How does Aldous Huxleys Brave New World compare to the real essays

How does Aldous Huxleys Brave New World compare to the real essays How does Aldous Huxleys Brave New World compare to the real world? Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931. It is about a futuristic dystopia in which Huxley exposes the corruption and imperfection of the perfect world. It compares to the real world in that it bears similarities to real events in world history. Huxley tries to convey what might happen if the government could have total control over individuals lives. In Brave New World, Huxley deals with two themes: isolation and a decaying moral order. In fact, the novel is an example of a dystopia, a utopia in reverse. Huxley clearly describes a disappointed world that has become dehumanized by scientific advancement. The novel opens in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. The year is a.f. 632, or 632 years "after Ford" (Huxley, A. 2). The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning is giving a group of students a tour of a factory that produces human beings and conditions them for what their roles in the World State will be. He explains to them that human beings no longer produce living offspring. The Hatchery destines each fetus for a particular caste in the World State. The five castes are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. The fetuses undergo different treatments depending on their castes: oxygen deprivation and alcohol treatment guarantee the lower intelligence and smaller size of members of the three lower castes. The process aims to make individuals accept and even like their unavoidable social destiny (Huxley, A. 9). By the time Huxley writes Brave New World, many of the advances described in the book had already been introduced. The cultivation of embryos of small mammals in vitro and the cloning of parasitic insects had already been accomplished in the scientific community by the time Huxley wrote the novel. Decanting is the name given to the completion of the artificial and mechanical stimulation of the em...

Profile of Enheduanna, Priestess of Inanna

Profile of Enheduanna, Priestess of Inanna Enheduanna is the earliest author and poet in the world that history knows by name. Enheduanna (Enheduana) was the daughter of the great Mesopotamian king, Sargon of Akkad. Her father was Akkadian, a Semitic people. Her mother may have been Sumerian. Enheduanna was the appointed by her father to be priestess of the temple of Nanna, the Akkadian moon god, in the largest city and center of her fathers empire, the city of Ur. In this position, she would also have traveled to other cities in the empire.  She also apparently held some civil authority, signaled by the En in her name. Enheduanna helped her father solidify his political power and unite the Sumerian city-states by merging the worship of many local city goddesses into the worship of the Sumerian goddess, Inanna, raising Inanna to a superior position over other deities. Enheduanna wrote  three hymns to Inanna which survive and which illustrate three quite different themes of ancient religious faith. In one, Inanna is a ferocious warrior goddess who defeats a mountain even though other gods refuse to help her. A second, thirty stanzas in length, celebrates Inannas role in governing civilization and overseeing the home and children. In a third, Enheduanna calls on her personal relationship with the goddess for help in regaining her position as priestess of the temple against a male usurper. The long text that tells the story of Inanna is believed by a few scholars to be mistakenly attributed to Enheduanna but the consensus is that it is hers. At least 42, perhaps as many as 53, other hymns survive that are attributed to Enheduanna, including three hymns to the moon god, Nanna, and other temples, gods, and goddesses. Surviving cuneiform tablets with the hymns are copies from about 500 years after Enheduanna lived, attesting to the survival of the study of her poems in Sumer.  No contemporary tablets survive. Because we dont know how the language was pronounced, we cannot study some of the format and style of her poems. The poems seem to have eight to twelve syllables per line, and many lines end with vowel sounds. She also uses repetition of sounds, words, and phrases. Her father ruled for 55 years and appointed her to the high priestess position late in his reign.  When he died and was succeeded by his son, she continued in that position. When that brother died and another succeeded him, she remained in her powerful position.  When her second ruling brother died, and Enheduannas nephew Naram-Sin took over, she again continued in her position.  She may have written her long poems during his reign, as answers to parties that rebelled against him. (The name Enheduanna is also written as Enheduana. The name Inanna is also written as Inana.) Dates:  about 2300 BCE - estimated at 2350 or 2250 BCEOccupation:  priestess of Nanna, poet, hymn writerAlso Known as:  Enheduana, En-hedu-AnaPlaces:  Sumer (Sumeria), City of Ur Family Father: King Sargon the Great (Sargon of Agade or Akkad, ~2334-2279 BCE) Enheduanna: Bibliography Betty De Shong Meador. Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna. 2001.Samuel N. Kramer, Diane Wolkstein. Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. 1983.

Charles Messier's Butterfly Cluster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Charles Messier's Butterfly Cluster - Essay Example He actually searched for comets and to avoid confusion between comets and Messier objects, he and his colleagues compiled them in a list in 1771. It was a remarkable achievement. The list is known as the Messier Catalog or Messier Object List. The list contains a total of 110 objects. The list contains nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. Body During the process of these observations, the first object they observed was the Crab Nebula (M1). A total of 103 objects were listed by Messier and his colleagues (Burnham 73). The Crab Nebula is a ball of gas left over from a supernova explosion. M2 is a globular cluster of stars in Aquarius, M3 is located in Canes Venatici, and Messier 4 to Messier 7 are located in the constellation of Scorpius. The Butterfly Cluster is Messier 6. This object can be seen by telescope clearly, and in the grayish color by naked eye. The Butterfly Cluster existence was first noticed by Giovanni Battista Hoderna in 1654. Ptolemy discovered it while he was observ ing M7, and declared it as a part of M7. After that, Phillips Loys de Cheseaux (1945-1946) observed it and recognized it as â€Å"a very fine star cluster.† And finally it was catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764 in the list of Messier objects (The Griffith Observer 259). The Butterfly Cluster is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Scorpius known as Messier 6 or the Butterfly Cluster as it resembles a flying butterfly with open wings and antennae. The stars of the cluster twinkle, and it looks very beautiful in the sky. It is visually a very rewarding object; the butterfly pattern is very visible and obvious. It has been placed in the 6th position in the list of Messier objects. Scorpio is located in the Milky Way and contains many massive objects other than M6 and Messier 7. The Butterfly Cluster has a magnitude of 4.2, an angular diameter of 25 arc minutes, and lies at a distance of 1,600 light years with a luminosity of 8,300 suns. The Butterfly Cluster is ab out 50 million years old and can be seen in summer nights clearly with binoculars. The objects (M6 and M7) are the summer’s finest and brightest clusters. Different astronomers have different opinions about M6’s age. According to Burnham, it is 100 million years old; WEBDA estimates its age to be around 95 million years, and 51 million years according to the Sky Catalogue 2000.0. Messier objects of the â€Å"Messier Summer Chart† are clearly visible on summer nights. Messier objects help astronomers to adjust the distance scale of the universe. The above image shows the view of M6 (outcropped). The image was taken through the Astrograph, Takahashi E-180. How Can It Be Seen? It can be seen about 3/ 1-2 degrees northwest of M7 which is located near the tail of Scorpius. It appears as a hazy patch in the dark sky but it should not be confused with Messier 7. Messier 7 is brighter than Messier 6. M7 is seen in between and the Butterfly Cluster is on its lower side. Messier 6 contains many other Messier objects such as M21, M23, NGC 6167, and NGC 6193. Its magnitude is fainter than M7, and fills the field of 25 angular diameter. One of the ways to find the Butterfly Cluster is to identify the two well-known asterisms of Scorpios and Sagittarius. It has two irregular loops of blue and white stars on both wings and at 40-50x, it has three bright stars in the butterfly’s body. The Butterfly Cluster contains almost 80 stars (Plotner 400) with B type blue (hottest) and K type orange stars (BM Scorpii, HD 160371). The brightest K type orange star is a semi-regular

Their eyes were watching God has been called an awakening Essay

Their eyes were watching God has been called an awakening novel.Discuss the meaning of this term and relate it to janie - Essay Example Janie returns her hometown draggled and tired out. Everyone is astonished to see her in this condition. She becomes the subject of criticism for porch sitters who gossip outside her friend Pheoby and her husband Sam Watson’s home. However, Pheoby defends her and tries to comfort her by asking her what has happened during the last few months. She takes Janie to her house and offers her food and comfort and empathically listens to her story. A theme of judgment thus develops in the story. Porch sitters judged Janie in a wrong way by using harsh words and criticizing her past actions and current looks, whereas Pheoby, being a nice human and a good friend, chose to comfort her. Obviously Pheoby’s choice and actions were a lot better than those of the porch sitters. Janie begins telling her story from her early childhood when she used to live with her grandmother Nanny. One day she was in the backyard of her home when a boy named Johnny Taylor meets her and kisses her. After watching this grandma decides that Janie should get married to a capable man who can look after her and protect her. So she decides to marry her to Logan Killicks who is a much older man and can offer Janie protection and a potato farm. The author Hurston compares Janie’s life with a tree stating, "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done, and undone." (Chapter 2, Paragraph 1, Page 8) thus emphasizing the fact that Janie experienced sexual awakening in her grandma’s backyard as she is amazed at the blooming pear tree. Hurston uses metaphors for Janie to express her beauty by stating, "She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her." (Chapter 2, Paragraph 15, Page 11). In The Awakening, Edna is already married but she falls in love with another man, Robert. â€Å"There was Robert’s reproach making itself felt by a quicker, fiercer, more overpowerin g love, which had awakened within her toward him† (Chopin, 1899, pg219). After her marriage with Logan, Janie didn’t find the true love she was looking for. She visits her home seeking grandma’s advice saying, "Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think" (Chapter 3, Paragraph 26, Page 23). But grandma just gives her a wait-and-see advice. This first marriage has only brought unhappiness and loneliness for Janie. At this point her dream of love and felicity dies and she begins to understand that "marriage did not make love." (Chapter 3, Paragraph 31, Page 25) Logan disregarded all of Janie’s feelings and desire for love and wanted her just to work on his farm like his first wife. Their relationship soon starts to get worse. Janie once told Logan, "If you can stand not to chop wood and tote wood Ah reckon you can stand not to git no dinner." (Page 45). Janie then meets Joe, a stylish and sophisticated man. After havin g been talking for many days they finally decide to run away and get married to each other. They arrive in town and get married. Soon Joe is elected as the mayor of the town and he gets himself busy in building and developing his new town, paying little or no attention to his wife’

Strategic Management of Emirates Airline

Strategic Management of Emirates Airline Abstract This Assignment includes three parts. The first part is strategic planning of Emirates airline. The second part discusses the type of decisions which are made in different levels of Emirates and explain the information systems used in these levels. The last part highlights the ethical issues involved in the organizations processes. Part 1: Strategic Planning The purpose of this part is to consider the overall strategic management process and consider what is happening in the environment in order to judge how those happening may affect the organization. In addition there is a consideration of organizations strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and treats that has significant impact on the organization process. Company overview Emirates is a national airline of Dubai in the Middle East. Emirates flees to over 100 destinations in 60 countries around the world from Dubai International Airport with a fleet of 137 aircraft. Emirates Air line has been existed for 25 years. Although Emirates is a young airline, over one decade it has become one of the most respected brands in the world. The key of their success is using new technology and information systems in their business processes. (Emirates group, 2010) Companys mission: Generally, Emirates growth has never been lower than 20 per cent annually, and the airline has recorded an annual profit in every year since its third in operation. Their effort is to continue their explosive growth and increase the percentage of this growth. Mission statement analysis This analysis will help organization to reveal objectives, goals and plans for achieving them which are important for the long term survival in the industry. In any organizations, managers need to focus their efforts and resources on long-term, general objectives, and provides a foundation for short-term, specific objectives in order to achieve their mission statement. (Robson 1997) General objectives: As mentioned in mission statement, Emirates is trying to increase the percentages of their annual benefits. Emirates carried 21.2 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of cargo during the previous years (Annual report, 2010), and they need to carry millions more across a growing network of international destinations if they want to increase their profit. Therefore their aim is to provide the best service in the industry in order to have more passengers and cargo. Specific Objectives: Currently, Emirates flights account for nearly 40 per cent of all flight movements in and out of Dubai International Airport, and their main aim is to increase this market-share to 70 per cent by end of 2010 without compromising the reputation for quality. Moreover, they are trying to add 18 new passenger aircraft to their fleet, increase seating capacity by 14 per cent. They also plan to increase frequencies on many existing routes as well as expanding cargo capacity by 17 per cent. These specific objectives are all to support the general objective which mentioned above. Environmental analysis The organizations environment is an important point to be considered by managers because environmental factors can significantly influence organizational operations. Good managers must be aware of their organizations environment and know how any changes may affect the organization and their organizations available resources. (Robson 1997) Remote environment Remote environment analysis lists all those events, issues and facts which will influence the company performance, but over which they have little influence and those facts are usually out of control. Nature of the environment The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the seventh largest proven oil, according to the Oil and Gas Journal in January 2009. Because of this geography, United Arab Emirates has rich natural resources and high amount of natural resources of fuel. The availability of large amount of fuel in UAE helps Emirates to provide fuel for its aircrafts much easier than its airline companies. (Business news, 2007) Political challenges One of the reasons that had significant impact on Emirates was experiencing a downturn of their competitors because of the Gulf War. Gulf War was a war which took place in the Persian Gulf between 2 August 1990 and 28 February 1991. Because of this political war, Emirates was the only airline to fly in the last ten days of the war. (Press, 2001) Economies Dubai International Airports Terminal 3 was built exclusively for the use of Emirates at a cost of $4.5 billion. Terminal 3 is the largest building in the world by floor space. The influence of this environment is that many people may want to use this flight in order to visit the largest building in the world even though they have other choice of airlines.(Caswell, 2008) Industrial environment United Arab Emirates (Dubai), which was a fishing village at the southern end of the Arabian Gulf, has grown to become one of the leading trade center of the Middle East. Large number of businesses and trades are running in there. This influences Emirates Airline deeply because many people start coming to Dubai from oversee and also many people need to flight to other countries. Emirates, by providing good airline services, is one of the high demanded airline in this country. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a basic tool for analyzing the organizations status. SWOT analysis addresses organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis defines the relationship between the internal and external appraisals in strategic analysis. It is an exercise in identification and analysis. Analysing the key factors of the environment and the fundamental internal strengths and weakness of the organization will help dictate the strategies appropriate to the firms. (Robson, 1997) Strength: Strengths are the positive internal factors that add value to the company. New business idea: One of the facts that makes organizations stronger is when they create a new business idea. In 2005, Emirates began flying non-stop to New York. This happened when only Delta Air Lines had the same service. Therefore Emirates started to give a service which was not provided by so many airlines, and that helps them in increasing the number of their customers Reputation: Another internal factor that makes the business strong is having good reputation among customers. For example: In 2009, Emirates was voted the fifth best airline in the world by research consultancy firm Skytrax. *Skytrax is a United Kingdom-based consultancy, the public face of Inflight Research Services Competitive advantage: Emirates has won some competitive advantages which made this company as one of the good airlines. To answer this question that how Emirates is able to retain its competitive position in the industry, looking at how good Emirates is serving its products could be the answer. Product in Emirates is the services that airline is providing for its customers such as flight, food. Flight Emiratess offering is divided into three main lines; The First Class seat, the Business class seat and the Economy class. In all three classes passenger are provided by high quality and comfortable seats, in-seat laptop power-outlets, and an ICE system on a LCD screen. Business and firs class have more facilities include massage function, privacy partition, winged headrest with six-way movement, two individual reading lights and an overhead light per seat, in-seat power supply, over 600 channels of entertainment on ICE. Emirates was the first airline in the world to introduce a personal entertainment system on a commercial aircraft and that was a good reason for them to gain completive advantages. Weaknesses: These are the negative internal factor that destroys values of company or put the company in risk. Actually it is difficult to say what are the weaknesses Emirates, because Emirates is considered as one of the most respected travel brands around the world. However there are still some weaknesses that Emirates need to improve. I can say that one of the Emirates weaknesses is having expensive ticket price especially for the business and first class. Emirates started to lose some of its customer when Qatar Airline offered the same flight with cheaper tickets. Opportunities: Opportunities are external positive factors that represent the reason for an organization to exist and develop. One of the opportunities that can add value to the company is having partners, agencies or distribution. Emirates has 6 subsidiaries and its parent company(Emirates Group). These subsidiaries which are operating separately can give Emirates benefits. Emirates SkyCargo Skywards Emirates Official Store EmQuest Emirates Aviation College Emirates Engineering Threats: Threats are external negative factors which could place the organization mission or operation at risk. Market demand In the commercial airline industry, unfilled seat on a regularly scheduled flight represents a threat cost to the operator. Although Emirates attempt to offer the best services for the travellers, it is not possible all the seats get fill during all the flights. Competitor intentions Another threat that might be danger for Emirates is its competitive in the market. While Emirates has one of the most modern fleets in the industry, and has service levels make other airlines to emulate, and start using the same strategy that Emirates is using. (Williamson et al. 2004) Part 2: Information system Analysis There are four managerial levels in any organization that are responsible for organizations plans and decisions; strategic, tactical, knowledge and operation levels. In this section, first the type of decisions that made in each level is discussed. Later, the information systems which are used to help the managers to make the right decision in that level of organization are listed. (Laudon, 2001) Strategic Level Decisions in strategic level: In strategic level senior managers need to develop their skill of making the best decision possible. This type of decision usually concerns about general direction, long term goals. These decisions are the least structured but they could have significant impact on the future of the organization. One type of decisions that is made in the strategic level is planning for gaining long term benefit, which is the Emirates objective. This type of decision could require managers to add new destination in their flight schedules. Another long term decision in Emirates is buying new air plane (Airbus 380). Buying a new aircraft is a strategic decision because manager should consider this decision is it going to benefit them in future or not. Information systems in strategic level: Executive Support System (ESS) is the type of information system which is used in strategic level in order to help senior managers make strategic decisions. A mentioned, making profit is one of the Emirates goals. Profit Planning System could help the organization to catch this aim. Profit planning system sets a profit target for the coming period. It is like a summarized version of estimated income statement. It starts with a forecast of expected sales and desired percentage for gross profit keeping in view the market conditions. Another information system used in Emirates is Facilities Location system which helps manager access to external information decide where to locate new facilities. This type of system will help in gathering, analyzing and summering the key internal and external information used in the business. Tactical Level Decisions in tactical level: Decisions in tactical level support the strategic decisions. They tend to be medium range, medium significance, with moderate consequences. The data used to drive this type of decision is usually found in summaries of routine transactions e.g. sales orders from the next level or classification. (Laudon, 2001) For example in Emirates one of the main strategic decisions is to increase the profit of the year. Therefore the tactical decisions which are made by middle level managers would be how middle process could help this decision to be successful. The data used to drive this type of decision is usually found in summaries of routine transactions e.g. sales orders from the next level or classification. Decision about determining ticket prices or producing a low priced ticket, or offering some seasonal promotion in order to attract more customers are those kind of decisions which are made in tactical level. Another tactical decision in Emirates could be determining optimal booking policy for multiple fare classes. Information systems in tactical level: Management information system (MIS) and Decision-support system (DSS) are two important information systems which support movement level. Management Information System mainly concerns with internal sources of information and usually takes data from the Transaction Processing Systems and summaries it into a series of management reports. (Laudon, 2001) Budgeting System which used to prepare short term budgets is an example of this type of system. All the Emirates annual reports are provided by such system and they will be used by the middle managers. Another system which is used in Emirates is Pricing Analysis System which is for determining ticket prices and promotions. Decision-support system (DSS) is also one of the important systems specifically to help management make decisions in situations where there is uncertainty about the possible outcomes of those decisions. This system helps in gathering relevant information and analyzes the options and alternatives. Then the system provides spreadsheet and databases to create what-if models, and provide managers with the best decision to choose. (Robson 1997) A example of DSS in Emirate is Compensation Analysis System. This system provides a comprehensive overview of the organization expenditure, monitor wages, salaries and benefits for the manager and they are able to plan. Knowledge Level: Decisions in knowledge level: The decisions in this level are made by engineering and designer. This type of decisions involve creating new investment, designing new career paths and identifying new markets. The information which is needed for this level is structured internal knowledge such as research reports, product-oriented marketing metrical and techniques and methods. (Robson 1997) Information systems in knowledge level: Knowledge Management systems are used in knowledge level. The aim of theses system is to take documents with knowledge embedded in them, such as memos, reports, presentations, articles and store them in a repository where they can be retrieved easily. Examples of such system are: Competitive Intelligent System which works based on a detailed business model that identifies what information it should collect. Market Analysis System which provides tools for analysis of financial markets using technical analysis. Operational Level Decisions in operational level Operational decisions are every day decisions and used to support tactical decisions. In the operational level the daily requirement are reviewed in order to make the decision. Thus, the operational decision is highly structured and their impact is immediate, short term, short range. The data used to drive this decision type is usually prescribed or defined in the procedures and rules of the organization. (Laudon, 2001) Information systems in operational level: An Operational Information System is a class of information system which provide information base for the day to day operation of the airline. In this system the information about lights, passengers, crew, situational, and environment gather. Some of these flows are carried by additional information such as passenger booking via the internet and form the travel agencies. Transaction Processing System is one of the current systems in airlines companies to support of transaction and analytical processing on newly received operational information. This system includes source concentration, event derivation, and the ability to provide initial view or states of operational data to applications, where subsequently received events update these view. Order Processing System is another system which is used in operational level and keeps track of daily orders and transaction. Part3: Ethical issues There is no doubt that with help of Information Technology and Information Systems human activities will be done more efficient and effective. However some concerns have been risen in usage of IS/IT that may make them to be unethical. Ethical issues in usage of IT One of the main concerns about the information technology is Internet. Internet has been changed the way people used to live. Nowadays people shop through internet, buy ticket online, communicate with friends, family, college in the other side of the word, and that means traditional business such as travel agents have lost their customers to the new competitor which called internet. The other viewpoint of using internet is internet crimes (hacking into data, falsification of data). Internet has broken all the boundaries of personal securities. That could be a huge harm for a organization if their private data be stolen. Ethical issue in usage of IS Developments of information systems also involve ethical considerations in how information is used. As mentioned information systems provides information to managers in organization to make plan and decision. The question is that Do managers make legal decisions? On the other hand information systems are all about gathering information, analysing data. The ethical issue of this fact is that, are the information collected in ethical way. Geographic Information System is a good example for show the unethical aspect of usage Information Systems. American satellites orbit the earth, scanning for various kinds of data, which can then be used in a GIS. Analysis of resulting data tells researchers a great deal about, for instance, natural resources located in other countries. The problem is that poorer countries, without the financial resources to send up their own satellites, claim that the U.S. is taking information from them without any kind of payment. Conclusion What is most concern in decision making not only is Is this a right decision but also is Is this decision the best decision. Managers will always need to access to the useful information in order to make the best decision. An organization should have several types of information systems operating at the same time. The success of an organization which has information system in all the departments such as Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing and Human resources department is guaranteed. Here are two more information systems that I think will help Emirates to have better services: In a company like Emirates which has 6 subsidiaries, Partner Relationship Management (PRM) is a system for improving communication between Emirates and their channel partners. Another recommended system for Emirates is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to help them stay close to existing customers. Skyward is the famous Customer relationship Management system for Emirates. Considering the strong competition in todays market, they need to improve their CRM performance in order to increase the number of loyal customers. Resources: Business news, March 08, 2007, Robust growth poses threat of inflation to high-flying Dubai [Accessed on Feb. 2010]. Emirates group, 2010 < Available at http://www.emirates.com/english/about/the_emirates_story.aspx> [Accessed on Feb. 2010]. Press J, 2001, International Directory of Company Histories,< Available at http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-Emirates-Group-Company-History.html> [Accessed on Feb. 2010]. Laudon J, Laudon K.C, 2007, Management Information Systems Managing the digital firm, 9th Edition, PEARSON Prentice Hall. Oleason V. Schwan K, Eisenhauer G, Plale B et al. Information System-An example form Airline Industry- Article-,college of computing Georgia Institute of Technology. Report by Mark Caswell, 13/10/2008, Dubais Terminal 3 opens, [Accessed on Feb. 2010]. Robson W. 1997, Strategic Management and Information Systems An integrated approach- 2th Edition, Pearson Education Limited, Great Britain. Williamson D. Jenkins W. Coole P. Moreton M, 2004, Strategic Management and Business Analysis, 1th Edition, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Ikea Brand

IKEA has created a global brand focused on low prices and contemporary designs. In 2009, Interbrand ranked IKEA 28th on its list of the top 100 global brands (# 35 in 2008 indicating 10% increase in brand value over just year). IKEA's success is attributed to its vast experience in the furniture retail market, its product differentiation and cost leadership. The brand Ikea has become iconic in consumers’ minds. CEO, Anders Dahlvig, states â€Å"the awareness of our brand is much bigger than the size of our company† (Kling, K & Goteman, I. 2003). IKEA is growing aggressively around the world and at each of the store openings there are wacky promotions. For example, at an Atlanta store opening (2005), the company offered a $4,000 gift certificate for the first person in line. (The man who won the contest camped outside the store in the boiling heat of summer for seven days. ) The recent â€Å"IKEA facebook campaign† shows how they are leveraging the power of social media networks to attract target customers. To promote the opening of its new store in Malmo, Sweden, they created a facebook profile for their store manager and the team then uploaded IKEA showroom images into the store album. People were encouraged to tag items in the photos with their name to win it for free! As the word about the campaign spread (through participant's profiles, news feed links and other forms of word of mouth), the photos were tagged in seconds and brand awareness grew rapidly. Not only did the Malmo IKEA store became popular in just few weeks, the story was picked up throughout the world by various news channels and online blogs. IKEA’s competitors include: Kmart and Target Corp. in the US, Fly in France, Japan Nitori Co. in Japan. They differentiate themselves from their competitors on the basis of: Price: IKEA is perceived as a value brand following their â€Å"affordable solutions for everyday living† tagline. Ikea focuses on lowest price segmentation. The company can do this because they have one of the lowest operating margins in the industry, 10%. As compared to its competitors, IKEA stands out as a cost leader providing affordable products with good quality and design. â€Å"To achieve that goal, the company's 12 full-time designers at Almhult, Sweden, along with 80 freelancers, work hand in hand with in-house production teams to identify the appropriate materials and least costly suppliers. With a network of 1,300 suppliers in 53 countries, Ikea works overtime to find the right manufacturer for the right product. Simplicity, a tenet of Swedish design, helps keep costs down. For e. g. the 50 cents Trofe mug comes only in blue and white, the least expensive pigments! ). †(Carpel, K. , 2005) The company focuses on cost control, similar to Wal- Mart's practice of squeezing suppliers and Toyota's elimination of waste and errors in manufacturing. IKEA is highly Competitive at this front while constantly dropping the price (2-3% annually) to provide the best values for customers. The suppliers and designers have to customize some Ikea products to make them sell better in local markets. For e. g. Julie Desrosiers, the bedroom-line manager at Ikea of Sweden, visited people's houses in the U. S. and Europe to peek into their closets, learning that â€Å"Americans prefer to store most of their clothes folded, and Italians like to hang. † The result was a wardrobe that features deeper drawers for U. S. customers. (Carpell, K. 2005) Majority of products at IKEA are designed for flat-pack distribution so that they can be easily stored and then transported in the average car. They are easy to self-assemble by the customer. IKEA’s brand positioning and how it impacts their brand image and branding strategies. As IKEA is expanding rapidly around the globe, it faces a number of challenges in terms of varied cultural, demographic and market specific needs. The ‘one-design-suits-all' global expansion strategy might not be suited for the culturally diverse markets, yet the brand is perceived in a similar way by the customers around the globe exhibiting low price as the core brand value. As IKEA expands globally, the branding strategies revolve around providing value (quality and design) to the customers at affordable prices. References Capell, K. ( November 14, 2005). Ikea, How the Swedish Retailer Became a Global Cult Brand,† Business Week, pp. 96-101. Retrieved from http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/05_46/b3959001. htm Lee, S. (2007). IKEA: A Branded Experience Is More Important Than Customer-Centricity. Retrieved from http://www. customerthink. com/article/ikea_branded_experience_important

Inequalities, Both Domestic and Global, Illuminate the...

2. Inequalities, both domestic and global, illuminate the inevitability and functionality of stratification. Discuss. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology defines inequality as ‘the unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards, and power among and between individuals, households and groups’(1). It goes on to say that ‘the subfield of social stratification has as its main task the description and analysis of inequalities, or the makeup of the stratification system of any given society’.(1) From this one definition, we can already begin to see the strong links that lie between inequalities and social stratification. As we delve deeper into the topics, we can begin to see both the inevitability and the functionality of stratification†¦show more content†¦In the Central African Republic, the infant mortality rate is 107 per 1,000(6). That means that an infant born in Norway has a 10 per cent higher chance of survival than an infant born in the Central African Republic. Even in the first few days after birth, inequalities exist between the lives of infants born in d eveloped countries and the lives of infants born in underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, the life expectancy at birth of a child born in Norway is 81.1 (5) years, whereas in the Central African Republic, the life expectancy at birth is 48.4 years (5). Again, inequalities exist between the infants born in developed countries and the infants born in developed countries. Although the Central African Republic has a high rate of infant mortality as well as a high death rate - 17.6 per 1,000 in the years 2005-2010(7), it also has a very high birth rate - 35.6 per 1,000 in the years 2005-2010 (8). This has lead to a very high population, which puts a huge strain on the resources of the country. Norway on the other hand, has a much steadier population, with a low birth rate - 12.6 per 1,000 in the years 2005-2010 (8) - but also a low death rate - 8.8 per 1,000 in the years 2005-2010 (7). The population is controlled and their are enough resources to serve the entire population. It is for this reason that Norwegians generally receive an average of 12.6 years of schooling (5). Contrast this with the Central African Republic, where citizens there