A Review of Qualitative Research on Teenage Smoking Habits

A Review of Qualitative Research on Teenage Smoking Habits Grand Canyon University: NRS-433V-O103 Introduction to Nursing Research September 20, 2012 Introduction The motivation behind this report is to sum up the substance of the examination article, clarify the exploration strategies executed, and offer understanding on how the discoveries add to nursing practice. Second, there will be a clarification of moral contemplations related with the lead of nursing research. At long last, the source report, â€Å"What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behavior? : A Qualitative Study† will be appended for survey. SummaryThe articles reason for existing was to contemplate smoking conduct among Malaysian teenagers. The particular territories of intrigue included: smoking inception, cigarette utilization, goal to quit smoking, and endeavors to quit smoking. The principal phase of youngster smoking conduct starts with easygoing experimentation and is trailed by the upkeep stage when ordinary custom smoking is available. The future reliance on smoking can be anticipated by the individual’s activities during experimentation with cigarettes. Interest, peer pressure, and parental smoking were completely detailed reasons that teenagers chose to attempt cigarettes.In youngsters under multi year old, it was inferred that parental smoking assumed the biggest job in conduct decisions. This finding proposes that kids are demonstrating the parents’ smoking conduct. Be that as it may, more established youngsters in auxiliary school announced friend strain to be the purpose behind decisions in regards to cigarettes. Seventy-four percent of the members announced that they smoked under five cigarettes day by day. This equivalent bit or members conceded that they smoked in light of the fact that they encountered physical manifestations of nicotine pull back when they didn’t smoke daily.Consumption of cigarettes in this gathering was accounted for as a social actio n among companions however generally in detached regions, to abstain from getting captured. Most all youths that were dynamic in this examination detailed that they had planned to stop smoking later on. Most of members had no reasonable arrangement on how they were going to stop and most had admitted to a few bombed endeavors to quit smoking without assistance. Viewpoints to consider: connections, athletic contribution, wellbeing concerns, absence of accounts, and parental concern are on the whole reasons that would make a youngster smoker consider quitting.The members that had the option to quit smoking had an arrangement and picked a particular quit date. Techniques for Study This data was gathered and prepared through a subjective report. In particular, it included twenty-six adolescents from three government funded schools. Twenty-thee individuals from this example bunch were smokers while three of the individuals had quit smoking. Data was accumulated through three center gathe ring interviews, three top to bottom meetings more than twenty months, and questionnaires.The questions were asked in a non-formal conversational way with significant focuses or answers recorded on an archive intended to assess and sort data (site). The Social Cognitive Theory was utilized to arrange assortment of data and examination. This hypothetical system was picked dependent on the requirement for a clarification of youngster smoking identified with people, heath practices, and conditions. The desire is that Social Cognitive Theory would offer more knowledge on how these three components would connect with one another simultaneously.Contribution to Nursing Smoking tobacco keeps on being one of the top reasons for preventable foundations for death in America. There are 430,000 passings, one point 5,000,000 years of potential life lost, and fifty billion of lost clinical obligation identified with tobacco use (Hollis, J. , Pollen, N,†¦ 2005). Attendants that distinguish mor e youthful customers in danger for tobacco can add to decrease in horribleness identified with smoking and aid the diminishing of clinical obligation. â€Å"The more youthful that adolescent are the point at which they begin utilizing tobacco, the more probable they'll be dependent (CDC, 20012). The investigation offers knowledge to nursing practice for explicit fitting of a consideration plan for youngsters who smoke, guardians who smoke, and how to focus on the training for stopping. The zones that influenced teen’s enthusiasm for stopping included: athletic improvement, guardians objection, wellbeing concerns, and absence of accounts. Attendants can utilize the data from this examination to strengthen the wellbeing advancement and advantages of being a non-smoker. The acknowledgment of how guardians influence smoking practices will help the medical caretaker in getting ready instruction that is aimed at the whole family to stop youth and teenager smoking.The commitment to quiet mind can be seen with wellbeing advancement evaluation use. The ends were clear about adolescents requiring an arrangement to stop after they arrived at the upkeep period of smoking. This outcome makes attendants aware of survey smoking in more youthful puberty and offer help with smoking discontinuance. Moral Issues First, The Research and Ethic Committee of University Kebangsaan Malaysia gave endorsement before the investigation was begun. Second, The Ministry of Education Malaysia offered approval for interviews in the educational system for kids who were not engaged with some sort of major examination.Third, the entirety of the teenagers alongside guardians gave a composed and marked assent for cooperation. The secrecy of current smoking status was kept flawless and protection was kept up. Finally, at the finishes of each meeting the teenagers were offered smoking cession guiding at a doctor’s facility. To guarantee dependability of the investigation, a few schools were utilized and various kinds of information assortment used. There was self-reflexivity in limiting assessments of the analysts. Approval was offered by negligible provoking, articulation explanation, and rethinking of inquiries. ConclusionThe study recognized components like nicotine habit, individual, and natural issues that impact of smoking practices in youngsters. These territories ought to be of incredible need when creating smoking suspension programs for youngsters. The Social Cognitive Theory used in this investigation is a guide that encourages attendants to comprehend smoking practices in adolescents and how to deliver obstructions to break those powerful factors. Since this investigation was done in one locale of Malaysia, it may not make a difference to all territories outside of it. This was an extremely little examination that can't be applied to all societies, geographic areas, and race.A better point of view would have been accomplished by choosing a more extens ive gathering with arbitrary geographic area and equivalent sexual orientation cooperation. The male to female proportion for the investigation was inconsistent and this causes a move in the standard deviation while examining the examination from a factual view. Having inconsistent sex numbers could cause a sort I or II blunder which makes the data not so much dependable (Grove, S. , 2012). References Center for Disease Control. (2012, January). We can make the cutting edge without tobacco. Recovered from http://www. cdc. gov/Features/YouthTobaccoUse/Grove, Susan K. (2012).Statistics for Health Care Research: A Practical Workbook [1] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://pageburstls. elsevier. com/books/978-1-4160-0226-0/diagram/11 Hollis, J. , Polen, M. , Whitlock, E. , Lichtenstein, E. , Mullooly, J. , Velicer, W. , and Redding, C. (2005). Adolescent Reach: results from a randomized, controlled preliminary of a tobacco decrease program for teenagers found in essential cli nical consideration. Pediatrics, 115(4 Part 1), 981-989. Tohid, H. , Ishak, N. d. , Muhammad, N. , Hassan, H. , and Omar, K. (2011). What decides teenagers’ smoking conduct? : A subjective report. Worldwide Medical Journal, 18(3), 194-198. 194PSYCHIATRY Article Ititernational Medical Joumal. Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 194 †198 , September 2011 What Determines Teenagers' Smoking Behavior? : A Qualitative Study Hizlinda Tohid†, Noriah Mohd. Ishak^', Noor Azimah Muhammad†, Hasliza Abu Hassan^', Farah Naaz Momtaz Ahmad†, Khairani Omar'* ABSTRACT Objective: The examination planned to investigate smoking conduct among Malaysian youngsters that were identified with their smoking inception, cigarette utilization, quit expectation, and quit endeavors. Strategies: It was a subjective report that utilized different contextual investigation configuration, including 26 young people (23 smokers and three previous smokers) from three open schools.Data was gathered by means o f polls, three center gathering meetings and three inside and out meetings more than 20 months, A normalized semi-organized meeting convention was used. Results: Among the members, 74% of them began smoking after the age of 12 years of age. The larger part (20/23) of the adolescent smokers confessed to smoking each day and 74% of them smoked not in excess of 5 cigarettes per day. The entirety of the smokers had the expectation to stop however just 22 out of the 23 adolescent smokers had endeavored stopping. 60% of these young people had more than three quit attempts.In general, this investigation caught the multifaceted nature of the adolescents' smoking conduct that could be impacted by numerous components, including social (e,g, nicotine enslavement), individual (e,g, origination of smoking and stopping, interest, sensation chasing, information about smoking discontinuance, stress, keeping up athletic execution, and money,) and ecological (e,g, socialization, peer pressure, parent al smoking, parental dissatisfaction, and kid or sweetheart repugnance) factors. Ends: This examination portrayed the intricate and multidimensional nature of high school smoking behaviour.The discoveries additionally correspondingly coordinated the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), along these lines proposing the hypothesis' reasonableness in clarifying smoking conduct among the Malaysian young people, KEY WORDS smoking, adolescents, smoking commencement, cigarette utilization, quit smoking INTRODUCTION Adolescence is a vital time wherein a generally reliant youngster changes into a moderately autonomous grown-up. During this transitional period, many tee

Good Fall Free Essays

A Good Fall The word Freedom has an alternate implication in all aspects of the world, to have opportunity intends to have certain qualities. These attributes would have the Third Eye, poise, modesty, and the capacity to have the option to beat issues with a planned arrangement. In the short story assortment A Good Fall by Ha Jin, every story places characters in divergent positions where they show whether they have the qualities that characterize opportunity. We will compose a custom article test on Great Fall or on the other hand any comparative theme just for you Request Now A Composer and His Parakeet†, â€Å" In The Crossfire†, â€Å"The Beauty†, and â€Å"Temporary Love† all include characters that appear to be caught in a present relationship, yet for various reasons. Learned Helplessness is an infection, where you close your heart and brain to your solid self and settle for your feeble self-bringing about disgrace, a few characters are determined to have this ailment. The Third Eye can be characterized as mindfulness, it permits us to decipher the present circumstance we are in, and examine the great from the awful. It underscores the greater, long haul picture over the present moment and helps settle on choices out of reason rather feeling. An individual with the third eyes practices discipline over want. Quietude is basically gaining from our mix-ups to make us more grounded and smarter. Fanlin from the story â€Å"A Composer and his Parakeets† shows attributes of having opportunity. His better half Supriya possesses a quiet parakeet Bori; she leaves Bori with Fanlin as she heads out to Thailand for her activity as an on-screen character. Toward the start Fanlin hated the feathered creature since he trusted one of Supriya’s exes gave her the fledgling. After some time he grows a heart and starts holding with the flying creature, he gives him into his music studio access which the fledgling was not permitted in from the start. Fanlin was getting ready to compose for an Opera occasion that was coming up. Weeks went on and the flying creature went wherever Fanlin did, until one day by the sea shore the winged animal takes off and nearly suffocates and Fanlin devotes himself completely to the water to spare it. Bori would later bite the dust the next day and his sweetheart didn't appear to think about the winged creature any longer. This made Fanlin’s third eye kick in as he pondered whether she would not think about him as she did with the winged animal after some time. At the point when the flying creature kicked the bucket so did his relationship with Supriya. Fanlin’s understudies that he thought music exercises appeared to be worried about him thus they present to him another parakeet. This parakeet had a messy mouth and Fanlin paid him no brain, he even left his window open so he would take off. After the demise of the principal flying creature and the passing of his relationship, Fanlin proceeds to compose a lovely second 50% of music in his show which was loaded with feeling and is advised to return to rework the primary half. His subsequent feathered creature would take off not long after, representing he being liberated from his past relationship that was only an exercise in futility. Poise is the capacity to improve our position instead of give up to implosion and impulse. In the story â€Å"Temporary Love†, Lina a wedded lady who’s spouse was in China, lived in the United States with a wedded man. In spite of the fact that she reveals to her significant other that she lives without anyone else, she has sexual relations with this wedded man who’s life partner too lived in China. They had a common consent to cut off this impermanent association until their mates showed up in the United States. Tragically Panbin, the man Lina remained with developed affections for her and advised her over and again he was infatuated with her. Lina revealed to him a plenty of times that she was hitched and that they consented to end this game plan at whatever point one needed. Her significant other was going to the United States so Lina gets ready to move out and locate her own condo. She felt that her better half didn't think about the issue however he did. He had his methods of having somebody follow her and hand-off him the data he required. This put Lina in an awkward position, her significant other revealed to her he would not like to get a new line of work and would go to business college to get his MBA. That, yet Lina was going to pay for it with all her cash she had spared in her ledger. She had no other decision yet to pay for his tutoring, she expected that once she paid he would before long leave her. Furtively she would visit Panbin for exhortation yet he paid her no psyche for leaving him. Presently she was caught in a relationship she was unable to get away. Lina could either pay and face the results of her better half perhaps leaving or not pay and face the modesty, dissatisfaction, and disgrace in her by her family back home for her activities. Lina is a survivor of scholarly powerlessness. Opportunity was a significant donor in Fanlin activities as he could uninhibitedly assuage himself from Supriya. Concerning Lina, she was tied in for a long ride with the fiend. Fanlin can make sense of that Supriya was nothing but bad for him and that she would before long leave him. He decided and left her, and was free without her. Lina for this situation was trapped, she had no poise, she was embarrassed about herself and her activities, the main thing she could do was pay her spouses educational cost for taking of her debilitated dad back home. A few people are brought into the world with the third eye, for example, Fanlin, while others need it and endure and carry on with an existence with no opportunity. The most effective method to refer to Good Fall, Papers

How To Get Started on Twitter in 2013 - The Right Way

How To Get Started on Twitter in 2013 - The Right Way Make Money Online Queries? Struggling To Get Traffic To Your Blog? Sign Up On (HBB) Forum Now!How To Get Started on Twitter in 2013 The Right WayUpdated On 09/01/2018Author : Robert DupontTopic : TwitterShort URL : https://hbb.me/2CHjbqt CONNECT WITH HBB ON SOCIAL MEDIA Follow @HellBoundBlogTwitter is one of the most popular Social Networks in the world, and they continue to grow everyday with tens of thousands of new members. For many people and Businesses without experience, getting started on Twitter can be a daunting challenge. You could follow some popular accounts, a few peers and a couple of your friends, and hope they follow back.You could tweet something like “It’s 2013, and I’m just starting on Twitter! Follow the new guy and be astonished at my epic Twitter fails.” and hope at least a few people see it, laugh, and maybe even follow. You’re not here to read some awful Twitter failure story though â€" You want to SUCCEED, and that’s exactly what I’m going to teach you today!The question now is, How do I go from a nobody to a somebody, on Twitter?.First and foremost , there’s tweeting. You know, that little thing that you do with 140 characters on Twitter. Before anyone even wastes two seconds clicking that ‘Follow’ button, you have to convince them that you’re worth following â€" by tweeting.Let’s Start Tweeting!Cram as much quality content, useful information and awesome things that your followers would love, into 140 characters or less, and tweet it… often… but not too often. Don’t spam and don’t advertise â€" People hate that, and they’ll unfollow you before you can even blink.Pay attention to what’s happening with your followers, brand, industry or just around Twitter; Stay up to date. Take the time to reply, @mention, #hastag, and react to things as they happen. This will help you stay up to date on Twitter, help you gain more exposure as people reply back, and mention you, and give your followers more and more reasons to keep following you. You can even add some multimedia to your tweets by posting relevant photos, videos, music, links and more â€" Everyone love some mix and variety in their timeline. Share your passion, tweet that funny picture that you just found, link to that article that just blew your mind a few minutes ago; chances are, some of your followers might enjoy your passion, they may find that picture funny too, or they could have their mind blown away from reading that article as well.Tweeting isn’t an exact science, but these guidelines pretty much sum up what it means to tweet well and keep your followers happy. Twitter also offers a pretty awesome guide on how to get started here. Go ahead and bookmark that page, but keep on reading this article (aka The “Holy Grail” of Twitter Guides).So, now that you’ve started tweeting like a pro, you should also look like one too. Getting more Twitter Followers can sometimes be tricky, but here are a few techniques to boost your following effectively. You have a Facebook Account? Of course you do. Share it with your friends or fans on Facebook, and let them know you have a Twitter Account. Statistically speaking, more half of your friends or fans should be on Twitter as well. You have a website!? Thats perfect! Add a Twitter link, icon or even a widget on your website. Most of your website visitors or customers want to be taken advantage of, so do it! Let them know that youll keep them up to date with new products, promotions, discounts, news, funny pictures, or whatever youre into. You have an email list?! Well arent you Mr. Perfect. You should add a link to your Twitter Account to the bottom of every email you send. That lets your subscribers know you actually have a Twitter account (Surprise!), and lets them know where they can find you. You can always had a little incentive as well, which Ill get into later.You own a Store?! Why didnt you tell me sooner?! If youre trying to get started with a Company Twitter account, then simply print out a Follow Us on Twitter Vinyl Decal with your Twitter Username and a convenient QR (Quick Response) code. Stick it to your front door, next to a cash register or even in the bathroom, and watch as your everyday customers now become your followers on Twitter. You drive a CAR?! Youve got to be kidding! Throw a bumper sticker on that bad boy with your Twitter Username, and a big ol sign that screams Follow Me. I mean, it should work. People Tweet and Drive all the time PSA: Drive Safe Dont Text Tweet and Drive. Youre a nudist?! Well. tough luck. But if you dont enjoy walking around naked in public, then you most likely wear clothes. Use that to your advantage! Wear a custom Follow Me on Twitter T-Shirt and rock it out like you just dont care. Followertshirts.com and CafePress both have nice collections of custom Twitter Shirts to select from. You have a Business Card? Great! Once you run out, you should order new ones with your Twitter H andle (@YourUsername) alongside your email and phone number. This way, you can help peers and business contacts stay connected with you through Twitter.READ3 Tips for Successful Social Media Marketing in IndiaThose are just a few fun ways of getting more attention and followers to your Twitter Account, by taking advantage of the things you’re already doing on a daily basis. Now, here is when it starts getting interesting.Advertising and Promoting your Twitter Account online is another way of getting more Twitter Followers, and fast. Twitter now offers an Advertising Service to help get you more exposure to both your account and your tweets, right on Twitter. While this is a great approach, it can be costly and without a proper established credibility, it could be pretty ineffective when you first start off. Here are a few alternative approaches to advertising your Twitter Account, before jumping onto the Twitter Ads.Buy Twitter Followers. Wait… what? Yes, you heard right. Buying Twitter Followers can be a very effective strategy if approached correctly and moderately. Purchasing a few hundred to a few thousand followers is perfectly reasonable, and while it won’t get you the followers you really need, it will give your Twitter Account the allure of popularity and strengthen your social credibility. This will make your advertising and marketing campaigns much more effective, and essentially help convey prospective followers that you’re actually worth following. However, these type of services are a little controversial; some people see it as unethical while others praise it for being so fast. You can use these services, but remember that moderation is key.Sponsored Tweets is another creative approach to gaining exposure and followers, and is very similar to Sponsored mentions. Sponsoredtweets.com has over 50,000 tweeters, from celebrities to regular Twitter users, ready to tweet your custom message to their followers, for a fee. You can search and find Twitter users in your exact target market (the ones that have the followers you want) and have them recommend to follow you. This method is great and can be very effective, but I can only recommend it if you have a high budget or are running a business Twitter account.Blogging could be one of your pastimes, and it can also be your ticket to getting more Twitter Followers. If you blog regularly, whether on your personal blog, or a big company blog, you can easily take advantage of the thousands of people reading your article by simply mentioning your Twitter account in your “Author Biography”. I know when I’m reading a really good article, I always want to know more about the author and sometimes I’ll even want to stay connected â€" something I’m sure many people do. Now, by having a convenient link to your Twitter accounts in your biography, your readers will be able to easily find your Twitter account and follow if they want. Even if you don’t blog yet, it’s never to o late to start blogging (or guest blogging) about topics that interest you. You’ll start gaining that online exposure and recognition that won’t just help you grow your Twitter Following, but also help you in so many other avenues.Building your following, whether for your business or personal account, isn’t done overnight. It takes hard work, persistence and determination to become a success with anything, including Twitter. Don’t try to do everything at once and within a week. Take your time, tweet regularly and try some of the suggestions I mentioned. Remember, Rome wasn’t build in a day and neither will your loyal following.Tweet well, my friends.

Clothing Is Essential For All Members Of The Uk - 761 Words

Clothing is essential for all members of the UK population, which creates a constant demand for clothing to be retailed in the UK. London is a leading fashion industries in the world, which makes fashion and clothing a key trend for English consumers with the UK being a fashion capital, London, tourists from all over the world visit the UK specifically for its clothing retailers; which has allowed the market to continuously do well. Consumers in Britain require different types of garments for various occasions, for example job related attire, gym attire and special occasions, the market has a wide range of segmentations for different trends and faces a constant demand for new products especially as consumers change fashion through seasonal†¦show more content†¦Leading retail stores such as Topshop have already begun on using this new technology to gain more in store customers â€Å"as they screened its Topshop Unique catwalk show at the Oxford Circus flagship store. The sto re featured a vending machine that dispensed free beauty gifts. All customers had to do is tweet to @Topshop using #topshoptreats and the machine dispensed their free gift.’’ (Retail Innovation from London Fashion Week) The ongoing rollout of Internet access and social media networking is providing clothing retailers with new means of targeting and selling to consumers.†¨The popularity of British brands is giving UK clothing retailers a base from which to launch into new international markets.†¨As male fashion becomes more popular, retailers have the potential to tap into this currently underdeveloped market.†¨Retailers can benefit from participating in discounting days, such as Black Friday, as a means to encourage a surge in spending among shoppers. As online retailers are increasingly emerging offering more convenient of click-and- collect and home-delivery services, the physical retailers on the high street are in danger of becoming irrelevant in the changing marketplace. 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Mycenaean Civilization Essay - 1634 Words

Mycenaean Civilization The Mycenaean civilization flourished for four hundred years in the late Bronze Age before collapsing in to small bands of subsistence farmers. Some historians attribute this decline to ‘the Sea People’ who terrorized the Egyptians, Anatolians and the Hittites. But could a mysterious people who left no archeological proof of their existence really bring about the collapse of entire civilizations? Mycenaean civilization is characterized by the large palace-like buildings that they created. These huge structures contained dozens of rooms used for a variety of purposes. The rooms were used for everything from industry to meeting places and even sleeping quarters. The main function of these palatial buildings†¦show more content†¦Greek warriors depicted on Ramses III reliefs demonstrate that Mycenaean must have been carrying out raids . The Mycenaean economy depended on surplus in order to trade. To maintain that surplus, their society had to always be expanding. This made their social structure somewhat delicate and it eventually led to its collapse. The collapse was not because of a single invasion though, many factors led to it. Mycenaean civilization collapsed because of its overdependence on trade and its inherent aggressive nature and was catalyzed by invasions and natural disaster. The most common reason that historians give for the decline of Mycenaean civilization is that they were invaded by foreign peoples. The two most common people that are credited with this are the Dorians and the ‘Sea People.’ The Dorians moved in to Greece from the north-west in the late Bronze Age. Coarse pots, not as artfully crafted as Mycenaean pots, have been found in Korakou, Asine, and Mycenae . These pots have been found alongside Mycenaean IIIC pots and is evidence that the Dorians arrived in small waves and were integrated in to Mycenaean society . 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However, archaeological work in the past two centuries has confirmed the existence and greatness of this ancient civilization.? The major finds include the city?s walls, palace, and tombs.? These discoveries provide a connection to this ancient city and make it come to life again today. ?Our first knowledge of Mycenae came from Greek legends written by ancient poetsRead MoreEssay about Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer1702 Words   |  7 PagesHomer’s depictions led Schliemann to this site which correctly dated to the estimated time of the Trojan War. However, the riches dated back far before the Trojan War. Schliemann also felt it was necessary to uncover evidence of a contemporary civilization on the mainland of Greece to restore the account of the Achaean attackers of Troy. To find the locations, he used the Iliad, the Odyssey, and an account of Greece during the second century written by Pausanias, a Greek traveler and geographer ofRead Morecomparing and contrasting Odysseus and Percy Jackson879 Words   |  3 Pagesthan Percy was. Percy and Odysseus s self-confidence inequality was a result of their different cultural backgrounds. Odysseus lived between 750 and 650 B.C. in Ithaca, or the Mycenaean Civilization, where monarchy was extremely common. Odysseus grew up in the heritage of the monarchy and was appointed king of his civilization at a very young age, correspondingly boosting his self-esteem (Homer 14). Earth sounds my wisdom, and high heaven my fame.† said Odysseus proving his confident, rather boastfulRead MoreEpic Poems By Homer Tell The Tails Of Mighty Greeks1750 Words   |  7 Pagesactual kingdom within the Mycenaean civilization in Bronze Age Greece. The kingdom of Pylos in South Greece was centered in the town of Pylos and from there controlled its territory within the Messenia region of Greece. Peloponnesus is a peninsula connected to main land Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth in south Greece (fig. 1) (â€Å"Peloponnesus.†). Messenia is a region on the area of Peloponnesus in the south West (â€Å"Messenia.†). Within the ancient region of Messenia, the Mycenaean center of Pylos can beRead More The Ulu Burun Shipwreck: Underwater Archaeology at its Finest1545 Words   |  7 Pageswere from the island of Cyprus. The pottery was similar to those found throughout Canaan. Also in the wreck, there were logs of blackwood which grew in primarily Africa. There were also glass ingots that were the same as glass found in Egypt and Mycenaean Greece. In addition, there was ivory from elephants and hippopotamus primarily from Syria. Since all of these items were on one trading vessel, archaeologists were able to determine that there was â€Å"a vast trade network was well established amongRead MoreArt History: Mask of Agamemnon1769 Words   |  8 Pagesbe the mask of Ag amemnon. This has brought up endless debates about the authenticity of the mask. The mask is said to be one of Schliemanns forgeries. Some scholars claim the mask is too new or does not have any qualities that prove that it is Mycenaean. It is difficult to know whether the mask is authentic or fake. William A. Calder and David A. Traill are two archeologists who challenge the authenticity of the mask. They have come up with arguments that try to prove the mask is a forgery. SomeRead MoreThe Trojan War - Fact or Fiction?1674 Words   |  7 Pagesrevealed that all roads in the country led to Mycenae, indicating that it was the centre of Greek civilization and therefore also the political centre Ââ€" any expedition led against Troy would have been led by powerful Mycenae. From archaeological evidence gained over many years it is known that Mycenae had a warlike culture. Mycenaean warriors have been found buried with forty to fifty swords, and Mycenaean artifacts found have a common m ilitary theme. During the Bronze Age, there is evidence that theRead MoreEssay about The Historic Accuracy of Homer’s Iliad2923 Words   |  12 Pagesmisidentified the time period, being earlier than the Bronze Age which was around 1250 BC . Schliemann was one of the first archaeologists to uncover some of the truths to Homers Iliad such as identifying the layers of Troy and connecting evidence of the Mycenaean civilisation with the Trojan War which proves a number of things in the Iliad correct. Further studies have taken place since Schliemann’s death and have revealed even more amazing finds relating with the Trojan War. Homers Iliad is based on

Business Sustainability Water; Sun and Fuel

Question: Discuss about the Business Sustainability for Water, Sun and Fuel. Answer: Introduction In an ordinary thinking, one could think that businesses operate independently and have nothing to do with the society and the natural environment they operate in. Imagine a situation where there was no source of energy: water; sun and fuel. Businesses could not operate. This is because in one way or the other they depend on these important resources to run their operations. Interestingly, all these resources are from the natural environment and they are never enough. In a simple way, this contracts the idea of business independence and confirms that they depend on the natural environment for their survival. From my course, sustainable business the idea that business, society and natural environment cannot be isolated because at a certain point they all intersect is confirmed. Learned Concepts Personally, before joining this course, it did not make alot of sense to me that business activities could have some serious impact to the society and natural environment. It seemed a normal thing to scramble and acquire as more resources as possible. The more businesses depend on these resources without being responsible, the sooner they get depleted and they could not continue with their normal operations (Moyeen Courvisanos, 2012). This is because the resources will be exhausted. This is the reason as to why I have come to consider the concept of business sustainability to be very important. The following sustainability themes have helped grasp the concept of business sustainability: triple bottom line, six forms of capital used by business, six phases of business approaches to sustainability and businesses leading in engaging in sustainable business. Triple bottom line: According to Andrew (2006, pg 47) triple bottom line is an accounting concept used to measure the performance of corporate bodies including businesses, nonprofit making organizations and government corporations. Unlike the traditional way of measuring performance in terms of profits and returns to the business, this concept goes beyond that. It also takes into account, the environmental and social factors. This theme of business sustainability has helped me learn how important profits, people and natural environment are to a business. This is because I am now able to understand how the three, namely: business, people and natural environment interact. While the natural environment is a source of energy and raw materials, people provide labour and market for goods and services. This means therefore that the success of business greatly depends on how well the three are interrelated (Cameron Quinn, 2006). This understanding will help me pay particular attention to de veloping different measures to help protect environment and empowering the society in which the business operates. Six forms of capital used by business: Capitalism is not just about financial capital. This is because business does not only rely on finances. There are other kinds of capital and that include: external economic capital, natural capital, human capital, social capital and constructed capital. Because of this important theme, I am able to learn that business cannot depend on financial capital alone to survive. For instance, the business where require a physical environment where to build a factory. This may have an impact on the real estate price. In addition, human capital provides the required skill, knowledge and experience to run the business (Wells, 2011). In simple terms, at the end of the course I will be able to quantify and value the other forms of capital as I do with financial capital. This is to ensure that the business values other forms of capital as it does with financial capital. This is important in ensuring that the business is sustained and financial gains maintaine d as the society and natural environment gain (Potts, 2010). Six phases of business approaches to sustainability: From the knowledge gained in this unit, I have also come to learn that achieving business sustainability is not a reactive approach but rather a step by step approach. The specific phases to ensuring business sustainability include: rejection, non-responsiveness, compliance, efficiency, strategic proactivity and the sustaining corporation. Because of this, in practice I will be able to assess the specific factors that lead to rejection and non-responsiveness. This will help me establish measures to ensure compliance to sustainability while promoting organizational efficiency (Brown, 2011). This is because good measures ensure that an organization accepts regulations and guidelines and supports change. Businesses leading in engaging in sustainable business: It has also come to my attention that those companies that have good policies with regard to business sustainability are also successful and have been able to build strong world brands. Some of the companies leading in sustainability include: Ford, Starbucks, Alcoa, PepsiCo, General Electric and Nike among others (theGuardian, 2017). Many of these companies have strong accountability procedures with clear policies on human rights and natural environment protection. From these examples, I have been able to learn that the importance of developing strong policies directed at safety and diversity as well as stewardship. This is to ensure that the business not only strives to grow its profit margins but also supports the society and the natural environment in which it operates in through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities (Azapagic, 2003). Conclusion Business sustainability as a course is fundamental in helping the trainee in understanding various themes, concepts and challenges facing many organizations. This is because businesses operate, not in isolation but in support of other factors such as community and the natural environment. This course plays a significant role in providing background information with regard to business sustainability that a student can use in future practice to ensure that their businesses are sustainable and responsive to the environment they operate in. In general, to be sustainable, depends on the values that the business stands for and the prevailing regulations. References Andrew, S. (2006). The Triple Bottom Line. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Azapagic, A. (2003). Systems approach to corporate sustainability: A general management framework. Trans IChemE. Volume 81, Part B. Brown, L.R. (2011). World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse. New York: Earth Policy Institute. Cameron, K. S. Quinn, R. E. (2006). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework (rev. ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Moyeen, A. Courvisanos, J. (2012). Corporate social responsibility in Regional small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia. The Australian Journal of Regional Studies, 18 (3), 364-91. Potts, T. (2010). The natural advantage of regions: linking sustainability, innovation and regional development in Australia. Journal of Cleaner Production,18, 713-725. theGuardian. (2017, April 16). Best practices in sustainability: Ford, Starbucks and more, Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/best-practices- sustainability-us-corporations-ceres Wells, G. (2011). Sustainability in Australian Business: Fundamental Principles and Practice. Wiley, Australia.

Bernard Arnault Essay Example

Bernard Arnault Essay Example Bernard Arnault Paper Bernard Arnault Paper Bernard Arnault (born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH, a large luxury goods conglomerate consisting of over fifty luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi. According to Forbes Magazine, Arnault is the worlds 4th and Europes richest person, with a 2011 net worth of US$41 billion. Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer and the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as the diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs. Jacobs is currently the Creative Director of the French design house Louis Vuitton. In 1997, Jacobs was appointed Creative Director of luxury French fashion house, Louis Vuitton, where he created the companys first ready-to-wear line. Jacobs has collaborated with many popular artists for his Louis Vuitton collections. Vuitton has worked in conjunction with Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami and most recently American artist Richard Prince and rapper Kanye West. As of 2011, Jacobs remains the Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. Marc Jacobs has the midas touch and an innate ability to design clothes that people want to wear. Whether he designs a satchel or a shoe its always something everyone wants. From grunge to prom, from private jet to Tokyo nightclub, he has an outfit that suits. His workload includes Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc and Louis Vuitton a titanic selection of back to back collections but he still has time to build a world class contemporary art collection and dress in pigeon costumes at his annual fancy dress party. He has caught the fitness bug like so many male fashion designers. His muses include Sofia Coppola, Charlotte Rampling, Winona Ryder, Dakota Fanning, Victoria Beckham all have been photographed by Juergen Teller for Marc Jacobs ad campaigns (Mrs Beckham was hidden inside a Marc Jacobs shop bag after Juergen persuaded her that she was just a product). John Stuart, former CEO of Quaker, once said, if this company were split up, I would give you the property, plant and equipment and I would take the brands and trademarks and I would fare better. This commonly held belief illustrates the immense value of the brand today, but how do you create and manage a star brand? Perhaps this question is relatively easy for marketing and brand managers, but what about at board level, where the buck really stops? Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moi t Hennessy , the worlds largest maker of luxury goods), appears to have some of the answers. LVMH is a paradox in itself. A company that makes and sells products that nobody actually needs. A recipe for disaster? A managers nightmare? Far from it LVMHs combined revenue was estimated at $11 billion in 2001, with a market capitalization of $27 billion. With Arnault at the helm, this organization has gone from a small clothing manufacturer on the verge of ruin to a conglomerate of nearly 50 star brands including Dom Perignon, TAG Heuer and Christian Dior. According to Arnault, one key to success is his management technique. The process of creating a star brand begins with radical innovation and, for that, artists must be totally free from financial or marketing concerns. He firmly believes that If you think and act like a typical manager around creative people with rules, policies, data on customer preferences, and so forth you will quickly kill their talent. It is only later, when the product is being manufactured, that he introduces the strict, almost militant processes that ensure profitability. Take, for example, John Galliano and his dresses made out of newspaper surely the most impractical product imaginable. But when they were sent down the cat-walk, Arnault did not bat an eyelid. Consequently, when Dior sold dresses in newspaper-printed fabric for a considerable profit, Arnault was proved right. Star brands, in his opinion, are in themselves a paradox. They must simultaneously be timeless, modern, fast-growing and highly profitable. Arnault is keenly aware of the crucial role he plays in creating such an entity. He observes how many brands have the potential to be stars but they are poorly managed, and by this we are not talking of the marketing manager alone the problem often runs through the heart of most major organizations. If you continually pose these questions to consumers and analyze the findings, it becomes increasingly simple to pick up on small irritations or concerns that, in the future, could present massive problems for your brand. (2) See the brand as both an object and a person. Viewing the brand as an object increases the value of analysis and plays a fundamental and consistent role you are selling something to people. On the other hand, the brand as a person enables you to understand the delivery of this role and how well it fits into your corporate culture. This way you can become involved with the projection and promotion of the brand without ever losing sight of the bigger picture. (3) Look at brand promise to enable successful advertising.

The Transition of Russia to Capitalism

The Transition of Russia to Capitalism Russia, in an attempt to end communism and adopt capitalism, engaged herself in a number of reforms after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or the Soviet Union). Beginning late 1980s, the new nation started massive economic reforms aimed at relieving the state ownership of the process of production and encouraging private and corporate ownership of the process.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Transition of Russia to Capitalism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Backed by the west, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the Russian government, under Boris Yeltsin and his group of young advisors, started the Neo-Liberalism, a transition period that would see the country undergo massive privatization, liberalization and stabilization (Kosals, 2006). Nevertheless, Russia’s economy faced serious problems and failed to achieve the capitalism dream as planned, instead it fa ced rapid decline, increased corruption and reduction in vital state gains (Kosals, 2006). Scholars have identified a number of issues that faced the transition of the Russian economy to capitalism, causing the decline. Scholars state that Russia failed to achieve a dynamic capitalist economy and instead, it achieved a malevolent form of capitalism known as â€Å"crony capitalism† or â€Å"mafia capitalism† (Abdelal, 2001). The cause of the problem is based on the process of expropriation of the state assets initially controlled by the state during the Soviet Union era. A small group of people, probably less than 100, appropriated the state assets during the transition period. They were individuals with strong connection with powerful state officials and integrated into criminal groups or clans. They developed notorious oligarchs with an aim of making money through banking and trade (Guriev Rachinsky, 2005). To achieve this, they took the advantage of the poor legal f ramework developed during the transition period, which allowed them to siphon off enormous profits from the state assets and transfer them to offshore accounts (Guriev Rachinsky, 2005).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The economic advisors and policy makers behind the transition to capitalism failed to note the need for strong and effective legal frameworks for ensuring a smooth and directed transfer of state assets to private ownership (Abdelal, 2001). Russia failed to have in place effective anti-corruption laws, institutions and the will to deal with the oligarchs. It seems that both the western advisors and Yeltsin’s group of young advisors overlooked the important impact of developing a legal framework to regulate and monitor the transition (Abdelal, 2001). In turn, the oligarchs obtained huge profits through appropriation, especially by deriving gain s the state fuel and metal industries on the world markets. The primary problem was that the oligarchs made almost no investment in the country, leaving the country in a poor state of investment, even in the gas, oil and metallurgical industries that were supporting the economy (Abdelal, 2001). As a result, fuel and mineral production declined and the existing reserves increasing became depleted (Exhibit 1). Poor investment meant that exploitation of new ventures and reserves derailed (Kosals, 2006). Thirdly, the Yeltsin advisors overlooked the need for investing in the infrastructure, communication, transport and agriculture. Instead, much of the investments were in small industries such as services, catering and trade (Exhibit 2). The new capitalist enterprises were often small and unincorporated private companies that were unable to make large profits or pay high wage levels (Exhibit 3). The neoliberalism used in the transition period has also been cited as one of the major facto rs that caused the decline of the economy and failure to achieve a functional capitalism economy. In particular, the Russian government and policy makers applied neo-liberal shock therapy, where there was all shock and no therapy. In particular, price liberalization destroyed Russia’s working capital for its enterprises (Abdelal, 2001). The country also embarked on the liberalization of the administration-command system by dismantling it, but this only deprived investment finance while restrictive financial policies increased the cost of credit and over-valuation of the exchange rate.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Transition of Russia to Capitalism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Cheap imports were excessive in the Russian market because of the freeing of international trade, while lack of legal regulation of privatization allowed criminals to expropriate the valuable state assets (Abdelal, 2001). Who is to blame for Russia’s failed transition? In fact, a number of forces are to blame for the problems facing Russia’s transition to capitalism and the detrimental consequences on the economy and social system. First, Russia’s history is partly to blame, considering the complexity of the communist system between 1917 and 1989, where the Soviet Union controlled and owned the process of production (Abdelal, 2001). State corporations had been the key to economic development, which achieved its peak during the mid-20th century. In addition, the previous regimes (before the collapse of the USSR) concentrated more on military expenditure, especially during the cold war. The military consumed huge percentages of the nation’s budget, with the state of Russia being the major financier of the budget. The country was deprived of capital for investment as well as social development because the military and foreign affairs were more important to the cold war USSR than other sectors of the economy. Thus, it was necessary to ensure that these forces were controlled and dismantled before privatization. An in-depth analysis of the situation in Russia during the transition may indicate that the Yeltsin government is to blame for its lack of vision and ability to tackle the social and historical problems before embarking on rapid transition process. For instance, the regime failed to implement and institute effective legal frameworks for controlling and regulating the process of privatization (Abdelal, 2001). Had the country embarked on the effective legal system, the oligarchs would have lacked the opportunity to embezzle the country’s finances.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Yeltsin’s advisors, especially the group of young economists and political scientists hired by the presidency to oversee the transition process, failed to note the need for a slow but effective transfer of the economy from state control to private ownership (Abdelal, 2001). They believed in a rapid and haste transition, probably aiming to copy the west, without noting the negative impacts of rapid loss of state control of the transition process. In fact, critics of neo-liberalism have shown the differences between Russia and other formerly socialist/communist nations like China, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. These states embarked on a slow but effective process governed by law and retaining state strong state control of the market system during their transition periods. In addition, countries such as China used restrictive laws to preside over a dynamic transition based on a dynamic growth based on investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, education, health, mining, technology and processing industries (Exhibit 4). Thus, Russia’s inability to take such steps failed the transition process, eventually destroying the once vibrant economy. Moreover, Yeltsin’s lack of involvement of all the state organs such as the legislature and the continued allocation of huge sums of money to the military after the collapse of the Soviet Union contributed to the failures in the economic transition process. For example, Yeltsin’s government sought to structure the government while also undertaking the rapid transition system (Kosals, 2006). Politics inferred with the economic reforms during the period, especially after Yeltsin announced rapid reforms in the legislature, including a snap parliamentary election after dissolving the legislature. There massive protests as most parliamentarians objected the move and refused to leave the parliament buildings, but Yeltsin used the military to remove them. After these events, the political will to oversee a smo oth and effective transition failed greatly because the presidency was not willing to involve the legislature, which made it difficult to enact and implement effective laws to reduce the impact of the oligarchs (Kosals, 2006). The government further failed to impose hard budget constraints on several traditional enterprises while also failing to provide both direct and indirect credits as well as subsidies to the companies facing collapse. Years after the collapse of the communist union, the state bodies, especially at the local and regional levels, have continued to place bureaucratic limitations permitting such issues as private land ownership and agreements for shared resource exploitation (Kosals, 2006). Moreover, the government is yet to show significance commitment to encourage the establishment of the rule of law in order to secure property rights, trade contracts and reduce the degree of corruption. What should be done? To reverse the effects of the shock therapy and the fai led transition, Russia should embark on a new system governed by the rule of law. First, it must enact and implement strong and effective anti-corruption laws in order to secure the economy from distractors such as economic cartels that own the production process. Such laws should be used to control the private ownership of corporations and control of major economic sectors. Secondly, laws should be put in place to ensure investment in importance economic sectors such as banking, oil, metallurgic, communication, transport mining and processing industry. Infrastructure development must be given priority in the national budget in order to encourage large-scale investments while also cutting the amounts of resources spent on military expenditure (Kosals, 2006). In addition, the government must reduce the reliance on traditional enterprises and encourage foreign direct investment while also reducing the entry of cheap products from foreign markets in order to save the local industries f rom excessive losses. Bailing out of the loss-making corporations should further be enhanced in order to prevent economic crisis. Appendix Figure 1: Key economic indicators in the transition-era Russia Figure 2: The collapsing rate of investment during the transition period Figure 3: The increasing rate of unemployment during the transition era Figure 4: Russia’s GDP trend during the transition References Abdelal, R. E. (2001). Russia: The end of a time of troubles? Harvard, MA: Harvard Business School. Burawoy, M. (2002). Transition without transformation: Russia’s involutionary road to capitalism. Locating Capitalism in Time and Space: Global Restructurings, Politics and Identity, 269-90. Guriev, S., Rachinsky, A. (2005). The role of oligarchs in Russian capitalism. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(1), 131-150. Kosals, L. (2006). Interim outcome of the Russian transition: clan capitalism. Kyoto Institute of Economic Research Working Paper, 610.

Accounting Systems Design & Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Accounting Systems Design & Development - Essay Example Therefore, in an organization a steering committee plays the role of a decision maker (Shelly and Vermaat, 2010, p. 420). In the context of a system development project, the roles of the steering committee are as follows: The steering committee takes the responsibility for the feasibility of the project, developing the business plan. It ensures the scope of the project aligns with the need of the customers or the stakeholder groups. The steering committee also assists in the process of evaluation of project risks and the approaches of project risk management. The committee also provides guidance to those involved directly in the project. The guidance is offered mainly in the field of business issues related to the success of the project. (b) Discuss one advantage and one disadvantage of phased-in and direct switch-over implementation strategies. Solution: Phased-in implementation can be defined as a process of changeover from a preexisting system to a new one. The phased-in strategy has to move across a number of stages in order actually implement it. Advantages: Through the phased-in implementation process, it is possible to develop an overall implementation plan and further test it in small scale employing the production data. Apart from that, it also ensures establishing tractable and reasonable measures of success. Furthermore, it institutionalizes the process as it takes place. The changes in the process of implementation can be easily incorporated in the strategy through the process of familiarization. Also, the team members become the actual functional owners. The changes in this process are gradual and, therefore, easy to get accustomed to. Disadvantages: The biggest disadvantage of phased-in implementation strategy is that the process of implementation is very much time-consuming. Also, the implementation strategy is comparatively slower than the direct implementation strategy. The implementation process differs on a project-to-project basis. The impac ts of the implementation are not visible readily and have to wait till the results appear. In this implementation strategy, it is very difficult to maintain the momentum of the team members until and unless a situation of urgency is reached. Direct Switch over Implementation Strategy The direct switch over implementation strategy is about the direct switchover from the old system to the new system (ISRD group, 2006, p. 315). Some of the advantages and disadvantages are illustrated below: Advantages: The process of implementation is extremely fast as compared to the other forms of implementation strategies. Sometimes, the implementation process is completed within a week or is implemented overnight. Disadvantages: Sometimes, huge delays may occur due to absence of any scope of reverting. The system becomes unfamiliar to the user. It does not provide any option by which the old and new systems can be compared. 2. Using the Table provided, classify the following control activities as g eneral or application and explain your reasoning, (a) Employees have a password to gain access to the system. (b) When sales are entered the system retrieves customer details based on the customer number. (c) A check is performed to identify if all cheques can be accounted for. (d) Systems development is subject to signoff by the CIO before it can take place. (e) Virus definitions are updated daily. (f) The Sales Manager must approve all discounts

Critical Annotated Bibliography Tranexamic Acid Essay

Critical Annotated Bibliography Tranexamic Acid - Essay Example Amandip Singh is also a doctor in the department of anaesthesiology at DMCH. The researchers assert that tranexamic acid significantly decreases blood loss after operation and reduces the need for blood transfusion among students after undergoing total knee replacement (TKR).According to the researchers, Tranexamic acid, which is a synthetic derivative of amino acid lysine, is an effective antifibrinolytic agent. The acid is may reversibly block lysine-binding sites on the plasminogen molecules, thus hinder the formation of plasmin. Other researchers have showed increased use of tranexamic acid in orthopaedic surgery due to its safety, efficacy and low cost. The research was conducted in a tertiary health care facility after obtaining approval from the hospital heath ethics committee with informal consent taken from patients involved in the study. The researchers used randomized double-blinded study involving 40 patients scheduled to undergo unilateral TKR for osteoarthritis. Three s urgeons who had experience in the field to ensure validity of the test conducted the study. The first half of the population was injected with 10mg/kg of tranexamic acid. Conversely, the placebo group underwent the same procedure only that normal saline was used instead of tranexamic acid. ... It was concluded that routine administration of the acid was beneficial to patients undergoing operation. The limitation of the research is that it involved a limited number of populations. Also, the researchers did not monitor the plasminogen levels, D-dimer, thromboelastography, and fibrin degradation products. In addition, the researchers failed to measure hemoglobin levels of transfused blood and weigh sponges, which could have affected the accuracy of calculations. The text did not have sufficient clinical evidence and literature supporting the use of tranexamic acid in preventing preoperative blood loss. The relevance and usefulness of the text to my research is that it informed on the importance of the Tranexamic acid in reducing blood loss during operations in patients. Sekhavat, L., Tabatabaii, A., Dalili, M., Farajkhoda, T., & Tafti, A. (2009). Efficacy of tranexamic acid in reducing blood loss after cesarean section. The Journal Of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. Vol. 22(1), 72-75. The authors of this research journal are medical practitioners at the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Shahod Sehud Hospita, and Health Services, Yard, Iran. They have the ability to produce credible research that can be used in any academic research. The argument presented by the researchers is that cesarean section (CS) rate has been on the increase among women delivering and that CS posse many complications as compared to the normal vaginal birth due to complications related to postpartum bleeding. The medications that have been used to reduce bleeding include prostaglandins, oxytocin, and methylergonovine. The researchers however feel that tranexamic acid, a synthetic derivative of the amino acid lysine that has been applied for several years in the

Cultural Tourism in Egypt: An analysis

Cultural Tourism in Egypt: An analysis Introduction Cultural tourism can be considered the most fascinating type of sightseeing as it is the witnessing of the real elements which have contributed in making a country the way it is in the present day. It gives the newcomers to a country an opportunity to have a profound insight of the true nexus of the nation which consists of its heritage, traditions, history and the relics and buildings which are the living reminders of that country’s forefathers and their deeds. Experiencing a country’s heritage is a unique experience in itself and a tourist is bound to get a completely new and interesting perspective if their tour is planned in a way which includes the visiting of attractions and places which reflect culture and values of the inhabitants rather than the usual trips to the best shopping malls. Apart from the entertainment factor, cultural tourism can serve as an extremely informative eye opener for a tourist as they encounter indigenous people with customs and lifestyles that were beyond their imagination before and come across strange and amazing architecture which seems impossible to be formed out of human hands. Cultural tourism makes one realize the grandeur and diversity of the world and develops a stronger appreciation of their own traditions and ethnicity and the fact that how important they are in order to define one’s true roots. Moving on from the individual development factor of cultural tourism it is also very beneficial for the development of a country’s economy too. In the recent years it has become an increasingly popular sector in tourism industry throughout the world and countries are financially strengthened by it. It helps create more employment opportunities, promotion and advancement of the local industries, an increase in the overall income of the country and provides the resources to maintain and protect the traditional and historical treasures of the country (Ibrahim, 2011). Cultural Tourism in Egypt Egyptians are a very ancient and culturally rich civilization and demonstrates it proudly through the astounding architecture, relics and artifacts that are dotted all over the country. The country has gone through various eras of cultural evolution as it passed from one set of administrators to another starting from the rule of Pharaohs to Greco-Roman period in 332 B.C to the byzantine period and ultimately the Islamic conquest of Egypt in A.D 624. This makes Egypt an ideal place for cultural tourism as it has no end of attractions and history for the tourists to enjoy and the traditions of its people are still a living breathing reality which is waiting to be unearthed and experienced. To classify the expansive amount of tourist attractions in Egypt it would be appropriate to narrow them down to two categories: tangible assets and intangible assets. Classification of the Tourist Assets Tangible Assets Tangible assets are, as apparent from the term tangible, those assets which one can be â€Å"touched† or to put it more appropriately, physically exist. When speaking of the physical assets of Egypt’s tourist attractions that would include the historical buildings, ruins, museums, religious structures, ancient cities, opera houses and the typical traditional markets or bazaars that are still held in the exact same way that they have been since thousands of years in the past. The mighty pyramids of Giza, Valley of the Kings, temples and mosques, the Sphinx and Abu Simbel are renowned symbols of Egypt’s history. The ancient cities including Alexandria and Thebes are bursting with sites like the underground library of Alexandria, temple of the sun god Amun Ra, sanctuaries of Karnak, Museum of Egyptian antiquities and much more. Millions of tourists are frequent visitors to these sites each year for both entertainment and academic purposes and this makes these ancient relics the most valuable asset of the tourism industry of the country. Intangible Assets These are the exact opposite of tangible assets. Though these assets do not have a physical form they still play an important role in influencing the cultural promotion of the country. The intangible assets of Egypt are its traditions, rituals, centuries old religious beliefs and the knowledge and skills of its people. Egyptian traditions are a mixture of Arabian, Turkish and European countries as the forefathers of the civilization belonged or had travelled to different places around the world and brought back several beliefs and practices with them. But mainly the country is embedded in the rich and colorful culture of Middle East due to its geographical location (Jansen-Verbeke et al, 2010). The native tongue is Arabic and only six percent of the population are followers of Christianity while the majority is of Muslims. It is interesting for tourists to explore the festivities and ceremonies, taste the traditional foods, admire the vibrant patterns that are common in clothing in the Arabic world and purchase the extremely beautiful and intricately designed handicrafts which are available in the local bazaars. These are all the intangible assets of Egypt’s tourism industry because the visitors are attracted by them and eager to observe and personally experience these activities or to buy these artifacts, which is profitable to the native public and on a larger scale is financially advantageous for the country. Attractions There is an abundance of historical places and culturally relevant places in Egypt and it is extremely difficult to just select a few for description here as each attraction has a more fascinating background than the last. However as it is necessary to limit the number of attractions that need to be mentioned, the chosen few which are being presented will be the most popular and worth experiencing and seeing when touring the country. The pyramids of Giza: The awe inspiring conical resting places of the ancient kings are something which is inseparable from the concept of Egypt. It used to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World and was finished building around 2560 BC by the Pharaoh Khufu. Situated outside Cairo the three largest pyramids belong to the Pharaohs Menkaure, Khafu and Khafre the father, son and grandson. These are surrounded by smaller tombs of their female family members and the mastabas or trapezoid shaped tombs of other relatives. The impressive and terrifying figure of the Sphinx is also a part of this collection which poses as guard to the entrance of the pyramid of Khafre. Temple of Luxor: The beautiful temple is erected close to the banks of the mighty River Nile and stands in the midst of modern architecture of the city of Luxor. The temple of Luxor was built in about 1400 BC when Rameses II and Amenhotep III ruled and was in dedication to the gods Khonsu and Amun Ra and the godess Mut. During the period of its prime the temple was the location where the Opet or late summer festival was celebrated. An annual banquet was held in which there was a large procession of religious priests who brought in the ceremonial representation of the God Amun Ra on a boat across the Nile and the god was then supposed to be reunited each year with the goddess Mut.The temple is excessively enormous in size and has several huge monumental entrance ways that are approximately seventy yards long and are flanked by obelisks and humongous statues. The mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun The Ibn Tulun is an expansive and beautiful structure. The mosque was built in 879 AD by Ahmed Ibn Tulun the founder of the Tulunid Empire of Egypt. The mosque was created out of mud bricks and occupies about 304,812 square feet of land. It comes third on this list of world’s largest mosques. It is also one of the most ancient mosques in Egypt which is still in its original shape after all the years. An enclosure surrounds the mosque from three sides and there are also little courtyards that are called ziyadas which were created for the purpose of providing privacy and to separate the sacred worshipping space from the world outside. These are bordered by tall archways and broad pillars that are decorated by elaborately carved motifs. The mosque’s minaret is a thing of beauty itself and features a spiral staircase and has three floors each of which are of different shapes. The library of Alexandria: The building of the library is itself not a marvel built by ancient Egypt architects as it is structure that was erected in modern times but that does not lower its importance as a historical tourist spot as it houses the most classical antique volumes which range back to the third century and were originally maintained and managed by the Ptolemy family. It is considered the most expansive and complete library of its era and the collections consist of more than seventy thousand scrolls. The library has performed the role of being the sourceof information for the great philosophical thinkers and literary individuals who have helped shaping the whole world. The library of Alexandria is the precise spot where the circumference of planet earth was measured by Eratosthenes, the Julian Calendar was designed by the help of Julias Caesar and the theories of geometry were established by Euclid. The original building of the library was destroyed during the Civil War that happened in the third century. The government had a new structure built in 2002 close to the site which was occupied by the old library building. The present day Bibliotheca Alexandria has eleven cascading floors and an Egyptian antiques museum is situated in its basement. Evaluation of the Attractions The pyramids of Giza are a legendary landmark of Egypt and emanate the true culture of the country and how it survived the tyrannical reign of the pharaohs who although were promoters of great architecture and aesthetic values but all at the expense of their subjects and the poverty stricken slave society. The pyramids are the one of the major tourist attractions of Egypt and draw millions of tourists each year. They are usually included in the main sightseeing points that are sure to be visited by tourists when travelling through Egypt (Ibrahim, 2011) . Revenue gained from tourism (De Lapp, 2011) However the thing that is disappointing to most tourists is that there are certain very strict rules upon visiting the pyramids. The large pyramids are completely closed for tours commonly and at times when they are open the visitor count is limited to only 150. The best way to buy a ticket without any hassle is to get it during early morning. Also the pyramids can prove very difficult to climb once the visitors are inside. These problems need to be maintained and efficiently managed in order to raise even higher the amount of tourists that come to see the site. Luxor as a city which has both modern and historical architectures is also magnet for both kinds of tourists, the ones who are more interested in visiting the present day malls and entertainment centers and the ones who are most interested in viewing the ancient side of the city and relishing in the glory of its past (De Lapp, 2011). The mosque is also among the favorite of tourists who want to be culturally informed as it reflects the ancient history of the Islamic empire and the artistic minds of the ancient architects which built the mosque so innovatively and according to an organized and well managed plan. The Library of Alexandria does not lose its charm either even if it is a relatively new building because underneath its roof is the hub of all the culture, belief and evolution of the Egyptian civilization in the form of its millions of dusty volumes and scrolls (De Lapp, 2011). All these attractions and more are what make up the cultural tourism industry of Egypt. Currently cultural tourism represents almost 30 percent of the Egyptian GDP and nineteen percent of Egypt’s total revenue gained from foreign currency. (De Lapp, 2011) Conclusion Cultural tourism is an important sector relating to the economical growth of Egypt and has an influential role in the increase of employment, heritage preservation and strengthening the financial background of the country. Due to these factors the ministry of tourism has formed a plan to broaden the capacity of the local tourism industry and to become competitive on a global level in order to increase its shares in the global market and to attract even more tourists to Egyptian cultural heritage. Egypt is already a country steeped with history and diversifying cultures and there will always be room and scope for newer innovations regarding tourism and tourist attraction. Its vast number of attractions can be improved and managed better in order to continue drawing more tourists each year. References DeLapp, K. M. (2011). Ancient Egypt as Europes Intimate Stranger.At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries,77. http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/delapppaper.pdf Ibrahim, M. A. (2011). The determinants of international tourism demand for Egypt: panel data evidence.European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences,30, 50-58. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/220159244_The_Determinants_of_International_Tourism_Demand_for_Egypt/file/8d1c84f871201514f5.pdf Ibrahim, Z. (2009). Tourism development and the environment on the Egyptian red sea coast https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/handle/10012/4268/Ibrahim_Zainub.pdf?sequence=1 Jansen-Verbeke, M., McKercher, B. (2010). 15 The tourism destiny of World Heritage cultural sites.Edited by Douglas G. Pearce and Richard W. Butler, 190. http://macbride.org.uk/Goodfellow/archive/202027May.pdf#page=202

Imagery in Ragged Dick Essay -- essays papers

Imagery in Ragged Dick Imagery plays a big part in the success of a novel. Different writers have different styles. The good thing about imagery is it makes room for the reader to put things together. The reader is allowed to interpret the story the way that they like. "Ragged Dick", Horatio Alger, Jr. did a great thing with imagery. While reading the novel readers had a change to envision many things that were mentioned in each chapter. Algar interconnected the appearances of the main character to his living arrangement. He also connected these things with the character's attitude. "Ragged Dick" is about a young boy, name Dick Hunter, who earns his living by shining shoes in New York. He is a very street-smart young boy. All thought the story *censored* was treated according to his appearance. In the beginning of the novel Dick was working on someone shoes when he overheard a conversation between a young boy name Frank and his uncle. Frank wanted to take a tour around the city but his uncle was to busy. Dick interrupted the conversation and said he will give Frank a tour. Before they left for the tour Frank thought Dick need a new suit. While Dick gave Frank a tour, Frank gave Dick something's to think about. He talked to Dick about everything from shining shoes to where Dick was going to live. Dick did not have a home. "His bedchamber had been a wooden box half full of straw . . ."(pg4). He ate whatever he could afford. Looking at his clothes one would assume he was poor. " His pants were torn in several places, and had apparently belonged in the first instance to a boy two sizes larger than himself. He wore a vest, all the buttons of which peeped a shirt which looked as if it had been worn a month. ... ... little better. " I think we can afford to leave Moot Street now," he continued. " This house isn't as neat as it might be, and I should like to live in a nicer quarter of the city."(P184) Dick agreed and decided the sooner the better. He wanted to start the very next day, since he retired from boot blacking. In society today appearances are very important. People associate nice clothes with money. You can see in Ragged Dick that is not always the case. In the beginning of the story Dick did not really care where he lived but after he got new clothes he started thinking differently. He wanted to live in a better place. The connect Algar make was good. It makes people aware of the things we do. People concentrate to much on appearances and not personality. I do believe nice clothes may make a person feel better about them, partly because people treat them better.

Globalisation of GAP Essay

An investigation into how Gap inc. has expanded into global markets and to what extent has this been successful? Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris Fisher. The name came from the growing differences between children and adults, called â€Å"the generation gap. The Fishers had been frustrated with the lack of decent customer service and fashionable styles at other retailers. One of the original mottos of the company was â€Å"Levi’s for Guys and Gals.† Around 1982, Gap began focusing on its own private label clothing and by 1991-1992, the company had stopped carrying Levi’s. As of April 2, 2005, Gap Inc. had approximately 150,000 employees and operated 3,005 stores worldwide. Donald Fisher retired as Chairman of the Board in 2004 and was replaced by his son, Robert Fisher. The Fisher family collectively owns about 25% of the company. Since its founding in 1969, Gap has provided its customers with clothing and accessories that enhance their personal style. What began as one brand has grown to include Gap, examples of Gap brands are GapKids, babyGap, GapBody and GapMaternity. By providing great style, value and service, Gap has become one of the world’s most recognized brands with more than 1,450 stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and France. Today, Gap Inc. is one of the world’s largest specialty retailers, with more than 3,100 stores and 2006 revenues of $15.9 billion. Gap operate five of the most recognized clothing brands in the world including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Forth & Towne and Piperlime. The culture and ethics of Gap can be seen from the missions statement provided by Gap. Guided by a shared Purpose, we’re able to work together more effectively and contribute to Gap Inc.’s success in a more meaningful way. Inspired by the same Values, we reflect the character, spirit and beliefs of Gap in everything we do. Driven to exceed with the right Behaviors, we work purposefully as individuals, as teams, as a company, to be the best we can be and achieve our vision for growth. Our Purpose Every day, Gap Inc. honors the original reason for founding this company: We’re passionate that you be you. We make it easy for you to express your personal style throughout your life. Our Values To achieve our purpose, we create an environment that encourages our teams to act with integrity and live by the highest standard of ethics. We listen, we respect each other’s time, we value the contributions each of us makes. In a spirit of open-mindedness and trust, we are open to a diversity of ideas, approaches and points of view-across teams and across divisions. We believe in quality and delivering the best result possible, reflecting the realities of price, time and what customers truly value. We find ways to put into balance things that seem to be at odds-work and life, commerce and social responsibility, rapid response and a planful approach. One of the main aims for a business is to grow, once a business has achieved this in it’s own market expanding into foreign markets can be very expensive but profitable. Businesses which operate in more than one country are multi nationals examples of multi nationals are Coca Cola, Sony, Mcdonalds and Gap inc. these businesses have successfully expanded into foreign markets and are now a global brand which is enviable to any business. There are various reasons why companies want to expand into foreign markets. Firstly the world consists of over 6 billion people this is a huge customer base for companies to try to exploit. More potential customers could result in increased sales and revenue because of the larger target market. This could therefore increase profit and even further growth for the business. As a business grows economies of scale can be an essential tool for businesses to take advantage of. Economies of scale allow businesses to buy in bulk and so pay less for each unit, lowering costs for the business. On a global scale the economies of scale the business could benefit would be far greater than that if they just operate in their own domestic market. Also if a business operates in more than one domestic market the risk is spread over several markets. Therefore if one market is not doing well for the business other foreign markets could make up for this. Spreading the risk would be very beneficial as the business would not be reliant on one market. Finally, investing in emerging markets businesses would gain the opportunity to sell to people who’s income are growing strongest and fastest, creating a brand and customer loyalty which would benefit the company greatly when the country further develops. There are however drawbacks and disadvantages to entering into foreign markets. Firstly language can be a major problem in foreign markets. If the business is not familiar with the language of the new market it can cause problems in communicating with employee’s directors and employees. This could then lead to problems in making decisions and implementing any changes. Also setting up in a new market can have very high start up costs. This could include a variety of things ranging from buying land to building factories for production. These high capital costs could inhibit the company from expanding as they may be reluctant to borrow finance. Advertising in the new market can be very expensive, as the company tries to create a brand and gain a competitive advantage TV commercials or adverts in newspapers or the radio could cost the company millions as the advertising campaign may need to be a long term investment. In new markets research and development can also be very expensive as learning about the new market and customers is essential to do well in the market. The company must invest heavily in the research and development as it would be crucial to supply the market with what they need, not just relying on what has been provided in their own domestic market. The government in the new country can also pose a problem. Different laws tax and interest rates can cause a problem for the company. The business could have to pay higher amounts of tax or change some regulations in the company to comply with laws in the country. Decision making can be very difficult. If the head quarters of the business was in America and they had just expanded into China implementing decisions and making decisions would be made so much harder. Overall operating in another market can cost the company millions in a variety of areas. When making the decision the company must take into consideration the opportunity costs of the expansion and not neglect the domestic market. Entering into new markets involves a great deal of risk there are many problems associated with selling in an unknown markets. Businesses attempt to overcome some of these problems in a number of ways, Firstly the company could decide to use joint ventures. This involves the business working together with another company in the country they wish to expand into. Both businesses will expect to gain from the venture. The partnership includes the original company who then teams up with a local company in the foreign market who has the knowledge of the market and already has established distribution links etc. An example of joint ventures could be Coca Cola who have entered joint ventures with bottling companies. They trade brand power for local knowledge of the distribution system. Joint ventures can be very good for companies, they can gain local knowledge without having to spend millions of pounds on research and development. Also initial capital costs would be reduced because you wouldn’t have to build factories or buy land because of your partner company. There is a greater chance of success in the foreign market and the risk is reduced for the company. From the research I have done I have not found any evidence of Gap entering into joint ventures, this could be due to the following negatives of the concept, firstly having to work with another business could be problematic. You may not be familiar with new company and so trust would have to be built between the two businesses in order for the partnership to be effective. The cultures of the two businesses could also be different causing difficulties in situations such as ethics. Decisions would also have to be made together; coming to a collective decision could be difficult. Finally any profits would have to be shared between the two companies, whereas if the original business had set up alone it would receive 100% of the profits. Obviously Gap would have taken into consideration the positives and the negatives about joint ventures but found that the disadvantages were outweighing the advantages. The second idea the business could use would be franchising. For many businesses this is the best way into international markets. Franchises are legal agreements by which local businesses are allowed to set up using the name, logo and trading method of a well known company. They gain all the benefits of a strongly branded product in return they pay a lump sum, percentage of the annual turnover and provide local knowledge. Examples of franchising would be Mcdonalds who have allowed some of their stores to be franchised. I have found evidence relating to various franchised Gap stores around the world. Gap has entered the franchise industry in order to develop its growth in Asia. Gap has signed a franchise agreement with Singaporean group FJ Benjamin Holdings which will see stores opened in Singapore and Malaysia under the Gap and Banana Republic brands. Under the agreements, F J Benjamin will hold exclusive rights to operate Gap and Banana Republic branded clothing and accessories stores in Singapore and will hold exclusive rights to distribute Gap and Banana Republic products in Malaysia. This franchise agreement between Gap and F J Benjamin demonstrates the company’s first step toward expanding the Gap and Banana Republic brands via international franchises. F J Benjamin plans to open about 30 stores in Singapore and Malaysia by 2010, opening the first Gap store in 2006 and the first Banana Republic store in 2007. â€Å"We are bringing Gap and Banana Republic to more customers throughout the world,† Quote from Andrew Rolfe president of Gap inc international. Gap Inc. will gain F J Benjamin’s retail expertise but will provide access to Gap and Banana Republic’s world-renowned clothing and accessories. F J Benjamin will purchase merchandise from Gap Inc. or suppliers designated by Gap Inc. and must keep to Gap Inc.’s quality standards to protect the reputation of the Gap and Banana Republic brands. This year Gap has also brought more franchise partners on board in United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, and plans to have 90 Gap and Banana Republic stores in Southeast Asia and the Middle East by 2010. The second franchising deal that Gap inc have signed is with the Al Tayer group-a leading business in the Middle East. Al Tayer will introduce Gap and Banana Republic brands into five key markets in the Middle East. The Group plans to open about 25 Gap and about 10 Banana Republic stores by 2010. The first Gap stores will open in the later part of 2006 and the Banana Republic stores are scheduled to open in 2007. Under its agreement with Gap Inc, Al Tayer Group will hold exclusive rights to operate Gap and Banana Republic branded clothing and accessories stores in United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and exclusive rights for Gap in Oman. Gap Inc. will again provide access to Gap and Banana Republic’s world-renowned clothing and accessories in return Al Tayer Group’s expertise in building retail outlets in the Middle East. Gap have entered two franchising deals already, if these were to succeed I would not predict against them entering them in the future. The advantages to gap for using franchise deals are as follows; any risk for the business is taken away as someone else will be running the business. The company will be provided with a lump sum and a percentage share of the annual turnover. This lump sum can be invested into other areas of the business such as advertising or research and development. The percentage of the annual turnover could also be retained profit. The business grows quickly and easily a global brand can be created effectively as long as people are willing to buy franchises in your business. Although there are various advantages the company could benefit from there are also disadvantages which could harm the business, actions by the franchised stores could harm the reputation of the company, because they have no control in the market they give full responsibility to the franchisee that could let you down. Also only some of profits are given to the company they have to share with the franchisee. This annual turnover they do receive would probably be significantly lower than the stores gross profit annually. The final growth strategy which could be used by Gap would be licensing, A license allows a business to make, produce and market a product or use the production method, which is protected by copyright or patent. This means that an innovative company can expand into international markets without actually having to invest in locally based production facilities. An example of licensing would be Heineken lager which is brewed under license by Whitbread’s in the United Kingdom. From research I have found that as well as franchising Gap have also entered licensing agreements. In 2006 Gap announced a licensing agreement between themselves and Safilo group. Safilo group are the leader in high-end and luxury eyewear. The agreement includes Banana Republic-branded prescription frames and sunglasses. The agreement includes the design, development, production and distribution of a collection to be launched by the end of 2007 in the United States and Canada. Terms of the agreement include a five-year commitment. The agreement represents the first time Banana Republic will sell its products outside its own distribution channels. â€Å"Their ability to transform eyewear concepts into luxury products is a great complement to our own expertise in extending the Banana Republic brand.† Quote from Marka Hansen president of banana republic, highlighting that both the companies entering into the licensing agreement will benefit from the others expertise in that relevant field. Banana Republic are not familiar with the design or production of sunglasses and so have taken the opportunity to find a leader in the sunglasses market to do this for them. Safilo will benefit from the well know brand identity of Gap inc and therefore the agreement should benefit both companies dramatically. These are not the only benefits that both companies could gain; capital costs of setting up in a foreign market are reduced because the licensee will have to produce the product. Also no local knowledge will be needed because the business will not have to sell in the area. This can save millions in research and development for the company. Finally the risk of setting up in a foreign market is reduced and the business grows quickly and easily, a global brand is created. Having these benefits would be great for both the companies involved in the licensing agreement, but as with all the strategies there are downsides to entering these agreements, somebody else will be running your business you have to trust others will the reputation and brand of your company. If the licensee does something to harm your reputation it could reduce sales. Finally the profits from the new market go directly to the licensee. The business only receives a lump sum for selling the license. This could prove disastrous if the market does very well and profits are alot higher than expected. Assessing which strategy will be best in order to be profitable and best for the business can be very difficult. Making the correct decision on which strategy to use when entering a foreign market could be the difference between success and profits in that market or complete failure. Gap inc. is a global brand, and owns stores around the world, as the table shows below. The company has entered into these markets using different strategies, and so therefore some have been successful and others have not. I will know analyze the strategies used by the company in order to create a global brand and then evaluate whether this has been successful. Country Total number of stores United Kingdom 240 Canada 236 France 54 Japan 153 Germany 20 Source, http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070402 Gap has entered various markets using company owned stores and deciding not to use any of the strategies above. This strategy was used in several European market such as Germany the UK and France. These markets however have not proved as profitable as had hoped, this lead to Gap exiting the German market. Gap has operated in the UK since 1987 and in France since 1993. Overall, Gap’s total revenue in the year ended in January, 2006, was $16.02 billion, down 1.5%. Last year, Gap’s sales in Britain and France combined fell 6.1%, to $825 million. Together, those two countries account for about 7% of Gap’s total revenue. Source- Gap inc Annual report 2006 Source – http://finance.google.com/finance?q=GPS The above diagram shows the share price for Gap inc. since 1987. The graph shows that the share price was relatively low until 1997 when there was a dramatic increase ranging until 1999. We can see that in 1987 when the Gap invested in stores in the UK the share price was $2.87. Even after entering such a mass market and increased possible customers which should inevitably lead to increased sales and therefore profit, in the following years the share price did not reflect this. After four years in the UK market the share price had only increased minimally to $3.37. A larger increase in the share price would have been expected if the sales had gone as predicted. The same can be said about the share price when the company expanded into the French market in 1993, the share price was $4.38 after three years in the market the share price had only increased minimally again to only $6.37. These figures show that there has been an increase in the share price of Gap after the introduction into new markets, but not the kind of increase that was expected. Because Gap was introduced into the new markets by company owned outlets, the start up costs would have been very high and so therefore the company would have expected to have high sales to try and regain some of these costs. The inevitable ending to the Gap stores in these markets would be similar to that of Gap stores in Germany were after years of poor sales the company withdrew from that market Gap was forced into selling shops in Germany to one of their main competitors, Swedish company H&M. The lack of profits and growth in the European markets is highlighted in the quote below. â€Å"Gap International store sales were negatively impacted by weak product acceptance in Europe. Our total store sales increase was due to the 130 new store openings, a majority of which occurred during the second half of the year.† Source – Quote from Gap’s annual report of 2006 This quote highlights the problems faced in the European markets. Gap may have used their experiences and lack of success in the European market to improve their chances in other emerging markets such as Asia. This may have played a part in swaying the decision to choose licensing and franchising as a source of international growth rather than try to go it alone as they did in Europe. Gap’s problems in this market could be down to a number of reasons, for example poor research and development not understanding what the consumer needs or poor pricing strategies. The two franchising agreements between Gap and F J Benjamin Holdings and Al Tayer group are relatively new. The franchises are not trading and so the extent to which this has been successful can not be evaluated. A leading competitor and one of Gaps main rivals in the clothing industry is Spanish company Zara a well branded company known all around the world, has successfully franchised it’s company and is now reaping the rewards. For example a franchised Zara in Helsinki was opened in April 2002 and sales got off to a flying start and were better than predicted. Spanish group Inditex owners of Zara have reported a rise in profits of 14.6 percent, thanks to â€Å"outstanding† sales at its Zara chain. Sales for the three months ended 31 July rose net income at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½144.7 million, up from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½123.6 million last year. These figures from Zara show the type of sales and net income Gap must achieve for there franchise to be a success. Gap can look at Zara’s success at franchising and take on board how they have achieved there success. Sources, http://www.stockmann.fi/portal/english/news_releases/?year=2002&id=880709 http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/news/inditex.htm Again as with the franchising agreements the licensing agreements Gap have entered are relatively new and in the start up phase with the Safilo group. The products are set to be launched towards the end of 2007 and so figures on how successful they have been obviously cannot be researched. Evaluation. Gap inc. have or are soon going to be using various growth strategies in order to try and increase sales and profits around the world. From my research I have found that the first main strategy used by Gap was to open company owned stores in Europe. I found that this was a partly bad decision. I found that Gap found entering into the European market very difficult finding it hard to please the customer and increase sales. As I said earlier Gap’s intention’s when opening stores in both France and the UK were positive however the share price does not suggest this. Both these markets can be potentially lucrative however in the following years the share price did not reflect this-it only increased minimally. Gap found both of these markets hard to enter, but there hardest task was the German market. Here poor product acceptance and poor sales lead to Gap closing operations in Germany and selling their stores to clothing rival H&M. This highlighted the problem for Gap in the European market and if sales continue the way they are at the moment drastic changes need to be put in place or operations in the UK and French market may also have to be closed down. Entering into foreign markets using company owned shops as Gap did, has positives and negatives, setting up can costs millions of pounds in start up costs buying land or having to buy retail shops in city centers can be very expensive. Research and development is also a major factor, because the company can not rely on treating every market as there own domestic market every country will have different tastes and fashions and will have a different view on how much they are willing to pay. Finding this out is crucial for the business to succeed. Even though there are negatives there are some positives all profits made in the new market go directly to the company it doesn’t have to be shared, and also the company’s risk is more spread out so that the company does not have to rely on only one market others can make up for one market doing poorly. From my research I can evaluate that the decision to go into the European market using company owned shops was a bad idea. All of the markets entered are struggling and Gap has already had to exit one of them. Using company owned shops has its advantages but I think that Gap has not benefited from these; this could be for a number of reasons. Even though two of the markets entered are still operating I would predict that if sales do not increase then Gap would be forced into exiting these also. I believe that the franchising agreements set up with both groups in the Middle East is a positive move for Gap. I think the area knowledge that the groups will bring will help Gap succeed in this market were it failed in the European market. Using the Zara case study I found that there previous franchises have been extremely successful and increased profits massively for the parent company Inditex. Gap needs to seriously consider how and why Zara’s franchise agreements have worked and why they have been successful and then implement this into there own agreements. Gap and the franchisee groups could benefit from the agreements massively for a number of reasons, any risk for the business is taken away as someone else will be running the business. A lump sum is received for the franchise and more importantly high capital costs will not be needed because someone else would have to invest the money. This makes this a positive because there are less opportunity costs as less money would have to invested into selling abroad. This money could be used to strengthen the foothold in the company’s domestic market as they cannot afford to neglect this whilst trying to expand. However there are also negatives of this strategy which Gap would have to consider mainly that Gap would not have any control over the franchised stores, the owner could tarnish the reputation of the company on a global scale through one action which would drastically affect the company. Gap would have to ensure the franchisee was the right person for the culture and ethics in the company and a partnership built on trust must be formed. Overall I think that franchising would be an excellent way of growing for Gap. I believe looking at the success of Zara using this strategy that Gap will succeed in the Middle East with the franchised agreements. Gap must be careful however that the Al Tayer Group and F J Benjamin are the right groups to push the Gap brand globally.