AS 100 Spring 2016 Midterm Study Guide Essays - Defense, Military

AS 100 Spring 2016 Midterm Study Guide Essays - Defense, Military AS 100 Spring 2016 Midterm Study Guide LESSON TITLE: AIR FORCE INSTALLATIONS Sample of Behavior : Identify the services and facilities available in the base community. Know the responsibilities of the following: Traffic Management Office (TMO) -Ships Household Goods -Do It Yourself Move (DITY): Will be compensated with an incentive payment of 95% of what it would have cost the government to move the household goods Public Affairs Office -Disseminates internal and public information and coordinates community relations Military Personnel Section -Responsible for all personnel actions that affect military members but can also provide several services to dependents of military members as well Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) -Manages several retail stores Force Support Squadron -Maintains recreational facilities on-and-off base -loans sporting goods and recreational equipment - Provides other services for use by active duty, retirees, dependents of both, and accompanied guests BX - Provides merchandise and services at prices considerably lower than those for comparable products on civilian markets -Generates reasonable earning to support Service markets (SVS) Commis s ary -Provides means for the Air Force to feed its members Airmen & Family Readiness Center (AFRC) -Aids active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian personnel and their families in meeting personal problems. LESSON TITLE: LISTENING - THE NEGLECTED SKILL Sample of Behavior : Identify the differences between hearing and listening. Hearing: -Physical Act of receiving sound -Passive Process -No efforts Listening: -Selective Process -Active Process -Takes Work Sample of Behavior : Define effective listening and the five steps of the listening process. Effective Listening: Receiving, analyzing, and comprehending messages told to you. Five Steps: Receiving, Attending to, Understanding Evaluating, and Responding to LESSON TITLE: WAR & THE U.S. MILITARY Sample of Behavior : Define war A State of armed conflict between different nations or state or different groups within a nation or state Sample of Behavior : State the three enduring truths that describe the fundamental nature of war. An instrument of policy, strategy, or culture A complex and chaotic human endeavor A clash of opposing wills Sample of Behavior : Identify the four different viewpoints on war. Realism Holy War Pacifism Just War Theory Sample of Behavior : List the three factors that dominate war. Fog Friction Chance LESSON TITLE: AIR FORCE HERITAGE Sample of Behavior: Identify the state of American airpower upon entering WWI. Ranked 14th among airpowers of the world Sample of Behavior : List the critical events of the Combined Bomber Offensive. 14th October 1943: AFF launched two groups of B-17 to attack Schweinfurt, Germany Sample of Behavior : Identify a key technological advancement of the Korean War. The Korean War saw the first full introduction of the jet fighter by both participants

The Legitimacy of American Democracy essays

The Legitimacy of American Democracy essays In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows people to freely make choices without government intervention. Other necessary characteristics which legitimate government is that every vote must count equally: one vote for every person. For this equality to occur, all people must be subject to the same laws, have equal civil rights, and be allowed to freely express their ideas. Minority rights are also crucial in a legitimate democracy. No matter how unpopular their views, all people should enjoy the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. Public policy should be made publicly, not secretly, and regularly scheduled elections should be held. Since "legitimacy" may be defined as "the feeling or opinion the people have that government is based upon morally defensible p rinciples and that they should, therefore, obey it," then there must necessarily be a connection between what the people want and what the government is doing if legitimacy is to occur. The U.S. government may be considered legitimate in some aspects, and illegitimate in others. Because voting is class-based, it may not be classified as a completely legitimate process. Although in theory, the American system calls for one vote per person, the low rate of turnout results in the upper and middle classes ultimately choosing candidates for the entire nation. Class is determined by income and education, and differing levels of these two factors can help explain why class bias occurs. For example, because educated people tend to follow politics more, they are more likely to vote. People with high income and education also have more resources, and poor people tend to have low political efficacy. Turnout, therefore, is low and, since the early 1960s has been de...

Hitch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hitch - Essay Example During the time when Hitchens tries to help out Albert he also falls for Sara who was a gossip columnist. Thus the movie moves forwards with the interplay of the four characters in different situations. (Tenant, 2005). As the movie moves forward it is able to capture the attention of the audience because it is a movie to which most of the audience is able to relate easily. The goal of the paper is to explore how closely sociological issues are related to the movie Hitch. The main issues which have been addressed through the movie are primarily social interaction, race and gender. This is because we see in the movie Sara the gossip columnist had a strong dislike for men and she believed that men are worthless. From the feminist perspective it can be said that Sara wanted to protest against all men of the society by showing complete disregard and disgust for them. Moreover we also see in the movie that she thinks Alex Hitchens as a man who teaches other men to use women according to their fancy. This is because one of the clients of Alex had a one night stand with Sara’s best friend. Taking cue from this we can say that the movie Hitch also tries to focus on the objectification of women from the perspective of Sara. Through Sara the message which we get is that objectification of women by men was a very common phenomenon and women were aware of such a system existing and here in the movie Sara’s desire to unmask Hitchens is basically a p rotest which women want to undertake against men. Therefore Sara is determined to unmask Alex in front of the world. Devereux in the book, â€Å"Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates† says that the casting of the movie â€Å"Hitch† has remained an example of the inadequate representation of the minority groups like the Blacks in the mass media. Alex played by William Smith is an example of African representation in the media and the presence of stars like him point to the fact that though Blacks have received

Sources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sources - Essay Example We live in a society, in which sons and daughters are treated very differently, pink is considered feminine and blue is considered an ideal color for boys. Boys are given much more freedom than girls; this is often fought against by the mothers. Boys make their own groups when they reach infancy, such groups operate independently but when girls make such groups they have to be dependent on someone to operate effectively. A girl who displays masculine traits is considered abnormal and a boy who displays feminine traits is considered abnormal, this is very stereotypical thinking and something which must change very soon. Girls are encouraged to play with dolls and boys on the contrary engage in activities which suit their gender. â€Å"While both mothers and fathers contribute to the gender stereotyping of their children, fathers have been found to reinforce gender stereotypes more often than mothers.† (Ruble, 1988) These were some of the socio-cultural and biological factors which affect gender role

Lean Manufacturing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lean Manufacturing - Research Paper Example Generally, Lean helps in preserving values with a reduced amount of work. The Lean manufacturing company was firstly derived from Toyota Production Company (TPC), and in 1990s, it was then identified as Lean Manufacturing Company. In general, this paper will therefore analyze or explain how lean Manufacturing Company has improved the efficacy in its area of allocation. The TPS for several years have been known for its focus regarding the reduction of the original Toyota wastes so as to improve the overall values for the customers. However, the perspective on this can be achieved has become the biggest questions to think about. Toyota started as a small company but today it has steadily grown and serves more than one million people across the world as well as focusing its attention on achieving on their set goals and objectives. The Lean manufacturing variations on efficiency, opportunity cost, along with the logic of the lean production at Boeing is majorly based on the optimization flow. This has become a day-to-day activity where most people are focusing on how to increase on the efficiency while decreasing the waste, as well as using different empirical methods when deciding on the matters, instead of uncritically accepting the ideas that pre-existed many years ago. The research done recently showed that, the Lean manufacturing company is a version of the earlier efficacy efforts dealing with issues such as building and learning from their own mistakes. Literature Review There are two major models that the Lean manufacturing Company uses to achieve its competitive analysis from other companies. One of the models is by the use of Just In Time (JIT) as well as the Lean Manufacturing models. These two models have been used for several years in manufacturing companies and have been recognized as being the best models that most companies should acquire. Today in the global economy, there are various manufacturing companies for the global economy that occur in Wes tern Europe as well as North America. And in all cases, their basic concept of involving in manufacturing is mainly to improve the production efficacy by improving the production output while decreasing the required workforce. Conversely, in the service sector, their concept basic is to make sure that the efficacy and efficiency of services are improved by recruiting new workers who will be reliable in improving the value of company services. Presently, most companies are using the JIT manufacturing model to achieve their competitive advantage from other competitors. For instance, In Japan, has used the model for several years and this has made them to achieve a massive success for several decades of years. In JIT approach model, managers should commit themselves continuously to allow them pursuit an excellence in all phases such as manufacturing design as well as operation. Using JIT in manufacturing is significant in that, the companies are able to produce a certain products that have a high quality as well as quantity at an exact time when they are mostly required by the customers. JIT helps in emphasizing the processes while not at end of the products. It is evident that lean manufacturing is useful to managers when it comes to the success on service sectors. There are various transformations made by the principles of Lean manufacturing in terms of the different environments and one such environment is the public sector as well as the service industry. There are a number of organizations which have taken in the lean model such as higher education, call centers, healthcare as well as professional services. When it comes to lean’

Short Medium And Long Term Sources Of Finance

Short Medium And Long Term Sources Of Finance There are many sources of finance, which would all provide the business with a quick source of money, which will have to be paid back. But the amount the company needs can limit them to a range of sources of finance and methods of repayment e.g. interest. The sources of finance can be split up into three types; long term, medium term and short term. Long term finance is mainly for companies who need a large sum of money, which would be difficult to be paid back, this would be used to provide start-up capital to finance the business for its whole lifespan, finance the purchase of assets with a longer life, such as buildings and provide expansion capital for large projects, such as building a new factory or taking over another business. The repayment as it is so much would be paid over a number of years rather than straight away. Medium term finance is again for high sums of money needed but not as high as long term, these usually would be used to finance the purchase of assets with a two to five year life, such as vehicles and computers, to replace an overdraft which is difficult to clear and is proving expensive and to finance a change in strategy, such as to switch marketing focus from Britain to the whole of Europe etc. But the repayment would be faster than long term, such as in a couple of years etc. Short-term finance is when a company needs money quickly for immediate things, which are temporary; the repayments are much quicker than the others. They would be used to bridge temporary finance gaps, to get through periods when cash flow is poor and to cover temporary needs for extra funds due to unexpected problems or opportunities. There are possible sources of finance, which available to a Limited company. Sources of Short-term Finance There are a number of sources of short-term finance which are listed below: 1. Trade credit 2. Bank credit Loans and advances Cash credit Overdraft Discounting of bills 3. Customers advances 4. Instalment credit 5. Loans from co-operatives 1. Trade Credit Trade credit refers to credit granted to manufactures and traders by the suppliers of raw material, finished goods, components, etc. 2. Bank Credit Commercial banks grant short-term finance to business firms which is known as bank credit. (i) Loans When a certain amount is advanced by a bank repayable after a specified period, it is known as bank loan. . (ii) Cash Credit It is an arrangement whereby banks allow the borrower to withdraw money upto a specified limit. This limit is known as cash credit limit. Initially this limit is granted for one year. This limit can be extended after review for another year. However, if the borrower still desires to continue the limit, it must be enewed after three years. (iii) Overdraft When a bank allows its depositors or account holders to withdraw money in excess of the balance in his account upto a specified limit, it is known as overdraft facility. This limit is granted purely on the basis of credit-worthiness of the borrower . (iv) Discounting of Bill Banks also advance money by discounting bills of exchange, promissory notes and hundies. When these documents are presented before the bank for discounting, banks credit the amount to cutomers account after deducting discount. 3. Customers Advances Sometimes businessmen insist on their customers to make some advance payment. It is generally asked when the value of order is quite large or things ordered are very costly. Customers advance represents a part of the payment towards price on the product (s) which will be delivered at a later date. 4. Instalment credit Instalment credit is now-a-days a popular source of finance for consumer goods like television, refrigerators as well as for industrial goods. 5. Loans from Co-operative Banks Co-operative banks are a good source to procure short-term finance. Such banks have been established at local, district and state levels. District Cooperative Banks are the federation of primary credit societies. 18.5 Merits and Demerits of Short-term Finance Short-term loans help business concerns to meet their temporary requirements of money. They do not create a heavy burden of interest on the organisation. But sometimes organisations keep away from such loans because of uncertainty and other reasons. Let us examine the merits and demerits of short-term finance. Merits of short-term finance a) Economical : Finance for short-term purposes can be arranged at a short notice and does not involve any cost of raising. The amount of interest payable is also affordable. It is, thus, relatively more economical to raise short-term finance. b) Flexibility : Loans to meet short-term financial need can be raised as and when required. These can be paid back if not required. This provides flexibility. c) No interference in management : The lenders of short-term finance cannot interfere with the management of the borrowing concern. The management retain their freedom in decision making. d) May also serve long-term purposes : Generally business firms keep on renewing short-term credit, e.g., cash credit is granted for one year but it can be extended upto 3 years with annual review. After three years it can be renewed. Thus, sources of short-term finance may sometimes provide funds for long-term purposes. Demerits of short-term finance Short-term finance suffers from a few demerits which are listed below: a) Fixed Burden : Like all borrowings interest has to be paid on short-term loans irrespective of profit or loss earned by the organisation. That is why business firms use short-term finance only for temporary purposes. b) Charge on assets : Generally short-term finance is raised on the basis of security of moveable assets. In such a case the borrowing concern cannot raise further loans against the security of these assets nor can these be sold until the loan is cleared (repaid). c) Difficulty of raising finance : When business firms suffer intermittent losses of huge amount or market demand is declining or industry is in recession, it loses its creditworthiness. In such circumstances they find it difficult to borrow from banks or other sources of short-term finance. d) Uncertainty : In cases of crisis business firms always face the uncertainty of securing funds from sources of short-term finance. If the amount of finance required is large, it is also more uncertain to get the finance. e) Legal formalities : Sometimes certain legal formalities are to be complied with for raising finance from short-term sources. If shares are to be deposited as security, then transfer deed must be prepared. Medium term finance Bank term loan This is possibly the simplest form of loans available to businesses. The average bank manager dealing with a medium sized firm and responsible to head office for the performance of the branch uses a set of well-defined criteria when making a loan. A bank loan is for a fixed amount at a fixed rate of interest. There is likely to be a demand for regular payments. The advantages of a bank term loan is that financial planning is made easier as repayments are made in regular instalments and the interest rate are often fixed, but the disadvantages are the smaller the business the higher rates paid due to presenting a higher risk of things going wrong. Long term Finance Sale of Shares This is the issuing of shares of the business to other investors who want to buy into the company. The main advantage of issuing shares is that the shareholders have limited liability if the business fails. Personal possessions are not at risk and their liability is limited to the actual capital invested. Also the capital is raised by issuing shares (which are a proportion of what the company is worth) to investors, who are encouraged to buy by the promise of receiving dividends or profits on their shares. Also shares can be sold as preference shares which offer a fixed return as profits change from year to year, according to how well the company has done. The disadvantages of selling shares are the administrative costs of issuing shares are high. Also it is difficult to estimate the market price of shares, though this problem can be avoided if tender issues them, where investors state how much they are willing to pay for them. Also the price of the shares can go up or down and shareholders may have to sell at a lower price than they bought it. Also the shares of an Ltd will have to be sold privately, which costs money and investors would might not want to invest due to the lack of hassle from buying into a Plc. Reinvested Profits This is the money that the business makes being re-invested into the business to aid its plans. The advantage of this is capital can be raised by the company reinvesting or ploughing back the profits made at the end of the year, after expenses and dividends to shareholders have been paid. The disadvantage of this is profits may be scare or non-existent, especially in times of recession. Mortgage Loans This is a loan where the lender insists on some asset of the business being tied to the repayment of the loan. In the event of bankruptcy or liquidation that lender will then have priority on the money from the sale of that asset for the repayment of the loan. The asset is always land or property. The advantage of this is capital is often supplied by pension or insurance funds for a loan over 25 30 years for buildings or land, with the asset as security. The disadvantage of this the loans are usually only given when large sums are required. Venture Capital Loans Venture capital is risk capital, usually in the forms of loan and shares as a package, to provide a significant investment in a medium or large business. The advantages of this are capital is supplied by venture capital firms who accept a certain degree of risk being inevitable. Also most venture capitalists also provide help in the form of back up management and financial expertise. Also the governments Enterprise Investment Scheme offers incentives to private investors willing to invest in unquoted companies. The disadvantages are that most venture capitalists are only interested in loans for more than  £50000 and some only consider ventures where more than  £250000 is involved, as the administration costs are not worthwhile on smaller projects. Also they charge a negotiation fee for arranging the finance and they generally expect a non controlling equity stake of 20 40% in the firms capital, as a return of their investment. Debenture Loans A debenture is a long-term loan, which does not have to be repaid until an agreed date. Debenture holders are entitled to a fixed rate of the return year and have priority over all the shareholders. The advantage of this is that individuals can supply capital to a company in the form of a long-term loan called debentures, which have to be repaid on an agreed date. These payments take priority over payments to all other shareholders. The disadvantage is that the company has to offer some security for the loan, which can be sold if the company cannot meet the payments. In the case of a fixed debenture this is a specific asset such as a building or land. (Source Advantages/Disadvantages Understanding Industry by Ian Marcousà © pg 85-86, Definitions Business Studies Pg 297 301 Susan Hammond A-Z Business Studies pg 148, 167 David Lines, Ian Marcousà © Barry Martin)

Racism Revealed: Hurricane Katrina Essays -- Personal Essays Natural D

Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005. The events that followed would leave the whole nation in shock until this day. One of the major topics of discussion after this disaster was whether or not the government's slow reaction time had anything to do with the fact that New Orleans is sixty-seven percent African American. As helicopters circled a wasteland that was once a major tourist attraction, the racism of the Deep South, thought to be extinct, proved it was only dormant. The same racism against African Americans that could be seen on Bourbon Street in the months prior to the hurricane reared its ugly head once more in Gretna, LA and was pointed out on live television by rapper Kanye West. In February of 2005, Georgian Southern University student Levon Jones died of suffocation after being detained on the ground by three white bouncers at a Bourbon Street bar. Black leaders have blamed Jones' death on the widespread racist policies in the French Quarter." Their claims are based on a survey sponsored by the city of New Orleans in which it was revealed that fifteen of twenty-nine Bourbon Street bars "discriminated against Blacks by charging phony cover charges, gouging on drink prices and enforcing unequal dress codes." Almost five months after Jones's death, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held a march to protest the racist policies of business owners in the French Quarter. This proves that racism against African Americans did exist in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina. After Hurricane Katrina was done wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast, victims of the hurricane from New Orleans sought food and shelter in the neighboring to... ...cuation Route." Nicholas Riccardi. September 18th, 2005 pg. 25 Document URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=898116091&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VIns t=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1128370496&clientId=10762 Proquest Document ID: 898116091 3. Chicago Tribune. "Racism charge in slow flow of relief supplies." September 6th, 2005 pg. 9 Document URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=892613891&SrchMode=1&sid=6&Fmt=3&VIns t=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1128370816&clientId=10762 Proquest Document ID: 892613891

Environment Analysis of Toy Industry

Doing business in the worlds toy industry today, is anything but plain sailing, with the toy industry as a whole generating $21.47 Billion in 2009 and $21.65 Billion in 2008 (Riley, 2010) This producing a fiercely competitive market, but a market that is very open to new entrants,right throughout the industry. The market is also growing year on year with birth rates rising throughout the world, with the U.K. Birth rate growing this year (2014) by 13%.Risk of entryThe barrier of entry to the Toy industry is very low, this given new and up and coming entrepreneurs and companies a chance of success in this very fast paced and fiercely competitive market, to create products to capture the attentions of children and adults alike. The market environment has also pushes many well known brands to invest a major part of their budgets on research and development, allowing them to introduce new products continuously. Many well known brands such as as Hasbro, Mattel, BanDia and many other compan ies also invest huge amounts of money to compete for licensing of products connected to characters from TV shows, Films and video games,to expand their market share.Power of the BuyersThe toy industry is very concentrated, this leaving manufacturers I a very weak bargaining position with its customer, for example fives stores including Wall-mart and Toys â€Å"R† Us make up 54% or Hasbro's net Revenue in 2009. (Hasbro inc., 2009) Target, Wall-mart and Toys†R† Us also had 43 % of Net Sales of Mattel, (Datamonitor, 2007)these both figures being massive  amounts of products and given these companies power on pricing. The rise in online activity had also gave the manufacturer a door to sell direct to customer, but most of the large manufacturers still use the traditional route through supply chain.Power of the SuppliersThe materials used within the production of 1UpToys products, for example plastics, paper, cardboard, computer chips and cables, are available from a wide range of suppliers , but are susceptible to market related pricing, (e.g., copper for wiring, plastics etc.) some of which are controlled by legislation due to the chemical compounds (like Phthalates and BPA) Which could incur higher taxation brackets and could be subject to government legislation.Threat of substitute productThe threat of substitutes are growing with the continuous growth in demand, with children at a very young age having access to high technological gadgets and platformsThis has driven toy companies to incorporate more technology within their products, as toy companies are now in direct competition not only with other toy products but also with traditionally non toy products such as, Tablets, computers, smart phones and even Mp3,s offering gaming within their technological platforms. The risk from these platforms is very high and is on the increase, as with prices continue to drop on cell phones and technological other gadgets, children are adopting to them earlier in their lives, with these devices offering gaming and entertainment at a very low cost and on occasions no cost at all to download.The phenomenon of these technological devices has added extra pressure to the toy industry as a whole , to create toys with enough bells and whistles to compete with these digital device alternatives, with the cost of traditional toys significantly much higher to invent and manufacturer in comparison to  the digital format. As a result to this the profit margins of the more traditional product is significantly lower, adding to the need to sell more units per product to make profit in today’s toy market.Another major factor for the toy industry is that children at different ages have shifted preferences. Young children are expecting more stimulation from their playthings than before to capture and hold their attention. Hasbro calls this phenomenon of kids â€Å"Getting older, younger.† This threatens everyone in the toy industry b ecause the window toys and games have to make their way into children’s lives keeps shrinking. The toy industry also relies heavy on the intellectual properties of any given toy business, which they may not be able to protect from countries with loose copyright laws and regulations.This may not be a problem throughout the E.U and the United States, but is very rampant within emerging economies, for example China where products such as, DVD’s, Action Figures and nearly every other product thinking able can be copied and reproduced at a fraction of the retail price though piracy, which is a huge problem for the toy industry and a great threat to any companies looking to soften their domestic revenue losses by expanding to China or any other emerging economy.Competitive Rivalry in the IndustryThe Completive rivalry in the toy industry is fierce and diluted with numerous alternatives popping up everyday, with new platforms arising contentiously within this business sector, with companies and new toy products fighting for the limited shelf space, within all the same stores throughout the retailing world, with companies using all the resources possible to gain the competitive advantage over their competitors.This competitiveness has seen all toy companies jockeying for position and has over all lowered companies profit margins, as they compete with pricing with each other, using lower pricing strategies and offering exclusives and unique features to their customer base, at a cost to them.There is also fierce competition within the supply chain, with most toy companies have the majority of its manufacturing done in China, it can only stock as much shelf space as there is available space on large cargo container ships., with many companies fighting for the space, especially just before the holiday season, the price per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) may go up in these peak seasons and shipping costs are also very vulnerable to changes in fuel pricing, which is forever on the rise.SLEPT Analysis (see appendix 2),we can look at the (Macro) external environment for the toy industry.Social EnvironmentThe social environment of today’s toy customer base is increasingly becoming more technically driven, with children and â€Å"tweens† spending more and more of their time on the internet and social media platforms, as accessibility to these high speed internet and mobile devices enter more homes everyday. A study released in January 2010 by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people, aged 8-18, spent seven and a half hours seven days a week consuming media (Music, videos, blogs, social media, etc.) While consuming, they are also multitasking. So they can fit almost eleven hours of media into that seven and a half hours (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010) and this is growing year on year, with easier accessibility and reduced cost to online access.This has rising to in 2013 and said to be having serious con sequences , with kids ages 8 to 18 spending on average 44.5 hours per week in front of screens, with parents being increasingly concerned that screen time is robbing them of real world experiences. Nearly 23% of youth report that they feel â€Å"addicted to video games† (31% of males, 13% of females.) These are the results of a new study of 1,178 U.S. children and teens (ages 8 to 18) conducted by Harris Interactive (2007) that documents a national prevalence rate of pathological video game use.Dr. Douglas Gentile, Director of the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University reports, â€Å"Almost one out of every ten youth gamers shows enough  symptoms of damage to their school, family, and psychological functioning to merit serious concern.†The industry could be more drawn to the needs of the consumer and promote games and toys that cross over online and offline platforms,and also incorporate a educational value or the use of learning a musical instrument or techniqu es involved in doing so.Legal EnvironmentThere are increasingly tight rules and regulations about the materials that need to go into toy construction in order to make them safer and more resistant to fire hazards. This has had the impact of raising costs on production within the industry, but these regulations can vary in different countries, but are generally set the same throughout the EU, with safety at the forefront of production.The Toy industry has to be very careful to follow these regulations, especially when out sourcing to places such as China who have generally a loose safety standards and could have serious consequences to any company importing products from theses areas. Loose safety standards in Chinese factories caused the massive toy recall of 2007 which over 10 million toys that contained unsafe levels of lead and small magnets which, if swallowed, could cause serious injury or death. This recall cost not only millions of dollars but severely damaged the costumer co nfidence. A problem like this looms over every toy company that uses manufacturing plants in China.The Legal environment of the toy industry is also continuously protecting and fighting for its copyright on its products. This can be very complicated and confusing for example both Mattel and Hasbro have the rights to the board game Scrabble (Hasbro has rights in North America, Mattel has them everywhere else.) Two India based brothers and programmers created free to play version of Scrabble on Facebook called Scrabulous. At the height of its popularity, Scrabulous attracted a half million players a day. Mattel and Hasbro both sued the Argawalla brothers and forced them to remove the game  from Facebook.Hasbro then made a slow and clunky official version bemoaned by fans of Scrabulous.The official version now draws 90,000 players daily. Instead of working with the creators of the knock-off and bringing the game into the fold of officially licensed content, Mattel and Hasbro caused r esentment and hard feelings in customers on the world’s most popular social network. These actions of putting a substitute cheap version of the game, could have a negative impact on your customer base, especially in the public eye, on a network like facebook that has billions of users and potential customers.Economic EnvironmentThe manufacturing of products for the toy industy for any years has mainly relied on Chinese manufactering, due to the combination of cheap labor and undervalued currency has been a very attractive recipe for keeping production costs as low as possible. This arrangement might be very profitable to the toy industry, but does make them very susceptible to problems within in China itself.In recent times with the up and coming working classes of Chinese people are demanding more pay and benefits, some that we in the UK take for granted on a daily basis (health and safety, Severance pay, etc.) in the working environment. These demands can have explosive aff ects, with the toy company Hasbro feeling the full effects. In November, 2008,a worker riot broke out at a Hasbro factory in Dongguan, China (Foreman, 2008). 80 senior migrant workers, who felt they were being jilted by management on their severance pay, quickly organized a mob of 500 people that overturned a police car, stormed the factory offices, and damaged computers.Political EnvironmentThe politiacl envirment is more driven towrds trade restriction within China and Chinese currency develpoments, as most of toy trade is manufactoered within its counry. This has been mentioned by the US in recent times, with the Chinise undervalued currency being a target by plolicy makers within the  US. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought up the possibility of a new China currency bill that would give the â€Å"†¦ the [Obama] administration leverage in its bilateral andmultilateral negotiations with the Chinese government so that U.S. businesses and workers have a more level playing field in world trade.† No one really knows how much this would affect export prices from China, but it is an issue that should remain onthe radar.Technological EnviromentThe Technological Environment of the toy industry is very highly paced ,with toy fads coming and going within the toy market continiusly. Toy companies need to innovate and keep moving forward with demand and try to create the next big toy breakthrough.The toy customer in today’s market are mostly looking for intractability within the game, with many offering these platforms, such as Wii, Xbox, Playstation for example, using various platforms do so, even smaller toys such as Furbbie and tamagotchiis being very popular in their time, selling millions of units in their day or Fad as its known.This fast moving technological environment relies on getting product to the market first and is very prone to company espionages fast moving technological environment relies on gett ing product to the market first and is very prone to company espionage, which is wide spread throughout the toy industry.

Adaptability of Huck Finn essays

Adaptability of Huck Finn essays In Mark Twains novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is faced with a handful of problems. Sometimes he has to lie to protect his identity, live off the land by hunting and fishing, and help Jim when needed. Huck makes many life-changing decisions as he grows and matures throughout the novel. Through the trials and tribulations that Huck must overcome, readers can see the ability of Huck Finn to adapt to any situation, even if it means lying or being deceitful. One of the first events that shows how well Huck adapts is when he fakes his own murder. Huck does not want to live in the cabin with his drunken father anymore, so he devises a plan to fake his own death. Huck is very methodical in the way he goes about it: I took an ax and smashed in the door...I fetched the pig in and took him back nearly to the table and hacked into his throat with the ax...I pulled out my hair and bloodied the ax good and slung it in the corner (p. 285) Huck thinks he did a good job and even wished Tom Sawyer was there to see his work. Satisfied, Huck leaves Paps cabin and sets out to adventure. The next event that shows Hucks adaptability is when he sets out on an adventure with Jim. They come across a small, rural town along the banks of the Mississippi River. Huck wants to go into town and see what the people are saying about his death. Huck devises a plan where he is to dress up like a girl so he will not be recognized. Huck describes the process of becoming a girl very vividly: So we shortened up one of the calico gowns and I turned up my trouser-legs to my knees and got into it. I put on the sun bonnet and tied it under my chin.(p. 298) Huck finds his way into an old shanty in the woods where he meets Mrs. Judith Loftus. Huck could have fooled her, but he didnt act much like a girl. Mrs. Loftus discovered that Huck was indeed a boy by the way he acted. She knew he was ...

Karl Marx Essay

Karl Marx Essay I. General OverviewKarl Marx and Friedrich Engels strove to put into practical effect the humanitarian concept of Feuerbach. In so doing, they founded a new economic movement called Socialism. According to Marx, the supreme end of man is an immanent and material one, and consists in happiness. This material happiness must be obtained through organized collectivism. In fact, according to Marx, reality is governed by economic needs (historical materialism). Economic reality develops according to Hegel's dialectical principles; that is, reality must deny itself in order to reach a higher degree of being.In application, this principle means that the present organization of society must be destroyed (even through violent revolution, if necessary, because only through such destruction can a better political, economic, and social organization be achieved. To establish this new format of society, working men (the proletariat) must be organized and take up the struggle against the capitalists who defraud them.Karl Marx (1818-1883)Thus the actors in this drama are the social classes the proletariat is arrayed against capitalism. This struggle, according to Marx and Engels, will end in victory for the proletariat, that is, in the triumph of universal Socialism.II. Life and WorksKarl Marx (picture) was born on May 5, 1818 and died on March 14, 1883. He was a German economist, philosopher, and revolutionist whose writings form the basis of the body of ideas known as Marxism. With the aid of Friedrich Engels (picture) he produced much of the theory of modern socialism and communism. Marx's father, Heinrich, was a Jewish lawyer who had converted his family to Christianity partly in order to preserve his job in the Prussian state. Karl himself was baptized in the Evangelical church. As a student at the University of Berlin, young Marx was strongly influenced by the philosophy of...

Human Resource Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource - Research Paper Example It has been noticed that, issues of sexual preferences and gender are much more sensitive because individuals who have different preferences feel discriminated in many avenues of life (Burns and Krehely, 2005). Most organizations proclaim that they do not carry out any form of discrimination, but in practice they do and violate the rights of the employees. This is exactly what happened with Oiler. Oilers contributions to the organization as well as his work record were not taken into consideration when making the decision regarding his termination. Furthermore, the disturbing fact was that the laws of the federation and the state did not have any protection for the transgendered employees. Therefore, not only were employee rights of Oiler violated, he did not receive any protection from the state or federation either. 2. What do you see as the consequences of organizations that punish employees for certain off-the-job behaviors? Explain. Punishing employees for certain off-the-job be haviors can create a negative perception among the employees as well as the public because the organization does not practice equality and non-discrimination (Weiss, 2007). Termination of the employees for such reasons would be a negative publicity as clients and employees would exercise caution in approaching the organization in the future.

Netflix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Netflix - Essay Example characteristics of the target market that would become a basis of market segment are demographics which is the physical characteristic of the market, psychographics which is the psycho-cultural characteristic of the market, geographics or the physical and political delineation of the market and purchase behavior or buying patterns of target market. In the case of Netflix, it would be necessary first to define its product and service to effectively segment its market. At present, Netflix is an online video store that caters its customers with a wide array of video collections through video download, online streaming or door to door delivery. In the future, it is envisaged that Netflix will converge from a merely internet base video provider to include a traditional TV broadcasting company. The array of their services will then widened that would include not just video titles but also TV shows. The mobile and handheld movie industry is also expected to be entered into by Netflix. In short, Netflix would be â€Å"becoming like them in doing some originals and they are becoming more like us in creating an on-demand interface like HBO Go" which allows viewers to watch channels on the Web and on mobile and tabulate devices† (Coyle, 2012). Having defined the products and services Netflix today and the future, its target market are those movie viewers which has internet connection and handheld devices. In the future, the TV viewing public will also become their target market. Netflix primary serves the consumer market or those who watch movies (and in the future TV shows) for leisure. In particular, Netflix caters to the movie watching customers by having an extensive movie title collection it can offer to the customers either by video streaming, download or door to door delivery. The manner which Netflix’s products will be delivered to its customers will likely to change as more and more consumers are having internet connection at an increasing speed making