Ann Taylor Survival in Specialty Retail Essay - 951 Words

Established in 1956 by Robert Liebeskind, Ann Taylor, an upscale woman’s clothier began operation in New Harford Connecticut. Ann Taylor was established to cater to working women who wanted style and class to be their trademark. Ann Taylor or ANN is in the retail clothing industry. According to the ANN website, their purpose is to, â€Å"inspire and connect with women who put their best selves’ forward each day.† (Ann Taylor) Kay Krill, CEO of Ann Taylor states on their website that, â€Å"At ANN Inc. we share a profound commitment to our clients. For more than half a century, we have evolved with the needs of real women, who live full active lives. Our values are her values. We understand that a woman expresses herself by what she wears- at work,†¦show more content†¦The recent recession has hurt the entire retail market and regaining profits will be a constant challenge for the entire industry. In order to remain competitive, Ann Krill states,† value and versatility have become very important. She needs an incentive to shop.† (Hymowitz, 2012) Ms. Krill goes on to say,† I think in uncertain economic times, value becomes more important...† (Hymowitz, 2012) Although has seen some growth in certain segments of their company, such as Loft and Outlet, the Ann Taylor stores have not fared as well. As stated by Katherine Krill, â€Å"sales for the fourth quarter increased 10% to $567 million with comparable sales up 5%. Excluding charges, net income was $5.5 million or $0.10 per diluted share compared to net income of $11 million or $0.19 per share a year ago. Overall, the results reflected strong performance across all channels of the LOFT brand and in the e-commerce and factory channels of the Ann Taylor brand, offset by significantly lower-than-anticipated results in the Ann Taylor stores channel .† (Seeking Alpha, 2012) Due to the competitive focus of the fashion retail industry using differentiation strategy makes the most sense. In order to draw consumers to the ANN brand of clothingShow MoreRelatedEssay about Ann Taylor685 Words   |  3 PagesCase 2 Ann Taylor: Survival in Speciality Retail 1. What industry is Ann in? Ann Taylor is a specialty retail clothing store for ladies only. The quality of Ann Taylor is similar to that of Talbots, Abercrombie Fitch, or Banana Republic. Keep in mind Ann Taylor was never a person like Elizabeth Taylor. Ann Taylor is only the brand identity. 2. Using Porter’s five forces model, identify the key issues in the competitive environment that affect ANN and its rivals. Identify and evaluateRead MoreEssay on Ann Taylor Case1967 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction/Case Issues Ann Taylor is being affected by external and internal factors that are making the company fight for survival in the specialty retail industry. Ann Taylor is being affected by the declining economy, which is generating a wave of retail closures. The company is being threatened by slowing consumer demand due to the worsened macroeconomic conditions. Shoppers are now more careful when spending their money and as a result Ann Taylor lost $333.9 million in 2008 and the uncertaintyRead MoreStrategic Management and Information Systems19841 Words   |  80 PagesNew information system applications require that individual routines and business processes change to achieve high levels of organizational performance. Organizational Politics People in organizations occupy different positions with different specialties, concerns, and perspectives. 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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Free Essays

The Picture of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel written by Irish writer, Oscar Wilde. The main character, rich and beautiful Dorian Gray, owns his portrait, which instead of him becomes older and where are traces of sin and mistakes. While Gray becomes uncontrollable and ruthless, his appearance stays youthful and flawless. We will write a custom essay sample on The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde or any similar topic only for you Order Now At the end, in his despair, Gray destroys the picture and himself. The novel gives us a very good lesson – we can do whatever we want, but time is more powerful than us, which means that one day, everybody of us will have to say goodbye to this world. The novel begins with discussion about beauty. Basil Hallward (the artist) and his friend Lord Henry have different thoughts about it. Basil is sensitive artist who is painting the portrait of a young man of the immense beauty. They also talked about life in general, where Lord mentioned that beauty is the only thing that matters and Basil thinks that only stupid and ugly people live the best. Basil accidentally mentioned Dorian Gray, the name of his male muse. He was completely inspirated of him. Gray was an innocente, shy and moral boy who came from rich family. He represented an ideal of male beauty. When Lord met him, he made a strong influence on him that dramatically changed his life. He was a strong hedonist, full of ideas. His philosophical thoughts made strong influences on Dorian that in one moment completely changed his life. After the painting was finished, Basic gave it to Dorian and he fell in love with it. He wished that never grows old. As the story goes on, something unexpected happened. The painting started to change, it was becoming uglier and uglier. Dorian was growing older, but only on the painting. It means that from the day he got that painting, he started living double life. He decided not to tell anybody about his secret. Everything started when he came back home from the cinema. He had a conflict with his fiancee, about eighteen years old Sybil who was an actress in a low budget theatre. She realized that all the time she was living in a lie and decided to play poorly on her last show. Dorian became dissapointed and also embarassed in front of Basil and Henry. Her only knowledge of love was love of theatre. Unfortunately, Dorian decided to break up with her. His decision broke her heart and she commited suicide. As the time went on, Dorian still stayed a young man and did not change. The saddest moment of the story is when he killed Basil. His conscience started to chase him, and he grabbed the same knife to kill him and destroy his painting. At the end of the story, Dorian killed himself. The servants hardly recognized him. All sins he did during his life, were moved from the painting to his dead body. How to cite The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Papers

Organized Racism Essay Example For Students

Organized Racism Essay Most people only know of one or two racist organizations but there are many, many more. Although we rarely see it in real life, racism lurks all around us. The most famous organization and normally the only one known of are the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. However there are many more racist organizations and religions many anti-racism organizations. Many people are racist without even realizing it. Racism organizations are everywhere, and more will keep on growing until someone is able to stop it. The most commonly known racist organization is the KKK or Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan has extreme hatred to all Jewish, Negro, and Asian people. They believe that the pure White Christian people should rise above all other people. The Ku Klux Klan promotes protectionism in foreign trade, closing the southern border, and laws prohibiting foreigners from purchasing American property and industry. History proves that the Ku Klux Klan is Americas oldest and most effective White Christian Fraternal organizations. The Klan believes that it is doing successfully now because people are beginning to realize that equal rights for all people is just a myth, still people pretend that they believe in it. The Ku Klux Klan official web page address is www.kkk.com. Another racist organization is the Posse Comitatus. The Posse Comitatus is an intermittently active, loosely organized group of Christian identity activists dedicated to survivalism, vigilantism, and anti-government agitation. Following the pseudo-religious tenets of the Identity movement, Posse members typically proclaim Jews to be the synagogue of Satan, blacks and other people of colour to be subhuman mud-races and Northern European whites to be the Chosen People of Biblical prophecy. The name of the group Posse Comitatus translates from Latin to mean power of the county, and the Posse believes that all governmental power is rooted at the county, not Federal, level. Posse Comitatus is the term Gordon Wendall Kahl, a North Dakota farmer, gave to his far-right militia organization of local farmers and ranchers. He founded the organization in the early 1970s to fight the federal and state encroachment into their local affairs. The posse has attracted many Klan members and other anti- Semites. The Nation of Islam is an anti-white and anti-Semitic religion based on the teaching that whites are devils created in an evil scientists experiment. The Nation of Islam identifies itself as Islamic. Members call god Allah and call themselves Muslims, they teach and worship in mosques, and they appeal to the prophet Muhammad. The chief leaders of the Nation of Islam are Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Minister Farrakhan. They believe that the devil is the white man, the Caucasian race. They think that the black race is trillions of years old and the white race is only six thousand years old. The Nation of Islam thinks that the white race is not equal to the black race because the God of Righteousness created the black race and Yakub created the white race. They believe Yakub was an original black man who was the father of the devil. As the father of the devil he created the white race, the race of devils, which are enemies to the black race. Therefore the white race is not made by nature to accept righteousness.World Church of the Creator is a white supremacist organization that preaches a theology called Creativity. That religion was established for the survival, expansion, and advancement of the white race exclusively. Their reason for white supremacy is that they figure that since the white race is responsible for all of earths advancements throughout history, it should be the only race that should expand and advance. They feel that the white race is facing a huge threat because only 1 in every 12 people on the earth is white. The ratio has dropped tremendously and they feel that it will only get worse. They think that it is disgusting that white people are marrying people of other races and are only harming their fellow race. .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 , .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .postImageUrl , .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 , .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:hover , .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:visited , .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:active { border:0!important; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:active , .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479 .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub0d5e6c98fe00636998e47e630d58479:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: 4th grade Living Things Unit 4, Lesson 1The National Alliance is a Neo-Nazi organization based in West Virginia. They believe that there should only be Aryan advancement and that other races a without purpose. Their beliefs contradict most other beliefs. Most people believe

Jfk Life Essays - Kennedy Family, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.,

Jfk Life In November 1960, at the age of 43, John F. Kennedy became the youngest man ever elected president of the United States. Theodore Roosevelt had become president at 42 when President William McKinley was assassinated, but he was not elected at that age. On Nov. 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot to death in Dallas, Tex., the fourth United States president to die by an assassin's bullet. Kennedy was the nation's first Roman Catholic president. He was inaugurated in January 1961, succeeding Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He defeated the Republican candidate, Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, by little more than 100,000 votes. It was one of the closest elections in the nation's history. Although Kennedy and his vice- presidential running mate, Lyndon B. Johnson, got less than half of the more than 68 million votes cast, they won the Electoral College vote. Kennedy thus became the 14th minority president. Because of the close vote, election results were challenged in many states. The official electoral vote was Kennedy 303, Nixon 219, and Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia 15. President Kennedy's great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1858. They settled in Boston, Mass. His grandfathers, Patrick J. Kennedy and John F. (Honey Fitz) Fitzgerald, were born there. Both men became influential in state politics. Honey Fitz served several terms as Boston's mayor and as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Patrick Kennedy was a powerful ward boss and served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature. Patrick's son, Joseph, was a brilliant mathematician. At the age of 25 he became the youngest bank president in the United States. His fortune continued to grow, and he was one of the few financiers to sense the stock market crash of 1929. He made hundreds of millions of dollars. Joseph married Rose Fitzgerald, daughter of Honey Fitz, on Oct. 7, 1914. Their first child, Joseph, Jr., was born in 1915. John was born on May 29, 1917. Seven other children followed: Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward (called Teddy). All were born in Brookline, Mass., a suburb of Boston. Training Pays Off Joseph Kennedy, Sr., set up a million-dollar trust fund for each of his children. This freed them from future financial worry and allowed them to devote their lives to public good, if they desired. As the children grew, their parents stressed the importance of competitive spirit. One of their father's favorite mottoes was: Second place is a loser. The drive to win was deeply embedded in the children, and they never did anything halfheartedly. Their parents were careful to neglect neither the intellectual nor the physical development of the children. As they grew older, the children would eat their evening meals in two groups, divided by age. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy ate at both meals. This allowed them to discuss subjects which were of interest to each group. All the children attended dancing school while very young, and all, with the exception of Rosemary, loved sports activities. Rosemary did not take part in rough-and-tumble play. The other children, however, thrived on it. Even when they were adults, one of their favorite pastimes was a rousing and often bruising game of touch football. On pleasant days, Mrs. Kennedy took her children for long walks. She made a point of taking them into church for a visit each day. I wanted them to form a habit of making God and religion a daily part of their lives, she said later in life. With this background, it was quite natural for John Kennedy and his brothers and sisters to excel in school and in sports. John attended public schools in Brookline. Later he entered private schools in Riverdale, N.Y., and Wallingford, Conn. In 1935 and 1936 he studied at the London School of Economics. Then he followed his older brother, Joe, into Harvard University. An excellent athlete, John was a star swimmer and a good golfer. His athletic activities, however, were cut down after he suffered a back injury in a Harvard football game. The injury was to plague him later in life. John and his older brother were very close. While a young boy, Joe said that someday he would be president of the United States.

Is it glorious to die for youre country essays

Is it glorious to die for youre country essays Is it glorious to die for your country?.... This question has been posed to many young people about to embark on war although the answer has usually been yes in response to their country due mainly to the fact that the government instills it in the people of the country to support one's country and one way is to send young abled bodied men into the army. If you were one individual that was not in favour of fighting for your country you would surely become an outcast by the countries people. To avoid ridicule and becoming outcasted by the people living around you, you would join the army just in the thought that you were obligated to for the sole sake of your country. Such thoughts were reinforced by the government promotion of propaganda. Glorifying death is not needed to be taught and should be up to the sole individual. School systems should teach an unbiased point of view of war to enable the child to make their own decision to fight for one's country. Is it Glorious to Die for your Country? Within the education system it was instructed to the teachers to teach the children at a young age during the brink of war to instill that their the life of the country and for them to defend their country against the enemy. Teachers showed being in a army was representing honour and the pride of the country. Guilt was laid on the students who showed rebellion by the teacher. Many times the teacher would try to show a soldier that looks happy and content trying to represent being a soldier makes you happy and content. Many young inexperienced soldiers were sent to training camps near the battle fields that they would soon be sent to fight, for their country and their life. The training camps were situated on similar enviroments that resembled the battle fields of where the fighting would take place. Reinforced displine to the young and ignorant men. Trench warfare is ...

How to become a production worker

How to become a production worker As a consumer society, we own- and keep acquiring- more and more stuff. Much of that stuff is made all around the world, but many products are still produced here in the United States. Although the industry has obviously evolved since the twentieth  century manufacturing boom, production workers still have a place in the American job ecosystem. And if you’re interested in seeking out one of these manufacturing jobs for yourself, we have the info to help you make that decision. What does a production worker do?Production workers are very hands-on employees in a factory, working with machinery to fabricate or refine materials that are used to create and package products. Some examples are food production and packaging facilities, pharmaceutical production facilities, or plants that manufacture parts of a larger product. Production workers are needed to create everything, from tiny medical instruments to cars or airplane engine parts.A production worker’s tasks may inclu de:Operating machinery on a production lineProcessing raw materialsAssembling and finishing a productRefining and cleaning a product (like sanding, washing, or applying protective cover)Packing boxes or pallets for shippingProduction workers typically work full- or part-time shifts in a factory, plant, or manufacturing facility. These shifts may include days, nights, weekends, and overtime. This is also a very physical job, meaning that production workers may need to sit or stand for the duration of those shifts, depending on the task. There may also be protective gear involved (aprons, safety glasses, gloves, head coverings) as well, particularly if one is working with machinery.What skills do production workers need?Before you pursue a career in the field, make sure you work on building up the following skills- you’ll need to talk about them in an interview and use them from day one.Attention to detail: Carelessness and mistakes can have direct consequences for a product, c reating defects or slowing down production. Production workers should be able to spot and resolve problems on the fly.Working as part of a team: Production workers are always part of a larger team, with a shared goal of creating something for the company’s bottom line. If a person is unable to follow directions or understand how his or her piece of the process fits with others’, then the job might not be a good fit.What background do you need to become a production worker?There is no specific training program or degree for production workers, but most companies require the minimum of a high school degree (or equivalent). These jobs typically have on-the-job training to teach workers specific processes, equipment, or tasks directly associated with the job itself.How much do production workers make?According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for production workers is $32,380, or $15.57 per hour. This can change depending on the skill level necessary to perform the job or the complexity of the work.What’s the outlook for production workers?Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a slight overall decline for these kinds of positions as manufacturing faces some economic uncertainty in the U.S., there are hubs that are seeing a resurgence in these kinds of jobs, particularly in Midwest and Western states like Wyoming, Indiana, South Dakota, Texas, and Michigan.

Marketing Plan for Starbucks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing Plan for Starbucks - Research Paper Example A representative of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. Tadesse Meskela argues that Starbucks sells its coffee in the market for $14 per pound whereas; it buys coffee for only $1.20 per pound which is even lower than production cost (Hot News, 2010). Such concerns are being discussed at the political and national level. Coffee producing nations can also impact the operations of the company and can threaten the United States to stop the trade of coffee. For the Ethiopian farmer's trademarking has become very important, therefore, Ethiopian government asked Starbucks to sign an agreement of ownership in Coffee, however, Starbucks refused to sign it (Oromoindex, 2009). Such concerns can directly influence the operations of a company. Increasing inflation has increased the cost of coffee, thereby, affected the revenues of coffee companies. Starbucks’ first-quarter sales increased by 2.9 percent because of higher coffee prices (Singh, 2009). The growing demand for energy and other beverages and food can influence the demand of coffee in the U.S. According to 2009 trends, consumption of coffee remained consistent at 54 percent of the total adult population partaking (National Coffee Association of USA, 2009). Discretionary spending in the U.S. for the year 2010 is $1.39 trillion and 38 percent out of total spending. Around $844 billion was spent on security and $553 billion was spent on agriculture ($25 billion) (Amadeo, 2010). Technological developments have also enhanced the capability of Starbucks to increase its green practices. For example, at several stores of Starbucks, the company is experimenting with compact fluorescent lights and energy saving fixtures (Allison, 2008). Environmental protection programs and practices are very important for the companies operating in the United States.

Information Systems in Business and Organizations Coursework

Information Systems in Business and Organizations - Coursework Example Because this employee expertise is so important to them, the first step businesses must take to improve their capability of creating knowledge out of information is to understand its 'deep smarts'- what they are, how they are built and how they can be transferred to be made useful (Leonard & Swap, 2008). Once a business understands what its knowledge assets are, it can capture and convert that knowledge each time they fear losing it. For example, consider an employee who is retiring soon. It will be useful for a firm to know what all knowledge assets he contributes to the business and how it must capture these, tacit and explicit, before this employee retires and leaves. An option given by Leonard and Swap is to adopt 'coaching'. An employee of an organization builds up its knowledge in the shape of experience, wisdom and intuition over the years. This knowledge may be explicit, that is, things that can be easily captured, unfolded and passed around and are more open like who to call when something goes wrong. Or this knowledge can be tacit, things that cannot be captured and communicated and are silent, for example, an employee's ability to judge colleagues based on gut feeling and intuition. This employee's knowledge, tacit or explicit, must be captured as much as it can so that when he leaves, the new employee can be trained with it. The person who will train this employee will be the coach. This process of transferring knowledge from one employee to another with the help of a coach is called knowledge 'coaching'. The transfer will never take place without a skillful coach and an able receptor (Leonard & Swap, 2008). Another option that technology-driven businesses have to use their information as knowledge is to create encyclopedias or databases of lessons learned. They could also make templates out of it to further facilitate transfer of information (that is, to create knowledge) (Stewart, T.A., 2003). This is all very valuable for any organization. But at the end of the day, it must realize that all of the information in the database is gathered about explicit assets. What about tacit knowledge These silent assets are extremely important to get comprehensive knowledge but are also extremely difficult to capture. Therefore, the shortcoming of this technology approach is that knowledge cannot be captured comprehensively. But can it ever I don't think so. Until now, most of the focus has been on explicit knowledge; how firms use coaches to coaches to transfer knowledge (explicit) from one employee to another, how firms use technology to capture knowledge (explicit again). Now we will look at the tacit side of knowledge. The Japanese are jack of all trades. Why so The secret to their success is that they focus on tacit knowledge rather than explicit knowledge. One way to create tacit knowledge in an organization is by adopting a 'middle-up-down' management style, rather than a top-down or a bottom-up style. The authors argue that these traditional styles leave little room for effective knowledge creation. The top-down model aligns the outcome of a top few managers with the outcome of the firm. In the bottom-up model, knowledge creation takes much time because of the

Horror Film and Halloween Essay Example for Free

Horror Film and Halloween Essay Halloween is the one time of year when it okay to dress up as anything you want to be and it’s also when you can be celebrating all things horror and dead. Halloween started out as the celebration of the dead but has now grown into a wonderful time of costumes and decoration of scary fictional creatures. Dressing up as a scary character or a character you adore is one of the many perks of Halloween. Going to costume parties with friends and celebrating Halloween together. Watching horror movies and television specials about Halloween is exciting and it feels like more the holiday mood. Halloween is a celebration of the horror genre, dressing up and enjoying this holiday with people. Costumes are very important when it comes to celebrating Halloween. Children enjoy going out on Halloween and trick-or-treating with their costumes to celebrate (Halloween). For an older and mature get together some adults enjoy going to costume parties with their peers. In the olden days it was typical for costumes to be scary but nowadays people tend to dress up as their favourite pop star or a favourite character from a movie. Costumes are enjoyed by many people to be something scary or someone they admire. Going to a party or throwing a party is always expected to done during Halloween. This holiday celebration is enjoyed by everyone in certain countries. Many people attend a Halloween party to enjoy the costume their friends are wearing. The snacks and drinks are shaped and decorated as creepy creatures for the effects of Halloween. Even the music is themed to make the effects to feel realistic. People are attracted to Halloween and going to parties and enjoying it with friends is one of the many perks of this holiday. Enjoying the Halloween and getting into the spirit of this holiday makes it more enjoyable. The Halloween episode of a favourite T.V. shows really adds effects to the enjoyment of the season. This celebration is mostly about the mood of being scared and watching a lot of horror movies. The media has a huge influence on Halloween from movies, television specials and even themed music. Halloween is celebrated widely in certain countries. Halloween is a wonderful and exciting celebration made up by traditions and is enjoyed in certain countries. People enjoy dressing up as a favourite fictional character or someone real like a favourite role model. Going to parties and enjoying your costumes and celebrating this holiday with your friends. Most media like T.V shows will often make special episode for Halloween. People are attracted to Halloween because it is a unique Holiday that celebrates the dead.

The Importance and History of the Steam Engine Essay -- History Indust

"The wonderful progress of the present century is, in a very great degree, due to the invention and improvement of the steam engine, and to the ingenious application of its power to kinds of work that formerly taxed the physical energies of the human race."~Robert H. Thurston The steam engine can easily be considered the single most important invention of the entire industrial revolution. There is not one part of industry present in today's society that can be examined without coming across some type of reference or dependence upon the steam engine. But, who deserves the credit for this great invention? Some give the credit to James Watt while others claim that Thomas Newcomen was the original inventor. However, the idea of the using the power of steam to the advantage of human beings has been around practically since the beginning of time. But, no practical uses for steam emerged until the 17th century. The majority of people will tell you that the steam engine was invented by James Watt. But, this is far from the truth. Like all other great inventions and great discoveries, the steam engine came about after centuries of work by numerous scientists, engineers and even writers. It came from a compilation of work and theories that took centuries to complete. If James Watt was not the first to create the steam engine, who was? How did James Watt end up with all of the credit for the invention? Was he just the one that was there at the right time and in the right place? Is it true that James Watt discovered the steam engine when he observed the lid of a kettle lifting as water boiled within? Those are the questions that we are out to answer. But, keep in mind that "...inventions only become successful wh... ...ords that the steam engine held at the time that the book was written. This biography is meant for at least high school age readers and is directed more so towards those interested in science or engineering history. - http://inventors.about.com/science/inventors/library/inventors/blsteamengine.htm This website is successful at telling the reader everything that they want to know and more about the history and evolution of steam engines. It hits on all the major advancements as well as fall backs that occurred over the years. It is very easy to find whatever you are looking for on this website. The most beneficial part of the website however, is a link to a page that gives a timeline of the growth of the steam engine. This timeline is very well illustrated and makes note of all of the large and small developments in the evolution of the steam engine.

E-bay Case Study

At least 30 million people will buy and sell well over $20bn in merchandise (in 2003) – more than the gross domestic product of all but 70 of the world's countries. More than 150,000 entrepreneurs will earn a full-time living selling everything from diet pills and Kate Spade handbags to  £30,000 BMWs and hulking industrial lathes. More automobiles, of all things, sell on eBay than even no. 1 US dealer AutoNation. So what does this add up to? ‘This is a whole new way of doing business,' says Whitman. ‘We're creating something that didn't exist before.It wasn't planned, but as users plunged into consumer electronics, cars, and industrial gear, eBay followed. Today, eBay has 27,000 categories, including eight with gross sales of more than  £1 billion each.eBay’s business modelValue in eBay is created by proViding a virtual world ¬wide market for buyers and sellers and collecting a tax on transactions as they happen. The business model of eBay relies on it s customers being the organisation's product-development team, sales and marketing force, merchandising department, and the security department.The organisation, headed by Meg Whitman, was founded in 1995, when Pierre Omidyar launched a basic site called Auction Web. His girlfriend wanted to trade her collection of Pez dispensers, but Omidyar had a broader vision in mind, namely empowering everyday consumers to trade without the need for large corporations. He even wanted traders to be responsible for building the community and deciding how to build the website. It worked; soon he found himself answering e-mails from buyers and sellers during the day and rewriting the site's software at night to incorporate their suggestions, which ranged from fiXing software bugs to creating new product categories.Some 100,000 messages from customers are posted per week in which tips are shared, system glitches are pointed out and changes are lobbied for. The COO, Brian Swette, is quoted as saying, ‘The trick is to keep up with what  buyers and sellers want. We've had to constantly change how we run. We start from the principle that if there's noise, you better listen.' Currently the technology allows every move of every potential customer to be traced, yielding rich information.Structurally, the business model is realised through 5,000 employees, roughly half of whom are in customer support and a fifth in technology. A key role in eBay is ‘category manager', a concept Whitman brought to eBay from her days in marketing giant P&G. Category managers direct the 23 major categories as well as the 35,000 subcategories, from collectibles to sports gear, to jewellery and watches, and even jet-planes.Conventional companies might spend big money on getting to know their customers and persuading them to provide feedback, but for eBay such feed ¬back is often free and offered without the need for enticement. Even so some of the company's most effective ways of getting us er input do not rely on the Net and do not come free. eBay organises Voice of the Customer groups, which involve flying in a new group of about 10 sellers and buyers from around the country to its San Jose (Californian) every few months to discuss the in depth. Teleconferences are held for features and policies, however small a change involve. Even workshops and classes are held teach people how to make the most of the site. Participants tend to double their selling activity on after taking a class.The company is governed from both outside and The eBay system has a source of automatic control in the form of buyers and sellers rating each other on each transaction, creating rules and norms. There's an educational system that offers classes around the country on how to sell on eBay. Both buyers and sellers build up reputations which are valuable, in turn encouraging further good behaviour in themselves and others.When that wasn't quite enough, eBay formed its own police force to patro l the listings for fraud and kick out offenders, the Trust and Safety Dept, now staffed by several hundred eBay employees worldwide. They do every ¬thing from trolling the site for suspicious listings to working with law enforcement agencies to catch crooks. eBay also has developed software that recognises patterns of  behaviour common to previous fraud cases, such as sellers from Romania who recently started selling large numbers of big-ticket items.eBay’s managementMeg Whitman's style and past has heavily influ ¬enced the management of eBay. When she joined the company in 1998, it was more of a collection of geeks, handpicked by the pony-tailed Omidyar, than a blue-chip – something which underpinned Omidyar's recruitment of Meg. Meg, an ex-consultant, filled many of the senior management roles includ ¬ing the head of the US business, head of interna ¬tional operations and vice-president of consumer marketing with consultants.The result: eBay has become data and metric driven. ‘If you can't measure it, you can't control it', Meg says. Whereas in the early days you could touch and feel the way the organisation worked, its current size means it needs to be measured. Category managers are expected to spend their days measuring and acting upon data within their fiefdom.Some measures are standard for e-business and include how many people are visiting the site, how many of those then register to become users, how long each user remains per visit, how long pages take to load and so on. A measure Meg likes is the ‘take rate', the ratio of revenues to the value of goods traded on the site (the higher the better). She meas ¬ures which days are the busiest, directing when to offer free listings in order to stimulate the supply of auction items. Noise on the discussion boards is used to understand whether the community is in ‘supportive' or ‘ready to kill you mood' on a scale of 1 to 10. Normal for eBay is around3.  Ca tegory managers in eBay, unlike their counter ¬parts in Procter and Gamble, can only indirectly control their products. They have no stock to reorder once levels of toothpaste or washing-up liquid run low on the supermarket shelves. They provide tools to buy and sell more effectively. ‘What they can do is endlessly try to eke out small wins in their cate ¬gories – say, a slight jump in scrap-metal listings or new bidders for comic books. To get there, they use marketing and merchandising schemes such as enhancing the presentation of their users' products and giving them tools to buy and sell  better.'Over and above this unusual existence, the work envir-onment can be tough and ultracompetitive, say ex-eBayers. Changes often come only after PowerPoint slides are exchanged and refined at a low level, even ¬tually presented at a senior level and after the change has been approved in a sign-off procedure which includes every department. An advance in the ways shoes could be searched for took ten months to happen. Aware that analysis can mean paralysis, Meg commissioned consultants (who else) to benchmark the rate at which change is indeed implemented in eBay.eBay was rated as average amongst the com ¬panies surveyed. Over time eBay has upgraded its ability to ensure the technology does not rule. Until the late 1990s, the site was plagued with outages, including one in 1999 which shut the site down for 22 hours courtesy of software problems and no backup systems. Former Gateway Inc. Chief Information Officer Maynard Webb, who joined as president of eBay's technology unit, quickly took action to upgrade systems. Now the site is down for less than 42 minutes a month, despite much higher traffic.Meg is a leader who buys into the company in more ways than one. Having auctioned some $35,000 worth of furnishings in her ski condo in Colorado to understand the selling experience, she became a top seller among the company's employees and ensured that her learning from the experience was listened to by fellow top execs. Meg is also known for listening carefully to her employees and expects her managers to do the same. As the business is as much, if not more, its customers, any false move can cause revolts within the community that is eBay.Most of all eBay tries to stay aware and flexible.Nearly all of its fastest-growing new categories emerged from registering seller activity in the area and quietly giving it a nudge at the right moment. For example, after noticing a few car sales, eBay cre ¬ated a separate site called eBay Motors in 1999, with special features such as vehicle inspections and shipping. Some four years later, eBay expects to gross some $1 billion worth of autos and parts, many of which are sold by professional dealers.The democratic underpinning of eBay, whilst easily embraced by customers, can, however, take some getting used to. New managers can take six months to understand the ethos. ‘Some of the terms you learn in business school – drive, force, commit  ¬don't apply', says former PepsiCo Inc. exec William C. Cobb, now senior vice-president in charge of eBay's international operations. ‘We're over here listening, adapting, enabling.'

Comm 215 Week 1 Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay Comm/215 What if your mother suddenly has a terrible heart attack and now needs open heart surgery. Picture your son or daughter getting into car wreck and needs an emergency blood transfusion. Imagine a sibling having leukemia, and needs regular blood transfusions to survive. Not exactly what you want to think about on a Sunday afternoon, but these are the harsh realities of the world we live in. Many of you may have experience with these tragedies, and lost. If your thinking â€Å"I wish I knew of a way to help† well there is a way. With the simple donation of blood, platelets or plasma, you could save the life of a loved one or a complete stranger. There are many reasons why a person would require blood from a donor, car accidents, serious burns, and people with cancer, leukemia, heart, and liver diseases. A person dying from a failed organ may have to give up a transplant from lack of blood to help with the transfusion. It is estimated that 4. 5 million Americans will need blood this year. Of the Thirty Seven percent of Americans able to donate each year and only Ten percent actually do. This leaves America’s blood supply dangerously low. Only healthy able bodied people can donate blood, this also limits the number of people who can donate. Donated blood can be stored for up to forty-two days. There are several different types of blood A, B, AB and O each type can be positive or negative. Some blood types can only accept blood from the same type, making it very scary if that type hasn’t been donated. For example the O positive blood type is the universal donor, but O positive can only receive from another O positive donor. The average blood transfusion needs three pints of blood. Blood cannot be made or harvested, so donation is the only way to get blood. Just one blood donation made can save up to three human lives. After all the facts you have just received I am very hopeful that you will consider donating blood. You may want to know how to give blood; well let me shed some more light on the subject. You must be seventeen years of age and weigh at least 110 pounds and healthy. The donation last about fifteen minuets, but you may be required to stay in the facility for up to an hour this just ensures you have no ill effects from the donation, like dizziness or nausea. About one pint of blood is taken during the donation process; any fluid loss is replaced after twenty-four hours. There are some restrictions to giving blood, if you have lived or visited in certain countries you cannot give blood. The donation center near you will have all of the required information on these circumstances. So you see the donation process is safe and easy and most of you could be saving someone’s life. There are some who oppose the donation and receiving of blood from others. Jehovah’s Witnesses feel it is against there religion to ingest, donate, or accept blood. There is also a ban on gay men being able to give blood. This ban is based upon the beliefs that gay men are more likely to have the AIDS virus. There has recently been talk of lifting the ban if the donor has not had sexual relations in at least ten years. As in most issues or controversial subjects what some people feel as â€Å"right† others could see it as wrong, thankfully we live in a country that allows us to be speak our minds. I’m sure if the time came we would all expect that help would be forthcoming and available to anyone in need. But there are so many of us who don’t donate blood, out of lack of knowledge, or fear. Just think on how much peace of mind you could have if everyone donated blood. There would be no shortages, no possibility that a loved one would go without care due to a shortage of blood. I urge you to consider donating blood, to speak your friends and family about the importance of donating. You could be the one to save the next life, maybe even your own. Citations America's Blood Centers. (2007). Retrieved from http://www. americasblood. org/go. cfm? do=page. view=12 New Mexico Donor Services. (). Retrieved from http://www. donatelifenm. org/religiousviews. htm The Periscope Post. (). Retrieved from http://www. periscopepost. com/2011/04/should-gay-men-be-allowed-to-donate-blood/

Automotive Engineering

Automotive Engineering Automobiles are vastly increasing their efficiency and safety while retaining the fun. They go farther, last longer and have more advanced features for the driver. Even foreign companies are putting the pedal to the metal and are coming out with new models mainly focusing on fuel whether it is gas, electric, ethanol, or vegetables. Cars are being accommodated for the every day soccer mom or the younger speed craving youth driving America today, there may be a category for a mid-life crisis in there.Automotive engineers design, test and develop vehicles or components from concept stage all the way to the production and are involved in improving the Automobile in response to customer feedback once on the market. Specializing in areas like aerodynamics, alternative fuels, chassis, electronics, emissions, manufacturing, materials, rapid prototyping, vehicle and pedestrian safety or supply chain management. They use both traditional methods and state-of-the-art technology to engineer vehi cles to increasingly high standards.TYPEONEAlso they use design intuition to appeal to the every day soccer mom or the speed craving mid-life crisis man.They are not directly involved in concept development or manufacture, but they will work with stylists and production engineers to make sure that the whole process is efficient and planned well.Typical work activities of an automotive engineer consist of working on the development of land-based vehicles and their activities are either, design new products or revising existing ones, research and development, finding solutions to engineering problems, or production of new cars.Most graduates start with a formal training program that lasts about 12-24 months, which is a series of placements in different departments in the company. During this time the graduate gains a general knowledge into other areas of the company and can build up a bunch of contacts. At the end of the...

A Safe Place

The day she found the baby she was carrying was a woman, her fears came back. She remembered that she returned home after making a promise, her stomach was tied, and her hands were strained. He almost killed her when he came home from work that night. He was waiting for a boy. Carol cried because he was thrown away by the coffee table. It is a miracle that Sofia survived. It is a miracle that she survived. When she stared at Ed by her she remembered that warm blood cried in her eyes. She has at least eight books in hand, then she goes to the blind man. This is her safe place. The staff is safe and secure for other curious people. She does not want to speak far away. Just being reading and relaxing, in the same building. Usually there is no one. Even if the armchair or table looks old, there are scratches and holes. Beneath the window in the attic, there are beautiful rolling wooden chairs on the corner. The second day after writing the assignment - Sucking the dice in the library, sh e can read the text inside There are few safe places in our culture. Avoid continuous noise such as news, colleagues, opinions, advertisements. Our smartphone has already decided this. (Previously the shower was a safe place for me, but I have not even worried about the flooding of the new iPhone so I even even started holding my news articles with the Kindle app!) Culture, I Does not talk about deeply embedded religious buildings and references that are penetrating many places of Western civilization. These cultures are not actually personalized as we imagined, but they are conveyed through a larger and broader comprehensive culture that no one can see. of Francis Collins is passionate about finding a safe place for confused Christians to find answers to their questions about Bible truth and science. I am anxious for a safe place for people to express their doubts and get answers. However, there is no safe place if human beings are responsible for determining which parts of the Bib le are true and which parts are not genuine. Be thankful to God, he far beyond what our little heart understands, reliable, definitely gave us his word. Without understanding the power of God, we all need humble mind. My idea is neither your thought nor your way. Because the sky is higher than the earth, my path is higher than your way, and my idea is more than yours High book 5: 8-9, NKJV)

W6Distributed Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

W6Distributed Knowledge - Essay Example With the help of new advancements and movements in communication technology and IT, specialists from everywhere in the world are able to work together as a team. This kind of teamwork is growing at the present. Despite the fact that, new studies on distant and distributed team association have exposed that functioning in these locations brings a challenge to the joint building of novel knowledge. The fundamentals for bringing bright awareness are the similar as in face-to-face location. One precondition for generatinng new information is that to exchange information and distinguish what others are articulating, distributed team associates have to create various postulations regarding what other group members carry out as well as do not identify (Piritta Leinonen, 2008). In addition to judgment of others information, to arrive at the wide-ranging objectives of the team, team associates have to as well assess the knowledge that is previously communal and realized which subjects needed additional development in order to attain conclusions in their mutual assignment. Despite the fact that, in distributed team circumstances it is complicated to review what is familiar or common knowledge. As well as, inside studies on cognitive objectives and self-regulation, opinions have been obtainable regarding how persons strivings to estimate others and common perception that rely upon ones motivational state and cognitive abilities. Like that evaluation tendency, as well as consequently there might be variation in individuals assessments of others and shared information in collaboration also (Lori Rockett, 1998). Data and Knowledge transfer is a course of action in which one person, group or organization recognizes as well as learns detailed knowledge that exists in to another person, group or organization, and reapplies this