Saturday, August 31, 2019

Course: Contract and Liquid Chemical Co.

The Cost Analysis for Decision Making project is intended to be a comprehensive evaluation of the key objectives covered throughout this course. It will challenge you to apply your knowledge of cost information when evaluating the decision to make or buy a product. Please use this outline and grading rubric as a guide to completing your course project. It provides specific details of the required elements of the project, and it will be used by your instructor as a grading guide. Read Integrative Case 4-61, â€Å"Make versus Buy,† on pages 151 and 152 of the course text.Assume that you are the general manager (Mr. Walsh) faced with this decision. You have identified the following four alternatives available to Liquid Chemical Co. †¢Alternative A: It is the status quo. (i. e. , Liquid Chemical Co. will continue making the containers and performing maintenance. ) †¢Alternative B: Liquid Chemical Co. will continue making the containers, but it will outsource the maintena nce to Packages, Inc. †¢Alternative C: Liquid Chemical Co. will buy containers from Packages, Inc. , but it will perform the maintenance. Alternative D: It is completely outsourced. Packages, Inc. will make the containers and provide the necessary maintenance. Your project should include the following items: †¢Part (a): Discuss each of the four alternatives outlined above. Identify the relevant costs (including amounts) for each of the four alternatives, and explain why these costs are relevant to the decision. Identify any costs that are not relevant, and explain why they are not relevant. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative? Who benefits and who loses? Part (b): Other than the relevant costs identified in Part (a), what additional information would you use when making your decision? Are there financial factors other than those identified in the case study that you would incorporate into your decision? What nonfinancial information would affect y our decision? †¢Part (c): As the general manager, which alternative would you choose, and why? Support your conclusion with facts and figures, as necessary. The Liquid Chemical Company manufactures and sells a range of high-grade products. Many of these products require careful packaging.The company has a special patented lining made that it uses in specially designed packing containers. The lining uses a special material known as GHL. The firm operates a department that maintains and repairs its packing containers to keep them in good condition and that builds new ones to replace units that are damaged beyond repair. Mr. Walsh, the general manager, has for some time suspected that the firm might save money and get equally good service by buying its containers from an outside source. After careful inquiries, he has approached a firm specializing in container production, Packages, Inc. and asked for a quotation. At the same time, he asked Mr. Dyer, his chief accountant, to let h im have an up-to-date statement of the costs of operating the container department. Within a few days, the quotation from Packages, Inc. , arrived. The firm proposed to supply all the new containers required—at that time, running at the rate of 3,000 per year—for $1,250,000 a year, the contract to run for a guaranteed term of five years and thereafter renewable from year to year. If the number of containers required increased, the contract price would increase proportionally.Packages, Inc. , also proposed to perform all maintenance and repair work on existing packaging containers for a sum of $375,000 a year, on the same contract terms. Mr. Walsh compared these figures with Mr. Dyer’s cost figures, which covered a year’s operations of the container department of the Liquid Chemical Company and appear in Exhibit 4. 13. Walsh concluded that he should immediately close the packing container department and sign the contracts offered by Packages, Inc. He felt an obligation, however, to give the manager of the department, Mr.Duffy, an opportunity to question his decision before acting. Walsh told Duffy that Duffy’s own position was not in jeopardy. Even if Walsh closed his department, another managerial position was becoming vacant to which Duffy could move without any loss of pay or prospects. The manager Duffy would replace also earned $80,000 per year. Moreover, Walsh knew that he was paying $85,000 per year in rent for a warehouse a couple of miles away that was used for other corporate purposes. If he closed Duffy’s department, he’d have all the warehouse space he needed without renting additional space.Duffy gave Walsh a number of considerations to think about before he closed the department: â€Å"For instance,† he said, â€Å"what will you do with the machinery? It cost $1,200,000 four years ago, but you’d be lucky if you’d get $200,000 for it now, even though it’s good for another five years. And then there’s the stock of GHL (a special chemical) we bought a year ago. That cost us $1,000,000, and at the rate we’re using it now, it’ll last another four years. We used up only about one-fifth of it last year. Dyer’s figure of $700,000 for materials includes $200,000 for GHL.But it’ll be tricky stuff to handle if we don’t use it up. We bought it for $5,000 a ton, and you couldn’t buy it today for less than $6,000. But you’d get only $4,000 a ton if you sold it, after you’d covered all the handling expenses. † Walsh also worried about the workers if he closed the department. â€Å"I don’t think we can find room for any of them elsewhere in the firm. However, I believe Packages would take all but Hines and Walters. Hines and Walters have been with us since they left school 40 years ago. I’d feel bound to give them a supplemental pension—$15,000 a year each for five years, sa y.Also, I’d figure a total severance pay of $20,000 for the other employees, paid in a lump sum at the time we sign the contract with Packages. † Duffy showed some relief at this. â€Å"But I still don’t like Dyer’s figures,† he said. â€Å"What about this $225,000 for general administrative overheads? You surely don’t expect to sack anyone in the general office if I’m closed, do you? † Walsh agreed. â€Å"Well, I think we’ve thrashed this out pretty well,† said Walsh, â€Å"but I’ve been turning over in my mind the possibility of perhaps keeping on the maintenance work ourselves. What are your views on that, Duffy? â€Å"I don’t know,† said Duffy, â€Å"but it’s worth looking into. We wouldn’t need any machinery for that, and I could hand the supervision over to the current supervisor who earns $50,000 per year. You’d need only about one-fifth of the workers, but you cou ld keep on the oldest and save the pension costs. You’d still have the $20,000 severance pay, I suppose. You wouldn’t save any space, so I suppose the rent would be the same. I don’t think the other expenses would be more than $65,000 a year. † â€Å"What about materials? † asked Walsh. â€Å"We use 10 percent of the total on maintenance,† Duffy replied. Well, I’ve told Packages that I’d give them my decision within a week,† said Walsh. â€Å"I’ll let you know what I decide to do before I write to them. † Assume the company has a cost of capital of 10 percent per year and uses an income tax rate of 40 percent for decisions such as these. Liquid Chemical would pay taxes on any gain or loss on the sale of machinery or the GHL at 40 percent. (Depreciation for book and tax purposes is straight-line over eight years. ) The tax basis of the machinery is $600,000. Also assume the company had a five-year time horizon for this project and that any GHL needed for Year 5 would be purchased during Year 5.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Eyewitness Testimony Essay

The criminal justice systems in Australia and throughout the world rely on evidence to prosecute persons suspected of a crime. Previously, criminal investigators relied upon eyewitness accounts for their investigations though psychological research shows that eyewitness testimony is not always accurate and should not be used in the criminal justice system as a sole piece of evidence (Sangero & Halpert, 2007). Numerous research papers and articles have cautioned the use of eyewitness testimony due to many cases solely basing their verdict from this evidence. In light of DNA evidence, many convicted of a criminal offence have been exonerated of their sentences. The use of identification tests found in numerous papers clarifies why witness testimony can be inaccurate and unreliable. Experiments made throughout the years testing eyewitness accounts delve into factors associating event characteristics, eyewitness characteristics and target characteristics and how they contribute to the re trieval of information from an eyewitness. These factors clarify as to why witness testimony should not be used solely as evidence in the criminal justice system but rather another constituent in identifying the person of interest in a criminal investigation. In 1992 a non for profit organisation was formed to help those convicted and sentenced to a crime they did not commit. The Innocence Project was formed by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in affiliation with Cardozo school of law at Yeshiva University to help exonerate those found guilty via DNA testing (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, 1997). According to The Innocence Project, 75% of eyewitness testimony which were used to convict suspected criminals in the United States of America was erroneous in light of DNA testing. In one such case in New Zealand, a man named David Dougherty was found guilty of rape and abduction of a little girl who pleaded against him in the court of law as being the man that raped her (Cleave & Gower, 2012). Mr Dougherty was acquitted of the 1992 rape in 1997 due to the fact that experts finally concluded that there was insufficient DNA evidence to prove beyond a doubt  that he was the perpetrator (Fairfax NZ News, 2009). Although DNA evidence exonerated Mr Dougherty of the crime, many believed he was the perpetrator due to the eyewitness testimony, and expert opinions were clouded due to the publicity of this case. It was only until an overseas expert testified in favour of Mr Dougherty that he was acquitted (Fairfax NZ News, 2009). This case shows the errors made by the victim/eyewitness and how certain she was of the suspect and The Innocence Project has proven that eyewitness testimony is often mistaken. It has been widely documented throughout the decades that mistaken identifications were involved in the majority of cases examined by psychological researchers (Penrod, 2005). Research has suggested that during a police investigation, eyewitnesses would sometimes be subject to view more than one line-up to help identify a suspect (Palmer, Brewer, & Weber, 2010). Early research has cited that more viewings of potential suspects should theoretically improve the accuracy of the eyewitness choosing the offender (Penrod, 2005). Most recent research has found that multiple line-ups can impair subsequent identification accuracy therefore concluding that the more line-ups an eyewitness goes through, the more room for error in choosing the subject in question (Palmer, Brewer, & Weber, 2010). This study focused on post-identification feedback and separated their study into two main areas: confirming feedback and disconfirming feedback to see whether these would affect how the eyewitness will proceed with subsequent line-ups. According to Palmer, Brewer and Weber, Only witnesses who received feedback after an initial correct rejection performed at a level comparable with a single-lineup control group, suggesting that an initial identification test can impair, but not enhance, performance on a second test involving the same culprit (Palmer, Brewer, & Weber, 2010). It is suggested within this research that criminal investigations avoid using multiple line-ups to ensure that more innocent persons of interest are not convicted due to erroneous eyewitness accuracy. In Addition to this research it has also been found that eyewitness errors increase when persons of interest are chosen out of a photo display rather than an actual lineup  (Lindsay & Wells, Improving Eyewitness Identifications From Lineups: Simultaneous Versus Sequential Lineup Presentation, 1985). These errors are believed to have something to do with the person administrating the lineups or photo arrays (Wells, Rydell, & Seelau, 1993) therefore manipulating the eyewitness’ choices in identifying a suspect within a lineup and subsequent lineups (Phillips, McAuliff, Kovera, & Cutler, 1999) as previously found. This error is resolved easily by appointing someone to administer lineups or photo arrays that do not know who the suspect may be (Wells & Bradfeild, 1998). Furthermore, research has found that the longer the time interval between the event and eyewitness account, the likely it is that the eyewitness account will be erroneous (Loftus, Miller, & Burns, 1978). Another factor relating to event characteristics is that of distance. Many studies have shown that distance between the eyewitness and the target (suspect) will have an impact on memory recollection and facial recognition (Lindsay, Semmler, Weber, Brewer, & Lindsay, 2008). In one such experiment, it was concluded that eyewitness recognition deteriorated as the distance between them and the target increased (Wagenaar & van der Schrier, 1996). In most eyewitness testimony, it is up to the eyewitness to recall the distance between them and the target. Previously, the courts relied upon the 15 metre rule: the optimal viewing distance for an eyewitness (Wagenaar & van der Schrier, 1996). Lindsay et al. (2008) suggested to the courts that rather than relying on the 15 metre rule, in general, identifications will decrease with an increase in distance hence it is up to the courts to decide whether the eyewitness accounts are credible or not. Eyewitness characteristics also factor in to the discussion of how reliable eyewitness testimony is in the criminal justice system. According to a research study by Wells & Olsen (2003), gender has very little to do with how well females perform to males in terms of eyewitness identification, although both genders differ in how they view the event/scene. The age of a witness has a major impact on eyewitness identification as children and the elderly were found to perform poorly in relation to young adults when experiments were conducted (Wells & Olson, 2003). Another factor included into the eyewitness characteristics is that of race. It has been thoroughly investigated and concluded that people are better at identifying facial feat ures of their own race than those of other races (Meissner & Brigham, 2001). This data is useful for those areas  in which are culturally the same but for multicultural locations, namely Australia; it would have little significance the testimony could not be verified unless there was other incriminating evidence against the suspect. One suppressor of facial recognition is that of a weapon. A weapon is believed to reduce the ability of an eyewitness to correctly identify a suspect due to the attention been drawn from the perpetrators face towards the weapon/object (Steblay, 1992). In the court of law, this aspect of whether the eyewitness paid much attention to facial features to be able to correctly identify a suspect becomes somewhat of an issue. Eyewitness testimony is â€Å"self-report† and cannot be checked or cross referenced with other facts as it is purely psychological and based on how well the eyewitness believes they have retained sufficient facial recognition (Wells & Quinlivan, 2009). The confidence and certainty of an eyewitness has been frequently admissible in the criminal courts and the criminal justice system has previously relied upon the eyewitness assessing his/her own psychological capabilities. This has been thoroughly researches as being certainty verse accuracy (Wells & Quinlivan, 2009). In the majority of the research conducted testing this, it has been found that the eyewitness certainty has a moderate relationship with accuracy (Penrod, 2005) therefore the criminal justice system cannot prove whether the eyewitness testimony is mistaken or correct. Finally there is the factor of target characteristics. As previously stated, facial recognition is more accurate when of the same race. Another factor though is that of distinctiveness and whether the target (suspect) has a recognizable face. It has been research that very attractive or very unattractive targets are easier to recognize than average looking faces (Wells & Olson, 2003). Changes in facial characteristics also play a role in whether an eyewitness can recall what they saw. Changes in the face that are of natural occurrence, such as hairstyle, and disguises can dramatically affect recognition(Wells & Olson, 2003). In terms of whether these types of eyewitness accounts are to be used in the criminal justice system is simple as a suspect should not be convicted solely on eyewitness testimony but be used as a resource with other evidence which may incriminate the person of interest (Sangero & Halpert, 2007). Psychological research shows that eyewitness testimony is not always accurate; therefore it should not be used in the criminal justice  system solely as a piece of evidence. To be able to convict and sentence a suspect, in the interest of the courts other evidence must substantiate such claims of guilt. Factors such as event characteristics, eyewitness characteristics and target characteristics explained in this paper show that eyewitness testimony cannot be used as reliable evidence. The studies in this paper clearly show that if there is a reasonable doubt in eyewitness testimony then it should not be used as a basis to convict a person of a crime but rather used as a constituent for furt her investigations of a suspect. List of References Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. (1997). The Innocence Project. Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.innocenceproject.org/about/ Cleave, L., & Gower, P. (2012). 10 Years of Guilt over for rape victim. (N. Herald, Editor) Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3504996 Fairfax NZ News. (2009, March 07). Falsely imprisoned: David Dougherty’s story. Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/features/1387410/Falsely-imprisoned-David-Doughertys-story Lindsay, R., & Wells, G. L. (1985). Improving Eyewitness Identifications From Lineups: Simultaneous Versus Sequential Lineup Presentation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(3), 556-564. Lindsay, R., Semmler, C., Weber, N., Brewer, N., & Lindsay, M. R. (2008). How Variations in Distance Affect Eyewitness Reports and Identification Accuracy. Law and Human Behaviour, 32, 526-535. Loftus, E. F., Miller, D. C., & Burns, H. J. (1978). Semantic Integration of Verbal Information Into Visual Memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4, 19-31. Meissner, C., & Brigham, J. C. (2001). Thirty years of investigating the own-race bias in memory for faces: meta-analytic review. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 7(1), 3-35. Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2010). Postidentification Feedback Affects Subsequent Eyewitness Identification Performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 16(4), 387-398. Penrod, S. (2005). Eyewitness. In L. E. Sullivan, M. R.

Comparison of strategy of Nike and Adidas Essay

1.0 Introduction: Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2005, p.9) defines strategy as the way in which an organisation plans to use its resources effectively in order to gain a competitive advantage over the long term. In other words the carefully planned guidelines that organisation’s follow, which differentiates them from other organisations. Mirow (2005,p.10) suggests that strategy of Amazon.com,Inc., a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, focused on providing customers with low price, convenience and a wide selection of merchandise. They focused on this strategy and started their website in 1995 as an online book retailer. They slowly expanded their products and are currently an online shopping website with the largest product supplies online earning revenues in billions. Hence we can see how important strategy is for the success of an organisation. There are three levels of strategy, which are corporate level, business  level and functional level strategy. Strickland and Thompson (2003, pp.50, 55 and 56) suggests that the corporate level strategy is the strategy which is determines the overall purpose and prospect of an organisation and reflects on how to add value to different parts of the organisation. The business level strategy provides guidelines on how to excel competitors or survive in a particular market and the functional strategy is the contribution made by the resources, people and processes to the business and corporate level strategies. Companies strive with their strategies in order to become the leader in their specific industry or market. Nike and Adidas are the top two competitors in the footwear, apparel and accessories segment of the textile industry. The focus of the latter part of this report is on how these competitors compete with each other using their strategies. 2.0 Literature review: In order to fully understand about strategy, it is mandatory to know about the five generic competitive strategies. The five generic strategies according to Strickland and Thompson (2003, p.150) are low-cost provider strategy, in which the organisation provides goods or service at a low cost, broad differentiation strategy, in which the organisation differentiates its products or services making it appeal to a vast range of customers, best-cost provider strategy, in which the organisation provides goods or services of high quality making it worth the amount they are charging which is lower than their competitors, a focused strategy based on lower cost, in which the organisations focus on a narrower buyer segment and provides them their goods or services at a lower cost than its competitors and focused strategy based on differentiation, in which the organisation focuses on a narrower buyer segment and produces product customized according to their needs. 3.0 Backgrounds of Nike and Adidas: [IMAGE URL: http://digestingdesign.wordpress.com/tag/nike/] 3.1 Company overview of Nike According to (www.nikebiz.com) NIKE,Inc. was founded in 1972 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. It designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear,  apparel, equipment and accessories for a vast range of sports and fitness activities and are currently the world’s leading company in the athletic footwear, apparel and accessories segment in the textile industry. It is based in Beaverton,Oregon and has subsidiaries such as Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury items such as shoes, handbags and coats. Their subsidiaries also include Converse,Inc. and Hurley International LLC and Umbro,Ltd. The revenue of Nike,Inc. as at May 2010 is around US$ 19014 million according to (www.biz.yahoo.com). [IMAGE URL: http://www.soccercleats101.com/2009/10/07/adidas-predator-x-get-ready/] 3.2 Company overview of Adidas Group: According to (www.adidas-group.com) Adidas, founded in 1949 by Adofl Dassler, is a sports apparel manufacturing company. Starting with athletic footwear such as running shoes and soccer shoes, they currently manufacture a wide range of products such as bags, watches, shirts and accessories. They are the second largest sportswear manufacturer, behind Nike,Inc. Adidas Group is made up of three companies, Reebok, TaylorMade Adidas Golf company and Rockport. The revenue of Adidas as at May 2010 is 14878 US$ Million according to (www.biz.yahoo.com). 4.0 Critical Incidents that occurred in the past: 4.1 Critical incidents that affected Nike: Nike, Inc. had gone through various incidents which had an impact on their success. According to Dermesropian, Drage, Grigaite and Lopez (2004,p.3) in 1972, Nike persuaded marathon runners at Olympic Tracks to wear their shoes which was an innovative strategy as it resulted in strong advertising when some of the runners were the top finishers and popularity of Nike continued to grow throughout the 70s. In 1979 Nike had 50% of the US running shoe market. In 1988 Nike introduced their famous slogan ‘Just do it’ and acquired a company called Cole Haan. They sponsored many famous athletes such as Michael Jordan, a famous basketball player and Tiger Woods, an excellent young golf player. During 1992 Nike acquired Canstar sports which included the hockey equipment maker Bauer and opened its first Niketown store. In early 1995 Nike acquired a license to put its logo on NFL uniforms  which resulted in strong marketing. Air Jordan [IMAGE URL: http://www.myairshoes.com/air-jordans/air-jordan-xx3-officially-unveiled.html] They launched a new brand called Jordan, in 1997, which was influenced by the famous basketball player Michael Jordan and one of the most famous shoes of that brand were called Air Jordan. Some incidents harmed Nike during 1998 as they had to cut 1,200 jobs due to the fall of sales in Asia and the demand of athletic shoes fell in 1999. Nike wanted to diversify and in the year 2000 they shifted a little towards the technological and electronic sector and introduced athletic electronics, which included MP3 players, heart monitors, and two-way radios. Products of Nike in the BCG matrix [IMAGE URL: http://www.robmillard.com/archives/BCG%20Matrix%20Big1.html] They opened their first Nikegoddess store in California in 2001. They acquired Hurley International, a distributor of action sports apparels and lost their license to put their logos on NFL uniforms to Reebok in 2002. In 2003 they acquired one of their competitors called Converse but it continued to operate independently in order to sustain the brands popular name. 4.2 Critical incidents that affected Adidas: Adidas also faced various occurrences in order to attain the title of the second largest athletic footwear sportswear and accessories manufacturer.   Adidas Samba [IMAGE URL:http://www.bestshoesmen.com/adidas.Men.Samba.Classic.Soccer.Shoe/detail.html] According to (www.adidas-group.com) Adidas registered as a company in 1949 with the three stripes logo as their trademark. (www.footballshirtculture.com) explains that in the year 1950 they produced the â€Å"Samba† all-round soccer shoes which are even now considered to be the best classic training shoe today. One of the biggest successes of Adidas was in 1952 when it was the most common shoe brand worn at the Olympic Games  held in Helsinki. They made the first track shoes with removable spikes. Emil Zatopek, in Adidas shoes, won three gold medals in one week creating a huge impact on the image of the brand. German National Team wearing Adidas in the 1954 football world cup [IMAGE URL: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/feature?id=696762&cc=4716&ver=global] In 1954 Adidas became famous all over the world as the German national team was victorious in the football world cup for the first time, wearing Adidas shoes with screw-in spikes. In 1955 Adidas came up a shoe with exchangeable spikes which became very popular among the high jumpers. In 1964 Billy Mills won the men’s 10,000 meters wearing the new Adidas shoe which was considered the lightest shoe weighing 135 grams. In 1969 Adidas produced the world’s first injection molded multi stud soles of polyurethane, which gave a one year guarantee on the soles. Adidas began production of balls in 1961 and in 1970 their football was the official ball of the football world cup. In 1971 the famous ‘Fight of the century’ where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought with each other, both of them wore special boxing shoes designed by Adidas. Products of Adidas in the BCG Matrix [IMAGE URL: http://www.robmillard.com/archives/BCG%20Matrix%20Big1.html] Adidas Copa Mundial [IMAGE URL: http://www.footballbootroom.com/Adidas-Copa-Mundial] In 1979, Adidas produced ‘Copa Mundial’, which even today is still the world’s best selling soccer shoe. In 1986 Adidas introduced Azteca, the first synthetic world cup matchball in the world. However, in 1993 Adidas took over Sports Inc., a US based sports marketing company and Adidas was loosing US$100 million a year. Robert Louis Dreyfus had become the new president of Adidas and he downsized the German staff and went subcontracting to China. Adidas once had 70% market share in the US and it fell to 2% in 1993. In 1994 Adidas made a comeback by producing the revolutionary soccer shoe called the Predator during the soccer world cup in the USA. They went public in 1995 and acquired the Salmon Group which consisted of the brands TaylorMade, Mavic  and Bonfire in 1997. The new company is named Adidas-Salmon AG. They were the first sporting goods company to chosen as the official sponsor of a soccer world cup in 1998 when they sponsored the 1998 FIFA World cup in France. Adidas Predator Mania [IMAGE URL: http://www.produktenews.ch/newsflashartikel.cfm?key=179710] In March 2002 Adidas launched ClimaCool a footwear with a ventilation system and introduced the new Predator Mania boots and jerseys with the dynamic layering concept in the 2002 FIFA world cup with their own official ball called the Fevernova. They sold over 6 million footballs and more than 1.5 million jerseys and half a million of the Predator Mania that year. In 2006 Adidas became the official partner, supplier and licensee for the FIFA world cup to be held in 2006, 2010 and 2014. They acquired Reebok International in the same year. 5.0 Comparison of the strategies of the companies: 5.1 Strategies of Nike: In order to become the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories, Nike followed many strategies. Their corporate level strategy, according to Dermesropian, Drage, Grigaite and Lopez (2004,p.15) is their focus on innovation and emphasis on their research and development department in order to be profitable in the long run and they do their best to produce footwear, apparel and athletic equipment that reduce or eliminate injury, help in athletic performance and maximize comfort. They continue to expand their operation in the USA, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the American regions trying to reach as many customers as possible. Their business level strategy is a combination of the best cost provider and broad differentiation strategy, but more emphasis is put on the best cost provider strategy. They rely heavily on strategic outsourcing and most of their products are manufactured outside the United States. One of the main reasons behind their success following the cost leadership strategy is their extensive network structure that allows them to cancel their alliance with any company that fails to maintain their standards. They work very closely with their suppliers which allow them to produce their goods at a very low price and of superior  quality with the newest technology which makes them the market leader and the rest have to try producing similar goods close to their standard in order to survive in the market. They work very hard in their marketing strategies and which one of the primary reasons behind its success. Fig.1Fig.2Fig.3 Players who wear Nike – Fig.1) Cristiano Ronaldo [IMAGE URL: http://s702.photobucket.com/albums/ww24/bleedingblue97/?action=view ¤t=Cristiano_Ronaldo_Manchester_United.jpg&newest=1 Fig.2) Michael Jordan [IMAGE URL: http://www.ionlinephilippines.com/2009/12/michael-jordan-look-alike-michael-jordan-imposter-video/] Fig.3) Tiger Woods [IMAGE URL: http://www.dailyworldbuzz.com/tiger-woods-still-has-support-of-nike-gatorade-and-gillette/4970/] Nike hired famous basketball player Michael Jordan, tennis player Serena Williams and Tiger Woods who signed a seven year contract in order to be the spokesperson of Nike. In 2003 they spent around US$ 32.4 million on Net TV commercials and another US$ 39.8 for magazine ads. In order to become the market leader one has to follow a rigid and innovative strategy but to remain as the market leader the strategy has to be sustainable. According to (www.bizjournals.com) on a report published by Nike, suggest that they have planned five major programs in order to keep their corporate level strategy sustainable. In order to sustain in the long run Nike is now emphasizing more on the concerns about global warming. They have decided to focus more on their product design process, eliminating toxics and wastes wherever possible, start a GreenXchange web marketplace to share intellectual property which have been designed to act as a catalyst in green development, establish a lean manufacturing and human resource management in order to acquire a more equitable supply chain, establish a social program which combines education and sports programs for the third world countries and establish a new group call the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy. 5.2 Strategies of Adidas: The strategies of both these sports giants are very similar but Adidas  focuses more the broad differentiation strategy. According to (www.adidas-group.com) the corporate level strategy of Adidas also focuses on innovation, trying to produce new products, services and processes in order to cope up with the competition. In 2009 the Adidas Group strategically decided to move from a vertically integrated brand structure into a functional multi-rand structure for the Reebok and Adidas brands. This created a global sales function which were responsible for commercial activities and a global brands function which were responsible for the marketing of both brands. The global sales function was also split into two departments, wholesale and retail, which catered to the various needs of both these business models. This was done in order to sustain their corporate level strategy for the long run so that these divisions could emphasize and work hard in their respective departments in order to make the most of their efforts. This led to the elimination of regional headquarters and moved towards more direct communication between the local markets and the global functions. They implemented a multi-brand strategy by having a diverse brand portfolio which allowed them to cater all segments of the market from players to almost everyone. This helped them to keep a unique identity and concentrate on their core competencies. Adidas focused their investments in the best marketing and distribution channels in different countries by critically evaluating the consumer buying behaviors and their constant struggle to secure prime shelf space. They have also embraced e-commerce in order to become more efficient and appeal to more customers and make purchasing much more easily accessible for them. Their supply chain is closely communicated and hence it helps them to customize their products which appeal to a wide range of customers. The organizational culture of Adidas group obligates employees to be innovative. This culture forces them to produce goods which are highly innovative and with the use of the latest technology their products have a very good quality. According to (ar2001.adidas-salomon.com) using latest technologies they produce products which enhances performances of players and they focus on sports such as football, tennis, basketball and even training shoes which are used by anyone with the ability to run. Their new technologies have lead to the production of Climacool, a shoe with a ventilation system and a ­3 a shoe with an energy management system that guides and drives an athlete’s foot  through each stride. Fig.4Fig.5Fig.6 Famous players who wear Adidas – Fig.4) Zinedine Zidane [IMAGE URL: http://s670.photobucket.com/albums/vv70/tomdavies99/?action=view ¤t=09_zinedine_zidane_dpa_300.jpg&newest=1] Fig.5) Kaka [IMAGE URL: http://soccerpitch.co.za/tag/real-madrid/] Fig.6) Kobe Bryant [IMAGE URL: http://family-fitness.mattters.com/2010/7/2/couldnt-wait] Adidas Trefoil logo [IMAGE URL: http://free-extras.com/images/adidas_logo-658.htm] Adidas has world class players who wear their products such as Zinedine Zidane of France, Alessandro Del Piero of Italy and Kobe Bryant an NBA champion who is a style icon for basketball lovers. They also concentrate on their classic items, reintroduce and redesign them under their Trefoil logo. 5.3 Comparison of the strategies of Nike and Adidas: According to (http://comparisonz.com) Nike and Adidas have almost similar strategies but different implementation methods. Both the companies concentrate heavily on technology and strive to produce new and innovative products. Nike focuses on the American markets whereas Adidas focuses on the European market. Nike does not have any production plants as they only design, distribute and market their products and hence they outsource to various countries in Asia, mainly Taiwan and Korea, which outsource their production to China, Indonesia and Vietnam. Adidas on the other hand, carry out all their production in Germany and recently has adopted Nike’s outsourcing policy by outsourcing to Asian countries. Nike and Adidas both follow a premium pricing strategy which according to Kotler (2003, p.272) is a strategy where companies charge a premium price for their products. Their competition is always intense and according to Anderson (2010) during the world cup 2010 Nike launched the popular â€Å"write the future†, three minute advertisement featuring world cup stars which was a major hit on Youtube and Adidas replied with their two minute video with celebrities like Snoop Dogg  and Daft Punk into a famous scene from the movie Star Wars. Nike sponsored nine teams whereas Adidas sponsored 12 teams. World’s Largest LED by Nike [IMAGE URL: http://johannesburgbc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nikefootball-delivers-the] Even though Adidas was the official sponsor of the World cup 2010, Nike attached an LED display to a 30 story skyscraper in Johannesburg where soccer fans could write short messages using popular social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook and Nike put up 100 messages on the side of the walls every night. Adidas adiPURE III Nike Tiempo Elite [IMAGE URL: http://soccerlens.com/shirts/nike-vs-adidas-buying-football-shoes-in-2010/6410/] Umair (2010) compares the constant rivalry between Nike and Adidas using their products. During the world cup Nike launched an Elite series for the 2010 world cup called Nike Tiempo Legend Elite which had customized shoes worn by famous football players such as Christiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas. Adidas on the other hand, launched a new collection called Adidas Adipure for the world cup 2010 which also had customized shoes worn by famous players such as Kaka and Lionel Messi. In soccer Adidas shoes are worn by famous players such as Zinedine Zidane, Kaka and Lionel Messi, whereas Nike shoes are worn by Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and the original Ronaldo. In basketball Nike shoes have been used by Michael Jordan and Adidas shoes have been worn by Kobe Bryant. 6.0 Future Plans of Nike and Adidas: It is easy to become the market leader or the market challenger for organisations but sustainability is the primary concern and hence organisations focus of the sustainability by coming up with strategies that will make their position sustainable in the long run. According to (www.environmentalleader.com) Nike’s future plans are to focus on the environment and production of eco friendly products. They mentioned in their 2005 and 2006 Corporate Responsibility Report that they will become carbon neutral by 2011 by reducing their Caron Dioxide emissions. They have decided  to design all Nike brand footwear in ways through which they can reduce waste production during product design and packaging. They will eliminate the use of volatile organic compounds and use more environmental friendly material in their products and be carbon neutral by 2011. Adidas on the other hand became the official sportswear partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The London Organising committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOGOC) has few regulations which all of its partners are obligated to follow. These obligations are focused towards the environment. Adidas, being a partner of LOGOC has to follow all these regulations as their future plans are to be the official sponsor of almost all major events in the world, and in order to achieve this goal their strategy is to produce environment friendly goods as well. They have to ensure that all their products are produced with environment friendly materials, which would protect the human health and the environment and their packaging should also be produced with materials that can be recycled. Hence we can see that both the future plans of Nike and Adidas are quite similar. 7.0 Conclusion: The main element that determines an organisation’s success or failure is the strategy it follows. Any industry is vast and the competition is also fierce and in order to survive in the competition organisations must devise innovative strategies. Nike and Adidas have started their journey decades ago and they have struggled but sustained their positions; Nike as the market leader and Adidas as the market challenger. Various incidents have occurred in the past to both the companies which were both good and bad, but it was the strategies that helped them survive and sustain their positions. The strategies of both these companies are quite similar and Adidas is not far behind from Nike, but any small mistake by Nike, might make them the market challenger and Adidas the market leader. Nike has to be very careful while implementing their strategies because Adidas is very close to becoming the market leader. Nike’s initial strategy of being just the product designer, distributor and marketer gave them the competitive edge against Adidas, because their investments were low compared to Adidas as they have production plants, but Nike should be very careful to sustain their market position. 8.0 List of references: Books: Johnson,G., Scholes,K. and Whittington,R.(2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. Seventh Edition. Prentice Hall. Thompson,A.A., and Strickland,A,J.(2003) Strategic Management Concept and cases. 13th edition. McGraw Hills. Kotler,P. ( 2003)Marketing Management, Eleventh Edition, Pearson Education. Websites: (2010) NIKE, Inc. Company Profile, [URL:http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/14/14254.html] (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2009) Adidas Group History, [URL:http://www.adidas-group.com/en/ourgroup/history/history.aspx] (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2010) Nikebiz: Company Overview, [URL:http://www.nikebiz.com/company_overview]/ (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2010) Adidas AG Company Profile, [URL:http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/92/92632.html] (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2010) The history of Adidas, [URL:http://www.footballshirtculture.com/2006102796/history/adidas-football-shirt-history.html] (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2010) Strategy, [URL:http://www.adidas-group.com/en/ourgroup/strategy] (accessed: 29 August 2010)/ Strategy: Adidas, [URL:http://ar2001.adidas-salomon.com/adidassalomon2001/strat_adidas/] (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2010) Nike vs. Adidas – Compare Side by Side, [URL:http://comparisonz.com/comparisons/100305/nike-vs-adidas]/ (accessed: 29 August 2010) (2009) Adidas: 2009 Sustainability review, [URL:http://ser2009.adidas-group.com/suppliers/3_4.html] (accessed: 29 August 2010) Articles: (2010) Nike plans to be Carbon neutral by 2011, [URL:http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/05/31/nike-plans-to-be-carbon-neutral-by-2011] (accessed: 29 August 2010) Umair,A.(2010) Nike vs Adidas – Buying football shoes in 2010,

Thursday, August 29, 2019

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT Essay

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example ......................... 5.0 Distribution/channel strategy................................................................................ 6.0 Promotional strategy............................................................................................. 7.0 Pricing strategy...................................................................................................... References EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marks and Spencer is not doing an appropriate job of gaining target market interest in the brand and continues to cater to the older demographic. The company has built a rather old-fashioned and stuffy brand that caters to wealthy High Street consumers in the over-55 age bracket. This prevents the business from building a more contemporary brand personality that would attract younger and trendier fashion consumers. To better position the company, the business needs to utilise psychographics rather than demographic segmentation and focus less on quality and more on price and fashion -forwardness. Improvements to fashion procurement, utilisation of the Internet for online purchases, social media for promotion, and lifestyle-related advertisement will improve the brand competitiveness in this highly saturated and dynamic competitive environment. Marketing analysis: Marks and Spencer 1.0 Current market segments Marks and Spencer continues to attempt to attract younger consumer segments through the introduction of more contemporary fashion merchandise with edgy and trendy designs. The business, in an effort to appeal to the twenty something markets, recruited models Lily Cole and Lizzie Jagger to serve as celebrity endorsers that would be aspirational to the youth, female markets (Wood and Finch 2009). However, this strategy failed to rouse interest in the M&S brand and clothing sales to the over-55 female segment rose by 10 percent (Wood and Finch 2009). The problem at Marks and Spencer is that the business continues to segment based on demographics. As a high str eet fashion business, the business maintains a premium pricing model on the majority of its fashion merchandise, thus making clothing more affordable to the older demographic. Premium fashion products are segmented just below luxury brands and therefore usually carry a higher price tag (Hameide 2011). The average age of the business’ customers are between 35 and 54 who maintain the high level of financial resources necessary to afford a high price (Ayub 2010). The brand has been defined according to the demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviours of existing consumers, affluent middle-aged women living in wealthy regions who are the major revenue producers for the company. The business, in an effort to attract desirable target markets, recruited the 1970s model Twiggy to promote a new clothing line launch. This strategy did not appeal to the younger consumer market segments and seemed to reinforce a lifestyle connection with the aging consumer target market. Joanna Lumley, from the Absolutely Fabulous craze, was also recruited to appear in and perform voiceovers for advertisements, yet another older celebrity figure which continued to appeal to the existing, greying market (Chislett 2009). Hence, by focusing on demographic segmentation in order to identify target consumers, Marks and Spencer is limiting its ability to boost revenue production by not utilising other segmentation strategies. The company continues to utilise strategic marketing strategies that are more relevant to the lifestyles and income demographics of older

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

History of Photography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of Photography - Research Paper Example Many photographers in the world who have made their lives out of making photographs that depict their characters and speak volumes about the environment they take the events (Pollen 71). Photography started as an art in the 1830s but came into recognition ten years later. However, before photography was created people previously knew the theory of how photography works. Camera Obscura was the first model of image processing gadget that gave the people the idea to invent better camera forms. In this gadget, the image was projected upside down. This was back in the 14 and 13th century. The meaning of Camera Obscura in Latin is the darkroom. The development of photography was assumed to the assassin of the fine art. The renowned artists like Leonardo and Michelangelo and others used the concept of the Camera Obscura. An Italian scholar took time to write an essay on using the camera obscura as an aid in drawing. The obscura would give better aid in the process of making fine art accordi ng to the essay. The Italian scholar Giovanni Battista della Portacentury gave paradigms in the extensive use of obscura in art  (Ivan 1). One could trace from the bigger projected image. The invention of the camera in the 1825 where there was the window le Gras by the inventor Joseph Niepce. The continuity in the invention of the camera forged on to the 1888 where the Eastman Kodak company brought the film camera into existence. In the past the black and white production of photos became popular propelling Kodak to other levels in the world of the developing photography. There are renowned photographers like Alfred Stieglitz who was a promoter of modern art. He has the credit of making photography what it is now (Ivan 1). In this paper, the artist of choice is Carol Guzy a renowned photographer. The choice of this photographer is inspired by the fact that she has a natural way of presenting her art to the audience. Carol Guzy was the first lady to receive the recognition of newsp aper photographer of the year in the 90s. She has also had Pulitzer prizes in her photography. Guzy went on to win the best photojournalism of the year in 2009 sealing her effect on the lives of audience. Carol Guzy’s touch in photography is made by the fact that she does not take photos. She documents the emotion of the environments around her. Carol is a modern photographer who focuses her art on the emotions instead of the moments. The fact that she uses this attribute of emotion in the photos she makes gives her the upper hand in the making of the best pictures on the events that are happening. The pictures she takes give a better aspect on the feeling on the ground. She has delved into many corners of the world and documented some of the best pictures to give a better understanding of the situation in the place the photo originates (Michael n.p). Carol’s motivation She was not technical in nature but the introduction to the love of photography was instilled in her by the fact that Carol’s ex boyfriend presented her with a camera after noticing her having a knack of shooting her dogs. The camera was a 35mm camera. The camera that was given to her was the first motivation to the successful career. She felt it was her true calling. Having come from an average family in the USA, she loved art but her mom who was working in the factory and struggled to support her thought it would be a nice hobby. She was enrolled to the nursing program. Half way through her

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Critical contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critical contexts - Essay Example e principles of EU law within its borders and since there is no distinction between citizens and non-citizens in its provisions, then UK is bound to apply all EU laws without discrimination on all persons subject to its jurisdiction. Under international law, a state has prescriptive jurisdiction or authority to apply its national laws on all persons within its jurisdiction, regardless of the nationality of persons. The application of this authority within its territory is exclusive and absolute but may be subject to such concept as exterritoriality, usually in the form of diplomatic immunity. This authority may also be extended outside of its territory under the extraterritoriality principle subject to the grant of authority by another state (Dixon 143-144, 146). Since Gabrielle was a worker in UK prior to her death with a valid working visa, she was subject to its jurisdiction. Thus, under the EU law she was supposed to be subject to its protection by implication and extension. Her mere presence within the UK jurisdiction entitled her to the rights reserved under the EU law. The same was true in the case of Karl while he was temporarily in UK under a tourist visa. His presence within the country’s jurisd iction had entitled him to protection under the EU law. In the event of failure of the UK government to protect them as provided by the terms of the EU Charter, gives them the right to file a complaint before the European Court of Justice. The usual procedure is for individual litigants to challenge in the country’s courts the failure of the State to apply Community law and if the court needs assistance to rule on the issue before it, it may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice under Article 234 of the EC Treaty (Weatherill 2007 95). In line with the above, Gabrielle could have gone to a UK court to file a complaint against her employers for their discriminatory treatment re her salary. Under the Article 15 of the European Charter, â€Å"nationals

Monday, August 26, 2019

Media Technology Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media Technology Management - Assignment Example .8V-unbuffered-non-ECC, Operating System – Windows Vista Business (SP1), Graphics card – Inno3D nVIDIA GeForce 9800GT Graphics Card - 1GB GDDR3 - PCI-E - 256-Bit - Dual DVI - Memory clock - HDCP - HDTV, Hard drive – Seagate OEM 500GB Barracuda 7200.12 Internal Hard Disk Drive (7200RPM, SATA, 32MB Cache), Monitor – LCD Samsung T220HD 22-inch Widescreen LCD TFT Monitor, 2ms, Rose Black, 10000:1, TV Tuner. As far as the software for audio editing, video editing and authoring is concerned, Vegas Pro 8 of Sony Creative Software would suit both our needs and the pocket. Now entering into the cost part, the PC computer costs totally -  £ 913.07 and the Vegas Pro 8 software costs  £524.34. So the total expenditure for the computer and software bundle would be -  £1437.41 (including VAT). External hard drive which we employ here for archiving work is of the following specification – 500 GB space & USB2.0 compliant. This is a product of G-Tech, and we use them because they are one among the leaders in external hard drive manufacturers. The model is G-Drive FW400, and it costs  £113.25 The duplicator that we use is, Copystars CD DVD Duplicator. It’s specifications are – 115/230v switchable with AC Adaptor power cord and ready to use duplication tower. It has been chosen because it has the capability to duplicate dual layer and various formats of discs, it can also name hard drives, count discs, perform error and data integrity checks etc. They are also very user friendly as they use smart DVD duplicator technology. It will cost  £250 We have gone for an - All-in-One Multifunction Scanner and CD/DVD Printer as it saves considerable amount of money. We are employing a Hewlett Packard’s product of the following specification: Print technology – Thermal Inkjet, Print speed – 32 ppm, Maximum scan size – 216 x 297 mm, Scan speed – 10 x 15 cm color photo into Microsoft Word less than 22 sec, Scan Technology - Contact Image Sensor (CIS), Model Number –

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Thomas Jefferson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Thomas Jefferson - Essay Example s notes that Jefferson was not a reflective political philosopher,  and the efforts Jefferson made at  political  philosophy were, in most cases, embarrassingly  shallow  and sometimes quite naive (1997). Secondly, although Ellis (1997) accepts the fact that Jefferson was a brilliant political theologian and  visionary, he does not leave out the point that the qualities of Jefferson displayed in his book were those of an  irrational  and outrageous political  personality. Ellis, in his article, argues that Jefferson was first to come up with the idea that peoples deepest  personal  longings were, as a matter of fact, achievable in his book, but then went ahead and suggested opposing principles in a way that hides their incompatibility. According to Ellis (1997), Americans saw Jefferson as a reassurance to them because of his many achievements, and any criticism was not welcome. In his book, Jefferson included some of his most memorable statements about the things he believed in  especially  in the political and social front (1995). However, Ellis (1997) points out that there are many ways that Jefferson failed to  bear  the full implications of his beliefs and  vision  about racism, slavery, and sexism, and wants to expose the underlying contradictions of Thomas Jefferson’s failure. From Ellis’ point of view we can conclude that no matter how influential and powerful a person is, there is always something to criticize him

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Political Factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Factors - Essay Example Political situations and Events Different countries face different political situations and events. This can be exemplified when a multinational company with diverse interests and subsidiaries in foreign countries gets to face the wrath of war or political unrests in the host countries. For instance, oil companies that had investments in Iraq were profoundly affected by the America-led invasion that started in 2003. This also led to the imposition of a trade ban on Iraq that subsequently affected unconstructively the multinational oil companies operating in Iraq (Arnove, 2002). Wars and impending political conflicts affect business in that the purchasing power of consumers is compromised due to dwindling financial base. Wars and politically instigated conflicts bring about hardships to the people affected, affect the environment and more so disrupt the social fabrics in a society (Arnove, 2002). This chain eventually prejudices the purchasing power of the affected population as well as contributing to decrease in business profits. Conflicts also affect the stock market that translates to decrease in value of businesses listed in the stock market. Government Arrangement The type of government in a country also determines success or failure of businesses. A democratic country ruled by a compelling government is capable of facilitating an excellent business environment necessary for business growth and subsequent development. Democratic governments facilitate the existence of free market systems that enable businesses to flourish and grow. In democratic countries, business people are given opportunities to air their proposals and grievances to the established government agencies and therefore, formulation and implementation of policies is based on wide consultations (Le Billon, 2003). Alternatively, in a dictatorial/autocratic country, there is a likelihood of business failure due to diminutive policies and harsh treatment from corrupt senior government officials serving in the dictatorial regimes. These regimes are also known to cause anxiety and uncertainty and this is detrimental to growth and prosperity of businesses. Changes in National and International Law Businesses that operate in more than one country like multinational companies feel the heat emanating from constant change to national as well as international legislations that touch on trade and business. The issue of minimum wage laws in most countries has brought about changes in the business world as regards who is to be employed and what the employees are to earn. This is evident in the UK where the minimum wage decrees have been introduced and implemented. Other laws touch on employees’ insurances, maximum hours an employee should work each day, and also employees’ health and safety conditions. Trade tariffs and their subsequent legislations have also been reviewed and changed once in a while, sometimes benefiting business entities and in some instances, affecti ng the businesses in question. The largely influenced World Trade Organization has been accused repeatedly of favoring the developed countries at the expense of the Less Developed countries. Politically speaking, the organization applies diverse legislations and rules for dissimilar countries. It has been reported that when the Less Developed countries export their products to the Developed markets, they encounter tariff restrictions that are sometimes four times higher than that faced by rich countries exporting to the Less Developed

Friday, August 23, 2019

MoD 3 Case Assign Promotion; Advertising, Selling Essay

MoD 3 Case Assign Promotion; Advertising, Selling - Essay Example ondly, old navy company has targeted this population since it is one of the underutilized potential of the male population since for a long time people have assumed that male population does not like shopping. However, this is fallacious since the only different thing about shopping for the male population is that they have different shopping habits than those for women. These facts on male usage of mobile phones were corroborated by research that was conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK which found out that for every female that accessed mobile banking, there were twice as much men who accessed the service; this proved that mobile usage among men was higher compared to that of women. Studies carried out to determine the effectiveness of gender based ads in relation the gender-neutral ones showed that the gender specific adverts were likely to generate more traffic compared to the gender-neutral ones therefore, targeting the adverts towards men would likely bring more traffic to the sites that hosted the adverts online. In addition, it has been found out adverts that are specifically targeted towards men generate up to five times more revenue than the gender neutral ones. Ads that are targeted toward men found out the likelihood of men returning back to the site to make purchases were more compared to those targeting women or the gender neutral ones (Behind the campaign: Old Navy goes after men in new ad push, 2011). Since the promotion was to be in form of mobile content and in online sites such as YouTube and Facebook, the choice of this generation, which is also referred to as the millennials is perfect due to their comfort in using technology (Digital marketing works better for Millennials than TV, 2012; Zeng, Huang & Dou, 2009). In addition, this generation has been used to on demand entertainment and continual stimulation making it perfect for online ads. Due to the demands of this generation, televisions ads would not be effective as they only

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Nussbaums Approach, the Capabilities Approach Essay

Nussbaums Approach, the Capabilities Approach - Essay Example Nussbaum’s Approach, the Capabilities Approach The society is sometimes affected by vices such as inequality and favoritism in attitude and behaviors based on sex stereotypes, ethnic, originality, economic and social status. This was despite the common knowledge that the practice is erroneous. It led to the making of biased actions and consequently denial of justice especially for the underprivileged citizens. Inequality degrades understanding in various societal aspects including interpersonal, of intra- and interactions among members of society and the established institutions. The discussions equality in the liberal theory made Nussbaum’s expression in her capability approach to equality. Moreover, civil liberties are crucial factors that determine citizen participation in the decision making process. Some political philosophers argue that a country requires a constructive platform for social democracy in order to achieve socioeconomic development. This calls for resolution of disputes amicably and minimal interferences in the dealings of other nations. Nussbaum’s approach, the capabilities approach, is designed to remedy serious flaws in Rawls’s theory of justice. While Nussbaum succeeds in addressing some areas of concern for Rawls, I will argue that ultimately, these changes are not enough and neither the capabilities approach nor justice as fairness can fully protect women’s human rights.... First is the principle of equal liberty that maintains that every individual has an equal right to the broad autonomy. This principle seeks to merge the ethics of equality, individual autonomy and obligations. It is regarded as a better ideal compared to harsh social equality since it gives a fairer opinion on what constitutes inequality-reflecting disparities in preference. The second principle is the difference principle that asserts that socioeconomic disparities should be planned so as to make it beneficial to less-privileged people while opening up equal opportunities for all. In the egalitarian ideals, liberties are allocated equally to all people. Additionally, he argued that it would be correct that each time societal structures persuade these ideals, victims oblige as long as they are free and fair. Individuals who have cognitive disabilities need to be treated equal and with respect like the normal human beings. It is important for the law provisions to guarantee such peopl e equal access to basic amenities such as health care, employment, education and housing. This cluster of people should have political and civil rights to express their opinion and participate in decision within the society. Martha Nussbaum gave an elaborate and overwhelming critique on the social convention and Rawl’s theory of justice (Alkire p. 32). She argued that social contract gave an inadequate insight of justice, particularly on people disabilities and non-citizens. Inclusion of this group in a theory of justice was an infringement of â€Å"premises of contractarianism†. The premises of contractarianism included; the treaty intended for the common benefit, some people were almost identical in powers and is largely egocentric in quest for their interests. She argued that disabled

Console Games vs PC Games Essay Example for Free

Console Games vs PC Games Essay Let’s start with the console’s themselves. Maybe you’ve heard it before, but some people say PC-gaming is dying. Can PC games still compete with Console games? Gamers have never been so spoiled for choice. While the console vs. PC war has been around for ages, consoles today have bridged the gap by finally providing decent multiplayer capabilities. Is this the end of the PC as the dominant gaming machine? Gaming has been around for a long time. It is serious business nowadays. With a host of companies creating everything from award-winning games to those collaborating with businesses on workforce training and development, the area is poised for continued success. And we are creating this success by buying all kinds of games. So what is the difference between the total price of playing games on a console or on a PC? While it is possible to get a PC at about the same cost of a console, it would be such a stripped down version that it wouldnt be able to play the latest games. Consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, PS3 and Xbox360 still offer the best price in terms of gaming power. Even if you buy a 800 pounds PC, it would only be able to play the latest games for about three years. If you look only at the three biggest consoles, the Nintendo Wii is the cheapest console, starting at about 180 pounds. The Xbox 360 will cost you about 200 pounds and a Playstation 3 about 250 pounds. Certainly the Xbox 360 and the PS3 would be able to play the latest games for many more years. Well, there actually is a way to expand the time you can play games on your PC, but it will only cost you more money. A PC has the availability to upgrade. For example, you can change the graphics card for a newer one. This is the most important part of a PC for playing games. This will not cost you as much as buying a total new PC, but in total it will still be way more expansive than a console. But one thing is cheaper for the PC-gamers in comparison to for example Xbox 360-gamers and that is that you have to pay to play online multiplayer games on a Xbox. In most situations this will be free for a PC game. So maybe you are asking now if there are any more advances of playing games on a PC instead of a console. Of course there are. There are still way more games available for the PC than for consoles. On a PC with windows as operating system, you can play like almost every game that exist for windows, even older versions of windows. But on a console you probably can’t play previous generation games. When for example the first PS3 was announced it actually could play PS2 games, but Sony removed this option quite quick. Another reason to play games on a PC is that if you have a very expansive PC it can probably play games with better graphics, but at that point you are limited to the games that are already playable. Future games will probably need a better pc to play it on full resolution. A PC is also the only option for playing big online games where thousands of people can meet each other online, like World of Warcraft. This just isn’t possible (yet) on consoles. You’re choice for playing games on a console or a PC can also depent on the controller. Whereas you play with the traditional keyboard and mouse on a PC, you can play with other kinds of controllers on consoles. The Wii is the best example of that with the motion sensitive Wii remote. There is also a different kind of consoles for playing ‘on the road’. These are called handhelds and aren’t very powerfull, but their advantage is their portability.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Understanding Of Elemental Cost Analysis Construction Essay

Understanding Of Elemental Cost Analysis Construction Essay The analysis is actually done to be used by the designer and the client for future project and therefore, comparison between two or more buildings can be made. This is brief project cost information gathered from bills of quantities. Apart from the cost analysis, information such a brief project specifications and the overall project information are also included in the ECA. Purpose for ECA To show the cost relationships between several sections/ parts of the building, if there are any. To allow comparisons of cost with other different projects. The cost that is obtained from the cost analysis is insufficient to determine the actual price. It has to take into account the conditions and the details of the project and the quality and quantity of work involved. The cost analysis has been introduced to provide cost information especially for the process of cost planning. The cost analysis is prepared by examining the information of a project which has been planned or constructed in which the bills of quantities have been priced. Therefore, the cost analysis is prepared based on the data received from the successful tender and is not based on the actual sum of the project. However, there are several reasons as to why the cost analysis is not prepared based on the actual cost: The final account is often complex and requires much ttime to analyze the changes in the account. This would result in the decreasing interest of the individual preparing the cost analysis. The preparation of the final account is time consuming due to several reasons and this could result in the cost analysis that is published to be out-dated The historical data for cost planning may not be accurate especially during high inflation (although there are procedures to update this by using indices). It is difficult to make allocations for the increase in cost and contractual claims, which are tailored to the individual elements. Uses of ECA Appreciation It enables clients and designers to know and appreciate how cost is distributed among the functional components of a building and compared to the overall cost of a building. Judgment It enables clients and designers to develop ideas as to how element costs could have been allocated to obtain a more balanced design. This judgement is important to gauge the effectiveness of cost and quality of a building. Belated remedial action Allows remedial action to be taken on receipt of high tender, by revealing the sources of over-expenditure that is by making comparisons between estimated costs and tender price. This will enable belated remedial action to be taken. Planning The cost analysis could be used as a source of cost information to help with the cost planning of future building projects. Abbreviations of forms To simplify the elaboration the author will use the following abbreviations for each form. Form 1 F/1 Form 2 F/2 Form 3 F/3 FORM 1 Information on total project and analyzed building This form is divided into two sections; the first section provides overall information on the project including the location, the client, type of contract etc. The second section provides information and analysis of a single building. Each separate building in the project has a different analysis. The main purpose for the information in Form 1 is to inform the user of the analysis the background of the project and the condition of its price level. This will enable the user to make the necessary adjustments to cater for differences in location, market condition, type of contract, size of contract and specifications of the project. Building type and Code : There are ten classifications on types of building based on (C1/SfB Classification Table 0): 0 : Land, Planning, Landscape 1 : Civil Engineering Work 2 : Transport, Industrial Buildings 3 : Administrative Buildings 4 : Health and Welfare Buildings 5 : Refreshment, Recreation Buildings 6 : Religious Buildings 7 : Educational, Cultural, Scientific Buildings 8 : Residential Buildings 9 : Buildings, Spaces in general Residential Buildings for this project shall be classed under category 8: Buildings, Spaces in general Construction Classes: Construction classes are divided into: A : Reinforced concrete framed construction B : Steel framed construction C : Timber framed construction D : Light framed steel or reinforced concrete construction A 2 321 A 2-storey reinforced concrete framed construction with Gross Floor Area of 321m2 is expressed as follows: The combination of a 2 storey hall building made of reinforced concrete framed construction with Gross Floor Area of 321m2 is expressed as follows: A 321 3- Residential Buildings 3) Job Title: Cadangan Membina Sebuah Banglo 2 Tingkat 4) Location: Daerah Melaka Tengah, Melaka 5) Client: State the type of client whether government, private or semi government-Private 6) Tender date: Date fixed for close of tender- 7/1/2007 INFORMATION ON TOTAL PROJECT 7) Project details and site condition: Explanation shall include the following: Project description Accessibility to site Proximity of other buildings Site topographical and geological conditions Weather Any omission or exclusion from project Example of elaboration: The project comprise the construction and completion of 2 storey banglo and associated ancillary building and external works. The purpose site is flat and in good condition. 8) Contract: Type of contract used Standard PAM Form of Contract (with quantities) 9) Market Condition: Brief report on market condition shall be provided with regard to availability of materials and labour, keenness and competition Market condition is competitive and price of labour and materials are stable. 10) Tender List: List of tenders received. If the number is too many, state at least the lowest five, arranged in descending order. The highest tender value is listed last in the table. Indicate whether tenders were from local builders (L), by international builders (INT), or by joint venture between the two (JV). Refer to tender report. If there are only a few tenders, the list is as follows: RM Int/JV/L 325060 L 320000 L 289500 L 255200 L If the tender list is extensive, the list is as follows : RM Int/JV/L 325060 L 320000 L 289500 L *255200 L *The highest tender value AREAS 11) Gross Floor Area: Method of measurement: Total of all enclosed spaces fulfilling the functional requirements of a building measured to the internal face of enclosing walls (or column, door and the like) Enclosed spaces are defined as all spaces that have a floor and a ceiling and enclosing walls on all sides at full or partial height. Open balustrades, louvers, screens, columns and the like shall be deemed enclosing walls. The gross floor area is measured gross without omission to areas occupied by columns, internal structures or party walls, etc. Areas of lift rooms, tank rooms, engine rooms and the like above main roof are also calculated in GFA. Sloping surfaces such as staircases, galleries, tiered terraces and the like shall be measured flat on plan Spaces that fulfill the functional requirements of building which are not enclosed spaces shall be shown separately under Unenclosed Spaces. B L: Measured gross without omission to areas occupied by columns, staircases and partitions. GFA = 6156m2 Usable area 231 Circulation area 32 Ancillary area 48 Internal divisions 10 GFA 321 FORM 2 Summary of element costs In general, Form 2 shows the systematic breakdown of the costs of elements of a building. There are more than 20 elements in Form 2 and each element is grouped under six group elements (five building groups and one for each group element of external work and preliminary work). Form 2 provides information on the total cost of element, cost per m2 GFA, element unit quantity, element unit rate, ratio of element per m2 GFA, etc which could be used to make a realistic estimate and to prepare the cost plan for new projects. It could also be used to make cost comparisons to ensure cost does not exceed the estimate. Total cost of element (RM): This is the total cost of element and the cost shall follow the List and Contents of element in the Manual. If cost is not related to the said element, (-) shall be inserted. If costs of more than one element are group together, abbreviated notes shall be provided explaining where they are grouped. All the total cost made from Bills of Quantities or calculated by EUQ x EUR. WBLFF : Total cost of element = EUQ x EUR = 136 m2 x 125 = RM 17000.00 Cost/m2 GFA (RM) : Calculated by dividing Total Cost of element with GFA. FRAME : Cost/m2 GFA = Total Cost GFA = RM 255,200 321 m2 = RM 795.016/m2 Element Unit Quantity : All areas shall be the net areas, for example, area for external walls shall omit area of windows and doors, etc. if the quantity is measured in volume (air conditioning spaces) volume is calculated by multiplying the net area with the height of the space to be air conditioned. The abbreviation used is Tm3. All the amount according to taking off or measured through drawings. Element Unit Rate (RM) : Calculated by dividing Total Cost of Element with Element Unit Quantity. It is rounded off to the nearest ringgit. UPPER FLOORS : Element unit rate = Total Cost EUQ = RM 8000.00 185 m2 = 43.24 Element Ratio /m2 GFA : Calculated by dividing Element Unit Quantity with GFA. It is stated to three decimal places. ROOF : Element ratio/m2 GFA = EUQ GFA = 204 m2 321 m2 = 0.636 Reinforced Concrete (m3) : Quantity of reinforced concrete in elements in m3. Reinforcement (kg) : Quantity of reinforcement in kg. Formwork (m2) : Quantity of formwork in m2. FORM 3 Brief Specification Form 3 provides brief information on project specifications based on each element. It briefly describes the various components in each element including the types and quality of materials used. This form provides a brief picture of the building standards and quality and this information is important for cost comparison purposes. It can be refer to the list and contents of elements. Elaborate briefly the specifications according to the elements. All the specification had made from Bills of Quantities. For example of the specification in the elemental cost analysis, in piling works, the specification must have all works related to foundation piling including sheet piling left in and also need to state the system used, whether it is consultants design or otherwise, number, average length and size of the pile. BENEFIT OF ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS ECA means the analyze of cost related to the elements, in construction industry a building or any kind of construction we can divide into number of elements, and price of which is related with that element is called as an elemental cost, elemental costs include material costs, labor costs, and sub-contractor overhead and profit. ECA is also important and give benefits due to the companies that can intends to establish a cost information service by setting out goals and collecting information in a planned and systematic way in collecting and spreading information on a number of elemental cost plans available at the moment. These cost plans will further expanded and users will be able to select the database using a range of criteria, among others, type of building, floor area, date, client type, number of stories, location and method of construction. ECA does help a quantity surveyor when it comes to similar projects that are gone to be built next due to its feature that act as a reference about the price or cost information that is useful to prepare a budget plan. Although it is roughly similar, the project that is being compared to previous projects ECA must be in the relevant range of time CONCLUSION The Elemental Cost Analysis (ECA) is relevant to used. The cost analysis is prepared by examining the information of a project which has been planned or constructed in which the bills of quantities have been priced. Therefore, the cost analysis is prepared based on the data received from the successful tender and is not based on the actual sum of the project. That is the price quoted in the Final Account. There is a possibility for some to think that it would be better to analyses the actual cost as compared to the cost predicted in the tender.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

History Of Filipino Immigration History Essay

History Of Filipino Immigration History Essay The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land. Baldwin 29. It is a wonder why Filipinos wanted to leave their own country and live in another place like the United States of America. Maybe because a brighter future is seen in a new place, like a new world of hope that cannot be found in the native land of the Philippines. Filipinos struggled to go out of their country without the assurance of anything. Ones self is the only one who could make his/her own destiny. Filipinos have been chasing the American dream since the early 1900s. As opportunities were given, Filipinos didnt hesitate to leave their own country in order to find a brighter future from one of the worlds super powers, which was the United States. Filipinos were good in adopting their new environment just to pursue the American Dream. Cultural identity is a matter of becoming as well as of being. It belongs to t he future as much as to the past. It is not something which already exists, transcending place, time, history and culture. Cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But, like everything which is historical, they undergo constant transformation. (Hall). Balancing between two different cultures is very challenging and this paper focused on this issue the most. Que 2 The first large-scale immigration of Asians into the U.S didnt happen until 1848, when gold was discovered in America. The Chinese nickname for California was called the Gold Mountain. The Gold Rush was one of the pull factors that led many Chinese to come to the U.S. to find their fortune and return home rich and wealthy (Le). This event triggered the American dreamer and the sights of a greener pasture. Almost every Asian believed that the moment they had stepped on the grounds of the United States of America, life would be better and richer. But not all were granted with the American dream because not all were given decent jobs. Filipinos were actually the first Asians to cross the Pacific Ocean as early as 1587, fifty years before the first English settlement of Jamestown was established. This was also during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade. Filipinos were forced to work as sailors and navigators on board Spanish Galleons. Eventually, Filipino sailors were the first to settle in the US around 1763. They made their first permanent settlement in the bayous and marshes of Manila Village, in what would later be Louisiana. They built houses on stilts along the gulf ports of New Orleans and were the first in the United States to introduce the sun-drying process of shrimp (Filipino American History). This was the first wave of Filipinos that came to the United States. Since their migration to the United States, Filipinos have always played an integral role in contributing to Americas economy. From 1763 to 1906 other Filipino groups such as mariners, adventurers and domestics followed and eventually grew in numbe rs. With the passage of time some of them migrated to the West Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska to expand their opportunities in the fishing and whaling industries (Immigration History). In 1903, the Pensionado Act allowed Filipino students to study in the United States as a way to enhance and further their education and have more knowledge in different areas. While Que 3 this appears to be an honorable act by the Americans, it was actually not their true intentions. Instead of allowing students to migrate as a way to advance their education and enlighten their minds, the Americans had other ulterior motives. These scholars known as pensionados were shipped off in order to help maintain colonial rule. Many pensionados were given the scholarship program because it was intended to educate these young men in America with degrees in government and administration so that they could learn the United States governmental system. This way they could return to the Philippines and teach the government democratic practices and administer their own government in a similar fashion like the government in the United States. More importantly, they were promised positions in various government sectors particularly in agriculture, business and education. However, this proved to be problematic since the general make-up, history and demographics of the Philippines does no t parallel that of the United States. The governmental system that works for America may not work for the Philippines. Nonetheless, by 1912 there were over 200 Filipino students who had graduated from American collegiate institutions. After attaining their degrees most of them went back to the Philippines, but some remained in the US and blended in with the later Filipino immigrants known as Pinoys (Magat). This act was closely tied with what happened during the time when the United States conquered the Philippines. It started when the Battle of Manila Bay occurred. The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America ordered George Dewey to send his fleet to Manila Bay to fight with the Spanish soldiers because during that time, the Philippines was under the Spanish Rule. They had a fake battle, also called the mock battle, because the Spanish bureaucracy knew that they could not win the war. Emilio Aguinaldo, a Filipino general and independence leader, returned to the Philipp ines from his visit to Hong Kong to support the American troops. He trusted the Que 4 Americans that they would help them get their independence back from the Spanish Rule. When the U.S. fleet succeeded, they went to the capitol and replaced the Spanish flag with the American flag. They also didnt allow Emilio Aguinaldo to enter the city of Manila. Thats when he thought that something was wrong, and the Americans couldnt be trusted. The Americans fooled Emilio Aguinaldo, which led to the Philippine-American War. Hypocrisy played its role in these two events. The Americans had their ulterior motives and plans before doing something like helping the people gain their independence or have the pensionados get their education. Aside from pensionados, laborers also migrated to California under the contract system where they agreed to work as farmers. Most of the Pinoys worked as farmers in California in the San Joaquin Valley, Salinas, and Sacramento. Some became factory workers in the Alaskan fishing and cannery industries, while others took low-paying custodian, busboy, and domestic service jobs. This second wave of migration eventually led to an excess labor supply. The second wave began from 1906 with a heavy concentration going into California and Hawaii. When the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association (HPSA) needed more agricultural labor workers, they sent recruiters to the Philippines to set up recruitment centers in Vigan, Illocos Sur and Cebu. There they hired sugar cane plantation workers known as Sakadas, who unsurprisingly worked for cheap labor. In 1906, fifteen Sakadas were shipped to Hawaii (Garcia). At first, the migrants who mostly spoke Tagalog were hesitant to go, out of fear and due to the long travel which they perceived to be dangerous. Upon their deployment and after their settlement, however, they encouraged other Filipinos to follow their footsteps and told them that their migration had been successful. Through their labor, many were able to save money to send back home as a way to support their relatives and help improve their living conditions. The second wave of Filipino Que 5 immigrants that stepped into Hawaii helps explain the high Filipino-American population that still exists there today. The US colonization of the Philippines from 1900 up to 1934 had a tremendous impact on Philippine immigration. Filipinos went to the process of mass migration. As Filipinos became US nationals and were given the opportunity to live legally in the US under the protection of its law and constitution. Demand for labor on Hawaiian plantations and California farmlands attracted thousands of Filipino immigrants known as Sakadas who came mostly from the provinces of Ilocos and Cebu to replace the Japanese work force who intended to leave the Hawaiian plantations. Although the Sakadas came to Hawaii as American Nationals, they were not given full rights as American citizens and were the first Filipino Americans to experience racial discrimination and cultural oppression. The Pinoys had the most extensive experience with racial discrimination resulting from changes in immigration policies, anti-miscegenation laws and oppressive farm management practices. Many migrant families lived in poverty and children were forced to get educated, speak English only, and mainstream quickly. About the anti-miscegenation laws, some Filipino older adults and family caregivers may have been part of this group. In 1934 the US Federal law known as the Tydings-McDuffie Act was passed to limit Filipino migration. (Immigration History). The Tydings-McDuffie Act is also known as the Philippine Commonwealth and Independence Act. It was enacted on March 24, 1934. The law was supported by Maryland Senator Millard E. Tydings and Alabama Representative John McDuffie, hence the name of the Act. This federal law gave self-government and independence to the Philippines. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it and it was sent to the Philippine Senate for approval. Although the Tydings-McDuffie Act was enacted in 1934, the Que 6 law states that Filipino independence will only take effect on July 4, 1946 after a transitional period of ten years. The Act provided the draft and guidelines for a Constitution which formed the foundation of the government in the Philippines before granting their independence. The Filipinos elected their own delegates for a mandatory constitutional convention on July 10, and Roosevelt approved the Philippine constitution on March 23, 1935. The Commonwealth government was inaugurated in November 1935 under the presidency of Manuel Quezon. The law reclassified all Filipinos in America as aliens for the purposes of immigration to America. Filipinos werent American nationals anymore and they couldnt longer work legally in the US. The support for Philippine independence was highly supported by the white American citizens mostly because of their discontentment with the rapid immigration of Filipino agricultural laborers. After the Spanish-American war in 1898, the Philippines became an A merican territory. Filipinos were able to enter the U.S. as American nationals. They entered jobs that werent that attractive to white such as home care, dishwashers, janitors, and other service occupations that dont need a college degree or some education. With that, the fear of their growing numbers around nativists are becoming similar to those against the Japanese and Chinese. The rise of unemployment during the depression of the 1930s and the development of Filipino labor activism created widespread opposition to Filipino immigration, especially in California where the concentration of the Filipino population is high. The Tydings-McDuffie Act was a legal cover for Filipino exclusion in America, similar to the Chinese Exclusion Act. If the Philippines was an independent country, then the Filipinos will no longer have unrestricted access into America. This would also mean that they were not white and could not attain naturalized citizenship. This law was later offset by the US Na vys recruitment of Filipino Americans who Que 7 were exempt from such law. The Filipinos were actually put in a worse position compared to the Chinese and Japanese who were excluded as well. Chinese merchants were able to bring their wives, also with Japanese family members and their wives, they were also exempted from the restrictions of the Gentlemens Agreement. The only exemptions that the Act had allowed Hawaiian employers to continue importing Filipino laborers whenever they needed them and the U.S. was able to recruit Filipinos into the Navy (Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934). This also marked the beginning of the third wave of Filipino immigration during 1945-1965. Filipinos from the Philippines noined the U.S. Navy to fight against the Japanese. Filipinos were allowed to join the U.S. Navy because they were so-called Nationals. They were not U.S. citizens, nor were they illegal aliens. The Filipinos became stewards for the navy. As stewards, Filipinos in the U.S. Navy cooked, cleaned, shined, washed, and swabbed the decks of n aval ships and naval bases across America and the entire world. Despite their status, Filipinos fought side-by-side with American soldiers for freedom against the Japanese. During the period of 1935-1965, some Filipino women and families immigrated to the U.S. They were a combination of US military dependents or war brides, World War II veterans, professionals, and students. The fourth wave of Filipino immigration began after the passing of the Immigration Act of 1965 that continues to the present day. This allowed the entry of as many as 20,000 immigrants annually. (Filipino American History) The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 permitted many Asian residents in the US, including Filipino Americans, to apply for citizenship. The law also gave those who had served honorably for three years in the US Armed Forces the opportunity to become eligible for naturalization. Filipino Americans during this period experienced significant economic exploitation and social injustice despit e their contributions to American society. The Filipino Que 8 American community became more diverse during this period due to the immigration of highly educated professionals, mostly in the health care field. Some example would be nurses, doctors and medical technologists. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which liberalized immigration laws, made it possible to sponsor other family members such as minor children, spouses, unmarried and married adult sons and daughters, and parents of adult US citizens. Similarly, a high proportion of international students were enrolled in American universities (Immigration History). Many Filipinos have experienced the Brain Drain in exchange of the American Dream, it consisted of professional like doctors, lawyers, nurses, engineers, as well as the military of Filipinos who continued to join the navy off Sangeley Point in Cavite City, Philippines. From the first to the fourth wave of Filipino Immigration, evidently Filipinos have been in America for quite some time, yet one must persistently ask who a re the Filipino Americans? Who are they and what have they done? Perhaps it would be better to ask: What is it about Filipino-Americans that make them appear different, yet one and the same? (Filipino American History) Most of the immigrants were welcomed with open arms but even before they came to their destination here in the United States, they thought that the U.S is a land of opportunity. However, that wasnt the case when they arrived in the U.S. because the opportunities, the jobs that were given to the immigrants were hard and they were paid very low. Some immigrants stayed temporarily but some returned to their own country with their savings that they have acquired working in the United States. However, more immigrants chose the path of staying in the U.S. and have not given up looking for a better life. They permanently left their own country Que 9 and became hopeful that they could find a new world in the United States. All these led to the famous term of the American Dream. American Dream, who wouldnt have known The American Dream. A lot of Filipinos dreamt of living and working in the United States of America for greener pasture. Even until now there are still a lot of Filipinos who are still trying to go through a crowd in the U.S Embassy in the Philippines just to have a U.S Visa. Filipinos believed that living and working in the U.S will give them a brighter future not only to them, but also to their families as well. Filipinos have always pursued the American Dream. It is a proof of which today is that Filipinos are now the second largest Asian group in the United States, according to the latest census bureau report. The number of Americans who have identified themselves as Filipino, either alone or in combination with another race, totaled 3.4 million, the report showed. The total number is believed to be much higher than the census count. There are an estimated one million undocumented Filipinos in the United States. Census officials attributed t he fast growth of the Filipino population to immigration. California, known as the gateway for Asian immigrants, had the largest population of Asian Americans, with close to 6 million, or nearly a third of the total nationwide (Rueda). The family values of reunification, interdependence, social cohesiveness and collectivism continue to persist within the Filipino American community despite the existence of socio-economic and health care disparities and racism. People typically migrate to the United States to acquire a better future for them. Filipinos perseverely chase the chance of acquiring the American Dream. Filipinos left their country by choice for economic necessity. However, acquiring the American Dream in America will require Que 10 adapting to a new culture including but not limited to values, religions needs and most importantly learning English as a secondary language. Filipinos have an advantage in assimilating to America since their history consists of American influence. The Filipino experience of chasing the American Dream is a long and winding road. Filipinos chose to chase it from 1865 to 1945, and up to the present. Success in life is risking everything, even culture and tradition. Filipinos may have the advantage of the English tongue and adaptation in a new environment, but can a Filipino still identify where he is from if a Filipino already learned how to forget where he came from? The sad reality is like a childs adoption. As the child is young, he will never know his identity until he grows or until the parents teach the child. The biological mother will be forgotten and the adopting mother will be in the place of the childs heart. When a Filipino leaves the Philippines, it is a one step in forget ting where a Filipino truly came from or what he truly was. Que 11 Works Cited Filipino Immigrants in the US (1865-1945) Baldwin, James. Many Thousands Gone. Notes of a Native Son. Boston: Beacon, 1955. Print. 31 Oct. 2012 Filipino American History. Filipino American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Immigration History. ECampus Geriatrics. Stanford School of Medicine, n.d. Web. Le, C.N. 2012. The First Asian Americans Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. Web. 31 Oct. 2012 Magat, Arianne Philippines from 1900-1915 The First Wave of Filipino Migration to the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Garcia, Arturo P. A Brief History: Filipino Immigrants in the United States. Out of the Shadows, into the Streets. Liberation News. N.p., 24 Aug. 2007. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Hall, Stuart. Who needs identity. Questions of cultural identity 16.2 (1996): 1-17. Web. 31 Oct. 2012 Rueda, Nimfa U. Filipinos 2nd Largest Asian Group in US, Census Shows.Inquirer Global Nation. Inquirer, 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. The Rise of Asian Americans. Pew Research Center. N.p., 19 June 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934. Asian American Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. U.S. Filipinos Highlight Immigrant Rights on May Day. AsianWeek: The Voice of Asian America. AsianWeek, 1 May 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.