Spaans Cookie Company

Spaans Cookie Company Competitor Analysis and Competitive Landscape for Pumpkin Spice Cookie Spaans Cookie Company has expanded, and sells its products not only in California, but also in other states. However, there are many Companies that compete with Spaans, which also bake and sell cookies. These companies include the Great American cookie Company that specializes with gourmet cookies. Great American Cookie is based in Atlanta, but it has other 290 stores all over the United States and thus, it is a big competitor to Spaans.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Spaans Cookie Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other cookie companies include Full Bloom wholesale Baking Company, which is based in California and is growing fast and Interstate Bakeries Corporation, which distributes breads and cakes all over United States. Since all these Companies have their own marketing strategies, Spaans continues to come up with many strategies to st ay at the competitive edge (Spaans Cookie Company, 2011). One strategy that Spaans uses is defining the competitive landscape for the new product – pumpkin spice cookie. This helps the company know who the real competitors are, the type of products being sold, how the customers see the competition and the business model used by competitors. Spaans analyzes its competitors in order to learn their business tricks, and this is done through going to the competitors place and learning more about the business, reading more on the competitor’s website, as well as doing more research on customer reviews. Kotler Keller (2009) affirm that understanding the competitors is essential in any business developing new products. Thus, analyzing competitors has helped Spaans to point out their strengths as well as weaknesses. Some of the weakness from other companies includes lack of quality customer service and lack of variety in products. Spaans have taken advantage of its competitorà ¢â‚¬â„¢s weaknesses and has improved by getting friendlier and kind staff, reducing its prices, and more importantly, introducing the new cookie in the market. Similarly, industry knowledge has kept Spaans at the competitive edge since it was established many years ago. Pricing Strategy Despite having many marketing strategies, Spaans should consider an important pricing strategy that determines the product positioning in the market. Pricing also affects marketing elements such as products quality, channel decisions and advertising (Kotler Keller, 2009). Spaans can use many pricing approaches in pricing the pumpkin spice cookie, but the key ones include customer and competitor based pricing. Customer based pricing has many approaches such as penetration pricing, price skimming, and loss leaderAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Monroe (2003), penetration pricing entails boosting market share of a product and later increasing price after attaining the market share. With this pricing technique, Spaans can introduce the new cookie in the market at a lower as compared to other cookies in order to attract new customers. It is much easy for customers to buy the new product despite having other options due to lower price. Penetration pricing should be used to launch a new product. Likewise, price skimming entails setting a higher price to a product, which is not currently in the market. Since the new pumpkin spice cookies are seasonal products, Spaans can segment its market, and only use the skimming strategy where the supply of the product is low, but the demand is high. By use of this pricing strategy, Spaans will get higher profits before other competitors create the same product and enter in the market. Spaans Cookie Company can also use loss leaders strategy, which is a sales promotion method and entails setting a products price belo w the cost price in order to attract customers. The reason of setting products as loss leaders is to encourage customers to buy more of the company’s products varieties. Furthermore, the company can factor in competitor based pricing, which involves setting the prices inline with those from competitors because customers may consider the cheapest price. When selling such products, Spaans should come up with unique ways of attracting customers such as better customer service in order to make more sales. In conclusion, although many Baking companies are trying to make their products unique, Spaans Company strives to gain the competitive advantage since it is the main strategy to survival and achievement. The company aims at coming up with sustainable market advantages such as brand name recognition. Nevertheless, it is critical for Spaans Company to determine its strengths and its competitor’s weaknesses in order to take emerging opportunities in the market. Additionally, selecting a pricing strategy is important since price is the most visible element, despite having many marketing efforts. Price also reflects the value and benefits the product gives to its customers. Therefore, customer based pricing using the skimming strategy, among others, is seen as the most appropriate pricing approach for the new pumpkin spice cookies. References Kotler, P. Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Spaans Cookie Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Monroe, K.B. (2003). The Pricing Strategy Audit. London: Cambridge Strategy Publications. Spaans Cookie Company. (2011). Spaans History. Retrieved from http://spaanscookies.com/our-story.htm

Essay Services

Essay Services Essay Services Essay Services: Live Free If you require high-quality custom written essays, term papers, or research papers, but you simply do not have time or resources to do them yourself, or maybe they seem too complicated and time-consuming, use a custom essay service. They provide the highest quality custom essay and career papers. Essay Service: Advantages Maybe you are simply not interested enough in essay writing, research or creating writing? Want to make stress out of your assignments? Essay service can help to save your time by providing a custom essay that you needed. You will feel the difference the professional academic essay can make in your academic life. Are your school assignments too complicated for you and leaving you confused? Professional writers will provide a premium essay writing services for you. You can choose the essay writers you like according to your past experience to make all of your future paper writing orders. They make the process fast and easy for you, saving your time and money working on your essay writing assignments. Essay writer is ready to help you 24 hours a day: Any deadline is possible. Professional writers are available to accept your order 24/7. When you are ready to buy any kind of academic paper they are ready to meet you and guarantee any required deadlines. Mostly custom essay services highly value their return clients. They reward their returning students with a flexible discount program that will save your time and money. Our Essay Services Are Academic! But do not advertise to doubtful essay service. Their services may not respond to high quality you need. You can meet a poor quality, plagiarism or dishonesty. Only highly professional services can provide you a free plagiarism paper written especially for you and meeting all your requests. Usually, they develop a unique plagiarism detection system which is advance in detecting instances of plagiarism. No not pay for services in such companies in order not to get a piece of writing which can hardly be marked as academic. Choose the custom writing service properly. But if you already decided that you want to get a professional help in your essay writing, do not hesitate and become our customer. Our experienced and qualified writers will provide you with a high-quality essay overnight! Save your time and money. It is so easy and convenient! Additional posts: Informative and Surprising Essay How to Write an Essay Expository Essay English Essay Writing Outline Conclusion Writing

The World Film Journal- the movie Rain by Maria Govan Essay

The World Film Journal- the movie Rain by Maria Govan - Essay Example To her dismay, Rain discovers that her mother stays in Graveyard, which is a neighborhood for desperately poor people living within HIV-AIDS. Glory’s life revolves around drugs despite the high level of poverty experienced at the island (Bahamasmovie.com). When Rain reaches the Graveyard which, as Magdaline explains, is a land that becomes difficult to leave when someone gets in it, she starts new harsh life. When Rain realizes that the life in Graveyard is too harsh, she sets to discover her strength. Amazingly, Rain discovers that she is good at running, and she joins the team that is to represent the Bahamas in track events. However, training and equipment become non-affordable for her until Mrs. Adams assists her. Mrs. Adams gives Rain a light but touching lecture on determination, zeal, and acceptance in a bid to make her (Rain) stronger and more focused onto attaining her goals and objectives through running (Bahamasmovie.com). Magdaline’s quest to run for Miss Ba hamas Contest gives Rain motivation and courage that there are people in her environment who can survive and stay away from drugs. It is amazing that when Rain requires fifty dollars to register in a school, Glory is unable to find the sum, yet she spends approximately fifty dollars or more a day on drugs. She is forced to save for at least three months to obtain the money. This film is all about a young girl who finds herself between dread environment and confrontation of the fact that she wants to live with someone she has never known before, thus, reaching out for her inner self to find the best out of her (Bahamasmovie.com). Narrative Structure Maria Govan reaches out to the audience through striking a visual sense aimed at providing a reflection of contrasts existing between idyllic setting and the harsh realities found within the Bahamas. Such visual sense enhances visualization of the actual picture by the viewers, thus, making it easier to follow the main idea of the film. R ain’s grandmother cautioned her against going to look for the mother. Nonetheless, after the grandmother’s demise, Rain visualizes sense that she can barely care for herself, hence, the search for her mother. In the foreign land, Rain also visualizes some sense from the behavior and lifestyle of the mother, hence, does not give up in her quest to finding the best out of her leading to discover her talent in running. In making all these decisions, Rain considers both sides of the coin, the ideals and realities in Bahamas. For instance, the ideal situation is that she can continue staying with her grandmother, but the reality is that she is too young and incapable of taking care of her needs (Bahamasmovie.com). For this reason, she decides to go out in search for her mother. In addition, Maria talks about the reality that however much the residents try, they can never attain a given lifestyle, especially that experienced by tourists. Maria also uses the idea of everyday beauty within communities and societies to develop the storyline. This proves to be very useful, especially in understanding how the various experiences of marginalized residents of the Bahamas undergo in their daily lives. Consequently, the film director is able to reach many viewers through her narrative structure and style. This makes The Rain one of the best movies watched by a huge magnitude of spectators. Surprisingly, the author does

Temperance and The Alcohol Prohibition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Temperance and The Alcohol Prohibition - Essay Example In the 1830s and 1840s, temperance movement was gained immense momentum and many people supported it. However, the movement suffered setback during the American Civil War. Both sides in the war were relying on alcohol duty to fund their battles. As a result, numerous states stopped alcohol prohibition (Gately 74). It is worth noting that this was reversed after the war as more and more states and counties embarked to become â€Å"dry†. In the postwar period, the movement grew to become a significant mass movement and was instrumental in encouraging alcohol abstinence. The movement engaged in building alternatives to replace the roles of public bars; the Independent Order of Rechabites was established as a friendly society where no meetings were held in public bars (Tracy 29). Also, there was a movement that introduced temperance fountains around America in order to make sure people have reliably safe drinking water instead of having to go to a saloon and various coffee palaces and temperance halls so as to replace bars. The temperance movement in the United States got a boost as advocacy for alcohol abstinence were emerging in other countries and so its emphasis spreading internationally. For example, the Salvation Army was established in 1864 in London and emphasized heavily on the abstinence from alcohol (Heron 30). A number of local and international prohibitionist groups were created in the postwar period and were instrumental in advocating for alcohol prohibition.

Young Peoples Time Perspectives: From Youth to Adulthood

Young Peoples Time Perspectives: From Youth to Adulthood Summarise and critically evaluate the article (Brannen, J Nilsen, A 2002) â€Å"young peoples time perspectives focusing on; A) Its conceptual and theoretical framework and B) Its methodology and approach to evidence. The Author Brennan’s history includes her being a professor in Sociology for the University of London. She has written books and researched in on topics relating to gender and families with young people and children. She also co-edits, the International Journal of Social Research Methodology: theory and practice. The co-author history included Nilsen being a professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Bergen in Norway. She has researched in topic’s relating to women’s life course, biographical methods and time and environmental sociology. She is also the co-editor of the Journal of Psychology. The article under discussion examines three bodies of theory: individualization, the life course, and concepts of time. It cross-examines these theories with respect to the following questions: how young people speak about the future; the bearing of young peoples situations and time perspectives upon the way they envisage the transition to adulthood. Empirical d ata is taken from five different European countries and material from focus group discussions and interviews are conducted with young people taken from west-European countries, Britain and Norway. They analyzed variations in young peoples ways of thinking about their future lives, and propose, as a basis for further research, three ideal typical models. The concepts include Nowotneys concept of â€Å"extended present, which is the notion of planning for the future, which may be altered by the experiences of the present†. It is has been stated by Sennett 1998, that a shift from linear concept of time can mean people no longer try to predict the future and the notions of planning loses its meaning, Brannen and Nilsen have scrutinized all the theories and concepts mentioned. The purpose of their article was to begin to develop a language of description (Bernstein 1996) for representing and interpreting the nuances and diversity in young people’s orientation to adulthood which may be applied and modified in future research. They aimed to look at theories of life course processes and wanted to observe how young people think and speak about the future. The cross national study â€Å"young people’s orientation to the future reconciliation of employment and family life†, This initial cross-national analyses focus was on young peoples view’s of future in general and did not set out explicitly to examining the future in general, neither or their conceptualizations of time. There work related to another parallel study carried out with interviewing Norwegian men and women, (Nilsen, and Brannen 2002). The study method included 12 focus groups with three different groups for interviews; they tried to make each group as alike in terms of demographics as possible, however theory did not discuss what measures of precaution they took. The groups were divided by education and training levels, by occupational level, and by those in manual or while collar jobs. Questions about merging employment and family life were for most young people at the time of interview were hypothetical. The study was not concentrating on the issues such as time perspectives and theories linking to it, thus they were not able to examine methodically the interactions of gender, age and social class to the three models thinking about the future. The explicit focus of the study was on future reconciliation or employment and family responsibilities. Nilsen and Brannen were interested in gathering a qualitative approach. They did not however take into consideration the time scale was short and the research funding wa s low, there lack of planning and budgeting was thus seen. They explained further that is when the aim of when they decided to change it from a qualitative approach to an exploratory one. They employed focus groups ranging from 3-10 people. They do however agree to that fact that it is not justifiable, in which focus group methodology can generalize about young people to produce biographical material. They further stated that as well as focus groups, interviews were conducted with selected young people aged 18-30 however they did not provide evidence and document the findings in the article, which leads to questions of the purpose of such interviews. They talked about the theoretical perspectives including in the Individualisation theory (Beck 1992, 1994; Beck-Gernsheim, 1995; Giddens, 1991, 1994). This theory holds the idea that the processes remove structural separations of gender, social class and age. The assertion that individual choices become more important and the choice biography replaces the standard biography 1996. This theory has received much speculation, by Beck, Giddens 1994, Bauman 1998a, and Nowotney 1994. The â€Å"extended present† which takes account of â€Å"choice biography† and suggest it is untried as argued by Brannen and Nilsen that the way people pass through the transition to adulthood is prejudiced by their experiences of time. Brannen and Nilsen’s came to the conclusion of explaining there findings through proposing, three models. Brannen and Nilsen looked at three theories, 1) Individualization, 2) The life course 3) concepts of time. The models they obtained suggested a larger range in ways of thinking and planning for the future than the individualization theories. They attempted to apply theory to empirical data. They stated they were looking for a qualitative approach which then talked above exploratory, which leads the reader feeling a bit baffled. They compared the findings form both countries of Norway and England. They have put forward three models in the conclusions, model of Deferment, the model of Adaptability and the model of Predictability. There work carries no internal or external validity, when a test has content validity; the items on the test represent the entire range of possible items the test should cover. Individual test questions may be drawn from a large pool of items that cover a broad range of topics, however in Nilsen and Brannen study this was not the case. Brannen and Nilsen stated that young people were chosen as young people focus on time, a feature of social experience which has been ignored in empirical research. Brannen and Nilsen have put forward three ideal typical ways that have been identified in and applied to new material. One of the models of deferment, they have presented a critical case of younger women consider adulthood in looser terms, than the women in the second group the model of adaptability. From their findings they did report that imposing a dichotomy upon peoples lives in terms of either the â€Å"choice biography† is too simplistic. Brannen and Nilsen did not agree with other researchers they argued looking at their own models that a greater array of though processes and planning for the future in comparison to Individualization thesis â€Å"choice Biography†. They proposed that there are many factors affecting time orientations; these include the opportunity structures of education and training w hich have influence for employment aspirations. They argue that the complex material of social, cultural and discursive resources available or not, to young people together with the way young people adjust themselves in time, lead to construction of their identities .Brannen and Nilsen focus was differing from the cross-national analyses published by Brannen et al 2002. In that study the focus was on examining the view of the future in general neither or their conceptualizations of time. This article presented draws on a separation of cases from Norwegian and British seeking to apply to theories in time .At the end of the study all participants should have been given a full debrief, it is not clear from their article if this was carried out or not. All study participants should be told about procedures and any potential risks he confidentiality must also be maintained. They explained that the life course is no longer so clearly gendered .They researched that the decline of unskilled and semi skilled jobs in Britain and Norway led to led to men holding adult responsibilities at the same time as pursuing their youth, however women expected to have a job first then go down the route of motherhood, Brannen et al 1997. They also found that youth as a period of preparation for adulthood is going through change (Furlong and Cartmet ). The sources the authors used included their own research areas and past research that they had carried out. (Brannen and Moss, Owen Wale 1997, also Brannen and Nilsen and Smithson 2002; Also from Nilsen’s 1998, and 1999 studies).This article appears to be an extension of the areas of attention brought forward from past research experiments. The rhetoric and style of the article seems to be quite informal and loosely structured. Although some areas of their experimental explanations are clear, other areas are quite unclear with regard to the methodology and gathering of data. As a reader one is not convinced of their findings as t hey are qualitative and can not draw generalization to the wider public. Cultural issues were not considered in the countries studied carried out in, it is difficult to generalize the findings from cross-national studies, as every country to some degree has their own cultural patterns in youth to adulthood. In total they reported five countries were studies however he results qualitative that they may have been, was not mentioned. Other countries studied were not talked about a great deal nor the results discussed. Their study held no concurrent validity, construct validity or any predictive validity, as no tests were employed The intended audience to receive the data and outcomes of this research can be interpreted as the government and large organizations, as their focus was orientations over time, this would be beneficial to know. Also Cross-national studies lead to practical implications. The observations made can lead to a comparison of the employment/ education levels along with areas that each of the countries studies .This information is useful in the knowing which country is economically developing, along with attitudes of the public. Bibliography: Brannen Nilsen 2002, a ‘Young Peoples Time Perspectives: From Youth to adulthood. 2002. Falmer 2000. Connecting children and family life in later childhood, Routledge D. C. Howell 2002. Statistical Methods for Psychology, 5th edition, Duxbury/Thomson Learning. Weiner, I., 2003. Handbook of Psychology. New York, NY: Wiley 1

Microsoft Corporation’s Strategy Essay

1. Executive Summary Microsoft is a computer business company. It is famous for software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office suite, and Internet Explorer web browser. It is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues. Also Microsoft has a new development strategy in  recent year which approaching to smart-phone industry. Microsoft built on the partnership with Nokia since 2011, and the significantly increasing success of Nokia’s Lumia smart-phones. Microsoft’s purpose is to use the acceleration growth of its share and profit in mobile devices through the speed innovation, addition synergies and centralized brand and market. At that period for Nokia, this transaction was significantly accretive to earnings, strengthen its financial position, and provide a solid basis for investment in its continuing businesses. This acquisition will promote competition, Microsoft offer competitive alternatives to Google and Apple which helped by integration of hardware and software. Also, Microsoft gains proven ability which from key personnel to success in devices and services, it remains committed to working with partners in the windows & windows phone ecosystems. Moreover, the acquisition can benefit consumers, it has pulled down Microsoft’s devices and services costs from development through the market and by gaining cost savings from Nokia’s. 2. Introduction Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational company, and its mission statement is use human diversity and inclusive of ideas and solutions to satisfy the needs of its increasingly global and and diversification consumer base . Microsoft get into the smart-phone market would be a big step for it to develop more for its business, that is one of the reasons that purchasing Nokia in 2013. Microsoft’s acquired Nokia on 3rd September 2013; and announced that to used approximately $ 7.2 billion to purchase almost all of Nokia’s mobile phone business which spent $ 5 billion on equipment and service departments, also paid $ 2.1 billion for related patent. This report aims to analyze the strategy of Microsoft acquisition of Nokia which included SWOT, also the analysis of PESTLE and five forces of the strategy, then finally would be the Value chain, the recommendation of its strategy and retaliation of competition. SWOT analyzes that after changed the strategy how to affect Microsoft as a good and bad way, also how it inspires more chances to develop the business, and any risk from this strategy. It shows that electronic product industry competed in the firm. Secondly, the report explains the reason of Microsoft has to change strategy by political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal, all  those factors show that when strategy changed by Microsoft. Thirdly, this report will talk about Nokia entered into Microsoft is the strategic change the business by using five forces; it explains the current rivals and potential new entrants in the industry with the businesses change in strategy. Also, with the value chain, the original Nokia’s technique skills have changed the organization and competencies. Finally, this report will talk about the future of this company development, it will tell core competence and innovation strategies are most likely to improve its absolute and relative performance in the next 3 to 5 years. With those analyses, this report will explain the details of this strategy from Microsoft, and both advantages and disadvantages by usi ng this strategy for its future business. 3. The Environment Analysis With technology great development, Apple’s produce iPhone and products to cater the market as Google’s does have Android to compete in. Thurs made a decision with Microsoft acquired Nokia in 2013. 3.1 SWOT Analysis 3.1.1 Strengths Microsoft and Nokia’s huge influence in the world Microsoft Corporation is world leader of personal computer software development; also it currently is the world’s largest provider of computer software. At the same time, according to Steve Ballmer Microsoft Chief Executive (2013), Microsoft’s Windows occupy 91.49% sharing of the global PC operation system. Nokia has had powerful hardware design concept and abilities of manufacturing, also Nokia’s Lumia occupied approximately 82% of the market. So, acquisition of Nokia was a great record for Microsoft’s corporate strategy. Brand loyalty Microsoft has been managing operation systems and software provider, it establishes over 90 % of the PC operation system’s market share. Most of people grew up with Microsoft’s operating system because of the easy manipulating and will use continually, there are not much brands can compete with it for those reasons. Even open source operating system; it is totally  free, suits ordinary users. Profits of the mobile phone market Profit is a big principle of Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia. According to the US technology blog estimating, Microsoft earned 10 US dollars gross profit from each Lumia phone, but after the acquisition, the gross profit of Lumia has increased to over 40 US dollars, which mean that Microsoft can recover the cost of acquisition of Nokia with 25 million Lumia phones be sold. 3.1.2 Weaknesses Saturated Market Microsoft approached too late to the smart-phone’s market, it has already saturated when Microsoft stepped into. Most of the market shares have been taken by Apple and Android. According to Bamburic (2013), in 2013, Window Mobile only occupied 2.9 % from the smart-phone market share, it is a bad record which compare with Apple’s 18.2 % and Android’s 74.4 %. Innovate slowly Microsoft is difficult to ask people to accept the whole system moved to a smart-phone operating in a short period. Although consumers have not totally approved Window Mobile, Microsoft still updates the mobile system slowly. 3.1.3 Opportunities Offer Option Android occupies most of the market share of smart-phone, however the loyalty of Android’s users are unstable, also Apple’s products are too expensive for consumers, with no more choice for mobile system, Window mobile get a chance to attract those customers. Functional With the developing Information Technology, people see mobile as a necessity, and mobile phone is not just a communication tool, consumers concern about the multi-function and the brand of mobile phone. 3.1.4 Threats Substitutive The threat of substitutive, same level of smart-phone will be the greatest  substitutive of Microsoft, such as Samsung, LG, Sony; developed technology and internet, net communication also are the substitutive, such as E-mail, MSN, Skype. Limited Creative & Cost The creative abilities of the whole industry are declining as Apple or Samsung. With the quick developed in these years, systems and function are getting homogeneous. This is the same problem for the whole industry. Moreover, with the developing creative function, cost also is a main element to win the competition which how to spend less to do more. 3.2 PESTLE Analysis Macro environmental influences on Microsoft are summarized with in following six categories to identify the key drivers for change. 3.2.1 Political The US government concerns the investment in high-tech industries and supports the development of high-tech enterprises which made the Mobile Enterprises starting the patent competition. Mobile manufacturers defray a large proportion of cost by the strict US patent system. Also America has the most complete and strict for mergers and acquisitions law. 3.2.2 Economic America’s tertiary industry occupied for about 78 % of GDP, which the contribution of high-tech owned the most, the technology is crucial for the US which is the power source of economic development. The global economic crisis of 2008 caused a huge blow to the world economy, under the impact of the economic crisis, Nokia’s share price fell sharply which just made a great offer for Microsoft to purchase as a low cost. 3.2.3 Social With the development of the information age, people rely on mobile phones increasingly. By changing the concept of value as people’s lives changed as well, people do not see mobile as a communication tool at all, they attach importance to the multi-function and brand of the products. Consumers’ brand awareness is getting stronger when they are selecting mobile phone.  Smart-phones are no longer for teenage only, it turns to be public goods for everyone. With the smart-phone fashion rising, mobile phones have become a symbol of renewal as a consumer, so the mobile phone market is very considerable. 3.2.4 Technological Walking in front of others is the only way to survive in the high-tech field and the fierce market competition. High-tech products have rapid upgraded and short life cycle, it inspires higher requires to enterprises’ special application software and ability of continuing to update the hardware configuration. Nokia as a former mobile phone giant obviously hold numerous patents, specialized technical personnel and technical reserves the phone which is an advantage to help Microsoft to develop on smart-phone industry. 3.2.5 Legal Microsoft corporate supervised by laws, and it followed the laws which contain Labor law, intellectual property and the tax regime. 3.2.6 Environmental Microsoft is an ecofriendly company, it is green IT and the company request customers to recycle the product which are used. 3.3 Five forces 3.3.1 Existing Competitions With fierce competition in the electronics industry, Microsoft’s mobile is facing every kind of problems in development, smart-phone’s challenged from Apple and Google, also there has problems with products, research and development, marketing strategy and enterprise development strategy. Microsoft needs to plan its strategy as an â€Å"universal key† to open each locks. 3.3.2 Threat of New Entrant New entrant is a threat of Microsoft. HP (Hewlett-Packard) purchased Palm mobile firm in 2010, HP was a global information technology company, main business focused on printers, computer and software. HP is just one of the new entrant, most of the famous computer industries involve as well, such as  Lenovo, Dell. They have stable trust on consumers and market in society, now they invade to mobile phone industry which is a serious threat for Microsoft. 3.3.3 Threat of Substitutes With development of information technology and continuous improvement of people’s living standards, network, iPod and even digital cameras are more popular to substitute with phones by more functional and professional. As a result, the substitutive has a certain threat to Microsoft. 3.3.4 Power of Buyers The products’ quality and quantity depends on the power of buyers. Nokia’s technique could not satisfy buyers enough to buy their products because of the lower level in the smart-phone market which cause buyers’ bargaining power are getting stronger. But Microsoft has good reputation and well system, after the acquisition of Nokia, it increases buyers’ confident of products which successfully reduce the bargaining power from buyers and raised profits. 3.3.5 Power of Suppliers Mobile phone suppliers had great competition before 2010, so enterprises picked very seriously of their suppliers which caused a low bargaining power in the market. After 2010, Apple’s products sold well and had significantly outstanding result which leaded to other enterprises’ profit sharply dropped down; also suppliers got reduced by them at the same time. So Microsoft purchased Nokia at the right timing which earns a good bargaining power. 4. The Value Chain According to Walters (2007), Microsoft knew that the company should have an efficient value chain and offering the customer great value with its products. People would discover that Microsoft’s value chain is completely integrated to crop-net which is their information technology infrastructure network. The management of central control and efficiency are brought by the integration with their technical capabilities, it allows them to use the minimum effort and minimum mistakes at the right time to make a right  decision, thus value increased when cost saving. Microsoft provides software to them is minimal for need of logistics, because they can send the software through internet to the local agents. They also do customer services and maintenance by information technology, and they have to recruit, support, market, maintain, interview, finance, customer service, deliver, consult, advertise for the network. The development of technology is interior, there have the cost benefits of development and maintaining technology of value chain for compared to competitors. According to Johnson (2011), Porter’s Value Chain Model, margin has significantly increased after the Microsoft acquisition of Nokia. For the primary value chain activities, the inbound logistics of Microsoft allows Nokia to provide equipment, also the marketing and sale of Microsoft has many advertising platform that can increase publicity and sales. Procurement area is an important part of the cooperation between Microsoft and Nokia. This development must source raw materials for the business and obtain the best price for doing so. The challenge for procurement is to obtain the best possible quality available on the market for their budget. At the same time, purchasing inputs that means it buys product cheaper from suppliers. Because of Microsoft’s core competence is the system software; the development of mobile phone hardware is not completed. On the other hand, Nokia’s core competence has the good hardware system and stable suppliers’ source, so this result is becoming a win-win for both companies which reach the cost efficiency. Microsoft can directly use Nokia’s equipment to sell and reduce the costs, also it improves the margin. Figure 1 and Figure 2 shows that after Microsoft got the Nokia, both of them operating margin profit and market value increased. In summary, Value chain model defines the cost advantage after Microsoft acquisition of Nokia; it achieves cost efficiency and associated with core competencies and capabilities in order to perform them better than do competitors. 5. Retaliation of Competitors Facing acquisition of Nokia, current rivals and potential new entrants in mobile market which are Google, Apple and HP should do something to deal with this Microsoft’s corporate-level strategy. As Burrows comment that Google and Apple did the same thing which is advertise their products. For  example, Google-operated retail Web site, use â€Å"Web meets phone† as a statement for introducing. In terms of the five force, existing competitions will make a plan for strategic change form same industry, so new entrants does. 6. Recommendation Mobile space could be one of the serious problems for Microsoft in recent years. Windows Mobile platform is still dominated by innovative in market, such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system. The plan of Microsoft to compete with those providers this year would be releasing Window Phone 7, although it is little bit late to the smart-phone market, Microsoft realizes what consumers really needed, and Window Phone 7 will be the best explanation in the next 3 to 5 years. Innovation has been a big issue for Microsoft, Windows is a special case as an innovative product when it first released, but Microsoft did not provide anything that even matching the innovation. Because of the competitors have developed more creative products, all companies want to be the main competitor in the high-tech space. Innovation is the most necessary element in the smart-phone market which Microsoft has to improve. 7. Conclusion Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia is opportunities as well as challenges. As the analysis of opportunities and threats with Microsoft’s mobile phone business, for Microsoft entered lately to the mobile market and the decline of the old mobile phone giant Nokia, how to achieve the advantage complementary through the merger of both sides, Microsoft has to put smart-phone system and PC operation system together as soon as possible to achieve the great new innovations of smart-phone. Microsoft has to be originality of mobile system for its business, it will be the big step for Microsoft to be success. Microsoft has been the dominant PC computer software manufacturer over years, but now the sales growth of the PC has slowed sharply because of consumers have been the turning to smart-phones and tablets. The sales of PC’s expectation was 409 million units in 2011, it was a 15.9 % increased which lower than 18.1 % the previous estimate of the company. According to Research director of Gartner Ranjit Atwal (2013), this  result reflects the weakening of consumer demand, the recent increase in shipment is expected to decline, increasing consumer interested in the iPad and other tablet PCs are the main factors leading to rising slowing sales growth of the PC in the long run. As Lomas comment that (2013), in the future of 2014, tablet will replace PC for over 10 % of sales, Microsoft and Intel believe that Windows software could attract a variety of users by the touch features, especially business users, and it inspires the development of Windows Tablet PC, touch-screen laptop and their products. Technology is the most influencing Macro environmental factor by the PESTEL analysis. Microsoft strategy through Bowman’s clock as an explanation which both bases of differentiation and intended strategy for low price are detailed. Value chain diagnose the capabilities of the strategy as a tool, it proves that Microsoft strategy align ed well from this completed core. Also Microsoft had the abilities to resource the strategies by man power, technology, funds and information to win the position in the market. 8. Bibliography Ali-Yrkkà ¶,J., Kalm,M., Pajarinen, P., Rouvinen, P., Seppala, T. and Tahvanainen, A.(2013). Microsoft Acquires Nokia: Implications for the Two Companies and Finland. ETLA Brief [Online] Available From: http://www.industriall-europe.org/Sectors/ICT/2013/ETLA-Nokia-%20MS-Muistio-Brief-16.pdf. [Accessed: 3rd September 2013] Blandford, R. (2013). Why did Microsoft acquire Nokia’s Devices & Services business? [Online] Available From: http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/features/item/18293_Why_did_Microsoft_acquire_Noki.php. [Accessed: 3rd September 2013] Bamburic, M. (2013). What we know about Windows Phone 8.1 so far? [Online] Available From:http://support.techlogic.net/index.php?/News/List/Index/134. [Accessed: 28th February 2014] Burrows, P.(2010). Apple vs. Google. Businessweek. [Online] Available From: http://cecs5580.pbworks.com/f/businessweek+Apple+vs+Google.pdf. [Accessed: 14th January 2010] BBC News. Microsoft to buy Nokia’s mobile phone unit.. [Online] Available From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23940171. [Accessed: 3rd September 2013] BBC News. Microsoft-Nokia deal: Analyst reaction.. [Online] Available From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23945652. [Accessed: 3rd September 2013] CNET News. Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s device and services division. [Online] Available From: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57601025-75/microsoft-to-acquire-nokias-device-and-services-division/. [Accessed: 2nd September 2013] Guy, A. (2011). Entrepreneurship and the value chain: Importance, risks and suggestions. Advances in Management. 4(6). Pp.63-65. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., and Whittington, R. (2011). Exploring Corporate Strategy. FT Prentice Hall. Harlow. Lomas, N. (2013). Tablets To Grow 53.4% This Year, Says Gartner, As The Traditional PC declines 11.2%. [Online] Available From: http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/21/tablets-vs-pcs/. [Accessed: 21th October 2013] Microsoft Corporation. (2104).Company profile. [Online] Available From: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=MSFT+Competitors Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s devices & services business, license Nokia’s patents and mapping services. [Online] Available From: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-02announcementpr.aspx. [Accessed: 3rd September 2013] Ovide,S. (2013). Deal Is Easy Part for Microsoft and Nokia. [Online] Available From: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014241278873244324045790521127313496

The Philosophical Area Of Dualism Essay - 2267 Words

‘I Rightly Conclude That My Essence Consists Solely In The Fact That I Am A Thinking Thing.’ How Does Descartes Argue For This Conclusion? Is He Right That Our Essence Cannot Be Physical? In the philosophical area of dualism, the positions that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical, or that the mind and body are not identical are investigated. In Descartes’ Meditations II and VI, he stated â€Å"I consider myself as having a face, hands, arms, and all that system of members composed on bones and flesh as seen in a corpse which I designated by the name body† (Descartes 1641, 9). Even with this information, he concluded that his â€Å"essence consists solely in the fact that (he) is a thinking thing† (Descartes 1641, 28). It is obvious that he assumes that his essence cannot be physical, even though he possesses physicality, but that there is more to his existence than just the ownership of a body. Throughout Meditation II and Meditation VI from Meditations on First Philosophy, he argues his conclusion by the use of various examples and thoughts of his own to highlight that he believes that we do exist, that people contain a deeper be ing in their soul (which, can be argued, is where essence is found), and how the mind and body works when it comes to gaining experience and feeling sensations. In this paper, I will define pertinent lexicon terms as they are used in the bounds of Descartes’ Meditation II and Meditation VI from Meditations on First Philosophy to allow forShow MoreRelatedThe Mind Body Problem : Phineas Gage1489 Words   |  6 Pagesobject that pierces an area of your brain. Those who have had a frontal lobotomy, whether purposefully or not, have had their personality changed permanently. An unlucky foreman of the Rutland Railroad, Phineas Gage, was on the receiving end of a tragic occurrence that severed the frontal lobe area of his prefrontal cortex. He underwent the experience of having a railroad spike pierce him beneath his left cheek and exit through his skull, consequently injuring an important area of his brain. This occurrenceRead MoreThe Concept of Dualism Essay1013 Words   |  5 Pagesmachinequot; form of substance dualism best solves the mind body problem. My views in this area have been influenced by my twelve years of Catholic education. The soul, or mind, depending on your level of belief, was a complete and separate entity and was the center of a human being. The body was an ambulatory device that the soul directed. The idea that the mind is a separate entity and that it is independent of the physical body is the central point of substance dualism. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Read MorePhilosophy C100 Quiz 121572 Words   |  7 Pagesphilein (to love) and sophia (knowledge or wisdom).    X | True |    | False | 2.    Which of the following is a philosophical question:    | Is there a God? |    | Does the end justify the means? |    | What form of government is best? |    | What is Time? |   X | All of the above. | 3.   An argument is a reason for accepting a position.    X | True |    | False | 4.    The area of philosophy concerned with values includes    | Ethics |    | Aesthetics |    | Social/political philosophyRead MoreCartesian Dualism And Transhumanism : Theories Within Their Time Contexts1510 Words   |  7 PagesCartesian dualism and transhumanism are both controversial theories within their time contexts. Leahey (2004) describes Descartes dualism as the separation of the body and the soul. The soul is immaterial and is the location for thought, consciousness, and the Cartesian Theatre, and controls the actions of the material body. Transhumanism theorises that technology will enhance and supersede human evolution (Elkins 2011,) as technology will become an extension of ourselves, or already is. I will exploreRead More1.Explain Some Of The Benefits A Student May Gain By Studying1290 Words   |  6 Pagessharper focus and provide a foundation for the answers we are looking for (Pg.2). 3. Explain how critical thinking can be used to analyze a philosophical issue. Critical thinking is the engagement of the thinker in rational deliberation, investigation of facts and reasons, and the evaluation of arguments. Critical thinking is required in order to analyze philosophical issues. Critical thinking is what is required to efficiently analyze, investigate, and evaluate a situation (pg.7) 4. Compare and contrastRead MoreBenefits A Student May Gain By Studying Philosophy Essay1298 Words   |  6 Pagescritical thinking skills and listen to other students’ opinions and answers to learn from one another and open the door to becoming open-minded individuals. 3. Explain how critical thinking can be used to analyze a philosophical issue. Critical thinking can be used to analyze a philosophical issue so that way we can carefully reason, look at the similarities and differences of an issue and use rationality. Critical thinking is essential in philosophy because the questions that are introduced involveRead MoreThe Mind And The Brain1053 Words   |  5 Pagesknow-how with knowing-that. Again, we are left with the question of whether or not the mind is the brain or if the mind is a completely separate entity in itself. In order to figure this, very difficult and confusing question out, an overview of some philosophical theories can be made, along with an assessment of some scientific discoveries that could possibly hold the truth, and finally revealing the truth of the question. Is it possible that, the mind or the brain could exist with the extinction of theRead MoreThe Mind-Body Problem of Physicalism1731 Words   |  7 Pagesphilosophy has held, with Renà © Descartes, that the mind must be a non-bodily entity: a soul or mental substance. This thesis is called ‘substance dualism’ (or ‘Cartesian dualism’) because it says that there are two kinds of substance in the world, mental and physical or material. The philosophical rival of dualists have been the philosophical doctrine of monism. Monism denies that minds and their bodies are distinct substances. Monists assert that substances are all of one kind. They could sayRead MoreA Relationship Between Physical Properties And Mental Properties1399 Words   |  6 Pagesthoughts emerged: Monism and Dualism. People who subscribe to monism believe physical properties, such as color and location, as well as mental properties, such as emotions and beliefs, are all one entity. Materi alisms, the most popular form of monism, claims that everything mental is also physical. On the other end of the spectrum, Dualists believe that physical and mental properties are two separate entities. This paper will address the merits of interactionist substance dualism (interactionism) and epiphenomenalistRead MoreThe Dualists Essay1846 Words   |  8 Pagesdifferent philosophical theories that try to posit our existentiality. Consequently, these theorists try to find the answers to the causality of how the mind and the brain truly interact: Are we our synapses, or are we something more than that? However, one theory that has been of interest to many recent scientists and philosophers alike is one that has been around since its conception by a famous mathematician and philosopher named Rene Descartes. This theory is called substance dualism; and accordingly