College essay about myself
Imaginative Essay Topics For Grade 10
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Demonstrating Achievement of Learning Outcomes in Nursing
Exhibiting Achievement of Learning Outcomes in Nursing Scientific synopsis of portfolio to exhibit accomplishment of the learning results This exposition is basically focused on systematically assessing the portfolio that I have absorbed in the ongoing past. It successfully is a record of various key scenes in my understudy profession. The portfolio itself archives various parts of occasions in my training while this exposition embarks to take a review of the points, objectives and accomplishments that have been set and how much they have been accomplished. (Green J et al. 1998) The portfolio opens with an announcement of purpose undoubtedly. In spite of the fact that I have tended to the issues of expert necessity I have additionally moved toward the task structure the perspective of my very own advantage. I welcome that this instrument gives me the capacity (in addition to other things) to audit my expert turn of events and to report my advancement through my time as an understudy nurture. During its planning I have subsequently consistently kept in the bleeding edge of my brain the eight learning objectives specified in this announcement. Reflections on scholastic and clinical encounters Proceeding with proficient turn of events and deep rooted learning Choices about the nature of my work Viable basic reasoning Reflection on proficient development Strengthening to assume liability for my own learning Advancement towards being a basic, intelligent expert Record accomplishments (Pearce, R 2003). As far as a logical evaluation of this portfolio, one ought to consider crafted by Knowles and others in the field of grown-up instruction (Knowles, M. 1984 a ). Knowlesââ¬â¢ hypothesis of andragogy features the need for the grown-up understudy to value the need to know something and the way that grown-up understudies learn most successfully through experience and adjustment (Knowles, M. 1984 b ). In spite of the fact that not unequivocally clarified by Knowles, the versatile procedure is served to an extensive degree by the procedure of reflection. As such my encounters have been recorded in a progression of contextual analyses and different examinations, and the procedure of adjustment has been shown through the system of intelligent practice. (Palmer in Bulpitt Martin 2005) The move towards proof based practice has been one of the most recognizable parts of the different changes in accentuation practically speaking in many territories of restoratively related work as of late. (Berwick D 2005). I have been making careful effort to consider the proof base which underpins the different zones that I have either worked in or analyzed. To delineate this point, let us consider the segment introduced regarding the matter of good thinking and human services law. This section analyzed a wide range of moral issues and related good quandaries. Morals is a region which in certain regards is widespread yet in others is dictated by nearby issues which incorporate condition, culture and conviction frameworks. (Kuhse Singer 2001) The proof base for the different perspectives communicated is introduced and recorded. An explanatory appraisal of this piece would need to incorporate the way that it just covers a little zone of the entire possible issue. There is no statement of regret for this, as the entire zone of morals is tremendous and the writing regarding the matter is broad. It was not viewed as proper to accomplish more than present a review of one territory. In any case, the components of this region are secured and given the significant core values that structure the proof base being set out, for example, Bolam and the expert rules along with explicit models, for example, the point of reference of the Charlotte Wyatt case. The proof base component is additionally exhibited in the clinical range and I can refer to the contextual analysis on Mrs Y (a MRSA disease case), for instance which not just permitted me to inspect the issues of proof (refering to Pennington) yet in addition to reflect and gain fro m the experience. (Taylor, E. 2000). It is consistently conceivable to condemn composing as not being absolutely comprehensive of the entirety of the accessible proof and unmistakably such an analysis could be leveled at my work. In protection, I would recommend that a great part of the private perusing and exploration that I have done that has assisted with illuminating me in my expert life doesn't show up in the portfolio on grounds of practicality. Moreover one knows that the proof base is continually changing as new work is distributed and absorbed into the pool of acknowledged clinical information. (Sackett, 1996). For the situation study that I introduced identifying with Angela, the proof base had an enormous influence in both the examination, the taking in experience got from it and furthermore the real introduction of the proof. I propose that clearly I unmistakably invested a lot of energy investigating the different components of the case and introducing them in a definitive and proof based design. I accept that this gives the work a more noteworthy believability and furthermore a more prominent learning potential for myself. (Holland K et al. 2003) Reflection is a huge component in this portfolio. I make no expression of remorse for this as I have seen intelligent practice as an important learning device and as can be found in the substance of the portfolio I have utilized it broadly. It ought to be noticed that in spite of the fact that I have recorded various cases of intelligent work on utilizing the Gibbs model, (Gibbs, G 1988) it is a strategy that I every now and again use in my day by day practice. Stockhausen, (L. 1994) makes a separation between reflection on training and appearance practically speaking. I believe that his examination is both substantial and pertinent. Reflection on training is a review procedure that incorporates those procedures that permit reflection at a phase after the occasion, and consider adjustment in preparing and reaction components to be utilized when a comparable circumstance is experienced for a subsequent time. Appearance by and by alludes to a powerful procedure that happens at the hour of an activity or intercession and is a shorter and more shortened procedure than the recently refered to model. It is acknowledged in any case, that such a shorter procedure might not have the scholarly legitimacy of an increasingly extended procedure. I have utilized the two systems both in the portfolio and furthermore in my every day practice the contextual analysis of Angela exhibits my capacity to think about training and the contextual investigation (yea r 1 section 3) shows that I am additionally very ready to utilize appearance by and by. As such I feel that the portfolio is illustrative of my capacities in a clinical circumstance. I note that I as often as possible come back to the idea of self emphaticness in my examination of a circumstance. This is a territory which is hard to advance as an understudy nurture as one is hampered by both inability and absence of rank. As I have advanced through my preparation, I feel that the procedure of reflection has helped me to recognize circumstances where I can helpfully be increasingly self emphatic, either to advance my own perspective dependent on my own insight and convictions, or to go about as the patientââ¬â¢s advocate in circumstances where I accept that the patientââ¬â¢s eventual benefits might not have been completely thought of. (Koole S. L. et al. 19990 This component of self decisiveness has another and increasingly significant ramifications. There is a suggested obligation occupant on all medicinal services experts to disperse and information or experience that they may have to their expert associates. The component of learning and showing goes in close vicinity to this dispatch. (Yura H et al. 1998). I completely perceive that, as an understudy, I have not been in a situation to think about instructing, as my own insight base has been reliant, at any rate to some degree, on the altruism and information on others. I am mindful nonetheless, that as my own insight base has expanded, I have been exceptional put to offer assessments and to include expert information into circumstances that are suitable. I accept that this part of my preparation and improvement has additionally honey bee unmistakably showed in the portfolio. For instance, I can refer to the segment on essential life bolster that is introduced in the portfolio. Having finished this component of the course, I presently feel enabled to pass this particular information on in regions where I experience individuals (the two patients, carers or different experts) who might not have this sort of explicit information readily available. (Fawcett J 2005) I have little uncertainty that, as my expert information builds, I will have the option to accept this job in a more prominent assortment of regions and help to have my influence later on instruction of the two patients and yearning experts. An enormous extent of the portfolio reports my evaluation of the effect of strategy on the current instruments of human services conveyance. The section identifying with uniformity in the wellbeing the board of minority gatherings could be viewed as run of the mill in such manner with a survey of the issues of the Care Standards Act (CSA 2000) and the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995). This specific contextual investigation was a significant learning experience for me as it was by doing this examination that I turned out to be all the more expertly mindful of the opportunities for obvious and undercover separation both as far as sexuality and inability and the should be completely mindful of these conceivable outcomes and to find a way to guarantee that they don't shading my expert exercises. There is a lot of writing regarding the matter of separation in its most stretched out applications and a basic examination of my work could sensibly reason that such a huge territory is underrepresented in the general portfolio. This specific analysis could unmistakably be leveled at for all intents and purposes any work around there and I am mindful that I have needed to make a judgment in this (and numerous different territories) where the line of harmony between introducing the entirety of the contentions both in favor and against a specific theme, can be attracted the interests of both convenience and common sense. It would need to be yielded tha
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Rates of Reaction Essay Example for Free
Paces of Reaction Essay A compound is a protein particle that enables other natural atoms to begin substance responses with each other; notwithstanding, the catalyst itself isn't influenced by the response. A substrate is the substance followed up on by the protein. In this lab, catalase is the chemical and hydrogen peroxide is the substrate. Catalase is found in both plant and creature tissues, and is inexhaustible in plant stockpiling organs. In this analysis, catalase is utilized from potatoes. Catalase is essential to living things since it forestalls the amassing of hydrogen peroxide in the cell. Hydrogen peroxide is created normally as a result of digestion. It will in general disturb the cellsââ¬â¢ science, an excess of can slaughter a cell. In this way, the nearness of catalase is expected to endure. Catalase separates the poisonous hydrogen peroxide into innocuous water and oxygen. On the off chance that the convergence of the substrate hydrogen peroxide is identified with the response pace of the chemical catalase, at that point an expansion in the centralization of hydrogen peroxide will build the response pace of catalase. Catalase: Methods and Materials In request to try and decide the influences focus has on response rate, you will require a few materials. For example, potato extricate, squashed ice and water in an enormous measuring utencil to keep the catalase cool, since catalase is touchy to temperature. Hydrogen peroxide arrangement is required at six distinct fixations (10%, 25%, 40%, 60%, 75%, and 100%). Additionally, 0% hydrogen peroxide is required, which is basically water. Furthermore, you will require a 10 ml graduated chamber, a 50 ml measuring utencil, forceps, paper specks (Whatman #1 channel paper, 1 cm measurement), a paper towel, a stopwatch, and diagram paper. During this lab, be cautious about the hydrogen peroxide since it can harm skin and garments. Make certain to promptly flush and spills with water. All through the lab, consistently keep the potato remove in the ice-water shower; catalase is extremely touchy to warm temperatures. First of all, 0% hydrogen peroxide was tried as the benchmark group; 10 ml of hydrogen peroxide was estimated of utilizing a graduated chamber. This example is then filled a 50 ml recepticle. In the wake of twirling the potato extricate, utilizing forceps a paper speck is gotten and drenched into the potato juice for five seconds. At that point the dab is depleted on a paper towel for 10 seconds. Utilizing the forceps the speck is gotten and put in the base of the measuring utencil containing the hydrogen peroxide arrangement. Before long the speck was required to ascend to the surface in light of the fact that the potato juiceââ¬â¢s catalase would separate the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. The oxygen gas gets caught in the pores of the paper and caused to coast. A stopwatch was utilized to gauge the time in seconds from when the speck contacted the arrangement until it arrived at the surface. The information was then recorded. The class was part into gatherings and each gathering was doled out an alternate percentile of hydrogen peroxide arrangement.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Symantec – network security software company
Symantec, one of the worldââ¬â¢s driving system security programming organization is confronting numerous administrative hindrances In todayââ¬â¢s worldwide commercial center, where client desire and constantly developing worldwide contenders have radically shorted the item lifecycle. Symantec is looking more than 20,000 infection tests every month, not which are all remarkable, independent infections. What's more, managing this basic and time touchy difficulties, requires uncommon capable employeeââ¬â¢s that is Symantecââ¬â¢s jumpers reaction group spread out in redistributed gatherings everywhere throughout the world.Managers for an organization, for example, Symantec needs to keep the experts amped up for work, despite the fact that it is an everyday practice, normalized and riotous condition they work inside. To deal with this, they have to utilize their specialized, human and calculated aptitudes. Calculated ability is the accessibility to picture the association ove rall. Symantec is spread out all through the entire world, so the chiefs need to monitor distinctive time zones with the goal that they have individuals working day in and day out on the off chance that erratic infections would show up.Symantec, as said previously, is one of the worldââ¬â¢s driving system security organization and it is difficult for the supervisors to propel every representative, and cause them to feel extraordinary. That is the place the human connection abilities is essential from the administrators inside the organization. Since new infections are springing up arbitrarily without planning, the supervisors should let the expert employeeââ¬â¢s attempt to fill in as self-autonomous as could be expected under the circumstances, so they donââ¬â¢t have any rules to monitor since all infection cases are different.In expansion, the administrators need specialized abilities. They should be taught with the hardware that is being utilized inside the organization, so when interruptions or issues appear, they are arranged and experienced with it, and can manage it quick so not significant time goes to squander. The activity chief Patrick Fitzgerald needs to play diverse sort of the executives jobs in various sort of cases. At the point when Mr. Fitzgerald has week after week security preparation telephone calls with colleagues around the world, he needs to play a supposed Liaison Role.This implies that he will be a supervisor that fills in as an interfacing join between his associates and learn he gets from collaborators on other area all through the world. At the point when he is evaluated the attainability of including another system security counseling administration, He should be educated by the various potential results, he should be set up for what can turn out badly. He needs to have data and be certain that it the planned impact of the new venture is gainful and not something inefficient. An administration job, for example, pioneer is fundamental when he needs to keep his workers concentrated on the companyââ¬â¢sââ¬â¢ duties to customer.The pioneer is liable for deligating undertakings and ensuring that each assignment is done appropriately and answered to the following individual in the chain of the board. The data of the Company Symantec we can discover on their site, about its accentuation on client assistance and advancement is that they are resolved to give high security to the clients and their PCs. They engage their representatives by instructing them so they can take more choices all alone without setting off to a higher instance.Conclusion Symantec is a worldwide innovator in giving security, stockpiling and frameworks the executives answers for help the clients. It is a worldwide organization with representatives re-appropriated everywhere throughout the world which makes the managerââ¬â¢s work significantly harder. Notwithstanding that, it is a confused business with issues and issues springin g up, for example, infections without have the option to get ready for it. Their primary center is to enable their expert representatives to think all alone and work autonomous without take the issue to higher cases.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Incarnation of the piracy industry - Free Essay Example
1.0 INTRODUCTION With the introduction of Broadband internet access in 2001, many consumers were able to enjoy online gaming which was never heard of before because of a lack of infrastructure, technology and also being very expensive. With the advances in technology, broadband internet was made available to the general public and this enabled streaming of media and games online relatively easy. Microsoft took this opportunity to introduce a groundbreaking technology service of online gaming themed, Xbox Live which facilitated gamers to connect to each other via the internet and engage in online multiplayer sessions. This in turn allowed for the spin off of the piracy industry to form within the reigns of what Microsoft created. Within the last decade, the piracy industry has grown leaps and bounds relentlessly and has become a billion dollar industry itself, threatening the market share that Microsoft has also. A market was available for the piracy industry because it offered a cheaper alternative to what Microsoft was selling, which was a copy or duplicate of the product. This has caused Microsoft to change their marketing strategies and try to regain a competitive advantage in the industry. The researcher intends to investigate the factors that are responsible for the rise in the piracy industry. The researcher will also scrutinize Microsoft to find out what effect the piracy industry has had on their sales. 1.1 RESEARCH QUESTION The researcher will attempt to examine the various factors that may have contributed to the incarnation of the piracy industry globally. The researcher also plans to investigate the effects of this rise on Microsofts sales. 1.2 HYPOTHESIS It can be assumed that from the lapse in laws and restraints from governments has allowed the piracy industry to become a successful alternative in the gaming industry. 1.3 PRIMARY AIM The researcher intends to investigate the factors which are responsible for the rise of the piracy industry and its impact on Microsoft. 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 1. To examine Microsofts strategies with regards to competition in the growing gaming industry. 2. To Analyze how entering the video game industry fits with Microsofts strategy. 3. To investigate if the video game piracy industry has grown in the last 12 years. 4. To investigate the impact of recent Government Legislations against Piracy in the Entertainment Industry. 1.5 PURPOSE OF STUDY To investigate whether the piracy industry has had an effect on the sales of Microsoft and its implications on Microsoft. 1.6 THE INDUSTRY The gaming industry is a highly competitive market with Microsoft battling the piracy industry for the market share. The piracy industry holds an estimated 41% of video games sales globally. Growth has also been evident by gigantic torrent streams on the internet. 1.7 BACKGROUND TO COMPANY Microsoft is a software innovative company. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. www.microsoft.com Microsoft is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses and also provides support for a vast range of software products for computers. Its headquarters is based in Redmond, Washington, USA and its most successful and profitable products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and also the Microsoft Office software bundle. Microsofts dominance began in the 1980s with its MS-DOS operating system in the home computer market. They followed it up with the Windows operating system which proved to be very successful. 1.8 HISTORY OF COMPANY In the midst of $32 billion annually, Microsoft Corporation is arguably the greatest software company in the world. It can be dubbed a cultural phenomenon if so desired. The companys core business is targeted within licensing, manufacturing and developing software products. With founder and owner, Bill Gates at the helm, the company has succeeded at having at least one of its products on every personal computer in the world defining the benchmark in the industry relentlessly. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 This critical literature review will attempt to form the cornerstone upon which this research is constructed. This literature review will attempt to provide statistics and information within the paradigm of the topic at hand. The subsequent section includes the views of various authors on the matter of competitive advantage, growth and strategic choices and the generic methods implemented. According to Gill and Johnson, it is claimed that a critical literature review should provide the reader with a statement of the state of the art and major questions and issues in the field under consideration. (Gill and Johnson, 1991, p.21) .Hussey and Collis also cosigns this by stating that a literature review is to be an interpretation and synthesis of published research. (Hussey and Collis, 2003, p. 109). Hussey and Collis further states that there is a purpose underlying the activity which involves locating, reading and evaluating reports of research as well as reports of casual observation and opinion (Borg and Gall, 1989, p.114). Hussey and Collis goes on to state that the review helps guide and inform the research This review should provide an accurately scoped analytical literature on supplementary views on growth and strategic choices and competitive advantage then contrasted and compared along with the literature of published authors to form a detailed critical literature study. GROWTH IN THE ECONOMY 2.1 Porter described the industry life cycle as the grandfather of concepts for predicting industry evolution. ( Lynch, 2003, p.94). According to Lynch, the nature of corporate strategy will change as industries move along the life cycle. (Lynch, 2003, p94). This is further supported by Porter and a later definition which states that economic growth could be the positive change in the production of goods and services by a country over a certain period of time. Source: https://www.investorwords.com/5540/economic_growth.html ECONOMIC GROWTH THEORIES 2.1.1 Smith (1790) was the progenitor of the laissez-faire and international trade that we know of today. Within the school of thought, there are three predominant theories. The first theory involves a relationship between an economys GDP gap and realistic unemployment rate which is called Okuns Law. The second theory analyses a class of microeconomics where in the short term scale, the growth of the economy is relevant to a succession of shocks to the economy. This theory though, unlike others, sees recessions and periods of economic growth as the only exogenous[1] reactions in the actual economic environment. The final consideration is the Keynesian economic theory. This theory states that the growth of an economy alters accordingly to changes in aggregate demand hence creating a distortion in supply and demand and goods for sale. The most applicable theory to this study would be that of the Keynesian economic theory with regard to the gaming industry. The gaming industry boasts annual sales of up to $21.33 billion USD a year according to https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/01/video-game-sale.html This high demand for video games has led to an increase in piracy as a black market interception within the industry. The rise of the piracy industry and the major limiting factor against the original software games was that of price. The pirates offered the games at a significantly reduced price which appealed to the millions of teenagers who were basically jobless and enticed by the attractable pricing. The most successful game at the last quarter of 2009-first quarter 2010 has been Activisions Call of Duty-Modern Warfare 2 which has sold a walloping 1.3 billion in its first month. According to estimates, Modern Warfare 2 which launched back in November has not only sold more than $1 billion USD at retail, but in its first five days it sold $550 million USD worldwide. $550 million USD in five days is nothing to sniff at. Apparently, that beats the five-day box office grosses for Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and The Dark Knight. Source- https://www.incgamers.com/News/20469/modern-warfare-2-sales-pass-1-billion-usd This has resulted in this game alone being pirated 5.1 million times according to www.geek.com. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 2.2 A company that enjoys an advantage with lowered costs than its rivals is said to have a competitive advantage. Competitive strategy is described as being different. It means purposely choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals to deliver a unique blend of valve. Porter (1985) Companies that contend with each other in the same market by offering the same type of products, is an industry. A company that is more profitable legally within the same industry is usually exploiting a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is determined by a companys profitability which is measured by the margins and returns as well as the state of the economy. The company is required to possess some type of sustainable competitive advantage in order to maintain market share and dominance. There is the possibility for companies to enjoy profits above the cost of capital for a short period of time despite not having sustainable competitive advantage. This profit can also draw new threats or entrants which in turn can downgrade economic rent. Consequently, sustainable competitive advantage can therefore be upheld for a significant period of time in a competitive market. Sustainable competitive advantage is when a company has leverage in the market relative to other companies. The basis of the advantage can be initiated by the company being radical and unusual which is also core competency. A companys strategy should strive to influence customers into thinking that the product is of superior quality. A product on the market can be attributed as a good product at a lower price or a better product worth paying more to acquire. Porter (1985), described the low-cost producer in its industry [who] must find and exploit all sources of cost advantage. This was also cosigned by Hamel and Prahalad (1990) who stated that is was important to know the one or two key things that your company does better than the competition. We can therefore draw that in the entertainment industry, the pirated games would be a good product at a lower price. In a competitive business environment, the need to be sustainable requires a firm to be:- 1. Proprietary know how. 2. Installed customer base. 3. Distinctive. 4. Reputation. Porter (1985) pinpointed two cornerstones of competitive advantage. * Differentiation advantage * Cost advantage Differentiation and Cost advantages are considered as positional advantages due to the fact of identifying the companys position in the market and industry as leader in either differentiation or cost. The resource based view accentuates the companys exploits as its resources and capabilities to develop a competitive advantage that adds value to the final product. FIG 1 ILLUSTRATION OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Source: Author. Staying in line with the resource based view, in order to construct a competitive advantage the company must have resources and capabilities that are superior to those of their competitors. The building blocks of a firm are its resources. The resources are used to create a cost or differentiation advantage that is unique to the firm which would also be difficult for competitors to replicate. The piracy industry lacks many resources such as: * Trademarks and Patents Reputation. The CEO of Microsoft stated in a press release that software piracy in China has undercut sales of the real thing, keeping Microsoft from meeting revenue growth targets. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2008-10-26-microsoft_N.htm Capabilities represent the companys fortitude to implement its resources profitably. A simple example is the ability of a company to supply the market with a product before the competition. In the video game entertainment industry, new games can be supplied via illegal distribution and access and streamed through underground operations to reach the consumer before official release dates by the manufacturers. This also creates a major loss for the manufacturers as they lose pre-hyped sales and first week mammoth sales on highly anticipated titles. The capabilities and resources of a company therefore create a product of distinctive capabilities. This end product can then be used to influence a differentiation or cost advantage. A low cost differentiation strategy These appeal to a wide spectrum of customers based on the fact of being the low cost provider of a service or product. A broad differentiation strategy This involves identifying the companys product from that of their rivals. A best cost provider strategy This comprises of placing emphasis on low cost or no frills products whilst maintaining upscale differentiation. The aim is to create a market for products that appeal to the cautious buyer looking for a bit of quality yet good prices. A focused or market niche strategy This market is solely based on differentiation, focusing on a fixed narrow buyer market share. This is accomplished by offering a customized product to the market at high end prices which usually is for the upscale members of society. Figure 2 illustrates Porters generic competitive approaches. The piracy industry fits the criteria of a low cost leadership strategy and a best cost provider strategy. BOWMANS COMPETITIVE STRATEGY 2.3 The strategic clock is based upon the work of Bowman (1996). According to Whittington, Scholes and Johnson (2008), the strategic clock represents different positions in a market where customers (or potential customers) have different requirements in terms of value for money. Figure 3 illustrates Bowmans Clock Source: www.marketingteacher.com There are six core strategic options: * Low price/ low added value * Low price * Hybrid * Differentiation * Focused Differentiation * Increased price/ standard * Increased price/ low value * Low value/ standard price Porter proposed three different generic strategies by which an organization could achieve competitive advantage. overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. Whittington et al (2008). Bowmans strategies are based on the basis that companies achieve competitive advantage by giving customers access to products which they (customers) deem as better value for money relative to competitors. According to Whittington et al (2008), Building on this proposition, the strategy clock enshrines Porters categories of differentiation and focus alongside price. LOW COST PROVIDER STRATEGIES 2.4 Bourgeois (1998) claims that, Firms with costs lower than that of their competitors are likely to enjoy a competitive advantage in the market place, if they can maintain this cost advantage over time. The competitive strategy a corporation chooses to pursue indentifies the manner by which the management decides to compete diligently in its product markets and provide superior value to customers. Thompson and Strickland (1996). Thompson and Strickland (1998) A low cost leader has two options for achieving superior profit performance. Option one is to use the lower cost edge to under price competitors and attract price sensitive buyers in great numbers to increase total profits. Options two is to refrain from price cutting altogether, to be content with the present market share and use the lower cost edge to earn a higher profit margin on each unit sold, ultimately raising firms total profits and overall return on investment. Porter (1985) claims that to achieve a cost advantage a firms cumulative costs across its value change must be lower than competitors cumulative costs Ansari and Bell (1997) supports this view by stating that, the link between a firms competitive strategy and use of TC exists primarily because TC provides the means for achieving the firms goals of satisfying market demands at an acceptable level of profitability. Porter also stated two ways to accomplish cost advantage were to: * Develop better and more efficient ways of doing internal value chain activities and managing the factors that drive costs of value chain down. * Overhaul the firms value chain to allow some cost producing activities to be detoured. The idea of the value chain interrelated by Kay to be, Adding value is the central purpose of business activities. Kay (1993) Influenced heavily by Porter and Hamel, Kay (1993) claims that the role of strategic management is to choose the core competencies and then assemble a collection of assets that increases value added and provides a competitive advantage. He also claimed that there are three forms of capabilities that enable this, organizational structure, reputation and innovation. This hasnt been shared by everyone, one in particular Barney (1992), claims that internal company resources were the pieces that mattered. He identified strategy as the marriage of resources which included, suppliers and human technology fused together to create a sustainable advantage. COMPETITIVE MARKETS: BCG MATRIX 2.5 When a company has identified its primary strategies that is to be targeted and the strategies to be employed, there should be consideration on whether what role is to be determined in its current and potential markets. Whittington et al (2008), described the BCG matrix as one of the most common and long-standing ways of conceiving of the balance of a portfolio of businesses is the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix. The Growth Share Matrix developed by the BCG is a better known technique to assist companies with evaluating current business activities in the grand scheme of: * Market share and the rate of growth within a market relative to the competitors. * The Companys cash flow expectancy. According to Whittington et al (2008), the BCG matrix has several advantages. It provides a good way of visualizing the different needs and potential of all the diverse businesses within the corporate portfolio. The BCG matrix provides an insight into the current activities as well as forecasting future developments of the firms product(s). Company strategies can thus be developed and implemented using this analytical tool. Figure 4 illustrates the BCG Matrix Model Source: www.QuickMBA.com According to Lynch (2003), the BCG portfolio analysis is undertaken using only two variables: relative market share and market growth. It is clearly a weakness that other variables are not included. CONTROLLING THE COST DRIVERS 2.6 The cost position of a firm can be attributed to the behavior of costs in the activities in the value chain. Porter (1985) identified ten (10) cost drivers related to the value chain activities. * Economies of scale. * Learning. * Capacity utilization. * Linkages among activities. * Interrelationships among business units. * Degree of vertical integration. * Timing of market entry. * Firms policy of cost or differentiation. * Geographic location. * Institutional factors (regulation, union activity, taxes, etc.) The piracy industry fits into some of these cost drivers. They are as follow: ECONOMIES OF SCALE 2.7 Economies of scale occur when industrial activities can be implemented at a lower cost and larger volumes than a lesser volume. The piracy industry applies this by generating copies of games on a cheaper format via the internet compared to original games being shipped on digital video discs which ultimately results in the title or game taking a longer amount of time to get to the retail store which then has to provide to the customer. This form of mass producing at a lower price enables the piracy industry to fit the category of economies of scale. LEARNING 2.8 The experience curve suggests that significant reductions in costs are achieved as companies and the whole industry produces more products. The cost reductions related to the cumulative production ever achieved, not just in one year. Experience can be a key source of cost efficiency and there is evidence it may provide competitive advantage in particular in terms of the relationship between the cumulative experience gained by an organization and its unit costs. Whittington et al (2008) Fig 5 illustrates the Experience curve. Source: https://www.netmba.com/strategy/experience-curve/ Mintzberg (1996) the conception of a novel strategy is a creative process (of synthesis), to which there are no formal techniques (analysis). He also added, strategy had to be conceived informally before it could be programmed formally. This view wasnt shared by Gould (1996). Rumelt (1996) went on to say that, but my own experience is that coherent strategy based upon analyses and understandings of these forces is much more often imputed than actually observed. The Profit Impact of Market Strategy study relating to the 1970s era focused on size, growth and portfolio theory. The decision led to the view that a firm with a greater market share would generate greater profits return. The high market share enables volume and economies of scale. The higher market share also provides experience and learning curve advantages, which leads to an increased profit. The accuracy of this has been renounced by Tellis, Golder (2002). The piracy industry has been lurking ever since as they usually are comprised of hackers and programmers who know the ins and outs of the industry. The piracy industry is basically a black market industry that has accumulated knowledge and implemented distribution via the internet to penetrate markets quicker than retailers. INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS 2.9 A firms cost drivers are relative to decisions by the executives. Some of these which are applicable to the piracy industry are as follows: * Decreasing the variety of products offered. The industry pirates usually focus on games. * After service to customers, there is no warranty from the piracy industry. * Lower wages to employees as operations are usually not governed by employee unions or laws because of illegal nature. * Adopting a no frills type of distribution approach, where product is sold to customer with no questions asked. * Reducing the length of time the product takes to reach the customer. Product is usually downloaded from internet which reduces costs and delivery time, but is illegal. Thompson and Strickland (1998) claimed that, managers not only have to use their knowledge to reduce costs for every activity where cost savings can be indentified but they have to do so with enough ingenuity and commitment that the company ends up with a sustainable cost advantage over rivals. Evidence also pointed to the fact that a low market share strategy could also be very profitable which is applicable to the piracy industry. This theory was also backed by Traverso (2002) and Levenson (1984). This theory led to the belief that companies within the high and low market shares were successful whereas those caught in the middle were less fortunate. Porter (1985) considered this to be the hole in the middle problem. THE VALUE CHAIN 2.10 According to Porter (1985), Dramatic cost advantages can emerge from finding innovative ways to restructure processes and tasks, cut frills and provide the basics more economically. Porter also claims that companies can reconfigure their value chain activities to increase cost advantages. These four occur in the piracy industry: * Non-frill product; marketing and advertising doesnt exist in the piracy industry hence less costs incurred. * Shift to a simpler, less capital-incentive, or more streamlined technological process. * Focus on limited product/service that meets special needs of target segment. * Implementing electronic communication technologies. BEST COST PROVIDER STRATEGY 2.11 This strategy emphasizes on providing customers with the best value for money. It implements a strategic importance on low cost relative to the minimal acceptance of performance, features and quality. This can be theoretically termed a best-cost provider strategy due to the fact that the firm has the lowest cost compared to the other firms on the market with similar products. This strategy is evident in the piracy industry in the form direct downloads from the internet verses purchasing a Digital Video Drive (DVD) disc at a retail store for much more money. CONCLUSION 2.12 The literature encompassed in this chapter has emphasized various aspects in accordance to the topic and objectives at hand in the areas of strategic management, growth and competitive advantage. METHODOLOGY 3.0 According to Bell (1993) the methodology is how the problem was investigated and why particular methods and techniques were used. Silverman (1994) also states like theories, methodologies cannot be true or false, only more or less useful. 3.1 Research Design In order to accomplish the objectives of this particular research it was imperative to conjure and maintain a research design. Vogt (1993) claims, the science and art of planning procedures for conducting studies so as to get the most valid findings. The traits of the positivistic and phenomenological paradigms allow for each to be used in conjunction with each other to complete the methodology for this research. According to Hussey and Collis (2009), this allows you to take a broader, and often complimentary, view of the research problem or issue. Hussey and Collis (2009) states that, the positivistic approach seeks the facts or causes of social phenomena with little regard to the subjective state of the individual. This gives the researcher the opportunity to impartially conduct the study. With regards to the phenomenological paradigm, Hussey and Collis (2000) states that, is concerned with understanding human behaviour from the participants own frame of reference. Hussey and Collis (2009), states that a more phenomenological or qualitative approach is becoming more acceptable and, arguably, is more appropriate for many business research studies. 3.1.1 Strategy This study revolves around the Gaming industrys leading players which include Microsoft and the Piracy Industrys decisions on competition in the Gaming industry. 3.1.2 Types of Research Exploratory Research This is the conduct into a research problem where there are no earlier studies to which information can be referred to. According to Hussey and Collis (2009), the aim of this type of study is to look for patterns, ideas or hypotheses, rather than testing or confirming a hypothesis. Qualitative and Quantitative Research The qualitative approach was undertaken for a greater analytical investigation of the research topic at hand. Some sources of the qualitative date were Case studies, documents and texts. Qualitative is better suited as it gives insight into the industry by which a subjective view can be considered. Some quantitative data was required in order to deduce and decipher the qualitative research. According to Hussey and Collis (2009), the use of different research approaches, methods and techniques in the same study is known as triangulation and can overcome the potential bias and sterility of a single-method approach. Exploratory/Case Studies The case studies aided the phenomenological research. Eisenhardt (1989), refers to the case study as a research study which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single setting. Bonoma (1985) notes that it must be constructed to be sensitive to the context in which management behavior takes place. According to Scapens (1990), there are other types of research where case studies can be applied. One such approach is explanatory which Scapens (1990) claims is where existing theory is used to understand and explain what is happening. This allows the researcher to analyze the data in the relevant case studies and cast judgment on the data researched. 3.2 Research Methods Research consisting of secondary data was undertaken. 3.2.1 Secondary Data Secondary data is data that already exists, these include books, documents (published statistics, annual reports and accounts of companies, and internal records kept by organizations such as personnel records) and films. Secondary data was collected from: * Microsofts website and various websites containing information about the industry and companies involved with the research. * Strategic Management and Marketing text books. * Bill Gates autobiography. These sources emphasizes on the research topic: To examine Microsofts strategies with competition in the growing gaming industry. These data sources are time saving, easily accessible, cost efficient and covers a wide area of information. 3.2.2 Data Collection Methods A methodological phenomenological paradigm provides the necessary objectivity and scope to conduct a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of the Gaming industry. According to Hussey and Collis (2009), Qualitative data provides a more real basis for analysis and interpretation. Case Studies A case study is an extensive examination of a single instance of a phenomenon of interest and is an example of a phenomenological methodology. Rather than using samples and following a strict protocol to examine limited number of variables, case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event: a case. Lamnek (2005) The case study is a research approach, situated between concrete data taking techniques and methodological paradigms. One of the key advantages of using the case studies in this research was that it allowed the researcher to gather data which was both qualitative and quantitative. The illustrative case studies unlike the explanatory case studies do not allow the researcher to access present and existing theories within the framework to address the specific boundaries of the research. 3.3 Data Analysis Methods The collected case studies were cross-case analysed and the results were represented in graphs and tables in a pictorial form to describe the information more vividly and easier to interpret. This would enable the secondary data to be compared and analysed with other data as needed. 3.4 Limitations There were several issues that arose in the collection of data during the research. The allotted time frame was insufficient for the literature project undertaken as well as the volume of data that was needed to be scrutinized. The researcher also faced many trials and tribulations due to the fact that the company was that of a multi-national entity which made efforts of face to face meetings and interviews impossible as the headquarters of said company was based in another country. In addition to this, the researcher was also very inexperienced with data collection which led to delays. There was also less than substantial information regarding the topic presented which also contributed to more delays. The lack of any contributing primary data made the methodology difficult to develop which caused the researcher to adopt a more phenomenological approach. 3.5 Summary The methods chosen were selected due to the scope of the literature allowing for basically secondary data to be implemented. The methods were also sufficient and proved to be vivid enough in analyzing the topic at hand. Notwithstanding that there were problems encountered, the researcher believes that the relevant information was collected and analyzed. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 4.0 The results that were collected will be analyzed in this chapter. The results would be represented in graphs, charts and tables. The data and information presented will seek to scrutinize the numerous factors which attributed to the rise of the piracy industry. There will also be visual data to confirm whether there has been an increase in the piracy industry worldwide and if the piracy industry has affected the sales and restructuring of Microsofts marketing strategies. This chapter will also undertake the hypothesis of whether, would government taxes regulate the gaming industry with respect to piracy? It can be noted that at the moment, the piracy industry is thriving with lack of enforcement of laws by relevant authorities. ECONOMIC GROWTH FIGURES As was mentioned in the literature review chapter, the direct growth of the economy is predominantly responsible for the increased rise in the piracy industry. The gaming economy is basically worldwide, so figures and sales would be sampled from some of the bigger markets. Economic Growth is an increase in the real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita of a nation. The Economic growth of a nation helps to determine whether or not the countrys population enjoys a certain standard of living. The following figures show the GDP of the United States of America over the century, highlighting the eras when technology went through its evolution into what it is today. GDP OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1947-2009 Source: www.data360.org As can be noticed from the above illustration, the GDP of the United States of America has been rising steadily over the years. There could be several reasons attributing this growth. 1. One main factor is that of investment. It is accurate to say that investment has an influence on the rate of growth. The GDP in the United States expanded at an annual rate of 5.90 percent in the last quarter. The United States Gross Domestic Product is worth 14204 billion dollars or 22.91% of the world economy, according to the World Bank. The economy of the United States is the largest in the world. The United States is a market-oriented economy where private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions. The federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. 2. Population structure. The age, sex and geographic distribution of a population all have significant implications for economic growth. A population growing in age would tend to hinder economic growth since older people would tend to be more traditional and less inclined to take risks in a business world. From the graphs above it can be seen that with the world population increasing exponentially, the growth of markets will rapidly explode also. The two major electronic markets being the United States of America and China both has the majority of their population within the 15-64 age groups. This exemplifies that both countries populations are not aging. According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, the population of the USA is estimated to be 308,848,051 million people as of March 2010. It is estimated that there is 1 birth every 7 seconds, 1 death every 11 seconds and 1 international migrant every 17 seconds. The growth rate is estimated at 8.0%, which has been steadily rising within the last 30 years when technology has been advancing. The 15-64 age group has been primarily responsible for patronizing the gaming industry. The middle class group has been the dominant flourishing group and has been the main customers of the gaming industry markets within recent years. With the growth of the population and in essence the middle class group, the potential for market growth within the gaming industry is high as parents would be the ones financing their kids consoles and games hence enabling a profitable large market. According to www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/business/economy, the U.S. jobless rate rose to 6%, its highest since 2003. The labour market offers a large percentage of highly skilled and experienced workers while the education level of the population is highly regarded in the world. Source: www.data.bls.gov The graph indicates a startling rise in the unemployment rate within the last 4 years. This was mainly due to the recession of the world which affected the larger countries more drastically and filtered down to other dependant countries and markets as such. With so many jobs being cut, it is inevitable that the recession has caused sales for the gaming industry to suffer. 3. Education and training. The success and wealth of a nation is often associated to the skill level of the citizens residing in said country. With this in consideration, the education, training and general attitude of a countrys population are indicative of determining the rate of growth of the nation. The U.S as of 2007 had 39% of American students aged 24-34 with tertiary credentials. While that level has remained roughly constant for many years, there seems to be evidence which shows that it is on a decline. At least 10 countries have exceeded the U.S.s current attainment levels. Moreover, the U.S. now ranks second in the world for the percentage of students who begin a tertiary education program but fail to complete it. 4.1.1 ANALYSIS What does this increase in GDP mean? People are avaricious and would like to obtain materialistic goods, leisure and entertainment. All of these acquisitions are attained by the economic growth of the nation. Henceforth, an increase in the economic growth has been responsible for the growth of the gaming industry. From evidence in the previous chapter, the GDP of the larger markets in the world especially the U.S., suggest that citizens within the 15-64 group willingly support the gaming industry albeit it parents buying systems and games for children or working adults purchasing it themselves. 4.1.2 DEFICIENCIES From the previous text, it is understood that growth permits citizens to take pleasure in an enhanced standard of living. There is however no correlation between the standard of living and the GDP per capita. The GDP per capita figures can be deceptive especially when economic and social organizations of the nation are considered. 4.2 DATA Number of game titles sold for the month of February 2010 The month of February 2010 totaled an amount of US$ 1.26 billion dollars in sales of consoles and games according to the NPD Group. The top 10 selling games for the month of February 2010 were: Source: NPD Group. The above data distinguishes the sales of the various consoles in the year 2008. It can be noticed that sales were the highest during the months of November and December. This could be due to the fact of this being the Christmas holiday season. Game developers usually push sales during the Holiday season, so strong sales during the Christmas seem to suggest a successful period for Microsoft with the Xbox 360 sales. Source: NPD Group Source: TechFlash.com Activisions Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had another strong month with sales of 567,100 units, giving it third place. It has now become the third-best selling video game of all time, said NPD, with lifetime sales of almost 10 million units. Revenue from U.S. retail video game and console sales increased 4% annually to $5.53 billion in December 2010, but video game sales disappointed as the industry registered growth in the years final month, according to research firm NPD Group. For the year, the U.S. videogame industry generated revenue of $19.66 billion, down about 8% a year ago as can be seen in the illustrations above. This decrease in sales and revenue can be explained from information gained from an article on https://online.wsj.com/article U.S. Videogames, Console Revenue Rose 4% Gallagher (2010), CEO of Entertainment Software Association claimed that, last year (2009) was a tough year for consumers and national economy. He also went on to say that he expects the industry to recover in 2010 after the recession subsides and the economy regains its structure. The recession has also caused a slowdown in the economic growth of the world which also affected the gaming industry as an entirety. U.S. President Obama called for new models of economic growth to help avoid a repeat of the debt driven expansion of the past. In an article featured on https://recession.org/news/stimulus-jobs-temporary, President Obama gave an insight on the state of the economy. He said that there was an anticipation of a continuation of future job losses in the weeks and months to come as the economy recovers. Obama (2010), said that there is always a lag of several months between businesses starting to make profits again and investing again and them actually rehiring again. He also stated that having moved the economy on the right track.. theres no reason why were not going to be able to not only create jobs, but the kind of sustainable economic growth that everybodys looking for. The White House has highlighted quite a few pointers of economic stabilization over the last quarter of 2009. The Administration have argued that the Democrats controversial $787 billion economic stimulus program helped stave off a depression and spark a 3.5% growth in the third quarter. The program has created 640,000 jobs in the early part of 2010 in the U.S. according to www.Briefing.com. The video game industry is the fastest growing sector of the entertainment industry in Canada, and one of the most vibrant, fastest growing industries in the world. Canadian video game companies are renowned for producing high quality games, and are behind some of the worlds most successful titles. 20% of the top selling titles in North America and Europe in 2008 were developed by Canadian developers and Canada recently overtook the United Kingdom to become the third most successful producer in the world. With increasing popularity, comes increasing instances of illicit activities, specifically piracy of video game software and circumvention of digital locks (called technological protections measures or TPMs) that are built into consoles and handhelds that prevent illegally copied games from being played. In an article from www.straight.com/article-248821, According to Industry research, some 34% of Canadian gamers have acquired pirated games (compared to only 17% in the United States), while 22% of gamers have modified their video game consoles or handhelds to play pirated games. Internet piracy of video-game software in Canada has undergone explosive growth, and there has been an astonishing 300% in the downloading of illegal games via Canadian ISPs between 2007 and 2008. It costs approximately about $10 and $30 million to develop a high end video game, and not many games normally sell marginally to reach profitability which is inevitable in the industry to sustain a competitive advantage. With the pedigree of the substantial investment needed and the difficult degree of risk related with the large scale assembly and production of entertainment software, piracy essentially lowers the industrys ability to recover its investment, resulting in fewer games as well as loss revenue and employment opportunities. Predominantly in this economic climate, where jobs are an especially precious commodity, it is critical that the government play its part in adequately protecting the gaming industry from piracy. Specifically new copyright legislation must provide legal protection for TPMs, prohibit trafficking in mod chips and other circumvention devices and services specifically designed to facilitate piracy by defeating TPMs, and implement criminal and civil remedies against those who provide such services and tools-those who are profiting from piracy at the expense of legitimate businesses. For the video-game industry, TPMs are not only used to prevent piracy and cheating (e.g. modding game code to give an unfair advantage over other players); they also enable access to a greater range of features and options that would otherwise be unavailable. Things like parental controls (which allow parents to control what games are played by their children and what kinds of content they are exposed to), trial or demo versions of games, and new digital distribution platforms like Valves Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, or the PlayStation Network, all provide greater choice and access for consumers. Ultimately, implementing legal protections for TPMs will benefit consumers by providing greater certainty in the digital marketplace, which will, in turn, spur investment in the development of new digital products, services, and distribution methods, more consumer choice and lower prices. Furthermore, legal protection for TPMs also enables a vibrant ecosystem of digital business models. If a creator or company chooses to sell their work as a digital product or service, legal protection for TPMs helps ensure that this choice is respected, much in the same way that locks on the doors of a bricks and mortar store allow the owners to ascertain when and how consumers can access their product. However, if they choose to give their work away and make money in some other manner (or not at all), they are free to do so. By ensuring that consumers have a variety of digital offerings to choose from, legal protection for TPMs allows market forces to protect consumer interests, so if a consumer does not like the conditions of sale or terms of service for one digital product or service, they can simply take their business elsewhere. Failing to protect TPMs under the law effectively means that the government is dictating the business model, which is bad news for business and for consumers. The gaming industry urgently needs an updated copyright regime that protects our creators and rights holders, in recognition of the important role they play in the digital economy and in terms of the industrys future prosperity. The Entertainment Software Association or ESAs primary objective of its Anti-piracy plan is to attack and reduce global entertainment software piracy, estimated to cost the U.S. entertainment industry millions and millions of dollars every year. The programs primary components are enforcement, training, including education and enforcement programs in the United States and abroad. ESA members actively participate in shaping the industrys anti-piracy priorities and ensure that available resources are properly allocated for the enforcement of their intellectual property rights. ESAs anti-piracy efforts on the Internet, and in the United States and select foreign markets are directed towards the active protection of members game products through online enforcement, criminal raids and prosecutions, and civil litigation. ESAs training programs helps to elevate the protection of interactive game product as a priority for law enforcement officials, as well as enhance their knowledge of the entertainment software industry and its products. In addition, ESAs intellectual property education and outreach efforts help to foster respect among members of the general public for the intellectual property rights of the software publishers. In an attempt to reduce piracy, the French have passed a new law requiring Internet service providers to cut off Internet access for repeat copyright infringers. Under the new HADOPI legislation ISPs have to warn their customers twice that they are accused of infringing copyright. If both warnings are ignored, Internet access for that subscriber will be terminated for up to a year and theyll have to keep paying their ISP bill throughout this period too. The law goes much further than disconnecting alleged file-sharers though. In addition it is now possible to take any action in order to put a halt to copyright infringement. For example, websites can be blocked without having to provide hard evidence that they are engaging in illegal activities. The Pirate Bay has already been mentioned as one of the sites that could be easily taken out under the new law. According to the BBC, this law will also be implemented in the UK in the near future to help regularize piracy within the gaming industry also. In China, videogames companies and investors are rushing to tap the promise of Chinas game market, but many of them are discovering that a slow moving bureaucracy and rampant piracy remain significant hurdles. According to Li (2010), hackers and other forms of piracy reduced the industrys profitability by roughly 1.5 billion USD last year (2009). In the United Kingdom (U.K), the video game industry is worth 1 billion, but despite this contribution to the economy, the U.Ks sector has fallen behind countries such as Canada, France and South Korea which offers subsidies to game developers. The number of video game developers in Canada increased by 42% in 2009 compared with only 8% growth in Britain. In an article taken from https://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/budget/article7074192.ece Mr. Darling said that, he would offer help to the computer games sector which was also the case with the film industry in the U.K. The film producers are allowed to claim 20% of their budget in a tax rebate which is estimated to be 100 million a year. Mr. Darling also said that, we need to keep British talent in this country. This decision should increase the investment in the British games developers by 457 million over five years and create 3,550 graduate-level jobs. In the U.K., the video game industry employs 28,000 people, which consist of 9,000 developers, the video game industry patronizes the economy more than the film industry does. In the fiscal year of 2009, games revenue was 44% higher than box-office receipts and DVD sales combined in the U.K. For a video game to be considered for tax relief in the U.K., the game would have to be culturally British like the Harry Potter video game trilogy. 4.3 CASE STUDIES RELATING MICROSOFT A compilation of various case studies would be used to ascertain the stance which Microsoft has taken against the Piracy industry in the Gaming sector. * The first issue addressed would be, What is Microsofts stance on piracy in the gaming industry? In an article from https://www.microsoft.com/piracy/reporting/default.aspx, Microsoft claims that Software piracy equals lost wages, lost jobs, and unfair competition. Struggling to fight against piracy, some companies must devote resources to anti-piracy technology, ultimately slowing down the development of better products and services. Others fail under the pressure of prices that legal resellers cant match. Reporting piracy means keeping a level playing field, and ensuring the most reliable products for your customers. Analysis- This can be traced to the previous literature review chapter where competitive advantage was discussed. The piracy industry represents the type of innovation which can be achieved with lowered costs and has gained a significant market share from Microsoft. Microsoft, being the industry leader and with maximum market share can rely on their competitive advantage to maximize profits and gain customers. * The second issue would be, Has the piracy industry forced Microsoft to make any changes to their strategies? This question was solicited as to clarify whether the piracy industry has had an impact on Microsofts sales strategies. In a section from https://www.businessinsider.com/2008/11/microsoft-piracy-makes-china-an-irrelevant-market, Microsoft CEO Ballmer (2008) states that pirates in China are denting Microsofts profits and terms China as an irrelevant market due to the high number of piracy. Ballmer (2008) is quoted as saying, Chinas not really very important to our business right now..Id like it to be but its not because of the high rate of piracy of intellectual property. We need some IP reform in China for it to be important to our financial results. Microsoft has countered the piracy in China by issuing a new anti-piracy program called Windows Genuine Advantage which validates the operating system run on the computer and if found to be illegal; the windows is void. Analysis- Microsoft has realised that the Chinese market is famous for pirating the Western Hemispheres culture et al. The executive at Microsoft has stated that China is considered a lost market due to the excessive piracy of the software and games and hence has formulated strategies to at least recuperate some profits from this. * The third issue discussed would be, has the piracy industry inflicted any negative effects on the gaming industry as an entirety? In an article from Pachter (2008) pointed out, the gaming industry will weather the economic storm. True enough, games are selling more than ever and are hotter than ever. They also happen to be more expensive than ever. In result, piracy has skyrocketed to unseen heights. Just recently Electronic Arts lost millions when 500,000 copies of Will Wrights latest creation, Spore, were illegally downloaded in record breaking numbers. The project took an approximate $80 million to produce and sells for $49.99. But with piracy on the rise, production cost and price means little or nothing during these times. This problem was a https://zkwang.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/pc-piracy-is-1366-billion-dollars/ Analysis: While the industry loses equal amounts of the money invested into these projects due to piracy, competition is ultimately good and encourages Microsoft to revamp their marketing strategies. The fourth issue posed would be, Are there positives from the piracy industry? A study from the Institute of Policy Innovation and an article from the Dutch Government https://blog.kennisland.nl/knowledgeland/2009/01/21/why_trying_to_become_a_guitar_hero_is_bad_for_the_music_industry_but_good_for_the_economy/ have suggested that piracy has actually had positive effects on the industry. The research shows that the economic impact of file sharing on the Dutch economy is strongly positive when viewed from both short term and long term perspectives. As a result of file sharing consumers get access to a wide range of cultural products. This has a positive impact on the economy According to estimates the positive economic effects for customers amount to 200 million euro per year. Analysis: Microsoft has benefitted from the advancements and exposure piracy has offered. Microsoft has realized that they can now sell games via peer-to-peer downloading like what the piracy industry has been doing for free all along, hence capitalizing on lost profits. * The fifth issue is, Who is benefitting the most from the rise and exploitation of the piracy industry? This question is posed as to ascertain whos gaining the most from this new market entrant. In an article from https://www.mcvuk.com/news/36988/MW2-most-pirated-game-of-09, it was written that, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the most pirated game of 2009 according to BitTorrent tracking statistics. Then it was said that, An interesting thought to stem from the numbers is that of the detrimental effect piracy has on sales. Modern Warfare 2 has broken every sales record around in its short time on the market, and it has done so despite the high level of piracy. This has shown the high level of piracy for the year ending 2009. The article then claims that, Is that evidence that games piracy is not directly related to lost sales? Analysis: This has shown that piracy within the gaming industry doesnt really correlate to lost sales as per say evidence from above article. The real beneficiaries are the consumers who are offered the product at a lower price than that of Microsoft. * The sixth issue would entail, Has the Governments of the various markets done anything to curb piracy and help the sales of Microsoft? In an article from https://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/18/computer-games-designers-tax-breaks, it is claimed that the British Government rewards the British gaming developers with tax breaks as an incentive to stay in the industry with the growing piracy market taking a toll. CEO of Tiga, Wilson (2008), said that Were not asking for a handout, were not asking for a subsidy to stave off collapse, were asking for an investment to allow the games industry to be even more successful. He also went on to say that, Theres no principle which the government can cling to and say there shouldnt be a tax break for a specific industryQuite apart from the massive bailouts for banks, there have also been smaller schemes that have been effective for other industries. Analysis: The Governments of the major markets and especially Britain has given the developers an added incentive to cover for the rapid rise of the piracy industry and hence prevent foreclosure of the gaming industry. 4.3.1 IMPACT OF PIRACY ON MICROSOFTS SALES According to Microsoft.com, the 39 million Xbox 360 consoles has been sold around the world with 500 million games being sold. CEO Ballmer also said that the premium Xbox LIVE feature currently has an estimated 40 million users online which has grown in the last 5 years. Drawing from prior information in the previous chapters, the increase and drop in sales can be explained. The drop in sales was a direct result of the piracy and the global recession which crippled the economy for the major part of 2008-2009. However the increase in sales wouldve been a result of governmental laws on piracy coming into effect hence forcing consumers to purchase original software and games and also as a result of the new sales and marketing strategies implemented by Microsoft. 4.4 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS The data in the findings and analysis chapter has illustrated the factors associated with the rise in the piracy industry within the gaming industry dominated by Microsoft globally. It has also shown how the piracy industry has forced Microsoft to adopt new approaches to it sales and strategies. RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 There are numerous recommendations which can be attributed to the findings and analysis. It is safe to say that further research should be conducted into the rise of the piracy industry. This is to ascertain the fact that the researcher has only reviewed and focused on games and consoles whilst, the industry really consists of other peripherals which was nearly impossible to review and research given the time constraints and other limits. Notwithstanding, Microsoft was investigated as to determine the impact of the piracy industry on a gaming and software developer. There are other gaming and software developers globally, which can be investigated and may have different results from Microsoft with respect to the impact of the piracy industry. With the age of information and technology available, the respective governments should rigidly implement more laws and rethink their strategies for the level of piracy which is occurring in the world today. The governments should mobilize specially trained personnel to intercept the operations of the pirates within the industry and enforce strict jail terms for perpetrators of the crime. Microsoft has been successful so far in dominating the market of the gaming industry in light of the assault posed by the piracy industry. However, Microsoft should consider the reason why consumers are patronizing the piracy industry and lower their prices so that low income earners can afford a gaming system and the relative software. Microsoft should consider peer to peer sharing and downloading by implementing a legal system for customers to operate in. This would nullify the piracy market and hence allow Microsoft to regain lost market share. Microsoft should also reconsider doing business in China as it seems that there are no laws which can protect the company from being exploited by the rampant piracy in the country. Microsoft should also consider rewarding customers for purchasing original software and consoles so that their customer base and core competitive competency would increase and remain loyal. CONCLUSIONS 6.0 It can be acknowledged that the author has achieved the objectives that were devised from the beginning of the dissertation study. These objectives were accomplished by analyzing data which was collected over a stipulated timeframe with the literature review assisting with comprehension of the topic presented. A diligent ideology of the gaming industry in particular the piracy industry is important, as it has pioneered the mode of data exchange in the digital world. It was essential to clarify the impact of the piracy industry on Microsoft and the gaming industry. The hypothesis, Has the lack of laws by various Governments inadvertently caused a new industry to thrive, at the cost of the major established giants in the industry? This was tested and proved to be accurate. The findings and analysis demonstrated that the piracy industry was instrumental in a decrease in sales for Microsoft and loss of profit. It was also proven that with the piracy industrys gain of market share, Microsoft was forced to develop and explore new strategies to recapture their lost market share and competitive advantage. It was also noted that the piracy industry was not limited to Microsoft, but the gaming industry as a whole which resulted in the British Government implementing tax breaks to save the industry in the United Kingdom. 1 [1] Exogenous- is a term used to sum up the contributions of various authors to a model of long-run economic growth within the framework of neoclassical economics. Haines, Joel D. (January 1, 2006) Volume 16; Issue 2; Page 106.
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Impact Of Air Pollution In China - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1334 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Ecology Essay Level High school Tags: Air Pollution Essay Pollution Essay Did you like this example? Ever since Deng Xiaopings Reform and Opening Up policy, which emphasized on rapid industrialization and decentralization, China experienced an economic miracle, ranking 2nd in GDP in the world and lifting millions out of poverty. However, this GDP-above-all rationale which radically improved Chinas economy has dealt a huge blow to the environment. For instance, the heavy exploitation of land and natural resources, as well as the reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation are one of the few sources contributing to Chinas environmental destruction. Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Impact Of Air Pollution In China" essay for you Create order Since the scope of environmental pollution is too large for practical concerns, I shall only be evaluating the impact of air pollution on Chinas development in this essay, as air pollution is one of the most dangerous and controversial type of pollution occurring nowadays in China. Owing to the combustion of coal and malpractices of the heavy industry, air pollution has been ever worsening in China ever since the Reform and Opening Up, however it seems to have worsened drastically for the past decade. For example, smog, a weather phenomenon involving a dense layer of dust suspended in air (mainly PM2.5 and SO2), is bringing disastrous effects to many eastern cities in China, and the problem was brought to light when even the capital, Beijing, succumbed to the heavy smog. According to lecture readings, a mere 22/522 cities in China have good air quality with 55 having seriously unacceptable air quality . Air pollution problem in China has caused various negative impacts to health, economic development and social development. Firstly, in terms of health implications, severe air pollution has led to deterioration in general health and thus an increased burden on Chinas public health system. In fact, air pollution has caused 1.58 million deaths in China in 2016 alone , coming second in the world after India. Air pollution is now the 4th most common cause of death in the world, with 6.1 million deaths in 2016 attributed to air pollution, since it causes serious illnesses like cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Polluted air contains substances such as sulphur dioxide and PM 2.5 suspended particulates, accumulate in the respiratory tract or enter the bloodstream, either as an irritant inducing heart and lung diseases, or even as a carcinogen to induce cancer, resulting in death or affecting child development due to prolonged exposure. Air pollution has also cast doubts on Chinas public health system. According to the World Bank, the health expenditure resulted from air pollution accounted for 2% of Chinas GDP, mainly because of increased usage of emergency visits in acute cardiopulmonary conditions, which is on the rise partly due to air pollution (as well as lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity, etc) . This expenditure is projected to rise as more and more people gradually become sick, forcing the government to allocate more resources into public healthcare. Should China fail to reduce pollution and prevent air pollution-associated illnesses, a huge sum would have to be paid to address public health problems in curing the population. From the viewpoint of economics, the Reform and Opening Up brought benefits to both the urban and rural communities. Ironically, it has brought drawbacks to both by sacrificing the environment in favor of rapid economic growth. Firstly, in urban cities, the worsening air pollution has led to a reduction in foreign interest in investing in China and incentive to set up branches in China, as well as unwillingness of overseas staff, especially experts and senior executive staff, to come to China for work. With persistent smog, the poor living standards (as aforementioned the possible adverse health effects of smog) and work environment has deterred businesses to set up branches in China. For example, in a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce, which covered various businesses in eastern and northern part of China, Almost one-third of the companies said they had no plans to expand investments in China in the coming year (2016), up from 27 percent last year and 16 percent in 2013, and more than half of the respondents said pollution made it more difficult to recruit senior executives to work in China, raising concerns over air quality turning away expertise, professionals and executives away from working in China . Secondly, tourism is also affected by air pollution. In the past decade, China has begun developing its tourism industry. As a result, tourism related profits, including retail, service and hotel industries, begins to contribute more and more to Chinas total GDP. However, with the severe smog, foreigners will be deterred from visiting China, partly because of health issues, and partly because of the diminished attractiveness of natural scenic spots, which used to be a main feature of Chinas tourism, thus undoubtedly reducing Chinas income from tourism. In fact, 6 out of 8 Chinese cities including Beijing which made it into the Top 100 City Destination Rankings by Euromonitor International, experienced a drop in tourist arrival from 2012 to 2013, which correlated with the notorious reports of heavy smog during the time. With more traditional and social media from both China and beyond such as documentaries and news, China is more often put under the international spotlight than before , and the actual air pollution problem can be easily depicted and shown to foreign tourists, hence lowering their desire to come to China fearing for their health, not only leading to a reduced number of tourists but also a significant decrease in national income from tourism and related industries. Thirdly, agriculture in China is also affected by air pollution. Being one of the largest agricultural economies in the world, China has a history of ?à »Ã «Ã¢â¬ ¹Ã¢â¬ ¹, or to establish the country by agriculture, and currently produces 1/5 of the worlds grain and 1/2 of worlds vegetables . However, air pollution affects farming in two ways. Firstly, air pollutants like sulphur dioxide or ozone directly contaminate water sources or soil, thus affecting the crops. Secondly, the presence of suspended particulates blocks out sunlight, resulting in lowered photosynthesis rates and hence yield less crops. For example, Hunan, being a major province of rice production, is suffering from decreased crop yield these years . The severe air pollution also affects the farmers health and thus productivity, as they often work outdoors, inhaling a lot of pollutants over time, and thus prone to the aforementioned health risks. As we can see, despite economic gains from the Reform and Opening Up, the economy in both urban and rural areas are suffering from air pollution, which suggests the scope and severity of air pollution on Chinas economic growth. In the social aspects, air pollution has stirred civil unrest and general dissatisfaction towards the alleged industries and government responsible for air pollution. This originates from the inability of the civil society or media to observe or regulate malpractices, due to the lack of transparency and participation of civil society or media in Chinas government policies and industries, especially in the past. Over the years, a lot of mistrust is built up in the population, some of which resorting to unorthodox or illegal methods to voice their opinions towards malpractice. For example, a complaint of bad odor and leakage from a chemical factory in Fujian has escalated into riots and violent clashes with the factory staff and the police who were sent for a c rackdown, of which many were arrested, and several staff were badly beaten . Had there been effective, legal measures for locals to complain, and officials to address this problem, violence could have been avoided. In conclusion, air pollution has dealt severe blows to Chinas urban and rural economy, citizen health, and social stability. Chinas environmental protection minister, Zhou ShengXian, admitted that Environmental quality is not satisfactory and environmental protection work is arduous, on the Peoples Daily. The government must act swiftly to enforce strict environmental regulations; the industries ought to establish better corporate social responsibility to reduce their malpractices; and the civil society ought to voice out concerns more in order to pressurize the local government or industry. It is only through combined efforts and decisiveness of the Chinese Government, which is still a massive influence in Chinas policy-making and development, can air pollution be alleviated.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
How Did Steinbeck Influence Of Mice And Men - 912 Words
Steinbeckââ¬â¢s influence in of Mice and Men Steinbeckââ¬â¢s personal views on people he perceived as less than him shaped of Mice and Men. He had created a story that was in direct correlation with the people that he encountered in his everyday life. Steinbeck developed characters off his own biased opinions of those people. He falls into place within his own story without ever mentioning his own name. Overall Steinbeck based the story off his personal views. Steinbeckââ¬â¢s parents, John Ernst Steinbeck and Olive Hamilton, had both imprinted their own perspectives on him. His father was a county treasurer and his mother was a school teacher (Commire 176). He had received his economic views from his father. Due to his success and wealth, heâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦They talk as if they were born and raised on a farm, and never given the opportunity to be properly educated, much like the people Steinbeck was involved with. The characters in of Mice and Men can be compa red to real people from Steinbeckââ¬â¢s life. During Steinbeckââ¬â¢s days of being a ranch hand, he was surrounded by workers that represent George and Lennie. ââ¬Å"Two migrant ranch hands, George and the mentally challenged Lennie, and their simple yet ultimately thwarted dream of owning their own land.â⬠(ââ¬Å"John Steinbeckâ⬠). All their lives they had jumped from job to job because of Lennieââ¬â¢s disability. They had experienced several difficulties due to Lennieââ¬â¢s inability to control himself, so their dream of a farm full of rabbits and other animals had seemed to be nothing more than a dream. Other people within the story had also been in direct relation to those of his personal life. Curleyââ¬â¢s wife had been depicted as a harlot. This specific character could have been put into place due to Steinbeckââ¬â¢s several failed marriages. Steinbeck had been married to Carol Henning from 1930 to 1943, Gwyn Conger from 1943 to 1949, and then set tled down with Elaine Scott in 1950 (Commire 176). Curleyââ¬â¢s wife was referred to as a ââ¬Å"tartâ⬠or ââ¬Å"jailbaitâ⬠, she was tempting the men in a way that no man can resist. She was doing all of this out of pure revenge, Curley left her alone on the farm all the time because he was a very busyShow MoreRelatedInfluence Of Writer s Life And Times1416 Words à |à 6 PagesAssignment #1: Influence of Writerââ¬â¢s Life and Times No other period in American history did the civilian population suffer the most financially than in the 1930s. The unemployment level rose to an all-time high, and inflation made it nearly impossible for the common man to afford basic luxuries. It was in this era that John Steinbeck wrote a short story based off of migrant laborers set in his hometown of Salinas. The Great Depression of the 1930s, a decade of hardship and destitution, greatly influencedRead MoreOf Mice And Men Modernism1619 Words à |à 7 Pagesof John Steinbeckââ¬â¢s early drafts of his most famous work, Of Mice and Men, was eaten by his dog. This did not discourage him from finishing it and going on to write more stories and novellas, becoming one of Americaââ¬â¢s most beloved authors. John Steinbeck is seen as a very important important figure of the Modernist literary period; known for his observations of human conditions during the Dust Bowl era, mainly his book Of Mice and Men which truly takes a detai led look at the Great Depression inRead More Life Of John Steinbeck Essays1314 Words à |à 6 Pages John Steinbeck was a writer who used naturalism in his works to to bring awareness about problems in society that he dealt with in his own life. He frequently dealt with the economic and social problems of migrant workers in California and how they dealt with everyday life. He wrote through his fiction about what he knew and what affected him personally. Specifically, he wrote a novella entitled, Of Mice and Men, about two California migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, who are tryingRead MoreNew Log : Of Mice And Men892 Words à |à 4 PagesSeptember 30, 2015 New Log: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck John Steinbeck creates an odd pair of men to assume the role of protagonist in his novel, Of Mice and Men. George, a small and quick-witted man, is the dominant personality. Lennie, his clumsy companion, is a character who displays a child-like demeanor and is often compared to an animal throughout the novel. The coupleââ¬â¢s relationship closely resembles that which is often found between a father and son. Steinbeck later introduces Curley,Read MoreThe Portrayal of Society in Of Mice and Men and The Outsider Essay1430 Words à |à 6 Pages World literature; self taught language Hungarian: After reading the two books for my world literature, of mice and men and the outsider I decided I will compare the two books on the topic choice; portrayal of society in the literature studied. This includes points such as: Meursault and Lenny not being accepted in society for who they are because they are different then others; another point would be there is a lot of violence within societies. The rest will be presented further on in my essayRead MoreAnalysis Of The Sphinx And Of Mice And Men 1493 Words à |à 6 Pagesthe city the Sphinx was guarding. In many ways, the Sphinx is analogous to the American Dream where many people are devoured by it while a small quantity ever ââ¬Å"solve the riddleâ⬠and achieve their American Dream. In the 1937 novelette, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck incorporates the American Dream in the setting of the Great Depression in Tylerââ¬â¢s Ranch , California . During the Great Depression, many workers went into an exodus from the South and Midwest to California in light of the Dust Bowl . GeorgeRead More John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay976 Words à |à 4 PagesJohn Steinbecks ââ¬Å"Of mice and menâ⬠Of Mice and Men is set along the Salinas River a few miles south of Soledad in the fallen world of the Salinas Valley, which Steinbeck places east of Eden the Promised Land is only a painful and illusory dream. This land is populated by sons of Cain, men doomed to walk alone. One of the major themes that comes from this is loneliness, or fear of apartness. One of the themes of Of Mice and Men is that men fear loneliness, that they need someone to beRead MoreEssay about The Life Journey of John Steinbeck 1264 Words à |à 6 PagesThe Life Journey of John Steinbeck Every great writer had their own influences, John Steinbeck was no exception. Steinbeckââ¬â¢s influences cam from family, friends, and his environment to write detailed descriptions to involve or influence the reader. Whenever someone reads one of John Steinbeckââ¬â¢s works they are in immersed in the scene he is describing, he makes you feel as if you are right there experiencing everything there first hand. Steinbeck had a relatively normal childhood growing upRead More The American Dream in Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, Two Kinds, and Sophistication1537 Words à |à 7 Pagesin Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Two Kinds writer by Amy Tan, and in ââ¬Å"Sophisticationâ⬠by Sherwood Anderson. Working hard is the key to success. This struggle for success is most commonly called the ââ¬Å"American Dream.â⬠The aspect of the American Dream has been around forever and is often the underlying theme in many pieces of American literature. The theme of the American is especially presented in Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, The GreatRead MoreA Psychological Analysis of Of Mice and Men Essay1319 Words à |à 6 Pagesliterature but the two most recognized are the Freudian and Jungian approach. The best approach to use when critically analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the Jungian approach. Because the novelââ¬â¢s main theme is a struggle with the idea of ââ¬Å"selfâ⬠, using this approach allows the reader to understand the main character, its influences, and ultimately his actions. The Jungian approach was brought about by Carl Jung. He believed in the concept of individuation. This is the
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Downsizing Essay Research Paper 1 IntroductionDownsizing is free essay sample
Downsizing Essay, Research Paper 1. Introduction Retrenchment is the procedure of # 8220 ; cut downing employment to better efficiency, productiveness, and fight # 8221 ; ( Schwind et al. , p 538 ) . There has been a surprisingly big sum of downsizing. Between 1984 and 1994 # 8220 ; entire employment of Fortune 500 companies fell by 3 million people # 8221 ; ( Anthony et al, p 655 ) . This paper will concentrate on how to pull off retrenchment and will affect analysing the retrenchment procedure in phases. First is the pre-downsizing phase. This is where an organisation analyzes the issues involved in downsizing their company. Second, there is the planning phase where by the organisation plans the retrenchment procedure that will be taken. The 3rd stage is the procedure of execution and the 4th phase being pull offing the subsisters. It is really of import that human resources be greatly involved during the complete retrenchment procedure. The ground for this is that downsizing is a really hard state of affairs for all parties involved and the procedure should be managed decently and finely. There are many different grounds why organisations feel that retrenchment is the lone option with certain keys that will take to a successful retrenchment. 2. Keies to a Successful Retrenchment Procedure As already stated, downsizing in most instances is a really delicate state of affairs. Schwind notes # 8220 ; the mean size of downsizing scopes from 14 to 20 per centum of the work force # 8221 ; . This is a really important sum of people therefore the retrenchment procedure should be handled really carefully. The six cardinal rules to maintain in head for a successful retrenchment procedure are ( Schwind et Al, p539 ) : 1. Retrenchment should be initiated from the top but requires hands-on engagement from all employees. 2. Work force decrease must be selective in application and long-run in accent. 3. There is a demand to pay particular attending both to those who lose their occupations and to the subsisters who remain with the organisation. 4. It is critical that decision-makers identify exactly where redundancies, extra costs, and inefficiencies exist and attack those specific countries. 5. Downsizing should ensue in the formation of little semi-autonomous organisations within the broader organisation. 6. Downsizing must be a proactive scheme focused on increasing public presentation. The keys outlined above are merely a guideline and other cardinal factors should besides be considered for a successful retrenchment procedure. Communicating the organisations plan to downsize and why it must make so to the work force early is good pattern. This will give the employees that are being dismissed an chance to fix for their hereafters and less of a feeling of uncertainness with their state of affairs. It will besides give the staying employees more regard for the company and give them more occupation security since they feel that the company will be honest with them with regard to company concern. Another factor that is of import to see during the retrenchment procedure is that with a reduced workforce the staying employees will necessitate to pick up the slack. In downsizing state of affairss the company should be cognizant of this fact and inquire the staying employees how they feel their occupations could be made easier in order to manage the increased work load. 3. Reasons or Advantages of Downsizing The chief ground why an organisation chooses to downsize is that a company may wish to reconstitute their organisation. Theoretically reconstituting an organisation is a agency of increasing productiveness and the efficiency of the company. Cuting the figure of employees within an organisation is the easiest and quickest manner to cutting costs. Another advantage to retrenchment is that certain places or people that are unproductive are released. An addition in international competition is another ground organisations choose to downsize. Some companies feel that in order to vie in their several industries globally that retrenchment is the solution. 4. Disadvantages of Downsizing There are both advantages and disadvantages of an organisation downsizing its figure of employees. One of chief disadvantages of retrenchment is the affect that downsizing has on the staying employees. After a major organisational retrenchment there is a lessening in morale and a sense of insecurity amongst the staying employees. The lessening in morale is non merely felt by the co-workers of the released employees but by everyone within the company at all degrees. The people that were in charge of the existent fire might experience guilty which might convey on depression. A lessening in employee trueness and a feeling of bitterness towards the company are besides a consequence of retrenchment. The consequences of which may ensue in lower productivenesss and higher turnover rates. In some instances the quality of green goods being green goodss can besides diminish as a consequence of employee attitudes. As celebrated above retrenchment is # 8220 ; theoretically # 8221 ; supposed to increase productiveness. The ground why it is merely theoretical is that there are different surveies to back up both the addition and lessening in productivenesss as a consequence of retrenchment. Surveies show that: ? # 8216 ; fewer than tierce of downsized houses received expected net income increases # 8217 ; ( Duran et al ) . ? # 8216 ; 38 % of surveyed companies that downsized reported no alteration in worker productiveness ; 34 % reported increased worker productiveness ; and 22 % reported reduced worker productiveness # 8217 ; , ( Filoposki, p. 71 ) . As can be seen from the above statistics downsizing is non ever the best solution. 5. Stairss in the Downsizing Procedure If retrenchment is inevitable, doing certain that certain downsizing stairss are implemented successfully and swimmingly can cut down the negative affects of downsizing. There are four chief processing in downsizing procedure: analysis, planning, execution, and pull offing the subsisters. These stairss make it as easy a passage as possible for all parties involved. This procedure should be implemented with a big sum of counsel from the human resource section. 5.1 Analysis The first measure in the procedure of downsizing for the human resource section is the pre-downsizing phase. This measure must be done before the determination of retrenchment is made by the organisation. This phase analyses the effects and affects that the determination of retrenchment may ensue in. The factors that are considered are the costs to the company, both direct and indirect, the stakeholders # 8217 ; demands, the employees, and how retrenchment would impact the organisation as a whole. The organisation should merely see downsizing as a long-run solution, non merely a speedy hole for the organisation. 5.2 Planning The following measure in the retrenchment procedure is be aftering phase. For the successful execution of a retrenchment procedure careful and complete planning by the human resource section and direction should be done. This procedure should get down long before the formal proclamation. If the determination of retrenchment is made in the pre-downsizing analysis phase the following measure in the procedure is to take the best manner to downsize. Two possible methods of downsizing are attrition and budget film editing. Attrition is when a company reduces its work force by non replacing employees that leave on a voluntary footing. This is a really slow procedure and therefore is non normally used as a retrenchment method. Budget film editing is the most popular type of downsizing. As specified earlier retrenchment of employees is the easiest and most widely used signifier of budget film editing. A company is able to cut down its work force while increasing, or at least non diminishing, productiveness by increasing the mechanization within the organisation, taking certain places, or increasing the work load of other employees. Another portion of planning is the determination of when to downsize and which employees should be released. The places that are less proficient should be released before the extremely proficient places since they are more hard to make full. The timing of the proclamation and the act of retrenchment is really of import. Timing should be balanced between company public assistance and employee public assistance. In deepness planning is needed if retrenchment is to be successful. The last measure in the planning phase is to make up ones mind upon the inside informations of the passage. Some of the options open to the employer are to offer: rupture wage, outplacements, and occupation guidance. These will be looked at further in the pull offing the subsisters phase. 5.3 Execution The 3rd measure involved with the retrenchment procedure is its effectual execution. The morale and productiveness of employees staying after downsizing can be a direct affect of how the retrenchment procedure is implemented. Therefore, this is the most delicate of the retrenchment processes. Therefore, it is of import for all parties involved to be considered, including directors, the employees being laid off, and the staying employees. One of the first stairss in that demand to be done is the preparation of directors and supervisors. This is done before the proclamation and is really of import in the execution stage. The supervisors need to understand that they will hold a big communicating function when the proclamation is made, and peculiarly afterwards. Employees tend to swear their direct supervisor more than anyone else in the organisation, so the supervisors need to hold the communicating and diplomatic accomplishments necessary to cover efficaciously with the inquiries that may originate. Directors and supervisors besides have to get the accomplishments to get by with stating employees they are discharged. This can be really nerve-racking and hard for most people. To pr oviding supervisors with effectual communicating accomplishments, they will hold to be given considerable information about the companyââ¬â¢s retrenchment and future programs, so they are able to accurately and convincingly reply, employee concerns. The execution must be good planned, good organized, and good communicated. Employees should be notified in progress that there will be a retrenchment, and the existent proclamation should take topographic point on the specific twenty-four hours promised. The statement should be carefully prepared and announced to all employees at the same time. Senior directors should do the proclamation. They should be unfastened and honest about the grounds for retrenchment, explicating the concern principle behind the determination, supplying every bit much information as they can to employees, and be prepared to reply employees # 8217 ; inquiries. Senior directors must besides pass on the company # 8217 ; s vision for the hereafter. This gives the subsisters more trust in direction # 8217 ; s ability to do the company successful. Besides the senior directors should be prepared to listen to employees who need to vent their emotions right after the proclamation. The information provided should i nclude what the alterations mean, and how employees, including those non discharged, will be affected. Newsletters and meetings can be utile tools to supply information to employees. After the initial proclamation, each director or supervisor should run into with each employee in their section separately, either to inform them that they have been discharged, or to give them information on what specific alterations will be happening that will straight impact them. Communication is the key to an affectional and smooth execution procedure and should be done before rumors begin, which can do a lessening in morale and fuel bitterness. Rumours frequently consequences in over-exaggerations, which may take to insecurities amongst the work force. The existent breaks may be less lay waste toing than what the rumor express, but if there is non adequate unfastened and honest communicating, rumor may play a important function, adversely impacting morale. Even after the proclamation communicating plays a major function in the procedure. As such, companies to promote communicating through the usage of inquiry bead off boxes. Discharged employees should be treated reasonably, shown concern, given generous rupture and benefits bundles, and given aid with happening other employment, non merely to protect the repute of the organisation, but besides to guarantee that the subsisters will experience more positively about the retrenchment. Fairness is an of import factor when an organisation is in a retrenchment state of affairs. Perceived unfairness may be inevitable, but with first-class communicating, and rational grounds given to employees misinterpretations and bitterness should diminish. Employee engagement during the execution stage may assist better subsisters # 8217 ; morale and motive after the retrenchment. For illustration, employees can be involved in redesigning work, reconstituting occupations, and bettering internal procedures to make greater efficiency. Employee engagement helps subsisters experience more in control of their hereafter. This engagement may diminish some of the negative feelings that the subsister may hold, therefore productiveness should be maintained or increased as a consequence. 5.4 Pull offing the Survivors The last measure in the retrenchment procedure is the managing of the lasting employees. This measure is really of import to maintaining the morale of the staying employees. Even if the execution of the retrenchment has been done efficaciously, the company and staying employees will still hold many issues to decide. A figure of critical issues need to be addressed if these employees are to go optimally productive subscribers to the freshly downsized organisation. They are: subsisters # 8217 ; feelings of heartache, opposition to alter, fright, loss of assurance, motive, trust, committedness, self esteem, employee trueness every bit good as issues originating out of the increased work load, such as new accomplishment demands, and diminishing systems support. Many employees resist alteration even when their employment position is non threatened. When that menace is present it is non at all surprising to happen even more opposition than might be otherwise expected. The cause of this may be associated with fright. The fright is that downsizing, one time begun, will go an on-going procedure and though you may hold survived this unit of ammunition, there is bound to be another unit of ammunition and you may non be so lucky the 2nd clip around. Once the outlook of unafraid employment has been violated, fear creeps into each employee # 8217 ; s consciousness and continues to eat away at assurance, motive, trust, committedness, and self-esteem. These feelings may be intensified if the work load of an person is increased as a consequence of downsizing. Now the employee may be required to work longer hours compounded by the complication of executing work that requires the acquisition of new cognition, the mastering of new accomplishments and the constitution of new relationships. These demands are farther menaces to the assurance of many employees, who fear that if they fail in these new undertakings their occupation is at even greater hazard. Employee trueness may be a concern during the post-downsizing phase. In add-on to the increased work loads and new accomplishments needed, chances for promotion and growing are frequently diminished. These factors may take to an employee seeking for better chances elsewhere. A deficiency of trueness is one of the earliest consequences of retrenchment. An organisation can assist cut down some of the feelings that the subsisters may hold by guaranting the followers ( Mishra A. , Umiker, and Mishra K. ) : ? Employees have equal chance for personal growth/development. ? Make sure that survivors experience enhanced occupation assortment and liberty. ? There is sensible chance for promotion/advancement. ? Peoples receive appropriate acknowledgment for excellence in their work. ? Employees are given the chance to accept extra duty. ? Peoples are valued for their creativeness and thoughts. Both directors and the human resources section are responsible for helping employee accommodation to the alterations caused by downsizing. The human resources direction is responsible, possibly more than of all time before, for the development of bing staff within the organisation. Employees who survive a retrenchment frequently feel dying and betrayed. HR can assist these employees by supplying emotional support, function elucidation and calling direction aid. Employee aid plans may be one method used to help with supplying emotional support to subsisters. Directors besides have an of import function in covering with subsisters. Keeping an # 8220 ; unfastened door policy # 8221 ; is one manner to promote communicating within the section, which may assist some of the employees to cover with and show their ideas about the state of affairs around them. 6. Decision Retrenchment is a really hard pick that a company makes and affects a great trade of people in the procedure. The determination should be carefully analyzed before the existent determination is made in order to do the procedure easier on all parties involved. Six cardinal things to maintain in head along with four general downsizing stairss should be followed in order for a successful retrenchment passage. The four chief stairss are: analysis, planning, execution, and pull offing the subsisters. Following these stairss will cut down the negative affects that downsizing consequences from such as decreased trueness, productiveness, morale, and misgiving in the company. Making the downsizing passage every bit easy as possible for all parties involved is the duty of both direction and human resources. Stairss should be taken to ease the affects of downsizing on employees, discharged employees, and besides direction. The chief key to a successful organisational retrenchment procedure is g ood communicating. Bibliography 7. Mentions ? Anthony, William. , Pamela Perrewe, Michele Kacmar. Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach Third Edition. Montreal: The Dryden Press Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. ? Cascio, W.F. 1993. # 8216 ; Downsizing: What do we cognize? What have we learned? # 8217 ; . Academy of Management Executive, 7 ( 1 ) , p. 96. ? Duran, Catherine A. , Vinitia E Mathews, . # 8220 ; Some retrenchment attacks more effectual than others. # 8221 ; Health Care Strategic Management, Volume 17 Issue 9, 1999. ? Filoposki, D. , November 1993, Volume 72, Issue 11, # 8216 ; Downsizing International Relations and Security Network # 8217 ; t ever rightsizing. # 8217 ; Personnel Journal, p. 71. ? Hendricks, Charles. , The Rightsizing Redress: How Directors can React to the Downsizing Dilemma. Homewood: Society for Human Resource Management and Business One Irwin, 1992. ? Mishra, Aneil K. , Gretchen M Spreitzer. , # 8220 ; Explaining how subsisters respond to retrenchment: The function of trust, authorization, justness, and work redesign. # 8221 ; Academy of Management. Volume 23 Issue 3, 1998. ? Mishra, Karen E. , Gretchen M Spreitzer ; Aneil K Mishra. , # 8220 ; Continuing employee morale during downsizing. # 8221 ; Sloan Management Review. Volume 39 Issue 2, 1998. ? Schwind, Hermann. , Hari Das, and Terry Wager. Canadian Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach Fifth Edition. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 1999. ? Tomasko, R. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future # 8217 ; . New York: American Management Association, 1990. ? Umiker, William. , # 8220 ; The necessities of compassionate downsizing. # 8221 ; The Health Care Manager. Volume 17 Issue 4, 1999. 31b
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