Case for School Uniforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Case for School Uniforms - Essay Example Alicia harangues on the economic consequences of introducing school uniforms by declaring that â€Å"the uniforms don’t seem quite so affordable.† As per Alicia’s logic, school uniforms amount to an added financial burden on an average middle class family and many families find it really costly to purchase uniforms for their progeny. Even a cursory online analysis of the price catalogues of some of the famous economy stores will amply testify to the fact that school uniforms are not that dearer as Alicia deems them to be. Besides, in the long run, making children wear uniforms to school turns out to be cheaper than helping them afford an assorted wardrobe catering to their school dressing needs and requirements. School uniforms relieve the parents and the students of tons of financial pressure and burden with everyone knowing that they have to wear the same clothes to school every day. Alicia also tends to hold that even if schools uniforms ameliorate the â€Å" best clothes competition (Thomas, 2009)†, they do usher in a more damaging â€Å"the best body competition. † Her logic is that students who are thin or husky may not be able to choose clothes that tone down their bodily aberrations and hence may suffer from guilt or many types of complexes. The fact is that this argument put forward by Alicia is facile and immature. Everybody knows that in the real world nobody is perfect and that most of the people do tend to have the so called physical, mental or social limitations.

Researching in Business Management Literature review

Researching in Business Management - Literature review Example Significant global expansion helps an organization to maximize its business profit. In addition to this organizations can attain growth in market share and can develop potential global customer base through global expansion strategy. Multinational organizations implement several different strategies in different operating countries to meet the market demand of that country. However, these multinational organizations face critical issues associated with business operation in different countries due to different cultural background, economic environment and political aspects. The Coca Cola Company has been selected for the research purpose. Following discussion will help to determine the issues that are faced by Coca Cola Company in different countries. Analysis and Discussion Global business environment is highly competitive as several leading organizations are operating within a similar industry. These organizations not only focus on primary market bases, but also used to target rest of the world. It is true that an organization can achieve significant competitive advantages through effective global expansion strategies. High profitability and high business revenue motivate several leading organizations to expand their business practices in global market place. ... They have to develop effective business strategy in order to get success in global market place. The multinational organizations generally face following issues in their business operation in different countries. Management Issues Culture of an individual generally varies from a country to another. A multinational organization has to develop different corporate and organizational policies in different countries in order to maintain effective business performance. Culture is typically a complex aspect that includes beliefs, art, knowledge, laws, attitude, behaviour, customs and other habits or capabilities acquired by an individual as a member of a particular community or a society. Therefore, it can be stated that work culture cannot be similar in each and every place around the globe. It differs from a person to another due to several cultural differences. Coca Cola is one of the leading multinational soft-drink manufacturing and distributing organization. The organization has signi ficant business operation presences in various global market places. The organization is one of the leading organizations within the industry. Coca Cola faced several issues during globalization and its global expansions. The organization was facing difficulty to develop business and corporate culture in different country due to different cultural background of employees and customers. In addition to this, there were several local organizations in these countries that already had significant brand recognition and market share growth rate. After several difficulties the management of the organization de3cides to market their product in different countries based on the demand and cultural aspect of the customers. Different slogans

Causes and effects of fluctuation in oil price

Causes and effects of fluctuation in oil price This report discusses about the most essential energy resource and the core in economics that is oil. Since it is now used in a variety of ways to operate any machines for everyday life especially automobiles, its needs and wants has been grown rapidly. However, such unsustainable and finite amount of oil now does tremendous matters to global economics. When it was not fully used for running machines, people in history used for constructions and medicines. However, with its discovery of many usable ways such as lighting, the wants of oil has been rocketed. After many years have been used oil for running machines and other fields, economists found that oil price is actually affected by some crucial reasons and events occurred. Following this, it explains with examples about how such natural disasters, wars, recession, and oil crisis can cause the oil price changed. Also, it talks about effects as what would happen to politics and economics after the fluctuation in oil price. Since the re is high in demand of oil and limited supply, the price of oil is very high. Also, environmentalists claim that even it has replaced coal successfully in running machines and automobiles, it still emissions harmful pollutant to nature. Therefore, many researchers have been made a research for an alternative energy source to oil. Actually, there are many renewable energy sources found to use as alternative energy to oil after it is depleted, but it still has to study more on it due to new technology required to be usable. Hence, there are many arguments about whether we should keep oil as main energy source or change it to new energy source to lessen the current oil price and care about remaining amount of crude oil even it costs a lot. We infer that the oil price fluctuation can make significant changes economically, socially, and politically. We also think that searching for alternative energy sources can help the environment and maintain more stable economy. 1.0 Introduction The oil, which is used for everyday life, is just as important as water and air. Oil is used not only for running automobiles and producing electricity but also producing plastics, clothes, and electrical goods as well. Thus, we could say oil is a fundamental material to produce goods we need in everyday life. This research paper will mainly discuss oil and recognize how the money in exchange for oil, in other words, the oil money affects global economy. Also, we will see how other economists think about viable alternatives to oil in future. 2.0 History of Oil use Oil has been known as one of the most significant and essential energy sources used and progressed for numerous purposes since thousands of years. Despite modern major oil use is to run automobiles such as cars, buses, trucks, and ships, ancient people used in many other ways. According to history, ancient people used pure oil not only as a material for binding materials and as a sealant for waterproofing various surfaces but also as worked materials to pave asphalt on walls and roads. With its numerous effects has brought economic growth, the world started to recognize the importance of oil use. It was also discovered that the Chinese were the first knew the importance use of oil and to discover underground oil and drew from the wells in order to use for lighting around 500 B.C. Ever since that time many countries has begun to find oil wells around the world due to the important roles for the use of oil (BERA The Oil Gas Industry). Moreover, oil development has been quite active s ince long time ago. For example, Poland was the first country in the world trade the oil that was in 1853, and then comes Romania in 1857. In North America, the first commercial was in 1858. In 1959 Titusville was very famous for its oil well production of twenty five barrels a day. The U.S started to produce millions and millions of barrels during the past 50 years after the first production. For example; 2000 barrels in 1859 after 40 years 57 million barrels were produced in a year and still increasing until now. (Wilson, 2010) 3.0 Causes of fluctuation in oil price Knowing the reasons for oil price fluctuation is very important; since knowing such information can help the investor to invest at the right without any risk. It is very perplexing to know the exact cause of fluctuation in oil price; however, we will highlight the main causes and effects of phenomenon. 3.1.0 Causes There are four main causes change oil price; hurricane Katrina, middle-east wars, recessions, and oil crisis in the 1970s. 3.1.1 Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused the oil production in the Southern Gulf Coast in the U.S to stop completely, and due to the demand and to the lag of oil production; the price of oil barrels increased suddenly to $70 per a barrel. The prices declined when the U.S government decided to release 30 million oil barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) (Editorial Dept, 2009). 3.1.2 Middle East wars The wars happened in the Middle East between Iraq and Afghanistan in July, 2008 caused the prices of oil to increase to more than $136 per barrel. The Middle East is known that it is one of the richest regions of oil. Therefore, due to the high prices of oil at that time, the demand for oil dramatically decreased; people started to demand less and save money. Due to this low demand, the prices of oil started to return back to normal (Editorial Dept, 2009). 3.1.3 Recession Recession caused the oil prices to change in two ways. First, the recession caused the employees to work lesser, and some even started to work from their homes; therefore, they are not demanding often for oil (e.g. transportation). Hence, the prices of oil decreased due to the low demand. Secondly, the demand for other products (e.g. electronics) decreased due to recession. The manufacturing countries which supply these products started to supply less since they started to lose proifit, so less shipment of products occurred less use of oil and this caused the prices of oil to decline (Editorial Dept, 2009). 3.1.4 Oil crisis in the 1970s The prices of oil in the Middle East were low, most of the developed countries such as the U.S decided to rely more on importing the oil. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to limit their production of oil in order to make the higher oil price (Wright Boorsw, 2011). 3.2.0 Effects There are two effects showing what would be likely results of politics and economics after the changes in oil price. 3.2.1 Political effects Because of the negative effects of oil price fluctuation in the United States, the citizens decided to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 elections. (Crenshaw, Maniam Subramaniam, 2010). 3.2.2 Economical effects There is a relationship between oil price fluctuating and income rate. For example, when the price oil increase, the income rate of the labors decrease in order for the industry to make up for the loss and make profit. Also, when the prices of oil increased, some storeowners couldnt pay for the gas deliveries and they had to shut down their businesses. Not to mention the increase of shipping fees, transportation, and food prices (Crenshaw, Maniam, Subramaniam, 2010). 4.0 Alternative energy sources to Fossil Fuels Countries around the world are reconsidering other energy sources to oil due to its increasing prices, polluting waste and the remaining amount left of it. Oil is formed over millions of years from the remains of animals and plants, covered with a layer of sand and silt. Crude oil and petroleum are also known as rock oil, developed by heat and pressure on the layers. Today oil is used to fuel vehicles, heat houses, and make numerous products ranging from medicines to plastics. However, a great pitfall of oil is the emission of harmful gases when burnt. Before the age of oil, coal was the dominating fuel, as stated by BBC (Alternatives to oil, 2000).Not only was it a reliable provider of electricity, it [was] also an essential fuel for steel and cement production, and other industrial activities (World Coal Association, N.D). However, it lost its popularity due to the fact that a large amount of poisonous gases, like carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide are produced in its burning process, contributing negatively to the change in climate. Moreover, nuclear power is said to be friendly regarding the global warming. For example, the United Arab Emirates has been depending on oil for a very long period as a main income generator. However, the emirates are trying their best to stimulate other inflows from tourism, manufacturing and plans for research and development of new energy programs since they know that oil would eventually run out one day. According to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the development of nuclear power plants in Abu Dhabi will help serving the growth in energy needs in the future. On the other hand, some countries fear to take the risk of having nuclear plants because of the rising rate of tragic accidents. The recent leakage of nuclear and radioactive substances in Japan, due to the 8.9 Richter scale earthquakes, is an example. Technology innovations are creating a path to the usage of new, more environmentally sociable fossil fuels. Renewable fuels include hydro-electric energy, solar energy, biomass energy, wind energy and hydrogen. Renewable fuels promote countries to use nature and a high technological plan to produce power. In Norway for instance, hydro-electric power is used to the fullest as reported by BBC (Alternatives to oil, 2000). Wind and wave power are another promising fuels. Solar power is coming on by leaps and bounds. There are already photo-voltaic cells which will provide power on a cloudy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ winters day, or even by moonlight (Alternatives to oil, 2000). However, the hesitation and reluctance of countries to use such power sources falls under the aspect of price. A lot of money will be required to build wind turbine, solar panels, and hydrogen in conversion of technologies. All in all, there is a wide variety of alternatives to oil, however the users should evaluate the benefits and drawbacks for each power source and the effects generated to the society from the global view. 5.0 Conclusion To sum up, our world consists of variety of sources. Oil is one of the most important sources that are used in todays life, yet it is a non-renewable source. Therefore, looking for alternatives for oil can help stabilize economy and environment. Furthermore, due to some environmental and humanistic behaviors, oil prices began to increase and decline; this affected the world in many ways economically, politically, and socially.

James Joyces A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man :: James Joyce Portrait Artist Young Man Papers

James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) is entirely concerned with the development of its main character, Stephen Dedalus. By comparison with Joyce's earlier version, Stephen Hero [1], we see that he has cut out all extraneous material concerning other characters, and presented a close and detailed account of the development of Stephen's character from infancy to young manhood, the ground previously covered in Stephen Hero being compressed into Chapter 5 of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The most important aspects of Stephen's early development go on internally, and Joyce takes us right inside his mind so that we can see the intellectual and emotional development going on behind the surface. The first chapter portrays Stephen as an individual alienated from his social environment, and experiencing encounters with authorities which will reappear in various guises throughout the book. We see the beginnings of this process in the first page and a half, and the patterns of behaviour and relationships shown here are repeated throughout the chapter. This opening section is almost a microcosm of the chapter and perhaps of the whole novel. Stephen has an intuitive drive towards rebellion. As a young child he plans to marry a Protestant girl from his neighbourhood, and when his mother and Aunt Dante scold him for this he defiantly hides under the table. This instinctive drive stays with him throughout the book, until, in the fifth and final chapter, he presents his defiant at titude in mature intellectual terms with his statement 'I will not serve . . . ' (p.247) Stephen's rebellious attitude is necessary in order for him to preserve his own beliefs and values in the face of authorities which try to make him conform, but there is also a strong flavour of martyrdom about his attitude which is shown in an early fantasy in which Stephen identifies himself with the Irish politician Charles Parnell. We are also reminded of this throughout the book when we remember that Joyce chose the name Stephen to associate him with Stephen the first Christian martyr. The first authorities Stephen encounters are father, mother, Dante, and Uncle Charles. He associates his mother with a nice smell, and his relationship with her might be described as one of artistic response; she plays the piano and he dances.

Scenario Analysis

In this case, there is an ethical dilemma in that I am visiting my friends place as a friend and not as an officer. Therefore, my friends would not want me to act on anything that I notice strange as an officer. On the other hand, whatever is happening is illegal and I just cannot let it go. As Fuller, (1975) says, one needs to act out of principles and leaving these people doing drugs is not at all a sign of a principled person. Since doing drugs such as cocaine is illegal, the law requires that an officer who notices such an activity take immediate action such as arresting the victim or the person in the possession of the drugs. The criterion that would guide me in this case is assessing the effect of what these people are doing, to themselves and to the large majority. It is illegal to do such drugs and therefore if I stop them, I will have done more good than harm. I would therefore consider the effect of stopping these people from doing drugs being greater that losing friendship. The first thing that I would do is to look for my friend and try to find out whether he is aware of the people who are doing drugs at the party. However, his outcome would not change my mind. If he says that, he is aware of these people doing drugs, I would tell him that this is illegal and leaving them as an officer is unethical on my part. If he does not know, I would inform him of some people who are doing drugs within his compound. I would then try to convince him that whether he knows this on not, the fact is that the act is illegal and wrong and that I would go ahead and arrest these people. I would try to convince him the effects and the dangers that these friends who are doing drugs are exposing to all the other people in the party. I would then go ahead and make arrests of these people. Scenario 2 What I do at the community policing office is out of my free will and the passion to serve the community. I therefore do not expect that someone out there should bring me any type of gift as a sign of appreciation. I believe in honest and a world that is free of corruption. In this case, the ethical dilemma presented is the fact that the person who visits me comes after I have done something for him. Even though the timing is good, the intentions of the gift are not good and therefore I would not feel right accepting it. The reason is that I would consider such a gift a bribe as he presents it behind the counter and only after I had served him. (Fuller, 1975) In this case, I would try to explain to him that I do not feel comfortable accepting the gift and much less behind the counter. I would try to explain to him that I served him not as a favor but because it is the right thing to do and I enjoy doing it. There is therefore no need for him to show that gesture as a sign of appreciation. I would try to reject the gift and at the same time not make him to see as if he was bribing me. If he insists, I would advise him to address the gift to the organization through the counter and assure him that I will surely get it. In this case, the gift will be an appreciation to the organization and the entire organization staff members will take the fruits. Scenario 3 There is an ethical dilemma in this case in that, there are some people who still do not appreciate homosexuality and therefore they cannot accept it. This means that such an officer may not give the best to the force as he is working under conditions that he does not appreciate. On the other hand, the law prohibits any form of discrimination and if I agree to Officer Davis wish and assign him to another officer, I would look as if am acting out of discrimination. I believe that we should not discriminate any person on basis of skin color, sexual orientation or any other basis. Just because Officer Davis does not like Officer Jones’ private life does not mean that they cannot work together. (Fuller, 1975) The first thing that I would do is to try to get the reason why Officer Davis wants to another officer assigned to him. I would try to get the real reason whether it is because Officer Jones is makings some unwelcomed sexual advances to office Davis or whether it is just because Officer Jones is a homosexual. If there happen to be no cases of sexual advancement, then I would not assign Officer Davis to another officer. I would explain to him that we should try to be professional in our duties and we should not interfere with other people’s private life. Officer Jones’ sexual orientation is private and it does not interfere with his professional duties. There is no reason to feel inferior or inappropriate working with him not unless he is making some sexual advances to Officer Davis, which Officer Davis does not like.

Alexander Graham Bell biography

Alexander Graham Bell, was the inventor of the telephone. Bell was born in Edinburgh on 3 March 1847. He was the son of Melville, a speech and elocution teacher who developed the first International Phonetic Alphabet and Eliza, who was deaf from the age of five. Bell was the only child to survive into adulthood, with his younger and elder brothers, Ted and Melly, dying of tuberculosis. These biographical facts foretell the strong values, personality and determination of the man destined to radically change the preferred mode of long distance communications to voice, and thus transform virtually all aspects of modern life.Bell developed a passion for communication from a young age. He was to become an extraordinary man with a visionary understanding of its power and potential. Educated at the universities of Edinburgh and London, Bell immigrated to the US in 1870. In his twenties, he set about developing a multiple telegraph that could send several Morse code messages. In 1872, Bell s tarted attending MIT’s public lectures on experimental mechanics, including one in October by Professor Charles R. Cross that began a long, fruitful collaboration.At the talk, Cross demonstrated a device invented by his colleague Edward C. Pickering, who then chaired MIT’s physics department. At the time of Cross’s lecture, MIT (which had been incorporated in 1861 on the Boston side of the Charles River) had recently opened the Rogers Laboratory of Physics in a new building on Boylston Street. The facility was the first of its kind in the United States, a well-outfitted working laboratory that allowed students to conduct experiments illustrating the physical laws they learned about in class.Of particular interest to Bell, the new laboratory had an impressive set of equipment identical to that used in the path breaking work of Hermann von Helmholtz, one of the world’s leading acoustical researchers. In 1873, Bell accepted a position as a professor of vocal physiology and elocution at the fledgling Boston University (which had been chartered in 1869). The post drew him into even closer contact with Boston’s scientific community, affording him the chance to get better acquainted with Professor Cross, who would eventually succeed Pickering as chair of MIT’s physics department.In April 1874, after Bell addressed MIT students and faculty about his acoustical studies and his eff orts to teach the deaf to speak, Cross—apparently impressed—granted him unfettered access to the Institute’s facilities for his further research. Bell seized the opportunity. Of course, Bell won his patent claim as the sole inventor of the telephone, and public knowledge about the contributions of others mostly faded into oblivion.The many surviving primary documents from the period, however, leave little doubt of the important supporting role that Cross and the Rogers Laboratory played in helping Bell gain vital, detailed, and of ten hands-on knowledge about the cutting-edge work of others in the field, including Pickering, Helmholtz, Reis, and Elisha Gray, the inventor whose path breaking design for a liquid transmitter Bell seems to have appropriated to make his world-famous call to Watson. Many years later, with Bell’s legal claim to the telephone long since secured, he publicly acknowledged Cross’s contribution.Bell told the crowd of 1,500 assembled at Symphony Hall for MIT’s 50th-anniversary gala—and more than 5,000 alumni and guests who were listening in by phone at Alumni Association gatherings across the country—that Cross had not only made â€Å"many advances in the telephone itself † but inspired many students to â€Å"go forth from the Institute to perfect the work. † On 7 March 1876, Bell patented the telephone (Patent 174,465) at the tender age of 29. On March 10, 1876, Bell supposedly knocked over the battery acid he and Watson were using as tran smitting liquid for early telephone tests, and shouted, â€Å"Mr.Watson, come here; I want you. † Watson, working in the next room, heard Bell’s voice through the wire. Bell introduced the telephone to the world at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. In 1877, Bell formed the Bell Telephone Company. He later sued Western Union over patent infringement of his telephone copyright, and won. In the 1880s, Bell used his considerable fortune to establish research laboratories to work with deaf people. Helen Keller was among his many students.Bell, though, was able to translate his exceptional values into his private life. He lobbied the cause of deaf people and to establish day schools for them throughout the US. When he set out on this challenge, only 40 per cent of deaf children were taught to speak. At the time of his death in 1922 the figure was 80 per cent — testimony enough in itself to his leadership qualities. Like all exceptional leaders, Bell m ade himself accessible to all. He encouraged one family — the Kellers — to educate their little girl Helen, who was deaf.She later attended the Boston Museum of fine arts and became a highly successful commercial artist. Employers today can learn much from Bell's great achievements — nurture ideas, encourage innovation and pursue developments, however radical they might seem at the time. Likewise, there remains a need today for companies to accept and foster their links and social responsibilities within the communities in which they operate and beyond. Bell proved that leaders and business can create the circumstances to improve our quality of life.In researching this article, I have grown to respect the great depth and leadership qualities of Alexander Graham Bell, a hugely successful entrepreneur and a great humanitarian. While telephones, fax, mobiles, text messaging, and the like may sometimes drive you mad, they have undoubtedly revolutionised the world fo r the better, and it can all be traced back to the leadership and vision of one man. Bell is the greatest creator ever of shareholder value and an inspirational figure for the to the cause of the â€Å"children of a lesser God† — it must earn him the title of Greatest Briton in Management and Leadership.Other Bell inventions include an electric probe, a device used to locate bullets and other metal objects in the human body, and the vacuum jacket, which when placed around the chest, administered artificial respiration. He’s also credited with inventions related to the iron lung and triangular aircraft wings. In 1898, Bell became the president of National Geographic because he believed that geography could be taught through pictures. Bell’s fascination with aeronautics led to his â€Å"hydrodrome† boat, a vessel that traveled above the water at high speeds.The hydrodrome reached speeds in excess of 70 mph, and for many years was the fastest boat in the world. Bell died August 2, 1922, in Nova Scotia, Canada But unlike so many great pioneers and inventors, Bell followed through, visualizing the future and realizing the potential of his remarkable invention. Shortly after the invention of the telephone, Bell had told his father: â€Å"The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses, just like water or gas†¦ and friends will converse with each other without leaving home. How right he was.Remember this prediction was at a time when the telephone was in its infancy and its full potential was far from recognized. Bell's invention changed for good the way people live their lives. Telephones and telephone lines have enabled us to network global companies via computers, make transactions electronically, or simply talk to our loved ones to let them know all is well, wherever in the world we might be at the time. The telephone is not only capable of transmitting voice, but also of transmitting emotion and, therefor e, allows us to communicate not only what we are thinking but how we feel.In a stroke of genius, Bell shrank the world and transformed the lives of the citizens of his country of birth and education, Great Britain, and, indeed, the lives of people around the world. Like many great people, Bell appeared to benefit from luck and skill in equal measure, and it was while he was trying to develop multiple morse code that he stumbled on the concept that speech could be reproduced through sound waves in a continuous undulating current. This truly brilliant discovery is the principle behind the telephone.Steven Paul Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955 to two university students, Joanne Carole Schieble and Syrian-born Abdulfattah â€Å"John† Jandali (Arabic: ), who were both unmarried at the time. [32] Jandali, who was teaching in Wisconsin when Steve was born in 1955, said he had no choice but to put the baby up for adoption because his girlfriend's family objected to their relationship. [33] The baby was adopted at birth by Paul Reinhold Jobs (1922–1993) and Clara Jobs (1924–1986), an Armenian-American[3] whose maiden name was Hagopian. 34] Later, when asked about his â€Å"adoptive parents,† Jobs replied emphatically that Paul and Clara Jobs â€Å"were my parents. â€Å"[35] He stated in his authorized biography that they â€Å"were my parents 1,000%. â€Å"[36] Unknown to him, his biological parents would subsequently marry (December 1955), have a second child Mona Simpson in 1957, and divorce in 1962. [36] The Jobs family moved from San Francisco to Mountain View, California when Steve was five years old. [1][2] The parents later adopted a daughter, Patti.Paul was a machinist for a company that made lasers, and taught his son rudimentary electronics and how to work with his hands. [1] The father showed Steve how to work on electronics in the family garage, demonstrating to his son how to take apart and rebuild elec tronics such as radios and televisions. As a result, Steve became interested in and developed a hobby of technical tinkering. [37] Clara was an accountant[35] who taught him to read before he went to school. [1] Clara Jobs had been a payroll clerk for Varian Associates, one of the first high-tech firms in what became known as Silicon Valley. 38] Jobs was an intelligent and innovative thinker, but his youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling. At Monta Loma Elementary school in Mountain View, he was a prankster whose fourth-grade teacher needed to bribe him to study. Jobs tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high school—a proposal his parents declined. [39] Jobs then attended Cupertino Junior High and Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. [2] At Homestead, Jobs became friends with Bill Fernandez, a neighbor who shared the same interests in electronics.Fernandez introduced Jobs to another, older computer whiz kid, St ephen Wozniak (also known as â€Å"Woz†). In 1969 Woz started building a little computer board with Fernandez that they named â€Å"The Cream Soda Computer†, which they showed to Jobs; he seemed really interested. [40] Jobs frequented after-school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California, and was later hired there, working with Wozniak as a summer employee. [41] Following high school graduation in 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Reed was an expensive college which Paul and Clara could ill afford.They were spending much of their life savings on their son’s higher education. [40] Jobs dropped out of college after six months and spent the next 18 months dropping in on creative classes. [42] He continued auditing classes at Reed while sleeping on the floor in friends' dorm rooms, returning Coke bottles for food money, and getting weekly free meals at the local Hare Krishna temple. [43] Jobs later said, â€Å"If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fontsSteve Jobs introduced in 1988, was an even more expensive marvel of hardware and software design; it at-tracted even fewer customers. Today, Windows running on Intel-compatible chips remains the most common software platform for per-sonal computers (though cellphones far outsell PCs and have become the dominant mode of computing). But Mi-crosoft has introduced only incremen-tal innovations, following the path set by the Macintosh more than 25 years ago. And Android-based smartphones and tablets, which rely on Google s free and open operating system, follow the lead of the iPhone and the iPad.My point is that Microsoft, Intel, and Google have taken the usual route to platform leadership, with inexpen-sive or free products, relatively open viewpoints interfaces, and extensive efforts to cul-tivate a broad ecosystem of partners. But Jobs and Appl e have shown us an-other path to platform leadership, and not just for a niche product segment: Design breakthrough products that set new standards for form, function, and aesthetics; market them creatively and aggressively, with some modest reduc-tions in price over time; open them up gradually as industrywide platforms, and let the chips fall where they may.Jobs wanted Apple to create computers that would be as elegant and simple to use as a type-writer or even a toaster. Now, looking back, we can see that every product Jobs championed, whether or not it succeed-ed commercially, set new standards for aesthetics as well as utility, such as in ease-of-use or handling graphics and multimedia. What stands out most to me are the ultra-simple, intuitive user interfaces of the Macintosh (GUI plus mouse, albeit invented earlier at the Stanford Research Institute and Xerox PARC) and then the iPod s clickwheel and the iPhone and iPad touchscreens.Today s PCs, digital media players, smartpho nes, and tablets based on Windows or even Android are as good as they are only because of how much Steve Jobs and Apple raised the bar for everyone. Charisma and Leadership In the 1996 PBS documentary, Tri-umph of the Nerds, Larry Tesler, who used to work at Apple, discussed how Steve Jobs was able to inspire people to surpass what even they believed they could accomplish. He would never settle for anything less than someone s absolutely best effort, and then some.That is how Jobs raised the bar for the Macintosh project whose competi-tion was the character-based IBM PC and compatibles and many products since then, most recently the iPad. As Steve Jobs moved forward in his career, he also brought related but formerly distinct technologies and businesses together. In fact, he felt compelled to shed the historic Apple Computer name in 2007 in favor of Apple, Inc. to reflect the broader set of aspirations that he and the company had adopted.It is instructive again to compare Jobs and A pple with Gates and Microsoft. Gates main entrepreneurial legacy has been to create a mass-mar-ket software products company that continues to print money and ex-ploit those remarkable gross margins of packaged software , Jobs solved an extremely vexing problem for the industry and for consumers: how to price digital content in the form of music, video clips, movies, and TV pro-grams. This innovation in digital servic-es is no less profound than Steve Jobs innovations in consumer products. he master Strategist Early observers of Jobs and Apple, in-cluding myself, underestimated his ability to master the business side of technology. Clearly, over time, Jobs got better at this much better perhaps as the world caught up to what he was trying to do. Two incidents stand out. First, when he rejoined Apple in 1996, the firm was practically bankrupt, with only a few months of cash left. But Jobs got a $150 million investment from archrival Microsoft as well as a commitment from Bill Gates t hat Microsoft would continue to produce Office for the Mac.This agreement was critical to maintain the Macintosh business, then the only real source of revenue for Apple. Second, in 2005, Jobs abandoned his 20-year commitment to the Motorola micro-processor and adopted archrival Intel s technology. This move helped bridge the growing cost-performance gap with Windows PCs, and enabled the Macin-tosh to continue as a second platform that was also much more interoperable with the Windows world.