Isolation and Society in Bartleby, the Scrivener Essay -- Bartleby Scr

Isolation and Society in Bartleby, the Scrivener      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Herman Melville's Bartleby is a tale of isolation and alienation. In his story, society is primarily to blame for the creation and demise of Bartleby.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the story, the characters -- Bartleby in particular -- are isolated from each other or from society. The forester's office, which can be interpreted as a microcosm of society, was teeming with walls to separate the head ranger from his employees and to separate the employees from one another. There was one large crushed-glass wall which separated the lawyer from his sycophants (although he was still able to see their shadows due to the nature of crushed glass). The other workers put up a folding green screen to hide Bartleby because of his hideous appearance, who was also alienated from the rest of the workers. The Ranger and his employees were also isolated from the outside world; their window faced a wall of trees ten feet away, with a sewer-like chasm ...

Should a Concealed Weapons License Be Allowed in the U.S.

As citizens of the United States, we have the option if deemed necessary to possess a weapon and use it for self-defense. The Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution, second amendment states that we have the right to bear and keep arms. Because often high crime rate in some areas may be a reason why a citizen may choose to carry a concealed weapon. Crime is something that looks like it will be an unending situation that is not even close to going away. Possessing a weapon as a use for self-defense will help to protect a citizen when one needs to defend themselves. Others of us feel that firearms play an important role in our lives both from the standpoint of sporting and hunting as well as their application to principles f self-defense particularly when patients represent a high risk population† (Dante, 1996). One may agree that having a concealed weapon would decrease the crime rate but the question is, does it really make a difference? Criminals have a choice about c ommitting a crime or not. â€Å"Many believe that restricting access to firearms would result in a decrease in crime, especially violent crime.Others believe that restricting access to guns would have little to no effect on crime rates and would only trample the rights of US citizens to possess guns† (Gigs, 2009). Owning a gun is seed primarily for self-defense against a criminal and not to mention animals that are out of control. We Just need to keep in mind that a weapon is not a toy and that there are consequences to pay if not used correctly. Each individual state has its own laws on carrying a concealed weapon. Depending on which state that a citizen is a resident of is where it is based on whether a citizen can carry a concealed weapon permit.The different permits for carrying concealed weapons among states are shall-issue, may-issue, and right denied. Something to be aware about a concealed weapon permit is not all state permits are honored in another state. For exampl e, if one were to get a concealed weapons permit in California the permit will not be honored in Nevada. There are some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to being allowed to carry a concealed weapon and reasons why some of these laws may or may not be so lenient. Some states like Texas and Florida are liberalizing the laws for carrying a concealed weapon. Some states are tightening or toughening up the laws concerning obtaining a concealed weapon. These include Massachusetts and New York† (Dante, 1996). All citizens should have the right to carry within limitations. Is it true that there is a relationship between right to carry individuals and increase in violent crime? In Citizen defend thyself,: it states that the relationship between right to carry and high crime rates are actually lowered (Hood, 2009).GAO reports that as of March 2012, the right to carry law is currently allowed in all states, except Illinois. The laws aiding these states allow right to carry laws , and the argument still is skeptical of the research behind the tolerance of this law. Despite the research that points to the conclusion that violence is variable, public suspicion points that violence increases with the ability of a citizen to carry concealed arms. However, according to GAO, the amount of individuals issued concealed weapons permit is 8 million citizens.The United States census states the population of the United States currently as 314,441,706; the relationship displays that less than 3% of the overall population maintains a concealed weapons permit. The majority of the population does not carry a concealed weapon license. The relationship between the aspect of increased violent crime and right to carry does not seem substantiated u to such a low national ratio of concealed weapons license. In actuality, this will show that right carry laws provide a direct impact on preventing violent crimes than the assumption otherwise.Individuals need to base their priority on obtaining a concealed weapon's license on specific criteria. Each state varies on issuing a weapon's permit, background checks must be completed, and the extent of the background check varies with the state. According to Hood, right to carry laws should be evaluated on an individual basis, based on the area he or she is in, consistency of ravel, and prior background. The amount of applications that are denied a concealed permit is under the complete discretion of the state.Depending if the state has a may issue or shall-issue permit law, the discretion is normally used on the cause for the applicant. Hood explained that most applicants that apply for concealed weapon license is due to the fact of personal protection from a prior experience as a crime victim. A victim that has been directly affected by a violent crime may never feel safe without a concealed weapon at his or her side. A concealed weapon will be useful to he applicant if he or she has received threats or lives in a high crime area.If the individual lives in a high area of crime, the relationship between fear of a crime and when a crime will be committed is Just reason for the citizen to be granted a permit. In California, â€Å"issuing authorities (local law enforcement) told us that an example of a good cause is a business owner who may regularly retain cash on-hand used to pay employees. â€Å"(GAO, 2012, p. 13) How frequently an individual travels with a concealed weapon is also a basis of Judgment to consider issuing permits.If the individual's behavior produces an unwillingness to leave a weapon at home instead of carrying it across state repeatedly, this might show that in reality the person is not concealing a weapon Just in the high rate of crime area. This basis will work more effectively in preventing the wrong hands in acquiring a concealed weapon license. Simple background checks in some states such as Colorado, allow us to rethink the policies to issue weapons to the general pub lic. The necessity of right to carry and conceal on an individual basis will help avoid tragedies and catastrophe that shame our moral obligation to society's welfare.Right to carry laws does not interfere or cause violent crime in society. The presumption of citizens that carry a concealed weapon is the cause of society violent behavior need to be reevaluated based on research in high rate areas. The most important reason all citizens should have the right to carry arms based on an individual basis is because the passage of right to carry law actually lowers the incident of violent crime. Hood also explains that in New Orleans, the percentage of concealed weapons' carriers and the relationship to high crime is lowered in the eyes off permit holder.The use of a scientific survey to the general population in New Orleans shows most evidentially when questioned if their city was below the national crime average. In Hood's survey, 33% of non-permit holders believed it was lower, while 3 8% of permit holders believed their city was below the national average. However, the fact remains that the effects of right to carry laws vary across time, geographic context, and by the type of crime. Citizens are the variable in each equation and if you isolate all violent crimes into one group it would not benefit the scientific research inhibited concealed weapons.This relationship is caused by the type of crime, for instance an individual that was mugged will have a different experience if someone was sexually assaulted or raped. In Crime in economics and states, it explains that crime is subject also to the economic state of the country, not just type of crime. If a country economic state is poor, you would most likely see a reaction by an increase in theft. (Bessie, 1999) Obtaining a concealed license and the type of crime has to be evaluated and determined if the crime was avoided or it was cause of the crime.Citizens that can carry a concealed weapon feel safer in high rim e areas. The disadvantage of others that may be harmed due to the fact of a concealed weapon on person is the state of mind of the carrier. However, in light of concealed permit holders state of mind, this group feels the area around them is a much safer place than without a concealed weapon. The reality of Justifying good cause for a moral individual to be issued a concealed weapons permit will be a deterrent for violent crime to occur. Why is Japan considered to be the safest country?In Japan the crime rate is not so high and Japanese citizens can leave a bicycle unlocked without worrying about someone stealing it. The Japanese Justice Ministry's Research and Training Institute has, in its 1977 â€Å"White Paper on Crime,† compared domestic crime rates to those abroad and says that Japan is by far the safest industrialized nation in the world† (Douglas, 1977). Japan is known to be a safe place with less crime compared to the United States. Japan's gun-related crime ra te is only eleven deaths per year which is unbelievable when we look at the crime rate in the United States.The only weapons that are allowed in Japan are air guns and shotguns. The process to get a gun is rather lengthy. Japanese law, however, tarts with the 1958 act stating that â€Å"No person shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords,† later adding a few exceptions. (Fisher, 2012). To acquire a gun, a Japanese citizen needs to go through a one day class and passing a written test, passing a shooting range class, mental fitness and drug testing by a medical check- up. The medical reports need to be filed with the police.There is also a criminal background check that is required for the air gun or shotgun. Once all the requirements are met, you would need to provide all the necessary documentation on where the gun will be kept and locked in the house. The police are required to inspect the gun every year while re-taking a class and test every three years. The process is difficult and in my opinion would discourage a Japanese citizen from having a gun. Japanese citizens do not seem to have any issues about their gun laws.The gun control and laws are stricter in Japan, forbidding sales and buying of handguns, small-caliber rifles, and toy guns. A Japanese citizen could be charged with holding a gun, possessing and shooting unlicensed bullets if they were to shoot a gun. Although Japanese citizens are limited to owning air guns and shot guns, enforcing a concealed weapons license may not be something that Japanese citizens would consider because their police force takes care of their Job in a manner that one would not require one to own a handgun. Japan enjoys one other benefit that may be related to the low crime rate, an efficient police force and a tradition of citizen cooperation, which help give the country the highest arrest rate, relative to crimes committed, of all advanced nations† (Fisher, 2012). In conclusion, the fact rem ains that the effect of right to carry law varies across time, geographic context, and by the type of crime. All citizens should have the right to carry arms within limitation for two main reasons. First, right to carry law should be evaluated on an individual basis based on area he or she in is, consistency of travel, and prior background.But most importantly, the passage of the right to carry law lowers the incident of violent crimes. â€Å"As the respective examples of Luxembourg and Russia suggest, the kinds of people who murder will either find guns despite severe controls or will find other weapons with which to kill† (Amuser, 2006). The majority of people that apply for the concealed weapons licenses have been victims of crime. Owners of a concealed weapons license typically view their society a safer place. Plainsman (n. D. ) states â€Å"Robbery rates in right-to carry states were rising until the laws were passed and then fell continually after that point. Is there a â€Å"Robbery Effect If a person is unstable, then most likely they will not be able to complete the process to obtain a concealed carry license. It's not the license that causes crime, but it's the person's mentality. According to â€Å"The First Decade Of The Tennessee Handgun Permit Law Shows Very Good Results By Legally Armed Citizens In Tennessee† (2004), â€Å"There are o incidents that can be found where in a defensive incident a Tennessee Handgun Permit Holder shot or wounded in some manner, any innocent person.There are a number of defensive incidents where a Tennessee Handgun Permit Holder used his or her pistol to defend themselves or another party but, only the aggressor was harmed. † (Self-Defense Incidents Also Reflect Good Results). Q). If a no concealed carry law passes then that's only going to stop the law abiding citizens, not the criminals. Just because a person has a license to carry a concealed weapon, does not cause violent crime in society. Crime is created by the state of mind of the person with the weapon, not by the legality of owning a weapon.

Elisabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish” Essay

Elizabeth Bishop’s poem The Fish narrates the changing attitude of the speaker towards the fish. First, the fish is described as ancient and grizzled, showing signs of death and decay. However, upon closer inspection, the fish is made out to be a survivor of many battles. Through the use of figurative language, the poet shows the speaker’s shift from noting only the fish’s dejection to admiring him for his past glories. Bishop begins with the personification of the fish into a figure of defeat and age. The speaker mentions that the fish had not fought at all, as though he had given up all hope. She compares the fish’s skin to old wallpaper which would not be securely attached to the wall as skin loses firmness with age. In addition, Bishop details the extent of the fish’s injuries, everything from lice and barnacles to the fresh blood of his wounds. Such imagery invokes feelings of decay and abandonment as parasites are allowed to slowly consume him. The speaker also contemplates the fish’s innards, suggesting that his has become a mass of flesh and bone without spirit. The speaker furthers the personification of the fish by looking into his eyes and remarking that he had not looked back fully. Instead, the fish had only shifted his stare a little towards the light, further suggesting lack of will while giving the fish a very human feeling of dejection. Not caring about the face of his conqueror, the fish only seeks to confront death, represented by the light that he turns towards. The focus on the fish’s physical structure denotes the fish’s lack of spirit yet it is this very lifelessness that gives the fish the human emotions of apathy and hopelessness. Through the personification of the fish, the poet shows the speaker’s projection of lack of spirit and hope onto the fish. In contrast, the speaker’s discovery of past hooks imbedded into the fish’s mouth gives him the persona of a fallen war hero who has survived many battles in the past. The speaker’s perception then changes from one of lifelessness to one of courage and animation, denoted by the admiration in the speaker’s tone. Upon seeing the frayed lines, she uses verbs of action and struggle as she imagines the fish fighting and breaking the line. Thus,  the poet’s comparison of the lines to ribbons furthers the fish’s appearance as a hero retaining the medals of his victory. The further comparison of the thread to a beard of wisdom shows the speaker’s admiration of the fish’s accumulation of experience through time. The author then explains that he boat become filled with victory in the appearance of a rainbow. A rainbow can be associated with triumph and survival, as the viewer can enjoy the calmness after a storm, often a scene of chaos and potential violence especially combined with the boat setting. Through viewing the remains of the past struggles that the fish has faced, the speaker’s perception of the fish changes him from a being in decline to the survival of past battles. In The Fish, Bishop transforms an old fish the speaker caught into a glorious figure of reverence. Bishop uses personification and analogies to set up the fish as dejected and lacking in spirit. However, the speaker’s perception changes and tone is markedly more of admiration while symbolism is added as the remains of the fish’s struggle become the trophies of victory. By employing personification and symbolism, Bishop uses figurative language to denote the speaker’s changing understanding of the fish.

International Marketing Strategy Essays

International Marketing Strategy Essays International Marketing Strategy Essay International Marketing Strategy Essay BA (Hons) Marketing – 3rd year Mathieu Chomarat: 06110827Portobello College Year 2006-2007 International Marketing Strategy Assignment 2: Ikea Case Study Lecturer: Carmel GernonRoom: F6 Table of Contents A Brief Introduction to the essay:1 Macro-environment of Ikea in Brazil:1 Politic and legal environment:1 Economical environment:2 Social environment:3 Technological environment:4 Environmental factors:4 Market strategy entries:4 Wholly owned stores:4 Joint venture:5 Strategy recommended: franchising6 Success factors in Brazil7 Know how to attract new customers7 Be able to sell good quality products at a low price7 Adapt the experience in the retailing to a new market8 Understand the reasons that make Ingvar Kamprad reluctant to enter a new market:8 Bibligraphy9 Appendix 1: Brazil maps10 Appendix 2: Diary11 Number of words: 3,324 A Brief Introduction to the essay: With 237 stores around the world and a turnover of â‚ ¬ 17. 6 billion, the Swedish company Ikea is the world leader in home furnishings[ Ikea’s Fact and Figures 2006, from Ikea’s website at http://franchisor. ikea. om/] thanks to a DIY concept that enables them to sell well designed good quality products at low prices. The Ikea Group plans to further their international expansion into the South American Market. Brazil is the largest country in South America and fifth largest country in the world after Russian, Canada, China and USA. It apparently represents the most attractive country to target. The following analysis aims to high light threats and opportunities regarding to the Brazilian market, as well as providing solutions and recommendations for a successful implantation in this area. Macro-environment of Ikea in Brazil: Politic and legal environment: Even if the political stability in South America isn’t as secure as countries from the European Union for example, the situation remains quite steady as the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a second term in a landslide victory at the end of October 2006. Silva who used to show strong leftist rhetoric before acceding to power in 2002, is more seen by observers as a centrist with a conservative economic policy in his first term[ â€Å"Brazil’s president wins landslide victory†, Associated Press, 29th of October 2006]. As he is considered more moderate than other South American leftist leaders like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales, his re-election is more than welcome for big companies willing to enter the Brazilian market such as Ikea. Thus, the country doesn’t seem to present a big political risk, as the president promised to boost growth to reach the ranks of developed nations. In fact, the credit insurance company Durcroire specialised in international transactions assesses a risk of two based on a seven levels scale, giving the country a relative poor political risk[ ducroiredelcredere. e, information from the 02/11/2006]. The government is also quite active for helping its population to have better standards of living. A number of programs such as the â€Å"Programa Carta de Credito Individual e Associativa†, â€Å"Habitar Brasil-BID (HBB)†, or the â€Å"Programa de Subsidio a Habitacao de Interesse Social (PSH)† help people to acqui re proper homes, by providing grants and credits to people who are the most in the need. It thus helps them to leave their ghettos. Such programs can be seen as an opportunity, because, when moving into new houses, people are more likely to be willing to acquire furniture as well. Other social programs are profitable for the population and for Ikea as well. For example, the â€Å"Credito Solidario†, helping poor people to send their children to school leads to an increase in the number of educated people who can be seen as the target of Ikea. For instance, they can read the ads, understand Ikea’s buying process, and build their own furniture with written explanations for instructions[ bresil. org/index. php? option=com_contenttask=viewid=663Itemid=51cataff=116cataffb=116]. Furthermore, the government is willing to make the country more liberal. In this intent, Brazil is a part of the Common Market of the South, Mercosur which has founded Common External Tariffs (CET) for Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, concerning a growing number of products. In the geographic area of Mercosur, the tariffs are also eliminated, and factors of production (labour or capital for example) can move freely. These CET apply for equipment goods at rates included between 0% and 14%[ septimanie-export. com/fr/fiches-pays/bresil/acces-au-marche] (numbers given for the tariffs applied on the CIF[ Cost Insurance Freight] price of goods). This is a big opportunity for Ikea, because reduced tariffs would reduce prices on their imports to Brazil if they set up one or more outlets there. There doesn’t seem to have a special law limiting the size for big stores, which quite goes in the right way for Ikea. Economical environment: With emerging markets grabbing investors’ attention, many are turning their focus towards South American markets. Strong exports, high commodity prices and increased investments have been contributing factors to growth within many of the Latin American markets[ Ann-Marie Fleming, 19th of Jan 2007, seekingalpha. om, stock market opinions and analysis website]. The total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil for the third quarter of 2006 was about Real 542 billion ($ 253. 5 billion), which represents an increase of 6. 55% compared to the previous quarter[ SDDS, from the International Monetary Fund, January 2007]. If taken on a per capita basis, Brazil is ranked in 68th position out of 181 countries with revenue of $ 8,561 a year, providing the population an average purchasing power[ International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database for the year 2005, September 2006]. Thus, the economy seems more than appropriate to the entrance of Ikea, especially since the global imports in the country have experienced a growth of 16. 27% during the third quarter of 2006, reaching Real 72 billion ($ 33. 7 billion), which could be profitable for the importation of furniture. Brazil has indeed well recovered from the 1999’s crisis[ SDDS, from the International Monetary Fund, January 2007]. But the growth of the economy of Brazil, compared from one year to another shows numbers quite smaller, as it grew approximately from 2. 3% in 2005 and 4. 9% in 2004[ state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35640. htm#econ]. Regarding more specifically the furniture market, numbers show that in the previous years, Brazilian imports decreased from $ 111 million in 2000 to $ 96 in 2001 (-3%), which doesn’t seem quite attractive for Ikea, considering its global strategy of having one only supplier for each product. The imports of furniture are dominated by the United States with 39%, followed by Germany with 36% and Italy with 10%[ ABIMOVEL, Brazilian Association of Furniture Manufacturer, numbers from the case study]. The market of furniture in Brazil can be broken down in three main segments: residential (60%), office (25%) and institutional organisations (15%). Analysis show that this last segment is on the growth and imports should increase considerably for the next 3 or 4 years, mainly imports from the United States. That could be interesting if Ikea would favour the institutional segment, and if they would have suppliers based in the United States. The market is also restrained by high interest rates (18. 3% per year in 2001) which prevent people from demanding bank loans, and thus maintain their purchasing power at lower levels than if they could borrow money easier. It then has a bad impact on house purchasing and in series, lowers the buying of house furnishings too. An economical risk regarding the imports of furniture is brought with Brazilian high government debt remaining at 51% of the GDP, in spit of a relative decline in 2004. This debt could lead to the hardening of import taxes and other product taxes or even currency depreciation which could be dreadful for Ikea and its low costs strategy based on high volume sales. A possible solution to target a market which represented approximately $ 3. 6 billion in 2000 could be to use one of the 13,500 Brazilian furniture manufacturers. The problem there is that most of these firms are small, family owned companies not necessarily adapted for mass production at an international scale. The advantages to have recourse in local production are that: The average wage for November 2006 is of Real 1 139. 8: $ 533. 2; The production of particleboard which is used for 80% by the furniture industry has increased from 13% a year from 1990 to 1998, reaching 1. 3 million m3. Social environment: Brazil constitutes at first sight an incredible opportunity. On one hand, it represents a growing population of 186 million people. On the other hand, it is also a market which can be compared to European ones: the population is mainly Roman Catholic (74%), most of the population speaks Portuguese, 86% of the Brazilian adults are literate and the workforce is of 90. 4 million people with only 8. 4% unemployed[ Information from the USA government, state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35640. htm#econ, 2005]. However, like most of the developing countries, polarization is a significant issue in the Brazilian society. There are huge income gaps between the rich people and the poor people. The 10% richest people earn 50% of the totally income and the 10% poorest people only get less than 1%. Social statues then classify the society hierarchy, and people try to improve their rank by having famous cars or with the taste of decorating in house, especially in the middle class. This could indeed be a good point, but the credit option is extremely limited among most consumers in Brazil, 18% of households have credit cards, and most of them wouldn’t beyond the point that they can pay back the full balance within a month[ Brazil’s Consumer Credit Culture, 18th of Jul 2005 gtnews. com]. According to a report from The San Francisco Chronicle (California) newspaper on March 22, 2006, more and more low and middle level of people moving to new building, it is a significant signal that low and middle class people improve their living standard. On an other hand, furniture demand could increase in the near future, and certain groups will look for eye-catching furniture at acceptable prices. This is exactly what Ikea is looking for! Technological environment: The road network stretches on 1. 5 millions kilometres but only 10% is asphalted, which can cause disorders for the furniture’s delivery. Moreover, proximity to mass transit and public transportation is essential as a lot of low-income consumers do not own any car. The growth of PC’s ownership PCs as well as the Internet expenditure could be profitable to Ikea for online selling. The state has placed an order for 1 million of $ 100 computers for 2007 to equip schools[ â€Å"Le Bresil: premier grand client du PC a 100 dollars†, silicon. fr, 12th of March 2007], and the computers ownership is growing in the country. Environmental factors: Brazil shelters dense forests in northern regions including Amazon Basin that can be use for wooden furniture: half of the country is covered by forests. The government is also involved in protecting this forest, but lots of measures aren’t very effective. Market strategy entries: Ikea has already a pre-set strategy worldwide: it has franchises all over the world that sells its products and use contract manufacturing to supply the outlets with furniture. The products designed by Ikea, and produced by its partners are sold all over the world; it’s thus a big company, largely experienced in international business. The firm’s objectives in targeting Brazil are to enter a huge potential market and then increase its global market share as well as its revenue. In this new market that seems appealing enough to try and get to set a business in, but in a country that seems to be full of threats for a company that doesn’t have any experience with the local culture, it seems more than recommended to find a local partner first. Studies show indeed that successful companies in Brazil, like CA, are the ones which managed to adapt to the local environment with specific policies. In this intend, two strategies are likely to give the best results, because they involve local actors providing a fewer risk, and because they take into account the current organisation of Ikea: joint venture agreements and franchising. On a second hand, the strategy consisting in implanting Ikea’s wholly owned outlets or even purchasing other companies to set up their business in Brazil could be a solution, if we consider that the Brazilian market has a high potential for high income and success. Wholly owned stores: Having wholly owned stores to enter the Brazilian market is the most risky solution that can be conceivable, but it is still relevant to the actual case as the political risk in the country is low, the potential market in term of number of potential customers is high, and Ikea has enough resources to invest into new outlets. This strategy could be seen as similar to franchising, which is the main approach used by Ikea all other the world. Wholly owned stores could therefore be a possible solution for Ikea, which would either have to employ local managers or buy an existing local store to make sure that the new entity would answer the special needs of the market. Being able to understand the culture is an important factor to succeed in Brazil indeed, as the case study shows. Ikea should then be very careful when entering the market to make sure they respect the local culture and answer to the specific local needs of both the customers and the employees. Having a local owned store would be a long shot strategy to make high profit in the long run as well as being able to access to the distribution channels quickly and then select new suppliers among the huge number of local furniture manufacturer. The opportunities could thus profit to the brand worldwide, in finding a cheap manufacturers supplying good quality products. But this strategy also has a major drawback, as it would use big resources and could be unprofitable if the sales remain low. Ikea would then struggle to exit the market quickly and wouldn’t be able to prevent huge losses. This strategy could then only be used if Ikea is sure that the market is big enough. Joint venture: A joint venture is an entry strategy for a single target country in which the partners share ownership of a newly created business entity[ Keegan Green, 2005, pp. 299]. A joint venture seems to be an adapted strategy as Ikea already used this type of strategy during the past. In Japan for example, it set up a joint venture agreement with a local department store to test the market in 1976. History shows that the company then withdrew from the market due to stagnant sales. It then came back to Japan recently in 2006 thanks to a distribution partnership with the Mitsubishi Corporation[ Wikipedia, 2007]. Ikea could use a similar strategy by setting up a partnership with a medium sized local actor specialised in retailing with experience in the furniture industry to benefit from its experience without risking to face to see this actor becoming a competitor when he would have learn enough from the big company. A joint venture strategy could be seen as an opportunistic strategy to see if the market is ready. The benefits of a joint venture are as follow: Ikea would attain the knowledge of the Brazilian market through its local partner. It enables to reduce the time for Ikea to understand the local furniture market. If the market is really interesting, Ikea can then enter more and set up new stores in the country, in the high population density areas. Ikea also shares the risks with the local partner and thus reduce risk and uncertainty. By using joint venture, the financial risk and possible government interference are reduced. It could be then profitable to use local suppliers for some products, reducing costs due to importation taxes. However by using joint venture, there is possible conflict against the company goals and objectives, and it is difficult to exit the venture in both successful or failure events[ Warren J. Keegan Mark C. Green, 2005, Global Marketing, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, page 299]. If the partnership would take a wrong turn, concerning the relations with Ikea or if the local company wouldn’t follow Ikea’s recommendations, the multinational firm would struggle to adapt its model to the new market. Possible conflicts could also come from the fact that the local actor could copy Ikea’s strategy and give an end to the partnership. That is why it is very important in that case to be careful when choosing a partner and make sure that he would understand Ikea’s goals and adhere to them. Strategy recommended: franchising â€Å"Franchising is a special form of licensing where the franchiser makes a total marketing programme available to the franchisee. It will have to pay a fee and supply capital, personnel, personal involvement and local market knowledge†[ Jeannet Hennessy, 2004, pp. 296]. All current 237 Ikea stores all over the world operate under a franchise from Ikea Systems B. V. Ikea’s Facts and Figures], and franchising seems to be the most adapted entry method to enter the new market for the following reasons: Uncertainty Risk: Though economy is booming in Brazil now, with high national debts, high interest rate, and huge income gap between rich and poor people, there is still uncertainty risk to enter the Brazilian market. Franchising can reduce risks with limited resource input in an uncertain market because it uses the resources and the knowledge of the local franchisee. Speed: Speed is one of key issue for Ikea to be success to enter Brazil. Because of the important number of local competitors in the Brazilian market, the less time Ikea give them to reply, the high opportunities to be successful. Franchising is then an answer to this speed requirement as it provides the opportunity to grow quickly and open rapidly several numbers of stores if the market tends to be very profitable. Organization Objective: According to the information from the case study, franchising method used by the firm enables it to emphasis on centralized control and standardization of the product mix. And the objective of Ikea is to provide low price furniture with a fashion style. So the franchising method enables Ikea to build up lower costs in producing all over the world and then making economies of scale, to achieve the organization objective. Organization Experience: Ikea has a high level in international retailing with franchising methods in 22 countries. Compared with the level of experience in other methods, franchising is the most powerful and attractive methods to entry Brazil market for Ikea, because they master it very well! However, every coin has two sides, and the most appropriate entry method, franchising, also has a few drawbacks[ Cf. Jean-Pierce Jeannet H. David Hennessy, (2004), Global Marketing Strategies, 6th Edition, Houghton Mifflin, page 296. ]: More competitors in the long run: there are huge number of manufactures and wide rich resource in Brazil. It could be easy to set up new stores for local actors to compete with Ikea after learning from it. According to the case study, as business people in Brazil prefer their own way of running the business, the centralized management approach has limits in Brazil and there could be conflicts appearing in long term. Ikea should be very careful with that, as it could be considered as a success factor. Success factors in Brazil The Brazilian market for furniture retailing involves specific success factors which slightly differ from the ones that Ikea already has to master to compete in other countries. Three different factors can be identified through the case: Know how to attract new customers, with an emphasis on being able to communicate well among the prospects; Be able to sell good quality products at a decent price; Have a strong experience in the retail industry with a focus on three aspects: the customers, the suppliers and the employees. Know how to attract new customers The challenge here is to adapt the communication mix to the local population. The fact that Ikea has a famous brand name all other the world is already an advantage as the company has been chosen as the eighth best brand in 2006 according to a survey from brandchannel[ brandchannel. com/start1. asp? fa_id=352, 2006]. The print run for the 2006 Ikea’s catalog edition was 160 million[ Kerry Capell, â€Å"How the Swedish retailer became a global cult brand†, Business Week, 14/11/2005], even more than the Bible, which shows well the company’s know how in communication, since this fact helps to bring more than 1. 1 million customer in the stores everyday. But this is not enough for the Brazilian market, Ikea has to be able to show its interest for the local culture and adapt its communication to this particular environment. Be able to sell good quality products at a low price Ikea has already a deep knowledge in this area, because of efficient marketing and design departments which are successful to use different suppliers and know how to realise economies of scale without lowering the quality. Be able to sell good quality products at a low price is the most important success factor to enter the Brazilian market. This key success factor involves skills of Ikea to manage Just In Time (JIT) production, and a large production useful for economies of scale, as well as to use consumers as â€Å"pro-sumers†. But these skills have to be adapted for the Brazilian market as the notion of â€Å"pro-sumers† will certainly have to be explained to the new customers. JIT is also a big advantage for Ikea because in enables the brand to suppress unnecessary stock costs. Adapt the experience in the retailing to a new market This last part, which takes into account the two former success factors, has to do with managing the people, the processes and the flows in order to serve best the customers. In other words, Ikea would have to adapt itself to the new culture. For example, Ikea would have to have local managers who understand both Ikea’s and the local culture, and who can introduce the first to the latter. Adapt the experience to the new market has also to do with being able to locate well the store, adapted to the way of life and the possibilities of the Brazilians: for example, the population isn’t well equipped with personal vehicles, housing furniture may have to answer specific requirements, the way of selling may differ from what Ikea has previously experienced in other countries or the import taxes as well as a nationalism could lead the company to use local suppliers a lot. Understand the reasons that make Ingvar Kamprad reluctant to enter a new market: According to the case study, Ingvar Kamprad is feeling quite reluctant to a further expansion of Ikea. This can be analyzed by different reasons: The main one, pointed out by the case study, is that when an organisation becomes too big, it becomes too hard to manage. Indeed, one person, as a human being, can’t take the responsibility for handling thousands of issues caused by hundreds of stores. The main manager of the whole organisation, Ingvar Kamprad, would then have to delegate more power in order to be confronted to a restricted number of issues. Other reasons could also cause this scepticism, as we have seen earlier in the case study: language barriers that could result in conflicts of communication[ hartford-hwp. com/archives/42/149. html], other cultural issues that would oppose dissimilar management styles[ Zara’s problems, according to the case study], or huge competition due to well implanted local producers. All of these issues can though lead to a failure of the new attempt, and handicap the whole company and thousands of employees. Bibliography ABIMOVEL, Brazilian Association of Furniture Manufacturer, numbers from the case study Ann-Marie Fleming, 19th of Jan 2007, seekingalpha. com, stock market opinions and analysis website Brandchannel website from brandchannel. com/start1. asp? fa_id=352, 2006 â€Å"Brazil considers linguistic barricade† by Andrew Downie, The Christian Science Monitor, Wednesday 6 September 2000 published in hartford-hwp. com/archives/42/149. html Brazilian embassy in France at bresil. org/index. php? option=com_contenttask= viewid=663Itemid=51cataff=116cataffb=116 Brazil’s Consumer Credit Culture, 18th of Jul 2005 gtnews. om â€Å"Brazil’s president wins landslide victory†, Associated Press, 29th of October 2006 Cecilia M. Vega, â€Å" A new oasis in Tenderloin†, The San Francisco Chronicle (California) newspaper on March 22, 2006 Durcroire (Belgian credit insurance company) website, ducroiredelcredere. be, information from the 02/11/2006 Houghton Mifflin, page 2 96. Ikea’s Fact and Figures 2006, from Ikea’s website at http://franchisor. ikea. com/ Information from the USA government, state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35640. htm#econ, 2005 International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database for the year 2005, September 2006 Jean-Pierce Jeannet H. David Hennessy, (2004), Global Marketing Strategies, 6th Edition Kerry Capell, â€Å"How the Swedish retailer became a global cult brand†, Business Week, 14/11/2005 â€Å"Le Bresil: premier grand client du PC a 100 dollars†, silicon. fr, 12th of March 2007 SDDS, from the International Monetary Fund, January 2007 Septimanie Export, French association helping companies from the Languedoc-Roussillon region to go abroad septimanie-export. com/fr/fiches-pays/bresil/acces-au-marche US Department of State information from state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35640. htm#econ Warren J. Keegan Mark C. Green, 2005, Global Marketing, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall, page 299 Wikipedia, 2007 Appendix 1: Brazil maps Population Density in 2000 Appendix 2: Diary P=03151611 M=06110827 Date: 26 Jan 2007 Time: 15:30 Duration: 45 minutes Issues discussed: 1. Cleared doubts on each question. 2. Checked general Brazilian info online. 3. Make appointment for the next meeting. 4. Divided the workload. M is responsible for presenting information about Brazil. P is responsible for picking out the info from the Case study. Date: 1 February 2007 Time: 14:30 Duration: 30mins Issues discussed: 1. Review the written part of the report 2. Did more research on Brazilian furniture market. 3. Decided the entry methods and work together on Question 2 3 Date: 8 Feb 2007 Time: 16:30 Duration: 1hour We meet at H04, the computer room to switch and discuss opinions on Question 2 3. We put the written parts together and work together on Question 4. We did not finish it, but we decide both to work on it and put them together later. Date: 15 Feb 2007 Time: 16:30 Duration: 1hour We put the part of question 4 together, and review the whole report. We checked some issues and reconstructed some parts. Date: 22 Feb2007 Time: 16:30 Duration: 2hours Making the report together

Colleges and Universities With Good Business Programs

Colleges and Universities With Good Business Programs There are so many business schools that offer undergraduate degrees that it can be hard to narrow down your options. The best place to start is with a list of good undergraduate business programs. The following list of schools is not all-inclusive, but it is a good starting point for research and may help you find the school that is the best match for your education and career goals.   Babson College Babson College  combines leadership training, liberal arts study, and business education to provide an in-depth undergraduate business curriculum.   Boston College Boston College  offers top-ranked business education through the  Carroll School  of Management. Students study general business along with concentrated courses in their area of choice. Carnegie Mellon University The Tepper School of Business  at  Carnegie Mellon University  provides a  well-rounded curriculum for undergraduate students who want to study  analytical approaches to business problem-solving. Students take a combination of liberal arts courses, business foundation courses, and electives in an area of their choosing. Cornell University Cornell University  has seven undergraduate colleges and schools to help students prepare for a business career. Study options range from applied economics and management to hospitality management. Dickinson College Dickinson College  combines a liberal arts education with academic programs in a wide range of business areas, including international business, economics, and policy management. Emory University Goizueta Business School at Emory University  has an excellent BBA program with more than  70 different course choices. It is a great program for business majors  who want to customize their own concentration.   Florida State University The College of Business at Florida State University  offers a really wide range of business majors and minors for undergraduate students. The schools undergraduate program is consistently ranked among the best in the nation.   Georgetown University McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University  is  an excellent choice for undergraduate business majors who want a  global undergraduate business education. The school offers a comprehensive business education as well as  international academic opportunities. Harvard University You cant have a list of the best schools without mentioning Harvard University. The name alone stands for quality. Undergraduate business offerings include programs in economics, business administration, and management. McCombs School of Business McCombs School of Business  at the University of Texas at Austin is consistently ranked among the best business schools for undergraduate students. Offerings include a BBA program and a BBA business honors program.   New York University The  New York University  Stern School of Business combines business education with liberal arts courses. Students can choose from more than 10 different concentrations within business and take electives outside of business to round out their education.   Pepperdine University The  Pepperdine University  Graziadio School of Business and Management offers a traditional bachelor of science programs, such as a BS in Business, a BS in International Business, and a BS in Management, as well as a joint bachelor/MBA program.   University of Michigan The  University of Michigan  Ross Bachelor of Business Administration program is a very good option for business majors who want to study abroad and take groundbreaking courses designed to hone leadership experience.   University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania has one of the best undergraduate business programs in the United States. The school boasts an excellent faculty,  experiential learning experiences, and one of the most innovative curriculums in business education.

Transaction cost theory and resource-based theory to explore the Essay

Transaction cost theory and resource-based theory to explore the argument that big business has lost some of its competitive advantage in recent years - Essay Example In the context of globalisation, the ability of firms to compete their rivals has been related to their size; indeed, large firms have been often considered as having a competitive advantage towards the small and medium enterprises.Transaction cost theory and resource-based theory to explore the argument that big business has lost some of its competitive advantage in recent years.In practice, the above view seems to be invalid; more specifically, the expansion of large firms geographically is not an indication of these firm’s financial strength or highly competitiveness; on the contrary, these firms are often exposed to high operational costs and to increased risks regarding the management of their resources. The above issue is examined in this paper; the transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory are used for exploring and justifying the potential limitation of the competitive advantage of large firms in recent years. Both these theories indicate that the potential s of big businesses to compete in the global market have been limited; this outcome has many different aspects, which are explained and critically discussed used the transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory, at the level that these theories can be used for the evaluation of competitiveness of big business. The understanding of the potential role of the transaction cost theory and the resource-based theory in the identification and evaluation of the loss of competitive advantage of big business requires the reference... Through the views presented above it is made clear that the involvement of the transaction cost theory in the identification and the evaluation of the loss of competitive advantage of big business can have different aspects: a) as noted above, the transaction cost theory is based on the view that all organizational activities are based on a specific cost; therefore, the lack of funds for covering these costs would lead to the limitation of organizational activities – at the level that they cannot be fully funded by the organization; in this way, the firm involved can lose its competitive advantage towards its rivals, b) the precise estimation of costs in large firms is a challenging task; since the operations of these firms are expanded the estimation of the cost involved can be quite difficult; this problem could be effectively resolved by using the organization’s reports – in which the activities and the resources of the firm are analytically described; c) larg e firms can be differentiated from firms of other sizes in regard to its potentials to promote and support its products/ services; regarding the level of costs also, a large firm is highly differentiated from small/ medium firms; however, under certain cases, the financial status of a small/ medium firm can be quite satisfactory allowing the development of various organizational projects – which in large firm may not be feasible because of the lack of the relevant funds, d) transaction costs in large firms – as also in small/medium firms are not standardized; they may change under the influence of the market pressures; this fact could lead to the following problem: a large firm which has no financial problem might become liable to

Issue of gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issue of gun control - Essay Example This essay discusses the issue of gun control in the United States of America. Here gun related violence is one of the leading causes of bodily harm and fatalities in which many of the guns used in these crimes do not belong to the shooters. Ideally, the acquisition of these guns tends to be legal, but they end up falling in the hands of ill-motive individuals that avenge attacks on innocent civilians. On the other hand, proponents of gun control restrictions argue that citizens should not own guns either legally or illegally because owning a gun is one of the contributors to gun related violence. In Parma, major calls are on the ban on the licensing of handguns and assault weapons while the obtaining of the other types of guns should be within law requirements. As a way of ensuring that the Ohio state’s curbs the gun violence menace, advocates for the debate have decried the need to have an arms registry that would help in accounting for the weapons used in committing crime. Additionally, gun shows are also potential areas that aid in flooding the population with unlicensed firearms. Ideally, gun acquisitions at gun stores tend to have intense requirements, but firearm shows do not have the same because their intention is making sales and not in safeguarding the population.Also the problem also lies in the accessibility of firearm clips. This is because gun handlers that have high capacity clips tend to spray more bullets without having to stop to reload their weapons, which causes more damage. 3. Data that supports the debate A majority of those that commit gun related violence tend to be individuals that have had priors in crime that has led advocates on the restriction on gun ownership to influence the Ohio state to adopt the background check to be law. When passed, an individual that has a prior history of crime becomes non-illegible to obtaining a firearm because of the information obtained through the national registry. In the past, this measure w as strict, but gradually became non-applied by firearm sellers because it attracted minimal profits within this trade. Ideally, many argue that conducting of background checks on a purchaser of a gun contravenes ones privacy and that it is also discriminating because of the stereotyping associated with past offenders. 3.1 National data According to the Survey by the National crime victimization, almost five hundred people became victim to gun related violence in 2011. On the same year, data by the FBI showed that sixty eight percent of American murders drew influence from firearms (Carter, 351). Additionally, forty-one percent of robbery crimes and twenty one percent of