understand the core message delivered in a sentence in order to reproduce it without plagiarizing the similar words and the sentences. Plagiarism can be recognized by comparing the work with the original one; same sentences, similar words or twisting the sequences of the words can label the work as plagiarized. However, there are number of ways through which a student or a writer can avoid the chances of plagiarism. These simple steps are: Check and compare your work with the original passage. If any similarities are found, try changing your sentence structure. Always use simple sentences instead of complicated ones. This would complicate the message of the writing and the reader will be unable to understand the

Methods of Quality Improvement Statistics Project

Methods of Quality Improvement - Statistics Project Example Furthermore, the R-chart shows no points outside the upper control limit or lower control limit. Therefore, the process is under statistical control and we can say that from the perspective of process variation, the process is in control. x-bar chart measures the central tendency (accuracy) of a process and indicate whether changes have occurred. R-chart measures the variability (dispersion) of a process. R-chart indicates that a gain or loss in uniformity has occurred. R-chart is independent from process mean. x-bar chart and R-chart are used together to monitor variables in process are in control (or not). R-chart is monitored before the x-bar chart. This is because the x-bar chart limits rely on the average range and if process variability is not stable and is affected by special causes, then is not a reliable estimate of variability, and thus the x-bar chart limits are less meaningful (Moore et. al., 2011). The R-chart indicates that the process variability is in control, as all the ranges for the subgroup are in-between upper and lower control limits and there is no unusual pattern, as we move from left to right on the R-chart. However, the x-bar chart indicates that the process accuracy is not in control, as not all the means for the subgroup are in-between upper and lower control limits. Rational sub-groupings are used in constructing control charts so that the individual observations within the subgroups have been measured under similar process conditions. The main idea behind rational sub grouping is that if the individual observations within the subgroups are as homogeneous as possible, then any special causes disrupting the process will be reflected by greater variability between the subgroups. When special causes are present in the process, rational sub-grouping attempts to maximize the likelihood that subgroup statistics will signal that the process is

Learning about plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learning about plagiarism - Essay Example y too soon, not publishing negative results, publishing results too early, skimming over or ignoring drawbacks, and â€Å"buffing† the results by showing them in the best light (Crossen, 1994, p. 167), in his work which is very similar in meaning and words with the original passage. Secondly, the student has also plagiarized another line, â€Å"Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers (Crossen, 1994, p. 167)† in his main body paragraph which is similar in wordings, meanings and sentence with the original one. When quoting the similar sentences, it is important to write them within the quotation marks in Italics and also, to enclose them with proper in-text citation as required for avoiding plagiarism. It is important to understand the core message delivered in a sentence in order to reproduce it without plagiarizing the similar words and the sentences. Plagiarism can be recognized by comparing the work with the original one; same sentences, similar words or twisting the sequences of the words can label the work as plagiarized. However, there are number of ways through which a student or a writer can avoid the chances of plagiarism. These simple steps are: Check and compare your work with the original passage. If any similarities are found, try changing your sentence structure. Always use simple sentences instead of complicated ones. This would complicate the message of the writing and the reader will be unable to understand the

Operation Iraqi Free

Operation Iraqi Freedom Essay The relationship between the United States and Iraq has been a rather complicated relationship. This relationship can be classified as a roller coaster ride that last through out history. The United States and Iraq relationship became rocky in 1958 when King Faisal was overthrown and Iraq signed with the Soviet Union. Because of the relationship that the United States had with the Soviet Union this made Iraq and the United States relationship a little questionable. In 1967 Iraq broke all ties with the United States when they decided to join ranks in the protest of the United States and Israeli strategic alliance. This decision that the Iraqi made once a country we were allies to a country we do not trust but we will deal with, a country that became a server threat to the United States. However, when Iraq needed us to help them stand against Iran, the United States was there. Regardless of how shady the relationship was with Iraq, the United States saw Iran to be more of a threat then Iraq. Prior to this the United States had removed Iraq from the State Department list of state that sponsors terrorism. The United States did all this in hope of a closer relationship with Baghdad, Iraq. This step the United States made to get closer to Baghdad is what opened the door for the United States to have access to Iraq. By November 1984, the relationship between the United States and Iraq had been at full diplomatic. Needless to say, the United States did not full trust Iraq but did not see them as a serious threat. Iraq continuously showed the United States that they could not be trust by committing various acts against the United States in a way that seemed to be unnoticeable. On March 17, 1987, the Iraqi’s seem to have accidentally hit a United States ship, mistaking it for the USS Shark, this â€Å"mistaken† identify caused the like of thirty-nine American sailors. As if that was not enough, in June 1982 the assassination of the Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, was link to Iraq. The United States, although in what seemed to be a peaceful relationship with Iraq, still believed Iraq to be a sponsor of terrorism. The United Stated did remove Iraq from the list, however it was not necessarily done because of belief that Iraq was not sponsoring terrorist but it was done in the exchanged for expulsion of Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal. The United States did not doubt that Baghdad was sponsoring terrorist, and the United States was completely right in their thinking. In 1985, Iraq shelter terrorist that was involved in the hijacking of the Achjille Lauro cruise ship and the murder of the wheelchair-bound United States citizen Leon Klinghoffer. Also two terrorist that had planned an attack was held in Rome on their way to the United States. Yet still the United States did not see Saddam Hussein and his regime as a serious threat. Prior to Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Iraq had destroyed the Iranians in April-July 1988 and the United State quickly disengages with Iraq. The overthrow of Iran brought power to Saddam Hussein and his regime that was not there prior to the Iran-Iraq war. During the war Kuwait allow Iraq to borrow seventeen billion dollars, but instead of Saddam Hussein paying it back like Iraq agreed to, he decide to tell Kuwait to right it of because they owned Iraq for protecting them from Iran. Iraq since 1961, when the British ended it’s protectorate in Kuwait, it was then that the Iraqi government claimed Kuwait was an â€Å"integral part of Iraq† (6). If it was not for Britain, Saddam Hussein would have taken over Kuwait in July 1961, so Iraq has had the idea of controlling Kuwait for quit some time, therefore the idea of Kuwait being in debt to Iraq for protecting â€Å"Kuwait† was just a way that Saddam Hussein was using to cause Kuwait to surrender to him. The United States was ready for the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, so ready that the military was playing war games to train for it and in the middle of training the United States started to see the Armed Forces war games play out in real life. On August 2, 1990 Iraq started to make their move to attack Kuwait. Iraq’s war plan was to kill the royal family or Kuwait, in so they attacked reclaim royal palaces and the Dasman Places. On that same day by eight o’clock that morning Iraq had completely invaded Kuwait City, however the Kuwait royal family was able to escape due to the Emiri Guard delaying actions. This invasion on Kuwait allowed Saddam Hussein to have control or five percent of the world’s production and 19.6 percent of proven global reserves (10). As a result of this attack and take over of Kuwait, Iraq was in serious challenge to the 1980 Carter Doctrine that said, â€Å"any attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America. And such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force† (10). The Kuwait attack is the reason that the relationship between Iraq and the United States went bad, clearly the relationship was unstable from the beginning, and Saddam Hussein had proven time and time again that he could not be trusted so no one wanted to trust him with so much control over the world’s oil. This invasion of Iraq on Kuwait was the start of the building of Operation Desert Shield. Operation Desert Shield officially started on August 7th 1990 when United State aircraft started to arrive in the Gulf. The mission of the United States was to go in a liberate Kuwait, and their plan in doing so was to attack the Iraqi Army along the boarders of Kuwait and Iraq. In this attack it would deliberately keep the pressure up all through the night allowing the United Stated to by time on the â€Å"Time-on-Target† (14). Operation D3esert Shield was known as D-Day, This plan where complete on August 20th, and some of the other plans were for United States aircraft making and â€Å"hard initial thrust† against the Iraqi forces for the first seven hours the invasion. Also the plans that the United States had was to provision for land-based aircraft to relocate while the aircraft carriers USS Eisenhower and Independence (14). Operation Desert Shield lasted until October allowing all the aircraft to take their places and get ready for the start of Operation Desert S torm. Operation Desert Storm began January 17th, 1991, with the same mission to go in and set Kuwait free, for their royal family was working as custodians of Islam’s holist shrines, Makkah and Medina. The first weapon that was launch in Operation Desert Storm the TLAM that came from the Red Sea headed towards Baghdad. However it was not the first to hit anything, the Hellfire missile was the first to make an impact causing a gap in the Iraqi’s surveillance radar and the boarders of Saudi Arabia. It also had many more successful hits. Operation Desert Storm lasted forty-three days before the United States. February 7th, 1991, the United States was jointed by Joint Special Operation Task Force with the British. The DIA claim that only sixty Scuds was destroyed and most appeared to be ones of commercial articulate. On the 30th of January there were a number of Jordanian trucks that was hit and destroyed. The Unite States has did not claim collateral damage until 1992(67). During Operation Desert Storm on January 30. There was major collateral damage when the United States tried to hit Tigris Bridge and by mistake hit the Iraq Central Bank. Things may look to have gone perfect but a lot of the outside, but the United States there were a lot mistakes that was made. On February 25th 1990 this was the day the ground war took place, this day is known as G-Day. The day before, February 24th, the marine forces and two Islamic corps began diversionary attacks into the Saddam Line. The XVIII Corps launched a deep thrust towards Highway eight, and by the end of the day marine and Islamic forces had breached the Saddam Line and air mobile XVIII Corps forces had established forward operating base, known to this day as FOB, Cobra more then 280 kilometers inside the Iraqi boarders. This was known an Operation Desert Saber. During the ground war there were steps taken to ensure that the possibility of fratricide would be lower. The first step was related specifically to friendly fir between ground units. In order to do this GPS equipped units had to ensure that they were correctly aligned with their unit boundaries and were not moving or shooting over those boundaries. Secondly, Coalition units sacrificed precious seconds to ensure positive identification of targets, sometimes pausing six to ten seconds to be sure it was the Iraqi’s or allowing them to get close enough to get a clear visual identifying it was the Iraqi’s(105). On February 1991, Kuwait was completely set free, and although Operation Desert Storm only last a short time, the conflict with Iraq had never can to an end. Many things went on between the United States and cease fire that take place on March 3. Saddam Hussein he was really upset with the United States for innerving with his attempt to take over Kuwait. He was upset that the United States came in a liberated Kuwait from the Iraqi’s. This rescue mission was not just about free Kuwait but it was also about, taking away the power Saddam Hussein had gained room to take over in Iraq No one wanted to see a man who had proven too many countries time and time again that he is a man that can not be trusted at all . The time after Operational Desert Storm until the Operation Iraqi Freedom, was not a peaceful journey for the United States. Because of Saddam Hussein’s angry with the United States; the United States has suffered many attacks from Iraq. After the war the United States came in control of the airspace over the boarder of Saudi Arabia. This area was continually attacked by Saddam Hussein in this area. In September 1990, United States Air Force Brig. Gen. Bustert Glosson remains in the Saudi Arabia area to take command of the Special Planning Group that had developed a new integration of Instant Thunder which is now known as Offensive Campaign-Phase One. The mission of Instant Thunder Phase One was to reduce the strength of Iraqi’s deviations and there should be no diversion of air strikes against fielded armed force. The Saddam Hussein regime, the Baathist, the one that would give the most trouble was \ after Operation Desert Storm in March 1990 went from it survival tactics to becoming a resistant regime. From July 23, 1992, the Iraqi’s began to launch air attacks and continued to increase between the months of April and August, showcasing Saddam Hussein’s freedom of action. It was during this time that the United States, Bush distraction formed the â€Å"no-fly zone† Every since both of the no-fly zone in both the north, formed April 1991 and the south, formed in August 1992, was formed Saddam Hussein main goal had been to shoot down a United States aircraft using a mix of aerial and SAM forces(131). During this time Saddam Hussein was building his forces and he began to fly his aircraft in the no-fly zone, on January 6, 1993 Present Bush gave Iraq forty-eight hours to remove there aircrafts from the no-fly zone, Iraq to back away and removed their SAM from the area. However Saddam sent unarmed men into the United Nations’ zone to recover an aircraft that was lost in Desert Storm. The HY-2 Silkworm was no longer theirs it was suppose to go to Kuwait, this breach into the zone that separated Iraq from Kuwait is was started the first war between Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The first attack on Iraq since Operation Desert Storm was Operation Provide Comfort. One of the mistakes of Operation Provide Comfort is it was unsuccessful because the United States decided to attack anyway with out being able to visional see the target. On January 11th and 12th the weather was bad and they were unable to see but because they were running out of time, the United States attacked anyway on January 12th. Once the United States was able to see what targets was hit, they quickly learned that it was a bad mission, out of the thirty-three targets only sixteen had been hit. On August 31st, an Iraqi armored spearhead thrust northward into the Green Lines and this action cause once again another attack on Iraq, Operation Desert Strike. From this point there have been countless attacks on Iraq due to Saddam Hussein’s many attempts to destroy the United States. Saddam Hussein has attack many of the United States’ U-2’s that were guarding the no-fly zone that he continually violated. Operation Desert Thunder I, II, and IV was all organized because Iraq kept violating the no-fly zone rules. However Saddam Hussein had a stagy known as â€Å"cheat and retreat.† By this time the UN had set up inspections throughout Iraq in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) On many occasion Saddam Hussein would deny the inspectors access to certain places then when the United States were about to take action Saddam Hussein would retreat and back down. Saddam Hussein had used the cheat and retreat tactic so much that finally the Clinton administration took action and Operation Desert Fox took place. Because of so many times that Iraq would back down once the United States had spent money to deploy troops, the United States decided to make Operation Desert Fox a surprise by not deploying any more troops in the area only using the troops that was already in theater. This Operation started on December 18-19 as a successful mission; however things did not go all well because the United States received the wrong information about the where about of Saddam Hussein and his family. The United States was told that Saddam and his family would be at one of his wife’s places, Dora, but it was empty and had been for sometime. There were many other events that lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, but what push the limit for the United States was the events that took place on September 11. 2001 at 0730 Baghdad time a Predator was lost while flying a reconnaissance mission, making it the second to be lost in a few weeks time the first was shoot down. Also on this day nine hours later the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. The U.S. had enough of Iraq, all the trouble they have had with Iraq, the hit of the tower, on the U.S. soil was a wake up call. So on March 21 Operation Iraqi Freedom began. After Operation Iraqi Freedom, the relationship between the U.S. and Iraq seems to be at better standing and once again with the destroying of Saddam’s regime and the capture and execution of Saddam Iraq seems to be on good terms with the United States and now seems to be working for the same goal.

Business Structure Of Blizzard Entertainment

Business Structure Of Blizzard Entertainment This report is a in-depth look at Blizzard Entertainment the company, to find out why Blizzard entertainment is so successful in the gaming industry. We will look at the reasons on how it could come out with best selling games over and over again and how they manage to sell 2.4 million copies of one game within the first 24 hours. Furthermore, we will understand how Blizzard entertainment runs such a big company to such efficiency using the business model SWOT and PEST in the analysis of its success. A look at the current developments and what future developments it might have or where it can go from here will be discussed as well. Well, Blizzard Entertainment was not always as we had known it, originally founded in 1991 February as Silicon Synapse by Chairman Allen Adham, president Michael Morhaime and vice president Frank Pearce All Graduates from UCLA. In the days of Silicon Synapse it was more on focused on making game ports for other Gaming studios. Until the Breakthrough Game The Lost Vikings, it was hailed as one of the forefathers of that Game Genre . A year after that they released Rock Roll Racing another Cult Hit that paved the way for its predecessors in the Racer Shooter Genre. In 1994 It was only then its name was reestablished as Blizzard Entertainment. The first big scale game it released by Blizzard Entertainment, was Warcraft: Orcs HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__HumansHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__Humans Humans and it was a hit with the gamers. Ever since they have made a benchmark in the game, the gaming world was at their fingertips now. After such success with Blizzard Entertainments original Warcraft game, Warcraft: Orcs HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__HumansHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft:_Orcs__Humans Humans , was touted as one of the best strategy games of 1994, and the games epic sequel, 1995s Warcraft II : Tides Of Darkness, won numerous awards, including the companys first Game of the Year award. Warcraft III :Reign Of Chao ss, released in July 2002, has likewise won several accolades , just like Starcraft another hit Game Series released by Blizzard Entertainment, It has become a staple of professional tournament gaming, along with its expansion, the award-winning Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne, which was released in July 2003. II. Current Projects and a look at the rise of WOW ( World Of Warcraft) Well Blizzard has many notable achievements in its released games, None of it comes close To World Of Warcraft, more widely known as WOW. World of Warcraft stands as the greatest game in the popular Warcraft series. World of Warcraft has been an extraordinary success since its launch in November 2004. It has impressed game critics and has captivated millions of players, who adore the virtual world created by this game. It is no longer just a game but is now a genuine phenomenon, and one that shows no signs of abating. It is one of the key games of recent times, and stands as a landmark title for online gaming. World of Warcraft is the forth title in the series of Warcraft games, which has been entertaining people for over a decade To understand more about the appeal of World of Warcraft, let us recall the time when WOW was released. It was not merely some massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It created a truly engaging online world set in the heart of Azeroth, a fantastic land that is filled with heroes and monsters and many other creatures. The games strength is that it functions as an experience, as a world that exists on its own terms that you may visit and explore as you please. The game sold more than 240,000 copies in its first 24 hours on the market, more than any other PC game in history. Since then it released two other expansion sets which was a greater success then the one before. Blizzard is also making attempt to diversify beyond their original aim of just making games. Blizzard Entertainment is currently working with Legendary Pictures in making a live action Warcraft movie. III. tso The 8 Core Values are namely : Gameplay First, Blizzard Entertainments success can be attributed to the gaming experiences they provide the consumer or player. The goal of each discipline within the company regardless of job post be it art, programming or customer support, is to create games as fun as possible for as many people as possible. In order to achieve this aim, it is in Blizzard Entertainments prime belief that its workers also enjoy the process of game making. Commitment to Quality, This is the most well known core value of Blizzard Entertainment, which is not only applied in creating the best gaming experience for the consumers, but also practiced in every aspect of their job. They approach each task carefully and seriously, and seek honest feedback and use it to improve the quality of their work. Afterall, games are remembered for their high quality, and not how late they are released into the public. Play nice, Play Fair, In their business first impressions are important but lasting impressions are the ones that matter. Blizzard Entertainment strives to maintain a high level of respect and integrity in all interactions with us, players, colleagues, and business partners. The conduct of each Blizzard Entertainment employee, be it online or offline, can reflect on the entire company. Embrace your inner Geek, The employees at Blizzard are encouraged to show their geek side . Cutting-edge technology, comic books, science fiction, top-end video cards, action figures with the kung-fu gripà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Whatever it is theyre passionate about, it matters that each employee embraces it! Their unique enthusiasm helps to shape the fun, creative culture of Blizzard Entertainment. Happy and truly passionate workers make better workers, and what Blizzard Entertainment is all about today. Every voice matters, Great ideas can come from anywhere. Blizzard Entertainment is what it is today because of the voices of our players and of each member of the company. Every employee is encouraged to speak up, listen, be respectful of other opinions, and embrace criticism as just another avenue for great ideas. All because Blizzard values its employees and listens to the different ideas. Think globally, Blizzard Entertainment is a global company and everywhere on the planet there are people who play Blizzard Entertainment games. While respecting the cultural diversity that makes people unique, we strive to grow and support our global gaming community. We also seek the most passionate, talented people in the world to enrich our company and help us forge the future vision of Blizzard Entertainment. No country is too big or too small for Blizzard to take on or think about. Lead responsibility, Blizzard Entertainment believes its products and practices can affect not only our employees and players but the industry at large. As one of the worlds leading game companies, they are committed to making ethical decisions, always keeping the players in mind, and setting a strong example of professionalism and excellence at all times and for other game companies to exemplify. Learn and Grow The games industry is ever-changing. Technology improves, techniques change, and design philosophies become outdated. Since the founding of Blizzard Entertainment, it has worked to improve through experience, teaching one another and cultivating the desire to be the best at what they do. They see this as an individual responsibility as well as the companys. Employees can count on their peers, managers, and the company itself to be supportive and help them gain the knowledge and training they need. IV. A in-depth SWOT Analysis This Analysis will help us better understand of Blizzard Entertainments Success and its weaknesses. Using The SWOT Analysis model we can see the opportunities and revaluate the strategies to cope with its weaknesses. Strengths Good market position globally One of the very best pc game developers and held in high esteem by its customers. Very large age group from its larger customer base. Takes Feedback from its players and customers quickly and seriously. Developed World Of Warcraft to huge success and acclaim. Weaknesses May lack some competitive edge in some market segments over rival companies Relies on its current game titles more than it should. Very slow to release its games, often over the stipulated release date. Opportunities Business can be further diversified into other industries, example, making a film which it is trying to do now. Acquire more gaming sectors. More varied games. Look at a brand new type of pc game to boomz everyone away. Opening up of other global markets, getting more customers worldwide further. Working together with another pc gaming company to have a co-project. Threats Other big pc game producing companies, might pose some competition with maybe more attractive graphics or different game genres, Example, FPS. The time it takes to release a game might turn some gamers off, or they might just stop waiting all together. Limited experience in other industries it might want to diversify into Piracy 3rdparty clients such as Garena, lancraft blueserver and many others. Strengths Blizzard Entertainment has a good market position globally, meaning in the games market it has a huge cut of the customers and transactions that happen in it. Blizzard Is very well respected by the gamers, customers and other companies alike for their awesome games which are well designed and enjoyable for a very wide age group. When Blizzard comes out with a new game other companies will always try to better it learning from its strengths. From kids to adults, blizzard games have players every age range, making it well welcomed by all. Blizzard Entertainment leaves no gamer from the casual gamer to hardcore, professional gamer satisfied. The games Are simple enough and fast for the casual gamer to play, but also well balanced with good competitive potential. Intact, World Cyber Games (WCG) the worlds largest scale gaming competition has 2 Blizzard Entertainment games to compete in, Namely Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3 and Dota, which is a custom map made from Warcraft 3. Blizzard Entertainments World Of Warcraft easily overshadows all of its accomplishments with 12 million subscribers and increasing. Making it the most played online MMORPG, no small feat without its dedicated team of staff. If a bug is reported or game defect , blizzard will take it seriously and respond quickly to look into the problem and solve the issue. Weaknesses While Blizzard Entertainment is certainly a very successful company but it is not perfect or infallible. One of its Weaknesses is its most of its games revolve around the same genre of the real time strategy (RTS) or Role Playing Games (RPG). Some game diversity would be a fresh change and might get into a bigger cut of the market and different gamer groups. On top of that Blizzards Entertainments game graphics might be less visual compared to other games therefore might have less competitive edge in some market segments over rival companies example sports gaming or fps. Though Blizzard Entertainment has very good games it keeps expanding on the already expanded game stories, example Warcraft which has great gameplay and good storyline, however it Blizzard keep concentrating on the same story and how to make a better installment people might get bored to keep playing the same story thats over extended or stretched. While Blizzard Entertainment are showing great signs of market diversification by trying to make a movie, their experience is very little in that field and almost non-existent. Might hit many glitches and problems along the way it might hard to solve with little experience. Which Blizzard Entertainment is attempting to avoid by working with a experience movie company, Legendary Films. Everyone agrees that Blizzard Entertainment makes great games, but another thing they agree is they take a really long to do that often over the stipulated release date. An impatient customer is never a happy customer. Game Quality should never be compromised but still the releases could be faster. Opportunities No doubt Blizzard Entertainment is very successful in its games and products, it can further diversify into other game genres it might not have touched, example sports gaming or FPS. Warcraft has a very rich storyline and might be good as a comic or book, gaining more exposure for Blizzard Entertainment as well in the process. Gameplay improvements and Graphical improvements to its current games with patches or when a new game comes out because the gaming industry is always improving, and gamers demand more every time. Look at a brand new game Genre with a totally new gaming engine of which the likes were never seen before and Blizzard Entertainment is on its way to another great selling game. Working with another experienced gaming company will help expand its horizons and its pool of talent, with more ideas and more funding, Blizzard Entertainment has a great global market share and good global coverage, but there are still countries that have not even heard of it, with the expanding global market and opening of markets, it would be a great time to reach even more countries. Blizzard Entertainment is currently working with Legendary Pictures, the studio behind the feature films such as Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and 300, in making of a live-action Warcraft movie. Threats Blizzard Entertainment faces serious competition from other companies that have some game genres that other gamers find more fun, example FPS. On top of that though Warcraft 3 has great cinematics, its in game graphics cant be compared. So many other games out there with much better graphics. EA games has Tiberiam Wars with much better graphics but of the same RTS genre , how about Relic Gamings Company of Heros. The Time it takes for Blizzard Entertainment to release its games is a great internal threat, for it may lose many loyal customers that got sick of waiting for the usually delayed games. Customers hate to wait unnecessarily and may buy other games instead. Blizzard Entertainment move into diversifying its market by moving into the movie industry which it has little experience, and requires a lot of funding. By going into other Game Genres its not familiar with also can be a risky move that might spell disaster by spreading itself too thin. Piracy is without a doubt one of the greatest threats to Blizzard Entertainment, infact to any industry that relies on the IP law. File Sharing is now everywhere and very easily accessible, one can even get the game without going out of his home and without spending a single cent for the game. Piracy costs Blizzard Entertainment millions of dollars every year. Why would people pay if they can get it free? Along with Piracy is 3rd party clients that make it possible for the games to be played online for free without the need for a original cd-key. In the past without these programs playing online with a pirated game would be impossible, and that would be one of the reasons why original games where still popular for the fact it had a cd-key that allows it to be played online. With these programs it bypasses all these security measures and there is no longer the need to pay for the game. V. Final SWOT Evaluation It is clear enough from this evaluation that Blizzard Entertainment has a very successful business model, but at the same time has so much more that it could improve on and diversify into. The very rich storyline of Warcraft has so much potential from movies to books to comics to Television series. The move that Blizzard Entertainment decided to make by working on a Warcraft movie was a good market decision to capture the growing movie industry and movie fans. Its lack in experience in the industry is offset by doing the movie with a more experienced movie company Legendary Pictures, the studio behind the feature films such as Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and 300, with a proven track record. But it should be warned that yes Blizzard Entertainment can go into other industries, but it must not neglect its main market share the gamers, and some hardcore fans might be turned off by the change Blizzard Entertainment. The Strengths are many and can be further worked upon by looking at the same game with different angles. Continuing to make games based on the gamers demand would be the best bet, for that means their games will always be in demand. The threats and weaknesses are numerous as well, however with the right well thought strategies they can be avoided and countered to keep Blizzard Entertainment ahead in the gaming world. However the greatest threat is Piracy and 3rd party clients, which in the case the saying if you cant beat them , join em doing business with the 3rd party clients might help Blizzard Entertainment gain back its lost profits from the programs and piracy. VI. Conclusion Blizzard Entertainment is a great game developer, and to continue in a increasing volatile market it has to keep changing to meet the demands of the new world. But if it continues to deliver its mission statement Dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experiencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.ever following its 8 core values. I dont doubt and not for a second that Blizzard Entertainment will continue deliver gaming experiences that redefine gaming.