Zappos-Amazon Acquisition

Amazon’s Acquisition of Zappos Acquisition regarding Amazon and Zappos Companies that want to be among the elite competitors in their particular fields have to be able to adapt and evolve in an always changing market place. In order to do so many large companies initiate mergers or acquisitions with smaller or similarly sized companies. They believe they can leverage and collaborate with each other in order to create more company value.The main difference between a merger and an acquisition is a merger is a situation in which two firms agree to unite as one single company rather than remain two separately operating firms owned by one company. The firms are usually the same size, and both companies’ stocks are surrendered creating new company stock issued in its’ place. An acquisition is when one company completely buys out the selling companies stock and makes itself the new owner of the company. Legally the selling company still exists as an independent legal en tity, but overall control is in the hands of the parent company.In July 2009 CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieht made the announcement of Amazon’s acquiring of Zappos. In a lengthy e-mail Tony eloquently explains the future of Zappos and what will take place in the near future at Zappos. Throughout Amazon’s reign as online shopping powerhouse, they have been consistent in one of the most important aspects–growing and developing as a long-term contender in the online shopping world. Amazon has adapted and involved in the always changing markets by expanding market share through acquisitions.In 1998 Amazon expanded itself into new markets with three key acquisitions. Two of the acquired companies, Bookpages and Telebook, were bought to expand Amazon’s market share into Europe; and the third acquisition, The Internet Movie Database (IMD), was bought to expand Amazon into a new developing market of online video sales. Amazon has always stressed customer service and cu stomer ease as a main objective throughout their development. Zappos is a company known to be a customer service company since its inception.In fact, Tony Hsieh stated in a Harvard business review article that he does not think of Zappos as a shoe company, but rather a customer service company. On the surface this acquisition seemed like a good fit for both parties, but the reality of high failure rates of acquisitions signifies there are many things to think about when considering acquiring a company. Our team will give a brief analysis on pre-acquisition activity within both companies, analysis of the acquisition itself, and give an overview of the success or failure of the acquisition.The key aspects to consider in this acquisition are as follows: the simplest and most underestimated factor is what are the specific goals of each company in regards to a possible acquisition, can the two separate companies effectively leverage each other’s strengths to create a greater compa ny value, and do these two companies align with one another in order to carry out their objectives and grow long-term. A History Of Zappos Zappos is an online selling shoe company founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn, Alfred Lin, and Tony Hsieh.The company’s key concept is that they are in the customer service business, not a shoe company. Customer service is Zappos’ main asset. They do everything a little bit differently than any other company. Tony Hsieh encourages company culture which is the core of the company allowing them to be so successful. Before the acquisition, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh had to make sure that the company will remain unchanged. Many people thought it would be end of Zappos and their culture after Amazon bought them. Amazon took over Zappos, but allowed them to run separately, keeping their company name and culture.Zappos’s goal for the future is to deliver happiness to their customers and acquisition by Amazon allowing them to leverage each ot her’s strengths. Now with the merger Zappos has much better cash flow than before. Now they can refund people’s credit cards much faster than they could before and improve their customer service even more. With the acquisition they also gained lot of experience from senior staff of Amazon and vice versa. Prior to the acquisition, Zappos had to discuss their independence with Amazon.Zappos tried to stay unchanged by the acquisition as much as possible while keeping all the benefits from the acquisition as long as they could. Zappos had big plans before the acquisition, and now with Amazon they are still focusing on their goals, but with resources from Amazon they can achieve them much faster. Zappos’ net sales in the first quarter of 2010 were almost 50% higher than the same quarter of the previous year. To ensure Zappos can grow at this fast pace they had to hire the right people. Zappos’s way to make sure that their employees really want to work at the f irm is quite nontraditional.After few weeks of training they offer their trainees money to leave. This price constantly raises and after the acquisition it was at $3000 not to take the job. Zappos didn’t change immediately after the acquisition, but now few years later we see some changes happening, but Zappos still keeps their culture untouched. The biggest change that happened in Zappos was handing over their Kentucky warehouse to Amazon. Tony Hsieh explained it as necessary move due to legal obligations. Zappos employees in Kentucky had to be transformed under Amazon with all their benefits changing.Usually during acquisition many people will get laid off due to efficiency for both firms. Zappos has actually grown since the acquisition and no one lost their job as a result of it. It was a risky move for Tony Hsieh, because in one interview he admitted that Amazon can technically sell Zappos at any time. Some of their agreement works on mutual trust and so far it works for both Amazon and Zappos. A History of Amazon Amazon. com Inc. sells just about everything, and lots of it. What drives Amazon is the desire to enhance the consumer experience, whether it's shipping or product availability or price.Over the past decade, Amazon has moved from strictly retail to both selling goods and then executing the orders, for itself and for third parties. Amazon, as much as people like to think of it as an e-commerce provider, is becoming a direct-to-consumer fulfillment company. How did Amazon become so successful so quickly? Strategy! Investing in the right plans at the right time and staying the course. Amazon embraced what is known as a â€Å"design school model† of strategy development. Despite the title, the model is simple to understand and can be highly effective.It is the one used most by professors and consulting organizations. Organizations often struggle in finding a compelling competitive position. Successful organization can begin to drift awa y and total fail at what it takes to be successful. This tool can begin to help an organization get into the game. The design school model calls for both external and internal appraisals. An external appraisal helps an organization to understand threats and opportunities that are out there in the market. The internal assessment helps the organization to understand its strengths and weaknesses. The â€Å"Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities andThreats† (SWOT) tool is one that most people are familiar with and stems from the design school model. Amazon conducted the external analysis using the following analysis frameworks: PESTEL Analysis, Industry and Competitor Analysis, Competitor Analysis, Global Internet Trends and GE Matrix. The â€Å"PESTEL† framework helped Amazon to identify trends that could impact them in six key areas: (P) Political factors: areas to focus on include political direction, taxes, trade restrictions. (E) Economic factors: includes GDP, inflatio n, interest rates, exchange rates and other macro and micro economic factors. S) Social factors: includes social trends, population growth rate, age distribution, career expectations, etc. (T) Technology factors: includes equipment, information technology, R;D. (E) Environmental factors: Includes weather and climate. (L) Legal factors: include health, safety, employment, discrimination, consumer and antitrust laws. Political, economic, social, technological progress indicates an increasing and attractive market? to be exploited by Amazon. com. The external appraisal includes Amazon looking at its competitive position to determine opportunities and risks and where it should focus.To do this, they used Porter’s 5-force tool that helped them to understand the strengths and weakness of its competitive position, and where they might consider moving forward. The competitive rivalry amongst the e-retailing industry is intense. From some of the largest to the smallest companies, dotc om businesses are abundant, making? competition intense. Amazon. com competes directly with big firms such as Barnes and? Noble and Ebay. In simplest terms, the model looks assumes there are five important forces that determine competitive power. Amazon has hundreds of competitors.The challenge is what ones to focus on. They focused on large-scale Internet retailers that offer a broad range of products. This exercise helped Amazon to better understand who their competition is. Ebay and Wal-Mart are examples. Global Internet Trends The Internet is Amazon’s key channel. The 20 top countries in Internet usage, and grow patterns were identified. A GE Matrix has been used to identify the attractiveness and competitive position of the? markets that Amazon. com operates in. GE Matrix: This is a matrix used to screen portfolios of business units.Both the attractiveness of the industry and the strength of each business unit within the industry are plotted. Industry attractiveness is d etermined by the following factors: Growth rate, Size, Demand, Competition, Profitability and Global opportunities. Business unit strength is determined by: Market share, Market share growth, Brand, Distribution channels, Production capacity and Profit margin comparisons. Knowing, constructing, and fully leveraging strengths in the best manner possible is an important key to creating long-term competitive advantage.Amazon is a great, leading-edge company that has successfully developed and implemented compelling strategies that we can learn from. Most large organizations conduct strategic planning, but in many cases real â€Å"strategy† and â€Å"planning† are missing. Instead too many strategic planning exercises are nothing more than budget positioning exercises. Not so with Amazon. Amazon has developed common sense as an organization. Becoming clear as to what will provide you a competitive advantage is paramount. We chase after the hot new industries where the risk is highest. The key is to sustained focus on smart strategies.There are three simple tools that Amazon focuses on as part of its internal appraisal process. They include: Value Chain, Resources Based View and Financial Analysis. Amazon developed a value chain of itself to internal it can operationally best add value and maintain a competitive advantage. The value chain analysis undertaken examines the operational effectiveness of activities that? enable Amazon. com to perform better than its competitors; i. e. the distinctive value chain activities that are difficult to imitate. This analysis focuses on ‘value creation’ and ‘transaction cost economies’; where Amazon. om? configures its value chain activities to create unique value for customers, reduce its costs of? carrying out these activities and reduce the cost of its customers’ transactions. Some of Amazon’s competitive advantages from a value chain perspective include: Strong technologi cal infrastructure with a single platform, High investments in technology development (e. g. , Kindle) to best leverage digital products, Great product forecasting system, Print on demand, Constantly soliciting suggestions on new products, Easy and fast payment system, 24 hour operations and Free returns within 30 days.The resource based view helps an organization to determine where to invest in critical resources to have a competitive advantage. The more valuable and rare the right resources are in the right places, the more likely the firm may have a long-term advantage over its competition. A firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage. The organization’s resources and capabilities combined together constitute its distinctive competencies. Amazon successfully identified the right resources and developed its capabilities in key target areas.These investments resulted in: Sophisticated online retailing technologies, Personalization features for customers on its websites, Reliable and easily scalable IT systems all one platform, New products (100 different products in seven major geographic markets), Top customer relationship system, State of the art warehousing, New products (100 different products in seven major geographic markets). Gearing, Debt and Capital Structure Amazon’s investments are paying off. Their net sales continue to grow, their cost of goods decreases as a % of sales and their net income continues to increase.And, they continue to invest in initiatives that provide them a longer-term competitive advantage. Goals: The acquisition of Zappos by Amazon is equally beneficial in the long run for the two companies. Zappos’ goals after the acquisition are mainly focused on its own growth internally and externally. As their own independent firm they want to pursue their vision of delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors; and now they will be able to get their much faster.Amazon h as the capacity to help them grow at a pace they would not be able to by themselves. Zappos is going to remain its own independent entity and it will be run by the same owners the way they see fit. This is beneficial because one of Zappos’ best qualities is its unique culture and brand. Financially, Zappos wanted a shareholder and partner that thinks long term and will also do what is best for their existing shareholders. Amazon’s goals for Zappos are very similar to what Zappos themselves want. They like Zappos because they have a lot of growth potential.Zappos is very popular, however they are not as large nor do they have the capacity for shipping, storage, or personnel that Amazon does and they want to leverage their capabilities to help Zappos grow. Amazon wants to leverage the intangible assets that Zappos possesses; the people and the culture of the company. The Culture of Zappos is one of its best qualities that no other company can easily replicate; working to gether the companies can share and learn from one another to improve the workplace culture in both companies.Customer service is what Zappos hangs its hat on and Amazon can learn from them about their policies and even help them to provide better service. Metrics: It will take some time for Amazon and Zappos to be able to measure the effectiveness of the acquisition mainly because both firms emphasize the long term. The main focus for both sides is to grow the Zappos brand and their effectiveness in their goal to help customers. Zappos should see increased sales, more efficient distribution, and faster response times when customers have issues. Methods: Aligning the two companies and leveraging each company’s strengths to better each other.Amazon has resources, technology, and operational experience that Zappos does not. Zappos can leverage all of these to make their own operations faster and more efficient by bringing people in from Amazon and learning from them. Amazons imp roved technology will help Zappos fill orders faster and improve logistics. Zappos has a very large distribution center in Kentucky fairly close to the UPS shipping hub. Amazon now has a very important strategic advantage with access. They can now move product faster and easier making their own distribution faster and less expensive.Post- Acquisition Turnout On Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. com, emailed all of his employees to share the great news of their acquisition with Amazon. His board approved and signed a definitive agreement, in which all of the existing shareholders and investors of Zappos will be exchanging their Zappos stock for Amazon stock. After the exchange took place, Amazon became the sole shareholder of Zappos stock. Post-acquisition, Zappos continued to run their operations the same, doing what they believe is best for their brand, their culture, and their business.By leveraging each other’s strengths, Zappos reached their visio n even faster—delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors. By merging with Amazon, Zappos was able to accelerate the growth of their brand and culture. Amazon supports Zappos in continuing to grow their vision as an independent entity, under the Zappos brand with their unique culture. Hsieh also aligned his company with a shareholder and partner that think long term, just like Zappos. Zappos continued to run as an independent entity. In legal terminology, they became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.Therefore, all of their jobs were as secure as they were pre-acquisition. The Zappos brand continued to be separate from the Amazon brand. Although they now have access to many of Amazon’s resources, they continued to build their brand and their culture just as they always have. Zappos has continued to grow their headquarters out of Las Vegas, attracting the right talent for each of their departments. After acquiring Zappos, Amazon has seen more profitabili ty, more market share, greater growth and revenue, and most importantly, a better brand image.By encompassing the unique customer service aspect of Zappos, Amazon has become one of, if not the biggest, online company. Amazon has seen substantial growth in net revenue since acquiring Zappos in 2009. Online business is a growing industry—the percentage of households with at least one computer has gone up from 64% in 2004 to 87% present day. In 2009, Amazon’s revenue was $24. 5 billion. This past year, they finished with total revenue of $61. 09 billion. In 2009, Amazon’s cost of goods sold was $18. 97 billion. This past year, it has grown to $45. 97 billion, a growth of $27 billion in just three years.In 2009, before the acquisition of Zappos, Amazon’s gross profit was $5. 5 billion. Three years later, it has escalated to a staggering $15. 1 billion. Although debt as a percent of total capital increased at Amazon. com Inc. over the last fiscal year to 34. 8 7%, it is still in-line with the Internet and Catalog Retail industry's norm. Additionally, even though there are not enough liquid assets to satisfy current obligations, operating profits are more than adequate to service the debt. Accounts Receivable is typical for the industry, with 17. 78 days worth of sales outstanding.Last, inventory levels, relative to its Cost of Goods Sold, are typical for the industry and have shown a consistent decrease during the last 4 years. This implies that management is becoming more efficient. Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos was clearly a smart move on both ends. Zappos and its employees were compensated fairly, and Amazon has seen a steady increase on the balance sheet and income statement. There is no limit to Amazon’s potential, now that they have acquired the amazing and unique company that is Zappos. Closing Remarks It is clear from our analysis that Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos is a good fit for both parties.Each company ’s goals of the acquisition were made clear through pre-acquisition negotiations. Zappos wanted to expand their operations through the use of Amazon’s large market share and also be able to use Amazon’s large array of assets to create a better costumer experience. Amazon wanted to learn the intangible and effective costumer service methods that have proven to be Zappos competitive edge. So far, each company has been able to effectively leverage each other’s strengths to achieve their goals. Furthermore, these companies align with each other in moving forward to achieve long-term growth.

How does the change in temperature affect the rate of reaction? Essay

* Guiding Question: How does the change in temperature affect the rate of reaction? * Objectives: The objective of this experiment is to see how temperature affects reaction rates. * Hypothesis: We think that temperature increases the rate of reaction because the increase in temperature increases the energy of the particles and therefore overcomes faster the activation energy. * Variables: 1. Independent: Temperature (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C) 2. Dependents: Time (s) and rate of reaction (s -1) 3. Control: Volume (ml) and concentration (M) of HCl and Na2S2O3. * Procedure: a) Transfer 50 ml 0.0400 M sodium thiosulfate solution into a 50 ml flask. b) With a marker make a black cross in a paper and put it below the flask. c) At room temperature quickly pour 5ml HCl of a 2M solution d) Measure the time needed for the black cross to disappeared. e) Repeat this procedure and then place the flask in a hot plate using a thermometer and vary the temperature to 30 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C, 40 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C, 50 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C and 60 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C. f) Repeat the experiment twice for each temperature and find the average. * Materials: i. 2 measuring cylinder (50 ml) ii. Thermometer 10 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C – 110 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C iii. Chronometer iv. 2 flasks (250 mL) v. 60 ml of a 2M solution of HCl vi. 600 ml of a 0.04 M solution of Na2S2O3 * Observation: Sodium Thiosulfate ions (0.04 M) with different temperatures à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C mL HCL (2M) * Conclusion: Looking at the graph and table, we can see that as the temperature increase, then the rate of reaction increases too. This can be defined and explain by the collision model. Particles can only react when they collide. If the substance is heat, then the particles move faster because they would started to bounce around the space faster because they have receive more energy. So they would bounce around more therefore they are more likely to collide. Some problems during the experiment were that we just have one hot plate so we loose time waiting for the other team to finish with their results. It was complicated because we couldn’t have enough space to record everything that was happening because there were two groups per table. A solution to this problem is that for that specific part when we need the hot plates, we can share the data obtained in the whole table members. So we can continued the experiment at a faster rate so we can start doing more researches for the conclusion. And in this way the observations would have been more accuracy for both groups.

A Brief Analysis on the Film King of Masks

The film King of Masks deals with and challenges the feudal idea that men are superior to women; this ideology, as the film portrays, results in alienation, tragedy and bitterness for girls in Chinese society and particularly the protagonist Doggie. In contrast, out of darkness, corruption, and poverty, the goodness of humanity and the human love sprung up from the master-apprentice relationship between Wang and Doggie will ultimately reign over narrow and backward traditional notions.Evidence that everyone desires a boy can be found throughout the film. In fact, preference for boys over girls is not just a fad but rather deep-rooted in Chinese society. Feudal ideas that men superior to women is embedded and prevails in Chinese culture as early as the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B. C. ) during which Confucian teachings advocates and fosters gender inequality (Jiang 229). Under influence of Confucianism, women are given low status and expected to be obedient to husban d.This produces a sequence of expectations for men and women: men are expected to work outside and support family living while women only stays home and take care of family and household. This is also the reality in King of Masks, in which almost every man has a job: Wang is a street performer; Master Liang is an opera performer; Wang’s friend is a liquor dealer. However, the occupation of women is not clearly revealed. Notable examples are the crowds of women joining the parade and women from TianCi’s family whose main role is taking care of the child.It is worth noting that Master Liang plays as a female impersonator. Despite its name, a female impersonator is played by a male in traditional Chinese opera because women are believed to corrupt men on stage and thus banned from performing (Johnson 380). The storyline of the film is triggered by Wang’s quest for a male heir to pass on his secret ancestral art of BianLian or its literally meaning of changing faces . In Wang’s conversation with Master Liang, he firmly states,† only a son may inherit [the skills]. It is an ancient rule. In fact, only son has the right inherit property including all Chinese secret skills and medical prescription. Also, in Chinese tradition, boys are expected to carry on the family line and occupation whereas girls leave and separate from the family after marriage. It is then not surprising that Wang worries that his secret skill may leak out and insist on passing it to a boy. The gender inequality that feudal and Confucian ideas bring about and gender biased Chinese traditions underlies the cruelty and unfair treatment from which girls and particularly Doggie suffer.In the opening scene, the background music immediately creates a strong sense of melancholy and sadness. As Master Liang boldly admits that â€Å"no one values girls†, the society undeniably treats girls harshly. In the back alley black market, desperate parents beg to sell their daughters for very little value and yet still no one wants them. The fact that Wang paid ten dollars for Doggie is because he craves for a boy. When Doggie confesses that she was abused and sold seven times by different owners because they don’t like girls, audience can feel the bitterness and sympathize with her.Indeed, girls like Doggie experience alienation and estrangement from society and its people, including the protagonist Wang. To further illuminate, we observe a sharp change in Wang’s attitude towards Doggie after he finds out that she doesn’t have â€Å"a little tea spout! † Since their encounter, Wang enjoys being called â€Å"grandpa†; however, he asks Doggie to call him â€Å"Boss† when he feels betrayed by her. The intimacy between them dissolves; instead, emotional alienation and detachment begin to emerge. Doggie’s status changes from a beloved grandson to whom Wang determines to inherit his skill to a servant who onl y does housekeeping.Also, the pitiless gender inequality contrasts strongly with the colorful and joyful settings like opera, firework, festival, and pipe-smoking ceremony. Aside from the pain that Chinese girls bear, King of Masks also reveals poverty, hardship, corruption, and darkness that Wang and Doggie experience in the world that they live in. The mist in opening scene and overall color tone of grey suggests that Wang is paddling into a world of dullness. With his houseboat- his only sanctuary- Wang travels around to make a living by performing Bianlian in return of donation from people who appreciate his art on the street.Desperation and poverty are not only accompanying people in the slave market but also Wang: his wife left him after the death of his son; his only companion is not a human but a monkey. Master Liang’s confession that â€Å" we all have our own sorrows† reflects the folk artists fate of twists and turns and bitterness. During one performance, W ang is intimidated and oppressed by soldiers, but he can only chant woefully â€Å"The dragon in the shallows is toyed with by the shrimp†. Many proverbs like this in the film convey to audiences his hardship and helplessness.Government corruption is also disclosed in the movie when Wang is falsely charged of all kidnap cases and imprisoned. In his quest for an heir, Wang visits Buddhist temple to pray and buys a Buddha to worship in the hope that it may gift him a son. All Wang’s spiritual sustenance is on the Buddha body. This showed Wang’s inner weakness and helplessness towards his own destiny. Nevertheless, out of the darkness in this world, we witness the goodness of human nature. When Master Liang invites Wang into his theater troupe, Wang excuses himself from joining. This shows that Wang is man of independence and principle.Besides, Wang scolds Doggie for stealing a bottle of wine, also showing his integrity. In the film, Master Liang is a popular opera star cherished by his followers; nevertheless, he upholds humbleness, and just like his stage name, Master Liang is indeed a â€Å"Living Buddha† with kindness and sympathy to Wang and Doggie throughout. It is also him who offers help and plays a key role in rescuing Wang out of prison. Even some insignificant character shows the goodness of human nature: the liquor dealer offers alcohol when Wang wounds; the prison guard allows Doggie to visit Wang.King of Mask also portrays the sentimental love between an unrelated grandpa and unwanted child. In their early encounter, Wang treats Doggie as a treasure by buying new clothes, performing BianLian to entertain her, and telling her that â€Å"this is all yours† during a meal. We can also feel the sorrow and anguish in Wang’s heart when he knows that Doggie is abused by her previous owners. Along with the soothing music, when Doggie first attempts to scratch Grandpa’s back, the goodness of relationship immedi ately manifested.At the same time, Wang shows his commitment to love as he throws his scratcher into water. In fact, their relationship develops not without some complications of the storyline. This initial intimacy between grandpa and grandson almost breaks when he feels betrayed by Doggie’s lying as a boy. Despite this, he jumps into the freezing water without hesitation to save Doggie and allows her to stay. While he trains Doggie of aerobics and Doggie does the housekeeping, he gradually learns that Doggie- without â€Å"a teapot spout†- is as competent as boys.However, as one film reviewer describes, â€Å"throughout, sadness permeates [Doggie]'s every move, a reminder that acrobatic flexibility means nothing to a child throughout, sadness permeates. † Indeed, what Doggie longs for is love and recognition. Throughout, Doggie wholeheartedly tries to please Wang. Even though there is some misunderstanding in place, she appreciates Wang’s love and carin g by bringing the boy TianCi for him. As for Wang, he also cannot hide his missing of Doggie. He runs out immediately searching for Doggie.When Wang is put into jail, Doggie is panicked and desperate, she begs for help by kneeling down in front of Master Liang’s house all night long. The film reaches its climax when Doggie ventures to sacrifice herself by performing an acrobatic feat that finally touched the heart of the military official. When Wang is condemned to death, Doggie comes to visit him in prison. In that scene, Wang and Doggie are physically separated by bars between them, but the camera moves closer to doggie as if death cannot separate them now.This is soon followed by a touching moment when Wang and Doggie cries and hugs each other. It is not surprising that King of Masks finish with happy ending in which Wang inherits BianLian to Doggie and they live happily after. Beyond the surface, King of Masks reveals both the dullness and the goodness of human nature. Th rough the interaction between characters, audience can truly appreciate Master Liang’s saying â€Å"the world is a cold place but we can bring warmth to it†. Last but not least, the film praises the sentimental love between Wang and Doggie that touches the heart of every audience.

Country analysis research project Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Country analysis project - Research Paper Example This report makes a thorough analysis of the various aspects of Japan including the social, demographic, political as well as economic aspects in order to determine whether it is the right investment destinations of the foreign investors. Since the country has already passed through the different stages of development the agricultural sector is declining and the manufacturing sector has matured. The financial markets in the country are also quite stable. A foreign investor has to operate in the specific business model that Japan already has in order to survive in the big picture. Necessary graphs and charts have been provided to elucidate the position in this essay. Population, Population growth and Density Japan is the eleventh largest country in the world in terms of population. At present the population of the country is more than 127,253,075. Japan’s population growth rate is declining by 0.1% because the country has taken appropriate measures to control the burgeoning pop ulation of the country. While the birth rate of the country is 8.23 per 100o people of the nation the rate of death is 9.27 as in 2013 (CIA 1). Thus in future the population of the country would decline. Age distribution and Gender The population pyramid as shown in the chart below. It provides an analysis of the age group distribution in the country and helps a business to understand that who would be the target market for the company and how the market segmentation can be done based on age and gender. Thus the social and political stability of the country is reflected through the pyramid. The median population of the country is 45.8 for the population in general. While the median population of males is 44.4 years, the median population of females is 47.2 years. 38.3 of the population are in the age group of 25-54 years which means that there is a huge number of working age group population in the country (Johnstone, Serret-Itsicsohn and Brown 354). The percentage of the 0-14 yearà ¢â‚¬â„¢s age group is 13.4% while that of the 15-24 years age group is 9.7 % (CIA 1). These data show that any business that has the intension in opening their operations in Japan would not have much manpower problems in the short run as well as the long run. Figure 1: Population Pyramid of Japan (CIA 1) The sex ratio of the country is 0.95 per female in the country which means that the country has a huge number of female populations. Urbanization 91.3% of the total population of Japan live in the urban areas while the rate of urbanisation as computed by the 2010-15 census is 0.57%. This rate is low because most of the people live in the urban areas. The most important towns and cities of Japan are Tokyo with a population of 36.5 million, Osaka-Kobe with a population of 11.35 million, Nagoya and Fukuoka-Kitakyushu with populations of 3.2 and 2.8 million respectively. This means that most of these people are adding to the production of the country, which has kept the unemployment rat e in the economy low to 8%. The female unemployment is lower in the country compared to the male unemployment rate (CIA 1). Ethnic groups People of different ethnicities comprise the population of Japan. About 98% of the people of the country are of Japanese origin, on the other hand the Koreans and Chinese make up for 0.5% and 0.4% of the population. Only 0.6% of the population

The Great Khan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Great Khan - Research Paper Example Chinggis Khan considered an influential leader, because he arranged and ensured the Mongols were well equipped so that they could overpower resisting forces and empiresii. In addition, Khan also believed in the power of organized communication because through effective communications respect would be exercised within the army. He ensured the army knew the significance of communication and information flowed easily between the squad and himself. Preparation was another factor used by Khan, to organize his army. He ensured the Mongols were well prepared before any fight. This allowed them adequate time to be ready for enemies. He also advocated for a well-laid plan before the army was involved in any battle. Khan was also known to be merciless. This feature made his soldiers respect him as a leader and thus he stood unopposed all the time. Mongols success can be attributed to Khan’s leadership skillsiii. The style in which Khan organized and equipped his army provided the Mongol s the power to defeat resisting forces and empires. The decisions made by Khan made the Mongols the most powerful empire in history. In addition, the military power of Mongols was considered the most powerful until the 20th century. The armies under the control of Khan were trained in magnificent tactics. The soldiers were required to master the use of horses and bows so that they could not lose in battles. Khan’s objective was to unite the diverse tribes into one and rule Asia. Khan believed in two philosophies â€Å"divide and conquer† and â€Å"strength in numbers†. The main tactic used by his soldiers involved dividing them into large groups, and surrounding their target before ambushing and conquering. The strength in numbers philosophy applied by ensuring more tribes united to develop the Mongolsiv. Mongol empire spread rapidly out of Asia by 1260. The empire destroyed old and powerful kingdoms in the Middle East and spread as far west as Egypt and Poland. The empire was the most powerful because of its war tactics applied in battlesv. The empire stretched as far as Russia. Mongol leadership in these areas incorporated them to the rest of the world. In addition, trade between Europe and Asia was promoted. The impact of Mongol empire and its unification factor could be felt even after it collapsed. One of the most significant legacies of the Mongol age is the development of the modern nation state that developed out of the ruins of the past Khanates. For over 400 years, unified china was inexistencevi. However, the Mongol empire established one country from three states, since, then China known to be unified as one state to date. Russia was also a development of the Mongols. Russia applied the centralization rule from the Mongols who had destroyed the decentralized governance of kievian Russia. Iran is another state affected by the Mongol rule. Prior to invasion by the Mongols, Iran had adopted Arabic culture used by most of the Middl e East countries. Mongols features dominated the governance and economic system applied by the Iranian government. The Mongol assisted in reinstating â€Å"shahname† as the Iranian state epic and in the introduction of â€Å"shism† that became dominant in later yearsvii. Europeans embraced the changes brought by Mongols in the world. Internationalization of Europe was largely motivated by Mongols. European countries embraced the

Unit 2 LS311 Torts and Cyber Torts-CASE STUDY Essay

Unit 2 LS311 Torts and Cyber Torts-CASE STUDY - Essay Example The position held in the NCR Corp v Korala associates Ltd 2007 06-3685 (6th Cir.), where the court stated that the provisions of the arbitration clause are binding in claims relating to the contract. Where the claim has a connection to the contract, the resolution of the dispute facilitated through arbitration (Miller & Jentz 2009). On the other hand, where the claims are not within the contractual terms, the arbitration clause does not bind. Regardless of the nature of the claim, it is only binding if the court must reference the contract in its resolution. The court looked into whether the parties agreed to arbitrate on such claims in order for the arbitration clause to be binding. The outcome in Baker v Osborne, therefore, would provide for the parties to arbitrate on the claims. The arbitration clause in the contract provides for arbitration between the parties concerning any issues arising concerning the contract, the scope of the clause covers the current claim and, therefore, the new owners bound by the arbitration clause, and they should not sue the

An Examination of Men in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

An Examination of Men in Nursing - Essay Example The other critical part in the paper is the literature review that focuses mainly on the studies and research conducted by varied scholars and researchers pertaining to the men serving in the nursing profession. Methodology happens to be the last part of this paper and it focuses mainly on the selected methods of data collection, methods of data analysis, the sample description and the limitations associated with the proposed research. Introduction The government, health care employers, professional nursing organizations and the academic institutions have a pivotal role to play in assuring that there is a continued supply of adequate and sufficient number of nurses in the health care system serving an ever aging population and an enhanced demand for health care services in the United States of America and other developed economies like Canada (LaRocco 2007:259). Currently the United States of America is facing a dire shortage of the nurses irrespective of the fact that the profession is critical for the society. This shortage of nurses has led to many men joining the nursing profession. ... Irrespective of being a minority in the nursing profession, men have been noticed to bring a higher degree of comfort in varied aspects of patient care. Stereotyping is one of the major factors that have led to men being a minority in the nursing profession. Stereotyping has hitherto greatly influenced the number of men joining the nursing services (Hess-Biber and carter 2005). However, the reality is that men nurses have been there since the ancient times (Tranberger 2007). Yet, in the last two centuries, the ever growing demand for nurses has made it impossible for the traditionally white, female nurses to cater to this change. This has encouraged a rapid entry of men in the nursing services. History testifies to the fact that men can serve well as nurses, when given the opportunity and can in fact serve with distinction if given a chance to do so. This has also encouraged women to pursue medical courses in the medical schools. However, it has not been so in the past when the men w ere known to dominate the medical schools. Recent researches have shown that in future the shortage of nurses will exceed three times the current shortage maximum point (Auerbach et al 2007). Another research related with the same issue has shown that the projected shortage of nurses could be dealt with by allowing more men to enter the nursing profession. This could be achieved by encouraging more men to enter the nursing schools and to join the nursing profession. Women who constitute a majority in this profession ought to be encouraged to keep what has always been theirs, and should be expected to motivate their male counterparts to enter the nursing profession, and compete in this field that is

High Line Park NYC Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

High Line Park NYC - Assignment Example The High Line Park of New York is a prominent example, where Jacobs’s viewpoint appears to have been very effective and influential. Discussion Jane Jacobs, in her famous work The Death and Life of Great American Cities, attacked the contemporary theory of urban planning based on modernist view and furnished reasoned criticisms against the works of the renowned planners like Robert Moses who were pressing ahead with their rationalized urban planning schemes for different American cities. Jacobs’s works gained attention and credibility due to her approach that involved credible analytics to deal with the urban economic cultures of Western world. A technical point that Jacobs focused on was the analyses of contemporary federal incentives and investments in the real estate sector. Contextual to this economic view of exploiting analytical data over investment patterns and government schemes, Jacobs further remarks, â€Å"The power to destroy which is possessed by authority over credit or by management of credit is negative: it is the power to withhold credit† (Jacobs, 295). In this way, Jacobs stands for decentralization and people oriented planning. In the same context, Jacobs has explained an alternative analytical approach that could substitute this return on investment or ROI seeking economic policy. According to Jacobs, life in a city involves complex behavior of numerous individual variables which can be defined as a sort of â€Å"disorganized complexity† (Jacobs, 431, 436). From statistical point of view, Jacobs’s analytical approach can be regarded as seeming chaos. In economic sense, this seeming chaos of city life must be controlled by allowing flexibility instead of harnessing order and discipline. For example, a remotely located children’s park in a planned city is actually more unsafe than the roadside playgrounds within a crowded residential locality. In the wake of modern research and analysis, Hoch et al fro m ICMA University appear to have interpreted Jacobs’s views in a more organized way. In the chapter on â€Å"Economic Analysis†, Hoch et al (119) advocate using a comparative analysis of a local economy (under planning) against the overall national economy and industrial patterns. For example, say iron and steel industry in a country provides for 50% of the total employments generated there. In such circumstances, planning a city that has grown around a steel plant where only 10% of the residents are employed in the iron and steel industry can be troublesome. So the urban planner will need to calculate the day time and night time populations of the city separately so that the city’s importance in national economy can be better understood. Jacobs’s theory of having disorganized complexity in city life appears to be very relevant in this kind of urban scenarios. Precondition to economic analyses Hoch et al, therefore, advocate for implementing descriptive s tatistical techniques so that inferences can be firmly grounded on the basis of dependable information. And the aim of all these analytical arrangements must focus on generating reasoned â€Å"decision-making criteria† (Hoch et al, 419) to address inequities and usher at better planning that would provide for appropriate capital improvements with regard to environmental factors as well. Benefits Keeping in mind the example of High Land Park in the New York City, it should be noted that accepting Jacobs’

Strategic perpectives - THIS HAS TO BE IN REPORT FORM AND NOT ESSAY

Strategic perpectives - THIS HAS TO BE IN REPORT FORM AND NOT FORM - Essay Example The capabilities of individuals are enhanced through learning which requires assessment of the information gathered (Bolton, 2010). Confucius one of the most renowned Chinese thinker quoted that wisdom can be acquired through three methods. One is by assessment and reflection which is noble, second through imitation which is easy and convenient and lastly by experience which is the most toughest and bitter of them all. I consider that self-assessment and reflection are the most effective ways using which the barriers can be reduced. There are different road blocks which come in light through assessment. Through this, the things are tackled, and appropriate solutions are structured. The seminar in particular and the entire teachings of the Strategic Perspectives have helped me assess the things which are holding me back. The seminar on Mega Learning from October- December 2013 has not only enhanced the learning, but it has also enhanced the experience. Some experiences have been positive, and some have also been negative. However, to conclude both the experiences had some sort of value associated with them. The learning acquired through the seminar will surely benefit me with my career in the future. This will make accomplishing the common goals and encountering the challenges easier. In this assessment, the learning acquired as an individual along with the challenges faced as a group will also be discussed. This will be done by providing three critical incidents which arose during the training and the experience acquired as an individual and by the whole group. The assessment and review will assist in analyzing each of the situations independently. Through this, the actions taken, and their suitability in the particular situation can also be discussed. Discovering the realities and finding the core potential and standings of the individuals in the markets are the true forms through which the assessment can be done. In the self-reflection

Social problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social problem - Essay Example To address this issue, the paper will draw on a variety of different sources as well as give some personal opinions on the matter. There is little question that drugs can play a very positive role in our modern society. Drugs are often prescribed or taken in moderation to help our physical health, and in this respect one can consider drug use to be beneficial to our societal well being. According to the World Health Organization (1969) a drug is in its most basic terms, a substance that can be absorbed into the body to modify a bodily function. In this respect one could consider any number of chemically engineered and naturally occurring substances as being classified as a drug. However in a more common context and for the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on drugs that are taken for recreational purposes to the determent of one’s personal health (Or wellbeing) or to those around the drug taker in question. For the purpose of this paper the focus will be on more traditional drugs such as alcohol, cannabis, opiates, barbiturates, etc. It should be noted that many of thee drugs are legally obtained, either over the counter, or through prescription yet still maybe detrimental. There are many substances such as coffee which technically meet the definition of being a drug and may be detrimental to one’s health but in the broadest sense these substances are not as detrimental to society as a number of other more powerful narcotics. Why are drugs considered a societal problem? In many circumstances people can take drugs recreationally and not harm themselves. So it is the case that a drug such as alcohol in the hands of most people does not represent a serious threat to society or one’s health. However it is the case that some people do negatively respond to the stimuli brought about from alcoholic beverage consumption and engage in behavior that