Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Analysis Of Kafka s The Transformation And The...

In one of his letters to longtime friend Max Brod, Franz Kafka stated, â€Å"I usually solve problems by letting them devour me.† Perhaps it is from this close examination and complete immersion into the issues of his own life that such brilliant writing emerges. In writing, Kafka is able to express what he repressed in his life—specifically his difficulties with his father, through the themes of gender and patriarchal power derived from one’s sexuality. In â€Å"The Transformation† and â€Å"The Judgment†, Kafka explores the difficulties within the role of the family patriarch, from troubles in obtaining unwanted power to legitimately being empowered. Kafka’s â€Å"The Transformation† begins with, â€Å"When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect† (Kafka 76). The latter is stated simply, as if Gregor’s transformation into an insect is nothing mo re than an ordinary event of the day’s happenings. But as Gregor continues his life in this new form, it seems that in his bodily cage of an insect he finds freedom from the familial responsibilities of the human world. Within the exposition of the plot it is made evident that Gregor’s family is completely dependent on him. Gregor states, â€Å"If I didn’t have to hold back for the sake of my parents I’d have handed in my notice long since†¦once I’ve got the money together to pay back what my parents owe him†¦I’ll make a clean break† (77). Because of his parents’ debt, Gregor isShow MoreRelatedThe Ideologies Of His Works Essay1551 Words   |  7 Pagesnot voice his ideologies on the Slavic culture, Jewish existence, and bureaucratic system ; however, he still managed to mirror his perceptions of his society in his works. Kafka was born on July 3,1883 and raised in Prague, Bohemia. In the 1900s, societies structured their family through the patriarchal system. Franz Kafka was the first born of six children, consequently, forcing him to shoulder most of the responsibilities and discipline that come with being an eldest child. Kafka’s father inRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturersRead M oreMarketing and E-commerce Business65852 Words   |  264 Pagesgraphics contained herein could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. Microsoft and/or its respective suppliers may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described herein at any time. Partial screen shots may be viewed in full within the software version specified. Microsoft ® and Windows ®, and Microsoft Office ® are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.A. and other

Monday, December 16, 2019

Price Control Free Essays

Price Controls Econ 360-002 Sonia Parsa Sparsa1@gmu. edu G00509808 Word Count: 1540 Abstract This paper examines how, in the United States, the government imposes several forms of taxes and price controls and how all individuals are required to pay direct and indirect taxes. It looks at how the approach of taxation and how the constraints of taxation on goods and price controls affect the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Price Control or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. economy. Introduction Regulations have played a huge role in the political and economic world for centuries. There are various different types of regulation. One regulation that the government imposes under its tax policy is price control, which is not considered to be voluntary. Price control can play two different roles, a price ceiling or a price floor. A price ceiling is the maximum price that can be charged in the market for a certain good, causing shortages, and a price floor is the minimum price that can be charged in the market, which then causes surpluses. Measures are usually taken by a government under its regulatory policy to control wages and prices in an attempt to check cost-push inflation and wage-push inflation[1]. However, these policies never help the economy. Instead, it worsens the situation. Governments also impose price controls as an indirect mechanism for taxation. The most well-known price controls enforced by the United States government today are: the policy of minimum wage, rent control, and oil price control. Having enforced price controls generate opportunities for economy failure, i. e. shortages and surpluses, as well as opportunities within the black market, and international arbitrage. The Economic Philosophy When a price control is forced by the government, it’s usually imposed to help or protect particular parts of the population which would be treated inequitably by the unfettered price system. But one must wonder which part of the population, the consumers or the producers? Is it not true that the consumers always feel as if the prices of a good are much higher than their actual value, while producers always feel as if the prices are too low? Price controls are usually justified as a way to help consumers, but whether they actually do is open to debate. Imposed price controls by the government are not only an absolute disaster, but have resulted in dislocating many economies in the past. The key is to recognize that when governments impose price controls; it does not only affect their nation, but also affects parallel imports with their trade partners because of a price â€Å"discrimination,† in regards to tariffs. The Economic Logic The effect of taxation and price controls on the economy vary from the decrease of the supply of goods to an increase in costs and can be demonstrated by a supply-demand analysis (Figure 1). In a free market, the equilibrium selling prices are shown by an upward sloping supply curve (S) with respect to price. The maximum buying prices on the part of the consumer is then shown by a downward sloping demand curve (D) with respect to price. After a quantity of a good is acquired by a consumer, the less important the desire is than before. Therefore, the supplier has to lower the price for each unit as it is sold. Where the supply and demand curve intersects at the margin is called the equilibrium price. In a maximum price control, a deadweight loss occurs in the triangle of a, b, c. pic] For example, when there is a tax imposed on a good like tobacco, there is an increase in the price of the product. This is called minimum price control and the price is not legally allowed to fall below the minimum. This shifts the supply curve of the product to the left. In other words, there are fewer goods available at the same prices than there were before. There is then a decline in the quantity demanded and a new equilibrium between demand and supply is reached. On the other hand when price controls are imposed there is an artificial decline in the prices. At the lower prices, a higher quantity is demanded but the production is insufficient to fulfill that demand and causes a shortage. We can also use the supply-demand analysis to dissect the labor market when a wage-control is placed by the government (shown in Figure 2). By establishing a minimum-wage law, it mandates a price floor above the equilibrium wage; therefore, the rate of unemployment among unskilled workers increases. When wages increase, a greater number of workers are willing to work while only a small number of jobs will be available at the higher wage. Companies can be more selective in whom they choose to employ causing the least skilled and inexperience to be excluded. [pic] Figure 2 assumes that workers are willing to work for more hours if paid a higher wage. We graph this relationship with the wage on the vertical axis and the quantity of workers on the horizontal axis. Combining the demand and supply curves for labor allows us to examine the effect of the minimum wage. We will start by assuming that the supply and demand curves for labor will not change as a result of raising the minimum wage. This assumption has been questioned. If no minimum wage is in place, workers and employers will continue to adjust the quantity of labor supplied according to price until the quantity of labor demanded is equal to the quantity of labor supplied, reaching equilibrium price, where the supply and demand curves intersect. Evidence- Minimum Wage Basic theory says that raising the minimum wage, which is a type of price-control, helps workers whose wages are raised, and hurts people who are not hired because companies cut back on employment. The very first federal minimum wage laws were imposed under the National Recovery Administration. The National Industrial Recovery Act, which became law on June 16, 1933, established industrial minimum wages for 515 classes of labor. Over 90 percent of the minimum wages were set at between 30 and 40 cents per hour. [2] C. F. Roos, who was the director of research at the NRA at that time, estimated that â€Å"by reason of the minimum wage provisions of the codes, about 500,000 Negro workers were on relief in 1934. † Roos added that â€Å"a minimum wage definitely causes the displacement of the young, inexperienced worker and the old worker. [3] By imposing minimum wage rate, free contract in the labor market is shattered. A firm is no longer allowed to pay below the minimum and the laborer cannot accept anything below the minimum that has been set as well. The free-market allows inexperienced workers to obtain entry-level positions, which gives them on the job training, by working for less. With the imposed wage-control, if the monetary compensation falls below minimum, th e trade-off becomes illegal which is a direct violation of a workers liberty to free contract. Thomas Rustici, in his book about minimum wage, makes an excellent point when he states: â€Å"In virtually every case it was found that the net employment effects and labor-force participation rates were negatively related to changes in the minimum wage. In the face of 50 years of evidence, the question is no longer if the minimum wage law creates unemployment, but how much current or future increases in the minimum wage will adversely affect the labor market? †[4] For years we have witnessed the effects of what minimum wages execute, yet we continue to conduct the same mistakes. Conclusion Obligatory price controls by the government are not only an absolute disaster, but have resulted in dislocating many economies all over the world for thousands of years[5]. As economic history has shown us, price controls being effective in a free competitive market are very rare. We either experience shortages or surpluses as a result. Who wins and who loses with an imposed price control? Setting a price control in one country affects other countries around it as well due to parallel imports and personal trafficking. Prices are not just numbers to a free competitive market; they are the expression of the value the supplier sets, no matter how subjective it may be. To regulate or to impose a price control, like any form of regulation, is unconstitutional. In some cases, it either violates the 5th amendment and/or 14th amendment. Price controls, wage controls, and money controls are really people controls. Regimentation at its worst- that is what a socialist dictatorship is all about. I believe that the free market has its own way of equalizing the economy and when the government interferes and sets price ceiling or price floor, it causes a chaos within our economy. Regardless if it results in a dead weight loss or a shortage, the consequences can sometimes be more destructive in the long run. Even if a government believes that price controls are set and affect only their country, it does not; it affects every nation that does any trade with them, exports or imports. The appeal of price controls is understandable. Even though they fail to protect many consumers and hurt others, controls hold out the promise of protecting groups that are particularly hard-pressed to meet price increases. However, when the government has proposed a control, there is a lag in time, causing an economy to become more impaired. References Barfield, C. E. and Groombridge, M. A. â€Å"The Economic Case for Copyright and Owner Control over Parallel Imports. † Journal of World Intellectual Property, Vol. 1 (1998), pp. 903-939 Benjamin M. Anderson, Economics and the Public Welfare: A Financial and Economic History of the United States, 1914-1946 (Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1979), p. 36. Cambridge Pharma Consultancy. Pricing and Reimbursement Review 2003. Cambridge, UK: IMS Health-Management Consulting, 2004. â€Å"Gas Fever: Happiness Is a Full Tank. † Times Magazine 18 Feb. 1974. 19 June 2009 . Grossman, Gene M. , and Edwin L-C Lai. â€Å"Parallel imports and price controls. † RAND Journal of Econ omics 2nd ser. 39 (2008): 378-402. Princeton. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . Richard M. Alson, J. R. Kearl, and Michael B. Vaughan, â€Å"Is There a Consensus Among Economists in the 1990’s? † American Economic Review 82, no. 2 (1992): 203–209. Rustici, Thomas. â€Å"Public Choice View of Minimum Wage†. Cato Journal, 5. 1) Spring/Summer 1985: 114. ISSN: 0273-3072 Steenhuysen, Julie. â€Å"Drug price controls may shorten lives: report | Reuters. † Business Financial News, Breaking US International News | Reuters. com. 16 Dec. 2008. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. . The Power of Oil: The Arab Oil Weapon and the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and the United States Roy Licklider International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Jun. , 1988), pp. 214 ———————– [1] Grossman, Gene M. , and Edwin L-C Lai. â€Å"Parallel imports and price controls. † RAND Journal of Economics 2nd ser. 39 (2008): 378-402 . Princeton. Web. 8 Dec. 009. . [2] Leverett Lyon, et al. The National Recovery Administration: An Analysis and Appraisal (New York: Da Capo Press, 1972). pp. 318-19. [3] Benjamin M. Anderson, Economics and the Public Welfare: A Financial and Economic History of the United States, 1914-1946 (Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1979), p. 336. [4] Rustici, Thomas. â€Å"Public Choice View of Minimum Wage†. Cato Journal, 5. (1) Spring/Summer 1985: 105. ISSN: 0273-3072 [5] Barfield, C. E. and Groombridge, M. A. â€Å"The Economic Case for Copyright and Owner Control over Parallel Imports. † Journal of World Intellectual Property, Vol. 1 (1998), pp. 903-939 How to cite Price Control, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Motivation And Adjustment Of Self-Initiated Expatriates - Samples

Question: Discuss about the Motivation And Adjustment Of Self-Initiated Expatriates. Answer: Collaborative Debate: Research Approaches According to Froese (2012), globalization and universal work portability have given chance to profoundly qualified individuals to work in any nation they want. Individuals who make proper use of this chance is termed as 'self-initiated expatriates' (SIE). This Motivation and adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: The case of expatriate academics in South Korea. investigates the inspiration and culturally diverse modification of exactly thirty number of SIE scholastics in South Korea (Froese 2012). Respondents involved in this investigation were persuaded to expatriate by yearning for universal experience, alluring employment conditions, family ties, and miserable employment opportunities in their nations of origin; a large portion of participants of this investigation were composed. In light of discoveries, the article proposes a theoretical structure connecting inspiration and multifaceted modification of expatriates. According to Chen et al. (2010), passing from accentuation on singular level stress forms in earlier expatriate investigation, this particular research build up a multilevel representation of expatriate culturally diverse inspiration and adequacy (inspiration and viability relating to multifaceted settings) which consolidates impacts of overseas subsidiary level characteristics. Examinations of multiple source and multilevel information gathered from 556 expatriates in 31 foreign auxiliaries demonstrated that expatriate multifaceted inspiration was all the more emphatically identified with work modification (Chen et al. 2010). Moreover, adjustments in sphere of work was probably going to intercede positive connection between culturally diverse inspiration and occupational performance, when expatriates [considered in this research] were doled out to outside auxiliaries marked by bring lesser levels of cultural distance and auxiliary support. Use of Primary and Secondary Data In When does cross-cultural motivation enhance expatriate effectiveness? A multilevel investigation of the moderating roles of subsidiary support and cultural distance. data had been collected from 500 US based multinational companies of energy industry, which supplies expatriates around the globe (Chen et al. 2010). 1028 expatriates were contacted through email for the purpose of this survey and they wrote mainly experiences of international aspects and assignments. Certain measures had been adopted for the purpose of the survey, they are as follows: expatriate cross-cultural motivation, expatriate work adjustment, expatriate job performance, subsidiary support and cultural distance (Chen et al. 2010). The GLOBE project had also been utilized for the purpose of analyzing cultural differences. In Motivation and adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: The case of expatriate academics in South Korea., interviews were recorded, completely transliterated and consequently transformed into qualitative data analysis presentation (Froese 2012). A software too had been implemented for the purpose of coding, investigation and drawing out of significant aspects of the qualitative information. Analysis Owing to multilevel nature of data in When does cross-cultural motivation enhance expatriate effectiveness? A multilevel investigation of the moderating roles of subsidiary support and cultural distance., hypotheses was analyzed utilizing Hierarchical Linear Modeling [HLM]; Confirmatory Factor Analyses [CFA] was also conducted based on seven measures provided by expatriates (Chen et al. 2010). In Motivation and adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: The case of expatriate academics in South Korea., information had been carefully scrutinized by researchers. Furthermore, utilizing a procedure of examination and evaluating information had been structured and classified under certain analytical themes, which had been quantified for regularity of incidence. According to reactions, the respondents were classified as satisfied, somewhat satisfied and dissatisfied (Froese 2012). Presentation of Data Data presented in When does cross-cultural motivation enhance expatriate effectiveness? A multilevel investigation of the moderating roles of subsidiary support and cultural distance., progress towards establishing influencers of expatriate effectiveness. Flowchart and tables had been implemented for the purpose of proper comprehension of methods of analyzing data and factors affecting expatriation (Chen et al. 2010). Data presentation in Motivation and adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: The case of expatriate academics in South Korea., aim at providing aid for local associations involved in hiring expatriates and additionally for expatriate scholars (Froese 2012). References Chen, G., Kirkman, B.L., Kim, K., Farh, C.I. and Tangirala, S., 2010. When does cross-cultural motivation enhance expatriate effectiveness? A multilevel investigation of the moderating roles of subsidiary support and cultural distance.Academy ofManagement Journal,53(5), pp.1110-1130. Froese, F.J., 2012. Motivation and adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: The case of expatriate academics in South Korea.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,23(6), pp.1095-1112.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Zipcar free essay sample

It has a wide range of automobiles for its members to choose from including Volvos, mini coopers, pickup trucks and many more. Each vehicle has a designated parking space in a street or parking spot within the members’ area. It serves over 14 major markets in North America and Europe such as Boston, Portland, Vancouver, London and many others. Members are issued access cards. This allows one to unlock the doors in case the keys are still inside the automobile. They can make reservations online or by making a call. Zipcar allows its members to make reservations even up to a year in advance. It also offers an application on the iPhone. This application enables members to honk the horn so as to locate the car and also to unlock the doors. Zipcar charges an application fee only once along with an annual fee. These are charged depending on the market prices. We will write a custom essay sample on Zipcar or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Reservation rates vary depending on day of the week, model of the vehicle and the market. Gas and parking prices are included in the reservation rates. In 2007, Zipcar combined with Flexcar, a rival company, to build a car-sharing corporation with a nationwide reach. Zipcar has made significant contributions to the environment. This system of car-sharing encourages individuals to use cars only when they need to. Persons with their own cars tend to drive them whenever they want even when it is not necessary. This exposes the air to unnecessary emissions of carbon dioxide. On the contrary, Zipcars enable people to use cars when need arises. Therefore, use of Zipcar services greatly reduces air pollution. Environment In addition to reduction in levels of air pollution, the use of Zipcar services leads to reduced congestion on the roads. It also leads to reduced total mileage on vehicles implying that less fuel is used. The significance of Zipcar to the environment and the local communities is quite apparent in that it has become very important in the metropolitan transportation mix. A number of residents in urban areas have increased their use of public transportation, with a number of them getting rid of their own cars so as to make use of car sharing services such as Zipcar. The most effective way of reducing emission of greenhouse gases into the environment is by reducing the number of vehicles on the roads. This is what Zipcar aims to do through their car sharing services. The more individuals are encouraged to use this car-sharing service the less they make use of their own personal vehicles, thereby reducing congestion on the roads. As Zipcar progresses, it seeks to find even more ways to protect the surrounding and reduce risks that the environment is exposed to. Segmentation Market segmentation refers to the division of the targeted market into subsets so as target prospects that will give the highest returns. A market segment is a section of individuals with like traits that make them demand the same products and services. Market segmentation allows a company to focus their resources on market segments that yield the highest returns. An effective market segment is one that has its own unique needs. Individuals in this segment have the same needs. In addition, reaction of the members of this segment to market stimuli should be the same. Market segmentation can be done on a number of bases. Zipcar has done this on four bases. Its market segments are consumers, businesses, government and universities. It targets the consumers so as to provide them a less expensive hence cost effective means of transportation. Car rentals and car ownership are becoming quite expensive especially in the current economy thus individuals are embracing this system of car ownership (Leboyer, 2009). Another market segment for Zipcar is businesses. Businesses that require a lot of transport for their goods may need cheaper ways to do this. Zipcar provides a cost-effective avenue of transporting items. Zipcar is also available in a number of universities. Students in the campus are constantly looking for ways to minimize their expenditure. It would be very expensive or a student in the campus to maintain a car they own or to rent a vehicle when they need one. Thus, car sharing services such as Zipcar are highly effective in universities and the trend is catching on quite fast. The last market segment for Zipcar is the government. It works with the government to substitute and expand fleets. Before Scott Griffiths became its Chief Executive Officer, Zipcar operated more like a nonprofit organization targeting those close to where Zipcar was situated. Scott Griffiths came up with ways to increase its market base and make it a high profit earning company. Zipcar’s marketing strategy at the time was very costly, and a cheaper means of advertising needed to be found. Though there were advertisements everywhere around the city, individuals were not signing up to enjoy the services Zipcar offered. Marketing Strategy Scott Griffiths came up with ways to minimize advertising costs and reach more people at the same time. In public places such as movie theatres, there are posters of Zipcar and brochures of the organization and what it has to offer are issued out to the public. Zipcar aims to make everyone aware and willing to use their car sharing services. Zipcar has faced a number of challenges and also has many competitors in the same industry. Major competitors include U Car Share, PhillyCarShare and Co-operative Auto Network. They are classified as major competitors because they share the same market and have similar organizational forms. Zipcar operates in many major markets, thus the system of leadership is decentralized. Each market has its own manager and staff. This may lead to lack of proper communication due to lack of direct contact. Different branches may have different organizational cultures. This leads to the difference in opinions and leads to unnecessary disagreements. Lastly, though Zipcar recently added accommodation for disabled persons, it does not provide enough information about it on their website. This may discourage prospective consumers from joining. Zipcar should, therefore, aim at maximize visibility of all options on their website. Awareness is the first stage of customer loyalty and is an inevitable stage if a company a business has to have clients. Zipcar has seen most of its customers passing through his stage. Given the fact that most of the clients in the company are return clients, there is a clear indication that many are aware of existence of Zipcar. What remains to be of concern to Zipcar is the ability to convert those that are already aware of the company and the expeditions it offers. Exploration is the second most important stage in customer loyalty. Taking a look at the Zipcar, we find that awareness is on an average level. This is demonstrat ed by the fact that most of the clients to the company come from neighboring states. Most of, would be customers, fail to develop interests in the using the company services which makes them not to enquire on what the company has to offer. Familiarity is what has made many that are joining the company to always participate in and come back for the services. The fact that most of those that participate in biking come from neighboring states present an issue, which is familiarity. Commitment is the stage that Scott Griffiths would wish to always achieve and maintain. The level of commitment of customers of Zipcar is high. This is demonstrated by the repetitive participation of customers in the expeditions. This means that such customers are satisfied with whatever the company offers. If it were not so, the company would not have been witnessing eighty percent participation of past participants in its motor expeditions (Leboyer, 2009). SWOT and PEST Analysis The company’s strengths include the fact that Zipcar aims to find out exactly what consumers need and how to satisfy those needs. When Griffiths became the CEO of Zipcar, he found that that people were aware of Zipcar and the services they offered but did not trust them. Therefore, Griffiths came up with ways to make Zipcar more accessible to residents. Scott also increased the makes and models they currently had so as to better fit the needs of the younger generation who required fancier cars. In addition to this, strength of Zipcar it the use of technology to satisfy consumer needs. An example of this would be automated access by members using the Zipcard. As explained before, the Zipcard allows members to unlock the doors. Information about Zipcar is available on the internet making it easier for consumers to make reservations and get more information on Zipcar locations. Zipcar has had a number of innovative unions, for example, with the iPhone. Zipcar has an application on the iPhone that allows members to honk the horn to locate the cars and to unlock them, as well. Zipcar collaborated with universities to make their services accessible to students. It got the universities to pay for insurance. However, Zipcar also has several weaknesses as an organization. First, all Zipcar operations are dependent on technology. This includes the billing system, reservations, and many other functions. This suggests that if something were to go wrong with the technology say hacking, for example, then Zipcar would face a lot of damage. Zipcar should ensure protection of its data through constant backups. Zipcar has lots of opportunities in this market if they will take quick advantage of it before their competitors. Consumers aim is to save money. They go for options that are most convenient to their needs. Thus, Zipcar needs to focus on getting non-members to believe that they actually need their car sharing services. They can do this by use of demographics and extensive advertising. Zipcar is mainly used during the night and on the weekends. Zipcar should look for ways to encourage members and non-members to make use of their services during the day so as to maximize their profits. Zipcar can also increase its market base by looking into the opportunity to reserve cars for long distances and one-way trips. Zipcar should also look into ways of retaining student members even after graduation (Smith, 2011). There is also an opportunity for growth in transit connections, Zipcar should, therefore, look or ways of maximizing on that. Zipcar faces a number of threats including competition from nonprofit car sharing companies. Consumers may prefer to join this companies rather than Zipcar which is not a nonprofit organization. Additionally, Zipcar aces threats from rental companies that are now offering car sharing services, as well. The ever increasing fuel prices are also proving to be quite a challenge for Zipcar. This is because even though they transfer additional costs back to the consumer, they cannot charge prices that are too high as they will lose their customers (Leboyer, 2009). Using the PEST analysis, Zipcar also faces a lot of challenges. Zipcar is a company; therefore, it has to adhere to company policies as stipulated by the law. It, therefore, has to keep in line with ever changing laws. Political interference is also an issue. However, the political status of the United States is stable at the moment. The company faces an uphill task of maintaining its neutrality on governance issues especially during the electioneering period. Operating in a federal state, Zipcar faces a great challenge of having to comply with by-laws that may differ from one state to the other (Capon, 2009). The current economy is not very stable and this presents a problem for Zipcar. The cost of living has gone up and people look for ways to minimize costs. Zipcar has to look for ways to attract its customers and convince them that it is the cheaper option. Socially, Zipcar is embraced by the society and with the increase in a variety of cars available to consumers; it has been able to increase its popularity. Zipcar operations depend majorly on technology. It is paramount, therefore, that Zipcar is aware of changing technology and that it changes with changing times. Conclusion Zipcar at the moment has partnered with a lot of companies which has made it easy for them to penetrate the European market. Zipcar has also has also developed an apple application that honks car horns and unlocks some Zipcars. In June 2010, the company filed registration process for the initial public offering. The company finally went public when the first Initial Public Offering in April 2011 raised more than $174 million by issuing 9. 68 million shares. They exceeded their target during this process. Goldman Sachs amp; Co. and J. P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as the joint book-runners for the offering. Cowen and Company, LLC, Needham amp; Company, LLC and Oppenheimer amp; Co. are acting as co-managers. The reason for going public was to help raise funds for debt repayment and expansion of the business. They needed more working capital to help develop new services, sales, marketing activities, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. Zipcar has overall membership of over 400,000. This is a sensitive market hence every marketing strategy used by the company reflects in its overall operations. Car sharing reduces parking commotion in cities and provides services to its customers. Since the benefits are intangible, the company focuses on satisfying their customers to maintain and improve its market share. Consumers’ great influence is value, utility, and benefit of the product or service. The decision- making process involves stages that the marketer can influence and intervene to attract customers. Recommendations The marketer should trigger the need of the consumer and know the time to emphasize its product or service to consumers to survive in the market. The marketers should put efforts to establish its distribution channels and the location of the business to access more customers to improve profits. Markets should have a comprehensive marketing strategy to produce better results and acquire customer loyalty. The company should take time to analyze its competitors in order to formulate and implement programs that are customer focused. The marketer should identify changing goals of consumer trends in future consumer behavior to ensure a good future performance of the company. The researcher should conduct effective and reliable market research to help the company making the right decision in the process of marketing its product or service. Zipcar has so far done well with its marketing strategy. However, with increased competition and other challenges, the company needs to devise other ways of marketing its products. This can include short term price concessions. This will enable the company to continue expanding while at the same time maintaining its existing clientele. Price concessions would easily boost up the sales of the company given that Zipcar’s products are price elastic. This strategy would also work well for the company given that its competitors have less financial power to compete on the basis of price concessions (Pride, 2011). Groupon and Linvingsocial is another great resource they should be taking advantage of. These are companies that aim at giving customers services at discounted prices while helping companies create awareness of services they have to offer. These two companies have become very popular to young adults, graduates and new parents. New deals on these sites everyday are sorted out by lots of clienteles who want to enjoy freebies during this recession period. Using such marketing schemes will help build awareness for Zipcar while creating a new set of customers. Zipcar also needs to invest more on e-mail marketing. Zipcar can use e-mail marketing strategy to developed and expand its clientele. This can be done through linking its services and or portal to emails through permission channels. This would make it possible for a person surfing to get more information about Zipcar deposited on their mails. It should be done in a manner that would enable information on up-coming expeditions deposited into the e-mails of subscribers. E-mail marketing of Zipcar should be designed to provide feedback mechanism. This means that hyperlinks and hypertexts should be incorporated in its design to enable bloggers to get into Zipcar portal in the shortest time possible. E-mail marketing would be far much better than print mail advertising. This is because e-mail advertising would provide for. I major advantage they should be exploring is franchising. This will enable them grow very fast in the global market rather than just relying on merger and acquisitions only. Reason why is because the local market knows their customers already and would be easier to convince the community of the benefits of Zipcar. The trust of a local owner in a developing country is highly beneficial for the company who is aiming at going global. The communities will not see Zipcar as a corporation who is trying to impose their eco-friendly values on them but as a business that understand their needs and is ready to offer its services to ease their everyday struggle. Reference Pride. W. (2011). Marketing. New York. Cengage Learning. Smith. T. (2011). Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts, amp; Establishing Price Structures. New York. Cengage Learning. Capon. N. (2009). Capons marketing framework. London. Wessex Publishing Basenese, Louis. Zipcar, Inc. : steer clear of the â€Å"winner’s curse† (Part 2). 2011. Web. June 29, 2011. www. Zipcar. com

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Men On The Moon The Apollo Story Essays - Apollo Program, Apollo 10

Men On The Moon The Apollo Story Essays - Apollo Program, Apollo 10 Men On The Moon The Apollo Story For years, man has looked up at the stars and wondered, what power they possessed or from what great God were they born? The answer to this question has always been a dream to man, but the dream is getting closer to reality. Space travel in the 1960s was become a reality, but man went farther with his expectations. Man now wanted to land and walk on the the only one of Earths natural satellites know as the Moon. The splashdown May 26, 1969, of Apollo 10 cleared the way for the first formal attempt at a manned lunar landing.1 The 363-foot-tall Apollo 11 space vehicle was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:37 a.m., July 16, 1969. It was the United States' first lunar landing mission. The launch vehicle, AS-506, was the sixth in the Apollo Saturn V series and was the fourth manned Saturn V vehicle. After a 2-hour check-out period, the spacecraft was injected into the translunar phase of the mission.2 July 1996 marks the twenty-seventh anniversary of the epochal lunar landing of Apollo 11 in the summer of 1969. Although President John F. Kennedy had made a public commitment on 25 May 1961 to land an American on the Moon by the end of the decade, up until this time Apollo had been all promise. Now the realization was about to begin. Even though Kennedy's political objectives were essentially achieved with the decision to go to the Moon, Project Apollo took on a life of its own over the years and left an important legacy to both the nation and the proponents of space exploration. Its success was enormously significant, coming at a time when American society was in crisis.3 A unique confluence of political necessity, personal commitment and activism, scientific and technological ability, economic prosperity, and public mood made possible the 1961 decision to carry out an aggressive lunar landing program. It then fell to NASA, other organizations of the federal government, and the aerospace community to accomplish the task set out in a few short paragraphs by the president. By the time that the goal was accomplished in 1969, only a few of the key figures associated with the decision were still in leadership positions in the government. Kennedy fell victim to an assassin's bullet in 1963, and science adviser Jerome B. Wiesner returned to MIT soon afterwards. Lyndon B. Johnson, of course, succeeded Kennedy as president but left office in January 1969 just a few months before the first landing. NASA Administrator James E. Webb resolutely guided NASA through most of the 1960s, but his image was tarnished by, among other things, a 1967 Apollo accident that killed three astronauts. He retired from office in October 1968. Several other early supporters of Apollo in Congress and elsewhere died during the 1960s and never saw the program successfully completed. The first Apollo mission of public significance was the flight of Apollo 8. On 21 December 1968 it took off atop a Saturn V booster from the Kennedy Space Center. Three astronauts were aboardFrank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders- -for a historic mission to orbit the Moon. At first that mission had been planned as a flight to test Apollo hardware in the relatively safe confines of low Earth orbit, but senior engineer George M. Low of the Manned Spacecraft Center at Houston, Texas, and Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Manager at NASA headquarters, obtained approval to make it a circumlunar flight. The advantages of this could be important, they believed, both in technical and scientific knowledge gained as well as in a public demonstration of what the U.S. could achieve. After Apollo 8 made one and a half Earth orbits its third stage began a burn to put the spacecraft on a lunar trajectory. It orbited the Moon on 24-25 December and then fired the boosters for a return flight; it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 27 December. The public reaction to the Apollo 8 circumlunar mission was enthusiastic. It rekindled the excitement felt in the early 1960s during the first Mercury flights, and set the stage for

Friday, November 22, 2019

What Is a Perfect Square

What Is a Perfect Square SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What is a perfect square? How do you know if a number is a perfect square? In this article, we’ll define perfect squares, provide a list of the first 25 perfect squares (and the integers that make them up), and teach you how to tell if a number is a perfect square. What Is a Perfect Square? A perfect square is a number that can be expressed as the product of two equal integers. What does that mean? Basically, a perfect square is what you get when you multiply two equal integers by each other. For instance: $$5 * 5 = 25$$ 25 is a perfect square because you’re multiplying two equal integers (5 and 5) by each other. You can also express $5 * 5$ as $5^2$. That’s where you get the term â€Å"perfect square† List of Perfect Squares Here’s a list of the first 25 perfect squares. A hint: if you want to create a perfect square, simply square an integer! Square Integers 1 $1 * 1$ 4 $2 * 2$ 9 $3 * 3$ 16 $4 * 4$ 25 $5 * 5$ 36 $6 * 6$ 49 $7 * 7$ 64 $8 * 8$ 81 $9 * 9$ 100 $10 * 10$ 121 $11 * 11$ 144 $12 * 12$ 169 $13 * 13$ 196 $14 * 14$ 225 $15 * 15$ 256 $16 * 16$ 289 $17 * 17$ 324 $18 * 18$ 361 $19 * 19$ 400 $20 * 20$ 441 $21 * 21$ 484 $22 * 22$ 529 $23 * 23$ 576 $24 * 24$ 625 $25 * 25$ How to Tell If a Number Is a Perfect Square You can tell if a number is a perfect square in a couple of different ways. First of all, if you create a square by multiplying two equal integers by each other, then the product is a perfect square. So, $1 * 1$ is a perfect square. So is $10 * 10$ and $1,000 * 1,000$. You can also tell if a number is a perfect square by finding its square roots. Finding the square root is the inverse (opposite) of squaring a number. If you find the square root of a number and it’s a whole integer, that tells you that the number is a perfect square. For instance, the square root of 25 is 5. The square root of 26 is not a whole integer. So, 26 is not a perfect square. Key Takeaways: Understanding Perfect Squares A perfect square is a number that can be expressed as the product of two equal integers. You can tell if a number by finding its square root and seeing if that square root is a whole integer. What's Next? Getting ready to take the ACT? We have a list of31 formulas you must know to conquer the ACT. Taking the SAT instead?Here’s a list of our favorite SAT Math prep books that will help set you on the path to success. Looking to brush up on your fundamental algebra skills?A good place to start is mastering systems of equations.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS PAPER - Essay Example regulate US commerce in such a way so as to limit the constitutional implications for employees.2 Kudler Fine Foods’ employees are subject to these limitations, particularly with reference to freedom of speech and protection of privacy. These constitutionally protected rights take on an entirely different complexion within the workplace. In general a company is at liberty to monitor employee telephone calls between an employee and a customer for the purpose of quality control. However, once all the parties to the telephone conversation are located in the State of California, the state law makes it mandatory that the parties are aware either by a beep or tone signals or recorded message that the conversation is being recorded.4 This state law is mandated and indorsed by virtue of the Commerce Clause.5 However, telephone conversations between states are subject to Federal law and monitoring without warning is permissible.6 However, there is a national exception that requires an employer to cease and desist monitoring of a telephone conversation once it becomes clear that the telephone conversation is of a personal nature.7 The only real recourse for Kudler’s employees is to use either mobile telephones and/or payphones in order to protect their privacy in respect of personal telephone calls while on company pre mises. The same policy generally applies to email contents. Typically the law recognizes that computers in the workplace are the property of the employer and that will include the electronic mail system. The right to privacy with respect to email messaging in the work place was addressed by the California Court of Appeal in Bourke v Nissan 1993. In this case the California Court of Appeal ruled that an employee who used his or her employer’s electronic messaging system on the work place did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy and no claim for invasion of privacy could be sustained in the circumstances.8 Moreover, by virtue of the Computer