Strategies Used by Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategies Used by Wal-Mart - Essay Example For the small and medium enterprises, Wal-Mart has a â€Å"Sam’s Warehouse club† where member businesses can buy retail and office items at cheaper rates. In serving both these customer segments, the key strategy of Wal-Mart is to maintain price leadership. Its business is based on the premise that Wal-Mart can guarantee the best (lowest) price to its customers. This best price guarantee is reflected in what they call is their â€Å"Every Day Low Price† (EDLP) program. Wal-Mart gets this price advantage mainly through a two-pronged strategy. The first lever to ensure low price is their economy of scale, and the second lever is the global sourcing which allows them an â€Å"arbitrage opportunity† between supplier prices across a broad spectrum of geography which other retailers may not be able to access. The second key element of strategy for Wal-Mart is to address the sustainability and environmental issues. Due to the nature of its business, Wal-Mart and other retailers are constantly under pressure from NGOs and other activists to render the business more environment friendly and more socially responsible. Therefore, Wal-Mart’s strategy is to work closely and transparently with several organizations to address these issues and to provide an annual update on these elements in their annual report. This strategy helps Wal-Mart maintain its friendly image and prevents customers sensitive to these issues from moving away from Wal-Mart. Expected changes in their strategy to expand the business The retail business is under pressure from several fronts. From direct and indirect retail competitors (large store based retailers and small neighborhood shops), from pressure due to poor economic condition causing less security and job losses, and from emerging technologies (e-commerce and mobile commerce) which can entire alter the retail business landscape. These pressures are also bound to affect the profitability of their operations. T hus, Wal-Mart can be expected to bring in several strategic changes that enhance their productivity and lower costs. Further, in order to respond to these challenges, Wal-Mart can be expected to being several strategic changes to their sales operations as well including changing the current store plans, introducing new store formats, and scaling up its e-commerce operations. Wal-Mart realizes that current stores need to be made more relevant to the customer; that is expanding the assortment of products offered. In order to do this, they may need to not only generate more supplier contracts but also alter the allocation of their retailing pace. Further, in order to counter the competition from small local stores, Wal-Mart can be expected to introduce new retail formats – neighborhood stores/convenience stores. As the volumes and variety of products at these stores is expected to be lower than in their traditional large retail stores, they could be expected to make significant changes in their supply chain for serving these retail stores too. Next, as internet-based and now mobile-based commerce is becoming increasingly important, they can be expected to increase their investment in providing solutions for these opportunities. Developing Smartphone

Creating a Business Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Creating a Business Opportunity - Essay Example PVC market has been growing at a high rate in India because of its significant demand from the industry. The capacity of PVC growth has been gradually increasing by 10 percent compared to the world average production of 4 percent. The global PVC production and the consumption pattern has been growing and been compared with the world average. As per the statistical data of Chemical Marketing Associates Inc. (CMAI) the PVC demand had been 2.08 million tones and the capacity production was estimated around 34.8 million tons. The global demand of PVC production rose from 1.63 million tons to 3.1 million per tones. The demand for PVC production has been mainly for the manufacturing, glazing of the windowpanes and the doors. PVC chemical is required for the thermal production and its durability purposes (Butow & Taylor, 2009).Business Opportunity FeasibilityThe manufacturing of windowpanes is required to exhibit durability of the windowpanes and doors. The popularity of the windowpanes has been growing at increase rate in the metropolitan areas. Consumption pattern of PVC chemical has almost doubled three to four times. Demand of PVC products has been increasing at a rate of 10 percent compared to the world statistics of 4 percent. The consumption pattern of PVC chemical has been increasing with a substantial capacity. Additionally, 30 to 250 kt reflects demand and supply of PVC chemical. Heavy investment in manufacturing chemicals in industries is a main factor, which drives PVC production.

Privacy Issues in Electronic Media

Privacy Issues in Electronic Media The beginning of the 21st century was dominated by extraordinary development of electronic media. Electronic Media encompasses all aspects of digital video production for traditional broadcast and cable television, as well as for distribution formats such as CD, DVD and the Internet (Kutztown, No Date). Electronic medias are used in all over the world. At once electronic medias’ were luxury items but in the modern world everyone use electronic medias. Privacy means someone may want to keep some aspect of his life or behavior private simply because it would be embarrassing for other people to know about it (James, R. , 1975) The term of privacy is used in every scenario as well as in political, defense, legal and media. Privacy is important for many things in day to day life. People have to face consequence due to hot having privacy. Man can be debilitated due to not having any restrictions on the public access. When considering about the privacy of electronic media communication every service provider or company must have their own messaging policies. If the company not follow the guidelines of the electronic media communication policy the transmitted data may be at a risk. Electronic communication channels are more secured with the newest technologies, but someone use this technologies itself to listen the electronic talks. Some developed states use government acts to protect the privacy of the people, as an example the subscriber of the cable television protected from unauthorized use of personal information gathering by the cable operations. Most of the countries prohibited the security cameras placed in private areas The places obliviously Inside the ATMs, office breach rooms and locker rooms are the prohibited places to use hidden cameras. More than thirty countries absolutely prohibited unauthorized filming by using hidden cameras without preference of the persons. Truthfulness and accuracy is one of the common code of electronic medias’ ethics and the reporters of the electronic medias are expected to report accurate and correct news to the public. Incorrect content may create misunderstandings and security problems, thus causing many problems after the publishing A speak falsely about someone or damaging the person reputation it called as slander A variety of modern technologies available to tracking appropriate use of electronic communication devices however, the companies must review information that they going to publish and also Content of information provided by the reporters must be fair. Details of suspects and plaintiffs are published in electronic media daily which is not ethical. If the plaintiff or the suspect found innocent after investigation it is very difficult to change the attitude of the society. New regulations shall be implemented to restrict these information published before investigations are completed. Imitating characters of popular persons in films has an ethical issue. These imitations shall be minimized or characters shall be re structured so that real character will not be highlighted. News reporters be careful about the individuals privacy when given publicity for the news. When publishing news concerning suicide and attempted suicide particularly consider about the feelings and relatives of the peoples. And also report possible considerations for victims of murder or accident. The news reporters do not emphasize the nationality religion or gender in the case of persons. Some of the local television channels broadcasting violence scenes with the movies and TV dramas. This is a grate negative effect on young people, young people try to react as same in the home. During the north and east war many brutal incidents were directly brought to the living rooms through the electronic media. These aggressive scenes may loose the peaceful mentality of people. In many electronic media telecast action films and war films are being telecasted and many of the children are addicted to these films. This is harmful to the mental health of children. This will cause social and emotional problem that will lead into adulthood. Photography is a language of visual understanding of the people Images and videos can catch the grate truths of the peoples places and much more. Public electronic media such as television and radio shall not be used for racism. Electronic media has a responsibility to give true news to the country, but as a professional media the news which published shall not create any racism among people of different races. And also these news shall not violate the rights of all races who live in Sri Lanka. Public media is treated as a professional business . And also this electronic media has a capacity of changing the attitudes and beliefs of people. Professional electronic media has a responsibility by the society. All the electronic medias have a competition among each other media. But the professional qualities of any media shall not be neglected. When international games are played specially foot ball and cricket, Many officials are used to watch the Television. Owing to this situation many works in the offices are delayed. This practice cannot be stopped but as a solution executive officers can implement a system for officers to watch the television during the lunch time only. This will enable to minimize the negligence of the work at office. Using the office telephones during working hours for personal matters is another expenditure and this practice must be limited. Electronic Media Law and Regulation is an overview of the major legal and regulatory issues facing broadcasting, cable, and developing media. It enables current and prospective electronic media professionals to easily understand the complex and intimidating realm of law and regulation by presenting information from major cases, rules, regulations, and legal documents in a concise and readable manner ) The cable TV industry had faced many legal issues including customer service complains programming and rate regulations and lack of competition. CableTelevisionConsumer ProtectionandCompetitionActof1992 was introduced in America. According to this law requires cablesystemstocarrymostlocalbroadcastchannelsandprohibitedcableoperatorsfromcharginglocalbroadcasterstocarrytheirsignal. In 1990 Federal communication commission (FCC) introduced elimination time guideline for the children television programs (Electronic Media and Regulations,2013). But this time guideline was applied by the ACT (Action For Children Television) and the court appeals remanded to the FCC. According to that act restrict the advertising during the children programs and encourage the broadcasters to telecast educational and informational programs at least 3 hours per week. References Creech,K.C.,2013, Electronic Media And Regulation, Laws Of Children TV Programs,[online]Availableat:http://books.google.lk/books?id=1WAqAAAAQBAJprintsec=frontcoversource=gbs_ge_summary_rcad=0#v=onepageqf=false [Accessed 26 October 2014]. Electronic Media Kutztown University . 2014. Electronic Media Kutztown University[ONLINE]Availablat:http://www2.kutztown.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/electronic-media.htm. [Accessed 07 November 2014]. James, R., 1975. Why Privacy is Important. Philosophy Public Affairs, 4(4), pp.323-333

Sophocles :: essays research papers

Sophocles was born in Colonus, near Athens, c.497 B.C. Sophocles father was a wealthy armorer named Sophillus. When he reached adulthood he was already established as a great tragic playwright, and the citizens of Athens loved him. He was nicknamed Attic-bee by the Athenians because he could take pure honey from words. Sophocles was born in Colonus, near Athens, c. 497 B.C. Sophocles father was a wealthy armorer named Sophillus. Sophocles had a good childhood. Sophocles, at age sixteen, led a boy's chorus for the victory celebration over defeat of the Persians at Salamis. When he was twenty-eight, he beat Aeschylus in a dramatic contest. Already Sophocles was showing true talent in play writing. At this time he also wrote poetry, none of which has been recovered. As a young man Sophocles was popular, handsome, a good athlete, and a great writer. When he reached adulthood he was already established as a great tragic playwright, and the citizens of Athens loved him. He was nicknamed Attic-bee by the Athenians because he could take pure honey from words. Sophocles had many friends, one of which was the historian Herodotus. This friendship may be a reason that we know so much about Sophocles. After a long and prosperous career, he died of old age in Athens at the age of ninety. Sophocles wrote 123 plays, and won 24 dramatic victories for Athens. Of his 123 plays, only seven are preserved in entirety. However, there still remains a large portion of his satyr Ichbeutae that remains intact. His seven plays are Ajax, Antigone, Electra, Trachiniae, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus, and Oedipus Rex. Sophocles went through three artistic periods. The first, his earliest years, were influenced greatly by Aeschylus. Ajax was produced in this period. The second was in a "harsh, contrived" style. Antigone was produced during this period. He produced all his other plays in his mature years, or his third period.

Accounting Research Project: Walt Disney

| 2012| | Acc: Research Project | [The Walt Disney Company]| Ticker Symbol: NYSE:DIS A brief summary of the company’s products, history, and financial operations over the last year. | General Overview The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is one that I have been familiar with my entire life. However, I have never known much about the business side of the company.It was founded in 1923 by Roy and Walt Disney, who came to Hollywood from Kansas City, Missouri. Walt and Roy produced a short animated film series that became known as the Alice Comedies. The small studio in which they worked was outgrown and replaced by a larger facility, where they became Disney Bros. Studio (Disney Archives). In 1928, Mickey Mouse was born, followed by Pluto, Goofy, and the rest of the Disney gang, and the Disney Brothers Studio became the Walt Disney Studio. Disney’s first full-length animated film came out in 1937.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became the highest grossing film by 1939 and th e first animated feature film ever produced (studioservices. go. com). During World War II, production was slow, and Disney was contracted into creating propaganda films to endorse the war and boost morale on the home front. However, in 1950, Cinderella revived the company and the Walt Disney Productions theme park plan was set in motion, opening Disneyland in 1955. Walt Disney died in 1966 of lung cancer (age 66), and his brother Roy took over as chairman, CEO and president.The Walt Disney World Resort opened in Orlando, Florida in 1971, and Disney began to make its way into live-action films. Since then, the Walt Disney Company has made its name in the family and entertainment business, becoming one of the largest and most influential companies worldwide, owning markets in China, Japan, North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and Russia. The company headquarters is located in Burbank, California, headed by Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, who ook over the company in 2 005 and acquired other such productions as Pixar (2006), Marvel Entertainment (2009), and Lucasfilm (2012) (thewaltdisneycompany. com). As well as owning several media networks, hotels and resorts, Disney Consumer Products, according to the company’s website, is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates that extends the Disney brand to merchandise ranging from apparel, toys, home decor and books and magazines to foods and beverages, stationary, electronics and fine art.This is accomplished through a franchise-based licensing organization focused on strategic brand priorities, including:  Disney Classic Characters & Disney Baby; Disney Live Action Film; Disney Media Networks & Games, Disney & Pixar Animation Studios; Disney Princess & Disney Fairies;  and  Marvel. Other businesses involved in Disney's consumer products sales are Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world's largest publisher of children's books and magazines, and  www. DisneyStore. om  and  www. DisneyStore. co. uk, the company's official shopping portals. The Disney Store retail chain, which debuted in 1987, is owned and operated by Disney in North America, Europe, and Japan (thewaltdisneycompany. com). In recent news, Netflix announced on December 4, 2012 that it has signed a multi-year deal with The Walt Disney Company. According to the article by Ramon Aranda, this will give Netflix the exclusive rights to run feature films available for users to watch instantly.Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix said, â€Å"Disney and Netflix have shared a long and mutually beneficial relationship and this deal will bring to our subscribers, in the first pay TV window, some of the highest-quality, most imaginative family films being made today†¦ It’s a bold leap forward for Internet television and we are incredibly pleased and proud this iconic family brand is teaming with Netflix to make it happen. † The article also states that the fin ancial terms of this agreement have not been disclosed.Another recent event for the company was the purchase of the Star Wars franchise Lucasfilm for four billion dollars at the end of October. 100 percent owned by founder George Lucas, an article in USA Today says Disney received the empire at a cost of $4 billion, 40 million Disney shares, and a year and half pursuit. This amount of shares makes Lucas the company’s second largest non-institutional shareholder of Disney, after the trust of Steve Jobs (Krantz, Matt, et. al). The article goes on to note that this deals marks Disney’s fourth largest deal ever, after Capital Cities/ABC (1995), Pixar (2006), and Fox Family (2001).Disney plans to expand on the Star Wars film schedule. CEO Bob Iger said, â€Å"our long term plan is to release a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years,† beginning with Episode VII hopefully releasing in 2015. George Lucas will serve as a creative consultant, but plans to ret ire, saying, â€Å"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see  Star Wars  passed from one generation to the next. It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers† (Krantz, Matt, et. al).The current price per share of the company’s common stock is $48. 67. This number has fluctuated a bit over the last year, but has remained mostly close to the recent price. The lowest price over the last year has been $34. 52, with the highest price at $53. 40 (thewaltdisneycompany. com). Financial Status (2012) According the company’s most recent accounting statements (2012 fiscal year), total assets equaled $74,898; total liabilities equaled $32,940, and the total equity for the year totaled $41,958 (in millions). $74,898 = $32,940 + $41,958The company earned a net income of $5. 682 billion, an eighteen percent increase from the previous year. The earnings per share during the year 2012 increased 24 percent to $3. 13 fro m $2. 52 the prior year. Earnings per share is important because it is a measure of a company’s profitability. It is one of the most closely watched financial ratios in the business world. The revenues for The Walt Disney Company totaled $42. 278 billion, a 4 percent increase from the previous year. Two of Disney’s competitors, News Corp. and Time Warner Inc. have revenues that fall significantly lower than this corporate giant, with News Corp. revenues totaling $33. 88 billion and Time Warner Inc. at $28. 76 billion. Disney’s current assets total $13. 709 billion, with current liabilities totaling $12. 813 billion. The current ratio: 13. 709/12. 813 = 1. 07. The current ratio generally shows the ability of a company to pay back debts. However, if a company is good at managing and planning cash flows, a low number does not necessarily mean they cannot pay back its debts on time.This number has decreased compared to the previous year, which had a current ratio of 1. 13. Disney’s long-term assets include film and television costs, investments, parks, resorts, and other properties (attractions, buildings, and equipment), projects in progress, land, intangible assets, and goodwill; 82 percent of Disney’s assets are long-term. Compared to prior periods, these assets have increased (approximately $2 billion more than 2011). In addition, The Walt Disney Company calculates depreciation using the straight-line method.The long-term liabilities of The Walt Disney Company total $20. 127 billion, or 61 percent of the total liabilities, compared to 63 percent of total liabilities in 2011. Disney has over one trillion shares in circulation currently, both of preferred stock and common stock outstanding. The company saw an increase in cash and cash equivalents of $202 million, giving Disney an end of year balance of $3. 387 billion, compared to the $3. 185 billion from the previous year. According to Disney’s report, cash provided by operations increased 14 percent compared to 2011.The increase in cash provided by operations was due to â€Å"higher segment operating results and the timing of and improved receivable collections, partially offset by higher income tax payments, the payment of interest accrued in prior years on Disneyland Paris borrowings, and higher film production spending† (thewaltdisneycompany. com). Disney uses the average-cost method in order to calculate inventory, stating, â€Å"Inventory primarily includes vacation timeshare units, merchandise, materials, and supplies.Carrying amounts of vacation ownership units are recorded at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Carrying amounts of merchandise, materials, and supplies inventories are generally determined on a moving average cost basis and are recorded at the lower of cost or market. † Only a small portion of the total assets is represented by inventory. In 2012, the inventory only accounted for 2 percent of the company ’s total assets, which is consistent with the 2 percent of total assets in 2011. Work Cited A History of The Walt Disney Company. † Disney 23. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. ;http://d23. disney. go. com/archives/a-history-of-the-walt-disney-company/; Aranda, Ramon. â€Å"Netflix Announces Multi-Year Agreement with The Walt Disney Company. †Ã‚  examiner. com(2012): n. pag. Web. 13 Dec 2012. ;http://www. examiner. com/article/netflix-announces-multi-year-agreement-with-the-walt-disney-company;. Disney Studio Services. â€Å"The Walt Disney Studios History. † Web. 12 Dec. 2012. ;http://studioservices. go. om/disneystudios/history. html; Krantz, Matt, Mike Snider, Marco Della Cava, and Bryan Alexander. â€Å"Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion. â€Å"USA Today. 30 2012: n. page. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. usatoday. com/story/money/business/2012/10/30/disney-star-wars-lucasfilm/1669739/;. The Walt Disney Company. Annual Report: The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourt h Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2012. Burbank: The Walt Disney Company, 2012. 15 Dec. 2012. ;http://thewaltdisneycompany. com/;

Erik Erikson and Adult Learning Essay

Born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany, Erik Erikson was regarded as a major influence in contemporary psychoanalysis. Erikson was interested in arts so he moved to Florence after finishing high school. In 1927, he taught arts in a school psychoanalytically influenced children school spearheaded by Dorothy Burlingham and Freud’s daughter, Anna, in Vienna (Erikson Institute, 2003). This move would have a major influence in the life and works of Erik Erikson. Upon recognizing that he has skills with children, Anna Freud, Sigmund’s daughter, placed him under her wings and began teaching him. Eventually, he trained and eventually received certification from Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.   After getting certified by Maria Montessori School, he underwent training in psychoanalysis at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. In 1936, he became a member of the Institute of Human Relations, which is a branch of the Psychiatry Department of Yale University (Erikson Institute, 2003). Major Contribution in Psychology Erik Erikson became famous because of his eight stages of development. According to him, every stage in a man’s life is accompanied by certain psychological conflicts. He theorized that the development of personality of an individual is a life long process. The events they encounter in the latter stages of life can treat early childhood problems. His eight stages of development explained why an individual who was not able to resolve a childhood problem finds it difficult to resolve it during adulthood (Erikson Institute, 2003). Each stage of life is important because how well the child performed during the previous phase determined how they can cope with the next stages. Erikson called this the epigenetic principle (Boeree, 2006).   Erik Erikson authored several books that explained his theory, the most notable of which is Childhood and Society which was released in 1950. In 1969, Erikson won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for his book Gandhi’s Truth, which delved on the application of the eight stages of development in the latter portion of an individual’s life cycle(NNDB, n.d). Stage Six: Intimacy vs. Isolation This is the sixth stage in Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial phases of development. It takes place from 18 to 30 years old. In general, the child faces the dilemma of achieving intimacy or staying isolated. This stage likewise involves a struggle for promiscuity, which is a trait of being too close for comfort and not being able to follow through with the momentum, versus exclusion, which is characterized by rejection of relationships (Boeree, 2006). Intimacy, according to Erikson, is the ability to develop social relationships with other people either as a partner, friend, or member of a community. If the child was able to develop a clear picture of themselves during the early stages, they should no longer be intimidated by other people (Sante Fe Community College, n.d). According to this stage, when an individual has established a strong sense of identity, they can start expanding to the people around him. Intimacy is best seen in a person’s capacity to enter relationships, making friends, getting married, and finally settling down. An individual who successfully pass through this stage can experience feels comfortable with relationships and has a strong sense of commitment (Santa Fe Community College, n.d). On the other hand, the consequence of being unsuccessful in completing this stage of development is isolation. The individual is not comfortable with being with friends, entering relationships, or being intimate with another person. Isolation results from the failure to establish self-identity (Niolon, n.d). A child who experiences isolation prefers to be alone excludes themselves from the company of others. The end result of isolation, in the context of Erikson’s stages of development, is loneliness, despair, or depression. People who are unable to successfully pass this stage prefer working on lowly jobs which offer below minimum wage (AllPsychOnline, 2004). References AllPsychOnline(2004 March 21). Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved June 26   Ã‚  Ã‚   2008 from Boeree, G. Erik Erikson. Retrieved June 26 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Erikson Institute(2003 May 1). Erik Erikson(1902-1994). Retrieved June 26 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   NNDB(n.d). Erik Erikson. Retrieved June 26 2008 from   Ã‚   Niolin, R(n.d). Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development. Resources for Students and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Professionals. Retrieved June 26 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Santa Fe Community College(n.d). Self-Reflections on Young Adulthood using Erikson’s Theory of   Ã‚  Ã‚   Psychosocial Development. Retrieved June 26 2008 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚