Report Education System in Japan Essay Example for Free

Report Education System in Japan Essay Japan has already begun to experience a population decline, with the result that many universities are already having difficulty maintaining their student populations, although entry into top ranks of the universities remains hugely competitive. The emerging and foreseeable trend is that many universities will have to try to attract large numbers of foreigners or diversify or face closure. It is also now said that a university education in Japan is within easier reach of students today, but that the quality of that higher education is now in question despite the many educational reforms that have been set in motion. Each academic year begins in April and comprises of two semesters. Basic general degrees are four-year degrees, a feature adapted from the American system. Undergraduate students receive instruction via the lecture and seminar group method. The general degree may be followed by two-year Masters degrees (generally a combination of lectures and guided research) and then a three year Doctorate (largely based on research) where these are offered. Graduate education in Japan is underdeveloped compared to European countries and the United States with only slightly more than 7 percent of Japanese undergraduates going on to graduate school as compared to 13 percent of American undergraduates. Postgraduate educational offerings are weak and the number of universities offering postgraduate programmes or a wide variety of programmes, is small, compared to that in other industrialized western countries. Japan has about three million students enrolled in 1,200 universities and junior colleges and consequently the second largest higher educational system in the developed world. Japan also has one of the largest systems of private higher education in the world. The 710 odd universities in Japan can be separated into 3 categories: highly competitive, mildly competitive and non-competitive (the schools that are first-tier being the infamously difficult to enter ones). Public universities are generally more prestigious than their private ones with only 25 percent of all university-bound students being admitted to public universities. More than 65 percent of high school graduates continue their studies; of these, over 70 percent are enrolled in private colleges and universities. Only about 10 percent of private institutions receive their financial resources from public funding, with most public funds on higher education being spent on the national and local public universities. Despite the impressive statistics, Japanese universities are considered to be the weakest link in the countrys educational system. While many western writers have, time and time again, attributed the economic success of Japan to the well-educated and highly literate population of Japan, recent writings and studies tend to be far more critical, lamenting the deplorable state and quality of higher education in Japan today. Despite the famed exam rigors and competitiveness, declining standards in education and the high school students lack of interest in studying have lately been under spotlight. Some attribute this disinterestedness to the fact that academic effort no longer assured automatic rewards with the disintegration in the formerly stable and guaranteed lifetime employment system. Japanese students are also widely known to traditionally consider their university days to be a social playground, a reward for the hard work and having made it there, and, as many critics have recently pointed, professors demand relatively little from their students. Despite the institutional change and sweeping national reforms underway in response to these criticisms, the key problems remain unresolved: the pyramidal-structure of the university system and entrance exam wars; the centrally-controlled curriculum and lack of individuality and creativity of students as well as the lack of competitiveness in educational suppliers.

Platos the Republic Essay Example for Free

Platos the Republic Essay By the beginning of Book II of Plato’s The Republic, many questions have been brought upon the table involving the definition of justice. Polemarchus argues that justice is doing good to your friends and harm to your enemies. Thrasymachus argues that justice is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates finds flaws in both of these definitions, but discovers another important question about the nature of justice. Socrates wants to know whether the just life or the unjust life is better, or happier, but all arguments thus far have proved unsatisfactory. Book II aims to further outline this complicated question, and hopefully lead them closer to an answer. Glaucon isn’t satisfied by the previous explanations on the nature of justice and injustice. To satisfy his hunger for knowledge, he proposes a challenge to Socrates. Glaucon wants Socrates to explain how justice could be intrinsically good, or, in other words, how justice could be welcomed for its own sake, such as we welcome joy for its own sake. Glaucon expresses this challenge by defining to Socrates the three kinds of goods. Intrinsic goods, he says, are those that are welcomed for their own sake, and not for what rewards could possibly come from them. Mixed goods are those that we welcome for their own sake, but also for what possible rewards could come from them. Instrumental goods are those that we only welcome for the rewards that come from them. Glaucon believes that Socrates could prove that justice is a mixed good by proving exactly how it is instrinsic. Glaucon, in an attempt to reiterate Thrasymachus’s argument in Book I, goes on to present a three-part argument proving that injustice is better than justice. In his first point, Glaucon explains the common conception of justice and it’s origins. Essentially, the natural origin of justice comes from the fact that people like doing injustice, but it is worse to endure justice. Because of this, everyone comes to an agreement not to do injustice so they don’t have to suffer it. Since this story of the origins proves that justice is purely instrumental, if one was to accept this story they would also accept the next two points and, ultimately, accept Thrasymachus’s position. Glaucon’s second point is that justice is purely instrumental. He illustrates this point by using the example of the ring of Gyges. If two people both had the power to do whatever they wanted with no repercussions, as the ring of Gyges would allow them to do, Glaucon thinks that both would end up following the path of the unjust, and be better and happier for it. The just person wearing the ring could do unjust acts but still keep his reputation for justice. Glaucon says, â€Å"No one believes justice to be a good when it is kept private, since, wherever either person thinks he can do injustice with imputiny, he does it† (360c). This leads to his third point. Glaucon thinks that the completely unjust person is much happier than the just person. The ideal unjust person is able to attain everything they could ever want and need, while being honored and praised by those around him for seeming like a just person. Oppositely, the ideal just person is just but doesn’t care about seeming just, thus leading others to believe he is unjust, possibly for his whole life. When the two are compared side by side, it is clear how the unjust person is happy, but not how the just person is happy. Socrates must take certain steps to disprove Thrasymachus’s position on justice. Because the origin story is the key point of Glaucon’s argument, Socrates must show why this origin story seems right but is not. In order to do this, he needs to present a new origin story that shows exactly how justice is instrinsic. Socrates decides that in order to do this he must start by looking at justice in a large sense, then narrow it down to a smaller sense. To outline this process, he states, â€Å"We say, don’t we, that there is the justice of a single man and also the justice of a whole city? And a city is larger than a single man? Perhaps, then there is more justice in the larger thing, and it will be easier to learn what it is. So, if you’re willing, let’s first find out what sort of thing justice is in a city and afterwards look for it in the individual observing the ways in which the smaller is similar to the larger† (368d-369a). In order to look for justice in the city, Socrates must map out an ideal and perfectly just city. By showing the exact specifications of this perfect city, including the classes, functions, and virtues of the people, Socrates can undermine Thrasymachus’s argument and answer Glaucon’s challenge. To define justice and to answer the many questions surrounding justice is one of the main topics of Plato’s The Republic, and Socrates sets out to find these answers for the remainder of the book.

EBay Competitive Advantage

EBay Competitive Advantage The main purpose of this report is to analyse how eBays strategic capabilities might provide sustainable competitive advantage, also propose and justify a structural type for eBay which would maximise its strategic capabilities. The author will start by introducing eBay according to the case study Making eBay work, critically analyse strategic capabilities, competences and core competences as well as their implications in relationship with eBays organisation structure and how they will enable eBay to sustain competitive advantage so as to maximise its business objectives. Morgan-Thomas and Paton (2007) classified firms like eBay as a cyberspace founded organisation that use the internet to carry out its business transactions, which makes eBay to have the capability of being on the internet to showcase its products and services. Not only did Segal (2005) argued that when eBay enter into an advertisement alliance with other firms like yahoo etc., it will enable eBay to use the competen ces and core competences of those firms to sustain its competitive advantage, but also Johnson et al (2009) emphasise that a firms competences include skills and abilities used to distribute its resources effectively, while core competences involve those activities a firm uses to maintain its competitive advantage which cannot be imitated easily by its competitors because they are internally and externally inter-linked with the organisation and its customers. 2.0. STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES AND eBays COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE According to Johnson et al (2009), a firms strategic capabilities will direct and evaluate its plan and objective over a long period of time, which enables the firm to attain competitive advantage by using alliance resources and competences to satisfy customers needs notwithstanding the economic situation. Aaker (1998) argued that strategic capabilities will establish a carefully devised plan of action used to achieve a goal in a firm over a period of time, thereby offering a suitable solution when handling important issues that relate to the firm. Doyle and Stern (2006) emphasise that strategic capabilities will bring management instructions and advice on how firms can be developed and sustained so as to achieve competitive advantage. Cravens and Percy (2009) argued that strategic capabilities will develop plans that will be used to take care of changes in the market environment and also try as much as possible to provide customers satisfaction. Kotler and Keller (2006) also argued that the strategic capability of a firm will try as much as possible to realize, produce, capture, present and sustain its customer value. Cravens and Piercy (2009) indicated that strategic capabilities of a firm, when analysed will involve the implementation of management plan, which emphasise that strategic planning will involve the scheme for achieving an objective; while strategic implementation will try as much as possible to put the plans into action and strategic management process will organise and also control the affairs of the business enterprise. Peppard and Rylander (2006) argued that the internet will perfect the known business and marketing strategies as can be observed with eBays marketing strategic capabilities which made it possible for buyers and sellers of products to interact and agree on the price of a product without seeing each other, as well as eBays advertising alliance strategy which interconnects eBay with other firms like yahoo etc. will help in sustaining eBays competitive advantage. Johnson et al (2009) argued that this interconnectivity or alliance will make it possible for eBay to use th e core competence of other firms they are in alliance with, which can come in form of technological skills/abilities or strong brand that cannot be imitated and it will help to sustain eBays competitive advantage. Cravens and Piercy (2009) noted that firms like eBay provide a quick and different online marketing communication strategic capabilities implementation which have not only been successful in some cases but also failed in some, and the failure is said to result from over affirmative anticipations as well as wrong implementation of the strategy. Segal (2005) argued that eBays strategic capabilities will base on its ability to maintain good alliance with other firms such as yahoo etc. which will enable eBay to improve its products/services through advertisement offered by the alliance firms and on the other hand attract more customers to eBay, thereby sustaining competitive advantage. Pettey (2008) stressed that eBay with its advantage of product development capabilities being carried out on the internet, cannot be able to stop considering the number of buyers/sellers visiting its website. Sachoff (2008) argued that eBays competitive advantage may come as a result of the high number of information/feedback eBay gather concerning buyers and sellers, which eBay uses in formulating its strategic capabilities so as to sustain competitive advantage in business notwithstanding its competitors. Gomes-Casseres (2003) implied that strategic capabilities of firms like eBay will plan and implement properly a new method of doing business with ease through the internet marketplace, which brings buyers and sellers together so that they can agree on a given price for a specific product displayed by the seller on eBay marketplace. Segal (2005) emphasise that eBays strategic capabilities will allow the buyers/sellers to be the people to develop the goods, advertise it for sale by developing and implementing strategies such as packaging, displaying, publicising the products and also secure it on the web thereby sustaining competitive advantage. Gomes-Casseres (2003) further suggest that firms such as eBay should be rational in decision making and implementation on how to handle its competitors like Amazon before entering into any advertisement alliance with other firms. Bolotaeva and Cata (2010) stressed that eBay will have to be more creative so as to capture more buyers or sellers a nd also make profit. According to Segal (2005), eBay uses its strategic capabilities to build a strong customer relation by trying to know what the buyers/sellers want to buy/sale and creates awareness on how to make effective use of the eBay marketplace by conducting seminars for the buyers and sellers so as to enable them participate more actively on the eBay business. Skull (2008) argued that eBays advertising alliance strategy will offer better public promotion of products for the market operators and also create more benefits for eBay through its proper implementation. Segal (2005) implied that eBay tries to sustain competitive advantage by cooperating with other firms doing business on the internet, such as yahoo etc. to market, advertise or promote their business so as to draw more customers. 2.1. STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES AND eBays ORGANISATION STRUCTURE According to Cravens and Piercy (2009) when a firm like eBay is developing its business organisation strategy, it will try as much as possible to determine how other firms like yahoo will contribute to its business organisation structure and marketing strategy through an alliance in advertising or brand promotion etc., this is said to enhance eBays business opportunities by creating awareness of its business internationally and also provide a strong brand capability for eBay as a core competence. Johnson et al (2009) argued that eBays organisation structure comes in form of a multidivisional structure which consists of divided parts of products, services and locations, and can be adjusted easily, supervised from anywhere by the divisional heads using organisation strategies as relates to their specialised divisions that creates competences and also provide training for the upcoming divisional heads (see appendix iii). Olson (2009) argued that by using reliable techniques and tools, e Bay will bring more customers to its establishment, maintain the customers and also sustain competitive advantage. Aaker (1998) observed that for eBays strategic capabilities to be able to sustain competitive advantage, eBay must be able to influence what is happening in its environment and not just adapting to them. For example, eBay will benefit by making more laws or regulations that will guide its users, by so doing eBay will implement its business strategies which will also ensure it of business success (source: Making eBay work). Although Johnson et al (2009) argued that eBays multidivisional organisation structure will bring about duplication of functions which subdivides its divisions and make them self-reliant. Burke (2006) suggested that eBay can use its advertising alliance strategy with yahoo etc. to attract more customers and also make them listen to each other, view the prices of products available for sale and whom the owners of those products are on eBay, which will enable buyers to be able to contact sellers easily and on the other hand bring competitive advantage to eBay as more people will get to know about eBays business transaction and may want to participate. Segal (2005) also noted that eBay allow the buyers and sellers to be the people that will be controlling the business transactions by observing the eBay business regulations. Kotler and Keller (2006) emphasise that the core competence of firms like eBay will provide competitive advantage through the provision of customer satisfaction, applied in broad kinds of markets using skills that will be difficult to imitate. Brandt (2008) stressed that the competitive advantage of eBay will be sustained due to the fact that eBay helps buyers and sellers worldwide to exchange information concerning products and also allow them to transact the business so as to conclude on the price a product can be sold. Pettey (2008) disagreed with the above explanation and argued that buyers and sellers must see eBay as they see other internet marketing websites, such as Amazon etc. so that the buyers and sellers can examine as well as compare the different websites and the prices their products are offered for sale so as to have a choice on the firm to patronise and this may affect eBay negatively. According to Skul (2008) firms such as eBay is being seen as a cheap method of bringing buyers and sellers together so that they can transact a business instead of spending enormous money in order to create/build a market. Weston (2008) emphasise that eBays strategic capabilities also help them to sustain competitive advantage due to its connectivity with buyers and sellers, because eBays database of prospective buyers and sellers provides an opportunity for buyers to contact sellers concerning their needs Bolotaeva and Cata (2010) observed that if eBay happens to be aggressive in its advertisement/marketing and products promotion, their customers may not want to patronise them anymore and they may start visiting their competitors that are doing the same business just like eBay. In this situation, it is observed that eBay will lose some of their customers to those their competitors, thereby not sustaining competitive advantage. Weston (2008) went further to explain that the increase in eBays awareness campaign will definitely encourage their existing customers as well as new customers to keep patronizing eBay, and this should not stop eBay from checking the activities of their customers which may negatively affect eBay sometime. Pettey (2008) emphasized that eBay should have a strategic capability that will enable it set up its own advertisement networking bearing in mind what their customers want, as well as allowing the customers to make suggestions in form of feedback on the way forward. Weston (2008) argued that eBays strategic capability to create awareness, just as they are doing with the help of yahoo etc. will help in a long way to sustain their competitive advantage over their competitors which will also provide an added value to eBays overall business performance. Skul (2008) indicated that there are laws, rules and regulations that will be meditating against eBays online marketing and advertisement strategy, therefore eBay will have to be more careful in conducting marketing and advertisement research so as to operate in accordance within the framework of the law and also remain actively in business. Pettey (2008) argued that since eBay provides information about buyers and sellers, in the future eBay operators may be tired of sharing their personal information on the internet and that may lead to eBay losing some of their customers. Skul (2008) encouraged eBay to continue using its strategic capability by advertising on other websites like yahoo etc. as this will contribute in no small measure in creating sustainable competitive advantage to eBay and also help in achieving business success for eBay. He further stated that this will as well allow eBay to connect with more customers. Javitch (2008) explained that eBay is a cheap and better option as compared to the traditional market where buyers and sellers are expected to meet one on one before transacting a business. This being a strategic capability implies that as an eBay market operator either in form of a buyer or seller will help in safeguarding a customers name from other parties. Klen (2008) indicated that for eBay to be more successful, it will have to set up its business goals and work on how to achieve these goals by properly implementing its strategic capabilities. According to Bolotaeva and Cata (2010), eBay organisation structure can function in a marketplace where buyers and sellers from different parts of the world meet to buy and sale products. In this kind of market situation, buyers and sellers are said to show their presence, create awareness of their products by showcasing the products on eBay website, and also reduce cost of advertising the products through the help of eBay that is solely doing the advert and allowing their customers to pay little after selling their products. Here eBay is said to use their advertising strategic capability to satisfy their customer so as to sustain competitive advantage not minding the current economic meltdown (source: making eBay work). 2.2. A PROPOSED STRUCTURAL TYPE FOR eBay In proposing and justifying a structural type for eBay to maximise its strategic capabilities, the author will put into consideration Woollaston (2011) value chain and network diagrams as shown on week three lecture handout on strategic management and marketing because it is said to illustrate a value chain as classes of activities in a firm like eBay that creates a commodity/service, and a value network shows the inter-firm connections and relationship that creates a commodity/service (see appendix ii and iii). For example, eBays advertisement interconnection/alliance with yahoo, Google, etc.(source: Making eBay work). Johnson et al (2009) emphasise that value chain will help firms like eBay to improve its products or services through advertisement and sales so as to maintain value, while value network on the other hand will reduce cost of advertisement for eBay by interconnecting eBay with other firms like yahoo etc. and also bring more profit to eBay by attracting more customers a nd using the competences of those firms eBay is interconnected or in alliance with to sustain its competitive advantage. Peppard and Rylander (2006) argued that eBays strategic capabilities can be maximised using the analysis from value chain and network which will help in repositioning eBay at its rightful position on the value chain and network. Woollaston (2011) emphasise that by using the value chain and network, eBay will be able to determine actions that are signicant to its strategic capabilities and the best firms that will enable it generate more profit through alliance or interconnectivity. Peppard and Rylander (2006) noted that value chain and network analysis will push eBay to focus on the value that will be created from the alliance strategy with its partners like yahoo etc. so as to create more value for eBay through advertisement which will provide competitive advantage for eBay. Cravens and Piercy (2006) argued that without value chain and network firms like eBay will find it difficult to connect products and services to its customers through the alliance or interconnectivity that can b e established with other firms like yahoo. Chaffey et al (2003) emphasised that a structural type of strategy for eBay like value chain and network will involve the assessment of what customers always want to buy and where the customers attention can be drawn from. Woollaston (2011) implied that this can be achieved by sub-dividing the customers into different segments/groups so as to make it easy for firms like eBay to reach the customers by maximising its strategic capabilities in form of going into advertisement alliance with firms that can reach such segments/groups of customers. For example, eBays alliance with yahoo etc. (Source: making eBay work). Mowery et al (2002) proposed that eBays strategic alliance in form of advertisement with firms like yahoo etc. will in no small measure help eBay to utilize yahoo etc. strategic technological capabilities. This will therefore, sustain eBays competitive advantage and also maximise its strategic capabilities. Chaffey et al (2003) further implied that eBays strategic capability of going into advertisement alliance with yahoo etc. will try as much as possible to strategically reposition/redirect eBay by carrying out the advertisement process in different and attractive ways so as to hit the target audience and also attract more customers for eBay. Cravens and Piercy (2009) also contend that value chain and value network will provide eBay with an unequalled and obliging means of carrying out business transaction between buyers and sellers, and as well provide eBay with a strategic capability that will make it possible for eBay to communicate with buyers and sellers on a one on one basis. De Man and Zee (2002) emphasise that eBay going into partnership with other e-business firms will help eBay to reduce search cost. This will therefore reduce eBay customers expenditure as buyers and sellers will easily locate eBay through the advertising partners such as yahoo etc. By so doing, eBays strategic capabilities of going into business alliance with other firms so as to advertise and market eBay to the general public will be achieved. Cravens and Piercy (2009) argued that although eBays unequalled characteristics contributes in providing high customer value through direct selling which provides eBay with the opportunity of exclusive c ontact with particular customer group and adapting to its business timing as well as capacity to deliver, it also have some limitations in relation to how effective customers will view the eBay business enterprise. Lu and Choy (2004) affirmed that those strategic alliances which are externally oriented business approach will emphasise on improving eBays business performance through the linkages in their supply network. They further explained that this strategic alliance will bring about a future plan which will help eBay and the firms they are in alliance with to maximise eBays strategic capabilities through advertisement, as can be seen in the case example making eBay work where eBay is in advertisement alliance with Google, yahoo, etc. This is said to enable eBay to create more awareness about its products and services, attract more customers to its firm and also maximise more profit and on the long run maximising its strategic capabilities. Bamford et al (2003) stated that it is common these days to see firms like eBay establishing strategic alliance with other firms like yahoo etc. this being because more competitive advantage have resulted and sustained from business cooperation in form of alliance. Bamford et al (2003) further implied that as the world of e-business changes, firms like eBay cannot rely solely on its internal source or quality of advertisement to sustain competitive advantage in the e-business marketplace. Therefore, the author observed that for eBay to maximise its strategic capabilities better, it needs to strengthen its alliance/interconnection with more firms on the internet as they are doing with yahoo etc. so as to share responsibilities and also share maximised revenue together. Mintzberg et al (1995) explained that for eBay to maximise its strategic capabilities, eBay managers must make close examination of their competitive advantage which calls for the evaluation of its organisation as well as the environment in which they operates so as to maximise its strategic capabilities by comparing the firms strength and weaknesses as it relates to their competitors. Segil (2004) argued that the initial firms like yahoo etc. which eBay have been in business alliance with are not or may not be the best firms to advertise for eBay. Mintzberg et al (1995) also contend that a firms organisational process cannot be separated from the structure, culture and behaviour of such a firms organisation in different ways. They implied that eBays strategic capabilities which come in form of alliance with other firms calls for a great responsibility for both eBay and the firms they are in alliance with to implement and execute the strategy so as to maximise eBays strategic capabil ities. De Man and Zee (2002) argued that eBays reputation will have to be considered when eBay want to go into alliance in order to maximise their strategic capabilities, which may come in form of reliance or trust and belief or confidence the firms have for each other, that are always established within a long period of time between the firms that are involved in the alliance. For example, eBay and yahoo happens to have trust and confidence on each other and that is the reason why their advertisement alliance is yielding positive results as observed from the case example, making eBay work (Segal, 2005). Ono et al (2001) explained that for eBay to maximise its strategic capabilities and as well sustain competitive advantage, going into a balance alliance with firms such as yahoo and many more popular and also good e-business marketing firms will provide competitive advantage to eBay. Ono et al (2001) also argued that multi or balanced-alliance strategy will help eBay to spread the news abou t its products and services so that more people will get to know about eBay as well as try to patronize them. In this situation where there is more than one advertisement alliance, if a particular firm is not performing very well as eBay expected, it will not stop eBay from maximising profit because other alliance partners are performing very well (Segal, 2005). Ono at el (2005) implies that when eBay uses a balanced alliance strategy by going into many alliances so as to advertise for its firm, eBay will stand a chance of expanding its customer base because more people will know about eBays services and come to patronize them. This will on the other hand create more market opportunities for eBay, increase eBays competitive advantage and also sustain those advantages (Ono at el, 2005). While Andam (2003) argued that it will be necessary to bear in mind that eBay should be able to secure/protect its business transaction server/website so that its business transactions can be processed efficiently. Also eBay will have to employ people that are able to function and use its tangible and intangible resources and assets without a waste to manage and maintain the eBay system so as to maximise eBays strategic capabilities. Andam (2003) argued that eBay must have the capacity as well as the strategic capabilities to handle online payments of any type, ability to carry out delivery of goods purchased by customers to their various locations, eBay should also be able to maintain its position as a trusted third party so as to ensure that transactions are secured and eBays integrity is maintained. These abilities are said to definitely compliment strategic alliance capabilities between firms like eBay and yahoo etc. and on the other hand, eBay will be able to maximise its strategic capabilities (Woollaston, 2011). Chaffey et al (2003) argued that eBays strategic capabilities in form of alliance with other firms like yahoo, Google etc. will help eBay to achieve its business objective through advertisement, sales and marketing etc. and also sustain eBays competitive advantage. It is proposed by Andam (2003) that eBays advertisement strategic alliance with other firms like yahoo would maximise its strategic cap abilities by making eBay to serve as an avenue through which people from different parts of the world can get connected and transact business. This will involve sellers showcasing their products and selling them to prospective buyers who on the other hand will have the opportunity to access information concerning the products which will lead to purchasing of such products in most cases. Andam (2003) suggested that as eBay uses its alliance strategy, it should also take into consideration, a strategic system of buying which will make it possible for customers of eBay to choose the type of goods or products that will match their description/specification. For example, in a situation where a customer wants a product customised, eBay should be able to arrange for sellers or manufacturers that can do that for the customer within a short period of time (Woollaston, 2011). Smith and Chaffey (2002) on the other hand, observed that alliance strategy will help to increase eBays sales through advertisement, because it will take eBay closer to more people and then generate more customers. This will help in maximising eBays strategic capabilities in the sense that people using yahoo, Google etc. will tend to see eBays advert on their toolbar and want to visit eBay and most times end up buying products/goods from eBay. 3.0. CONCLUSION For eBay to record more success in its business, eBay will need a clearly defined and carefully detailed plan of action or strategic capabilities. By so doing, eBay CEO and President Meg Whitman, as mentioned in the case example making eBay work, coupled with eBay managers will have to be involved more in planning on how to create better and more strategic alliance in advertising eBay just as they have established with yahoo, Google, Skype etc. This strategic alliance will in no small measure increase and sustain eBays competitive advantage through advertisement and also maximise profit for eBay since it will attract more customers for them (Segal, 2005). Morgan-Thomas and Paton (2007) emphasise that strategic alliance between firms or organisations such as the one being practiced by eBay in partnership with yahoo, Google etc. can help to develop a firms marketing strategy internationally. This is said to be achieved through improved advertisement on sales and marketing of the firms products as well as their services. Buttle (2009) identified that the alliance strategy being used by eBay will bring about the involvement of eBay customers in developing the firms products and services, thereby help in meeting customers needs and expectations. Mejtoft (2010) argued that for eBay to sustain its competitive advantage and also maximise its strategic capabilities, eBay will have to maintain a strategic alliance in form of a vertical integration with other firms. This will enable eBay to increase or improve on its customer relation since good customer relation is important to move eBays business forward and also guarantee maximised strategic capabilities. Buttle (2009) also argued that good customer relation can create positive impact on eBays competitive advantage which will result from the use of strategic alliance. With the above conclusion being drawn, it can be summarised by the author that eBays strategic alliance with yahoo etc. should be extended to other good firms in the industry so as to guarantee sustainable competitive advantage for eBay which will enable eBay to maximise its strategic capabilities.

Photography and Art Essay -- Technology Essays

Photography and Art In the United States today, technology is all-important to a great deal of the population, whether it is a means of communication or an aid for national security. Technological devices and terminology are ubiquitous and have become a part of everyday life. On the road, many drivers can be found talking and chattering away into their cell phones. At business meetings, many executives will present presentations in PowerPoint, while others will jot down notes in their Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs. Many people have their own websites on the Internet, and even more people communicate through electronic mail. Tourists can be found snapping shots of landscapes and buildings with digital cameras or recording the scenery with digital camcorders. There is no end to the number of examples of how technology has touched our lives. This essay will delineate the development of the digital camera and digital art as a representation of the digital world, since the digital world is much too large of a subject to encompass in one essay. Two influences on the development of digital photography and art are late-Victorian construction of the machinery of information organization and Modernist visual forms. However, it is not sufficient to stop with these two forces, for advanced digital programs have also played a key role in the shaping of digital photography and art. Within the context of the current technological age, digital photography has been developed, modified, and brought into the lives of everyday people. In some shape or form, photography has importance to everyone. At its simplest level, photography allows people to remember their pasts and to share experiences with others. To some, it is way to see ... ...6. "Further Developments." <http://encyclopedia.com/html/section/photogrph_FurtherDevelopments.asp> 7. Hoy, Anne H. Fabrications: Staged, Altered, and Appropriated Photographs. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987. 8. Manovich, Lec. "New Media from Borges to HTML," 2001. <http://manovich.net/DOCS/manovich_new_media.doc> 9. Marshall, Alfred. Principles of Economics, Book IV, 1890. <http://www.socsci.mcmaster.ca/%7Eecon/ugcm/3ll3/marshall/prin/prinbk4> 10. Stevens, Harold. Design in Photo-Collage. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1967. 11. "The Impact of Early Photography." <http://encyclopedia.com/html/section/photogrph_TheImpactofEarlyPhotography.asp> 12. "The Invention of Photography." <http://encyclopedia.com/html/section/photogrph_TheInventionofPhotography.asp> 13. Venn, John. "On The Forms of Logical Proposition." 1880.

Global Warming Is Eroding Glacial Ice :: Analysis, Andrew C. Revkin

People are responsible for higher carbon dioxide atmosphere emissions, while the Earth is now into the Little Ice Age, or just behind it. These factors together cause many years discussions of the main sources of climate changes and the temperature increasing as a result of human been or natural changes and its consequences; even if its lead to the global warming, or to the Earth’s cooling. In their articles, â€Å"Global Warming Is Eroding Glacial Ice† by Andrew C. Revkin and â€Å"Global Warming Is Not a Threat to Polar Ice† by Philip Stott, both authors discuss these two theories (Revkin 340; Stott 344). Revkin is right that global warming is taking place. Significant increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to human activities combined with natural factors such as volcanic emissions and solar radiation – all together they lead to climate changes and temperatures rising. At the same time, other factors such as deforestation contribute to envi ronmental changes for some glaciers not less than air pollution. However, during global warming not all regions of the planet are affected in the same way, local warming and cooling are both possible during these changes. First, during the last few decades the Earth is experiencing greater rate of rising temperatures due to greenhouse gases that are being produced by human activities rather than because of environmental reasons, such as solar or volcanic activities. In 2006 the President of the National Academy of Sciences stated: â€Å"There is no doubt that the Earth is warming,† also he added that people are at least partly responsible for these changes in addition to regular factors (Cicerone, par.4). Natural factors have produced climate fluctuations on Earth for several million years. People have effected an atmosphere of the Earth just for nearly one hundred years, since Industrial Revolution has begun (Revkin 340). Of course, it is unfair to say that global warming is caused entirely by humans. For example, people can not have an impact on the position of Earth in relation to the sun, or on the galactic density, or such nature events as air emissions of volcanic gases. As a result of th ese environmental factors, Earth usually had higher rates of temperature fluctuations during the previous million years than it has in later centuries. On the other hand, people are responsible for the highest concentration of greenhouse gases during the last 650,000 years in the atmosphere due to industrial manufacturing, driven by the increase in consumer consumption (Lindsey, par.

Drinking Alcohol Makes Women More Beautiful :: Research Essays

Drinking Alcohol Makes Women More Beautiful While driving around in my friend’s car my other friend, Michael, commented on how he was going to get plastered, and find some girl to hook up with and he didn’t care about anything else just as long as she had a "nice personality". Others chimed in to the same affect and this got me thinking is this what people really think about when drinking? Is only one thing on their mind? My answer to this question is yes. That is why I chose to do my research paper on this topic. Going into this I decided on a hypothesis that is after a certain number of alcoholic drinks people find others more attractive. This in turn leads them to do other things that normally they would never dream of doing, but it doesn’t really matter, because they have the drunk factor to fall back on. Through a survey, interviews and a case study I have found my hypothesis to be more than just a theory. I will begin with my survey finding. I conducted a survey of 10 people, both males and females, consisting of 10 questions. Now I figured this would happen, but it was the opposite of what I thought they would answer. All of the questions were non-bias and helped me to get a better understanding of the relationship between attractiveness and alcohol. Let’s begin with my survey findings. Among some of the questions I asked were how many times a week do you drink, does your confidence go up after consuming alcohol, do you think alcohol affect others attractiveness to you, and who do you think males or females are more likely to be affected by "beer goggles". A surprising 80% said they drank more than 3 times a week. 20% of males said they had more confidence after drinking, where as 40% of females said they did. I assumed everyone would answer peoples’ attractiveness is affected by alcohol, but the votes were split 50-50. And 90% of those surveyed said that "beer goggles" affect males rather than females. I also interviewed a guy and a girl that had differing opinions about the questions. Some of the answers I got surprised me from both the male and female. My first interview was conducted in the cafeteria, with a 19-year-old sophomore female. The other was in Stouffer and with a 20-year-old junior male.

The Grapes of Wrath

The movie â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath† I watched recently is the classic adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel written and published in 1939 only one year before the movie was released. When the movie production was approved the director John Ford and his crew were able to accomplish a major task and finish the project without getting involved in the conflict with labor unions what was very important since many members of the crew belonged to them. The script which is based on Steinbeck’s book adopted a very specific dialect, the language spoken by the villagers living in rural Oklahoma so the authenticity impression was preserved. The movie presents the times of the Great Depression in the American Mid West and West coasts. This was a tough era of American history that got the historically accurate documentation and John Ford’s movie shows us perfectly the experience of many people those days – farmers and their families, drifters and strikers. For many Americans who watched the movie in the theaters in the big cities it was not easy to find out how hard and stressful it was for the people living in the country to be forced out of the lands they were working on. Here the director introduces us to the family of poor farmers from Oklahoma Dust Bowl and their struggling during the tough times of the economic crisis. While watching the movie I observed the contrast between the representatives of the lower class and the wealthy landowners who take an advantage of the unfortunate circumstances. From the events presented I’ve learned that the economic crisis and the advancing technology which was used to farm the land were responsible for drastic and extreme changes which were imposed on thousands of people against their own will. All the farmers’ families which for many generations made the living out of their farms in the short period of time received the notifications demanding to move out and abandon the properties which they were residing at. Obviously it was not their choice and the decision was made on their behalf without giving them the alternative opportunities. The main characters in the movie are the members of Joad’s family who are not only dealing with the problems inside of their family but also with the basis of their existence which is endangered. Those poor people understand very well that when fighting all the odds the only solution is to stay together and rely on each other and when facing the unpleasant reality they decide to remain as a family while entering the new chapter of their lives. In order to find a solution to their problems Joad’s family decides to embark on the journey to California. They have high hopes and strong beliefs that if they will get there, their situation will change for better, they will be able to find jobs and as a result will settle in their new home. On the way to their destination they experience many unexpected events which they have to deal with as they appear. They loose two members of their family and while staying at the camps for the similar migrants they learn about the sad reality which was awaiting them. It appeared that all the information they have been provided before they left Oklahoma were not exactly true and the land owners were trying to earn profits by using the unfair labor practices. Being fully aware of the desperate conditions the owners of the large farms offer low wages jobs and exploit all those hired to work on their lands. The new comers were not welcomed and treated with very suspicious manners. The local residents who were afraid of losing their own source of income were acting very unfriendly and openly demonstrated their opposition. People like Joad’s family while forced to stay in the camps and awaiting the potential employment were treated by local authorities like trouble makers. All those who tried to stand up for their rights were considered difficult and wrongly accused of trouble causing. Rich and wealthy class representatives were simply misusing the power of the local authorities in order to protect their own interest and increase the potential profits. Whoever was brave enough to disagree with those kinds of methods was considered as a threat and forced to leave or had to face the mistreatment and abuse. While majority of migrating families were subjected to the hardship and constant struggling, the smaller number of this group were lucky enough to find the temporary accommodations provided by the Federal authorities as a form of social assistance during the economic depression. Once they were able to reach such facilities they were offered decent and reasonable housing with the basic sanitary installations. The life in those places was organized by the rules which campers could set up so all the residents were treated with respect and there was no tolerance for any form of abuse. However some of the local land owners did not like the situation and were trying to sabotage the camp. Quite often those government managed facilities were subjected to the organized attempts of purposely initiated disturbances which will give the arguments to the local authorities to act while â€Å"preserving law and order†. It should be noticed that even tough it was not the director’s intention the conditions showed and the form of management in those camps succeeded in building up the reputation of the Government and helped in recognizing efforts directed towards continuous improvement during the crisis. The democratic methods which were giving all the residents the right to protect their status were successfully maintaining the stabilized life while staying within the borders of the camp. Even the police authorities were not allowed to enter without the warrant. Many residents quickly realized how fragile and valuable it is for them to continue preventing the established order in the camp so they could organize the system of the comities which were overseeing all the key aspects of every day living conditions. Under those circumstances surviving the difficult times until the employment opportunities appear was much more acceptable and helped to build the confidence in the better future. The movie definitely proves that people while facing major difficulties have much higher chances of prevailing if they help each other and stay together instead of resisting and fighting those problems just on their own. Even the strongest and most determined attempts to resist and fighting the reality by one single person will not last long and at the end will not be considered successful. The Joad’s family proved to themselves that together they can manage to survive and use the difficulties which they went through as the learning experience. By using the combination of wisdom and wise assumptions together with good will and honest intentions they were able to help each other in the process of the decisions making. As we all now go through the inconveniences and carry the burden of struggling economy, while watching the movie we can relate in some certain way to the presented story. We are fully aware that unfortunately seventy years later there are many Americans who do have to find answers to resolve their problems and react to the drastic changes which the economy imposed on them. As Casy, the former preacher perfectly summarizes his view when performing the funeral rites by saying: â€Å"I wouldn’t pray just for an old man that’s dead, ‘cause he’s all right. If I was to pray, I’d pray for folks that’s alive and don’t know which way to turn†. The fact that the American Academy of Motion Pictures nominated John Ford’s movie was one of the reasons why even the President of the USA Franklin D. Roosevelt was present there and gave the speech which consisted of comments regarding the movie unique character. For someone like me whose knowledge of the United States modern history is not so deep I found the movie as being very educating and presenting Americans’ lives during the Great Depression from a different perspective. Comparing to the recent production, the â€Å"Cinderella Man† I found quite few similarities and issues which were particularly important however the director John Ford is not trying to create a fairy tale but instead is exposing the dark side in which both the rules of economy and human nature compete with each other in the most important fight as the only possible way of surviving without loosing the human values such a dignity and pride. We can say that the main characters, their interactions and behavior even if originated from the natural instincts of human beings slowly but steady helped them to built up the resistance and eventually made them stronger than they were ever before. Just like Russell Crowe in the â€Å"Cinderella Man† was given a second chance and did not waste it but succeeded in his journey to the victory on the boxing ring, Joad’s family under the spiritual leadership of Tom’s mother proudly emerged out of all difficulties and remained faithful about awaiting them much better future. In my opinion the history of this country taught us a very valuable lesson which proved that even the Great Depression was not able to destroy the strong American spirit and discourage people from using their skills and joined efforts to help each other in the times of need. People need to believe that the tough times will end and they will be able to enjoy living again. Nothing motivates people in need to take an action and engage in many long term efforts better than having hope and faith that the better future is in their hands, that nothing else can help them better than their own determination.