Security and Privacy in the Network Context Essay

Security and Privacy in the Network Context - Essay Example This Virtual Private Database feature controls access to individual row in the database. It works by dividing the database for use by diverse type of users and keep it secure from illicit access. The other technique is to recognize potential vulnerabilities and suggest remedial actions to secure a database system. ISS Database Scanner Software, a product available with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server and Sysbase databases automatically scrutinize the system for insubstantial passwords and viruses. A more intricate database security device is presented by Guardent through its Security Management Appliance. It works behind a firewall and remotely detects vulnerabilities. It covers operating systems, applications and network infrastructures, and remote online databases. Experiences and experts analysis dictates that more a responsive social and organizational actions should be taken. Accounting for the losses in businesses and the effects in economy, protecting databases from hackers is now a serious business. Our society and organization should be vigilant in protecting our vital and key information against criminal elements using the technology to spy, steal and destroy our investments. We must first ensure that our network security is reliable and constantly updated. Let us remember that nowadays, spending a little more in security software even for personal use is fundamental. Invest on reliable and tested database application; buy only those programs with robust security design. For companies, ensure those personnel in the system administration are strictly following security guidelines. Apply more restrictions to database access especially on internet-based databases that are more vulnerable to attacks. Configure your server to allow only those trusted IP addresses and employ Table Access Control security on your databases. Long-Term Network and Data Security, and Privacy Rights There are many ways to secure access of vital information's in a Network, Database and Individual Private files. At present, Operating Systems and Database Systems come with security features that can considerably prevent unauthorized access. Long-term methods are available from various reputable computer security companies such as Servers employing Trusted IP Address methods. This is done by configuring the server access to a list of "trusted" users only. Next is Server Account Disabling that suspends the server ID after three unsuccessful attempts. This is done to prevent attackers from generating random passwords to get the right combination. Monitor the system; get a product that would send alert when someone wants to break-in into the system. Secure the system with authentication methods such Kerberos Security, a "ticket" based authentication systems from Oracle (Weidman, n,d.). Restrict access to selected rows of databases by employing VPD (Virtual Private Database) Technology (Wiedman,

Current US GDP Figures and the Current State of the US Economy Research Paper

Current US GDP Figures and the Current State of the US Economy - Research Paper Example Economic system is the process of construction, distribution and consumption by specific people within a particular geographical setting. The people can be individuals, association, and businesses or government (Mankiw, 2011). With these considerations, the paper intends to illustrate the current GDP figures and the current status of the US economy. Current US GDP Figures The GDP figures in the US have witnessed a considerable fluctuation in the past decade. In the United States, the GDP figure in the year 2013 stands at 15684.80 billion US Dollars. Approximately, 25.30% of US GDP represents the world economy. The figures related to the US GDP were illustrated by World Bank Group. From 2004, the GDP figures have endeavored to attain peak position but in 2010 it came down to 13893.3 billion US Dollars from 14219.3 billion US Dollars in 2009. Then again, from 2010 onwards, it has kept on increasing, which signifies a relatively stable condition of the US industrial sector (Trading Econ omics, 2013). US GDP Source: (Trading Economics, 2013) The production of goods and services by the labor and assets located inside the United States has significantly increased to 2.5% in the 2nd quarter of 2013 as reported by Bureau of Economic Analysis. According to the 1st quarter of 2013, the GDP was 1.1% and 0.1% in 2012 Quarter 4 (Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company, 2013). The total GDP in June 2013 was estimated to be US$16.6 trillion. The US has one of the strongest and industrially advanced economies in the world. Rental, leasing, real estates, educational services, health care, professional and insurance constitute over 40% of GDP (Trading Economics, 2013). The following illustration depicts the distribution of GDP in the leading industrial sectors in the US: Government related services: 13% of GDP Transportation, utilities, warehousing and information: 10% of GDP Retail and Wholesale trade Centre: 12% Manufacturing, Mining and Construction: 17% of GDP Agriculture: 1.5% Source: (Trading Economics, 2013) The recent boost in the economy has facilitated the US in terms of ensuring more exports and fixed investment. Moreover, with the enhancement of the economic purview, there has been an augmentation in expenditure by local government and reduction in the imports along with deceleration in private firms’ investment and in personal expenditure (Sivy, 2013). US GDP % Change on a Quarterly Basis (2011 to 2013, Q2) Source: (Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company, 2013). Current State of US Economy The history related to the US economy could be viewed with reference to the influence made by the European settlements. US economy is the world’s leading and technologically advanced economy. The nominal GDP of US was reported to be US$16.9 trillion in June 2013. US economy is determined to be a mixed economy and is able to uphold overall growth in GDP. The US has huge natural resources, advanced infrastructure and high productivity. The na tion is the 2nd largest producer related to natural gas and 3rd major producer of oil as well as it is 2nd biggest trading country in the world following China. From 2010, the US has remained the world’s largest producer (The Heritage Foundation, â€Å"United States†). After recording more than three years of uninterrupted economic growth, at present The US economy has recorded less than 2.25% growth and is estimated to slow down to less than 1% in the near future (Sivy, 2013). The US with an economic freedom score of 76 remains down in 2013 index and noted its

Strategic Planning: Sony Corporation

Strategic Planning: Sony Corporation Strategy planning concern the future it is the process of obtaining the goals set by the management for the company in for the future and how they can be achieve. Strategic planning process its a wide process which looks at the wider picture and usually its flexible when it comes to achievement of goals for the organization the process developed some goals for middle level and lover level management to achieved and works on the strategic plans for the future based on the achievement of the goals set for the middle and lover management in short it can be say that strategic planning is the planning of the future for the company. Based on the above definition the company of Sony will be look with regards to its strategic planning in the past, current and future. Sony:- Sony its a Japanese company which has its headquarter based in Minato. It is one of the largest electronic product manufacturers in the world. The company Sony has many products in the market from electronic appliances for home to mobile phones and play stations which is used by many people around the world, the company has established itself in the markets of all continents whether is America or Asia, Sonys products are used by many consumers with a confidence in them. For the purpose of this assignment the strategies of Sony will be discussed which were used by the company in the past and with regards to that the current strategies will be look and based on the analysis of past and current strategies the future strategies will be identified. 1990 to 2000:- Sony always tries to differentiate its products from the competitors and provide its customers with latest technology from CD players to mobile phones the strategy at this stage of Sony was to provide its customers with over the top technologies . The company use many strategies to make success some of them were successful and some were not the company was also subject to some restructuring as a part of its strategy by looking at the company restructuring processes over the years in this period it can be seen that the company Sony was not to the mark when choosing its strategies the company has to change the strategies quite number of times at the time in 90s the strategy of Sony seems like working with different strategies and see which one is working for them. In 1993 Sony introduced its customers with Mini Disc format which was an alternative to Philips Digital Compact Cassette after this introduction the company adopt the strategy to promote its own audio compression technologies under the brand name of ATRAC it was an attempt to go against the widely used format of MP3 at that time and beside that Sony also try to challenge the industry standard Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound format with its newer and more advance sound format called SDDS (Sony Dynamite Digital Sound) while the Dolby Digital was proving six audio channels at that time Sony Dynamite Digital Sound provide its customers with 8 channels of audio. This new format of Sony also had the feature of providing the users of the system a backup system using having mirrors arrays of bit on both side of the film which provide reliability to the users if the film get damage on one side it became an instant hit among the customers but after a few years it was not in that much demand due to being overshadowed by the home theatre system of Dolby Digital 5.1 system which reduces the sale of Sony systems but at that time Sony did nothing to compete with the system with its own home theatre system which was design to sale in the motion picture industry. In 1998 Sony introduce its memory stick format flesh memory cards to be use in Sonys digital cameras and portable music players which was on the format on SD card format which was adopt many competitors in the industry, it provide the users an opportunity to save their data on those memory sticks and can save up to 1000 pictures and songs on that small device it grow popular among the people at that time and its still widely used in many products this was the result of Sony strategic planning which always focuses on providing the customers latest technologies so the customers preferred the company more than the competitors, Sony also work with other manufacturer such as Philips in developing or working on new products and by doing this the company was able to grow in the industry. Despite the success in Sony planning the company was subject to many restructuring due to change in policy and some of the strategies not working and resulting in a loss the problem can be seen that at that time the planning of Sony was very aggressive and the company was trying to grow its market share fast which result in some plan getting failed inconsistency can be another reason in the planning of Sony because the world of music and electronics devices change rapidly everyday and every other month new products come into the market making the old one unwanted, while the competitors were developing new technologies whether its in MPÂ £ player or home theatre systems Sony did not tried to compete with them with updating their current product at that time. 2000 to 2010:- Over the years from 2000 to 2010 Sony developed many products which can be widely seen in the market and most of them are dominating the market now some of the products are Blue Ray Discs:- The blue ray discs by Sony are a popular product and it is now widely used by many people whether it is in movies or games the introduction of blue ray DVDS allowed the users to enjoyed the movies in better qualities and it has more data storage capacity than normal DVDs . The introduction of blue ray discs help Sony to captured the market from Toshiba HD TVS and due to that the company Sony was able to have increased its market share compare to the competitor Toshiba. Sony Vaio:- Sony introduces its range of laptops under the name of Sony Vaio which is a stylish laptop and come under many colours, Sony spend lots of its money on the marketing of the laptop which like all the other products of Sony became an instant hit and even today many people like to prefer Sony Vaio over the laptops of its competitors such as Toshiba and Acer due to the features it provides and also due to its stylish looks. In August 2006 Sony and Dell had to recall many batteries due to being sued by a couple in April over exploding laptop batteries which were result to overheating and overpower. Sony admitted the batteries had some flaws which could result in batteries overheating and catching fire it affected the reputation of Sony badly and many of the other laptop manufacturers such as Acer and Toshiba had to send back the batteries they bought from Sony and also considered to ask for compensation as it was also claimed by a Japanese newspaper that Sony was aware of the flaw in battery and did not do anything to prevent it or to study the problem fully. Play Station:- The first play station was release by Sony in 1994 to compete against other gaming console in the market and it provide the gamers an opportunity to enjoy the games at better quality and better sound and the gamer enjoyed it. In 2006 Sony release play station 2 which was more updated and has many better feature than play station 1 it was an attempt to compete with other competitors in the market which were Microsofts Xbox live and Nintendos WII later on the Sony introduced play station 3 with much more graphics and better gaming experience for the gamers Sony also has developed the play station 3 can be used to access internet and to play blue ray movies and just like Nintendo WII it provide the gamers an interactive experience when playing the games and this has been a huge part of the console success. Mobile Phones:- Sony also has its own brand of mobile phones which were used widely mainly in Asia and the company also introduced the first mobile phone with 12 mega pixel camera in it beside that Sony also introduce one of its famous walkman mobile phone lines which were W11i and W880i in 2007 and 2008 and they had a music system build in it and were also provide the customers a chance to connect to the internet while listening to their favourite music the product was an instant hit and Sony also spend well plan time on its marketing campaign and use celebrities in their adverts which attract many customers and the Sony Ericson phones were used by many music lovers. Current Strategies Of Sony:- After discussing the past strategies of Sony it can be seen that the company emphasis on providing the customers with best technologies and marketing its products efficiently but they did had some fail strategy in the past as well it effects its reputation. Besides, in order to regain Sonys competitive advantages, they appoint the first foreign chairman, Howard Stringer to head the company with the aim to secure Sonys main ground and hope that an outsider will assist Sony to think outside the box. As Hamel Prahalad (1994) suggest, intellectual leadership are essential to develop industry foresight, anticipating which trends are likely to emerge, so it is important to build Sonys new core competence to shape the industry. However, Priem and Butler (2001) have shown that the Resources Based View, as currently constituted, contains a theory of sustainability but not a theory of competitive advantage (i.e., value creation).They argue that simply advising practitioners to obtain rare and valuable resources in order to achieve competitive advantages and, further that those resources should be hard to imitate and non-substitutable is not very helpful in providing practical help (Johnson et al, 2005: p155). After all the fail strategies and their affects on Sonys reputation the company now working on developing the reputation for that purpose Sony employed chairman from their own country Japan and also a foreigner chairman to make their strategies work. In the current weaknesses of Sony it can be seen that they had problems with their management and leadership styles which were more concern about getting the tasks done instead of defining the ways for the teams to how to obtain the tasks and what resources should be used. In order to understand the current business strategy of Sony it will be wise to look at their corporate statement which state Our companies are known for creating products that enrich peoples lives. Through Sony Corporation of America and its operating companies Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment we are also dedicated to improving peoples lives. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, funding research to cure devastating diseases, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment and actively encouraging employee volunteerism.(http://www.sony.com/SCA/philanthropy.shtml) After looking at the statement it can be seen that Sony Current strategies are not only based on providing the customers with best products but also it include building the reputation back which was affected in the past due to the poor strategic choices made by them. Sony is also working on working on the green environment and providing the customers not only equipments which provide them best musical or gaming experience but also which are environmental friendly to play it part in making the world a green world and being giving the customers the image of the social responsibility of the company and building its reputation back which has been damage due to all the bad strategic choices made by the company management in the past. Sony Future Strategies:- Upon looking at the past of Sony it can be seen that the reason of the failure of strategies was that they were not properly planned and implement the resources were not fully utilized by Sony up to their full capacity as for any company it is very important for its efficiency that the resources should be utlizied up to maximum capacity as Priem and Butler (2001) have shown that the Resources Based View, as currently constituted, contains a theory of sustainability but not a theory of competitive advantage (i.e., value creation).They argue that simply advising practitioners to obtain rare and valuable resources in order to achieve competitive advantages and, further that those resources should be hard to imitate and non-substitutable is not very helpful in providing practical help (Johnson et al, 2005: p155). The strategies that should be utilized in the future by Sony should be of following: Competitive Positioning:- Sony has a establish brand name in the market which cannot be denied and everyone knows about the brand and products of Sony but the company did not utilized their brand name fully due to miss planning for example when the home theatre system was introduce and became popular many people were using Sonys products but they switch to the new system because Sony did not do anything to develop their own home theatre system for their customers which lead the customers to switch to another company therefore the main priority involve is to update their systems and products up to the expectations of the customers and they should work on the strategy to develop the products with competitive advantage in their mind the product should be of the nature that provide better features to the customers than the competitors just like Sony did with their mobile phones when Samsung introduce a 8 mega pixel camera Sony Ericson introduce a mobile phone with 12 mega pixel camera and also it has introduce sm art phones for the customers as well which are widely used all over the world this strategy should be continued by Sony. Build Better Market:- Sony needs to understand that it has to not only maintain its current position in the market but also expand its share in the market as Finlay (2000; p11) suggest that organization alter itself and the products and services it offers in order to match the needs of customers in its chosen marketplace which is a market-based approach, so called because the organization looks to the marketplace to see how it should act and how it should evolve. Besides, based on the environmental factors, Mintzberg et al (1998) developed the environmental school which argue people in strategic management must consider the range of decisional powers available, given the forces and demands of the external context. Sony insufficient in responding to the external market had caused them to lost ground in key growing areas and their strategy must be able to cope with the external environment. SWOT Analysis:- Swot analysis provide and wider picture to the company about its current strengths and weakness which relates to the internal environment of the company and give a better understanding that what is required to be done and with the analysis of the external environment of the company it helps in indentify what are the opportunities and threats available to the company and how they can be use for the betterment of the company. By using swot analysis the following have been identified. Strengths:- Sony has the following strengths, Sony has a strong brand name which is globally recognisable. Sony develop the products which are future base which attract more customers to buy the products thus increase in sale. Sony has strong customers based who use Sonys products all the time from music systems to mobile phones. They have top level management and expert chairman now which can guide the company towards success in the future. Sony has always been consider the leader in technology and present the products in the past which have attract many customers to the company. They have motivated staff which works for them all the time to develop new products and improve the current one the company is offering. Weaknesses:- Just like the strengths Sony has the following weaknesses which needs to be overcome to made the company more profitable, Sony has shown in the past the company is inconsistent in its planning and do not do anything to tackle the competitors products. The company has been subject to many capitals structuring in the past. The industry is rapid in nature and can change at any moment. The management has been inconsistent as well. Opportunities:- Its a rapidly growing industry which means Sony has changes to grow much further in the industry. Sony has the team to develop new products and update their existing ones as well to capture more share of the market. They have a strong customer based all over the world which means Sony can increase it sell in all over the world if they overcome their weaknesses. Threats:- Just like Sony the competitors in the market are also well establish and have strong customer based in order to get the customers from them Sony has to improve its product much more. With the losses the company suffer for the last few years may cause the investors think twice before investing into Sonys new projects. The world of technology is always changing which means Sony has to work on developing futuristic products and keep on updating the old one to meet the customers demand and to survive in the market. Recommendations for Sony:- As it can be seen from the past and present of Sonys that the company emphasis more on developing the products and not on going head to head with the competition which result in the competition getting the most of the market while Sony has the technology the company lack of strategic planning and more over lack of control over the activities result in the company losing its customers due to the controversies from the sue on batteries to customers blaming Sony to promoting spam mails using the play station website. All this effected the reputation of the company now Sony needs to rebuild the reputation by not only doing what they do best which is providing the customers the best products in term of technology but also they need to build a strategic plan to overcome all the obstacles the company face in the past. Sony now needs to employ a team of managers who can look after their business well and also needs to monitor and control their performances as it was the bad management decision which affected the company and the company should made all their plan with keeping the future in mind in short the company needs to work with consistency in their operation and should also need to have a backup plan just in case the first plan fail for example when the company was sued for the batteries fault Sony should have tested the batteries fully and as it was reported that the company was aware of the fault in batteries than Sony should have tested the batteries properly and should have look for ways to overcome that fault same goes with the home theatre system Sony should have come up with a way to compete with it instead of just leaving the way it was, this were the faults or mistake which result in Sonys strategic failure and in order to build the company position more strong this faults should not be repeated and all the plan should be made after going through with every details about them and any fault should be identified and ratify at the initial stage and in the same manner every move of the competitors should be though about and a counter plan should be ready for it by doing this Sony can not only captured more market but can also be the market leader. Sources:- Bowman, C. Asch, D. (1996), Managing Strategy, MacMillan. Â · DeWit, B. Meyer, R. (2004), Strategy: Process, Content, Context,3rd Edition, Thomson International Business Press. Â · Finlay, P. (2000), Strategic Management: An introduction to business and corporate strategy, Prentice Hall. Â · Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1994), Competing for future, Harvard Business School Press. Barney, J. B. (1991), Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, p99-120. Â · Barney, J. B. (2001), Is the resource-based view a useful perspective for strategic management research? Yes, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, p41-56. Â · Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1990), Capabilities-Based Competition, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70, No. 3. Â · Hamel, G. Prahalad, C.K. (1990), The core competence of the corporation, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, No. 3, p79-91. Â · Hodgson, G.M. (1998), Evolutionary and competence-based theories of the firm, Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 25, No, 1, p25-56. Â · Markides, C. (2004), What is strategy and how do you know if you have one?, Business Strategy Review, Vol. 15, No. 2, p5-12.

It’s Time to Include Gays and Lesbians in Our Study of Literature Essay

The growth of gay people as a group has been astonishing. It is not possible to guess how exactly we will grow from our experiences in the years ahead, but it is possible to predict that growth will continue, one way or another. A diverse and strong global community has been established.(Clark 60) Dr. Don Clark, clinical psychologist and university professor, boldly expresses his views on the changing nature of the gay and lesbian community in his text, Loving Someone Gay. Clark describes how far gay people have advanced in the last thirty years, moving from isolated and fearful existences to lives marked by political power and potential. Indeed, the gay community, and lesbians in particular, have transformed into large and respected forces in American culture. As with any societal group, their cultural contributions have continued to expand and develop along with their newly acquired political finesse, giving the gay community a sense of pride in its artistic and literary achievements. Since education is a primary source of transferring cultural understanding and awareness, it is essential that educational institutions respect the achievements of this newly empowered community in the selection of relevant curriculum. But they must also be careful; while many texts offer a rep resentative portrayal of the gay community, there are others which reveal a more narrow view. For example, in 1973, author Rita Mae Brown published a shocking exploration of one girl’s growing up lesbian in America. Creating images of rape, incest, and promiscuity, Brown portrayed a cold, angry character willing to blame her sexual identity on a dysfunctional family and an unyielding educational system. While uniquely American in both its authorship and... ...EBSCOhost. Glenbrook North H.S. Lib., Northbrook, IL. 8 Apr. 2002 . Randolf, E. â€Å"Women and Other Women.† Art Journal Sum. 1991: 29-34. MasterFILE Elite. EBSCOhost. Glenbrook North H.S. Lib., Northbrook, IL. 8 Apr. 2002 . Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs. Literature—An Introduction to Reading and Writing. New Jersey: Prentice, 2001. Ruoff, A. Lavonne Brown, and Jerry W. Ward, Jr. Redefining American Literary History. New York: MLA, 1990. Worth, Chrissie. â€Å"Rita Mae Brown verifies outspoken attitude during Oxford visit.† The Daily Mississipian 23 Apr. 1996. 1 Apr. 2002 . Zacks, Rebecca. â€Å"LeVay Shares Thoughts on ‘Gay Gene’ Research.† Scientific American 7 June 1996. 3 Apr. 2002 .

How Starbucks Uses Pricing Strategy Essay

Last Thursday Starbucks raised their beverage prices by an average of 1% across the U.S, a move that represented the company’s first significant price increase in 18 months. I failed to notice because the price change didn’t affect grande or venti (medium and large) brewed coffees and I don’t mess with smaller sizes, but anyone who purchases tall size (small) brews saw as much as a 10 cent increase. The company’s third quarter net income rose 25% to $417.8 million from $333.1 million a year earlier, and green coffee prices have plummeted, so what gives? Starbucks claims the price increase is due to rising labor and non-coffee commodity costs, but with the significantly lower coffee costs already improving their profit margins, it seems unlikely this justification is the true reason for the hike in prices. In addition, the price hike was applied to less than a third of their beverages and only targets certain regions. Implementing such a specific and minor price increase when the bottom line is already in great shape might seem like a greedy tactic, but the Starbucks approach to pricing is one we can all use to improve our margins. As we’ve said before, it only takes a 1% increase in prices to raise profits by an average of 11%. Value Based Pricing Can Boost Margins For the most part, Starbucks is a master of employing value based pricing to maximize profits, and they use research and customer analysis to formulate targeted price increases that capture the greatest amount consumers are willing to pay without driving them off. Profit maximization is the process by which a company determines the price and product output level that generates the most profit. While that may seem obvious to anyone involved in running a business, it’s rare to see companies using a value based pricing approach to effectively uncover the maximum amount a customer base is willing to spend on their products. As such, let’s take a look at how Starbucks introduces price hikes and see how you can use their approach to  generate higher profits. While cutting prices is widely accepted as the best way to keep customers during tough times, the practice is rarely based on a deeper analysis or testing of an actual customer base. In Starbucks’ case, price increases throughout the company’s history have already deterred the most price sensitive customers, leaving a loyal, higher-income consumer base that perceives these coffee beverages as an affordable luxury. In order to compensate for the customers lost to cheaper alternatives like Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks raises prices to maximize profits from these price insensitive customers who now depend on their strong gourmet coffee. Rather than trying to compete with cheaper chains like Dunkin, Starbucks uses price hikes to separate itself from the pack and reinforce the premium image of their brand and products. Since their loyal following isn’t especially price sensitive, Starbucks coffee maintains a fairly inelastic demand curve, and a small price increase can have a huge positive impact on their margins without decreasing demand for beverages. In addition, only certain regions are targeted for each price increase, and prices vary across the U.S. depending on the current markets in those areas (the most recent hike affects the Northeast and Sunbelt regions, but Florida and California prices remain the same). They also apply price increases to specific drinks and sizes rather than the whole lot. By raising the price of the tall size brewed coffee exclusively, Starbucks is able to capture consumer surplus from the customers who more value in upgrading to grande after witnessing the price of a small drip with tax climb over the $2 mark. By versioning the product in this way, the company can enjoy a slightly higher margin from these customers who were persuaded by the price hike to purchase larger sizes. Starbucks also expertly communicates their price increases to manipulate consumer perception. The price hike might be based on an analysis of the customer’s willingness to pay, but they associate the increase with what appears to be a fair reason. Using increased commodity costs to justify the price as well as statements that aim to make the hike look insignificant (less than a third of beverages will be affected, for example) help foster an attitude of acceptance. What can Your Business Learn From Starbucks? The profit maximizing tactics Starbucks implements in their pricing strategy are vital components of a process anyone can use. Here are some of the takeaways you can apply to your own business: 1. Study your customer personas. Starbucks understands that the majority of their customer base is fairly insensitive to price, and uses small price increases that everyday consumers barely notice to boost margins. Quantify your buyer personas and the demand for your product or service will help you choose a price that captures the maximum amount your customers are willing to pay. 2. Justify the exchange rate for your product. Communicating price increases effectively is crucial to a successful price hike, and managing customer perception is a key part of the Starbucks strategy. Support your price increases using changes in the market such as higher commodity costs and ease the pain on the consumer by finding an attractive way to publicize the new prices. Starbucks said their beverage prices were increasing by an average of 1%, but that low average probably stemmed from including all of their beverages in the equation, including ones that remained at the same prices. 3. Use product differentiation to put your company in the lead. You can justify maximizing your profits using the fairest of reasons, but if the customers don’t value your service the way they value a delicious cup of coffee, then a decrease in demand is inevitable. Build a service or product that consumers can’t live without, and you’ll be able to implement price hikes without turning off your customers. 4. Don’t increase the prices of the products with the highest margins. Raise the prices of the products surrounding them. As mentioned earlier, Starbucks raised the price of the tall size brew exclusively in order to persuade customers to purchase larger sizes (with slightly higher margins). Price hikes for your lower margin products can entice customers to upgrade to more expensive options, especially with respect to products and services that are tiered based on time usage and features. The goal is to use the price increases to guide the customer towards your most profitable product.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Australia is known all over the globe for several reasons. The natural beauties of the country and the wild life are always on the top of the list. But when thinking about Australia there are two super structures that come to mind, The Sydney Opera House and The Sydney Harbour Bridge. In this short report it can be found small history along with a short description about the Sydney Bridge.II. Main Body II. 1 History The first plans to build a bridge actually goes back to year of 1815, but it wasn’t until 1922, after being delayed manly because of the WWI, that the parliament approved the laws for the construction of this massive structure. The actual work didn’t begin until 1924 and took 8 years, a 1400 men work force, and several tragic accidents to finally finish it (Australian Government).The official opening ceremony was on 19 March 1932, were the Premier of New South Wales was supposed to cut the ribbon, but a man in military clothe riding a horse, slash the ribbon before the ceremony began, declaring the bridge opened in the name of the people of Australia. II. 2 Description Also known as the â€Å"Coathanger† by many residents of the city of Sydney, the Harbour Bridge is, until the date, the world’s largest, but not longest steel arch bridge.This 53,000 tons structure is located in the Sydney Harbor, uniting the Central Business District (or CBD) at Dawes Point with the commercial and residential areas in the North Shore at Milsons Point (Wikipedia 2010). The bridge is about 500 meters long. Today carries eight traffic lanes, two rail lines, one in each direction, a pedestrian pathway on the eastern side and a cycleway on the western side of the bridge. The arch summit is about 135 meters above the average harbour water level. There are four pylons at each end of the arch that weren’t part of the initial design and they don’t actually fulfil any structural purpose.These structures were added latter on to improve the appearance of the bridge, but now they were all put into use, the most famous being the one located in the south east of the bridge. This particular pylon now holds a three stories museum with the bridge history (Wikipedia 2010). III. Conclusion As can be seen the Sydney Harbour Bridge not only works as a mean to cross the harbour in a more efficient way, but it has become one of the most important landmarks of Australia, thanks to its architecture, beautiful views and tourist attractions.It doesn’t matter if you’ve been there or not, when somebody talks about Sydney, is almost inevitable but to think about this structure. ?IV. Bibliography Wikipedia 2010, Sydney Harbour Bridge, viewed 2 December 2010,   http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge

The Global Sullivan Principles †Ethics Paper

The Global Sullivan Principles – Ethics Paper Free Online Research Papers The Global Sullivan Principles Ethics Paper The original Sullivan Principles were developed by a Baptist Minister named Reverend Leon Sullivan. He established the principles as a code of conduct for human rights and equal opportunity for companies operating in South Africa. The original Sullivan Principles were designed to help persuade U.S. companies with investments in South Africa to treat their South African employees with the same regard as they do their American colleagues and friends. At the time of the development of the original Sullivan Principles in 1977, Reverend Sullivan was the first African American appointed to the Board of Directors of General Motors. During this time, General Motors was the leading employer of blacks in South Africa; therefore Sullivan decided to use his position on the Board of Directors to apply economic pressure to end an unjust system of segregation. On three different occasions, Reverend Sullivan was able to bring 25 top CEO’s from around the world together for a private summit to discuss ending apartheid in South Africa. At the end of the summit all 25 companies were behind Sullivan’s efforts to end apartheid. The results of these meetings have been known as one of Reverend Sulli van’s most important accomplishments which in return broke the back of apartheid in South Africa and led to its independence and the presidency of Nelson Mandela. At the request of world and industry leaders, in 1999 Reverend Sullivan re-launched the principles in what is now known as the Global Sullivan Principles for Corporate Social Responsibility. At a special meeting, Sullivan had the UN Secretary-General formally introduce the new principles to the corporate world. As per the preamble of the Global Sullivan Principles, they were established to urge companies to do the following: 1. Support economic, social and political justice by companies where they do business. 2. Support human rights and encourage equal opportunity at all levels of employment, including racial and gender diversity on decision making committees and boards. 3. To train and advance disadvantaged workers for technical, supervisory and management opportunities. 4. To assist with greater tolerance and understanding among peoples; thereby helping to improve the quality of life for communities, workers and children with dignity and equality. (The Global Sullivan Principles, Preamble) These newly formed Principles call for multinational companies to play a much larger role in the advancement of human rights and social justice. Reverend Sullivan invites all companies, no matter what size or type of business, to become an endorser of the Principles. If a company wishes to be associated with the Principles, they are expected to provide information which publicly demonstrates its commitment to the principles. Each endorser of the Principles must take part in an annual reporting process, which documents their process of bringing social responsibility to life. These reports are displayed on the Global Sullivan Principles website. As I read through the list of endorsers of the Global Sullivan Principles, I was excited to see the City of Houston listed as one. Research Papers on The Global Sullivan Principles - Ethics PaperOpen Architechture a white paperMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesDefinition of Export QuotasTwilight of the UAWAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementBringing Democracy to AfricaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Three Concepts of PsychodynamicAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into Asia