Cloning :: science

Cloning Introduction Today’s technology develops so quickly that many impossible things become true; the cloning technology is the example. What is cloning? Cloning is a process used to create an exact copy of a mammal by using the complete genetic material of a regular body cell. Different from the common propagate, cloning need only one cell and without sex. In 1997, the great news shocked the whole world that the British scientists created a lamp named Dolly from a single cell, miraculously; the cell had been taken from the udder of adult sheep, which show the first cloning experiment was successful. The history of cloning About the cloning history, we trace back to 400 million years BC, the plants could clone themselves but not to long. The human found the cloning 200 years ago, the first person who did the cloning experiment is a German biologist named Han Spermann, he uses the egg white to clone chicken in 1938 but it was failed. Until 1981, Kal Illmensee and Peter Hoppe report that they clone normal mice and embryo cell; it was a huge progress of the cloning history. After 2 years, the embryologists in UAS first cloned the human’s cells; they put 32 cells into a surrogate mother, and then have cloned 4 extra same cells. In 1997, Ian Wilmut and his colleague Keith Campbell cloned a new adult sheep called Dolly. (Will, April 2002) So human spends long time on cloning research. The process of cloning The cloning has two main parts, one is the plant cloning and the other is the animal cloning. One type of plant cloning naturally occurs when a plant grows a runner. The runner grows horizontally across the ground forming a carbon copy of that same plant at the end. Eventually the runner dies and the daughter plant is separated from the mother plant. Another is when you cut a branch or leaf off of a plant and plant it. It will grow another identical plant. That method is called a cutting. Such as stolon, it is a weak branch of a plant, when it falls over and the tip touches the ground. The tip swells and roots are formed so that growth in the plant can continue. The other kind of cloning in animals is nuclear transfer cloning. Nuclear transfer is when the nucleus of one cell is implanted into another cell that has had the nucleus taken out. Cloning :: science Cloning Introduction Today’s technology develops so quickly that many impossible things become true; the cloning technology is the example. What is cloning? Cloning is a process used to create an exact copy of a mammal by using the complete genetic material of a regular body cell. Different from the common propagate, cloning need only one cell and without sex. In 1997, the great news shocked the whole world that the British scientists created a lamp named Dolly from a single cell, miraculously; the cell had been taken from the udder of adult sheep, which show the first cloning experiment was successful. The history of cloning About the cloning history, we trace back to 400 million years BC, the plants could clone themselves but not to long. The human found the cloning 200 years ago, the first person who did the cloning experiment is a German biologist named Han Spermann, he uses the egg white to clone chicken in 1938 but it was failed. Until 1981, Kal Illmensee and Peter Hoppe report that they clone normal mice and embryo cell; it was a huge progress of the cloning history. After 2 years, the embryologists in UAS first cloned the human’s cells; they put 32 cells into a surrogate mother, and then have cloned 4 extra same cells. In 1997, Ian Wilmut and his colleague Keith Campbell cloned a new adult sheep called Dolly. (Will, April 2002) So human spends long time on cloning research. The process of cloning The cloning has two main parts, one is the plant cloning and the other is the animal cloning. One type of plant cloning naturally occurs when a plant grows a runner. The runner grows horizontally across the ground forming a carbon copy of that same plant at the end. Eventually the runner dies and the daughter plant is separated from the mother plant. Another is when you cut a branch or leaf off of a plant and plant it. It will grow another identical plant. That method is called a cutting. Such as stolon, it is a weak branch of a plant, when it falls over and the tip touches the ground. The tip swells and roots are formed so that growth in the plant can continue. The other kind of cloning in animals is nuclear transfer cloning. Nuclear transfer is when the nucleus of one cell is implanted into another cell that has had the nucleus taken out.

Aid vs Trade Essay

The aid verses trade debate shows the strong difference and sizable reduction in severe poverty in emerging economies such as China, Thailand and South Korea that have embraced international trade, with the persistent poverty in many aid-dependent African countries. The debate of whether foreign aid is beneficial or harmful to a country in need can be seen as foreign aid directed to Africa has significantly grown yet this has not benefited the continent as it is still considered ‘developing’ and is in a state of widespread poverty (Alesina, Dollar, 2000). Asia, which was once also considered a third world country has developed a strong economy and infrastructure with not aid that, was introduced in Africa. Rather than seeing the two arguments as aid or trade, it should be seen as aid for trade. (Rotberg, 2009) TRADE HAS A SIGNIFICANT LONG-TERM AFFECT ON THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ECONOMY; IT IS THE KEY TO DEVELOPMENT. IT ALLOWS THE COUNTRY TO DEVELOP STRONG TRADING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES, THUS ALLOWING A REGULAR FLOW OF FUNDS INTO THE DEVELOPING COUNTRY. TRADE IS NECESSARY AS IT ALLOWS THE COUNTRY TO USE ITS OWN NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH NOT ONLY BENEFITS THEMSELVES BUT ALSO THE WORLD OF TRADE. AFRICA HAS BEEN GIVEN IN THE PAST 60 YEARS AT LEAST $1 TRILLION OF DEVELOPMENT-RELATED AID; EVEN WITH THIS HUGE INFLUX OF ECONOMY THE INCOME TODAY IS LOWER THAN IT WAS IN THE 1970S, AND MORE THAN 50% OF THE POPULATION LIVE ON LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR A DAY AND STILL REMAINS IN A MAJOR STATE OF POVERTY (MOYO, 2009) Aid is beneficial for developing countries going through a period of unsteadiness and have gone through a major crisis e.g. natural disaster, this is when aid is most needed, as a country is left with nothing and needs initial funding to allow the country to start rebuilding and trading with outside countries. Aid accelerates the economy of underdeveloped countries but it is also given in the form of bilateral aid, multilateral aid, humanitarian emergency relief, NGO partnership support and Technical support and community involvement. Aid often has a positive effect in third world countries with good policies and has little or no effect when countries have  poor policies. (Burnside and Dollar (2000) Trade is a necessary tool in order to significantly develop and improve a third world countries economy and to reduce poverty. Trade is seen as difficult in these countries as there is sometimes a lack of information, institutions and infrastructure, which makes it difficult to efficiently trade globally. Advancing education, science and technology are important in order to help improve Africa’s development. In order to improve the many economical and poverty issues they’re confronted with, promoting this industrial development will help ensure long-term economic growth which will allow the continent to not be so aid dependant (Astier, 2006). Aid for trade increases the trade performance of developing countries; a small increase of 1 percent directed for trade, which is about $11.7 million, could generate amounts of up to $818 million (Helble, Mann, Wilson 2009) There are various economic, social, and political factors that can cause countries to remain in a prolonged widespread poverty, almost half the world live on less than $2.50 a day (Shah, 2013). Some economical factors include the lack of improvement in agriculture, the faulty industrialisation, and unequal economic distribution. Social factors that cause countries to remain in this state are the strong religious aspects of a country. Politics is full of corruption and how many political leaders in such countries rather than have the countries best interest at heart would prefer to enhance their own wealth. A prominent cause of poverty is the economic position of a country. A lot of countries lack advancements in agriculture, the absence of modern machinery, tools, facilities etc. result in the lack of development the current systems that are in place are often not sufficient and cannot provide for the local community. This can be seen in ineffective industrialisation, there is not enough finance in these countries to provide skilled and technically trained workers, thus is it difficult to provide employment. Another economical factor is the unequal distribution of wealth. Wealth is often distributed to a limited group of people, the wealth in such poor countries is often skewed e.g one is either extremely wealthy or extremely poor, thus leaving the  majority of the country in a state of poverty and unemployment. The social factors that contribute to countries with a high poverty level are mainly religious. In these countries material goods are not high in value. It is also evident that education in poverty-ridden countries is also not very highly valued; generally the emphasis is for young children to get a job to help the families’ income rather than get a better education and get a better job. Often there are socio religious aspects that also restrict advancements, such as marital agreements, putting these countries in a continual downward spiral into a worse state of poverty (Crabtree, 2010). The political factors that lead a country to remain in poverty can come down to the leaders that are meant to ‘provide’ for the country are hugely responsible for the destruction and poverty of the country. Administration can be full of corruption and ineffectiveness, and rather than enrich the countries overall wealth they will enrich there own wealth at the cost of the countries development. As a result of this political inefficiency and dishonesty there has been no real advancements in countries where poverty is high, they are still in a strong downward spiral of poverty.corruption has to stop before the continent can ever develop (Morrissey, 1991). The positive impact of aid and trade can be slow in some countries because of four factors physical capital, human capital, natural resources and the countries technological knowledge. The things that can be done to help these countries that are poverty stricken start with improving its level of productivity and growth as a country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services (Shah, 2013). Nearly 21 percent of people in third world countries lived at or below $1.25 a day. With that measure based on latest data available, 1.4 billion people live on or below that line, meaning in 2010, 1.22 billion people lived on less than $1.25 a day. Almost half the world-over three billion people-live on less than $2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. (Okonjo-Iweala, 2007) The physical capital of a country can be seen as its evolution, their  production factory, their production process, and infrastructural development. In order for a country to improve, so must the stock of equipment and structures that are used to produced these goods and services (Sachs and Warner, 1999). Human capital is an essential part of the improvement of a country as human capital relates to the skills and knowledge that workers gain through various types of training, education and experiences, if the countries human capital in improved the nations ability to produce quality goods and services will increase accordingly. The development of infrastructure is needed in order to facilitate better medical, education, and working system. (Khumbah, Foote, 2014) A countries natural resources, their land, water, mining, both renewable and non – renewable resources are very important for a countries economy, and can be highly productive in producing goods and services of a high quality, and rather than be abused by other countries it can allow the suffering countries to prosper (Kaufman, 2002). Technological knowledge is educating a countries most effective ways to produce goods and services. In order for a country to improve overall they need to understand new technology, there must be training and knowledge in order to decrease poverty. One billion children live in poverty, six hundred and forty million don’t have sufficient shelter, four hundred million don’t have access to safe water, two hundred and seventy million have no access to health services and nearly eleven million died in 2003 before they reached the age of five (Shah, 2013). Poverty is a massive killer, although this as well as diseases and illnesses can easily be prevented, countries that do and do not suffer from poverty often don’t advertise the desperate need for change. (Rotberg, 2009) Aid is not the cure for the developing world’s problems but it has been helpful in minimizing suffering and increasing development. Aid has helped improve the health, education and trade systems in developing countries. Economic growth and global trade are crucial to reduce poverty in the long term, but in order to continually reduce global poverty both trade and aid are fundamental. References Astier, H. (2006, 1st February). Can aid do more harm than good? Bbc Khumbah, K., & Foote, M. (JULY 31, 2014). AFRICA NEEDS SCIENCE, NOT AID. Retrieved, 22nd august, 2014, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/opinion/africa-needs-science-not-aid.html?_r=0 Aid versus trade. Okonjo-Iweala, N. (Director). (2007, July).[Video/DVD] TEDGlobal. Robert I. Rotberg. (2009). CHINA INTO AFRICA: TRADE, AID, AND INFLUENCE . Brookings Institution Press: Shah, A. (2013, 24th March). Causes of poverty. Global Issues Wilkinson, M., & McGregor, L. (2013). Preying on paradise Burnside, C. and D. Dollar (1997), `Aid, Policies and Growth’, Policy Research WorkingPaper no. 1777, World Bank, forthcoming in the American Economic Review What is Human Development?, Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Program Sachs, Jeffrey and Andrew Warner (1999), â€Å"The Big Push, Natural Resource Booms and Growth†, Journal of Development Economics, 59, 43-76. Human Development Report (HDR), United Nations Development Program, November 27, 2007, Kaufmann D, Kraay A 2002 ‘Growth Without Governance’ Economia Fall 2002, Vol. 3, No. 1 Alberto Alesina and David Dollar (2000), â€Å"Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?† Journal of Economic Growth (March), pp. 33-63 Morrissey O. _An Evaluation of the Economic Effects of Aid and Trade Provision. Journal of Economic Studies 1991;28:104-29._ Steve Crabtree (2010) Religiosity Highest in World’s Poorest Nations http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-poorest-nations.aspx

Marketing the X-Box

Introduction The main aim of this project is to help me understand the marketing process, which is required to launch a new successful product. The new product I will be marketing is the Microsoft X Box. Millions of new products are launched every year worldwide. Most are unsuccessful and are taken off the market after a while. Without marketing a new product is very likely to fail. Microsoft needs to market their products because there is so much choice in the market. Marketing will give Microsoft a better understanding of the market and customers needs and wants. I will be acting as the marketing director within this company. Marketing is basically the management process, which is responsible for identifying potentially profitable products and them selling them to customers. Microsoft is a multi-national successful company with substantial profits and is aiming at a mass market with the X Box rather than a niche market. Microsoft will want to sell to as many places as possible. A marketing plan would help improve the company's performance and increase sales. There's a lot more to marketing than just advertising, marketing involves†¦ > Researching the market and finding out what customers want. > Developing and designing a product that satisfies customers and consumers. > Producing the right amount and to the right quality of the product. > Making sure that the customer is aware of the product and what its about. > Getting the price right so that the product is affordable to customers, but also allows the business to be profitable. > Ensuring that the product is on sale in places convenient to the customers. This can be summed up using a term called the marketing mix or the 4P's, place, product, price and promotion. Place A product is unlikely to be successful if customers find it difficult to purchase. So place is a vital part of the marketing mix. Microsoft needs to consider how to get their products to the customer. Channels of distribution need to be efficient and effective. For a product to sell it must be in the right place at the right time for customers to buy. Microsoft needs to find out where it's convenient for customers to buy the X Box. The X Box is likely to sell more in Electronics Boutique rather than New Look because people go into New Look to buy clothes not games consoles, but people do go into Electronics Boutique to buy computer games or games consoles. I will need to look at: > Where to sell the X Box and why? > Channels of distribution. > Selling to places that wont tarnish the company's good reputation. > Where it's convenient to sell to customers. > Selling to as many places as possible (mass market). > Disadvantages and advantages of selling the X Box in certain places. Product Microsoft have to decide what product or range of products they are going to sell. They also have to decide what quality of product they wish to make and sell, what name to give the product and how it is to be packaged. Another decision is whether to attempt to brand the product. I will have to look at: > The product life cycle and how it could affect the X Box. > Why is the product is called the X Box. > Product range. > Does the product satisfy the needs and wants of the customers? > Research and development of the X Box. > Is Microsoft product orientated or market orientated? > Importance of quality. > Product differentiation. > Disadvantages and advantage of the X Box. Promotion Microsoft needs to decide how best to promote the products they make and sell. The decision involves weighing up the relative cost of each form or promotion and how best to target their customers. They also need to consider the use of advertising agencies. Promotion is all about communicating with potential customers, if the public isn't aware of the X Box then they are not likely to go out and buy it. Microsoft will also have to be careful not to offend potential customers with advertising that discriminates against certain people, e.g. race or gender. When looking at the promotion part of the marketing mix I will have to consider: > Different types of advertising, where to use them, why, the cost and will they be effective. > Different types of promotions, where to use them, why, the cost and will they be effective. > Stages of the product life cycle and how the affect the promotion of the X Box. > Disadvantage and advantage to promotion. Price Price is another element of the marketing mix. Microsoft must decide how to price its product. In making this decision Microsoft has to consider, what are the prices set by competitors, how price can be used to increase sales of the product, whether the price will cover costs of production, whether customers are willing to pay that set price and different pricing strategies such as skimming or penetration pricing. When looking at the price section of the marketing mix I will have to consider a number of things: > Prices set by competitors. > How price can increase or decrease sales. > Does that price cover cost of production? > Are the customers willing to pay that price? > Different pricing strategies such as skimming and penetration. > Disadvantages and advantages to setting that price. If the marketing mix is wrong, for example, the price of the X Box is too high and it is not selling in places convenient to customers, the X Box wont be as successful as it could be. The marketing mix is a vital part of ensuring a new products success, without it the product will fail. Market research is a major part of this project. It can help me to find out the customers needs and wants, which will enable me to create the right marketing mix. The product needs to be affordable, make a profit and to be promoted and sold in the right places. It is also very important that the X Box is aimed at the right segment of the market. The market can be split into different categories: Age Age can be separated into years or stages of life e.g. child, teenager, adult or pensioner. Microsoft mainly targets adults with their existing products. With the X Box Microsoft is likely to target younger people such as teenagers because they are more likely to buy the X Box rather than a pensioner. Gender Different products can be aimed at different genders e.g. make up is aimed at women and beer is aimed at men. Some people could say this is sexist but men are more likely to buy beer than make up. Businesses have to be very careful when advertising to certain genders as not to offend people. Microsoft are likely to aim the X Box more to males rather than females because boy tend to buy games consoles and computer games more than girls. Income/Occupation The population can be segmented according to their salary or occupation. Microsoft mainly targets people with above average income because their products can be slightly expensive, but they have to be careful not to advertise this because people could get offended. Microsoft also has to make sure their product is affordable to as many people as possible but not lower the price too much in case they lose profits. Area The area in which people live can divide the population. People in the northeast of England may have a different lifestyle to people the south of England, therefore their needs and wants will differ. Microsoft will need to promote the X Box in different ways according to location as to satisfy a mass market. Ethnic, cultural and religious groups Businesses need to be careful with the production and promotion of its products when it comes to different religions. If a business decides to produce its products in Asia because of cheap labour, people from Asia could refrain from buying that business' product because they are offended. Equally businesses have to be careful when advertising its products as not to offend people of certain ethnic, cultural or religious groups. Socio – economic groupings One of the most important ways of separating the population is the use of socio-economic groupings. Socio-economic groupings work like this: Social Grade Social Status Head of household's Occupation % of total UK population A Upper Middle Class Higher managerial, administrative or professional such as doctors, lawyers and company directors. 3.5% B Middle Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional such as teachers, nurses and managerial. 12-13% C1 Lower Middle Class Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial administrative or professional such as shop assistants, clerks and police constables. 22% C2 Skilled Working Class Skilled manual workers such as carpenters, cooks and train drivers. 32-33% D Working Class Semi – skilled and unskilled manual workers such as fitters and storekeepers. 19-20% E The Poorest In Society State pensioners or widows, casual or lower grade workers, or long-term unemployed. 10% The Product Life Cycle The Development Stage Products start life in the development stage. This is where the product is designed and also where the majority of the marketing is done. There are no profits at this stage, only costs. Microsoft will have to make up for the money lost in the growth stage of the product life cycle. The Introduction Stage This is the stage where the product is launched. Profits and sales are minimal in this stage, but it doesn't last too long if good advertising is used to make the customers aware of the product. The Growth Stage Sales and profits are increasing rapidly in this stage. Microsoft will have to consider what pricing strategies and promotions to use to keep the X Box in this stage as long as possible. Maturity In the maturity stage, the product reaches a peak in terms of sales. Research and development costs are likely to be paid off. The product could be profitable enough to be financing the development of new products. Saturation Towards the end of the maturity stage the market becomes saturated. Competitors bring out products to try and take sales away. It is likely that Microsoft will not be able to sell any more of the X Box at this point. Decline Eventually a product is likely to go into decline, sales will drop dramatically. Microsoft could try extension strategies at this stage to try and increase sales slightly or they could just withdraw the product from the market. The product life cycle can affect a lot of the marketing mix, for example, which promotions and pricing strategies to use at certain stages in the product life cycle. A Business would like to be in a sellers' market where customers have little choice but to buy from them. In a buyers' market though, business have to be market orientated and the greater is the need for effective marketing. I think Microsoft is in the buyers' market. Although they are a major company with substantial profits, Microsoft still have competition such as smaller software companies. The product ‘X Box' is a slightly different product from what Microsoft usually sells. Microsoft specialises in software and hardware for PC's, the ‘X Box' is a games consol, and so the main competition will be Sony and their Playstation. Although the Playstation is a very successful product it may be entering decline in the product life cycle because the Playstation has been around for a while. When the Sony Playstation started to enter the maturity stage Sony launched a new product the Playstation 2, this would be the ‘X box' main competition. I think Microsoft could afford a very large budget because the company's profits are very large, the fact that they have spent a lot of money developing the product could affect the budget for marketing the product. I estimate that the budget would be somewhere around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 million. I'm going to cover various areas of marketing, which will include†¦ * Analysing the market, finding out what customers want, where best to sell it and find out about the competition and target market. * Market Research, desk research and field research. * The Product, product differentiation, ways of differentiating the product, branding and retailing. * The Product Life Cycle, look at what similar products have gone through in the five main stages. Development, introduction, growth, maturity and saturation, and decline. * Pricing, competition, costs of making, affordability and pricing strategies. * Demand and Supply, what people want, how much they want and what they are willing to pay. * Promotion, advertising packaging, direct mail etc†¦ * Place, channels of distribution. * Retailing, how retailing within the company would affect marketing. * Constraints on Marketing, the law, ethics and the market and pressure groups. They are many disadvantages and advantages of marketing. Disadvantages include things such as, cost and constraints on marketing. Constraints on marketing are ethical considerations, the law (Trade Descriptions Act 1968), codes of practice (Advertising Standards Authority) and pressure groups. Ethical considerations include things such as labour, many multinational companies have been criticised for using workers in the Far East because they are relatively cheap, and the business want to take advantage of the lower costs of production. Nike was once criticised by the press because of the high prices they charge for their goods and the low wages paid to workers and low costs of production. Microsoft will have to ensure that they don't put too much of a profit mark up on the X Box, and also make ensure their workers are treated fairly. Other ethical considerations are the use of promotions and advertising such as the use of images in adverts. Many companies have been attacked by pressure groups because of the content of the adverts they use, such as images of beautiful woman that lure men into buying the product and information included in the adverts. For instance should a washing powder manufacturer claim in an advert that its washing powder ‘washes whiter' than other powders on the market when there is no scientific proof that it does? Should tobacco companies promote their products when they damage peoples health? If people are really shocked by an advert they may consider not buy the products produced by that company, therefore Microsoft will have to be careful when choosing methods of promotion. The law ensures that advertising does not fool the public. The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 states that is illegal for products to be incorrectly described for example Microsoft couldn't advertise the X Box as if it comes with a free TV if it doesn't. The government has encouraged businesses to adopt a code of practice as an alternative to passing laws. Codes of practice are rules, which businesses voluntarily agree to keep, but have no legal status. Advantages of marketing include†¦ Helping the business to get a better understanding of the market, marketing also lets the business to know what price, to set where to sell the product what promotions to use and what the potential customers want from the product. Market research will also tell the company whether there is a demand for the product in question. Marketing will change across different countries because different countries have a different way of life. For instance people in America can afford to pay a lot more for the X Box than people in the poorer parts of Africa and Asia. Market Research Microsoft needs information if they are to make good decisions. They need information about their target market to help them create a successful marketing mix. One way of gaining that information is by carrying out market research. Market research is a cost-effective way of finding out what people believe, think, want, need or do. There are various types of market research. Microsoft needs to decide what market research methods are most likely to give them the information they need. Businesses, which are mainly product, orientated risk spending a large amount of resources launching a product, which proves to be a failure. Researching the market helps reduce the risk. Microsoft should focus research and design effort onto products, which have a chance of success in the market place. When the product is launched a carefully researched product stands less chance of failing. Stages of Market Research Market research will help Microsoft to find answers to questions about the market. * What is the target market for the X Box? * How can Microsoft use the X Box to increase market share? * What is the right price to set that will maximise profits and be affordable to as many people as possible? * What are the right promotions to use that will appeal to Microsoft's target market? * Where's the best place to sell the X Box? * What do customers want and need? * What is the demand for the X Box? * What are existing patterns of sales for other games consoles? I then need to decide what information might help answer the questions, then I need to decide how best to collect this information. The information is then collected and analysed. Finally Microsoft has to make a decision about what to do in the light of the information gained. Desk Research Desk research involves the use of secondary data. This is information that is already available both within and outside the business. Information within the business Microsoft collects information routinely. Invoices for instance will tell them how much they sell and who they are selling to. Information outside the business Businesses can also collect information, which is available from sources outside the business such as: * Internal sources – such as sales invoices, reports and accounts. * Government – published statistics such as consumer spending figures, reports such as monopolies and mergers commission reports. * The Media – reports in newspapers, magazines on radio and on TV. * Trade associations – statistics or reports published by national organisations such as the TUC, the CBI or chambers of commerce or industry associations such as the Engineering Employers Federation. * Research organisations – reports prepared by specialist market research organisations such as Mintel or Mori; articles published in academic journals such as university journals. Field Research Field research involves the collection of primary data, information that no one has yet collected. It is collected specially for the particular piece of research. Primary data is collected through direct investigation, usually through observation, survey or experiment. To help me create my marketing mix I used both secondary and primary research. I collected primary data in the form of a questionnaire that I asked 50 people. I used secondary data from the Internet. I used the Internet to find out about Video Game sales and I found a report by PC Data about home Internet users planing to purchase console or PC games during the 2000 holiday season, and that PC and console gaming is no longer a male-dominated domain. This was very useful research and it helped me a lot when putting together my marketing plan. I didn't find any information from the media or the government because of lack of time. Quantitative and Qualitative Research There are two main types of survey data – quantitative, and qualitative. Quantitative Quantitative research provides numerical data. At the completion of a quantitative project it is possible to say (for example) what proportion or percentage of the population fall into different groups – those that want something, those that would be likely to buy something, those that are in favour of a particular policy or plan, etc. The essence of quantitative research is that every respondent is asked the same series of questions. Quantitative research can be done in various ways: By face-to-face interviewing, either in the street or, for more complex projects, in people's homes. This was the traditional approach to data collection, and remains important. In-home work is particularly suitable for lengthy interviews, or for some sensitive subjects. The understanding that can be established between the interviewer and the person being interviewed (the respondent) can help to ensure that detailed and thorough information is obtained. By telephone. This is a fast-growing form of data collection, is somewhat less expensive per interview than face-to-face, and can provide data more quickly – in some cases, overnight. Telephone research would rarely be suitable for lengthy interviews, but it can be ideal for smaller-scale, fast turn-round projects both amongst the public and for business research. Both face-to-face and telephone research involve the most basic form of data gathering, talking to people. There is one other form of quantitative data collection that should be mentioned – postal and self-completion research, which is the cheapest form of quantitative research, though it can take a relatively long time to gather data by post. Self-completion questionnaires can be handed out, for example, at exhibitions, on aircraft, or in town centres, to get peopleà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s views. Self-completion questionnaires must be kept simple and the researcher has little control over whom, or how many people, return the form. Another form of quantitative research is omnibus surveys. These are useful for those with small budgets and relatively few questions to ask. Qualitative Research Qualitative research, though it cannot provide numerical data, provides understanding of how or why things are as they are. It can be used on its own or to help in the development of a questionnaire for a quantitative study. There is no fixed set of questions and therefore no assumptions about what is, or is not, important. Instead there is a list of topics, problems, or possibilities to be explored. The form and nature of the discussion is heavily influenced by the informants' own concerns or assumptions. Qualitative research is the way in which typical or relevant peoples' attitudes and beliefs can be explored, and ideas can be generated. It can be used for everything from testing reaction to a potential new advertising campaign, to exploring staff attitudes to a new management structure or procedure. There are various sorts of qualitative research, including the following. * Unstructured interviews with a single informant, based on a framework of themes and topics. The interview is adapted to the individual, and the interviewer feeds off and responds to the respondents' replies. * Focus groups (or group discussions) involve a similar approach but bring together a number of relevant people – typically about eight – and therefore benefit from the interaction between the different personalities and experiences in the group. I used quantitative research because I needed to find information quickly and easily, I think qualitative research would have been a lot more time consuming and will have used a lot of resources. I decided the best way to collect information about the market was to use a survey. A survey can't ask customers for their opinion. Only a fraction or sample of customers can be surveyed. To be useful, the sample chosen must be a representation of all consumers. In a random sample, every potential respondent has an equal chance of being chosen. Random numbers can be used to do this or it could be done by ‘picking people out of a hat'. It is often quite difficult to construct a truly random sample. So a cheaper and quicker method is to use systematic sample. This is where every 100th or 1000th person on a list such as the telephone book is chosen. A systematic sample is not truly random though and therefore the results may be less reliable. In a quota sample, the sample is broken down or stratified. One problem with a quota sample is that any people who fit the description can be asked to complete the survey. So Microsoft wanting to find 50 people aged 13 – 30 to complete a survey could ask the first 50 13 – 30 year olds who came out of Electronics Boutique in Bedford. This may not be very representative of all 13 – 30 years olds nationally. A stratified random sample may get round this problem. It is a quota sample where all the respondents, the people being interviewed, must be chosen at random. Microsoft would have to find some way of selecting people aged 13 – 30 through pure chance. I used a quota sample, I asked 50 people in Electronics Boutique my questionnaire. I used Electronics Boutique because a lot of people go in there to buy game consoles and other computer related products, and asking this people would give me a good idea of the target market. I think my data is quite reliable because the people I asked my questionnaire to are the people that are most likely to buy Microsoft's products. Price Pricing Strategies The product should be launched in November ready for the Christmas rush. The pricing strategy skimming should be used in the introduction and the growth stage of the product life cycle. Skimming is setting a high price initially and then lowering it later on. This is almost always used for products that incorporate new technology such as new DVD players and PCs. Some people are willing to pay high prices for new technology, the price of the X Box will be set high at first to catch this end of the market. By doing this Microsoft can maximise their profits and cover the costs of developing the X Box. When sales start to slow down Microsoft should lower the price and use a different pricing strategy. To ensure sales keep increasing half way though the growth stage Microsoft should change the pricing strategy from skimming to market orientated. This is where the price charged is based on analysis of the market and its characteristics. Market research might need to be undertaken again at this point to ensure that Microsoft knows what the customers are willing to pay. Market orientated pricing should be used at this point because the top end of the market is likely to be saturated, Microsoft will need to lower the price of the X Box slightly to provide for the people that aren't willing to pay as much. Using market orientated pricing will therefore help keep sales rising and the X Box will appeal to a broader market. When the sales of the X Box are slowing down it could be because of competition. This is when Microsoft will need to use competition based pricing because new games consoles will be being launched and the X Box wont be new technology anymore. Microsoft will need to lower the price a lot to compete with the new technology and keep people interested. Psychological pricing could be used throughout the life cycle. This is when a product is priced at 99p instead of a pound so that the customers automatically think it's cheaper. I don't think Microsoft will need to use cost based pricing with the X Box because Microsoft makes so much money off existing products going into debt wont be a problem. The X Box will soon make up for the research and developing costs in the growth stage of the life cycle. Penetration pricing also isn't appropriate for the X Box because new technology doesn't rise in price as it becomes more popular it starts off at a high price because of the cost of development. Price to be Set In the introduction stage of the life cycle the X Box should be priced at 299, in the growth stage the price should be lowered to about 249, when the market has been saturated the price should be lowered again to 199 and when the product goes into decline it should be priced between 99 and 149. Factors Affecting the Price > Cost of promotions and advertising > Cost of research and development > Customer's needs and wants > Competitors > Demand > Costs of distribution

Impact Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Supporters of companies going public suggest that gaining additional capital is one of the benefits medium sized companies gain by going public. The rationale for going public is to float the shares of the company through the stock market by starting an initial public offer (IPO) inviting the public to purchase its shares and raise additional capital. Once the company has met all of the requirements for filing Security Stock and Exchange (SEC) they are in compliance with SOX.Under SOX section 404, requires all CEO and CFO to certify and report to the public the effectiveness of internal control over the financial statements. Secondly, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is another benefit accrued by a medium sized company by going public through publication of it information. Aside from profitability, corporate social responsibility aids company to position ineffective market-based solutions to social. By CSR redirect negative problems caused by corporate operations onto the consum er and protecting their interests while hampering efforts to find just and sustainable solutions.The rationale of publishing company information is to give the company a platform to state its willingness to take into consideration the stakes of all stakeholders involved in its financing and operations. This increases public confidence in the company. Going public also benefits a medium sized company by increasing its competitive advantage in the global market. Going public is a strategic objective by some medium sized companies to become competitively aligned. Finally, gain competitive advantage all through expanded capital base and improved public confidence.Create an argument that the same goals may be achieved if the company remains a privately held entity. Provide support for your answers The opponents of public listing held that a company can acquire the benefits of going public while still being private and more efficient. For instance, Leuz (2007) asserts that a company can g ain additional capital through borrowing loans from banks as opposed to going public. Corporate social responsibility can also be obtained even for privately owned companies that actively engage in community advancement programs.In this way, the company meets the requirements of its stakeholders without exposing itself to public scrutiny and retains its ability to maintain a competitive advantage through internal strengths and enhanced customer relationship management (Dolvin & Pyles, 2007). The opponents of going public also hold that a corporation can devise ways of being strategically aligned while retaining its private status. For instance, a private company can make objectives that are strategically aligned to its vision and mission and narrow its market niche to serve the needs of its customers.This can be achieved through strategies such as being the least cost provider for commodities or emphasizing unique customer experience through the provision of quality products. This d isqualifies the perception that a company can only gain competitive advantage by going public (Li, Morton & Sonja, 2008). When a company decides to go public, it can typically obtain capital by issuing stocks or bonds. Suggest four (4) leading financial rations that will be evaluated and how each will impact the company’s decision to obtain expansion funds. Determine whether the results of the ratios would alter the decision to go public.Financial analysis serves as both a control and planning tool. Aids in making important company decisions obtain expansion funds and also on the decision to go public or remain private. Liquidity ratio illustrates the ability of a company to pay its accrued debt in the short term. A company with high liquidity ratios is not advised to obtain expansion funds through debt since it cannot pay up the already accrued debt. It would be advisable for such a company to generate expansion funds by going public since this increases the equity ratio and reduces the debt and liquidity ratios (Alrafadi, & Md-Yusuf, 2011).Activity ratio assesses the ability of the company to convert its assets to cash. When activity ratio is high, the company should go public since it already has liquid cash and needs to save up more of its finances through the floating of shares compared to borrowing cash. Profitability ratios assess the measures that organizations will use in making money. It mainly assesses the profitability of a company against the earnings ratio, and when this ratio is low, the company needs to remain private then go public since its profitability will not attract any investors (Alrafadi, & Md-Yusuf, 2011).Debt ratio is aimed at assessing what amount of the company capital structure constitutes debt capital. Where the company has a lower debt ratio, it means that it has more of equity than debt, which is a good state in a company. In this case, the company can borrow debt capital or go public to gain more funds as it has a stron g debt ratio. That it is essential to analyze the financial ratios of a company prior to deciding, whether to obtain more funds by going public (Alrafadi, & Md-Yusuf, 2011).By researching, the results of SOX compliance surveys assess the financial impact that SOX might have on your company if it decides to go public. Considering the impact SOX compliance, take a position as to whether your company can overcome the challenges posed by identifying the potential advantages and disadvantages that SOX may have on your company. SOX is a legal framework developed by the United States with the aim of increasing the accountability and transparency of listed companies, especially pertaining to the cost of going public.Transparency is one of the advantages gained by a medium sized company that uses SOX to go public. Structures put in place through SOX monitor the internal systems of the company, prevent failure, ensure accurate disclosures and improves the management of risk of the company. Th is enhances the transparency of the medium sized company and increases its credibility among the public and potential shareholders (Kaserer, Mettler & Obernberger, 2011). Going public with SOX also enhances the reliability of medium sized companies.The consumers and members of the public are able to predict the company’s behavior since the company publishes its accounts. Through transparency and improved public scrutiny, shareholders and other stakeholders such as customers are able to view the profit of the company, the prospectus and evaluate the ability of the company to meet their expectations in the future. The consumers can through public scrutiny develop confidence on the medium sized company going public via SOX, which increases customer base and profitability of the company (Litvak, 2007).Additionally, a medium sized company benefits from going public through SOX by enhancing investor confidence in the ability of the company to offer viable returns to investorsâ€⠄¢ investment. For example, an investor will be more confident in investing in a company that publishes its financial statements as a requirement of going public. This is because the investor will be able to view the profits of the company and its ability of the provide high returns on the investors capital. This benefits the company through investor loyalty and attracts more potential investors (Li, Morton & Sonja, 2008).Cost is one of the major negative impacts of SOX if a company goes public. For example, a company has to incur underwriting cost, which is a, direct cost for a company going public. The company going public under SOX also incurs indirect costs like under-pricing of its shares in the stock exchange (Wintoki, 2007). The Company also incurs legal cost since lawyers are needed to advise the company on legal consequences of going public. In most instances, the cost of a company going public through SOX outweighs the benefit of going public and may have adverse effects o n the company Leuz, 2007).Lack of secrecy is another adverse effect of a company going public through SOX. For example, a company that discloses its financial records risks sharing its strategic plans with its competitors, which robs the company the ability to remain competitive since its strategies and secrets are available for public scrutiny (Litvak, 2007). Moreover, involvement of external auditors is another adverse effect of SOX going public to medium sized companies. Example; prior to being private where a company would have just an internal auditor, a company that goes public also needs an external auditor to verify the internal systems of the Company.This further exemplifies the operations and the auditing costs of the company by going public as a report of the external auditor are more reputable compared to that of an internal auditor (Grifin & Lont, 2005). Make recommendation as the CEO regarding the alternative (i. e. , going public or staying private) that will best sup port the company’s expansion goals. As the Chief Executive Officer of a medium sized company, I recommend that the medium sized company should go public as this will support the company’s expansion goals.This is affirmed by the fact that going public fits into the strategic objectives of the company by being strategically aligned to gain competitive advantage. Although there are costs incurred during going public if the team is committed to the process and there are available resources to go public; economic feasibility evidences that the benefit of going public outweighs the risk and viable venture for any medium sized company. Moreover, though SOX has been challenged, the benefit that accrues to a medium sized company by going public affirms the rationale for a company to go public.

LOVE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

LOVE - Essay Example s him, and for that short duration, she feels that the world is on the tip of her fingers because of the happiness that is caused to her when he looks at her. A married couple in love with each other do small things for another everyday to make the other feel special and give them a feeling of something to live for. Love cannot be seen or touched but it exists for those that believe in its power; when someone loves another person, they tend to want to protect them and spend the maximum amount of time that they can with them, making every second count. Love thus makes people happy and makes them want to wake up every single day with a view to meeting that special person that they have a connection with. This can be understood by a simple test of bidding goodbye; people love those the most to whom saying goodbye is very tough. People in love tend to become extremely unhappy on saying goodbye to their loved ones; the tears in their eyes are the exact opposite of the happiness that they feel when they are with them. There have been a number of films, music as well as literature portraying love as a feeling that brings about the most amount of happiness in the world - â€Å"If we assume that mankind has a right to survive then we must find an alternative to war and destruction. "Dont ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn."† (King, Martin Luther) According to Martin Luther King, love brings compassion and happiness that can be used as a weapon against those that hate and enjoy causing destruction. The same theories were also propounded and experimented by Mahatma Gandhi who said that non violence or love is the answer to the world’s problems. The point of love is to make

Spitfghter mark 1 airplane Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Spitfghter mark 1 airplane - Essay Example It continued in these roles until the mid-1950, when production stopped. Until today, the Spitfire continuous to be a favourite aircraft with 53 being airworthy and many more being used as displays in air museums and schools (Zandvoort 1957). The Spitfires design started in 1931 when Mitchell wanted to meet the Air ministry’s new specifications for a modern craft that was capable of 250 mph. The design did not get off to a good start, the first one named Super-marine type 224, had a Rolls-Royce steam-cooled Griffon engine. Accordingly, the engine could only reach a top speed of 230 mph and had bulky gull wings with an open-cockpit. Mitchell and his team were disappointed but not discouraged; they immediately started on their next model designated Type 300. The aircraft went through several modifications, including smaller, thinner and elliptical shaped wings, an enclosed and blister-shaped cockpit, and oxygen-breathing apparatus and a more powerful Rolls-Royce PV-XII V-12 engine. The Air ministry adopted this model and its construction started. The model went into production, as the aircraft was in use over the years the design continuously improved beginning with the Mark I to Mark XIV, until the Spitfire went ou t of production (Axelrod & Kingston 2007). The plane used a semi-elliptical wing, which helped to reduce drag, house a retractable undercarriage while at the same time carried armament and ammunition. The ellipse-shaped and skewed wings ensured that the centre of the pressure aligned with the main spur and which prevented the wings fro twisting. As the aircraft performance Improve and it gained more power, the aileron reversal increased. It meant that there was a need for the design of new wings. The new models helped solve this problem by increasing their stiffness by 47% and the aileron reversals speed improved by the use of geared trim tabs and piano

Should college athletes be paid Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Should college athletes be paid - Research Paper Example The paper tells that since a long time, college athletes have been working with their hearts and souls day after day and year after year for the appreciation and name of their universities. The athletes are bringing huge money in their universities by their outstanding performances, television contracts and other deals. People, who are intrinsically motivated, possess the love for their work and they do not depend on any extrinsic reward for showing good performance. One can easily put athletes in this category. However, taking wrong advantage of this intrinsic motivation is common in most of the universities and colleges in the world. The people running these universities assume that provision of education in exchange of their phenomenal performance in sports is enough but this scholarship is not enough for those who give up their freedom and blood for a one-hour game. Apart from scholarship, they get nothing for their perseverance and struggle. If one goes in depth of this issue, o ne comes to know that athletes are responsible for running a huge business for the colleges and universities. Athletes play the same role for colleges as employees for organizations. One would hardly find any organization, which pays nothing to its employees who bring in a lot of business. Many people argue that it is more than enough if they get scholarship in exchange of their games and practice but the question arises, that can they survive on the scholarship money wholly. Scholarship money includes their college fee, tuition fee, and cost of books but what would they do for their food, entertainment, phone bills, laundry, and many other activities. Had they not been playing for the colleges they would do part time jobs and earn their livings but athletes require a huge time for practice without which they cannot give good performance and get scholarship from college. Scholarship is not just enough for what they give to their colleges. This is causing many athletes leave their co lleges without completing their education and getting into professional sports. Many colleges give bonuses to its teachers and scholars out of the money, which actually comes in because of undying energy and struggle of college athletes. Chris Weber is one of the athletes of University of Michigan; he had to struggle for money to watch a movie on the other hand the university bookshop was selling his uniform jersey for $50. College athlete must receive some sort of payment from the colleges they join or from the NCAA itself. Colleges should treat athletes as humans as they treat every other student. By not considering them the major reason of earning money and refusing to pay, the NCAA and its executives want the athletes to live a life which normal human beings cannot live. Normal humans want return of their efforts and NCCA is not giving this return. Some or other way NCCA itself is putting the college athletes at a disadvantage to not finish their college education and ruin their careers. Many people say that system is fine the way it is and there is no need of paying college athletes but they would understand the scenario only if they were at the place of these unfortunate athletes. One of the clearest examples of exploitation of college athletes is that of NCCA, which signed a contract of one billion dollar with CBS giving them right to broadcast all NCCA basketball tournament games played by their college athletes. Moreover, â€Å"NCAA has a multimillion-dollar yearly budget and it earns over $20,000,000 a year in television contracts† Murphy and Pace, n.p.). Concerning this, Hunter R. Rawlings III, president of the University of