Marketing the $100 Laptop free essay sample

I. Central Problem/Issue OLPC/Negropante needs to reach five million minimum laptop orders before starting production or else the cost of producing the laptops would be exorbitant. Although there have been six million purchase orders from various countries there are still no firm deals in place (i. e. no deposits, etc. ). The new concept of the laptop as revolutionary teaching tool that Negropante espouses, one that is child-centric, that allows children to play and build without restrictions (of Microsoft’s suite of software) must also be proven in order for the project to gain more acceptance as an educational laptop of choice. II. SWOT analysis The organization’s internal Strengths product’s strengths include the following: 1. The company’s founder is a successful VC who is well known for being a social entrepreneur has connections and is considered a favoured figure amongst national leaders whose motives are less likely questioned. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing the 0 Laptop or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2. OLPC as a non-profit organization/project, created to champion the human right of primary education, is admired and trusted by many and is seen as an entity driven to really help and not just out to make profits. . Strongly backed up and supported and even funded by various international organizations and technology companies including: UN, AMD, Google, Red Hat, Brightstar, Marvell, eBay New Corphas strengthens its credibility and ability to innovate. 4. First-mover advantage in introducing a low-priced laptop. 5. The $ 100 laptop has the lowest price in the low-priced category of laptops and is therefore the most affordable. 6. Technical aspects of design that provided the laptop a competitive edge, thanks to the global design contributors brought about the computer’s attractive features: light-weight, built-in Wi-fi connectivity, router/connection device, rugged/tough, low-power LCD screen processor LiPeFo4 batteries (less toxic). 7. On the manufacturing side, OLPC is assured by Quanta to produce a million laptops per month, this quick production is quite amazing considering that the global production of laptops totals only 5 million units per month. While its Weaknesses are as follows: 1. In the technology industry, the first-mover advantage does not last long. OLPC needs to act fast and start producing the laptops before competition starts learning from their mistakes and can eventually overtake them. 2. The laptop has no global brand recognition unlike most of its competitors who are established seasoned players in the industry. 3. The low-pricing strategy might send out wrong signals that the quality of the laptop is inferior and substandard. . Supplier power is very strong given that they do not have a well established supply chain, a single unit needing to source out 800 parts from multiple suppliers. 5. The $200-250 million per nation investment scheme is an exorbitant amount most especially for developing countries. An external analysis of the industry shows the below Opportunities: 1. Estimate of worldwide PC usage is 1 billion (in 2008) which will double by 2015, the bulk of growth expected in the BRIC countries. 2. Broad worldwide consensus that education especially through technology would alleviate hardship in developing countries. and its Threats: 1. Reports of some US schools that laptops are instead becoming distractions and that they have found no evidence in increased improvements of students is an alarming and valid concern that can stop the OLPC project. 2. Prevailing perception that developing nations should first address issues of more basic necessities such as food, shelter, electricity and health; therefore, funds should be focused here instead of being funnelled to education and/or technology. . Aside from having limited funds, governments of developing countries are well known as being highly bureaucratic and have as stated in the case a fickle nature; therefore, negotiations may never finish or may take a long time to conclude. 4. Most jobs require MS Office know-how, this can become a hindrance considering the paradigm shift away from â€Å"Wintel† that Negroponte is pu tting forward. III. Options Based on the SWOT identified above, the following strategies or options can be undertaken: S-O Strategies Instead of just focusing on the millions of children of developing countries, OLPC can expand the project’s target market to include children from developed countries. There are after all richer countries that have disfranchised or marginalized sectors that live below the subsistence level, it may not be as significant as those present in the developing world, but they are there and they would benefit as well from OLPC’s project. The laptop’s educational benefits, its cost and energy saving features should be made available for everyone. Aside from education being a primary right the environmental benefits, energy-saving features of the laptop is significantly noteworthy as its environmental stress is far less than those of existing laptop technology. In increasing its global scope, economies of scale needed in lessening the laptop’s production cost can be achieved. (S3, S5, S6, S7, O1) * There are a number of non-profit international organizations out there that have grassroots orientation, such as World Vision (to name a few), that can help and be a leading proponent in endorsing and verifying the benefits and/or positive effects of the XO laptop in the school room. Developing these joint ventures or tie-ups can increase the credibility of the laptop as a much more viable educational tool, a better way akin a constructionist approach. (O2, S2, S6) S-T Strategies * Adding or stressing on a social responsibility angle can pressure governments to act post haste. Add here wide media exposure that can clearly display or heighten the urgency of the advocacy, where a huge number of participant cooperation is needed in order for the project to fly and commence production and start benefiting its end users. By publicly announcing commitments, backing out at the last minute would be thought of twice, thrice, a thousand times, as this will be greatly frowned upon by the global community. (S1, S2, S3, S5, T3) * Continue to leverage on its image by building and strengthening partnerships in developing a comprehensive and sustainable plan that will integrate the educational and technological aspect of the OLPC project. The people at OLPC should work with other organizations and government entities and not act as a stand-alone entity in addressing the problems of poverty which is a multi-faceted issue. Just like the ugly heads of the famous Hydra monster of the Greek mythology, killing one head will not solve the problem but can even sprout more problems. Therefore addressing the problems simultaneously and in an integrated manner will produce the dreamed results. (S1, S2, S3, T2) W-O Strategies * As mentioned earlier, being the first-mover in the IT industry can at times be more of a bane instead of a boon and that followers more often times than not benefit more by learning from the mistakes of the leaders. Therefore, the entry strategy must be geared towards building aggressively. The attractiveness of the untapped market can be clearly seen as competitors make a mad dash to grab market share and within a year have Intel launching its Classmate PC, in India Enocre-Mobilis ASUS with its EeePC. Tying this up with the initial strategies above and the one just mentioned (i. e. widening target market, tie-ups joint ventures) a tweak in the business model can also be done. By applying price discrimination, the cost of units for developing countries can be subsidized by the higher priced units sold to developed countries. This in turn will have a domino effect and can help lessen the minimum investment requirement of 1M computers per country which as mentioned in the case can reach as much as a $200-250 million investment. (O1, O2, W1, W4, W5) W-T Strategies * Proof of concept – that paradigm shift into a more constructionist approach in teaching or child-centric approach is much more effective than a teacher-centric one must be investigated and proven. Quantifiable and qualitative assessment can be done in areas of pilot testing such Villa Cardal, which then should be shared to the global community. W2, W3, T1, T4) SWOT Analysis INTERNAL EXTERNAL | Strengths 1. Social entrepreneur 2. OLPC non-profit organization/project, 3. Backed up and supported by international bodies IT companies credibility and ability to innovate. 4. First-mover advantage 5. Lowest price 6. Technical aspects 7. Assured quick production by Quanta| Weaknesses 1. Technology industry first-mover 2. N o global brand recognition 3. Pricing signals 4. Supplier power is very strong 5. 1 million units ($200-250 million) per nation investment scheme | Opportunities 1. Estimate of worldwide PC usage is 1 billion (in 2008) which will double by 2015, the bulk of growth expected in the BRIC countries. 2. worldwide consensus that education would alleviate hardship in developing countries. | S-O Strategies * expand target market to achieve economies of scale (S3, S5, S6, S7, O1) * joint venture tie-ups with like-minded international orgs that have grassroots orientation i. e. World Vision (O2, S2, S6)| W-O Strategies * build aggressively price discrimination for subsidy which can then lessen the minimum investment on 1M computers(O1, O2, W1, W4, W5) | Threats 1. Laptops are distractions 2. address issues of more basic necessities first 3. governments bureaucratic and fickle 4. MS office as a requirement for many jobs| S-T Strategies * Leverage on social responsibility (S1, S2, S5, T3) * partnership tie-ups for a more comprehensive and sustainable plan (S1, S2, S3, T2) * high media exposure (S1, S2, S3, T3)| W-T Strategies * proof of concept – proposed paradigm shift where a more constructionist approach in teaching or child-centric approach is much more effective than a teacher-centric one (W2, W3, T1, T4)| IV. Recommendation OLPC and Nicholas Negroponte’s social venture is two-fold in nature. Hinge in a dream which that they want to make reality: (1) education through laptops made very affordable and accessible to a greater number of people in the bottom of the pyramid and (2) to allow the incoming generations to break free from the â€Å"Wintel† monopoly which he deems dampens and restricts creativity of the learning process. It may have been unintentional but because of their existence, laptop prices have taken a dive as new models have been created and have been made more affordable by a number of technology companies. In the first goal they have somewhat succeeded. But hitting the target $100 price tag is still unreachable unless economies of scale can be employed. In order to achieve this, targeting a wider diverse market is needed. The use of price discrimination can also help in that higher priced units sold in developed countries can subsidize laptop units to be distributed in developing countries. Since OLPC directly and firstly have to deal with governments they must find means and ways to manoeuvre in their bureaucratic and fickle nature. Bringing in wide media exposure can help hasten and stress the urgency of the project plus influence and pressure governments to commit fully. Alternatives must also be proposed in terms of investment plans. Given the limited financial resources of developing countries, investment of one million laptops at a time per country must be made more flexible and should not be set in stone; i. e. allowances for lesser amounts of investment to fit respective government’s budgets. On the other hand, the 2nd goal is still far from ever being reached unless the strategies stated in the options part above are undertaken. A repositioning or refocus of the value proposition from price to and educational tool of choice must obviously be carried out. This differentiation will obviously be attacked by competitors. Therefore, in order to counter this and have a wider acceptance, proof of concept, tie-ups, etc must be embarked upon. V. Plan of action (tactical) Given the 1M at a time investment, a minimum of 5 countries must fully commit in order to surpass the five million units minimum order requirement. Applying the above recommendation of flexibility, say 50% of 1M units or 500,000 laptops can be a much acceptable size of investment, and can be the difference that can make developing countries commit. If the above proposed change in strategy is still not enough to reach the 5 million units investment, expanding the target market or enlarging the scope of the laptop’s benefits can be carried out. Including even children of developed countries will bring about supplying a larger market base that will lead to the much needed economies of scale to start production. Opening up the technology to others aside from the developing countries and pricing the units at a higher price can also help finance fully or even partially those to be released in developing ones. For example, a laptop unit purchased in the U. S can be priced at a range of $300-400; the profit of $100-200 can then be subtracted to one unit sold in a developing country. In order to achieve the full aim of the program, that is to decrease and fight poverty n developing areas, a focus on a much more comprehensive and sustainable programs must be created in tandem with other organizations focused on other aspects of addressing poverty. To gain wider acceptance and credibility of the method of teaching with which the technology embedded in the laptop promotes, a proof of concept as suggested above must be done. Effects of improvements in academic performance must therefore be measured. This at the same time will serve as a shield or protection against attacks of competitors on the stren gth of the pursued advocacy.

How to Measure Volume and Density

How to Measure Volume and Density Archimedes needed to determine if a goldsmith had embezzled gold during the manufacture of the royal crown for King Hiero I of Syracuse. How would you find out if a crown was made of gold or a cheaper alloy? How would you know if the crown was a base metal with a golden exterior? Gold is a very heavy metal (even heavier than lead, though lead has a higher atomic weight), so one way to test the crown would be to determine its density (mass per unit volume). Archimedes could use scales to find the mass of the crown, but how would he find the volume? Melting the crown down to cast it into a cube or sphere would make for an easy calculation and an angry king. After pondering the problem, it occurred to Archimedes that he could calculate volume based on how much water the crown displaced. Technically, he didnt even need to weigh the crown, if he had access to the royal treasury since he could just compare the displacement of water by the crown with the displacement of water by an equal volume of the gold the smith was given to use. According to the story, once Archimedes hit upon the solution to his problem, he burst outside, naked, and ran through the streets yelling, Eureka! Eureka! Some of this might be fiction, but Archimedes idea to calculate the volume of an object and its density  if you know the objects weight was fact. For a small object, in the lab, the easiest way to do this is to partly fill a graduated cylinder large enough to contain the object with water (or some liquid in which the object wont dissolve). Record the volume of water. Add the object, being careful to eliminate air bubbles. Record the new volume. The volume of the object is the initial volume in the cylinder subtracted from the final volume. If you have the objects mass, its density is the mass divided by its volume. How to Do It at Home Most people dont keep graduated cylinders in their homes. The closest thing to it would be a liquid measuring cup, which will accomplish the same task, but with a lot less accuracy. There is another way to calculate volume using Archimedes displacement method. Partially fill a box or cylindrical container with liquid.Mark the initial liquid level on the outside of the container with a marker.Add the object.Mark the new liquid level.Measure the distance between the original and final liquid levels. If the container was rectangular or square, the volume of the object is the inside width of the container multiplied by the inside length of the container (both numbers are the same in a cube), multiplied by the distance the liquid was displaced (length x width x height volume). For a cylinder, measure the diameter of the circle inside the container. The radius of the cylinder is 1/2 the diameter. The volume of your object is pi (Ï€, ~3.14) multiplied by the square of the radius multiplied by the difference in liquid levels (Ï€r2h).

Edward Craven Walker and the History of Lava Lamps

Edward Craven Walker and the History of Lava Lamps Singapore-born inventor Edward Craven Walker was having a pint in post WWII England. The pubs decor included a fascinating lamp, which Craven Walker described as a contraption made out of a cocktail shaker, old tins and things. It was to become the starting point and inspiration for Craven Walkers design. Edward Craven Walker Designs the Modern Lava Lamp The liquid-filled inventor proceeded to purchase the equally liquid-filled lamp, whose creator (Mr. Dunnett) Walker later discovered had died. Walker became determined to make a better version of the novelty item and spent the next decade and a half doing so (in between running an international house-swap agency and making films about nudism.) Walker worked on improving the lamp with his company, the Crestworth Company of Dorset, England. Initially local retail merchants thought his lamps were ugly and disgusting. Luckily, for Craven Walker the Psychedelic Movement and the Love Generation came to dominate 60s merchandising in Great Britain and sales of the lava lamp soared. It was the perfect light for modern times, Walker declared: If you buy my lamp, you wont need to buy drugs. The Lava Lamp's Secret Recipe Edward Craven Walker perfected a secret Lava recipe of oil, wax, and other solids. The original model had a large gold base with tiny holes to simulate starlight, and a 52 oz globe that contained red or white Lava and yellow or blue liquid. He marketed the lamp in Europe under the name of Astro Lamp. Two American entrepreneurs saw the lava lamp displayed at a German trade show and bought the rights to manufacture the lava lamp in North America under the name Lava Lite Lamp. Lava Lamp Sales and Success Before selling his company, sales of the lamps had exceeded seven million units. Today with over 400,000 lava lamps made each year, the Lava Lamp is enjoying a comeback. Craven Walkers original  company, the Crestworth Company, changed names to Mathmos in 1995 (a reference to the bubbling force in Barbarella.) They still manufacture the Astro, Astro Baby, and more Lava Lamps in their original home of Poole, Dorset, UK. How the Basic Lava Lamp Works Base: Holds a 40 watt frosted appliance light bulb inside a reflecting cone. This cone rests on a second cone, which houses the light bulb socket and electrical cord connection. The electrical cord has a small in-line switch on it and a standard US 120v plug. Lamp: A glass container containing two fluids, called water and lava, both trade secrets. A metal cap seals the top of the lamp. There is a small amount of air at the very top of the lamp. Loose at the bottom of the lamp is a small coil of wire called the element. Top Cap: A small plastic cover over the top of the lamp which serves to both hide the lamps inner cap and the waterline. When turned off and cold, the lava is a hard lump at the bottom of the glass container and can barely be seen. The light bulb, when turned on, heats both the element and the lava. The lava expands with heat, becomes less dense than the water, and rises to the top. Away from the heat, the lava cools and becomes denser than the water and falls. The lava at the bottom reheats and begins to rise all over again and as long as the lamp is on, the lava keeps flowing in pleasing up-and-down waves. Initially lamps require a warm-up period of about 30 minutes to melt the lava before going into full motion. Todays modern lava lamps use Borosilicate glass that can withstand quick extremes in temperature.

Countries adopt a more liberal approach towards cannabis use Essay

Countries adopt a more liberal approach towards cannabis use - Essay Example To achieve this, I will follow a route map that includes three steps that involve showing the use of legislation in allowing cannabis use and the economic effects of policies about cannabis use. The third step involves showing how the nature of people has changed due to the new policies about cannabis use. In the recent past, some countries have started to change their policies about the cannabis use by legalizing cannabis use. Although different federal laws seek to control drug use, different states in U.S like Ohio and Columbia have legalized cannabis use leading to increased access, affordability, and consumption of cannabis (Marijuana Policy Project 1). Indeed, more people including students and juveniles are smoking cannabis, which defines the disadvantage of such policy in some countries or states. Two U.S states have legalized marijuana even as the House voted against the crackdown on medical cannabis. The legislation allowed patients and all adults to consume and grow cannabis in their neighborhoods, which increases the consumption of cannabis in America. As a result, cannabis is the most dominant drug in U.S with the United Nations claiming that about 4% of the global adult population smokes marijuana subject to the new legislations legalizing it (Beckley Foundation 1). Many people live in legalization states or travel to such states, which makes the society experience increased consumption of cannabis. The consumers equally ignore prices, which encourages juveniles and addicts to increase their consumption. Subject to its many uses, cannabis is one of the prominent plants and drugs in the world. By legalizing its consumption, the policy makers knew that such changes would enhance cannabis consumption, encourage more youths to start smoking it, and disregard the negative image that the public place on cannabis (Perkins 1). Subject to the increase in consumption, lack of crackdown on medicinal marijuana, the new

Marketing managment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing managment - Assignment Example Each and every organization, today, give huge importance to marketing. Marketing of a restaurant is basically nothing but the marketing of the service of that restaurant. However, restaurant marketing is little more difficult as compared to any other organization or product as the restaurant industry is extremely competitive in nature. This paper is all about a new restaurant called ‘London dining Experience’ and various issues regarding marketing of this restaurant. The paper includes an in depth analysis of the marketing environment of the restaurant, the process and the reasons of segmentation of the market of ‘London dining experience’. Generally there are two distinct marketing environments that influence an organization. These are micro and macro environment. It is very important for any organization to analyze its marketing environment because marketing environment comprises of all those factors that have either direct or indirect influence on the organization. As far as ‘London Dining Experience’ is concerned, the restaurant is about to launch. As a result it needs to have clear understanding about its marketing environment. Like any other organization microenvironment of this restaurant would include its suppliers, competitors, customers and marketing intermediaries. On the other hand the macro environment of this restaurant is comprised of economics, demographics, nature, politics, culture and technology (University of London, n.d.). So, it can be stated that the marketing environment of this restaurant is the combination of all these factors. Proper analysis of all these factors would enable the organization to create and maintain healthy and effective relation with its suppliers and customers, to have clear idea what its competitors are currently doing, to clearly understand the current tastes, needs and wants of the customers and

Cyclermate Report Group Essay Example for Free

Cyclermate Report Group Essay Many striking features of Cyclermate Company are shown clearly through its expertise workforce. It has skillful engineers gathered together to meet the volume on time. Besides, the high quality of the hand-made product is another crucial reason making its business expand. In addition, the word-of-mouth reputation is another major factors help this business succeeds. Furthermore, it takes advantages of the relatively low prices of commercial and industrial property. B. WEAKNESSES It is obvious that shambolic production process has heavily damaged the sales and profits gained. Unsuitable roles and duties division can be blamed for this problem. Some have to manage so many duties and tasks while others own so much spare time. Furthermore, the aging workforce endangers the productivity level. Another obstacle worsens the condition is the weak  training system. Fred, who is 18 years old, is a new worker in the field so it takes so much time to train him which also harms the production recently. Also, old machinery such as traditional spaying technique, painting and low-quality stock control technology needs updating as soon as possible if the business hopes to improve the production and sales in the coming time. Moreover, decline in sales show that marketing strategy of this company has problems. Apparently, it should be considered to be changed to online selling or online promotion immediately because globalization is widespread and making use of cyberspace is not a bad idea at all, in fact, many companies mostly succeed thanks to effective marketing campaign and successful advertising methods. Traditional adverts on national papers are no longer popular in our modern times. Besides, the managerial system also has matters. The managerial system inside the company such as company cultures, employee behavior, etc requires strict control, however, Lewis Llewellyn focus more on production issues and Dai on external relations. Obviously, the company is in serious shortage of labor and executive managers. Lastly, financial matters such as loss of profitability and rising overdraft are causing bad reputation and rapid fall in the share price. C. OPPORTUNITIES The product they selected was a â€Å"traditional† upright cycle, following a design typical of the 1940’s and 1950’s which created a strong niche market for this such product and would be given the upsurge in interest in cycling and the increasing consumer interest in â€Å"retro† styles. Another opportunity is that there would be a strong growth in their business because of the decrease in the number of people using cars. The opportunity created from the meeting between Amstrong and Owen helps him to have some expertise in new technologies that might be an interesting way to develop product. The upcoming changes in human resource, followed by Mr Jones who interjected that the quality problems could probably all be solved if the directors would allow the employment of more staffs in the factory and the plans for future directions, including development of the product range, and the introduction of new ways of working, new materials and possible outsourcin g of manufacture parts of the product manufacture point out the new development of their business. D. THREATS It can be seen that the biggest trouble Cyclermate is facing is their bad credits toward the bank. In 2010, the business is in trouble, the demand keeps going down despite the price reduction. This significant decrease in sales together with the increase in costs may last for the coming year. Therefore, Cyclermate’s overdraft is now becoming the major concern of the bank manager. So far, it is not easy for them to borrow money and this cause a lot of problem especially when they really need money to save their business. Besides, they also need to deal with their sales. Their customers demand high quality products and to meet this, they have to upgrade their producing system which will cost a lot. But, as the fact that they almost depend on their world-of-mouth reputation so it may be completely strange and challenging for them at first. 2. PEST analysis A. POLITICAL FACTORS Strict safety standard and consumer protection laws are Cyclermate’s priority. By 2010, their products continuously cause accidents. Customers keep complaining about the quality and faults in the products. One even got risk and intends to sue the company due to an accident purportedly caused by incorrectly assembled front brake. These mistakes made Cyclermate become a target of health and safety agencies. They have to improve the quality or else they can be stuck in authorized issues. On the other hand, they also need to achieve higher standard in manufacturing to meet requirements of the market, especially foreign markets. B. ECONOMIC FACTORS In a condition of high petrol prices recent years, many entrepreneurs find difficulties in producing and running their own business. Electricity is not an exception. Moreover, with the high cost in during manufacturing such as materials, facilities, the cost of products in the market does not avoid increasing. That is also the essential reason explaining the consumption in the world is in downward trend High costs also influence on delivery of this company, it prevents to expand the brand name and products to customers who live far away. Furthermore, it also interfere the import or export process because of tax, and ship costs. Finally, after wasting much money to purchase materials, or investing facilities and technology, spending on  marketing or delivery and paying salaries for their workers, the last profits of Cyclermate Ltd cannot be good and high. If the sales of this company are not able to improve, the worst case will happen is to go bankrupt, seriously. Cyclermate Ltd receives high competition from market because many rivals open more and more factory to produce bicycles in England, such as Carrera, Charter Lea. The competitiveness is higher and higher when there are new styles, color and reasonable price from competitors. The customers have lots of choices to select and purchase a bicycle which is stylish and suitable price. Another factor in economics that affects to the development of Cyclermate Ltd is labor. The unemployment rate is increasing, therefore, this is a good chance for this company to choose worker more easily, and employ them easily with affordable price. C. SOCIAL FACTORS High-speed innovation as well as the increasing demands of consumers requires Cyclermate to change and improve every day. Firstly, living standard of clients can affect to their choices. The higher income distribution they get, the higher demands they require. For example rich people want to ride an expansive and showy retro bicycle, but another client with medium wages just want to ride a nice quality bicycle. This point makes Cycler mate to diversify their price which is suitable for everyone in this communication. Besides price, design and color could be elements would make people to buy Cyclermate bicycle. The variation in design as well as color will attract children and teenager and give clients more options. Moreover, helpful accessories and functions are also important things that will affect to the survival of Cyclermate. A useful bicycle which is light and keep money in or save space in house will be the best choice for everyone. In addition, a friendly-environment Cyclerma te bicycle will be more popular and keep up with the friendly-environment trend in the world. D. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS In parallel of development of economics, high technology involves specifically the Internet. The Internet is used worldwide and it becomes a necessary tool for many customers to order online. It is extremely convenient and quick to book or order in the Internet instead of calling or going directly to offices. Cyclermate Ltd is using the oldest way to  advertise their products by posting advertisement in traditional newspapers. It has limited their goods to the customers. Instead, this company can set up its own website. They can post products, events, activities of company in to that page in order to customers following easily. Facebook is the possible choice of any entrepreneurs, because the customers can catch the new trend in this page. Moreover, the Internet is the cheapest method for advertising. More and more clients require high quality of products. Therefore motivation or investment money on modern manufacturing system is extremely important. It reflects not only the assura nce about quality but also confirm the level position of company. With high level and the most modern machinery, the company will surely create trust to customers. 3. Financial Ratios Analysis A. THE DIFFICULTIES: Liquidity and debt ratios: †¢ Current ratio = Current assets/Current liabilities =0.85 †¢ Quick ratio = (Current assets – Inventories) / Current liabilities = 0.76 †¢ Debt ratio = Total debt / Total assets = 0.38 By analyzing the financial ratios, it is easy to recognize that the quick ratio is less than one, which means the chance that the company can pay off its debt by using most liquid assets is quite low. Besides, it shows that the majority of inventories are stored and not effectively managed, that is why current ratio is at such high level, which also means low sales and low revenue gained. Moreover, the company relies on the bank loan as the main monetary support. B. SOLUTIONS: First of all, there is one obvious answer to the financial difficulty is that Cyclemate Ltd can lease or mortgage their freehold land costing $160,000 to gain more money and solve the situation right away. Therefore, it can prove their strength to survive in the future so the company gain more trust from the bank for future investment. Secondly, the company is in severe lack of cash (only $675 left) so of course any borrowing loan from the bank could easily turned down. The solution to this issue is that they should strictly resolve and for the trade debtors to repay the loans as soon as possible. The amount of $200,571 would help the financial situation better in the  coming time. Once their assets are raised through and their liquidity are proved to be valuable enough to afford the loan, it will be beneficial for them to borrow money from the banks. Additionally, cost in selling and distribution could be possible declined to save more money for the company such as cutting cost for postage and courier charges by substituting by cheaper service, as well as the travelling and hospitality. Those indirect costs contribute such high cost to the manufacturing of the cycles, restricting them would help boost the sales with cheaper price. Last but not least, the aging workforce is also another worry. If we can lay off some workers and hire cheaper labor for cleaning and other odd activities, it could save money for paying wages. In the meantime, experienced workers still remain the same with appropriate amount of salary; no necessary change should be applied. 4. Manufacturing procedure and improvements A. IMPROPER WORKFORCE IN MANUFACTURING: Unreasonable workforce division is one of the most serious problems of Cyclermate Ltd. Besides, lack of experienced employees and the aging workforce are worrying the production process and raising a big question for a more effective training system. First of all, the inappropriate division of duties obviously had made such a burden on many workers. In particular, Dai Armstrong has to deal with many tasks such as making all the frames, factory manager and business director at the same time. He himself also finds it hard to keep up the level of production (approximately 8 frames/day) because it requires the harsh physical demands. Moreover, assembly is a complex process, which takes 2 or 3 hours for one person. Janice Jones and Ffred Gregory often have to work overtime to catch up with the progress. As a result, their health and time issue could be heavily damaged. Also, packaging is not responsibility of certain worker, anyone who has spare time can do that. If nobody has to complete their own part, without any time to do this, the packaging won’t be accomplished on time. ↠ A good answer for this problem is that the company should require clear division to who is able to undertake and separate arrangement of duties. Specifically, assigning other qualified person on frame-making position so that Mr. Dai could concentrate and dedicate himself to external relations business only. Assuming that the financial situation of the company gets  better, the company should consider hiring more experienced labor for assemble line and frame-making because Mr Dai can no longer put up with the physical requirement of the task. With those simple tasks like packaging, it is acceptable for free hand employees to help out, but only when they finished all their tasks. Besides, the fact that workforce is getting older is also causing big troubles for the company because the manufacturing requires adaptation to changes and new demands every single day. Meanwhile, some workers are close to retired age. For example, Idris Pugh undertakes wheel manufacture; however, he is now in his seventies. Therefore, low efficiency always appears in the factory even Idris is a perfectionist, whose wheels are always absolutely true, and never causing any complaints ↠ In this case, the company can consider employ cheaper labor that are suggested by Maldwyn Jones: Chinese or Taiwanese labor to make the machine for them- much better quality but half the price and move Idris Pugh to higher position as a supervisor for the whole wheel-making process. Last but not least, the training system creates such obstacles for the assembly process. Typically, Fred, who is 18 years old, is a new and un-experienced person, the training for him is necessary, however, not easy at all. It takes so much time to instruct Fred in traditional way which is apparently the cause of slow production recently. ↠ In order to solve it, Fred needs to be on-the-job trained and separately from working hours. Perhaps letting Idris Pugh to be a trainer for Fred is the best measure to take because with such experience, he can taught Fred who is 18 years old and save time for others people focus on completing their own tasks. By doing this, assembly area could be worked with maximum speed and capacity without interruption. Production activity can maintain its working pace.

Abuse of Power Reflected in the Politics and Drama of Ancient Greece Es

Individual Abuse of Power Reflected in the Politics and Drama of Ancient Greece The Greeks believed that too much power entrusted in one person was dangerous. They were the first democratic society in a tumultuous world of kings and emperors, and they were proud of their ideology. Considering their fervent belief in rule by many, its not surprising that many Greek dramas revolve around an individual hero or a king's fall from power because of pride or some other personality flaw. Well-known characters in some of the greatest Greek tragedians' plays illustrate this idea. In Aeschylus's Agamemnon, the title character is a returning king who behaves arrogantly and thoughtlessly. He is murdered by his wife and his kingdom falls apart. Sophocles's character Oedipus ends up killing his father, losing his kingdom and his wife and mother, and becoming a blind, wandering outcast for the rest of his life. Jason in Euripides's Medea deserts his family for a new marriage which he hopes will further his station, but his old wife kills his new wife and his children, ending hi s hopes for a shining future. The evolving theme of an individual's weakness and subsequent downfall supports the Greek's democratic system, where no individual becomes too powerful. Agamemnon is a great warrior, but not a great family man. On his way to the Trojan war, he sacrificed his daughter to the gods so that his ships would be able to arrive safely and swiftly. This is an especially rotten thing to do because the war is being waged to reclaim just one woman, Helen. It is hard to justify killing one’s own daughter so that somebody else can get his wife back. However, war is what he is good at, and if he didn’t sacrifice his daughter he would be letting down ... ...ach fall from their power into death or despair. They had become too powerful, too arrogant, and too ambitious, and so the gods cut them down. This pattern of kings falling from power because of weaknesses and character flaws is very common in Greek dramas. The Greeks were proud of their democratic system, and their dramas reflected their belief that their society, ruled jointly by representatives of the people, was best in a world full of unstable and dangerous monarchies. The gods despise men who rise too high and seek to become too great. So do the Greeks. Works Cited Aeschylus. Agamemnon. Greek Tragedy. Eds. A. Cook and E. Dolin. Dallas: Spring Publishing, Inc., 1992. Euripedes; Medea; Trans. Rex Warner. The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama: Third Edition. Orlando: Harcourt, 2000. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.

Darkness at Noon

The author shares his experienced tales to grasp the concentration to the preconceived ideas and wrong conclusions of people like people believe that if someone is blind, he could not even hear, speak and hardest part he or she cannot work. The author has got very challenging education and employment despite these difficulties related to their backgrounds and the perception created by the society. The author in his story takes a simple format of telling the society about their society's wrong conclusion about the disable people.But as other stories have some lessons, so this it has, the best lesson that delivers from this is the light of hope that author has in his heart, mind and soul. In this part, the author is very polite and kind and gives message to others that these hardships will not underestimate his hopes and courage. A fable for Tomorrow In the essay â€Å"A Fable for Tomorrow†, Rachel Carson Illustrates a small town in America that was once beautiful but then becam e devastated by exploitation of its resources. Carson states â€Å"this town does not actually exist, but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America and elsewhere in the world. Carson is one of the pivotal people in the environmental movement of the 1 sass who emphasized that the art was a place to be respected, not destroyed by human greed and activities. This Is the thesis of her essay. The author uses very poetic language to describe the natural beauty of this small American town. She describes the farmland, the roadsides, the forest, and the rivers. Her language creates feelings of nostalgia and an appreciation for the natural world. The town feels like anyplace in the country that someone has visited or lived-the writing Is very personable to the reader.Carson Illustrates a place where all life seemed to live In harmony with Its surroundings. The second half of the essay has a very different tone and feeling about it. Suddenly, a mood of darkness creates a curtain around the town, masking the reader from the once natural beauty that was described before. Carson begins to illustrate how the town became devastated by the loss of its inhabitants to sudden sickness and disease. The farms suffered a loss of crops and animals, all the fish began to die In One of Carbon's main mandates was to warn people against the use of harmful pesticides and the effects of pollution on the environment.The devastation in this essay alludes to the use of pesticides and the pollution that they caused in this small town in America. The deaths within the human, plant, and animal worlds in this small town are not an uncommon situation in many parts of America and the world. Although not all places experience the same amount of devastation as described in this essay, many small towns have been greatly affected by the harmful use of pesticides on their crops. This essay is a very powerful response to human irresponsibility within the environment.

Carbon Dioxide and Industrialization Modernization

Martin Aldrin de La CruzENGLCOM1 EH1 Argumentative Essay: Industrialization Modernization is the conversion of rural areas in to urban or secular areas. Modernization is linked to other words like urbanization and industrialization. I will talk about industrialization. Industrialization is the conversion of agricultural into a base of manufacturing, buildings, and villages. Industrialization started in the 18th century where countries like Greece, Netherlands, and England used slavery to build structures in the agrarian areas.Many countries chose to industrialize to make their country powerful in terms of technology, transportation, education, and economy. Industrialization affects our economy in many ways. First, the construction of new buildings increases the value of the country. Since there are new buildings or enterprises, it opens jobs for people. Increasing the number of employed people in the labor force means increase in the economy. Although industrialization can make our c ountry's economy globally-competitive, it must be stopped because it destroys our body, harms the animals, and causes disturbance to the society.Industrialization can ruin our bodies. There are several bad effects of industrialization and one of these is giving us insufficient food supply. Since our rural areas have been converted to business enterprises, we need to expect that we have less food supply such as rice, vegetables, and other fruits. According to the leading conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), 90 percent of the 1. 2 billion people living in extreme poverty worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods. It is bad for the people living there to starve to death.Moreover, our bodies will be prone to illness since there is more pollution brought by the new structures. According to National Geographic, trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming. Fewer forests mean larger amounts of greenhouse gases enteri ng the atmosphere—and increased speed and severity of global warming. The trees that were cut down are supposed to be the things that will get the carbon dioxides and other chemicals brought out by factories. It is harmful for our body to take in the chemicals instead of the trees that should be taking it in.As what I have noted, industrialization can also harm the animals around us. According to TNC, forests are home of one half of the animals worldwide. I can not imagine a life having no shelter. Definitely, all of the animals that live in the forest also feed themselves from the resources there. Trees also prevent flash floods in our places. The roots in the trees sap the water from the rain. Thus, it prevents flash floods. If they are all cut down, we will suffer more and the animals can also suffer. In addition, the U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization said that industrialization contributes approximately 6. billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually, a s of 2011. Many animals will be affected by this pollution especially the marine life. Industrialization is not all just about pollution and killing, it is also causes disturbance to the society. According to TNC, there were approximately 6 million indigenous people living in the Brazilian Amazon. But as the forests disappeared, so too did the people. In the early 1900s, there were less than 250,000 indigenous people living in the Amazon. We know that there are indigenous people living in the rural areas. We should also help them preserve their lifestyle.It is also a nuisance because people working there risk their lives in going to such places. We know that there are rebels in such places especially in the country of Philippines. The rebels attack whenever they want. Although industrialization can make our economy globally-competitive and can bring glory to our countries, I can not bear the calamities that it can bring to us. Industrialization must be stopped because of these thing s. I believe that there are still other ways to make us competitive. We need to live simple in our ways and we can also innovative without destroying our planet.

French Expressions and Words - Idiomatic Expressions

French Expressions and Words - Idiomatic Expressions There are dozens of expressions in English which contain the word French, but are these things actually French? Take a look at this list with the French equivalents and the literal translations - you might be surprised.Where possible, definitions for these terms have been provided. To french1. (cooking) to cut into thin strips, to trim fat (unknown translation)2. (kissing) see French kiss, below   French bean: le haricot vert green bean French bed: le lit en portefeuille bed that is wider than a twin bed but narrower than a double bed French blue: bleu franà §ais dark azure color French boxing: la boxe franà §aise French braid: la tresse franà §aise (hair style) French plait in UK French bread: la baguette French bulldog: le bouledogue franà §ais French cap: la bague chapeau single spindle wood molding machine French casement: la fenà ªtre deux battants French chalk: la craie de tailleur literally, tailors chalk French chop (cuisine) chop with the meat and fat trimmed from the end (unknown translation(juggling) tomahawk jetà © de lautre cà ´tà © de la tà ªte French cleaners: le nettoyage sec literally, dry cleaning French clock: (unknown translation) elaborately decorated French clock from the 18th century French cricket: (unknown translation) informal type of cricket without stumps in which the batsman is out if the ball hits his/her legs French cuff: le poignet mousquetaire literally, musketeers cuff French curtain: le rideau la franà §aise French curve: le pistolet literally, pistol French custard ice cream: la glace aux Å“ufs French cut underwear: sous-và ªtements la franà §aise (lingerie) high-waisted styleFrench dip sandwich: un sandwich  « French dip  » beef sandwich dipped into beef juice (called au jus) French disease: la maladie anglaise literally, English disease. An old-fashioned term in both languages to refer to syphilis. French door: la porte-fenà ªtreliterally, window-door French drain: la pierrà ©e, le drain de pierres sà ¨ches French dressing: la vinaigrette Only in England does French dressing mean vinaigrette. In the US, French dressing refers to a sweet, tomato-based salad dressing that does not, as far as I know, exist in France. French endive: la chicorà ©e de Bruxelles, chicorà ©e witloof French eye needle - une aiguille double chas French fly: une braguette bouton de rappel hidden button inside fly of mens pants French fry: la (pomme de terre) frite literally, fried potato. Note that French fries are actually Belgian To French-fry: frire la friteuse literally, to fry in the fryer French harp: un harmonica This term is used in the southern US to refer to an instrument made of metal or glass strips attached to a frame and struck with a hammer.French heel: le talon franà §ais (womens shoes) a curved, high heel French hen (unknown translation) In the song 12 Days of Christmas French horn: le cor dharmonie literally, horn of harmonie French ice cream: see French custard ice cream, above French kiss:noun: un baiser avec la langue, un baiser profond, un baiser torrideverb: galocher, embrasser avec la langue French knickers: la culotte-caleà §on French knitting: le tricotin also called spool knitting French knot: le point de nÅ“ud literally, knot point French lavender: la lavande toupet To take French leave: filer langlaise (informal) literally, to split/take off the English way French lentils: les lentilles du Puy literally, lentils from (the French town of) Puy French letter: la capote anglaise (informal) literally, English condomFrench maid: la femme de chambre chambermaid French manicure: le French manucure American-invented style of manicure, with light pink polish on the nail and white polish underneath French marigold: un Å“illet dInde literally, Indian carnation French mustard: la moutarde douce literally, sweet mustard French onion dip (unknown translation) vegetable dip made from sour cream, onion, and herbs French onion rings: rondelles doignon French onion soup: la soupe loignon onion soup (topped with cheese and broiled)French pancake: une crà ªpe In English, this is also sometimes known as a crepe. ï » ¿French pastry: la pà ¢tisserie pastry French pleat: le pli pincà © a pleat at the top of a curtain consisting of three smaller pleats French polish: le vernis au tampon shellac diluted with alcohol and used to produce a high gloss on wood French poodle: un caniche literally, poodle French press: une cafetià ¨re literally, coffee maker French provincial (unknown translation) (architecture, furniture) style characteristic of the French provinces in the 17th and 18th centuries French roast coffee: le cafà © mà ©lange franà §ais literally, French blend coffee French roll: un chignon banane literally, banana bun French roof: un toit la mansarde literally, Mansard roof French saddle: une selle franà §aise breed of horse French seam: la couture anglaise literally, English sewing French silk pie (unknown translation) pie with a chocolate mousse or pudding filling and whipped cream topping French skipping (unknown translation) also known as Chinese skipping, Chinese jump rope, and elastics. French stick: une baguette French telephone: un appareil combinà © telephone with the receiver and transmitter as a single piece French toast: le pain perdu literally, lost bread French trotter: un trotteur franà §ais breed of horse French twist: le chignon bun French vanilla: la vanille bourbonliterally, (the French town of) Bourbon vanillaFrench vermouth: le vermouthdry vermouthFrench window: la porte-fenà ªtre literally, window-doorPardon my French: Passez-moi lexpression. ï » ¿Allow me the expression.

Business Plan And Marketing For Aroma Boutique Marketing Essay

Business Plan And Marketing For Aroma Boutique Marketing Essay The Aroma Boutique’s mission will be contributing holistic therapy treatment to health care professionals in and around the Paphos area in Cyprus. The therapeutic company will originally provide are Aromatherapy and Reflexology treatments. The Aroma Boutique will present a professional image and manner when carrying out a Complementary and Alternative treatments. Everything we do is interconnected to all the parts of our lives. The Aroma Boutique responsibility is that when treating a patient or client, we are entering a relationship with her and we want to make and keep this a positive one. (V. Pitman and K. Mackenzie, 2002). This small business includes a health care professional who provides healing process to restore health using reflexology technique and essential oils. Our higher goals are health and safety. We support the patient to be more open to their possibility of change and give them staying power and courage to see the healing process through to its conclusion. The name of the company is ‘Aroma Boutique’ which has been checked and no other business is present with the same name in Cyprus. The Aroma Boutique will be awaited to generate _________ per annum of business income. The specific treatments will be priced at an average of  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­____ for an hour and a half with consultation form and aftercare advice. The business income is based on 10-20 clients a week, operating for 44 weeks of a year. The amount of money will achieve to make a profitable and independent company. The workforce will comprehend of only one person and they will operate as a sole-trader from a privately residence hotel. Business Opportunity Theodora Polydorou will open the small company with the name ‘Aroma Boutique’ in Paphos, Cyprus. Theodora will begin trading in September 2013 and will propound service which supply Complementary and Alternative treatment such as Aromatherapy and Reflexology. This new and small business started by a cu rrently qualified graduate with a BSc Complementary Therapy (Aromatherapy and Reflexology). This business will trade from a privately residence hotel with specific treatment room. Moreover, some health professionals commented that their jobs are very stressful. Many professionals’ experiences burn-out at some point, and some health professionals find it unbearable, prompting them to leave clinical medicine for a non-clinical career, or perhaps even leave the healthcare industry altogether (www.healthcareersabout.com ). Considerable research has been devoted to job stress among different groups of health professionals. Mean stress scores on the HPSI were significantly different for all three professions, with nurses reporting the greatest level of stress. Frequency of exposure to individual stressful job situations also differed significantly among the professional groups (Behavioral Medicine, 1988). However, many health professionals have provided numerous ideas for relieving stress and preventing burn-out. All registered practitioners must be assured of the relevance and accountability of the therapy which they are using. On the subject of Accountability the UKCC Guidelines for Professional Practice in 1996 (p.8) state: ‘Accountability is an integral part of professional practice, as in the course of practice’. The service supply by Aroma Boutique will advantage clients by relief stress level and improve the condition of the mind giving some effect to the behavior of a person.

Unknown and Undiluted Titration Date Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Unknown and Undiluted Titration Date - Essay Example Furthermore, the concentration of Cca2+ is again subtracted from all the total concentration, in addition, the Mg2+ concentration is 0.0227+-0.005M after calculation. After Na2H2EDTA.2H2O is prepared and goes in contamination by water in 0.3 percentage the standard solution has to be corrected. Here below are the equations that analyses and further determines the EDTA solution concentration. Mass without impurity is the mass corrected and the mass actual is the dried chelating agent; EDTA concentration bears the name as CEDTA; the initial MW represents molecular weight, and the volume of the solution (500 ml) is V solution. Propagation of the errors calculates the uncertainty. The balance of uncertainty is +- 0.0001g and that of volumetric flask’s uncertainty is +-0.15 ml. the standard relative deviation is initialized by SRD. Calculation of results is in tabulation in the table. Results show that both relative derivation volume and relative derivation balance is +-0.0003.Moreso, after calculating using the values above EDTA concentration solution is 0.0018+-0.0004M. 1.00ml Ca/Mg solution in the spike is contained in the blank titration, Ph 10 buffer solution, water in conjunction with the indicator. From all the titration, the data in trial one from all the titrations undergoes nullification due to it being carried out hastily. Additional of 1.00ml in dilution of the unknown sample to the blank titration is put in a performance. The equation below is used to calculate V total: Both the standard deviation and the mean of part one and part two titrations are as follows and in illustration in table 4.Concentration of Mg2+ and Ca2+ can be identified from the values in the unknown sample.