How Marriage Works

â€Å"Marriage is the process by which two people make their relationship public, officials and permanent† according to PsychologyToday. Marriage allows your relationship to be recognized by the government. People can marry for multiple reasons, including religion, economic benefits, or for love and companionship. The social clock has changed in America, with more people marrying later in their life. There are many reasons why people are deciding to push marriage off. Marriage can be both beneficial and negative.Marriage can provide better economic stability for both partners. When you marry, you can receive a marital tax deduction. This allows you to transfer assets to your spouse without being taxed for it. You are also able to obtain your spouse's benefits including social security and health insurance. Prenuptials are a secure way to keep your assets in marriage. By having a prenuptial, people can keep their original assets no matter if there is a split or divorce. Married couples are generally more financially stable, with â€Å"the median household income of married families is twice gag of divorced households and four times that of esperares households† according to the website Marripedia.Married people also have mental health and biological benefits. For example, married people typically live longer: â€Å"Research consistently shows that couples in a committed marriage live longer that those that are single† said Ivy Jacobson, author of the article â€Å"13 Legal Benefits of Marriage.† Because both people feel constant support from their partners, mental stability is improved, allowing the couple to live longer and decrease the chance of depression. Mental health is extremely important in the health of the relationship. By bottling up emotions and thoughts, it can negatively impact your self-esteem and increase stress. By having a partner, you are allowed to open up and feel heard, decreasing that stress and improving the way you look at yourself. Marriage increases serotonin levels. Serotonin is a chemical and neurotransmitter in the human body and is â€Å"sometimes called the happy chemical because it contributes to wellbeing and happiness† stated James McIntosh in his article â€Å"What is Serotonin and What Does It Do?† Having a significant other to provide physical affection and emotional support triggers the release of serotonin, helping create a positive mindset. Marriage can also result in divorce and financial stability. According to the website DivorceStatistics, â€Å"current divorce statistics in America is estimated to be fifty percent.† It is projected that the divorce rate will continue at this same rate in the future, making your chance of a lasting marriage unlikely. As well as a chance that your marriage will fail, a divorce is very expensive. A divorce with child custody and support issues cost about 26 thousand dollars. A divorce without child custody and support is about 17 thousand dollars. These extremely high costs can leave both sides of the party in major economic distress. There is also a possibility that you could be marrying into a financial burden. If one person obtains debt, the spouse will carry that debt as well. â€Å"Researchers analyzed the relationship of 4500 couples and found arguments about money were the the top predictor of divorce† says Nancy Durham, author of â€Å"Should You Tie the Knot? Financial Reasons Why Marriage Might Be A Misstep.† As a married couple, you will need to plan your future financial situations and be able to save money efficiently. Negative mental health characteristics can also arise from marriage. One spouse may become too emotionally dependent on their partners, causing stress and tension between the two. That spouse may start to feel as though they need their partner to be happy, and can become too emotionally reliant on them. As well as one partner being too emotionally invested, mental health disorders do not help. Negative emotional reactions caused by disorders can become intensified. Partners that cannot get the support and assistance they need from their partners often resort to substance abuse and isolation. According to Pierre Imlay, a mental health therapist, in his article â€Å"Mental Illness in Couple Relationships,† â€Å"when the marital stress is at its peak, there's a greater likelihood of substance misuse, movement toward divorce, and male aggression.† Marriage can be viewed in both a positive and negative way. Marriage can be very beneficial to couples that have communicated to each other about their expectations for the relationship and marriage, their future, economic situation, and their mental health. If there is a major disagreement, you may want to rethink about getting married and weigh out the pros or cons, or else you may just end up being another statistic for divorce. Although marriage has many components that should be discussed beforehand, it ultimately is a beautiful thing that should be shared and taken seriously.

Use of Computer in Pharmacy

Communication: Computers are used within pharmacies to facilitate communication. From email to other Internet-based messaging systems, online communication allows pharmacists and other pharmacy staff to keep in contact both within their own organization and within the professional community. Some pharmacy companies have their own Intranet systems for internal communications over the Internet. Prescription Processing: Prescription processing is invariably one of the main activities going on within a pharmacy on a day-to-day basis, and computers are used to make this process more reliable and efficient.Both the customer service side of pharmacy operation and the dispensing aspect are today carried out through the use of computing systems. Pharmacy computers also handle customer service activities such as sales and cash handling within the retail operation. Information: Having access to the Web via pharmacy computers is something that has enhanced the ability of pharmacists to carry out their duties to a higher standard.As well as giving the pharmacy staff access to the vast store of information that is available on the Internet, including those on specialist pharmacy resources, the Internet connects pharmacists to their peers on a global scale. Professional communities for pharmacists operate on-line, creating an atmosphere that is conducive to professional development. Databases: Computer databases for information about medicines, and medical treatment in general, are used within pharmacies.These database systems allow pharmacy staff to find out information about any potential conflicts or health-care problems in a prescribed treatment, as well as information about the details of any particular medicine the pharmacist needs to know more about. This information may include ingredients and potential effects as well as research and scientific data. Error Prevention: Pharmacy computer systems can help to prevent errors in medication, potentially saving lives and gen erally preserving the health of patients.As well as checking medicines and combinations of medicines, these systems can in some cases check on patient information. The availability of such systems varies across the different geographical areas, but in some cases pharmacy computers are able to check on prescribed medicines with specific reference to a patient and their overall health-care picture. Conclusion: We can say that computer is very useful for us. In clinical Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy and hospital Pharmacy crying need to use computer.

Total Quality Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Total Quality Management - Assignment Example Empirical results are expected to show that there would be a marginal increase in performance over a 4-year and 6-year period, respectively, upon installing ISO and TQM programmes. This means that unless firms maintain and sustain the TQM drives continuously, there will be a decline in competitiveness. One of its main objectives is to identify an implementation order concerning tools and techniques. Data from survey show there has been continuous decline in the number of new ISO 9000 registrations in the manufacturing industry since reaching its peak some 4-5 years (up to and including survey year, 1996) ago. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of ISO 9000 and TQM either singly or in combination on the performance of companies. It also explores the order of implementation, which was not addressed previously. In the process, the relationship of practice and performance is investigated and the practices and performance of firms with or without TQM and ISO 9000 in the manufacturing industry is examined. Saraph et al. (1989) were among the first to attempt to organize and coalesce the various TQM prescriptions. They identified eight critical factors of quality management: the role of management leadership and quality policy; the role of the quality department; training; product/service design; supplier quality management; process management; quality data and reporting; and employee relations. Operational measures of these factors were developed and were found to be reliable and valid. By using such measures, decision-makers can assess the level of quality management in their organization in order to devise strategies for further improvements. Starting from a strategic perspective, the work by Flynn et al. (1994) identified and accentuated seven key dimensions of quality management that included top management support, quality information, process management, product design, workforce management and supplier and customer involvement. These dimensions were then tested for reliability and validity and, by doing so, described a clear framework for subsequent research and established a standard by which practitioners could evaluate the effectiveness of their quality management programmes. Through a detailed analysis of the literature, Ahire et al. (1996a) identified 12 constructs of integrated quality management strategies, namely, top management commitment, customer focus, supplier quality management, design quality management, benchmarking, SPC, internal quality informatio

PERSONAL STATEMENT on masters in ECONOMIC REGULATION AND COMPETITION Essay

PERSONAL STATEMENT on masters in ECONOMIC REGULATION AND COMPETITION POLICY - Essay Example Being a female who looks at life from an optimistic mindset, I hail from the Sultanate of Oman and am 20 years old. I have qualified from high school where I understood the basic nuances of life. My academic interests within high school helped me become the head of student council which allowed me a chance to properly understand how work processes within the student regimes were handled. It also gave me an opportunity to believe in the dictum of living for others more than my own self. I transpired to me that I could gain quite a lot if I involved myself whole-heartedly within the student council affairs and thus my vision was geared to look after the people whom I was representing within the high school. Due to my commitment levels shown in the school, I was made the head delegate to model United Nations from Sultanate of Oman to Geneva, Switzerland. I learned a great deal within my high school days, which empowered me to comprehend how life will shape up in the coming times. I beli eve being an economics student, I can better adapt to the financial and accounting dynamics which are significant in the time and age of today. Economics is an important discipline and should be analyzed in such a manner that there is immense growth and development within the related ranks of an individual. I envision economics to be an important part of my life as this has shaped up my professional domains in essence. Since the world is moving ahead at a fast pace, getting acquainted with economics is definitely a point of advantage because it puts the economic champions to know what they are talking about and how to mold the financial management issues with the way learning is done. Within the Sultanate of Oman, I opine that economics has been a successful case study because it has empowered the oil rich state to use its resources in a viable manner – a manner in which there is more efficiency and productivity than anything else. As far as my educational journey is concerne d, I am doing my University Bachelors degree (Joint Honors) from the City University. My majors are International Politics and Sociology. I hope to be a graduate in the summer of 2011. This degree program offers me a chance to understand how economics of competition are manifested as well as the economics of regulation. The applied competition policy, sectoral competition and regulation, and the quantitative techniques for competition and regulation with the regulation law are important tenets of the degree program. My studies have not taken up all of my time. I have paid attention to my personal and professional grooming as well. What this has done is to make me feel proud of who I am and how I interact with the people around me. This is a much looked for aspect in the present day and age, and I am no stranger to this phenomenon. I like to mingle within debates so that my skills get polished. I usually speak on all topics which are clear to my understanding and which make me feel a t home with the topic at hand. I compete with people so that my abilities become strong and hence my competitive spirit is taken in a very positive manner by all concerned. I am usually a good orator as I like to speak fluently and that too within different languages. I speak well on economics and the different economic tangents, which are a central part of any business enterprise and indeed the entire industry of which economics is an integral link. Current affairs are something that I

Sequential Injuries and Timing of Injuries Assignment

Sequential Injuries and Timing of Injuries - Assignment Example The body is photographically documented. Evaluation of the injury is carefully traced. In the case of injury in vagina, sexual activity kit is needed (Rutty, 2007). X-rays are done on the injuries in order to identify the existence of remained weapons or portions of weapons. An X-ray on the chest can be done to assess the possible air embolism. After taking x-rays and collecting suitable trace evidence, the body is washed so that the documentation of photography and injuries can take place (Rutty, 2007). For example, sharp force injuries are classified as incised wounds, stab wounds or chop wounds and blunt force injuries produce lacerations. The types of the victims who are categorized with sequential injuries are those subjected to any type of trauma. There are several categories of traumatic deaths classified as mechanical, chemical, electrical or thermal. Mechanical trauma when a force is exerted on a tissue such as bone or skin. Sharp and blunt force injuries are classified in t his category. Chemical trauma refers to destruction and death resulting from the chemical interactions with the person’s body. Thermal trauma results from hyperthermia and hypothermia. Electrical trauma results from electric shocks. Clear photograph of the injury is taken to estimate the wound at perpendicular to the injury with a suitable scale. It is essential in case microscopic findings contradict with the expected era of the injury. Subsequently, specimen tissues of the wound can be taken from the wound edges or the entire injury excised for more processing (Rutty, 2007). If a large skin surfaces are involved or some parts of the injured tissue are not required to be represented in wound estimation, then the representative samples are supposed to be potted for the rest of the wound if the entire wound was not microscopically analyzed. Samples are put four percent formalin and processed for regular histological analysis namely Estastica van Gieson (EvG),

Home Selection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Home Selection - Assignment Example The house is located just a few kilometers from town and this allows easy access to school, and also ease for my parents to get to work, it would have been better for us to live even near the city but the cost of these homes are much higher than the house we live in, we also preferred living some kilometers outside the city due to both noise and air pollution associated with the city, therefore the best home we found is located in a good neighborhood with very high levels of security because it is located near the police quarters. Therefore by acquiring a home in this location has led to various advantages including high security levels due the nearness to a police residence and also low cost of transport to school for us and also for my parents to city where they go to work. We also have an added advantage in that the house is in the middle of a five acre land and that we bought the house and therefore we do not have to pay rent at the end of the month. The house is large with four bedrooms, a master bedroom which has its own bath and this is for my parents, we also have our own bedroom each, we have the sitting room, entertainment room and dinning room, the bedrooms are up stares while the kitchen and the other rooms are down stares.

Is Chinese currency (Reminbi) Undervalued Essay

Is Chinese currency (Reminbi) Undervalued - Essay Example emand to appreciate its currency since this is primarily viewed as one of the main reasons of loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States and its general deflation (Yang & Besnainou, 106). The RMB is the official currency of the People’s Republic in China having principal or base unit which is yuan. Literally, the RMB means people’s currency. Currency is significantly use for modern exchange of goods and services and this play important role how the country’s economy should operate. There must be significant unbalance economic activities between nations when for instance the US currency is overvalued while China’s currency remains undervalued. On the other hand, suppose the US continues to go for devaluation, this will necessary create significant impacts on its internal economy particularly on the growth of its industries. Considering that US economy and China’s are interrelated and both have active participation in exchange, the move of the ot her may significantly create impacts on how the other should run. Thus, there is a great consideration of knowing if RMB is really undervalued. There are two basic reference rates often considered when evaluating the valuation of currency exchange rate. The first is with respect to purchasing power parity. The next is comparing exchange rate needed to induce trade balance, or balance on the current account. Despite there are basic measurements in finding currency valuation, there are disagreements whether RMB is undervalued or not. There are different arguments whether RMB needs to appreciate or needs to decrease. The question now is how really it is to evaluate RMB which would be fair enough in order to understand its valuation. Reported in Roubini.com (par. 1 – par. 15) are different opinions from economic experts regarding the undervaluation issue of RMB which also involved different measurements they used. Structural shock and technical difficulties facing China’s economy provide no fair measurement

SLP - 2 RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND RETENTION Essay

SLP - 2 RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND RETENTION - Essay Example The employees need to feel that they are part and parcel of the organization and to own its success as well as failures. This can be attained through sharing of bonuses or shares of the company in times of huge profits as well as increasing their remuneration and rewarding top performances in order to boost their morale. Making employees to own the organization will make them cautious on how they relate among each other and how they will handle the assets of the organization. Choosing the right reward for employees offers another approach to retention strategies (Dibble, 1999). The management needs to devise creative techniques of appreciating the performance of employees which is not only based on monetary terms but the inclusion of other incentives. Such may include time off, initiation of shifts, leave days or exclusion from work on certain occasions. It has been realized that some employees quit their jobs because of lack of proper treatment by their immediate managers who may not have the basic knowledge required to relate well with their juniors. Therefore another strategy of retaining employees is by investing in the line managers through training so that they can be well equipped to empower employees to success and growth. It is proper for the management to create more opportunities for the check-ins of employees with their respective managers as well providing avenues for both formal and informal interactions. Some of the retention strategies that are not appropriate for the organization to adopt include the use of strict supervision to ensure to ensure that employees comply with the laid down rules and regulations of the organization or setting stiffer penalties for employees who wish to resign from their positions. Some organizations do not allow their employees to exit at their own free will so that they can be retained in the organization which only serves to lower the morale of the employees thus reducing their performance. Another

Arab Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arab Societies - Essay Example Meanwhile, the former inhabitants of the land purchased by the oil-rich citizens are left to migrate to urban areas leaving their agricultural livelihood to be bulldozed into the ground as the new foundation of an eagerly anticipated tourist destination. These migrants eventually get employed in a job that does not offer them enough income to live comfortably. This is the picture of how most Arabs live in the Middle East as painted by the authors of the assigned readings. The unfortunate thing is that only 5% of the Arab people are living in luxury while the rest live within middle-class to lower-class means. The consequence of the rural-urban migration of people is leaving agricultural lands barren without anyone to tend to producing crops or raising livestock for people’s food. Kadri reports that exportation of food has significantly decreased and importation has been on a steady rise. Hence, malnutrition among Arab nations has also spread. What is the government doing about this â€Å"rich getting richer† and the â€Å"poor getting poorer† situation? Since huge investments on land and real-estate would need the appropriate permits and authorization to operate, with the authority coming from the government, it may be expected that people in government gain much from the investors and inevitably approve of their investments. Mitchell has described such leniency from government as neoliberalism. It may be overwhelming to witness vast lands being turned to â€Å"dreamland† while the economy suffers and the majority of the population live in poverty. One may question where most of the revenue from taxes of such luxurious investments go. Certainly not to programs that will uplift the standard of living of middle to low classed citizens! Government priorities have been lopsided, favouring the projects of the rich over the service of the poor. This may be due to the personal agendas of those in power. Farsoun laments how Arab state capitalism

Wolfgang Armadeus Mozart and William Grant Still Research Paper

Wolfgang Armadeus Mozart and William Grant Still - Research Paper Example One person that understood best Mozarts’ creative process was them man himself. When asked about his process of coming up with compositions, he noted that the ideas that he applied in his compositions came when he was alone and cheerful in spirit. It really did not matter the place as some of these ideas came when he was aboard a carriage travelling to one place or the other, when walking and when resting before falling asleep. Morzat also admitted that he loved to write down his ideas, talk of Barbel, Gretel and to birds leaving no room for common disturbances. He noted that he had no control over how the ideas came and when they started to flow.Whenever the ideas to came to his mind, he would retain the good ones in his memory humming them to himself. He would use the morsels of ideas to come up with a wonderful composition taking into account the peculiarities of the instruments to be used. Furthermore, he would refine his compositions before sitting back and listening to t he final product. He was not so much concerned about originality in his creation process but his works ended up being unique. In the creation of â€Å"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik†, Morzat considers the instruments to be used; the cello, viola, and two violins. The composition, however, is often performed by string orchestras. The creation of this piece was initially not intended for publication but was a serenade written on commission. William Stills’ compositions included chamber music, ballets, symphonies and solo instrument pieces.

Christmas card making Essay Example for Free

Christmas card making Essay What I would like to achieve by making Christmas cards with a group of 3-4 children at a time, is to see how and what they think Christmas is all about, their creative side and if the can write their own names at the bottom of their card. The learning intentions for each child are to either write their own name without help or copy it from another piece of paper. Again in this activity the children will have to learn to share the equipment. Fridrich Frebel believed and emphasised that creative play was important part of a Childs worlds and growing up, he also thought physical play, song and rhymes was a symbolism, and best developed though play. Aim: To get all the children who do a card to try to write their name inside. What the children will learn: The children today will learn how to write their name correctly, I dont think they will remember all of how to do it but next time they need to write it they will find it easier. What I will learn: I should learn to help and supervise children properly and to help understand what they should and shouldnt being doing at this age and weather or not they understand the way I am asking them to do an activity for me. What happened? I choose three random children who were wondering around not doing any other activity. I choose two girls and a boy, to come sit at a table, first of all their put on aprons the table already had glue and card on it with scissors and glitter pens the children did not understand straight away what I wanted them to do I sat down and tried to explain luckily I had bring in one that I had did at home with my brother who is their age. The two girls KL and CW knew what I wanted them to try and do I even said can you do your name inside when you have finished. This time I didnt have an early years practitioner with me but one of them came over to see if I was okay. The Stephanie Jewell 3rd January 2005 boy I had asked to do a card didnt want to he found some thing else he anted to do, so one of the early years practitioner gave me another boy DK as he needs help with his name. I gave them red card and folded it KL wanted hers folded twice so I did as it was her Christmas card. The children took their time at making the outside of the card about 20 minutes later I said is anyone nearly finished? they all stopped their work and said Yes but they was not, so I told them to carry on then a couple minutes later DK finished the front so I wrote the inside for him and asked if he can do his name e but he was very aliment that he could not do it so I wrote it on a bit of paper to copy and he tried really hard but we only got half of it done as he got a little upset because he didnt want to do it. The two girls finished as well as are older they started to write letters inside but they didnt make any words but I thought that was really good bas they were trying. They both wrote their names and kisses, the children letters were back to front or upside but you can tell what their name was. Evaluation: The activity of making cards with the children went better then I excepted as the children didnt argue with each other and wanted to speak to me one after another instead of shouting and screaming. I thought I explained what to do well as the two girls that I choose to do this got on with the work straight away and didnt really need my help until the end with the writing of their names. The child who didnt want to do card making made me feel as if I was doing some thing wrong but he didnt take in ant activities that day. The children left their cards to dry and the next day we put them into envelopes and they took them home. I would like to carry it out again if possible as I enjoyed myself as I was helping and watching them does it. If you were to carry out this activity then I would say have no more then two children at a time that way you can give them almost your full attention and this way the children tend not to want to talk over each other as there are only two of them sitting on a table. The children did learn how to do their names correctly even though DK got upset as he didnt want to write his even though I kept encouraging him to Stephanie Jewell 3rd January 2005 try. I think I should have spoke more about Christmas and how a time for giving and why we give out cards to people. I put down a mat on the table as the children was working with glue, and glitter what make a lot of mess in the hands of 3, 4 year olds. The children put on aprons to protect their clothing which was a good idea, they did make a lot of mess with the glitter pens and didnt know when to stop putting on to the card I had to keep telling them it was enough but they some times didnt listen. The cutting of paper made mess around the table. But all of the mess made was easily cleared up within minutes and all the children had to do is wash their hands. I didnt realise the children would take as long as they did to make the cards and even writing their name took longer then expected, I gave myself half and hour when I should have allowed an hour to do this kind of activity. When the children sit down they took a little while to get started. The planning I did for both the activities were helpful I did follow both the plans I think the planning is good to have but on the day it all depends on the children weather or not they want to do it or if they are going to muck about for you, the best part about the planning is to see if you can complete the learning intentions you set for the children and knowing what equipment ids needed before hand in case its any thing that they wouldnt have usually.

A Strategic Analysis of Apple Essay Example for Free

A Strategic Analysis of Apple Essay Apple Inc. is an American based multinational corporation. It focuses on designing, selling and producing consumer electronics, software and personal computers. Its main product lines are; the iMac, iPhone, iPad and the iPod. Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Since then Apple Inc. has been one of the most innovative and competitive organisations in the technology industry. There have been significant ups and downs in the history of Apple. Throughout this, it kept its legacy of introducing new technology to the market. It is believed that over a hundred countries use Apple’s products. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ranks the company as the most innovative company for the last 8 years running. It is important for an organisation like Apple to remain competitive in the industry for its survival. Apple has been working extensively to introduce new products and ideas since its inception. Apple has transformed its business segment over the last decade. This began with the launch of the iPod in 2001, increasing profitability and creating growth. Apple further enhanced their profitability by expanding the operating segment, launching the iTunes store, and more recently through the acquisition of ‘Beats’. NPD Group (2012) found 63% of digital downloads run though Apple. The major turnaround occurred in 2007 when the company launched an Internet enabled smartphone (The iPhone). This started the golden era of  profitability and technological expansion for Apple. Apple has penetrated most of the developed countries, and even reached saturation point in Europe with its high end products including iPhone and iPad. It is yet to make a significant impact in the developing countries including China and India, which has around 36.8% of the worlds population. The research firm IDC (2013), found Apple’s market share for androids in China was only around 7%, below Samsung and Levono Group. 1.2 Research Aims Alfred Chandler (1962) defined strategy as The determination of the basic long-term goals of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals.† In order to analyse the firms’ strategic position we will further this research into three sections. The first, looking at the impact of the environmental factors. This will be done using a PESTEL analysis, as well Porters’ Five Forces model. Secondly we will consider the strategic capability of Apple by using a SWOT analysis. Finally analysing Apple’s innovation and internationalisation strategy in more detail. Concluding by offering recommendations for Apple and its competitors. 2. Environment Analysis 2.1 PESTEL Analysis It is important for every organisation to identify the impact of environmental analysis on its business operations. Apple is currently operating in more than 100 countries, meaning external factors have a significant impact upon the company. Identification and constant monitoring of these factors is important to minimise the effect they have on Apple. 2.2 Political Apple Inc. Form 10-K (2013) stated that approximately 63% of the Apple’s revenue comes from countries other than America. Thus the political  environment of various countries will significantly impact the revenue of Apple. The current political unrest in Crimea and the annexation to Russia from Ukraine could affect Apple’s sales, due to USA and Russian relations. In 2013 Apple sold approximately 1.6 million iPhones in Russia making it an important market for Apple. It is important for Apple to continuously monitor this situation in respect to their sales in Russia. China is now the worlds largest market for smart phones with 26.5% of all smart phone shipments, Forbes (2012). As shown below. For Apple to enter the Chinese market, a joint venture must be set up with a Chinese partner. This led to Apple joining with China Mobile. Apple’s market share has grown by 1% in the last quarter of 2014. This has led to Apple now being the 5th largest vendor of androids in China. 2.3 Economic The analysis of the global economy is of vital importance. During a period of recession such as the one just seen, disposable income falls, and unemployment rises. Apple’s product could be seen to be a luxury product, where quantity sold declines as income falls. This may lead to a fall in sales for Apple. However, during the recent recession Apple’s sales increased. Asymco (2011) Report below: The graph shows how Apple maintained continual growth in revenue over the ’09 period and onwards. Although its product may be seen as luxury, Apple managed to differentiate its product from competitors, and so created an increased demand. Additionally, with a depreciation of the dollar, the purchasing power of parity in foreign countries improves, and so Apple’s products become relatively cheaper. This led to an increase in international sales. 2.4 Socio- Cultural Factors The social life of an individual has significantly changed over the past  decade due to the revolution brought by a rapid expansion of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These social media networks have their own applications on iPhone. This gives users both business and consumers, a good medium to communicate with friends, family and business contacts. Apple has shaped modern culture by doing such, and this has increased demand for its product. Furthermore, Apple has entered the media market by the commercial linking of consumer products, with the iPod and through the launch of iTunes. This made a significant impact on 12 to 35 year olds using such products to enhance their social lives. 63% of digital downloads occur through iTunes, which gives Apple a dominant position in this market. By staying up to date with the changes Apple can increase its demand for both product. 2.5 Technological Technological factors are instrumental to the success of Apple. As one of the leading innovators in a technological industry, Apple must stay at the forefront of new developments. Steve Jobs was well aware of this: ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower,’ (The innovation secrets of Steve Jobs, 2001.) This led to Apple’s first steps, transitioning from a computer manufacturer to a leading technology company. This occurred through the iPod and more recently the iPhone and iPad. There was an awareness to develop new products as well as operating systems, which made the total range of compatible products attractive to consumers. KPMG’s Technology Innovation Survey (2013) found that the US is most likely to find a disruptive breakthrough in technological advancements, contrary to beliefs a few years ago. However, China is close behind, with 24% of the votes believing China will see the next disruptive breakthrough in innovation. Either way, Apple must be very aware of what competitors are producing. If they do not utilise advancements in production or ICT revolutions they will be left behind. 2.6 Environmental There is now a greater awareness on a global scale to reduce emissions and become more environmentally friendly. Laws and regulations in United States have changed and this has made manufacturers responsible for recycling their waste. For this purpose Apple has established domestic recycling facilities which will help the Company to recycle its waste in United States and to follow the rules and regulations. Apple has communicated its willingness to adopt a green production process in order to protect the environment. This may enhance its credibility in the local and international markets. Apple Website (2014) ‘We want to leave the world better than we found it.’ We aim to ‘create not just the best products in the world, but the best products for the world.’ Clearly Apple are making conscious steps to lead the way in becoming a green company, and to mold with the changing views of the population. 2.7 Legal Apple operates in more than 100 countries and the legal environment faced by the technology giant is of utmost importance. Apple has filed various lawsuits in court for violations of intellectual property rights (IPR) . Protection of IPR and patents will significantly impact revenue and future profitability. One of the most famous cases is where Apple won a $1.05 billion lawsuit against Samsung, showing the importance of the Legal system in the US. Furthermore, Apple is subject to international laws, policies and procedures. To compete in the Chinese market, Apple has ventured with China Mobile. Apple must continuously work alongside laws and regulations to maintain its brands equity. Operating in such a vast number of countries increases revenue, but leads to the arduous task of keeping up to date with all laws in all countries. 3. Porter’s Five Forces Michael Porter developed this Five Forces model, which is used as a tool for companies to analyse business strategies. The use of the forces can determine the intensity and the attractiveness of the industry, reflecting the profitability of the industry. 3.1 Threats of New Entrants If market entry is easy, and barriers to entry low, then the competition in a market will be much greater. There are a number of factors which limit the ease of entrance. In the PC and mobile phone industry, the market has high levels of competition, and so threat of new entrants isn’t high. Apple has managed to gain very high levels of brand loyalty with its customers. Apple emphasise RD and product innovation, which satisfies consumer demands. Apple also benefits from economies of scale, linking its production of different goods and services together. Finally, Apple has set up manufacturing plants in China where the labour and costs of production are cheaper. These factors all create high barriers to entry for new competition. Therefore, the main threat is between existing competition developing products to match that of Apple, and not from new entrants. 3.2 Threats of substitutes The more similar a substitute is to an Apple product the less power Apple has. This reduces Apple’s ability to charge higher prices. In the Mobile phone, PC, and Tablet industry there is a huge variety of products available. This puts Apple under constant pressure. For example, Apple’s flagship device, the iPhone, has rivalry from various smartphones, such as Samsung’s’ Galaxy S4 and HTC. The major reason for Apple’s success is due to its superior quality of product, along with brand recognition. This has made Apple the most valuable smartphone brand (The Worlds Most Valuable Brands Forbes. 2014). Apple must endeavor to maintain this brand loyalty to reduce the threat of substitution and charge to premium price for the products. 3.3 Supplier Power Apple has a few key suppliers for some of its components, such as Foxconn. Foxconn could use this fact to their advantage, and exhibit higher  bargaining powers. Apple uses its rival Samsung to produce the chips for their iPhone’s. This reliance on Samsung gives them great deal of bargaining power. Supplier power is slightly reduced due to the sheer size of Apple’s business, enabling them to force lower prices by buying in large quantities. Over the years, Apple has developed unique alliances with suppliers helping to streamline the supply chain. Alliances with music partners and software companies such as AT T has helped to increase the revenue base of the Company, without increasing the powers of suppliers. Steve Jobs was a known to be a control freak, and focused on reducing the bargaining power of suppliers from the use of vertical integration. 3.4 Buyer Power The bargaining power for most Apple consumers is low. Apple fanatics are willing to pay premium prices for Apple goods. In the case of the Mac laptops, the price is almost double of that of its rivals. Consumers are willing to pay this for both the name and the superior quality of the product. The vast number of Apple consumers has reduced their power to lower the price of Apple products. Apple’s goal should focus on reducing the consumers bargaining power. It has tried to do this by developing products specifically for consumers needs and wants, enabling them to charge a higher price. Griffin Consulting Group (2012) find that there are high switching costs for customers who want to change software or hardware which again reduces the bargaining power of customers. 3.5 Rivalry between Competitors The PC and Mobile industry is very competitive, with a large number of similar sized firms. Rivalry in this industry is seen by; aggressive pricing, rapid product innovation, intensive marketing, and after-sale services (Forbes Website, 2012). This is used to add value to the product. Apple tries to differentiate its product from its competition. It implements a focus strategy, only developing a few products and targeting them for the need of the customer. Steve Jobs was quoted saying this: People think focus means saying yes to the thing youve got to focus on. But thats not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. Im actually as proud of the  things we havent done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things, (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, 1997). For example, iPhone’s are targeted to consumers rather than businesses. Macintosh computers are targeted to creative professions such as designers and photographers. By doing this Apple has stayed competitive in a highly rivalrous market. 4. SWOT Analysis Apple The SWOT analysis of Apple will be used to evaluate the strategies with respect to its strength weaknesses opportunities and threats. Apple needs to further strengthen its strategies in order to attain benefits from the opportunities that exist in the environment. Below is the SWOT matrix, followed by a more detailed analysis of a few key points. Strengths Customer Loyalty Leading Innovator Strong Financial Performance Brand Reputation Retail Stores Strong Marketing Team Patent And IPR Protection Weaknesses High Price Incompatibility With Different Operating systems Decreasing Market Share Long Term Gross Margin Decline Opportunities High Demand Of iPad and iPhone iTV launch Application Processors Growth of Phone and Tablet Market Acquisition Of Smaller Firms. Strong Growth of Mobile Advertising Market Increasing Demand for Cloud Services Threats Technology Changes Increase In Supplier Prices Foxconn Workers’ Pay Levels Price Challenge From Samsung Android OS growth New Competitors. 4.1 Strengths Apple has won the award for being the leading innovator in the world BCG (2013). Apple’s core competency has helped it to establish itself as the most innovative company in the last decade. The fact that the RD expenditure of Apple in the year 2013 was approximately $4,475 million, which is approximately 30% of its total operating expenditure. Thus it is evident that the amount of RD expenditure helps the Company to remain leading innovator in this technology industry. By being the leading innovator, Apple has established a strong base of loyal customers. ‘Once Apple always Apple,’ is the phrase which is used by the customers of Apple and there is always strong interest and demand at new product ranges. The expansion of Apple into other product categories like iTV and other media will further increase customer loyalty. Apple expects its existing customers to use iTV, which will be more technologically advanced than its existing products. A strong marketing team has made Apple products famous among its customers. Last year it spent $933 million on advertising Forbes (2014.) Through the marketing of the products it is able to sell at a higher price compared to its competitors. Due to these factors the brand reputation of Apple is immense compared to its rivals, such as Microsoft and Samsung. Forbes (2013) valued Apple at $104 billion, whereas its rivals Microsoft and Samsung had brand values of $56.7 and $29.5 billion respectively. This shows the strength of Apple with respect to brand reputation and this is helping Apple  to increase its revenue and profitability over all these years. Apple controls its retail distribution by exclusive sales from its own network. Apple stores provide a higher quality customer service experience. Knowledgeable staff helps the customers, who increase the brand equity and thus increases the sales for the Company. They average Apple store size has increased by 3,000 square feet to 10, 500 square-feet. The average revenue per store of this is $50.2 million, Fox Business (2014). These stores are one of the best when it comes to sales per square feet, and this is a great strength for Apple. Finally, Apple is currently the leading company with a market capitalisation at the end of the fourth quarter of approximately $504 billion. This is due to the strength of their financial performance over the past few years. Apple’s cash balance is approximately $14.25 billion and their Balance Sheet shows an asset base of $207 billion in 2013, from Ychart (2014). Apple is therefore in a strong position to respond to most competitive threats. 4.2 Weaknesses One of the major critics about Apple products is that it is much more expensive than other comparable devices in the market. Fierce competition in the consumer product market is a disadvantage for Apple, as consumers can choose similar lower priced products. As well as this critics dislike the incompatibility with different operating systems. Products, particularly desktop and laptop computers manufactured by Apple only use its own operating system and thus the software and hardware are interdependent on each other. Critics argue consumers would rather buy products from various vendors, which is possible with Windows’ products. Apple computers are dependent on the growth of Apple’s OS, which could prove to be a disadvantage. If technological growth is limited then this will affects Apple’s ability to increase its market share in different industries. The market share of Apple has decreased over the past few years due to Android’s growing popularity, as it is a free operating system. It was  estimated that in 2014 the market share of Apple in smartphone industry would remain at 14.9%. Now it is expected to decrease to 14.4% in the year 2018, due to growth in the sale of the Windows’ phone. Thus it is important for Apple to improve on its technological advancement, including making more innovations with its operating system. More exclusive Apps on Apple could improve market share for Apple. Finally there has been a long-term gross margin decline for Apple. The major reason for the decrease of Apple’s margin is the increase in its cost of sales. In 2012 the gross margin was around 44%. This has significantly decreased in 2013 to around 38%, and thus shows that Apple needs to decrease its cost of goods in order to increase the gross profit margin in the long term. 4.3 Opportunities IDC (2014) found that 87% of connected device sales by 2017 would be from tablets and smart phones. Apple with its own product has the capability to produce and innovate technology in this sector to increase its market share. Apple has launched iPad mini 2 and the demand has been increasing for this tablet. Samsung has launched its Flagship smartphone S5 during 2014, and hence people are eagerly waiting for the new generation of the iPhone 6. This will considerably help it to further increase its market share and revenue over the next year. One of Apple’s opportunities is to increase its diversity of products through acquisitions. In the last 18 months alone Apple has acquired over 24 companies Tech Crunch (2014). Most recently acquiring Beats for $3.2 billion from Dr. Dre. There are a lot of new firms in the technology market, which are developing new products and features, which Apple can acquire. Due to the fact that these are patented features, Apple can get them through external acquisitions. Apple’s ability to purchase or negotiate will help to continue its long-term growth. A future revenue stream, which Apple has tried to utilise, is the increasing  demand for cloud services. IDC (2014) predicted that IT cloud services will reach $46.4 billion in 103, expected to increase to over $107 billion by 2017. This equate to a compound annual growth rate of 23.5%, fives times that of the industry. The Cloud based services offer huge potential revenue stream for Apple. Finally, Apple’s iTV product is a major innovation, to its product range and will support the Apple TV, which will help its penetration into the TV market. Furthermore, this will also diversify the portfolio of the Company and will further increase revenue and profitability along with the brand equity in the technology industry. 4.4 Threats Apple manufactures its products with the help of Foxconn. The wage level of Foxconn workers has tripled in recent years. This has led to rising costs for Apple. Further still, Samsung has asked Apple to pay more of its processing chips in its iPhones. The reliance on these suppliers has meant a rising cost level for Apple. Apple needs to identify more suppliers of processing chips, which should help it to decrease the overall costs. This in turn will improve their profitability and reliance on other companies. The technology sector is experiencing rapid technological changes. This puts Apple under severe pressure to launch new products and features with new devices. Inability to do such will lead to failure. Apple over the years has introduced new products and services, which is helping it to stay ahead of its competitors. Soon it will face fiercer competition and innovation is key for survival. Apple is facing a threat from the Android’s rapid OS growth. The free operating system for smartphones Android is the most widely used operating system. Approximately 80% of the smartphones shipped in 2013 were based on Android. Therefore it is important for Apple to further increase the innovations by introducing new features in their operating system. This will help to maintain or grow their market share in years to come. 5. Apple’s Strategies When considering the strategies that Apple had adopted it is important to consider how these strategies arose and the direction in which it moved the company. This is key in determining how the company can now move forward and pursue new goals. Apple was found to be the leader in innovation for the last eight years running by Boston Consulting Group. When considering how Apple has become the company it is today, it is vital to talk about the innovation strategy that Steve Jobs implemented, and now more recently how, Tim Cook is moving the company forward. In this section we will also look at the use of a diversification strategy, which was implemented at the same time. The last strategy covered is an internationalisation strategy adopted by Apple. 5.1 Innovation Strategy Freeman and Soete (1997) defined innovation as the ‘The first commercial application or production of a new process or product.’ It involves the conversion of a new knowledge into a product or services and then the implementation of this. It can take two different forms; technology push, or market pull. The former is created by new knowledge and understanding from technologists or scientists. The latter is caused by the pull of consumers in the market, leading to innovation. Before Steve Jobs turned Apple around John Scully decided that cost leadership strategy was vital. He did believe in a differentiation strategy as well, however he failed at differentiating Apple’s products from the leading rivals. This led to Steve Jobs taking control of the company and redefining the direction of Apple. He believed that innovation was the key to success. The industry was driven by low prices and expanding capabilities, so Jobs decided to innovate and at the same time differentiate Apple’s product from the market. In 2001 this with achieved with the revolutionary new product of the iPod. This allowed music to be stored on a  small device holding thousands of songs. From here, iTunes was developed. Compatibility between this and other software allowed the iTunes store to become highly profitable. With Apple growing rapidly, Steve Jobs continued with this successful strategy. The advertising campaign ‘think different’ developed in 1997 has been at the core of Apple’s strategy. By being highly innovative, he achieved extremely differentiated products and ideas from their rivals. The iPhone was just this, and by being the first smartphone it has left competing androids in its wake. From one innovation to another, Jobs set up the App store allowing applications to be downloaded to a phone. This vastly increased the range of activities that this smart phone could do. More recently with an economic downturn the need for a cheaper Mac like product was developed, which could target consumers in a slightly lower price range. This led to the creation of the iPad. This was an example of consumer pull innovation Apple has used. Finally, the iCloud which is a highly innovative product, allows customers to sync all Apple products using a network called the Cloud. This has been crucial in reducing the ability of consumers to switch between products, giving Apple the power to charge premium prices. This is an example of technology push innovation, an area Apple has specialised in. Most companies adapt to external environment and change strategies accordingly. Apple changed and drove these external factors. Focusing on innovation and by creating fashionable designs, Jobs changed socio-cultural factors, instead of adapting to them. The iPhone, iPad and iPod created a change in the culture, and the design of these was appealing, as well as technologically advanced. This has been a key factor in Apple’s Success. 5.2 Internationalisation Strategy Rui et Al (2008) defined internationalisation strategy as ‘The process by which a firm sells its good and services outside of its domestic market. They do this by both technology and managerial capabilities.’ Apple’s products are used in over a hundred countries. It is clear that Apple has  used an internationalisation strategy to its advantage by dramatically increasing its consumer market. In fact 63% of Apples revenue comes from outside of America. The product iPhone in Europe has almost reached saturation point. Apple’s internationalisation strategy is a Global one which standardises its products. The only modification is the power source. Apple’s engineering design and manufacturing is now controlled by one source, which is where it differentiates from its competing computer manufacturers. Apples engineering and design developers come up with ideas for products in the US, but then two large IT solution brans, Foxconn and Invetec manufacture this product. Manufacturing occurs in China and this is due to lower labouring costs. The use of this internationalisation strategy has been influential in driving costs down and so improving profits. More recently Apple has targeted the Chinese market with the release of the iPhone 5C. Apple has been working to extend its market share in the Chinese telecom industry, which is the world’s biggest telecom market with a subscription base of more than 1.01 billion in the mobile phone industry. This shows the potential significance of the Chinese telecom industry. A large market share of this industry would mean a significant increase in its profitability for Apple. Apple started to concentrate in the Chinese smartphone market in the last few years and have seen significant increase in its revenue from this market. According to the Annual Report of Apple for the year 2013, the revenue from the Chinese market has increased from 7% of its total revenue in 2011 to around 15% of Apple’s total revenue in 2013. This shows how significant an increase from the Chinese economy could be for Apple’s future. In accordance with the needs of the Chinese consumers, Apple identified innovation was needed to develop a new product for this market, and so launched the iPhone 5C. Apple also succeeded to negotiate a partnership with China Mobile, which is the number one operator in the Chinese telecom market with over 760 million subscribers. This has given a huge advantage to Apple, as now it will be working with China Mobile to increase its market share and eventually increase the profitability of the Company. Apple has established strategic alliances with a lot of mobile operators around the world, but  this is one of its best deals due to the sheer size of China Mobile. 6. Conclusion 6.1 Recommendation The ability of Apple to stay innovative and to keep its brandy loyalty is key to maintaining its position in the market. Many of Apples own products are substitutes for older products such as the iPod. Other smartphone competition such as Samsung and HTC are growing rapidly and rivalry is increasing in the market. The ability of competitors to catch up, and potentially develop products more advanced than that of Apple is a real concern. There have been fears that Apple is becoming less innovative. Forbes (2014) ranked Apple as the 79th most innovative company, and argues that their methodology for calculation was more detailed than that of BCG. Competing companies should look to exploit this weakness. Samsung and HTC should look at investing heavily in RD in order to release more and more sophisticated products. This would undermine Apple and its core strategy, allowing for huge potential revenues to be gained. To do this Apple’s competitors would need to advertise heavily in order to reduce brand loyalty to Apple. For this reason, Apple should continue to invest heavily in their marketing team. Apple have tried to diversify their product line, but at the same time have created products which are profitable in their own right, such as iCloud and iTunes. At the same time it has created its own ecosystem where their products interlink between each other. The use of this reduces the consumer’s ability to substitute. Apple should focus on maintaining and developing this route. The use of the iTV is a positive sign of Cook identifying this opportunity. The recent acquisition of Beats for an approximated $3.2 billion, Guardian (2014), may be an indication of a change or expansion of Apple’s strategy by  Tim Cook. Apart from the headphone product, the expansion in the media market compliments the iTunes library of videos and music. This creates an ongoing revenue stream for apple, and opportunity to expand its growing sector of loyal Apple customers. Finally, one main concern for Apple is sourcing of its components. With the increasing wages of Foxconn employees Apple should look to increases its suppliers. Or, Tim Cook should follow Steve Jobs view on this, and look at continuing the vertical integration to avoid reliance on others, and so reduce supplier bargaining power. 6.2 Conclude Since 2001 and the launch of the iPod, Apple has had an era of unbelievable growth and profitability becoming the most valuable brand in the world. Clearly without Steve Job’s and Tim Cook forging a clear and strong strategic platform this profitability would not have been sustained. The internationalisation strategy has been a huge success with levels of revenue from outside the US in the billions. A focus on continued innovation and the use of rapidly developing countries such as China and India will determine the future of Apple. 7. Bibliography Apple, (2014), ‘environment / our-progress’ [online] Available at: http://www.apple.com/uk/environment/our-progress/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Asymco (2011), ‘Apples Growth Scorecard for Second Quarter 2011.’ [online] Available at: http://www.asymco.com/2011/07/20/apples-growth-scorecard-for-second-quarter-2011/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Chandler, A. (1962). ‘Strategy and structure: chapters in the history of the industrial enterprise.’ 1st ed. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press. CNN Money (2012). What’s eating Apple? The analysts weigh in. [online] Available at: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/14/apple-shares-fallen-wall-street-analysts/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2014]. Extreme Tech (2014), ‘Apple acquires Beats for $3.2 billion, confirms Dr. Dre’ [online] Available at: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/182158-apple-acquires-beats-for-3-2-billion-confirms-dr-dre [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2012), ‘China Now the World’s Largest Smartphone Market,’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/08/30/china-now-the-worlds-largest-smartphone-market/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2013), ‘IDC 87% Of connected Devices Sales by 2017 will be Tablets and Smartphones’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/09/12/idc-87-of-connected-devices-by-2017-will-be-tablets-and-smartphones/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2013), ‘Is Apple The world’s most Innovative Company (still)?’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/09/27/is-apple-the-worlds-most-innovative-company-still/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2014), ‘The World’s Most Valuable Brands’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Forbes (2014), ‘Who Spends More on Ads- Apple or Microsoft? Another Lesson in Quality vs Quantity’ [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2012/08/02/who-spends-more-on-ads-apple-or-microsoft-another-lesson-in-quality-vs-quantity/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Fox Business (2014), ‘Apple’s Retail Stores Key To Tech Giants Success’ [online] Available at: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/01/27/apple-retail-stores-key-to-tech-giant-success/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Freeman, C. and Soete, L. (1997). ‘The economics of industrial innovation’. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. IDC (2013), ‘PC Outlook Falls As Market Increasingly Looks to Tablets, According to IDC’ [online] Available at: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24129913 [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. IDC (2013), ‘Record Smartphone Shipments Grow the Market 38.8% in the Third Quarter of 2013, Making Way For A Strong Holiday Quarter, According to IDC’. [online] Available at: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24418013[Accessed 2 May. 2014]. IDC (2014), ‘IDC Cloud- An IDC Four Pillar Research Area’ [online] Available at: http://www.idc.com/prodserv/FourPillars/Cloud/index.jsp [Accessed 29 Apr. 2014]. KPMG (2014), ‘Technology Innovation Survey 2013’ [online] Available at: http://www.kpmg.com/SK/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/Technology%20Innovation%20Survey%202013.pdf [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. NPD Group (2013), ‘ After 10 Years, Apple Continues Music Download Dominance in the U.S’ [online] Available at: https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/the-npd-group-after10-years-apple-continues-music-download-dominance-in-the-u-s/ [Accessed 2 May. 2014]. Rui, H. and Yip, G. (2008). ‘Foreign acquisitions by Chinese firms: A strategic intent perspective.’ Journal of World Business, 43(2), pp.213226. The Boston Consulting Group (2014), ‘The Most Innovative Companies 2013’ [online] Available at:

Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Developing Areas

Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Developing Areas The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines foreign aid as financial flows, technical support, and goods that are intended to encourage economic growth and wellbeing. Foreign aid is generally linked with authorized development support which in turn is a division of the official development finance, and usually given to the poorest countries (World Bank, 1998) (TAB 1). Various debates about the usefulness of foreign aid dates back decades. Milton Friedman, Peter Bauer, and William Easterly are critics that have given tough reviews, ranging from the decreased impact aid has on government bureaucracies, propagated bad governments, enriched the selected few in poor countries, or wasted. They lay emphasis on extensive poverty in Africa and South Asia despite over thirty years of aid directed to these countries still having a devastating record, e.g. the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Somalia. In their opinion aid programs should be significantly transformed, considerably managed, or eradicated (PAPER 1). Other researchers oppose these arguments, although partly correct but over emphasised. Jeffrey Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz, Nicholas Stern and others have argued that even though aid has from time to time failed, it has reduced poverty and enhanced growth in some countries and discouraged worse outcome in other countries. They consider the weaknesses of aid to be linked with donors rather than receivers, and identified a couple of successful countries that have received significant aid such as Botswana, Indonesia, Korea, and, more recently, Tanzania and Mozambique, together with thriving ideas such as the Green Revolution, the crusade against river blindness, and the introduction of oral rehydration therapy (PAPER 1). Review by Papanek (1973) disagreed with the negative outcome of Griffin and Enos (1970) that by not adding capital flow to foreign aid and other inflows, a significantly positive aid coefficient can be achieved. In contrast, using a sample of 22 Less Developed Countries 1956-1968, Voivodas (1973) achieved an insignificant negative aid impact on growth. This early periods can be characterised with poor quality of data thereby causing ambiguity in their results(TAB 5). More recently, Knack (2000) debates that an increase in foreign aid increases corruption, rent-seeking and corrodes institutional quality thus having an adverse effect on growth. However, with better data, Dowling and Hiemenz (1983) used the pooled data for 13 Asian countries to test for impact of aid on growth and discovered a significantly positive relationship. In their research, they controlled for certain policy variables like government intervention and trade. While Levy (1988) considered Sub-Saharan Africa and also achieved a significantly positive correlation haven used a regression model with income per capita and aid as a ratio of GDP for 1968-1982(TAB 5). Using 41 countries 1986-1992, Hadjimichael et al. (1995) discovered a positive aid-growth relationship. More recently, Burnside and Dollar (1997) used a model with various policy variables and learnt that aid alone does not directly influence growth in LDCs but when policy variables interact with aid will have a significant impact on economic growth (World Bank, 1998) (TAB 1). The potential side effects of foreign aid as well as certain policy variables were captured in the above mentioned models thus making them slightly more sophisticated than previous research. These studies can be criticised in many ways. Boone (1996) disagrees with the positive aid-growth relationship, stating that aid has no effect on both investment and income growth in LDCs (tab 5). While Easterly, Levine and Roodman (2003) used a higher sample size to reanalyse Burnside and Dollars review, thereby finding that the coefficients of the result is not as significant(TAB 1). Similarly, the most mentioned criticism is the poorly defined growth model where researchers growth model may ignore certain economic activities that would have enabled a more sophisticated empirical growth model in which aid would be a reliable growth factor (TAB 5). An example is Gupta (1975) and Gupta and Islam (1983) who discovered that the negative effect of foreign capital can be reversed if indirect effects were incorporated. On the other hand, Mosley (1980) found a negative (although not significant) correlation in aid and growth haven used a simultaneous equation model. He however, found a positive correlation in the case of LDCs in his sample but in total concludes that his analysis is incomplete. A major shortcoming of the previous research is the deficiency in the growth models. Most of which identify capital accumulation alone as a growth factor but others have thoroughly considered the problem of sufficient model requirement. Mosley (1987) and Dowling and Hiemenz (1983) considered variables representing trade and government activities, while Burnside and Dollar (1997) and Hadjimichael et al. (1995) used macroeconomic variables in their growth model. In contrast, reviews on determinants of growth in LDCs do not consider the effect of aid rather it includes only variables of total savings and investment (Fischer, 1991, 1993; Easterly, 1993; Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995) (TAB 5). On the whole, the aid-growth relationship can be considered to be full of loopholes and should be further researched. Sample countries regions should be considered as it influences economic growth but has been ignored in economic growth analysis (Gallup, Sachs and Mellinger, 1999)(TAB 1). This study will revolve round impact of aid on growth in intensification on the growth model: the Fischer-Easterly model (Fischer, 1991, 1993; Easterly, 1993). The model will concentrate on macroeconomic policies which encompass the total framework of the aid-growth relationship as argued earlier that aid only increases growth in the presence of sound economic policies in recipient countries (TAB 5). The model specification will be further broken down to include policy variables as well as all key investment sources (domestic savings, foreign aid, private and other inflows) (TAB 5). This study will also strive to surmount past criticism of aid-growth models by applying a cross-section econometric te chnique to a large sample size(50 developing countries) over a long period (1980-2005) (TAB 5). RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Does foreign aid have a positive impact on economic growth across developing countries? Does foreign aid have a diminishing return as volume of aid increases? Does foreign aid have a diminishing return as volume of aid increases? To test for Hypothesis: H0: that foreign aid induces economic growth H1: that foreign aid does not induce economic growth RESEARCH STRATEGY METHODOLOGY: The research will be highly empirical with the use of secondary data obtained from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund database. The use of Cross Section techniques and the Augmented Fischer-Easterly model in order to control for macroeconomic stability/instability and policy distortions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The data trend in foreign capital flow to 50 developing countries (number of countries may reduce due to unavailability of data) between 1980- 2005 will be analysed. These figures will be in nominal rates to avoid appropriate deflator problems. MODEL SPECIFICATION: Cross section techniques will be used to examine the impact of the data averaging through 1980-2005 and for comparism with previous research. The model will take the form: The study is aimed at making a major contribution to the empirical argument on the capability of foreign aid to induce economic growth in developing countries. The Augmented Fischer-Easterly growth model will be used where macroeconomic variables and foreign aid as well as other financial investment sources are considered in calculating economic growth. (TAB 5).

Analysis Of Grendel And Beowulf Essay -- essays research papers

Point of View in Grendel and Beowulf  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contrasting points of view in Grendel and Beowulf significantly alter the reader’s perception of religion, good and evil, and the character Grendel. John Gardner’s book, Grendel, is written in first person. The book translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf, is written in third person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf. How is Grendel affected by the concepts of good and evil? Grendel is an alienated individual who just wants to be a part of something. His desire to fit in causes him to do evil things. Grendel is fascinated by the Shaper’s poetry. He often returns to the mead hall to listen to it. One night while he is listening, he hears the story of Cain and Abel, including the Danes explanation of Grendel. His reaction to this leads to one of his most dramatic emotional reactions: “I believed him. Such was the power of the Shaper’s harp! Stood wriggling my face, letting tears down my nose, grinding my fists into my elbow the corpse of the proof that both of us ere cursed, or neither, that the brothers had never lived, nor the god who judged them. ‘Waaa!’ I bawled. ‘Oh what a conversion’';(Gardner 51)! Grendel then cries for mercy from the Danes. He wants their forgiveness as well as unification with them, which represents the good in him. The Danes reject him by confusing his outburst of sorrow as an attack. After visiting with a dragon who tells Grendel a fictional version of the Shaper’s tale, Grendel continues to believe the Shaper’s story. He searches for the goodness in human beings, which was mentioned in the story. He eats people only because it provides a place for him in society, even if it is a negative position (The Two Faces of Grendel, 2). Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf, and ultimately both wipe each other out. Good, is portrayed by God, and evil seems to be what fate has in store for the hero. Beowulf occasionally talks to God and asks God to give him strength before the battle and to give him the valor he needs to overcome his enemy. Evil seems to always get the bad side of things since it always gets conquered by God’s good side. Even tho... ... of the book Grendel allows the reader to see another side of Grendel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Beowulf, Grendel is viewed as the antagonist and the evil villain. Grendel is both feared and hated in Beowulf. Upon reading Beowulf, the reader discovers Grendel as seen through the eyes of his terrified victims. King Hrothgar, leader of the Danes, fears his visits: “The renowned ruler, the prince of long famous, sat empty of joy; strong in might, he suffered, sorrowed for his men when they saw the track of the hateful monster, the evil spirit.'; Hrothgar would dread the fatal nights when Grendel would dine on human flesh. The ruler understands that Grendel attacks his men out of spite and jealousy (The Two Faces of Grendel, 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In reading Grendel and Beowulf, one can find many similarities in the way the events occur in the books, however because of contrasting points of view, the reader gets insight on the entire picture from two different sides. This allows the reader to better understand each book and its contents, such as their beliefs and the concept of good and evil, and acknowledge the ways the character Grendel can be described.

Rural to urban Migration in Brazil :: essays research papers

Brazil Investigation ? Challenges Of An LEDC Brazil is the largest and most populace country in South America, and fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean. Rural To Urban Migration Brazil?s economic development creates wealth like any other country, but due to many different reasons its development has mainly taken place in the Southeast of the country. For example,  · Main ports and air ports are situated in this area making exporting goods easy  · Has the right climate and land that is needed to grow coffee, which is Brazils main export  · It has many mineral resources in the rocks on the coast i.e. iron ore  · It has fast flowing rivers which are a good source of cheap hydro electric power  · It has the best roads and railways in Brazil, making travelling easy. This area is known as the Golden Triangle. At the edges of this triangle there are three major cities, Belo Hoeizante, Rio de Janeiro and Sau Paulo. These are the main ?Favoured? locations for industrial development, normally called the core. People are moving to this part of Brazil because of many reasons, the main one being the jobs at the ports and in the factories or industry, these being mainly secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (service) sectors. But also it has the best standard of living and the best transport links. Some people live in the skyscrapers with maids, if the earn enough, but if they don?t, then their families have to live in favelas. These are like wooden houses with no main water or electricity. In most countries, the level of wealth decreases with distance from the core. The poorest regions are usually found towards the periphery of the country. The periphery is the area around the core that has not benefited form the economic growth, and development. Most of the wealth is in the centre of Sau Paulo. But the economic development is uneven, as round the edges of Sau Paulo it is a very big contrast. The families are large so all the children can go out and earn money for the family, which is leading to overcrowding and a high birth rate.

The Physics of Soccer :: physics sport sports soccer football

Rolling Motion and Friction Suppose you kick a soccer ball without giving it any spin. Your foot, therefore, gives the ball an initial speed (v) and an initial angular speed of 0. Since grass is not frictionless, the ball initially slides across the field, then starts to rotate and, eventually, starts rolling without slipping. A soccer ball rolls without slipping when its center-of-mass speed equals its angular speed (around its center of mass). OK, now suppose you want to kick the ball so that it immediately starts rolling without slipping. How? You would give the ball "topspin" by striking the ball a distance (s) above an imaginary horizontal line that passes through the ball's center. But where? ANSWER: s=0.4R. You would strike the ball a little less than half the radius of the ball above its center line. When two objects slide across one another, they exert a frictional force against each other. These forces are always tangent to the surfaces. A soccer ball and its interaction with the field is an example of this. The frictional force is opposite the direction that the ball is traveling. Physics gives us the following equation: f=mN for objects that slide against one another; where the frictional force (f) is equal to the upward "normal force" that the surface exerts on the ball (N) multiplied by the coefficient of friction (m). The coefficient of friction is not a constant, but will vary with the ball and surface type. The more friction there is between the ball and the field, the slower the ball will move after a bounce. Balls that skid, on the other hand, do not generate as much friction and subsequently do not slow down as much. So, the coefficient of friction tells us how fast (or slow) a ball will travel: The higher the coefficient, the slower the ball. A device similar to the Stimpmeter ®, which is used to measure the "speed" of a golf green, could measure a soccer field's coefficient of friction by rolling a small ball on grass and measuring the distance it travels before stopping. Projectile Motion When projectile motion is treated in basic physics courses, the influence of air resistance is often neglected in the calculations and the trajectory of a projectile becomes a parabola where the horizontal velocity component is contant and the vertical component is subject to gravity. However, for someone watching a game of soccer, it is clear that the motion of a soccer ball is governed not only by gravity, but also by air resistance.

Leeuwin Current

A naturally occurring environmental phenomenon that derives from the Pacific Ocean’s eastern part close to South America, El Nià ±o has the capability to greatly alter and disturb the weather patterns of the world (â€Å"El Nià ±o,† 1998). With the English translation of â€Å"The Child†, El Nià ±o poses a great deal of disruption to fishing for a lengthy time. While the waters of Australia’s western region appears to be quite a distance away from South America’s coast, the El Nià ±o has its striking effects on the local fishing catches of Australian fisherman. The reason behind such a striking effect even at such a great distance is largely because of the Leeuwin Current, the tropical current that flows in the south.The Leeuwin Current is responsible for transporting tropical water that is warm towards the south near the continental shelf of the Western Australian coastal region (â€Å"The Leeuwin Current,† 2005). The current is also acc ountable for the subsistence of coral reefs as well as the manifestation of tropical species at the island of Rottnest as well as the area of the southern coast.The rest of the currents traversing the Pacific as well as the Atlantic Oceans in the eastern side of the southern hemisphere differ to that of the Leeuwin Current. The Leeuwin Current varies to those of the Benguela and Humboldt Currents in the sense that the latter bring to the north cold waters from the south. Since the Leeuwin Current is composed of clear, low-nutrient and warm water that do not support the creation of huge numbers of finfish, the current results to the production of huge numbers of invertebrate animals which include prawns as well as rock lobsters.During the months of winter and autumn from April to September, the Leeuwin Current’s flow is at its peak where the temperature of the surface of the sea are shown in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite images as a warm flow of water to the south reaching up to the speeds of more than 3 knots and with the average speed running at about 1 knot.El Nià ±o periods have a direct impact on the strength of the Leeuwin Current which correspondingly affects the biological diversity and fisheries of Western Australia (Caputi, Fletcher, Chubb, Joll, & Pearce, 1997). More specifically, the Leeuwin Current influences the degree of catches of western rock lobsters since the current directly affects the 11 month journey of these lobsters during their early stage as planktons drifting in the currents of the ocean that settle on the inshore coastal regions after.For the duration of an El Nià ±o time, tropical rains typically focused over Indonesia move towards the east, swaying atmospheric wind schemes globally (Diaz & Markgraf, 1994). Probable effects consist of a changing of the jet stream, hurricane tracks and heavy shower, creating unseasonable weather conditions in numerous areas of the world.Hence, as atmos pheric wind patterns and oceanic water flows are altered by the El Nià ±o, the Leeuwin Current is directly affected as well. The major alteration is evident in the shifting of the flow of the Leeuwin Current, thus, correspondingly changing the proliferation and the emergence of numerous aquatic animals dependent on the current. Some of these include the western rock lobsters, scallops, western king prawn, pilchards, whitebait, and the Australian salmon and herring (Holloway, 1995). All of these marine animals are abundant in the fisheries of Western Australia. Thus, an alteration in the Leeuwin Current caused by El Nià ±o greatly affects the population of these aquatic animals in the western region of Australia.Since biological diversity entails the balance and the interrelation among the various species of animals, a change such as an increase or a decrease in the population of a specific species of marine animals within the region of Western Australia causes an imbalance in the overall marine biological diversity.ReferencesEl Nià ±o. (1998).  Ã‚   Retrieved August 16, 2007, from http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/eln/def.rxmlThe Leeuwin Current. (2005).  Ã‚   Retrieved August 16, 2007, from http://www.rottnestisland.com/en/Education+and+Environment/Marine+Life/The+Leeuwin+Current.htmCaputi, N., Fletcher, R., Chubb, C., Joll, L., & Pearce, A. (1997, March 2005). El Nino and the Leeuwin Current.  Ã‚   Retrieved August 16, 2007, from http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/wf/articles/Elnino.php?0508Diaz, H. F., & Markgraf, V. (1994). El Nino: Historical and Paleoclimatic Aspects of the Southern Oscillation. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 84(3), 506.Holloway, P. E. (1995). Leeuwin current observations on the Australian north west shelf, May-June 1993. Oceanographic research papers, 42(3), 287.

Re: Week 6

Assignment 3 produce the EFE matrix for KKD Prep be the EFE matrix for Sturbucks correspond KKD, Dunkin Doughnuts and Starbucks STURBUCKS DUNKIN DOUGHNUTS What kind of nutrition is important? The above chart comp ard calories. For some people, they want slight fat or scribble. Usu unlessy the items that atomic number 18 lower in fat play to be higher in sugar and carbohydrates (and vise versa). Some of these foods offer no other nutritional value kindred fiber and protein. You need to assess what you are most concerned with. If your goal is to corrode less than you burn each day, calories is your posterior line.As you can see, Starbucks is not necessarily healthy than D&D, despite strategic marketing. Of all the comparisons done, Starbucks only came out on devolve third metres. You might think that a smoothie is better than a coolatta , yet the points state otherwise. Menu Diversity in the midst of Dunkin and Sturbucks Dunkin is the winner simply because many of it s Dunkin doughnut stores are in like manner paired with Baskin-Robbins frappe batter stores, since Dunkin group also owns the Baskin-Robbins chain. tranquil Starbucks has improved its menu as of late, and it is attain to an entirely demographic than ice balm and rings.So while Dunkin may win on diversity of product because of Baskin-Robbins, Starbucks probably still has the most redeeming menu from a profitability and sustainability perspective. COMPARING DUNKIN DONUTS AND KRISPY KREMES 1. Overall guest Service Dunkin Donuts Honestly the staff at the Dunkin Donuts location always leaves a dowry to be desired, the addresss do not subsist, the delay for choosing them to do business with does not hold out and most importantly the sense of spurring to resolve customer complaints does not exist either.This is based on interaction with at least five different Dunkin Donuts employees. Krispy Kremes I founder only dealt with one plug into each of the three terms I score been to the local Krispy Kremes location. The first occassion the plug into lacked any excitement, no initial greeting in the door and no give thanks at the end of the trip. The second time I went in (a workweek later), the employee was no different than the first time I was in in that respect, hardly anything to brag more or less.On my trinity visit the Krispy Kremes employee was a little to a greater extent friendly than the two previous times, once more nothing to jump up and downward(a) about. 2. In Stock Condition Dunkin Donuts If you lay down not had a chance to contain my Dunkin Donuts? Doubt it post I advert that you do, that will clearly explain my previous six trips to Dunkin Donuts. To put it simply, they neer have any donuts when we go there (see the depict below). I actuallt stopped at Dunkin Donuts straightaway to lodge two Ice coffee berrys and two Fruit Blasts or whatever they are called, its equal some icey thing.When I placed my post for two of t hose, the response I authorized was We dont have that and thats it. Safe to say this particular Dunkin Donuts, simply doesnt have it. Krispy Kremes Krispy Kremes not only had the donuts we wanted, but they had an abundance of them as sanitary as donuts we didnt want. The display circumstance was packed with donuts. I have also ordered the Krispy Kremes version of a cull Fruit Blast as well, which was in stock every single time we ordered it over the three week period. 3. Freshness of DonutsDunkin Donuts You know its been so long since I have actually had a Dunkin Donuts Donut due to the fact that they never have the donuts we want in stock when we go. What I do believe about my recent trips to Dunkin Donuts that actually stop with me getting donuts is that the donuts were hardly fresh when we got them. Krispy Kremes If I were a Dunkin Donuts franchise manager or corporate associate I would be highly concerned, hands down Krispy Kremes donuts are more fresh when you get th em.In addendum we ordered three times the measuring stick of donuts on each visit to Krispy Kremes than we did at Dunkin Donuts when we did actually get donuts. 4. coffee tree gustation Dunkin Donuts Its probably a penny-pinching time for Dunkin Donuts to change their name to Dunkin Coffee, their donut product is a wreck at my local location, Im not sure about others. if it were not for the coffee at Dunkin Donuts its safe to say I would never go to a Dunkin Donuts again. Now if Dunkin Donuts could get their staff to understand two-bagger work out and Double Sugar I would be sold on going there only for the coffee when I am in the mood.Its unsloped overly bad Double Cream and Double sugar at my local Dunkin Donuts is more like 1/2 cream 1/2 sugar. Krispy Kremes I have tried on all three occassions to get myself to believe that I was just as satisfied with the Krispey Kremes Ice Coffees as I am with the Dunkin Donuts Ice Coffees, sadly thats just not true. The Krispy krem es coffees are smaller, when packed with ice it really doesnt give you a decent aggregate of coffee. The taste also does not place close to Dunkin Donuts Ice Coffee or Hot coffee drinks.