Cliptomania Web Store Essay

It is the American Dream: own your own business, and make loads of money. Well, that’s the dream part, then reality sets in: business licenses, put-up money, taxes, etc. In the case study of the Cliptomania Web Store, in 1999, John and Candy Santo discovered a marketing niche that they could tap into; selling clip-on earrings, over the internet, throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012). This type of marketing is called Business to Commerce or (B2C) e-commerce, which is way of purchasing, or selling goods and services over the internet. As with any new business venture, it started out of the home with a low-level of overhead. In 1999, John and Christy Santo started an online web store, Cliptomania.com, out of their home, using $10,000 of their savings as start-up capital. At the time, selling only clip-on earrings was a market that not many had tapped into, since most people who wear earrings have pierced ears. Cliptomania.com sells nothing but clip-on earrings, and offered its customers hundreds of different styles. With research done by John Santo, he decided to contract with the vendor Yahoo! Store in 1999. The Yahoo! Store uses a ratings system for customers to rate their service, and by 2003, due to their rating by customers, they became one of the top 5 selling jewelry stores on Yahoo!, in gross sales because of having a quality product and excellent customer service. One of the challenges the Santo’s faced was the technology aspect of the business, or the how to start up the web store. No one in the family was familiar with web design and they did not have the money to pay a service provider for the site design. By doing their own research They found that by hiring a vendor to host their website, the computer resources, as well as the software and templates, for a price, would allow a company to tailor the web pages to suit their needs. The second challenge was management of their web store. In 2006, for whatever reason, customers started having problems with the Yahoo! Store website. Customers were having trouble placing orders, and the Santo’s were being charged for some transactions that weren’t valid. So, when they tried  to fix the issue, and could not, they decided to change web servers, and went from a .com to a .net website. They ran both sites, but it confused the search engines. The reason for the confusion, could have been due to the issue of the difference between domain names extensions. The difference of the domain name extensions could be defined as: â€Å".COM is for commercial websites, and .NET was hosting networks. (Gil, n.d.) The Santo’s tried to work out the bugs, but eventually had to move back to a .com domain address. The third strategic challenge was marketing on the web. Marketing on the web is primarily getting customers to visit your web store. The best way to be found was by being picked up by one of the major search engines, Yahoo! Search, Google, or Microsoft’s Bing. At the time Cliptomaniaâ„ ¢ was using the search engines on the internet were still listing sites by significance or how close the words being used matched in the search box. If you are not listed on the first page of the search results, than you probably would not be found by customers. So, it was important for them to learn about how search engines determine their rankings, so a company can be found the first time around. (Martin, 2010) Using the SWOT Analysis to analyze the future of John and Candy Santo’s web store, a strength is their offering of a quality product and excellent customer service. They will have a loyalty base of customers who appreciate dealing with a company that treats them well, and can obtain new business from word-of-mouth recommendations. A weakness is the ever-changing technology and the economy. As long as the Santo’s stay current with new developments in web retailing, and adjust to a downturn in the economy, they will stay afloat. An opportunity for the web store is to ever improve on the relevance rankings on the web search engines. Trying techniques, such as having other companies advertise on their site, and maybe advertise on social media blogs and sites, can help boost exposure of the web store. A threat can be competition from others selling on other sites such as EBay, that sell their personal items or store items, and Etsy which sells homemade items; keeping an eye on the competition and looking at the trends of how customers are purchasing can help them stay in business for the long-haul. The Cliptomania web store, all in all, is in good shape to stay successful. When John and Candy Santo began their business, it was out of their home, with a low startup cost, and hardly any competition in the clip-on earring market. They have had their trials and tribulations with the boom and bust of the dot-com industry, how to learn about their market, and their competitors, and how retailing on the internet is done. Although nothing is certain in today’s economy, the Santo’s will be able to weather the storm by still offering top-notch products, and one of a kind customer service. After all, customers keep going back to whom they receive a good deal and good service.

RCC Jazz in Concert Essay

On October 20, I attended a concert by the RCC Jazz in featuring Lanny Morgan at the Digital Library Auditorium. The name of group members which are used were Doug Webb (Tenor Sax), Tom Ranier (piano), Chuck Berhofer (bass), and Steve Schaeffer (drum â€Å"The Magic Flea† is an upbeat tempo song with mostly eighth notes, it features the Lanny Morgan as the guest artist on the alto sax. It has many key changes in the solo that he tore through liked pro, Smack Dab in the Middle. This song was a mid tempo song, closer to the paid back style of playing features accidentals to make a jazzy sound out the piece, â€Å"Better Days Ahead†. This song featured the guitar. The soprano sax played as lead accompanied by the first trumpet and the first trombone. Sam Nestoco, Pat Metheng, Morgan Luwis, Dave Wolpe they are all composers of the Jazz. Sometime, the rhythm section got off beat, but got back on. The base player was out of tune in the first song, which made the dynamics grea t. They were intense with short notes, crescendos, and stopping at the same time. In â€Å"The Magic Flea†, the melody was fast pace with eighth notes, and usually ending in a long note, or Staccato note. In â€Å"Smack Dab in The Middle† the Melody was laid back to correspond with the beat. It has two key changes, which are concert F, and concert A Flat,† Better Days Ahead† had a pushing tempo, with the guitar as the melody. The guitar player was a great soloist, who used many eight and sixteen notes. He played many notes that amazing in the chords the Sax player in the Smack Dab in The Middle used repetition to make his solo interesting. He hit a few high notes that matched perfect with the chords. Attending this concert taught me how talented these students are with their improvisation and great feel of time. They created a story with the music as it flowed while featuring individuals. I learned dynamics make a different when controlling the intensity of the piece. I learned that phrasing plays a huge part in Jazz by making epic stops learned that certain notes are perfect in key changes, and some create a Jazz tone that separates the genre from others. I also learned that the drummer contributes to determining how loud and soft the band gets. At the end of the performance, I was glad I had attended. It was an  interesting and entertaining performance. I was able to speak briefly with the musicians before leaving the concert. They were very helpful in answering my questions about the Jazz music. This was my first experience hearing live jazz in the concert. I enjoyed both the music and the ambiance of the concert, and I plan to return there soon.

Immigration and employment in Ontario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration and employment in Ontario - Essay Example series of relevant legislative texts has been developed in any modern state which provides the requirements needed for the relevant procedure to be completed. These requirements are usually common among all countries around the world with only certain points of differentiation. It has been noticed that in countries with a high rate of development the relevant requirements tend to be stricter comparing the ones applied in the less developed countries. However, this assumption is not absolute and there are cases where the above requirements are equally formulated in both developed and developing countries. This paper examines the current conditions regarding the immigration policy applied in Canada and specifically the area of Ontario (with a special reference to the city of Toronto). The specific area has been a place that attracted a significant number of immigrants mostly in the past. Today also it seems that the rate of growth in the immigrants entering the country and the specific area continues to increase. This phenomenon although positive in certain aspects for the local economy it has been proved to have certain negative influences particularly in the financial area. The role of immigrants and their interaction with the local society is being examined in order for specific points of common to be found and for certain policies to be examined as of their suitability regarding their reason of existence. The presentation of statistical data combined with the findings of the literature has been considered as an effective method of exploring the above problem to the best possible level. Immigration in Canada has a long history. In fact, it has been found (Coyne, 1996) that in the 128 years since confederation, some 14 million immigrants came to Canada, almost a third before the First World War as Canadian immigration policy was essentially an open door. In this context, between 1867 and 1899, Canada absorbed 1.6 million immigrants into a population at

The current xenophobic attacks in South Africa Research Paper

The current xenophobic attacks in South Africa - Research Paper Example The recent xenophobic violence in South Africa is believed to have erupted after some anti foreigner and hateful comments made by the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, who is believed to have a considerable influence amongst the dominant Zulu ethnic group (Aljazeera, 2015). The current violence in South Africa has targeted poor migrants from the rest of the African nations like the people from Nigeria and Zimbabwe (Essa, 2015). Many of the African nations were indeed shocked at the rise of the xenophobic violence in South Africa in the recent times. In the current violence in the nation, the South African citizens targeted the foreigners scattered across varied townships around the country (Essa, 2015). This gave way to massive killing, plundering, raping and looting of the foreigners living in South Africa. It indeed showed an ugly aspect of the South African society. In these xenophobic attacks it became clear that the South African society has a xenophobic side to it. Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, South Africa aspired to become a ‘rainbow nation’, a place where nobody is discriminated against owing to one’s race or nationality. However, the current violence has shown that South Africa eventually happens to be a society where people are discriminated against owing to their race and nationality (Essa, 2015). The racial discrimination earlier targeted all the black South Africans. However, in an independent and democratic South Africa, the discrimination has found a new target, and they are the foreigners. This has once again reminded people of the days of apartheid. It has made people realize that the institutionalized racism that constituted a big force in the racist South Africa, will take much time before it dies. The xenophobic discrimination is not new to South Africa, but is a force that has been impacting the nation since the days of apartheid. The current

The Sentencing Phase in the United States Research Paper

The Sentencing Phase in the United States - Research Paper Example The research paper "The Sentencing Phase in the United States" deals on the sentencing phase of the criminal justice system and tries to discuss some of the more urgent issues regarding this crucial phase. The justice system forms the third leg of the triad in the handling of criminal cases, the other two being law enforcement system and the penal or corrections system. All three must work together for penal sanctions to be effective as a deterrent to the commission of crimes. The wheels of justice can indeed grind very slowly and sometimes it takes years for the victims to get vindication and justice for the harm done to them. In a sense, the concern to be so careful to avoid penalizing the innocent is the main cause of this slowness in the justice system. No criminal justice system is perfect. Be that as it may, it should not prevent society nor preclude the government from imposing justice for deviant behaviors. The idea is that the system must be geared towards fairness and equality; flaws in the system can be corrected over time and must not adversely affect the sense of trust by the people that the system is indeed fair. Lapses in the procedures, processes, and practices must not undermine the whole legal system. There are a lot of variables that can confound and confuse the litigants in many instances. A person can opt out of the criminal justice system through a plea bargain agreement that will lessen the sentence to be imposed and may subject the defendant to probation.

'In company reporting, the measurement of the amount of impairment of Essay - 1

'In company reporting, the measurement of the amount of impairment of many types of assets is so subjective as to be meaningless - Essay Example Some assets can't be reported simply, so the subjectivity arises from the choice of impairment modeling and accounting presentation: Like trying to map a 3-dimensional sphere on a 2-dimensional plane, inevitable distortions crop up no matter what approach one takes to presenting the data. Yet other assets, while objectively declining in value, do so at a rate that is impossible to determine, so any presentation is subjective because it is a choice as to what data to include and what not to, what prediction to make. Yet even this incomplete, subjective picture is far from meaningless for investors, auditors and stakeholders. Asset impairment is defined as, â€Å"An unexpected or sudden decline in the service utility of a capital asset, such as a factory, property or vehicle. This could be the result of physical damage to the asset, obsolescence due to technological innovation, or changes to the legal code. Impairments can be written off† (InvestorWords, 2011). Assets can declin e for a variety of reasons. Simple wear and tear can make an asset less than its expected new or even used value: For example, a vehicle that operated in difficult conditions such as snow or sand could be below the expected market value for a vehicle of that age. In this sense, asset depreciation is a subset of asset impairment. But this determination can be subjective: It requires guessing the cost of the additional damage which could vary from potential buyer to potential buyer. Technological innovation can make some objects obsolete: Certainly, computers have obsolescence and an incredibly high rate of turnover. But anticipating that requires expecting Moore's Law to continue operating, as well as treating the computer as a unified asset, yet different parts of the computer depreciate at different rates and accounting standards are always changing to reflect that for different electronics (Ward, 2011). A legal change could make a piece of machinery become illegal in a particular country, but then the asset could be sold elsewhere, which could require a degree of subjective currency anticipation and assessment of liquidation risk and benefit. This is why goodwill is recognized as the standard for impairment of many assets, and it is commonly accepted that there is a great degree of subjectivity in making this determination. â€Å"We are facing a new era of economic development with a growing significance of intangible assets. Goodwill constitutes a significant asset for numerous companies, especially those which are operating in high technology industries. According to the growing importance of intangibles there has also been a significant change in standards associated with accounting for goodwill† (Jerman and Manzin, 2006). In particular, using fair value accounting for goodwill and for determining the need for disclosures leads to inherent subjectivity: â€Å"The fair value may be determined by using different approaches such as using available ma rket prices, present value techniques, prices for similar assets and other valuation techniques. Users of financial information should consider that market values are not always on disposal. Consequently fair value estimates are based on subjective judgment† (Jerman and Manzin, 2006, 222-223). One of the reasons why there is so much subjectivity is because investors rightly demand disclosures of

Book report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Book report - Essay Example In the footsteps of an international pacifist network that had protested nuclear armament since the 1950s, the anti ­war movement was also able to gather a worldwide following of protesters by the late 1960s, all of whom had one thing in common—their opposition to the Vietnam War. The international aspect of this opposition and its transnationalism can attribute to a collective zeitgeist of the time. Many people in America did not want the U.S to engage in another deadly war. The book clearly shows how the American army during the Vietnam war failed to offer moral counsel to young soldiers who were traumatized the events of the war. Further, the U.S soldiers believed that the war was unjust and most of them were afraid to die. Instead, the U.S army I only concerned about bringing men to the battlefield, men who do not question who to shoot or why they have to shoot, nor require to comprehend the effects it may cause on their mental and physical health. This is an example whe re O’Brien is engaged in the war to struggle against the U.S involvement in the war as he sees his friends and other soldiers die. Despite the fact that he feels the power of revenge to his enemies, he feels that killing innocent people and villagers is morally or ethically wrong (O’Brien 34). ... American soldiers opted to make courageous acts in order to express their manliness. From the book, it is clear that many American soldiers realized that they were not brave enough to withstand their moral or ethical beliefs, losing their respect for their relatives, family seemed to outweigh their convictions, and the soldiers did not want to fail anybody. Peace and antiwar movements extract at least some set of intricate phenomena with varying sources, constituencies, goals, and principles. Some of them have roots in the ancient and medieval world. Contemporary advocacy for peace adapted and inherited the concept of just war and absolute pacifism as propagated by religious non-resistance. In addition, peace and antiwar movements base their argument from the concept of political economy. The antiwar movement against U.S involvement in war with Vietnam began in 1950s and gained its momentum in 1960s up to 1970s. It was the most significant movement of its type in the history of U.S. The U.S got involved in the Vietnam War in 1950 when Harry Truman the then President of the U.S began to underwrite the costs of France’s war against the Vietnam. When the Vietnam War started, most Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communism was a noble and brilliant idea for their national interest. Communism was posing a threat to democracy around the world by preaching anarchy and authoritarian ideas. During the course of the war, many Americans were concerned about the escalating war costs and rising number of casualties. This led to emergence of anti-war movement that grew into in a strong force in opposing the Vietnam War while pressuring America leaders to withdraw from the war. Together with the civil rights movements of the 1960s, the antiwar movements

History--Alamo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History--Alamo - Essay Example People with a strong knowledge of the historical events at the Alamo were also able to point inaccuracies in parts of the film (McCrisken & Pepper, 2005 p. 22). The earlier Western films starring John Wayne such as Rio Bravo, Fort Apache, and also Rio Grande were in many ways typical examples of the milieu of the Western, and how that genre portrayed the white settlement of the Western states during the 19th century. These motion pictures were not however generally based upon actual historical events (McCrisken & Pepper, 2005 p. 23). John Wayne often played the role of the brave gunfighter attempting to make things better, or the lawman fighting (often alone) the less savoury gunfighters that brought anarchy to the West. John Wayne in the majority of his Western roles plays heroic characters from his youth in Fort Apache through to his later middle age in films such as True Grit (Carter, 2008 p. 83). Occasionally the milieu of the Western would throw up a film that intended to be a highly accurate portrayal of real life historical events, such as The Alamo, starring and also directed by John Wayne. Though John Wayne was not overtly attempting to be very patriotic the film arguably generates the ideological meaning that the successful breakaway of Texas from Mexico was a significant event in the history of the United States itself. As well as a beneficial development for the people of Texas because they escaped the misrule of the Mexicans and went on to gain greater freedom as part of the United States (Carter, 2008 p. 166). Naturally enough John Wayne cast himself as the main figure in the story, Davy Crockett, the man that American folklore most readily identifies with the brave resistance against the Mexican army despite being heavily outnumbered, and easily overcome in the end. The Alamo was made during the golden era of the milieu of the Western, its

Principle cells of the immune system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Principle cells of the immune system - Essay Example Three of such principal cells of the immune system are lymphocytes, antigens, and effector cells. Below, brief descriptions of the roles of these three cells in immune response are discussed. Lymphocytes have been noted to be cells that emanate from stem cells within the larger immune system. As far as immune response is concerned, the lymphocytes take charge of the adaptive response (Guermonprez et al., 2012). For this to happen, there are a series of functional activities that come together. Working together with specific receptors, the lymphocytes function towards the recognition of specific antigens that enter the body. Consequently, the effect of antigens in the body would be hampered if the lymphocytes are not functioning properly. Bryant, Trinder and Curtis (2004) also noted that one the lymphocytes emanate from the stem cells, they go on to form three different populations of cells which are B cells, T cells and natural killer (NK). Of the three however, it is the B and T cells that take part in the adaptive immunity as NK cells function as innate immunity. The B cells for example produce antibodies, whiles the T cells engage in cell-mediated immunity (Guermonpre z et al., 2012). The second principal cells are the antigen presenting cells, which have the core role of aiding the lymphocytes to undertake the adaptive response. In some cases therefore, the antigen presenting cells are considered to be also responsible for adaptive response. The antigen presenting cells function by bringing antigens to the lymphocytes. Writing on the anatomy of the immune system, Zen and Parkos (2003) indicated that the location of the antigen presenting cells (APC) makes it very convenient for it to play its role. This is because these APCs are found in the periphery. From this location, they are able to examine the tissues to identify antigens. One major difference between the function of the lymphocytes and APCs is

Ardiff - Regeneration of cardiff, what it offers to business Essay

Ardiff - Regeneration of cardiff, what it offers to business - Essay Example The paper will discuss how culture and heritage is developed for purpose of tourism activities. Another important area analysed is role of culture and diversity for an organization like Motorpoint arena Cardiff. The report will shed light on ethical considerations while conducting tourism activities at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff and how it affects all stakeholders. Since every business does lack challenges, the report will also examine management challenges in operating business in leisure industry. An appropriate conclusion and recommendations are also provided. Cardiff and Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Cardiff remains to be one of the most vibrant cosmopolitan European capitals that are regenerating at a fast rate in economic, social and in infrastructural development. Its location provides it the best opportunity of being accessible within a few hours from London. It is connected by train to London. Reflecting on the growth of Cardiff as capital city of Wales it has an enthralling past a nd an exciting future. It has conserved its history in the great museum and various attraction sites like Roman fortress. It is a country filled with the history of Romans, Normans and Victorians who were a great help in shaping Cardiff city. Cardiff castle and Cardiff bay which is considered as meeting place and where the city comes to rest. The city hosts several international games including inshore race and harbour festivals (Kim & Robert, 2002, pp.45-49). Motorpoint Arena Cardiff is located at the centre of Cardiff. It was usually known as Cardiff International Arena before it was bought by Motorpoint. It provides the largest exhibition space in Cardiff and has a capacity of over 7,500. Its ability to hold international events, comedy performances, sports and concerts gives it the attraction that motivates tourists into visiting it. Its location is one of its advantages in that it is located within commerce centre of Newport and a shot walking distance from the Millennium Stadi um. It is located at entrance of Wales giving it a chance to be accessed by M4 motorway. It provides all catering services including 24 hour lounge menu for hotel residents. Regeneration of Cardiff and what it offers to business Economically Cardiff city provides almost 20% of GDP of the country. Regeneration of Cardiff was due to increased demand in coal which was a necessary raw material in production of steel and iron. It has attracted foreign direct investment and hence stabilizing its economic standards. Since it is a country that conserves its history it attracts tourists into the city who come to study their culture and way of existence. They have made it possible for construction of accommodation facilities hence increasing standard of economy in the country (WTTC, 2002, np). Infrastructure development is one sector that Cardiff has invested in. This ranges from transport sector, sports and communication development. It is one of the best transport links indicating its good location for business. Location of the city close to M4 motorway and the junction improved its

Rawls vs. Nozicks Essay Example for Free

Rawls vs. Nozicks Essay Entitlement Theory. Stated simply, the theory states that any distribution of â€Å"holdings,† as he calls them, no matter how unequal, is just if (and only if) it arises from a just distribution through legitimate means. One legitimate means is the appropriation of something that is un-owned in circumstances where the acquisition would not disadvantage others. A second means is the voluntary transfer of ownership of holdings to someone else. A third means is the rectification of past injustices in the acquisition or transfer of holdings. According to Nozick, anyone who acquired what he has through these means is morally entitled to it. Thus the â€Å"entitlement† theory of justice states that the distribution of holdings in a society is just if (and only if) everyone in that society is entitled to what he has. Any distribution is only just if it arises from a distribution of legitimate means. 1) The act of taking something (with no disadvantage to others) that is un-owned a.   2) The voluntary transfer of an object to someone else. (an agreement is setup) b. You sell someone your car with an agreement of monthly payments. 3) the rectification of past injustices in the attainment or transfer of holdings. c. You agree to sell your car to someone with an agreement of monthly payments setup. The purchaser fails to pay the payments so you take back the car. You are considered morally allowed to own that car. According to Nozick, anyone who acquired what he has through these means is morally entitled to it. Also, distribution of holdings is allowed only if everyone in that society is entitled to what he has. Principle of Justice: each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.

Is Virtue Knowledge Or Teachable Philosophy Essay

Is Virtue Knowledge Or Teachable Philosophy Essay Plato presents Socrates views on the question whether virtue is knowledge and whether it can be taught in several dialogues, most notably in Meno. In this dialogue, Socrates makes many different arguments on the subject of virtue. These arguments include how virtue is defined and whether or not people can acquire it. He examines the ways that virtue can be attained; whether or not one is born being virtuous, whether virtue can be taught or it is another factor for virtues people have. In this essay I will focus on the question of whether virtue can be taught. Platos answer is that virtue cannot be taught. In this essay I will suggest that Plato could have framed the questions a bit differently, which would have probably given him a different answer. In particular I will argue that Plato might have done better to ask whether virtue could be learned instead of asking whether virtue can be taught. The Meno begins with Meno asking Socrates whether virtue can be taught. The argument then is drifted then to another question, what is knowledge. Then Meno proposed an interesting paradox: one can never find out anything new: either one knows it already, in which case there is no need to find it out, or else one does not, and in that case there is no means of recognizing it when found (Plato 1997, 80d-e.). In other words if one does not already know what arà ªte (virtue) is, he cant even search for it, because if he does not know what it is already, then even h he searches, he wont be able to know when one has found it. Socrates suggests a way to solve this dilemma which is based on the Pythagorean view of the immortal soul. According to that notion, the soul, after the physical body dies, is reincarnated and thus never destroyed. If one can never acquire any new knowledge and at the same time it is obvious we are always learning new things, then it is be concluded that learning mus t be a matter of recollection of past life experiences and knowledge. In other words there is no such thing as teaching, but only remembering. In the Meno he demonstrated with a young slave boy who apparently didnt have any knowledge of geometry. By asking the young boy questions he managed to show that the boy had knowledge of certain mathematical theorems. Meno asks again his original question, that is whether one can be taught virtue, or one gets virtue by nature or in some other way. Socrates consents to proceed but argues that they need a common ground due to the fact that neither of them can say at this point what virtue is. Then Meno is made agree that if virtue is not knowledge then it cannot be taught, and if a knowledge then it can be taught. He points out that one can teach something only if one knows what it is that he is teaching. Someone who does not know himself how to drive a car seems unlikely to be able to teach someone else how to. Socrates and Meno much agree that there is no one that truly knows what is meant by virtue and because of this reason cannot be taught. According to Socrates, If virtue could be taught, we should be able to know not only those who teach it but also those who learn from them, which in truth we cannot easily do (Plato 1997, 96c). Socrates claims that teachers for horsemanship, medicine, etc. exist and everybody recognizes these as genuine teachers, whereas people dont agree about whether the Sophists really do teach virtue. Socrates goes one to speak of Thucydides, who had two sons, neither of which was considered to be virtuous. However, it is said that Thucydides educated his children in many different disciplines, but it seems that he could not find a teacher of virtue even though he found teachers for other aspects of life he found valuable. He could not teach it himself either, even though he himself was known to be virtuous. Therefore it seems virtue cannot be a form of knowledge. In order for something to be knowledge, someone must be able to teach it to others. Socrates concludes that virtue cannot be taught an d that there is no means or method by which virtue can be acquired. Virtue is simply shown as coming to us, whenever it comes, by divine dispensation (reference?) In my view, if Plato had framed the questions somewhat differently, he might have gotten a different answer. That is Plato could have better asked whether virtue could be learned instead of asking whether virtue can be taught. What I mean to say is that asking whether one can be taught something entails that the relationship of a student and a teacher, whereas asking whether something can be learned implies only that there is a student (whose life experiences might be said to be a teacher.) For example, to ask whether I was taught geometry is to ask whether a teacher taught me geometry. Whereas to ask whether I learned geometry is simply to ask whether I learned it, whether or not I was taught it by a geometry teacher or learned geometry myself either from (lets say) a book or by some other means. Learning can come in various forms. In order to learn something, one does not require a teacher in the strict sense. For instance, learning can be achieved from studying people who have virtue and yet the latter may not be aware that they are studied. So a man may be learning virtue, and his teachers may be virtuous, even though the teachers might not even be alive. Another form of learning is experience. Virtue may be learned through personal experience. In this example, the teacher would be both life experiences and the reflective nature of the learner. There is still another form of learning. A man can learn, even if he cannot offer an explanation of how he learned or of what he exactly knows. For instance, after someone has been through a particular problem in his life, he can then detect that a relative of his is going through the same problem. And although he can know it, he cannot give an explanation of how he recognized it. Another example is that of the musicians or painters who have learned their craft and are able to perform well, but find it almost impossible to give an explanation of what they have learned. So the question whether virtue can be taught is a much different, and narrower, than whether virtue can be learned. Plato is right in suggesting that virtue cannot be taught. I believe that we all know or have heard of people who recite rules of virtue (such us be compassionate or be honest,) but find it impossible to put them into practice. Certainly in this sense virtue cannot be taught. A mentioned above, having the ability to be virtuous is like having the ability to be musical, which is to some extent instinctual. So, for example, it could be argued that knowing when, for example, to offer help to a friend when he needs it, is a matter of instinct or judgment. All of this means that although virtue may not be taught, this is not to say that virtue cant be learned. Plato suggests the notion that virtue is inborn. Certainly this is to some degree true. There are some people with an exceptional capacity for virtues like compassion, etc. since they were born. Yet others look as if they are born with little to no moral conscience, which seems to be necessary for virtue to exist. However what this means is just that the foundation of virtue is inborn, not that it cant be learned. In the same way that we comprehend the fact that one can be preached how to be virtuous but fail to be virtuous in practice, the converse is also possible: people can refine the ways they understand virtue, they may become more virtuous by reflective practice, and their views of how to act in a virtuous way changes significantly as they grow up. In my view, if Plato put his questions in a different way (that is if he had asked whether virtue can be learned, instead of whether virtue can be taught) he might have found a much more affirmative answer. Bibliography

Brief Analysis Of Coca Cola And Pepsico Business Essay

Brief Analysis Of Coca Cola And Pepsico Business Essay Introduction The interest in corporate social responsibility, sustainable business practice, corporate governance, business ethics, and integrity and compliance management has grown markedly in the past decade (Waddock et al., 2002). It is not only stakeholders who expect companies to pay greater attention to norms, values and principles; companies themselves are acknowledging the importance of responsible business practice (Waddock et al., 2002). But what are a companys responsibilities? It is widely recognized that we are in an environmental crisis, no doubt about that. There is nearly unanimous agreement that the earth is getting warmer, and the consensus in the scientific community is that human activity, especially through activities that emit hydrocarbons, is the chief cause of climate change. Business ethic has become one of the strongest news stories of the past decade. Previously renowned companies such as WorldCom, Enron, Wal-Mart, Google and Starbuck have become link to a growing trend of unethical business behavior. Nevertheless the environmental issue has created a big impact on todays business organization. The EU has decreed that capitalism, and hence business practice within capitalism, should be environmentally sustainable. Financial success by itself is no longer sustainable therefore EU environmentally friendly business practices are considered a moral norm and consequently a moral obligation. Although corporations are primarily business organization run for the benefits of the shareholders, they have a wide range set of responsibilities, to their own employees, to the customers and suppliers, to the communities which are located, and to the society at large. Most corporations recognize these responsibilities and make a serious effort to fulfill them. Analysis of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Coca-cola The Coca-Cola Companys website contains sufficient amount of information on their segments of corporate governance, ethic, environmental and sustainability issue. Corporate governance Coca-cola has committed to strive and enforce the establishment of the principles of corporate governance. Corporate governance that has been adopted by them is based on the belief that maintaining and improving management efficiency and the fairness and transparency of their corporate activities is of utmost importance. Ethic and Environmental Sustainability Coca-cola detailed few guidelines about utilization of water on their business operation. They develop few objectives which the main aims are to return the water safely to the communities and nature as what the company consumes for their beverage production. The website also stated their roles on encountering water-scares problem around the globe. The Companys Website and Case Study Relation The Coca-Cola Company and WWF had combined their strength together on preserving nature mainly on conserving water. Several ideas and projects had been stated in order to improve global water efficiency. Focusing on the river Yangtze in China, their collaboration is vital because it is in line with their partnership main objective. The partnership goal in the Yangtze is to inspire better governance and sustainable river management practices across the basin. Coca-Cola Companys website. The Coca-Cola Company and WWF initially planned on these three initiatives: Supply Chain: Working with the supplier in order to sustain agriculture mainly sugarcane, oranges and corn. Water Stewardship: A fresh water conservation relating seven river basins including Yangtze River. The aim is to develop and implement comprehensive water stewardship plans that will serve as models for the Coca-Cola system. River Basin Conservation: To conserve the seven key freshwater basins on which our partnership is focused which include Yangtze River. PepsiCo PepsiCo Companys website contains an adequate amount of information on their segments of corporate governance, ethic, environmental and sustainability issue. Corporate Governance Referring to the website on corporate governance segment, PepsiCo has adopted strict corporate standards that govern their operations and ensures accountability of their actions. These corporate social responsibilities are also made as an integral part of their operations. The website of PepsiCo on corporate government segment detailed the corporate standards that have been strictly governed to guarantee the accountability of their action. Ethic and Environmental Sustainability [The] successful company in 2030 will be the one that recognizes the possible outcomes of the global crises we face, and one nimble and tenacious enough to embed this recognition into their strategy and business processes. INDRA NOOYI, PEPSICO CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MAY 2009 The statement by the CEO of PepsiCo above shows the dedication on preserving the environment hence numerous efforts had been done by them for the past few years. Recently PepsiCo had released inaugural water report titled Water Stewardship: Good for Business Good for Society which explain the companys commitment to safeguard and replenish water use in their operations thus provide a better environment for future generation. PepsiCo has proclaimed on their website regarding their goal and commitment to protect the Earths natural resources. PepsiCo state that their part as a dynamic global business operator, they will remain committed in minimizing the impact of their business on the environment. The Companys Website and Case Study Relation PepsiCo and China Womens Development Function had united their forces on one purpose, which is to provide a clean water supply and to solve drinking water shortage especially in rural areas in China. PepsiCo Foundation had donated a sum of $ 1.5 million on Mother Water Cellars Project. The objective of the project was to design pilot water supply systems in order to conceive water and at the same time the project aimed to solve the problem on the difficulties of people in rural area to obtain safe drinking water. Water Cellar Sketch of a water cellar The main idea of the Water cellar is to accumulate rain and reserve the water for man and farm animals. It is also a kind of water-storing facility in Chinas rural areas. In relation on the case study, the PepsiCo has provide a huge-scale effort and this has been proven by the website and a report title Land of Love, Water Cellar for Mothers done for PepsiCo. They also had launched the project in 2000, and since then many water cellars has been built. PepsiCo believe that the planet is for all human kind to share and is their obligation to be a good citizen to the world. This project may have solves some environmental ethical issues that became a responsibilities among the big corporation. Differences in Experience and Perception China viewing Coca-Cola Morality consists of rules of human behavior and also specifies that certain actions are wrong while others are right. Actions can be seen and evaluated from moral perspective even in business since they involve human activity (George.R. 2005). Coca Cola has shown concern for the environment in China. The partnership between Coca Cola and WWF to protect Yangtze River is a non-profit one, which again reiterates Coca Colas concern about environmental issues. According to W. Michael Hoffman, a business has an obligation to keep the environment clean beyond what the law states. Companies should find methods to eradicate environmental problems caused by their production. Teleological ethics theory states that the consequence of an action will determine whether the action is good or evil. In the case of Coca Cola, if the teleological theory is applied, China will view Coca Cola as bad if the latter is polluting the environment. Moreover, Coca Cola owns around 33% of Chinas soda market. The companys representatives have predicted that there is still the possibility to grow. Products are being tailored only for the Chinese citizens. Given that Coca Cola is planning to grow, this will create more employment in China. By operating in China, Coca Cola has a moral right towards the government and the citizens, and the company should aim should aim at improving their standard of living. (Shaw, Barry) However, China needs to take into consideration what happened in India. The company had to close down for causing water shortages, and also for ignoring social and environmental foundations of consumer trust. A company may have different factories around the world, but its vision and mission statement should be the same. Given that we can consider Coca Colas actions as unethical, theres a reason for the Chinese government and citizens to worry about the Coca Cola Company established in China. What has happened in India can again be connected to the teleological ethics theory since the problems caused by Coca Cola has led to the closure of the company. As prescribed in this theory, only the ends or consequences of an action can determine whether the latter is good or evil. Coca-Cola viewing China Coca-Cola has experienced thoughtless ethical troubles with its affiliation amid their stakeholders in China. It is eager to expand its business in china and one of the ways has been the partnership with WWF with intentions of creating a relationship of trust favorable in increasing its market in china. The company launched a communication program aimed at educating people along the Yangtze River about environmental concerns, river basin management and water management. This shows the companys intention in exploring the moral responsibility to the community in situations people lack enough knowledge about. One of the principles which separate this right action from wrong is utilitarianism which emphasizes on bringing most happiness for everyone if not majority of the people through our actions ( Shaw.W, Barry.V,2010). Hence, this program is beneficial to farmers and the ongoing three Gorges dam construction which will be providing electricity to the community. Furthermore, Coca Cola is under the broad view of corporate social responsibility which identifies this company as one pursuing profits as well as having other responsibilities to its consumers and society at large. As argued by Konosuke Matsushita any business should make service to society as its objective and while serving society, profits will be generated automatically (George.R, 2005). For example the company has helped WWF contribute a major role in the Yangtze River Forum through uniting on a recommendation to deliver the Chinese government for implementing pollution regulations, which apparently are fairly uneven in the country. We support the case of Coca Cola viewing China because companies are motivated to become more socially responsible to their most important stakeholders such as consumers and the community because they expect them to understand and address the social issues relevant. In this case, Coca is contributing towards the conservation of the environment through the water security in China. Cross Cultural Ethical Decision-Making The business culture of a country is shaped by business practices and ways of thinking over a long period of time. Countries such as USA and China have different business cultures and ways of conducting their business partly because of their differences in history. Thus, it is absolutely vital for Coca-Cola and WWF to understand the cultures and practices of the Chinese society. In our point of view, Coca-Cola and WWF have been successful to a certain extent in cross-cultural ethical decision making. The Chinese society believes that everything should be in harmony (Kaptein, 2004). The efforts of WWF in collaboration with Coca Cola to clean the waters of the Yangtze River can be viewed as a decision based on the value of harmony within the Chinese society. This effort would thus be viewed as an ethical business conduct and improve the relationship between WWF and Coca Cola and China. The Chinese place high importance on human relationships or guanxi. As a result, the Chinese strive to work in groups to accomplish a common goal (Pitta, Fung Isberg, 1999). The groups in this scenario include a non-profit organisation, WWF, a profit making organisation, Coca-Cola, and the Chinese society. The common goal of these three groups is to ensure clean water is running through the lifeblood of millions Chinese, the Yangtze River. Therefore, this is seen as an informed decision by WWF and Coca Cola based on a good understanding of an important Chinese culture. Based on an American culture, business relationships can be separated from personal relationships because business transactions are bounded by legal contracts (Trevino Brown, 2004). In negotiating contracts and business transactions, signing a contract is seen by Americans as the final stage of business association. However, from the Chinese point of view, friendships are seen as lifetime commitments and as a first step to a deeper and improving relationship. The fact that Coca-Cola has been operating in China for so many years setting up 39 bottling plants is a testimony to Coca-Colas true understanding of the elements of friendship and negotiations within the business conduct of the Chinese society. Communication is seen as a way to bridge the gap that might exist between two different cultures. In their efforts to clean the Yangtze River, WWF and Coca Cola launched communication programs to educate the Chinese communities about environmental issues. According to McWilliams and Siegel, the combination of communication and persuasion can help the understanding of the two parties concerned. This presents WWF and Coca-Cola with cross-cultural benefits as they are able to earn the trust of the Chinese society by making efforts to improve the well being of China as a whole. Recently, the Chinese press were complimenting Coca-Colas effort in sponsoring Project Hope, a program that aims to improve education for disadvantaged children throughout China. The company aims to build 100 Project Hope Schools by 2011. This effort is in line with the Chinese culture of valuing and strengthening relationships. The news also highlighted that Coca Colas partnership with WWF to conserve the Yangtze River showed significant progress by galvanizing local communities to actively participate in river basin conservation (Press Release Coca Cola, 2010). Certain decisions made by WWF and Coca Cola were questionable as it did not fully consider the cross cultural implications. Firstly, Coca-Colas US$ 2.3 billion bid for China Huiyuan Juice suggested that the company was acting in its own self interest of gaining market share and monopolising the beverage industry in China. The Chinese society views a sudden and substantial change such as the takeover as disruptive because it does not consider the notion of harmony. Coca-Cola were acting according to the theory put forward by Adam Smith who advocated the pursuit of maximum self interest or ethical egoism. According to Garrett Hardin, the tragedy of commons explains that each individual believes their use of commons only has its own negligible effect. However, the collective result can be of gradual damage or destruction which makes everyone worse off. The fact that Coca-Cola uses 290 billion litres of water a year for production, might indicate that the company themselves might be at f ault for causing water pollution at the Yangtze River. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/nr_20101029_china_investment.html regulation Multinational Companies Balance Between Profits and Environment Multinational companies usually generate huge profits every year while they also need to contribute to the gradual improvement in the environment. One of the ways to balance those two elements, that is profits and good environment, is through sustainable development. The latter should meet the needs of the present without compromising the future generations ability to meet their needs. (United Nations Brutland Report). Sustainable development needs the integration of social, environmental and economic considerations to make long term decisions. As per Milton Friedman theory, the main social responsibility of a company is to increase profits. However, Coca Cola should make sure that it is not compromising the welfare future of Chinese citizens with its current production activities. Furthermore, there is the clichà © the business of business is business. (Business Ethics,, George). A corporation may ignore the moral demands of an individual, but it can hardly ignore the moral demands of the society it conducts its business in. This is because both parties are dependent on each other, for example in Japan, the business of large corporations recently changed, not only to produce goods and services but to also to care for the companys stakeholder such as a guarantee of lifetime employment to employees while providing a conducive environment to the people living in the region it is operating. Multinational Corporations today have a renewed interest towards Corporate Social Responsibility instead of prioritising profits at the apex of their pyramid. Some MNCs use the Corporate Social Responsibility perspective as a strategic tool to attain economic objectives which is ultimately wealth creation. These MNCs follow the approach of economist Milton Friedman who philosophised that the only one responsibility of business towards society is the maximisation of profits to the shareholders within the legal framework and the ethical custom of the country. However, the interests of people who have a stake in the firm also known as stakeholder must not be excluded by MNCs. Satisfying these interests will contribute in maximising the shareholder value (Odgen and Watson, 1999). An adequate level of investment in philanthropy and social activities will allow MNCs to bring in profits (McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). Stakeholders are the people who directly or indirectly affected an organis ations actions, objectives and policies. MNCs owe a fiduciary duty towards stakeholders as they can bring profit to the company. There is a social contract between the organisation and society. A straightforward contribution in order to balance these two elements would be by maximising the shareholders value as the highest priority to evaluate specific corporate social activity (Mele and Garringa, 2004). These values of shareholders may be seen from many different perspectives such as a greener environment. However, if this method imposes a cost or hinders the company from earning profit, it should be declined according to Milton Friedmans theory.

Fly Away Peter Essay -- Essays Papers

Fly Away Peter Malouf evokes the horror and absurdity of war in ‘Fly Away Peter’ through an Australian frame of reference that creates reality for the reader. Discuss. Malouf’s ‘Fly Away Peter’ uses an Australian frame of reference to display the horrors and absurdity of war. The way in which Malouf writes creates reality – the reader can suspend disbelief and believe that the events in the novella are actually real. When we read ‘Fly Away Peter’, we see the story through Jim’s eyes. Jim is a bird watcher, and he is Australian. Ashley, his employer, was born in Australia and educated in England. Ashley has inherited the land on which Jim watches the birds. The Australian frame of reference is seen through Jim, juxtaposed with Ashley’s British influence. The first few chapters of the book are set just before World War One, in coastal Queensland. A description is given where Jim and Ashley live and their lifestyles. Here we learn that they are not incredibly important or powerful people – they are ordinary. Many readers can identify with the characters, creating a sense of feasibility and reality within the story. World War One is another setting in ‘Fly Away Peter’. Australia, being strongly tied to England, to obliged to be involved in the war, despite the lack of any other solid reasons. Jim and Ashley enlist, Jim as a soldier, Ashley as a general, only Ashley returns. Descriptions of events and locations that Jim gives while in war really display to the reader the horror and war and just how much people had sacrificed. At the time of the World War One, Britain was Australia’s ‘mother country’. Influences were still very strong, and Australia, still very young, needed this support and comfort that Britain offered. Australia, as a country officially existed, but she had no identity of her own to set her apart from Britain. This is seen in history through the English style uniforms the army adopted, the clothes that were worn, and the style of houses. The isolation of Australia also had an effect on her development. There was a lack of technology, money and industry. Without that base, it seemed that Australia would develop rather slowly. World War One was to be a morale raiser for Australia – her first war as a nation. It was seen as a chance to show to the world what Australia could be, the first step in breaking away from the restraints ... ...e Bizet.† (Pg 96) In conclusion, with the backgrounds of World War One and Australia, Malouf manages to give the reader an idea of what the war was like by focussing on the horror and absurdity of war. At the time of the First World War, Australia was still strongly tied to Britain, hence her supposed unnecessary involvement in the war. Although, being involved in the war gave the Australians something to be proud of. I feel that to be part of such destruction is shameful. The war was hoped to lift Australia’s identity, but with characters like Ashley coming from England it would have taken a lot more than a war to break ties. The change in Wizzer’s character demonstrates to the reader that wars really did change men in ways we could not imagine. It is understandable that Wizzer was close to losing his sanity. This understanding came from Jim’s descriptions of the war and from our previously gathered knowledge, which suggests that Malouf expected the reader to already have gained information on the war. As a reader, it could be seen that the war, through Jim’s eyes, and could relate all his experiences with information already gathered. I saw the reality in ‘Fly Away Peter’. Fly Away Peter Essay -- Essays Papers Fly Away Peter Malouf evokes the horror and absurdity of war in ‘Fly Away Peter’ through an Australian frame of reference that creates reality for the reader. Discuss. Malouf’s ‘Fly Away Peter’ uses an Australian frame of reference to display the horrors and absurdity of war. The way in which Malouf writes creates reality – the reader can suspend disbelief and believe that the events in the novella are actually real. When we read ‘Fly Away Peter’, we see the story through Jim’s eyes. Jim is a bird watcher, and he is Australian. Ashley, his employer, was born in Australia and educated in England. Ashley has inherited the land on which Jim watches the birds. The Australian frame of reference is seen through Jim, juxtaposed with Ashley’s British influence. The first few chapters of the book are set just before World War One, in coastal Queensland. A description is given where Jim and Ashley live and their lifestyles. Here we learn that they are not incredibly important or powerful people – they are ordinary. Many readers can identify with the characters, creating a sense of feasibility and reality within the story. World War One is another setting in ‘Fly Away Peter’. Australia, being strongly tied to England, to obliged to be involved in the war, despite the lack of any other solid reasons. Jim and Ashley enlist, Jim as a soldier, Ashley as a general, only Ashley returns. Descriptions of events and locations that Jim gives while in war really display to the reader the horror and war and just how much people had sacrificed. At the time of the World War One, Britain was Australia’s ‘mother country’. Influences were still very strong, and Australia, still very young, needed this support and comfort that Britain offered. Australia, as a country officially existed, but she had no identity of her own to set her apart from Britain. This is seen in history through the English style uniforms the army adopted, the clothes that were worn, and the style of houses. The isolation of Australia also had an effect on her development. There was a lack of technology, money and industry. Without that base, it seemed that Australia would develop rather slowly. World War One was to be a morale raiser for Australia – her first war as a nation. It was seen as a chance to show to the world what Australia could be, the first step in breaking away from the restraints ... ...e Bizet.† (Pg 96) In conclusion, with the backgrounds of World War One and Australia, Malouf manages to give the reader an idea of what the war was like by focussing on the horror and absurdity of war. At the time of the First World War, Australia was still strongly tied to Britain, hence her supposed unnecessary involvement in the war. Although, being involved in the war gave the Australians something to be proud of. I feel that to be part of such destruction is shameful. The war was hoped to lift Australia’s identity, but with characters like Ashley coming from England it would have taken a lot more than a war to break ties. The change in Wizzer’s character demonstrates to the reader that wars really did change men in ways we could not imagine. It is understandable that Wizzer was close to losing his sanity. This understanding came from Jim’s descriptions of the war and from our previously gathered knowledge, which suggests that Malouf expected the reader to already have gained information on the war. As a reader, it could be seen that the war, through Jim’s eyes, and could relate all his experiences with information already gathered. I saw the reality in ‘Fly Away Peter’.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury :: Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ray Bradbury Guy Montag is a fireman in the future in charge of burning books. On his way home from work one evening, he meets his new neighbor, an inquisitive 17-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan. She asks him about his job and tells him she comes from a strange family that does such peculiar things as talk to each other and walk places (being a pedestrian is, like reading, against the law). She asks him if he is happy and then disappears into her house. The meeting disturbs Montag, who is not used to talking with people. He goes home and realizes he is not happy, that his appearance of happiness up to this point has been just a mask. He finds his wife, Mildred, in bed listening to earplug radios, just as he has found her every night for the past two years. He finds an empty bottle of sleeping pills by her bed and calls the emergency hospital just as a sonic boom from a squadron of jet bombers shakes the house. The hospital sends out two workers with machines that pump Mildred's stomach and replace all her blood with fresh blood. Montag goes outside and listens to the laughter and the voices coming from the McClellan house. Montag goes in again and considers all that has happened to him that night and feels terribly disoriented as he takes a sleep lozenge and dozes off. The next day, Mildred remembers nothing about her attempted suicide and denies it when Montag tries to tell her about it. He leaves for work and finds Clarisse outside walking in the rain, catching it in her mouth. She rubs a dandelion under her chin and says it means she's in love when the pollen rubs off on her. She rubs it under his chin, but no pollen rubs off. She asks him why he chose to be a fireman and says he is unlike the others she has met, who will not talk to her or listen to what she says to them. He tells her to get along to her appointment with her psychiatrist. After she is gone, he tilts his head back and catches the rain in his mouth for a few moments. Montag reaches down to touch the Mechanical Hound in the fire station, and it growls at him and threatens him. Montag tells Captain Beatty what happened and suggests that someone may have

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Patient Care Essay -- Nursing, Health

The goal for nurses as a profession is not only to be â€Å"patient advocates† but also assist the patient to learn and gain the necessary skills to achieve the best level of functioning for the patient based on their current illness. In order to help a patient achieve their optimal level of functioning the nurse must work with the patient and the interdisciplinary team to create a collaborative plan that is logical for the patient. Through examining a musculoskeletal disorder case study #35 from Preusser (2008), one can create a critical pathway for the patient, S.P. a 75 year old female, with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and admitted to the orthopedic ward for a hip fracture status post fall (p. 183). Since the patient’s needs is unique and complex the nurse must tailor a plan with the patient which will include â€Å"†¦assessments, consultations, treatments, lifestyle changes, disease education†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in order for the patient have the most appropriat e evidence-based care and make informed decisions when it is necessary (Oliver, 2006, p. 28). The aim for the nurse caring for the S.P. is to help prepare the patient for an upcoming procedure and focus care to the patient by gathering necessary information about her while. Collaboration with the patient, family members, rehabilitation, medical and surgical team about the treatment plans can help us provide proper patient’s care by utilizing actions and interventions within the scope and standards of the nursing practice. This Preusser (2008) case study involves a 75 year old female, S.P., who fell at home and is admitted to the orthopedic ward for an intracapsular fracture of the hip at the femoral neck (p. 183). Assessment data includes her height is 5’3†, weight is 118 lbs, blood pressure... ...National Association of Orthopedic Nurses. (2009). Total hip replacement. Retrieved from http://www.orthonurse.org/ResearchandPractice/PatientEducation/tabid/490/Default.aspx    Oliver, S. (2006). Benefits of patient pathways in rheumatoid arthritis care. Nursing Times. 102 (16), 28-33. Retrieved from http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice-clinical-research/benefits-of-patient-pathways-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-care/203268.article Oliver, S. (2009). Understanding the needs of older people with rheumatoid arthritis: the role of the community nurse. Nursing Older People, 21(9), 30-38. Preusser, B. (2008). 4th Ed. Winningham and Preusser’s critical thinking in nursing: Medical-surgical, pediatric, maternity, and psychiatric case studies. New York: Elsevier/Mosby Inc. Wilkinson, J. M. (2011). 5th Ed.   The Nursing process and critical thinking. Prentice Hall.

Humalit Poems – Torres

CHILDREN AND LOVERS Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta (1934-2010) children have a special knack for making you feel odd and nude suddenly even with that vaguest piece of smile you ready somewhere to cover a scorching shame when they wickedly naive and sportive barge in without ceremony and when you finally shut that errant door on them again to try resuming love you terminate it both ways instead it seems the look of bewilderment and hurt they leave behind you cannot annul henceforth an alienating chill scudding across your upright headboard flipped into stiffened sheets and consciences eighty and brittle with adult experiences and reconsidered passions confounding even the best intentions but even more final than all finalities fumbled for is the cool crisp â€Å"later† you wall them away with somewhere again love waiting suffers a little falling away you end up wishing lovers are more like gaming children and children less like gnarled impatient lovers. DREAMWEAVERS Marjorie M. Ev asco (b. 1953) We are entitled to our own definitions of the worlds we have in common: earthhouse(stay) waterwell(carry) firestove(tend) airsong(sigh) etherdream(die) and try out new combinations ith key words unlocking power house on fire sing! stove under water stay, earth filled well die. The spells and spellings of our vocabularies are oracular in translation one woman in Pagnito-an another in Solentiname still another in Harxheim and many other women naming half the world together canmove their earth musthouse their fire be water to their song will their dreams well. THE CONVERSION J. Neil C. Garcia (b. 1969) It happened in a metal drum. They put me there, my family that loved me. The water had been saved just for it, that day. The laundry lay caked and smellyIn the flower-shaped basins. Dishes soiled with fat and swill piled high in the sink, and grew flies. My cousins did not get washed that morning. Lost in masks of snot and dust, their faces looked tired and resigned to the dirty lot of children. All the neighbors gathered around our open-air bathroom. Wives peered out from the upper floor of their houses into our yard. Father had arrived booming with his cousins, my uncles. They were big, strong men, my uncles. They turned the house inside-out looking for me. Curled up in the deepest corner of my dead mother’s cabinet, father found me.He dragged me down the stairs by the hair into the waiting arms of my uncles. Because of modesty, I merely screamed and cried. Their hands, swollen and black with hair, bore me up in the air, and touched me. Into the cold of the drum I slipped, the tingling too much to bear at times my knees felt like they had turned into water. Waves swirled up and down around me, my head bobbing up and down. Father kept booming, Girl or Boy. I thought about it and squealed, Girl. Water curled under my nose. When I rose the same two words from father. The same girl kept sinking deeper, breathing deeper in the churning void.In th e end I had to say what they all wanted me to say. I had to bring this diversion to its happy end, if only for the pot of rice left burning in the kitchen. I had to stop wearing my dead mother’s clothes. In the mirror I watched the holes on my ears grow smaller, until they looked as if they had never heard of rhinestones, nor felt their glassy weight. I should feel happy now that I’m redeemed. And I do. Father died within five years. I got my wife pregnant with the next. Our four children, all boys, are the joy of my manhood, my proof. Cousins who never shed their masks lay them for all their snot and grime. Another child is on the way. I have stopped caring what it will be. Water is still a problem and the drum is still there, deep and rusty. The bathroom has been roofed over with plastic. Scrubbed and clean, my wife knows I like things. She follows, though sometimes a pighead she is. It does not hurt to show her who is the man. A woman needs some talking sense into. If not, I hit her in the mouth to learn her. Every time, swill drips from her shredded lips. I drink with my uncles who all agree. They should because tonight I own their souls nd the bottles they nuzzle like their prides. While they boom and boom flies whirr over their heads that grew them. Though nobody remembers, I sometimes think of the girl who drowned somewhere in a dream many dreams ago. I see her at night with bubbles springing like flowers from her nose. She is dying and before she sinks I try to touch her open face. But the water learns to heal itself and closes around her like a wound. I should feel sorry but I drown myself in gin before I can. Better off dead, I say to myself and my family that loves me for my bitter breath. We die to rise to a better life. Humalit Poems – Torres CHILDREN AND LOVERS Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta (1934-2010) children have a special knack for making you feel odd and nude suddenly even with that vaguest piece of smile you ready somewhere to cover a scorching shame when they wickedly naive and sportive barge in without ceremony and when you finally shut that errant door on them again to try resuming love you terminate it both ways instead it seems the look of bewilderment and hurt they leave behind you cannot annul henceforth an alienating chill scudding across your upright headboard flipped into stiffened sheets and consciences eighty and brittle with adult experiences and reconsidered passions confounding even the best intentions but even more final than all finalities fumbled for is the cool crisp â€Å"later† you wall them away with somewhere again love waiting suffers a little falling away you end up wishing lovers are more like gaming children and children less like gnarled impatient lovers. DREAMWEAVERS Marjorie M. Ev asco (b. 1953) We are entitled to our own definitions of the worlds we have in common: earthhouse(stay) waterwell(carry) firestove(tend) airsong(sigh) etherdream(die) and try out new combinations ith key words unlocking power house on fire sing! stove under water stay, earth filled well die. The spells and spellings of our vocabularies are oracular in translation one woman in Pagnito-an another in Solentiname still another in Harxheim and many other women naming half the world together canmove their earth musthouse their fire be water to their song will their dreams well. THE CONVERSION J. Neil C. Garcia (b. 1969) It happened in a metal drum. They put me there, my family that loved me. The water had been saved just for it, that day. The laundry lay caked and smellyIn the flower-shaped basins. Dishes soiled with fat and swill piled high in the sink, and grew flies. My cousins did not get washed that morning. Lost in masks of snot and dust, their faces looked tired and resigned to the dirty lot of children. All the neighbors gathered around our open-air bathroom. Wives peered out from the upper floor of their houses into our yard. Father had arrived booming with his cousins, my uncles. They were big, strong men, my uncles. They turned the house inside-out looking for me. Curled up in the deepest corner of my dead mother’s cabinet, father found me.He dragged me down the stairs by the hair into the waiting arms of my uncles. Because of modesty, I merely screamed and cried. Their hands, swollen and black with hair, bore me up in the air, and touched me. Into the cold of the drum I slipped, the tingling too much to bear at times my knees felt like they had turned into water. Waves swirled up and down around me, my head bobbing up and down. Father kept booming, Girl or Boy. I thought about it and squealed, Girl. Water curled under my nose. When I rose the same two words from father. The same girl kept sinking deeper, breathing deeper in the churning void.In th e end I had to say what they all wanted me to say. I had to bring this diversion to its happy end, if only for the pot of rice left burning in the kitchen. I had to stop wearing my dead mother’s clothes. In the mirror I watched the holes on my ears grow smaller, until they looked as if they had never heard of rhinestones, nor felt their glassy weight. I should feel happy now that I’m redeemed. And I do. Father died within five years. I got my wife pregnant with the next. Our four children, all boys, are the joy of my manhood, my proof. Cousins who never shed their masks lay them for all their snot and grime. Another child is on the way. I have stopped caring what it will be. Water is still a problem and the drum is still there, deep and rusty. The bathroom has been roofed over with plastic. Scrubbed and clean, my wife knows I like things. She follows, though sometimes a pighead she is. It does not hurt to show her who is the man. A woman needs some talking sense into. If not, I hit her in the mouth to learn her. Every time, swill drips from her shredded lips. I drink with my uncles who all agree. They should because tonight I own their souls nd the bottles they nuzzle like their prides. While they boom and boom flies whirr over their heads that grew them. Though nobody remembers, I sometimes think of the girl who drowned somewhere in a dream many dreams ago. I see her at night with bubbles springing like flowers from her nose. She is dying and before she sinks I try to touch her open face. But the water learns to heal itself and closes around her like a wound. I should feel sorry but I drown myself in gin before I can. Better off dead, I say to myself and my family that loves me for my bitter breath. We die to rise to a better life.

Does Marketing Sharp the Needs and Wants of Customers or Reflect the Needs and Wants of Customers

Since as we knew marketing came to people’s life in the 1950s and 1960s. With the rapid improvement in marketing, there is an strong argument, which is marketing shapes the needs and wants or marketing reflects the needs and wants of customers. People used to define that marketing is selling goods which people do not really need. However, marketing concept defined as â€Å"achieving organizational goals depend on determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors† (kotler, 2008). International markets are always changing. Facing the challenges of globalization of markets, the economy of regionalization and transnational business, business operators face a fierce competition in the market. They must establish the correct concept of marketing, a rapid and flexible response mechanism. Marketing is a key factor for business success. Achieving good performance businesses are all based on marketing for their own development-oriented. Marketing concept requires enterprises to adopt a consumer-centric approach, the production and sale of the reality that meet customer needs and potential needs of the goods, and to evaluate whether the enterprise to achieve customer satisfaction as the level of marketing standards. Marketing is to meet the needs of the people, meeting needs and desires of customer is the starting point of marketing. (Schmitt, 2001) The purpose of marketing is to satisfy needs of customers. In the highly competitive market, how to build competitive advantage is the key to success. Modern marketing concept that is the key to achieving organizational goals, correctly determine the target market's needs and desires. Moreover, they can supply and provide desired satisfaction more effectively than competitors. Company must establish and maintain long-term stakeholders, especially the good relations with customers. The reasons for who agree that Marketing shapes needs and wants of customers Marketing should identify those needs and wants which customers do not request. But company should go farther than customers, the customer is short-sighted. This is a competition-oriented marketing approach, which requires companies in marketing activities, must be constantly on the product and other factors that affect the marketing performance of innovation or improvement to be substantial. In order to ensure that customers will not flow to other companies. Sony is an example of creation of marketing, because it successfully into the customer has not asked or even thought of the many new products: music players, video recorders, video cameras, optical drives, etc. Sony is market-driven company. Create marketing is a customer-oriented, more competitive and technology oriented. They assume that the needs of customers may be potential. beyond the customer-oriented, is the business from their own core competencies, development strategy and competition and other constraint conditions. It is not only to meet customer needs, more important is the ability to create customer demands, which enable enterprises to survive and development of business ideas. Enterprises get rid of the intense competition in product homogeneity, not only in product quality, technological innovation and the development of marketable varieties, but also pay more attention to the potential demand of its target consumers, often insight into consumer psychology and their the tendency of consumption habits, research, analysis of consumption trends and spending power and tap their potential, the demand unnoticed to adapt to consumer demand based on the constant induction, be inspired, and quickly meet the new demands it. Marketing is not a creation of the creation of the blind, but on the basis of full investigation needs to target consumers based on the creation of psychology is to create and use of effective marketing strategies to start a potential combination. Greater profit margins of market segments, and create customer-oriented marketing concept that does not necessarily lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty, such as novelty in the novelty under the control of consumer psychology. Customer-oriented enterprises may lose industry insight, so that enterprises can take the lead in the future. Otherwise, the enterprise may loss the insight of market, because customers are often short-sighted Reasons for who agree with that marketing reflects needs and wants of customers It is is customer-oriented marketing philosophy. They assume that demand of consumer is realistic and clear. As people's living standards improve, people's demand for diversified and personalized directions. To be able to satisfy customers, enterprise must clearly recognize the needs of customers to produce marketable products. They need to be more timely and effective to meet those needs than competitors. Drucker,2005) The purpose of marketing is to make selling superfluous, marketing aimed at a profound knowledge and understanding of the customer, so that the product or service perfectly suited to people’s needs and the it will change selling products into sales by products themselves. My personal opinion of this argument No matter we consider that marketing reflects the needs and wants or shapes t he needs and wants of customers. The hypostasis of them is same, which in order to meet the needs of customers, achieve the objectives of company and improve values of customers. In addition, customer’s needs can be divided into potential needs and dominant needs. The primary thing for marketer is to recognize the real needs of customers, then develop appropriate strategies come to influence the production process. As market competition intensifies, customers for the homogenization of the products showed a fatigued, the innovation is the proper guide and a tool to meet customer demand. To sum up, there are just two different interpretations. The purpose is to define and handle the relationship between enterprises and customers. To be win-win situation is the final target. References: Drucker, P,2005, â€Å"Relationship marketing in consumer markets†,accessed 12/03/2011, http://www. boxingzhuoyue. com/ziyuan/shichang/343. html Kotler, P,Adam,S ,Denize,S;Armsrong,G 2008,Principles of Marketing,Frenchs Forest, Australia Schmitt, B 2001, â€Å"Experiential marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, and relate to your company and brands†, accessed 12/03/2011, http://books. google. com. au/books? hl=zh-CN;lr=;id=d6TsNYeb1lUC;oi=fnd;pg=PR13;dq=marketing+shapes+customers+needs;ots=1dmyDRBAAV;sig=Sh11ccbodeJyycqaICtrCXA7Guc#v=onepage;q;f=false

Marketing Mistakes and Successes

ELEVENTH EDITION MARKETING MISTAKES AND SUCCESSES 30TH ANNIVERSARY Robert F. Hartley Cleveland State University JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. VICE PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE MARKETING MANAGER ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER MARKETING ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER SENIOR MEDIA EDITOR George Hoffman Lise Johnson Carissa DoshiDorothy Sinclair Matt Winslow Amy Scholz Carly DeCandia Alana Filipovich Jeof Vita Arthur Medina Allison Morris This book was set in 10/12 New Caledonia by Aptara ®, Inc. and printed and bound by Courier/Westford. The cover was printed by Courier/Westford. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright  © 2009, 2006, 2004, 2001, 1998, 1995, 1992, 1989, 1986, 1981, 1976 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www. copyright. com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, (201)748-6011, fax (201)748-6008, website http://www. wiley. com/go/permissions. To order books or for customer service please, call 1-800-CALL WILEY (225-5945). Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hartley, Robert F. , 1927Marketing mistakes and successes/Robert F. Hartley. —11th ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-470-16981-0 (pbk. ) 1. Marketing—United States—Case studies. I. Title. HF5415. 1. H37 2009 658. 800973—dc22 2008040282 ISBN-13 978- 0-470-16981-0 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PREFACEWelcome to the 30th anniversary of Marketing Mistakes and Successes with this 11th edition. Who would have thought that interest in mistakes would be so enduring? Many of you are past users, a few even for decades. I hope you will find this new edition a worthy successor to earlier editions. I think this may even be my best book. The new Google and Starbucks cases should arouse keen student interest, and may even inspire another generation of entrepreneurs. A fair number of the older cases have faced significant changes in the last few years, for better or for worse, and these we have captured to add to learning insights.After so many years of investigating mistakes, and more recently successes also, it might seem a challenge to keep these new editions fresh and interesting. The joy of the chase has made this an intriguing endeavor through the decades. Still, it is always difficult to abandon interesti ng cases that have stimulated student discussions and provoked useful insights, but newer case possibilities are ever contesting for inclusion. Examples of good and bad handling of problems and opportunities are forever emerging. But sometimes we bring back an oldie, and with updating, gain a new perspective.For new users, I hope the book will meet your full expectations and be an effective instructional tool. Although case books abound, you and your students may find this somewhat unique and very readable, a book that can help transform dry and rather remote concepts into practical reality, and lead to lively class discussions, and even debates. In the gentle environment of the classroom, students can hone their analytical skills and also their persuasive skills—not selling products but selling their ideas—and defend them against critical scrutiny. This is great practice for the arena of business to come.NEW TO THIS EDITION In contrast to the early editions, which exa mined only notable mistakes, and based on your favorable comments about recent editions, I have again included some well-known successes. While mistakes provide valuable learning insights, we can also learn from successes and find nuggets by comparing the unsuccessful with the successful. With the addition of Google and Starbucks, we have moved Entrepreneurial Adventures up to the front of the book. We have continued Marketing Wars, which many of you recommended, and reinstated Comebacks of firms iii iv †¢ Preface ising from adversity. I have also brought back Ethical Mistakes, because I believe that organizations more than ever need to be responsive to society’s best interests. Altogether, this 11th edition brings seven new cases to replace seven that were deleted from the previous edition. Some of the cases are so current we continued updating until the manuscript left for the production process. We have tried to keep all cases as current as possible by using Postscrip ts, Later Developments, and Updates. A number of you have asked that I identify which cases would be appropriate for the traditional overage of topics as organized in typical marketing texts. With most cases it is not possible to truly compartmentalize the mistake or success to merely one topic. The patterns of success or failure tend to be more pervasive. Still, I think you will find the following classification of cases by subject matter to be helpful. I thank those of you who made this and other suggestions. Classification of Cases by Major Marketing Topics Topics Most Relevant Cases Marketing Research and Consumer Analysis Coca-Cola, Disney, McDonald’s, Google, Starbucks ProductStarbucks, Nike, Coke/Pepsi, McDonald’s, Maytag, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Newell Rubbermaid, DaimlerChrysler, Kmart/Sears, Harley-Davidson, Boeing/Airbus, Merck, Boston Beer, Firestone/Ford, Southwest, MetLife, Borden, United Way, Vanguard, Continental, Euro Disney Distribution Nike, Coke/Peps i, Newell Rubbermaid, Harley-Davidson, Vanguard, Starbucks, Kmart/Sears, Hewlett-Packard, Dell Promotion Nike, Coke/Pepsi, Maytag, Vanguard, Merck, Boston Beer, Kmart/Sears, Harley-Davidson, Borden, MetLife, HewlettPackard, Southwest Air, Google, Starbucks PriceContinental, Southwest, Vanguard, Starbucks, Boston Beer, Dell, Euro Disney, Newell Rubbermaid, Boeing/Airbus, McDonald’s Non-product Google, United Way, Disney, Southwest, Continental International Euro Disney, Boeing/Airbus, Harley-Davidson, Maytag, DaimlerChrysler, Firestone/Ford, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Coke/Pepsi, Starbucks, McDonald’s Customer Relations Newell Rubbermaid, Vanguard, Maytag, Harley, Merck, Firestone/Ford, Starbucks, United Way, Nike, MetLife Social and Ethical Starbucks, Merck, Firestone/Ford, United Way, MetLife Outsourcing Boeing/Airbus, Maytag, Nike, DellPreface †¢ v TARGETED COURSES As a supplemental text, this book can be used in a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses . These range from introduction to marketing/marketing principles to courses in marketing management and strategic marketing. It can also be used as a text in international marketing courses. Retailing, entrepreneurship, and ethics courses could use a number of these cases and their learning insights. It can certainly be used in training programs and even appeal to nonprofessionals who are looking for a good read about well-known firms and personalities. TEACHING AIDSAs in previous editions, you will find a plethora of teaching aids and discussion material within and at the end of each chapter. Some of these will be common to several cases, and illustrate that certain successful and unsuccessful practices are not unique. Information Boxes and Issue Boxes are included in each chapter to highlight relevant concepts and issues, or related information, and we are even testing Profile Boxes. Learning insights help students see how certain practices—both errors and successes cross company lines and are prone to be either traps for the unwary or success modes.Discussion Questions and Hands-On Exercises encourage and stimulate student involvement. A recent pedagogical feature is the Team Debate Exercise, in which formal issues and options can be debated for each case. New in some cases are Devil’s Advocate exercises in which students can argue against a proposed course of action to test its merits. A new pedagogical feature, based on a reviewer’s recommendation, appears at the end of the Analysis section: students are asked to make their own analysis, draw their own conclusions, and defend them, thereby having an opportunity to stretch themselves.In some cases where there is considerable updating, a new feature invites students to Assess the Latest Developments. Invitation to Research suggestions allow students to take the case a step further, to investigate what has happened since the case was written, both to the company and even to some of the individuals involved. In the final chapter, the various learning insights are summarized and classified into general conclusions. An Instructor’s Manual written by the author accompanies the text to provide suggestions and considerations for the pedagogical material within and at he ends of chapters. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It seems fitting to acknowledge everyone who has provided encouragement, information, advice, and constructive criticism through the years since the first edition of these Mistakes books. I hope you all are well and successful, and I truly appreciate your contributions. I apologize if I have missed anybody, and vi †¢ Preface would be grateful to know such so we can rectify this in future editions. I welcome updates to present affiliations. Michael Pearson, Loyola University, New Orleans; Beverlee Anderson, University of Cincinnati; Y. H. Furuhashi, Notre Dame; W.Jack Duncan, University of AlabamaBirmingham; Mike Farley, Del Mar College; Joseph W. Leona rd, Miami University (OH); Abbas Nadim, University of New Haven; William O’Donnell, University of Phoenix; Howard Smith, University of New Mexico; James Wolter, University of Michigan, Flint; Vernon R. Stauble, California State Polytechnic University; Donna Giertz, Parkland College; Don Hantula, St. Joseph’s University; Milton Alexander, Auburn University; James F. Cashman, University of Alabama; Douglas Wozniak, Ferris State University; Greg Bach, Bismark State College; Glenna Dod, Wesleyan College; Anthony McGann, University of Wyoming; Robert D.Nale, Coastal Carolina University; Robert H. Votaw, Amber University; Don Fagan, Daniel Webster University; Andrew J. Deile, Mercer University; Samuel Hazen, Tarleton State University; Michael B. McCormick, Jacksonville State University; Neil K. Friedman, Queens College; Lawrence Aronhime, John Hopkins University; Joseph Marrocco, Boston University; Morgan Milner, Eastern Michigan University; Souha Ezzedeen, Pennsylvania Stat e University, Harrisburg; Regina Hughes, University of Texas; Karen Stewart, Stockton College; Francy Milner, University of Colorado; Greg M.Allenby, Ohio State University; Annette Fortia, Old Westbury; Bruce Ryan, Loyola; Jennifer Barr, Stockton College; Dale Van Cantfort, Piedmont University; Larry Goldstein, Iona University; Duane Prokop, Gannon University; Jeff Stoltman, Wayne State University; Nevena Koukova, Lehigh University; Matthew R. Hartley, University of California, Berkeley; Cindy Claycomb, Wichita State University; Pola Gupta, Wright State University; Joan Lindsey-Mullikin, Babson College. Also: Barnett Helzberg, Jr. f the Shirley and Barnett Helzberg Foundation, and my colleagues from Cleveland State University: Ram Rao, Sanford Jacobs, Andrew Gross and Benoy Joseph. From Wiley: Judith Joseph, Kimberly Mortimer, Carissa Marker. Robert F. Hartley, Professor Emeritus College of Business Administration Cleveland State University Cleveland, Ohio R. [email  protected] ED U ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bob Hartley is Professor Emeritus at Cleveland State University’s College of Business Administration. There he taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in management, marketing, and ethics.Prior to that he taught at the University of Minnesota and George Washington University. His MBA and Ph. D. are from the University of Minnesota, with a BBA from Drake University. Before coming into academia, he spent thirteen years in retailing with the predecessor of Kmart (S. S. Kresge), JCPenney, and Dayton-Hudson and its Target subsidiary. He held positions in store management, central buying, and merchandise management. His first textbook, Marketing: Management and Social Change, was published in 1972. It was ahead of its time in introducing social and environmental issues to the study of marketing.Other books, Marketing Fundamentals, Retailing, Sales Management, and Marketing Research, followed. In 1976 the first Marketing Mistakes book was published and brought a new approach to case studies, making them student-friendly and more relevant to career enhancement than existing books. In 1983, Management Mistakes was published. These books are now in the eleventh and ninth editions, respectively, and have been widely translated. In 1992 Professor Hartley wrote Business Ethics: Violations of the Public Trust. Business Ethics Mistakes and Successes was published in 2005. He is listed in Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World. ii This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface About the Author Chapter 1 Introduction PART I ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVENTURES Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Google: An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut Starbucks: A Paragon of Growth and Employee Benefits Finds Storms Boston Beer: Is Greater Growth Possible? 29 46 PART II MARKETING WARS 61 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Cola Wars: Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi PC Wars: Hewlett-Packard vs. Dell Airliner Wars: Boeing vs. Airbus; and Recent Outsourcing Woes 63 86 PART III COMEBACKS Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 McDonald’s: Rebirth Through ModerationHarley-Davidson: Creating An Enduring Mystique Continental Airlines: Salvaging From the Ashes PART IV MARKETING MANAGEMENT MISTAKES Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Borden: Letting Brands Wither United Way: A Nonprofit Tries to Cope with Image Destruction DaimlerChrysler: A Merger Made in Hades Newell’s Acquisition of Rubbermaid Becomes an Albatross Euro Disney: Bungling a Successful Format Maytag: An Incredible Sales Promotion in England; and Outsourcing Kmart and Sears: A Hedge Fund Manager’s Challenge Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 iii vii 1 9 11 103 127 129 147 161 175 177 190 203 220 233 251 67 ix x †¢ Contents PART V NOTABLE MARKETING SUCCESSES 281 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Southwest Airlines: Success Is Finally Contested Nike: A Powerhouse Brand Vanguard: Is Advertising Really Needed? 283 302 319 PART VI ETHICAL MISTAKES Chapter 21 Chapte r 22 Chapter 23 Merck’s Vioxx: Catastrophe and Other Problems MetLife: Deceptive Sales Practices Ford Explorers with Firestone Tires: A Killer Scenario Ill Handled 335 351 Conclusions: What We Can Learn 380 Chapter 24 Index 333 365 400 CHAPTER ONE Introduction A t this writing, Marketing Mistakes has passed its thirtieth anniversary. Who would have thought?The first edition, back in 1976, was 147 pages and included such long-forgotten cases as Korvette, W. T. Grant, Edsel, Corfam, Gilbert, and the Midi. In this eleventh edition, seven cases from the tenth edition have been dropped, and seven added, several of these being modified from earlier editions. Other cases have been updated, and in some instances reclassified. Two exciting new entrepreneurial cases, Google and Starbucks, are introduced, and the entire Entrepreneurial Adventures moved to the front of the book as Part I. I think your students will find these cases particularly interesting and even inspiring.The popular â€Å"Marketing Wars† is again included, this time as Part II, and it follows major competitors in their furious struggles. Two new parts have been added from older editions: Part III Comebacks, and Part VI Ethical Mistakes. In response to your feedback, the section on notable successes has been continued. Some cases are as recent as today’s headlines; several still have not come to complete resolution. A few older cases have been continued or brought back. For example, Borden last appeared in the ninth edition, but some of you thought the learning insights were important enough to reintroduce the case.We continue to seek what can be learned—insights that are transferable to other firms, other times, other situations. What key factors brought monumental mistakes to some firms and resounding successes for others? Through such evaluations and studies of contrasts, we may learn to improve batting averages in the intriguing, ever-challenging art of decision making. We will encounter organizational life cycles, with an organization growing and prospering, then failing (just as humans do), but occasionally resurging. Success rarely lasts forever, but even the most serious mistakes can be (but are not always) overcome.As in previous editions, a variety of firms, industries, mistakes, and successes are presented. You will be familiar with most of the organizations, although probably not with the details of their situations. We are always on the lookout for cases that can bring out certain points or caveats in the art of marketing decision making, and that give a balanced view of the spectrum of marketing problems. The goal is to present examples that provide 1 2 †¢ Chapter 1: Introduction somewhat different learning experiences, where at least some aspect of the mistake or success is unique. Still, we see similar mistakes occurring time and again.From the prevalence of such mistakes, we have to wonder how much decision making has really progr essed over the decades. The challenge is still there to improve it, and with it marketing efficiency and career advancement. Let us then consider what learning insights we can gain, with the benefit of hindsight, from examining these examples of successful and unsuccessful marketing practices. LEARNING INSIGHTS Analyzing Mistakes In looking at sick companies, or even healthy ones that have experienced difficulties with certain parts of their operations, it is tempting to be overly critical. It is easy to criticize with the benefit of hindsight.Mistakes are inevitable, given the present state of decision making and the dynamic environment facing organizations. Mistakes can be categorized as errors of omission and of commission. Mistakes of omission are those in which no action was taken and the status quo was contentedly embraced amid a changing environment. Such errors, often characteristic of conservative or stodgy management, are not as obvious as the other category of mistakes. T hey seldom involve tumultuous upheaval; rather, the company’s competitive position slowly erodes, until management finally realizes that mistakes having monumental impact have been allowed to happen.The firm’s fortunes often never regain their former luster. Mistakes of commission are more spectacular. They involve hasty decisions often based on faulty research, poor planning, misdirected execution, and the like. Although the costs of eroding competitive position due to errors of omission are difficult to calculate precisely, the costs of errors of commission are often fully evident. For example, with Euro Disney, in 1993 alone the loss was $960 million from a poorly planned venture; it improved in 1994 with only a $366 million loss.With Maytag’s overseas Hoover Division, the costs of an incredibly bungled sales promotion were more than $300 million, and still counting. Then there was the monumental acquisition of Chrysler by Germany’s Daimler, maker of p roud Mercedes, for $36 billion in 1998. After nine tumultuous years, Daimler gave up and sold Chrysler to a private equity firm in 2007 for only $7. 4 billion. Although they may make mistakes, organizations with sharp managements follow certain patterns when confronting difficult situations: 1. Looming problems or present mistakes are quickly recognized. 2.The causes of the problem(s) are carefully determined. 3. Alternative corrective actions are evaluated in view of the company’s resources and constraints. 4. Corrective action is prompt. Sometimes this requires a ruthless axing of the product, the division, or whatever is at fault. Learning Insights †¢ 3 5. Mistakes provide learning experiences. The same mistakes are not repeated, and future operations are consequently strengthened. Slowness to recognize emerging problems leads us to think that management is incompetent or that controls have not been established to provide prompt feedback at strategic control points.Fo r example, a declining competitive position in one or a few geographical areas should be a red flag that something is amiss. To wait months before investigating or taking action may mean a permanent loss of business. Admittedly, signals sometimes get mixed, and complete information may be lacking, but procrastination is not easily defended. Just as problems should be quickly recognized, the causes of these problems— the â€Å"why† of the unexpected results—must be determined as quickly as possible. It is premature, and rash, to take action before knowing where the problems really lie.Returning to the previous example, the loss of competitive position in one or a few markets may reflect circumstances beyond the firm’s immediate control, such as an aggressive new competitor who is drastically cutting prices to â€Å"buy sales. † In this situation, all competing firms will likely lose market share, and little can be done except to stay as competitive as possible with prices and servicing. However, closer investigation may reveal that the erosion of business was due to unreliable deliveries, poor quality control, noncompetitive prices, or incompetent sales staff.With the cause(s) of the problem defined, various alternatives for dealing with it should be identified and evaluated. This may require further research, such as obtaining feedback from customers and from field personnel. Finally, the decision to correct the situation should be made as objectively as possible. If drastic action is needed, there usually is little rationale for delaying. Serious problems do not go away by themselves: They tend to fester and become worse. Finally, some learning experience should result from the misadventure. A vice president of one successful firm told me,I try to give my subordinates as much decision-making experience as possible. Perhaps I err on the side of delegating too much. In any case, I expect some mistakes to be made, some decision s that were not for the best. I don’t come down too hard usually. This is part of the learning experience. But God help them if they make the same mistake again. There has been no learning experience, and I question their competence for higher executive positions. Analyzing Successes Successes deserve as much analysis as mistakes, although admittedly the urgency is less than with an emerging problem that requires quick remedial action.Any analysis of success should seek answers to at least the following questions: Why Were Such Actions Successful? †¢ Was it because of the nature of the environment, and if so, how? †¢ Was it because of particular research, and if so, what and how? 4 †¢ Chapter 1: Introduction †¢ Was it because of particular engineering and/or production efforts, and if so, can these be adapted to other operations? †¢ Was it because of any particular element of the strategy—such as service, promotional activities, or distribution methods—and if so, how, and is it transferable to other operations? Was it because of the specific elements of the strategy meshing well together, and if so, how was this achieved? Was the Situation Unique and Unlikely to Be Encountered Again? †¢ If the situation was not unique, how can these successful techniques be used in the future and defended against competition? ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK In this eleventh edition we have modified the classification of cases somewhat from earlier editions. As mentioned before, Part I, Entrepreneurial Adventures, describes and analyzes well-known recent endeavors.In Part II, Marketing Wars, we examine the actions and countermoves of archrivals in hotly competitive arenas. Part III, Comebacks, studies three firms that faced adversity, and came back better than ever. In Part IV, Marketing Management Mistakes, we delve into seven firms guilty of a variety of mistakes that offer great learning insights. Part V, Notable Marketing Success es, offers paragons of successful marketing strategies and operations. Finally, in Part VI, Ethical Mistakes, we examine three firms whose mistakes had major ethical and legal consequences.Let us briefly describe the cases that follow. Entrepreneurial Adventures Google is arguably the most outstanding successful new enterprise ever. It was founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page who dropped out of Stanford’s Ph. D program to do so. With its search engine, it raised advertising to a new level: targeted advertising. In so doing, it spawned a host of millionaires from its rising stock prices and stock options and made its two founders some of the richest Americans, just under Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. How did they do it?Starbucks is also a rapidly growing new firm—not as much as Google, but still great—and a credit to founder Howard Schultz’s vision of transforming a prosaic product, coffee, into a gourmet coffee house experience at luxury prices. Boston Beer burst on the microbrewery scene with Samuel Adams beers, higher priced even than most imports. Notwithstanding this—or maybe because of it—Boston Beer became the largest microbrewer. It proved that a small entrepreneur can compete successfully against the giants in the industry, and do this on a national scale. Marketing WarsPepsi and Coca-Cola for decades competed worldwide. Usually Coca-Cola won out, but it could never let its guard down; however, it recently did so in Europe. Now a Organization of this Book †¢ 5 trend toward noncarbonated beverages along with Pepsi’s non-drink diversifications is swinging the momentum to Pepsi. But Coca-Cola is trying hard to recover. Dell long dominated the PC market with lowest-prices, direct-to-consumer marketing. Hewlett-Packard, the world’s second biggest computer maker, chose Carly Fiorina, a charismatic visionary, to be its CEO, and she engineered a merger with Compaq.But growth in profitability did no t follow, and early in 2005, the board fired Fiorina. Mark Hurd, an operational person, replaced her, and brought the company to PC dominance. But Michael Dell is fighting back. Boeing long dominated the worldwide commercial aircraft market, with the European Airbus only a minor player. A series of Boeing blunders, however, coupled with an aggressive Airbus, brought market shares close to parity. Both firms are now introducing strikingly new planes, but are finding problems with their outsourcing key components to foreign suppliers.Comebacks McDonald’s had long dominated the fast food restaurant market. Then it began to falter, and hungry competitors made inroads into its competitive position. As it fought to regain its momentum, it explored diversifications and ever more store openings, while profitability plummeted. Recently, it found a new formula for profitable growth. In the early 1960s, Harley-Davidson dominated a static motorcycle industry. Suddenly, Honda burst on the scene and Harley’s market share dropped from 70 percent to 5 percent in only a few years.It took Harley nearly three decades to revive, but now it has created a mystique for its heavy motorcycles and gained new customers. And its Rallies are something else again. The comeback of Continental Airlines from extreme adversity and devastated employee morale to become one of the best airlines in the country is an achievement of no small moment. New CEO Gordon Bethune brought marketing and human relations skills to one of the most rapid turnarounds ever, overcoming a decade of raucous adversarial labor relations and a reputation in the pits.Marketing Management Mistakes Borden, with its enduring symbol of Elsie the Cow, was the country’s largest producer of dairy products. On an acquisitions binge in the 1980s, it became a diversified food processor and marketer—and a $7 billion company. But Borden allowed consumer acceptance of its many brands to wither through unrea listic pricing, ineffective advertising, and an unwieldy organization. United Way of America is a nonprofit organization. The man who led it to become the nation’s largest charity perceived himself as virtually beyond authority.Exorbitant spending, favoritism, conflicts of interest—these went without criticism until investigative reporters from the Washington Post publicized the scandalous conduct. With its public image plummeting, contributions nationwide drastically declined. The real concern was whether United Way could ever regain its former luster. 6 †¢ Chapter 1: Introduction The merger of Chrysler with Daimler, the huge German firm that makes Mercedes, was supposed to be a merger of equals. But Chrysler’s management quickly found otherwise, and the top Chrysler executives were soon replaced by executives from Germany.Assimilation and coordination problems plagued the merger for years. Nine years later, Daimler sold Chrysler to a private equity firm f or tens of billions of dollars less than it paid. Newell, a consumer-products firm, successfully geared its operations to meet the demands of giant retailers, particularly Wal-Mart, whereas Rubbermaid had in recent years been unable to meet those stringent requirements. In 1999, Newell acquired Rubbermaid, confident of turning its operation around, only to find that Rubbermaid’s problems were not easily corrected and that they negatively impacted Newell’s fortunes as well.What do you do now? In April 1992, just outside Paris, Disney opened its first theme part in Europe. It had high expectations and supreme self-confidence (critics later called it arrogance). The earlier Disney parks in California, Florida, and more recently Japan were all spectacular successes. But rosy expectations became a delusion as marketing miscues finally showed Disney that Europeans, and particularly the French, were not carbon copies of visitors elsewhere. The problems of Maytag’s Hoov er subsidiary in the United Kingdom almost defy reason.The subsidiary planned a promotional campaign so generous that the company was overwhelmed with takers; it could neither supply the products nor grant the prizes. In a miscue of multimillion-dollar consequences, Maytag had to foot the bill while trying to appease irate customers. What can we learn from Maytag’s travails? Two faltering retail chains, Kmart and Sears, merged under the auspices of a hedge fund manager, Edward Lampert. Whether two weaklings could become one strong operation to compete with the likes of Wal-Mart and Target was uncertain, though investors bid both stocks up to extravagant levels in anticipation.The rosy expectations collapsed as we moved into a recession in 2007 and 2008. Notable Marketing Successes Southwest Airlines found a strategic window of opportunity as the lowest cost and lowest price carrier between certain cities. And how it milked this opportunity! Now it threatened major airlines in many of their domestic routes. However, by 2008, competitors were beginning to counter Southwest’s price advantage. Nike and Reebok were major competitors in the athletic footwear and apparel market. Nike was overtaken by Reebok in the late 1980s, but then Nike surged far ahead, never to be threatened again.What is the secret of Nike’s increasing dominance? Vanguard has become the largest mutual fund company, charging past Fidelity. Vanguard’s strategy is to downplay marketing, shunning the heavy advertising and overhead of its competitors. It provides investors with better returns through far lower expense ratios and relies mostly on word of mouth and unpaid publicity to General Wrap-Up †¢ 7 gain new customers, while old customers continue to pour in money. Is Vanguard vulnerable to aggressive new competitors? Ethical MistakesMerck, the pharmaceutical giant, learned that its blockbuster arthritis drug, Vioxx, doubled the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Over five years and $500 million in advertising, it had 20 million users in the United States at the time it recalled the drug September 30, 2004. Critics and tort lawyers assailed the company for waiting so long to recall this drug, since some research studies as early as five years before had raised questions about the safety of Vioxx. What can we learn from Merck’s handling of its great profit-making drug now discredited?The huge insurance firm MetLife, whether through loose controls or tacit approval, permitted an agent to use deceptive selling tactics on a grand scale, in the process enriching himself and the company. Investigations by several state attorneys general brought a crisis situation to the firm that it was slow to react to. Eventually, fines and lawsuits totaled almost $2 billion. Product safety lapses that result in injuries and even loss of life are among the worst abuses any company can confront. Worse, however, is when such risks are allowed to continue fo r years.Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone tires were involved in more than 200 deaths from tire failures and vehicle rollovers. After news of the accidents began surfacing, Ford and Firestone each blamed the other for the deaths. Eventually, inept crisis management brought a host of lawsuits resulting in massive recalls and billions in damages. GENERAL WRAP-UP Where possible, the text depicts major personalities involved in these cases. Imagine yourself in their positions, confronting the problems and facing choices at their points of crisis or just-recognized opportunities.What would you have done differently, and why? We invite you to participate in the discussion questions, the handson exercises, the debates appearing at the ends of chapters, and the occasional devil’s advocate invitation (a devil’s advocate is one who argues an opposing viewpoint for the sake of testing the decision). There are also discussion questions for the various boxes within chapters. W hile doing these activities, you may feel the excitement and challenge of decision making under conditions of uncertainty. Perhaps you may even become a fast-track executive and make better decisions.QUESTIONS 1. Do you agree that it is impossible for a firm to avoid mistakes? Why or why not? 2. How can a firm speed up its awareness of emerging problems so that it can take corrective action? Be as specific as you can. 8 †¢ Chapter 1: Introduction 3. Large firms tend to err on the side of conservatism and are slower to take corrective action than smaller ones. Why do you suppose this is? 4. Which is likely to be more costly to a firm, errors of omission or errors of commission? Why? 5. So often we see the successful firm eventually losing its pattern of success.Why is success not more enduring? PART ONE E N T REPREN E U R I A L A D V EN T UR E S This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER TWO Google—An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut I n 1998 Sergey Brin and Larry Page dropped out of the Ph. D program at Stanford to start Google in a friend’s garage. Along the way, they discovered a powerful marketing tool that would revolutionize advertising. Six years later, on August 19, 2004, they took this Internet search and advertising firm public at a price of $85 a share. One year after the initial public offering (IPO), Google stock closed at $280.By 2007, the stock had gone over $700, and lots of people had become very rich. But this was to cause some serious concerns for the firm. Brain Drain Craig Silverstein, a fellow Stanford Ph. D student, was the first hire of Page and Brin. He helped them move their equipment out of Page’s dorm room and into a place with more space and, more importantly, a garage. In early 1999, five months later, the enterprise had grown enough to move into offices on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. The firm’s fortunes continued to improve, and Craig became director of technology in charge of product develo pment.Before many years, Craig realized he had become very rich indeed. From the beginning, Google gave its employees stock options in lieu of competitive salaries that in those days it could ill afford. These options gave employees the right to purchase a given number of shares of stock at a certain price, called a vested price, some years in the future. Even before going public in 2004, it had granted two big batches of such options. A 2002 grant that was priced at 30 cents a share vested in 2006. Another, priced at $4 a share in 2003, also vested in 2006.In May 2008, another round of options would be exercisable at $35, far more costly than the 30 cent option, but the way the stock was going up since the IPO, this higher price was of little consequence. By 2007, Craig was worth well over $100 million in Google stock and was becoming richer with every passing day. He knew that some 700 of his associates were worth at least $5 million, and he knew that many of them were talking abo ut quitting, with some wanting to start their own businesses. He knew that Bismarck Lepe, for example, who began working 11 12 †¢ Chapter 2: Google—An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut or Google in 2003, had left the firm immediately after his four-year options vested in 2007. He now had a few million dollars that would help him start his own firm—2 million in only four years, wow! Craig couldn’t help pondering whether he should do the same. After all, how many hundreds of millions does one man need? But he did not really see himself as an entrepreneur. At his young age, about the same age as Sergey and Larry, he was not ready to retire to some South Sea island and count coconuts. So he stayed, caught up in the challenge of solving tough problems with other smart Googlers. Making the brain drain all the more tempting for many of these employees was Google’s hiring of the brightest young people, the very ones most likely to become entrepreneurs, if given the chance. Their ambitions fed on the great example of Google, as well as a plethora of smaller enterprises in this hotbed of innovation that was Silicone Valley with its great research universities such as Stanford. SERGEY BRIN AND LARRY PAGE AND THE START OF GOOGLE In 1998 when the venture that was to be Google was only an idea, Sergey and Larry were both 25 years old and were doctoral students at Stanford.Sergey was a math whiz, having completed his undergraduate degree at 19, and aced all ten of the required doctoral exams on his first try, and teamed easily with professors doing research. His parents’ backgrounds were rich in science and technology. His mother was a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. His father, Michael, taught math at the University of Maryland. Sergey was born in Moscow, but he and his family left the Soviet Union when he was six, fleeing anti-Semitism and seeking greater opportunity for themselves and their children.Larry Page grew up in Michigan, also the son of a professor whose Ph. D was computer science, and who taught at Michigan State University where Larry’s mother also taught computer programming. He followed in the footsteps of his father and brother by going to the University of Michigan where he studied computer engineering, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1995. At first he had felt uneasy about being one of the select few to be admitted to Stanford’s elite Ph. D program. In those early days, these sons of esteemed professors were focused on pursuing their Ph. Ds, not on getting rich. In their families, nothing trumped the value of a great education. Neither of them had the slightest idea just how soon their heartfelt commitment to academia would be tested. †2 The Beginning In the mid-1990s, the Internet was just emerging. Millions of people were logging on and communicating through email. But researchers grew frustrated with the clutter of Web sites. Searching it for relev ant information often resulted in an abundance of completely meaningless data. Search engines began to organize the Internet, and thus Yahoo and AltaVista among others were born. But they still left a lot to be 1 2Examples can be found in Quentin Hardy, â€Å"Close to the Vest,† Forbes, July 2, 2007, pp. 40–42. David A. Vise, The Google Story, New York: Delacorte, 2005, p. 31. Sergey Brin and Larry Page and the Start of Google †¢ 13 desired. The answer to more relevant research seemed to be a better use of links, such as a highlighted word or phrase. In 1996, Page and Brin teamed up to work on downloading and analyzing Web links. In the process they developed a ranking system for searching the Internet that yielded prioritized results based on relevance to the object of the search, and useful answers could be found swiftly.In 1997, they made the search engine available to students, faculty, and administrators on the Stanford campus, and popularity grew by word of mouth. As the database and number of users burgeoned, more computers were needed. In these early days, Brin and Page were able to scrounge around for unused computers and string together inexpensive PCs. By July 1998, they had an index of 24 million pages, with more coming. But their growth was stymied by lack of capital. They decided to take a leave of absence from the Ph. D program and start their own firm.This way they could develop a business of their own that would fit their search engine. If it was as good as they thought, and with Internet use growing so rapidly, growth could be virtually unlimited. Rather than selling out to some existing firm, wouldn’t they be better off keeping control? Still, by August they had run out of cash and badly needed an â€Å"angel. † One of their professors suggested they meet his friend, Andy Bechtolsheim, a legendary investor in a string of successful start-ups. After listening to their presentation, he said, â€Å"This is the single best idea I’ve heard in years.I want to be part of this,† and he left them a check for $100,000 made out to Google Inc. 3 It took them two weeks before they could formally incorporate the company, Google Inc. , and then open their first bank account. The check sustained the two entrepreneurs at first, and in fall 1998 they moved their computers from a dorm room into a garage and several rooms of a house. They also hired a friend, Craig Silverstein (mentioned earlier), as their first employee. After five months they outgrew the garage and moved into offices in downtown Palo Alto, barely a mile from the Stanford campus.By now, their search engine was handling 100,000 queries a day, all this through word of mouth, emails, and instant messages. But they were again running out of money, despite the now $1 million in funding that they had collected from Bechtolsheim and other early investors, and through borrowing on their credit cards. But it was clear that with upwar d of 500,000 searches per day toward the end of the year, they needed much more money. In the boomtown climate of Silicon Valley in early 1999, a public stock offering was one option, even though Google had no profits.But Brin and Page resisted this option, not wanting to reveal their trade secrets and lose some control. Efforts to license their search technology to other firms wishing to use it for research, found few takers. Eventually they went the venture capital route. But Brin and Page insisted on keeping control of Google’s destiny and remain majority owners, or it was no deal. On June 7, 1999, less than one year after they left Stanford, they issued a press release announcing that two venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital, were investing $25 million in Google.On the Stanford campus and around Palo Alto, amazement reigned at the enormity of the sum seemingly without the two giving anything up in return. â€Å"The announcement included details of t he funding as well as additional information about Google, its impressive list of investors, and its growth 3 Vise, p. 48. 14 †¢ Chapter 2: Google—An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut rate of 50 percent per month. All this put the company in the global limelight, giving it the opportunity to grow further through free media publicity. †4 But Google still had not earned any appreciable revenue to upport its heady growth, and no plan for this was revealed in the press release. THE EARLY GROWTH YEARS By the end of 1999, Google was averaging 7 million searches per day, but its revenue from licensing remained small. If the business could not be reasonably profitable, they could hardly maintain their vision of vast information available to users without charge. With licensing its search technology to businesses proving to be such a limited revenue source, they finally were forced to consider allowing advertisers access to their multitude of users.Brin and Page could see a relati onship between their search engine and the television networks: those offered entertainment and news for free, while charging millions for the advertising. But the two shuddered at the flashy banner ads that littered the Internet. Still, they belatedly recognized that advertising was where vast sums were being spent, not in licensing, Creating a Different Advertising Model They wanted to avoid the clutter of almost out-of-control, irrelevant ads, and they developed strict standards for size and type of ads.They separated the free search results from the ads, which they would label â€Å"Sponsored Links. † These â€Å"Links,† because of their relevance to the search, would be clicked on more often than if they were labeled simply â€Å"Ads. † They decided to display the links in a clearly marked box above the free search results. The ads would be brief and look identical, with just a headline, a short description, and a link to a web page. But these would be targ eted ads, offering a major advantage for advertisers confronted with the huge wastage of advertising reaching uninterested audiences.At first Google sold this advertising to large businesses that could afford expensive ad campaigns, but it soon found substantial market potential in letting smaller advertisers easily sign up online with a credit card, and their ads could then be running within minutes. This gave Google an edge over similar providers unable to offer such fast service, and also minimized its own costs of selling advertising. Shortly after turning to its advertising model, Brin and Page had another innovative idea—they would rank ads based on relevance.And relevance would be determined by how often ads were clicked on by computer users. This would provide valuable feedback to advertisers and influence the selling and pricing of ads. CHARGING AHEAD When the Internet stock price bubble burst in 2000, it ravaged the former highflying entrepreneurial firms of Silicon e Valley with major layoffs and bankruptcies. But Google stood poised at the nadir of its great growth to come and was one of 4 Vise, p. 69. Charging Ahead †¢ 15 the few firms able to hire outstanding software engineers and mathematicians, many holding worthless stock options.This pool of talent stimulated Google’s growth as it moved to a large headquarters in Mountain View, named the Googleplex, forty minutes south of San Francisco. There Brin and Page developed a work environment practically unprecedented. See the following Information Box for some examples of this culture that was designed to cultivate strong loyalty and job satisfaction and to foster a creative, playful environment where Google’s employees, mostly young and single, would be willing to spend their waking hours. By early 2001, Google was recording 100 million searches per day.It was also entering the dictionary as a verb, as for example, to â€Å"google each other before dates. † Now larg e firms, such as Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, and Acura, a major automobile manufacturer, joined the entourage of firms advertising their wares on Google. What was the secret behind the rapid growth of Google’s advertising program? As we saw before, Google came up with an unique approach to advertising, an INFORMATION BOX WORK CLIMATE AT GOOGLE Employees worked long hours but were treated like family. There was even a gourmet chef, with free meals, healthy drinks and snacks.The chef took pride in providing better meals than found in area restaurants. Given the international mix of employees, the menu was varied to cater to all tastes: Southwestern, classic Italian, French, African, Asian, Indian, etc. The Wall Street Journal sent a reporter out to investigate. â€Å"Where else but the Plex can you zip around on a bicycle and choose from multicultural comfort food, American regional food, small plates, entrees made with five ingredients or less, and dishes b ased on raw materials supplied from within 150 miles of Mountain View?Many employees eat three meals a day at the Plex’s 17 food venues, open any time day or night. . . . We were told that Messrs. Brin and Page chow down with the troops. † (Raymond Sokolov, â€Å"Googling Lunch,† Wall Street Journal, December 1–2, 2007, pp. W1 and W5. ) Also furnished were such conveniences as on-site laundry, hair styling, dental and medical care, a car wash, day care, fitness facilities with personal trainers, and a professional masseuse. Brightly colored medicine balls, lava lamps, assorted gadgets and sports equipment gave the appearance of a college campus.Chartered buses had internet access so that commuters to San Francisco could use their laptops. Social events and entertainment were Friday afternoon and evening features. As a spur for creativity, a policy was set that software engineers spend at least 20 percent of their time, or one day a week, working on whateve r projects interested them. Do you see any downside to these workplace amenities? Would these influence your choosing to work for Google despite less money? Would some of these be appropriate to other firms? If so, what kind of firms? 16 †¢ Chapter 2: Google—An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut pproach that most advertisers previously could only dream of: i. e. , Targeted Text Ads. The unobtrusive ads are seen only by potential customers who are searching for information on that specific topic. In one swell swoop this advertising virtually eliminates the great waste of most mass media advertising that is viewed by a vast audience who have no interest whatever in the product being advertised despite millions and hundreds of millions of dollars being spent. For an example of the waste of such untargeted ads, consider an airline spending $1 million or more on a TV ad campaign that gains only 100 new first-class customers as a result. Furthermore, in Google-placed ads no intrusive banners compete for attention. The text ads (links) and websites are read carefully by users or potential users, and these often find the ads as valuable as the actual search results. A New CEO In early January 2001, at the urging of its venture capitalists, Larry and Sergey reluctantly consented to hire a chief executive officer to run operations. Eric Schmidt was highly recommended by one of the venture capitalists. He not only had entrepreneurial experience as founder of Sun Microsystems, and CEO of Novell, but also academic credentials—a Ph.D in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley, and a degree in electrical engineering from Princeton. Then there was research experience at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and Bell Labs. At 46, he was a seasoned tech executive and brought a needed mature balance to this organization of young people. Besides, he was willing to invest $1 million of his own money to buy preferred stock in Google, this at a time when the company was running short of cash again. (It would soon never again run short of cash. ) Google entered into pacts with Yahoo, AOL, EarthLink, and Ask Jeeves.This gave it relationships with most of the biggest Internet properties. By the end of 2002, Google and its venture capitalists could see that the search engine was going to be a huge financial success. For the year, it had recorded $440 million in sales and an amazing $100 million in profits. Virtually all of these profits came from people clicking on the text ads that were on the right side of search results pages at Google. com and the pages of its partners and affiliates. But the world did not realize the extent of this profitability since Google was still a private company.This silence about the profitability of the online search and advertising business model undoubtedly kept other firms, especially Microsoft and Yahoo, from investing in or developing search engines of their own—until Google had an almost insur mountable head start. The advertising industry was being transformed as well, as billions of dollars of advertising was being shifted from television, radio, newspapers, and magazines to the Internet. But the time was nearing for Google to go public, and with this full disclosure would shock the investment community and make Google stock the darling of investors and employees alike. Example cited in Seth Godin, â€Å"Your Product, Your Customer,† Forbes, May 7, 2007, p. 52. Going Public †¢ 17 GOING PUBLIC Finally in early 2004, Larry and Sergey reluctantly started the process of taking Google public. In truth, their decision was practically dictated by federal rules that required public disclosure of financial results by companies with a substantial amount of assets and shareholders, and Google had exceeded these limits with many of the company employees having been given stock in the then-private firm. This move would enable them to convert their holdings to cash.The ve nture capitalists who had supplied the early crucial funds would also benefit from the liquidity that going public would provide. For most entrepreneurs, taking their new firm public was the ultimate goal since the IPO (initial public offering) would often make them instant millionaires. But for Brin and Page, the reality of being billionaires was not all that appealing. They both lived relatively modestly, loved the privacy, and cared little for the accumulation of wealth and the accoutrements of wealth—such as grand homes, planes, and yachts to attest to their success.The company was debt free, self-funded, had plenty of cash, and had no need to sell stock to the public to raise money. They were not sure they wanted the immense publicity and what it would entail and affect the freedoms they had enjoyed, and that of their families. For example, would they need bodyguards? How about the paparazzi? And their employees who would become instant millionaires, how would this affec t their intensity and focus? And would they even stay with Google, or go out on their own? (We know that many left to start their own enterprises. In early 2004, the employees were quietly told that the company was going to file a public offering. And thousands of Google employees, spouses, and interested others began an eight-month guessing game of how much the company and themselves would be worth. The eight months proved to be a stressful time for almost all concerned, but probably most of all for Brin and Page. Their reluctance to disclose much before the public auction did not endear them to the media. Then an ill-advised Playboy interview did not go well and even triggered a SEC investigation.To make matters worse, the stock market was tanking as world oil prices spiked, and many analysts were warning of a global recession. Also, the Athens Olympics were starting amid great fears of terrorism. Google and its bankers realized that the initial price range of $108–$135 wou ld probably not be acceptable to the market at this time, and on August 19, Google finally went public at $85 a share. By the end of the first day, the stock had reached nearly $100. By the next day it was $108. It reached $200 in November and kept climbing from there.Forbes, in its listing of the 400 Richest Americans cited Brin and Page’s wealth at $4 billion each at the end of 2004, due to the success of the IPO. Then in 2006, â€Å"The Google Guys crack the top 10 of the Forbes 400, each now worth $18. 5 billion. † This placed them as the fifth richest Americans, in the company of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, ahead of Michael Dell of Dell Computer, and way ahead of Donald Trump. And they were both only 34. 6 6 Forbes, Forbes 400 The Richest People in America, October 8, 2007, p. 78. 18 †¢ Chapter 2: Google—An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut AFTER THE IPOAfter the IPO, the pace of innovation at Google got into high gear. New products and innovations were be ing spawned and made available to millions of customers around the world. Google became the darling of the media; no other firm or individual got the press coverage of Google. The fact that it was now a public company with its financial performance readily available—and as such now well covered by financial analysts who did not cover private firms—made its promising results and potential very visible. It expanded the lead in its core search and advertising business in the United States and much of the world.And with its new cash horde, it eagerly branched out into new areas, even such far out visions as a Green renewable-energy program to find ways to generate electricity more cheaply than by burning coal. 7 Not surprising, the growth of Google was being compared with that of Microsoft two decades earlier. Google was also becoming a major competitor of Microsoft, not in PCs, but in a later phase of technology that was surpassing the earlier technology, this time by the power of the Internet revolution. But perhaps the real competition was in recruiting and retaining the brightest technology minds in the world.But more about this later. For now, let us compare this early growth of Google with Microsoft in the Information Box beginning on page 19. Google’s Poaching of Talent As the business burgeoned in the spring and summer of 2005, Google added more than 700 employees in just three months. The total headcount now was 4,183, nearly double the total the previous year. Google was hiring Ph. Ds from the top universities across the country, and even trespassing on Microsoft’s own neighborhood, at the University of Washington.It opened a facility in a Seattle suburb just down the road from Microsoft’s Redmond plant, and now it was easy for their engineers and scientists to move over to Google. They didn’t even have to move to a new city or change their commute. In these days, Microsoft was viewed as a mature business. It no longer had the sex appeal that Google had grasped. Microsoft was struggling to keep its best people, even offering more money and perks. But the amazing growth and potential of Google brought the lure of great riches as stock options became valuable.As mentioned before, not the least of the perks that Google offered were the free restaurants and other amenities at its Googleplex headquarters in the Silicone Valley 40 minutes south of San Francisco. The increasing poaching of talent climaxed with Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, a highly regarded scientist, who wanted to leave Microsoft to become president of Google China. Microsoft began an all-out legal assault alleging that Google improperly sought to induce Lee to violate the terms of his employment contract with Microsoft. A temporary triumph over Google raised the specter of litigation for any senior Microsoft employee who left for Google.The wide publicity served to illustrate how seriously Microsoft regarded the threat posed by its smaller ri val. 8 7 Rebecca Smith and Kevin J. Delaney, â€Å"Google’s Electricity Initiative,† Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2007, p. A16. 8 Vise, p. 274. Analysis †¢ 19 ANALYSIS Here we have seen perhaps the greatest growth ever of a new enterprise. In the exuberance of this growth, investors bid up its stock market price to make the company more valuable than such long-established firms as Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Time Warner, AT&T, Boeing, Disney, McDonald’s, and General Motors and Ford.INFORMATION BOX COMPARISON OF MICROSOFT AND GOOGLE Table 2. 1 Comparison of Microsoft and Google Growth in Revenues from Their Beginnings Microsoft Beginning Went Public Years from Beginning 1975 1986 11 years Revenues (millions) 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Google Y/Y Growth $ 1996 2004 8 years 40. 7% 75. 1 70. 1 36. 0 47. 3 55. 8 49. 7 197 346 591 831 1,183 1,843 2,759 1996 28,365 32,187 36,835 39,735 44,282 Y/Y Growth $ 409% 233. 9 117. 5 92. 5 72. 8 9. 400 2002 200 3 2004 2005 2006 Revenues (millions) 13. 5 14. 4 7. 9 11. 4 439 1,466 3,189 6,138 10,605Source: Calculated from company annual reports. Commentary: The much faster start of Google is mind-boggling. The experts thought Microsoft was the model of the most successful entrepreneurial start ever. Bill Gates did not rush to take his venture public, waiting 11 years to do so, at which time revenues were almost $200 million. Google on the other hand delayed only six years before going public, but its revenues were already over $3 billion. As we can see, the year-to-year growth rate also strongly favored Google, with around a hundred percent growth since 2004. The two years before going public showed growth over 400 percent and 200 percent each year. ) The comparison between a young growth company and a mature Microsoft is clearly evident. (continues) 20 †¢ Chapter 2: Google—An Entrepreneurial Juggernaut COMPARISON OF MICROSOFT AND GOOGLE (continued) Table 2. 2 Comparison of Micr osoft and Google Net Income from Their B