Cja 384 Controlling Organized Crime - 1370 Words

My paper will cover the topic of how to how control organized crime and not just in the United States of America but also abroad. This is a country and others are wrought with opportunities, but many would seek to use those opportunities improperly to illegal ends. The consequences of these criminals and their actions can be detrimental to the overall well-being of the general populace by introducing negative elements into the greater whole of society. For that reason, and many others, numerous agencies were created to police these crimes and the people who perpetrate them. Varying jurisdictions from local to federal are normally involved in the investigation and apprehension of these individuals. But before one can discuss the topic of†¦show more content†¦These things make up for a vast amount of the overall profit made by certain individuals involved with organized crime. The second objective of these individuals is predatory crime. Some examples of this might include ass ault, arson, kidnapping, or robbery. These are the more socially reprehensible crimes which give organized crime its relative bad reputation. While many citizens would not condone many of these actions, they might unknowingly sponsor their occurrence by indirectly funding them. Organized crime can be narrowed down to five unique areas of criminal activity. The first being racketeering, an umbrella term, meant to describe when any group or groups conduct one or more of the other criminal activities. One of the most successful ways the federal government has been able to hinder the actions of hardcore criminals is through the formation of the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations). The second area of major criminal activity is vice, or vice operations. This has to do with victim-less crimes such as drugs, gambling, and prostitution. Again, these crimes are highly problematic because it is the public that decides whether or not they prosper. It’s all too easy to build a case against someone breaking a law by importing huge quantities of controlled substances across a border, but it becomes much more difficult to stem the sale or need for such drugs once they have reached their intended destinations. The thirdShow MoreRelatedControlling Organized Crime1200 Words   |  5 PagesControlling Organize Crime Paper Louis Pierre CJA/384 May 6, 2013 University of phoenix Professor: Glen Winters Controlling Organize Crime Paper Organize crime is a conspiratorial activity involving the coordination of numerous people in the planning and execution of illegal acts or in the pursuit of a legitimate objective by unlawful means, for example, threatening a legitimate business to get stake in it. However, organize crime involves continuous commitment by primary members, althoughRead MoreControlling Organized Crime Paper1163 Words   |  5 PagesControlling Organized Crime Paper CJA/ 384 August 19, 2013 Controlling Organized Crime Paper Organized crime is an issue that has existed for many years and continues to be on the rise especially with the technology that we have today. Well – known criminal organizations include; Italian Mafia, Russian Mobsters, Nuestra Familia, Mexican Mafia, The Hell’s Angels, The Bandidos, John Gotti, Al Capone, and so much more. One of the most famous criminal organizations are the Gambino Family inRead MoreControlling Organized Crime Paper1206 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Controlling Organized Crime Tina Martin-Fleming CJA/384 February 19, 2015 Charles Davis Organized crime groups have been around since the 1900’s. The mafia who came from Italy and other countries to the United States started their business and became a nuisance over a period. The mob became a problem for society with their illegal activities such as gambling, racketeering and prostitution that includes other violent behaviors. The mafia was famous for manipulating individuals with their

Accounting vs Economic Income Free Essays

Accounting vs. Economic Income Abstract This paper explores further into two different peer reviewed articles, and one chapter of an accounting book. These articles express the dynamics of accounting and its perspectives. We will write a custom essay sample on Accounting vs Economic Income or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also equates for how they are determined and the usefulness of the income based on changes in the value of credits and liabilities. In addition, it expresses the need for education in both forms of income, and specific training required to truly understand the differences. Keywords:Accounting, Investments, Income, Assets, Liabilities Accounting versus Economic Income Introduction Accounting income and economic income may sound the same, but they vary greatly. Knowing the correct terminology is the mark of a true professional. (Kida Hicks, 1982) There are several definitions and several different ways to approach the topic, but altogether they establish a better understanding. In accounting income and economic income there is more to them, than just definitions. There should be a clear understanding and precise knowledge of the two. Summary Economic income represents an increase in the command over goods and services, or as economists refer to it as a measurement of â€Å"better-offness† (Walther, 2010). The Hicks approach addresses economic income is a change in wealth. This is simplified by a consumption of withdrawals by owners and savings, which constitute changes in an owner’s wealth. (Lamberg, 2002) Both interpretations of the economic income are very similar, and rely on wealth. In economics, value and income concepts are thought of in terms of theoretical concepts. † (Kida Hicks, 1982) Accounting income can be defined per word. Where â€Å"accounting measurements tend to be based on historical cost determined by reference to an exchange transaction with another party (such as a purchase or sale) and income represents â€Å"revenues† minus â€Å"expenses† as determined by reference to those transact ions or events. † (Walther, 2010) The FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) approach to accounting income is revenues, plus ains, minus losses, and minus expenses, but the IASC (International Accounting Standards Committee) refers to accounting income as revenues plus gains. (Lamberg, 2002) Several different approaches to the accounting income, but in general they are all alike. â€Å"The concept of income for accounting purposes has been traditionally based on a set of rules and regulations utilizing an historical cost approach. † (Kida Hicks, 1982) In order to see if students in college could really understand the differences in the two, a study was done. The purpose of this study was to test for income and value concepts to trained students in accounting and those not trained. † (Kida Hicks, 1982) The original hypothesis of this test was the students without the accounting education would tend to leer toward and economic approach or value based accounti ng system where income is viewed as a change in wealth, and the students with the knowledge and understanding would recognize the accounting procedural approach closely related to the historical cost convention. Kida Hicks, 1982) A ten question multiple choice test was given out to 438 students at several universities, 206 with accounting training and 232 without any accounting knowledge. The original hypothesis was confirmed. The students without any accounting knowledge generally leered to an economic standpoint, and thought there answers were in a justified manner. â€Å"It appears that the students often become so adept at learning specific rules and regulations of accounting procedure that they overlook the more global issue of just what it is they are measuring. (Kida Hicks, 1982) Students need an appreciation of the dynamics of accounting. (Lamberg, 2002) Conclusion In conclusion, economic income is basically about wealth, accounting income is mainly based more on how ever yone determines the status of a company’s financial status. Accounting and economic knowledge is very useful. It continues to grow more and more in depth and knowledge is needed for all students in order to succeed in the business world. In today’s colleges, economic income concepts with the accounting procedural approach in both economics and accounting courses need to be implemented. In addition, it may be desirable to require an advanced economics course for accounting majors which reemphasizes the theoretical value based concepts. † (Kida Hicks, 1982) References Kida, T. , Hicks, D. (1982). Economic versus Accounting Income: The Impact of Education on students concepts. Journal of Economic Education, EBSCO Host acessed August 2010 , 40-46. Lamberg, E. (2002). Economic versus Accounting Income. Business Source Complete Database , 30-34. Walther, L. (2010). Chapter 3 Income Measurement (27-44). Retrieved from Principles of Accounting: http://www. principlesof accounting. com/pdf/Chapter%203id. v. 070107. pdf How to cite Accounting vs Economic Income, Papers

Marketing Selling and Creating Value

Question: Discuss about theMarketing for Selling and Creating Value. Answer: Introduction: The word marketing means many different things to many different people (whether they are directly involved in marketing or not). Why do you think this is? Marketing is termed by different people in various ways and it is assumed that marketing has only to do with selling. There are various concepts of marketing which are unknown to different people from various backgrounds. It makes more sense to understand the concept of marketing and the intention with which the concept has been introduced in the Product based world (AMA nd). There are various ways in which people imagine the concept of marketing like Marketing usually involves selling and creating value. In a generic way creation of value to the Customers is missed out (Lars Perner nd) Marketing usually involves sales calls and a lot of interactions between the buyers and the sellers It is generally assumed that marketing for the growth of the Company alone and it does not intend to create any value to the Customers Different Organizations create different products however they generate little value to their Customers which ultimately gets highlighted and the Customers feel that the Companies dont pay desired attention to their needs Customers feel that the value of the Products should be seen from their perspective than viewing them from a product category alone. This aspect creates and sustains a greater value in relation to the other competitors in the market as the Customers feel that they are being valued and considered while the Companies design their products References AMA nd., Marketing, Viewed on Aug 15th 2016, https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx Lars Perner nd., Consumer Behaviour, Viewed on Aug 15th 2016, https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/marketing_introduction.html Pros and cons of some of these definitions and which one(s) best represent(s) what marketing is truly about? Marketing is a vast subject or an activity which is adapted and implemented by various Organizations for the process of strategizing, creating, implementing and monitoring a specific product or a service. Marketing offers various products and services to a no. of Customers and Stakeholders in order to identify products and services through different marketing opportunities and generate greater marketing revenues through a consistent performance (Brassington Pettit 2013). Marketing is conducted in various forms and by different audience through various media platforms because of which it is defined in various ways. For example AMA defines marketing as a process of strategizing, creating, implementing and monitoring a specific product or a service (AMA nd). Dr. Philip Kotler defines marketing as a science and an art of exploring, designing and delivering a greater value in order to satisfy the customer wants or any of the target markets in order to generate greater revenue. The best marketing definition is of Dr. Philip Kotler where it caters to different products and to a no. of business firms. Pros The Pros of having a set of marketing definitions is that the brand can reach out to a maximum no. of audience through its varied set of ideas and concepts based on which it intends to deliver its products and services. The reason varied is justified in this context because the company attempts to create various marketing campaigns in order to tap different audiences and their requirements (Amber Keefer nd). Cons Even without ensuring that there is a scope of entry marketing definitions includes a lot of terms which might not be of any value to the Customers. References AMA nd., Marketing, Viewed on Aug 15th 2016, https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx Brassington F. Pettit S. (2013) Essentials of Marketing, Harlow: Pearson. Amber Keefer nd., Pros Cons of a Global Marketing Strategy, Viewed on Aug 15th 2016, https://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-global-marketing-strategy-40456.html Arguments for and Against the Practice of Marketing? There are various concepts for and against the concept of marketing because of various factors like Cost The marketing programs attract various costs where most of the funds are derived from the public funds in terms of resources. The concepts of marketing are also becoming vague where they are being made to tap the audiences to get attracted to their products however there has been a showcase of a lot of negative aspects in the marketing campaigns (Baines, Fill Page 2011). For Example there are some marketing campaigns where the women are used to portray the quality of the product which can be avoided in order to convey a positive outlook for the brand (Dibb, Pride Ferrell 2012). In turn the audiences would like to buy the products based on a quantitative feedback where the numbers would give them a clear understanding of the value which the product would provide like the marketing campaigns could involve questionnaires, surveys, samples, interviews and market research which would prove to be a lot more worthy to the Customers. According to Kotler broadening the concept of marketing is a critical way of ensuring that the products are marketed and sold in the right way (Kotler, Armstrong, Harris Piercy 2013). Criticism to social marketing can be avoided by introducing the authentic practices of marketing for all the products and services through strategic marketing where marketing can be performed in a disciplined way. References Dibb S., Simkin L., Pride W., Ferrell O. (2012) Marketing, Concepts and Strategies, Andover: Cengage Baines P., Fill C., Page K. (2011) Marketing, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kotler O., Armstrong G., Harris L., Piercy N. (2013) Principles of Marketing, Harlow: Pearson

The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children Essay Example

The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children Essay The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children Dee Whitworth Angelina College Abstract Divorce can have many psychological effects on a child. When a marriage ends in divorce, a child of the marriage may view the divorce the same as if a parent has died. During the period following a parental separation a child may have feelings of denial, anxiety, abandonment, anger, guilt, depression and conflicts of loyalty. Because of the pain and emotional damage the child is sure to suffer, many parents stay in a dysfunctional marriage believing it is the best thing for their child. There are some cases where staying together for the sake of the child can actually be detrimental to the child. A parent can diminish the negative effects of a divorce by supporting and reassuring their children, before, during and after the separation. A parent can rebuild the child’s sense of security by reestablishing stability. If parents do not take the time to address the emotional needs of the child during the process of a divorce, parents can damage their relationship with their child and the emotional development of the child. Keywords: Divorce, Psychological effects, Children Divorce is a stressful time for every member of a family. The psychological effects of a child during this stressful time depend in part on the age of the child and the parents’ ability to control their emotions and to work together to sooth and reassure the child. Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan (1999) believe children in this age group are too young to understand what is happening. Even though these children may not understand what is happening between their parents, they may sense the distress their parents are feeling, and react negatively. We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to Cohen (2002), â€Å"Infants and children younger than 3 years may reflect their caregivers’ distress, grief, and preoccupation; they often show irritability, increased crying, fearfulness, separation anxiety, sleep and gastrointestinal problems, aggression, and developmental regression† (p. 1019). The parents of a child in this age group need to work together to foster feelings of security in their child. According to Henning and Oldham (1977), Parents of pre-school hildren that establish consistent routines and reassure their children that they will not be abandoned are able to reestablish a child’s sense of security. Children that are four and five years of age sometimes feel that they are to blame for their parent’s divorce. They feel that if they had not been bad their parents would not be getting divorced. Additionally, children in this age group tend to believe that they can make their parents reconcile by being a good child. According to Henning and Oldham (1977), â€Å"Young children and pre-school children have an incomplete and confused understanding of what has caused such a radical change in the family routine† (p. 55). Cohen (2002) states that â€Å"At 4 to 5 years of age, children often blame themselves for the breakup and parental unhappiness, become more clingy, show externalizing behavior (acting out), misperceive the events of the divorce situation, fear that they will be abandoned, and have more nightmares and fantasies† (p. 1019). It has been implied that boys in this age group have a harder time adjusting to the divorce than young girls. According to Max (1970), the effects of an absent father are felt the most by boys aged four to six. Hetherington and Stanley-Hagen (1999) found that â€Å"Fathers involvement has been found to be greater with sons following divorce and to be more important for the development of boys than of girls† (p. 132). You could argue that the reason for this is because sons get their gender identify from their father, so the loss of a father affects a boy more than it does a girl. Parents can alleviate some of the anxiety of the child by allowing the father access to the child. If it is not possible for the father to maintain a close relationship with the child, due to violence or sexual abuse, the mother should take steps to find a suitable male role model to help her children, like a coach or scout leader (Sugar, 1970, p. 592). Gardner (1977) tells us that children often use a male teacher as a surrogate father figure. Adolescents and teenagers are more likely to openly show their anger toward their parents and become depressed during a divorce. They are more likely to act out by stealing, lying and becoming sexually promiscuous. These behaviors can lead the child to become pregnant or associate with other children who are also displaying delinquent behavior (Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan, 1999, p. 131). Cohen (2002) has stated that â€Å"School-aged children may be moody or preoccupied; show more aggression, temper, and acting out behavior; seem uncomfortable with gender identity; and feel rejected and deceived by the absent parent. School performance may decrease, and they may agonize about their divided loyalties and feel that they should be punished† (p. 1019). Adolescents and teenagers are often torn between their parents and show an alliance to one parent over the other parent. This alliance makes it difficult for the child to talk to one parent without feeling as if they are betraying their loyalty to the other parent. The alliance may also be utilized by the child to manipulate their parent (Henning @ Oldham, 1977, p. 56). Some children in this age group deal with their negative feelings by pulling away from their parents and becoming more independent. Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan (1999) found that â€Å"Some girls actually seem to be enhanced by dealing with the responsibilities, independence, and challenges associated with divorce in a supportive environment† (p. 132). Although some girls do seem to thrive after a divorce, they often grow into young women who set exceptionally high expectations for themselves, but still feel inadequate no matter how much they may accomplish. Although divorce has been found to enhancement some girls, it is rarely found that divorce has enhanced boys (Hetherington @ Stanley-Hagan, 1999, p. 132). Some parents maintain their unhappy marriage because they fear a divorce would negatively affect their child. In some cases, maintaining a turbulent marriage may be more detrimental to a child than an actual divorce (Rosen, 1977, p. 26). Additionally, â€Å"children adjust better in a harmonious single parent household that in an acrimonious two-parent household† (Hetherington @ Stanley-Hagan, 1999, p. 37). This confirms that a child can be negatively affected when parents try to stay together for the sake of the child. Rhona Rosen, M. A. , interviewed 92 children of divorce and found that â€Å"73 children stated in the strongest terms that they would not have chosen to have their parents stay together in conflict† (Rosen, 1977, p. 24). Parents who maintain a combative relationship for the sake of the child are actua lly hurting the child’s psychological development more than if they divorced. Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan (1999) believe â€Å"Children whose parents will later divorce is already showing problems in adjustment many years before the divorce† (p. 133). Children who are well adjusted before divorce are better able to adapt and navigate through the stressful time of divorce. Children who were poorly adjusted before a divorce continue having problems after a divorce and are at greater risk for adjustment problems in later life (Hetherington, 1999, p. 133). A lack of parental communication and guidance causes great distress to a child during a pending divorce. The paramount problem of children during the divorce process is that the adults involved in marital strife are not looking for ways in which to help their children adjust to the transition, but are searching for ways to implement their own personal life readjustment† (Henning @ Oldham, 1977, p. 56). Parents neglect to talk to their child the divorce because they fear giving too much informatio n would be detrimental to the child. This lack of information causes the child to blame themselves for the divorce or to come up with their own explanations for their parent’s divorce, which could be worse than the actual reasons for the divorce. According to Gardner (1977), â€Å"To deprive the children of information regarding the major issues that brought about the divorce can only produce distrust of the parents at a time when they are most in need of a trusting relationship† (p. 4). Couples that have friendly, cooperative relationships do not usually get divorced. When a relationship deteriorates and a couple decides to divorce, and there is a child involved, they need to put aside their hostilities and focus on the needs of the child. A child who is a product of divorce who has loving, supportive, communicative parents is more likely to be happy and social well adjusted. Alternatively, a child who is a product of divorce and has parents who remain combative and hostile is more likely to suffer depression and have dysfunctional relationships throughout their life. References Cohen, G. (2002). Helping Children and Families Deal With Divorce and Separation. American Academy of Pediatrics, 110(6), 1019-1023. Gardner, R. (1977). CHILDREN OF DIVORCE-SOME LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 6(2), 3-6. Henning, J. , Oldham, J. (1977). CHILDREN OF DIVORCE: LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CRISES. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 6(2), 55-58. Hetherington, E. , Stanley-Hagan, M. (1999). The Adjustment of Children with Divorced Parents: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective. Journal of Child Psychology Psychiatry Allied Disciplines, 40(1), 129-140. Rosen, R. (1977). CHILDREN OF DIVORCE: WHAT THEY FEEL ABOUT ACCESS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE DIVORCE EXPERIENCE. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 6(2), 24-26. Sugar, M. (1970). CHILDREN OF DIVORCE. Pediatrics, 46(4), 588-595.

Having a Job in High School Has More Benefits Than Just a Paycheck

Having a Job in High School Has More Benefits Than Just a Paycheck SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Having a job used to be a rite of passage for high school students. They’d put in some hours during the school year and over the summer and often be able to pay for most of their college expenses with the money they earned.However, as today’s current high schoolers are facing piles of homework, pressure to excel on sports teams and clubs, and tuition costs that no entry-level job could ever cover, many people are rethinking the concept of high schoolers working. Are there still benefits to having a job in high school?Yes. There are many reasons for a high school student today to have a job, and those benefits extend far beyond just a paycheck. Having a job in high school can not only be a great experience in and of itself, it can also set you up to get even better jobs in college and beyond.In this article, I use my experience of working as a teenager to go over the key benefits of having a high school job. I also end by giving tips on the best jobs for high school students. My High School Work Experience When I was 14 years old, my mother told me that I needed to get a job in order to pay for college. Happy with my sporadic babysitting work, I resisted and told my mother that, no matter what job I got, I’d never be able to pay for college on a high school worker’s salary. To prove my point, I even got a calculator and showed her it’d take several years of full-time work on a minimum wage salary to cover college costs. My mother dismissed those arguments and told me that there were plenty of other reasons why I should get a job beyond just the paycheck. So I found myself applying for and eventually accepting a job as a swim instructor and lifeguard at my town’s local pool.I ended up working at the pool through all four years of high school and eventually was promoted to a manager position. In the summer, I’d teach swim lessons in the morning and lifeguard in the afternoon, and during the school year I’d teach swim lessons weekend mornings and supervise the office occasional weekday evenings. Not everything about the job was great, and there were times I hated jumping in the pool on cold mornings and trying to convince cranky kids to follow my instructions, but overall, like my mother said, I got many benefits from the job beyond just the paycheck (although having spending money of my own was definitely nice). At my job, I made lots of new friends, more than I had made in high school actually. I also gained numerous skills including CPR training and office experience.Additionally, I was also able to use my work experience (as well as my experience as a manager) to stand out from other job applicants in college and get a paid research job as a freshman in college. Having a job in high school gave me work experience, independence, and a better idea of the type of career I wanted, and many other high school students can benefit from having a job.Even if the job doesn’t pay well, or relate to your future career, or seem all that fun, there are still tons of benefits to having a high school job, and we’ll go over them in this article. The 6 Key Benefits of High School Jobs There are numerous benefits to getting a job in high school, some of which are obvious and others less so. This section covers six of the main benefits you can expect to get from having a job as a high school student. #1: You’ll Earn Money The most obvious benefit to getting a job in high school is that you’ll be making money. Now, since you’re starting at the bottom rung of the ladder, this likely won’t be a ton of money. When I first started working, I made the princely sum of $5.25 an hour (before taxes), and that’s not going to make anyone rich. However, even the salaries of low-paying jobs begin to add up over time, and since you’re in high school, your expenses are very low or non-existent. That means you can put all that money towards whatever you want, like a college fund or new clothes or attending concerts, instead of having to pay bills and students loans. My parents recommended that I put half my paychecks in my savings account, so I did that and used the other half to buy an expensive guitar that I could have never have afforded without my job.And even if your high school job is an unpaid internship or volunteer work, not to worry. There are plenty of other benefits of a high school job, which we discuss below. #2: You’ll Learn New Skills No matter what your first job is, even if it seems incredibly easy and/or incredibly boring, you’re guaranteed to pick up skills you didn’t have before.These skills can include anything from learning how to work a cash register, to building customer service skills, to figuring out the trick to balancing all those restaurant dishes on your arms at once. The skills you learn may not be that interesting to you, and they may not be anything close to the skills you need for your future career, but it never hurts to gain new knowledge. It may end up being interesting or useful to you down the line. At my job, I learned how to teach different swimming strokes, how to administer CPR, and a host of first-aid skills. These are all pretty helpful to know, however; I didn’t end up using most of them in my future jobs. The main skill that was useful for other jobs I had down the line was learning how to use a pretty obscure computer program to track pool visitor numbers. It was clunky and annoying to learn, but, years later, I applied to an internship that also used the same program, and my future boss told me that having that random skill helped me beat out the competition and get the job. So don’t knock any of the skills your job teaches you because they may come in handy someday. #3: You’ll Gain Work Experience In addition to learning new skills, your high school job will help you gain valuable work experience. Everyone goes through a learning curve when they first begin working as they learn how to manage their time effectively, how to interact with coworkers, how to make sure they get to work on time, etc. No matter what other strengths you have, you’re going to be a pretty bad employee until you figure those basic work skills out. This is why a lot of employers are hesitant to hire someone who’s never worked before, even if they have great grades and otherwise seem like they could be an excellent worker. A few months after I started working, my job had a mandatory meeting one night that every employee had to go to. However, I didn’t go because, for some reason, I didn’t believe it was really mandatory or important for me to attend that meeting. Afterwards, I got a stern talking to from my boss and it was embarrassing, but it’s better to make those mistakes early on, when the stakes are low and your boss is more likely to be understanding. By college, with four years of work experience under my belt, I definitely wasn’t making those beginner mistakes during my research job. So, even if your high school work experience only amounts to flipping burgers for a summer at your local fast food joint, that can still give you a huge leg up over people with no work experience when you apply to jobs in college and later on. If you start learning the skills to being a good employee in high school, you’ll set yourself up to be an outstanding employee later on down the line. So make your mistakes now instead of later (but don’t make the same mistake I did because that was pretty dumb of me). #4: You’ll Learn More About What Kind of Career You Want As a high school student, you’ve likely spent a lot of time thinking about the type of career you want to have, even if you haven’t come to any firm conclusions about what you want to do. Thinking about and researching different types of jobs is great, but the best way to figure out what you want to do is to actually try different jobs out. Now, your high school job likely isn’t the job you want to get after you finish school, but it’s still a great way to get a taste of the working world and figure out which things you enjoy in a job and which you don’t. When I was a teenager, I was pretty sure I was going to be a scientific researcher and possibly a professor. That career had nothing to do with my high school job of teaching swim lessons and being a lifeguard. However, I was able to use my high school work experience to get a better idea of what kind of job I would enjoy. One of the best ways to do this was to think about what I liked and what I didn’t like about my high school job. Things I liked included being around people, being active and outside, and working with kids. Things I disliked included knowing I was responsible for the safety of everyone in the pool, giving kids low marks on their swimming tests, and dealing with parents who were angry their child didn’t pass to the next swim level. None of this radically changed my career goals, but it did encourage me to consider having a job that let me do more than just sit at a desk or in a lab, and it made me think more critically about being a professor, where I’d regularly have to give out low grades and speak with unhappy students and parents. #5: You’ll Meet New People Unless your high school job involves sorting old moss specimens in a warehouse by yourself (a job I also once had), you’ll meet lots of new people at work.Your coworkers will likely be people you wouldn’t have met otherwise, which is a great way to expand your social circle beyond your high school friends and learn more about different types of people. Many workplaces that employ high school students have a lot of similarly-aged people working there who often develop a strong camaraderie, which means your new coworkers could end up being some of your best friends. However, there’s also the possibility that you won’t like someone you work with, whether this is your boss, customers you need to help, or that one coworker who steals everyone else’s lunch. And even though that’s not as fun as being friends with everyone you work with, it’ll help prepare you for the many times in the future you have to work with or interact with someone you’re not crazy about. #6: You’ll Gain Independence One of the most important benefits of teenager jobs is that you’ll achieve a degree of independence you likely haven’t experienced before.As a high school student, you’ve probably lived your entire life with your parents and been under their rules or your school’s rules when you’re in class. At a job, you’re deemed responsible enough to manage your own duties, and you’ll have fewer restrictions than you likely do at home or school. As an employee, you’re not just a student or a kid; you’re a full-fledged member of the team who’s considered smart enough to handle some responsibility. Your teacher won’t be there to tell you to stop talking and pay attention, and your mom won’t be there to remind you to clean up after yourself. You’ll be responsible for taking care of all your job duties yourself. Some people worry that teenagers who have jobs give up their childhood too soon and take on too much responsibility, but in my experience and the experience of my friends who worked as teenagers, I never found this to be true.My job, even when I worked full-time in the summer, still gave me plenty of time to socialize and have fun, and I was proud to feel more â€Å"grown up† and know I was trusted by my boss to do my job well. Succeeding at a job and earning moneyall on your owncan help you gain a lot of independence and self-confidence, and it’s a great way to help prepare you for college and the future when your responsibilities and independence will only increase. What Are the Best Jobs for Teens? Sometimes high school students and their parents worry about what the â€Å"best† job for a teenager to have is or if the job they’re thinking about taking is good enough.The truth is that most teenager jobs are about the same prestige-wise. Working as a waitress is no better or worse than working in customer service or at a summer camp. Each of those jobs can provide the benefits we discussed in this article. No one is expecting a high schooler to get a job as an investment banker or astrophysicist, so don’t worry about a job that doesn’t seem like it’s â€Å"good enough.† Many rich and successful people starting out flipping burgers or folding clothes at their local mall. Ditto to people concerned about getting a job in high school that matches the career they want to have. If you can find a job as a high school student that’s in the field you eventually want to work in, that’s great, but be aware most high schoolers take jobs that have absolutely nothing to do with their career paths. That’s OK since your career goals are likely to change between high school and when you actually begin working full-time. The most important thing is just to get a job so you can get the work experience, new skills and added sense of responsibility. It’s OK if you don’t think the pay is that great or the job isn't something you’re really interested in. My first job paid very little and had nothing to do with my career goals, but I still got a lot out of it. If possible, I’d recommend an â€Å"official† job as opposed to under the table work like nannying since the former gives you more experience with common workplace tasks like clocking in and out, attending meetings, and working with managers and coworkers. These are all things you’ll probably need to know for future jobs, so it’s good to start getting used to them now.Workplaces known for treating young and new workers well are also a good bet. Finally, when you’re looking at jobs, make sure they’re convenient for you to get to and will work with your schedule. You don’t want to take a job only to find out a few weeks later that it conflicts with a sport or club you're in. Conclusion: The Benefits of High School Jobs Having a job is not for every high school student; many teenagers these days already have jam-packed schedules between school and sports and clubs. As a junior in high school, I had to cut back on my job hours during the school year because I was feeling overwhelmed with homework.However, for many high school students, there are numerous benefits to be gained by having a job. Not only will high school jobs give you a way to earn some money, meet new people, and gain some more responsibility, you can use your teenager jobs to get yourself a better job in college since can prove to employers you’ve already succeeded at one job. Some people wonder what the best jobs for teens are, but the truth is that any job with a decent boss, fair pay, and work that isn’t too miserable can get you all the benefits we discussed in this article. The most important step is just to go out there and find yourself a job. What's Next? Looking for job ideas?We've written a guide onthe eight best jobs for teensas well as steps to take to find the best job for you. Thinking about getting an internship?We've got you covered! Check out our step-by-step guide to getting an internship for teens for everything you need to know to land a top-notch internship. Looking to save your hard-earned earnings from your high school job? Check out our guides to saving money on the SAT and ACT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Best Way of Spending Holidays

Best way of spending holidays. In my views camping is the best way of spending holidays. It is hard to argue with fact that camping is one of the most popular recreational activity in the world. Whether it involves families, friends, couples or youths, everyone just enjoys a good camping outdoors. Connecting with nature is definitely considered to be one of the most fun ways to invest a vacation. Why invest your vacation in expensive hotels when you can also enjoy your time with your own companions outdoors where it’s closer to mother nature.Camping appeals to the inner subconscious of us human’s desire to interact with nature. The wilderness, trees and shrubs, plants, wildlife, fresh air, humans in general discover all of the over pleasant. There are numerous reasons why camping is extremely popular. It is due to the many benefits and benefits that camping brings. Outside camping is a recommended way to spend period together with people who are dearest to you. Whether it is with your family or even special someone, the occasions that you will be spending together outdoors will surely give all of you memories that you may all never forget. There are times that we always as well preoccupied with something may it be work or school, so we don’t get to spend time with our loved one as much as you want to. So you want to really make it up to them? Outdoor camping is the ideal answer in this kind of situation. Why? If you are camping, you will have no access to computers, cell phones or a television therefore it just your group and mother nature. So which means no more distractions and also you got each other’s single(a) attention. Camping is also a great way to relieve your stress.If you’re working long hours and therefore are always tired then it’s highly likely that you are stressed out. Relieve your stress threshold by bonding with mother nature. Instead of breathing the usual polluted air of the town, by camping outdoors you will get to breathe cool as well as fresh air. And instead of filing an endless quantity of paperwork or being in front of the computer the whole day, you get to enjoy activities like outdoor bbq, fishing, swimming and other fun activities that might take your mind off work. Camping will surely have a positive effect on your stressed mind and the body.

The Medieval Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Medieval Age - Essay Example This made the Nobles rebel against the crown often, as they controlled their own local armies. In Manorialism, the 1000’s of acres which belonged to the manor was owned entirely by the nobles. They had complete administrative control over the areas. But, the military power lay entirely with the king preventing Noble's ability to revolt against their lords. Manorialism gave more freedom to the peasants, serfs and the nobles ruling them. They were freed from the duty of guarding their territories fiercely and started to concentrate on developing the areas assigned to them. This system functioned pretty much the same way as the modern governments do. The Last Crusade and the fall of the AcreVenice and Genoa both flourished in trade from 1010. The first crusade started with an emotive appeal from the pope on November 27, 1095. Christians from all over the Europe joined together and waged a war against Muslims in getting their holy land back. This is seen as a .attempt by the churc h to sustain papal control over the mass. However, the first crusade ended successfully with Antioch being captured and King Bohemund of Southern Italy and his descendants becoming its rules for the next two centuries. He encouraged the Italians to establish trade connections with Egypt through Antioch. Venice was the first state to establish trade contacts with Egypt a. They met the Egyptian merchants bringing spices from the South Asia near the Red sea, collected their goods and sold it for huge profit in the Europe.

World History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

World History - Essay Example The series of revolutions saw rise of the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, leading to independence of America hence formation of the United States of America (USA) from British colonization. These revolutionary wars a protest against the tyrannical rule of the British and were led by General Washington and his army. The French Revolution also emanated during this period between 1789 and 1799 in which absolute monarchies were replaced by democracies and republics hence strengthening of France (Strayer, 2013). Although causes of the French revolution are still debatable up to date, issues revolving around taxation schemes and inequality were dominant factors. Napoleonic wars took center stage and the fall of major monarchies set stage for modern nations sparking new revolutions such as in Russia. The period between 1790 and 1804 saw the rise of Haitian Revolution leading to the independence of Haiti. Haitian Revolution is quite significant in the world history especially since it was the only slave revolution that experienced victory and led to formation of an independent state. The revolution had begun with the black African slaves who opposed the French leadership and after years of struggle defeated the French at the Battle of Vertià ¨res in 1903. All the revolutions that sprung during Atlantic Revolution period were arguably facilitated by the knowledge and need of sovereignty and freedom. As such, the revolutions were mostly orchestrated by the emergent elite group of people in the various societies that saw the need for equality and that no particular group of people deserved to be oppressed. Moreover, attempts to exert more oppression invoked the need for democratic leadership where people choose leaders from among themselves. Additionally, people realized that there was power inherent in unity and will of the people capable to change the course of leadership. For example, the French went

Flipkart Case Study Essay Example for Free

Flipkart Case Study Essay Flipkart.com is a story of the two young computer science graduates brothers Sachin Bansal (26) and Binny Bansal (25) from IIT-Delhi 2005 batch who left their jobs in amazon.com (an American multinational E-commerce company) in 2007 with a dream to become India’s top retail Outlet In E-commerce Industry. They came up with an idea to sell books including novels online. Flip kart’s timeline shows it was to start as a price comparison platform, but there werent enough e-commerce sites to compare. So, both the Bansals, who were colleagues at IITDelhi, and then at Amazon.com, thought, â€Å"why not start an e-commerce site?† That was the genesis of Flip kart. From an initial investment of Rs. 4 Lakh this So they started to make a website, although it was a bigger task to create a website with 50,000 titles but wouldn’t be impossible for IITians†¦ so finally they created which took about a month and a half to start a basic working website with 50,000 titles and grown our catalogue to over 1 Lakh available titles. On 5th September 2007 they launched the company’s URL i.e. Flipkart.com for the first time in just an apartment room. . The website was launched on 15th Oct 2007. Flip kart is an Indian ecommerce company headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. From a start-up with an investment of just four lakh rupees, Flip kart has grown into a 100 million revenue online retail giant in just five years. Flip kart focused on online sales of books initially. The process involved in online shopping for books has gone through drastic changes and is more secure right now. A customer could use our user-friendly web page to place an order, once the order is placed online – the book is taken off the online inventory. In case of unavailability – it will be purchased from a supplier. The Book will then get packed and couriered on the same day. Flip kart is currently tied up with around 12 courier service providers. Flip kart also use Indian Postal services to reach areas without courier providers. Logistics play an important role in our business. But it later expanded to electronic goods and a variety of other products. The key differentiators are Availability of variety of goods of various categories, online shopping experience on the site and post sales experience. Apart from this the Cash on Delivery service is also one of the main reasons which keep it apart from  other E- commerce portals. The cash-on-delivery model adopted by Flip kart has proven to be of great significance since credit card and net banking penetration is very low in India. . Flip kart offers multiple payment methods like credit card, debit card, net banking, e-gift voucher, and Cash on Delivery. IDEA Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal saw a good opportunity in the market around e-commerce. Also, regular job was not as challenging. The excitement and satisfaction that comes with building something of a long lasting value is addictive enough for them to continue this. They started flipkart.com because they themselves felt the need for a good online book store. E-commerce sector is one of the toughest to get into in India. They believe that they can make a difference here. They wanted to create something which has a long lasting value and which we can be proud of. An attractive neutral name is what they looked for. Good domain names were hard to get. They were looking at names that did not just speak of books alone, but one that could suit any category of Products that we may add in future. Also, they wanted to have a catchy name with high recall potential. Flip kart could in simple terms mean ‘Flipping things into your Kart’. CURRENT POSITION OF FLIP KART Flip kart started with selling books. In 2010, they added to their catalogue media (including music, movies and games) and mobile phones and accessories. In 2011, product launches included cameras, computers, pens office supplies, computer accessories, home and kitchen appliances, personal care, health care, gaming consoles, audio players and televisions. In 2012, product launches includes health beauty products, Life style products which includes watches, belts, bags luggage. In November 2011, Flip kart launched a new Electronic Wallet feature that allows shoppers to purchase credit to their Flip kart account using credit or debit cards, and can subsequently be utilised to make purchases on the site, as and when required. From June 2012, Flip kart allowed people to buy toys, posters and from October 2012, Flip kart entered into apparel retailing. ACQUISITIONS MADE BY FLIPKART.COM 2010 â€Å"WE READ†, social book discovery tool 2011 MIME260, a digital content platform com 2011 Chakpak.com is a bolly wood news site that offers updates, news photos and videos 2012 Letsbuy.com is Indias second largest e-retailer in electronics. Flip kart has bought the company for an estimated US$25 million. ACHIEVEMENTS MADE BY FLIPKART.COM Flip kart owners have been featured in Business Today as one of the top 25 start-ups of 2009.They have been also nominated for Ernst and young award for the best entrepreneur of 2010. Apart from that they have been featured multiple times in start up news as well as mainstream news. Today, they are recognized as number one in the industry. As a testimony to the superior customer experience, the company has consistently recorded repeat purchase rates of more than 50%. They have also managed to get a registered buyer in every small town and city and hope to constantly improve their service standards. Flip kart’s reported sales as follows:- IN FY 2008–2009- 40 million IN FY 2009–2010- 200 million IN FY 2010–2011- 750 million IN FY 2011–2012- set to cross the 5 billion As Internet usage in the country increases and people get accustomed to making purchases online. Flip kart projects its sales to reach US$1billion by year 2014 and is aiming at generating a revenue of 50 billion (US$1billion)2015. Ranks among the countries top 30 website. Customer base of more than 2 million. 30 shipment on daily basis Daily sales have increased to 2.5 crores. POPULAR PRODUCT CATEGORIES 1. Clothing: T-shirts, Jeans, Sports Wear, Trousers, etc. 2. Footwear: Casual Shoes, Formal Shoes, Flats, Heels, etc. 3. Beauty Personal Care: Trimmers, Shavers, Soaps, Brushes, etc. 4. Mobiles Tablets: Samsung, Micromax, Nokia, Sony, etc. 5. Laptops Accessories: HP, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Pen Drives, etc. 6. Books: Literature Fiction, Biographies, Novels, EBooks, etc. 7. Baby Care Toys: Vehicle Action Toys, Stuffed Toys, Diapers, etc. 8. Sports Fitness: Cricket, Football, Basketball, Badminton, etc. TOP BRANDS 1. Clothing: Adidas, Puma, Reebok, Lee, etc. 2. Footwear: Puma, Adidas, Reebok, Fila, etc. 3. Watches: Casio, Fastrack, Citizen, Timex, etc. 4. TV: Sony, LG, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, etc. 5. Sports Fitness: Speedo, Nivia, Yonex, Cosco BUSINESS MODEL Creating and maintaining a person-to-person trading community Function as a value added facilitator Provide a supportive infrastructure Zero inventory without having traditional sales force Profit centers: Domestic business International business and Payment Largest online trading forum Compelling and entertaining environment Establishing trust safety programs Cost effective and Convenient trading Strong community affinity An intuitive user interface ORDER LIFECYCLE Get the item Procure from Supplier (Just-in-time) (Supplier selection) Keep Inventory (Inventory Prediction, Planning) Clean Check for sanity Pages missing, MRP printed lesser than told to you Pack the item Tamper proof, weather proof, breakage proof Select courier hand-over Courier performances vary across regions a LOT Get tracking id communicate to customer Follow-up for timely delivery Take care of returns (faulty product/user changes their mind) Minimize returns MARKETING STRATEGY Flip kart has been mostly marketed by word of mouth advertising. Customer satisfaction has been their best marketing medium. Flipkart very wisely used SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google Ad-words as the marketing tools to have a far reach in the online world. Flipkart.com official Face book page has close to 9 lakh likes. Flipkart recently launched a series of 3 ads with the tag line No Kidding No worries Kids were used to create the adverts to send out the message if a kid can do it, you can also do it. All in all to create a great customer experience. EXPANSION PLANS They aim at 10 times growth and eyes at $ 1Billion sales by 2015. They will look at bigger investments in their supply chain and technology. Investment will be made in large warehouses and increased automation of their process, so that the product is not delayed. They intend to enter in to various new categories and expand their current categories as well. Everything except for groceries and automobiles will be available on Flipkart in future. To go further in the value chain, Flipkart is looking at associations with a larger number of suppliers and partners, both nationally and internationally. PERSONEL ANALYSIS Great customer service Easy to use website, hassle free payment system Cash on delivery/Card on delivery mode of payment Focused on user experience ADVANTAGES Attract users to the site Provide selection Make it easy to Find Discover products Provide details to evaluate a product Description, Specifications, UGC. Price well Have to be competitive to the most obvious options Provide convenient payment options Online, COD Confirm payment CONCLUSION They started off in 2007 by setting up three centres across India without funding. Six months ago, they reached number one status. They are also four times bigger than their nearest competitor. The company started off small; today they have grown ten times over the last one year and aim to touch the Rs 400 crore mark by March 2013.

Capital Punishment Essay - The Horror of the Death Penalty :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

The Horror of the Death Penalty      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The death penalty has existed for well over 4000 years.   In 1728 BC the code of Hamurabe was passed to allow legal execution.   For centuries capital punishment was a public spectacle: states used executions to demonstrate the ultimate consequence of attacking the state.   During the 18th century in England executions attracted tens of thousands of people and in some cases there would be riots.   Also in England the church was allowed to burn people alive at the stake for the crime of heresy.   Under Queen Mary Tutor (the infamous "Bloody Mary") thousands were executed just for not returning to the Catholic faith.   Most of these executions took place in the market place so the public would be aware of what would happen if you decided to follow your own religion.   Many burned at the stake were women and some were even children.   It is ironic that Christianity is built around forgiveness.   Many other gruesome mass executions throughout the ages were performed for minor crimes that today would be classed as mmisdemeanors.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most vicious methods of execution ever invented was geared not only to inflict pain but to provide a gruesome spectacle for the public.   It was the English punishment for treason.   It is called hanging, drawing and countering.   First you would be dragged to the place of execution on a hurdle. This is a type of sled that was attached to the back of a horse.   You would be hanged to the brink of death before being cut down.   The third stage of the execution is that the persons gentiles would be cut off and burned in front of the body before it was cut from the going to the chest and the intestines would be taken out and also burned, after the body would be cut into four pieces and the head would be displayed for the public.   In one case a man at the point of the hanging took a literal running jump in order to break his neck but unfortunately the cord broke instead.   This caused him to be totally conscious for the rest of the execution.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In some parts of the world executions are still performed in keeping with traditions of the Catholic church.   In the Philippines, since the church believes that Christ died at 3:00 in the afternoon, every execution done in this country is performed at 3:00.   Even more unbelievable is the fact that in some Islamic countries executions are performed as they were throughout history. Under Islamic law there is no difference between the church and the state and

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 44-47

CHAPTER 44 â€Å"Ten digits,† Sophie said, her cryptologic senses tingling as she studied the printout. 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 Grand-pere wrote his account number on the Louvre floor! When Sophie had first seen the scrambled Fibonacci sequence on the parquet, she had assumed its sole purpose was to encourage DCPJ to call in their cryptographers and get Sophie involved.Later, she realized the numbers were also a clue as to how to decipher the other lines – a sequence out of order†¦a numeric anagram.Now, utterly amazed, she saw the numbers had a more important meaning still. They were almost certainly the final key to opening her grandfather's mysterious safe- deposit box. â€Å"He was the master of double-entendres,† Sophie said, turning to Langdon. â€Å"He loved anything with multiple layers of meaning. Codes within codes.† Langdon was already moving toward the electronic podium near the conveyor belt. Sophie grabbed the computer printout and followed. The podium had a keypad similar to that of a bank ATM terminal. The screen displayed the bank's cruciform logo. Beside the keypad was a triangular hole. Sophie wasted no time inserting the shaft of her key into the hole. The screen refreshed instantly. ACCOUNT NUMBER: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The cursor blinked. Waiting. Ten digits.Sophie read the numbers off the printout, and Langdon typed them in. ACCOUNT NUMBER: 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 8 5 When he had typed the last digit, the screen refreshed again. A message in several languages appeared. English was on top. CAUTION: Before you strike the enter key, please check the accuracy of your account number. For your own security, if the computer does not recognize your account number, this system will automatically shut down. â€Å"Fonction terminer,†Sophie said, frowning. â€Å"Looks like we only get one try.† Standard ATM machines allowed users three attempts to type a PIN before confiscating their bank card. This was obviously no ordinary cash machine. â€Å"The number looks right,† Langdon confirmed, carefully checking what they had typed and comparing it to the printout. He motioned to the ENTER key. â€Å"Fire away.† Sophie extended her index finger toward the keypad, but hesitated, an odd thought now hitting her. â€Å"Go ahead,† Langdon urged. â€Å"Vernet will be back soon.† â€Å"No.† She pulled her hand away. â€Å"This isn't the right account number.† â€Å"Of course it is! Ten digits. What else would it be?† â€Å"It's too random.† Too random? Langdon could not have disagreed more. Every bank advised its customers to choose PINs at random so nobody could guess them. Certainly clients here would be advised to choose their account numbers at random. Sophie deleted everything she had just typed in and looked up at Langdon, her gaze self-assured.† It's far too coincidental that this supposedly random account number could be rearranged to form the Fibonacci sequence.† Langdon realized she had a point. Earlier, Sophie had rearranged this account number into the Fibonacci sequence. What were the odds of being able to do that? Sophie was at the keypad again, entering a different number, as if from memory. â€Å"Moreover, with my grandfather's love of symbolism and codes, it seems to follow that he would have chosen an account number that had meaning to him, something he could easily remember.† She finished typing the entry and gave a sly smile. â€Å"Something that appeared random†¦ but was not.† Langdon looked at the screen. ACCOUNT NUMBER: 1123581321 It took him an instant, but when Langdon spotted it, he knew she was right. The Fibonacci sequence. 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21 When the Fibonacci sequence was melded into a single ten-digit number, it became virtually unrecognizable. Easy to remember, and yet seemingly random.A brilliant ten-digit code that Sauniere would never forget. Furthermore, it perfectly explained why the scrambled numbers on the Louvre floor could be rearranged to form the famous progression. Sophie reached down and pressed the ENTER key. Nothing happened. At least nothing they could detect. At that moment, beneath them, in the bank's cavernous subterranean vault, a robotic claw sprang to life. Sliding on a double-axis transport system attached to the ceiling, the claw headed off in search of the proper coordinates. On the cement floor below, hundreds of identical plastic crates lay aligned on an enormous grid†¦ like rows of small coffins in an underground crypt. Whirring to a stop over the correct spot on the floor, the claw dropped down, an electric eye confirming the bar code on the box. Then, with computer precision, the claw grasped the heavy handle and hoisted the crate vertically. New gears engaged, and the claw transported the box to the far side of the vault, coming to a stop over a stationary conveyor belt. Gently now, the retrieval arm set down the crate and retracted. Once the arm was clear, the conveyor belt whirred to life†¦ . Upstairs, Sophie and Langdon exhaled in relief to see the conveyor belt move. Standing beside the belt, they felt like weary travelers at baggage claim awaiting a mysterious piece of luggage whose contents were unknown. The conveyor belt entered the room on their right through a narrow slit beneath a retractable door. The metal door slid up, and a huge plastic box appeared, emerging from the depths on the inclined conveyor belt. The box was black, heavy molded plastic, and far larger than she imagined. It looked like an air-freight pet transport crate without any air holes. The box coasted to a stop directly in front of them. Langdon and Sophie stood there, silent, staring at the mysterious container. Like everything else about this bank, this crate was industrial – metal clasps, a bar code sticker on top, and molded heavy-duty handle. Sophie thought it looked like a giant toolbox. Wasting no time, Sophie unhooked the two buckles facing her. Then she glanced over at Langdon. Together, they raised the heavy lid and let it fall back. Stepping forward, they peered down into the crate. At first glance, Sophie thought the crate was empty. Then she saw something. Sitting at the bottom of the crate. A lone item. The polished wooden box was about the size of a shoebox and had ornate hinges. The wood was a lustrous deep purple with a strong grain. Rosewood, Sophie realized. Her grandfather's favorite. The lid bore a beautiful inlaid design of a rose. She and Langdon exchanged puzzled looks. Sophie leaned in and grabbed the box, lifting it out. My God, it's heavy! She carried it gingerly to a large receiving table and set it down. Langdon stood beside her, both of them staring at the small treasure chest her grandfather apparently had sent them to retrieve. Langdon stared in wonderment at the lid's hand-carved inlay – a five-petal rose. He had seen this type of rose many times. â€Å"The five-petal rose,† he whispered,† is a Priory symbol for the Holy Grail.† Sophie turned and looked at him. Langdon could see what she was thinking, and he was thinking it too. The dimensions of the box, the apparent weight of its contents, and a Priory symbol for the Grail all seemed to imply one unfathomable conclusion. The Cup of Christ is in this wooden box. Langdon again told himself it was impossible. â€Å"It's a perfect size,† Sophie whispered,† to hold†¦ a chalice.† It can't be a chalice. Sophie pulled the box toward her across the table, preparing to open it. As she moved it, though, something unexpected happened. The box let out an odd gurgling sound. Langdon did a double take. There's liquid inside? Sophie looked equally confused. â€Å"Did you just hear†¦ ?† Langdon nodded, lost. â€Å"Liquid.† Reaching forward, Sophie slowly unhooked the clasp and raised the lid. The object inside was unlike anything Langdon had ever seen. One thing was immediately clear to both of them, however. This was definitely not the Cup of Christ. CHAPTER 45 â€Å"The police are blocking the street,† Andre Vernet said, walking into the waiting room. â€Å"Getting you out will be difficult.† As he closed the door behind him, Vernet saw the heavy-duty plastic case on the conveyor belt and halted in his tracks. My God! They accessed Sauniere's account? Sophie and Langdon were at the table, huddling over what looked to be a large wooden jewelry box. Sophie immediately closed the lid and looked up. â€Å"We had the account number after all,† she said. Vernet was speechless. This changed everything. He respectfully diverted his eyes from the box and tried to figure out his next move. I have to get them out of the bank! But with the police already having set up a roadblock, Vernet could imagine only one way to do that. â€Å"Mademoiselle Neveu, if I can get you safely out of the bank, will you be taking the item with you or returning it to the vault before you leave?† Sophie glanced at Langdon and then back to Vernet. â€Å"We need to take it.† Vernet nodded. â€Å"Very well. Then whatever the item is, I suggest you wrap it in your jacket as we move through the hallways. I would prefer nobody else see it.† As Langdon shed his jacket, Vernet hurried over to the conveyor belt, closed the now empty crate, and typed a series of simple commands. The conveyor belt began moving again, carrying the plastic container back down to the vault. Pulling the gold key from the podium, he handed it to Sophie. â€Å"This way please. Hurry.† When they reached the rear loading dock, Vernet could see the flash of police lights filtering through the underground garage. He frowned. They were probably blocking the ramp. Am I really going to try to pull this off? He was sweating now. Vernet motioned to one of the bank's small armored trucks. Transport sur was another service offered by the Depository Bank of Zurich. â€Å"Get in the cargo hold,† he said, heaving open the massive rear door and motioning to the glistening steel compartment. â€Å"I'll be right back.† As Sophie and Langdon climbed in, Vernet hurried across the loading dock to the dock overseer's office, let himself in, collected the keys for the truck, and found a driver's uniform jacket and cap. Shedding his own suit coat and tie, he began to put on the driver's jacket. Reconsidering, he donned a shoulder holster beneath the uniform. On his way out, he grabbed a driver's pistol from the rack, put in a clip, and stuffed it in the holster, buttoning his uniform over it. Returning to the truck, Vernet pulled the driver's cap down low and peered in at Sophie and Langdon, who were standing inside the empty steel box. â€Å"You'll want this on,† Vernet said, reaching inside and flicking a wall switch to illuminate the lone courtesy bulb on the hold's ceiling. â€Å"And you'd better sit down. Not a sound on our way out the gate.† Sophie and Langdon sat down on the metal floor. Langdon cradled the treasure wadded in his tweed jacket. Swinging the heavy doors closed, Vernet locked them inside. Then he got in behind the wheel and revved the engine. As the armored truck lumbered toward the top of the ramp, Vernet could feel the sweat already collecting beneath his driver's cap. He could see there were far more police lights in front than he had imagined. As the truck powered up the ramp, the interior gate swung inward to let him pass. Vernet advanced and waited while the gate behind him closed before pulling forward and tripping the next sensor. The second gate opened, and the exit beckoned. Except for the police car blocking the top of the ramp. Vernet dabbed his brow and pulled forward. A lanky officer stepped out and waved him to a stop a few meters from the roadblock. Four patrol cars were parked out front. Vernet stopped. Pulling his driver's cap down farther, he effected as rough a facade as his cultured upbringing would allow. Not budging from behind the wheel, he opened the door and gazed down at the agent, whose face was stern and sallow. â€Å"Qu'est-ce qui se passe?† Vernet asked, his tone rough. â€Å"Je suis Jerome Collet,† the agent said. â€Å"Lieutenant Police Judiciaire.† He motioned to the truck's cargo hold. â€Å"Qu'est-ce qu'ily a la dedans?† â€Å"Hell if I know,† Vernet replied in crude French. â€Å"I'm only a driver.† Collet looked unimpressed. â€Å"We're looking for two criminals.† Vernet laughed. â€Å"Then you came to the right spot. Some of these bastards I drive for have so much money they must be criminals.† The agent held up a passport picture of Robert Langdon. â€Å"Was this man in your bank tonight?† Vernet shrugged. â€Å"No clue. I'm a dock rat. They don't let us anywhere near the clients. You need to go in and ask the front desk.† â€Å"Your bank is demanding a search warrant before we can enter.† Vernet put on a disgusted look. â€Å"Administrators. Don't get me started.† â€Å"Open your truck, please.† Collet motioned toward the cargo hold. Vernet stared at the agent and forced an obnoxious laugh. â€Å"Open the truck? You think I have keys? You think they trust us? You should see the crap wages I get paid.† The agent's head tilted to one side, his skepticism evident. â€Å"You're telling me you don't have keys to your own truck?† Vernet shook his head. â€Å"Not the cargo area. Ignition only. These trucks get sealed by overseers on the loading dock. Then the truck sits in dock while someone drives the cargo keys to the drop-off. Once we get the call that the cargo keys are with the recipient, then I get the okay to drive. Not a second before. I never know what the hell I'm lugging.† â€Å"When was this truck sealed?† â€Å"Must have been hours ago. I'm driving all the way up to St. Thurial tonight. Cargo keys are already up there.† The agent made no response, his eyes probing as if trying to read Vernet's mind. A drop of sweat was preparing to slide down Vernet's nose. â€Å"You mind?† he said, wiping his nose with his sleeve and motioning to the police car blocking his way. â€Å"I'm on a tight schedule.† â€Å"Do all the drivers wear Rolexes?† the agent asked, pointing to Vernet's wrist. Vernet glanced down and saw the glistening band of his absurdly expensive watch peeking out from beneath the sleeve of his jacket. Merde. â€Å"This piece of shit? Bought it for twenty euro from a Taiwanese street vendor in St. Germain des Pres. I'll sell it to you for forty.† The agent paused and finally stepped aside. â€Å"No thanks. Have a safe trip.† Vernet did not breathe again until the truck was a good fifty meters down the street. And now he had another problem. His cargo. Where do I take them? CHAPTER 46 Silas lay prone on the canvas mat in his room, allowing the lash wounds on his back to clot in the air. Tonight's second session with the Discipline had left him dizzy and weak. He had yet to remove the cilice belt, and he could feel the blood trickling down his inner thigh. Still, he could not justify removing the strap. I have failed the Church. Far worse, I have failed the bishop. Tonight was supposed to be Bishop Aringarosa's salvation. Five months ago, the bishop had returned from a meeting at the Vatican Observatory, where he had learned something that left him deeply changed. Depressed for weeks, Aringarosa had finally shared the news with Silas. â€Å"But this is impossible!† Silas had cried out. â€Å"I cannot accept it!† â€Å"It is true,† Aringarosa said. â€Å"Unthinkable, but true. In only six months.† The bishop's words terrified Silas. He prayed for deliverance, and even in those dark days, his trust in God and The Way never wavered. It was only a month later that the clouds parted miraculously and the light of possibility shone through. Divine intervention, Aringarosa had called it. The bishop had seemed hopeful for the first time. â€Å"Silas,† he whispered,† God has bestowed upon us an opportunity to protect The Way. Our battle, like all battles, will take sacrifice. Will you be a soldier of God?† Silas fell to his knees before Bishop Aringarosa – the man who had given him a new life – and he said,† I am a lamb of God. Shepherd me as your heart commands.† When Aringarosa described the opportunity that had presented itself, Silas knew it could only be the hand of God at work. Miraculous fate! Aringarosa put Silas in contact with the man who had proposed the plan – a man who called himself the Teacher. Although the Teacher and Silas never met face-to-face, each time they spoke by phone, Silas was awed, both by the profundity of the Teacher's faith and by the scope of his power. The Teacher seemed to be a man who knew all, a man with eyes and ears in all places. How the Teacher gathered his information, Silas did not know, but Aringarosa had placed enormous trust in the Teacher, and he had told Silas to do the same. â€Å"Do as the Teacher commands you,† the bishop told Silas. â€Å"And we will be victorious.† Victorious.Silas now gazed at the bare floor and feared victory had eluded them. The Teacher had been tricked. The keystone was a devious dead end. And with the deception, all hope had vanished. Silas wished he could call Bishop Aringarosa and warn him, but the Teacher had removed all their lines of direct communication tonight. For our safety. Finally, overcoming enormous trepidation, Silas crawled to his feet and found his robe, which lay on the floor. He dug his cell phone from the pocket. Hanging his head in shame, he dialed. â€Å"Teacher,† he whispered,† all is lost.† Silas truthfully told the man how he had been tricked.† You lose your faith too quickly,† the Teacher replied. â€Å"I have just received news. Most unexpected and welcome. The secret lives. Jacques Sauniere transferred information before he died. I will call you soon. Our work tonight is not yet done.† CHAPTER 47 Riding inside the dimly lit cargo hold of the armored truck was like being transported inside a cell for solitary confinement. Langdon fought the all too familiar anxiety that haunted him in confined spaces. Vernet said he would take us a safe distance out of the city.Where? How far? Langdon's legs had gotten stiff from sitting cross-legged on the metal floor, and he shifted his position, wincing to feel the blood pouring back into his lower body. In his arms, he still clutched the bizarre treasure they had extricated from the bank. â€Å"I think we're on the highway now,† Sophie whispered. Langdon sensed the same thing. The truck, after an unnerving pause atop the bank ramp, had moved on, snaking left and right for a minute or two, and was now accelerating to what felt like top speed. Beneath them, the bulletproof tires hummed on smooth pavement. Forcing his attention to the rosewood box in his arms, Langdon laid the precious bundle on the floor, unwrapped his jacket, and extracted the box, pulling it toward him. Sophie shifted her position so they were sitting side by side. Langdon suddenly felt like they were two kids huddled over a Christmas present. In contrast to the warm colors of the rosewood box, the inlaid rose had been crafted of a pale wood, probably ash, which shone clearly in the dim light. The Rose.Entire armies and religions had been built on this symbol, as had secret societies. The Rosicrucians.The Knights of the Rosy Cross. â€Å"Go ahead,† Sophie said. â€Å"Open it.† Langdon took a deep breath. Reaching for the lid, he stole one more admiring glance at the intricate woodwork and then, unhooking the clasp, he opened the lid, revealing the object within. Langdon had harbored several fantasies about what they might find inside this box, but clearly he had been wrong on every account. Nestled snugly inside the box's heavily padded interior of crimson silk lay an object Langdon could not even begin to comprehend. Crafted of polished white marble, it was a stone cylinder approximately the dimensions of a tennis ball can. More complicated than a simple column of stone, however, the cylinder appeared to have been assembled in many pieces. Six doughnut-sized disks of marble had been stacked and affixed to one another within a delicate brass framework. It looked like some kind of tubular, multi-wheeled kaleidoscope. Each end of the cylinder was affixed with an end cap, also marble, making it impossible to see inside. Having heard liquid within, Langdon assumed the cylinder was hollow. As mystifying as the construction of the cylinder was, however, it was the engravings around the tube's circumference that drew Langdon's primary focus. Each of the six disks had been carefully carved with the same unlikely series of letters – the entire alphabet. The lettered cylinder reminded Langdon of one of his childhood toys – a rod threaded with lettered tumblers that could be rotated to spell different words. â€Å"Amazing, isn't it?† Sophie whispered. Langdon glanced up. â€Å"I don't know. What the hell is it?† Now there was a glint in Sophie's eye. â€Å"My grandfather used to craft these as a hobby. They were invented by Leonardo Da Vinci.† Even in the diffuse light, Sophie could see Langdon's surprise. â€Å"Da Vinci?† he muttered, looking again at the canister.† Yes. It's called a cryptex.According to my grandfather, the blueprints come from one of Da Vinci's secret diaries.† â€Å"What is it for?† Considering tonight's events, Sophie knew the answer might have some interesting implications. â€Å"It's a vault,† she said. â€Å"For storing secret information.† Langdon's eyes widened further. Sophie explained that creating models of Da Vinci's inventions was one of her grandfather's best-loved hobbies. A talented craftsman who spent hours in his wood and metal shop, Jacques Sauniere enjoyed imitating master craftsmen – Faberge, assorted cloisonne artisans, and the less artistic, but far more practical, Leonardo Da Vinci. Even a cursory glance through Da Vinci's journals revealed why the luminary was as notorious for his lack of follow-through as he was famous for his brilliance. Da Vinci had drawn up blueprints for hundreds of inventions he had never built. One of Jacques Sauniere's favorite pastimes was bringing Da Vinci's more obscure brainstorms to life – timepieces, water pumps, cryptexes, and even a fully articulated model of a medieval French knight, which now stood proudly on the desk in his office. Designed by Da Vinci in 1495 as an outgrowth of his earliest anatomy and kinesiology studies, the internal mechanism of the robot knight possessed accurate joints and tendons, and was designed to sit up, wave its arms, and move its head via a flexible neck while opening and closing an anatomically correct jaw. This armor-clad knight, Sophie had always believed, was the most beautiful object her grandfather had ever built†¦ that was, until she had seen the cryptex in this rosewood box. â€Å"He made me one of these when I was little,† Sophie said. â€Å"But I've never seen one so ornate and large.† Langdon's eyes had never left the box. â€Å"I've never heard of a cryptex.† Sophie was not surprised. Most of Leonardo's unbuilt inventions had never been studied or even named. The term cryptex possibly had been her grandfather's creation, an apt title for this device that used the science of cryptology to protect information written on the contained scroll or codex. Da Vinci had been a cryptology pioneer, Sophie knew, although he was seldom given credit. Sophie's university instructors, while presenting computer encryption methods for securing data, praised modern cryptologists like Zimmerman and Schneier but failed to mention that it was Leonardo who had invented one of the first rudimentary forms of public key encryption centuries ago. Sophie's grandfather, of course, had been the one to tell her all about that. As their armored truck roared down the highway, Sophie explained to Langdon that the cryptex had been Da Vinci's solution to the dilemma of sending secure messages over long distances. In an era without telephones or e-mail, anyone wanting to convey private information to someone far away had no option but to write it down and then trust a messenger to carry the letter. Unfortunately, if a messenger suspected the letter might contain valuable information, he could make far more money selling the information to adversaries than he could delivering the letter properly. Many great minds in history had invented cryptologic solutions to the challenge of data protection: Julius Caesar devised a code-writing scheme called the Caesar Box; Mary, Queen of Scots created a transposition cipher and sent secret communiques from prison; and the brilliant Arab scientist Abu Yusuf Ismail al-Kindi protected his secrets with an ingeniously conceived polyalphabetic substitution cipher. Da Vinci, however, eschewed mathematics and cryptology for a mechanical solution. The cryptex. A portable container that could safeguard letters, maps, diagrams, anything at all. Once information was sealed inside the cryptex, only the individual with the proper password could access it. â€Å"We require a password,† Sophie said, pointing out the lettered dials. â€Å"A cryptex works much like a bicycle's combination lock. If you align the dials in the proper position, the lock slides open. This cryptex has five lettered dials. When you rotate them to their proper sequence, the tumblers inside align, and the entire cylinder slides apart.† â€Å"And inside?† â€Å"Once the cylinder slides apart, you have access to a hollow central compartment, which can hold a scroll of paper on which is the information you want to keep private.† Langdon looked incredulous. â€Å"And you say your grandfather built these for you when you were younger?† â€Å"Some smaller ones, yes. A couple times for my birthday, he gave me a cryptex and told me a riddle. The answer to the riddle was the password to the cryptex, and once I figured it out, I could open it up and find my birthday card.† â€Å"A lot of work for a card.† â€Å"No, the cards always contained another riddle or clue. My grandfather loved creating elaborate treasure hunts around our house, a string of clues that eventually led to my real gift. Each treasure hunt was a test of character and merit, to ensure I earned my rewards. And the tests were never simple.† Langdon eyed the device again, still looking skeptical. â€Å"But why not just pry it apart? Or smash it? The metal looks delicate, and marble is a soft rock.† Sophie smiled. â€Å"Because Da Vinci is too smart for that. He designed the cryptex so that if you try to force it open in any way, the information self-destructs. Watch.† Sophie reached into the box and carefully lifted out the cylinder. â€Å"Any information to be inserted is first written on a papyrus scroll.† â€Å"Not vellum?† Sophie shook her head. â€Å"Papyrus. I know sheep's vellum was more durable and more common in those days, but it had to be papyrus. The thinner the better.† â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"Before the papyrus was inserted into the cryptex's compartment, it was rolled around a delicate glass vial.† She tipped the cryptex, and the liquid inside gurgled. â€Å"A vial of liquid.† â€Å"Liquid what?† Sophie smiled. â€Å"Vinegar.† Langdon hesitated a moment and then began nodding. â€Å"Brilliant.† Vinegar and papyrus, Sophie thought. If someone attempted to force open the cryptex, the glass vial would break, and the vinegar would quickly dissolve the papyrus. By the time anyone extracted the secret message, it would be a glob of meaningless pulp. â€Å"As you can see,† Sophie told him,† the only way to access the information inside is to know the proper five-letter password. And with five dials, each with twenty-six letters, that's twenty-six to the fifth power.† She quickly estimated the permutations. â€Å"Approximately twelve million possibilities.† â€Å"If you say so,† Langdon said, looking like he had approximately twelve million questions running through his head. â€Å"What information do you think is inside?† â€Å"Whatever it is, my grandfather obviously wanted very badly to keep it secret.† She paused, closing the box lid and eyeing the five-petal Rose inlaid on it. Something was bothering her. â€Å"Did you say earlier that the Rose is a symbol for the Grail?† â€Å"Exactly. In Priory symbolism, the Rose and the Grail are synonymous.† Sophie furrowed her brow. â€Å"That's strange, because my grandfather always told me the Rose meant secrecy.He used to hang a rose on his office door at home when he was having a confidential phone call and didn't want me to disturb him. He encouraged me to do the same.† Sweetie, her grandfather said, rather than lock each other out, we can each hang a rose – la fleur des secrets – on our door when we need privacy.This way we learn to respect and trust each other.Hanging a rose is an ancient Roman custom. â€Å"Sub rosa,†Langdon said. â€Å"The Romans hung a rose over meetings to indicate the meeting was confidential. Attendees understood that whatever was said under the rose – or sub rosa – had to remain a secret.† Langdon quickly explained that the Rose's overtone of secrecy was not the only reason the Priory used it as a symbol for the Grail. Rosa rugosa, one of the oldest species of rose, had five petals and pentagonal symmetry, just like the guiding star of Venus, giving the Rose strong iconographic ties to womanhood.In addition, the Rose had close ties to the concept of† true direction† and navigating one's way. The Compass Rose helped travelers navigate, as did Rose Lines, the longitudinal lines on maps. For this reason, the Rose was a symbol that spoke of the Grail on many levels – secrecy, womanhood, and guidance – the feminine chalice and guiding star that led to secret truth. As Langdon finished his explanation, his expression seemed to tighten suddenly. â€Å"Robert? Are you okay?† His eyes were riveted to the rosewood box. â€Å"Sub†¦rosa,†he choked, a fearful bewilderment sweeping across his face. â€Å"It can't be.† â€Å"What?† Langdon slowly raised his eyes. â€Å"Under the sign of the Rose,† he whispered. â€Å"This cryptex†¦ I think I know what it is.†

Amazon.Com Case Studies

Name: PRASHANTH BALAKRISHNAN Student ID: 071090070 Course: BIS 541/03 –MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Program: CEMBA Commonwealth Executive Master of Business and Administration TMA 1: â€Å"Amazon. com†- A Business History Tutor: Prasanan P. T. Kannan Submission Date: 07. March. 2009 [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterTitlePage 1. 0Executive Summary 2. 0Problem Statement1 3. 0Analysis of Causes 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt 2-3 3. 2 Competition3-4 3. 3 Expansion4-6 4. 0Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management7 in supply chain 4. Presenting a competitive edge to competitors7 4. 3 Expansionto Asia8 5. Recommended Solutions 5. 1 Technology Integration and R&D9 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis9 5. 3 Differentiation9 5. 4 Inventory10 5. 5 Visionary & Informative10-11 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything11 5. 7 Shipping & Delivery11 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region11-12 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement12 6. 0 Expand the product lines13 6. 0Appendices14-16 7. 0References17 Executive Summary The study comprises of Amazon. om which started its history by selling books and now one of the online market leaders globally not only for books but products from various categories. Company started with a mission to be Earth’s most customer centric company. In order to become the largest and convenience online store for all, there are major problems or threat being faced by Amazon. com in succeeding its mission. The major problems are Amazon facing high amount of debt, it’s less initiative in not expanding to other developed countries, and also competition from other online retailers and one tough opponent is Barnes & Nobles. Many plans of actions can be taken and some of it is; Amazon. com should decrease long–term debt by increasing expenditure on research and development, increasing word-to-mouth advertisement and good customer service. Amazon. com should also expand the five most common languages in Asian region. Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy and willing to spend on. Strategize new plan on improving sites to be informative and attractive as much as possible so Amazon. com should also adapt to the best technology where it can sustain as a strong innovator in ever increasing retailer market. Amazon. com also must strive to give customers the best service in shipping and delivery as it’s an important aspect in online business to out beat its entire competitors on this online industry. Problem Statement The main problem faced by Amazon. com now being an online retailer can be divided to three in overall. Amazon. com is in confronting huge debt behind their successful screen. Amazon. com is lack of expansion to other regions or Asia which be said as another big market for a huge online bookseller as Amazon. com. Another problem is the competition being faced by them with one of the tough opponent as Barnes&Nobles. Analysis of the Problem Amazon. com’s in Debt 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt One of major causes of Amazon’s huge debt is its large expenditure. In order to keep its advantageous position, Amazon has no choice but to continue to spend astronomical amounts of money on sales & marketing, research & development and general & administrative costs. (Table 1 & Table 2) â€Å"One misstep, and its love affair withy investors and sources of capital could be over. (Kimberly Weisul, 1999) †¢ Competitors Although Amazon won the battle soon after entering the online cd and music market, there are some competitions in other product lines that may be too immensely strong to beat. For example, in March of 1999, Amazon introduced an auction service. After a few months effort, its auction business performed slightly, indicating how difficult it is to challenge the giant’s eBay and Yahoo! Auctions. |Auction Sites |27-Sep-99 |Multiplier needed to equal eBay listings | |Amazon Auctions |4. 0% |15. 3 | |eBay |73. 60% |   | |Yahoo! Auctions |21. 60% |3. 4 | Source: Auction Web sites and C. E Unterberg Towbin †¢ Consumer Behavior Amazon. com is widely regarded as having one of the best management team of any internet company. However, there are some outside forces that are not easy to manipulate. Security; as the number of Internet crimes increases, customers are becoming aware of the possible danger involved in the process of on-line shopping. This security problem may not be difficult to improve since security technology is innovated quickly, but to convince customer of this is not as easy ? Etailers vs. retailers Another factor is hard to manage customer purchasing habits. Most consumers still prefer the capability of seeing a product before buying it. Additionally, the number of people buying personal computers and that of the Internet population wil l directly affect Amazon’s sale. . 2 Competition †¢ Michael Porter’s Model ? Supplier ; Amazon started to build its own distribution centers in different locations and moving the products directly form the factory rather than from other distributors such that Amazon can lower its marginal costs. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Consumers ; Amazon. com continues to spend a lot of money in advertisement to reach customers as well as to increase customer awareness of eCommerce in general and brand name in particular. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Substitutes; The Substitute of eCommerce, the traditional retailers, is still more attractive than the Etailers. For example, we as consumers more than likely would rather go to the bookstore and browse through a book before we buy it. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 ) 3. 3 Expansion †¢ Lack of Spanish website version (Latino and Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing online ethnic group) †¢ Amazon. com is very less popular or it can said there are people without knowing the existence of Amazon. om †¢ Website is not more expanded with more languages options where currently there are options only for Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China (www. amazon. com) Competition with Barnes& Nobles Amazon. com Weakness ? Difficulties of handling large number of customers ? Limited operating history ? Security awareness ? Low margins in the sector ? Risk of introduction of wrong new categories which could damage company’s bra nd ? Company’s offered free shipping might affect future financial outcome ? Certain products (high volume/weight) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats ? eBay, Barnes & Nobles, and Wal-Mart ? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access ? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year ? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online ? Heavy investments in Partnerships (Dustin Nadeau & Donatas Sumyla. April 2006) Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. com are competing, but both stores and other online stores recognize what works and are studying one another – often duplicating one another’s business strategies. This has resulted in them having more similarities than differences and it helps the consumers find similarities across the Web such as; †¢ When a description of an item is given, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both place the shopping cart option prominently displayed to the upper, right portion of the screen. This makes it very efficient and useable for the viewer and they do not have to search around the page for this button. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ In pricing, both Amazon. com and Barnesandnobles. com display the average price or their items above their own discounted rates so that the users feel as though they are saving money. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites are â€Å"Flexible†, there is an option of buying things at a later date and placing them in the shopping cart temporarily. This option is called the wish list and it is displayed just beneath the â€Å"Add to Cart† button. Users can access this saved information and acce ss it on their next visit. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites offer â€Å"Security† that provides safe shopping, privacy and efficiency by requiring customers to join as members at a certain point during a transaction. Membership is free and requires an email address, full name, home address and phone number. It allowing customers to maintain an order status and helps provide a history of what they bought. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢   Both sites are very â€Å"Scalable†, allowing for a huge selection of items to be added to the product catalog or taken away. A Field size is accommodated in the database. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) 4. 0 Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management in supply chain ? Use increased income to pay down long-term debt ? Keep operating costs low (efficiencies of scales) ? Increase expenditure on Research & Development arena ? Strategic cost analysis ( WOU , MIS notes) ? Determining Differentiation ( WOU , MIS notes) 4. 2 Presenting a competitive edge to competitors †¢ Create more expertise in marketing and more product launches compared to competitors; †¢ Do a more through research on the customers needs and come up with something new that has its own brand and establishes as only Amazon. om could have the product. (Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007) †¢ A new Strategy on only books should be brought up in order to outcome one tough opponent as Barnes & Nobles. For example, Amazon. com’s booth’s can be set up in country sides where there is no access for Internet and give knowledge to country people that there also business through online. This is because; giving more exposure and awareness to people might be a business opportun ity as well. †¢ Product review information; Customers would have n a clear description, synopsis and other customer’s review on the book as it gives a clear rating of the book and there won’t be any sort of disappointments for them after purchase. 4. 3 Expansion to Asia †¢ Create different website versions based on the five most common language in Asian region †¢ Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy. †¢ Word of mouth advertisement (Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003) †¢ Continue expanding its product lines 5. 0 Recommended Solution & Implementation 5. Technology Integration and R&D Amazon. com should increase expenditure in the research and development arena. We believe that Amazon should prepare itself for additional telecommunications implementations such as high speed internet and network security. These types of implementation, though representative of considerable R&D costs, ar e probably most significant factors that etailers must prepare for near future. As users, connections increase in speed, any delays on the part of the etailer they are connecting to will become obvious and less tolerable. Amazon can stay ahead of the pack by preparing a unique and comfortable interface for the users. 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis Amazon. com should also use Strategic cost analysis process where identify the firm’s value chain, diagnose the key elements that drive the costs of each value activity, identify competitors value chains, develop a strategy to lower relative costs by controlling cost drivers, ensure that any cost reduction does not erode differentiation in service and test the cost reductions if its sustainable in the end of the analysis. . 3 Differentiation They should also consider by costs by determining Differentiation where the process goes as determine who the real buyer is, identify buyer’s value chain and put in rank order the buyer’s reason to purchase, asses the current potential sources of diffentiation, identify the cost of these resources, design a value chain to maximize value relative costs, test for sustainiablity and reduce costs in activi ties that do not affect the chosen forms of differentiation. 5. Inventory; There are programs built to be extremely user-friendly, and most offer great support along the way of usage for online businesses to maintain the book database. Amazon should invest in software to best highlight and maintain the data on the site and importantly back up systems. Keep inventory accurate and up to date; This is also an important aspect that Amazon can out beat its competitors with as this is first step towards building a long-term relationship with that customer. Inventory of the books stock-out and sold out will be kept up to date on the site. 5. 5 Visionary & Informative A picture is worth a thousand words; Uploading pictures by decreasing explanations or descriptions could attract customer’s attraction and curiosity in exploring the book. Somehow it boosts up sales compared to other online booksellers who give attention in words. Product Review Information; In case of books, editorial reviews are provided by the company and it applies for all books. Customers can also rate each other’s review. A rating is placed against each review so that customers can decide whether to read or not based on that. Most online booksellers do not include this but they display the customer’s satisfaction on the delivery service provided by them which is less important to boost up sales. People out there want to pay you for your books; Amazon should use own merchant service account or a service offered by a listing site, make sure that customers can buy books quickly and painlessly with a credit card while you have them on the brink of finalizing said purchase. Don’t judge a book by its cover; First impressions are lasting impressions. When a customer receives the book they’ve ordered, make sure the first thing they see is a product and package that you are proud to have supplied by using use clean, new boxes without writing (or envelopes for low-cost paperbacks) for shipments. Customers will be expecting an excellent service but if its vice versa then they are chances for them to switch to other online retailers. 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything; Amazon should update the status of order to customers on the order made and also keep them in loop by e-mail the listing service directly with questions about their orders and keep updating the latest events and new stocks of books through emails. 5. 7 Shipping & Delivery Follow-up; After shipping out an item to the customer, Amazon should send them an e-mail a day or two after expecting that they’ll receive their package, asking them if they’ve received it and are satisfied, and reminding them that there customer rep are there to help should they have any questions about their order. This is also a great time to remind them that you have similar items in stock or to offer them a coupon towards future purchases. 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region Amazon should strive to expand its expertise to Asia region as well as high potentials are there which huge population. Education is becoming one important aspect in Asia and lack of important reference books are always a problem in many parts of Asia. It should diversify its marketing capability in Asia too to capture the market. Amazon is very less popular in Asia regions. Amazon. om should take Asia to consider for its business expansion. Amazon could also diversify its marketing and research ability to expand mostly to the developed countries of other territory. In order to grow big and always sustain in the market and competition, Amazon should takes this sort of steps to expand. International Sites; Amazon. com has got an added advantage of international sites on Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China. All about what the customers have to do to browse the site with their language is by clicking to their national site. For example, if you clink Japan, immediately the whole website will change its descriptions and instructions into Japanese language. This is not at all applicable for a customer in Malaysia or any other regions of Asia. It should expand and add more languages options in its site to accumulate its customers. Giving customers what they want is also one strategy not all online business can do but if this can be proven in Amazon’s case then it have all the potential to be the one. 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement Amazon also should increase its word-of mouth advertisement. This might seem odd for an industry leader to rely upon such a quaint tactics as this, but we truly believe that in the world of Internet this is a powerful tool. We are quick to visit sites that our friends identify as being fabulous, and Amazon might capitalize on this by rewarding its customers who can reel in a new prospects. 6. 0 Expand the product lines Amazon should expand its product lines. Given’s Amazon’s vision and its unique position in the etailer industry, the cost associated with entering new markets is significantly lower than that of its competitors. There is no reasons to let this advantage slip away unused. Conclusion In order to stay focus on business Amazon. com has various ways and strategies that can be implemented with proper organizations communication networks. Financial reports should be reviewed annually and quarterly if necessary to come up with decisions whether to boost up sales or to maintain on a certain criteria for the wellness of business. Amazon. com also should have a frequent customer feedback program where they could exchange view on the services and products most desired to be acquired online by customers. Top level management meetings should be initiated to assure goals are achieved. A proper corrective action should be determined after the first year if annual objectives weren’t accomplished. However there are difficulties and competitions to overcome, and how companies attack these difficulties will separate the winners form the losers. Appendix |AMAZON. COM, INC. HISTORICAL INCOME STATEMENTS | |(in millions, except per share data)(quarterly information unaudited) | |Amazon. com Investor Relations | | | | | | | |Calendar Years Ended – December 31, | | |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 |2004 |2003 |2002 | |Media |   | $ 5,350 | $ 4,630 | $ 3,582 | $ 3,046 | $ 2,589 | $ | | | | | | | | |2,270 | |Other |   | 448 | 326 | 263 | 222 | 130 | | | | | | | | | |110 | |International |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 5,734 | 4,612 | 3,485 | 2,885 | 2,513 | | | | | | | | | |1,780 | |Other |   | 94| 57| 20| | | | | | | | | |8 |2 |- | |Consolidated |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 11,084 | 9,242 | 7,067 | 5,931 | 5,102 | | | | | | | | | |4,050 | |Other |   | 542 | 383 | 283 | 230 | 132 | | | | | | | | | |110 | Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) |Total U. S. Home, Work and University Locations, Unique Visitors (000) | |Source: comScore Media Metrix | |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors | | | |(000) | | |  (000) | |   |Total Internet : Total Audience |191,863 |   |   |   | |1 |Google Sites |151,010 |26 |Target Corporation |28,628 | |2 |Yahoo! Sites |146,131 |27 |Time Warner – Excluding AOL |27,209 | |3 |Microsoft Sites |125,568 |28 |Weatherbug Property |26,944 | |4 |AOL LLC |108,441 |29 |Bank of America |26,322 | |5 |Fox Interactive Media |90,510 |30 |United Online, Inc |26,048 | |6 |Ask Network |74,742 |31 |Gorilla Nation |25,585 | |7 |eBay |72,160 |32 |AT&T, Inc. 25,574 | |8 |Amazon Sites |64,768 |33 |Answers. com Sites |25,563 | |9 |Wikipedia Foundation Sites |62,737 |34 |Demand Media |25,447 | |10 |FACEBOOK. COM |57,232 |35 |CareerBuilder LLC |24,750 | |11 |Glam Media |55,293 |36 |Everyday Health |24,717 | |12 |Turner Network |54,877 |37 |Shopzilla. com Sites |24,097 | |13 |Apple Inc. 54,194 |38 |Photobucket. com LLC |23,928 | |14 |CBS Corporation |53,539 |39 |WordPress |23,730 | |15 |New York Times Digital |49,110 |40 |Real. com Network |23,359 | |16 |Viacom Digital |46,510 |41 |Expedia Inc |22,703 | |17 |Weather Channel, The |40,056 |42 |JPMorgan Chase Property |22,399 | |18 |craigslist, inc. 39,437 |43 |Mons ter Worldwide |22,244 | |19 |AT&T Interactive Network |38,184 |44 |Gannett Sites |21,829 | |20 |Adobe Sites |35,315 |45 |WorldNow – ABC Owned Sites |21,586 | |21 |Comcast Corporation |33,940 |46 |WebMD Health |21,185 | |22 |Wal-Mart |33,513 |47 |iVillage. com: The Womens Network |21,002 | |23 |Superpages. com Network |32,558 |48 |NBC Universal |20,974 | |24 |Verizon Communications Corporation |32,412 |49 |WhitePages |19,351 | |25 |Disney Online |30,345 |50 |ESPN |19,266 | Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com References 1] Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 http://www. rhsmith. umd. du/faculty/jbailey/ents630/amazon. pdf 2] Dustin Nadeau & Donatas Sumyla. April 2006- Amazon. Com Inc 2004. (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3] Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001 – E-Transaction: Shopping Carts Comparison (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 4] Paul Larson. February 14, Amazon. com – Motley Fool Research, Stock Report http://www. fool. com/search/index. aspx? go=1&site=USMF &q=amazon. com (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 5] Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003 – Informat? on Management (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 6] Strategic Analysis of Amazon. com (Accessed Feb 19, 2009) 7] www. wikinvest. com/wiki/E-Commerce, (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 8] www. ikinvest. com/stock/Amazon. com_(AMZN), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 9] www. wikinvest. com/stock/Barnes_%26_Noble_(BKS), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 10] Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007 – Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble: www. santarosa. edu/~ssarkar/cs66sp07/fprj/abn. htm (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 11] Table 1- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 12] Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 13] Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) ———————– AMAZON Supplier New Entrance Substitute Consumers