Pest Analysis of Mcdonald

MKT 204 Principle of Marketing 2 Individual Assignment Fast food industry Swot Analysis Name: Ting Ze Kai ID: I11008551 Section: 5K1 Lecturer: Mr CHEAH SIN CHYE Table of Contents Company Background| 3| PEST Analysis | 4-9| 4Ps Strategies| 10-11| References| 12-13| Appendix| 14| Company Background McDonald is a largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants in the world. Approximately 68 million customers in 119 countries daily are served. The birth of McDonald began with Raymond Albert Kroc.He found two brothers (Richard and Maurice McDonald) who run a hamburger restaurant and acquired the franchising right from them to run McDonald’s restaurant. In 1955, McDonald’s Corporation was founded by Ray Kroc and opened the first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. In 1980, GOLDEN ARHCES RESTAURANTS SDN BHD gets the license to operate McDonald’s restaurant in Malaysia from McDonald’s Corporation USA in 1980. The first restaurant McDonald’s Malaysia opene d at Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Now, it has more than 200 restaurants operated in Malaysia. PEST Analysis- McDonaldPolitical * Raising retirement age * Healthy Issue * Taxation| Economic * Exchange currencies * Economic growth * Interest rate| Social * Seek to better quality * Technology with teenagers | Technology * Online advertising * Mobile CRM * New technology | Political Raising retirement age According to the V. SHANKAR GANESH and EUNICE AU (2012), they stated that the retirement age for the public sector has already been raised to 60 by government. It can be a huge impact for the company. Normally, company paid high salary for the old workers which contain high skill and experience.For saving cost, company will recruit new worker which paid low salary to cover worker near retirement age. But, the retirement age has been increase and old worker still with high salary. It will lead the cost of labour increasing to the company. Healthy Issue According to the Audrey Edwa rds (2012), he stated that 35 major food and beverage(F&B) producer and fast food has been asked by the government to reduce the sugar and salt content in their product. It implies government will start to enhance the standard of requirement of the food and request fast food company emphasis on more healthy food.Therefore company should readjustment the standard of their food to reach the government requirement. It might affect the taste of their product and losing their customers. Taxation Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib in Budget 2012 announced franchise fee is now tax deductible in Malaysia. Those fees for franchise business they paid are allowable for tax deduction (NBC, 2011). It is good news for those franchise companies. Normally, a rise in corporation tax has the same effect as increase cost. Company will pass some of this tax on to consumer with higher price.Whereas, franchise business can use those fees they paid to deduce the tax from company. Therefore, the cost will be d ecrease and they can provide more value meal for their customer. Furthermore, they have more capital to find a new market such as hot drinks market, healthy food market and so on Economic Exchange currencies According to the The Star (2012), it mentioned that the ringgit climbed 3. 7% to 3. 0598, the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2010. A head of treasury at Bangkok Bank Bhd said that the currency is on a strengthening trend and could test 3. 3 to the dollar in the near term (The Star, 2012). It means that the exchange currency maintains at the high level and it will be increasing in the following. McDonald always imports most of its raw material such as beef and potatoes due to local market cannot supply in abundant to meet the demand of its products. Therefore, the strengthening of ringgit makes company cost of purchase decrease. Then, company is able to lower their product price and diversify their promotion tools to offer more value meal to attract customer.Economic gro wth According to The Star (2012), it mentioned that Malaysia’s economic growth remains strong and is at a comfortable level when compared with that of the global economy and the central bank has projected the Malaysian economy would grow at a steady 4%-5% this year anchored by resilient domestic demand. As the food slightly above normal foods, not many people will have the income range to consume the products. Moreover If the economy is bad and their income is affected, the demand of McDonald product will certainly going down.But Malaysia’s economic remains strong means Malaysian have more disposable income and they can spend more and more expensive food at fast food restaurant. Interest rate Malaysian interest rates currently at three per cent have remained accommodative (The Star, 2012). It could be a dangerous for the company. Businesses often need to take out short term loan to make up for shortfall in expenses, so higher interest rate makes such shortfalls more co stly, since the business will have to more interest back to lenders. Company also frequently take out longer term debt for improvement and infrastructure.The higher interest rate, they should face more costly on their debt. Therefore, they should lower their cost of production by using different way and strengthen their marketing strategies to gain more profit to overcome. Social Seek to better quality Malaysian quality of life index increased from 100 points for the base year 2000 to 111. 9 points in 2010 (The Star, 2012). When their quality of life is improved, they have higher expectation. They will start to want have quality in services and more conveniences that can differentiate one restaurant from another.All these needs should be considered by the company. If company haven’t noticed it yet, it will be difficult to gain competitive advantage in the market. Technology with teenagers According to the Joy Lee (2012), he mentioned that technology has no doubt brought about the luxury of convenience. Nowadays, even a toddler or kid is in tune with technology. It means that technology is changing the life style. Teenagers want technology in their life and facilities such as credit card payment, wireless internet and other attraction for their hangout and eating.So all these need should be considered by McDonald Company. Technology Online advertising During the height of the tech boom, online business is getting normal nowadays. It brings convenient to the customer and company. According to the Jack Komperday (2003), McDonald’s sat on the internet advertising side lines. This will get closer with their target market because teenagers get in touch with technology more. Compare with TV advertising, online advertising is more effective and cheaper. Furthermore, company are easier to spread their new products and news through their official website such as www.Mcdonal. com. my. Customer also can take order easily through their official websites. Mobi le CRM According to the Chantal Tode (2012), Mcdonald’s will introduce a mobile CRM program with the goal of rewarding customer and driving loyalty. The program involves using the Mowingo mobile application to notify customer about regional promotions and store-specific coupons that are exclusive to the app and the store issuing them such as they can get a free coffee or other through the app (Chantal Tode, 2012). This will lead cost saving for the company and attract more customers. New TechnologyTimes have changed and evolution of technology in the fast food industry is picking up the pace. According to the Kerry Pipes (n. d. ), touch-screen kiosks and self-checkout lanes will happen in fast food restaurants such as McDonald, Burger King and so on. These contactless payment kiosks often included colourful, animated touch-screen menus that give customer the option to browse through the entire menu, customize their order, and then pay with cash a credit card Kerry Pipes (n. d . ). It is very fantastic system for McDonald which is a fast food industry provide fast services.They give customer more freedom and convenient. It will increase the speed of service and ease long lines. Company also can cut their labour costs due to the machine has replaced labour work. 4P Strategies deal with issue Product For dealing the health issue, company can come up new menu with healthy food. McDonald’s specialise product is burger so they can come out a healthy hamburger, add salad and fruit with set meal or organic food. It will meet the requirement from government and open new market to attract healthy conscious customer.Furthermore, Malaysia’s economic is growing, Malaysian has more steady and disposable income and they will choose more expensive and quality food to satisfy them. Therefore, McDonald can adapt better raw material to produce products with high price and high quality such as triple burger, high quality beef burger and so on to satisfy custom er’s taste. Price In marketing mix, price is very important for a product. Due to the franchise fee is now tax deduction in Malaysia, McDonald are able to use more pricing strategies to position their products such as promotion price, value price, price skimming.But for the vegetarian burger and high quality beef burger, company can use pricing skimming method to set initial high price with them into market because they adapt high quality and healthy material to make it and then slowly lowers the price to make the product available to a wider market. It will position the healthy burger with high price high quality in people’s mind. In addition, exchange currencies issues bring the cost of production decrease and hence they can earn more profit. Promotion For the new launching of product, company can advertise new product with bar code.Customer scan the barcode with their smartphone, they can get free drinks with new product. Online advertising is getting normal nowaday s. Therefore, company can use various form of online marketing techniques such as banner advertisements, videos or social medial to promote their product. In addition, McDonald, social responsible company so they can expand their online advertising related with social responsible. It can build a positive image in the market. Furthermore, using CRM program maintains customer relationship and loyalty.McDonald has opportunity cooperate with mobile cooperation to wider their range of customers such as customer will get free coupons when they purchase certain brands mobile. Place Malaysians are starting to seek to better quality now. McDonald should increase their outlets nearby work place, bus station, and airport. Furthermore, they should increase their location of deliver service and provide training for their employee to build a faster and better service for their customer. For the new launching product such as high quality beef burger, they initially can only available few outlets w hich located upper middle class area.References * V. SHANKAR GANESH and EUNICE AU, 2012. Raising retirement age. Available at: http://www. nst. com. my/top-news/raising-retirement-age-1. 94353#. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * Audery Edwards, 2012. Passion for food feeds disease. Available at: http://thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2012/4/15/nation/11069279&sec=nation. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * The Star, 2012. Asian currencies complete quarterly gain. Available at: http://thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2012/4/15/nation/11069279&sec=nation [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * The Star, 2012.Minister: Economic growth stays strong. Available at: http://biz. thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2012/3/26/business/10986390&sec=business [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * The Star, 2012. Interest rates remain accommodative. Available at: http://biz. thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2012/3/21/business/20120321195459&sec=business [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * Joy Lee, 2012. Today ’s toddlers and kids are in tune with technology. Available at: http://thestar. com. my/metro/story. asp? file=%2F2012%2F6%2F2%2Fcentral%2F11395408&sec=central#.T8nYyO-wHmE. facebook [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * The Star, 2012. Report shows better quality of life in 2000-2010. Available at: http://thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=/2012/6/11/nation/20120611220429&sec=nation. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * Tan Cheng Li, 2012. Malaysians do their part to protect the environment. Available at: http://thestar. com. my/lifestyle/story. asp? file=/2011/4/22/lifefocus/8485754&sec=lifefocus. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * NBC, 2012. Franchisee fee is now tax deductible in Malaysia.Available at: http://www. nbc. com. my/blog/franchise-fee-tax-deductible-in-malaysia/. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * Jack Komperda, 2003. Buying Time Online. Available at: http://www. usnews. com/usnews/culture/articles/031006/6ads. htm. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] * Chantal Tode, 2012. Mcdonald’s bit es into mobile CRM at over 500 locations this summer. Available at: http://www. mobilecommercedaily. com/2012/05/18/mcdonald%E2%80%99s-bites-into-mobile-crm-at-over-500-locations-this-summer. [Accessed on 19 June 2012] Appendix

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 1

Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade,† Mary-Lynnette said as she and Mark passed the old Victorian farmhouse. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"Rowan. And Kestrel. And Jade. The names of thegirls who're moving in.† Mary-Lynnette tilted herhead toward the farmhouse-her hands were full of lawn chair. â€Å"They're Mrs. Burdock's nieces. Don't you remember I told you they were coming to live with her?† â€Å"Vaguely,† Mark said, readjusting the weight of the telescope he was carrying as they trudged up the manzanita-covered hill. He spoke shortly, which Mary-Lynnette knew meant he was feeling shy. â€Å"They're pretty names,† she said. â€Å"And they must be sweet girls, because Mrs. Burdock said so.† â€Å"Mrs. Burdock is crazy.† â€Å"She's just eccentric. And yesterday she told meher nieces are all beautiful. I mean, I'm sure she's prejudiced and everything, but she was pretty definite. Each one of them gorgeous, each one a completely different type.† â€Å"So they should be going to California,† Mark saidin an almost-inaudible mutter. â€Å"They should be posing for Vogue.Where do you want this thing?† he added as they reached the top of the hill. â€Å"Right here.† Mary-Lynnette put the lawn chairdown. She scraped some dirt away with her foot so the telescope would sit evenly. Then she said casually, â€Å"You know, I thought maybe we could go over there tomorrow and introduce ourselves-sort of welcome them, you know†¦.† â€Å"Will you cut itout?†Mark said tersely. â€Å"I can organize my own life. If I want to meet a girl, I'll meet a girl. I don't need help.† â€Å"Okay, okay. You don't need help. Be careful withthat focuser tube-â€Å" â€Å"And besides, what are we going to say?† Mark said, on a roll now. â€Å"‘Welcome to Briar Creek, where nothing ever happens. Where there are more coyotes than people. Where if you really want some excitement you can ride into town and watch theSaturday night mouse racing at the Gold Creek Bar†¦.'† â€Å"Okay. Okay.† Mary-Lynnette sighed. She-looked at her younger brother, who just at the moment was illuminated by the last rays of sunset. To see him now, you'd think he'd never been sick a day in hislife. His hair was as dark and shiny as Mary Lynnette's, his eyes were as blue and clear and snapping. He had the same healthy tan as she did; thesame glow of color in his cheeks. But when he'd been a baby, he'd been thin andscrawny and every breath had been a challenge.His asthma had been so bad he'd spent most of his second year in an oxygen tent, fighting to stay alive. Mary-Lynnette, a year and a half older, had won dered every day if her baby brother would ever come home. It had changed him, being alone in that tent whereeven their mother couldn't touch him. When hecame out he was shy and clingy-holding on to theirmother's arm all the time. And for years he hadn'tbeen able to go out for sports like the other kids. That was all a long time ago-Mark was going to bea junior in high school this year-but he was still shy. And when he got defensive, he bit people's heads off. Mary-Lynnette wished one of the new girls would be right for him, draw him out a bit, give him confidence. Maybe she could arrange it somehow†¦. â€Å"What are you thinking about?† Mark asked suspiciously. Mary-Lynnette realized he was staring at her. â€Å"About how the seeing's going to be really good tonight,† she said blandly. â€Å"August's the best month for starwatching; the air's so warm and still. Hey,there's the first star-you can make a wish.† She pointed to a bright point of light above the southern horizon. It worked; Mark was distracted and looked, too. Mary-Lynnette stared at the back of his dark head.If it would do any good, I'd wish for romance for you, she thought. I'd wish it for myself, too-but what would be the point? There's nobody around here to be romantic with. None of the guys at school–except maybe JeremyLovett-understood why she was interested in as tronomy, or what she felt about the stars. Most ofthe time Mary-Lynnette didn't care-but occasionally she felt a vague ache in her chest. A longing to †¦ share. If she hadwished, it would have been for that, for someone to share the night with. Oh, well. It didn't help to dwell on it. And besides,although she didn't want to tell Mark, what they were wishing on was the planet Jupiter, and not a star at all. Mark shook his head as he tramped down the path that wound through buckbrush and poison hemlock. He should have apologized to Mary-Lynnette beforeleaving-he didn't like being nasty to her. In fact, she was the one person he usually tried to be decent to. But why was she always trying to fix him? To the point of wishing on stars. And Mark hadn't really made a wish, anyway. He'd thought, if I was making a wish, which I'm not because it's hokey and stupid, it would be for some excitement around here. Something wild, mark thought-and felt an innershiver as he hiked downhill in the gathering darkness. Jade stared at the steady, brilliant point of lightabove the southern horizon. It was a planet, she knew. For the last two nights she'd seen it moving across the sky, accompanied by tiny pinpricks of light that must be its moons. Where she came from, nobody was in the habit of wishing on stars, but this planet seemed like a friend-a traveler, just like her. As Jade watched it tonight, she felt a sort of concentration of hope rise inside her. Almost awish. Jade had to admit that they weren't off to a very promising start. The night air was too quiet; there wasn't the faintest sound of a car coming. She wastired and worried and beginning to be very, very hungry. Jade turned to look at her sisters. â€Å"Well, where is she?† â€Å"I don't know,† Rowan said in her most doggedly gentle voice. â€Å"Be patient.† â€Å"Well, maybe we should scan for her. â€Å"No,† Rowan said. â€Å"Absolutely not. Remember what we decided.† â€Å"She's probably forgotten we were coming,† Kestrel said. â€Å"I told you she was getting senile.† â€Å"Don't saythings like that. It's not polite,† Rowan said, still gentle, but through her teeth. Rowan was always gentle when she could manageit. She was nineteen, tall, slim, and stately. She had cinnamon-brown eyes and warm brown hair that cascaded down her back in waves. Kestrel was seventeen and had hair the color of old gold sweeping back from her face like a bird's wings. Her eyes were amber and hawklike, and she was never gentle. Jade was the youngest, just turned sixteen, and she didn't look like either of her sisters. She had white-blond hair that she used as a veil to hide behind, and green eyes. People said she looked serene, but she almost never felt serene. Usually she was either madly excited or madly anxious and confused. Right now it was anxious. She was worried about her battered, half-century-old Morocco leather suitcase. She couldn't hear a thing from inside it. 00 â€Å"Hey, why don't you two go down the road a little way and see if she's coming?† Her sisters looked back at her. There were few things that Rowan and Kestrel agreed on, but Jade was one of them. She could see that they were about to team up against her. â€Å"Now what?† Kestrel said, her teeth showing just briefly. And Rowan said, â€Å"You're up to something. What are you up to, Jade?† Jade smoothed her thoughts and her face out and just looked at them artlessly. She hoped. They stared back for a few minutes, then looked at each other, giving up. â€Å"We're going to have to walk, you know,† Kestrel said to Rowan. â€Å"There are worse things than walking,† Rowansaid. She pushed a stray wisp of chestnut-colored hair off her forehead and looked around the bus stationwhich consisted of a three-sided, glass-walled cubicle,and the splintering wooden bench. â€Å"I wish there was a telephone.† â€Å"Well, there isn't. And it's twenty miles to BriarCreek,† Kestrel said, golden eyes glinting with a kind of grim enjoyment. â€Å"We should probably leave our bags here.† Alarm tingled through Jade. â€Å"No, no. I've got allmy–all my clothes in there. Come on, twenty milesisn't so far.† With one hand she picked up her cat carrier-it was homemade, just boards and wiresand with the other she picked up the suitcase. She got quite a distance down the road before she heard the crunch of gravel behind her. They were following: Rowan sighing patiently, Kestrel chuckling softly, her hair shining like old gold in the starlight. The one-lane road was dark and deserted. But notentirely silent there were dozens of tiny night sounds, all adding up to one intricate, harmonizing night stillness. It would have been pleasant, except that Jade's suitcase seemed to get heavier with everystep, and she was hungrier than she had ever beenbefore. She knew better than to mention it to Rowan, but it made her feel confused and weak. Just when she was beginning tothink she would have to put the suitcase down and rest, she heard a new sound. It was a car, coming from behind them. The engine was so loud that it seemed to take a long time to get close to them, but when it passed, Jade saw that itwas actually going very fast. Then there was a rattling of gravel and the car stopped. It backed up and Jade saw a boy looking through the window at her. There was another boy in the passenger seat. Jade looked at them curiously. They seemed to be about Rowan's age, and theywere both deeply tanned. The one in the driver's seat had blond hair and looked as if he hadn't washed ina while. The other one had brown hair. He was wear ing a vest with no shirt underneath. He had a toothpick in his mouth. They both looked back at Jade, seeming just as curious as she was. Then the driver's window slid down. Jade was fascinated by how quickly it went. â€Å"Need a ride?† the driver said, with an oddly bright smile. His teeth shone in contrast to his dingy face. Jade looked at Rowan and Kestrel, who were just catching up. Kestrel said nothing, but looked at the car through narrow, heavy-lashed amber eyes. Rowan's brown eyes were very warm. â€Å"We sure would,† she said, smiling. Then, doubtfully, â€Å"But we're going to Burdock Farm. It may be out of your way†¦.† â€Å"Oh, hey, I know that place. It's not far,† the onein the vest said around his toothpick. â€Å"Anyway, anything for a lady,† he said, with what seemed to be an attempt at gallantry. He opened his door and got out of the car. â€Å"One of you can sit up front, and I can sit in back with the other two. Lucky me, huh?† he said to the driver. â€Å"Lucky you,† the driver said, smiling largely again. He opened his door, too. â€Å"You go on and put that cat carrier in front, and the suitcases can go in the trunk,† he said. Rowan smiled at Jade, and Jade knew what she was thinking. Iwonder if everybody out here is so friendly? They distributed their belongings and thenpiled in the car, Jade in the front with the driver, Rowan and Kestrel in the back on either side of the vested guy. A minute later they were flying downthe road at what Jade found a delightful speed, gravel crunching beneath the tires. â€Å"I'm Vic,† the driver said. â€Å"I'm Todd,† the vested guy said. Rowan said, â€Å"I'm Rowan, and this is Kestrel. That'sJade up there.† â€Å"You girls friends?† â€Å"We're sisters,† Jade said. â€Å"You don't look like sisters.† â€Å"Everybody says that.† Jade meant everybody theyhad met since they'd run away. Back home, everybodyknew they were sisters, so nobody said it. â€Å"What are you doing out here so late?† Vic asked. â€Å"It's not the place for nice girls.† â€Å"We're not nice girls,† Kestrel explained absently. â€Å"We're trying to be,† Rowan said reprovingly through her teeth. To Vic, she said, â€Å"We were waiting for our great-aunt Opal to pick us up at the bus stop, but she didn't come. We're going to live at Burdock Farm.† â€Å"Old lady Burdock is your aunt?† Todd said, removing his toothpick. â€Å"That crazy old bat?† Vic turned around to look at him, and they both laughed and shook their heads. Jade looked away from Vic. She stared down at the cat carrier, listening for the little squeaking noises that meant Tiggy was awake. She felt just slightly †¦ uneasy. She sensed something. Even though these guys seemed friendly, there was something beneath the surface. But she was toosleepy-and too light-headed from hunger-to figure out exactly what it was. Rowan was still looking polite and puzzled, but Kestrel looked at the car door on her side thoughtfully. Jade knew what she was looking for-a handle.There wasn't one. â€Å"Too bad,† Vic said. â€Å"This car's a real junkheap; you can't even open the back doors from inside.† He grabbed Jade's upper arm so hard she could feel pressure on the bone. â€Å"Now, you girls just be nice and nobody's going to get hurt.† They seemed to drive a long time beforeVic spoke again. â€Å"You girls ever been to Oregon before?† Jade blinked and murmured a negative. â€Å"It's got some pretty lonely places,† Vic said. â€Å"Outhere, for example. Briar Creek was a gold rush town, but when the gold ran out and the railroad passed it by, it just died. Now the wilderness is taking it back.† His tone was significant, but Jade didn't understand what he was trying to convey. â€Å"It does seem peaceful;† Rowan said politely from the backseat. Vic made a brief snorting sound. â€Å"Yeah, well, peaceful wasn't exactly what I meant. I meant, take this road. These farmhouses are miles apart, right? Ifyou screamed, there wouldn't be anyone to hearyou.† Jade blinked. What a strange thing to say. Rowan, still politely making conversation, said, â€Å"Well, you and Todd would.† â€Å"I mean, nobody else,† Vic said, and Jade could feel his impatience. He had been driving more and more slowly. Now he pulled the car off to the side of the road and stopped. Parked. â€Å"Nobody outthere is going to hear,† he clarified,turning around to look into the backseat. Jade looked, too, and saw Todd grinning, a wide bright grin with teeth clenched on his toothpick. â€Å"That's right,† Todd said. â€Å"You're out here alone with us, so maybe you'd better listen to us, huh?† Jade saw that he was gripping Rowan's arm with one hand and Kestrel's wrist with the other.

Li Bai. Poetry and the Tang Dynasty Research Paper

Li Bai. Poetry and the Tang Dynasty - Research Paper Example The birth of Li was at the point when poetry had the court sponsorship and was a mandatory element of every administrative and public education. At the time of his demise, the whole country was restless and under the turmoil of civil rebellion which had gravely effected the prosperity of a blooming nation and the tone of Li’s poetry. The poetry of Li Bai during the Tang Dynasty is the clear depiction of art, love, romance, loss, might, failure and gratitude. The rise and the fall of the Tang dynasty is an epic story of love, hatred, betrayal, rise and fall of one of the greatest civilizations of the world. The Tang dynasty was established by the Duke of Tang, Li Yuan, who was the victor of the civil war that ended in 617AD and claimed himself by the name of Emperor Gao-Zu. When he became the emperor of China, he not only reunited China but also ruled it efficiently from 617AD to 626AD2. The emperor was then disposed by his son Li Shimin in 626 which resulted in the blood feud among the sons to become the inheritor of the rule and eventually the winner was Li who became the next ruler known as the Emperor Taizong. The rule of the Emperor Taizong is one of the golden ages in the Tang dynasty who helped promote the art and literature across the country3. Through his reformist administration, and love for art and literature, he is still known as one of the greatest rulers of this great civilization. After his death in 649AD, his son Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne who proved to be a very weak ruler. The rule of the Emperor Gaozong was from 649 to 683 making it more than 34 year but the prime ruler during this era was Empress Wu Zetian. Empress Wu was the concubine of the emperor who used her influence and charm over the emperor and got the wife the emperor murdered and promoted herself as the empress4. The rule of Empress Wu is one of the cruelest eras in the history. She sent to exile and got murdered everyone in the entire country who she thought could be a hurdle in her rule as Lewis states: "Through the examination and her own personal choices, Empress Wu promoted several poets of humble birth who themselves became patrons of others from local elites or even poor families."5 However, with old age, the empress was not able to keep herself in control and was disposed in the favor of Emperor Zhongzong in 705AD. Emperor Zhongzong did not love for ling to rule and with his death in 710AD, the throne was taken control of by his spouse Empress Wei. The empress tried to rule like empress Wu but did not last long and was eventually disposed in 712AD and Emperor Xuanzong was placed on the throne. The rule of Emperor Xuanzong is the longest in the Tang dynasty, which lasted from 712AD to 756 AD making it just about 44 years. Emperor Xuanzong was an efficient ruler in the beginning of his career but later he was greatly influenced by the Taoist spirituality which shoed his weak administrative capability and giving rise to many insurgencies across the rule. Of the major insurgency was the An Lushan Rebellion, which also affected the later years Li Bai’s poetry. Not only this, the weakness of Emperor Xuanzong’s rule resulted in the rise of Islamic influence along the Central Asia who became the major influence holders of the silk route. After the Emperor Xuanzong fled the throne during the rebellion, Suzong became the next ruler of China. The

LABELS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LABELS - Essay Example However, this is a hard trait to find yet there are significant understandings related with the same as this has meant immense value for the people at large, within the domains of any society. Since positive labels are hard to come by, sometimes they are difficult to find out. This means that the positive labels are tough to ascertain and analyze because there is a great amount of jealousy and bias related with labels. Positive labels are so few in the time and age of today that finding them becomes a hard task. The labels need to be comprehended properly so that the society can reap the benefits of the same. The labels are usually the negative ones which deem a lot of significance and thus the society does not benefit from it at all. What is important here is the fact that labels should be used in such a manner that they have more positives attached with them than the other way round. From a criminological theory, negative labels are very hard to get rid of. This is because these negative labels leave a lasting impression. The criminals are usually the ones upon which negative labels mean a drastic effect and the consequences for the same remain vital in entirety. The criminals are seen as individuals who leave a very negative stereotype for the sake of the society and are thus seen as having negative labels (Brody, 2012). The labels cannot be changed from one form to another easily. This is because the ones who are negatively labeled have a tough time in receiving the positive labels. This requires quite a task to bring about success. The negative labels are usually hard to drop because they have a sense of stigma attached with the personality under question. The positive labels similarly need to be seen within the same light. The positive labels are somewhat of a difficult situation to come about. This situation is because the labels are perceived by people and not given by the person

GATTACA film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

GATTACA film - Essay Example Specifically, Socrates writes the following: [H]e who has experience of the manner in which we order justice and administer the State, and still remains, has entered into an implied contract that he will do as we command him. He claims that those who do not obey commands are unjust because they have accepted parental training and education from the state. If they fail to convince the state otherwise, disobedience itself is a kind of crime against the state. Taking this definition on its surface, the character of Vincent Anton Freeman in GATTACA can be shown to violate his contract with the state by trying to rise above his genetically prescribed circumstances. There are many different examples available to show that Vincent refuses to accept his lot in the society of GATTACA. Three such examples will be shown here. First, from his early childhood, Vincent competes against his brother Anton in swimming contests. They swim out to sea and see which one gives up first and swims back. In these early contests, Vincent loses to his brother due to his brother’s superior genetic make-up. However, he continues trying to beat his brother rather than accepting this outcome. In the end, he learns to beat his brother by using all his strength to swim out, not saving anything for the swim back. In this example, he learns that his will can overcome his genetic destiny. Exercising this, he violates his supposed understanding with the state. Second, Vincent decides he wants to become an elite astronaut. In this choice, he also violates his implied contract, which should require him to accept a menial job not afforded those without superior genetics. In the mere decision to attempt to become more than is available to him, Vincent goes against the deterministic direction the state tells him he should accept. While one could make the argument that by attempting to leave earth and go to the stars, Vincent is in fact â€Å"leaving† the state, the fact that he uses state space programs in order to achieve his dreams of becoming more indicates that he has accepted the state’s material conditions without accepting its moral dictates. Third, and finally, the fact that Vincent uses deception to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut shows that he violates his contract. He steals DNA from a person with a â€Å"superior† profile and uses this to impersonate a different identity. He even undergoes surgery to make himself taller, so that he won’t be detected. In doing this, he shows that, on one hand, he is willing to live within the state’s expectations, but on the other he does not accept its ultimate ordering of justice. He deceives the state while accepting the benefits that it affords him as he lives under that deception. GATTACA, in the end, poses questions about the justice of a state that is formed on genetic determinism. However, it is also an example of a citizen acting within such a state in a way that is, contrac tually speaking, unjust. By using the state for his own private ends, Vincent can be said to be unjust, in view of Socrates’ definition. The fact that we pull for him forces us to ask questions about this social contract and about the nature of justice generally. Second Prompt In her poem, â€Å"Ethics† Linda Pastan defines a situation in which a person must choose between saving a classic painting and another, older human being. She considers this question in light

Value at Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Value at Risk - Essay Example Risk management methods and nature varies from industry to industry like it can't be same for project management, industrial process and financial portfolios. From a management view point, risk management is an important tool which is used in decision making because it is systematic and well structured. For better utilization of risk management in management's decisions, risk analyst's reports must be based on the latest and best available information. The cause behind the mentioning of the Chinese proverb above is that risk management is the only tool which differentiates a good management with a bad one. From a bank's standpoint the term is usually used synonymously with specific uncertainty because the usage of statistics allows us to quantify the uncertainty which is called the measure of dispersion (Shirref, 2004). We know that every country have mostly two regulators on their heads, one for the banks and one for the companies. Usually Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates the companies while the Reserve bank regulates the financial institutions. Bank of International Settlement is the regulator of the regulators. From the same concept there is another regulator which regulates the financial institutions risk management department regarding the capital requirement and capital adequacy ratio. The name of the regulator is Basel Accord. Let's see in detail, what Basel accord has in its regulation. FROM ORIGIN OF BASEL TILL IMPLEMENTATION: Basel was an attempt to reduce the quantity of bank failures in a country, due to the insufficient capital which ties a bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) to the risk of the loan Bank's makes. In 1988, The Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS) did the first attempt to implement such methods worldwide, which enhance the risk absorption power of the banks. Basel I was the initial or first set of capital requirement for all actively international banks because it sets charges for the credit risk which is known as crude capital charges. It instituted for the first time the requirement of minimum capital which must be held by the international banks to avoid the financial risk. In 1980, credit risk was the dominant player in risk class for banks but by the early 1990s, banks became more anxious to be a part of the capital market and for those markets which are larger and more liquid, and to play their role, and they did that. The significance and importance of risk then arose in the banks, but the Basel I merely emphasized on the credit risk. To overcome the risk of all traits, a new framework was desperately required to make the risk calculation and reporting more sophisticated. The BCBS agreed upon the market risk amendments in 1996 from there the concept of Basel II was born (Reuvid, 2008). Initially, the capital charges were based on definite standards, defined by the BCBS,

SERVO MOTOR Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SERVO MOTOR - Lab Report Example One coil is used to pass the DC or AC current through the coils and the other coil just acts to carry the current from the coil. The induced current in the other coil is in different direction and thus the coil moves freely with effect of current. Electric Motors are generally categorized as AC motors and DC motors. AC motors are supplied AC supply; while DC motors are supplied with DC supply. The difference of the power supply produces immense difference in the working principle of the motors, performance of the motors and applications of the motors. DC motors have a magnetic field. The magnetic field can be of permanent magnet or electromagnet. The stator of the motor mostly holds the field coil. The rotor or the motor is supplied DC power through carbon brushes or through commutator. The rotor is fitted with the motor case with the help of ball bearings. On the other hand, it is compulsory to have a field mounted on the stator and winding on the rotor. Some DC motors may have an opposite configuration (Electric Motors - Boundless Open Textbook). The shunt wound series Brushed DC (SWBDC) motor has a parallel field coil with the armature of the motor. The major advantage of the motor is that it operates at constant speed and thus it suits some industrial functions like blower fans, centrifugal pumps, etc (Classification of Electric Motors: Electrical Knowhow). A series Wound Brushed DC (SWDC) motor has a series field coil with the armature of the motor. Such type of motor best suits high torque applications such as elevators, escalators, conveyors, lifts, etc. Compound wound Brushed DC (CWBDC) motors has a field coil in parallel with the armature as well as a field coil in series with the armatures of the motor. It delivers constant speed and maintains high torque. It can be said that compound wound brushed DC motors combines the properties of both the Series wound DC motors and Shunt

Response Paper to McCloskey's article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Response Paper to McCloskey's article - Essay Example He goes ahead to suggest that due to lack of proof the notion of Gods existence should be dismissed altogether. Moreover, looking keenly at the arguments he puts across it lacks substance, one of those is existence of evil, which he says it is a proof God does not exist. This kind of argument lacks merit because one can say that if presence of evil things is a proof of Gods non-existence, what about the existence of the good and what it proofs. The article has not answered this query. McCloskey believes that the cosmological argument was an argument from the existence of the world. McCloskey also states that believing in an uncaused first origin of the universe is issues because nothing about our universe leads us to that believe. However, many of us may disagree with this because we believe that God is the fundamental factor of the origin of the universe. Furthermore, scholars and philosophers term that the universe is contingent; therefore, the universe requires a necessary being t o acts as an ultimate cause. Finally, this necessary being is God.His article represents his own thinking and that of atheism but does not proof anything. In his article, he puts emphasis on the point that evident proofs of nature cannot adequately elucidate the existence of God. ... He seems to be comfortable with naturalistic ideas. McCloskey points out these objections against the cosmological argument stating that the fact that the world is real is enough evidence not to believe in such a higher being as God, but Evans and Manis puts forward the following argument in response. They say that for a contingent being to exist then there must be a necessary being that causes the contingent being to exist contingent beings exist, therefore if we are the contingent beings then God must be the Necessary being. The only fault in this response is that they do not have evidence to proof their argument (Evans and Manis, 2009).. They response to the issues raised by Mccloskey to their arguments by pointing out that atheist assertion that the universe has always survived. Manis and Evans counter by stating their approach is enough for such a challenge since they do not make any suggestion as to the age of the universe. The other issue raised by Mccloskey is that if everyth ing has a cause, then God must have a cause as well but Manis and Evans counters this by saying that God is not a contingent being, therefore His origin cannot be known and it is unnecessary to know and that is why He is God. The main challenge to this is naturalism, this is because naturalists hold a notion that things exists at natures will and have no cause but on the same breath they cannot explain why beings exist. McCloskey points out that cosmological argument by saying that he does not sanction us to assume an all-mighty, all-perfect, all-powerful uncaused being which causes other beings. Evans and Manis accepts that this is debatable, They further note that even if the argument is held as

Crime and Ethical Standards Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crime and Ethical Standards - Assignment Example A high end retailer reported that a woman left the store without paying for items she selected while shopping in the Misses Clothing Department. When Officer Marconi responded, he noticed a woman matching her description walking along the side of the road carrying what appeared to be clothing which he recognized as Mary Jones. Mary Jones had been arrested several times before for public drunkenness, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, felony larceny, and prostitution. The charge that can be lodged against Mary Jones is defined by San Diego Criminal Attorney’s office differentiated as it misdemeanor from felony as â€Å"crimes punishable by up to one year in local, county jail.Additionally, fines up to $1,000 can be ordered by the court. The most common types of misdemeanor offenses are D.U.I., petty theft, simple drug possession, and most domestic violence. While jail is a distinct possibility, other more likely outcomes can include counseling and/or work service† (2007).   Shoplifting or getting clothes from a store without paying as what Mary Jane did falls under this category. How might societal factors have influenced this suspect's crimes? Judging from the available facts stated in the case, Mary Jones may also be a victim of circumstances and in fact, she may not be in full control of her faculties when she allegedly enter the store and shoplift. This was made clear to Officer Marconi when he interviewed her recognizing she was under the influence of drugs that he had to discontinue the and requested emergency medical services. It would also be difficult to state with certainty what led to her present state of being disheveled dirty and drug dependent. One can only speculate that societal factors such as personal problems may have driven her to alcohol and drug abuse and to finance her dependency, she resorted to prostitution and larceny. II. How the purpose of government and the social contract might protect the rights (e.g., safety and security) of the suspect in this case. Mary Jones is not only a suspect but also a victim as well and the government’s social contract principle can hold this thesis. As a suspect, she is entitled to the regular due process and representation of a legal counsel in case charges will be pressed against her as provided in the Constitution. This will provide the opportunity to contest the larceny charge to misdemeanor because shoplifting can be considered as petty theft and therefore would fall under the category of misdemeanor. This would help her because in the state of California, misdemeanor charges may have the outcome of rehabilitating her through therapy and other professional help. In addition, the social burden of felony of having difficulty finding a job once charged will also be avoided thus not totally shutting down the opportunities for Mary Jones to lead a new life. Abiding by the social contract theory principle, she would also be considered as a victim considering her present state which could be considered as a â€Å"broken woman† and therefore would need more than due process and legal counsel as expressed in Rawl’s theory of justice as a pretext of a social contract. Rawl’s theory of justice as a social contract states that society has an obligation to help other members of society who are in need and clearly (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy nd), Mary Jones needs help. Incarcerating will not help her but will only aggravate her situation. She needs reformatory institution such as rehabilitation center more than the prison and this is a probable outcome for people who committed misdemeanors in the state of California (San Diego Criminal Attorney, 2007). III. Compare the various roles Officer Marconi must play in this case. Officer Marconi must go beyond the role of traditional role of law enforcement which is policing the community. In the case of Mary Jones, he must also play the role of psychol ogist and to a certain extent as a friend

Retention - Deciding to Act Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retention - Deciding to Act - Assignment Example In this context, it can be further mentioned that WWW does not have efficient skilled management team, which will be responsible for controlling the operational activities of the company. Furthermore, lack of proper management functioning is another cause for reduced focus upon proposed business projects. However, the company is paying more wages to attendants as compared to others, but still is unable to satisfy the attendants as per their job securities (Heneman, Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2014; Catano, Wiesner & Hackett, 2013). Besides, the company is also facing a large numbers of problems relating to recruitment of employees, due to lack of proper and systematic recruitment process. Moreover, the company is not having a proper management functioning process that is also likely to have negative impact on growth and development in long run. The company does not having any segregation in its operational departments, which resulting to loss in business. Attendants are responsible for conducting advertising campaigns for promoting the company’s special products and services. In this regard, the attendants of the company are experiencing high work burden in comparison to their assign remuneration. Therefore, by evaluating all the problems that has been faced by the company it is indicated that turnover is not a major problem behind the huge loss of WWW. The actual problem is relating with the improper managerial function of the company (Catano, Wiesner & Hackett, 2013; Gusdorf, 2008). 2. Based on the provided case study, it can be identified that the problems faced by WWW Company can be mitigated by applying few effective strategies within the operational process. In order to mitigate the internal problems that have been experienced by the company, initially the managers had conducted an informal interview session for collecting all the complaints with respect to the attendant and other service providers. In the context of case of study, the

African American Stereotypes Essay Example for Free

African American Stereotypes Essay A stereotype is a popular belief about specific types of individuals. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions. African Americans have been perceived to be someone they are not in the media, history, and in everyday life. Although some stereotypes are true, many are harmful and inaccurate. African American stereotypes are generalizations about the behavior of African Americans originated mainly in American culture and derived from how slave owners used to view slaves. African American stereotypes allow someone from getting to know a person their self. If someone has one bad interaction with an African American, they will limit their selves from getting to know how African Americans truly are. They will base every other African American off of that one bad altercation. The most damaging features of African American stereotypes are the influence they have on young African Americans. Young people tend to limit them selves because of stereotypes. African Americans are unaware that they play into and help to reinforce the African American stereotype. They believe that the African American stereotypes imposed upon them, will limit them in life. The stereotype that â€Å"African Americans will complain that the system is set up to prevent black people from attaining certain positions†, is very common. If they accept these stereotypes and believe them they will limit them selves. Barack Obama who holds the highest office in America is a good example of how this stereotype is false. Some stereotypes are set up to be positive, this does not make the practice of perpetuating these African American stereotypes right. At A N University students (African Americans and Caucasians) were asked to give some stereotypes of African Americans. The current African American stereotypes are thought to be criminal, poor, athletic, religious, musically gifted, loud, dumb, lazy, simple-minded, obnoxious, talk with slang, opinionated, and dress urban, wear baggy pants, and have cornrows. Kool Aid , Chicken, and watermelon was also thought to be a specialty meal in their household. They were thought to live in the lower class neighbor hoods, have one parent, multiple siblings, be rather street smart versus ook smart, involved in gangs. When a group of African American children were asked in a local Baltimore elementary school what they wanted to become when they grow up they had many common answers. Many boys wanted to be a professional basketball player, football player, and become a rapper. Few wanted to be doctors, police officers, fire fighters, entrepreneurs, and nurses. Many African American males are thought to be thugs, drug dealers, high school dropouts, deadbeat fathers, janitors, trash man. A thug is someone who is going through struggles, has gone through struggles, and continues to live day by day with nothing for them. † (Tupac Shakur) No young man wants to grow up and become a thug. Tupac Shakur said that the African American trend of sagging pants is an un organized protest. The sagging pants is a part of someone attitude. It is their way to relate. It is a form of character. A young mans father may not sag his pants but, he may see his idol sagging his pants and want to relate to or admire him. Morehouse professor Bryan T. Marks held a panel at Morehouse College about African American stereotypes. He said that there are more black men enrolled in jail rather than jail. He also stated that African Americans are the most religious, but most likely to get a divorce. There are more black men in jail and prison than in college, but there are more college-age black men in college than in jail and prison. Statistics show that there were an estimated 791,600 black men in jail and prison in 2000 and a count of 603,032 in college in 1999. The more reliable U. S. Census Bureau reports were that 816,000 black men in college in 2000. When people think of black men in jail they use the entire age range of black males when making these comparisons. The age range for college-going males is generally 18 to 24, not the 18 to 55 (and up) range of the jail and prison population. Viewed this way, the ratio of black men in college compared with jail and prison is 4-to-1. Black slang is a form of informal spoken language whose origins are most often associated with African Americas. Slang is a way for young African Americans to express themselves. Many other races copy their expressions because they think it is cool. Some commonly used terms are words such as; gangsta, bling, grills, hang, hood, benjamins, dopes, aight, holla, crib, playa, roll up, straight, yo, and shawty. The Stereotype that Black women have bad attitudes is very common. In fact, it’s been around so long that it has earned the name, Angry Black Women Syndrome. Do Black women have attitudes? My guess is that most black women would fall into the unique personality type. That is a person characterized as quiet, determined, independent, serious, and interested in trying to better her self. â€Å"The idea that Black women are a species of neck rolling, lip smacking, finger snapping, ball busting sub-humans come from? People, who have no contact with Black women outside of retail shopping, see Black women going off on their husbands, boyfriends, kids, co-workers, even bosses with no constraint, remorse, or respect for authority and societal norms on sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows, news clips and even commercials. â€Å"

On Limits Of Strategy Business Essay

On Limits Of Strategy Business Essay The Four Arena analysis and Four Lens analysis are based on a simplification of the dynamics of competitive interactions that breaks reality into it component pieces. In reality, the arenas are not quite so distinct, the progression is not quite so clear, and the nature of dynamic strategic interaction is not so predictable or easily labeled. DAveni, R.A. (1994, p. 180) Strategic management theories and methods are indispensable in todays economy. Regardless of their origin, dynamics or focus they are designed by scientific logic to understand the complexity of reality, to analyze the focused conditions (i.e. market, power, relative positioning and so on) and to cope with competition to achieve an advantage or to sustain the economic performance of a company. Combined with an insightful execution they strengthen the profitable existence of organizations within a competitive environment. However even the most successful companies which implement the most paradigmatic strategy methods by the rulebook fail. This raises the question of whether contemporary strategy can, in fact, provide such consistent insights for strategists or rather bias the perception of reality. This chapter is dedicated to a critical analysis of the predominant strategic research streams in order to locate their structural weaknesses. A symptomatic case study will introduce/illus trate the issue. The Textbook Example The Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corporation (stylized as HTC) was founded 1997 as a producer of notebooks and became one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world in just over a decade. It is best known for its wide consumer smartphone portfolio ranging from mid- to high-priced models. With a market growth of nearly 100 percent in 2011 and a skyrocketing sales growth of 229 percent, HTC held the title of the most profitable stock at the Taiwanese stock exchange from 2007 until 2011 (cf. HTC Investor Relations; Bloomberg 2011). But as of today, the tables have turned on High Tech Computers Corporation. In the second quarter of 2012, the company had shown substantial revenue losses of 3.35 billion Dollars resulting from a slump in sales and profit in the first quarter (cf. Reuters 2012; HTC Investor Relations). Its stock plummeted from an all-time high of 35 euros (1300 Taiwan Dollars in April 2011) to now 7,5 Euros a share (277 TWD as of August 2012; this signifies loss es in the amount of more than 3 billion US Dollars). In conclusion, HTC cut its expansion program by closing its offices in Brazil and South Korea, and sold half of its stake in its main acquisition of high fidelity headphones (cf. Kan 2012). What began as a yearlong success story for the innovative smartphone manufacturer is turning into a failure, putting HTC in the same declining market share position as Nokia. But what went wrong? The answer might be found in the strategies and the business model adopted by the Taiwanese company to assert their place in such a dynamic industry as the smartphone market. According to the empirical analysis of the High Tech Computers Corporation by Chi-Ho Chiou (2011), its general corporate strategy was based upon a threefold approach. The first strategy, Development and Reconfiguration of Dynamic Capabilities, includes the implementation of both the core assertions of the first-mover advantage theory, as well as the methods of the Configurational school of thought. The concept of the first-mover explains the advantage a market pioneer can successfully live off, if he is the first one to establish himself in a niche (Robinson 1988, p. 92ff.). Through expanding the scope of the product, establishing effective response barriers for competitors, creating proprietary and innovative products, exclusive production skills, vertical integration and securing the best areal locations, a co mpany as a first-mover could create powerful entry barriers as well as high switching costs (MacMillan 1983, pp. 22-25). In addition to this proceeding, the Configurational school describes the relations between periods of stability and transformations a corporation might undergo to adapt to new environmental changes. To sustain equilibrium of its organizational characteristics (and therewith its success), there is the important need to acknowledge change and to embrace it through appropriate strategizing (Mintzberg et al. 1998, p. 305ff.). Thus HTCs strategizing originated with the early insight (presumably because of the production volumes of the Iphone) that consumer matched smartphones will induce a state of market change the company has to adapt to. Against this background, HTC, as one of the first manufacturers, switched the focus from business-tier phones to cheaper mid-tier handhelds, bundled its distinctive competencies of technological advancement and into the development of these products, and defended its advantageous position with the buy-in of skilled professionals. To enhance its performance within the state of reconfiguration, HTC incorporated additionally the strategy of Collaborative Networks which is essentially the optimization of the value chain and the domain of the Power school of strategic management. As mentioned before, the benefits of the early-mover might stem from the vertical integration of business units. This approach was elaborated and explained by Michael Porter within the Generic Value Chain. A company can be disaggregated into its primary and support activities which, taken together, generate the profit margin (cf. Porter 1998a, pp. 36-52). By optimizing the management of the value chain and an efficient expansion strategy, a company is able lower its production. These strategies go hand in hand with the principles of the Power school. This school of thought is divided by perspective. On the one hand, there is the perspective on the inter-organizational issues subsumed under the term of Micro Power, and on the other there i s the Macro Power concerning the political processes in between several corporations. The latter perspective includes a cluster of different concepts which outline either the importance of strategic alliances and cooperational networks (Hamel et al. 1989, p. 134; in: Mintzberg et al. 1998, pp. 255-260), or the influence of the external control an organization can achieve through planned strategizing (cf. Pfeffer/ Salancik 1978; in: Mintzberg et al. 1998, p. 248f.). By creating strategic collaborations with Microsoft and Google in its early days as a smartphone parts supplier (first contracts being made in 1997), HTC was able to improve its value chain by reducing the total cost of its technological development, firm infrastructure, and human resource support activities in its value creation process. It simply used the provided operating systems as Android or Windows Phone, instead of investing assets and resources into own research. HTCs strategic alliances began to manifest itself in the 2001-2003 time periods as the company collaborated initially with such European telecommunication providers as Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and O2. As it built up favorable reputation and its brand image in a low competition market as Europe, High Tech Computers entered the US Market in 2005, signing exclusive hardware deals with providers AT and T, Sprint, Verizon and Cingular. Finally, dominating its niche of mid-tier smartphones, the corporation collaborated with Japanese providers including NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile to enter the most competitive smartphone hardware market in the world (all data taken from Chiou 2011, p. 301f.). Step by step, HTC incrementally developed a brand image and established itself in the world market through regional maneuvers, strategic alliances, as well as technical partnerships. Finally, HTCs product strategy and its radical transformation are based on the third strategy named Dynamical Product Diversification. It was, as Chiou points out in the African Journal of Business Management (2011, p. 302), derived from Porters Five Forces analysis and the resulting Generic strategies matrix strategy (at this point, this paper will refrain from explaining these basic concepts due to their prominent nature). As Apple changed the mobile communication market in 2007, HTC must have recognized the chances and the potential of this newly established market by shifting its own production towards the masses demanding similar products as the Iphone. Yet the Taiwanese analyzed the competitive forces and realized that they should not compete against Apple and mimic its differentiation strategy, but choose the focus approach instead. Hence, each year since 2007, High Tech Computers released approximately ten to fifteen different smartphones with the goal to capture and capitali ze on the niche left by Apple (cf. Areamobile.de 2012a; HTC Portfolio 2012). The Iphone was considered an unchallenged luxury good available only to consumers who were capable of either spending almost a thousand Dollars or binding themselves to year-lasting provider contracts. HTC became the alternative with a diverse product portfolio of less expensive phones for the mainstream, adopting Porters focus (or segmentation) strategy. All in all, it should have become evident that HTC incorporated a range of paradigmatic theoretical concepts of strategic management in its endeavor of competition analysis and strategy creation. Despite of being a textbook example of applied strategic management theory, the company struggles the second quarter in a row to operate in the black. The reason for their failure is, from the corporate point of view, the loss of revenue due to lower sales and therefore less net profit and an impaired market growth (cf. HTC Investor Relations 2012; Whittaker 2012). Yet analysts claim unanimously that these lower sales result from an overloaded and simultaneously dull product portfolio which lacks a distinct competitor to Apples Iphone or the even more successful Samsung Galaxy product line (cf. ibid.; Shimpi 2012; Milett 2012; Luk/ Poon 2012; Bertolucci 2012; Lunden 2012). But why does HTC need to have such a competitor, in spite of choosing the segmentation product strategy and having a portfolio of 96 different mid-price smartphones (cf. Areamobile.de 2012b)? This companys failure implies that the company had to complement its strategy with the same cost focus endeavor as Apple. Ac cording to Porter, the positioning school, and every SWOT analysis, HTCs managers planned everything in accordance with the textbook and the double strategy its competitors pursue should be essentially wrong because: [a] firm that engages in each generic strategy but fails to achieve any of them is stuck in the middle. It possesses no competitive advantage. This strategic position is usually a recipe for below-average performance. A firm that is stuck in the middle will compete at a disadvantage because the cost leader, differentiators, or focusers will be better positioned to compete in any segment. (Porter 1998a, p. 16) Samsung Electronics did exactly that. It is indeed stuck in the middle having approximately 380 low- to mid-price phones and 11 high-end smartphones (cf. Areamobile.de 2012c). And its consolidated operating profit soaring to 4.8 billion Euros shows a 79 percent increase year-on-year since it implemented this double strategy (cf. Samsung Investor Relations 2012). It appears that the most paradigmatic strategy analyses reach their limits in the face of contemporary figurations of competition. Hence, HTCs strategic failure is symptomatic of a large part of the normative and descriptive strategic management research. Normative/ Prescriptive Research Streams Over the course of the last century, the term competition passed through different stadiums. In the war torn European economies of the 1950s, competition did barely exist due to an unmet demand for reconstruction and food supplies. Only two decades later, the competitive dynamics in the US transformed the rapidly expanding seller markets into the saturated buyer markets of the late sixties and seventies (all data cf. Chandler 1990). In the nineties, competition once again hardened in the face of globalization and the more complex nexuses of interconnected global market forces. And as of the digital markets of today, Hypercompetition represents the paradigmatic concept for the scientific community characterized through: [an] accelerated change in technology or regulation, low entry and exit barriers for competitors, uncertain and volatile consumer needs and demand situations, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] leapfrogging of existing standards, blurring of boundaries between competition, substitution and market entry and continual attempts to outmaneuver each other and to usurp entry barriers (Ortmann 2010, p. 24, also cf. DAveni 1994; Brown/ Eisenhardt 1997; Gottinger 2006) In regard to the continuous historic transformations and the volatile nature, competition is therefore understood by the scientific community as a dynamic, evolving concept. In contrast, concepts of the modern schools of thought of strategic management remained surprisingly static. The Design, Planning and Positioning school of thought represent, according to Eden Ackermann (1998, p. 25ff.), the prescriptive and rather normative side of strategizing. They consist of deliberate analyzing, planning, and strategic creation methods, and describe how things ought to work under ideal conditions. Until today they remain the predominant strategy concepts taught in nearly every book on this topic (insert Fig. 1 here) and their use continues to permeate the academic peer-reviewed literature (for a detailed description cf. Helms 2010). Though HTC claims to be an innovative company, they chose prescriptive analytic models which represent somewhat of an outdated perspective on strategizing. They are characterized through an inflexibility of their frameworks, because they base on the economic situation in the eighties and were developed for managers of large and mature corporations. Furthermore, this period was characterized by strong competition, cyclical developments and relatively stable market structures (Niehans 1990, p. 315f.). For instance, the generic strategies matrix cannot be modified within its framework. Instead of observing the changes of market conditions in correlation to ones own company as a complex adaptive system, and to adapt to the prevailing degree of competitive complexity (as for instance within the framework of the complexity theory determined by McKelvey 1999 or Kappelhoff 2002), the Five Forces analysis and the strategy matrix are based upon the assumptions of perfect competition, that structure determines strategy (structure-conduct-performance-paradigm), and that market growth is continuous. If there were any problems or divergence from one of the questionable assumptions, then Porters whole theoretical construct would be rendered implausible because of its inflexibility as pointed out in HTCs case (for a more detailed critique and analysis of the rather basic paradigmatic concepts concerning HTCs performance cf. App. 1). But beyond the concepts of Five Forces, Portfolio Analyses or Planning procedures, the normative or prescriptive stream of research underwent several paradigmatic changes ever since which spawned more sophisticated iterations of strategic concepts (as depicted in Fig. 2.). These were subsequently modified to improve their performance, as well as their consistency until they became highly complex. But even more elaborated concepts as Game Theory (cf. Shapiro 1989; Nisan et al. 2007), Blue Ocean Strategies (cf. Kim/ Mauborgne 2005) or the shift to the Resource-Based View (cf. Wernerfelt 1984; Prahalad/ Hamel 1990) continue to analyze competition with only a few set variables and static frameworks which represent rather theoretic enclosures than reality depicting mental models. For issues of scope and continuity, this subchapter will focus exemplary on Porters dynamic progression in the field of normative positioning. After severe criticism on the account of neglecting external forces ( as e.g. the government, cf. Brandenburger/ Nalebuff 1996), missing viable middle ground strategies (known as Outpacing-Strategies, cf. Gilbert/ Strebel 1987; Miller 1992), and concentrating too much on the positioning instead of addressing the competencies of the firm (Prahalad/ Hamel 1990), Porter complemented his strategic research by integrating the generic methods into two frameworks driven by causality. The first one, termed as The Determinants of Success in Distinct Businesses (or Chain of Causality Framework) focuses mostly on the industrial level from a cross-sectional perspective. It integrates the industry structure analysis (Five Forces) and the value chain into a framework itemized into abstract basic units which represent predetermined variables linked by a chain of causality (cf. Fig. 3 in Porter 1998b, pp. 87-92). Therefore, a proper choice of strategy and a sustainable competitive advantage rest on a set of interconnected company inherent activities (discrete process es of the value chain) whose performance in turn depends upon structural determinants of differences among competitors named drivers (e.g. scale economies, learning curves, location, timing etc.). Ultimately, Porter argues that the cross-sectional part of the causality chain of a company starting with the drivers and ending with a successful positioning strategy attains its quality over time through managerial choices and an advantageous initial condition a company may inherit (ibid. p. 92ff.). With this link to a longitudinal business level perspective, Porter addresses the criticism invoked by the advocates of the resource-based view. Still, this framework becomes dynamic in the first place with the addition of the Diamond of Environmental Influences which focuses on environmental factors on a broader national level. This framework represents a departure from Porters early static template-like models and stresses the reinforcing relations of four interrelated attributes. These att ributes represent local, environmental conditions which influence the competitiveness of a company. Factor conditions as skilled labor, infrastructure or raw materials are provided by the nation. Demand conditions result from the pressure and needs of home market consumers which determine the degree of innovation and advancement of products. Related and supporting industries characterize the presence of rivaling or supporting industries and their linkage to ones company in terms of innovation pressure, cost-effectiveness, short lines of communication, etc. Firm strategy, structure and rivalry determines the market structure set by competitors. The way competitive advantage is achieved by management practices, organizational modes, and the utilization of (local) resources of rivaling enterprises, affects the degree of the external pressure a company has to deal with. Additional parameters of influence are historical chance and the government (ibid. pp. 99-106). Since all these exogen ous factors affect the corporate strategizing and resources a company starts with, the diamond can be linked below the managerial choices and the initial conditions (van den Bosch 1997, p. 98). Both frameworks address a certain degree of flexibility and changing environmental factors. However, despite the efforts made to understand the basic conditions of financial success of corporations through strategic analysis of their presumed influential factors, the Diamond and the Chain of Causality remain extended frames of the initial generic positioning. Each link of the chain can be challenged in terms of its determinism. Thus, from a academic point of view, the main critique of Porter is that his principles are solely based on macroeconomic conditions which he analyzed within longitudinal studies of successful corporations, local governments and whole trade nations. Albeit these cases provide sophisticated sources of reliable information, they only represent conditions of their particular era, which cannot be extrapolated into changing future markets. Moreover, macroeconomics functions within its own frame of scientific reference and is seldom open to modification that is not based upon empiric evidence. It takes time to gather such evidence and it is per se impossible to modify these concepts in order to make them fit a problem-related context, which requires a different set of variables. Additionally, strategic researchers criticized the general application of the Diamond framework on business models. As Porters previous methods, the determinants of the Causality Chain and the environmental attributes of the Diamond are seldom applicable to small businesses or digital enterprises. The scope of the highly complex and national attributes does not really affect the infrastructure of small companies dependent on exports, as well as having menial cash flows (cf. Cartwright 1993; Grant 1991). Neither local infrastructure, nor demand conditions of local customers affects digital businesses, because the internet provides a network structure which is independent from geographic or national boundaries (though, in some rare cases national regulation restrictions indeed apply to digital shops). On a broader scale, critics pointed to the inflexible state of the Diamond framework, because it is only valid for the operational scope on a national level and nothing below or beyond that. For international relations of companies it was proposed to enhance the flexibility, by adding another modified diamond (cf. Rugman/ DCruz 1993; Moon et al. 1995). Such businesses do not depend much on local resources and can allocate them in a decentralized manner. Thus, competitive advantage may also result from outbound foreign investments, as well as from foreign-owned companies which add value to distinctive competencies required for the home market, effectively strengthening the competitive position. On the business level of strategy which is addressed by the managerial choices, initial conditions, drivers and activities, it is Porters empiric-based determinism that constraints the adaptive nature of the causality framework. Even though he is asserting that [e]ach model abstracts the complexity of competition to isolate only a few key variables whose interactions are examined in depth and that [t]he normative significance of each model depends on the fit between assumptions and reality (Porter 1998b, p. 84), he does not try to excel in these statements. With the creation of his basic meta-units of activities and drivers, he establishes a solid foundation just to ruin it with the integration of his outdated models of Five Forces, the Value Chain and Generic Strategies. It is impossible to include components such as the predominant cultures of countries, the type of market (digital, industrial, service based etc.) or the customer based preferences, which are vital drivers of comple xity in international markets into the Chain of Causality framework. Speaking in economic terms, his framework assumes a classic and perfect market. Therefore, the more a market is influenced by customer uncertainty or the domestic culture, the less meaningful insights the framework can deliver. That is why these frameworks are suited best for analyzing mature, industrial, western markets or national economies with stable market structures. Evolutionary/ Descriptive Research Streams As a result of strategies based upon a prescriptive approach, an organization might develop too sharp an edge. A strong focus on a successful method by optimizing the value chain and activities for a certain business offering, results inevitably in narrowing down other competencies and strengths in a normative approach. Thus, initial success with a product can be disrupted quickly by exogenous changes in customer preferences as it happened within a short time span with HTC. If that is the case, then the organization is missing a requisite variety of alternative options it can exploit (cf. Beer 1981). Therefore, it is expedient to shift the perspective to the other predominant stream of research which endeavors to grasp the processes of change and to include them into a flexible strategy creation process. Hence, the evolutionary or descriptive theories operate from a retrospective point of view, by trying to capture the emergent processes, to reflect them and finally learn to modify the status quo of strategizing. In comparison to the previous research stream, the descriptive branch is a rather heterogeneous collection of concepts which encompasses more than seven different schools of thought (cf. Eden/ Ackermann 1998, pp. 24-28, Mintzberg 1998). Moreover, chronologically, they have not gone through the same evolution as the normative schools, as they simultaneously began to gain academic traction in the late eighties (cf. Mintzberg 1998, p. 352ff.). The common denominator of all theories is the reflection upon incremental change within the company, as well as the exogenous competition and its impact on the organizational performance. Two of the most prolific examples will illustrate both perspectives: Theorists of the Environmental school argue that businesses are part of a natural selection mechanism. Hence, the environment, presenting itself to the organization as a set of general forces, is the central actor in the strategy making process. The company must respond to and include these forces continuously in its strategic analyses, in order to adjust its relative competitive position (cf. ibid. p. 288ff.). Executives, thus, choose from a variety of options provided by the environmental context, adopting those that not only suit their environments but also reflect their personal motives, predilections, and capabilities (Miller et al. 1988, pp. 544-548). Other important aspects are share- and stakeholder relationships, which are emphasized by the Power school (already covered in Chapter 2.1, p. 5). This research branch focuses solely upon the non-material assets of power and highlights its impact on strategy making. Whether inside the company or as an essential part of the environmental influence, stakeholders represent an influential factor on business performance as e.g. a (de-)motivated workforce, beneficial government parties, visionary managers, and, of course, customers. To address these parties, theorists developed a wide array o f approaches ranging from early empathy based models (cf. Freeman 1984) to almost guerilla tactics-based ideology studies on lessons how social movements mobilize workforce (cf. Ruhland 2006) to computerized benchmarking tools for measuring stakeholder value (cf. Figge/ Schaltegger 2000). Nevertheless, the main flaw with these theories lies within their fragmented nature and the resulting inconsistency. Undoubtedly, the Entrepreneurial school has the best research on successful executives, and their visionary ways of dealing with innovations; the Cognitive school delivers the best insights in their minds and how strategic processes are being constituted. But all aforementioned schools deal with complexity by fragmenting it into thematic clusters and unraveling the separated fields of knowledge. This might be a scientifically valid method of dealing with hypotheses, but concurrently it becomes gradually more difficult for companies to deal with a fast-paced analysis of emerging probl ems. As mentioned earlier, each fragmented school of thought in the evolutionary research stream is composed out of hundreds of different methods and models. Thus, it takes not only time to analyze the situation within the frameworks, but it also costs theoretical effort to interconnect the fundamentally different tools and methods. Though Mintzberg addressed this problem within his books by creating a unifying approach to adapt to environmental change, known as the Configurational School (cf. Mintzberg et al. 1998; Miller/ Mintzberg 1983), it would take a considerable amount of time to apply all frameworks and empirically validate the inter-correlations of each theory. Due to this fact, Osterwalders interdisciplinary method is better suited for the demonstration of the remaining problems (cf. Osterwalder 2004; Osterwalder/ Pigneur 2010). His Business Model Canvas and its methods can be loosely sorted into the Learning/ Environmental/ Power schools (cf. ibid. p. 110f., p. 130ff., pp.181-189, pp. 200-212.). Though, the model also draws heavily upon Porters (Five Forces) and Penroses (Resource-Based View) normative concepts, as well as the paradigms of the Planning school (Scenario Techniques). Yet it offers a more sophisticated approach to analyzing strategies behind the business model than proposed by Mintzberg , covering the most important factors of the prevalent schools of thought. The basic canvas is composed out of nine sections for analyzing the key components of the business offering (cf. Fig. 4) and can be divided into four main intersecting groups. On the right side of the canvas there are industry based components, including factors of competitive analysis, production activities, the actual microeconomic cost structure and internal resources basing on the aforementioned normative methods. The upper side of the canvas entails the components of product analysis, including the description of the actual product features, distribution channels, quality management and customer preferences based upon T.Q.M. frameworks, Six Sigma analyses etc. The right side depicts all activities involving customer analyses and market demand. Lastly, the lower side represents microeconomic and financial considerations regarding the product/ service, based upon the most generic economic units, e.g. cash flow, EBITDA metrics, asset pricing and revenue streams. Additionally, Osterwalder and Pigneur include such basic analytic tools as SWOT, Blue Ocean Strategies, Long Tail and some sort of self-composed competitive environment map to round off their model and make it compatible to other frameworks. Despite the apparently light approach towards creating business models, reflectively understand the core processes of an organization and including emergent change into corporate strategy (judging from the visual context and the non-existent academic aspirations of the book), the canvas was conceived as a doctoral thesis and is based upon scientific research. Overall, the Business Model Canvas represents an emphatic concept for identifying the main processes and business units, upon which a corporate strategy can be based or modified. Despite the inclusion of many perspectives and improvements towards the normative concepts, this seemingly reflexive and holistic approach has to deal with strong criticism. Rosenberg et al. (2011) argued that the canvas dealt with substantial problems emphasizing the processual focus and thus lacking structural and goal-oriented performance representations (p. 310ff.). Moreover, due to its simplistic design, the model lacks consistent causality between each of the nine proposed blocks. Because of that, it is difficult (if not impossible) to determine a valid strategy and to manage the continuous adjustments of the business model (cf. ibid. 312ff.). In general, it becomes apparent that Osterwalder et al. do not provide the deep insight into the macroeconomic context as e.g. does Porter. The processes and the effects between each canvas-block are only explained within case studies. In its methodology, the Business Model Canvas misses the questions why? and the answer because. The best example is found with the explanation of the Freemium business model (Osterwalder/ Pigneur 2010, pp. 96-106). Instead of introducing the basics or referring to explanatory books, there are roughly eight examples of canvases with a lot of colorful arrows, which point to the main connections between each block. But the model itself does not explain anywhere how to determine, understand and use these connections for strategic analysis or strategy creation. On top of that, some cases analyzed are assessed inherently wrong as in the case of Nintendos Wii (ibid. p. 230f.).

Goffmans Theory For Interaction In Society Sociology Essay

Goffmans Theory For Interaction In Society Sociology Essay Goffman examines society through individuals face-to-face interactions I everyday life. An important point of his theory is how individuals present themselves in everyday life, when they come to contact with others. This contact signals the activation of the ritual mechanism. Those mechanisms are being activated automatically each time we are coming to interaction with others. They consist social values and express all the expected reactions, which individuals should have in different situations. The reason why these mechanisms are activated automatically is because we have embodied them during the period of socialization and through imitation. Consequently, those mechanisms give us the possibility to understand and foresee how we must react in different interactions, as well as to forego and protect ourselves from potential moments of disgrace and embarrassment. If we do not find a way to manage those moments when they occur, can lead in the collapse of interaction (Goffman, 1959: 1 2). The main purpose of individuals is to manipulate the impressions that others form about them (impression management). Individuals, when they are acting on the stage, employ unconsciously different front (means of expression). The front is comprised from two parts: the setting which is the scene in which individuals acting and the personal front which concerns the natural characteristics and specific means of expression of each individual. Furthermore, Goffman divide personal front into appearance and manner. Appearance is the external characteristics and manner is the means of expressions, like the language, the body, face expressions, which individuals adopt during their performance (Goffman, 1953,:22-24). In addition, individuals use symbols to display their positions and the role they aim to play (Goffman, Dec. 1951: 294). Forby there is the backstage, where individuals make their rehearsal for their performance. Namely, which features of themselves, they will cover in order to manipulate their observers. Parallel, only when they are on the backstage, can be their real selves, whereon they have to tackle with their real feelings, which have no relation to the feelings they project on the stage. Nevertheless, Goffman notes that the formation of a role is being strongly affected by the personality, the experience, and the culture of each individual (Swingewood, 2000: 176). How academic professors maintain their dominant position in the classroom. The academic professors front is his class and what this class includes is the setting. His performance takes place while he is teaching. Of course the professor must have a certain style of clothing, for instance he cannot appear in the classroom wearing a sport outfit. Also, he must talk and behave in a way which will attribute him prestige. For instance, the professor will not use slang language during his teaching, on the contrary, he will a sophisticated vocabulary. Furthermore, according to Goffman, first impression is of vital importance. Thus, in his first lecture, he must pay attention to his first impression, because this will form the relation of domination between the professor and the students (Goffman, 1959: 12). Even if he becomes more lenient with his students over the years, he should attempt continually to sustain his authority (impression management). On the other hand, when the professor ends up alone in the classroom (backstage) he can be his real self. Coincidently at this point he can prepare himself for the teaching (performance) and he can try to limit things which could reduce his pole performance. On the whole, professor possesses a status, which nobody can call in question, regardless of the role he adopts. This is happening because he has certifications of his capacity, which is his degree, which is recognizable from the society (Goffman, 1951: 297). In other words, there can be doubt about his efficiency at work but not for his capacity as a professor. Bourdieus theory. Bourdieu in contrast with Goffman considers society from a distant viewpoint. He is not centre on individuals interaction but he combines them with social structures. He deems that sociologists should overcome the persistence of the contrast between objectivism and subjectivism. We should observe society as a whole including both, structures and actors. Thereby, he creates a theory based on a schema, which constitutes from three main parts: the field, the capital, and the habitus. Each part is directly connected with the others and functions parallel. The first part is the field. Fields are the social structures, the various spheres of life. While fields exert influence to each other, there are autonomous enough (relative autonomous) in order to be able to study them. Each field has its own clear boundaries, logic and sphere of values, with witch people must be obeyed. People in order to be able to enter a field, should have certain resources according to the demands of each field (Wacquant, 2008: 269). Those resources are the capitals, which are unequal distributed in the society (Swartz, 2002: 655). People, who have more capitals, have more chances to succeed in different fields (Bourdieu, 1986: 241). This is why Bourdieu grasps fields as arenas in which people struggle constantly. Those who have a big part of capital, struggle to maintain their domination and those who have limited capitals, try for their benefits to invert the domination of the former. Thus field is never static. It is moving, changing, evolving. On the second part of the triadic schema is capital. Capitals are the means of resources which enable people to acquire benefits. Power is in each field different. Bourdieu divides Capital in four categories: economic, cultural, social and symbols. Economic Capital is consisted by money. This capital is very important because every capital can be converted to economic capital. People, who have largely the economic capital, can easier acquire the other three capitals. Then is the Culture Capital, which is consisted by three forms: The Embodied State concerns the stimuli which people get from their environment during their upbringing and socialization. People receive them unconsciousness or passive-coercive via their families, their culture or traditions. However this does not mean that they acquire them instantaneously. On the contrary, people embodied them over the years according to their habitus. Also in this state, people form their cultivation. Peoples cultivation derives, apart from the stimuli of the environment, also from the amount of time and effort they consumed to gain it (Bourdieu, 1986: 244-245). The other form is the Objectified State, which concerns the possession of items (for instance paintings). Those items have great cultural-aesthetic value but also economic value. In which way people will valid them, it is related with their habitus (Bourdieu, 1986: 245-246). The third form of Cultural Capital is the Institutionalized State. This state embraces the official documents, that is, they have institutional recognition. Those certifications denote the level of education of each person (Bourdieu, 1986: 246-247). Moreover, there is the Social Capital. Social Capital is peoples connections which they have or acquire within social networks. Those connections are either positive or negative. In other words, can help people or can make their lives difficult. Finally, it is the Symbolic Capital, which has to do with the symbols of power. People who possess the symbolic authority can dominate in one or more fields. Those who have it are in the position to decide what is good and what is bad and exert it via recognition and approval and disapproval. Recognition of what people are doing is enjoyable for them. For, people through recognition are becoming established. Symbolic authority can be big in a field while can be mild or small in others. Also symbolic power is hierarchical. It is a circle of alternations of power. Thus there is a constant struggle for the acquisition of power but it is happening unconsciously. The third part of the schema is Habitus. Habitus is our history, the inheritance of cultural capital. Namely it is embodied of our experiences. The creation of social groups is based on peoples common experiences, hence habitus is persons beliefs and dispositions. Furthermore, habitus is the social structures in which persons shape their beliefs and ways of thinking (for instance education). In real life habitus and field come always together as a whole (Wacquant, 2008: 269). On the one, habitus affects peoples chances of success or failure in different fields (Bourdieu, 1986: 241). However, people through new experiences, which are not coming from the family, can form a secondary capital in the habitus, which is quite durable and reinforced. This new habitus is becoming gradually their second nature. Examining academicians through the concepts of Field, Capital and Habitus. Academicians field in which they operate is higher education. To be able to be in this field, they spent too much time and effort in order to acquire this knowledge, that is their cultivation (cultural capital-embodied state). Evidence that hold this knowledge is their diplomas (cultural capital-institutionalized state). Also their connections, that had been either academic or political, played an important role in taking up this position (social capital). On the other, depending on the level of the University attended and depending on their performance, they had similar opportunities to find work. The position of each university is not the same. For, there is a rank of hierarchy. Hierarchy it is likewise in the positions of academic professors. Therefore there is strong competition among them. Their main purpose is to accede to the highest positions and go to the most accredited universities (symbolic capital). To be able to do so, they must constantly enrich their resources (capita l). Nevertheless, the academic professors have some common experiences that affiliate them to the same group and allow them to enter in this field, higher education (habitus). But this does not mean that these experiences were the same embodied-in all. That they are professors, do not mean that all derived from the same socio-economic class. Simply they were able to acquire the necessary qualifications and to embrace these experiences in order to enter specific field. Namely, they managed to make second nature another habitus. Conclusion. Considering academics through two different approaches, Goffmans and Bourieus, I have come to believe that struggle for domination is an important part of both theories. In Goffman this struggle exist through the management impression, while in Bourdieu exist in the whole triad schema (field, capital, habitus).