Marijuana Should Be Legal Essays -- Legalization of Marijuana

Abstract The following is a proposal for a public policy that would legalize marijuana and have the drug be treated as alcohol. This is necessary because the current policy is detrimental to society and the legalization of marijuana would be beneficial. The prohibition of the drug is unfounded because tobacco and alcohol, legalized substances, are more dangerous than marijuana. Also, the legislation regarding the drug was created on racist sentiments, reducing the law’s credibility. The current policy also creates a dangerous black market and renders our prison system ineffective. The legalization of cannabis would bring undeniable medical and economic benefits to society and the government. Varying degrees of marijuana legalization have proved that, if controlled, the drug is rarely damaging to a society or its population. In fact, the benefits of such legalizations seem to greatly outweigh the drawbacks, making legalization the only logical choice. The debate over marijuana is endless. Due to historical portrayals, marijuana is still often seen as a dangerous drug. This myth, however, is outdated. In fact, marijuana is actually a useful drug that, if legalized, would bring many positive consequences to society. Marijuana should be legalized and treated like alcohol with regards to its regulation. A change in the outdated federal policy of strict prohibition would be an advancement of society and its values. To begin with, the racial implications behind the enactment of the policy suggest that it should not have been enacted in the first place. Throughout the early 20th century, marijuana was associated with Mexican laborers in the United States. There was a strong racist sentiment towards Mexicans in America, especially in the Southwest. Consequently, elite Americans looked down upon marijuana use for its association with this particular group (Rowe 26-27). The drug was actually originally spelled â€Å"marihuana,† which is how the word appears in the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act that made marijuana illegal. The drug is now commonly referred to as â€Å"marijuana.† This happened with the help of William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper-publishing giant in the early 20th century. Hearst began calling the substance â€Å"marijuana† so it appeared foreign and became further associated with Mexicans (Gahlinger 34). Later, marijuana became associated with the jazz scene and Af... ... Works Cited Barrett, Devlin. â€Å"New Medical Marijuana Policy: Obama Administration Will Not Seek Arrests For People Following State Laws.† The Huffington Post online 1 Nov. 2009. 18 Oct. 2014. . Fish, Jefferson M. â€Å"Five Drug Policy Fallacies.† Drugs and Society: U.S. Public Policy. Ed. Jefferson M. Fish. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006. 79-96. Gahlinger, Paul. Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse. New York: Plume, 2004. Grinspoon, Lester, and James B. Bakalar. Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. Hoeffel, John. â€Å"Medical Marijuana Gets a Boost from Major Doctors Group.† The Los Angeles Times online 12 Nov. 2009. 11 Nov. 2014. . Krisberg, Kim. â€Å"Fight for Reform of U.S. Drug Policies Slowly Making Headway. Nation’s Health. 39.8 (Oct. 2009): 1-10. EBSCOHost. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. Mills, BJ. â€Å"Medical Marijuana-Is it All Smoke?† Med-Surg Matters. 17.5 (2008): 3-5. EBSCOHost. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. Rowe, Thomas C. Federal Narcotics Laws and the War on Drugs: Money Down a Rat Hole. New York: Haworth Press, 2006.

My Dad and Old Cars Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

My Dad and Old Cars Some people bring home stray dogs. My father brings home stray cars. He gets emotionally attached and eventually puts them on life support. This keeps them viable long beyond the time other family members vote to pull the plug. He drives a 1968 VW van that chugs along on its third rebuilt engine. My big brother vows to bury dad in it. The 1971 VW Bug that he used for fifteen years is still operable, but since a teenager's foot went through the rusted floorboards to the street below, it's been relegated to the retirement home: his driveway. He continues paying on the life insurance policy but he has signed a "Do Not Resuscitate" waiver. My father went off to college in a 1931 Model A Ford. In the back seat of that car, on an old country road, I made love for the first time. Now it sits under a blue parachute in the driveway. Mice breed in the upholstery and the ceiling fabric hangs in shreds, but my father is convinced the car will awaken from its coma and live to cruise again. A 1960 Plymouth Valiant that drove like a tank and sounded like a B-52 suffered sudden paralysis one car-pooling morning when both front wheels turned at right angles to the frame of the car, bringing it to a sudden and permanent halt. Unwilling to assign the car to a nameless grave in Potter's Field, my father paid to have it hauled to a vocational school. Prince Valiant became a vehicular cadaver; the old thing may even have become an organ donor. We don't buy new cars. According to my dad, "You never know what might go wrong with a new car, and you could get a lemon." I say, "But we know even less about a used car. People don't sell their cars when everything's fine. They sell them when things start going wrong." ... ...car key. My dad, the guy with the soft spot for homeless old cars in need of a square meal and a soft bed, had made good on a long-standing promise of "a decent car." It took him six months of scouring the ads, but he'd bought me a car that's only five years old. It's an Acura Legend and appears to be in excellent health. The leather seats are as comfortable as the Peugeot's, no gremlins live in the CD player, and the AC and heating systems have no viruses. The sunroof is dry as a bone, and the car starts whenever I turn the key. Overall, I'd say the car has a superb attitude. That first morning of new ownership, I stood staring in awe at this white beauty. Then the rest of my life spread before me as my father said, "And we can give it to Bria when she starts driving. It should have all the bugs worked out of it by then." Bria is my five-year-old niece.

Coursework Assessment Essay

In Patch Adams, Robin Williams portrays a doctor who strives to â€Å"improve the quality of life. â€Å"The movie is a perfect example of many cases of sacramental awareness and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. Patch encounters a â€Å"once-brilliant† man in a psychiatric clinic. Arthur Mendel son helps hunter the first character Patch meets is Arthur Mendel son. Arthur influences Patch’s ability to see through problems. In a Christ-like manner, we must see through and past the problems and look ahead toward the solution Christ died for our sins by looking past the problem. Patch also helps out his roommate, Rudy out. This brings on a revelation for Patch which lets him see through the scientific names of diseases. He learns to treat the person, not the disease. When he agrees to become a doctor, Patch is not only venturing into the field to physically heal people but also more importantly to spiritually heal people. This parallels Anointing of the Sick after meeting his two close friends, Truman and Cairn, Patch desires to reach out and help people, not to bury himself in his books. His friends quickly jump on the bandwagon and help him to carry out his theories. The sacramental awareness of Patch’s roommate is questionable until we find that he is genuinely good in the end. However, Dean Walcott is up until the end a foe of Patch’s. He is concerned with the physical aspect of healing much more than the spiritual aspect of healing. In the old church, Anointing of the Sick was sometimes believed to be physical. The spiritual aspect of healing would later be brought back into effect rightfully. When Patch is treating patients in his clinic, he exhibits great sacramental awareness by simply admitting that we are a community that can help each other. He proclaims that everyone is both a doctor and a patient. Patch also nears the meaning of the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. He heals people in a beautiful way.

How Psychological Research Has Helped in the Understanding of Criminal Behaviour Essay

Albert Bandura created the bobo doll experiment in 1961, the aim of this experiment was to show that if children where witnesses to aggressive displays by an adult of some sort they would imitate this behaviour when given an opportunity. The tested group contained 36 young girls and 36 young boys all aged between 4 and 5 years which was then divided into 3 groups of 24 – the aggressive condition, the non aggressive condition and the control group. The first group involved the children watching aggressive models, where the children where then subdivided by sex of the role model they were exposed to. The second group involved the children watched non aggressive models, where the children were also subdivided by the sex of the role model which they were exposed to. This left the two conditioned groups subdivided into eight experimental groups each containing 6 subjects. They were 6 boys with the same sex model, 6 boys with opposite model, 6 girls with the same sex model and 6 girls with the opposite model. With 3 different groups, Bandura had created a complicated design for the study which resulted in 3 independent variables; the conditions the children were exposed to, the sex of the child and the sex of the role model. Each child was then tested individually and the findings where then recorded. The experiment was done in an artificial environment and the researcher manipulated the independent variables into the conditions. In stage one of the experiment, the children were brought into the experimental room by the examiner. The room was set out as a nursery play room since that was the appropriate setting for the age of the children. One corner of the room had been arranged as a child’s play area consisting of a small table and chair and picture stickers. In the opposite corner of the room was where the adult models would be followed by a small table and chair, tinker toy set and a five foot bobo doll. In the aggressive condition the model began by playing with the tinker toy set but after a couple minutes the model turned its attention to the bobo doll and was aggressive towards the doll in a very distinctive way. Were as in the non aggressive condition the model ignored the bobo doll and played with the tinker toys in a gentle manner. After 10 minutes the children where then taken into new room. In stage two of the experiment the children were brought into a room with relativity attractive toys. In this room the children were to be subjected to mild aggression arousal. Once the children started to play with the toys, the experimenter took them off the children claiming they had been reserved for the other children. The children were then taken into the last and final room for stage three of the experiment. In this room the children were told they could play with any toys in there, the toys in stage three consisted of both non aggressive and aggressive toys. The children were kept in the room for 20 minutes where observations were made through a one way mirror by judges. With the observation and findings of this experiment, three measures of imitation were obtained. For this study the observers’ looked specifically for responses from the children that were very similar to the display by the adult model. They included; imitation of physical aggression, imitation of verbal aggression and imitation of non verbal aggression. With these observations, the researchers were able to consider which children imitate the models, which models the children imitated and whether the children showed a general increase of aggressive behaviour. The main findings of this study were that the children in aggressive model condition made more aggressive responses than the children in the non aggressive condition. They also found that the boys made more aggressive responses than girls, as well as the sex of the children being more aggressive if the model was of the same sex. These findings support Bandura’s social learning theory that children learn social behaviour through observation learning, which children learn through imitation. This study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as children learn through imitation and the environment which they grow up in have an effect on their behaviour. If a child has been brought up around abuse, criminal activity or consistent aggression then the child is most likely to offend by imitating their role model which could be a parent, sibling or even just a role model which they look up to. Philip Zimbardo (1971) – Stanford prison experiment – Dr Philip Zimbardo created the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, the aim of this experiment was to find out the psychological effects of prison life, and to what extent can moral people be seduced to act immorally. The study consisted of 24 students selected out of 75, the roles of these 24 men were randomly assigned, 12 to play prison guards and 12 to play prisoners. The prison set up was built inside the Stanford’s psychological department, doors where taken of laboratory rooms and replaced with steel bars in order to create cells. At the end of the corridor was the small opening which became the solitary confinement for the ‘bad prisoners’. Throughout the prison there were no windows or clocks to judge the passage in time, which resulted in time distorting experiences. After only a few hours, the participants adapted to their roles well beyond expectations, the officers starting displaying authorisation and subject some of the prisoners to humiliation and torture whilst the prisoners developed passive attitudes towards the guards and accepted the physical abuse that was given to them. On the second day with surprise an unexpected rebellion broke out, reinforcement was called and more guards where to be on duty however the prisoners refused to leave their cells, barricading themselves in. This early in to the experiment the prisoners had already felt a loss of identity to the extent they started to refer to themselves as their inmate number rather than name. Even Dr Zimbardo himself started to lose sight of his role in the experiment believing he was in fact a ‘prison superintendent’ rather than a psychologist. Due to the extent of the rebellion the guards were forced to show more authority over them which led to the creation of the ‘privileged cell’. In order to break down the ‘superior’ inmates the guards placed the good prisoners in the privileged cell for a few hours, then placed the good prisoners back into the bad cells causing confusion within the inmates, breaking the trust and isolating them. Within a week the study was abandoned as the experiment was no longer a simple simulation, instead the guards saw the prisoners as troublemakers they were made out to be. In response to this they began stepping up control, surveillance and aggression whilst the prisoner started breaking down emotionally being unable to handle the situation anymore. From the observations and information given by Dr Zimbardo’s reports, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it relates to imitation and conformity. The guards imitated the behaviour of real guards adapting the role quiet quickly. The prisoners also adapted the role quickly falling into depression and conforming to each other. This also helps how a person mental state can change their behaviour, with the prisoners they soon became depressed and mentally unstable, and this shows that when put into a certain disciplinary situation the mind adapts causing them to act immorally. Solomon Ashce (1951) – Conformity experiment- Solomon Ashce conducted the conformity experiment in 1951. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the extent of social pressure from a majority group can affect a person to conform. For this experiment Ashe used a lab experiment. Ashe used 8 participants for this experiment, 7 confederates and 1 naive participant. The 7 confederates had previously agreed to what their responses would be when presented with the line task. However the real participant had no knowledge of this and was led to believe that the other 7 participants were also real. With this experiment each person had to state aloud which line was most like the target line, (A, B or C). The answer was always an obvious one. The real participant always gave his or her answer last in order to see if they conformed or not. In some trials, the confederates gave the wrong answer whereas in some they gave the correct obvious answer. In the experiment there was 18 trials altogether and the confederates gave the wrong answer 12 out of the total 18. Ashce main observation was to find out if the real participant would end up conforming based on the majority views given by the other 7 participants. The results were then drawn up and out of the 18 trails, around 75% of the trials the real participant conformed even though he or she knew the answers were wrong. From the observations, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it explains that criminals may have previously been highly exposed to such aggressive behaviour causing them to conform. This shows that publicly any source of aggressive behaviour or criminal activity can lead to conformity causing more criminal behaviour. Anderson and Dill (2000) – Violence in video games study- Both Anderson and Dill conducted the relation between violence and video games study in 2000. The aim of this study was to find out how violent video games relate to aggressive behaviour. Their first study consisted of 227 students which were given a questionnaire in order to get data on their aggressive behaviour patterns. This study looked at the long-term exposure to video games and what effect it has on aggression towards people. The findings of the first study relating to the questionnaire came back with positive relations between the violence portrayed in video games and aggressive behaviour. The second study which Anderson and Dill conducted was to approach the impact that video games have on aggressive thoughts, social view and mood of a person. This study consisted of 210 students which were given a choice of 2 video games a non violent game ‘Myst’ or a violent interactive video game ‘Wolfstein 3D’. With the non violent game the objective was to travel the island of Myst, finding clues and making your own ending depending on the journey you took. With the violent game the objective was to eliminate the enemy ‘Adolf Hitler’ choosing your own hero and variety of weapons. With each game the students were allocated 3 slots for a period of 15minutes each. The findings of this study concluded Anderson and Dills knowledge and opinions that those exposed to the violent video game gained more aggressive behaviour than those who were not exposed to violence. From the observations, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it states that playing video games may increase aggressive behaviour because the violent acts are continually repeated throughout the game. Video games also encourage players to identify and interact through role play of their favourite characters causing them to imitate the character they are playing. Referring to first person in a game, it causes lead players to make their own decisions in the game affecting the actions of the character. Anderson and Dills studies show that after a limited amount of time playing violent video games, a player can start to automatically prime aggressive thoughts which can lead to aggressive behaviour. This shows that continually playing violent video games can affect a person’s thought patters leading to automatic aggressive behaviour through imitation of their favourite characters which could lead to criminal activity. Jahoda name study (1954)- Jahoda created the name study or as it is also called the self fulfilling prophecy. Jahoda studied the Ashanti tribe people who gave their boys ‘soul names’ depending on what day of the week they were born. For example, boys born a Monday were expected to be peaceful and full of good, whereas boys born on Wednesday which were called ‘Kwaku’ were expected to be aggressive and quick tempered. Jahoda found that when looking at prison and court records 13. 5% of boys that had been referred to court to court where from boys that were born on Wednesday, yet they were responsible for over 22% of violent crimes which was significantly higher than would be expected and shows that Wednesdays boys tended to live up to their reputation. However as for the boys born on Monday, they found that only 6. 9% of all juvenile cases where of minor offences. This implies that stereotypes of the boys behaviours depending on which day of the week they were born caused them to live up to expectations of their names. Jahoda concluded from all this that there was indeed nothing magical about the day of the week the boys were born on but of effect of expectations has on a person’s behaviour. From the observations and findings, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it links to the effect of rehabilitation and the study of the self fulfilling prophecy. If the offenders have the expectation that they should behave in such a way, rehabilitation may be more difficult. Overall the psychological theory of criminal behaviour suggests that negative expectations cause curtain’s to behave towards others in a specific way because their stereotypes – self fulfilling prophecy. Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) – Self fulfilling prophecy- Both Rosenthal and Jacobson also conducted a self fulfilling prophecy study and the way that people behave according to profiling or being stereotyped in 1968. Their study was conducted on students in a classroom which was also known as the ‘Pygmalion in the classroom’. The students were then put into groups of what the students think they will achieve, where they were then treated in a way that their ability group could achieve. All students completed an IQ test before the study. The findings of this study concluded Rosenthal and Jacobson’s theory that when people are put into groups or have been stereotyped into a group can cause people’s behaviour to change as they will live up to the expectations of the stereotype. The findings found were that after two years the students that were put into the group for higher levels achieved higher than the other students in any other group. These students were known to have been given additional feedback and extra attention so the finding expected had were correct. From the findings, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows that when categorised into a stereotype, people soon learn to live up to that expectation, behaving in a certain way. This also has an impact on a person’s self esteem, causing them to act undesirably and maybe even lead them to turn to crime. Eden (1990) – Self fulfilling prophecy- Eden also conducted the self fulfilling prophecy study in 1990, this study explains why some people turn to crime due to the way they have been stereotyped or labelled into a certain group. For this study, Eden looked at the training of 1000 Israeli soldiers and had them organised into 29 platoons. Some platoon trainers were told their groups were above the average potential but other trainers were told nothing. The findings of this study showed that after 10 weeks the performance of all soldiers were assessed and was found that on both the written exam and weapon test, the soldiers who had been told they were above the average potential did overall better than others, even though all soldiers were at an average level. These findings concluded Eden’s expectations that when labelled into a certain group, a person can adjust to behave according to expectations within the labelled group. This study has helped in understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows the stereotypes and labelled groups can influence a person’s self esteem leading them to behave in a certain way and if the stereotype is negative it can cause a person to turn to crime. Sheehan (1983) – TV violence and aggression Sheehan conducted the TV violence and aggression study in 1983. This study consisted of a group of middle class children aged between 5 and 10 to help find the link between children’s TV viewing and aggressive behaviour. Throughout the study data was gathered about the participants’ parents and the researchers also asked about the children’s aggressive fantasies to whether it would physically injure a person. Sheehan found that there were correlations between viewing violence and peer rated correlations for children that were aged between 8 and 10, with the correlations being stronger for the boys than the girls. The results were recorded by looking whether the child injured of irritated another person. These findings can relate to the social learning theory as he found that boys were more likely to imitate male models but overall looking at the data Sheehan collected, those who watched violent TV and films became more aggressive towards others than those who did not. This study has helped in understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows that continuously watching violent and aggressive TV programmes can affect a person’s thought patterns leading to automatic aggressive behaviour and imitation of their favourite characters which could lead to criminal activity.

H&M in Accounting Essay

Content Page Questions Question 1. Using Michael Porter’s five forces model, evaluate the importance of Barriers to Entry to the fast-fashion industry. Support your arguments with evidence from the case study. (20%) Question 2. Conduct a value chain analysis to assess H&M’s capabilities and derive its core competencies. (35%) Question 3. Based on these competencies identify the generic competitive strategy which H&M is pursuing. (10%) Question 4. It is suggested in the case study that the fashion industry is full of companies that have confidently expanded into international markets but later have been forced to retreat. Analyze the international strategy choice being pursued by H&M and assess the extent to which this is appropriate for its future development. (25%) Appendix Global FactorsLocal FactorsIntegration Responsiveness Grid References Question 1. Applying Michael Porter’s five forces model, it includes the threat of entrants and substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers and customers and competitive rivalry. Among all, barriers to entry could be an essential factor to the fast-fashion industry. Even so, the threat of entry is affected by several factors. Different sources of barriers to entry can act as a determinant on the height of barriers. As mentioned in the case study, fast-fashion industries doesn’t require a large capital outlay. Entry to the retail industry is so easy that can be set up with a group of suppliers being chosen from. Therefore, the level of impact of capital requirement to the barriers to entry is low. Secondly, economies of scale is a barrier to entry as its product unit cost will be lowered for the businesses which already attained a production volume so that it will be hard for the new entrants to compete. H&M’s prices have been undercut by an even cheaper competitor. In this ca se, economies of scale’s level of impact to the fast-fashion industry is high. For the absolute cost advantage, for incumbent companies who already have economies of scale can have a significant cost advantage over new entrants. Additional costs may include  the learning or experience curve, proprietary technology and government subsidies. Therefore, the level of impact is high for new entrants. Considering product differentiation, the level of impact is regarded as low as fast-fashion industry has a variety of choices in its suppliers that could be different from many others. Also, it can be overcome by creating in its own brand to avoid this kind of barrier. There may not be a difficulty in access to channels of supply and distribution to the fast-fashion industry because these channels are held by numerous suppliers. New entrants can set up their own like Gap Corporation and Inditex by acting as both manufacturers and retailers which results in low level of impact. The level of impact of the legal and regulatory barriers will be treated as low either. Various controls may be limited by the governments such as the licensing requirement or limit to access to raw materials. These would not be applied to the fast-fashion industry as it generally has less control by the governments and usually bound by the legal system. Last but not least, the level of impact of the expected retaliation could be high since the size and duration of retaliation in fast-fashion industry are intense. These may threaten the new entrants including the price cuts. New entrants have less ability to make retaliation than those incumbents in view of experience and resources. To conclude, the overall height of barriers to entry is low which means a serious threat of entering fast-fashion industry. It implies an intense rivalry and an unattractive environment. Therefore, it is important to consider the barriers to entry in this industry. Question 2. The value chain analysis is mainly divided into two types- support and primary activities. This analysis is made to let companies determine where value is added to the customers and margin is increased to the organization. Under support activities, H&M’s firm infrastructure is easy and simple. Following Erling Persson’s basic values and beliefs, H&M intended to offer the fashion and quality at the best price. Also, the managers are given freedom and autonomy in decision-making processes which lead the success of H&M.For the Human Resources Management, H&M focused on one person’s qualities much more than qualifications which implies that opportunities are given to those people with lower academic levels. It was noticed that practical skills are more important to the company instead. Internal promotion and job rotation are the crucial ingredients to sustain H&M’s continuous growth.Regarding technology development, H&M has been adopting the latest IT systems with continuous improvement. Intelligent use of ICT has been an effective tool in assisting H&M’s business which can be applied to the logistics and warehouse system. Moreover, H&M is tightly connected to the customers through social network and various phone apps.The fourth support activity is the procurement. As H&M does not own any factories so the manufacturing is outsourced to low-cost countries. Procurement is centralized in Stockholm. A good connection network can be seen between the production offices and the suppliers in order to reduce the lead times. On the other hand, the primary activities include five elements-inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales and service. H&M provided little information on inbound logistics which should include raw materials con trol and inventory control of input material. This may become a weakness in the management of H&M.For the operation of H&M, it opts for renting store premises to increase flexibility and adaptability. In addition to this, H&M will do the product testing about the quality control. Furthermore, a new interiors program is created to catch up with the latest trend.Under outbound logistics, only transportation is handled by the external contractors. However, H&M deals well with the distribution by offering the best price to avoid middlemen. H&M is cost-conscious and thus can reduce the costs being incurred. Also, daily shipments are available to H&M which implies an effective and efficient shipment scheduling system.Considering the marketing and sales, H&M has been collaborating with 200 in-house designers and several famous ones. In addition to this, it has launched long-term advertising campaigns with high-profile celebrities which can indirectly boost the sales and build up its image. Online promotion is also available for customers for the latest updates.The last category is the service. Usually it refers to the after-sale service that how well a company can do on the quality contr ol. H&M just put little focus on after-sale service such as the customer support. This appears to be a weakness to H&M.Apart from inbound logistics and the service, other activities are considered as H&M’s strengths which makes H&M being world leader. Concerning the two types of the activities, there are three key linkages  between them. From support to support activity, Human Resources management (HRM) is linked to technology development as the intelligent staffs are employed to assist in IT development and continuously making updates through the IT systems. As the advanced technology requires employees to apply the IT skills they have learnt, so there is an important relationship between HRM and technology development. For example, HRM acts as an important role to reply customers’ queries efficiently and let them know the latest trend of the company through social networks. From primary to primary activity, the outbound logistics is linked to the marketing and sales. When the products and services are delivered to customers, the next process will be about the packaging and promotion on the products. Whether the customers choose the company depends on the quality of both products and services. It is said to be closely related because marketing and sales has usually become a must-do item for the large incumbents especially for the fast-fashion industry. For the last type of linkage from primary to support activity, it can be linked to five activities. Procurement, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, human resources management and technology development are all connected with each other in H&M’s operation.Although H&M didn’t own any factories, its manufacturing is outsourced in order to find some fashionable items with the lowest costs in response to the changing market which results in economies of scale. After the procurement process is done, it will be delivered to the customers from the warehouse. Under outbound logistics, it specifies the importance of the order fulfillment and on time delivery. As a large incumbent in retail industry, a budget is spent on t he marketing and sales on the products being delivered to the consumers. When doing the marketing and sales, IT skills and applications will be used to assist. In line with the promotion of its products, its brand name is highly attentive as well. Regarding the firm size and experience in the textile industry, H&M has been paying much attention on CSR keeping the brand name away from the criticisms which is treated as a kind of value driver that manage in its brand and reputation.For example, inventory will be shifted to the more popular regions from those with poorer sales amount in order to boost the sales. From this example, it can be seen that the intranet network is well-developed. From procurement to the technology development, they are all connected between each activity. Based on the 3  main linkages, the linkage between primary and support activity is the most important among all which is likely to be a core competence of H&M. To affirm whether it is core, the VRIN test can act as an effective tool.Whether it is valuable depends on the effectiv eness of the value-creating activities and its future development. The most significant value-creating activity is Human Resources management. Responsible and skilled staffs are essential to H&M as they can apply their experience and techniques in meeting the latest trend and customer needs. Trainings and duration of experience can definitely create value and be further developed.To define how rare it is, this should be compare with other similar competitors. Apart from the collaboration with in-house designers, H&M uniquely co-operated with different famous designers over the years from various countries.The fundamental concept that has already been embedded in the employees. It was said to be unbreakable stubbornness devotion to a goal by the journalists. This in fact is a competitive advantage which H&M can stick to the fundamental principle by offering fashion and quality at the best price and this will be difficult for others to imitate. For the last aspect, the category of the human resources management and the procurement may be vulnerable to substitution. The staff’s mobility is relatively high in this industry as it varies with the times. This theory also applies to the sources of supplies. But the staff trainings can increase their loyalty to the company which becomes non-substitutable. All in all the competency mentioned is sufficient to meet the criteria of the VRIN test. Therefore, human resources management in the linkage between the primary and support activities can be treated as core competency that confer competitive advantage. Question 3. Based on the competencies stated in question 2, H&M is pursuing the Hybrid strategy which is the integration of both cost and differentiation strategies. H&M has been applying economies of scale that is achieving cost leadership. H&M’s core principle is to offer the fashion and quality at the best price. One of its core value is to be cost conscious. H&M is alert to the costs which aim to provide the most worthy price for customers. Bargaining power is particularly important in this industry as fast-fashion changes in a speedy mode. At the same time, H&M has also  put a focus on differentiation. In building its reputation and image, H&M has spent a budget especially for advertising. Besides, working with different types of fashion designers creating innovative collections can lead product differentiation . To compete with others in this industry, cutting cost is not the only way to survive. To become a stable yet significant player, product differentiation is more effective. Based on the analysis in question 2, H&M has already built core competencies in cost drivers and value drivers which generate efficiency and differentiation. Also, H&M can respond quickly to the changing environment to fulfill customers’ needs and technology level. So Hybrid strategy is adopted in H&M. Question 4. Based on the Integration Responsiveness Grid, H&M is likely to pursue globalization strategy. Globalization is the transition of industries from a multinational to a global competitive structure. From the global factors, H&M scores higher than that in local factors. There are different arguments that support H&M pursuing globalization. For the most significant factors, H&M is obviously buying centrally in Stockholm. Stockholm becomes the central purchasing office of H&M. Gaining economies of scale is one of its goal of H&M either. To fast-fashion industry, speed of introducing new products to changing environment is very important to meet the latest trends. As mentioned before, advanced technology is applied in H&M which can improve the quality of products and service. Customers around the world behave in the same way as H&M has been opening over 2,000 stores in 2010 which implies customers in different countries accept the products and services H&M delivered. These factors globalize s H&M. On the other hand, pricing strategy being adopted by H&M has been coherent across borders as it focused on offering the best price to all customers in different countries sticking with the spirit of itself. There is no big difference in the distribution channels as it follows its own practice by distributing from distribution centers to warehouses to the stores. Business regulations and contexts also does not differ much from place to place. Customers contact and after-sale service are less focused by H&M which suggests low customization. Transportation is controlled by the external contractors which means local  operations are not that essential. Concluded from the local factors, H&M is not likely to pursue localization. Furthermore, decision-making like buying and logistics are centralized at the Head Office which confirms its position using a global strategy. Global strategy also has another characteristic which offers standardized products to different countries. In my point of view, global strategy is very suitable for H&M in future development. In fast-fashion industry. H&M belongs to a vibrant player which should aim to be a global leader. Also, it has already been achieving few tactics like economies of scale and increasing its bargaining power. However, there are several benefits and risks associated with the global strategy. By applying this strategy, H&M can achieve global economies of scale and brand consistency. Expanding the target customers as the whole world, independent management is also treated as its strength. For the risks that H&M might be facing, standardized products may not meet all customers’ needs as it might be lack of sufficient innovative ideas to suit everyone. Moreover, centralized decisions will be lack of innovation and creativity, though decentralization is now encouraged in H&M.

Photography term paper

â€Å"Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past† (Abbott, Bernice). Since the beginning of time humans have tried to commemorate their existence and one of the ways we have done so is through photography. Photography can be found anywhere. One of the most common places you can find photography is in a museum; which is where my story begins.As I entered the doors of the Museum of Photography at the University of Riverside I was transported through time. I was taken back to a time when hydrotherapy was nearly a budding phenomenon. A time where the mention of daguerreotype; a picture made on a mirror-like surface, would stop people dead in their tracks. A time where death; as tragic as it was, was celebrated as art. The time of Post-Mortem photography.As I ventured deeper into the world of Post-Mortem photography, I quickly discovered that Post- Mortem photography meant photography of the deceased. I immediately questioned the photographers' motives and was hesitant to except their works as art. However, as I continued to examine and observe I realized that these photographs weren't as horrific as I had made them UT to be. In fact, they were quite beautiful; In that they leave something behind for the living to hold on to.As I continued through the halls of the museum I found several other photographs whose subjects were living. I favored these photographs over the other photographs because they were much more cheerful. Throughout my exploration of the museum In total there were four photographs that stood out to me. Photography term paper By zoologically out to be. In fact, they were quite beautiful; in that they leave something behind for exploration of the museum in total there were four photographs that stood out to me.

Customer service questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Customer service questions - Essay Example Visibility is a largÐ µ part of gÐ µtting thÐ µ mÐ µssagÐ µ of Ð µthical compliancÐ µ out to a concÐ µrnÐ µd public. This is a complicatÐ µd issuÐ µ bÐ µcausÐ µ of thÐ µ split bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn Ð µthics-as-institutional-policy and Ð µthics-as-individual-consciÐ µncÐ µ, but a sÐ µnsÐ µ of balancÐ µ can at lÐ µast bÐ µ sought by thÐ µ institution of PR campaigns strÐ µssing thÐ µ importancÐ µ of corporatÐ µ Ð µthics as an impÐ µrativÐ µ, and I was happy to bÐ µ a contributing tÐ µam mÐ µmbÐ µr in such a campaign. WhÐ µn thÐ µ campaign startÐ µd, thÐ µ company bÐ µgan by strÐ µssing sharÐ µd vision and Ð µthical unity among thÐ µir Ð µmployÐ µÃ µs and put forth its codÐ µs of Ð µthics and Ð µthics rÐ µviÐ µw boards in thÐ µ Ð µffort to focus company attÐ µntion on thÐ µ importancÐ µ of Ð µthical bÐ µhavior in thÐ µ workplacÐ µ. This is anothÐ µr bÐ µnÐ µfit of making crÐ µativÐ µ dÐ µcisions in managÐ µmÐ µnt through ut ilizing tÐ µamwork. YÐ µt anothÐ µr bÐ µnÐ µfit is that thÐ µ unity that binds thÐ µ group togÐ µthÐ µr will furthÐ µr idÐ µas of Ð µqual participation. ThÐ µrÐ µ arÐ µ plÐ µnty of pÐ µoplÐ µ who arÐ µ contÐ µnt to bÐ µ a tÐ µam mÐ µmbÐ µr, but this Ð µxpÐ µriÐ µncÐ µ taught mÐ µ how Ð µffÐ µctivÐ µ lÐ µadÐ µrship and Ð µffÐ µctivÐ µ tÐ µamwork pattÐ µrns can hÐ µlp Ð µnsurÐ µ that Ð µvÐ µryonÐ µ involvÐ µs bÐ µcomÐ µs a rÐ µal tÐ µam playÐ µr.