Phase 3 Discussion Board (LOG676) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Phase 3 Discussion Board (LOG676) - Coursework Example The paper will compare the involvement of the United States in humanitarian supply chains and that of Kenya. In 2004, the earthquake and tsunami claimed close to 230000 lives while displacing 1.7 million other people. In the United States, the response was unprecedented and unequaled mobilizing over US$565 million, in both cash and kind. Kenya has been involved in hosting refugees drawn from the neighboring war-torn Somalia and Sudan as well as providing soldiers under AMISON. In any disaster response management as pointed out by practitioners, and researchers, the effectiveness of any emergency drill rely entirely on logistic speed and efficiency. While both countries face the same problems like the impact of political and decision makers in the humanitarian supply chain, other factors such as certainty as well as challenges in the supply of materials, are unique to either. With disaster management efforts measured in terms of uncertainty and complexity, the United States is better equipped with rapid response materials. The main humanitarian arms in the U. S government are the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, USAID, which work with the intergovernmental organizations like the UNHCR CARE and the Catholic Relief Services. While in Kenya, the Kenya Defense Forces, and the Red Cross standout. In my opinion, what makes the response of the United States more concerted is the almost seamless organization in the structure of disaster management as compared to Kenya. Companies involved in roles such as donors, collectors, and providers seem to be well synchronized. It explains why most interventions such as those in Afghanistan and the Iraqi were successful. Companies also offer technological support and staff who are tasked with ensuring efficiency. Thus, the technological advancements help the staff access remote and almost inaccessible areas (Lee, 2003). The United States, as opposed to Kenya, has also ensured that there

Analysis of Competition in the Technology Market

Analysis of Competition in the Technology Market EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dells competitive advantage is their direct customer sales and customer support; this has made the company one of the leading suppliers of computer systems. Dell has a better understanding of its customers computer needs through continuous online and telephone interaction. This constant interaction drives individual and enterprise productivity. Future growth rates for the computer industry are expected to be less than previous years however, Dell can still be profitable. One of the main problems that Dell faces is the struggling United States economy which Dell has no control over. This is compounded by a saturated PC market with lower profit margins from industry price wars. Dell must focus on being a market taker, instead of trying to be a market maker. Dell needs to capitalize on their ability to enter and dominate new markets, as it did in the low-end server and workstation markets. The company must pursue an international expansion of their middle and high-end server products. T hrough the acquisition of a company like EMC Corporation Dell can pursue the external data storage market. Dell has already captured a large share of the United States market and must increase its server, storage, and service segment overseas to gain more international market share, particularly in China and Latin America. The only viable strategy in order to achieve Michael Dells goal to double Dell Computers current revenue to $60 billion by 2007 is to work on methods to improve sales in the stated new areas. A combination of service, storage and server product growth across newly established international markets is vital to achieve Dells ambitious goal. The United States economy is in a recession, but there are numerous opportunities for growth outside its borders. INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT In the early 2000s, the electronic computer industry was struggling amidst a weak economic climate that presented challenges in business and consumer markets alike. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, after a sharp increase from $56.9 billion in 1998 to $64.7 billion in 1999, electronic computer shipment values fell in 2000 to $62.9 billion. As the economy took a turn for the worse, shipment values plunged to $55.8 billion in 2001. This affected virtually every product segment within the industry, including servers and workstations. Along with values, actual unit shipments also declined, falling from 27.2 million in 2000 to 22.7 million in 2001 (XXX). In the early 2000s there were numerous factors that slowed the purchase of new computers. On September 11, 2001 the terrorist attacks crippled consumer confidence. There was also a rise in the unemployment rates and the possibility of war with Iraq. All these factors made customers content with keeping their existing computers. These s ame conditions caused a slowdown of technology spending in the corporate world too. The wave of year 2000 related new equipment purchases that took place at the end of the 1990s, as well as the availability of quality used equipment from bankrupt Internet companies in the early 2000s, also had a negative impact on the corporate market for new electronic computers. Global competition among computer makers has favored, low-cost producers, and many of these are United States firms. The four largest United States computer makers, Dell, Compaq, Hewlett- Packard, and IBM controlled approximately 40 percent of world computer shipments. In late 2000, Dell proved itself as a potent competitor by taking the title of world market leader away from Compaq. In 2002 Hewlett-Packard had acquired Compaq, in an effort to challenge Dells position. In 2005 the industry reported 2,278 companies manufacturing electronic computers, employing 90,762 people who generated some $196,557.41 million in revenue. Average sales totaled $116.4 million per company. Electronic computers represented 59.7 percent of the market, while digital personal computers garnered 23.5 percent of the market (Electronic Computers, 2007). LEADING COMPANIES DELL Dell designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports information technology systems and services. The company sells its products directly to large corporate, government, healthcare, and education customers as well as small to medium businesses and individual consumers. Dell offers its products in six categories: desktop computer systems, mobility products, software and peripherals, servers and networking products and storage products. The desktop computer systems offer three product lines: Optiplex, Dimension and XPS. The company also offers Precision work stations (Galenet, 2008). The Optiplex product line is primarily for business, government, and institutional customers and the Dimension product line is for small businesses and home users. The XPS product line is for the gaming and entertainment needs of the customers. For the users that run sophisticated applications like three-dimensional computer-aided design, digital content creation, geographic information systems, computer animation, software development and financial analysis the company offers the Precision workstation. The mobility products division provides MP3 players, handhelds (Dell Axim) and three lines of notebooks (Dell XPS, Latitude and Inspiron). The XPS product line for  notebooks targets customers in the gaming or entertainment segment. The Latitude product line focuses on business, government, and institutional customers, while the Inspiron product line is targeted at small businesses. Dell is a leading player in the United States and worldwide for notebook computer shipments (Company Spotlight, 2008). The software and peripheral products of Dell includes printers and displays, software, notebook accessorie s, networking and wireless products, digital cameras, power adapters, scanners and other products. The company offers variety of third party software products such as operating systems, business and office applications, anti-virus and related security software and entertainment software. The companys power edge line of server focuses on enterprise customers and small organizations. Dell is the market leader in the United States in shipments of x86 servers. Computers and servers on small to medium networks can be connected using Dells PowerConnect switches. Dell doesnt just provide products, they also offer infrastructure consulting services, deployment services, asset recovery and recycling services, training services, enterprise support services, client support services and managed lifecycle services. Through Dell Financial Services (DFS) the company can provide United States businesses financing alternatives and asset management services. HEWLETT-PACKARD Hewlett-Packard (HP) offers a complete product portfolio spanning across personal computing, imaging and printing related products and services, and technology solutions. The company operates through seven business segments: enterprise storage and servers, HP services, software, the personal systems group, the imaging and printing group, HP Financial services and corporate investments. The enterprise storage and servers, HP services and software segment are aggregated under the technology solutions group. Hewlett-Packard is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and the company operates in over 170 countries around the world. The United States is the largest geographical market, 33.4 percent of the total revenue during 2007 (Smith, 2008). Enterprise storage and servers provide storage and server products to both small and medium sized businesses. Industry standard servers include entry-level and mid-range ProLiant servers, which operate primarily on the Windows, Linux and Novell operating systems, and Intel Corporation (Intel) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors. The companys product lines span across pedestal-tower servers, density optimized rack servers and HPs BladeSystem family of blade servers. The technology solutions group includes enterprise storage and servers, HP services and HP software. Technology solutions group provide servers, storage, software and information technology services for enterprise and mid-market business customers to manage their current IT environments. Business critical systems include Itanium-based Integrity servers running on the HPUX, Windows, Linux and OpenVMS operating systems including the high-end Superdome servers  and fault-tolerant Integrity NonStop servers. Business critical systems also include the Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC)-based servers with the HP 9000 line running on the HP-UX operating system, HP AlphaServers running on both Tru64 UNIX and Open Virtual Memory System, and MIPs-based NonStop servers. The company has planned to phase out its Alpha server product line in recent times (PCs Industry Profile, 2008). Hewlett-Packards services include technology services, consulting and integration, and outsourcing services. It serves industries such as communications, media and entertainment, manufacturing and distribution, financial services and the public sector, and government and education services. The technology services ranges from standalone product support to high availability services for multi-vendor environments and business continuity and recovery services. The consulting and integration segment provided consulting and integration services to implement technology and industry-specific solutions for customers. Outsourcing services provides IT management and outsourcing to support infrastructure, applications, business processes, end user workplace, print environment, and business continuity and recovery requirements. HP Software provides management software solutions including support, that allow enterprise customers to manage their IT infrastructure, operations, applications, IT services and business processes under the brand, HP OpenView. It also delivers comprehensive, carrier-grade software platforms for developing and deploying next generation voice, data and converged services to network and service providers under the HP OpenCall brand. Hewlett Packard acquired Mercury Interactive Corporation, Bristol Technologies, SPI Dynamics and Opsware in fiscal 2007, which added transaction monitoring, applications security testing and data center automation capabilities to its portfolio. Personal systems group (PSG) is one of the leading providers of personal computers (PCs) in the world based both on volume and annual revenue. Its product line includes commercial PCs, consumer PCs, workstations, handheld computing devices, digital entertainment systems, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services. Workstations are individual computing products designed for users demanding enhanced performance such as computer animation, engineering design and other programs requiring high-resolution graphics. HP provides workstations that run on UNIX, Windows and Linux-based operating systems. Hewlett-Packard is the leading imaging and printing systems provider in the world. The segments portfolio of offerings includes consumer and commercial printer hardware, printing supplies, printing media and scanning devices. The HP Financial services provide financial service to small and medium size businesses. It also offers leasing, financing, utility programs and asset recovery services, financial asset management services for large global and enterprise customers. This group provides innovative and customized services to counter technology obsolescence. ACER Acer functions in the manufacture and sale of IT products, and provision of computer software and maintenance services. The company operates in Taiwan, Europe, Asia, and North America. The company operates through a single business segment and sells Acer branded desktop personal computers (PCs), notebook PCs, and other related information technology (IT) products and services. Acers IT product range includes computer system (desktops, notebooks, handhelds, and tablets), servers and storage products, monitors (cathode ray tube and liquid crystal display), peripherals, projectors, internet appliances and personal multimedia, and digital still cameras (DSC). Acer provides a commercial and consumer series desktop. The commercial series desktops include Veriton and AcerPower brands and the consumer series include the Aspire brand. The company provides four series of notebooks: Aspire series, TravelMate series, Tablet PC series, and Ferrari series. The Tablet series is Acers latest high-mobility solution, which easily converts between notebook and slate modes. Acers servers and storage products are sold under the brand name Altos and Acer. Acers services are based on the MegaMicro business model, which is defined by the company as a mega infrastructure that supports micro services. The services offered include e-Enabling Services Business, enabling Information Platform Services, and Enterprise e-Caring Services. The companys e-Enabling offerings combine Acers IT products and services, and are delivered through the companys infrastructure. (Acer.com, 2008) APPLE Apple is one of the major providers of personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices. Apple designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers and related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The company also designs, develops, and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services including the online distribution of third-party music, audio books, music videos, short films, and television shows. The company sells its products worldwide through online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers and resellers. Acer is managed on a basis of geographic segments. The company operates through four operating segments: the Americas, Europe, Japan, and retail. The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa. Each reportable geographic operating segment provides the same kind of hardware and software products and services. The retail segment currently operates Apple-owned retail stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The company has 174 retail stores in the United States and 23 stores in Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Apples Desktops product line includes iMac, eMac, Mac mini, Power Mac, Mac Pro, and Xserve. Portables include MacBook, iBook, MacBook Pro, and PowerBook. iPod products include iTunes Store and iPod services, and the companys own and third party iPod accessories. Other music related products and services include hardware accessories of the company and third parties, wireless connectivity and networking solutions. Software services comprise Apple  branded operating system and application software, third party software, AppleCare, and Internet services. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT The threat of new entrants into PC market is moderate, a compromise between high brand recognition in the market and strong market growth. The new web enabled mobile phones and games consoles fill the needs of some buyers as well as PCs making the threat of substitutes moderate. Rivalry within the market is moderate, as large competitors are faced with relatively high exit barriers, but still enjoying strong growth that leaves plenty of expansion room for all players. There is product differentiation within the market in terms of technical specification, styling, and support services offered, leading to decrease buyer power. However, there is little differentiation in the underlying architecture, with even Apple recently moving to the use of Intels x86 processors. This pushes the market towards commodification and strengthens buyer power. Buyer power can also be increased if more technology savvy people build their own computer. This requires special knowledge and is only a valid alt ernative to a small portion of the customer base. Buyer power overall remains moderate. Supplier power is low because PC manufactures do not incur a significant cost when switching suppliers. However, Intel has strong supplier power due to its brand recognition of its products and use in the vast majority of PCs on the markets. Microsoft also has strong supplier power as a result of their dominance in the operating systems market. The overall supplier power is strong. The threat of substitutes within the PC market is moderate, with much of the functionality of modern PCs being unavailable through alternative means. However, one of the largest threats to the consumer PC market lies within the sphere of gaming, especially with respect to the next generation games consoles, whose increased specifications are attracting gamers away from the PC format. Mobile phones and similar hand-held devices with email and web browser capability can also replace much of the communication role of PCs. The major PC manufacturers are relatively large companies. Some are strongly focused on the PC market (e.g. Lenovo), others have broadly diversified businesses (e.g. Sony), and so that on average the importance of the PC market to its players is moderate. COMPANY SWOT DELL Strengths Despite losing market share to Hewlett-Packard Company in the recent past, Dell continues to remain a strong player in the computer hardware segment. In the computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing industry in the United States, Dell was in the second place behind the Hewlett-Packard Company. In the computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers industry in the United States, Dell was in the first place with a market share of 6.5 percent. Dell is also one of the leading players in the global servers segment. The company has a strong market position in the storage segment owing to its partnership with EMC. The companys Asia Pacific-Japan segment has reported strong performance in recent three years. The revenue of this segment increased from $5,465 million in fiscal 2005 to $7,358 million in fiscal 2007, an increase of 34.6 percent over 2005. All product categories in this region experienced revenue growth during fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006. The company has a wide product portfolio, comprising desktops, notebooks, servers, storage products, networking, printers, ink and toner, televisions, software and accessories. Dell has formed partnerships to strengthen its presence in areas where it is weak. A wide portfolio of products has helped the company provide bundled offerings to customers. Weaknesses Dell has weak internal controls. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started an investigation into the accounting and financial reporting matters at Dell, in August 2005. In 2006 The company announced that its Audit Committees investigation had identified a number of accounting errors, evidence of misconduct, and deficiencies in the financial control environment. The company has had to recall several products in the recent past owing to quality issues. In August 2006, the company announced the recall of 4.1 million notebook batteries owing to fire risk. These Dell branded batteries were based on cells of Sony. The company also recalled several other products in previous years owing to quality problems, including AC Adapters and printers. Opportunities Dell has acquired new companies in 2007 and also plans to go in for acquisitions in the future. In July 2007, Dell entered into an agreement to acquire privately-held SilverBack Technologies, a service delivery platform provider for remote monitoring and management of information technology infrastructure such as servers, storage, networks, desktops and notebooks. In the following month, Dell entered into an agreement to acquire ZING Systems, a private consumer technology and services company that focuses on always-connected audio and entertainment devices. This acquisition enables Dell to use ZINGs capabilities to continue improving the entertainment experiences it provides its customers. In November 2007, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EqualLogic, (Dell.com, 2008) a provider of high-performance iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions optimized for virtualization. The  global Personal Computer (PC) market generated total revenues of $163.8 billion in 2006, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3 percent for the period spanning from 2002 to 2006. Desktop sales proved the most lucrative for the global PC market in 2006, generating total revenues of $123.1 billion, equivalent to 66.9 percent of the markets overall  value. In comparison, sales of Laptops generated revenues of $60.9 billion in 2006, accounting for 33.1 percent of the markets aggregate revenues. The company is entering into new retail agreements to enable consumers to have greater access to Dell products. In September 2007, the company partnered with Gome, Chinas largest consumer electronics retailer to reach millions of in-store computer buyers and to sell the companys latest products through it. In October 2007, Staples and Dell signed an agreement which allows customers to have the option to buy at 1,400 Staples stores for a wide collection of Dell notebook and desktop computers, monitors, printers, ink and toner (Dell.com, 2007). Threats The electronics manufacturing industry is struggling to compete with the black market, parallel import, and smuggled goods. Some countries like China represented an overwhelming 81 percent of the total value of seized goods in 2006. With an increase in the number of counterfeit products being manufactured in China, the company faces serious threats in most of its market segments. These products, although of poorer quality in most cases, are considerably cheaper and may affect the revenue of the company in the long run. Dells failure to comply with new environmental legislation could result in significant penalties and liabilities. Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) Directive, effective as of July 2006, imposes restrictions on the use of six hazardous materials. Although the company uses a number of third party manufacturers, it will continue to bear responsibility for compliance with the ROHS directive. The European Union has also enacted the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive which makes producers of electrical goods, including computers and printers, financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal of past and  future covered products. The United States and Eurozone are two important markets for Dell. The recent turmoil in financial markets, the very weak housing market indicators and consumer sentiments, the growth projection for the United States and the United Kingdome has slowed. Economic slowdown in the United States and Eurozone could lead to less IT spending, which in turn would adversely affect demand for the companys products. HEWLETT-PACKARD Strengths Hewlett-Packard has a strong market position in most of its product segments. The company has a leading market position in the global PC market in terms of shipments. Hewlett-Packard seized market leadership from Dell in the global PC market in 2006 and managed to sustain it in 2007 with 19 percent market share. The company is the second largest entity in the servers market behind International Business Machines (IBM), with its server range extending from low-end systems to high-end systems. In particular, the company is the market leader in x86 Blade and UNIX based servers. Hewlett-Packard has a leading market position in printers. Hewlett-Packard has reported strong financials in recent years. The company has reduced its long-term debt over the last few years from $6,494 million in 2003 to $4,997 million in 2007. Hewlett-Packards long-term debt ratio stood at 0.1 for the fiscal year ended October 2007. The strong financial position provides the company the flexibility of expanding its geographical coverage and product portfolio through organic and inorganic initiatives. Hewlett-Packard also has high brand equity. The company is one of the leading brands in the technology sector along with Microsoft, IBM and Intel. Hewlett-Packard markets several products such as personal computers, inkjet printers and digital cameras to consumers. A strong brand image plays a critical role in consumer markets. Weaknesses Hewlett-Packard has weak internal controls. The company is being investigated by a number of agencies for employing questionable methods to identify the board member, who was leaking  confidential information to the media (Los Angeles Times, 2006). The company is accused of using private agencies, which used illegal methods such as imitation to obtain the phone records of its board members and select journalists. Hewlett-Packard lacks in-house management consulting division. Instead the company has formed partnerships with the likes of Accenture and Capgemini to provide management consulting services to its customers. Increasing number of IT services companies are establishing management consulting divisions in order to provide a more comprehensive and integrated range of services. The research and development expenditure of Hewlett-Packard has remained flat in recent years. The company invested $3,643 million in research and development in each year of 2006 and 2007 compared with $3,492 million in 2005. Research and development as a percentage of revenues declined over the last three years from 4 percent in 2005 and 3.9 percent in 2006 to 3.5 percent in 2007 (HP.com, 2007). Opportunities Hewlett-Packard has undertaken an ambitious revamp of its IT operations, which it hopes will not only improve its effectiveness but also serve as a showcase for its technological capabilities. Hewlett-Packard has taken up five classes of IT initiatives: portfolio management, IT workforce effectiveness, world-class IT, enterprise data warehouse and global data centers. The portfolio management initiatives of the company include reducing active projects from 1,200 to 500 and reducing the number of applications. For improving IT workforce, the company is reducing its IT core sites from 100 to 29 among other initiatives. The company is focused on extending its leadership in imaging and printing. HP acquired Snapfish, online photo service, to dominate the sharing and printing of digital images over the internet. Hewlett-Packard is expanding Snapfish in Europe and Asia. Threats Hewlett-Packard faces intense competition in all its business segments in terms of price, quality,  brand, technology, reputation, distribution, range of products etc. The company faces stiff competition in the PC market. The company has become the market leader in the PC segment in the third and fourth quarter of 2006, sending Dell to the number two position. Acers acquisition of Gateways has made it the third largest PCs supplier in the world. In some regions, the company faces competition from local companies and from generically-branded or white box manufacturers. In the printer supplies segment, Hewlett-Packard competes with re-manufacturers including private label brand stores such as Office Max, supply stores such as Cartridge world, internet vendors and original equipment manufacturers such as Lexmark. The European markets and the United States economy are forecast to decline in coming years. The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is also forecast to grow in 2008. Risi ng interest rates and increasing unemployment would negatively affect the consumer spending in the United Kingdom. ACER Strengths Acer has robust market position in the global PC and notebook markets. In 2008, the company was ranked as the third largest player in the global PC market with a market share of 12.8 percent. Acer was ranked the second largest in the global notebook market with a share of 19.6 percent. The company was ranked the third largest player in the United States PC market and notebook market. In September 2008, the company completed acquisition E-Ten Information Systems (Acer-group.com, 2008). The acquisition helped the company to strengthen its position in handheld devices, including smartphones and GPS devices. Acer also purchased Packard Bell in 2008. In 2007 the company purchased one of the largest PC companies in the United States, Gateway. The successful mergers of Gateway and Packard Bell helped the company to strengthen its presence in the United States and enabled deeper penetration into the European and Asian markets. These acquisitions helped the company in generating increasing re venues from non-Taiwan markets. Weaknesses Acer is significantly dependent on Europe for its revenues. In FY2008 and FY2007, the company generated around 51 percent of its total revenues from Europe. Europe is experiencing a slowdown in the recent periods. The United Kingdom economy is forecast to be weak in the coming years. The companys high dependence on Europe makes its operations vulnerable to fluctuations in Europe economy. Opportunities The smartphone market is expected to grow in the coming years. It is anticipated that the smartphone market will grow by 15 percent every year for the next three to five years. The value of the global smartphone market is also expected to be more than $95 billion, representing 47 percent of the total handset market value in 2013. Acer is well-positioned in this segment. The growing smartphone market will provides the company an opportunity to increase its revenues in the coming years. Despite the slowdown in the overall PC market, the netbooks/mini-notebooks sales are forecast to grow in near term. The netbook market experienced a robust growth in 2008 and is forecast to grow about 68.5 percent in shipments. Acer offers netbooks under its four brands: Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines. Acer has upgraded its products in the recent times. In September 2008, Acer along with its partners introduced Acer-Hitachi SMS 100, a storage product designed for the needs of small and medium sized businesses. The product offers enterprise class features and does not require specific storage experience to be installed and can be connected to any server through an ethernet network. Acer also launched the Aspire M7200 desktop PC targeting multimedia home-users looking for a powerful multi-tasking system, with plenty of expansion and customization capabilities Threats Acer competes with several large branded as well as smaller branded and generic companies. The company faces severe competition from branded competitors such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. The note book segment has also attracted competition from nontraditional players. Intense competition in the PC segment may erode the companys margins and reduce its market share. Acer has been part of several patent law suits in the recent periods. In 2007, HP  filed a suit against Acer alleging that Acer and its United States subsidiary have knowingly infringed on five HP patents related to PCs. This has raised HPs recent patent claims against Acer to 10. However in 2008, Acer settled all ongoing patent litigations with HP. Acer operates in various countries worldwide, and is exposed to risk from changes in foreign currency rates. The company derived about 95.3 percent of sales from customers outside Taiwan in FY2008. The consolidated companies record transactions in their respective func tional currencies, which generally are the local currency of the primary economic environment in which these entities operate. APPLE Strengths Apple enjoys a high level of brand awareness and brand recognition for its products throughout the markets in which it operates. Apple leverages its brand image to differentiate its product offering and drive sales. The companys strong brand enables it t

Carters loss of popularity Essay -- American History, Politics

The 1970's was a difficult time period in American history filled with chaos, domestic and international crises, and very poor presidential leadership. Richard Nixon was president during the early years of the seventies and he was far from popular in the eyes of the American people. With inflation rapidly rising, Nixon soon became unfavorable, and with the controversy surrounding his actions concerning the Watergate Crisis, he was impeached and forced to resign. His Vice President, Gerald R. Ford, soon took his place in the White House. However, Ford was unable to handle the crippling events taking place in the United States; his approval dropped drastically within months, and like Nixon he lost support of the American people. When the 1976 presidential election came around, the American people needed a new hero whom they could trust and who could pull the nation out of its current state of misery. To fill this position, American chose to elect James Earl Carter, Jr., Governor from G eorgia. Jimmy Carter began his presidency in the bright glow of public support built on his promise of bringing honesty and morality back to politics; but unable to successfully deal with conflicts beyond his control concerning domestic and foreign affairs, his term as President ended behind a dark cloud of public disapproval. Jimmy Carter entered the White House in 1977 with the bright glow of public support from the American people, stemming from his outspoken and admiring charisma. He was seen as the hero who could bring the nation out of disparity and restore it back to its golden years. He guaranteed that his government "would be filled with love as are the American People" (qtd. in Slavin 58). Carter characterized himself as honest and aggressi... ... in their once loved hero. They no longer saw him as the man who could cure the country's problems and restore the nation back to its golden years. In the 1980 presidential election, Carter faced even more trouble when the Democratic party became divided. Senator Ted Kennedy, member of the Democratic liberal wing, stole much of the democratic support away from Carter; although Jimmy won the Democratic primary, he had lost much needed democratic support and faced a major disadvantage heading into the election ("Election of 1980" 1). Not surprisingly, the dissatisfied voters did not reelect him for a second term, and many openly expressed their dissatisfaction with his handling of domestic and foreign affairs ("Outline of American History" 3). Ronald Reagan won the election, and Carter was forced to head back to Georgia behind a dark cloud of public disapproval.

Toefl essay

China and his story is unrealistic. However, this is directly refuted by the teacher's claim that Marco Polo really did go on the trip to China as he said. To begin with, the reading suggests that all of the original accounts of his Journey is given in different language and version. It is written in Latin, Italy, and Old France but it contains all different details.The lecturer, however, contradicts this point by asserting that at first, when he was in Jail, his Jail fellow, which was romance novelist rote the first version in France, and Marco Polo later wrote own account in Italian, which is later translated in to Latin. Another point that article stresses is that Marco Polo fail to mention basic fact about China. He did not write about tea drinking or Great Wall. Also, he was unable to speak Chinese even though he lived In China for 17 years.On the other hand, the speaker asserts that he did not see common stuffs of China because he lived in different location. Mostly, Marco Polo lived in North, where tea was unable to see. For him, It was hard to see Great Wall cause it was not finished and separated In pieces. When Marco Polo left China the Great Wall was done. Thus, Kabuki Khan sent Persian Translator for Marco Polo, who was able to speak Persian.Therefore, he did not have to learn Chinese. Finally, the passage points out that Marco Polo's name Is not written In any of China's record. If he claim to know Kabuki Khan, who was the ruler, his name should be written In any of record. In contrast, this viewpoint Is rebutted by the lecturer's assertion that he was using Persian name. Also, he was not really Important enough to written In Chinese record. Toefl Essay TOEFL ESSAY RATING SCALE 6 An essay at this level – effectively addresses the writing task – is well organized and well developed – uses clearly appropriate details to support a thesis or illustrate ideas – displays consistent facility in the use of language – demonstrates syntactic variety and appropriate word choice 5 An essay at this level – may address some parts of the task more effectively than others – is generally well organized and developed – uses details to support a thesis or illustrate an idea – displays facility in use of the language – demonstrates some syntactic variety and range of vocabulary An essay at this level – addresses the writing task adequately but may slight parts of the task – is adequately organized and developed – use some details to support a thesis or illustrate an idea – demonstrate adequate but possibly inconsistent facility with syntax and usage â€⠀œ may contain some errors that occasionally obscure meaning CHECKING Content Is there a thesis statement or introduction? Is there a topic sentence for each paragraph? Are there supporting details for each topic statement? Is there conclusion? Clarity Are there run-on sentences or sentence fragments? Are there misplaced modifiers or dangling modifiers?Are the structures parallel? Are there transition words? Are the sentences and paragraphs cohesive? Punctuation and spelling Are the paragraphs indented? Are there punctuation marks such as periods at the end of each sentence? Do all sentences begin with capital letters? Are all words spelled correctly? General Writing Improvements Strategies 1. Writing is skill like playing tennis. You have to practice. There is a lot of extra work you can do on your own to help you become a better writer. Doing these activities, you’ll practice your writing, practice your penmanship, and practice forming opinions.To improve your writing, pay attention when you read. Notice how the author of your book organizes thoughts and expresses ideas. 4. Buy a notebook to record your thoughts and your writing. Don’t use this notebook for anything but writing practice. This notebook will be your private classroom. 5. Keep a journal. Record the events of a day. Tell what happened. Record what you think 6. When events happen, take notes. Later in the day reread your notes and turn them into sentences. Turn the sentences into paragraphs. 7. Write every day. Give yourself a gift of time.Spend five minutes a day writing, and do it faithfully everyday. Once a week, assign yourself a topic and write an essay in thirty minutes. 8. Go back over your writing frequently. The more you write, the better writer you will become. You may think of a better, or a different, way of expressing a thought. Use the blank page to experiment with different ways of expressing the same idea. 9. When you rewrite, imagine you are writing for a different audience. The first time you wrote for yourself. How would you change your writing if your friends were to read. Your teacher? Your mother? A stranger?Types of Essays There four essay types on the Computer-based TOEFL: |Agreeing or disagreeing |33% | |Stating a preference |34% | |Giving an explanation |22% | |Making an argument |11% |Identify the task If†¦ How†¦ In your opinion †¦ If you could change (something) what would you change? What is the best way to (do something)? What should be the main focus? Which of the following should you do? Which of the following is most important to you? What would you give to help someone? How would you do something? How would you do something/choose between two things? How will (something) affect (something else)? Describe †¦ Explain †¦ What do you consider most important: (list)? What have you learned by (doing something)? Why do you think (something happens)?What are the qualities of (something)? Choose an event and te ll why you enjoyed it. How ha (something) changed? Why is (something) important? How does (something) effect (something else)? How is (something) different? Some do this; others do that. Some say this; others say that. Which opinion do you agree with? In your opinion which is better? Which would you prefer? Would you prefer to†¦? Compare the advantages and disadvantages. Which is best for you? Compare these attitudes. How is (something) different from (another thing)? Stating your opinion Set phrases In my opinionAccording to me To my way of thinking In my view To me From my point of view It is my opinion that I believe I think It seems to me that It appears that To my mind In my opinion, university students must attend classes. According to me, one must change with the times. To me, there is nothing more important than good health. It is my opinion that one learns by example. It seems to me that a good neighbor is one who respects your privacy. It appears that all the informat ion one needs is available on computer. Verbs Agree Believe Guess Hope Imagine Infer Realize Suppose Think UnderstandAll in all All things considered Altogether As a rule Basically By and large Essentially For the most part Generally In general On the whole Overall All in all, it is better to learn from a teacher than on your own. As a rule, it is better for students to wear uniform to school. For the most part, countries are more alike than different. On the whole, higher education should be available for all. Adverbials Seemingly Conceivably Possibly Perhaps Maybe Probably Presumably Certainly Almost Doubtless No doubt Definitely Daily exercise definitely should be a part of every school day.Doubtless, helping a child to learn to read is important. Seemingly, playing games can teach us about life. Almost In a way More or less Practically So to speak For all intents an purposes To some extent Up to a point Adjectives Certain Convinced Positive Sure Time Before After Since Next Duri ng At the same time Then Always While Often Sometime Meanwhile Degree Most important Less important Basically First Second Subordinate Primarily Secondary Comparison and contrast To compare Similar to Correspondingly As Common in Similarly Resemble Just as Than Like, alike Almost the same asIn a like manner Also Either/or At the same time In the same way Neither/or To contrast differ from nevertheless more than although however even do unlike while yet otherwise different from in contrast to but still less than on the other hand instead Cause and effect So For this reason Since Thus As a result Due to Consequently Because, because of Although Explanation In other words As Such as To clarify Like For instance To explain That is To illustrate To paraphrase For example Namely Adding more information In addition moreover besides similarly furthermore also as well as what’s more

Panera SWOT Essay

A SWOT Analysis is a â€Å"situational in which internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization, and external opportunities and threats faced by it are closely examined† to provide an adequate strategy (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/SWOT-analysis.html). Panera Bread Company has become one of the leading companies in the quick casual restaurant market. Strengths The Strengths that Panera Bread Company has are the following: a strong presence in its niche segment, a strong relationship with their franchisees, they focus on having a specialty bread and robust financial performance. In 2008, the company operated in 1,252 bakery-cafes in 38 American States and Canada. Panera Bread Company’s success relies on the strategy of quick service and high quality food. According to Wall Street Journal, Panera scored the highest with customer loyalty in their market niche. In 2007, Sandleman & Associates Quick-Track â€Å"Awards of Excellence,† put Panera Bread Company as one of the top chain restaurants for the sixth consecutive year. They have a very strong brand image, which also contributes to their success. Panera Bread Company has a strong relationship with their franchisees. It expects to operate 256 additional franchisees or area developers from their 725 franchise-operated bakery-cafes. Panera primarily operates through franchise agreements throughout the United States and this positive relationship that headquarters has with these companies has led to their success. This aids the growth of the company. The company has a high focus on being a specialty bread store. Panera Bread Company produces Artisan breads. Artisan bread utilizes natural ingredients with skilled attention, which differentiates the company from commercial competition. This helps the company become secure in its segment of the market. Panera Bread Company has had robust financial performance. Its revenues increased by 21.8% from 2007 to 2008. The companies net profit increased by 17.4% from 2007 to 2008. This continued growth provides the company with a positive future. The company also purchased 51% of the outstanding stock of Paradise. Weaknesses Panera Bread Company has highly concentrated geographic operations, meaning the company is confined to operating in North America. This is a problem because if a change in state taxes could bring a risk to the market concentration. It also loses the opportunities that their competitors will have to establish themselves in foreign markets. The company does not operate in the Asia-Pacific region or Europe-Africa, which could be potential areas they could benefit from. Another weakness that Panera Bread Company has is its lack of scale. When compared to its competitors, Panera Bread Company has a lot smaller revenues. Companies such as Starbucks or McDonalds dwarf this company, in yearly revenues. Panera needs to expand to other regions to become a worldwide competitor. Opportunities The three opportunities that Panera Bread Company has are the following: controlling of operating cost, expansion to grow top line and growth demand for organic products. Panera decided to focus its menu primarily with breakfast and lunch. This is why the company removed the Crispani from its product line. The pizza like pastry was intended to attract a late afternoon to early evening consumer, but had little growth. The little growth was believed to be caused by the recession, which made the company have to focus its menu to two meals a day. The expansion of the company has created more geographic presence for top line growth. Panera Bread Company opened its first company in Toronto, Ontario in 2008. In that same year, the company opened 91 new bakeries. This will help give the company a better presence, but another region for expansion would be Europe and Asia. The growing demand for organic products is a huge opportunity for the company. The already natural ingredients in its Arti san bread make this an easy transition for the company. According to article created by Datamonitor titled â€Å"Organic Food in the United States,† the company had a compound annual growth rate of 17.9%. This opportunity would reflect positively on product sales for the company. Threats Panera Bread Company has four major threats to its success. The first threat to the company’s success is the highly competitive restaurant industry. The company has to compete in three different industries. Panera competes in the specialty food, quick service and casual dining retailers. It major  competition is Starbucks, McDonald’s, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Potbelly Sandwich Works and Yum! Brands. This competition could impact Panera Bread Company’s market share. The second threat to Panera Bread Company would be a disruption in the company’s supply. The company provides fresh dough to each location by temperature controlled vehicles. If there happens to be poor weather conditions, labor difficulties, technical issues or damage to any vehicles in the fleet, then the company could have shortage problem. Depending on how long there is a problem in the fleet; Panera Bread Company would see a decline in sales from those locations affected. The increasing popularity of vegetarian food is the third threat. â€Å"At an average growth of 9% per year, this market is projected to reach $1,700 million by 2010† ( http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=44704860&site=bsi-live). The increase of a preference of healthy, natural, and fat free food has created a very successful market. If Panera Bread Company does not adhere to this trend in the market, then they could be left behind by its competitors. The increase in the minimum wage is the fourth threat to Panera Bread Company. The steady increase in minimum wage has increased labor costs, which have impacted the company’s profit. Hopefully, the minimum wage remains at $7.25 because this is affecting overall administrative costs for the company.