Conflict Management

If a conflict should arise over the course of the team project, Group 4 has agreed to mitigate the conflict as soon as possible. Based on the situation of the conflict, whether It Is personal or technical for example, the team will come together and discuss the situation. Once all details of the conflict are known, the team will determine the best way to address the conflict by a majority rules team vote. After a decision is made it will take effect immediately to address the conflict. Note: All conflicts and decisions will be thoroughly discussed with the course instructor along he way for suggestions and ultimate authority. B. Motivation and stability are keys for success in the team project. Group 4 possess these qualities and does not foresee a lack of either throughout the length of the project. However, in an unforeseen circumstance where lack of motivation is identified by the team, it will be addressed immediately. The team will address the team member who Is not performing a t the expected level of commitment.This will either be done In a group setting (weekly team call) or an Individual representing the team reaching out to the member after speaking with the other team members. . Address the situation with the team member (either In a group or Individual setting). 2. Determine if the team member needs additional help or other action to bring their motivation back up. 3. Based on the needs, action will be taken by the team to remedy the situation. *Note: All concerns about motivation of a team member will be thoroughly discussed with the course instructor along the way for suggestions and ultimate authority.Based on the situations that follow, the specific action will be taken to address and mitigate the situation. L. Team member falls Into one or more categories below: Non-responsive: If Group 4 Identifies a team member that has become non- responsive (unless previously notified due to travel, business, etc. ); the team will try to reach out to the mem ber by email several times. If there is still no response after 5 days, the team will then contact the team member by phone (contact phone number for emergencies provided to team).If contact is still not made, the team will get the course instructor involved in the situation. – Disruptive: If a team member becomes disruptive to the team (continually derailing team meetings, email discussions, or deliverables), Group 4 will mom together to address the situation immediately. The individual will be address by the team in a team that the Individual's actions are not meeting or group email. The team will state conducive to team activities and the actions need to stop Immediately.If the situation continues after an Nominal conversation or email, the course Instructor will be notified and action will be taken accordingly. – Not actively contributing: If a team member is not actively contributing, Group be address by the team in a team meeting or group email. It will be determ ined if the individual Just needs extra help that the team can provide r if it is another circumstance not related to the course. If the situation cannot be remedied through added help from the team, Group 4 will consult with the course instructor to determine the best course of action. Not participating in weekly conference calls: If a team member is not attending weekly conference calls on a regular basis (unless previously notified due to travel, business, etc. ); the team will reach out to the team member through email first then the emergency phone number provided to discuss the situation. If the issue is not resolved, – Produces low-quality work: If a team member is providing low-quality work recently, Group 4 will come together to address the situation immediately.The individual will be address by the team in a team meeting or group email. It will be determined if the individual Just needs extra help that the team can provide or some other reason. If the member does no t want team help and still provides low-quality work, Group 4 will consult with the course instructor to determine the best course of action. It. If a team member decides to drop the class, Group 4 will come together to address the situation immediately. The remaining members of the team will reassign the work, so everyone in Group 4 will have a fair amount.Depending at what point a team member may drop, Group 4 will reach out to the course instructor if it will greatly impact a deliverable with an approaching deadline. Iii. If a team member has an emergency and cannot participate, Group 4 will come together to address the situation immediately. The remaining members of the team will reassign the work, so everyone in Group 4 will have a fair amount. If the team member will be able to return at some point, the team will again come together and divide the work up so each team member has a fair amount. Throughout this time, communication with the course instructor will also be in effec t. Conflict management Organizations exist to accomplish sine set goals and objectives. NAMP’s main goals is to offer support to the US navy especially in terms of maintenance to fleet and other navy equipment in various settings including combat missions. In the process of execution of its goals an organization is bound to experience conflict, for NAMP these conflicts are real considering the fact that, the organization is comprised of staff from the diverse US culture and the fact that, operations in NAMP calls for team work as opposed to individual efforts.Therefore, conflicts emerge and how such conflicts are managed determines whether NAMP functions effectively. To ensure that, conflicts are resolved to the advantage of the organization, NAMP should use the following conflict resolution strategies. Such strategies include avoidance, accommodating, forcing, compromise as well as problem solving (win-win) strategy.IntroductionOrganizations exist to achieve some set goals and objective. Organizati onal goals and objectives guides any given organization into the achievement of the specific goals and objectives a set out in the organizational policies and procedures.   To achieve organizational objectives and goals, any given organization engages several resources such as man, money, machine, technology and raw materials and knowledge.   Whenever teams are formed, conflicts emerge. Conflicts if managed well through utilization of conflict resolution strategies can benefit the organization a lot. Unless conflicts in teams are well managed, job performance goes down, as well as employee morale and motivation.Background InformationManagement of an organization is responsible for ensuring that all the resources of an organization are utilized so well so as to ensure that the organization achieves its mission.   Where human beings are involved conflicts always come up.   Navy, like any other given organization, conflicts arise and when they do, there is a need for conflict r esolution by applying conflict management principles such as avoidance, accommodating, forcing, compromise as well as problem solving (win-win) strategy (Valley, 2006.231-245).   Conflicts are important to an organization in that if well managed they result into the birth of new ideas.   The Navy relies on teamwork so as to execute its functions well.Where teams exist there is a need for a spirit of cooperation so as to achieve that synergetic function as teams as opposed to operating like individuals.   The Navy recruits officers from all cultural backgrounds in the US and therefore it naturally occurs that the people who end up joining teams in the Navy are comprised of diverse cultural backgrounds.   This can be a leading source of conflict in the Navy and it calls for careful management, which is non-partisan and geared towards achieving a common good for all.   NAMP is responsible for offering logistical support through aircraft maintenance.By the virtue of maintainin g Navy aircraft, NAMP constitutes an integral part of naval operations and therefore any conflicts, which interrupts morale of workers in this department affects the whole Navy force (Bohrer, 2002.24-65).   The staff of NAMP is divided into 3 levels which include the organizational level also referred to as the O-Level, performs maintenance for aircraft as well as aeronautical equipment services, preventive maintenance, inspections as well as corrective maintenance (Bohrer, 2002.48-66).The other levels, which MAMP is organized around, are the intermediate level responsible for combat maintenance and support also referred to as I-Level. The other level of NAMP is the Depot level involved in overhauling obsolete fleet (Bohrer, 2002.55-68).   The fact that NAMP constitutes of officers in several levels such as O-Level, I-Level, D-Level as well as OMD officers implies that officers at NAMP have to constantly function in support to each other, subsequently conflicts are always bound to happen.   The following are some practical conflict resolution, which are applied at NAMP to ensure that conflicts do not disintegrate teams but on the contrary to make sure that conflicts are resolved to the advantage of the organization.BodyConflict resolution is only effective whereby; all efforts bear in mind the sources of conflicts in teams such as, unresolved conflicts, frustration in team members, which all reduce the effectiveness of teams (Schermerhon, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005.35-79). In terms of value, it is important to align team members’ values so that they are in agreements with organizational values. This ensures that employee behavior is in conformity with organizational galls and objectives. This is important and where individual goals are in conflict with organizational goals the latter should take precedence.Collaboration and problem solving is an effective way of handling conflicts in teams. Collaboration calls for the team members to brainstorm the sour ce of conflicts so as to come up with effective solutions to the emerging problems. Members are allowed the freedom to decide on the best solution to the problem which is task oriented (Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992.46-66). Collaboration calls for a give and take attitude in which team members can compromise their opinions and ideas for the success of the team.Collaboration allows room for all teams to work together in harmony with resolutions to conflict being suitable and in line with team’s interests. Collaboration as a conflict resolution strategy is ideal for teams in that, it leads to the participation of all team members in the decision making process (Schermerhon, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005.37-78).Avoidance is another conflict resolution strategy, which is very central and important to teams. Avoidance as a strategy is based on the belief that some conflicts arise out of petty and minor differences which are to easy to resolve as long as employees are willing to sit down and act as groups for the common benefit of the organization (Tajfeh, & Turner, 1979.64-81). Avoidance as a conflict resolution strategy is based on the understanding that, human beings are different and therefore differences are inevitable. Where conflicts are solved well, teams regain and strengthen trust in each other as well as trust in the organization .Avoidance strategy therefore advocates for forgiveness in order to achieve slow healing of differences. Avoidance requires conflicting members of a team to engage in less physical contact in order to allow individual differences to heal (Spector, Fox & Van Katwyk, 1999.12-32). Therefore, avoidance of the source of conflict is an effective means of strengthening interpersonal relations in teams.Authoritative command has been found to be an effective conflict resolution strategy. Authoritative command assumes that, team leaders can effectively solve the differences between employees or team members. This is an easy and faster way of resolving conflicts given the fact that, this conflict resolution strategy is the very fast and does not involve a lot of deliberations which may be time consuming. Given the fact that leaders have authority, arbitrating becomes easy hence speeding up the conflict resolution process. Unlike the collaboration approach, authoritative command does not leave room for brainstorming of issues and decisions are left to the discretion of the team leader (Tajfeh, & Turner, 1979.74-81).The other common conflict resolution strategy is accommodation method. Accommodation is especially useful in resolving conflicts resulting from individual differences. It involves team members giving up the possible gains in a conflict situation to accommodate opinions of other team members (Fox, & Spector, 1999.109-126). This method is useful in building effective teams based on mutual understanding. Finally, comprise is also a conflict resolution commonly used by teams to resolve conflicts.Compromise as a con flict resolution strategy calls for the team members to settle for less, for the sake of the team and the organization. In a compromise situation a team member may accept to suffer in order arrive at solutions to challenges and for the sake of the survival of the team (Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992.47-65). Compromise is useful in situations, which threaten the very survival of an organization.Conclusion Team building takes a lot of organization resources and conflicts should not be left to bring down the team spirit. To ensure the survival of teams in organization calls for a good understanding of the nature, types, causes and resolution strategies. Whereby conflicts are resolved well, teams move from strength to strength and the organization achieves goals and objectives.RecommendationsIt is recommendable for NAMP to utilize; avoidance, accommodating, forcing, compromise as well as problem solving (win-win) strategy wherever challenges emerge in the process to running the day to day activities of the organization. Conflict resolution can not be well management unless managers’ are well trained. There is a need for NAMP to train its managers in skills related to conflict resolution so as to make sure that, the organization continues to offer its services uninterrupted, and to maintain high staff morale as well as prevent staff turnover which often results if conflicts are not well managed.ReferencesBohrer, D. 2002.24-65. America’s Special Forces.   Minnesota. Zenith press.Cranny, C, Smith, P. and Stone, E.1992.46-66. Job satisfaction. New York: Lexington.Fox, S and Spector, P. 1999.102-142. A model of work frustration-aggression. Journal of organization at Behavior. 20.Spector, P., Fox, S., and Van Katwyk, P. 1999.12-32. The role of negative affectivity in employee reactions to jobs characteristics: Bias effect or substantive effect. Journal of occupational and organizational Psychology, 72.Schermerhon, S., Hunt, J., and Osborn, R. 2005.35-79. O rganizational behavior. 9ed. John Wiley $ Sons Inc.Tajfeh, H., and Turner, J. 1979.64-81. An intergroup conflict in W.G.Austin & S. Worchel (Eds). The social psychology of intergroup relation. Monterey, CA; Brooks/Cole.Valley, P.H. 2006.231-245. Theory and application of managerial communications. United States: McGraw-Hill / Irwin.

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 8: Search or seizure Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. The first part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that we choose for our project is section 8: Search and Seizure. This section guarantees that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. There are two parts to this section, one being unreasonable search and the other being unreasonable seizure.Unreasonable search is when your property, belongings, body, is searched without a warrant or without a probable reasoning to believe that the person would need to be searched. Unreasonable seizure is different; it implies that a person’s belongings have been taken from them by a public authority without the persons consent. Many government activities fall under this law, in all the law helps to secure people’s rights to privacy and it keeps government officials from abusing their power . Many may wonder why search and seizure are under the same section.The reason why they are is because they often fall hand and hand. Seizure often only occurs following a search, and searches only occur for the reasoning of wanting to seizure the person’s illegal belongings. There are many cases of unreasonable search and seizures which exist. For example, if government officials were to go into a man’s house, whom they suspected of dealing Mariana, but didn’t have a good reason to believe so or a warrant, and had taken his illegal Mariana plants then that would be an example of unreasonable search and seizure.Another example of unreasonable search and seizure would be if police officers were to inspect a person’s car at a traffic stop and take belonging inside because they believe they were illegal possessions; this is unreasonable search and seizure because they did not have a good reason to search. Many argue about this right of protection against unr easonable search and seizure because the possessions, weather found reasonably or not, are illegal. Some think that it is the governments right to search belongings of its citizens.An example of this opposition to the rights of Canadians currently occurring in Canada is Bill C-30. Bill C-30 would force Internet Service Providers to give Government Officials your name, address, IP address and a lot of other personal information, without a warrant. With all this information, the government would be empowered with the ability to monitor every action that you make online and use it to catch any illegal activity. This is a complete compromise to the rights of Canadians to protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Assess the impact by 1939 of Nazi Essay Example for Free (#1939)

Assess the impact by 1939 of Nazi Essay The National Socialist Party came to power through a series of swift, ruthless and devastating actions which firmly established Germany as a fascist state. The centralisation of power in Germany, known as ‘co-ordination’ (Gleichschaltung), was initiated on the day of the election and was carried out with such clinical efficiency, that the German state was completely transformed within a matter of months. Hitler’s Gleichschaltung was extremely successful in altering the cultural and economic landscape of Germany in the years between 1933 and the commencement of the Second World War in 1939. National Socialism touched every aspect of life; youth culture, the role of women, education, the economy and the effect it had on employment, the working class, as well as religion in the domination of the Christian Church. As this essay will explain, each of these individual developments in German society, which were initiated by the Nazi regime, came together to precipitate a complete cultural transformation for the lives of German people by 1939. Nazi Seduction of the German People The attraction of the Third Reich was compelling for the German people and strong feelings of national pride were instilled in the mass population. Germans were moved by wave after wave of brilliantly staged nationalistic promptings in the form of spectacular public rallies and stirring speeches. The totalitarian state model, which was so important to the Nazi Party’s grip on its people, was achieved through a mix of persuasion, motivation and discrimination. Individualism was quickly replaced by a way of life steeped in collective gestures and symbols; mass rallies, uniforms, public commemorations and in particular, the gesture synonymous with the Nazi era – the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute. Although these public messages became tiresome to many Germans, they were a constant theme throughout the Nazi era, and were therefore inescapable. They were successful in convincing the German masses of the power of the Third Reich as an all conquering, superior phenomenon. The mobilisation of German youth was a vital cog in the National Socialist propaganda machine. The drive towards creating a fiercely dependent and loyal German youth was formed on the basis of a rejection of the old bourgeois world in favour idealistic notions of a new and more egalitarian society.The lengths to which the Nazi’s went, in order to harness the loyalty of the German youth were great and centred on the creation of a rival organisation to the formal education system called the Hitler Youth (Hitler – Jugend). When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Hitler Youth organisation had only 107,956 members. By the end of 1933 however, under the leadership of Baldur von Schirach, most youth movements were under the influence of the Nazis and the few remaining nonconformists such as Catholic organisations were feeling the Nazi influence. Two laws, which came into effect in December 1936 and March 1939 made participation in the Hitler Youth (HJ) mandatory, driving up membership of the organisation to 8,870,000 at the beginning of 1939. The Hitler Youth indoctrinated young Germans with Nazi concepts of race, discipline and obedience. Summer camps were set up, in which political ideological teachings, physical fitness, rifle practice, endurance and team-building games were core activities. The aim was to breed a new type of German, one which was loyal to National Socialism and would thus ensure the future existence and expansion of Germany as a Nazi state. The family was an institution of supreme importance to the Nazis, being regarded as crucial to the future success of The Third Reich. Much was done to raise the popularity of marriage and increase birth-rate, as mothers who stayed at home to bring up large families were put on a pedestal and treated with utmost respect. On 12 August – the birthday of Hitler’s mother – every mother who had given birth to a large number of children was awarded a Mother’s Cross. Rewards for raising large families were also financial, as special welfare benefits were awarded to encourage marriage and motherhood.  Newly married couples were offered a 1,000 mark loan, repayable at three per cent interest, which was reduced by 25 per cent after the birth of each child. This loan effectively turned into a free gift from the state following the birth of four healthy children. The role of women in Nazi Germany was clearly defined, encouraging them to embrace their ‘natural’ role as mothers. As already mentioned, women were the focus of the Nazi drive to boost birth rate, and were ushered away from the idea of a full-time career in favour of starting or extending a family. Furthermore, within education, girls would be directed away from developing their academic ability and independence, in favour of training for future maternal roles through compulsory courses in domestic science and biology. Upon reaching adulthood, the indoctrination of Nazi ideals continued through membership of three women’s organisations, all created by the Nazi party – the German Woman’s Enterprise, the National Socialist Womanhood and the Reich Mothers’ Service. By March 1939, over 1.7 million German women had attended one of these Nazi organised courses. In its crusade to win over the working class, the Nazis offered a vast array of publicly funded leisure activities. The Nazi Kraft durch Freude (KdF) (Strength through Joy) organisation was officially founded to promote the physical prowess of the individual, although in reality its essential purpose was to educate and socialise the German population into National Socialism. The Nazi leisure policy was initiated with the hidden intention of rallying the German people towards active voluntary participation in National Socialist Germany. An active, thriving leisure movement it was believed would contribute to the thrust of National Socialism as a whole, enhancing the vitality and all round commitment to the German cause. The economic success of the Nazi regime is remembered most for its remarkable success in reducing unemployment. The cornerstone of this recovery was the implementation of the many work programmes, which created jobs for the phenomenal number of unemployed Germans at the beginning of Hitler’s reign. German economists had recognised that the abandonment of narrow fiscalism in favour of counter-cyclical strategies based upon investment in the infrastructure and public housing was essential in order to reduce levels of unemployment. Job creation schemes, such as the construction of the Autobahn – the major motorway network – and house building schemes resulted in a fall in unemployment from 34% in January 1933 to 13.5% in July 1934. Upon coming to power, Hitler embarked on a crusade to eradicate Christianity, as he believed it to be a product of Jewish culture – a religion he perceived as a corrosive influence on the German population. The process of gradually reducing the influence and presence of the church in Nazi Germany was achieved in a number of ways. The establishment of the Reich Church, the German Christians organisation and the German Faith movement introduced a new Christian religion based on the core ideals and beliefs of National Socialism. This was yet another example of the iron grip with which the Nazis sought to control the German population. Nazi economic and social policy had a phenomenal effect on the German mass population by 1939. The levels of propaganda used to capture the loyalty of the German people were deeply influential, effectively brainwashing the population. The focus on the future strength and solidarity of The Third Reich as a totalitarian state saw key aspects of the German lifestyle subjected to significant changes between 1933 and 1939. The effect that Nazi social and economic policies had were seen most significantly in their effect on women, youth, education, the economy with regards to employment, the motivation of the working class, and religion. Nazi propaganda went further than this in its influence on the German way of life, as the press,  industry, art and culture, and all forms of entertainment were transformed into mere puppets of the Nazi regime. The gradual erosion of individualism and devotion to The Third Reich amongst German people could not have been achieved without the changes imple mented in these fundamental aspects of daily life. Assess the impact by 1939 of Nazi. (2016, Jul 07).

Bayes' Theorem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Bayes' Theorem - Essay Example Simon Jackman (2009) defines Bayes’ theorem as ‘a theorem that illustrates conditional probability of the set on the given observed outcome, that is obtained from the knowledge of the probability and its outcome (Jackman, 2009)’. The rules of Bayes’ theorem are based on the basic axioms of probability or conditional probability. It expresses subjective depress of beliefs explaining the repletion through Bayesian statistic fundamental. The mathematical representation of theorem is as follow: Bayesian statistical method provides in depth understanding about the events. The application of theorem is wide in various fields and subjects, such as, science, biology, mathematics, finance etc. The model is applied to determine relation between the events. In the field of finance the Bayesian method is adopted for financial forecasting. One of the major advantages of Bayesian theorem is the consideration that is given to the previous information. The fact is that many statisticians would disregard previous information in order to prove the objectivity of the current statistics. The Bayesian theorem proves objectivity of the statistics by combining both the sets of information. A very significant advantage noted for the usage of Bayesian theorem is that it provides direct probability statement. This is considerably the best way to interpret confidence interval. On comparison, one can easily find out that frequents statistics would imply a number of tools. On the other hand, Bayes ian approach makes use of only one theorem i.e. Bayesian. The fact remains as that Bayesian approach can be used in different situations where most of the tools of frequentist statistics fall short. In the Bayesian theorem, the conditional probability occur on the bases of unconditional probabilities that are derived using a multiplication rules, that is (Prior x Likelihood) that are further divided by the sum of the possible parameters. Posterior in Bayesian theorem can be identified

Organizational Behaviour - Report for Microsoft Essay

Organizational Behaviour - Report for Microsoft - Essay Example Basically organizational culture is determined by the leadership style, communication and group dynamics of the particular organization. In fact employees would perceive this as the quality of work life which impacts on final outcomes as employee performance, motivation, individual satisfaction and personal growth and development in the organizational environment. Business organizations are those legal entities that engage themselves in the production of a good or service with the intention of selling it for a profit and are much more focused on the long run survival in achieving organizational goals such as profitability, shareholder satisfaction, market share and share price growth, corporate governance, sustainability, market leadership and so on. However the modern conceptualization of the business organization as a paradigm that sets trends to be followed by societies, in which they operate thus influencing the very behavioral dynamics of the members of those societies, is far more revolutionary and thought provoking. Thus this paper would focus on the strategic activities of the senior executives and provide an overview of the operational and tactical decisions implemented by the Microsoft Company. Further it would provide an understanding of the main components of competitive advantage and how these components have sustained the compan y against the backdrop of the behavioral challenges faced by the company in modern business environment. Microsoft Corporation can be identified as a multinational computer software technology company which basically provides different computer software products for computing devices, consumer electronics and video game consoles to its worldwide customers. Its current staff strength is in the region of 93,000 employees working in over 90 odd countries. This figure alone speaks volumes about its business strategies and initiatives. Thus Microsoft’s mission statement is â€Å"To help people and businesses throughout the

Critical Observation Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Observation Paper - Essay Example tegies appropriate to the situation (Asch, 2001). To better illustrate the importance of study of psychology and research in this field, let me cite a concrete example. As human beings, we are born with the need to socialize and interact with other people. One interesting example of social behavior that is observed in some individuals as they interrelate with others is their dependency on other people. Dependent behavior, according to McDavid (1994) is one of the most common forms of human activity. I know of a person who cannot act nor move around without a companion. This person is over than 35 years old already, still single, physically able and works in a public academic institution. She is an attractive lady who actively participates in religious activities in her Church. However, her actions always depend on the presence of somebody as if this other person provides some sense of security on her part. She always keeps a company during mealtimes, whenever riding a public transportation on her way home, even when simply going from one office to another within the same building. More often than not, you would see her in the company of another person and rarely alone. I have begun to notice this behavior initially when she asked me to accompany her during one her errands in the building. Being an attractive lady, I consented to and accommodated her request. But when it was repeated once, twice, I felt something was wrong. I observed that she was over suspicious of other people and how they may possibly treat her and that is the reason why she always sees to it that she is accompanied by somebody wherever she goes. As a consequence, this behavior more often than not, turns off and becomes an irritant especially when there are important things that need to be accomplished. It sometimes becomes a cause of delay in delivering tasks expected of her. It also creates a negative image of her to other people. In psychology such behavior is labeled as interpersonal dependency. According to Bornstein (2004), in defining interpersonal dependency four components must be included: (1) motivational (i.e. a marked need for guidance, support and approval from others); (2) cognitive, (i.e., a perception of oneself as powerless and ineffectual, couple with the belief that others are comparatively powerful and potent); (3) affective, (i.e., a tendency to become anxious and fearful when required to function autonomously); and (4) behavioral, (i.e. a tendency to seek support and reassurance from others and engage in self-presentation strategies designed to strengthen the relationships with potential caregivers). To some who are not into the study of psychology, the behavior of the lady may appear to be a little "weird" or extraordinary to those who are into studying other people's behavior through observation, it helps to explain things and facilitate better understanding among

Business Model of On-Line Retaining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Model of On-Line Retaining - Essay Example On-Line retailing business runs over the Internet through well designed user friendly portals, whereby the products & services are displayed through electronic means (like photographs, images, videos, etc.) and payments collected either electronically or using a system that accepts remote checks, wire transfers or on-delivery cash. On-line Retailing is different from the traditional business primarily from the perspective of product display, business expenses, business location, communication & customer engagement, and technology. Supply chain management of both businesses are similar with the only exception that on-line businesses have to manage their deliveries remotely and in larger geographies (even at global levels) whereas the traditional retailers may have to carry out lesser remote deliveries within a fixed locality. We hereby analyze the on-line retailing process deployed by eBay through their portal named (www.ebay.com). The process of on-line shopping starts from a search engine - either global search engines like Google, Yahoo or the search engine built within the eBay portal. Products advertised on eBay can be approached through both the mechanisms. Once the buyer reaches the on-line display of the product of c... Once the buyer reaches the on-line display of the product of choice (two or three dimensional graphics or video along with specifications, pricing details, terms & conditions, etc), he/she can evaluate the product using published specifications & pictures/videos and then open a shopping cart where the products selected for purchase can be collected. After collecting all products, the buyer can proceed for payments where the terms on eBay are electronic (credit cards or debit cards. Given that eBay is a global on-line shopping portal, they do not offer localized choices of payments. The soft products can be downloaded online and the hard products are transferred to the customer from the warehouse that is closest to the physical address of the Customer. eBay also offers international delivery of products through world class renowned courier services which is charged to the buyer at the time of purchase. [Chatpar and Venugopalan, 2007] Key Traits and Bases of success of the marketing strategy of Online Retailers The key factors of success of Online Retail businesses are the following: (a) Excellent User Friendly Portal system: eBay is one of the most user friendly on-line shopping portal of the world. The buyers are able to quickly search and select products of their choice through well deigned categorization & guidance systems and make secured & reliable payment. (www.ebay.com). (b) High Quality Customer Services: To serve their customers, eBay has on-line chat & message boards, e-mail ids through which trained customer support specialists respond quickly to address queries or grievances. Extra information on every product is available through local product catalogues whereby the products in stock exactly match the

Alternative Energy Sources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Alternative Energy Sources - Essay Example export or import based on competitive pricing and expertise, Bauman (2004, p. 13-15). A free market determines how the global economy functions based on comparative advantage. States are able to specialize on what one does best. Such scenarios would yield into timely production and supply due to the competitive nature of the operation. A free market would provide good incentives for producers to supply and respond to consumer demand. Extraction of renewable energy sources would be done at an increased competitive level of cleaner, cheaper and adequate energy. Private equity investment, free markets attract private equity, which is reasonably important for investment in exploration and exploitation of renewable energy. Private investment injected into projects is crucial towards the creation of employment in the private sector to professionals who may not be fortunate enough to gain meaningful employment in the government. Investors in the energy sector may enjoy various incentives from the government which aims at encouraging investment in renewable energy sources. Such incentives may include tax exemptions, tax credits and infrastructure development in extraction fields. However, allowing the free market can also be catastrophic to the economy, this argument presents a case for argument in favor of government intervention. According to Katrin Jordan (2011, p. 19-25), free-market approach encourages existence of natural monopolies and cartels. Liberalization of the sector would leave cleaner energy needs at the hands of a few with capital resources, thus holding state and industries functionalities at ransom especially when supply costs are low. Monopolies and cartels create an artificial shortage thus increasing the cost of energy. Cartels have in the past been used to cripple crucial government operations thus it becomes necessary for the state to be involvement in

Public argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public argument - Essay Example We have the responsibility to protect the wild in the best way possible with consideration that they are also meant to get used to the new habitats and evade extinction. This paper supports the argument in favor of zoos. The main reasons include provision of learning opportunities, for animal protection, and reducing extinction. In addition, this paper disagrees with leaving the animals in the wild to expose them to fear, hunger, injury, disease, cruelty, human conflicts, and loss of habitats. In the debate on zoos ethos largely support zoos. Throughout the world, wild animals are subjected to harsh dangers in the wild yet a little interest in the position of animals in human lives or establishments of meanings through human and animal intersections could save their lives (Rothfels 481). For years, the zoo has been understood as a cultural object that cannot be dismissed by the academy that considers them as places for the intelligent to gain more intelligent. Evidently, zoos have been sought by people since their inception and continue being sought both to pass interaction with extraordinary zoo animals, and to acknowledge that the conception and thought of human history involves even the encounter with nonhumans. Besides interacting with animals and understanding human history, zoos offer humans the opportunity to interpret the world as being in a position to provide environments that are beyond human expectations cute; rare; ferocious; and elusive (Rothfels 482). It is for such reasons that many flock zoos yearly, and pay large sums of money to experience pleasure through the recreation offered in these places. Contrary to the opinion that zoos bring captivity, the lives of animals in zoos vastly differs from that of members of the same species living in the wild. Pathos presents a great strategy in support of zoos. A great difference is evident in the lives of

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 3 DB SA Second Week Essay

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 3 DB SA Second Week - Essay Example The information makes response from the instructor to students faster. The students, on the other hand, are able to submit assignments and papers in time. The development of the websites also allows students to access campus-based resources such as library materials, and offer online technical support. The online study experience should be designed and planned to allow relative flexibility for the students. It does not necessarily mean that classes should be set in weekly intervals. There are students who would like a daily routine too. The course outline should be put online so that all students know the relevant topics. The plan should also give material to keep students involved in the coursework. This is a proven method of improving satisfaction and in the long-run, longer student retention (Johnston, Kilion and Oomen 2005). The schedule should give time adequate for students to cover the syllabus. Since the online students are mostly busy with other activities, the time for coverage should be maximized (Aggarwal, 2003). This ensures that the quality of education offered to the student is not watered down. The availability of instructors should also be such that response to any queries as soon as possible (within 24 hours). The time zones should also be considered in planning since online studies are not limited by geographical

Paper Analysis on the Poem Dulce Et Decorum Est Essay Example for Free

Paper Analysis on the Poem Dulce Et Decorum Est Essay Wilfred Edward Salter Owen born 8 March 1893, died on 4 November 1918. Were an English soldier and poet (one of the leading poet in World War 1). Wilfred Owen was born at Plas Wilmot, a house in Weston Lane, near Oswestry in Shropshire, on 18 March 1893, of mixed English and Welsh ancestry. He was the eldest of four children, his siblings being Harold, Colin, and Mary Millard Owen. Line By Line Interpretation Lines 1-2 Beggars used to put everything they owned in some sort of sack which would then carry over their shoulder. The soldier, like the beggar is bent over in pain. The solider could also from the gas attack. â€Å"Knock- kneed,† suggest that the soldier is trying to keep his knees together and his feet wide apart as a way to keep him steady so that he can continue to walk. Owen compares to â€Å"old beggars† and â€Å"hags† as a way to say that the soldiers have lost their youthfulness due to fighting in this war. The symptoms listed here is due to a mustard gas attack; the solider experienced blisters, sore eyes, and vomiting. Line 3-8 The solider try to go back to camp to recover from the effects from the mustard gas attack. â€Å"Haunting flares† are the flashes of life that accompany artillery shell. â€Å"Distant rest† can be interpreted in two ways: first, when the soldier reaches camp they would be able rest and recovered from the attacks; the second interpretation could be death. It could take a while for a solider to die from exposure to mustard gas. â€Å"Limped on blood shots furthers the opinion that this was a mustard gas attack, because men would get sores over their bodies from being exposed to this gas. Of course, it’s also possible that they were just hit with artillery fire but in keeping with the context of this poem it makes more sense that this would be an effect of some sort of gassing. â€Å"All blind† was another symptom of the attack; they eyes would become very inflamed and puffed up so that it would make it hard for them to see. â€Å"Five-nines† are the five point nine calibre shells that were fired on the British soldiers in this particular instant. When the shells were fired they made high pitched sound, described by Owen as hooting. Line9-14 This is the part of the poem that describes a chlorine gas attack. â€Å"An ecstasy of fumbling† can be interpreted as the soldier so overwhelmed with being scared and nervousness that they are fumbling with their helmets while they were trying to put them on. The helmets here are referred to as mask gas. There were many varieties of gas mask during WWI; with each new development in gas war fare the helmets had to be adapted to protect the soldier. In the early days of chlorine gas attack, men would put damp cloths over their mouths and noses, which would reduce the effects of the gas on the men. Gas masks were later produced to protect soldiers from this gas. Line 15-16 This section can be read as nightmare. This scene of death haunts the narrator of this poem these men saw death every day and with the introduction war fare one could argue that death took on a whole new significance for them. The drawn out death of men expose to the gases will leave more of an impression of the mind of that of a quick death. More and more men had to be treated for post-traumatic stress disorder due to them not being able to deal with everything that they saw while they were enlisted the solider described here a slowly dying. (Line16) Lists all the actions that a person would do if their air supply was cut-off. Line 17-24 This section of the poem describes a soldier with post-traumatic stress would think. The narrator describes this dream as smothering like he is the one that is suffocating rather than the soldier. There was little that cloud be done for the soldiers once they were expose through this gas and that made that people feel really uneasy. â€Å"Like a devil’s sick of sin† could mean that the soldier was as tired as the devil of the sin that he and others took part in. â€Å"The bloods come gargling from the froth- corrupted lungs† is a very descriptive image that would probably make anyone sick to their stomach if they actually had to see it first-hand. This is an image that would stick with someone for a long time, haunting their memories. It is these kinds of memories that can cause post-traumatic stress disorder. Lines 25-28 Owen is referring to Jessie Pope when he says â€Å"My friend.† He is telling her that is she knew the reality of the war she would not be propagandizing it to young men. Pope prays on the young mens desire to be glorious heroes without telling them the ramifications of enlisting Significance of the Title The title is significant because e it highlights the horror and reality of war especially on the first war. The war is reflected in the Latin word â€Å"DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI†. This phrase can be translated as it is sweet and rite to die for your country. Owen states as an â€Å"Old Lie† and he illustrates this in the poem. His illustration of the reality war is that an incident of exhausted soldier studded through the mud of the soldiers. They are leaved the front line in order to rest for a few days in a safer place. However the group is attacked by mustard gas. One soldier was last in putting his mask. Owen describes the symptoms shown by7 the man as the poison slowly kills him. Tone of the Poem The tone of the poem is harsh due to the diction. â€Å"Coughing like hags†, â€Å"Curse through sludge† Poetic Devices â€Å"Bent double† is an example of an hyperbole it conveys the feeling of exhaustion felt by the soldiers, were carrying heavy packs and being sleepless in the trenches. Metaphor: â€Å"Drunk with fatigue† the feeling the soldier were having due to mustard gas effect Alliteration: â€Å"Knock-kneed coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge.† create and impression of panic an urgencies. Simile: â€Å"Like a man in fire or lime† to express the burning and blistering of the pain caused by the mustard when it came into contact with their skin. Rhyme: â€Å"Sacks –backs, sludge- trudge, boots-hoots†

Homicide Investigation Techniques Essay Example for Free

Homicide Investigation Techniques Essay Abstract Murder investigations are started when there is a suspicious death, there is precise steps that should be followed during a murder investigation. So that the case can be brought to court and prosecuted evidence is collected, suspects and witnesses are interviewed. The law enforcement personnel that participate in a murder investigation are individually trained to handle and process evidence; this includes protection of the crime scene and testifies in court. Definitions of homicides and manslaughter The two offenses that is classified, as homicide is murder and manslaughter; manslaughter is perpetrated in one of three ways; killing another individual with intent, but where compliance such as loss of control, decreased responsibility, or committing suicide by way of a concordat. Committing a crime where an individual is killed by gross negligence, gross given the risk of death and behavior in the form of an illegal act involving a danger that resulted in the death of another human. Murder or homicide is the illegal killing with malice and forethought of another human; this is usually considered a premeditated state of mind and separate murder from manslaughter, because the individual planned the murder with intention, (Osterburg, J. W. Ward, R. H. 2010). Crime Scene Assessment With the arrival of the first law enforcement officer at a crime scene, there are strict procedurals guidelines. The first officer to arrive at a crime scene tries to detain anyone that could be a witness/suspect. It is the responsibility of this officer to secure the crime scene to keep the crime scene from becoming contaminated and the loss of evidence. With the arrival of the investigator that will take charge of the crime scene, the officer will detail all information acquired from possible witness or suspects. The investigator will document the crime scene with pictures, sketches, notes and even video of the evidence and surrounding area. After the walk through, the investigator begins formulating a theory of the crime focusing on the progressions of events to include locations and positions of those present during the crime. All evidence is collected and sect to the lab for analysis, (Osterburg, J. W. Ward, R. H 2010). What is Victimology? Victimology is the study of issues interjecting to the intensification in victim perceptibility, characteristics and elements, persecution and its influences, and victim’s reactions to persecution. Through this scientist studies physical, expressive and monetary harm people suffer because of unlawful activities. Victims are individuals that experience loss, injury or hardship because of a criminal act. Victimology uses subjective approach to identify, define and describe the problems associated with being a victim (Karmen 2012). Conclusion Even with the most publicized crimes in the history of the Unites States Criminal Justice System, police can arrest, but they investigate first. The investigators must find out the cause of and time of death. Investigators define a successful homicide investigation as the one where a perpetrator is pinpointed, indicted and convicted of the crime.

Development and Future of the Apple iPod

Development and Future of the Apple iPod The iPod is perhaps the most talked about technological product in recent times. It has set sales records that have lave literally destroyed the predictions of all analysts by superseding everyone’s expectations. The interesting issues concerning this topic is how the iPod impacted not only the digital music electronics industry, but was also responsible for the turnaround of a company on the brink of bankruptcy. It is this very fact that makes the growth and life cycle of iPod an experience in itself and one that creates a sense of wonder at its success. But how did all this come about and just why did the iPod do so well? These are questions that we look to find answers towards whilst shedding light on the internal pressures faced by the parent company Apple. The paper takes the reader through the history of the parent company Apple and its declining fortunes until the introduction of the iPod. This revolutionary innovation then dictated the pace at which the organisation was able to turn itself around to become one of the more successful computer companies in the world today. The report also looks at how Apple as a company defines itself with the onset of the iPod boom – can it still call itself a computer company in the literal sense of the word or does it now see itself entering a diversified phase of business operations and hence, would need to re-think it’s overall business strategy and core competencies. The views of different writers expressed through the paper help in building an understanding of the pressures the company has undergone over the last decade and why it has taken the decisions that it has. The paper revolves around the growth of the iPod as the key driving force for all major business and technical decisions, it understand how it had to be re-modelled and adapted to the market needs and demands. The paper also paints the competitive landscape at different stages of the growth cycle and how this impacted or did not impact the iPod. Finally, the paper looks at the varying consumer tastes, the positives drawn from the product itself and what lies in store for the future of the product and the company. The methods used to create a deeper understanding of the iPod environment were through a variety of primary and secondary sources. Some of this is discussed in greater detail in different section of the paper. However, for the purpose of this report, the researcher took great care in trying to put together different pieces of work by various writers so as to be able to provide more holistic and all-encompassing view of the real scenario that surrounded the iPod boom. On a more generic note, most writers and experts within the industry agreed that the success of this product was unrivalled by others of its kind in recent times. Introduction Background Success stories always find their way to centre-stage. But what makes a journey even more interesting is when accompany that finds itself in some level of difficulty turns the tide and jump starts its engines to climb to the top of the success ladder. Apple’s is one such story. Whilst the problems that affect it lie in the background, the phenomenal success of its iPod has people fascinated. Marketing gurus swear by the growth of this innovative product that provided the perfect solution to a generation that was technologically familiar and defied competition to control every conceivable bit of the market that it entered – the digital music space, and made it its own. How and why is what we attempt to discover. History The history of the iPod dates back to the January of 2001. Apple had just introduced ‘iTunes’ – a programme that enabled Accusers to burn music off audio CD’s and convert them into music files on their computer systems as digital audio files. This provided users with the flexibility of creating libraries for their music files, clubbing favourite songs in order and in time to come, download them to portable devices. This natural extension saw the introduction of the iPod in the month of October 2001. Unlike other portable devices in the same range, the iPod was the first of its kind to store music files on a hard disk similar to a computer. Other devices used flash cards and detachable storage devices that could not hold as many bytes of data as the iPod did. Infect, the first few iPods had a 5GB storage space, which equated to the storage of approximately a 1000 songs. The question to be asked at this stage was if the software for writing music to the computer was developed keeping the iPod in mind? However, sources within the company maintain that the iPod was only conceptualised 6 months before its release date. Whatever the truth might be, the two scenarios complemented each other beautifully giving consumers the best of both worlds and a logical extension to the process of listening to music. In November 2001, the first iPods were shipped to waiting buyers and byte end of the year, 125,000 iPods had been sold for a price of $399.Within a year, other computer companies as well as large retailers were selling iPods as value-adds. Dell, Best Buy and Target were some of the more prominent names at this stage and had dedicated sites and sales teams pushing for iPod sales. By June 2003, Apple had managed to sell 1 million iPods, which could download music from both Macs as well as PCs. Interestingly, by the end of 2003, one of its largest resellers Dell; had decided not to sell anymore iPods and instead launch its own version of the iPod called the DJ(Digital Jukebox). In order to download songs from the Internet, Dell partnered with a company called Music Match that offered that service. By mid-2004, 6 months after it hit the 1 million mark, Apple crossed the 2 million mark in iPod sales but the peripheral market was just getting warmed up to the portable devices segment. In addition to thud by Dell, HP announced that it was repackaging the 4G iPod and selling it as a PC friendly device. Motorola launched its next generation phones that would be iTunes compatible. In one of the more recent statistics of the iPod wave collated in October 2004, there were some interesting findings. Apple held 82 per cent of the digital market across all music players and 92 per cent of all hard-disk based music players. The nearest competitor to the iPod was the device launched by Creative. They had a 3.7 per cent market share. In addition, 2 million iPods are being sold every 3 months. The music industry too has gained immensely through these sales. The total number of downloads have been clocked at a 150 million which equates to 4 million per week. The latest iPod has a mechanism that enables the storage of digital photographs as well as music. Today, Apple figures have registered total of 6 million iPod sales. That’s a fascinating growth path, which would make any marketing professional envious of replicating that kind of success. On careful consideration though, it took very long for iPod to really drive its sales figures to the kind that it was able to achieve in the years 2003 and 2004. Until then, the figures were good, but not something to write home about. The turning point for Apple came with the introduction of the third generation iPods. This is apparent since it took almost 2 years for iPod to register its first million in sales and soon after the launch of the 3G iPod in Tokyo less than 6months later; Apple was able to register its second million in iPod sales. Interestingly, the sales figures recorded over the 3-year period were averse to any form of competition from companies such as Creative, Dell, river etc. They sold cheaper products but not for a moment, did they encroach upon the market share that was and is still monopolised by iPod. Apple has also utilised an aggressive marketing strategy towrope in different age groups by using the draw of celebrities and song choices. For instance, in late October 2004, Apple unveiled what was called the U2 iPod. Apple conducted a promotion exercise in sync with the release of U2’s song – Vertigo. The new iPod was designed with black casing, a red wheel and a back cover that had the engravings ofU2 with the band signatures. It is little things such as these that have made the iPod such a role model for marketing strategists. The unique blend of having a great product and infusing the right level of awareness and visibility to sell it to the masses. In the chart below, the growth path of the iPod from its inception, to the end of 2004shows how sales surged in 2003 after the release of the 3G iPods as mentioned earlier. Not to mention, as the iPod sales soared, so did the number of downloads for music. Initially, the software iTunes needed tube bought in order to write songs from audio CD’s to the computer, following which they could be downloaded to the iPod. In 2003, Apple introduced an online music store that enabled iPod users to download music directly from the Internet. This worked in 2 ways – it provided users with an increase in choice of music that they would like to have downloaded as well as simplified the procurement of iTunes. No more dada user have to buy a software, install it onto the computer and then use it to burn music off a CD and finally onto the hard disk of the iPod. Simplifying this process for millions of users had its positives as can be seen from the graph above. The first big jump in sales was in October 2003 when the PC version of the music store went live. This enabled far more users to be able to download songs onto their computers and diluted the monopoly of Accusers. 2 months later, in December 2003, following a lot of media hype and attention being given to the iPod and a corresponding increase in Christmas sales, more and more people began downloading songs from iTunes. And in between July 2004 and October 2004, Apple registered growth of song sales from a 100 million to a 150 million. (http://www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=4280_0_8_0_M) It must be noted that in many instances within the paper, the use of iPod and Apple is synonymous. After much deliberation, the researcher decided that it was important to approach the paper from the perspective of the parent company Apple. Any impact that the environment would have on Apple would be reflective in the iPod strategy. At the same time, in circumstances that would affect the company both positively and negatively, would subsequent effect the iPod and vice-versa. Aims and Objectives The aim of this paper is to understand the growth of the iPod through the years. It all began in the year 2001 and it has been a short journey to success. But how long will this be able to continue, what is the future for the product, how will it fend off competition and how will it impact Apple in the longer run. We all know that it has been apathy-breaking journey for Apple as it picks itself up from the doldrums of declining computer sales with its innovative invention that saw it spring back into the limelight. It is also the endeavour of this paper to highlight how important an impact the iPod has had on Apple alone and why can’t other company’s model the same success story. Literature Review The Success of the iPod According to Haddad, Charles (2002),the iPod is one of the most revolutionary products to hit the computer and electronics market place. He believes that the only way forward for Apple is to diversify its product range and move from being a niche computer manufacturer to providing technology that understands the gap between technology and entertainment. He quotes how the market share for Apple in 2002 had remained at 3 per cent for a number of years. In order to move it from there, it was imperative that they looked beyond the computer industry since it was reaching a saturation point in most developed markets and the level of competition from across the globe was making it extremely difficult for large computer manufacturers to survive. Digital handheld music players were a growing market in 2002. There were few players in the market place and industry experts such as ID Chad stated that demand would grow by 74 per cent over the next 3 years. In retrospect, they weren’t right – but only because the demand has recorded triple digit growth since 2002. In addition, the anticipated sales for 2002 were pegged at 12 million units of all kinds of portable digital music devices. Haddad brings up an important point about how the level of competition within the digital handheld music products industry was still at a minimalistic stage in comparison to other industries where companies such as Microsoft and Intel who had taken over the PC market. He believed that the next generation of buyers were more interested in a product that was different, satisfied their requirements and at the same time, was ‘cool’ and suave to have. Especially in the case of handheld devices where consumers would cart it around with them, this need for trendy and sophisticated gadgets was of the utmost importance. At the time of writing his article, Haddad had researched the iPod when music files were downloadable only from a Mac. The iPod sales were still consistent and looking positive during that stage but Apple had not introduced downloading files onto PC’s at that stage. Once that happened, iPod sales grew dramatically. The iPod was never intended to lift the flailing computer business of the parent company but overtime, Haddad statements would hold good, as the iPod would grow to become one of the most successful products ever launched by a computer company. (Haddad, Charles, iPod, You Pod, Will We All Pod? Business Week Online; 7/3/2002) Teething problems with Strategy? With the degree of success that the iPod has seen over the years, there have been few instances that writers have been able to find a chink in the armour of this hugely successful product. One such writer is Salk ever, Alex (2004). In the first of his articles – ‘Apple’s slow boat to China’, he discusses how the Chinese economy is one of the most lucrative investment decisions for businesses the world over and how Apple has failed to take advantage of this huge opportunity. He begins by using the views of consultants who have worked within the Chinese market place for decades now and seen it evolve over the years. He quotes Merrill Weingrod who works with a marketing consultancy – China Strategies. When Salk ever asks Weingrod how lucrative the Chinese market is for product such as the iPod, he answers saying that the market potential for men’s electric shavers is $300 million annually. Weingrod believed that the Chinese have the buying power to spend $200 to $250 on luxury shavers today which are not a necessity by any standing. This was just an indication of their mind-sets and how much they were willing to spend and for what. He reiterates this by stating that the Chinese population measures 300 million in terms of the number of cell phone subscribers across the country. They pay an average of $200 for their handsets and connectivity. In addition, the average Chinese employee earns far less than his / her American counterpart and yet, he / she is willing to pay larger proportion of their salary towards buying luxury goods. This equates to the buying potential and eagerness amongst the population and above all – a prospective consumer. One who is constantly on the lookout for the infusion of luxury goods into the market so that he /she can go ahead and purchase it, provided there is a need of course. In addition, the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world with its GDP growth rate pegged at 9 per cent annually. It has one of the largest middle-class societies in the world with disposable income that is growing as fast as their growth rate. With every factor in the book of marketing pointing towards the Chinese market, Salk ever is dismayed at Apple’s strategy to stay out of this market and not undertake an aggressive marketing strategy that would tap it’s he potential. The only real steps that Apple has taken towards entering this economy is to ensure that iTunes Music software is downloaded onto every Manufactured by China’s second largest computer manufacturer – Founder Technology. It is an ironical decision considering the consumer who would purchase the machine would have little access to the iPod on which he could have downloaded his / her music. Besides this decision with the Chinese industry, Apple hasn’t taken any more steps towards making any investment decisions in this region. There was one instance when they almost toyed with the idea of opening an iTunes Music Store but then retracted any steps made in that direction. The figures that Salk ever quotes are astounding to the reader. According to him, at least .3 present of the population of China has disposable income that equates to that of an individual in the US who would earn approximately $25000 to $30000 annually. That figure translates to approximately 60 million people today and will grow to 3to 4 times that number over the next decade. With the increasing middleclass and the ability to buy products that others around the world can afford, very soon the Chinese middle class would equal the entire population of the United States. So what do the Chinese see these new gadgets in the market place as? According to market analysts Bryan Mama company that tracks the buying of cell phones in Asia, but based in Singapore, the number of cell phones that are replaced are astounding. The Chinese people like to replace their cell phones 6 to 12 months earlier than consumers in North America and Western Europe. Gadgets are seen as a status symbol of sorts. Owning the latest models makes individuals feel like they are popular and wanted, according to the company. Chinese consumers also tend to go for gadgets that are sleek, suave and trendy. According to Salk ever those are the kinds of words that would define the iPod but they don’t find any place in the market. He tries to look at the picture from Apple’s perspective. As a company, Apple’s strategy is to consolidate and preserve its position in the markets that it is strong in. In the bargain, it would not look to invest in new markets such as China. In fact, Apple has a miniscule presence across the entire length and breadth of Asia. If Japan is taken out of the equation, Apple draws less than 10 per cent of total sales from this region. Naturally, it is not an area of too much interest for the moment. Whilst Apple takes a back seat to proceedings in this region, competition in the form of Sony, Motorola and Creative have made inroads into the Chinese market. As an example, Motorola entered the Chinese handset market early and in the first quarter of2004, it was proud to declare that it has achieved a market share of 40per cent. It had the first mover’s advantage introducing a technology that few others were brave enough to take into this country many years back and today it has paid off. The Chinese market is known for its penetration problems. The researcher agrees with the insights that Salk ever has provided into this untapped region and understand the problems that Apple faces in the future lest it not take steps in this direction. The level of investment required at a later date where the market is abuzz with competition would be significantly higher. It makes completes sense for companies to invest in C hina at this stage and there is no reason why Apple should not be one of them. (Salk ever, Alex, Business Week Online; 7/22/2004) In another article by Salk ever albeit on a different issue, he adopts similar stand on the problems that will plague Apple. In his article, ‘iPod: Leader, but Not Ruler’, he states that the sales figures by Apple are either over-exaggerated or are inaccurate since there isn’t enough evidence that the data being collated is validated. Apparently, data in countries in Latin America, India, South Korea, Eastern European Taiwan are difficult to validate and not easy to obtain. There are also other areas across Asia, including China where data retrieval and collation is not as accurate as it is made out to be. So when Apple boasts of global sales and achieving market shares across the world in excess of 50 per cent across the electronic market (MP3 players), they may very well be over the top. To evidence his findings, Salk ever looks at the various methods that companies use to collate market data that can be passed onto consumers and other business prospects. On one hand, they can utilise the services of US market research companies such as the NPD group that solely dedicates its efforts to the US retail economy. On the other hand, companies such as Apple can resort to asking OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and component manufacturers how many pieces they are taking to the market place. Whatever may the case be, according to Salk ever, Apple doesn’t quite have accurate information omits global market share. He confirms that Apple is certainly a global leader but not dominant. This could have been a very interesting report but the only flaw with his research is that he fails to document enough evidence either through statistics or through credible sources that can allow him to judge with some level of certainty that Apple’s iPods are infect facing tough times ahead. To be fair to Salk ever though, he does introduce the subject of the growing competition of iPods outside the borders of the US from Asian electronics companies. In the coming years, cheaper labour costs of the Asian companies will allow them to create inexpensive models of the iPod and compete on price aggressively. In addition, Salk ever states that the Asian consumers who are growing to the largest consumers of entertainment products, prefer smaller sized iPods. This is not in sync with Apple’s strategy since they plan to introduce larger and heavier models of the iPod in the coming few months. And even if iPod does take the cue and invests in smaller models in time, it would have lost outing comparison to other digital music manufacturers. But Salk ever does summarise his studies by admitting the dominance of iPod within the digital market place, yet cautions against rising competition and price sensitive market in the near future. (Salk ever, Alex (2004) Business Week On line; 5/27/2004) Curzon (2005) has an equally interesting point of view. He believes that the iPod boom would not be able to sustain the success that it has experienced for much longer. His rationale is based around stock prices and other statistics that he discovers about Apple which point towards changing tide in the coming years. Curzon promotes the concept that Apple as a company is on the decline once again and encourages people to sell their shares now since they would lose money in the coming few months lest they hang onto them. He begins by mentioning the usual success stories of the company – the last 2 years have seen iPod sales rise more than twenty times from 219,000 units towards the end of 2002 to over 4 million units at the end of last year. In fact, Lehman Brothers had initially projected iPod sales to be approximately 3million units at the end of 2004. They had to revise their figures closer to the end of the year and pegged it again at 4 million units for the year 2004. Apple on the other hand clocked 4.5 million units for the year ending 2004, ahead of anybody’s expectations. Another indication of the progressive rate of success is how the number of downloads from the iTunes rose from 50 million to 200 million. Finally, the biggest turnaround statistic lies in how the company almost went bankrupt after the dotcom era a decade ago and last year, recorded sales figures in excess of $3 billion with no debt on their financial statements. What makes very interesting reading is how Ken Curzon describes the decline in the demand of iPods and correspondingly, with the parent company as well. He states that after the Christmas rush for buying iPods, in all probability consumers will not be willing to spend as much money on it. As he puts it – â€Å"Holiday shoppers are more enthusiastic about higher prices, but once the holiday season ends, they usually don’t like to spend money on products that are priced at a premium†. In keeping with the same, Curzon predicts that in the first few months of 2005, the rate at which consumers buy iPods would drop gradually at first and then, more drastically later in the year. Lehman Brothers too have declared that they expect a 14 per cent drop in sales figures over the course of the year. In another case, Curzon talks about how on one hand, the sales of iPods have certainly been increasing in conjunction with an increase in market share, but the parent company Apple has seen a decline in its market share from 2 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The ‘Apple Stores’ are an over-riding success because of the iPod and its driving consumers tithe stores. But although the number of footfalls across these stores has doubled, the number of consumers buying Apple PC’s has remained constant. Additionally, Apple’s revenue figures in comparison to other computer companies are very average. For a company that is on the biggest ride of its business life, it records a growth rate of 33 present in comparison to HP’s 29 per cent. And what makes this look more dismal according to Curzon is that the operating margins for the previous year were declared at 3.94 per cent. This was far lower in comparison to HP’s 5.2 per cent and Dell’s 8.56 per cent. (Curzon, Ken, Esquire; Mar 2005, Vol. 143 Issue 3, p112) Somehow, Curzon does shed light on certain statistics that project Apple’s performance in a questionable light but on closer observation, it appears that the facts have been manipulated to project a negative perspective to the progress of Apple. The researcher believes this tube the case since there are many individuals who constantly try and influence the market forces through published writing such as this to ultimately try and manipulate the performance of the stocks. For every negative statement that Curzon was able to highlight, there appears tube an equally positive explanation for the same. For instance, decline in market share by .1 per cent is not necessarily a negative impact on the company. It depends on the marketing strategy of the company – is it trying to move out of certain markets and invest in others. Additionally, in saturated market places such as the US, any form of product diversification would have an impact on the market share as well. So there are considerations that need to be taken before any conclusions can be made. At the same time, the researcher believed it important to include Curzon’s work since it was one of the most recent articles on the iPod that sounded warning bells and tries to get the reader to see the success story from a different perspective. So where exactly is Apple headed towards now? According to Murphy(2004), a significant contribution of Apple’s success can be attributed to the iPod and hence, any future success parameters would also be defined by the iPod. The competition amongst the computer industry is very intense with players such as Microsoft for software, Dell, HP undim for hardware and a host of other system integrators and competitive channel partners. Due to a diminishing market share as mentioned earlier of under 2 per cent, the total business worth of the company has fallen to half that of its sales revenue. The only light in this dark tunnel is the fact that the stock price at Apple has almost doubled over the past 2 years. But can the parent company depend on single product offering and expect to piggyback ride it all the way tithe bank? It’s not possible says Murphy. There will come a time in the near future when sales of iPods begin to decline, competitive forces take over with lower priced products and existing markets begin to get saturated. Some of these products would come from companies such as HP,Dell, Sony, Creative, Gateway and Rio, each offering a product that is significantly cheaper and has greater memory storage in comparison tithe iPod. For instance, Creative has launched a new product that also has a longer battery life and also has white earplugs similar to those of Apple, taking a leaf out of Apple’s trendy design. At the same time, it has been seen that consumers have complained about the lack of availability of iPods in the stores. And to make matters worse, Apple hasn’t been able to confirm a deadline by when they would be made available. Times will change gradually. As Murphy mentions – the pricing of the iPods over time will fall significantly and Apple would need to sell more and more iPods just to maintain the revenue figures. For instance, there is an assumption based on pricing that Apple would need to sell at least 20 per cent more iPods in the coming year to be able to sustain the same level of growth over the year. This should not be a problem currently considering growth is predicted to rise to 70 per cent but in time, this could certainly become an issue. If looked at differently, Murphy argues that falling prices of products are fine as long as business efficiencies were rising. 4 years ago, when the sales figures of Apple were 4 per cent higher than they are today, the operating profits of the company were at 9 per cent of total sales. Today, that figure has come down to 3 per cent. In addition, the number of employees added over the past 4 years has gone up by 32 per cent and the sale per employee has significantly decreased from $930,000 to$674,000. For apple to be able to sustain its growth and maintain a leading position in the market place, it cannot depend wholly on the iPod revolution. Its notebooks and desktop products account for 64 per cent of its current sales as a company. But except for the month of June that recorded a 14 per cent increase in revenues, the rest of the year remained much the same in terms of sales. This is worrying for Apple since it doesn’t have too many back up measures to fall on should they land in trouble. To tackle some of this problem, Apple had introduced a series of Apple stores across the US, UK and parts of Western Europe. These stores hosted the latest introductions by the company including all models of the iPod and its peripherals. The rationale lay in ensuring that consumers would walk into these stores with the excuse of looking at the iPods and at the same time, browse around and take look at the range of other Apple products as well. Unfortunately though, this move didn’t bring in the kind of sales that Apple management had predicted. When Apple was asked about this stagnancy that was creeping into their product lines, they said that 50 per cent of all buyers at their new stores that they have introduced are new consumers and they propose to build relationships through their product quality and peripherals and increase their market share of repeat buyers. Interestingly, Murphy is one of the only writers on this subject who believes that the main fault of Apple’s moderate performance lies with its CEO Steve Jobs. Over the course of its business history, Apple has always ensured that its software configures only with its hardware and no others. For instance, the Mac operating system can only be run on Mac computers. In comparison, the Windows Operating systems can be used on a variety of different hardware systems making it a more universally accepted operating system. The time for niche solutions in not the way forward. Apple must realise that the money lies in the numbers and they can in no way get to those numbers by limiting access to their software. It really is a Catch-22 situation for them. In much the same way, the iPod can only play music that has been downloaded from iTunes. What happens when the iTunes faces intense competition from other music download software companies in the near future? Are we saying that the iPod would only have limited access to music and perhaps, not the entire range of mus Development and Future of the Apple iPod Development and Future of the Apple iPod The iPod is perhaps the most talked about technological product in recent times. It has set sales records that have lave literally destroyed the predictions of all analysts by superseding everyone’s expectations. The interesting issues concerning this topic is how the iPod impacted not only the digital music electronics industry, but was also responsible for the turnaround of a company on the brink of bankruptcy. It is this very fact that makes the growth and life cycle of iPod an experience in itself and one that creates a sense of wonder at its success. But how did all this come about and just why did the iPod do so well? These are questions that we look to find answers towards whilst shedding light on the internal pressures faced by the parent company Apple. The paper takes the reader through the history of the parent company Apple and its declining fortunes until the introduction of the iPod. This revolutionary innovation then dictated the pace at which the organisation was able to turn itself around to become one of the more successful computer companies in the world today. The report also looks at how Apple as a company defines itself with the onset of the iPod boom – can it still call itself a computer company in the literal sense of the word or does it now see itself entering a diversified phase of business operations and hence, would need to re-think it’s overall business strategy and core competencies. The views of different writers expressed through the paper help in building an understanding of the pressures the company has undergone over the last decade and why it has taken the decisions that it has. The paper revolves around the growth of the iPod as the key driving force for all major business and technical decisions, it understand how it had to be re-modelled and adapted to the market needs and demands. The paper also paints the competitive landscape at different stages of the growth cycle and how this impacted or did not impact the iPod. Finally, the paper looks at the varying consumer tastes, the positives drawn from the product itself and what lies in store for the future of the product and the company. The methods used to create a deeper understanding of the iPod environment were through a variety of primary and secondary sources. Some of this is discussed in greater detail in different section of the paper. However, for the purpose of this report, the researcher took great care in trying to put together different pieces of work by various writers so as to be able to provide more holistic and all-encompassing view of the real scenario that surrounded the iPod boom. On a more generic note, most writers and experts within the industry agreed that the success of this product was unrivalled by others of its kind in recent times. Introduction Background Success stories always find their way to centre-stage. But what makes a journey even more interesting is when accompany that finds itself in some level of difficulty turns the tide and jump starts its engines to climb to the top of the success ladder. Apple’s is one such story. Whilst the problems that affect it lie in the background, the phenomenal success of its iPod has people fascinated. Marketing gurus swear by the growth of this innovative product that provided the perfect solution to a generation that was technologically familiar and defied competition to control every conceivable bit of the market that it entered – the digital music space, and made it its own. How and why is what we attempt to discover. History The history of the iPod dates back to the January of 2001. Apple had just introduced ‘iTunes’ – a programme that enabled Accusers to burn music off audio CD’s and convert them into music files on their computer systems as digital audio files. This provided users with the flexibility of creating libraries for their music files, clubbing favourite songs in order and in time to come, download them to portable devices. This natural extension saw the introduction of the iPod in the month of October 2001. Unlike other portable devices in the same range, the iPod was the first of its kind to store music files on a hard disk similar to a computer. Other devices used flash cards and detachable storage devices that could not hold as many bytes of data as the iPod did. Infect, the first few iPods had a 5GB storage space, which equated to the storage of approximately a 1000 songs. The question to be asked at this stage was if the software for writing music to the computer was developed keeping the iPod in mind? However, sources within the company maintain that the iPod was only conceptualised 6 months before its release date. Whatever the truth might be, the two scenarios complemented each other beautifully giving consumers the best of both worlds and a logical extension to the process of listening to music. In November 2001, the first iPods were shipped to waiting buyers and byte end of the year, 125,000 iPods had been sold for a price of $399.Within a year, other computer companies as well as large retailers were selling iPods as value-adds. Dell, Best Buy and Target were some of the more prominent names at this stage and had dedicated sites and sales teams pushing for iPod sales. By June 2003, Apple had managed to sell 1 million iPods, which could download music from both Macs as well as PCs. Interestingly, by the end of 2003, one of its largest resellers Dell; had decided not to sell anymore iPods and instead launch its own version of the iPod called the DJ(Digital Jukebox). In order to download songs from the Internet, Dell partnered with a company called Music Match that offered that service. By mid-2004, 6 months after it hit the 1 million mark, Apple crossed the 2 million mark in iPod sales but the peripheral market was just getting warmed up to the portable devices segment. In addition to thud by Dell, HP announced that it was repackaging the 4G iPod and selling it as a PC friendly device. Motorola launched its next generation phones that would be iTunes compatible. In one of the more recent statistics of the iPod wave collated in October 2004, there were some interesting findings. Apple held 82 per cent of the digital market across all music players and 92 per cent of all hard-disk based music players. The nearest competitor to the iPod was the device launched by Creative. They had a 3.7 per cent market share. In addition, 2 million iPods are being sold every 3 months. The music industry too has gained immensely through these sales. The total number of downloads have been clocked at a 150 million which equates to 4 million per week. The latest iPod has a mechanism that enables the storage of digital photographs as well as music. Today, Apple figures have registered total of 6 million iPod sales. That’s a fascinating growth path, which would make any marketing professional envious of replicating that kind of success. On careful consideration though, it took very long for iPod to really drive its sales figures to the kind that it was able to achieve in the years 2003 and 2004. Until then, the figures were good, but not something to write home about. The turning point for Apple came with the introduction of the third generation iPods. This is apparent since it took almost 2 years for iPod to register its first million in sales and soon after the launch of the 3G iPod in Tokyo less than 6months later; Apple was able to register its second million in iPod sales. Interestingly, the sales figures recorded over the 3-year period were averse to any form of competition from companies such as Creative, Dell, river etc. They sold cheaper products but not for a moment, did they encroach upon the market share that was and is still monopolised by iPod. Apple has also utilised an aggressive marketing strategy towrope in different age groups by using the draw of celebrities and song choices. For instance, in late October 2004, Apple unveiled what was called the U2 iPod. Apple conducted a promotion exercise in sync with the release of U2’s song – Vertigo. The new iPod was designed with black casing, a red wheel and a back cover that had the engravings ofU2 with the band signatures. It is little things such as these that have made the iPod such a role model for marketing strategists. The unique blend of having a great product and infusing the right level of awareness and visibility to sell it to the masses. In the chart below, the growth path of the iPod from its inception, to the end of 2004shows how sales surged in 2003 after the release of the 3G iPods as mentioned earlier. Not to mention, as the iPod sales soared, so did the number of downloads for music. Initially, the software iTunes needed tube bought in order to write songs from audio CD’s to the computer, following which they could be downloaded to the iPod. In 2003, Apple introduced an online music store that enabled iPod users to download music directly from the Internet. This worked in 2 ways – it provided users with an increase in choice of music that they would like to have downloaded as well as simplified the procurement of iTunes. No more dada user have to buy a software, install it onto the computer and then use it to burn music off a CD and finally onto the hard disk of the iPod. Simplifying this process for millions of users had its positives as can be seen from the graph above. The first big jump in sales was in October 2003 when the PC version of the music store went live. This enabled far more users to be able to download songs onto their computers and diluted the monopoly of Accusers. 2 months later, in December 2003, following a lot of media hype and attention being given to the iPod and a corresponding increase in Christmas sales, more and more people began downloading songs from iTunes. And in between July 2004 and October 2004, Apple registered growth of song sales from a 100 million to a 150 million. (http://www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=4280_0_8_0_M) It must be noted that in many instances within the paper, the use of iPod and Apple is synonymous. After much deliberation, the researcher decided that it was important to approach the paper from the perspective of the parent company Apple. Any impact that the environment would have on Apple would be reflective in the iPod strategy. At the same time, in circumstances that would affect the company both positively and negatively, would subsequent effect the iPod and vice-versa. Aims and Objectives The aim of this paper is to understand the growth of the iPod through the years. It all began in the year 2001 and it has been a short journey to success. But how long will this be able to continue, what is the future for the product, how will it fend off competition and how will it impact Apple in the longer run. We all know that it has been apathy-breaking journey for Apple as it picks itself up from the doldrums of declining computer sales with its innovative invention that saw it spring back into the limelight. It is also the endeavour of this paper to highlight how important an impact the iPod has had on Apple alone and why can’t other company’s model the same success story. Literature Review The Success of the iPod According to Haddad, Charles (2002),the iPod is one of the most revolutionary products to hit the computer and electronics market place. He believes that the only way forward for Apple is to diversify its product range and move from being a niche computer manufacturer to providing technology that understands the gap between technology and entertainment. He quotes how the market share for Apple in 2002 had remained at 3 per cent for a number of years. In order to move it from there, it was imperative that they looked beyond the computer industry since it was reaching a saturation point in most developed markets and the level of competition from across the globe was making it extremely difficult for large computer manufacturers to survive. Digital handheld music players were a growing market in 2002. There were few players in the market place and industry experts such as ID Chad stated that demand would grow by 74 per cent over the next 3 years. In retrospect, they weren’t right – but only because the demand has recorded triple digit growth since 2002. In addition, the anticipated sales for 2002 were pegged at 12 million units of all kinds of portable digital music devices. Haddad brings up an important point about how the level of competition within the digital handheld music products industry was still at a minimalistic stage in comparison to other industries where companies such as Microsoft and Intel who had taken over the PC market. He believed that the next generation of buyers were more interested in a product that was different, satisfied their requirements and at the same time, was ‘cool’ and suave to have. Especially in the case of handheld devices where consumers would cart it around with them, this need for trendy and sophisticated gadgets was of the utmost importance. At the time of writing his article, Haddad had researched the iPod when music files were downloadable only from a Mac. The iPod sales were still consistent and looking positive during that stage but Apple had not introduced downloading files onto PC’s at that stage. Once that happened, iPod sales grew dramatically. The iPod was never intended to lift the flailing computer business of the parent company but overtime, Haddad statements would hold good, as the iPod would grow to become one of the most successful products ever launched by a computer company. (Haddad, Charles, iPod, You Pod, Will We All Pod? Business Week Online; 7/3/2002) Teething problems with Strategy? With the degree of success that the iPod has seen over the years, there have been few instances that writers have been able to find a chink in the armour of this hugely successful product. One such writer is Salk ever, Alex (2004). In the first of his articles – ‘Apple’s slow boat to China’, he discusses how the Chinese economy is one of the most lucrative investment decisions for businesses the world over and how Apple has failed to take advantage of this huge opportunity. He begins by using the views of consultants who have worked within the Chinese market place for decades now and seen it evolve over the years. He quotes Merrill Weingrod who works with a marketing consultancy – China Strategies. When Salk ever asks Weingrod how lucrative the Chinese market is for product such as the iPod, he answers saying that the market potential for men’s electric shavers is $300 million annually. Weingrod believed that the Chinese have the buying power to spend $200 to $250 on luxury shavers today which are not a necessity by any standing. This was just an indication of their mind-sets and how much they were willing to spend and for what. He reiterates this by stating that the Chinese population measures 300 million in terms of the number of cell phone subscribers across the country. They pay an average of $200 for their handsets and connectivity. In addition, the average Chinese employee earns far less than his / her American counterpart and yet, he / she is willing to pay larger proportion of their salary towards buying luxury goods. This equates to the buying potential and eagerness amongst the population and above all – a prospective consumer. One who is constantly on the lookout for the infusion of luxury goods into the market so that he /she can go ahead and purchase it, provided there is a need of course. In addition, the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world with its GDP growth rate pegged at 9 per cent annually. It has one of the largest middle-class societies in the world with disposable income that is growing as fast as their growth rate. With every factor in the book of marketing pointing towards the Chinese market, Salk ever is dismayed at Apple’s strategy to stay out of this market and not undertake an aggressive marketing strategy that would tap it’s he potential. The only real steps that Apple has taken towards entering this economy is to ensure that iTunes Music software is downloaded onto every Manufactured by China’s second largest computer manufacturer – Founder Technology. It is an ironical decision considering the consumer who would purchase the machine would have little access to the iPod on which he could have downloaded his / her music. Besides this decision with the Chinese industry, Apple hasn’t taken any more steps towards making any investment decisions in this region. There was one instance when they almost toyed with the idea of opening an iTunes Music Store but then retracted any steps made in that direction. The figures that Salk ever quotes are astounding to the reader. According to him, at least .3 present of the population of China has disposable income that equates to that of an individual in the US who would earn approximately $25000 to $30000 annually. That figure translates to approximately 60 million people today and will grow to 3to 4 times that number over the next decade. With the increasing middleclass and the ability to buy products that others around the world can afford, very soon the Chinese middle class would equal the entire population of the United States. So what do the Chinese see these new gadgets in the market place as? According to market analysts Bryan Mama company that tracks the buying of cell phones in Asia, but based in Singapore, the number of cell phones that are replaced are astounding. The Chinese people like to replace their cell phones 6 to 12 months earlier than consumers in North America and Western Europe. Gadgets are seen as a status symbol of sorts. Owning the latest models makes individuals feel like they are popular and wanted, according to the company. Chinese consumers also tend to go for gadgets that are sleek, suave and trendy. According to Salk ever those are the kinds of words that would define the iPod but they don’t find any place in the market. He tries to look at the picture from Apple’s perspective. As a company, Apple’s strategy is to consolidate and preserve its position in the markets that it is strong in. In the bargain, it would not look to invest in new markets such as China. In fact, Apple has a miniscule presence across the entire length and breadth of Asia. If Japan is taken out of the equation, Apple draws less than 10 per cent of total sales from this region. Naturally, it is not an area of too much interest for the moment. Whilst Apple takes a back seat to proceedings in this region, competition in the form of Sony, Motorola and Creative have made inroads into the Chinese market. As an example, Motorola entered the Chinese handset market early and in the first quarter of2004, it was proud to declare that it has achieved a market share of 40per cent. It had the first mover’s advantage introducing a technology that few others were brave enough to take into this country many years back and today it has paid off. The Chinese market is known for its penetration problems. The researcher agrees with the insights that Salk ever has provided into this untapped region and understand the problems that Apple faces in the future lest it not take steps in this direction. The level of investment required at a later date where the market is abuzz with competition would be significantly higher. It makes completes sense for companies to invest in C hina at this stage and there is no reason why Apple should not be one of them. (Salk ever, Alex, Business Week Online; 7/22/2004) In another article by Salk ever albeit on a different issue, he adopts similar stand on the problems that will plague Apple. In his article, ‘iPod: Leader, but Not Ruler’, he states that the sales figures by Apple are either over-exaggerated or are inaccurate since there isn’t enough evidence that the data being collated is validated. Apparently, data in countries in Latin America, India, South Korea, Eastern European Taiwan are difficult to validate and not easy to obtain. There are also other areas across Asia, including China where data retrieval and collation is not as accurate as it is made out to be. So when Apple boasts of global sales and achieving market shares across the world in excess of 50 per cent across the electronic market (MP3 players), they may very well be over the top. To evidence his findings, Salk ever looks at the various methods that companies use to collate market data that can be passed onto consumers and other business prospects. On one hand, they can utilise the services of US market research companies such as the NPD group that solely dedicates its efforts to the US retail economy. On the other hand, companies such as Apple can resort to asking OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and component manufacturers how many pieces they are taking to the market place. Whatever may the case be, according to Salk ever, Apple doesn’t quite have accurate information omits global market share. He confirms that Apple is certainly a global leader but not dominant. This could have been a very interesting report but the only flaw with his research is that he fails to document enough evidence either through statistics or through credible sources that can allow him to judge with some level of certainty that Apple’s iPods are infect facing tough times ahead. To be fair to Salk ever though, he does introduce the subject of the growing competition of iPods outside the borders of the US from Asian electronics companies. In the coming years, cheaper labour costs of the Asian companies will allow them to create inexpensive models of the iPod and compete on price aggressively. In addition, Salk ever states that the Asian consumers who are growing to the largest consumers of entertainment products, prefer smaller sized iPods. This is not in sync with Apple’s strategy since they plan to introduce larger and heavier models of the iPod in the coming few months. And even if iPod does take the cue and invests in smaller models in time, it would have lost outing comparison to other digital music manufacturers. But Salk ever does summarise his studies by admitting the dominance of iPod within the digital market place, yet cautions against rising competition and price sensitive market in the near future. (Salk ever, Alex (2004) Business Week On line; 5/27/2004) Curzon (2005) has an equally interesting point of view. He believes that the iPod boom would not be able to sustain the success that it has experienced for much longer. His rationale is based around stock prices and other statistics that he discovers about Apple which point towards changing tide in the coming years. Curzon promotes the concept that Apple as a company is on the decline once again and encourages people to sell their shares now since they would lose money in the coming few months lest they hang onto them. He begins by mentioning the usual success stories of the company – the last 2 years have seen iPod sales rise more than twenty times from 219,000 units towards the end of 2002 to over 4 million units at the end of last year. In fact, Lehman Brothers had initially projected iPod sales to be approximately 3million units at the end of 2004. They had to revise their figures closer to the end of the year and pegged it again at 4 million units for the year 2004. Apple on the other hand clocked 4.5 million units for the year ending 2004, ahead of anybody’s expectations. Another indication of the progressive rate of success is how the number of downloads from the iTunes rose from 50 million to 200 million. Finally, the biggest turnaround statistic lies in how the company almost went bankrupt after the dotcom era a decade ago and last year, recorded sales figures in excess of $3 billion with no debt on their financial statements. What makes very interesting reading is how Ken Curzon describes the decline in the demand of iPods and correspondingly, with the parent company as well. He states that after the Christmas rush for buying iPods, in all probability consumers will not be willing to spend as much money on it. As he puts it – â€Å"Holiday shoppers are more enthusiastic about higher prices, but once the holiday season ends, they usually don’t like to spend money on products that are priced at a premium†. In keeping with the same, Curzon predicts that in the first few months of 2005, the rate at which consumers buy iPods would drop gradually at first and then, more drastically later in the year. Lehman Brothers too have declared that they expect a 14 per cent drop in sales figures over the course of the year. In another case, Curzon talks about how on one hand, the sales of iPods have certainly been increasing in conjunction with an increase in market share, but the parent company Apple has seen a decline in its market share from 2 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The ‘Apple Stores’ are an over-riding success because of the iPod and its driving consumers tithe stores. But although the number of footfalls across these stores has doubled, the number of consumers buying Apple PC’s has remained constant. Additionally, Apple’s revenue figures in comparison to other computer companies are very average. For a company that is on the biggest ride of its business life, it records a growth rate of 33 present in comparison to HP’s 29 per cent. And what makes this look more dismal according to Curzon is that the operating margins for the previous year were declared at 3.94 per cent. This was far lower in comparison to HP’s 5.2 per cent and Dell’s 8.56 per cent. (Curzon, Ken, Esquire; Mar 2005, Vol. 143 Issue 3, p112) Somehow, Curzon does shed light on certain statistics that project Apple’s performance in a questionable light but on closer observation, it appears that the facts have been manipulated to project a negative perspective to the progress of Apple. The researcher believes this tube the case since there are many individuals who constantly try and influence the market forces through published writing such as this to ultimately try and manipulate the performance of the stocks. For every negative statement that Curzon was able to highlight, there appears tube an equally positive explanation for the same. For instance, decline in market share by .1 per cent is not necessarily a negative impact on the company. It depends on the marketing strategy of the company – is it trying to move out of certain markets and invest in others. Additionally, in saturated market places such as the US, any form of product diversification would have an impact on the market share as well. So there are considerations that need to be taken before any conclusions can be made. At the same time, the researcher believed it important to include Curzon’s work since it was one of the most recent articles on the iPod that sounded warning bells and tries to get the reader to see the success story from a different perspective. So where exactly is Apple headed towards now? According to Murphy(2004), a significant contribution of Apple’s success can be attributed to the iPod and hence, any future success parameters would also be defined by the iPod. The competition amongst the computer industry is very intense with players such as Microsoft for software, Dell, HP undim for hardware and a host of other system integrators and competitive channel partners. Due to a diminishing market share as mentioned earlier of under 2 per cent, the total business worth of the company has fallen to half that of its sales revenue. The only light in this dark tunnel is the fact that the stock price at Apple has almost doubled over the past 2 years. But can the parent company depend on single product offering and expect to piggyback ride it all the way tithe bank? It’s not possible says Murphy. There will come a time in the near future when sales of iPods begin to decline, competitive forces take over with lower priced products and existing markets begin to get saturated. Some of these products would come from companies such as HP,Dell, Sony, Creative, Gateway and Rio, each offering a product that is significantly cheaper and has greater memory storage in comparison tithe iPod. For instance, Creative has launched a new product that also has a longer battery life and also has white earplugs similar to those of Apple, taking a leaf out of Apple’s trendy design. At the same time, it has been seen that consumers have complained about the lack of availability of iPods in the stores. And to make matters worse, Apple hasn’t been able to confirm a deadline by when they would be made available. Times will change gradually. As Murphy mentions – the pricing of the iPods over time will fall significantly and Apple would need to sell more and more iPods just to maintain the revenue figures. For instance, there is an assumption based on pricing that Apple would need to sell at least 20 per cent more iPods in the coming year to be able to sustain the same level of growth over the year. This should not be a problem currently considering growth is predicted to rise to 70 per cent but in time, this could certainly become an issue. If looked at differently, Murphy argues that falling prices of products are fine as long as business efficiencies were rising. 4 years ago, when the sales figures of Apple were 4 per cent higher than they are today, the operating profits of the company were at 9 per cent of total sales. Today, that figure has come down to 3 per cent. In addition, the number of employees added over the past 4 years has gone up by 32 per cent and the sale per employee has significantly decreased from $930,000 to$674,000. For apple to be able to sustain its growth and maintain a leading position in the market place, it cannot depend wholly on the iPod revolution. Its notebooks and desktop products account for 64 per cent of its current sales as a company. But except for the month of June that recorded a 14 per cent increase in revenues, the rest of the year remained much the same in terms of sales. This is worrying for Apple since it doesn’t have too many back up measures to fall on should they land in trouble. To tackle some of this problem, Apple had introduced a series of Apple stores across the US, UK and parts of Western Europe. These stores hosted the latest introductions by the company including all models of the iPod and its peripherals. The rationale lay in ensuring that consumers would walk into these stores with the excuse of looking at the iPods and at the same time, browse around and take look at the range of other Apple products as well. Unfortunately though, this move didn’t bring in the kind of sales that Apple management had predicted. When Apple was asked about this stagnancy that was creeping into their product lines, they said that 50 per cent of all buyers at their new stores that they have introduced are new consumers and they propose to build relationships through their product quality and peripherals and increase their market share of repeat buyers. Interestingly, Murphy is one of the only writers on this subject who believes that the main fault of Apple’s moderate performance lies with its CEO Steve Jobs. Over the course of its business history, Apple has always ensured that its software configures only with its hardware and no others. For instance, the Mac operating system can only be run on Mac computers. In comparison, the Windows Operating systems can be used on a variety of different hardware systems making it a more universally accepted operating system. The time for niche solutions in not the way forward. Apple must realise that the money lies in the numbers and they can in no way get to those numbers by limiting access to their software. It really is a Catch-22 situation for them. In much the same way, the iPod can only play music that has been downloaded from iTunes. What happens when the iTunes faces intense competition from other music download software companies in the near future? Are we saying that the iPod would only have limited access to music and perhaps, not the entire range of mus