Online Draft Essay Sample - How to Find One

Online Draft Essay Sample - How to Find OneAn online draft essay sample can be a terrific resource for research and consideration. A great deal of time and effort can be saved, which is well worth the time invested.Drafting a topic and writing a thorough outline is definitely an art. A great deal of research and planning goes into a well-crafted essay, and a draft can help you find the path you need to take to reach your goal. A draft also makes it easy to keep track of the details as you create your thoughts.The best way to begin preparing for your draft essay is to search for an essay to write or do. Searching for essays to read on topics you know little about can save you from making mistakes that may not be caught in a test. Also, once you have an idea for a topic, do not focus too much on it. Instead, find a topic you are interested in researching and finish your research for that topic before beginning on a draft.You can submit your own drafts to individuals, schools, or organi zations. This is convenient for those who want to share their ideas with others but don't want to waste time.You should make sure to study closely before writing your essay. It is important to consider the viewpoints of other experts and readers, and make sure that your analysis and conclusions will hold up under scrutiny. An informal essay may be lacking in meaning if your thoughts are not well thought out.An online draft sample can be especially helpful if you plan to write a test. Many essay writing services have a pre-test that will help you develop your draft essay without any pressure. You can complete the task ahead of time and revise your draft at the last minute, if needed.A well-written essay sample is more than just good grammar. Having the right approach to writing an essay will help a writer's overall quality and should be a central part of every essay.Even though an essay can be intimidating, many writers find that the process of finishing their drafts is the most exci ting part of writing their essays. It is important to note that in order to make sure that your draft essay is considered a great work of art, it should be well-written and well-researched. Following a few tips, including taking the time to research an essay sample, can help you create a great essay for your class or business.

What is corporate governance

Corporate governance refers to a system that enables us to control and direct organisations. The IUFC defines corporate governance as â€Å"the relationships among the management, Board of Directors, controlling shareholders, minority shareholders, and other shareholders† (IFC 1).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What is corporate governance? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While the traditional definition of corporate governance recognizes the existence and significance of the terms â€Å"other stakeholders†, however, there is still a lot of debate on the kind of relationship between on the one hand, self-serving managers and on the other hand, disconnected owners (Applied Corporate Governance para. 2). Corporate governance consists of two key components: The long-term relationship between the management and owners of a firm and the incentives for managers, checks and balances, as well as communic ation between investors and the management; Transactional relationships that include issues of authority and disclosure. What the above two elements appears to suggest is that business owners are suspicious of the activities of their managers, as explained by the need for checks and balances. In addition, both the management and investors share an adversarial relationship. Corporate governance consists of five components that are worth of consideration by both investors and the management. They include the long-term strategic goals of an organisation, customers, the environment, employees, and regulatory/legal compliance (Applied Corporate Governance para. 5). As such, corporate governance can be thought of as a culture that is founded on strong business ethics. Corporate governance enables managers of a firm to fulfill the long-term strategic goals of the shareholders. In the process of fulfilling such goals, there is need to also consider that the expectations of the various stak eholders of the organisation (Kirkpatrick 6). Therefore, the past, present and future interests of employees at the firm need to be addressed. In addition, the management should endevour to enhance excellent relationships with both suppliers and customers. At the same time, the needs and interests of the local community should also be fulfilled. Importance of corporate governance Globalisation has seen organisations becoming more complex as most of them have increased in terms of size and scale of trade. As a result, most organisations have ended up with a very bureaucratic structure as they try to manage the emerging complexity (Applied Corporate Governance para. 5). This has led to an augmentation of the importance of internal regulation and corporate governance owing to the increased difficulty of regulating organisations externally.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many o rganisations view corporate governance as an important undertaking when it comes to the issue of integrity. Shareholders and the general public would want to be associated with an organisation that is led by leaders with integrity (Kirkpatrick 9). In this respect, corporate governance acts as a vital tool for measuring, encouraging, and projecting integrity within the organisation. Corporate governance in an organisation is also important in as far as the bonus culture is concerned. The recent financial crisis helped to reveal the system of remuneration and bonuses operated by many financial institutions. There is a widely held argument that this system of remuneration and bonuses encouraged irresponsible lending and excessive risk taking by financial institutions, thereby triggering the global financial crisis (Applied Corporate Governance para. 6). Ideally, the existence of a better checks and balances system would have sounded warning bells before it was too late. A number of fin ancial experts outside the financial systems who were privy to the dangerous levels of lending practiced by many financial institutions had tried to raise an alarm but in the absence of a sound system of corporate governance, it was hard to ascertain these allegations. In this case, sound corporate governance practices would have helped to contain the situation. Indeed, weaknesses and failures in corporate governance arrangements played a key role in the financial crisis experienced by financial institutions. Good corporate governance offers the right incentives for both the management and the Board of Directors to pursue the goals that are in the best interest of shareholders and the organisations at large (Tricker and Tricker 27). In addition, good corporate governance also facilitates effective monitoring, thereby making it easy to detect deviations from the accepted norm and practices. Consequently, remedial measures can be taken before it is too late. Corporate governance resul ts in better regulatory framework within the organisation. What this means is that corporate governance leads to sound management of the organisation (Applied Corporate Governance para. 7). In the same way, when governance within a corporation fails, the management is deemed to have failed as well. In the recent global financial crisis, many financial institutions were rewarding their CEOs with hefty pension and bonus packages, even as the government struggled to bail out failing firms. This is a reflection of poor management because it does not make financial sense to award a CEO a hefty package to leave office while the organisation is in financial limbo. In the financial markets, good corporate governance requires the right balance between on the one hand, customer choice and innovation and on the other hand, implementing basic standards. This may require organisations to change their corporate culture but in the end, the ensuing rewards are worth the sacrifice.Advertising W e will write a custom essay sample on What is corporate governance? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Corporate governance is also important to an organisation when it comes to the issue of training the directors. Following the collapse of such organisations as WorldCom and Enron in the past decade, questions have been raised on the need to re-assess the qualifications of directors. In the past, there has never been any formal yardstick with which to assess the qualifications of the senior people who run an organisation (Applied Corporate Governance para. 8). From a practical point of view, majority of the large and well run corporations seek for the most fitting qualifications from among their senior staff; however, an increasingly larger number of organisations are now offering selection services and training to non-executive directors. The collapse of the above mentioned firms and a dozen others has seen more professionals reassessi ng the role of direction as a discipline or professionals that demands specific forms of training and development. In this case, corporate governance has played a crucial role in efforts to re-evaluate the qualifications of directors charged with the responsibility of overseeing the operations of organisations (Tricker and Tricker 33). Some MBA courses now include corporate governance as part of their course content. Such a trend should be encouraged so that the true importance of corporate governance can get the recognition it deserves. Conclusion In summary, corporate governance refers to the system that ensures the control and management of organisations. It enshrines the components of the long-term relationship between the owners of an organisation and the management. A sound corporate governance system should take into account the interests of the firms, the shareholders, the employees, suppliers, and the local community as well. Corporate governance is important to an organisa tion with regard to the issue of integrity because shareholders and the general public would want to be associated with an organisation that has integrity. Also, corporate governance helps to contain the bonus culture within organizations. It also leads to better regulatory framework, as well as in the training of directors. Works Cited Applied Corporate Governance. The importance of corporate governance. 2009. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More IFC. Corporate Governance. 2005. Web. Kirkpatrick, Grant. The Corporate Governance Lessons from the Financial Crisis. 2009. Web. Tricker, Robert and Tricker, Bob. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. This essay on What is corporate governance? was written and submitted by user Braylon Cannon to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Visions and Visits

Visions and Visits Visions and Visits Visions and Visits By Mark Nichol Vision and visit both pertain to seeing something, and that’s no coincidence, because they are cognates, both stemming from the Latin verb videre, meaning â€Å"see.† A discussion of the words, their variations, and some related terms follows. The word vision describes the literal ability to see and the figurative sense of something conjured by the imagination as if it is seen or even merely contemplated (the original connotation), as well as the act or power of seeing or imagination. In addition, the word refers to the quality of discernment or foresight, a sense that arose only about a century ago. A vision is also something seen, including a particularly charming or lovely person, place, or thing. Little-used adjectival and adverbial forms are visional and visionally. Someone with discernment or foresight is called a visionary. Other words in the vision family include envision, a verb meaning â€Å"picture.† Something that can be seen is visible (the adverbial form is visibly), and the quality of being able to be seen, whether on a practical level or in the sense of celebrity, is visibility; the antonym is invisibility. The adjective visual refers to the faculty or process of sight, and the adverbial form is visually. Visualize is the verb form, and something visualized is a visualization. (The British English spellings are visualise and visualisation.) Something that does not involve sight is nonvisual. Related compounds are television (a compound of the Greek word tele, meaning â€Å"far off,† and vision), audiovisual (an adjective referring to technology that enables sight and sound), and proper nouns such as VistaVision, the brand name of an obsolete form of wide-screen cinematography. Several words referring to the face include the syllable vis, which stems from videre and refers to one’s appearance or face, including visage, a noun that is a synonym for â€Å"face,† and visor, originally a reference to the part of a helmet covering the entire head that protects the eyes (and later to an eyeshade). Envisage is a synonym for envision. (A related term is the adopted French term visvis, meaning â€Å"face to face,† which in English is a preposition meaning â€Å"face to face with† or â€Å"in relation to† or â€Å"compared with.† Less commonly, it is a noun referring to a counterpart or a person one is on a date with, or an intimate conversation, as well as an adverb meaning â€Å"together.†) Visit began as a verb describing someone attending on another to benefit or comfort and later came to refer to one or more people paying a call to one or more others, as well as the sense of afflicting or coming on to (as in the biblical verse â€Å"The sins of the fathers are visited on the sons†). Later, it became a noun describing the instance of paying a call. One who visits is a visitor (the term, for example, refers to members of a sports team coming from somewhere else to compete with the home team), and a visitation is an instance of an official visit (or is an adjective referring to such a visit). Visit, visitor, and visitation also have a connotation of an examination or inspection of a place of religion. To revisit is to consider something a second time; it is generally not used to mean literally â€Å"visit again.† The verb advise and the noun advice, referring to recommendations given, ultimately derive from videre by way of the Old French term avis, meaning â€Å"idea,† â€Å"judgment,† or â€Å"view.† Advisory is the adjectival form as well as a noun referring to a report that gives advice or suggests a course of action. (Despite that spelling, adviser is favored over advisor to describe someone who does so.) To supervise is literally to look over, to manage or monitor an area or a procedure; the act of doing so is supervision and the actor is a supervisor, and the adjectival form is supervisory. Meanwhile, revise means â€Å"look again† and refers to changing something- generally, something written- that one (or someone else) has produced; the adjective is revised, and the noun for the act is revision. (There is no direct actor noun, although one might be referred to as a reviewer.) To improvise is to do something unprepared or to make something using available resources; the act is improvisation. Words from other languages that stem from videre include visa, from the Modern Latin phrase charta visa, which literally means â€Å"paper that has been seen† and refers to a document or to a sticker or stamp in a passport that confirms authorization to visit a foreign country, and vista, from the Italian word for â€Å"sight† or â€Å"view,† which refers to a prospect or a view of a landscape or seascape. A subsequent post will discuss words stemming from videre that do not include the element vis. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Greek Words You Should Know8 Proofreading Tips And TechniquesThe Difference Between "Shade" and "Shadow"

ETHICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF ICT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

ETHICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF ICT - Essay Example Radio, television, and print media like newspapers and magazines were the main source of information and communication in the earlier days in the developing countries. However the recent decades witness the increased use of mobile phones, internet, and other new technological applications like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol - implying the transmission of telephonic conversation over the internet) being the advanced utility of ICT. The usage of such improved applications has been found to exist in large numbers in the developing countries. The mobile phone usage can be identified as the most rapid and voluminous in the ICT growth in the developing countries. For examples the total access to telephone connection including the fixed land line and mobile connections in the developing countries has shown an increase from 2 percent in the year 1991 to about 31 percent in the year 2004. Similarly the internet usage in the developing countries has increased from a meager 0.03 percent in the year 1994 to over 6.7 percent in the year 2004. (Parliamentary POST Note) There are certain ICT ... Examples of the Contribution of ICT to the Economies of Developing Countries There are certain ICT projects undertaken in the developing countries that involve the role and contribution of international community, the Non-Government Organizations, education department, rural governments, and the industry. These projects have the objective of extending the benefits of ICT to a wide range of sectors like health, education, trade and commerce, scientific research and development capabilities, human right awareness and empowerment of women - all are closely related to the social causes of the community in general in the developing countries. However it must be noted that the benefits of ICT are not fully utilized by the developing countries for the growth and development of their economies due to inadequate infrastructural facilities and also due to lack of required human capital to support the growth of ICT. Some of the examples of ICT projects in the developing countries towards social causes are: Health Sector: The telemedicine project in Kenya has the objective of providing an online network of medical consultations for all the hospitals and health centers in Mali. The website is being used solely by the physicians while the other health care staff is also encouraged to contribute to the functioning of the telemedicine project. Women Empowerment: The Grameen Bank a non-government project in Bangladesh provides low cost loans to the ladies to set up mobile phone exchanges. With the income from the mobile exchanges the ladies are able to improve the standards of their living and educate their children. (Parliamentary POST Note) Development in Human Rights: In Zimbabwe the Kubatana Trust using Email and internet provides the human rights and civic

Organizational Changes and the Future in Policing Essay

Organizational Changes and the Future in Policing - Essay Example This paper will draw round Riordan's PR campaign together with its defined target audience, an impression of public relations issues, and insinuation of ethical issues. In adding up, Riordan has put into practice a marketing research plan and sought to bring into line its marketing and public relation approach According to the expert analysis Operations management for new firm is the methodical way and control of the processes that change inputs into ended goods and services. The operations function comprises an important proportion of the employees and bodily assets in the majority organizations. In such organizations operations managers are anxious with each step in as long as a service or product (Kogut, B. 2004, 151-167). They choose what should go into an in service system such as gear, labor, tools, facilities, materials, power, and information and how these inputs can finest be attain and used to please the requirements of the market place. Managers are also liable for serious activities such as excellence management and control, ability planning, materials management, procure, and preparation. The significance of operations management for a company like Nokia in market has augmented radically in latest years. Important foreign competition, shorter product and repair life-cycles, improved skilled and quality-conscious consumers, and the abilities of new technology have placed growing pressures on the operations function to get better efficiency as given that a broader array of high-quality products and services. By the globalization of markets, firms are familiar with that the operations function can be used as a spirited weapon to make stronger their location in the market place. Managers in operations management play a planned, as well as a strategic role in pleasing customer wants and making their firms sturdy international competitors (Kotabe, M., 2003, 10-31) According to the latest analysis if a new company want to enter in market then at least as volatile as the Middle-East situation, but not as famed in the headlines, is the appearance of worldwide operations as a main force that is reshaping the earth of commerce. By the prospect of latest business opportunities that escort it, we need to believe how these worldwide opportunities will be communal by U.S. businesses (Kotabe, M. 2003, 107-119). Personally, I describe public relations as the image that an organization works to portray to the public. Moreover, I have been in healthcare for 25 years as well as all the hospitals that I have worked for try to depict a positive image of healing and caring to the group of people. Portraying this image assist hospitals to gain new commerce and continue to grow. Nowadays, healthcare is commerce and mainly hospitals are vying to be number one in the area. every one in hospitals offer adequate care to an extent that is satisfactory to the public, but certain hospital systems stand out in areas of healthcare. When hospitals do extremely well in an area, such as cardiac care, the hospital

A Strategic Analysis of Apple Essay Example for Free

A Strategic Analysis of Apple Essay Apple Inc. is an American based multinational corporation. It focuses on designing, selling and producing consumer electronics, software and personal computers. Its main product lines are; the iMac, iPhone, iPad and the iPod. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Since then Apple Inc. has been one of the most innovative and competitive organisations in the technology industry. There have been significant ups and downs in the history of Apple. Throughout this, it kept its legacy of introducing new technology to the market. It is believed that over a hundred countries use Apple’s products. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ranks the company as the most innovative company for the last 8 years running. It is important for an organisation like Apple to remain competitive in the industry for its survival. Apple has been working extensively to introduce new products and ideas since its inception. Apple has transformed its business segment over the last decade. This began with the launch of the iPod in 2001, increasing profitability and creating growth. Apple further enhanced their profitability by expanding the operating segment, launching the iTunes store, and more recently through the acquisition of ‘Beats’. NPD Group (2012) found 63% of digital downloads run though Apple. The major turnaround occurred in 2007 when the company launched an Internet enabled smartphone (The iPhone). This started the golden era of  profitability and technological expansion for Apple. Apple has penetrated most of the developed countries, and even reached saturation point in Europe with its high end products including iPhone and iPad. It is yet to make a significant impact in the developing countries including China and India, which has around 36.8% of the worlds population. The research firm IDC (2013), found Apple’s market share for androids in China was only around 7%, below Samsung and Levono Group. 1.2 Research Aims Alfred Chandler (1962) defined strategy as The determination of the basic long-term goals of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals.† In order to analyse the firms’ strategic position we will further this research into three sections. The first, looking at the impact of the environmental factors. This will be done using a PESTEL analysis, as well Porters’ Five Forces model. Secondly we will consider the strategic capability of Apple by using a SWOT analysis. Finally analysing Apple’s innovation and internationalisation strategy in more detail. Concluding by offering recommendations for Apple and its competitors. 2. Environment Analysis 2.1 PESTEL Analysis It is important for every organisation to identify the impact of environmental analysis on its business operations. Apple is currently operating in more than 100 countries, meaning external factors have a significant impact upon the company. Identification and constant monitoring of these factors is important to minimise the effect they have on Apple. 2.2 Political Apple Inc. Form 10-K (2013) stated that approximately 63% of the Apple’s revenue comes from countries other than America. Thus the political  environment of various countries will significantly impact the revenue of Apple. The current political unrest in Crimea and the annexation to Russia from Ukraine could affect Apple’s sales, due to USA and Russian relations. In 2013 Apple sold approximately 1.6 million iPhones in Russia making it an important market for Apple. It is important for Apple to continuously monitor this situation in respect to their sales in Russia. China is now the worlds largest market for smart phones with 26.5% of all smart phone shipments, Forbes (2012). As shown below. For Apple to enter the Chinese market, a joint venture must be set up with a Chinese partner. This led to Apple joining with China Mobile. Apple’s market share has grown by 1% in the last quarter of 2014. This has led to Apple now being the 5th largest vendor of androids in China. 2.3 Economic The analysis of the global economy is of vital importance. During a period of recession such as the one just seen, disposable income falls, and unemployment rises. Apple’s product could be seen to be a luxury product, where quantity sold declines as income falls. This may lead to a fall in sales for Apple. However, during the recent recession Apple’s sales increased. Asymco (2011) Report below: The graph shows how Apple maintained continual growth in revenue over the ’09 period and onwards. Although its product may be seen as luxury, Apple managed to differentiate its product from competitors, and so created an increased demand. Additionally, with a depreciation of the dollar, the purchasing power of parity in foreign countries improves, and so Apple’s products become relatively cheaper. This led to an increase in international sales. 2.4 Socio- Cultural Factors The social life of an individual has significantly changed over the past  decade due to the revolution brought by a rapid expansion of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These social media networks have their own applications on iPhone. This gives users both business and consumers, a good medium to communicate with friends, family and business contacts. Apple has shaped modern culture by doing such, and this has increased demand for its product. Furthermore, Apple has entered the media market by the commercial linking of consumer products, with the iPod and through the launch of iTunes. This made a significant impact on 12 to 35 year olds using such products to enhance their social lives. 63% of digital downloads occur through iTunes, which gives Apple a dominant position in this market. By staying up to date with the changes Apple can increase its demand for both product. 2.5 Technological Technological factors are instrumental to the success of Apple. As one of the leading innovators in a technological industry, Apple must stay at the forefront of new developments. Steve Jobs was well aware of this: ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower,’ (The innovation secrets of Steve Jobs, 2001.) This led to Apple’s first steps, transitioning from a computer manufacturer to a leading technology company. This occurred through the iPod and more recently the iPhone and iPad. There was an awareness to develop new products as well as operating systems, which made the total range of compatible products attractive to consumers. KPMG’s Technology Innovation Survey (2013) found that the US is most likely to find a disruptive breakthrough in technological advancements, contrary to beliefs a few years ago. However, China is close behind, with 24% of the votes believing China will see the next disruptive breakthrough in innovation. Either way, Apple must be very aware of what competitors are producing. If they do not utilise advancements in production or ICT revolutions they will be left behind. 2.6 Environmental There is now a greater awareness on a global scale to reduce emissions and become more environmentally friendly. Laws and regulations in United States have changed and this has made manufacturers responsible for recycling their waste. For this purpose Apple has established domestic recycling facilities which will help the Company to recycle its waste in United States and to follow the rules and regulations. Apple has communicated its willingness to adopt a green production process in order to protect the environment. This may enhance its credibility in the local and international markets. Apple Website (2014) ‘We want to leave the world better than we found it.’ We aim to ‘create not just the best products in the world, but the best products for the world.’ Clearly Apple are making conscious steps to lead the way in becoming a green company, and to mold with the changing views of the population. 2.7 Legal Apple operates in more than 100 countries and the legal environment faced by the technology giant is of utmost importance. Apple has filed various lawsuits in court for violations of intellectual property rights (IPR) . Protection of IPR and patents will significantly impact revenue and future profitability. One of the most famous cases is where Apple won a $1.05 billion lawsuit against Samsung, showing the importance of the Legal system in the US. Furthermore, Apple is subject to international laws, policies and procedures. To compete in the Chinese market, Apple has ventured with China Mobile. Apple must continuously work alongside laws and regulations to maintain its brands equity. Operating in such a vast number of countries increases revenue, but leads to the arduous task of keeping up to date with all laws in all countries. 3. Porter’s Five Forces Michael Porter developed this Five Forces model, which is used as a tool for companies to analyse business strategies. The use of the forces can determine the intensity and the attractiveness of the industry, reflecting the profitability of the industry. 3.1 Threats of New Entrants If market entry is easy, and barriers to entry low, then the competition in a market will be much greater. There are a number of factors which limit the ease of entrance. In the PC and mobile phone industry, the market has high levels of competition, and so threat of new entrants isn’t high. Apple has managed to gain very high levels of brand loyalty with its customers. Apple emphasise RD and product innovation, which satisfies consumer demands. Apple also benefits from economies of scale, linking its production of different goods and services together. Finally, Apple has set up manufacturing plants in China where the labour and costs of production are cheaper. These factors all create high barriers to entry for new competition. Therefore, the main threat is between existing competition developing products to match that of Apple, and not from new entrants. 3.2 Threats of substitutes The more similar a substitute is to an Apple product the less power Apple has. This reduces Apple’s ability to charge higher prices. In the Mobile phone, PC, and Tablet industry there is a huge variety of products available. This puts Apple under constant pressure. For example, Apple’s flagship device, the iPhone, has rivalry from various smartphones, such as Samsung’s’ Galaxy S4 and HTC. The major reason for Apple’s success is due to its superior quality of product, along with brand recognition. This has made Apple the most valuable smartphone brand (The Worlds Most Valuable Brands Forbes. 2014). Apple must endeavor to maintain this brand loyalty to reduce the threat of substitution and charge to premium price for the products. 3.3 Supplier Power Apple has a few key suppliers for some of its components, such as Foxconn. Foxconn could use this fact to their advantage, and exhibit higher  bargaining powers. Apple uses its rival Samsung to produce the chips for their iPhone’s. This reliance on Samsung gives them great deal of bargaining power. Supplier power is slightly reduced due to the sheer size of Apple’s business, enabling them to force lower prices by buying in large quantities. Over the years, Apple has developed unique alliances with suppliers helping to streamline the supply chain. Alliances with music partners and software companies such as AT T has helped to increase the revenue base of the Company, without increasing the powers of suppliers. Steve Jobs was a known to be a control freak, and focused on reducing the bargaining power of suppliers from the use of vertical integration. 3.4 Buyer Power The bargaining power for most Apple consumers is low. Apple fanatics are willing to pay premium prices for Apple goods. In the case of the Mac laptops, the price is almost double of that of its rivals. Consumers are willing to pay this for both the name and the superior quality of the product. The vast number of Apple consumers has reduced their power to lower the price of Apple products. Apple’s goal should focus on reducing the consumers bargaining power. It has tried to do this by developing products specifically for consumers needs and wants, enabling them to charge a higher price. Griffin Consulting Group (2012) find that there are high switching costs for customers who want to change software or hardware which again reduces the bargaining power of customers. 3.5 Rivalry between Competitors The PC and Mobile industry is very competitive, with a large number of similar sized firms. Rivalry in this industry is seen by; aggressive pricing, rapid product innovation, intensive marketing, and after-sale services (Forbes Website, 2012). This is used to add value to the product. Apple tries to differentiate its product from its competition. It implements a focus strategy, only developing a few products and targeting them for the need of the customer. Steve Jobs was quoted saying this: People think focus means saying yes to the thing youve got to focus on. But thats not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. Im actually as proud of the  things we havent done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things, (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, 1997). For example, iPhone’s are targeted to consumers rather than businesses. Macintosh computers are targeted to creative professions such as designers and photographers. By doing this Apple has stayed competitive in a highly rivalrous market. 4. SWOT Analysis Apple The SWOT analysis of Apple will be used to evaluate the strategies with respect to its strength weaknesses opportunities and threats. Apple needs to further strengthen its strategies in order to attain benefits from the opportunities that exist in the environment. Below is the SWOT matrix, followed by a more detailed analysis of a few key points. Strengths Customer Loyalty Leading Innovator Strong Financial Performance Brand Reputation Retail Stores Strong Marketing Team Patent And IPR Protection Weaknesses High Price Incompatibility With Different Operating systems Decreasing Market Share Long Term Gross Margin Decline Opportunities High Demand Of iPad and iPhone iTV launch Application Processors Growth of Phone and Tablet Market Acquisition Of Smaller Firms. Strong Growth of Mobile Advertising Market Increasing Demand for Cloud Services Threats Technology Changes Increase In Supplier Prices Foxconn Workers’ Pay Levels Price Challenge From Samsung Android OS growth New Competitors. 4.1 Strengths Apple has won the award for being the leading innovator in the world BCG (2013). Apple’s core competency has helped it to establish itself as the most innovative company in the last decade. The fact that the RD expenditure of Apple in the year 2013 was approximately $4,475 million, which is approximately 30% of its total operating expenditure. Thus it is evident that the amount of RD expenditure helps the Company to remain leading innovator in this technology industry. By being the leading innovator, Apple has established a strong base of loyal customers. ‘Once Apple always Apple,’ is the phrase which is used by the customers of Apple and there is always strong interest and demand at new product ranges. The expansion of Apple into other product categories like iTV and other media will further increase customer loyalty. Apple expects its existing customers to use iTV, which will be more technologically advanced than its existing products. A strong marketing team has made Apple products famous among its customers. Last year it spent $933 million on advertising Forbes (2014.) Through the marketing of the products it is able to sell at a higher price compared to its competitors. Due to these factors the brand reputation of Apple is immense compared to its rivals, such as Microsoft and Samsung. Forbes (2013) valued Apple at $104 billion, whereas its rivals Microsoft and Samsung had brand values of $56.7 and $29.5 billion respectively. This shows the strength of Apple with respect to brand reputation and this is helping Apple  to increase its revenue and profitability over all these years. Apple controls its retail distribution by exclusive sales from its own network. Apple stores provide a higher quality customer service experience. Knowledgeable staff helps the customers, who increase the brand equity and thus increases the sales for the Company. They average Apple store size has increased by 3,000 square feet to 10, 500 square-feet. The average revenue per store of this is $50.2 million, Fox Business (2014). These stores are one of the best when it comes to sales per square feet, and this is a great strength for Apple. Finally, Apple is currently the leading company with a market capitalisation at the end of the fourth quarter of approximately $504 billion. This is due to the strength of their financial performance over the past few years. Apple’s cash balance is approximately $14.25 billion and their Balance Sheet shows an asset base of $207 billion in 2013, from Ychart (2014). Apple is therefore in a strong position to respond to most competitive threats. 4.2 Weaknesses One of the major critics about Apple products is that it is much more expensive than other comparable devices in the market. Fierce competition in the consumer product market is a disadvantage for Apple, as consumers can choose similar lower priced products. As well as this critics dislike the incompatibility with different operating systems. Products, particularly desktop and laptop computers manufactured by Apple only use its own operating system and thus the software and hardware are interdependent on each other. Critics argue consumers would rather buy products from various vendors, which is possible with Windows’ products. Apple computers are dependent on the growth of Apple’s OS, which could prove to be a disadvantage. If technological growth is limited then this will affects Apple’s ability to increase its market share in different industries. The market share of Apple has decreased over the past few years due to Android’s growing popularity, as it is a free operating system. It was  estimated that in 2014 the market share of Apple in smartphone industry would remain at 14.9%. Now it is expected to decrease to 14.4% in the year 2018, due to growth in the sale of the Windows’ phone. Thus it is important for Apple to improve on its technological advancement, including making more innovations with its operating system. More exclusive Apps on Apple could improve market share for Apple. Finally there has been a long-term gross margin decline for Apple. The major reason for the decrease of Apple’s margin is the increase in its cost of sales. In 2012 the gross margin was around 44%. This has significantly decreased in 2013 to around 38%, and thus shows that Apple needs to decrease its cost of goods in order to increase the gross profit margin in the long term. 4.3 Opportunities IDC (2014) found that 87% of connected device sales by 2017 would be from tablets and smart phones. Apple with its own product has the capability to produce and innovate technology in this sector to increase its market share. Apple has launched iPad mini 2 and the demand has been increasing for this tablet. Samsung has launched its Flagship smartphone S5 during 2014, and hence people are eagerly waiting for the new generation of the iPhone 6. This will considerably help it to further increase its market share and revenue over the next year. One of Apple’s opportunities is to increase its diversity of products through acquisitions. In the last 18 months alone Apple has acquired over 24 companies Tech Crunch (2014). Most recently acquiring Beats for $3.2 billion from Dr. Dre. There are a lot of new firms in the technology market, which are developing new products and features, which Apple can acquire. Due to the fact that these are patented features, Apple can get them through external acquisitions. Apple’s ability to purchase or negotiate will help to continue its long-term growth. A future revenue stream, which Apple has tried to utilise, is the increasing  demand for cloud services. IDC (2014) predicted that IT cloud services will reach $46.4 billion in 103, expected to increase to over $107 billion by 2017. This equate to a compound annual growth rate of 23.5%, fives times that of the industry. The Cloud based services offer huge potential revenue stream for Apple. Finally, Apple’s iTV product is a major innovation, to its product range and will support the Apple TV, which will help its penetration into the TV market. Furthermore, this will also diversify the portfolio of the Company and will further increase revenue and profitability along with the brand equity in the technology industry. 4.4 Threats Apple manufactures its products with the help of Foxconn. The wage level of Foxconn workers has tripled in recent years. This has led to rising costs for Apple. Further still, Samsung has asked Apple to pay more of its processing chips in its iPhones. The reliance on these suppliers has meant a rising cost level for Apple. Apple needs to identify more suppliers of processing chips, which should help it to decrease the overall costs. This in turn will improve their profitability and reliance on other companies. The technology sector is experiencing rapid technological changes. This puts Apple under severe pressure to launch new products and features with new devices. Inability to do such will lead to failure. Apple over the years has introduced new products and services, which is helping it to stay ahead of its competitors. Soon it will face fiercer competition and innovation is key for survival. Apple is facing a threat from the Android’s rapid OS growth. The free operating system for smartphones Android is the most widely used operating system. Approximately 80% of the smartphones shipped in 2013 were based on Android. Therefore it is important for Apple to further increase the innovations by introducing new features in their operating system. This will help to maintain or grow their market share in years to come. 5. Apple’s Strategies When considering the strategies that Apple had adopted it is important to consider how these strategies arose and the direction in which it moved the company. This is key in determining how the company can now move forward and pursue new goals. Apple was found to be the leader in innovation for the last eight years running by Boston Consulting Group. When considering how Apple has become the company it is today, it is vital to talk about the innovation strategy that Steve Jobs implemented, and now more recently how, Tim Cook is moving the company forward. In this section we will also look at the use of a diversification strategy, which was implemented at the same time. The last strategy covered is an internationalisation strategy adopted by Apple. 5.1 Innovation Strategy Freeman and Soete (1997) defined innovation as the ‘The first commercial application or production of a new process or product.’ It involves the conversion of a new knowledge into a product or services and then the implementation of this. It can take two different forms; technology push, or market pull. The former is created by new knowledge and understanding from technologists or scientists. The latter is caused by the pull of consumers in the market, leading to innovation. Before Steve Jobs turned Apple around John Scully decided that cost leadership strategy was vital. He did believe in a differentiation strategy as well, however he failed at differentiating Apple’s products from the leading rivals. This led to Steve Jobs taking control of the company and redefining the direction of Apple. He believed that innovation was the key to success. The industry was driven by low prices and expanding capabilities, so Jobs decided to innovate and at the same time differentiate Apple’s product from the market. In 2001 this with achieved with the revolutionary new product of the iPod. This allowed music to be stored on a  small device holding thousands of songs. From here, iTunes was developed. Compatibility between this and other software allowed the iTunes store to become highly profitable. With Apple growing rapidly, Steve Jobs continued with this successful strategy. The advertising campaign ‘think different’ developed in 1997 has been at the core of Apple’s strategy. By being highly innovative, he achieved extremely differentiated products and ideas from their rivals. The iPhone was just this, and by being the first smartphone it has left competing androids in its wake. From one innovation to another, Jobs set up the App store allowing applications to be downloaded to a phone. This vastly increased the range of activities that this smart phone could do. More recently with an economic downturn the need for a cheaper Mac like product was developed, which could target consumers in a slightly lower price range. This led to the creation of the iPad. This was an example of consumer pull innovation Apple has used. Finally, the iCloud which is a highly innovative product, allows customers to sync all Apple products using a network called the Cloud. This has been crucial in reducing the ability of consumers to switch between products, giving Apple the power to charge premium prices. This is an example of technology push innovation, an area Apple has specialised in. Most companies adapt to external environment and change strategies accordingly. Apple changed and drove these external factors. Focusing on innovation and by creating fashionable designs, Jobs changed socio-cultural factors, instead of adapting to them. The iPhone, iPad and iPod created a change in the culture, and the design of these was appealing, as well as technologically advanced. This has been a key factor in Apple’s Success. 5.2 Internationalisation Strategy Rui et Al (2008) defined internationalisation strategy as ‘The process by which a firm sells its good and services outside of its domestic market. They do this by both technology and managerial capabilities.’ Apple’s products are used in over a hundred countries. It is clear that Apple has  used an internationalisation strategy to its advantage by dramatically increasing its consumer market. In fact 63% of Apples revenue comes from outside of America. The product iPhone in Europe has almost reached saturation point. Apple’s internationalisation strategy is a Global one which standardises its products. The only modification is the power source. Apple’s engineering design and manufacturing is now controlled by one source, which is where it differentiates from its competing computer manufacturers. Apples engineering and design developers come up with ideas for products in the US, but then two large IT solution brans, Foxconn and Invetec manufacture this product. Manufacturing occurs in China and this is due to lower labouring costs. The use of this internationalisation strategy has been influential in driving costs down and so improving profits. More recently Apple has targeted the Chinese market with the release of the iPhone 5C. Apple has been working to extend its market share in the Chinese telecom industry, which is the world’s biggest telecom market with a subscription base of more than 1.01 billion in the mobile phone industry. This shows the potential significance of the Chinese telecom industry. A large market share of this industry would mean a significant increase in its profitability for Apple. Apple started to concentrate in the Chinese smartphone market in the last few years and have seen significant increase in its revenue from this market. According to the Annual Report of Apple for the year 2013, the revenue from the Chinese market has increased from 7% of its total revenue in 2011 to around 15% of Apple’s total revenue in 2013. This shows how significant an increase from the Chinese economy could be for Apple’s future. In accordance with the needs of the Chinese consumers, Apple identified innovation was needed to develop a new product for this market, and so launched the iPhone 5C. Apple also succeeded to negotiate a partnership with China Mobile, which is the number one operator in the Chinese telecom market with over 760 million subscribers. This has given a huge advantage to Apple, as now it will be working with China Mobile to increase its market share and eventually increase the profitability of the Company. Apple has established strategic alliances with a lot of mobile operators around the world, but  this is one of its best deals due to the sheer size of China Mobile. 6. Conclusion 6.1 Recommendation The ability of Apple to stay innovative and to keep its brandy loyalty is key to maintaining its position in the market. Many of Apples own products are substitutes for older products such as the iPod. Other smartphone competition such as Samsung and HTC are growing rapidly and rivalry is increasing in the market. The ability of competitors to catch up, and potentially develop products more advanced than that of Apple is a real concern. There have been fears that Apple is becoming less innovative. Forbes (2014) ranked Apple as the 79th most innovative company, and argues that their methodology for calculation was more detailed than that of BCG. Competing companies should look to exploit this weakness. Samsung and HTC should look at investing heavily in RD in order to release more and more sophisticated products. This would undermine Apple and its core strategy, allowing for huge potential revenues to be gained. To do this Apple’s competitors would need to advertise heavily in order to reduce brand loyalty to Apple. For this reason, Apple should continue to invest heavily in their marketing team. Apple have tried to diversify their product line, but at the same time have created products which are profitable in their own right, such as iCloud and iTunes. At the same time it has created its own ecosystem where their products interlink between each other. The use of this reduces the consumer’s ability to substitute. Apple should focus on maintaining and developing this route. The use of the iTV is a positive sign of Cook identifying this opportunity. The recent acquisition of Beats for an approximated $3.2 billion, Guardian (2014), may be an indication of a change or expansion of Apple’s strategy by  Tim Cook. Apart from the headphone product, the expansion in the media market compliments the iTunes library of videos and music. This creates an ongoing revenue stream for apple, and opportunity to expand its growing sector of loyal Apple customers. Finally, one main concern for Apple is sourcing of its components. With the increasing wages of Foxconn employees Apple should look to increases its suppliers. Or, Tim Cook should follow Steve Jobs view on this, and look at continuing the vertical integration to avoid reliance on others, and so reduce supplier bargaining power. 6.2 Conclude Since 2001 and the launch of the iPod, Apple has had an era of unbelievable growth and profitability becoming the most valuable brand in the world. Clearly without Steve Job’s and Tim Cook forging a clear and strong strategic platform this profitability would not have been sustained. The internationalisation strategy has been a huge success with levels of revenue from outside the US in the billions. A focus on continued innovation and the use of rapidly developing countries such as China and India will determine the future of Apple. 7. Bibliography Apple, (2014), ‘environment / our-progress’ [online] Available at: http://www.apple.com/uk/environment/our-progress/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. 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Forbes (2013), ‘IDC 87% Of connected Devices Sales by 2017 will be Tablets and Smartphones’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/09/12/idc-87-of-connected-devices-by-2017-will-be-tablets-and-smartphones/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2013), ‘Is Apple The world’s most Innovative Company (still)?’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/09/27/is-apple-the-worlds-most-innovative-company-still/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2014), ‘The World’s Most Valuable Brands’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2014), ‘Who Spends More on Ads- Apple or Microsoft? Another Lesson in Quality vs Quantity’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2012/08/02/who-spends-more-on-ads-apple-or-microsoft-another-lesson-in-quality-vs-quantity/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. 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Compare and contrast the two characters of Celie and Jeanette. Essay

Compare and contrast the two characters of Celie and Jeanette. Consider the influence of religion on the two main protagonists. Despite the fact that Celie and Jeanette are characters who appear to be lost in completely different worlds they do in fact have quite a lot in common. The influence of religion on the two girls is significant and can be seen throughout the two novels. Jeanette is trapped at home with an extremely strict religious family, and could be considered to be quite naà ¯ve, as she hasn’t seen much of life outside of her village. Her village is full of evangelists, although the way they act makes them seem a lot more like a cult. Hence, it could be said that Jeanette had to endure religion being forced upon her throughout her childhood. Celie on the other hand, embraces religion and it is an important factor in her survival. After Celie has been raped by her abusive father, who also gave her children away, she is forced to live with Mr. ____, her husband, who is equally, if not more abusive than her father ever was. Celie can’t see herself living any other way, and although she isn’t happy, she accepts this way of life. Jeanette Winterson wrote, â€Å"Oranges are not the only fruit†, which was published in 1985. She was born in Manchester in 1959, and was adopted by two evangelist parents. She left her parents in 1975 after starting a relationship with another woman. She attended St. Catherine’s College in Oxford and graduated from there with a degree in English. Over the years she has published many stories mainly involving lesbian fiction, as well as film scripts. Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944 into a family of sharecroppers near Eatonton, Georgia. Her father, Willie Lee Wal... ...lf and her new life by ending her letters as if they were a prayer, with the word â€Å"Amen.† Jeanette has escaped her demons and eventually returns home once she has found her own path in life with God, but without all her previous restrictions. The two novels reflect on the ways in which religion can affect how a person lives their life, and how it can help them to cope in times of need and desperation. The novels also show how religion can have the influence to help a person to have the strength to survive and completely change their direction in life, as is seen in â€Å"The Color Purple† and â€Å"Oranges are not the only fruit.† --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] â€Å"Oranges are not the only fruit† Jeanette Winterson Chapter One, Genesis. In this scene we are introduced to Jeanette, her family and the life she lives.