Advertising Message free essay sample

Advertising Messages and Creative Approaches †¢ Whether advertising converts people into becoming brand-loyal customers or acts as a defensive shield to reassure current buyers, and whether central or peripheral cues are required, there still remains the decision about the nature and form of the message to be conveyed: the creative strategy. †¢ In practice, the generation of suitable messages is derived from the creative brief. For the sake of discussion and analysis, four elements will be considered. These concern the balance, the structure, the perceived source and the presentation o f the message to the target audience †¢ The Balance of the Message †¢ With high-involvement decisions, where persuasion occurs through a central processing route, the emphasis o f the message should be on the information content, in particular, the key attributes and the associated benefits. †¢ It is evident from previous discussions that the effectiveness of any single message is dependent upon a variety of issues. We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising Message or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From a receivers perspective, two elements appear to be significant: first, the amount and quality of the information that is communicated, and, second, the overall judgement that each individual makes about the way a message is communicated. †¢ The Balance of the Message †¢ This suggests that the style of a message should reflect a balance between the need for information and the need for pleasure or enjoyment in consuming the message. It is clear that when dealing with high-involvement decisions, where persuasion occurs through a central processing route, the emphasis of the message should be on the information content, in particular, the key attributes and the associated benefits. This style is often factual and product orientated. If the product evokes low-involvement decision-making, then the message should concentrate upon the images that are created within the mind of the message recipient. This style seeks to elicit an emotional response from receivers. There are, of course, many situations where both rational and emotional messages are needed by buyers in order to make purchasing decisions. †¢ Likeability †¢ Likeability is important, because learning and attitude change may be positively correlated with the degree to which consumption o f the message is enjoyed. †¢ An issue that has been gaining increasing attention since the beginning of the 1990s concerns the level of likeability that an advertisement generates. Likeability is important, because learning and attitude change may be positively correlated with the degree to which consumption of the message is enjoyed. This means that the greater the enjoyment, the greater the exposure to the message and the lower the probability that the message will be perceptually zapped. †¢ Biel (1990) found that changes in product preferences were considerably improved when receivers had `liked the commercial a lot. This compares with those who were less enthusiastic or neutral towards the advertisement. Haley (1990) reported that advertisements that create a belief that the product is excellent and where messages that are liked are commercially more successful. In other words, a message that is well liked will sell more product than a message that fails to generate interest and liking. †¢ This begs the question, `what makes a message liked? Obviously, the receiver must be stimulated to become interested in the message. Having become emotionally engaged, interest can only be sustained if the credibility of the advertisement can also be maintained. The style of the message should be continued, in order that the context of the message does not require the target audience to readjust their perception. This is particularly important for low-involvement messages, where receivers have little or no interest. If the weak theory is adopted, then `liked advertisements will tend to be those for whom the receiver has prior experience or exposure. Messages that are well liked appear to consist of the following components (du Plessis, 1998): 1. The advertisement needs to be entertaining. This usually means that the advertisement is new and people are curious. 2. People like advertisements with which they can identify and which show them in a good light 3. People appear to like advertisements that refer to products that are new, that tell them how the products might be useful to them and which show them how to use products. Otherwise, perceptual selection will ensure that messages for products of which target has no experience, or which the target has no interest in, will be screened regardless of the quality or the likeability of the communication The likeability level that an advertisement achieves is not the sole reason or measure of an advertisements success or effectiveness (Joyce, 1991). Research from The Netherlands suggests that interest is also an important and interrelated factor. Stapel (1991) strongly suggests that advertisers should make their messages interesting, as this will probably lead to liking and overall effectiveness. †¢ However, likeability and associated interest are new and interesting contributions that need to be considered when the style of an advertising message is determined. †¢ Message Structur e An important part of message strategy is the consideration of the best way of communicating the key points, or core message, to the target audience without encountering objections and opposing points of view. The following are regarded as important structural features which shape the pattern of a message †¢ Conclusion Drawing †¢ Should the message draw a firm conclusion for the audience or should people be allowed to draw their own conclusions from the content? Explicit conclusions are, of course, more easily understood and stand a better chance of being effective (Kardes, 1988). However, it is the nature of the issue, the particular situation and the composition of the target audience that influence the effectiveness of conclusion drawing (Hovland and Mandell, 1952). Whether or not a conclusion should be drawn for the receiver depends upon the following: 1. The complexity o f the issue Healthcare products, central heating systems and personal finance services, for example, can be complex, and for some members of the target audience their cog nitive ability, experience and motivation may not be sufficient for them to draw their own conclusions. The complexity of the product requires that messages must draw conclusions for them. It should also be remembered that even highly informed and motivated audiences may require assistance if the product or issue is relatively new. 2. The level o f education possessed by the receiver Better-educated audiences prefer to draw their own conclusions, whereas less educated audiences may need the conclusion drawn for them because they may not be able to make the inference from the message. 3. Whether immediate action is required If urgent action is required by the receiver, then a conclusion should be drawn very clearly. Political parties can be observed to use this strategy immediately before an election. 4. The level o f involvement High involvement usually means that receivers prefer to make up their own minds and may reject or resent any attempt to have the conclusion drawn for them (Arora, 1985). One- and two-sided messages †¢ This concerns whether the cases for and against an issue or just that in favour are presented to an audience. Messages that present just one argument, in favour of the product or issue, are referred to as one-sided.

The Tradgedy of the Commons and its Failings

The Tradgedy of the Commons and its Failings Free Online Research Papers Garrett Hardin argues that common resources will be over-exploited by those using them. Using examples, discuss this statement together with any failings with it. Your answer should include an overview of Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons. From times immemorial, the concept of â€Å"the commons† has been inextricably linked to assumptions of ecological abundance. Indeed, the libertarian doctrines of John Locke (August 1632 – October 1704) and Adam Smith (June 1723 – July 1790) advocated for the individual appropriation of the commons and their vast reservoirs of free ecological goods. That whosoever desired the institution of property, had only mix his labour with the commons of nature (Locke 1690) was the widely accepted view at the time. As the 1960s drew to an end, global sensitisation to this â€Å"perceived cornucopia† was triggered by an influential, yet controversial paper by the biologist Garrett Hardin, entitled â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons† (Hardin 1968). This essay begins with an introduction to the term â€Å"commons† and characterizes its features with respect to the non-exclusion of users and resource subtractibility. The essay then segues to Hardinâ₠¬â„¢s thesis, and clarifies important nuances in his original paper concerning â€Å"open access† and â€Å"common resources.† Where appropriate, examples are given to support Hardin’s brainchild, and likewise, suitable instances of failures and shortcomings are used to countervail his thesis. Several terms have been used to connote the idea of a shared pool of resources. Descriptives such as commons, common property, common pool resource, common heritage of mankind, and collective good, are arguably the same (Soden 1999). Firstly and implicitly, in the definition of a commons, is the requirement of a resource domain composed of resource units. Resource domains can refer to geographical spaces like parking lots, auditoriums, and fields, or it can refer to collectives such as fish stock. Resource units can either be the building blocks of the resource domain like parking spots, tons of fish, bundles of fodder, or it can be a medium in which objects are disposed (landfills). The second feature of a commons is its availability for free utilization without repercussion or expectation of reciprocity from human actors. This unbridled usage occurs because restraining access to the resource is costly, impractical or impossible (Feeny 1990). Common resources are always attached to property rights and these rights may fall under one of four categories: open access, group property, individual property and Government property (See Table 1). Thirdly, resource units are finite and subtractive, which implies that the resource pool diminishes in proportion to each unit that is removed, and that each unit removed is no longer available for other users of the commons. With this concept of the commons properly enshrined, let us consider Hardin’s allegorical pasture. Property Rights Characteristics Open access Absence of enforced property rights Group property Resource rights held by a group of users who can exclude others Individual property Resource rights held by individuals (or firms) who can exclude others Government property Resource rights held by a government that can regulate or subsidize use Table 1 Property rights and their characteristics. Taken from (Ostrom, Burger, et al. 1999) Hardin’s thesis focuses on a common pasture used by herdsmen (H1, H2, H3 . . . . .Hn) to graze their privately owned cattle and sustain their livelihood. It is assumed that the pasture is not on the verge of being over grazed nor has the carrying capacity of the land been exceeded. In this situation, the pasture is the resource domain, while the patches of grass consumed are the resource units. The pasture is also finite and subtractive in terms of the clumps of grass consumed by grazing cattle. Initially the system of mutual grazing works well for everyone involved, and the per bovine returns for each herdsman is the same. However in the absence of enforceable limits on the use of the pasture, a rational thinking herdsman (H1) may decide to increase his herd by one cattle. Economic theory dictates that the Profit on an investment is equivalent to the Revenue subtract the Costs. In order to maximise his profit, H1 must maximise his revenue and minimise his cost. He maximises his revenue because the extra cow is exclusively his, while the costs of sustaining her, is not exclusively his. Consequently, H1 gains one unit of productivity, at a fractional cost to himself. See equation below. Consider H1: Profitmax = Revenuemax [H1] Costmin [H1, H2, H3,,Hn] = 1 unit 1/n units = (n-1)/n units The tragedy, now in an inchoate stage of development, is fuelled when another herdsman H2 decides to maximise his own gain, in much the same way as H1. Eventually, a domino effect of exploitation unfolds where each herdsman, not to be outdone, adds not one, but more and more cattle in trying to up the ante, until the pasture becomes overgrazed and can no longer support anyone’s cattle. This is the essence of the tragedy, and as Hardin so eloquently quoted, â€Å"Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all† (Hardin 1968). Furthermore, Hardin has little faith in the proactivity of rational herdsmen to desist in adding more cattle, to protect the common pasture. Ophuls refers to it as the â€Å"public goods problem† – the obverse of the commons problem (Ophuls 1977). In much the same way as a rational individual gains at the loss of the other herdsmen (commons problem), he loses by benefitting them with a public good (public goods problem). For example, two individuals may own identical factories, which produce the same amount of harmful emissions. Although the more considerate owner may invest in mitigatory measures, for the common good, doing so places himself at a competitive disadvantage since the other factory owner may not follow suit. The Good Samaritan who tries to benefit the commons comes to the realization that although he is paying all the costs, his conspecifics get virtually all the benefits (Hargroves and Smith 2005). Users of a common resource pool may be of four types. The first type behaves in narrow, selfish ways and never cooperates in dilemma situations (free riders). The second type is cautious about cooperation, and requires assurance that he will not be exploited by free riders. The third type is willing to initiate reciprocal altruism in hopes that others will â€Å"buy in†. The fourth type is the genuine altruist who tries to elevate the status of the group, selflessly (Ostrom, Burger, et al. 1999). These four categories necessarily follow a hierarchy of increasing risk. The free riders are the smallest risk takers, while the altruists take the highest risks for the group. Unfortunately, the expected returns follow an inverse relationship where the altruists usually suffer most and the free riders, least. Referring again to Table 1, we see that whenever there is vagueness to property rights or there are official declarations of non-exclusion, resources are termed open access. The fact that open access resources are the ones most notably associated with overexploitation is a subtle nuance that should be clarified. In contrast to common property resources where there is a vested interest by stakeholders and adherence to some form of codified understanding is elicited, open access resources do not evince similar behaviour based on mutual respect. In fact, â€Å"the logic is that any given potential user lacks the incentive to forego immediate exploitation of the resource in order to conserve it, because an open-ended set of other potential users could take advantage of any resources that are left intact† (Mirovitskaya and Ascher 2001). Thus Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons often erroneously equated with common property resources is more applicable to open access resources ( G. Hardin 1998) (De Young 1999) Although not all environmental problems conform to Hardin’s tragedy, most do. Among these are the depletion of fisheries and oil reserves, urban smog, firewood crises in less developed countries, pollution of the oceans and atmosphere, and littering of spacecraft debris from nations involved in space exploration. Furthermore, as Hardin suggest in â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons† and â€Å"Living on a Lifeboat† (G. Hardin 1974), global population growth also has elements of the tragedy scenario. As Hardin (G. Hardin 1968) states â€Å"the most important aspect of necessity that we must now recognize, is the necessity of abandoning the commons in breeding.† Oil drilling is a classic example of the tragedy of the commons. In the early boom days of the American oil rush, drillers fiercely competed to drill as many wells hoping to strike black gold. The result was political instability and economic chaos. Consequentially, congress had to remedy the situation by the establishment of state control boards which surveyed common oil pools and allotted owners quotas, per acre of oil producing estate. This transformed oil from a common property resource to private property and exploitation proceeded in a highly regulated and transparent manner (Ophuls 1977). Another example of the tragedy of the commons is fisheries, and history is pollinated with several examples of overharvesting (Soden 1999). When the cod cornucopia was discovered off the Grand Banks in the 16th century it was immediately exploited for over five hundred years by French, Basque and English fishermen. Because of the abundance of fish, it never occurred to fishermen to limit their catch sizes and catch frequencies, in order to allow the fishes an opportunity to regenerate. The stocks dwindled and in 1989 it collapsed. Formal closure of the fishery in 1992 precipitated the mass unemployment of hundreds of Canadian fishermen. Thirdly, automobiles presents an interesting example of the tragedy of the commons. Indeed, unlike Hardin’s commons that is subject to tragedy on a local and immobile scale (a fixed pasture), vehicular exhausts affect a commons (the atmosphere) characterized by mobile and global parameters. In the case of urban pollution one’s own contribution seems infinitely small, while the disadvantages of self-denial loom very large. Consequently, thousands of residents of Los Angeles are hospitalized for respiratory ailments every year (McMaster 2009) as a result of polluting the atmosphere of the city, shared by millions of people every day. Unlike vehicular pollutants which are incidental to the process of driving, pollution-with-intent highlights the self-destructive logic of the commons, for it simply reverses the dynamic of tragic overuse without altering its nature. The cost incurred by a plant operator to control his emissions is so much more than the proportional damage he incurs by polluting, that it will always be rational for him to pollute especially if he can do it unnoticed. According to (Ophuls 1977) â€Å"it profits him to harm the public.† Finally, less developed countries have frequently been the subject of several tragedies which all too often, culminate in disaster. This is because of short term needs that supersede long term prudence. Cases in point are Haiti and China. Indigence in Haiti has been the main reason for nationwide deforestation and denuding of land to get firewood. The country is approximately 96% deforested (Bowonder and Prasad 1987) and it is no wonder that erosion has accelerated, in tandem with landslides and loss of soil integrity. Indeed the paucity of natural capital, unbalanced against social capital, has been responsible for the abundance of Environmental refugees from this Caribbean territory (Mirovitskaya and Ascher 2001). But deforestation is perhaps a micro-tragedy when compared to the macro-tragedy of global warming. In 2007, China made the bold statement to continue to put economic development ahead of the environment, even if global warming threatened a worldwide ecological disaster. The indifference of the People’s Republic is a spectacular example of the tragedy of the commons where a nation will continue to wealth maximise even as it brings ruin to itself, its neighbours and the global commons (Turley 2007). The aforementioned has provided us with several instances of the truthfulness of Hardin’s notion that â€Å"freedom in the commons brings ruin to all† (G. Hardin 1968). Arguably, the roots of Hardin’s thesis as well as his proposals for the averting the tragedy is to be found in Leviathan (Hobbes 1651). According to Hobbes, the life of man in a lawless state of nature is â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.† The only way to prevent anarchy is to entrust a civil authority with the onus of keeping peace by regulating property. Accordingly, managing a commons requires either socialism or the privatism of free enterprise (G. Hardin 1998), and either option must be underpinned by â€Å"mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon by the majority of the people affected† (G. Hardin 1968). The first failure of Government ownership rests on the fact that imposing limits on resource use creates a system based on â€Å"use rights† and exclusion, where the distribution of rights may be solely assigned based on historical patterns of use (Soden 1999). Therefore, new users who may want to avail themselves to the resources of the commons may be excluded altogether. In other cases, nationalizing common pool resources have led to the poor treatment of local tribes who have long exercised stewardship over the resources (Hargroves and Smith 2005). Examples are seen throughout the Brazilian Amazon and the Ecuadorian Oriente, where indigenous tribes are pitted against the mercenary pursuits of oil explorers, who are given preferential treatment by Governments. The other problem with Government control is the dichotomy that exists between home grown wisdom and ex officio expertise. Government may not be attuned to the locally crafted rules and evolved norms that are typical of well–managed common pool resources or open access resources. In Nepal in the mid 1980s for example, international aid efforts to replace primitive irrigation systems (composed of mud, stone and tree) with modern infrastructure (composed of concrete and steel) had a deleterious effect on the agricultural output of farmers. The success of the primitive system rested upon the farmers’ ability to devise effective rules related to access and allocation of benefits and costs, which were now inapplicable to the modern system of water delivery (Ostrom 1993), (Ostrom, Burger, et al. 1999), (Lam and Ostrom 2009). Consequently, there was never a consistent flow of water to more than two of the five villages after modifications were done. Another example of Governmental aid intervention gone wrong was in the Sahel of Africa. Migratory pastoralists, who were accustomed to moving their ungulates in harmony with rains produced from the Intertropical Convergence Zone, allowed the lands north and south of the Sahel to regenerate between grazing (Halwagy 1962). However, when herdsmen began to settle around wells which were produced through Governmental incentives and piecemeal aid projects, this centuries old system of pastoralism resulted in severe effects on the land and the people. Productive land was lost because of overgrazing, and as population sizes grew, the soil became less virile. In 1968 a nationwide famine pervaded throughout the Sahel and claimed the lives of thousands (Sinclair and Fryxell 1985). Furthermore, when comparing countries with communist ancestries, one only has to look at the degradation patterns in land use from satellite imagery to compare the effectiveness of Government control and self organized management of common pool resources. In (Ostrom, Burger, et al. 1999) images of China, and Russia showed that state-owned agricultural collectives involving permanent settlements were highly degraded and bare of vegetation. Mongolia on the other hand, which allowed pastoralists to continue their traditional group-property institutions of seasonal grazing, showed less terrestrial scarring than China and Russia. Consequently, compared to traditional group-property regimes socialism was associated with higher instances of land degradation. Finally, nationalizing common property resources may lead to poor monitoring of resource boundaries and harvesting practices, as well as de facto open access, and a race to use the resources (Hargroves and Smith 2005). Shifting governance from local communities to the State may create a situation whereby a common property that previously had some limits on inclusion, now becomes government property with open access, where opportunists may take advantage of the absence of enforcement and regulation. Thus Statization as a mechanism to forestall the tragedy of the commons, may in fact, accelerate it. In conclusion, we have assessed Hardin’s tragedy of the commons, citing examples of support, and identifying weaknesses and failures. Although his treatise is based on the selfishness of man as an actor in wealth maximization it must not be forgotten that man also has the capacity for sympathy towards his fellow beings (Monbiot 2004). Moreover since the entire tragedy of the commons is based on a free rider mentality (getting more, for less) it is quite possible that these genes may no longer be selectively passed to posterity. I say this because unfairness and inequity is inimical to man’s truest nature. Until that time, privatization of common resources and coercive restraint may be the way to go. Bowonder, B, and SR. Prasad. Global Forest : Another view. Elsevier Science Limited, 1987: 43-53. De Young, R. Tragedy of the Commons. In Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, by DE Alexander and Fairbridge RW. Hingham: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999. Feeny, D. et al.,. The tragedy of the commons 22 years later. Human Ecolog, 1990: v. 18, 1-19. Friedman, Thomas. (No) Drill, Baby, Drill . April 11, 2009. nytimes.com/2009/04/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1em (accessed Decemeber 2, 2009). Halwagy, R. The impact of man on semi-desertvegetation in Sudan. Journal of Ecology, 1962: 263-273. Hardin, G. Essays On Science And Society : Extensions of The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 1998: 682-683. Hardin, Garret. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 1968: 1243-1248. Hardin, Garrett. Living on a Lifeboat. Bioscience, 1974: 10. Hargroves, Karlson, and Michael Smith. The Natural Advantage of Nations. Gateshed: Bath Press, 2005. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan, or the Matter, Form and Power of a Commonwealth, ecclesiastical and civil. 1651. Lam, Wai Fung, and Elinor Ostrom. Analyzing the dynamic complexity of development intervantions : lessons from an irrigation experiment in Nepal. Policy Sciences, 2009. Locke, John. Second Treatise. In Two Treatises of Government, by Peter Laslett. New York: New Amercan Press, 1690. McMaster, Nick. Ozone Kills, Slowly : Study. March 12, 2009. www.newser.com/story/53155/ozone-kills-slowly-study.html (accessed December 02, 2009). Mirovitskaya, Natalia, and William Ascher. Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001. Monbiot, George. Natural Aesthetes . January 13, 2004. monbiot.com/archives/2004/01/13/natural-aesthetes/ (accessed December 02, 2009). Ophuls, William. Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity. Washington D.C: W.H Freeman and Company, 1977. Ostrom, Elinor. Coping with Assymetries in the Commons : Self Govering Irrigation Systems can work. The Jornal of Economic Perspectives, 1993: 93-112. Ostrom, Elinor, Joanna Burger, Christopher B. Field, Richard B. Norgaard, and David Policansky. Revisiting the Commons : Local Lessons, Global Challenges. Science, 1999: 278-282. Sinclair, A, and J Fryxell. The Sahel of Africa : ecology of a disaster. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1985: 987-994. Soden, Dennis. Handbook of Global Environmental Policy and Administration. Washinton DC: CRC, 1999. Turley, Johnathan. Tragedy of the Commons : Developing Nations Reject Global Warming as Number One Priority. Environment, 2007. Research Papers on The Tradgedy of "the Commons" and it's FailingsThe Project Managment Office SystemPETSTEL analysis of IndiaDefinition of Export QuotasQuebec and CanadaMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfUnreasonable Searches and Seizures

Video response assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Video response - Assignment Example For example, the video shows that before the Second World War, major economies such as America and Great Britain favored the Keynesian macroeconomic thought. However, immediately after the war, the effects of this approach were felt, and these were manifested through high levels of inflation. The counterapproach to the Keynesian macroeconomic principles is the idea of a free market as promoted by Hayek. As the video shows, one of the champions of a free market was Margret Thatcher who called for the liberalization of the British economy. Indeed, most countries, including the United States and Germany, adopted this approach and their economies were transformed. The documentary thus promotes the idea that market power and government control clash, making it difficult to successfully run a government controlled economy. However, whereas it might appear that a free market economy is the best option, the real issue lies in the balance of state power and freedom of the market. This will perhaps explain why socialist states such as china and Russia have remained successful to date. It can thus be argued that there is no single way of handling the economy of a nation, but instead it’s a careful balance of these two

Job security pros and cons Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job security pros and cons - Research Paper Example Motivation combined with ability results in performance. Hence, an employee that has a secure job is more likely to be more productive and perform well. Job security gives a level of satisfaction to the employees and gives them a sense of belonging in the organization. It gives them the confidence as they believe that the work they perform is making a difference to the company as a whole. This feeling makes them more loyal to the organization and leaves them with better motivation. As recession has hit most parts of the world, there is an increasing rate of unemployment due to which job security has become a more important aspect for employees due to their fear of becoming unemployed. Hence, it is not wrong to state that job security is directly related to the state of the economy. The degree of job security varies from industry to industry. Some jobs such as in education and healthcare tend to be more secure than the jobs in the private sector. Having a secure job allows individuals to focus more on expanding their skills and learning more as they do not have to worry about the consequences of minor errors if any. It avoids the formation of unions and other parties that could harm the company for its actions and the workers are generally content and complacent.

MBTI personal reflection paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MBTI personal reflection paper - Assignment Example It enables an individual evaluate the effects of personality on leadership styles within the organization. From the results obtained from the MBTI, I learned that self- assessment can foster a person to identify his leadership behavior. The ESTJs has strengths and weaknesses, which are commonly important to concentrate on before taking any position. From the assignment results, ESTJs have strengths that include honest, loyal, friendly, and direct. Individuals with ESTJ personality traits are conservatively based on their perceptions, and they are contented with expressing their views. Besides, individuals with such traits are also direct in the fact that they like concentrating on real things and providing immediate solutions to the problems. They are commonly dedicated to their work, and they ensure that any tasks are not abandoned and are completed as they remain the right thing to perform. They are strong-willed in the fact that they stick to their own beliefs and defend their ideas relentlessly, and their principles are proven clearly. To justify the strengths of ESTJs, I can use my personal experience. I realized that I am hard working, direct and honest, a project organizer, make tough decisions and presentin g constructive criticism, and meet deadlines and goals. In relation to my hard working personality trait, I ensure that I bring all people together in the community especially during the celebration of cherished local events and in defense of traditional values that can hold families and communities together. During my high school education, I also liked being direct and honest while talking with friends and other people. Even though people with ESTJ personality type are comfortable with the organization structure, they also try to inflict changes that might affect the firm. They also impose tough opinions and ideas to other people working within the

Theories for the Development of Agriculture

Theories for the Development of Agriculture Question #2: Agriculture was one of the greatest advancements in human history as it provided a foundation for the development of social hierarchies or rank societies, population growth, greater access to resources through trade, and power struggles among the elites. The big question, however, is how did the practice of agriculture originate? Hunting and gathering societies had been very successful up until the time marking the transition to agricultural and sedentary practices. Therefore, why did early modern humans decide to change from an already successful lifestyle? This is a curious matter because the beginnings of agriculture were surprisingly not that effective or successful in generating great outputs of resources as once commonly believed. Agriculture, though it was a successful development in sedentism and increased population growth, brought malnourishment to early Natufian farmers of the lack of variety in its first generations of use. Therefore, the question still remains, why did h unter and gatherers transfer to agriculture and how did the process of agriculture get initiated? There are multiple models proposing the development of agriculture which can be differentiated in a biological and environmental emphasis as well as in a cultural and sociological track. Through the research of Gordon Childe, Braidwood, Binford, Cohen, and Hayden, an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses can be made in the differentiating theories of the development of agriculture. One proposed theory for the development of agriculture was climate change. There have been several large climatic transitions between the interglacial periods. Bar Yosef researched the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Levant and suggests that about 14,000BP (before present) there were more fluctuations in precipitation than changes in temperature, ultimately responsible for the expansion of the vegetational belts. This allowed for vast latitudinal migrations, good foraging patterns, increase in population growth, and an abundance of food resources. However, between 13,000 and 12,800BP known as the Younger Dryas, conditions became colder and drier, decreasing the annual precipitations and a change in the distribution of rainfall locations (29 Oct 2009). This placed much stress on the plants and animals. According to Bar Yosef, the dry climate expanded desert conditions and caused reductions in C3 plants, used for cereal, but also the reduction of megafauna which were unable to ada pt to the new environment (Bar Yosef 1998: 174). This in turn created doubts about the current nomadic organization of the foraging groups. The hunting and gathering bands soon migrated towards the Mediterranean regions to join other foraging groups to live within a close proximity and seek refuge in the small fertile areas. Childe an advocate for climate change as the effect for the development of agriculture states in his Oasis Hypothesis that because of the transition to dry and cold conditions, humans and animals migrated toward the river valleys for necessary water consumption. Bar Yosef states that along with territorial restrictions, [there was] an increased motivation for intentional cultivation (Last Hunters 70). This not only increased population size but could have also instigated sedentary life. The ideal environment that would foster the origins of agriculture would be in an area with an abundance of resources. Previously it was considered that agriculture arose in marginal environments areas where severe climatic change forced human populations to find new foods to eat (Price and Gebauer 7); it is on the contrary however, that populations unable to sustain themselves would not take the risk of testing out new methods for the accumulation of food. Agriculture requires more energy expenditur e and work from all inhabitants than foraging, therefore as a struggling population, this method would not have been the best option. Childes argument takes into account the climatic and environmental pressures but it does not provide any cultural factors that might have also influenced the development of agriculture. Braidwood challenges Childes hypothesis and suggests a more culturally driven theory for the agricultural origins. Contrary to Childes Oasis Theory in which desiccation marginalized suitable foraging territories and caused large groups to settle in close proximities in lowland oases, Braidwood suggests through his Nuclear Zone Theory and through his research in the Zagros-Taurus mountain ranges, that agriculture in fact began in the well-watered regions known as the hilly flanks of the Fertile Crescent (Watson 25). Braidwood accepts the notion that climatic change has some sort of an effect on the origins of agriculture; however, he suggests that it only plays a minor role, contrary to the ideas of Childe. Braidwood instead proposes that the development of agriculture is dependent on the presence of cultural mechanisms (Redman 1978: 96) because along with the presence of agriculture, social and political systems of the early Natufian people were created as well. Braidwood states that agriculture was the natural outcome from social and cultural complexities. He questioned that if cultural change i s reliant on climate change stated by Childe, then why did agriculture not start before the large changes occurred during the interglacial periods, such as 125 million years ago (3 Nov 2009)? Using a cultural approach, Braidwood suggests that agriculture was not possible 125 million years ago because the human cognition was not fully developed and complex enough to suggest any such type of food accumulation methods (10 Nov 2009). Agriculture requires a lot of coordination and management controlled by the elites, therefore, it could be hypothesized that with the presence of social hierarchies, sedentism was also in establishment. The favorable environment of the hilly flanks as well as the presence of the ancestral or wild strains of the now domesticated plants offered foragers the option to settle down. With the act of settling down in the optimal zones, as well as the accumulation of knowledge about the physical environment, Braidwood suggests that over time, foragers would eventua lly realize the potential inherent in the local flora and fauna and would exploit that potential by domesticating appropriate species (Watson 25). This also suggests the requirement of greater cognition and larger brain size of the modern human; and therefore Braidwood argues agriculture appears only when the human culture was mature (3 Nov 2009). Braidwoods hilly flanks theory is successful because it attributes to developments of sedentism and food storage. Braidwood criticizes Childes dependence on climatic change as being the main reason for the origins of agriculture because he holds a cultural perspective in regards to its development. Braidwood states that if cultural change, the transition to agriculture, depended solely on noncultural factors, the climate, then there should be evidence of cultural change before the last Ice Age that separates the end of the Pleistocene and the Holocene (3 Nov 2009). Against Kleins Big Bang Theory regarding human cognition, agriculture simply did not happen before the Holocene because humans were not ready or complex enough to have the capability of creating the idea of agriculture (10 Nov 2009). Braidwood and Childe both suggest that agriculture occurred in small optimal zones, however, through Braidwoods research in the mountainous regions of Iraq, he concludes that there was no significant climate change because the areas were still relatively fertile and therefore there was a large concentrati on of animals and plants that could be exploited. According to the Willy Sutton principle, where there are ample resources, then people will settle there and take advantage of those resources (3 Nov 2009). A weakness in Braidwoods theory however is that he does not try to answer the question: why did agriculture occur at the time that it did? It is suggested that agriculture developed independently throughout the world at relatively the same time. Braidwood does not question why this happened but only concentrates on how it happened. Braidwood provides good reasons as to why he criticizes Childes hypothesis, however, his weakness is that he does not provide a strong alternative theory. In his book, Prehistoric Man, he states, the groups became agricultural villagers because they were ready for it (MacNeish 9) which demonstrates his theory that man only developed agriculture when the culture and cognition were more complex. This however is not an effective alternative hypothesis beca use it needs evidence to support the claim. The only evidence available is the size of the human brain, which does not deduce much information because archaeologists cannot question the cognitive capabilities of the deceased. Artifacts are available to suggest development in ideas and concepts, but this is also highly subjective. An alternative hypothesis to the development of agriculture is directly correlated with population growth. Both Mark Cohen and Lewis Binford attribute that with the pressures on food availability caused by population growth, agriculture was an innovative development which helped sustain growing societies. Louis Binfords model for agriculture weaves pieces of both Childes and Braidwoods hypotheses. Binford suggests that hunting-gathering groups maintained equilibrium between their population size and availability of resources in order to remain under the environments carrying capacity (Watson 26). This idea explains why foraging groups were successful; they kept a control on the food intake for each person. During the Younger Dryas, as climate became colder and drier, groups moved to the coastal regions where they became sedentary, as Childe had concluded. The difference however is that Binford focuses on population size as the stressor and instigator for agriculture. Groups congregat ed into the optimal zones, putting pressure on the available resources as well as creating an imbalance on the carrying capacity. This caused some groups to move out of the optimal zones and settle along the peripheries that had drought-resistant plants and smaller-sized animals (5 Nov 2009). With the increased pressure of supporting population sizes and the need to remain under the areas carrying capacity, groups intensif[ied] their subsistence practices in the direction of domesticating plants and animals (Watson 26). The necessity for subsistence strategies in addition significantly impacted societys social and economic factors, demonstrated through Brian Haydens social competition theory. This theory establishes that sedentism preceded agriculture. In order for the sedentary lifestyle to persist and work efficiently, rank societies were established. In response to social hierarchies, there is an inherent need to accumulate power and prestige. Power is equated to food, and in order for elites to maintain their prestige and power they need to be maintain large quantities of food. To exponentially increase their possession of food, the development of agriculture comes into effect. Hayden proposes that the development of agriculture is a result of stress from social competition and the change in the social environment (10 Nov 2009). This change in societal structure is not the result of agriculture but it is more so the cause of agriculture (10 Nov 2009). Hayden also states that agriculture can only occur in locations where there is already an abundance of food and where it can be reproduced (Zeder 2006: 111). The reason for this is that large societies would not put thei r inhabitants at risk attempting a new method of food accumulation if environmental conditions were unsuitable. The development of agriculture, if conditions were successful, was able to produce surpluses which increased rank of elites and created storage for food. Agriculture also increased long distance trade and cross cultural relationships. With the presence of surpluses, societies could afford to give something away (5 Nov 2009). A flaw in Haydens model is that he also fails to address Braidwoods question concerning the reason for why agriculture only occurs in the Holocene and not earlier. In order to understand the models described above with the origins of agriculture it important to account for the archaeological data. Some important ways to extract data is through pollen samples found in water bogs, radiocarbon dating, DNA extraction, etc. For example, in regards to Braidwoods hypothesis that climate change was not as important as Childe and Binford believed, reconstruction of plant communities enable archaeologists to reconstruct Paleolithic climates (29 Oct 2009). In order to reconstruct plant communities, pollen samples are used. Pollen samples can be preserved in waterlogged sediments because the mud at the bottom of the lakes have aerobic conditions, which means that there is no oxygen, allowing pollen and other artifacts to be nicely preserved (29 Oct 2009). Another method to reconstruct climatic conditions and determine when the Younger Dryas occurred is by evaluating methane gas presence in the ice cores found in Greenland (3 Nov 2009). This along with plan t communities can help reconstruct past climates. Lithic assemblages used by the first farmers, the Natufians, are also good indicators of when agriculture originated. Tools such as picks and sickle blades were used for harvesting cereals; this can be inferred by observing the microwear on the blades, but also through plant macrofossils which might contain residue from the particular grass being cut (Bar-Yosef 1998: 164). Agriculture can also be demonstrated by the structures of the central plant stems. In domesticated plants the seeds do not break off as easily as the wild grains do, which is evidence of human manipulation on plants to maximize output but a correlation of harvests with seasonality (29 Oct 2009). Another source of evidence for the origins of agriculture is looking at samples of preserved human coprolites in settled communities which helps detect what type of diet the human had. If there is a lack of nutrition, then it can be inferred that the society was just beginn ing the innovation of agriculture as there was a lack of nutrition and variety in early agricultural diets. Not just coprolites but also bone composition, tooth enamel, and support for the presence of pandemic diseases provide good archaeological support for the origins of agriculture (Zeder 2006: 110). Its observed that carbon and nitrogen isotopes found within the bone and microwear on teeth detect the nutrition of humans. Other archaeological evidence for the presence of agriculture, described by Zeder (2006: 110) is the presence of fences and corral to enclose the communitys animals; this reason fits nicely with the social theory and necessity for agriculture because it demonstrates the complete transition to sedentary life and the domestication of plants and animals. There are multiple theories that be equated to the development of agriculture and they all tend to build off of each other. Yes, each archaeologist or theorist emphasizes slightly different nuances, however they interrelate archaeological, environmental, and societal information in each of their models. According to Watson, Braidwoods account improves on Childes, and Binfords upon Braidwoods (27). I propose that the stress theories of Childe, Cohen, and Binford can co-occur with the cultural change theories of Braidwood and Hayden. Agriculture could have been a great phenomenon that occurred by accident, but human cognition had to have had enough knowledge for the manipulation of grasses and animals to exploit and produce large surpluses. In order to keep order within the society with the presence of agriculture there also has to have been control and power structures. Climatic changes play a huge role in regards to where societies choose to settle and in the strength of seasonal foo d production. In recognizing the biological and cultural aspects of agriculture, it can be deduced that these models are very much interrelated with specific links that may cause one theorists model to lean heavily to one side or another. There is not one universal applicable theory for the origin of agriculture because all of the worlds systems are interdependent on one another. Question #3: States are regionally organized societies with large populations that are economically and ethnically diverse. This suggests that the formation of a state occurs when there are social hierarchies with a small elite group that accentuates its sovereignty and dominance over the rest of the population. According to Algazes lecture, societies must have political administration, economic administration or redistribution, and religious indoctrination or infrastructure in order to be labeled as a state (17 Nov 2009). It has commonly been noted that states or cities are only considered as such with the dependence of a large population size, 100,000 people or more. R. Fox in his book Urban Anthropology, however, discusses that determining a state or a city on raw size or scale is not completely irrelevant but it is also not an important key component (17 Nov 2009). It is more important to evaluate a city or state on its function and sustainability. The central question therefore is: what comp onents are important in the formation of a state? In Jonathan Haas book, The Evolution of the Prehistoric State, he divides numerous theories of the origins and formations of states into two categories: the conflict position and the integration position. These two positions try to argue how states formed and regulated and maintained control over the complex societies. Through the theories of Engels and Fried regarding the conflict position, Haas argues that states formed and resolved economic and social stratifications effectively over their own populations and neighboring peoples through coercion. Opposed to the conflict position, Haas derives the integration position argument from Service, in which state governments were able to regulate and maintain social order over its inhabitants without the use of forceful tactics. Haas ultimately does not support either position: for conflict or for integration, however, if it was necessary, the conflict theory would seem more plausible as i t contains more valid reasons and logical thought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of the basic components that influenced Engels and Fried to cooperate with the conflict model were the increases in agricultural production, development of trade relationships, and the introduction of irrigation systems for water control. Engels states that the formation of the state begins with origins of agriculture (Haas 1982: 36). With the ability to produce more food and create surpluses for a growing population, societies became more sedentary and divisions of labor were created. The increase in food production created specialized occupations and allowed the elites to assume political administrative roles or have an impact in religious dealings. The role of religious figures is important as it is correlated with the states political administration. Religion has a faà §ade, seen to unite a population, however, it is also influentially political in order to control and regulate public affairs (Haas 1982: 44). The large prominence of religious temples provides strong support for the importance of religious ideology and coercion in a common belief upon the inhabitants within the state (Stein 1994: 42). Childe also argues that with the need to support non-agricultural producing groups within the society, irrigation agriculture not only increased food availability on a large scale but also was an important facet for social control (Haas 1982: 40). The social control derives from elites controlling the power of water supply as well as the necessity of a huge labor source. The conflict model comes into effect due to the presence of differences in economic wealth and divisions of labor. Engels states that as the politically dominant class acquires the new means of holding down and exploiting the oppressed classby levying taxes and enforcing social control [through] force (Haas 1982: 37). Austin also provides knowledge on the conflict position in the governments development of laws. Laws coerce the population to maintain order and submit to the political authorities of the elites; otherwise there are negative reciprocations (Haas 1982: 38). In Frieds model the basis for the conflict theory is the maintenance of social order in regards to possible conflict arousal to the differences in access to resources (Haas 1982: 49). With the increase in agricultural production and limited access to resources, private property became an issue in establishing economic and political status. Fried states that with the sanctity of private property, social order is accomplished through instituted governmental enforcement (49). Fried successfully discusses that with the changes in mate rialistic components such as increased food production, development of irrigation systems, and private property, the influence of political organization was pertinent. With the combination of military organization and laws along with stratification of classes, state formation provides support for elite social groups and the forceful submission of the peasant groups to the elites generating potential conflicts (Haas 1982: 49). Through evidence that supports state formations, economic scales become more and more important to maintain, grow, and flaunt among peripheral societies and therefore it is important to bring populations together in a defensive mode which calls for the construction of outer walls (19 Nov 2009). Fried provides theoretical approaches to his conflict theory based on the forced rule over a states inhabitants, however, Haas states that he fails to recognize the critical importance and utility of the archaeological record (1982: 50) for evidence to support his claim, and instead hypothesizes the emergence of states by looking at historically known societies (1982: 51). Frieds model can be testable, however it would need to be improved with more data and documentation from pre-state formed societies derived from the archaeological record rather than the historically based inferences. Fried bases his theory more on the logical approaches, for example, he supports the idea that within the means of producing more wealth, it is inevitable to have causes of social friction (19 Nov 2009). Some evidence that could relate to the forced control and economic differentiation amongst the inhabitants can be demonstrated through the layout of the city. For example, large structures belonging to the elites were central to the marketplace and the peasants separated farther away from the center. The presence of numerous temples centrally located indicates strong emphasis on religion and conforming to the beliefs described by the elites who most commonly absorbed the priest occupation. In Ubaid Mesopotamia, the architecture and distributions of artifacts demonstrate economic differentiations within households (Stein 1994: 38) such as with burial practices, artwork, and administration clay tablets. Also, the location of the houses and cities along the rivers and near the canal irrigation systems suggests potential trade of the surplus goods amongst neighboring societies with the ability to transport by waterways (Stein 1994: 42). Fried supports the conflict theory in which forceful tactics were used to create efficient states and political rule. On the contrary, advocates for the integration position propose social order was regulated without forceful tactics. Spencer for example argues that the lower classes, subordinate to the elite classes due to the development of social hierarchies within the political structure, accepted their lowly position in society compared to the wealthy elites (Haas 1982: 63) because of the inability to social climb. Haas also discusses that there might not be demonstrations of conflict or raging warfare between the elite and peasant groups because the peasants are politically and economically incapable of waging successful revolution[s] (1982: 79). According to Gumplowicz, the development of private property acted as a factor to maintain social control, an alternative to physical force (Haas 1982: 64). The main argument for the integration position is that after the state formed, classes were able to reunite through religion, residence locations, and language or culture. This suggests that integration might only be possible within the specific social classes and not throughout the all the social structures in the state. In regards to religion as a non-forceful factor in social order is through the argument of Moret and Davy who argues that rulers who view themselves as a god, thought that they derived their power from the will of the people (Haas 1982: 70). This reason is popularized to keep peasant revolts and power struggles within the kings hereditary circles subdued. Service asserts that political power in the formation of states due to the integration position was redistributive and was acquired by strong leadership qualities which were then passed into the hereditary elite classes (Haas 1982: 75). With the increase in population and size, integration is necessary for cooperation and successfulness in the administration of the state. Service also argue s that the first governments were ruled by right of authority and through the application of sacred sanctions (Haas 1982: 76). The purpose of the religious architecture was to provide social cohesion and control. The weakness of Services argument for the integration position is he advocates that the centralized government provides lots of resources and benefits to the people such as irrigation, religious beliefs, and protection, however he does not recognize that to have an effective state, force needs to be used to keep subjects under control to establish a stable and permanent government. The integrative position also proposes that public works were accomplished voluntary without physical force. However, there are no archaeological records of temples being voluntarily constructed. It can be detected from written documents that throughout other histories, public works were forced upon slaves; therefore the integration position seems weak and too optimistic. Evidence of the presence of walls and military troops suggests that protection was a necessity and important to demonstrate political autonomy over the societys own inhabitants and peripheral communities with who trade is accomplished. Haas does a great job in equally discussing the conflict and integration positions. It however seems more plausible that the conflict position influenced the formation of states as it part of human instinct to assert power and control over others in order to better maintain their own social position. Recognition of power and autonomy is essential in creating a stable state, and can only be accomplished by forcing people to cooperate with rules and regulations.

Expanding the Common Ground of the Worlds Mystical Traditions :: Culture Globalization Essays

Expanding the Common Ground of the World's Mystical Traditions missing works cited ABSTRACT: This paper addresses religious epistemology in that it concerns the assessment of the credibility of certain claims arising out of religious experience. Developments this century have made the world’s rich religious heritage accessible to more people than ever. But the conflicting religious claims tend to undermine each religion’s central claim to be a vehicle for opening persons to ultimate reality. One attempt to overcome this problem is provided by "perennial philosophy," which claims that there is a kind of mystical experience common to all religious traditions, an experience which is an immediate contact with an absolute principle. Perennialism has been attacked by "contextualists" such as Steven Katz who argue that particular mystical experiences are so tied to a particular tradition that there are no common mystical experiences across traditions. In turn, Robert Forman and the "decontextualists" have argued that a certain kind of mystical experience and process are found in diverse traditions, thereby supporting one of the key elements of perennialism. I review the contextualist-decontextualist debate and suggest a research project that would pursue the question of whether the common ground of the world’s mystical traditions could be expanded beyond what has been established by the decontextualists. The extension of this common ground would add credibility to the claims arising out of mystical experience. It is appropriate at this conference to address — however narrowly and briefly — an important twentieth-century development in the world's religious life. Advances in scholarship, communication, transportation, and mass education have made the richness of the world's religious heritage accessible to more people than ever before. But this increased accessibility has not strengthened religious belief, but may, in fact, have had the opposite effect. This is because the revolution in accessibility to the world's religious traditions has made more people than ever before aware of the conflicting claims of the world's religions. Of course, each tradition's adherents believe their tradition to be the primary expression of the truth, but there seems to be no obvious "non-partisan" way to determine which tradition has superior credentials. Thus the conflicting claims of competing religious traditions tend to undermine each religion's central claim that it is a vehicle for openin g oneself to ultimate reality. One attempt to overcome this problem is provided by "so-called perennial philosophy school," to use the term used by Robert K.

Business risk and risk assessment: Apple Essay

I. The Company’s Core Business Processes and Strategic Objectives The Company’s products can be divided into two main categories, personal computers and related products and portable digital music players and related products. Based on the annual report, the â€Å"Company designs, manufactures and markets† (Annual Report 2005 1) many variations of the products mentioned above. The more popular products of the Company include the â€Å"Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, the iPod digital music player, the Xserve G5 server and Xserve RAID storage products, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes Music Store, a portfolio of peripherals that support and enhance the Macintosh and iPod product lines, and a variety of other service and support offerings† (1). Design is mainly a concern of the Company’s research and development. Because the Company is in the technology industry, research and development is a crucial component of its operations. It is the manner by which the Company keeps its competitive advantage. In its annual report, the Company admitted that â€Å"the Company’s ability to compete successfully is heavily dependent upon its ability to ensure a continuing and timely flow of competitive products and technology to the marketplace† (14). As a corollary issue to research and development, creation, protection and acquisition of intellectual property rights are also a major concern for the Company. The Company is in possession of several patents and copyrights. On one hand, the Company is concerned with the protection of its patent, copyrights, trademarks and service marks worldwide. In the other, it must protect itself from infringing on others intellectual property rights. The Company does not only rely on its ability to create intellectual property, it also relies on those owned by third parties which are acquired through licensing agreements. Because the Company is engaged in producing technology year after year, the manufacture of the Company’s products may create complications. The Company manufactures personal computers and accessories, iPod digital music players and accessories and a variety of consumer and business software applications. The raw materials for these products are sourced elsewhere. There are certain key components that are sourced from one or limited outside source (Annual Report 2005 14). In 2005 and 2004, the Company experienced delays in relation to one of its products, the PowerPC G5 processors (14). This led to the non-availability of certain Apple products from the market (14). After this incident, the Company announced its intention to shift its Macintosh personal computers from PowerPC G5 and G4 processors to Intel Microprocessors (Apple to use Intel para. 1). This transition is expected to be fully implemented in 2007. The Company’s development of new products requires custom made raw materials that are initially single-sourced until the Company determines the need to develop new sources (Annual Report 2005 14). The manufacture of raw materials and the assembly of some of the Company’s products are made in several foreign countries by third party vendors. The Company’s marketing is done through the Company’s website, company-owned retail stores, direct selling by the Company’s sale force and third party wholesalers, resellers, and value added resellers. The Company’s main markets are usually in the following fields: education, business, creative and consumer market (Annual Report 2005 12). In 2005, the US education industry accounted for more than 12% of the Company’s net sales (12). The Company is not dependent on any single customer for its income. In fact, no single customer of the Company accounted for more than 10% of its sales for three succeeding fiscal years, 2003 to 2005 (12). The Company is divided into four reportable operating segments, America, Europe, Japan, and Retail. It also has an operating segment in Asia-Pacific. The three geographical segments mentioned above do not include retail. The Retail segment operates in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Japan. (3) The Company intends to continue its substantial investment in research and development. The Company’s strategic plan includes the improvement of the Company’s existing products, as well as the development of new ones (7). The Company also believes in the capitalizing in the convergence of digital consumer products (7). This is in keeping with industry trend. For example, both the Company and Microsoft have patents that would improve or create wifi-sharing ability (wireless connectivity) in iPod, iPhone and Zune (Cheng para. 1). Zune, Micosoft’s digital music player, already has a wireless sharing capability which the iPod hopes to emulate. The new patent of the Company may also make it possible for the consumer to directly purchase media from a server through the iPod or iPhone (para 5 and 6). The Company also plans to continue to exploit the perceived advantages of the Company’s products. These advantages are â€Å"innovative industrial design, intuitive ease-of-use, and built-in networking, graphics and multimedia capabilities† (Annual Report 2005 2). Another shift in the Company’s product development is the shift to â€Å"a greener apple.† The Company announced its intention to continue to remove toxic waste from new products and aggressively recycle old products (Jobs). The Company claims that it is leading the industry’s efforts to create more environmentally responsible company and products. The Company plans to create more energy efficient products in the future (para. 29). The Company is not alone in this. Other companies also exerted efforts to show social and environmental awareness. Sometime in 2007, Google released a more energy saving â€Å"black screen† after a study showing that a blacks screen uses less electricity than a white one. As far as its marketing is concerned, the Company plans to expand the distribution of its products. In the past year it has focused on adding on to its direct selling capabilities and the improvement of its sales staff. The Company will continue this style by building more Company-owned store in high traffic locations (Annual Report 2005 8). It also aims to widen its consumer base by targeting first-time computer owners and those people who do not own a Macintosh computer (8). The Company also plans to continue building brand awareness by increasing investment in marketing and advertising as shown by the increase in selling expenses over the years. II. Business Risks Research and development is a major component of the Company’s business risk. It involve a significant amount of the Company’s resources, with research and development expenditures amounting to $534  million, $489  million, and $471  million in 2005, 2004, and 2003, respectively (Annual report 2005 13). The benefits are also contingent on several factors, including the ability of the Company to determine which products or innovations can be successfully developed, manufactured and marketed. There is always the risk of choosing the wrong innovation to focus resources on. The failure to produce marketable products regularly means loss of resources and market standing. Research and development also has a legal risks involved. The Company has admitted that because of the rapid change in technology and the pace by which new patents are being issued, â€Å"it is possible certain components of the Company’s products and business methods may unknowingly infringe existing patents of others† (15). Aside from suits relating to infringement of intellectual property rights, the Company is also facing various suits in relation to its products and a derivative suit filed by its shareholders involving unfair competition and false and misleading proxy statements. In 2006, the Company was placed under scrutiny due to stock option grants, some of which are issued to the Company’s CEO, Steve Jobs, in 1997 and 2001 (Iwata). There were allegations of stockholders that the grant was part of a â€Å"backdating scheme†, a scheme were it is made to appear that the options are transacted at a later date when the shares are valued lower (Apple comes under scrutiny). The investigation showed thousands of backdating grants including two made to CEO Jobs, the second of which did not observe the requirements for validity (Iwata). CEO Jobs was not held accountable for the irregularity of the grant. However, because of the irregularity in the stock options grants issued, the Company restated prior years’ financial statements. Because of these events, the Company admitted in its annual report (2006) the there is further risk of â€Å"litigation, regulatory proceedings and government enforcement actions† (21). The manufacturing of the Company’s products raises some special concerns. As stated above certain key components can only be obtained from a single or limited source (Annual Report 2005 13). Even key components that are not from a single or limited source are sometimes subject to â€Å"availability constraints and pricing pressures† (13). In facts, sometime in 2005 and 2004, the company already experienced delays in acquiring key components which led the Company to change one of the major components of one of its products. The Company admits that the loss of certain suppliers would have an adverse effect on the Company (14). Because of this, there is a risk that the Company will not be able to meet demands for the Company’s products or that the Company will incur delay in the delivery the products ordered by customers. The Company also relies on third parties to supply digital content in its iTunes stores and to develop certain software applications. The failure of third parties to supply digital content does not only affect the performance of iTune stores but also the dominant position of the Company’s digital music player. In the same manner, the failure of software developers to develop programs compatible with the Company’s computer platform due to bigger market for Windows and Linux will adversely affect the demand for the Company’s personal computers. The use of foreign third party vendors in the final assembly of the Company’s portable products and as suppliers of raw materials increases the Company’s risk of being adversely affected by political and economic conditions in these foreign countries. Political upheaval and economic crisis in foreign countries can affect suppliers’ ability to meet the Company’s demand. The Company faces cut throat competition on many of its products. In the advent of personal computers, the Company owns a significant chunk of the market. Over the years, the Company’s market share grew smaller and smaller. In July 2006, the Company’s market share is around 2.2% (Apple market share myth), a significant drop from its original market share. However, percentage figures do not account for the growth in the PC market since its birth in the 1980’s. The decline in the Company’s market share can also be attributed to the growth of numerous generic brands that are much cheaper than the Company’s Mac computers. The proliferation of â€Å"clones† led many companies to lower their prices and profit margin to gain a bigger market share. There is an on going price competition in the PC market, and the Company is striving to be competitive in this area. However, the Company’s business strategy seems to focus less in making cheaper PCs but more on developing products that appeal to its niche market, such as the creative market (Annual Report 2005 2). This strategy of the Company is a business risk because the limited market base makes it more vulnerable to economic factors. Decline in spending ability of one of its niche market can have a greater impact on the company than if it has diverse market. On the other hand, it removes the Company from the competition in market segments that are already saturated with other players. Some analysts believe that part of the upside of the Company’s strategy is that it has refused to compete in a market over which Microsoft already has a monopoly (Apple market share myth). Microsoft has acquired a monopoly in the industry by selling cheap PCs with expensive software or a system called â€Å"exclusive software bundling.† This makes it difficult for other companies to develop operating system’s that are competitive with Microsoft’s. The Company’s strategy in focusing on the improvement of what the consumers perceived as the functional and design advantages of the Macintosh platform opens the Company to the risk mentioned above but it also removes it from the competing in saturated markets. The digital music player market is expected to grow up to 286 million units in 2010 (Guza para.1). The Company’s own product, iPod, continues to dominate the market; however, many competitors are cropping up, challenging the Company’s dominant position. Analyst believes that the Company should not be complacent regarding its dominant position in the business since the digital music player market is young and has only penetrated a small portion of the market in the United States (Siklos). Although many competitors have tried to challenge the Companies and failed, the competition is not giving up. Competitor, Microsoft, came up with Zune, its own brand of digital music player that is compatible with Microsoft’s own on-line music store. Samsung, Sandisk and Creative have came out with products of their own. Software, hardware and on-line companies are working together to address technical difficulties in the initial launch of their own digital music players, and imp roving their services (Wingfield para. 4). There is a risk that the Company’s music related products may follow the road of its personal computers. III. Three Most Significant Financial Statement Accounts The three most significant financial statement accounts for the Company are research and development, inventory, and common stock. Research and development is significant because the Company is engaged in the production and marketing of technology. Not only is research and development expense significantly higher compared to other industry, it is also the cost which enables the Company to continue its existence. In the industry where the Company belongs, obsolescence happens very fast. If the Company fails to innovate, there will come a time that the Company itself will be obsolete since the consumers have switched to the more recently developed products. Many of the Company’s strategic plans are tied up with research and development, such as the plans to improve existing products and the move towards convergence of digital products. The plans of the company to improve and to add innovations to existing products will involve a significant amount of the Company’s resources. The amount of the company’s resources spent in research and development are expensed outright, except for the costs which are incurred after the innovation has been determined to be technologically feasible (Annual Report 2005 68). The failure of the Company to produce technologically feasible products may increase research and development expense, in the same manner that the success of developing technologically feasible products does not necessarily decrease research and development expense. If all the cost for development of the product was incurred before it was determined to be technologically feasible, all cost are expensed outright regardless of feasibility. Based on the Company’s financial statements, capitalization of research and development expense is minimal (77). Inventory is significant for the Company since its operations involved both manufacturing and retail. The Company’s inventory is subject to several business risks already discussed above. In relation to the supplies issue, the Company entered into long-term supply agreements with several companies which bound the Company to these suppliers until 2010. As part of the agreement, the Company is required to make prepayment amounting to $1.25 billion in the second quarter of 2006. (Annual Report 2005 91) Part of the Company’s objectives is to ensure a continuing and timely flow of competitive products and technology to the marketplace. The achievement of this objectives means that the Company’s inventory levels are always sufficient to meet demands for the Company’s products. This would also mean that the Company has successfully managed it inventory during the year. Proper management of inventory would result in a year end inventory level is not too high or to low. The Company’s common stock is significant for the year 2006 because of the discovered irregularities in the issuance of stock option grants issued in 1997 and 2001. These resulted in allegations of fraud and falsification of documents (Wearden para.4). The Company has already investigated the matter, and the result of such investigation has exonerated CEO Steve Jobs of any misconduct. However, restatements of prior years’ financial statements were made, including the common stock and other related accounts (para. 3). This account is not necessarily affected by the Company’s strategic objectives. The stock option grant issue itself affected the performance of the Company’s stock in the market and even raised the issue of possibly delisting from NASDAQ, but which turned out be without bases. IV. Management Assertions The management assertions relevant to research and development expense are completeness, accuracy, cut-off and classification. Completeness is a relevant management assertion because research and development is an expense account, and so, there is a risk that the Company will not include all research and development cost incurred in order to increase the net income for the year. Accuracy is relevant because there is a risk that transactions relating to this account are not recorded properly, resulting in under or over statement of the expense account and, in effect, of net income for the fiscal year. Cut-off is relevant for research and development so that there is proper matching of the expense with the revenue earned during the fiscal year. Failure to record expense in the correct accounting period can also result to over or under statement of the net income for the year. Classification is also a relevant for research and development because there is a risk that the Company will capitalize research and development improperly resulting in the over statement of net income for the year and inflating the Company’s asset even if there are no expected future benefits. Failure to record the amount in the proper account can also mean that there is no matching of income and expense. The management assertions relevant to inventory are existence, valuation and rights. Existence is a relevant management assertion because there is a risk that the Company will record assets that are not there in order to make the financial conditions of the Company look better to investors. The recording of assets that do not exist can also mean failure to record expenses which, in effect, results to overstatement of net income. Valuation is also a relevant because there is a risk that the Company may overstate the value of the asset to improve the financial statement of the Company. In either management assertions, there is a risk of management inflating the asset of the Company usually to improve the stockholders’ equity of the Company. Management assertions as to rights over inventory is also relevant because there is a risk that the Company included in its assets, inventories whose ownership has already passed to another, to improve the financial statements of the Company. The management assertions relevant to common stock are existence and valuation. Existence is a relevant management assertion because there is a risk that the Company records stocks which are not actually subscribed and issued or issues stock for which no consideration was actually received by the Company, also called watered stocks. Valuation is also relevant because there is a risk that the Company will over value the property received in consideration for the stocks issued, particularly if the stock is issued for consideration other than cash, making it appear that the Company is better off than it actually is. Both management assertions can be used by the Company to lure investors to invest in the Company under false pretenses. Although wrong management assertions can be a result of other causes that are not deliberate on the part of management, such as mistakes. The assertions mentioned above are relevant to those accounts because there is the additional risk of deliberate misstatement on the part of management. V. Environmental Risks There is a low inherent, control and detection risk in management assertions of completeness and accuracy of the research and development expense based on the Company’s conservative approach in recording research and development, as well as, the relative simplicity of identifying and recording research and development expense. On the other hand, the management assertion relating to the cut-off of research and development expense is assessed as having high inherent, control and detection risk because of the lack of sufficient data regarding the Companies processes and controls relating to this account. Because the risks mentioned above are assessed at maximum, more substantial test shall be performed to decrease audit risk. There is a high inherent risk in the classification of research and development expense because of the difficulty of determining technological feasibility. The determination of Technological feasibility can be extremely subjective. On the other hand, there is low control and detection risk in the classification of research and development expense because based on the Company’s past practices, the Company is very conservative in capitalizing research and development expenses. The percentage of research and development expense capitalized by the Company is very small compared to the research and development expense incurred every year. It is the Company’s policy to record all development cost incurred before determination of technological feasibility as expense, and the determination of technological feasibility is usually done after a large portion of the cost of development has been incurred so that only a small portion of the cost is actually capitalized and amortized. The inherent, control and detection risk is high for all assertions related to inventory because the operations of the Company is complex and international. The final assemblies of some of the Company’s products which are performed by the Company itself are in different locations outside the United States. There are also final assemblies of the Company products that are performed by third parties in different countries in Asia. The Company also takes advantage of several ways of marketing its products. It uses company-owned stores, direct selling, third party sellers and on-line selling. These make it extremely difficult to keep track of the movement of the inventory and to determine when ownership over the inventory change hands. The inherent risk is assessed as high for the management assertion of existence and valuation of common stock. This is because of the investigation which the Company itself initiated in relation to its stock options grant. The investigation caused the Company to adjust its income from prior years amounting to $84 million. The Company also has stock-based compensation plans consisting of stock options grants and stock purchase plans (Annual Report 2005 88) which calls for complicated computations. The control and detection risk is assessed as low for the management assertion of existence and valuation of common stock because of the Company’s efforts to investigate the matter as soon as the problem arose. It was the Company itself that announced the existence of irregularities in the issuance of its stock options grant. The Company has put in placed control mechanisms to address the matter. Moreover, records of the investigation conducted can help the auditor minimize detection risk.

Capital Cities of Every Independent Country

Capital Cities of Every Independent Country There are 195 nations officially recognized as independent countries in the world, each with its own capital city. A significant number of countries have multiple capital cities. Where that occurs, the additional capital cities are listed as well. Is Taiwan a Country? The United Nations list of nations doesnt include Taiwan as separate but as a part of China: 193 U.N. member nations and two nonvoting observer  states, the Vatican City and Palestine. Only 17 nations recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, nine of which are in Latin America; in August 2018 El Salvador severed ties with Taiwan in favor of establishing relations with China, the third country to do so in just over a year. The Countries of the World and their Capitals Check out this alphabetical list of every independent nation and its capital (Taiwan is also included): Afghanistan: KabulAlbania: TiranaAlgeria: AlgiersAndorra: Andorra la VellaAngola: LuandaAntigua and Barbuda: Saint JohnsArgentina: Buenos AiresArmenia: YerevanAustralia: CanberraAustria: ViennaAzerbaijan: BakuThe Bahamas: NassauBahrain: ManamaBangladesh: DhakaBarbados: BridgetownBelarus: MinskBelgium: BrusselsBelize: BelmopanBenin: Porto-NovoBhutan: ThimphuBolivia: La Paz (administrative); Sucre (judicial)Bosnia and Herzegovina: SarajevoBotswana: GaboroneBrazil: BrasiliaBrunei: Bandar Seri BegawanBulgaria: SofiaBurkina Faso: OuagadougouBurundi: Gitega (changed from Bujumbura in December 2018)Cambodia: Phnom PenhCameroon: YaoundeCanada: OttawaCape Verde: PraiaCentral African Republic: BanguiChad: NDjamenaChile: SantiagoChina: BeijingColombia: BogotaComoros: MoroniCongo, Republic of the: BrazzavilleCongo, Democratic Republic of the: KinshasaCosta Rica: San JoseCote dIvoire: Yamoussoukro (official); Abidjan (de facto)Croatia: ZagrebCuba: HavanaCyprus: NicosiaCzech Republic: PragueDenmar k: Copenhagen Djibouti: DjiboutiDominica: RoseauDominican Republic: Santo DomingoEast Timor (Timor-Leste): DiliEcuador: QuitoEgypt: CairoEl Salvador: San SalvadorEquatorial Guinea: MalaboEritrea: AsmaraEstonia: TallinnEthiopia: Addis AbabaFiji: SuvaFinland: HelsinkiFrance: ParisGabon: LibrevilleThe Gambia: BanjulGeorgia: TbilisiGermany: BerlinGhana: AccraGreece: AthensGrenada: Saint GeorgesGuatemala: Guatemala CityGuinea: ConakryGuinea-Bissau: BissauGuyana: GeorgetownHaiti: Port-au-PrinceHonduras: TegucigalpaHungary: BudapestIceland: ReykjavikIndia: New DelhiIndonesia: JakartaIran: TehranIraq: BaghdadIreland: DublinIsrael: Jerusalem*Italy: RomeJamaica: KingstonJapan: TokyoJordan: AmmanKazakhstan: AstanaKenya: NairobiKiribati: Tarawa AtollKorea, North: PyongyangKorea, South: SeoulKosovo: PristinaKuwait: Kuwait CityKyrgyzstan: BishkekLaos: VientianeLatvia: RigaLebanon: BeirutLesotho: MaseruLiberia: MonroviaLibya: TripoliLiechtenstein: VaduzLithuania: VilniusLuxembourg: LuxembourgMacedonia: SkopjeMad agascar: Antananarivo Malawi: LilongweMalaysia: Kuala LumpurMaldives: MaleMali: BamakoMalta: VallettaMarshall Islands: MajuroMauritania: NouakchottMauritius: Port LouisMexico: Mexico CityMicronesia, Federated States of: PalikirMoldova: ChisinauMonaco: MonacoMongolia: UlaanbaatarMontenegro: PodgoricaMorocco: RabatMozambique: MaputoMyanmar (Burma): Rangoon (Yangon); Naypyidaw or Nay Pyi Taw (administrative)Namibia: WindhoekNauru: no official capital; government offices in Yaren DistrictNepal: KathmanduNetherlands: Amsterdam; The Hague (seat of government)New Zealand: WellingtonNicaragua: ManaguaNiger: NiameyNigeria: AbujaNorway: OsloOman: MuscatPakistan: IslamabadPalau: MelekeokPanama: Panama CityPapua New Guinea: Port MoresbyParaguay: AsuncionPeru: LimaPhilippines: ManilaPoland: WarsawPortugal: LisbonQatar: DohaRomania: BucharestRussia: MoscowRwanda: KigaliSaint Kitts and Nevis: BasseterreSaint Lucia: CastriesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines: KingstownSamoa: ApiaSan Marino: San MarinoSao Tome and Principe: Sao Tome Saudi Arabia: RiyadhSenegal: DakarSerbia: BelgradeSeychelles: VictoriaSierra Leone: FreetownSingapore: SingaporeSlovakia: BratislavaSlovenia: LjubljanaSolomon Islands: HoniaraSomalia: MogadishuSouth Africa: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judiciary)South Sudan: Juba  Spain: MadridSri Lanka: Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative)Sudan: KhartoumSuriname: ParamariboSwaziland: MbabaneSweden: StockholmSwitzerland: BernSyria: DamascusTaiwan: TaipeiTajikistan: DushanbeTanzania: Dar es Salaam; Dodoma (legislative)Thailand: BangkokTogo: LomeTonga: NukualofaTrinidad and Tobago: Port-of-SpainTunisia: TunisTurkey: AnkaraTurkmenistan: AshgabatTuvalu: Vaiaku village, Funafuti provinceUganda: KampalaUkraine: KyivUnited Arab Emirates: Abu DhabiUnited Kingdom: LondonUnited States of America: Washington, D.C.Uruguay: MontevideoUzbekistan: TashkentVanuatu: Port-VilaVatican City (Holy See): Vatican CityVenezuela: CaracasVietnam: HanoiYemen: SanaaZambia: Lusa kaZimbabwe: Harare An important fact to note is that the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the State of Israel are all located in Jerusalem, making it the capital; nonetheless, almost all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 and others may follow, possibly just to curry favor with the United States for aid in their own crises, Eric Olson told the Washington Post. While the listing above is an authoritative listing of the independent countries of the world, it is important to note that there are also more than 60  territories, colonies, and dependencies of independent countries, which often have their own capital cities as well.

Biology And Human Evolution Essays - Anthropology, Apes, Free Essays

Biology And Human Evolution Essays - Anthropology, Apes, Free Essays Biology And Human Evolution Human Biology and Evolution Humans are Alive The earliest human life form can be traced back more than 3.5 billion years ago. Humans are said to be descendants of a single celled ancestor. Although they are different in size and shape all basic functions are alike. The more complex the organization of the cell became the more successful and developed it became. As these single celled organisms developed they became known as pre-humans. We share many characteristics with these pre-humans. Some of these characteristics include the masters of heredity DNA and RNA as well as proteins composed of amino acids, membranes or bound cells and lastly controlled cell division or mitosis, key to the daughter cells. Kingdoms are Alive The diversity of kingdoms is arranged into kingdoms that classify organisms from simple to complex. The traditional five kingdoms are Prokaryote, Protoctista, Fungi, Plantae, and Anamalia. Prokaryote is a bacterium that lacks nuclear membrane. Protoctista is a heterogeneous grouping that combines a great diversity of forms. Fungi are known for being important agents of composition they include yeast and mushroom. Plantae, are categorized as plants that use sunlight to convert to energy. Lastly Anamalia, Anamalial members are multicellular and fully mobile, they obtain their nutrients from other living things. Our Place in Nature Humans are hierarchically classified into a series of increasingly specific groups. They range from the Kingdom Animalia to the Genus Homo, the Homo Sapiens appears to be its only living representative Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertabrata Class: Mammalia Family: Hominidfae Genus: Homo Our Place in time Over a considerably large span of geological time life on earth has changed drastically. Humans and their close relatives are the most recent arrivals in the Tertiary period. The periods range Precambrian which was over 56 million years ago to Quaternary which was 1.8 million years ago to present. In this chart you will be able to see all periods ranging from Precambrian to Quaternary. TABLE PERIOD AGE (MILLIONS OF YEARS) SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF LIFE Quaternary 0.01 1.8 Historic time ice ages; humans appear Tertiary 5 65 Apelike ancestors of humans appear major radiation of mammals, birds, and pollinating insects Cretaceous 144 Flowering plants appear; dinosaurs and many groups of organisms become instinct at end of period Jurassic 208 Gymnosperms continue as dominant plants; dinosaurs dominant; first birds Triassic 245 Gymnosperms dominate landscapes; first dinosaurs and mammals Permian 286 Radiation of reptiles; origins of mammal-like reptiles and most modern orders of insects Carboniferous 360 Extensive forests of vascular plants; first seed plants; origin of reptiles; amphibians dominant Devonian 408 Diversification of bony fishes; first amphibians and insects Silurian 438 Diversity of jawless vertebrates; colonization of land by Plants and anthropods; origins of vascular plants Ordovician 505 First vertebrates (jawless fishes); Marine algae abundant Cambrian 544 Origin of most invertebrate phyla; Diverse algae Precambrian 700 4600 Origin of first animals Approximate origin of the earth Biosystems the Movie I viewed a video illustrating the senses through modern dance. The video was very graphic and detailed and showed a virtual tour of the organs. First I observed how deoxidized blood travel through the heart chambers to the lungs to get oxidized this was done through the cardiovascular system. Then I observed three parts of the nervous system, the ear, eye and the brain. I then took a tour through the urinary system, the digestive system, respiratory system and finally the musculoskeloton system, which concluded the film. Humans are Vertebrates Humans are placed in the subphylum vertebrata. The category vertebrata contains all animals with a backbone. This group contains diverse animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Most of our familiar body systems are shared with vertebrates. Musculoskeletal System A skeleton family of four and a dog in a living room watching baseball illustrated the musculoskeletal system. The baseball game was actually an informational video on the joints and muscles of the upper body. Circulatory System The circulatory system has three main components, the lymphatic system, capillaries and blood. The lymphatic system transports intercellular fluid through the circulatory system. Capillaries are microscopic blood vessels whose wall is only one cell in thickness. They carry blood opulent in oxygen and nutrients to all tissues in the body. Urinary System The kidney in the urinary system regulates the chemical composition of the blood thus also regulating the chemical composition of the body tissues. The functional unit of the kidney is known as a nephron and it absorbs much

Choose 1 Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choose 1 Topic - Essay Example Here we are going to discuss about the globalization strategies implemented by Toyota in its production line. Company Overview Toyota, a Japanese automobile manufacturer having headquarters at Toyota, Japan was founded in the year 1937. It started its production operations in America in the year 1957. For more than fifty years, the Toyota automobiles have continuously expanded their operations in 170 countries and regions throughout the world. Today, it has its presence in the major markets of North America, Europe and Asia. With the development of their exports the firm has started to localize their production bases, keeping pace with the policy of "producing vehicles where the demand exists". Presently they have 51 production bases in around 26 different regions globally (toyota-global.com). Moreover, there are R&D and design bases in almost nine locations in the foreign market, exhibiting that "from development and design to production, as well as sales and service, Toyota has now achieved consistent globalization and localization." Production System The company has gone through several hurdles while globalizing their production units. One of the most important factors of this process is quality assurance, which emphasizes on the statement, â€Å"no matter where Toyota vehicles are made, they must have the same high level of quality." The company doesn’t follow the policy of putting a "Made in The USA" or "Made in Japan" tag on their products. Instead they prefer to put the label of "Made by TOYOTA† on all its vehicles. This clearly defines the company’s manufacturing philosophy which is the "Toyota Way" and they like to advertise themselves in this manner throughout the world. The firm believes that through educating people they will be able to achieve quality assurance. Therefore they established the Global Production Center (GPC) in 2003 inside the Motomachi Plant in Toyota City. In addition to this, Toyota commenced regional Global P roduction Centers in 2006, in the United Kingdom, Thailand and United States to perform its respective activities in the Asia-Pacific, North American and European regions. The illustration below shows its design and production houses in several regions of the world- The production process of the company is based on two main principles which are continuous improvement and respecting the employees. Toyota's production system is a means of "making things" which is often known as "lean manufacturing system" or a "Just-in-Time (JIT) system.† The production system has been set up on the basis of constant improvements, with the aim of "making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as quickly as possible."   The company’s production process is based on two models- "Jidoka" that refers to mechanization along with some human touch. It implies whenever an issue arises, the apparatus stops instantly that prevents defective production. "Just-in-Time† concept where every process makes the particular part that will be required by the next process and in this way the production flows. Based on these two concepts, Toyota globally produces exactly whatever is in demand within time and in a cost effective manner. Objectives The main objective of Toyota is to offer world class quality and to meet the customer’