Analytical Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Analytical Report - Essay Example All in all, there are 67 million players each month (Tassi para 1). Given its continuously growing customer base, the company should take into consideration a more direct method of communicating with its customers, in addition to its existing online community forum and e-mail support. There are two options for the company, namely: online live chat or phone call. To prevent customers from going to other online gaming sites, there are two methods for Riot to choose that will make the customer service better. The first one is to set up an online live chat for customers that need help from Riot support. The second option is providing customers a number that they could call whenever they have complaints, problems, or issues that require immediate attention. The company must choose an option that is both inexpensive and efficient. The purpose of this report is to comprehensively analyze these two options and then decide which option is better for Riot Games. The first section discusses the need for customer service expansion; the second part analyzes the weaknesses and strengths of Riot Games; the third section enumerates the pros and cons of live chat and phone call support; and the last part determines the better option. Every game company needs customer service personnel to assist players with issues, yet online games require a bigger customer service staff. In offline games, players usually require support or assistance with technical problems; for issues regarding gameplay, players can look for hints online or purchase strategy manuals (Preston 5). However, in a live, online setting, these customers want to obtain assistance directly and instantaneously, and they require assistance for a much wider array of problems than they do in an offline setting (Knapp 16). Riot Games would therefore add value to their customer service by adding another option, either live chat or phone call support. Online gaming companies are usually at the bottom in

Fashion Industry Essay Example for Free

Fashion Industry Essay Early Western travelers, whether to Persia, Turkey, India, or China, would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion there. The Japanese Shoguns secretary bragged (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years.[4] However, there is considerable evidence in Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing.[5] Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate, followed by a long period without major changes. In 8th-century Moorish Spain the musician Ziryab introduced to Cà ³rdoba[6][unreliable source?][7] sophisticated clothing-styles based on seasonal and daily fashions from his native Baghdad, modified by his own inspiration. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the 11th century in the Middle East following the arrival of the Turks, who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East.[8] The beginning in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated. Historians, including James Laver and Fernand Braudel, date the start of Western fashion in clothing to the middle of the 14th century.[9][10] The most dramatic early change in fashion was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks,[11] sometimes accompanied with stuffing in the chest to make it look bigger. This created the distinctive Western outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers. The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and mens fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion with confidence and precision to date images, often to within five years, particularly in  the case of images from the 15th century. Initially, changes in fashion led to a fragmentation across the upper classes of Europe of what had previously been a very similar style of dressing and the subsequent development of distinctive national styles. These national styles remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from Ancien Rà ©gime France.[12] Though the rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance, but still uncomfortably close for the elites – a factor that Fernand Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashion.[13] Albrecht Dà ¼rers drawing contrasts a well turned out bourgeoise from Nuremberg (left) with her counterpart from Venice. The Venetian ladys high chopines make her look taller. In the 16th century national differences were at their most pronounced. Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen may show ten entirely different hats. Albrecht Dà ¼rer illustrated the differences in his actual (or composite) contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions at the close of the 15th century (illustration, right). The Spanish style of the late 16th century began the move back to synchronicity among upper-class Europeans, and after a struggle in the mid-17th century, French styles decisively took over leadership, a process completed in the 18th century.[14] Though textile colors and patterns changed from year to year,[15] the cut of a gentlemans coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a ladys dress was cut, changed more slowly. Mens fashions were largely derived from military models, and changes in a European male Silhouette were galvanized in theaters of European war where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of foreign styles such as the Steinkirk cravat or necktie. Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, was a leader of fashion. Her choices, such as this 1783 white muslin dress called a chemise a la Reine, were highly influential and widely worn.[16] Though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France since the 16th century and Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion in the 1620s, the pace of change picked up in the 1780s with increased publication of French engravings illustrating the  latest Paris styles. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were); local variation became first a sign of provincial culture and later a badge of the conservative peasant.[17] Although tailors and dressmakers were no doubt responsible for many innovations, and the textile industry certainly led many trends, the history of fashion design is normally understood to date from 1858 when the English-born Charles Frederick Worth opened the first true haute couture house in Paris. The Haute house was the name established by government for the fashion houses that met the standards of industry. These fashion houses have to adhere to standards such as keeping at least twenty employees engaged in making the clothes, showing two collections per year at fashion shows, and presenting a certain number of patterns to costumers.[18] Since then, the idea of the fashion designer as a celebrity in his or her own right has become increasingly dominant.[19] The idea of unisex dressing originated in the 1960s when designers such as Pierre Cardin and Rudi Gernreich created garments, such as stretch jersey tunics or leggings, meant to be worn by both males and females. The impact of unisex expands more broadly to encompass various themes in fashion including androgyny, mass-market retail, and conceptual clothing.[20] The fashion trends of the 1970s, such as sheepskin jackets, flight jackets, duffel coats, and unstructured clothing influenced men to attend social gatherings with out a tuxedo jacket and to accessorize in new ways. Some mens styles blended the sensuality and expressiveness despite the conservative trend, the growing gay-rights movement and an emphasis on youth allowed for a new freedom to experiment with style, fabrics such as wool crepe, which had previously been associated with womens attire was used by designers when creating male clothing.[21] The four major current fashion capitals are acknowledged to be Paris, Milan, New York City, and London, which are all headquarters to the greatest fashion companies and are renowned for their major influence on global fashion. Fashion weeks are held in these cities, where designers exhibit their new clothing collections to audiences. A succession of major designers such as Coco Chanel and Yves Saint-Laurent have kept Paris as the center most watched by the rest of the world, although haute couture is now subsidized by the sale of ready-to-wear collections and perfume using the same branding. Modern Westerners have a wide number of choices available in  the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect his or her personality or interests. When people who have high cultural status start to wear new or different clothes, a fashion trend may start. People who like or respect these people become influenced by their personal style and begin wearing similarly styled clothes. Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, and geography and may also vary over time. If an older person dresses according to the fashion young people use, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both young and older people. The terms fashionista and fashion victim refer to someone who slavishly follows current fashions. One can regard the system of sporting various fashions as a fashion language incorporating various fashion statements using a grammar of fashion. (Compare some of the work of Roland Barthes.) In recent years, Asian fashion has become increasingly significant in local and global markets. Countries such as China, Japan, India, and Pakistan have traditionally had large textile industries, which have often been drawn upon by Western designers, but now Asian clothing styles are also gaining influence based on their own ideas.[22] Fashion industry The fashion industry is a product of the modern `age.[23] Prior to the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom-made. It was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century—with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine, the rise of global capitalism and the development of the factory system of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as department stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in standard sizes and at fixed prices. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, as of 2015[update] it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold world-wide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets internationally. The fashion industry has long been one of the largest employers in the United States,[24] and it remains so in the 21st century.  However, U.S. employment declined considerably as production increasingly moved overseas, especially to China. Because data on the fashion industry typically are reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industrys many separate sectors, aggregate figures for world production of textiles and clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure, the clothing industry accounts for a significant share of world economic output.[25] The fashion industry consists of four levels: 1. the production of raw materials, principally fibers and textiles but also leather and fur 2. the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others 3. retail sales 4. various forms of advertising and promotion These levels consist of many separate but interdependent sectors. These sectors are Textile Design and Production, Fashion Design and Manufacturing, Fashion Retailing, Marketing and Merchandising, Fashion Shows, and Media and Marketing. Each sector is devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit.[26] Media The media plays a significant role when it comes to fashion. For instance, an important part of fashion is fashion journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines, and commentary can be found on television and in magazines, newspapers, fashion websites,[27] Social network, and fashion blogs. In recent years, fashion blogging and YouTube videos have become a major outlet for spreading trends and fashion tips. Through these media outlets readers and viewers all over the world can learn about fashion, making it very accessible.[28] At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs of various fashion designs and became even more influential than in the past. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought after and had a profound effect on public taste in clothing. Talented illustrators drew exquisite fashion plates for the publications which covered the most recent developments in fashion and beauty. Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La Gazette du Bon Ton, which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and regularly published until 1925 (with the exception of the war years).[citation needed] Vogue, founded  in the United States in 1892, has been the longest-lasting and most successful of the hundreds of fashion magazines that have come and gone. Increasing affluence after World War II and, most importantly, the advent of cheap color printing in the 1960s, led to a huge boost in its sales and heavy coverage of fashion in mainstream womens magazines, followed by mens magazines in the 1990s. One such example of Vogues popularity is the younger version, Teen Vogue, which covers clothing and trends that are targeted more toward the fashionista on a budget. Haute couture designers followed the trend by starting ready-to-wear and perfume lines which are heavily advertised in the magazines and now dwarf their original couture businesses. A recent development within fashion print media is the rise of text-based and critical magazines which aim to prove that fashion is not superficial, by creating a dialogue between fashion academia and the industry. Examples of this trend are: Fashion Theory (1997) and Vestoj (2009). Television coverage began in the 1950s with small fashion features. In the 1960s and 1970s, fashion segments on various entertainment shows became more frequent, and by the 1980s, dedicated fashion shows such as Fashion Television started to appear. FashionTV was the pioneer in this undertaking and has since grown to become the leader in both Fashion Television and new media channels. Despite television and increasing internet coverage, including fashion blogs, press coverage remains the most important form of publicity in the eyes of the fashion industry.[citation needed] However, over the past several years, fashion websites have developed that merge traditional editorial writing with user-generated content. Online magazines like iFashion Network and Runway Magazine, led by Nole Marin from Americas Next Top Model, have begun to dominate the market with digital copies for computers, iPhones, and iPads. Example platforms include Apple and Android for such applications. A few days after the 2010 Fall Fashion Week in New York City came to a close, The New Islanders Fashion Editor, Genevieve Tax, criticized the fashion industry for running on a seasonal schedule of its own, largely at the expense of real-world consumers. Because designers release their fall collections in the spring and their spring collections in the fall, fashion magazines such as Vogue always and only look forward to the upcoming season, promoting parkas come September while issuing reviews on shorts in January, she writes. Savvy  shoppers, consequently, have been conditioned to be extremely, perhaps impractically, farsighted with their buying.[29] The fashion industry has been the subject of numerous films and television shows, including the reality show Project Runway and the drama series Ugly Betty. Specific fashion brands have been featured in film, not only as product placement opportunities, but as bespoke items that have subsequently led to trends in fashion.[30] Public relations and social media Fashion public relations involves being in touch with a company’s audiences and creating strong relationships with them, reaching out to media and initiating messages that project positive images of the company.[31] Social media plays an important role in modern day fashion public relations; enabling practitioners to reach a wide range of consumers through various platforms. Building brand awareness and credibility is a key implication of good public relations. In some cases, great hype is built about new designers collections before they are released into the market, due to the immense exposure generated by practitioners.[32] Social media, such as blogs, micro blogs, podcasts, photo and video sharing sites have all become increasingly important to fashion public relations.[33] The interactive nature of these platforms allows practitioners to engage and communicate with publics in real time, and tailor their clients’ brand or campaign messages to the target audience. With blogging platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr, WordPress and other sharing sites, bloggers have emerged as expert fashion commentators, shaping brands and having a great impact on what is ‘on trend’.[34] Women in the fashion public relations industry such as Sweaty Betty PR founder Roxy Jacenko and Oscar de la Renta’s PR girl Erika Bearman, have acquired copious amounts of followers on their social media sites, by providing a brand identity and a behind the scenes look into the companies they work for. Social media is changing the way practitioners deliver messages,[11] as they are concerned with the media, and also customer relationship building.[35] PR practitioners must provide effective communication among all platforms, in order to engage fashion publics in an industry socially connected via online shopping.[36] Consumers have the ability to share their purchases on their personal social media pages (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and if practitioners deliver the  brand message effectively and meet the needs of its publics, word-of-mouth publicity will be generated and potentially provide a wide reach for the designer and their products. Anthropological perspective Anthropology, the study of culture and human societies, studies fashion by asking why certain styles are deemed socially appropriate and others are not. A certain way is chosen and that becomes the fashion as defined by a certain people as a whole, so if a particular style has a meaning in an already occurring set of beliefs that style will become fashion.[37] According to Ted Polhemus and Lynn Procter, fashion can be described as adornment, of which there are two types: fashion and anti-fashion. Through the capitalization and commoditisation of clothing, accessories, and shoes, etc., what once constituted anti-fashion becomes part of fashion as the lines between fashion and anti-fashion are blurred.[38] The definition of fashion and anti-fashion is as follows: Anti-fashion is fixed and changes little over time. Anti-fashion is different depending on the cultural or social group one is associated with or where one lives, but within that group or locality the style changes little. Fas hion is the exact opposite of anti-fashion. Fashion changes very quickly and is not affiliated with one group or area of the world but is spread out throughout the world wherever people can communicate easily with each other. For example, Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation gown is an example of anti-fashion because it is traditional and does not change over any period whereas a gown from fashion designer Dior’s collection of 1953 is fashion because the style will change every season as Dior comes up with a new gown to replace the old one. In the Dior gown the length, cut, fabric, and embroidery of the gown change from season to season. Anti-fashion is concerned with maintaining the status quo while fashion is concerned with social mobility. Time is expressed in terms of continuity in anti-fashion and as change in fashion. Fashion has changing modes of adornment while anti-fashion has fixed modes of adornment. Indigenous and peasant modes of adornment are an example of anti-fashion. Change in fashion is part of the larger system and is structured to be a deliberate change in style.[39] Today, people in rich countries are linked to people in poor countries through the commoditization and con sumption of what is called fashion. People work long hours in one area of the globe to  produce things that people in another part of the globe are anxious to consume. An example of this is the chain of production and consumption of Nike shoes, which are produced in Taiwan and then purchased in North America. At the production end there is nation-building a hard working ideology that leads people to produce and entices people to consume with a vast amount of goods for the offering. Commodities are no longer just utilitarian but are fashionable, be they running shoes or sweat suits.[40] The change from anti-fashion to fashion because of the influence of western consumer-driven civilization can be seen in eastern Indonesia. The ikat textiles of the Ngada area of eastern Indonesia are changing because of modernization and development. Traditionally, in the Ngada area there was no idea similar to that of the Western idea of fashion, but anti-fashion in the form of traditional textiles and ways to adorn oneself were widely popular. Textiles in Indonesia have played many roles for the local people. Textiles defined a person’s rank and status; certain textiles indicated being part of the ruling class. People expressed their ethnic identity and social hierarchy through textiles. Because some Indonesians bartered ikat textiles for food, the textiles constituted economic goods, and as some textile design motifs had spiritual religious meanings, textiles were also a way to communicate religious messages.[41] In eastern Indonesia, both the production and use of traditional textiles have been transformed as the production, use and value associated with textiles have changed due to modernization. In the past, women produced the textiles either for home consumption or to trade with others. Today this has changed as most textiles are not being produced at home. Western goods are considered modern and are valued more than traditional goods, including the sarong, which retain a lingering association with colonialism. Now, sarongs are used only for rituals and ceremonial occasions, whereas western clothes are worn to church or government offices. Civil servants working in urban areas are more likely than peasants to make the distinction between western and traditional clothes. Following Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch, people increasingly started buying factory made shirts and sarongs. In textile-producing areas the growing of cotton and production of naturally colored thread became obsolete. Traditional motifs on textiles are no longer considered the property of a certain social class or age group. Wives of  government officials are promoting the use of traditional textiles in the form of western garments such as skirts, vests and blouses. This trend is also being followed by the general populace, and whoever can afford to hire a tailor is doing so to stitch traditional ikat textiles into western clothes. Thus, traditional textiles are now fashion goods and are no longer confined to the black, white and brown colour palette but come in array of colours. Traditional textiles are also being used in interior decorations and to make handbags, wallets and other accessories, which are considered fashionable by civil servants and their families. There is also a booming tourist trade in the eastern Indonesian city of Kupang where international as well as domestic tourists are eager to purchase traditionally printed western goods.[42] The use of traditional textiles for fashion is becoming big business in eastern Indonesia, but these traditional textiles are losing their ethnic identity markers and are being used as an item of fashion.[43] Intellectual property Student modeling at the Fashion marketing event at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City. Within the fashion industry, intellectual property is not enforced as it is within the film industry and music industry. Robert Glariston, an intellectual property expert mentioned in a fashion seminar held in LA[which?] that Copyright law regarding clothing is a current hot-button issue in the industry. We often have to draw the line between designers being inspired by a design and those outright stealing it in different places.[citation needed] To take inspiration from others designs contributes to the fashion industrys ability to establish clothing trends. For the past few years, WGSN has been a dominant source of fashion news and forecasts in encouraging fashion brands worldwide to be inspired by one another. Enticing consumers to buy clothing by establishing new trends is, some have argued, a key component of the industrys success. Intellectual property rules that interfere with this process of trend-making would, in this view, be counter-productive. On the other hand, it is often argued that the blatant theft of new ideas, unique designs, and design details by larger companies is what often contributes to the failure of many smaller or independent design companies. Since fakes are distinguishable by their poorer quality, there is still a demand for luxury  goods, and as only a trademark or logo can be copyrighted, many fashion brands make this one of the most visible aspects of the garment or accessory. In handbags, especially, the designers brand may be woven into the fabric (or the lining fabric) from which the bag is made, making the brand an intrinsic element of the bag. In 2005, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held a conference calling for stricter intellectual property enforcement within the fashion industry to better protect small and medium businesses and promote competitiveness within the textile and clothing industries.[44][45] Political activism Fashion may be used to promote a cause, such as to promote healthy behavior,[46] to raise money for a cancer cure,[47] or to raise money for local charities[48] such as the Juvenile Protective Association[49] or a childrens hospice.[50] One up-and-coming fashion cause is trashion, which is using trash to make clothes, jewelery and other fashion items in order to promote awareness of pollution. There are a number of modern trashion artists such as Marina DeBris, Ann Wizer,[51] and Nancy Judd.[52]

The US Firm Kraft Foods Took Over Cadbury Marketing Essay

The US Firm Kraft Foods Took Over Cadbury Marketing Essay According to the Harvard Business Essential the word strategy originated as a military term, and adopted by businesspeople when refereeing to plans for controlling and utilizing limited resources human, land and capital. In his classic article, Kenneth Andrews (1971) described strategy as the goal of promoting and securing vital interest, whilst M. Porter (1980) re-defined strategy as a broad formula for how a business is going to compete. One of the founders of the renowned Boston Consulting Group, Bruce Henderson linked strategy to competitive advantage. However, being different is not an instant guarantee for business success. According to ORegan Ghobadian (2009) Cadbury is one of the worlds largest confectionary businesses with top ranking in over 20 of the worlds 50 biggest confectionary markets. (See figure 1). It has one of the largest and wide spread markets in emerging countries around the world. Kraft Foods, Inc. is the largest confectionery, food, and beverage corporation whose headquarters is in the United States and the second largest in the world after Nestle. It markets many brands in more than 155 countries. (See figure 2). It is listed as a public company, on the NY Stock Exchange. (Wikipedia, Accessed 02/04/10) The former chief executive of Cadbury, Todd Stitzer launched the Vision in Action program in 2007. At it launch, he said the vision was aimed at driving the companys margin s up by mid-teen by 2011. It hoped to achieve this by focusing on 3 key priorities: Growth, Efficiency and Capacity. (Company Annual Report 2009) And as of the present time, the strong performance continues, edging Cadbury closer to its goal. 2.1.2 Kraft Key Strategy Performance (see Appendix Fig. 4) In an article written by boozco for the Strategy + Business, (Issue No 56, autumn 2009), 11 of Krafts top executives were interviewed about their strategy for the 3 year turnaround and campaign for growth. The interview started with the company CEO Irene Rosenfeld who as at 2005 was in charge of the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo. Thus when she became the chef executive in 2006, she observed that Kraft concentrated its power to its HQ in the US and this was hindering innovation and growth. Thus her first objective was to decentralise Kraft, and re-focus the companys vision to the challenging macro-economic environment. The company went about these changes by introducing what it called Organising for Growth (OFG) which began in 2007. It included review of organisational structure with a 3-year turnaround time, dismantling of existing centralisation of power matrix, clear operational initiatives such as building up sales capabilities etc, and implementing new operating metrics coupled with financial rewards for executive managers. (See figure 5) 3. Market Driven Analysis of Acquisition 3.1 Why Kraft could not resist Cadbury (see Appendix fig.5,8,10,1112) According to Andrew Clark of the Guadian, the attraction of Kraft to Cadbury comes down to brands, sheer scale, geography and distribution channles. Though Kraft has some big brand products such as Maxwell House Coffee and Philadelpha cream cheese, many of these and other products were reported struggled to gain market sector domamnce in spite of the fact that they have been around for many years. (The Guadian, 06/04/10) Predictably, acquiring Cadbury meant addition of brands products such as Cadburys chocolate, confectionary and chewing gum products will increase the comapanys annual revenue from 4% to 5% whilst earnings growth which were lagging between 7% to 9% will now increase to between 9% to 11%. This predictation is based on Cadburys shrewed distribution strategy. For example, it has strong presence within the instant consumption channels such as corner shops and petrol stations where prices can be marked up, whilst relying on people making impluse buying. In comparison, Kraft products are mainly seen in traditional outlets such as supermarket and food stores where profit margins are lower. (The Guadian, 06/04/10) However, the acquistion comes at cost, for example, a cost cut of $675m have been highlighted, this will include effiecency savings of $300m. This amount is as a result of stream lining procurement, RD, and logostics. Futher $250m will come from duplicated adminstrative work which will now be centralised, and a $125m project synergy saving in making biiger bulk deals when buying media adverts. (The Guadian, 06/04/10) 3.2 What next after the takeover? (See Fig. 6,913) The share magnitude of the two companies coming together is enough to give anyone sleepless nights, as there are many strategic risk factors to consider. A winning Kraft/Cadbury strategy that is well implemented might work for a long while, however according to (refà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) no strategy is effective forever. 3.2.1 The Stakeholders (see fig. 7) Figure xxx shows an illustrative mind map of the different group of people that are interested in the financial strength of the two companies. It is worth nothing that whilst the government is interested in Corporation Tax and no breach of legislation especially e.g. National Minimum Wage Act (1998) ref, shareholders are particular about shares especially ROI. Whilst the workforce are interested in job loses, pensions etc. Other points of interests are competition from other competitors. Likewise, the general public wants to be reassured that the acquisition will not led to exploitation of Child labour in other to fight off price war competitions. Hence the strategy to manage these groups of people will be paramount in the coming years 2010 and beyond for the acquisition to be judge successful. 4. Balance Scorecard Introduction The notion of the Balance Scorecard (BSC) was brought into existence in 1992 in a business review article written by David Norton and Steve Kaplan (Kaplan and Norton 1992). The article was born out of the notion that the ability of a company to measure its intangible assets had a direct bearing on company performance and its ability to achieve company strategic objectives. The BSC brings additional value to the traditional measurement of historical financial perspective by including the measurement of internal business processes, innovation and learning and customer perspectives-all key indicators of future successful implementation of company strategy. The BCS is thus seen as a 3-way tool: Measurement System, Strategic Management System, and Communication Tool. See Fig 3 Fig 3 Source: Wiley and Sons (2003) The need to include lag and lead indicators in determining strategic performance is important. Lead indicators are those that affect future performance of Cadbury e.g. increasing market share. Lag indicators are those that indicate what has happened in the past, e.g. financial performance. Whilst lag indicators are important, Cadbury needs to focus on the future indicators of strategic success i.e. customer perspective, business perspective and learning and growth perspective. Cadburys governing objective at the start of 2009 was to deliver superior shareholder returns by realising their strategic vision to be the worlds BIGGEST and BEST confectionary company. (Cadbury Report 2008). Stakeholder theory identifies 5 main groups who have a vested interest in the commercial undertakings of the company.(Kaplan 2010) Cadburys strategic focus placed emphasis, primarily, on one stakeholder group; the shareholders. Fig 4: The strategy map links intangible assets and critical processes to the value proposition and customer and financial outcomes. Fig 4 shows the causal connection between these different metrics and the ultimate strategic aim of delivering shareholder value. The upward flow identifies the cause and effect relationship in the BSC that lead to superior performance. An e.g. is that innovative practices identified by learning and growth lead to more efficient internal business processes which in turn lead to a superior customer experience and eventually long term shareholder value. 4.1 Financial Cadbury continues to increase its profit margin towards its goal in the mid teens. 4.2 Customer Measurement Cadbury creates customer loyalty by identifying the exact amount of pleasure that customers derive from the Cadbury experience. This ensures that customers returned repeatedly and remain loyal. This has been an essential part of the strategic focus ensuring strong performance in 2008. (Cadbury Corporate Brochure 2008) Emerging markets have been identified as part of the overall strategy to reach more people, more quickly. As stated in the Cadbury India report in 2008, the overarching goal is this sector is to have more grams in more mouths. The potential for growth in this segment of the market is significant as the per capita consumption is very low compared to other non-emergent markets.0.03kg compared to 4.3kg in Europe. (Cadburys India Report 2008). The link between Cadburys relationship with Fairtrade is crucial to ensuring that company achieves its strategic objective of sustainability by increasing its supply of raw materials and ensuring the livelihood of the farmers who produce these raw materials.(Cadbury 2008 corporate brochure) 4.3 Innovation and Learning The challenges include managing different pay structures, different ethos, work patterns and hiring methods. The management of all of these aspects will have a significant impact on Krafts ability to successfully integrate Cadbury into its global family and reap the financial rewards that will make the union a profitable one. Successful integration studies have shown that monetary rewards do work, but on their own are not enough to promote a successful collaboration between two different companies engaged in a merger or acquisition. (Montmarquette et all 2004). Krafts pledge is to take the best of both approach to the acquisition. (Kraft Final Offer 2010) Kraft culture is different to Cadburys culture and this will have major implications for the successful synergy of the two companies. Tetenbaum (1999) identifies culture as being at the centre of any successful merger or acquisition. Hofstede (2001) identifies culture as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another 4.4 Internal business processes Innovation and research and development are key aspects of strategic success. Continuous investment in the development of new product ranges, especially in emerging markets, will be necessary to achieve strategic objectives. Cadburys extensive distribution networks ensure products are easily accessible to all consumers, from the large supermarket chains to the small corner kiosk in a remote part of India. The BSC is only as effective as the action taken as a result of the metrics indicated and measured. Leadership is important to ensure that the metric information is followed up and changes made to maximise the impact of these measurements on performance.(Neely 2008). Cadburys developing association with the Fairtrade brand ensures that it is meeting its corporate social responsibility objectives, as well as ensuring a constant supply of raw material for its products, a form of backward integration. Fig 5 4.6 Criticisms of the BSC: The recent global crisis has also highlighted the weakness in current measurement systems as they failed to identify the potential for risk for many companies. Analysis needs to identify, not only the historic performance, but also the potential future risks. Risk assessment and management needs to become an essential part of the any measurement system used in the future. Cadbury/Kraft must now identify, mitigate and manage risk in such a way that it becomes an integral part of their strategic management ethos. Management Control Systems will need to be agile enough to respond to rapid changes in the environment in which they operate in order to achieve their strategic objectives. Simons levers of control present an alternative system of measurement that includes complimentary metrics e.g., belief systems, interactive control systems and boundary systems etc. (Simons 1995). Fig 5 The BSC has been criticised as being too simple as a measurement/control tool. Businesses are more complex than just a few controls or levers. The functioning of the BSC has been compared to a pilot in charge of a flight from A to B. The BSC provides the mechanism for control and guidance in achieving the goal. (Kaplan and Norton 1996). The BSC is seen mainly as a diagnostic tool rather than a tool that aids strategic success. Where is the point of balance in the competing demands of the different measures?. For e.g. Cadburys overarching goal is delivering superior shareholder returns, but this must be balanced against the needs of staff. A trade off must occur at some level. Companies must understand the cause and effect relationship between the metrics in order to make the most appropriate decisions. Timing difficulties in respect of cause and effect relationships mean that the results of measures introduced may take a significant period of time to have an impact on the financial outcomes. It is essential to link the four aspects of the BCS to strategy to ensure its maximum effect on performance. Nair (2007) BSC can be seen as too rigid in its measurement matrices, i.e. just 4 elements and does not include risk, corporate social responsibility or environmental metrics. Need to conduct sensitivity analysis to measure responsiveness of performance to certain scenarios. More research is needed on the cause and effect outcomes for companies that use the BSC. Fig 6 4.7 Potential problems for Cadbury: Staff integration poses a significant challenge to Cadburys governing objectives. This is part of the internal process element of the BSC. This has the potential to derail the recent merger. (Shebioba 2010) Fig 6 shows how Cadbury can translate its mission into desired outcomes. Ensuring that all staff are aware of the new strategic direction that the combined company is now embarking on, and everyone understanding the impact their role has on achieving strategic objectives.(Regan and Ghobadian 2009) Fig 7 shows why companies fail to meet their objectives. Simons levers of control will assist the new Kraft Cadbury combination Fig 7 Source: Kaplan and Norton 1992 In order to successfully achieve its overarching goal of superior shareholder returns, Cadburys must successfully balance the barriers to achievement as identified above. 5. Conclusion Cadburys has now become a part of the Kraft family and there is a strategic focus on Kraft reaping the benefits of Cadburys strengths and position in emerging markets. The combined company will need to focus its attention on achieving new corporate goals and devising a strategy that maximises the synergy of the union between them. The use of the BSC or levers of control will aid management in measuring and achieving strategic objectives. It must be noted that in isolation any system that measures the performance of the company will be meaningless unless it is combined with other systems. There is still room for some work to examine the relationship between cause and effect and the impact this will have on Cadburys strategic performance. This is a crucial part of the integration of Cadbury into the Kraft family. Only time will tell if Kraft will get the sugar rush it envisages from the purchase of Cadbury for  £11.6bn. References: Andrews, K., The Concept of Corporate Strategy (Homewood), IL Richard D. Irwin Inc. 1971 Clark Andrew, Chocolate, chewing gum and coner shops, Why Kraft cant resist Cadbury, The Guadian. Tue 19 Jan 2010. Accessed 06/04/10 22:36 Hofstede, G. (1981) Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind, London: Harper Collins Henberson, B., The Origin of Strategy, HBR Nov- Dec 1989 Introduction to the Balance Scorecard. John Wiley . 2003 Inside the Kraft Foods transformation. Introduction by Chairman CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Strategy + Business issue 56, Autumn 2009 reprint number 09207 Kaplan, R. S. and D.P. Norton (1992) The Balance Scorecard: Measures that drive performance, Harvard Business Review, (January- February): 71-79 Kaplan, R.S., and Norton, D.P.(1996). Linking the balanced scorecard to strategy. California Management Review, 39 (1), 53-79 Kraft Final Offer document 2010. Kaplan, R. And Norton, D. (2001). The stratergy Focused Organisation: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Enviroment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. Montmarquette C, Rulliere JL, Villeval MC, Zeilger R (2004) Redesigning Teams and Incentives in a Merger: An experiment with Managers and Students Management Science Vol.50, No 10 October 2004, pp. 1379-1389 Nair, B. (2007) Balanced Scorecard Performance Management Systems: Its success and failures- A Literature Review, 1 (3/4) Neely, A. (2008) Does the Balance Scorecard work: An empirical Investigation. Centre for Business Performance School of Management. Research Paper 1/08 OReagan, N., and Ghobadian, A. (2009). Sucessful nstrategic re-orienrtation:lessons from Cadburys experience. Journal of Stratergy and Management. Vol 2(4), 2009, pp. 405-412 Porter M. E., Competitive Strategy (NY: Free Press), 1980, xxiv Pandy, I (2005) Balance Scorecard: Myth and Reality. VILKAPA, 30 (1) Shebioba, J. (2010) International Business Assignment Simons, R. (1995). Levers of control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Strategic Renewal. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Simons, R. (1995). Levers of control: How Managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business Review ? Strategy: Create and Implement the Best Strategy for your Business, 2005 p(xi) Tetenbaum, T.J. (1999). Beating the Odds of Mergers and Acquisition Failure: Seven Key Practices That Improve the Chance for Expected Integration and Synergies. Organisational Dynamics, Autumn 1999, 25-35.

Benefits of Social Networking Sites Essay -- Argumentative, Twitter, Fa

Throughout life, men, women, and youth meet people. These people will either leave a negative or positive effect on us and some will only be in our lives for a short period of time. However, once we start to lose contact with them questions arise and we begin to wonder: What does he/she look like now? ; Where has he/she been? ; How has he/she been? ; Why did we stop talking to one another? ; or what would our relationship be like if I had kept in contact with him/her? Well there is no need to wonder anymore. Ever since the invention of social networking tools, such as, Facebook, MySpace, AIM, Blackberry Messenger (BBM), Twitter, and Formspring, millions of people have been able to instantly notify others concerning their whereabouts, meet/make new friends, reconnect with old friends, blog, play games, and upload videos and pictures. Social networking has become a part of our daily routine and is a trend that will only continue to evolve as we grow old. Before the release of the highly popularized social networking websites, such as, Facebook in 2004, similar forms of social networking tools were used. Brian McConnell, an internet user since 1988, stated that â€Å"he used various sites, known as CompuServe, and Prodigy (McConnell, 2008).† I did some research on the sites he listed and found out that CompuServe was the first online service available in the 1980s and played a major role in the foundation of user i.d’s, email services, picture transfers and etc. As time passed by the second online service became available. It was called Prodigy and allowed users to access a number of different networking sites. They ranged from news and weather services to bulletin boards, games, polls, banking and a variety of other features. Since t... .../ Boyd, Danah. (2007) â€Å"Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.† MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth, Identity, and DigitalMedia Volume (ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Facebook.com. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1226190648&ref=ts Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html McConnell, Brian. (2008). Social Networks from the 80s to the 00s. Retrieved February 17,2010, from http://gigaom.com/2008/01/20/social-networks-from-the-80s-to-the-00s/ Friendster.com. Retrieved February 15,2010, from http://www.friendster.com/

American and French Revolutions

A watershed event in modern European history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights.Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the  American Revolution  and extravagant spending by King  Louis XVI  (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the country o n the brink of bankruptcy.Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward a regime that imposed heavy taxes yet failed to provide relief by rioting, looting and striking. In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged classes would no longer be exempt.To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the Estates-General (â€Å"les etats generaux†)–an assembly representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class–for the first time since 1614. The meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from each locality would comp ile lists of grievances (â€Å"cahiers de doleances†) to present to the king. The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate France’s population had changed considerably since 1614.The non-aristocratic members of the Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other two bodies. In the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto–in other words, they wanted voting by head and not by status. While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath to give up the privileges they enjoyed under the traditional system.By the time the Estates-General convened at Versailles, the highly public debate over its voting process had erupted into hostility between the three orders, eclipsing the original purpose of the m eeting and the authority of the man who had convened it. On June 17, with talks over procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-called Tennis Court Oath (â€Å"serment du jeu de paume†), vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved.Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new assembly. The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear On June 12, as the National Assembly (known as the National Constituent Assembly during its work on a constitution) continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate.A popular insurgency culmin ated on July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the start of the French Revolution. The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords and the seigniorial elite.Known as the Great Fear (â€Å"la Grande peur†), the agrarian insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what the historian Georges Lefebvre later called the â€Å"death certificate of the old order. † The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt In April 1792, the newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, where it believed that French emigres were building counterrevolutionary alliances; it also hoped to spread its revolutionary deals across Europe through warfare. On the domestic front, meanwhile, the political crisis took a radical turn when a group of insurgents led by the extremist Jacobins attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king on August 10, 1792. The following month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists massacred hundreds of accused counterrevolutionaries, the Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National Convention, which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French republic.On January 21, 1793, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and crimes against the state, to the guillotine; his wife  Marie-Antoinette  (1755-1793) suffered the same fate nine months later. Following the king’s execution, war with various European powers and intense divisions within the National Convention ushered the French Revolution into its most violent and turbul ent phase. In June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention from the more moderate Girondins and instituted a series of radical measures, including the establishment of a new calendar and the eradication of Christianity.They also unleashed the bloody Reign of Terror (â€Å"la Terreur†), a 10-month period in which suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotined by the thousands. Many of the killings were carried out under orders from Robespierre, who dominated the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his own execution on July 28, 1794. His death marked the beginning of the Thermidorian Reaction, a moderate phase in which the French people revolted against the Reign of Terror’s excesses. The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon's RiseOn August 22, 1795, the National Convention, composed largely of Girondins who had survived the Reign of Terror, approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature. Executive power would lie in the hands of a five-member Directory (â€Å"Directoire†) appointed by parliament. Royalists and Jacobins protested the new regime but were swiftly silenced by the army, now led by a young and successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). The Directory’s four years in power were riddled with financial crises, popular discontent, inefficiency and, above all, political corruption.By the late 1790s, the directors relied almost entirely on the military to maintain their authority and had ceded much of their power to the generals in the field. On November 9, 1799, as frustration with their leadership reached a fever pitch, Bonaparte staged a coup d’etat, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s â€Å"first consul. † The event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era, in which France would come to dominate much of continental Europe. Similarities America ; France Revolutionary Twins?The American and French Revolutions were fought several years and an ocean apart. However, they feature enough similarities that some people initially consider them â€Å"mirror struggles. †Ã‚   After all, there are some easy comparisons:   both revolutions occurred in the later eighteenth century. Both subverted an existing, monarchical government. Finally, both created ripe conditions for constitutionalism and deep patriotism. But dig more deeply, and you’ll find that this â€Å"same revolution, different continent† concept is not as tidy as it initially appears.Further similarities between the two revolutions are just different enough to produce profound distinctions between the two revolutions. Although most scholars believe that the two revolutions influenced one another (as well as had profound worldwide impact), each revolution is a very distinct and singular struggle for freedom, identity, and an improved way of life. Indeed, scholars have built entire careers on this subject, and rich debate and information is available online or at your local library. However, here are a few fundamental elements shared by the revolutions, with intricate but important differences highlighted: CausesBoth the American Revolution and the French Revolution were borne of dire economic conditions. Economic challenges definitely contributed to the basis for both revolutions. However, each nation’s money-related woes were quite unique. The American Revolution had roots in the financial pressure that Britain placed on the New World; because Britain was economically dependent on the colonies, it kept taxing them. However, the colonists didn’t oppose the taxation itself. They were more vexed by the lack of a reasonable basis for the taxation, feeling that they received little or no benefit from their unds that were being spent â€Å"back in the old country. †Ã‚   This phenomenon—commonly known as taxation without represen tation—infuriated the colonies, building the basis for their revolt. Classic images of hungry, poverty-stricken French peasants are still familiar. Indeed, the pre-revolution French economy was dismal and had been for decades. As a second-tier trading nation, France was unable to pay off national debts using the scant amount of money it received on the taxes for traded goods. To make up for this deficit, the King imposed further taxes, especially on the peasants.Paradoxically, the wealthiest nobles were not obligated to pay taxes. This allowed the King to successfully sell titles, pulling the two social classes further apart. So although the British tax-related woes were also tied to royal greed and exploitative control, they were relatively common to any new colonist establishment. France’s case, while certainly tax-related, was more deeply rooted in a historic division of social class. Although the rich and poor had long been separated, the King’s selling of t itles totally isolated the two groups.This resulted in famine and extreme poverty for the lower classes, and left them no choice but to revolt. Goals Both revolutions were undertaken with the goal of independence in mind. The American Revolution was not initially or even primarily fought for independence. Independence almost became a â€Å"by-product† of the colonists’ initial attempt to remove unfair taxes levied on them by British Parliament. On the other hand, France’s decades of class division and its burgeoning interest in thinkers like Rousseau (who emphasized the importance of human rights) sparked a popular interest in a more independent way of life.The influence of speeches, articles, and pamphlets from gifted writers and orators like revolution leaders Jacques-Pierre Brissot and Maximillien Robespierre also fueled this desire for freedom. Finally, the success of the American Revolution (and the colonists’ resulting independence from British rule ) arguably acted as an incentive for revolt. American-French Relationships Both revolutions spurred a strong response from the other nation. Before 1789, most people (excluding the Americans of the new United States) lived with the general form of government their ancestors had known for centuries, sually hereditary monarchy. After the French Revolution began in 1789, no form of government could be accepted as legitimate without justification. The revolutionaries established a republic in 1792, and henceforth republicans around the world would challenge monarchists. Overall, the French Revolution offered the world something totally novel: an ideology that allowed and encouraged the questioning of historic power structures. This ideology borne of the French Revolution laid the groundwork for other ideologies, including nationalism, socialism, and eventually communism.In fact, early communist leaders Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels both commented extensively on the French Revolution, h oping to find important lessons for building and governing communities. North Americans showed special interest in the French Revolution, believing the events of 1789 drew heavily on their own experience with Britain. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen seemed to borrow strikingly from the states’ bill of rights. Even more direct influence took place when American Thomas Jefferson, resident in France at this time, passed along specific ideas to the legislators through the Marquis de Lafayette.Although the French Revolution took a far different path than the North American variety, this interaction was close, so it is not surprising that the initial U. S. reaction to the French Revolution was positive. Not all Americans approved of the France’s methods. For example, John Adams declared his early and ongoing disapproval, and the Federalist Party’s support began to waver toward the Revolution’s end. The Reign of Terror also did little to create American approval and drew criticism from some prominent American statesmen.However, the Jefferson-led Republican Party remained largely supportive throughout most of the revolutionary decade. Famous Documents Both revolutions produced similar and seminal political documents. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted in France in August 1789 by the National Constituent Assembly. Drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette, it was intended as part of a transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy, and presented the ideas of popular sovereignty and equal opportunity.This document, which defined a set of universal individual and collective rights, was to be considered valid in all times, in all places, for all people. This novel way of thinking totally contradicted the traditional French idea of people being born into a nobility or into another favored class. It also eliminated the concept of people enjoying or being denied special rights based on f amily lineage of status, which clearly dismantled centuries of French ruling structure. The principles outlined in the Declaration sprung from the theories of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other Enlightenment thinkers.However, the French Declaration is at least partly inspired by the declaration of Human Rights contained in the U. S. Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, and on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, developed by American George Mason in June 1776, which was itself based on the English 1689 Bill of Rights. The Declaration of the Rights of Man also showed similarities to the United States Constitution (1787) and the United States Bill of Rights, which was adopted in 1789, at approximately the same time as the Declaration of the Rights of Man.Like the U. S. Constitution, The French Declaration provided for a national defense, and emphasized equality before taxation (which was distinctly different from traditional France, in which the Catholic Churc h and the nobility were exempt from most taxes). Like these American documents, France’s Declaration prohibits ex post facto application of criminal law and proclaims the presumption of innocence to a crime suspect. Finally, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and addresses freedom of religion.The Declaration departs from seminal American documents in some important ways. It’s vital to note that the Declaration is largely individualistic. It focuses less on the rights of a political or religious group and more on the singular citizen, thus straying from America’s â€Å"we the people† stance. The Declaration also fails to address the freedom of assembly, liberty of association, or the right to strike, which were important American tenets. Differences Self-Identification and Independence * France was a well-established nation long before the French revolution. It was not facing any acute exte rnal dangers in the late 1780s.In contrast, the American revolution was a struggle for self-identification and independence from another nation. In France, the essential motive of the revolution was a stratification transformation of the society because â€Å"the third estate† saw the clergy and the nobles as social parasites. Attitudes Toward Monarchy * The Americans were not anti-monarchists from the very start. They considered their rights as the British subjects were being violated, and their main complaints were aimed against the British Parliament. In France, the revolution was very much against the monarch and his power.Revolutionists saw the monarch as a traitor and acted aggressively toward the royal family. That led them to accuse the monarch of conspiracies against the French people, which in turn led to the execution of the royal family. Social Stratification * Social equality was not the main concern of the American revolution. Slavery was abolished in the Northe rn states, but it did not drastically influence the social stratification of American society. In France, the whole social structure was made up of three traditional estates: clergy, nobles and others. The revolution transformed all of them.Elimination of the traditional privileges based on the social origin was the main goal of the French revolution. Revolution and Religion * The American patriots did want to break with the Church of England, but the American revolution was not driven by a religious goal. The French revolution was, and it accomplished most of those goals. It eliminated the privileges of the clergy. Monasteries and churches were closed, the monks and nuns were encouraged to return to the private life. Many priests were killed. The Cult of Reason emerged during the revolution as part of the new France's plan to â€Å"de-Christianize† the country.It stressed enlightenment and rationalism over the believe of a deity. Revolutionary Values and Mottos * John Locke formulated three basic values which were adopted by the American patriots: life, liberty and property. They fought for the idea that governments were obliged to preserve these values. The French revolution proclaimed three values too: liberty, equality and brotherhood, or death. The last part was adopted during the period of terror in 1793-1794. Thus, the common value shared by both revolutions was the pursuit of liberty.

African American Grandmothers essays

African American Grandmothers essays Grandmothers have always played an important role in the lives of African Americans. The culture respects, even reveres, old people for their experience and wisdom. Traditionally, grandmothers have been essential to the economic survival of their families. They also were the primary source of family stories and oral histories that helped children to survive racism (Jimenez, 2002). In recent years a growing number of African American grandmothers have become new parents again by taking on sole parenting responsibility for their grandchildren. In this essay, we will explore their reasons for taking on this work in their old age, their roles historically, and some of the effects on them physically, mentally, and emotionally. The number of grandmothers raising their grandchildren nearly doubled between 1970 and 2000-from 2.2million to 4.5 million. During the 1990s the biggest increase was among families with no parent present, usually because of social problems such as the mothers alcohol or drug abuse. Death from AIDS, long-term incarceration, and mental illness are other reasons (Jimenez, 2002; Ruiz dominant theme for social work research, and the term skipped generation caregiver has come into use (Gibson, 2002a). Of all the children living with grandparents in the U.S., nearly 44% are African American, a proportion that is six times greater than in white families (Kelley kinship care, arranged by the child welfare system (Gibson, 2002). Usually, the grandmother is the primary caregiver. She assumes the role in order to preserve family bonds, to maintain family loyalty, and to keep her grandchildren out of the foster care system. African American grandmothers as caregivers is no new phenomenon. Jiminez (2002) did a study in which she examined primary sources such as the testimonies o...

Strategic Audit

Strategic Audit Executive Summary The global sportswear industry is becoming one of the most competitive industries in the world. One of the main companies that operate in the industry is the Adidas Group. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a strategic audit of the Adidas Group.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Audit Adidas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The paper has taken a diversified approach of analysis; internal analysis and external analysis. Various models of analyses have been applied in the paper, and they include PEST and the Porter’s analysis. The analysis was aimed at capturing the strategies of the company and how they help it to adapt to the competitive forces in the industry. The findings from the analysis point out that Adidas is still competitive in the industry. The competitiveness has been enhanced through focus on the global approach of management. Introduction According to Slack (2004 ), the global sports industry is growing at a quick pace due to commercialization of sports. The number of sporting events has been rising each day, thus attracting more people directly and indirectly into the sporting industry. In the contemporary times, the sports industry has a wide number of stakeholders. The most critical question to ask is what the growth of the sporting industry implies for the business world. The growth of the global sporting industry has attracted many business players in the sporting industry by presenting the opportunity to supply the sporting infrastructure and equipment. There are a substantial number of companies that deal in the global sporting industry (Andreff Szymanski 2005). Adidas is one of the companies that have operated in the global sporting industry for an extended period of time. The Adidas company is a Germany based multinational company that deals in the manufacturing and designing of sporting ware and equipment, which include balls, spo rting uniforms and clothes, shoes, sports bags, footwear, watches, and eyewear among others.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The company was founded in the year 1920. However, the main operations of the company can be traced from the year 1948, though there had been a lot of developments years back prior to the decision to open the company. The global headquarters of Adidas are in Herzogenaurach. Adidas acts as the main holding company for the Adidas group, which is comprised of Rockport, Reebok sportswear company and the Taylor-made Adidas golf company. The company is considered as the most dominant sportswear company in Germany and the entire Europe, while globally, Adidas is ranked as the second most competitive sportswear company. The company sells its products in over 200 countries across the globe. Though faced with competition from other companies in the wo rld, Adidas has remained to be outstanding through the continued display of creativity in design and production of its products (Bajak 2010). External Analysis As mentioned earlier, there is a growth in the global sporting industry, which has attracted many players in the global sportswear industry in which Adidas operates. As competition keeps mounting a company should keep investing in its strengths and limit its weaknesses by capitalizing on the opportunities that prevail in the business environment. As the global sporting industry keeps expanding, sportswear companies keep coming up so as to meet the demands and capitalize on the business opportunities in the industry (Slack 2004). Strengths The strength of a company within the industry lies in a wide variety of developments. One of the key business initiatives that give company strength and competitiveness in production and the market is the brand of the company. Through the over 64 years of operation in the global sportswear i ndustry, Adidas has established a very strong brand in the industry.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Audit Adidas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The logo of the company, the three stripes and the originality of the products of the company, has given the company a resounding name in the industry. The company has established a portfolio of strong brands in the global market, which makes it have a stronger market position over most of its competitors (Motion, Leitch Brodie 2003). Through the strong brand portfolio, the company’s ability to develop a strong retail footprint in diverse markets is enhanced (Joseph 2013). The brands of the Adidas Group include: Adidas, Rockport, Reebok, TaylorMade and Ashworth. Just like Nike, its biggest competitor in the market, the logo and quality of products by Adidas gives the company a competitive edge over Nike and other companies in the industry. Through its brand, the company has managed to attain customer loyalty across a wider section of the global sporting industry. Adidas is considered by many people as a global brand through its increased investment in design and the subsequent production of high quality and diverse products (Braun 2008). Customer loyalty is a key contributing factor to the development and expansion of the company in the market. Having managed to dominate Europe, which is one of the world’s largest sporting regions, the company has managed to retain the second position in terms of the global market share. As at the end of the year 2010, Adidas had a global market share of 21%, coming second from Nike which had an average market share of 30%. This is considered to be strength since the company has not slipped from this position for a long time, and the percentage of market share keeps rising (Bajak 2010). Besides being a manufacturer of sportswear products, Adidas also venture into the development of sports technology. This makes the company come out strong in the market. Through the venture in sports technology, the company is able to come up with sporting tools and equipment that meet the modern standards of sporting (Bajak 2010).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As one of the market leaders in the sportswear industry, Adidas benefits from the economies of scale. The company produces large quantities of products, which makes it easy to avail its goods to a wide market. Through this, the company puts itself in a better position to beat other smaller companies in the market. The company was the main supplier of footwear during the 2010 world cup (Bajak 2010). Opportunities Andreff and Andreff (2009) observed that the developing markets in the world have been coming up at a quick pace, which denotes the presence of a new market for the company. These markets are found in Asia, Latin America and Asia, where the sporting industry is being molded in order to match the sporting industry in the United States and Europe. Adidas has been monitoring the growth in the sports industry in these regions. These regions form the newer markets for the company. In the modern times, different companies make attempts to use all the probable means to expand their market base. The continued focus on the merging markets of the company has been crucial in increasing the revenue of the company (Bajak 2010). The continued growth in information and communication technology presents a lot of marketing opportunities for the company. As part of the market strategy initiative, the company is embracing internet marketing. Internet marketing is one of the platforms of marketing that has proven to be quite efficient for marketing enhancement in a substantial number of companies in the world today (Yaveroglu Donthu 2008). As the new markets develop information and communication technologies, the company is quickly matching this pace by enhancing online retailing, besides the normal retailing in these markets. Information technology, social; media, blogs and websites, offers the company an opportunity to communicate with its customers, thereby maintaining a sound relationship with them (Shimp 2010). Threats As has been known for a long time, the quality of the Adidas products is accompanied by the corresponding relatively high prices. However, there is a lot of rationalization in both the sports market due to the entry of numerous small players. One notable thing is that the new players produce similar products, but at a low price. Therefore, there is a high threat from the presence of the increased entry of substitute products in the market. The current slump down of the global economy also poses economic threats to the company. This problem is compounded by the entry of new companies in the industry, which are capitalizing on the economic situation and the desire of customers to get products at attractive prices (Newbery 2009). In the recent times, a lot of concerns about counterfeit products have been raised by a substantial number of companies in the world. The sportswear industry is listed among the industries that are most affected by counterfeit products (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1998). Being o ne of the leading companies in the industry, Adidas is not an exception. The question of counterfeit and duplication of Adidas products was raised quite long ago. As the contemporary business era is marked by volatile business activities, the company is bound to lose billions of dollars in the coming years due to the increasing availability of counterfeit products in the market. Already, the company has lost a substantial amount of money due to duplication of its products and the marketing of such products using its brands. The efforts to counter production of fake goods have not borne positive results yet as there are cartels of businessmen in the sports industry who coordinate the business. There are still a lot of challenges in the implementation of laws that are meant for eliminating counterfeit products from the market (Massow 2013; Jack 2008). Internal analysis The internal environment of any company plays a great role in increasing the efficiency of production, thereby increa sing the competitiveness of the company. The virtue of long existence in the market has aided Adidas in learning from the business environment, thereby developing strategies that have enabled it to enhance a better internal environment. The company operates within the global sportswear industry, which is considered to be very competitive (Bajak 2010). Internal strengths One of the main internal strengths of the company is its investment in innovation. The management of the company has realized the essence of maintaining the company in the market through the embrace of creativity. Research and development is the key to innovative technologies in the products of the company. Research and development is the key to product innovation in any given company. RD often puts the company in a better position to come up with newer and more exciting brands, which attract a new ray of customers. The company embraces technology in the improvement of its products in the market. Adidas was the first company to produce the first smart sporting shoe that had a microchip and a wireless mp3 player. The aim of research and development in the company is to go beyond the fulfillment of their customer needs. Each year, the company strives to come up with at least one revolutionary technology in the market. This presents a great opportunity for the company as it can enable Adidas to position itself in the market as a technology leader in the industry. The company embraces sustainability of the environment in its new technology by utilizing production systems that are friendly to the environment (Addidas Group 2012). Figure 1.0 below shows the amount of money, in million Euros, that has been spent in research and development by the company for the last five years. In the graph, it is evident that expenditure in research and development has been increasing each year, which justifies the current innovative ability in the products of the company. Figure 1.0 Research and Development expens es (million Euros). Source: Adidas Group 2011. As a multinational company, Adidas has firms that are spread in different parts of the world. In order to tackle the business challenges in each part of the world, the company management implements different strategies depending on the area in which each particular subsidiary is located. This makes the company more flexible in terms of the management of employees and functions in diverse global cultures. This is a factor that boosts the ability of the company to deal with the challenges of management in different parts of the world (Solomon Schell 2009). The management of Adidas has a global business mindset, a feature that is desired in managing multinational companies. According to Puris (1999), the management through acquisition has helped the Adidas Group to boost the market position of the company as it increases the number of brands of the company. The acquisition of Reebok, it is argued, has helped the company to gain a 20 perce nt share in the US market for which it did not have access due to the dominance of the market by competitor companies like nike and Puma (Arends Preuschat 2007). There is a high sense of corporate social responsibility in the company. Corporate social activities in the company are implemented in a twofold way; focus on clean technologies in the company’s products and the sponsorship of events. This has made the company to be ranked among the top 100 sustainable companies in the world. The company has a sustainability website, where it engages audiences on matters of sustainability in production. This is one way through which the company attains a high level of publicity for their products to the wider market (Addidas Group 2008). In the year 2012, Adidas announced massive sponsorships. The company brokered agreements with the Japan Football Association in which it will sponsor a Japan’s football team in the 2014 World Cup event. The other sponsorship deal was made bet ween Adidas and the Olympic committee of Australia, in which the company will sponsor the Olympic team of Australia in the upcoming Olympics event. The company has also signed a sponsorship partnership with the NBA (Addidas Group 2012). Weakness The main weakness of the company is that the acquisition, especially Reebok has not worked well for the company due to the low performance of Reebok, especially outside the United States. Therefore, the company has not been able to get the anticipated return on investment from Reebok. This corporate move has not counted well with Adidas and still poses a challenge to the financial outcomes of the company (Gaughan 2011). The company operates under a high cost structure. This limits the ability of Adidas to maximize its profits in the market. The product line of the company is also limited, which makes it hard for the company to expand business opportunities in the market. The prevailing inflationary pressure in the market is another undoing o f the company since it exerts pressure on the prices of raw materials that are used by the company (Bajak 2010). Summary SWOT Strengths A high sense of corporate social responsibility and the embrace of sustainability in managing production. Widespread operations across the globe. The cultivation of strong brands in the global sportswear industry. Global strategy of management Strong performance arising from the successful participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. An intense level of adoption of integrated marketing communication practices. Stable financial position amidst the global economic backdrop. The embrace of sports technology. Weakness Managing under a high cost structure. Poor performance of Reebok. Weak performance in a number of major sportswear markets. Manufacturing via third party. Changing patterns in the global consumption demands. Opportunities The growth and development of the emerging markets. Sponsorship agreements as a benefit of corporate social responsib ility. Growth in information and communication technology usage in the market. Change in consumer lifestyle, which is accompanied by the growth of the footwear market across the globe. The revival of Reebok. Threats The growth in the production and availing of counterfeit products in the market. The increase in the number of substitute products from competitor companies. The rising cost of production materials. Price fluctuations in the international market. Strategy Evaluation As noted in the analysis of the company, it can be said that the global sportswear industry is quite competitive, which requires companies that operate in the industry to master the competitive environment (Spillan 2010). Adidas is one of the companies that have operated in the sportswear industry for an extended period of time. While this is an advantage for the company, it does not exempt it from the competitive pressures emanating from the industry. There is a wide range of companies in the industry, so me of which have operated in the industry for quite long. Adidas can be termed as a brilliant company due to the strategies that are applied by the company. The value of a company’s strategy is often measured by the level at which they help the company capitalize on the opportunities and the elimination of the threats. Most of the strengths of Adidas resonate from the fact that the company has been able to capitalize on the opportunities that are present in the market. These include the ability to enter the emerging markets, the use of technology in production and marketing and the embrace of corporate social activities. These strategies have been critical in countering the likely impacts of the threats that are facing the company. Problems/ Challenges and recommendation As observed, a number of threats remain to press down the company. These include the problem of counterfeit products. The company is yet to come up with a workable strategy for eliminating counterfeit product s. However, the problem affects all the major companies in the industry and collective efforts are being made to address the threat. The continued adoption and application of global approaches of management helps the company to attain competitive strength in the global market. The problem of performance of Reebok, which has been an impediment to the performance of the company, can be sorted through restructuring of the Reebok Brand. Currently, the Adidas brand is seen as a Euro-sport brand. There is need to restructure the brand into both a USA-sport and the Euro-sport brand. This will enable the company to penetrate the US market. Conclusion As has been observed in the paper, it can be concluded that the global sport wear industry is competitive. The industry is marked by both opportunities and challenges. In spite of the challenges in the industry, Adidas remains to be a competitive player in the industry. The competitive strengths of Adidas are drawn from the managerial quality o f the company. The global inclination of management forms he main managerial strength for Addidas. Other areas of strength in the company include the embrace of technology in products and the focus on the emerging markets of the globe. The main threats to the performance of Adidas are the increase in substitutes and the amount of counterfeiting in the global market. Reference List Addidas Group 2008, Corporate responsibility report 2007, adidas-group.com/us/SER2007/pdf/adidas_SER2007_online.pdf Addidas Group 2012, Annual Report 2011, http://adidas-group.corporate-publications.com/2011/gb/en/group-management-report-our-group/research-and-development.html Andreff, M Andreff, W 2009, ‘Global trade in sports goods: International specialization of major trading countries’, European Sport Management Quarterly, vol. 9 no. 3, pp. 259-294. Andreff, W Szymanski, S 2005, Handbook on the economics of sport, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. Arends, H Preuschat, A 2007, Adidas isnt getti ng traction in north america from reebok. Wall Street Journal, http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/399062991?accountid=13631 Bajak, D 2010, Adidas strategic analysis: 2011 † 2016, davidbajak.com/docs/strategy/David%20Bajak%20-%20Adidas%20Group%20Strategic%20Analysis%20FINAL.pdf Braun, J 2008, Strategic sports marketing the impact of sport advertising upon consumers: Adidas a case study, Grin-Verl, München. Gaughan, PA 2011, Mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructurings, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Jack, L 2008, Analysis: Two stripes and the competition is out?, Marketing Week, 8-8, http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/228205004?accountid=13631 Joseph, S 2013, Adidas unveils new global brand strategy. Marketing Week (Online), http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1285536013?accountid=13631 Motion, J, Leitch, S Brodie, RJ 2003, Equity in corporate co-branding: T he case of adidas and the all blacks, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 37 no. 7, pp. 1080-1094. Newbery, M 2009, Global market review of active sportswear and athletic footwear forecasts to 2016: 2009 edition: Chapter 5 the active sportswear and athletic footwear market, 2007-2009. Bromsgrove, United Kingdom. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 1998, The Economic Impact of Counterfeiting, oecd.org/sti/industryandglobalisation/2090589.pdf Puris, M 1999, Bringing back adidas’, Advertising Age, vol. 70 no. 10, pp. 18-20. Shimp, TA 2010, Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. Slack, T 2004, The Commercialisation of Sport, Routledge, New York, NY. Solomon, C Schell, M 2009, Managing across cultures, The British Journal of Administrative Management, vol. 79 no. 7, pp. 67-67. Spillan, J E 2010, ‘A review of global marketing management: Changes, New challenges and strat egies’, Journal of Global Marketing, vol. 23 no. 1, pp. 95-96. von Massow, M 2013, Do counterfeit products affect international trade?, http://counterfeitstory.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/do-counterfeit-products-affect-international-trade-2/ Yaveroglu, I Donthu, N 2008, Advertising repetition and placement issues in on-line environments, Journal of Advertising, vol. 37 no. 2, pp. 31-43.

How to Get Your CDL in Louisiana and Missouri

How to Get Your CDL in Louisiana and Missouri If you live in Louisiana or Missouri, check this round up of state guidelines and see what you’ll need to do to be certified to drive safely behind the wheel of a commercial job. For information on all other states, TheJobNetwork has published a guide on how to apply for a CDL in every state of the country. LouisianaThe following vehicles require you to have a CDL:If you will drive a combination vehicle (truck and trailer) whose trailer has a GVWR of 10,001+ lbs. total weight with the truck of 26,001+ lbs, you will need a Class A CDL.If you will drive a vehicle with  GVWR is 26,001+ lbs., you will need a Class B CDL. With this license, you can also tow a trailer with  weight that does not exceed 10,000 lbs.If you will transport hazardous materials or 16+ passengers (including the driver) in a vehicle with  GVWR 26,000 lbs. or less, you will need a Class C CDL.To obtain a CDL, you must:Possess and provide a valid picture driver’s licenseProvide a Supplemental Appli cation Form (DPSMV 2211)Undergo a current, complete Physical Examination (DPSMV 2219)Possess and provide proof of liability insurance on personally owned vehicle(s)Possess and provide proof of Social Security numberProvide a $15 application feeKnowledge TestThe  desired  class of license and endorsements you seek  will determine what CDL knowledge tests are required. You must obtain an 80% passing score on each required test. You must provide a Medical Examiner’s Certificate (DOT Card) or a valid Intrastate State/Interstate Waiver.The General Knowledge Test is required by all applicants, and you must pass it to take  additional knowledge tests.The Air Brake Knowledge Test is required if your vehicle is equipped with air brakes.The Combination Vehicles Knowledge Test is required if you want to drive combination vehicles.The Tanker Knowledge Test is required if you want to haul liquids in bulk.The Double/Triples Knowledge Test is required to pull double or triple traile rs.The Passenger Knowledge Test is required by all bus drivers and school bus operators. In addition, school bus operatiors must pass the   School Bus Knowledge Test.The Hazardous Materials Knowledge Test is required if you wish to haul hazardous materials.Upon passing required test(s), applicants will be issued a 60 day learner’s permit.Skills TestThis test consists of a  pre-trip inspection to include an air brake test if vehicle is equipped with air brakes, a basic maneuvers test, and a public road test.  You must pass each level before moving on to the next.MissouriThe following vehicles require you to have a CDL:If you will drive a combination vehicle (truck and trailer) whose trailer has a GVWR of 10,001+ lbs. total weight with the truck of 26,001+ lbs, you will need a Class A CDL.If you will drive a vehicle with  GVWR is 26,001+ lbs., you will need a Class B CDL. With this license, you can also tow a trailer with  weight that does not exceed 10,000 lbs.If you will transport hazardous materials or 16+ passengers (including the driver) in a vehicle with  GVWR 26,000 lbs. or less, you will need a Class C CDL.Knowledge TestThe  desired  class of license and endorsements you seek  will determine what CDL knowledge tests are required. You must obtain an 80% passing score on each required test. You must provide a Medical Examiner’s Certificate (DOT Card) or a valid Intrastate State/Interstate Waiver.The General Knowledge Test is required by all applicants, and you must pass it to take  additional knowledge tests.The Air Brake Knowledge Test is required if your vehicle is equipped with air brakes.The Combination Vehicles Knowledge Test is required if you want to drive combination vehicles.The Tanker Knowledge Test is required if you want to haul liquids in bulk.The Double/Triples Knowledge Test is required to pull double or triple trailers.The Passenger Knowledge Test is required by all bus drivers and school bus operators. In addition, school bus operatiors must pass the   School Bus Knowledge Test.The Hazardous Materials Knowledge Test is required if you wish to haul hazardous materials.Upon passing required test(s), applicants will be issued a 60 day learner’s permit.Skills TestThis test consists of a  pre-trip inspection to include an air brake test if vehicle is equipped with air brakes, a basic maneuvers test, and a public road test.  You must pass each level before moving on to the next.

Fishermen occupational hazard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fishermen occupational hazard - Research Paper Example One does not have to be in the army alone to withstand bullets and scars but other jobs like fishing can also be hazardous to the person’s physical and mental health. This thesis revolves around the fishing industry and its hazards on the men who work in it, either privately or commercially. Fishing has been around mankind since it first caved the sharp tool out of stone. Hunting on the ground and on the water was one of the first sources of food for humans that walked the earth in the early days of mankind. Fishing has now evolved into a science, a very well organized business, having a hefty share in the global market. The report, keeping in mind the advantages, focuses on the side effects on the personnel which hold the flags of this very occupation called fishing. This occupation provides bread and butter to about 500 million people world wide (FAC, 2009). Fishing The term â€Å"fishing† relates to catching fish, or more appropriately put, catching aquatic animals. It has become a complete industry now, bagging a per capita of 21.8 Kgs (FAO, 2005). This occupation involves various kinds of fishing. The most common type of fishing done by fishermen to collect fish, as an occupation is done by use of a net, called netting. A huge net is used in catching fish. This occupation also involves storing the fish, packing it and shipping it to the markets or companies which in turn sell them to the common consumer. Every occupation has a set of tools required to complete or process the task at hand. Similarly there are some basic requirements for the fishing profession. Different people use different tools depending on the finances at hand. For example, third world countries still use the traditional methods of fish farming where as the developed countries have mechanized this profession just like they have brought machines in all aspects of life in the post industrial revolution era. The more the methods are of old school, the more danger it brings to the lives of the fishers, a point that will be time and again mentioned in this report. Primary Hazards for a Fisher People working this occupation have extremely high rate of fatality rate, especially for young persons under the age of 18. This is the foremost hazard of this occupation as nothing can be more brutal to a fisherman, than to lose his life while on the job. Fishers work in a very wild and unpredictable work environment and face-off with an alarming number of dangers on their jobs. One reason for this high rate is the weather of the seas. This is such a problem, which cannot be negated with the right training as the weather is an uncontrolled factor, especially when you’re on a vessel in the sea. There are no safe doors out of the storms, hence causing a lot of life lost in this profession. (NIOSH, 2001) In the time period of 6 years, 1992 to 1997, CFOI has claimed that 440 US fishers have lost their lives (NIOSH 2001). The fatality rate in these 6 years have bee n calculated to be 161.6/1000 workers. This accounts to the highest fatality rate among all occupation in the world in those 6 years (Fosbroke et al, 1997). Not only have the fishers at risk, the ship captains also had a certain high death rate compared to the captains that sail other kinds of shipping in the seas. Secondary Hazards for a Fisher Various factors are involved in forming the primary and secondary hazards in the fishing industry. Some of the factors are economic pressure in stiff fishing season, fatigue, lag in rescue