IMAX’s business level strategy Essay

1. Discuss IMAX’s business level strategy to date and proposed changes. (10 points) Products differentiation The large format movie system gives customers unique visual and audio movie watching experience that cannot be found in conventional movie theaters. IMAX is also differentiated by its library of films and locations. IMAX located itself in institutional environment and commercial multiplexes to target wider audiences include family, students, and tourists at different time during the day by screening its own movies and other studios’ movies. Speaking of the technologies, IMAX films printed on larger films, which require special designed camera, projector, and screen to display the IMAX features. Cost leadership. The company heavily invests financial and human resources in their R&D, because the technologies developed would lower the costs of producing and distributing films significantly. The newer service agreements and partnership with theater owners allow IMAX lower its capital requirements when new IMAX screens were opened in the traditional multiplexes. IMAX not only saves money on films making because they don’t have to pay a lots of money to the major stars as the Hollywood does, but also save money on the marketing. IMAX increased the number of Hollywood movies in order to ride on the coat- tails of marketing campaigns launched by the studios. The proposed expanding strategies will bring more audience to IMAX, and save more production and distribution costs. By opening new IMAX screen in commercial multiplexes will give customers easy access to IMAX movie, and allow IMAX gain more market share, and increase box ticket revenue. Although the initial system installation and movie converting costs are big, over long term IMAX can achieve economies of scale by utilizing the IMAX system installed in traditional theaters. 2. Conduct an external analysis. (25 points) a). PESTEL framework Political factors Concerns about violence, sex, and vulgar language in movies had generated considerable efforts to organize and lobby political action to regulate the industry. There are some limit in terms on selection of movies. Legal factors Copyright law protects this industry suffering from piracy. Violations of copyright act were considered felonies and were subject to federal criminal charges and civil lawsuits. Patent law also protects the technologies heavily used in this industry. Economic factors The economy is fairly stable except the crisis that hit the industry in the late 1990s because of the overbuilding during that decade, the 911 crisis in the early 2000s and the economic recession in 2008. The economic crisis in 2001 and 2008 would reduce people’s disposable income therefore reduce the revenue of the industry. Socio-cultural IMAX is trendy. It does not matter that if people have seen movies in the traditional theater before, some of them would like to watch on IMAX screen again. Parents looking for activities combine education and entertainment would go to IMAX. More highly educated parents and overscheduled kids would like to go to places equipped with IMAX system. The college and university education are popularized which increases the majority of IMAX audiences. Technology factor New filming technology development are encouraged and supported by funds, associations and Oscar Award. But the development of high-definition DVD recording, big screen TVs and cheaper projection and sound system technology offers potential IMAX viewers’ alternative sources of entertainment. The internet, live play, TV programs and cables are also substituting technologies. b). Porter’s Five Forces IMAX operating in three industries: photographic equipment and supplies industry, motion and picture and video production and distribution industry. Barriers to entry  This industry requires upfront investments to develop technologies, relationship with producer and access to the distribution channels. IMAX held 46 patents and has seven patents pending in the United States, in order to enter this industry, potential competitors must develop their substitute technologies, or take the risks of copying IMAX’s patented technologies, and  both are very costly. IMAX is achieving economies of scale, the more movies released in IMAX format, the more the IMAX system installed are utilized. IMAX is also updating their technologies and making improvement to lower the costs of operations, therefore the learning curve cost advantages act as a barrier to entry. The barrier to enter this industry is high. Threats of substitutes Live plays, sport events, TV programs (big screen TV, cable, and satellite), the internet, DVD, home theater projection and sound system are all alternatives of IMAX movie for consumers to entertain themselves in a different way. These substitutes also prevent IMAX from raising the ticket price. The threats of substitutes are high. Suppliers The suppliers are vendors who provide the critical elements involved in IMAX’s projectors and camera systems, film making talents (actors, post-production workers), other studios (Hollywood, Disney, SKG DreamWorks etc.), and movie distributers (theater chain). The suppliers’ power is low because by releasing movies in IMAX format and opening more IMAX screens will increase the box office revenue for all the parties involved. IMAX does not pay top stars to make movies. They pay the actors whose median salary is $17 per hour. IMAX has most its post-production work done by its wholly-owned subsidiary. IMAX purchases its equipment components from vendors with whom it maintained long-term relationships. Buyers Buyers are people who are willing to pay for the IMAX movie tickets, and theater chain has IMAX systems installed in their theaters. IMAX doesn’t rely on certain type of buyers. The buyer range is very wide, and from different demographic. They are not likely to be price sensitive because the majority IMAX audience with average household income of more than $70000. The product offered by IMAX is much differentiated, and buyers cannot get the same watching experience anywhere else. Overall, the buyers’ power is low. Rivalry The rivalry is low because IMAX was founded as the only company in the world that was involved in all aspects of large format films. IMAX doesn’t have  direct competitor in this industry. Even though some of the moviegoer may choose the traditional theater instead of watching IMAX, most the IMAX audience are willing to pay extra $3 to $5 to experience the unique IMAX features and some of them already watched the same movie in the traditional theater before. Additionally, only IMAX movies have long lifespans in the theater circuit. In conclusion, I think this industry is attractive. c). Key opportunities and threats Opportunities: Large format film industry is emerging industry, and this industry is driven by technological innovations, changes in demand, and customer needs. IMAX can utilize the first-movers advantages. IMAX has the technological leadership, and also obtains the patent protections that enhance their performance. IMAX has the opportunities to tie up the strategically valuable resources, which are the relationships with independent filmmakers, and distribution channel such as theater chains, so that it can success in this industry Threats: IMAX is a relatively small firm compared to a rival studio, so they might be bought, and becomes a part of another company. IMAX is not able to maintain their brand image if so many Hollywood movies released in IMAX format. 3. VRIO (25 points) Valuable Rare Inimitable Organized Competitive implications Technological leadership Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustainable competitive advantage Locations Yes Yes No Yes Temporary competitive advantage Relationships with other studios and theaters Yes No No Yes Competitive parity Brand image Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustainable competitive advantage Cash flow No No No Yes Competitive disadvantage The technologies allow IMAX display the large format film features on giant screen to attract customers. Because of the patent protection, it is rare and hard to copy. IMAX invested in their R&D, and received grants and award from third parties, so it is organized. By locating itself in institutional environment, IMAX creates a unique brand and attract different group of audience, so it is valuable. It is rare because not so many entertaining facilities opened in this environment. This strategy is not hard to imitate. It is organized because some of the IMAX films were educational and entertaining, and involved documentaries of natural and scientific wonders, so it valid to have IMAX in these locations. Convert other studios’ movies into IMAX format increase the IMAX ticket revenue, so it is valuable. The alliance with other filmmakers also saving IMAX’s marketing expenditure. It is not rare because the Hollywood movies also released on DVD, pay-per-view  format. People can also watch movies on TV and internet. It is not costly to imitate. It is organized because not all the Hollywood movies are released in IMAX format, it must be carefully chosen. The brand image is valuable because the large films features and unique watching experience are only associated with this brand name. It is rare because this product can only be provided by IMAX. It is hard to copy because this brand image is developed over long time, and IMAX has the first mover advantage. The company R&D and new services are supporting this brand image in terms of innovation and cost saving, so it is organized. The cash flow is not valuable because this company has negative net income for 2006 and 2007. The fact that IMAX’s debt has been downgraded is an indication that the company’s liquidity is questionable. It is organized because IMAX is trying to solve this problem by signing new service agreement, which would lower its operational capital requirements and help it pay off its debt. More box office revenue is expected by converting more commercial movies into IMAX format. 4. Based on your analysis, would you recommend proceeding with and expanding the strategy to exhibit Hollywood movies? Should the firm retrench? (20 points) Pro: Hollywood movies are the most popular movies in the world, by releasing more Hollywood movies in IMAX format, more audience will be attracted by the combination of the movie and unique watching experience. This is the quickest way to make revenue in order to improve the company’s financial situation. This strategy also allows IMAX to take advantage of marketing campaigns launched by the studios therefore to save the marketing expenses. Because Hollywood movies has the most market shares, and this high demand will stimulate the theater owners to open more IMAX screens. It gives IMAX the opportunity to attract more viewers and expand the core audience. IMAX can make more revenue by signing more service agreements with traditional theaters, and make profits by maintaining the system and sharing ticket revenue. If IMAX is releasing more Hollywood movies, share price is likely to go up, and create more value for shareholders. The more confident the stakeholders are, the easier for IMAX to raise capital to focus on technology R&D and further differentiate its products. The digital re-mastering technology reduced converting costs. Converting other studio’s movie is now making more profits and cost less. Con: Screening re-formatted movie is not as profitable as screening IMAX own movies, and makes IMAX take  the risk of diluting its brand image. Releasing more Hollywood movies may let people question IMAX’s educational function. The violence and sex contents in Hollywood movie may drive parents and their children away. Screening more Hollywood movies will benefit IMAX. It increases the revenue and the number of audience; therefore I recommend proceeding with and expanding the strategy to exhibit Hollywood movies. In long term, because IMAX has all these great technologies, and more stable financial supports, they should focus on developing its own movies. IMAX also should launch more marketing campaigns to promote its movies in order to maintain the brand image, and place more emphasis on its educational and entertaining functions. IMAX may develop some sub brands for example like, Smart Imax Kids, or Learning with Imax which only located at institutional environments and integrate with the ride simulation packages to target specific demographics. This action will strengthen IMAX brand image and make the young generations and potential Hollywood moviegoers like these brands and become real IMAX fans when they grow up.

Midterm Learning Reflection Essay

Introduction. You should print this out, although you may also use it as a template to type over. You will be writing two reflections this term: a midterm reflection and a final reflection. The final reflection is the one you want to have ultimately on your portfolio. Both your midterm and final learning reflections must be 700 to 1000 words, which is approximately two to three MLA-formatted pages. You can check your word count by going to Tools/Word Count on the menu bar. Style and Format. The writing style of the learning reflection is primarily expressive, but will also contain narrative elements. You do not need a Works Cited page unless you cite something. So, if, for example, you cite song lyrics, one of our texts, a poem, or even a work of art, then you need a Works Cited page. I’ve included one here to serve you for formatting purposes. File formats. We are going to be learning how to convert Word documents to pdf format so that they load more easily in a browser window. If you can, please practice with one or both of the following two methods, which are what I use (they are free). 1. Install a free pdf converter. These are not truly â€Å"free† in that they either force you to look at some advertising or they add a line on each page advertising the manufacturer of the software. I don’t have a problem with either of these and gladly suffer through the free advertising every time I convert a file to pdf, which I do all the time. The one I use to create all the pdf files for my classes is at http://www.pdf995.com/download.html. Download both the Pdf995 Printer Driver and the Free Converter (they are both free; they are required to work together, but for some reason, they are two separate downloads). After you go through the download and installation process, every time you want to create a pdf file from Word, all you need to do is select File/Print and then chose PDF995, which will show up as a â€Å"printer.† When you initiate this process of creating a pdf file, you will be prompted for a place to save the file, as well as a file name. Be careful to save the file to your H: drive or, if to your C: drive, to ftp (transfer) it over to your H: drive later. You will notice that some advertisements come up as the conversion process occurs. That’s the â€Å"price† you pay for the free conversion software. 2. The other pdf-conversion method I like is to use the free OpenOffice word processing software. This software should be in our labs. You can also download it for free on your own computer, from http://www.openoffice.org/. This is basically an open-source version of Microsoft Office. Once you’ve installed it (it’s large and takes a while to install), you can open any Word document with the OpenOffice word processing program (Open Document). Some of the original Word formatting may be lost – especially the header information with your last name and page number. You will need to add that back in; be sure you do it correctly. When you’re satisfied with the format, there is a little pdf icon on the toolbar that you can click, and that will automatically convert the document to pdf format. Learning Reflection Content. What should you discuss in your reflection? In general, you discuss what you’ve learned, what you’ve done especially well, what you’ve enjoyed – and the challenges you’ve encountered and how you might make changes in the future. Here are some suggestions for what to write about: †¢ Your experience transitioning from high school (or wherever you were previously) to a freshman in college, focusing on how you have grown as an individual and an independent student. †¢ Your experience in this particular course – your year-long freshman inquiry. In this regard, you should probably focus on the University Studies goals and the ways in which you have grown and developed with respect to those goals. I would expect that other courses have also contributed to the goal areas, so you might want to highlight any that have been particularly useful in that regard. †¢ Other experiences as a student here at Portland State. Portland State University’s mission is â€Å"Let Knowledge Serve the City,† which reflects the fact that we are an urban university. What have you learned with respect to community, diversity, and the connection between a learning community (the university) and the city in which it is located? Keep in mind that you may have acquired valuable experiences outside of the classroom, but still connected to your identity as a student. o Perhaps you have learned important lessons about discipline and time management as a student athlete, which may serve you well when you enter the workforce. o Maybe your involvement in activities with other students – such as taking dance classes or playing in the band or spending hours in an art studio or toughing out chemistry and physics labs – has improved your personal skills and brought to light new areas of interest, which you’ve pursued in your free time. o Or perhaps you’ve found out that you are a loner, that you haven’t connected very well with a lot of the people in your classes. As you reflect on this (or any other conclusions that some – maybe you – might consider, well, depressing), think of this is an opportunity to think of ways to make some changes in the future. †¢ A reflection, in other words, should include a self-assessment element as well as thinking along the lines of â€Å"What could I do better or differently in the future?† Consider the challenges you’ve faced, how you’ve overcome them, or how you’d like to overcome them in the fu ture. Conclusion. Your reflection should end in a way that gives the reader the sense that you are closing up a chapter in your life and ready to move on, with some ideas in mind of what you might do differently. My suggestion is that you do not spend a lot of time critiquing the world around you; after all, you can’t change that very much. Confine your reflection to you and what you have learned and experienced. Dwelling on what you don’t like about a given course or program is not a reflection about you, but about something else. Works Cited Eakin, Paul John. How Our Lives Become Stories: Making Selves. Ithaca and London: Cornell UP, 1999. Fiske, John. â€Å"Popular Culture.† Critical Terms for Literary Study. Ed. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. 321 – 335. Harrison, Claire. â€Å"Hypertext Links: Whither Thou Goest, and Why.† First Monday. 7 Oct. 2002. 10 Feb. 2004 .

Mesopotamia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mesopotamia - Research Paper Example Sumerians used the rivers to irrigate their lands, ensuring that there was a constant supply of food for their citizens. The economies of these societies were despotic, with one central figure having a control on all manner of productions. Sumerians is one of the societies found in Mesopotamia. These people used barley, wheat, and silver as the various means of currency (Muntone, 2012). The economic system in Mesopotamia was very easy to control by the leaders of the Sumerians. For example, if a leader was able to control the production of wheat, then the economic control of Mesopotamia will follow. The Sumerians did not have an economic and social stratification system. On this basis, egalitarianism was the major social organization that was seen throughout Mesopotamia. The Sumerians symbolized deities into the various elements that they had authority over. On this basis, there was the god of the moon, of the sun, of fertility etc. Sumerians were aware of the different properties of the earth, and they modeled these properties in a manner that would make the world to be more personable (Muntone, 2012). Some of the religious beliefs of the Sumerians are similar to that of the Christians and Jewish religion. For instance, the Sumerians believed that mankind was removed from paradise as a punishment of eating a forbidden fruit. Sumerians also had some knowledge in writings, and much of the knowledge concerning ancient Mesopotamia is found in their clay tablet writings that have survived until now.

Summary of an article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Summary of an article - Essay Example The Digital Immigrants however defines the older population that is introduced to the technology at their old age. Resistance and challenges of old age learning have been barriers to the digital immigrant’s knowledge of technology and they still rely on traditional techniques in their interactions with the young generation. The difference is significant to the education sector in which the Digital Natives are the learners while the Digital Immigrants are the educators. Reliance on traditional techniques for education has been ineffective and the Native’s negative attitude towards traditional methods explains this. On the contrary, the Natives, for example, prefer parallel initiatives and multi tasking. They also over rely on the digital media that influence their available time for learning and their approach to learning while the Immigrants have failed to adjust their approaches to the new environment of technology. The author proposes a shift by one generation to the other’s orientation but argues for ease of adjustment of the Digital Immigrant than of the Digital Natives. A change in methods of teaching and content are recommended for bridging the gap in education and ensuring effective learning in the diversified environment (Prensky

Communication management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Communication management - Essay Example The authors argue that the innovation sector demands new standards for international business and needs effective management of innovation to plan, implement, and assess innovation programs (Caywood, 2012:29). Efficient innovation management is also required to develop innovation capability and organise resources and potential for innovation. This occurs at both intra and inter-organisational standards. Communication has evolved to become a major determinant of successful innovation. Consequently, the new discipline of innovation communication enables the successful introduction of new products and services, the nurturing of stakeholder partnerships, and the enhancement of corporate image in the long-term. The modern business environment demands that corporations create a sound array of communication tools as a central component of their strategic innovation management operations. The authors have provided a critical appraisal of emerging techniques and strategies of integrating communication as a facilitator of strategic innovation. While reading the book, it is easy to realise that the provision of a holistic outlook to narrow the chasm between communication management and innovation management, at decision-making and operational levels, is a key theme (Grunig, 2013:18). The authors provide a valuable input to the dynamic discipline of communication by contributing numerous views to the latest studies on innovation communication, communication management, and strategic open innovation. The authors also offer important advice for managers at all levels who are interested in comprehending the variety of ways in which they can optimise communication to augment successful innovation. Positioning is a popular subject in marketing and communications. It is common to see and hear references to the positioning of ideologies, identities, political affiliations, ideas, products, etc. However, a majority of

Egypt Revolution of 1919 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Egypt Revolution of 1919 - Essay Example British promised to evacuate Egypt but it did not materialize. Therefore, big chapter in Egypt’s foreign occupation and Britain’s global empire (Daly, 1988). Saad Zaghul formed the Egyptian delegation party known as â€Å"wafd†. This party started pressing nationalist cause. Tactics of civil disobedience was used by people to begin a huge movement of independence. Zaghlul and Wafd had gathered massive public support. Petition for full independence of Egypt was lodged. British could sense the rising support for Wafd leaders. British arrested Zaghlul and other main leaders of movement and exiled them to Malta. The ultimate outcome of all this was revolution in Egypt (Daly, 1988). The Egyptian revolution of 1919 compelled British government to recognize Egypt as independent state in 1922 and then ultimately implementation to new constitution took place in 1923. Causes Egypt came under British rule on December 14 1914. People were agitated against the British rule an d they got united in their discontent. During the war about 1.5 million Egyptians were recruited in the labor corps by British army. Main infrastructure of the country was seized for the army. Saad Zaghlul was founder of the Wafd party during World War 1. The party got fame just after the war setting the goal of ending British occupation. 14 points of Woodrow got fame and inspired nationalists. On November 11 1918, Zaghlul requested high commissioner Sir Reginald Wingate to permit Wafd activists for presenting Egypt’s demand for independence in London. Wafd party members were not allowed to visit London (Bisgaard-Church, 2011). Party kept sending messages to House of Commons but no response shown by British government. In March 1919, Zaghlul was arrested by the British with two other part leaders and then exiled them to Malta. This resulted in countrywide protests incorporating people from all walks of life against the British Occupation. Cairo and Alexandria witnessed the ma in strikes against British held by men, women, shop owners and tradesmen. Milner mission was sent by British to access the real political and diplomatic situation in Egypt but his visit was boycotted (Bisgaard-Church, 2011). Zaghlul returned to Egypt from exile on April 4 1921. Allenby was clear in his mind that Zaghlul is a British puppet and wants to create new independent Egypt as per British desires. Zaghlul was again exiled to Seychelles in December. Exile was responded by Egyptians by countrywide strikes and protests (Bisgaard-Church, 2011). Events Egyptian nationalists demanded independence from British after the World War 1 ended. Wafd was formed which demanded independence at Paris conference. 13 November 1918 was celebrated as day of struggle. Wafd party was formed by Saad Zaghlul. This party wanted to visit London for demanding independence of Egypt but it was denied. Zaghlul and other party members were arrested on 8 March 1918 and further sent to Malta. This resulted in mobilizing people countrywide marking the beginning of revolution. Basic road and railways infrastructure was destroyed (Zunes, 1999). Zaghlul’s wife initiated women participation in movement by protesting against British occupation with 300 ladies. Demonstration held at Abdin palace of about 1000 civil servants and students was peak of the revolution. British took stern action to bring down demonstration by killing 800 Egyptians. British sent Lord Milner in May 1919 for giving self-governance to

Cybersecurity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Cybersecurity - Coursework Example g to the increasing significance of technology in the daily lives of mankind, many people share their personal information on the internet which can at times prove dangerous due to web hackers who can misuse the data due to immoral practices. Anonymity helps to maintain the secrecy of individual’s identity. This also helps to protect specific actions performed by the individuals. For instance, anonymity helps protecting funds and monetary transfers made by individual over internet. It has often been observed that people feel uncomfortable to share banking or personal information on the internet as it might hamper their personal interests. Anonymity is often regarded as the option which can be useful in such situations as it creates a sense of security and helps to protect privacy by a large extent. There are many negative effects of anonymity on individuals as well. To be illustrated anonymity also helps people who have malicious intentions to hamper the interests of other users and escape without being identified. It also creates misrepresentation about the user’s profile on internet. In the recent phenomenon, the most apparent negative effect of anonymity can be identified as cyber crime. Hence, as it can be observed from the above discussion, to a certain extent, the negative impacts of anonymity tend to be stronger and more effectual than its benefits, which in turn outweigh its advantages. Question: 2 Are non-literate internet users at a higher risk for experiencing identity theft? Explain specifically how end-user tracking and recording technologies may either increase or reduce cyber security risks for non-literate users when using the internet, or when shopping at a brick and mortar establishment The non-literate internet users have a high risk because of the increasing cyber crime, as they tend to share personal information without having proper knowledge of the website. At times, the information of those non-literate users is hacked by the cyber

Popular music composer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Popular music composer - Essay Example Composers like Chopin, Schubert, and Saint-Saens aspire to his greatness. While writing his music, he did it in full orchestral scores. His drafts were always final drafts while most of his works attained legendary status. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart got respect all over the world because of his prowess as an established, gifted and experienced composer. Due to his perfection in the classical mode of music, Beethoven, a renowned classical music composer, decided never to imitate him but rather to create his new mode of classical music. Beethoven did all this for the respect he had for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts work features offer one of the finest balance in history between orchestra and solo instruments. He is also regarded as one of the finest piano musicians ever to grace the earth and his prowess at the violin are equally adept, making him be one of The finest musicians ever to live. People were more generous in their praise for Wolfgang not only because he was younger and more gifted musically but also he was more appealing, free in his ways, and spontaneous (Melograni, & Cochrane. 2007). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni is regarded as his greatest single work because of its pristine

Describe & evaluate the effects of 2 drugs on the functioning of Essay

Describe & evaluate the effects of 2 drugs on the functioning of neurotransmitters - Essay Example It is four times stronger, than morphine. But the feeling, to which drug addicts strive, is just a side effect for medicine. This ‘side effect’ is displayed through better mood – euphoria, accompanied by the feeling of indifference to the environment, drowsiness, feeling of warmth, heaviness and relaxation in body and extremities. ‘Heroin – is the warmth, sweet warmth, which seems to be growing out of your body. At first it seems you are pregnant with this warmth, it is like a tender life under your skin, and this ‘live warmth’ fills your body with heaviness, the wish to move disappears together with all other wishes, the only wish is to lay and listen to this warmth†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Carnwath 2002, p. 23) Fast and powerful effect of heroin on the nervous system is connected with the fact that it penetrates to it easier, than other drugs do. The thing is, that nature has created a special barrier for the protection of the main human organ – brain, and this barrier allows far not all substances to reach the nervous cells (in medicine this barrier is called ‘blood-brain barrier’). The structure of heroin’s molecule allows it to easily penetrate though this blood-brain barrier and quickly accumulate in brain. As soon as heroin appears in the brain, it as if ‘throws down’ its capsule and turns into morphine. It appears that the main difference of heroin from morphine is in its transport capsule, which allows it to instantly penetrate into the nervous system, causing the abundance of electromagnetic impulses. (Carnwath 2002, p. 49) The thing is that some parts of heroin’s molecules are similar to those of natural substances, produced by the nervous system – the so-called endorphins. In the normally working brain such substances work as delicate regulators of emotional and intellectual human activity. The content of these substances in the drug is much higher, than the nervous system needs for normal activity. And the main thing is that it is

Reading can be seen as an interactive process between a reader and a Essay

Reading can be seen as an interactive process between a reader and a text which leads to automatically on reading fluency. In - Essay Example This involves three phase process which consists of translating writings into a sound and then into a meaning. The silent symbols acquired through vision need to be transformed correctly to their expected meaning (Wolf, Bowers & Biddle, 2000). This is the first skill that a reader should possess. In order to read appropriately, the reader should be able to translate the symbols into words very fast because reading is handled by short memory in the brain (Diane, 1997). This makes the reader make a phrase. A group of meaningful phrases make sentences which forms an idea. Cognitive limitations cause difficulty in reading as readers translate sight to words much slowly which may make it difficult to produce the desired meaning (Diane, 1997). The reader should be able to detect and isolate basic sound units. This helps the readers to know phonemes associated with certain letters or words (Adams, 1994). They should tell clearly which letter, group of letters or words produce a certain phon eme. This ability tells how easily a learner can read (Adams, 1994). For the readers to appreciate and work with phonemes appropriately they should understand that their language can be broken down in to phonemes. This leads to easy integration of the senses and sound which is a key in the reading process (Walker, 2003). Sight is the sense that is widely applied in the reading process. ... This entails moving from left to right and following a sentence at a time (Stothard, 1994). Reading is difficult for someone who finds it hard to apply sequence appropriately because there is definitely a problem of converting symbols from one form to another correctly and with the desired speed (Walker, 2003). Using valid examples, briefly explain what guided and free writing tasks are. In writing, both free and guided writing are important in developing writing skills among the learners (Rivers, 1968). Guided writing is a form of writing whereby the instructors or the teachers help learners to write (Lori, 2007). This entails showing learners how to start writing, draft a text, revise a text and correct mistakes. The instructor aids the writing process by giving the writers the basis of writing as well as correcting them so as to write the way he/she expects (Lori, 2007). There are varieties of materials that help the learners to write. The instructor provides a material to guide i n writing. This may include dictating repeatedly what the writers are going to write (Myles, 2002). The instructor may also give material that the learners are going to copy. This form of writing also entails instructors going around the class to individual student or to group of students telling them how and what to write as well as correcting them repeatedly whenever they make mistakes (Myles, 2002). The instructor may also give graphics or video clips to guide the learners write. Learners in this case are required to write what they have already encountered. For instance they can be required to write about a story they have already read. They can as well be required to write a story based on a scene of a movie they have watched (Myles, 2002). The

Working in groups Essay Example for Free

Working in groups Essay 1) Explain the difference types of groups that suit in the workplace a) FORMAL AND INFORMAL GROUPS. Formal groups can be addressed to the staff as a whole, to selected groups of employees or to an individual in the company; such examples can be job appraisal procedures, reports, consultative document, etc. Informal groups in this way means talking but a two-way communication process in all its forms. These groups serve a counter organizational function, attempting to offset in a business. b) SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM. Short term is when an employee is working for a short period of time where as long term is when an employee is work more then that. Being in a group for a shirt time may not give the group all its best, but this can only change by stay for a long period of time. e) QUALITY CIRCLES Discussion groups that meet regularly to identify problems consider alternative solutions and recommend them to management. This forms an important part of a companys programme of continuous improvement. Quality circles may be summarised as following: * They are small groups of workers who meet voluntarily and appoint their own group leader. * They meet on a regular basis, often after work * They are usually from the same work area * Their purpose is to identify, investigate, analyse and solve- related problems. * They present their solutions the management. 2) Why is it of important to mangers individuals to encourage working in groups or teams? It is important for to mangers individuals to work in groups or teams because this can: * Increase listening skills * Shared work load * Work is completed quick * Increase motivation * Shared ideas * Shared responsibility * Developing team confidence * Problem solving * Specific skills 3) Explain fully Belbins team theory. Belbin team roles describe a pattern of behaviour that characterises one persons behaviour in relationship to another in facilitating the progress of a team. The value of Belbin team-role theory lies in enabling an individual or team to benefit from self-knowledge and adjust according to the demands being made by the external situation. Identifying a persons team Role helps: * Improve self awareness and personal effectiveness. * Foster mutual trust and understanding between work colleagues. * Team selection and team building. * Match people to jobs more effectively. Managers must understand that people bring more than their skills and experience to a team, they bring their personalities as well. Utilizing peoples behavioural strengths to create a balanced team adds greatly to both group and personal performance. It shows that although each team member in an example team has a functional role, they also have team roles. These are critical to the teams success. Belbin explains that teams with fewer members may need people to perform dual roles. He shows how behavioural skills can be assessed and how, with care, teams can be constructed that take account of hierarchies as well as personal interaction. 4) Why is it useful ensuring the success of working groups? Work can be made more efficient. Mistakes are likely to be made which also means more ideas are created. A feeling of belonging can be created which could also lead them to be motivated and this creates a better atmosphere. Extra work can be don which can have a knock on effect on any other groups if any. This may lead to increase of production and therefore increase of profit. 5) How do organizations use groups to achieve? a) Targets Groups are there two create ideas, plans and strategies. They can be part of these in order to achieve the target they are set. Each member of the group can be allocated a particular task, so the target is easier to achieve, this can help moral and motivation. This will then result in increased efficiency of completing the task b) Share Skills The work will be shared which makes it quicker to complete. This will motivate the employees to work quicker and faster and share all ideas amongst the group. Along with this is essential that work is shared with equal responsibility. Team confidence will build and problems which occur amongst the group can also be solved. Some people may have specific skills that others may not have; this can lead to good ideas, which can result of a good quality of work performance c) Ideas Goals Ideas are taken 4rm all individuals in the group and then summarised and put together to make a big discussion or point. Every idea brought up can be widened out or also described as a schema. Employees will be motivated and the business will be come more successful. This will lead the business to become more higher ranked. The business will be getting the best of its ability of the groups ideas, which will associate it to become more successful.

Managing Global Markets: Yoshinoya

Managing Global Markets: Yoshinoya International Brand Recognition: Yoshinoya is one of Japans largest restaurant chain companies and a global brand with over 1400 locations throughout the world including 99 in USA. It is known for its quick service and the menu is based on fresh ingredients served in a variety of rice bowls including its original recipe Beef Bowl that started it all in 1899 opening its first store in Tokyo Japan. Scope of Expansion: In 2006, Yoshinoya made franchising opportunities available to U.S. entrepreneurs. Service: Known for its quick service. It is one of its key strengths and tries to maintain it in all of its outlets and franchises. Quality: Yoshinoyas commitment to quality has never wavered since opening in Tokyos Nihonbashi District in 1899, even stopping sales of its popular beef bowls in 2003 when a ban on American beef went into effect in Japan. Beef bowls were off the Yoshinoya menu for two and half years, until the import ban on American beef was lifted, and company officials say the Yoshinoya decision reflects the commitment to maintain the best quality in both service and product. Its beef bowl recipe calls for American beef, and thats all Yoshinoya has served for nearly eleven decades. Professional Advertising Campaigns: Yoshinoya is known for its advertising campaigns and helps to advertise for the franchisees also. Skilled Traning: Yoshinoya has developed a stringent training regimen for all Yoshinoya employees, hence franchisees can enjoy having a courteous, well-trained staff from the very first day, and maintain the same level of high quality and service across the chain. Competency: Yoshinoyas major expansion plans are for Chinaand to open as many as 500 restaurants there by 2010, as part of its joint venture with Hong Kongs Hop Hing Food Group. There are already 99 restaurants operating in the USA and many more to come. Diversification Strategy: The company began expanding its range of restaurant formats, starting with the 1996 acquisition of Commoco Food Company, later renamed as Peter Pan Comoco, operator of the Hitokuchi Chaya baked good chain. In 1999, the company acquired struggling Kyotara Corp. and its chains of takeout sushi and seafood restaurants. The company acquired the Chinese food chain Shanghai Express in 2002, then added the Hanamaru noodle restaurant group in 2004. The companys other restaurant formats include the Kyotaru takeout sushi chain; Shanghai Express, a Chinese-foods concept; Hitokuchi Chaya, which sells fresh-baked taiyaki cakes and takoyaki dumplings; and the curry shop Pot Pot. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchanges First Section, Yoshinoya DC is led by chairman Shuji Abe. Yet gyudon remained the companys core recipe. Into the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, Yoshinoya stepped up international expansion of its flagship chain. The company entered Singapore in 1997, followed by the Philippines in 2001. By 2002, the company had launched a second mainland China partnership, targeting specifically the Shanghai market. In that year Yoshinoya also opened its first restaurant outside of the U.S. West Coast, targeting the New York City market, and boosting its number of restaurants in that market past 100. This was followed by the creation of a new subsidiary, Yoshinoya America, to oversee growth of its U.S. operations. Similarly, the company launched a subsidiary in Australia, which opened its first restaurant in 2004, followed by the launch of operations in Malaysia later the same year. Meantime, the companys Beijing-based joint venture announced its own plans to expand its restaurant chain to as many as 500 restaurants by 2010. These efforts enabled Yoshinoya to continue to post strong revenue gains through 2005. Nonetheless, the companys profitability suffered as the U.S. beef ban entered its third year. At last, however, the Japanese government announced its decision to lift much of the ban. This allowed the company to launch its first limited sales of its beef bowl by September. While supply shortages continued to hamper the company, it nonetheless was able to resume wider gyudon sales by December 2006. The effect on the companys revenues were dramatic; by the beginning of 2007, the company posted revenue gains of more than 119 percent. Yoshinoya DC had become one of Japans largest and most diversified and restaurant groups, building its empire on a recipe that had been a Japanese favorite for more than 100 years. Agility: Yoshinoya was hit hard, however, by the developing crisis in the global beef industry. The appearance of the first case of so-called mad cow disease in the United States, which was becoming notorious for the suspect nature of its sanitary conditions, prompted the Japanese government to enact a ban on all U.S. beef imports in 2003. Remembering its last ill-fated attempt to alter the ingredients of its famous beef bowl, Yoshinoya adopted an extreme response, announcing that it would simply end sales of its flagship dish until imports resumed. In place of the beef bowl, Yoshinoya rushed to develop new recipes, including chicken- and pork-based bowls. Weaknesses: Global competition with other fast-food chain of restaurants: Other competitive fast food chains such as KFC , Mc Donalds, Subway, Burger King have many restaurants world-wide. Mc Donalds has the largest Market share in the fast food industry. International Marketing Strategy The international marketing of Yoshinoya* and its services needs to improve for its survival.. With the growing numbers competitors branches worldwide, Yoshinoya needs to further expand its international market operations. In terms of competition, one great and possible strategy to do is a possible merger, joint ventures or strategic alliances because by doing this kind of strategy, it will lessen the competition in the market. It should look at localizing its menu and offer discounts and sales. IT should advertise to bring in more franchises to expand further. Keeping pace with changing consumer preferences As a natural process of reaction in the product marketing, the dynamic and diverse consumer preferences and behaviour is the most predicted trend that will affect the marketing strategy. Due to different geographical location, cultural beliefs and practices, lifestyle, health status, and personal indifferences, various segments of the current marketing strategy are subject to possible changes. Yoshinoya, should look at expanding or altering its menu based on the locations and the consumers prefermnces. Also, it should concentrate on low calorie foods as more and more fast food restaurants causes concerns of obesity and health issues. Eating places were forced to stake out a strong identity for themselves and to pay closer attention to consumers, who were becoming increasingly demanding Dependence on American beef for its signature Beef Bowl In late 2001, a domestic mad cow incident critically damaged beef bowl sales. In late 2003, Japan suspended imports of American beef due to a BSE incident in Washington, cutting off Yoshinoyas main source of short plate (fatty beef) that is the main component of its beef bowl. This forced Yoshinoya to terminate gyudon sales in Japan (the first time in its history) on February 11, 2004. News of the removal of this item from Yoshinoyas menu caused its fans and non-fans alike to queue in massive lines at Yoshinoya restaurants all around Japan to taste what might be their last beef bowl for a long time. Yoshinoya then switched to selling butadon (pork don) instead of beef. However, Yoshinoya restaurants in America continue to sell the beef bowl using American short plate, and restaurants in Japan sold a gyÃ…Â « yakiniku don (Yakiniku-style beef bowl). In December 2005, Japan agreed to remove the restriction on importing US beef. A letter to customers was then put up in restaurants promising that the beef bowl would return in a couple months or so. However, in January imports stopped again because inspectors found banned cattle parts in a veal shipment from the U.S. In June 2006, however, Japan lifted the ban on imports, and on July 31, 2006, Yoshinoya reposted the letter promising to bring back the beef bowl in about two months. External Factors for Yoshinoyas planned entry Ethnic food is seen as the basis for innovation in the food industry. Different cuisines and products are emerging on a continual basis, as consumers become more knowledgeable about eating habits in other parts of the world as well as becoming acquainted with foreign cuisines through foreign travel.Apart from formerly being consumed mostly in the evening, ethnic food is now being consumed throughout the day, for example as a lunchtime snack. The repertoire of ethnic food is forecast to widen even further, resulting in continuous increases in sales Chinese food is expected to remain the largest segment within the market for East Asian cuisine, since it has a significant customer base and is quite popular with large sections of population. However apart from Japanese cuisine, growth is expected to be strongest for the Thai and Indian segments, which are becoming increasingly popular. Japanese became a trend cuisine in the mid 1990s with several sushi outlets opening up in major cities. German retail quickly picked up on this trend and started offering Japanese sushi in its chilled cabinets at first in large cities only and then successfully in more rural areas. Today, in rural areas, sushi tends to be accepted very positively.Japanese food has only recently, within the last five to ten years become popular but the range available is still relatively restricted. Yoshinoya provides healthier food when compared to other fast food joints like Mc donalds and KFC.Wagamama is not Japanese cuisine. In fact, there are no Wagamamas in Japan or China so Yoshinoya providing authentic Japanese food is an advantage. Changes within the population have directly affected the development of the food sector. As the number of single households and working women has increased, coupled with an aging population, German societys values have shifted towards focusing more on the quality of life. Todays consumer is more widely travelled and open-minded towards new, exotic cuisines. Risk factors Ineffective risk management within partnership working may lead to poor working relationships and lack of engagement,not realising benefits,community outcomes not achieved against agreed priorities,reputational damage,poor value for money and missed opportunities to secure cashable efficiencies gains and contribute towards sustainability targets. PESTEL analysis: Political Factors The government in Europe is supposed to be politically stable. In recent years, the Government has pursued policies aimed at making Europe more attractive to investors, creating a welcoming environment for foreign investment. It has low labour and transport costs and the introduction of the single market has eliminated exchange rate fluctuations and reduced overall transaction costs. European government is planning to lower corporate tax which will be extremely beneficial. . Denmark badly needs skilled foreign workers, and will change laws to make them welcome. The rise of the newly formed centrist party New Alliance, offers the minority centre-right coalition government a stable partner.encourage entrepreneur and energy reforms, while rejigging the administrative structure of the municipalities. The addition of the conservatives to the coalition suggests a more active foreign policy, including stronger ties with America, but also a mediating role in the EUs strained relations with R ussia.Less belt-tightening will boost the economy, as will increasing integration into west European production and supply chains. The government controls the marketing and licensing of fast food restaurants which makes it important for every company to maintain good relations with the government and benefit from tax reductions. Ireland With the Green Party now in the coalition government, policy will shift slightly towards environmental issues, though the governments overall focus-keeping businesses competitive-wont change. Economic management will be more complicated than during the boom years; spending cuts, for example, may now be required,creating stresses within the government. Economic factors In last few years there has been a financial crisis in the market. Cost of everything has increased due to fall in major investment banks. There have been inflationary pressures due to high energy prices and lack of credit. All this would amount to increase in price of supply chain and goods. The cost of food items has increased as there has been a food crisis. France and Germany have interrelated economies,so selling in both the markets would not yield great results. Yoshinoya import most of its raw material such as beef and potatoes due to local market cannot supply in abundant to meet the demand of its product they need to be aware of global supply and currency exchange. Since the pricing is above normal food pricing Yoshinoya consumers may find it hard to make the buyer agree to the price on offer. Moreover if the economy is bad and income percapita is affected, the demand of Yoshinoya product will certainly going down. Good economy generally means disposable income is more and p eople can spend more on more expensive food . SOCIAL/Cultural Not many people can afford eating out all the time but with the fast food option providing affordable meals people have caught up with increased spending habits.But consumers always also look for value for money and demand quality in services and more conveniences that can differentiate one restaurant from another. There is not much difference between cultural and the purchase of products in a single country but for different countries cultural sensitivity should be upheld. For example in India people (Hindu) do not take beef, Muslim countries do not take pork, German like beers, Finnish like fish type of food menu, Chinese like to associate food with something good (for example prosperity), Asian like rice and Americans eat in big-sized menu. So far Yoshinoya has shown good efforts in localization of its menu to suit local taste but it should constantly survey and learn about local culture to better understand and design the best product for them Technological European online meal solutions prospects by country For a fast food restaurant, technology does not give a very high impact on the company and it is not a significant macro environment variables. Computer ordering (till system) and using technology for production,supply and research reasons is a requirement.Technology implementation can make the management more effective and cost saving in the long term. Environmental factors Yoshinoya should invest more on the environment related issues. They should reduce their dependency on beef dishes as production of beef involves methane gasses coming from the cows ranch causing green house effect. Large scale plantation affects the environment and loss of green forest opening for plantation activities. Vegetarian environmentalist criticizes the fast-food giant for cruelty to animals and slaughtering. Use of plastic is also an issue as millions of people are known to throw away packaging which is hard to recycle. Our world is getting concern on environment issue and business operating here should not just care for profit, but careful usage of world resources for sustainable development and care for environment safety and health for our future generation. Legal factors Legal requirements of a business owner should be to follow stipulated laws such as operating hours, business registration, tax requirement, labor and employment laws and quality environment certification (such as ISO) in which the outlet has been certified. The legal requirement is important because the offenders will be fined or have their business prohibited. b) Country Shortlisting This part addresses why the country Uk was chosen from amongst the 27 other countries belonging to the EU. A 2008 study was conducted worldwide counting the number of fast food restaurants per person.The UK has claimed this title with Australia second and the United States third. England alone accounted for 25% of all fast food. The majority of multinational corporations that are based outside of Europe but have a presence on the continent, establish their European operations in the UK. Decision making global integration vs global responsivenessmulti domestic strategy,the food industry has a weak need to integrate operations across countries because scale economies are highly offset by transportational costs. In Russia,eating out is also becoming increasingly common. A burgeoning middle class is creating a solid customer base and is increasing demand for international foods, with the result that numerous restaurants and cafà ©s are opening or expanding. In France With regard to business and investment, the climate cannot be considered to be very conducive due to lack of fiscal and investment freedom, and freedom from government intervention. Business taxes are also higher compared to other developed countries which acts as a deterrent for investment. In 2004, Germanys share of the ethnic food retail market (by value) within Europe was relatively small (9.2% compared to the UKs 68.8%). Nevertheless, it was the third largest market, following the UK and France (who had 9.7%) In 2006, the Ethnic Food retail market in Europe was worth EUR 4.12 billion. The UK has the largest and most developed market, with sales worth over EUR 2.34 billion. In fact, the UK, France and Germany together account for over 80% of total sales. It notes that countries like Spain and Ireland have much smaller markets, but that sales are on an upward spiral So first establish about 5 stores in uk and 5 in germany check the performance over a year hope to gain from spillover effects where Media helps it to get noticed in nearby countries and the following year expand in markets like Denmark and Netherlands which are in the same region. So the plan suggests that the country selection is also region specific.Northern European countries like england and Denmark andWestern European countrie like Germany and Netherlands Economic stability based on GDP Spain has per capita GDP of UK is $ 34,619 (International Monetary Fund,2009).It is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France and the second largest after germany in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. Japanese in Uk Colindale in north London has Oriental City a shopping centre which has the highest footfall of Asian consumers. North West England, Manchester is town with largest population and Aberystwyth largest student town are locations for opening a store. When eating outside the home, Japanese expatriates in the Netherlands most commonly patronise Chinese restaurants (29% of meals eaten out); Japanese restaurants run a close second at 25%, Italian restaurants at 19%, and French restaurants at 10% (Cwiertka 2000, p. 17) Start with 10 stores with centralization,check performance and then shift to decentralization. The strategy for the first three years in Europe should be of Centralization and concentration in big country markets . Part 2 a) Market Entry Strategies Why would Yoshinoya choose franchising? Yoshinoya wants to aggressively expand in the European market.The franchising model will help it expand its operations on a faster scale. Speed of entry Speed of entry can be classified as Aggressive-broad front and aggressive-focused. Yoshinoya must have systematic and dynamic game plan using all of its resources. How will the franchise work? Joint venture will be 50-50. Yoshinoya has had nation wide franchising in the United States offering single franchise and territory arrangements. Having identified a franchisee, NewLook must determine aspects such as franchisee fee and initial investment required to get the venture on road. NewLook can follow the standard industry practice of charging between $30,000 $40,000 per location per year a standard followed by 70% of the franchisors. Additionally, the terms of franchising also need to lay down the amount of royalty that franchisee needs to pay (International Franchise Association, 2010). This figure is a percentage of franchisees gross monthly income and could be set at 4%. Risks of franchising Without having a local presence in Europe, this method results in a great loss of control and supervision over the franchise as the franchisor has no legal entity in Europe. However Wholly owned facilities, at the start would serve as anchors while they build relationships in the host country to support further entry through non-equity modes such as franchising and management service contracts (Bartlett Ghoshal, 2000). So it might prove difficult to build familiarity and relationships in the market, non-equity contractual forms are readily adopted to support the increasing degree of presence. Due to Yoshinoyas present financial condition franchising would be the best option but finding the right franchising partner would be the most important. Exit Strategies Franchisors that they needed to understand that their business would fail, and in fact all businesses are bound for failure. Daniel Hudson Burnham said Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir mens blood. So plan. Plan to profit. Plan to nurture and build. And plan to exit.If Yoshinoya does not get its estimated profit or is in loss, it can exit the market. It is not easy to exit the market as closing franchised stores due to non performing would affect brand image and create stutor among other franchising partners.If a joint venture is established exiting market becomes an easy option as the share can be sold to the partner. Relocation of non profitable stores can be an option. Additionally, once the initial period of uncertainty is over and the payoff (for NewLook) from the venture is more or less stabilized, NewLook may find it advantageous to dissolve the partnership by either acquiring the franchisees interest in the venture or selling its own stake. The price for the t ransfer of ownership interests between two parties should be set in the original contract. To determine the share price, both parties could accept the appraisal of an independent evaluator (Chi, Tailan; McGuire, Donald J, 1996). b)Functional strategies, including product, marketing, and operations decisions. The marketing strategy inviloves 4ps product,price,place and promotion.As yoshinoya is not yet established in the European market they could use Penetrative pricing policy to expand the menu by adding chicken based side orders,sushi,soups and salads.To cut costs,decreasing price should not be an option instead they should reduce the quantity of products.Table service is a good idea.On the other hand having a limited menu, rapid table turnover and employing temporary staff on minimum wage so that pension and health benefits dont have dolled out is a way of cutting costs too. A marketing strategy involves using brand names and other marketing elements.Yoshinoya must look at protecting brand name and patent.In a Franchise system the franchisor does the RD and Marketing while Franchisee does the Production and sales and service. c) Yoshinoyas Organizational Structure Organizational structure shows how management decisions would be taken and the flow. VP (HR) will be reporting to CEO and will be accountable to all HR related operations. Senior VP (marketing and sales) will be reporting to CEO and will be accountable for marketing and sales. CFO will be reporting to the CEO and will be accountable for all financial operations. VP (Operation development) will be reporting to COO and will be in charge for operations and development. Then VP (Investor relation) will be reporting to COO and will be responsible for relations with the investors. VP (public relations) will be responsible for public relations. Special task force would be formed to work in teams to take care for any new stores to be opened or major structural changes to be made in functioning of any stores. Although the organisational structure outlines who reports to whom within the MNE, it does not indicate where decsisions are made within the framework.companies must determine where decisions will be made.The higher the level within the organisation at which decisions are made, the more they are considered to be centralised;the lower the level,the more they are decentralized.whether decision making should be centralized or decentralized can be addressed from the stand point of either the company as a whole or some part of it,such as particular subsidary operation. d)Strategic control system Conclusion It is observed from various analysis made above like PESTLE and SWOT, that Yoshinoya is a brand which needs to expand internationally in order to increase its revenue and to compete with other big brands. References: http://www.swot-pest-porter.co.uk Hollensen, S (2003) Global Marketing: A Decision-Oriented Approach. 3rd ed. Pearson Education Wall, S Rees, B (2004) International Business. FT Prentice Hall. LEE, K CARTER, S (2005) Global Marketing Management. Oxford: OUP Mellenius, H 2007 Market Orientation as a Branding Strategy. Working Paper, department of Business Studies, Uppsala University. Johnston.S, Beaton.H (1998) Foundations of International Marketing, Cengage Learning EMEA http://www.answers.com/topic/yoshinoya-d-c-company-ltd http://www.swot-pest-porter.co.uk/index.php?action=vthreadforum=1topic=5 http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Yoshinoya http://kinnikuman.wikia.com/wiki/Yoshinoya http://www.bignerds.com/papers/8120/Pestle-Mcdonalds/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshinoya http://www.scribd.com/doc/2535092/THE-WORLD-IN-FIGURES-2008-COUNTRIES-AZ http://www.scribd.com/doc/510675/COUNTRY-PAGES-2008 http://www.doingbusiness.org/EconomyRankings/Default.aspx?direction=ascsort=9page=2 http://www.scribd.com/doc/510775/COUNTRY-PAGES-2008 http://www.51lunwen.com/format/lw200907311530516796-2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_expatriates_in_the_Netherlands http://staterepos.com/ http://www.stuckonstuckeys.com/Fast-food.html http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_viewnewsId=20100122005188newsLang=en http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Food http://www.51lunwen.com/agent_upload/lw200907311530516796/Unit%5FGuide%2Edoc http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Fast_food http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/24168/ http://www.answers.com/topic/fast-food Yoshinoya Expands U.S. Restaurant Chain, Opening 99th Location in Escondido http://www.reinholdkeller.com/wissen.html http://portugues.doingbusiness.org/EconomyRankings/?direction=Descsort=9 http://thesissamples.blogspot.com/ http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=9041 http://espanol.doingbusiness.org/EconomyRankings/?direction=Descsort=9 http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/business_spain/section_1.html http://www.franchising.com/pressreleases/14262/ http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-structure.html http://www.luleaquestionnaire.com/eng/ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-chaya.html http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Fast_food http://sde.state.nm.us/div/psb/dl10/CLASS/Glossarycomplete8-3-09.doc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_beef_imports_in_Japan http://www.allbusiness.com/business-planning/220919-1.html http://maquette.saonor.fr/kvrdma/yrqw.php?gdnr=size-growth-of-fast-food-restaurants http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/89491195_2.html http://en.wikilib.com/wiki/Fast_Food http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Chaya.html http://results.mindspark.com/redirect.jhtml?qid=0eefbc8aa4c78e5dd3ea934b32150178action=clicksi=p=AJmainss=subptnrS=ZRxdm429TIUSst=hpcb=ZRpg=AJmainord=52searchfor=Popular+Food+in+Colombiatpr=jrel3redirect=AJmain.jhtmlct=RR http://stmichaelbyz.com/qgsrxp/jxmg.php?ysgq=causes-of-fast-food-restaurant-popularity http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/petras/reports/denmark.html

An Overview of Security

An Overview of Security Security Introduction Security is the level of imperviousness to, or insurance from, damage. It applies to any powerless and profitable resource, for example, an individual, staying, group, country, or association. As noted by the Institute for Security and Open Methodologies (ISECOM) in the OSSTMM 3, security gives a type of insurance where a division is made between the benefits and the danger. These partitions are nonexclusively called controls, and frequently incorporate changes to the advantage or the threat (Herzoq, 2014). Computer security is considered to be a security that is applied to computing devices such as smartphones, computers as well as computer networks such as private and public networks, including the whole Internet. The computing security covers all the procedures and mechanisms by which information, digital equipment and services are protected from unauthorized access, change or destruction, and are of growing importance in line with the rising reliance on computer systems of most societies worldwide (Musa, 2014). Interview An interview was conducted in order to broaden the views: What is the difference between http and https? Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a convention utilized as a part of systems administration. When you write any web address in your web program, your program goes about as a customer, and the computer having the asked for data goes about as a server. At the point when customer demands for any data from the server, it utilizes HTTP convention to do so. The server reacts again to the customer after the solicitation finishes. The reaction comes as site page which you see just in the wake of writing the web address and press Enter. Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a mix of two separate conventions. It is more secure approach to get to the web. It is blend of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) and SSL/TLS convention. It is more secure approach to sending appeal to server from a customer, additionally the correspondence is absolutely scrambled which implies nobody can recognize what you are searching for. This sort of correspondence is utilized for getting to those sites where security is needed. What is the difference encoding, encryption and hashing? The purpose behind encoding is to change information with the goal that it can be legitimately (and securely) devoured by an alternate sort of framework, e.g. double information being sent over email, or review unique characters on a site page. The objective is not to keep data mystery, but instead to guarantee that it’s ready to be legitimately devoured. Encoding changes information into an alternate organization utilizing a plan that is openly accessible so it can without much of a stretch is turned around. It doesnt oblige a key as the main thing needed to translate it is the calculation that was utilized to encode it. The motivation behind encryption is to change information to keep it mystery from others, e.g. sending somebody a mystery letter that just they ought to have the capacity to peruse, or safely sending a watchword over the Internet. Instead of concentrating on ease of use, the objective is to guarantee the information cant be devoured by anybody other than the planned recipient(s). Encryption changes information into an alternate arrangement in such a path, to the point that just particular individual(s) can invert the change. It utilizes a key, which is kept mystery, in conjunction with the plaintext and the calculation, keeping in mind the end goal to perform the encryption operation. All things considered, the cipher text, calculation, and key are all needed to come back to the plaintext. Hashing fills the need of guaranteeing trustworthiness, i.e. making it so if something is transformed you can realize that its changed. Actually, hashing takes subjective include and produce an altered length string that has the accompanying qualities: The same information will dependably create the same yield. Different dissimilar inputs ought not deliver the same yield. It ought not to be conceivable to go from the yield to the info. Any adjustment of a given data ought to bring about extreme change to the hash. Hashing is utilized as a part of conjunction with confirmation to create solid proof that a given message has not been adjusted. This is proficient by taking given information, encoding it with a given key, hashing it, and after that scrambling the key with the beneficiarys open key and marking the hash with the senders private key. At the point when the beneficiary opens the message, they can then unscramble the key with their private key, which permits them to decode the message. They then hash the message themselves and contrast it with the hash that was marked by the sender. In the event that they match it is an unmodified message, sent by the right individual. Why hackers are a step ahead from security? Moderate size organizations are in a tight spot. As their capacity to gather client information expands, so excessively does the trouble of ensuring that information. Also during a period when computerized data consistently ventures by means of cell phones and in the cloud, a programmers right to gain entrance to that information multiplies. Usually the business runs speedier than efforts to establish safety. Income originates from the business, so there is normally a race [for security] to stay aware of the business. On the off chance that there is another ability to make speedier income by utilizing a cell phone or another portable computer or even another type of purpose of offer in the field, generally efforts to establish safety are not promptly contemplated. How do you deal after being attacked by a hacker? Hackers are winning the battle against todays enterprise security teams. In the year since Target suffered a record-breaking data breach, it has become clear that the lessons learned from that attack have not been widely applied. At the time of composing, 636 affirmed information ruptures have happened in 2014, a 27% expansion over the same period a year ago, with prominent victimized people, for example, Home Depot, ebay, Jpmorgan Chase, Dairy Queen, Goodwill and numerous others. The assault surface as it exists today is not at the border, yet inside the IT environment. Programmers utilized approve certifications to plant charge card taking malware on a number of Targets purpose of-offer (POS) frameworks. Truth be told, as indicated by the 2014 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, approved qualifications were utilized by programmers as a part of 76% of all system interruptions. When a clients certifications have been traded off, programmers can move along the side through a sy stem totally undetected without activating edge based discovery programming. Why the security keep the backup outside the city? A report from Pandalabs found that 30 million new malware dangers were made in 2013 – a normal of 82,000 consistently. There is no real way to stay aware of this quick rate of malware creation, which is continually developing. Firewalls and against infection marks are sufficient to stop normal dangers, however do nothing to stop an aggressor with legitimate certifications imitating a client. Rather, IT groups need to stay one stage in front of programmers by checking the qualification use for suspicious client action as a consequence of stolen certifications or noxious insider (Staying one step ahead of hackers, 2014). Which is the best op.system for security using? There is a list of operating systems that are being widely used; however the best operating system which is being used is one which has security focused. The one of operating systems is OpenBSD which is an open source BSD operating system and is one which is heavily concerned with security. On the other hand, another operating system is EnGarde Secure Linux which is also considered to be a secure platform designed for servers. References Staying one step ahead of hackers. (2014). Retrieved 12 16, 2014, from IBM: http://www.ibm.com/midmarket/us/en/article_security_1402.html Herzoq, P. (2014). Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual. Retrieved 12 16, 2014, from isecom: http://www.isecom.org/research/osstmm.html Musa, S. (2014). Cybersecurity: Understanding the Online Threat. Retrieved 12 16, 2014, from evollution: http://www.evolllution.com/opinions/cybersecurity-understanding-online-threat/

Free Essays - Seamus Heaneys Beowulf :: Epic Beowulf essays

Seamus Heaney's Beowulf Having a good and noble king is vital to the succession and happiness of a group of people. Unfortunately, not all kings are good kings, but the welfare of their people reflects on their ability to do the job. Having a foreign or pariah king will cause the people's welfare to suffer, but when a group of people has an excellent king, they will remain joyful and prosperous until the day he dies. If the reign of a king causes feud, then this would not have a positive effect on the group of people under his reign. In Seamus Heaney's Beowulf, Hrothgar, king of Denmark, considers giving his kingship to Beowulf, the Geat warrior who came to Denmark in order to defeat Grendel, who is the devilish monster attacking the Danes, as a service to King Hrothgar. When Queen Wealtheow, King Hrothgar's wife, hears of this, she says to him, "The word is that you want to adopt this warrior as a son. So, while you bask in your fortune, and then bequeath kingdom and nation to your kith and kin before decease. I am sure of Hrothulf" (183.1175-9). By saying this, she is warning her husband about what problems may arise if he were to give his kingship to a foreigner. She then reminds Hrothgar of Hrothulf's distinguished traits and that he is also stripping his own sons of their rights to kingship if he goes through with handing the throne over to Beowulf. Wealtheow is most likely worri ed about Beowulf just simply conquering their people for Geatland, the people not liking his foreign methods, she obviously does not want to take kingship rights from her beloved relatives whom she considers worthy of the role, and does not want to see friction occur between Beowulf and their kin. Wealtheow knows that allowing a foreigner to take over the throne of Denmark will cause the welfare of the Danes to suffer. When a king goes bad, his people lose respect in him, are no longer content and successful as a people, and are likely to rebel against him. Hrothgar says to Beowulf, "Do not give way to pride"(121.1760). He is explaining to Beowulf that excessive pride is a king's worst enemy.

Emotional Break-down in Susan Glaspells Trifles :: Trifles Essays

Emotional Break-down in Trifles Trifles is an interesting story about the emotional break-down of a country woman. It is obvious by certain descriptions within the text that she did have an emotional trauma. However, it is never made clear if she killed her husband or did he commit suicide. The emotional trauma can be scene in the beginning of the story by her attitude towards Mr. Hale. Ms. Wright is in a state of shock her constant rocking; pleating of her skirt; her "queer" look and her dead pan response to how Mr. Wright died "He died of a rope around his neck"; all indicate a high level of emotional stress in a situation. She is not responding to anything. Also, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters examine her quilting. The sewing is very nice and even and then suddenly it becomes a wild disaray of stiches. These actions and inactions truly indicate an unbalanced state of mental being, however, is it enough to charge a woman with murder. What further indicates the difficulty in deciding if Mrs. Wright killed Mr. Wright is the canary. Mrs. Wright shows that she loves the canary by trying to bury it in the pretty sewing box. This is not the action of someone who killed the canary. Mrs. Wright is also described as being like a bird. The reader can envision her as someone petite or slight. She is described as being sweet, pretty, timid and fluttery. It would take a lot for someone of this description to commit murder. On the other hand, Mr. Wright is described as someone who is difficult to live with. He is described by Mrs. Hale as having killed the bird like qualities in his wife. He appears to be an overbearing, unhappy person. I propose that it is Mr. Wright who kills the canary. He is taking something away from his wife trying to keep control over her. Also the cage is severely damaged. Mrs. Wright is not described as someone with a lot of strength. Following that vein of thought I also propose that Mr. Wright went crazy. He killed the bird and hung himself. It would take a lot of strength to hang a large man and Mr. Wright was envisoned to be. Also the sheriff and county attorney are baffled by the way the rope was strung up, it was rigged up strangely.

Bonds Between Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club Essay

Bonds Between Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club A good mother-daughter relationship is beneficial for both the mother and the daughter. This definitely comes into play in Amy Tan’s novel titled â€Å"The Joy Luck Club.† The story is about four sets of Chinese mothers and daughters, and their first experience of growing in America. All of the mothers want to raise their children in the traditional Chinese way and still allow them to be all that they can be in America. This causes many conflicts between them when the daughters act too American and the mothers act too Chinese. There are also problems when some of the daughters grow and get married to American Men. The mothers influence the daughters with stories of ancestors and eventually the daughters learn that their mothers really do know what they are talking about. Each mother shows their love to their daughter in a different way, and the daughters usually respond to it in a negative manner. There is a lack of communication between the mothers and daughters, which leave a lot of open space for assuming. The daughters seem to inherit a lot of their mother’s characteristics as they get older without even meaning to. In some cases they appear to mirror their mothers. It is as if everything that they have fought against for many years has become them. The Joy Luck Club is a club that one of the mothers, Suyuan Woo started to gather four Chinese women together to raise their spirits. They would meet each week, rotating each lady as a host, eat and talk about things that were going on in each woman’s life. They would play mah jong to raise money incase something came up that they needed emergency money for. Suyuan had twin girls when she lived in China but had to l... ...and that the vase was going to break and she knew that the marriage was going to fall apart if she didn‘t do something. As you can see, each of the mother-daughter couples has a lot in common. They share the same feelings, similar experiences, and a lot of the same knowledge. As rights activist James Baldwin once said, â€Å"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.† Even if some of the daughters fight their mothers to get along together, it ends up it is for the best. Strong mother-daughter bonds are shown through out the novel and many lessons are learned by the daughters. Each daughter makes her mother proud and in the end that is all that is important. The mothers are just happy that they raised their daughters right. WORKS CITED    Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Random House, 1989.

How nature and nurture may affect the development Essay

The development of an individual can be down to different aspects such as physical, intellectual, emotional and social development; these effects can be due to nature or nurture or quite possibly both. ‘The nature versus nurture debate has been a classic controversy among experts for centuries’ (www.macalester.edu), even now there has been no clear conclusion as to who is right and who is wrong, just on-going hypotheses and opinions to add to the debate. Therefore the evaluation of how nature and nurture may affect a person’s development will be based on my own knowledge and some research. Physical Development Infancy is the most critical period for a child’s development. Physically a child overcomes many milestones very rapidly and it is said that they overcome the ‘norms’ meaning, every child accomplishes things at a similar pace. From birth to four years, physically, the child starts out unable to roll over and proceeds through crawling, walking to running; this is a major physical development. You are born with reflexes to potentially walk, however some may not due to a genetic disorder therefore it is in someone’s nature to walk but to be able to walk you have to learn it from your surroundings. This example applies to many other physical developments such as puberty, growing taller and going through the menopause. Physical development supports nature and nurture as genetics play a role in a child’s physical characteristics as you are born with the ability to do physical activity unless you are born with congenital abnormalities which can limit or enhance a child’s ability to learn. Using these abilities you are born with must be taught therefore throughout your life you learn to be physically able. Intellectual Development â€Å"Parents are the keys to intellectual development for almost all children in the care and education they provide† (www.etllearning.com), this supports the nurture debate. Activities, learning devices, time and attention a parent or caregiver gives to their child in infancy can have a dramatic impact on a child’s on-going development and intelligence. A persons intelligence increases in a lifetime through various stages; learning at home from parents, going to school and being taught subjects, going into the workplace and moving out from the family home. As well as the nurturing of a child, nature also plays a big role in a child’s intellectual development as they are born with the genetics of their mother and father and they will inherit the characteristics of their parents. You are born with the ability to, for example, speak, read and write however you must be taught how to use this ability. Depending on what your parents are capable of, there may be chanc e that a child may lack intelligence or excel in certain aspects of intellectual development. Emotional Development Specific hormones can affect a person’s emotional development. As a child reaches puberty, emotions develop rapidly as there are a lot of hormonal changes; increasing pressure at school, confusion, sexual relationships and many other events that can have an effect on emotions. Everyone has to go through physical stages of developmental milestones which are linked to a person’s emotional development and it is nature that plays a role in a person’s emotional development which is certainly increased as a child reaches puberty and as a woman goes through the menopause. A significant influence on a child’s emotional development is parents and other family members. Children who are cared for and loved by their parents or caregiver will treat their family, friends and peers in a similar way and will see them as people they can feel secure with later in life. Nurture the parents provide will determine the relationships the child has in the future with other people and how the child will react emotionally. Social Development I believe that nurture is a big influence on a person’s social development as it involved the development of new types of behaviour, a change in interests and the choice of new friends and peers. â€Å"One study that was done at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School was on the effects that depressed and non-depressed mothers had on their toddlers. Basically what was found was that the toddlers with depressed mothers tended to have less social skills than the ones with a normal maternal influence. It was concluded that the exposure to maternal depression may affect the child’s social development and his/her later relationship with his/her mother.† (mirandakalish.hubpages.com), this is evidence that nurture is the main influence on a child’s social development. From birth, a child is taught right from wrong and what is seen as socially acceptable, therefore social development must be learnt. However some aspects of social development may be inherited as your parents may have certain characteristics that can be passed down such as, being a good team worker, developing friends and have the desire to belong. In conclusion, both sides of the nature/nurture debate presents evidence which supports its impact on development. Whether or not we inherit a group of characteristics that make us who we are, or the environment having a more impacting role on who a person is, everyone’s input on the debate is valid and there is a lot of research and information to prove the validity.

Being Admired or Being Liked

Adolescence is a crucial stage in the schooling of an several(prenominal). It is at this period that psychological and emotional issues arise even at times to the position of creating depressive and disruptive fashion problems in striplings. One of the many factors that presume the development of an adolescent is the amicable office he or she possesses. In the adopt of adolescents, this companionable posture is dod to begin with in the school environment.A upstart education by Oldehinkel and associates, examines the relationships of the unlike variables of companionable military position of adolescents with that of depressive problems. The theme concluded that depressive problems be in general contacted by two reachs of amicable posture which atomic number 18 achievement-related and affection-related companionable precondition. With the exits of the studies, it is shape up recommended that what reading that has been contracted be officed for upcoming studies that will endeavor to solve the predicament of affectionate status on adolescents.In evaluate of the battleground, the questi sensationrs take on made a raw part to psychology done the use of a wide scope and edge of the subject matter. Article Review macrocosmness Admired or macrocosm like Adolescence has been widely known as unmatchable of the most complicated as comfortably the most interesting stage in the development of an individual. It is at this stage that mavens unique identity is sight and developed. Thus, adolescents experience a variety of challenges normally related to their psychological and emotional health.In the question study made by Oldehinkel and associates empower organism Admired or Being Liked Classroom Social stance and Depressive Problems in Early Adolescent Girls and Boys, the relationships and connections of divers(prenominal) aspects of fond status of adolescents with that of depressive problems in the schoolroom environm ent were analyzed and discussed. Hypothesis and take of the Study Oldehinkel and comrades cited many studies not b bely on animals but on world as surface concerning the long-known association of suffering social status with depressive problems (2007).Social status has been defined in two ways, that is, through achievements and affections. In terms of achievements, the element of competition is limn whereas in terms of affection, acceptance into a social group is crucial (Oldehinkel, 2007). Although both(prenominal) be considered measurements of social status, they are whole divers(prenominal) from each other. In the study by Oldehinkel, the importance of these two definitions of social status was studied in mental strain with depressive problems of adolescent boys and girls (2007).The study generally pore on the adolescence stage since this period is interestingly considered as a crucial eyeshade where depressive problems are frequently encountered. Achievement-relat ed and affection-related social statuses were primarily analyzed in the study. These two views of social status are ordinarily factors that affect the arousal of depressive problems in individuals. In former studies, the relationships of grammatical sexual activity variety to the two definitions of social status provoke been greatly examined.Such studies surface that males hunt to be affected more(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) by achievement-related social status mend females tend to be affected more of affection-related status (Oldehinkel, 2007). In connection to recent and precedent studies, the study constructed by Oldehinkel and associates was a concoction of all the studies. Its very intend is to examine the relationship between early on adolescents depressive problems and social status in the classroom environment (Oldehinkel, 2007).The major possibility tested by the researchers is that embarrassed match status in the achievement-related domain is most authoritative for depressive problems in boys, plot in girls, depressive problems are more powerfully associated with unkept peer status in the affection-related domain (Oldehinkel, 2007). A secondary hypothesis is likewise formulated where researchers infer that luxuriously social status in a point area will continue for the individuals depression problems and down in the mouth status in another particular(a) area (Oldehinkel, 2007).Methodology of the Study Sample Participants Participants were recruited ab initio by employing the Tracking Adolescents Individual Lives cogitation or TRAILS, which is a study on preadolescents whose aim is to track and explain the development of the participants (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 419). The participants were selected in two stages. A take to give call and addresses of all inhabitants born(p) in a particular yr range is made to five municipalities, urban and rural alike, in the North of the Netherlands (Oldehinkel, 2007).In this step , 3483 names were listed (Oldehinkel, 2007). In addendum, the researchers as advantageously approached primary schools of the very(prenominal) municipalities this time, to request confederation in TRAILS. In order for children to be eligible, their schools should approve participation requests. A second wave of the TRAILS became the have population of the study. All in all, the organic number of the participants who were eligible and accepted to be part of the study, excluding the parents and the schools, is 1046 (Oldehinkel, 2007).In addition to these participants, schools having the TRAILS participants were requested to affect in peer information and nominations to determine the social status of the fighting(a) adolescents. Furthermore, the parents of the participating adolescents also became part of the information gathering. mensurate Employed for Data Collection For the affection-related and achievement-related status, the information was obtained from the peer nomina tions from the participating schools. Questionnaires were formulated sextette of which are affection-related such(prenominal) as Which classmates do you like?, whereas, achievement-related questions such as Who are good at sports? numbered three (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 420). counterbalance of nominations was used to determine the degree of peer status. Information for the participants depressive problems was obtained through the help of the adolescents parents. Questionnaires were again employed for this type of entropy gathering. The particular questionnaire used is the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) which is a commonly utilized questionnaire for child and adolescent psychiatric research (Oldehinkel, 2007, p.420). In addition to the data collected from the parents, self-reports from participating adolescents were also ga at that placed through the use of the questionnaire juvenility Self-Report, the counterpart of CBCL (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 420). statistical Analysis Statistic al methods to test the hypothesis and the relationships between the different groups of information were employed. These include means of and correlations of the different variables, means of t-tests and z-tests (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 421). Furthermore, linear regression analyses were also done.To better compare the different variables to social status, the researchers constructed a system of four feature status groups. In this system, pitiful and lofty (1) refers to adolescents with a deplorable status in an area and a exalted status on another area, only low (2) refers to adolescents having a low status in one area and no advanced status, only heights (3) refers to adolescents having only high status and no low status and lastly, intermediate (4) refers to adolescents who are neither low nor high in status in all areas (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 421). Results and DiscussionResults show that females have more nominations of being good learners as well as good-looking, whereas boys were nominated predominantly as good in sports. No significant gender differences were observed for affection-related status although results point out that girls are more veered to depressive problems magic spell boys to disruptive behavior problems (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 422). In girls, depressive problems were usually due to association to being disliked while boys depressive problems are correlated with being good at sports (Oldehinkel, 2007, p.422). An interesting result obtained is that much like girls, boys depressive problems are highly related to the affection-related social status (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 422). This is obstinate to the previous studies that have shown that boys tend to have depressive problems caused primarily by achievement-related low social status. Interestingly, the results of the study also show that through the distribution of the participants into the four status groups systems, males and females are actually equally distributed (Oldehinkel, 2007, p . 423).This is significant since it exhibits that there are no substantial gender differences when it comes to social or peer status. leaving back to the hypotheses formulated by Oldehinkel and associates, both hypotheses are supported by the results in the general scope although in the individual status groups, some trends vary. Nevertheless, the results show that girls depressive problems tend to be affected by affection-related low social status while boys depressive problems are more likely to be caused by achievement-related low social status.Furthermore, data shows that the adolescents high social status in one domain tends to counteract the effect of a low social status in another domain, thus, lessening the instances of depressive problems. Generally, there is gender difference between achievement and affection-related social status. However, no significant gender difference is evident on the sports-related domain. This illustrates that girls are also excelling in sports wh ich is contrary to traditional feel that sports is particularly related to males (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 425).This may be explained by the growing trend in society regarding gender equality. Comments and Recommendations What the researchers have discovered is novel. Although there have been many previous studies that tackle the topic of their study, the scope and delimitation of the research study conducted by Oldehinkel and associates has a far wider domain. With its multiple variables and various measures of data compend, the researchers obtained a great deal of information. Thus, such study is a great contribution to adolescent psychology. The sample size and the age of the study are also remarkable.Its comparatively large sample size is a guarantee that the sample population is suitably represented. The three years duration of the study also adds to the assurance that the data obtained from the study is reliable. The data collection was also appropriate. However, it is recomm ended that researchers should have cited the participating municipalities along with other common information of the respondents. Furthermore, the methodology and statistical analysis of the study is commendable. Although some of the described procedures are complicated, the results have been presented clearly.Lastly, and the most interesting of the research study is its open-ended conclusion wherein the researchers themselves compress the creation of future studies to further light upon use of the results and conclusions obtained in the study. It is quite seemly that further studies be done to obtain solutions to the social status problems and depressive as well as disruptive behavior problems of adolescents. advert Oldehinkel, J. A. , Rosmalen, J. G. M. , Veenstra, R. , Dijkstra, J. K. & Ormel, J. (2007). Being Admired or Being Liked Classroom Social billet and Depressive Problems in Early Adolescent Girls an