Sunday, August 18, 2019
An Interpretation of Emily Dickinsons Poem I Felt a Funeral, in My Bra
An Interpretation of Emily Dickinson's Poem I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain To understand any poem by Emily Dickinson is a challenge. After reading this poem a few times, I decided that the only way to comment on it was to scan all the possible meanings of certain lines and words that Dickinson chose to use. This is my own interpretation of the poem, not to be confused with a definite idea of what Dickinson was trying to convey in her writing of "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain" (280). I decided that the best way to comprehend Dickinson's message was to pay more attention to the feelings created and senses stimulated by reading and rereading the poem itself. I came to the conclusion that the author is in deep pain over the loss of a loved one or a very prominent part of her life in the past. Emily compares her feelings to those provoked while attending a funeral. She focuses most on the senses of touch and sound. She "felt a funeral", heard the beating of drums--rather odd sensations for someone to express unless they feel pain equal to that felt at the death of someone loved and needed. Therefore, it is obvious that Dickinson is writing this poem from experience, not observation. In the first stanza, the poet begins by stating "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain, and Mourners to and fro/ kept treading- treading- till it seemed/ That Sense was breaking through." In these opening lines, Dickinson is describing the beginning stages of a funeral procession. You have the friends, quiet and subdued, "treading" across the heart of he one who loved the deceased most-Dickinson herself. I don't think that the word "Sense" is used here in the physical tense, but sense as in mental sense, as in realizations or w... ...behind or places to run for comfort. The last line, "And Finished knowing-then-"is one I interpreted two ways. It could mean that she herself has died, and no longer must deal with the pain. Or it could represent the death of her soul. She stopped knowing anything, because reality had settled in. The shock of if all (the numbness) has evaporated, and now the author decides to give up on fighting off the pain. I saw this poem as Dickinson's attempt at describing the process of mourning over a loved one. I had inclinations to believe that she is describing her own death, but then I had too many contradicting thoughts on that interpretation. Therefore, I believe that the poet has undergone a serious loss of some sort, and is either figuratively or literally describing the process of recovering from the pain that such a loss ignites inside the survivor.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Coca Cola’s New Vending Machine
1) Pros for Coca Cola Co. Technology Availability: Electronic components are becoming more and more versatile and cheaper. All that is required in order to adjust the price with the changes of the weather is a temperature sensor and a computer chip. Therefore, it can reduce the implementation costs. Increase competitiveness through price discrimination: Price discrimination is used in order to increase the economic efficiency. In principle, the temperature sensitive vending machine is no different from any other form of price discrimination. For example, airlines pair daily and hourly fluctuations in demand with fluctuations in price. Moreover, in Japan some vending machines already adjust their prices based on the temperature outside. Increase profitability: vending machines are an extremely profitable resource and channel and have the opportunity to be more profitable for Coca Cola. More profitability could be achieved through: * Having the ability to lower the price to customers who would usually not buy the product but all the same with charging a higher price to those who would. Lowering the price at off-peak buying time in order to increase the overall sales. * Providing information when a machine is out of stock. Facilitate the micro marketing: information about which drinks are selling and, at what rates in a particular location is relayed by internet, helps salespeople to figure out which drinks will sell best in which locations. Cons for Coca Cola Co. Damaging the brand image: it causes to interpret that Coca C ola is not customer-friendly Risk of price war: automatic price adjustments will provide the capability to ignite the price war e. . over a holiday weekend. Pros for consumers * Interactive experience when purchasing a soft drink could produce added value as micro marketing can be used to satisfy the demand of consumers more easily. * Enjoy more promotion and pay less when the product is less demanded. Cons for consumers * Product is more expensive when it is more needed. This might seem unfair to a thirsty person. Considering that, the purpose of a coke is always to quench the thirst, people should not pay different prices for the same good. Exploit the consumers who live in warm climates. * Exploit the faithful customers who are loyal to Coca Cola brand. 2) Where? * In hot climates: the value of coke to customers is higher because a cold drink is needed more to quench their thirst. Therefore, this technology will increase the price of coke in warm climates and destroy the value of coke to brand switchers who will find an alternative. * In colder climates: the value of coke to customers is lower because they do not desire cold drinks. Therefore, the price will be lower and this will make coke have a higher value for customers in colder climates. Who? * Brand switchers: this type of consumers will not have loyalty to Coca Cola and therefore switch brands based on the related price. Therefore, it may create value to brand switchers in colder climates and decrease value in hotter climates, as they find a cheaper alternative. Overall, brand switchers will benefit the most from this technology. * Habitual buyers: this type of consumers does not prefer the brand but switching costs are too high. Therefore, they stay with the same brand and if the price of coke becomes lower than competing brands it will add value of coke to these consumers. * Brand loyal consumers: these customers will suffer the most because they will want to buy Coca Cola whether the weather is cold or hot. Therefore, it will only add value to this product for them when it is cold. 3) Price Wars: the ability to discount prices so easily could cause competitors to lower prices, specifically on holidays. Price discrimination: those consumers that drink on hot days will be worse off since they must pay a higher price, while some consumers that drink Coke on cold days will be better off since they receive a lower price. Consequently, sales in warmer countries could decrease as a result of charging high prices. It will only be a success if the difference between prices is not explicitly known. Otherwise, price discrimination could harm Coca Colaââ¬â¢s brand image. In addition, setting the price lower in cold climates might cause some profit losses and change the reference point, and destroy the brand image either. ) * Coca Cola should not have publicized the new technology while it was still being researched. Instead, they should have waited until they knew exactly what they wanted to achieve through this technology. Furthermore, they should not have publicized new technology in a way that vending machines would change prices according to the weather temperature. Because, this create s controversy that made them look not customer-friendly but profit hungry. This might damage the brand image. * Their response to the announcement of New York Times was the right action. Because, it cleared the intention of Coca Cola that was to improve product availability and promotion activity rather than to raise prices of soft drinks in hot weather. * Another point they did right is that they carried out thorough product testing of this new technology to enable them to identify how successfully it could increase their vending machine profitability. * I would recommend that if Coca Cola decided to use the technology they might first implement it in colder countries and promote the new technology as a way for consumers to save money and increase their utilities. After the adoption of this new technology, they should introduce it into warmer countries but without the emphasizing on the price, with more emphasizing on the attributes of the vending machine such as refrigerated display case, cooler, the ability of accepting credit cards and debit cards, better availability of products through better stock control. 5) I think the comments of Mr. Ivester were naive and not well planned. He should not say that it is fair to raise prices in a championship event in a hot summer day. Therefore, according to the passage the Ivesterââ¬â¢s answer created the flap, seeming to cast the company as one that was not customer-friendly. Instead, he should say that Coca Cola is not introducing vending machines that raise the price of soft drinks in hot weather, just exploring innovative technology that can improve product availability, promotion activity. Just like the comments of Pepsi spokesman, Jeff Brown, ââ¬Å"At Pepsi we are focused on innovations that make it easier for consumers to buy a soft drink, not harder. â⬠Based on Ivesterââ¬â¢s comments, the image of Coca Colaââ¬â¢s brand eroded.
Friday, August 16, 2019
John Locke Biography Essay
John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Wrington, Somerset, England. He went to the University of Oxford, where he studied medicine. After college he became a philosopher; writing and speaking on topics, such as political philosophy. His father was a country lawyer and was in the military, he served as a captain during the English civil war. John Locke was one of the Whig party founders, this party pushed for constitutional monarchism. He also wrote two books that were published in England; Two Treaties of Government and his Letter Concerning. Toleration while he was in exile in Holland, due to a failed assassination attempt on King Charles II and his brother. Two Treatises of Government showed his revolutionary ideas concerning the natural rights of man and the social contract. Both of these concepts stirred waves in England, and impacted the intellectual underpinnings that formed the later American and French revolutions. John Lockeââ¬â¢s liberal politicalviews were verydifferent and were unheardof at the timein Great Britain. He believed that it was wrong for agovernment to force its subjects to conform to a particular religion. Locke said that religious beliefs are a private concern and that they are not a proper subject for government interference. Locke also believed in natural rights which he usually referred to as, ââ¬Å"life, liberty, andpropertyâ⬠. Hestated that these rights a person may surrender or forfeitby attacking others, but no one can simply take them away. If the government begins to violate these rights by depriving its subjects of life, liberty, and property, then the people have a right to overthrow the governmentand establish a new one. Lockealso believedthat people can consent to create and obey only a limited or constitutional government. Lockeââ¬â¢s views on practicing religion freely later influenced the creation of the American Declaration of Independence. John Locke 3 Early in his medical studies, Locke met the Earl of Shaftsbury. The two became friends and Shaftsbury soon persuaded Locke to move to London and become his personal physician. As Shaftsburyââ¬â¢s power grew, so did Lockeââ¬â¢s responsibilities. He assisted in his business and political matters and eventually Locke became his secretary of presentations. Shaftsbury had a very heavy influence on Lockeââ¬â¢s political career and many of his radical thoughts. Shaftsbury left an outlook on rule and government that stayed with Locke for the rest of his life. After reading about much of Lockeââ¬â¢s life it is easy to see that he was very liberal and believed in the people having powers and freedoms that, at the time, were unheard of. John Lockeââ¬â¢s philosophical political ideas and writings have greatly contributed to the freedoms we enjoy today in the Western part of the world. BIBLIOGRAPHY John Locke. (2014). The Biography. com website. Retrieved 01:12, Sep 21, 2014, fromhttp://www. biography. com/people/john-locke-9384544. Ball, Terence, and Richard Dagger. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. Print. John Locke 4 Table Of Contents Page 1: Title Page 2: Table of Contents Page 3: Biographical Background and Political Views Page 4: Connections and Conclusion John Locke 5 Page 5: Bibliography.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Is the War on Terrorism a War Essay
The Global War on Terrorism is a military campaign that began shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. First used by George W. Bush, the phrase ââ¬Ëwar on terrorââ¬â¢ has become to be conceptualized as a term used to signify ââ¬Ëglobal military, political, lawful, and conceptual struggle targeting both organizations designated as terrorists and regimes accused of supporting them. â⬠The war on terror main focus has been with Islamist militants and Al-Qaeda. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq are both considered to be part of the war on terrorism. There is much speculation on whether the war on terror is actually a war. This essay will argue that both points of view are valid. There are reasons which validate the war on terrorism as being considered an actual war such as the fact that an actual decelaration of war was waged by both the US and Al-Qaeda, it can be considered a new way of war, and that ultimately like war, terrorism is a mean to a political end. On the other side of the spectrum, it may not be considered a war because it does not have a clear end or possible victory, it does not have a confined battle space as regular wars, and it is a ââ¬Ëwarââ¬â¢ against an immaterial concept such as the wars on poverty, drugs, and crime. There is an extensive amount of literature on the subject of terrorism and especially the war on terror. Mia Bloom in ââ¬ËDying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terrorââ¬â¢ examines the use strategies, successes, and failures of suicide bombing in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. She claims that in many instances the effort of Israel, Russia, and the United States have failed to deter terrorism and suicide bombings. Bloom also contemplates how terrorist groups learn from one another, and thus how they react and retaliate to counterterror tactics the financing of terrorism, and the role of suicide attacks against the backdrop of larger ethnic and political conflicts. Another current scholar writing on terrorism is Mark Juergensmeyer. Juergensmeyer studies religious terrorism more specifically. Bruce Hoffman gives a brilliant insight to terrorism and all its aspects. Hoffman describes its historical evolution and the mindset of the terrorist. He examines this invisible enemy and his tactics and motivation in a globalized world. Hoffman argues that the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers radically altered the USAââ¬â¢s and the Wests view on terrorism. When attempting to answer the above question it is important to clarify and define the terms. Terrorism has a vast number of definitions and varies greatly depending on who is trying to define it and from what perspective it is being defined and at which scope. For example one definition of terrorism is the FBIââ¬â¢s definition of it as ââ¬Ëthe unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in further political or social objectivesââ¬â¢. Another definition is from the Department of Defense which states it to be as ââ¬Ëthe calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological objectives. A final example of one of the many definitions of terrorism is that of the Department of homeland Security which states it as ââ¬Ëany activity that involves an act that is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critic infrastructure or key resources; andâ⬠¦must also appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. ââ¬â¢ These definitions vary quite greatly from one to another. Any definition of terrorism suits a particular agency and how they look at the act of violence, whereas very few look at the causes for it and what its essence is. Notice the selected vocabulary for each definition will suit the type of agencyââ¬â¢s profile. The problem with defining terrorism is one that it is a subjective thing, and two that the parties trying to define it try to include everything and nothing in it. They try to put and various different events that happened and situations as well to help define it so as to make sure that terrorism encompasses a large number of things. For example the discotheque bombing of Bali. It seems that the definitions need to include anything that attacks the west. With regards to the war on terror, is it the war on terror or terrorism? Is there really a war on terrorism and if so according to whom? The USA? Al-Qaeda? And in which theatres and locations are we talking about? The war on terror might be a war on terror in Afghanistan but not in other places. Also the title of the question is quite ambiguous because is terrorism is an act of war, or is war is an act of terrorism? Each one can be unfolded onto the other easily. It is also important to consider who is included in the war on terror, is it all terrorists groups including terrorist groups like the IRA? Or is it just limited to Islamist militant terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda? It is not always clear who are the terrorists and who are the terrorizedâ⬠¦ ââ¬Å"All politics is a struggle for power, and the ultimate kind of power is violence. â⬠Hoffman writes that terrorism is where politics and violence intersect in the hope of delivering power. And that all terrorism involves a quest for power. Power to do many things such as to dominate, coerce, control but ultimately to ââ¬Ëeffect fundamental political change. Clausewitzââ¬â¢s definition of war was ââ¬Ëwar is the continuation of Politick by other meansââ¬â¢. In this context terrorism fits in accordance to his definition as terrorism too can be considered part of war. Terrorism can be considered a tactic or act of war, or war a tactic or act of terrorism. For example the French used torture during the Battle of Algiers, the US uses terror tactics itself such as Abu Ghraib. It is very difficult to separate war from terrorism neatly. Being a terrorist is a stepping-stone to becoming a politician. Thus because of the very ambiguous relationship and line between war and terrorism, terrorism can be considered as a new way, or military tactic of fighting war. Thus anything that tries to counter attack it can also be considered a war. Thus rending the war on terrorism a war. Terrorism is ââ¬Ëa complex phenomena in which violence is used to obtain political power to readdress grievances ââ¬â¢ In order for one to consider the war on terrorism as an actual war, an actual statement of waging war has had to been made. This is the case with the war on terrorism. Al-Qaeda did declare war on the USA in 1998. The bush administration created the term of the ââ¬Ëaxis of evilââ¬â¢ and the USA did fight a conventional war in Iraq in 2003. The war on terrorism might not be a war in itself but it could be made up and composed by several on going wars such as Chechnya, the government of Sri Lanka versus the Tumult Tigers (which was actually the first country to successfully defeat terrorism), and Mali. There have been clear objectives set out and enemies to defeat. Although this enemy is invisible, and the way of fighting the battles are different (due to the asymmetrical aspect of the war on terror) it does not mean this is not a war. The rules have changed, the battle space as well, the way of thinking of the enemy and war has changed drastically. But it is still war. It is just a new face of war. However, the war on terrorism is hard to define as an actual ââ¬Ëwarââ¬â¢ for several reasons. One, because it seems the US and the West are just policing and engaging in nation building to promote liberal democracy. Hoffman mentions the second factor, which is vastly important in discrediting the war on terrorism as a war stating that ââ¬Ëunlike traditional wars, the war on terror does not have a clear endââ¬â¢. This is because the victory seems unattainable. Terrorism wonââ¬â¢t die along with the terrorist leaders. Not even when the most wanted terrorist has been killed. DCIA Leon E. Panetta stated that ââ¬Å"I donââ¬â¢t think thereââ¬â¢s any question that when you get the number one terrorist in the world, that weââ¬â¢re a little safer today than we were when he was alive. But I also donââ¬â¢t think we ought to kid ourselves that killing Usama Bin Ladin kills al-Qaââ¬â¢ida. Al-Qaââ¬â¢ida still remains a threat, theyââ¬â¢re still going to try to attack our country, and I think we have to continue to be vigilant and continue the effort to ultimately defeat these guys. We damaged them, but we still have to defeat them. â⬠In order for a war to be a war, shouldnââ¬â¢t it have a clear end? Or at least a possible one? The war on terrorism also is discredited as being an actual war because it does not take place on a clear battle space. The director of public prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald quoted ââ¬Å"London is not a battlefield. Those innocents who were murdered on July 7 2005 were not victims of war. And the men who killed them were not, as in their vanity they claimed on their ludicrous videos, ââ¬Ësoldiersââ¬â¢. They were deluded, narcissistic inadequates. They were criminals. They were fantasists. We need to be very clear about this. On the streets of London, there is no such thing as a ââ¬Ëwar on terrorââ¬â¢, just as there can be no such thing as a ââ¬Ëwar on drugsââ¬â¢ He continues by stating that ââ¬Ëthe fight against terrorism on the streets of Britain is not a war. It is the prevention of crime, the enforcement of our laws and the winning of justice for those damaged by their infringement. â⬠The war on terror could simply be a war against a ââ¬Ëthingââ¬â¢ such as the war on poverty, drugs, crime tcâ⬠¦ There is no real way to defeat, destroy and rid the planet of such immaterial concepts. The war on terrorism looked under these aspects becomes more difficult to truly accept as a war. It is difficult to answer the question if whether the war on terrorism is an actual war. It appears that there is a struggle between Al-Qaeda fighting secularism, consumerism, and immorality and the US and the West is fighting against backwardness and against groups of people who reject western values and globalization. Is this what the real war being fought is about? Is this the actual war that is going on? There are both aspects crediting the war on terrorism as a war and others discrediting it. This question however is highly relevant and intertwines to other aspects of IR305 such as the changing nature of war (is the war on terror the new type of war? ), the different types of warfare (is the war on terror the new western way of warfare and terrorism the Arab way of warfare? ), and the topic of risk societies (are we breeding more terrorism by fighting the war on terror, thus creating more risk). All of these various aspects of IR305 are relevant to the topic of the war on terrorism.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
The Thoughtful Forecaster
Becoming a thoughtful forecaster is important to the development of any company today. Understanding the financial aspects of your company can be the deal-breaking point of whether your company is a successful one or not. In the case, ââ¬Å"The Thoughtful Forecasterâ⬠, we learn that sometimes you are right and sometimes you are wrong, which is partially due to oneââ¬â¢s bias. We also learn that being a thoughtful forecaster involves trial and era. It isnââ¬â¢t easy but throughout the processes you start to understand the financial relationships within your business.The financial statements provide information needed in order to make a proper analysis and provides you with the historical strengths and weaknesses of your business. The income statement, also known as the ââ¬Å"profit-and-loss statementâ⬠, is utilized to measure the flow of cost, revenue, and profits over a period of time. The balance sheet gives an over view of business investments and the financing in a particular time. Together these two statements can give a thorough outlook of the businessââ¬â¢s performance and a better understanding of the mechanics that make up the business operations.Interpreting and utilizing financial ratios is an important way to evolve into a successful financial forecaster. Examining a businessââ¬â¢s performance includes: growth rates, margins, turnover, and return on investments. Growth rates capture the year-on-year change in percentage of a particular line item. It can be separated into two growth measures: unit growth and price growth. Unit growth is the growth of revenue due to an increase in units sold. Price growth is the growth revenue due to an increase in the price of each unit.Margin ratios are the percentages of revenue that has not been consumed by any business costs. Margins also measure the cost structure of the business which includes important definitions/ratios. These are: gross margin, operating margin, and net profit margin. Turnover ratios are used to measure productivity, or efficiency, of business assets. It is created by dividing a measure of volume from the income statement by a measure of investment from the balance sheet.There are several measures of turnover and they include: receivable turnover, inventory turnover, PPE turnover, asset turnover, total capital turnover, and payable turnover. An alternative form of measuring the asset productivity is in ââ¬Å"daysâ⬠, which takes the investment amount divided by the volume, which is then multiplied by 365 days. The resulting number is the average number of days in a year that an investment item is held by the business. Return on investments (ROI), is the profit generated per dollar of investment and the measure for calculating return on investments.This measure includes: pretax return on assets, return on capital (ROC), and return on equity (ROE). Financial ratios are useful in forecasting financial statements because they show the relationsh ips across financial-statement line items of the past. The financial models can be helpful in identifying the impact of assumptions on the forecast. Most financial models are composed in excel through a spreadsheet. By doing this it makes it easier to see the assumptions for the different forecast scenarios but it is also used to correct any of the assumptions that were inaccurately made.The forecasting process should go hand-in-hand with the constant economic changes and you should take into consideration the industry and economy wide pressures it endures. These pressures include: inflation, price-growth assumptions, and any economic recessions. Industry reality should also be taken into place and here you should consider business profitability and follow the guidelines that qualify a business to have higher or lower profitability. Having a high profitability does not always mean a high performance.It is important to recognize that the strategy of competitors do not stand still, an d your forecasting should be adjusted when needed according to aggressive competition. Two elements that become a problem in business forecasting are optimism bias and overconfidence bias. Optimism bias is stated as a systematic positive error in the expected value of an unknown quantity. Overconfidence bias is a systematic negative error in the expected variance of an unknown quantity. It is a difficult task but it is important to have an unbiased outlook for the forecast, which is done by having estimated high-side and a low-side scenarios.When forecasting the financial statements of the Maytag Corporation for the end of 2004, the companyââ¬â¢s annual report provided me information from the income statement and the balance sheet from the previous two years. On there is calculations and a variety of ratios including the sales growth to return on assets. The ratio analysis gives us a sense of the trends in the business performance. Next it shows that a thoughtful forecaster would need to make assumptions into the future.Although these arenââ¬â¢t completely accurate, they can give us a clearer more centralized view of the analysis. With the qualitative/quantitative research and the historical data that was given we can assume the company will maintain its position in a declining industry. An increased entry of foreign competition will lead to zero sales growth for Maytag in 2004. Although all the events of 2004 cannot be predicted with the guidance and use of thoughtful analysis, we can conclude a reasonable and unbiased expectation of future performance has been represented.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Gay and Lesbian Should allowed to become foster parent and adoption Personal Statement
Gay and Lesbian Should allowed to become foster parent and adoption - Personal Statement Example This led to a practice of adoption among gay and lesbian people for a want to care and nurture a child. ââ¬Å"Discussion and debate about adoption and foster care by gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) parents occurs frequently among policymakers, social service agencies, and social workers. The government report shows that an estimated 65,500 adopted children and 14,100 foster children living with gay and lesbian parentsâ⬠(Gates,2007) The recent surveys have revealed that, considerable amount of homosexuals have adopted children and is leading a fairly good life. However, there are also arguments against the homosexuals adopting and raising children on their own. This could be mainly due to the image the homosexuals have in the society of being ill- mannered and degraded. They are a subject of taboo, and are looked upon as an alien due to their sexual orientation and way of living. Nevertheless, they too have the desire to fondle a child and be a caring parent. So it is very impo rtant to understand their emotional status and allot them the status of being a parent to bring harmony and happiness in their life. ââ¬Å"A good foster home has two happy, contented adults with time enough to pay attention to a foster childâ⬠(Mc Nair,35) Work Cited Blatt, Susan Mc Nair. A guidebook for raising foster children. 1st. West Port: Bergin & Garvey, 2000. 35. Print. Gates, Gary.
The Walt Disney Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
The Walt Disney Company - Research Paper Example The company was later reincorporated in 1929 as Walt Disney Productions, Ltd, and it became a publicly-traded company in 1938. The company became a leading American animation industry before it was diversified into live-action film production, television, and travel. The Walt Disney Company is well known for its Walt Disney Pictures Group and presently it is one of the leading studios in Hollywood. The Walt Disney has formed a $7 billion agreement with Pixar Animation Studios where Steve Jobs is the Chief Executive Officer and 50.6% owner. On the strength of this deal, Jobs will become the largest shareholder at Disney and acquire a major position in its director board. This alliance ensures the collaborated business operation of both Pixar and Disney animation studios. Management experts opine that this acquisition would assist the Disney to continue its dominance in American animation industry. Presently, both the Disney and Pixar possess considerable managerial strengths which off er prosperous future for the integrated operations. This paper will evaluate the scope of the Disney-Pixar alliance by focusing more on different aspects of this acquisition strategy. Steve Jobsââ¬â¢ influence on Walt Disney Steve Jobs who is blessed with an innovative brain is the co-founder of Apple Inc; whereas, the Disney has already gained a good stature among its customers across the globe. The case study indicates that the Disneyââ¬â¢s long run success can be mainly attributed to its value creation through diversification. The companyââ¬â¢s three dimensional corporate strategies include horizontal and geographic expansion as well as vertical integration. When the Disney takes advantages of all available expansional opportunities or choices of businesses, Steve Jobs tries to develop new products in accordance with changing market interests. Hence, Disneyââ¬â¢s repute and Jobsââ¬â¢ technical expertise together would assist the Walt Disney to achieve infinite heig hts in market. On the strength of Jobââ¬â¢s long yearsââ¬â¢ experience in technological innovation, the Disney can minimize its research and development costs to a large extent. In addition, this strategic alliance would assist the Disney to reduce the intensity of market competition and the situation may add value to the companyââ¬â¢s future vision and strategies. As Mungenast (2007) points out, the Pixar Animation Studios also possess a series of competitive strengths including CGI-animate feature films developed with PhotoRealistic RenderMan that generates high quality images (p.9). Therefore, the planned acquisition may assist the Disney to increase the number of its potential customer groups. It is known to everyone that Jobsââ¬â¢ relentless effort was the only factor that lifted Pixar and Apple sky-high. If he can bring his innovativeness to this new venture, he will uplift the staid company to a leading laboratory for media convergence. Management of Digital Age C orporation After his astounding success in Apple and Pixar, Steve Jobs sets a new bar for how to manage a Digital Age corporation. As music, movies, and photography go digital, customer interests have switched from complex product structures to elegant simple devices. From the case study, it is clear that Jobs in an obsessive perfectionist who demands total control over each and every aspect of product, from hardware and software to its applications. Jobsââ¬â¢ efficient leadership also contributes to the effective management of a
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