MEYER Surname Meaning and Family History

MEYER Surname Meaning and Family History From the Middle High German word meiger, meaning higher or superior, Meyer was  a surname  often used for stewards or overseers of landholders or great farmers or leaseholders- today a Meier is a dairy farmer. Meier and Meyer are used more often in Northern Germany, while Maier and Mayer are found more frequently in Southern Germany. As an English surname, Meyer derived from the Old English  maire, or  Mayor, an officer in charge of legal matters. Meyer could also have originated as an alternate spelling of the Dutch Meier or Meijer, or as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname  Ãƒâ€œ Meidhir, from meidhir, \meaning mirth. Alternate Surname Spellings:  MEIER, MAYER, MAIER, MIER, MEIRSurname Origin: German, English, Dutch Where in the World Is the MEYERSurname Found? According to surname distribution data from Forebears, the Meyer surname is most common in Germany, where it is the 5th most common surname in the country. It is also among the top 100 most common surnames in Switzerland, France,  Luxembourg and South Africa. WorldNames PublicProfiler identifies the Meyer surname as being most frequent in northern Germany (Niedersachsen, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein);  Nordwestschweiz and Zentralschweiz, Switzerland; and Alsace, France. Surname  distribution maps at  verwandt.de  show the  Meyer surname is  found in 439 cities and counties throughout Germany, most prevalently in Hamburg, followed by Region Hannover, Berlin, Bremen, Diepholz, Harburg, Rotenburg (Wà ¼mme),  Osnabrà ¼ck, Verden and Cuxhaven. Famous People With the MEYER Surname Stephenie Meyer - author of the Twilight seriesBernhard Meyer  - German physician and naturalistBertrand Meyer - French computer scientistConrad Ferdinand Meyer  - Swiss poet and writerFritz Meyer - Swiss founder of the Roamer  watch companyGeorge von Lengerke Meyer - former U.S. Secretary of the NavyHeinrich August Wilhelm Meyer  - German protestant pastor and theologianJulius Lothar Meyer - German chemist;  pioneer in developing the first periodic table of elementsLodewijk Meyer - Dutch physician, classical scholar and playwright Genealogy Resources for the Surname MEYER Meanings of Common German SurnamesUncover the meaning of your German last name with this free guide to the meanings and origins of common German surnames.Meyer  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Meyer  family crest or coat of arms for the Meyer surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.Meyer Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Meyer surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Meyer surname query.FamilySearch - MEYER GenealogyExplore over 9 million  results, including digitized records, database entries, and online family trees for the Meyer surname and its variations on the FREE FamilySearch website, courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.DistantCousin.com - MEYER Geneal ogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Meyer. GeneaNet - Meyer  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Meyer  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries.The Meyer Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Meyer surname from the website of Genealogy Today. Sources and Further Reading Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Spelling Tips -Cede, -Ceed or -Sede

Spelling Tips -Cede, -Ceed or -Sede Spelling Tips: -Cede, -Ceed, or -Sede? When used at the end of a word, â€Å"-cede,† â€Å"-ceed† and â€Å"-sede† sound exactly the same. Unfortunately, this makes it easy to spell words with one of these letter groups incorrectly. To make sure your writing is always error free, then, check out our guide to â€Å"-cede,† â€Å"-ceed† and â€Å"-sede† words below. Words Ending in -Cede The most common word ending of those discussed here is â€Å"-cede.† It is used at the end of many words, such as: Accede Concede Intercede Precede Recede Secede   These are all verbs, some of which still reflect the old Latin word cedere, which meant â€Å"yield to.† To â€Å"concede† something, for example, is to admit something that you had initially denied, and to â€Å"recede† is to move back to a prevision position. In fact, â€Å"cede† by itself still means â€Å"give up.† Words Ending in -Ceed There are three common verbs in English that end with â€Å"-ceed.† These are used as follows: â€Å"Exceed† means to go beyond or surpass something. â€Å"Proceed† typically means to move forward or go ahead with something. â€Å"Succeed† can mean to either come next in a sequence or triumph. With most other words that make a â€Å"seed† sound at the end, you’ll need to use â€Å"-cede† instead. Words Ending in -Sede We’ve scratched out the â€Å"s† above because â€Å"supersede† is the only word that ends with â€Å"-sede† in English. It means â€Å"to replace or succeed,† especially when something new makes something old redundant. For example, if a new computer is more powerful than older ones, we might say: This model has superseded all past home computers. â€Å"Supersede† is often misspelled as â€Å"supercede,† so it is worth keeping the word ending in mind. Summary: -Cede, -Ceed or -Sede? Since â€Å"-cede,† â€Å"-ceed,† and â€Å"-sede† sound the same, you need to be careful with words that end in these letter groups: There are several words that end in â€Å"-cede,† including â€Å"recede† and â€Å"concede.† We also use â€Å"cede† by itself to mean â€Å"give up† or â€Å"yield to.† The three common words that end with â€Å"-ceed† are â€Å"exceed,† â€Å"proceed,† and â€Å"succeed.† The only word in English that ends in â€Å"-sede† is â€Å"supersede.† If you’d like someone to check the spelling in your writing, get in touch today.

Speaking to Inform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speaking to Inform - Essay Example Are reportedly born with Sickle-cell Diseases, and statistically the larger pictures brings about 100,000 Americans in its purview. Half a century from now it would have been unimaginable to survive this disease, however, today owing to the interventions of technology and other screening programs it can be said that it is manageable to live with Sickle-cell Disease. The regular Red Blood Cells (RBC) are disc-like structures; they are tailor-made to move through the blood vessels with considerable ease. These RBC’s are rich in an iron content protein known as Haemoglobin, which in turn carries out the function of transporting blood from the lungs to the various parts of the body. Sickle cells result in Sickle haemoglobin, which are quite sticky and stiff in nature and impede the flow of the blood; which results in severe pain and a series of other infectious diseases and sometimes damage of the organ. Sickle Cell Anemia is a genetic disorder and continues to be present in an individual’s body for an entire lifetime. Individuals with the Sickle Cell Disease are known to be born with the Disease, inheriting two separate genes from either parent. Sickle Cell Anemia is not known to have a specific cure. Treatments that are available work towards reducing the symptoms and other related complications. Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplants are the most common treatments but the results are not assured. A Stem Cell disease must not be interpreted as a Sickle Cell disease simply because Sickle Cell forms on a part of stem Cell transplantations; Stem Cell procedures are merely used to cure auto-immune diseases like Sickle Cell. Hematopoietic cell transplantations are known to cure many of the genetic disorder and as compared to Sickle Cell is a larger purview of manifestations in a human

Discussing the Situations in Criminal Law Assignment

Discussing the Situations in Criminal Law - Assignment Example Intention leads the guilty party to have prior foresight of consequences that will take place should the act be carried out. It is different from recklessness since on a subjective basis, there remains foresight without the hope of actually bringing about results. The problem in the courts of law is that the borderline between intention and recklessness is too vague. The court has to decide the extent of the desire to carry out the act and convert recklessness into intention. In DPP v Smith (1961) AC 290, the test was that the individual was taken to foresee and intend to bring about the likeliest actions if he carried out his intentions. One, 'subjective' recklessness; In this case, the defendant understands that a risk may occur if a certain action is carried out, still despite knowing this he still chooses to take that action ignoring the results of his actions. This is often seen when the guilty party decides to drive under the influence knowing full well that his actions could cause an accident. Two, 'objective' recklessness arises when it is apparent to everyone apart from the defendant that there was a risk. Therefore the risk is so apparent that despite the defendant claims not to have considered the risk this is irrelevant. The intention has many different levels at the most serious intention can lead to murder. The degrees of intention range from pure intention to recklessness dependant on the nature and seriousness of the crime. When the most serious degree of culpability, justifies the most serious degree of punishment both elements are found in the defendant's mind. (a subjective test) An individual who plots and carries out an act of crime is thought of like a more serious threat than the one who behaves recklessly. An opportunist might find a sudden opportunity to steal something or become so angry that they harm another. Intention can also arise from the common law principle as well. One of the most critical sources in the early development of the law on recklessness was an academic piece of work. In his book Outlines of Criminal Law' (published in 1902), Professor Kenny discussed the definition of "maliciously", with specific reference to arson. A large amount of the information in the book was founded on the judgment in the case of R v Harris. At the beginning of the century, the fundamental state of the law concerning recklessness was that it was a subjective test that determined the men's rea in criminal acts where the necessary men's rea for the defendant was to carry out an act. Â  

SWOT Analysis Essay Example for Free

SWOT Analysis Essay The strength of the company mainly lay on its popularity and its wide range of network. Blockbuster had realized these strengths and has taken advantage of them to the full extent. Advertising and in-house promotion have been performed quite successfully in maintaining the image and popularity of Blockbuster, particularly in the eyes of US consumers. Today, the company has also developed a popular presence on the internet and it has help to increase Blockbuster’s competitive advantage against its competitors (Lieberman, 2004). Blockbuster’s weaknesses include its high cost of operations and maintenance, limited stocks of popular movies and insensitiveness toward recent developments in the industry. Financially, the company needs to reduce operational costs of its stores, because it decreases operating profit into minimum profit or even losses. Strategically, blockbuster needs to maintain awareness of what competitors are doing and develop new programs to attract customers. Within the stagnant market, the company could not afford to miss-out on new development in video rental marketing and sales. Opportunities Opportunities for blockbuster come in several packages. The first is in foreign investments. The company which already has a significant presence and popularity in United States could easily gain market share in Europe or even developing countries that crave American products. Another opportunity is increasing customer service by recording customer preferences in corporate data. †¢ Threats One of the apparent problems in the video-rental industry is related to copyright issues and legal aspect of the business. Players within the industry are threatened by the presence of many illegal download centers on the internet. Sales have already been reported decreasing due to the prevalent of illegal downloading activities. On the other hand, video rentals have the obligation to pay legal fees for every title it possess which prevent them from competing with the decreasing costs of downloading movies through the internet. II. Conclusions This paper has elaborated the performance of Blockbuster Inc by using the environmental and SWOT analysis. From the financial perspectives, the company shows the declining performance due to cost of rental revenue was recorded to increase while sales were decreasing. The companies also experience the hardest force from industry that faces several technology alternatives for seeing movies. The situation causes the company to experience declining revenue into $5. 7 billion in 2006. In terms of sales, 2006 actually revealed a declining performance, but it is still much better compare to 2002. Vertical analysis on the other hand, described a tendency of financial development. Blockbuster records more than $5 billion in 2006. In terms of sales, 2006 actually revealed a declining performance, but it is still much better compare to 2002 sales (Blockbuster Inc, 2006). The undulating Blockbuster performance has caused the undulating performance as well. Furthermore, from the environmental analysis, we find that movie rental industry has a stagnant market condition since the substitutes of products are vastly available from the video download via iPod and the free sample of video at www. youtube. com, for instances. Although the company faces threat for their future business, still, they have the strong brand when expanding into foreign market especially the Europe. III. Recommendations Following professional guidance along with taking advantage of the internal and external analysis previously performed, we will then formulate several of the foreseeable solutions and suggestions. These general suggestions to increase Blockbuster’s operational efficiency are ones that might already exist within the corporate strategy, but requires further attention and development: †¢ Providing Employee with Access to Required Information Employers always suggested that employees should do their best to satisfy customers and generate a rebuy or revisit. Ironically, some employers are doing this without equipping their employees with the proper tools to provide customers with satisfactory services. Those tools could be sufficient training, guidance in the workplace or access to sufficient information. Block buster should pay attention particularly to the latter tool. By developing a customer preference list, employees could help customer pick-out movies that they would like. This would not only increase customer retention but increase employee working satisfaction.   Improve Employee Satisfaction and retention People that have the best knowledge on how to enhance the operational efficiency of a rental operation are the employees. Employers should spend time and effort ensuring that employees are performing their functions with sufficient motivation to recognize efficiency opportunities if they see one. Most workplaces are trapped with poor efficiency performance because they never let employees provide them with suggestions and insights. Develop Long-term Technology Plan. One of the recorded mistakes of Blockbuster is not to create their presence in the internet when they should have. An untimely entrance to an extremely competitive market could well mean no entrance at all. To prevent similar occurrences, Blockbuster should develop a long term technology plans where managers of the company formulate long term objectives of the company and then revise a technological plan based on the formulated goals. †¢ Reducing Rental Centers For a more radical solution, the company could simply reduce the amount of retail locations to reduce operational cost. Instead of building and maintaining stores every 5 blocks, the company could otherwise increase the technology investments in remaining stores and provide customers with state of the art customer services. †¢ Rent-out Spaces Furthermore, in locations which are not contributing sufficient profit, Blockbuster could rent the space for external businesses. This has been a normal practice for many gas stations or other business settings when they have unproductive space within their facilities. Other opportunities could be gained from partnering with other video-rent retailers. Partnering with other Retailers Instead of building new stores and increasing operational costs, Blockbuster could otherwise try to create alliances with other existing resources retailers. An example of those retailers could be the grocery chains. Blockbuster could sign a leasing agreement with the grocery store and perform operations within the grocery store. There are two main advantages of this plan, first, Blockbuster will only need to pay for the lease instead of building and maintaining another building, and second, Blockbuster could benefit from gaining access to customers of the grocery store. If the first implementation of this strategy is successful, Blockbuster should begin to consider the benefits of moving all of Blockbuster’s retail locations into grocery stores. Bibliography About Blockbuster. com. 2006. 08 Mar. 2006 http://www. blockbuster. com BBI: Profile for BLOCKBUSTER INC. 2006. Retrived February 20, 2008 from http://www. finance. yahoo. com/q/pr? s=BBI Blockbuster Inc; Investor Relations – Various Press Releases; 2005-2006 http://www. blockbuster. com Brem, Lisa and Narayanan, V. G.2002; That’s a Wrap: The Dynamics of the Video Rental Industry; Harvard Business School Case 9-102-051. Lieberman, David. 2004. â€Å" Blockbuster jabs back at rivals†. USA Today. â€Å"Videotape Rental. † 2004. Encyclopedia of American Industries. U of Florida Business Lib. , Gainesville, 20 July 2004 http://www. galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/BCRC. Wagner, Holly J. â€Å"2003: a breakout year for previously viewed: top previously viewed retailers. † Business Company Resource Center (2004). U of Florida Business Lib. , Gainesville, 20 July 2004 http://galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/BCRC.

Learning Disabilities Essay -- A Level Essays

Learning Disabilities Eleven-year-old Anna is outgoing and bright. She attempts to work hard, but her progress in school has always been slow. She is a year behind her peers, particularly in her English class and her teachers have slowly begun to reduce their expectations of her. Her parents are worried because her confidence for learning is decreasing, and there is less motivation for her to do homework and class assignments. A psychologist found that her intelligence is in the gifted range, but she has difficulty in making out written symbols. It is easy to make the assumption that Anna seems merely as a child who is slow intellectually, but when taking a closer look, it shows that she is just as intelligent but happens to suffer from a learning disorder. Students with learning disorders have brain impairments that make it difficult for them to acquire skills and knowledge accurately and fast enough to keep pace with average academic progress (Encarta, 2003, p.1). The purpose of this research paper is t o investigate the causes of learning disorders, various types of disabilities, their causes, and finally how in today’s modern era assistive technology is able to reduce the frustration of students and increase their level of performance. Defining Learning Disorders/Disabilities The IDEA (The Health & Fitness Association) 1997 Definition of Learning Disabilities is: â€Å"A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, d... ...p://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/teachers/social_emotional/socialacceptance.asp Addresses the fact that health professionals, special educators, and parents must make real efforts to promote the social acceptance of children suffering with learning disabilities. Crossen, C. (1997). Studies suggest phonics help children learning to read. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 16, 2005 from http://barrier-free.arch.gatech.edu/Articles/wsj_learning.html Talks about how the earlier reading disabilities are detected the better. With proper encouragement and tools students will have more motivation for reading throughout their lives. Sack, J.L. (1999). Schools advised to catch, treat disabilities as early as possible. Education Week, 18, 7. Received April 16, 2005 from EBSO-host. Emphasizes importance of treating a learning disability as early as possible.

Cargills( Ceylon)

Cargills at a Glance Cargills (Ceylon) PLC is a Sri Lankan corporate established in 1844 and built on a strong foundation of values and ethics. Guided by trusted leadership it spearheads the sustainable development of the food industry in Sri Lanka. Its continuous investment in retail has made the Cargills retail arm Cargills Food City the largest retailer in the island in all categories. Pursuing innovation and food safety its manufacturing brands Cargills Supremo and Cargills Finest (processed meats) Cargills Kist (processed fruits and vegetables) and Cargills Magic (ice cream and dairy products) lead sectoral growth.Its KFC franchise is the largest international restaurant chain in Sri Lanka. Through its marketing and distribution arm spread across the island Cargills distributes its manufactured brands as well as internationally renowned food and non-food brands. The Cargills agribusiness model has gained global recognition for linking farmers and entrepreneurs to the market thro ugh a sustainable and inclusive value creation process. Key business 1. Modern retailing 2. Manufacturing 3. Agri Business 4. Restaurants 5. Distribution Subsidiary Companies †¢Cargills Quality Foods (Pvt) Ltd †¢Cargills Distributors (Pvt) Ltd Cargills Quality Dairies (Pvt) Ltd †¢Cargills Food Processors (Pvt) Ltd †¢Cargills Food Services (Pvt) Ltd †¢CPC Agrifoods Ltd †¢CPC Lanka Ltd †¢Cargills Retail (Pvt) Ltd †¢Millers Distributors Ltd †¢Cargills (Ceylon) Plc (Cargills) operates in the retail chain of food outlets. The company also engaged in food manufacturing and †¢restaurant chain sectors. Cargills operates through its ten subsidiaries. Cargills is the official franchisee for Kentucky Fried Chicken †¢(KFC) in Sri Lanka. It also provides distribution and FMCG manufacturing services. The company also offers discount sales to its †¢products.Cargills operates through its 116 outlets across 19 districts in Sri Lanka. Cargil ls is headquartered at Colombo, Sri Lanka †¢Pricing and availability are what drives the economy of the fast food industry. They effectively penetrate markets with advertising campaigns that cater to a whole range of demographics that make them a need in high demand in almost all US geographic locations. With specialized and highly focused franchise management and vast distribution channel they can be established themselves in a new community almost overnight creating instant revenue and jobs wherever demand is present.Economic Characteristics OF THE FOOD AND DRUG RETAIL INDUSTRYIt is extremely important to understand what the dominant economic factors are in an industry in which you are participating. These factors have a very strong influence in determining the corporate strategies that a company will decide to implement. How can a corporation define and implement their corporate strategy without understanding the environment of the market they are in? They simply can not!The economic factors to be considered are as follows: market size, scope of competitive rivalry, market growth rate, number of rivals, number of customers, degree of vertical integration, economies of scales, resource requirements for market entry, and profitability of the industry. Each one of these factors will be defined in the following paragraphs. The supermarket retail market is a $363 billion industry(sales 2000). Approximately $272 billion in sales, or 75%, is achieved by 25 companies with 16,000 stores. The total number of retail grocery stores total 127,000.It is obvious that the market share is dominated by a select few corporations. The largest company is Kroger (11% market share), followed closely by Albertson’s(9%), Safeway(6%), and Win The number of rivals in this industry is becoming more important to recognize. According to Progressive Grocer, supermarket sales have increased 5. Gross margins are approximately 2% greater for a supermarket when they have access t o a distribution center. In closing, the supermarket industry is profitable. All indications in the research that I have done leads me to believe that sales have increased at the same pace in 2000 that it did in 1999.These companies manufacture some of their products in inventory. Because of the single-person and one-parent households, less people are frequenting the grocery stores and more people are eating out at restaurants. Kroger brand(private label) products account for approximately 25% of their grocery sales and almost 9% of drugs and general merchandise. Albertson†tms has acquired American Food to increase their market share in the West region. Kroger is the only major supermarket operator to implement a three-tier distribution system. As stated above, the top 25 companies capture 75% of the market.Safeway, SuperValu, and Kroger are the only companies that go even further upstream concerning vertical integration. They use these facilities to produce private label prod ucts. The growth has been driven by increasing affluence and the rise of a middle class; the entry of women into the workforce; with a consequent incentive to seek out easy-to-prepare foods; the growth in the use of refrigerators, making it possible to shop weekly instead of daily; and the growth in car ownership, facilitating journeys to distant stores and purchases of large quantities of goods.The opportunities presented by this potential have encouraged several European companies to invest in these markets (mainly in Asia) and American companies to invest in Latin America and China. Local companies also entered the market. [12] Initial development of supermarkets has now been followed by hypermarket growth. In addition there were investments by companies such as Makro and Metro in large-scale Cash-and-Carry operations.While the growth in sales of processed foods in these countries has been much more rapid than the growth in fresh food sales, the imperative nature of supermarkets to achieve economies of scale in purchasing, means that the expansion of supermarkets in these countries has important repercussions for small farmers, particularly those growing perishable crops. New supply chains have developed involving cluster formation; development of specialized wholesalers; leading farmers organizing supply; and farmer associations or cooperatives.Cargills (Ceylon) entered the Business Today TOP 10 list a year ago at the tenth place and this year notched one place up to number nine. Having evolved from its original four department stores, Cargills (Ceylon) is today the fastest growing and largest retail chain in Sri Lanka. The company continues to invest in food and agriculture, and with the expansion of the retail outlets to 136 during the year, new opportunities were reportedly presented to more rural famers and entrepreneurs. The company is also actively participating in the revival of the Eastern Province with the opening of outlets in Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee.At present Cargills has established its presence in 23 districts of the country. Cargills (Ceylon) owns and operates its own manufacturing and distribution arm. The company also owns the KFC franchise in Sri Lanka, and it introduced the first KFC drive-thru in the South Asia region. During the year a full year of operation of Millers Distribution was brought under the fold of Cargills. An Island-wide reach and distribution capability of Millers is expected to help Cagills (Ceylon) further penetrate the market. Turnover of the company during the year was Rs 16 billion and profit after tax was Rs 499 million.

Porter Five Forces Assist an Organisation in Their Strategic Planning

How does Porters Five Forces Model assist an organisation in their strategic planning? Before understanding â€Å"how† we must know â€Å"what† Porters Five Forces model really is (Michael E. Porter, 2008). Company strive to secure a competitive advantage over their rivals, I mean who doesn’t want to be the best? Although the intensity of rivalry varies within each industry and these differences can be important in the development of strategy, but rather the five forces (Porter, 2008) being a strategy of any sort, it acts a framework in securing a strategy.The only time where strategy is irrelevant, would be when you have no competitors where ultimately the environment is a monopoly, or when you have a ton of money to throw around and waste. But having said that, it is not likely at all. Without framework, strategy will inevitably collapse, as they both come hand in hand. Thus a chain arises as the five forces (Porter, 2008) acts as a framework in assisting an or ganisation in their strategic planning, where strategic planning leads to a competitive advantage over their competitors which then leads to ultimate success of the company.Before proceeding to the question at hand on how Porters Five Forces can assist an organisation in their strategic planning, first we have to know two things, what are the Five Forces that Porter (2008) proposed, and ultimately what strategy really means? To ease this journey, let’s start with the Five Forces (Porter, 2008).Before any company enters a certain market, one must first analyse the competitive nature of the market, and this is exactly what the Five Forces (2008) aids to do, to provide a framework to determine the intensity of competition within an industry where three of the five competitive forces comes from an external sources, and the remainder coming from an internal sources. These external sources includes: Threat of potential entrants, threat of potential substitutes and rivalry of existi ng firms in the industry.Now these sources are external due to the fact that it is simply impossible to temper with. But what we can control, are the two internal sources: the bargaining power of suppliers, and the bargaining power of buyers. Being aware of the five forces can aid firms into identifying existence and the importance of each of the five forces, as well as the roles that each force plays into the success of the firms. The threat of potential entrants: Although it is possible for any company to enter and exit a market of their choice, each market has their own unique barriers to go in and out of.Therefore the essence of this force deals with the level of difficulty that a company can enter into an industry which will ultimately impact competition within the industry. Whenever a new company enters an industry, the competitive climate changes; it provides more alternatives to consumers, therefore reducing its attractiveness and the competition within the industry increase s as each company is trying to come out on top. As each industry have their own unique characteristics it allows them to build a barrier from other industries protecting them from profitability while restraining additional rivals from entering the market.These restraints and characteristics that industries create are referred to as barriers of entry. Barriers of entry are a characteristic acquired uniquely to each industry. It attempts to reduce the rate of entry of new companies which maintains the level of profitability for all current industry competitors, where if new companies enters the industry, the profit is shared amongst the original and the newly developed companies in the industry, ultimately decreasing overall profits of each company, which isn’t ideal.Conversely when profitability of an industry is high, companies will attempt to come into the industry to get a piece of the action, which then will eventually result in reducing profits due to the fact that it is divided up into more quarters. Where there’s an entry, there’s an exit, barriers to exit limits the ability of a firm to leave the market, meanwhile rivalries can worsen. So when barriers for entry and exits are high, it means that companies have a higher potential to make more profit and the opposite occurs when barriers are low.The threat of substitutes: where it refers to substitute product as those that are available in other industry which can also fulfil the need and want of the consumers. It can affect competition in an industry by placing an invisible ceiling on prices which companies within the industry can charge, due to the fact that if the cost of substitute is low then the consumers will tend to purchase substitutes, therefore limiting the prices that a company can place on certain items to gain maximum profit. For example, lemonade can be substituted for a soft drink.Generally, competitive pressures arising from substitute products increase as the relativ e price of substitute products declines and as consumer's switching costs decrease. The bargaining power of buyers is affected by the concentration and number of consumers, when buyer power is strong, they gain the power to choose between producers and ultimately equip themselves with bargaining power which then the producers will have to conform to in order to produce profit, under these conditions the buyer has the most influence in determining the price of products.Also when buyers have strong bargaining power in the exchange relationship, competition can be affected in several ways. Powerful buyers can bargain for lower prices, better product distribution, higher-quality products, as well as other factors that can create greater competition among companies. To minimise the power of buyers, companies can develop offers in which strong buyers cannot refuse, also, companies can choose to select buyers with less bargaining power.Similarly, the bargaining power of suppliers affects t he intensity of competition in an industry, for a production industry that produces goods, raw materials are needed which creates a buyer and supplier relationship between the industry and companies which produces the raw materials. Suppliers may be able to determine prices especially when there are a large number of suppliers, limited substitute raw materials, or increased switching costs. The bargaining power of suppliers is important to industry competition because suppliers can also affect the quality of exchange relationships.Competition may become more intense as powerful suppliers raise prices, reduce services, or reduce the quality of goods or services. In order to minimise the power of suppliers, industry tend to build win-win relationships with suppliers where both parties benefits from it or arrange to use multiple suppliers so if one supplier chooses to increase their prices, the company doesn’t get affected as much. Competition is also affected by the rivalry amo ng existing firms, which is usually considered as the most powerful of the five competitive forces.In most industries, business organizations are mutually dependent, industries that are concentrated versus fragmented; often display the highest level of rivalry. A competitive move by one company in pursuing an advantage over its rivals can be expected to have a noticeable effect on its competitors, and thus, may cause retaliation of other companies, for example, lowering prices, enhancing quality, adding features, providing services, extending warranties, and increasing advertising, placing themselves in a competitive advantage over the competitors.The nature of competition is often affected by a variety of factors, such as the size and number of competitors, demand changes for the industry's products, the specificity of assets within the industry, the presence of strong exit barriers, and the variety of competitors. These conditions will lead to a more challenging industry where com panies compete in, leading to price wars, advertising battles, and the addition of new products. So after going through the five forces, let’s take a look at what strategic planning really means.If we are going to have a good strategy, we must separate strategy from goals and objectives and other issues that managers often think about. Now most management practitioners make the mistake in defining strategy, a strategy is what unique position that we will be able to achieve, what our advantage is going to be at the end of the day as we take these steps accumulatively over time, how we’re going to be unique? How we’re going to have an advantage? How we’re going to sustain the advantage over time? Schermerhorn, Davidson, Poole, Simon, Woods, Chau, 2011). The steps we take aren’t a strategy, but somehow numerous companies make the mistake of fixating themselves on a particular action that an organisation want to approach, which then inevitably becomes their strategy but that usually leads to the downfall of the company simply because they do not know why they’re doing it and when they should stop doing it. As we all know, every industry is different, therefore, there is no universal strategy that can apply to any business.But before proceeding, a company must understand their position and the industry that they are in and their circumstances in order to find a way of obtaining a competitive advantage over the competitors, where indefinitely delivering a unique value to the consumers which rivals cannot. As the five forces (Porter, 2001) suggests that being at a competitive advantage is the idealistic way of being on top, due to the fact that every industry has their own set of economics, the five forces (Porter, 2001) without a doubt acts as a framework to extract any necessary information needed to develop strategy to gain competitive advantage.The Five forces (Porter, 2001) help you home in on what is really causing prof itability, or in fact what is causing the trends of the significance and change of the industry. This powerful framework can prevent an organisation from getting tricked or trapped into the latest trends like the technological sensation, and really allowing organisations to focus solely on the underlying fundamentals. This can be applied to any industry whether if its production or a service, high tech or low tech, emerging or developed industries (Porter, 2001).With the framework at hand, it acts as a guide or even a tick off criteria sheet into strategic planning, how should we begin? The strategy formulating process will be pretty straight forward from here after deeply understanding the five forces which Porter (2001) proposed. The first step should be the analysis of the industry that a company is trying to get into, looking at the environment to tick off all of the 5 boxes one by one, evaluating what the industry looks like, how it’s been changing over time, and what ar e the drivers of competition (Schermerhorn et al, 2011).After a careful analyse the company is then required to under the dynamics as to where the industry is going, how the buyers and substitute’s entry level are evolving, and lastly how to position the company to gain a good profit. These are all extracted from the framework proposed by Porter (2001), although competition is sometimes looked at too narrowly, with careful analysis of the five forces (Porter, 2001) will ultimately position the company in a competitive advantage.Where a competitive advantage allows an organisation to deal with the market and environmental forces much better than its competitors (Ramon, 2012), to achieve this goal, the company needs to be at its best and better than the competitors who are trying to achieve the same goal in the same industry. Rather than a goal, competitive advantage is a position that a company wants to be in, a goal is to make the competitive advantage sustainable in spite of all the mockery of rivals, although achieving and sustaining it is a challenging task, but it will set concrete roots for the company in years to come.The implementation of strategic planning tools serves a variety of purposes in companies, including the clear definition of an organization's purpose and mission, and the establishment of a standard base from which progress can be measured and future actions can be planned. I-O psychologist Ramon E, Henson (2012) and Robert E, Ployhart (2012) although having disagreements in some parts of their papers, they ultimately come forward in reinforcing the importance of competitive advantage suggesting that I-O and strategy has been â€Å"joined at hips for years† (Ramon, 2012), also suggesting hat I-O psychology should stray from the focus of individuals and start focusing more on the company as a whole as they have â€Å"much to offer† in the understanding of competitive advantage (Ployhart, 2012). Furthermore, the strategic planning tools should communicate those goals and objectives to the organisation as a whole rather than just the ones involved in the strategic planning process (O’Shannassy, 2003) to achieve a more efficient work flow. Throughout the centuries, countless strategic approaches has been formed and used and recycled, so why use Porter’s Five Forces (2008)?For example, strategy as simple rules Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, ; Donald N. Sull, (2001). It illustrates the success story of Yahoo! , along with other successful companies coming from an unattractive market. â€Å"So how they did succeed? More generally, what are the sources of competitive advantage in high-velocity markets? What does strategy mean in the new economy? † (Eisenhardt et al, 2001, p. 108). The key is none-other than strategy as simple rules, it targets market confusion and rides the magic carpet to see where or what it will journey into.Although it is indeed called â€Å"simple rules†, a rule still applies to it, as one Internet executive explained: â€Å"I have a thousand opportunities a day; strategy is deciding which 50 to do. † (Eisenhardt et al, 2001, p. 108). As it summarises and illustrates that simple rules is all about taking risks, its essence is to capture unanticipated opportunities for ultimate success. Although for companies like Yahoo! has gained huge success, simple rules (2001) cannot apply to any industry as the authors suggests (Eisenhardt et al, 2001).If the opportunity presents itself, for anyone to use simple rules (2001) as a stepping stone to success, without a doubt, one should take the opportunity, but an opportunity does not just come without any background knowledge of a particular industry, and this is where Porter’s Five Forces (2008) comes into play, as it provides a framework for careful analysis of the industry, by analysing the industry will allow you to grab hold of the opportunities that might come about. Despite the fact that there are numerous of strategies to obtain competitive advantage, Porters Five Forces (2008) acts as a basis of all these trategies, as it is a tick-off criteria sheet which allows a company to understand their position before even implementing any sort of action. It is important as companies strives for ultimate profitability, thus the importance of a company securing a competitive advantage over their competitors is key, as even I-O psychologists supports the important of competitive advantage and that it should be a â€Å"department on its own† (Ployhart, 2012). How to implement strategy and sustaining it is another question. Although Yahoo! nd some other companies has succeeded without the five forces (Porter, 2008), it is a dangerous and risky step, and for those who doesn’t have the resource to throw around, Porters Five Forces (2008) will not only act as a friend but mentor to the journey of success. Reference John R. Schermerhorn, Paul Davidson, David Poo le, Alan Simon, Peter woods ; So Ling Chau (2011). Management 4th Asia-Pacific Edition. Queensland, Australia: John Wiley ; Sons Australia, Ltd. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, ; Donald N. Sull, (2001). Strategy as Simple Rules. Harvard Business Review,79(1), 106-116.Porter E. Michael. THE FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY. Harvard Business Review, 00178012, Jan2008, Vol. 86, Issue 1. RAMON M. HENSON. Industrial-Organizational and Strategy Are Integrated in Practice! Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(2012), pp82-86. Robert E. Ployhart. From Possible to Probable: The Psychology of Competitive Advantage. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5 (2012), 120–126. Tim O’Shannassy, (2003). Modern Strategic management: Balancing Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning for Internal and External Stakeholders. Singapore Management Review, 25(1), 53-67.

Free Essays on Thomas Kinkade - Geniune Or Poser

Thomas Kinkade, artist or businessman? This is the question that the three reviews by Karal Ann Marling, Brooke Cameron, and Mark Pohlad are basically arguing. Kinkade’s paintings and other works usually consist of a little house with the lights on. His work gives a sense of light and warmth at affordable prices. â€Å"His franchise earned more than $2 billion in 2000† (pg. 224). Marling is really supportive of Kinkade’s work. She argues that he is a family man because he puts his wife’s initials in his pictures. She also mentions that Kinkade takes after an artist by the name of Albert Bierstadt, who â€Å"bridges the gap between fine and popular art† (pg. 67). Cameron on the other hand also points out that his work is very soothing for the common person, but he gets more credit than he deserves. She also brings up that his pieces are not authentic, so why buy one? In her last line of the review she compares Kinkade to a â€Å"male Martha Stewart† (pg. 5), someone selling something that the average person can relate to and will buy. Pohlad brings together points that the two previous reviews argue, but his main point is the affordability. How many people do you know that can afford a Van Gogh or a Monet? I Know I can’t, but a Kinkade’s $1,500 painting is a quite a bit more within my grasp.... Free Essays on Thomas Kinkade - Geniune Or Poser Free Essays on Thomas Kinkade - Geniune Or Poser Thomas Kinkade, artist or businessman? This is the question that the three reviews by Karal Ann Marling, Brooke Cameron, and Mark Pohlad are basically arguing. Kinkade’s paintings and other works usually consist of a little house with the lights on. His work gives a sense of light and warmth at affordable prices. â€Å"His franchise earned more than $2 billion in 2000† (pg. 224). Marling is really supportive of Kinkade’s work. She argues that he is a family man because he puts his wife’s initials in his pictures. She also mentions that Kinkade takes after an artist by the name of Albert Bierstadt, who â€Å"bridges the gap between fine and popular art† (pg. 67). Cameron on the other hand also points out that his work is very soothing for the common person, but he gets more credit than he deserves. She also brings up that his pieces are not authentic, so why buy one? In her last line of the review she compares Kinkade to a â€Å"male Martha Stewart† (pg. 5), someone selling something that the average person can relate to and will buy. Pohlad brings together points that the two previous reviews argue, but his main point is the affordability. How many people do you know that can afford a Van Gogh or a Monet? I Know I can’t, but a Kinkade’s $1,500 painting is a quite a bit more within my grasp....

Books on French History

Books on French History This page indexes onsite bibliographic information about French history. General Histories The best one-volume books, plus a bonus for people wanting one book on recent events. A Concise History of France by Roger Price: Part of the Cambridge Concise Histories series, (and so linked to another book on this list), this text is a middle length run through of a fascinating but at times complicated history. The third edition has an extra chapter on very modern France.The Cambridge Illustrated History of France by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie and Colin Jones: This is a great one-book summary of France’s history, with a broad range and plenty of visual stimuli.The History of Modern France: From The Revolution to the Present Day by Jonathan Fenby: French history in the post-Napoleonic era is no less interesting than the time before. It is good for the European Union and precursors as well as France. The Best Books Want to start reading about French history, but aren’t sure where to start? We’ve broken down the best books we’ve run on French history and divided them into three lists; we’ve also paid attention to covering as much ground as possible. Pre-Revolutionary France: Top 10France evolved around the turn of the first millennium, but this list goes back to the decline of the Romans to fill in all the eras. Wars against England, wars over religion, and the (possible) apogee of absolutism. The French Revolution: Top 10Probably the turning point around which modern European history revolved, The French Revolution began in 1789, changing both France, the continent and then the world. These ten books include one of my favorite ever history books. Post-Revolutionary France: Top 10French history didn’t end with the defeat of Napoleon, and there’s plenty to look for in the last two hundred years if you want fascinating events and interesting characters. Reviews and Summaries Check out this list of product summaries, that highlight the pros and cons of some stand-out books on French history. The list provides a brief review and lists supplementary detail; many entries also link to full reviews, including the below.​ Citizens by Simon SchamaThis book is a standout among all history books, not just those about French history. This history of the revolution from the early days to the start of the Directory is no less than fascinating but perhaps too baroque for the younger student.​The French Revolutionary Wars by Gregory Fremont-BarnesThe French Revolutionary Wars often get folded into the Napoleonic Wars, so this book that tackles them alone. is well-appreciated.The Oxford History of the French Revolution by William DoyleIf you want to know what happened in the French Revolution, and why, read this excellent work from Doyle. It’s been through several editions, and this is the best student textbook.

Podcast summary 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Podcast summary 3 - Essay Example He begins by highlighting the obvious basics by making the listeners understand what actually creativity and innovativeness encompasses. According to him, creativity is just getting some old ideas and blending them with new things and done in new ways. He goes on to mention it is the simple things that makes creativity, the aspect of having an independent thought that is different and can provide a solution. He also mentions that the porous exchange of ideas enhances creativity and ensures that every individual has a platform of thinking besides the obvious. He uses various examples to explain his points while providing that innovativeness is based on the old things that person desire to see improvement in. He brings forth various principles that should be adhered to in a workplace foe the staff to demonstrate creativity and innovativeness. The first thing is that all staff should be free to share their ideas irrespective of how odd they may seem. The second thing is the development of an official policy that encourages creativity in the workforce. He also talks about charisma that is geared towards bringing forth empty words that have few actions. He rather advocates for a leadership that is capable of enforcing what they have believed in. According to him any creative idea or innovation that cannot be made to work is not worth the effort. He points out that individuals need to develop their creativity in a simple way based on old ideas. The issues raised by Bob have so much significance in the workplaces. Creativity and innovativeness that does not benefit the organization is not in any way worthy. In order to make the workplace better, the thing is to make the ideas that are brought forth by each member of the workforce usable. Otherwise, the employee are likely to feel out of place and shut their innovative and creative thoughts hence retaining he status quo. Organizations that are aware of the potential in their workforce are