Estimation

Kiandria Grissett Business Math-7 4 / 20 / 2013 Estimation 1. Discuss at least two â€Å"real world† examples in which you use estimation in your daily life. 2. Discuss from your examples how estimating can have negative effects if you over or under estimated. 3. Think of an example in a real world scenario when a company or organization might use estimation and have negative or devastating results. One real world example I would like to discuss is how many minutes it takes me to get up and be at the marina at 11am. I work on Baldhead Island which means I have to catch a ferry to get to work.Each ferry leaves every half hour and not a minute late and I have to be there before 11am. I usually estimate my time right on point I wake up at 9:30 am it usually takes me 20 to 30 minutes or less to take a shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, and do my hair. I leave my house no later than 10:15 am which puts me at the marina at 10:45 am waiting on the boat. Another example that I would like to discuss is getting my boyfriend back and forth to court when he has it being that he is from another county in the state of North Carolina and it takes us at least an hour and forty-five minutes to get there.When he does have court it usually takes in at 8am. We usually wake up at 6:20am (I know we are pushing it on the time) get dresses, feed the dogs and are out getting gas no later than 6:40am. We make this long drive down the interstate driving 80 to 85 miles an hour just to make it to court by roll call but for some odd reason we always make it on time. That’s what I call good estimation. Some negative effects when over and under estimating are sometimes had to tell because you never know what may be going on, on the highway.Let’s dig into over estimating I think can be a good thing which means you are where you need to be early enough so that you are not rushing. It can also be a bad thing because if I leave my house too early and the ferry is running la te this means I may have to sit there for three maybe four hours waiting on a ferry which makes me miss money from work. Under estimating is always a bad thing because you really don’t want to be late for anything that is important point blank period.Being that I live twenty minutes from the ferry I have to drive thru another town to get to the marina. Sometimes this town is very busy because they always have cook-offs, parades, and sometimes just traffic from the outage. So under estimating for me sometimes is a no, no because I never know how traffic is going to be. An real world example scenario being that I am a cosmetologist and I use to work in a hair salon and some specials we use to run were negative because it use to bring a lot of business but when the specials were over it was like back to running a slow salon.I think it was devastating to the owner because she was estimating that she had a great salon and a good location and it would bring a lot of clientele but b ecause this town is so small I tried to explain to her some of these people don’t like to change up their stylist because they have been going to them for a long time. So she estimated by running specials it would bring customers and keep them coming but she was sadly mistaken.

Investigate the ways in which hip hop music appeals to male and female audiences

Investigate the ways in which hip hop music appeals to male and female audiences, with reference to 50 cent's Amusement Park, attempting to account for its popularity despite its sexist representations of women In this essay I shall be investigating the ways in which hip hop songs appeal to both male and female audiences, with specific reference to Amusement Park (released May 8, 2007) by 50 cent (real name Curtis Jackson), and its music video. I will attempt to account for the huge popularity of this artist, and others of the genre, despite the apparent sexism displayed in his songs. Firstly I shall look at how hip hop has gone from primarily an underground phenomenon to having mainstream status, as recounted by Bakari Kitwana (2005). From when hip hop originated, it was always an alternate culture for black youngsters to turn to. During the late 1980s economic recession, many Americans were still living in poverty: unskilled workers faced poorer wages than before, resulting in a sense of alienation from mainstream America. Although they had achieved equality in legal status, there were still plenty of economic and social problems facing black youth. Not only was hip hop an artistic way of expressing and making public these issues, but also provided a sense of culture those less privileged. Concerns could be voiced through the medium of music and radio stations, which, although primarily were by and for black people, still very much of the white working class population, who were also facing similar problems and suffering from the same detachment from the mainstream. In the late 80s powerful black icons began emerging, such as Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and major bands like Public Enemy who produced ‘politically charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African American community'1. It soon became hard for white audiences to ignore hip hop culture. The East-West coast feud between artists from either side of America, leading to the eventual murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG also brought both urban issues and its music in to public light. Gangster rap was a predominant subgenre which was responsible for expressing shocking views (notably rap group N. You can read also Audience Adaptation Paper W. A. ‘s F*** tha police) and portraying the more violent and misogynistic side of hip hop culture. While it still receives a lot of backlash, hip hop has become increasingly mainstream and popular. One way to account for the popularity of â€Å"Amusement Park† is to look at the representations of women in the video on its own, and to draw conclusions from those alone. The girls are shown against a very minimalistic background, only with the â€Å"ride† which they are on. This puts the focus on to their bodies and faces, increasing our sense of their sexuality. Both the shots of the girls and their poses are explicitly constructed, as their poses are unnatural and staged. They often look directly in to the camera, suggesting an awareness of the audience's voyeuristic perspective. A shot which specifically give a sense of degradation is one in which a girl is shot almost directly from above, her body twisted unnaturally on the ground, looking on command as the camera focuses on her. This appeals to the male audience by making them feel that the girl is putting out her sexuality for the benefit of the viewers i. e. he individual watcher. It might seem that this video is primarily aimed at males however; the huge success of 50 cent in the mainstream implies that his apparent misogyny is not only accepted but embraced by a large audience. One explanation would be to accept the belief of female sexuality being masochistic, and that the gratification a female gets from the video is that of relating herself to the girls in the video who are enjoying being a sexual object. However, French feminist Luce Irigaray questions the idea the traditional view of female sexuality: †¦ omen in the sexual imaginary of Western culture have always been a male fantasy; hence maschocism is something forced on women by culture, not a quality inherent within them. Thus, women don't define their own sexuality, desire, or pleasure2. If we bear in mind the amount of competition that is around now in the hip hop industry and the selection of media now readily available, through the wide range of music channel, and the relatively recent development of the ability to watch music on sites such as youtube and yahoo, audience could be said to become more active in the way they choose and thus perceive their media. Taking Irigaray's perspective, female audiences do not necessarily need to read the text in masochistic way, and this broadening of choice in their media allows them to take an alternate stance on such texts: that of a more active one. If this is the case however, it does not necessarily mean that female audiences reject Amusement Park, only that there is room to interpret the representations in a more ironic way and as I shall discuss later on, the text itself encourages this type of reading. The next issue I shall look at is the extent to which 50 cent is taken as a serious role model by his audiences. His background would imply that he is the stereotype of gangster: his mother gave birth to him at 15, was involved in cocaine dealing, and was murdered at the age of 23. 50 cent himself began dealing in crack/cocaine and taking guns to school. Before the release of his first album with Columbia Records, he survived being shot 9 times, including once in the mouth, which led to him being dropped by the record company. This would seem highly ironic, given that to a large extent the idea of an authentic gangster was what selling rap records in the first place (artists such as Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B. I. G and Tupac Shakur had a history of crime and drugs; and the murders of the latter two helped to bring hip hop in to mainstream media). It is interesting to ask whether it was the songs that consumers were buying and continue to do so, (his debut album, get rich or die tryin' selling 12 million albums worldwide) or the now glamorised image of celebrity gangster which is currently present, despite the fact that he currently lives in an $18,500,000 Mansion. He himself admits to the fact that his image portrayed in his music is separate from him as a person: †¦ all the things I say are good, if you watch what I do. What I say on record is entertainment; but what I'm actually doing with my life and the things I've had the opportunity to do is what makes me inspiring3 Although evidently he has achieved a great deal for himself, in the media he rarely expresses himself personal side, and even has made attempts to reinforce his gangster image, and example being: I've been in situations where either it was me or somebody else, and I handled my business. 4 (2003) However, in the later interview he does deny any assumptions: †¦ people associate me with gun violence, when I was the one who got shot5 This suggest that Curtis himself does have an expectation that audiences will be able to distinguish between his image portrayed in the media, and the reality of his life, but does little to counteract the negative images. Is he also being naive in thinking that the audience will automatically realise this, and not model his violent and sexist lyrics? There is clearly some sort of awareness in public audiences, both black and white, as shown by findings by the Black Youth Project: Over half of youngsters between the ages of 15 – 25 strongly agree with the statement that â€Å"Rap music videos portray Black women in bad and offensive ways. 6 The huge success of 50 cent however, seems to contradict this, which would seem to imply that audiences are in fact able to separate this misogyny from the rapper himself. However, it could also be argued that this is merely a way of excusing such portrayals. Considering the artist's earlier works, such as Get in my car containing the lyri cs â€Å"I got no pickup lines / I stay on the grind / I tell the hoes all the time / Bitch get in my car† and the highly pornographic music video for Disco Inferno, it is harder to take such things lightly. A widely quoted statistic is that 70% of hip hop consumers are in fact white. Although it is interesting to note that no accurate source has been cited for this statistic, hip hop is undeniably a prominent part of mainstream white music culture. Before, when the genre was a political move as much as it was a music genre, a chance for black underprivileged youth to voice their concerns for the culture, it was something that both black and white people could understand in relation to their own lives. The current state of hip hop is that we ‘look through the keyhole into a violent, sexy world of â€Å"money, ho's and clothes†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ as described by Justin Ross (2007). This may be an accurate description of the way that audiences perceive such videos, given that 50 cent's music refers to neither the real problems, past or present, of black culture, nor to the life which Curtis leads. It would also account for the general acceptance of these representations, if the audience is distanced from what is shown in the videos: issues of sexism and violence are far less relevant outside black urban society and it is therefore easier for a white consumer to take the videos solely as entertainment. It is also important to remember that while the majority of hip hop artists are black, it is predominantly marketed and controlled by a white industry, as Bakari describes (p46) in which the importance of an authentic representation of black culture is of little importance compared with supplying the public with texts which they will buy in to, as evidently the sex appeal of the videos is an important aspect. The next thing I shall look at is the level of awareness of the sexism in both the video itself, and the audience it is aimed at. There are many shots which suggest that the images in it, and the lyrics, are not entirely sincere. This is evident in the shots of the girl sitting on a bench next to 50 cent. Unlike the rest of the images, she is not highly glamorised, and her actions appear to be a lot more naturalistic than the others. She directly reacts to his lyrics, often looking away smiling, as though amused by what he is saying. The title of the song could also be referring to 50 cent himself as a celebrity figure: that both his image and his songs are merely an â€Å"amusement;† not to be taken as serious. This creates a sense of bathos juxtapositioned against the more professional looking shots, so that the female audience can relate more to the women shown. Although taking up a lot less time in the video than the glamorised ones, it creates a distance between the hyperreality of the rest of the video, and the ordinary more down to earth shots, so audiences see the video more objectively. The shots of the girl lying provocatively on the car bear even less relation to the lyrics than earlier in the video, being more reminiscent of a car commercial than a music video. The car itself is briefly but distinctly focused on, which makes reference to the importance of money and material values which are present in not only video, but the whole hip hop industry. This hints at the suggestion that both the girls and their representations are merely a product of this, and therefore are not in fact serious degradations of the women. In this shot we see a girl, while impressed; rolling her eyes at the artist at the lyrics â€Å"You know it's no fun without the magic stick†. In this sense the girls are in fact the more active ones in the video, whilst 50 Cent mostly maintains his position as an entertainer. Instead of them covering the whole screen, two similar shots of the same girl are often slid in from either side against a plain black background, sometimes overlapping each other. Whilst in one sense emphasising the importance of the girls' bodies, it also is highly self aware as product, as by seeing two separate views of one scene, it reminds us that it is a construction. Instead of taking itself too seriously, it makes explicit its intention of providing a sex appeal. A less prominent but important character in the video is the girl dancing acrobatically, and the only girl who is represented by her skill rather her sexuality – the camera barely focuses on her face. On the surface, she seems to represent an entertainer at a fair (the bright flashing lights help to anchor this meaning), but it is possible to decipher alternate readings of her: certain comparisons can be drawn between the actions of 50 Cent and herself. She and he are the first people we see in the video, and she appears immediately after the artist announces himself: â€Å"50† and â€Å"Ferrari F-50†. The setting she is in is almost identical to that of 50 Cent's. At times her dance moves mirror the lyrics of his, for example at â€Å"You fear heights when I'm high hell yeah I go low†, she can be seen to do exactly this. In another shot she briefly does a boxing punch, followed by a similar view of 50 Cent looking macho. At the lyrics â€Å"yeah it's like that† she mimes as though saying the words herself. In this sense she is the female counterpart to 50 Cent, and could be said to hold the power, in that she has little direct engagement with the audience, while Curtis has to explicitly put on an act to keep is position as an entertainer. This could allow women to from the perspective of her instead of the rapper, and thus 50 Cent himself becomes the object of the video instead of the subject. As previously discussed, the initial purpose of this media text is to sell 50 Cent's music, and this is done by providing the audience with representations they are familiar with: a stereotypical ‘gangster', highly sexed girls, and also to be considered is the artist's own sex appeal. Firstly, the subject of the song itself is 50 cent inviting girls (the audience) to attend his â€Å"amusement park†, and the lyrics describe the activities available to those who go, thus partially placing him as the object of desire. He is shown later in the song without a shirt on, with lighting focused in such a way that highlights his muscular physique. An important issue is that of whether hip hop should be censored, else voluntarily toned down. In April 2007, a controversial incident occurred, involving Don Imus, the presenter of his radio show, which already had a reputation for its crude humour. In discussing a black female basketball team, he referred to the players as ‘nappy headed hos'. After floods of outraged complaints, his show was permanently removed from air, prompting wide discussion over the standards in the media, often with reference to hip hop. 0 Cent himself was involved in the subsequent discussion, but refused to agree to clean up his lyrics, using a politician involved in adult dating websites to make comparisons between standards in hip hop and that in supposedly higher society. While this may be true to some extent, it firstly does not provide a justification in itself; but also it is debatable as to how much of what he said was his own opinion and how many were prearranged arguments by his managers (in the video he can be seen grinning in long pauses after phrases such as â€Å"I personally believe†). On the subject of Master P, who made the decision to stop using sexist and violent lyrics, he replies â€Å"Well Master P doesn't sell CDs anymore†7. From this, and other interviews where he has put the focus on that of entertainment, one could draw the conclusion that the artist in fact, as Amusement Park suggests, concerned with little other than the money involved in the business. In defence to his own lyrics, 50 Cent has also expressed his irritation of apparent double standards in the media, in reference to Britney Spears' single ‘Gimme more'8 beginning with the lyrics ‘it's Britney, bitch'. While it may appear to be merely a sore complaint, it is certainly valid to discuss the treatment of women in other areas of the media, and by women themselves. The music video of the song in question consists of Britney Spears, wearing little more than underwear, dancing round a poll in a seedy setting. Similarly, in ‘Dip it Low' by Christina Milian, the artist is seen allowing herself to have black paint poured over her semi-clothed body, whilst a group of men stand at the side watching and jeering: the presentation of women apparent in male hip hop videos is not a unique one. In all aspects of the media girls are presented, more than anything, by their sexuality and appearance, which can be found in adverts in women's magazines, stereotypes in film and television (a notable example being Desperate Housewives), car adverts, drink adverts. Although elevated within the genre, this representation could be described as a reflection of attitudes prevalent in both the media and in society and therefore not so shocking to audiences. Another issue described by an internet blogger9 is that by shutting sexism and violence portrayed in hip hop music, it is shutting off a fundamental way of keeping these issues in the eye of the public. He quotes that the leading killer of African Americans is homicide; and that males are five times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts. These issues will still exist even in the absence of offensive hip hop. While this certainly an interesting point, hip hop paradoxically glorifies the very things which it makes an issue of. While artists like 50 Cent may primarily be driven by selling as many records as possible, he still in one sense continues to represent issues which would otherwise be forgotten, if only in a postmodern way. Therefore, in order for hip hop to serve this purpose, it is essential that audiences neither directly embrace the values shown in the videos, nor take it as purely entertainment, as Amusement Park evidently does allow us to do. However, audiences could be said to be becoming increasingly desensitised to these things, with violent films and video games and the huge availability of pornography through the internet, which would make this reading more difficult to achieve. Whether or not the sexism and violence in hip hop is justified or not, if audiences were to take a more active role in their media, it would simultaneously prevent potential influence from such songs, and also make thorny issues in black society more accessible to deal with.

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 2

I don't really have anything against Canadians. They're nice. Really nice. But that didn't mean I wanted to go curling with them, and there was always a danger that if Jerome was in the right mood, he might decide to make this temporary assignment a permanent one. I didn't think he would, though. Underneath all the gruffness, Jerome liked me-inasmuch as a demon could truly like anyone. Admittedly, he'd liked me a little less since Seth had turned my life upside down last fall, but when I wasn't sporting massive attitude, I think I amused Jerome. Amusing things are few in the face of eternity, so hopefully that would be enough to ensure my job security. I left Belltown and headed over to Queen Anne, another Seattle neighborhood. I both lived and worked in Queen Anne, and if I was about to disappear for a while, my mortal employer should probably know. Unfortunately, going into work meant facing some unpleasant things that I wasn't really in the mood for tonight. â€Å"Georgina! What are you doing here?† Maddie Sato, the Brutus to my Caesar, came scurrying up to me as I entered Emerald City Books and Caf? ¦. In Maddie's defense, she hadn't known Seth and I were dating when they'd slept together. So, it wasn't like she'd knowingly stolen him from me. That didn't really change my feelings toward either of them, though. â€Å"I need to see Warren,† I said, suspecting I probably reeked of vodka and smoke. â€Å"Is he here?† She shook her head, making her glossy black hair sway. It was worn in a long, sleek style I'd taught her how to do. â€Å"He left about an hour ago. Didn't want to stick around for closing.† I glanced at a clock. I'd barely made it in before they locked the doors. I tapped my foot impatiently, wondering if I should call Warren at home. Finally, I asked, â€Å"You got a sec to go over some schedule stuff? I'm going to be out for a few days†¦or maybe more.† â€Å"Sure,† she said, smiling and showing dimples. â€Å"You want me to grab Doug too?† â€Å"He's here?† Both assistant managers closing in one night. It was a stroke of luck. I headed off to my office while she went to fetch her brother Doug. My desk was organized for a change, and I found the clipboard bearing the schedule for the next couple of weeks. I skimmed it, relieved to see we had a full complement of staff for a change. My immortal friends didn't understand why I cared so much about this job. There had been days recently-days when I didn't want to get out of bed because I was so depressed-that I'd wondered the same thing. But the truth was, eternity was an extremely long time, and I'd spent most of my time always occupied with some activity. It was part of my nature; I couldn't be idle. And sometimes- sometimes -I could get so caught up in the day-to-day affairs of the human world that I could almost pretend for a heartbeat that I was one of them again. â€Å"I don't think we'll need anyone to cover me,† I said when I heard the office door open a few minutes later. â€Å"Someone'll just need to take over my-† I looked up. Maddie had returned, along with Doug, but they weren't alone. Seth was with them. All the easy confidence I'd shown in the store, all the brashness and bravado I'd shown at the club†¦it all shriveled up into a cold, hard knot as I looked at him. Walls slammed down around me. How could he affect me like this, particularly while wearing a Buck Rogers T-shirt? It had been three months. Why wasn't I over him? Why did I still want to cry or break something whenever I saw him? â€Å"Whoa, Kincaid,† said Doug, partially distracting me from my angst. He glanced at my outfit and raised an eyebrow. â€Å"We interrupting your social life?† I wore a knee-length black trench coat over a short red dress. My makeup was done to seductive perfection, whorish dark eyeliner and lipstick to match the dress. Shape-shifting in the car would have been a snap, but I didn't feel like I needed to prove anything here. In fact, I kind of reveled in my tramp look tonight. â€Å"Apparently this is my social life, if I'm pathetic enough to come in on a Saturday night.† I forced myself to focus on Doug and Maddie only, trying hard not to look at Seth's soft, coppery brown hair or gentle eyes. Why did he have to be here of all nights? The answer: he was here every night. He was an author and did his best work in coffee shops. When we'd broken up, he'd tried to tactfully find another and stay away from me, but Maddie-oblivious to his reasons-had begged him to stay at the bookstore's. â€Å"Where are you going?† asked Maddie. â€Å"Is everything okay?† â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† I said brusquely. â€Å"Long story.† I beckoned Maddie and Doug to the clipboard, explaining again how I was pretty sure the store would be fine without my labor, so long as they could cover the tasks I did as manager. We sketched out a brief list of my responsibilities, like payroll and inventory, and began divvying them up. Doug tapped the list. â€Å"I've done all these before, at one time or another. They're no problem. I'll take the first half.† He elbowed his sister. â€Å"What about you? You gonna take the rest and pull your share here?† Maddie pursed her lips. She was immensely talented but suffered from bouts of insecurity, which I'd repeatedly told her was ridiculous. She'd improved a lot over the months-again, thanks to me-but still faltered. â€Å"I didn't realize you did so much. I hope I can learn it all.† â€Å"Stop playing coy. I'll teach you,† said Doug. â€Å"You'll be as good as Kincaid in no time.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said dryly. â€Å"We're practically interchangeable anyway.† Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth shift uncomfortably. â€Å"The whole thing seems kind of sketchy, though,† remarked Doug, tilting his head so that his black hair fell away from his face. â€Å"You're going to be gone, but you're not sure when or how long? I thought you were the reliable one around here.† â€Å"It's†¦family stuff,† I told them. â€Å"Just gotta be dealt with. Besides, now you can have a chance to be responsible. You should be thanking me, Doug.† He stuck his tongue out at me. â€Å"Is Warren going to be okay with it?† asked Maddie, still fretting on my behalf. â€Å"Let me deal with Warren,† I assured her. Doug scoffed at that, but Maddie didn't catch on. Warren, the store's marginally moral owner, had been a longtime sex buddy of mine. He gave me about as much energy as Dante, but he was convenient and suited my mood lately. I'd stopped our tryst while dating Seth but had since returned to old habits. Doug had known about my affair with Warren then and now but was tactful enough to leave me to my own choices, aside from the occasional bit of eye rolling. I suspected Seth knew what was going on too, but I didn't care. Warren wasn't going to give me any grief about taking time off. I was too good at what I did, both at work and in the bedroom. We shuffled one shift where I was supposed to have closed, and then I tossed the clipboard back on its pile, suddenly needing to get out of there as soon as possible. â€Å"Alright. Thanks, team. I'll leave you to your work.† â€Å"Off to hit the town?† asked Doug, still amused. â€Å"I can join you in about a half-hour. I know a killer party.† I shook my head. â€Å"Already hit the town. I'm heading home.† â€Å"Loser,† he called after me. Maddie wished me well with my mysterious time off, and then I left them, walking through the store and exchanging greetings with my other co-workers as they scurried around with their closing tasks. I'd nearly made it to the door when I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Casey hurrying toward me. She was twenty or so and went to the University of Washington. She'd worked here almost the entire time she'd been in college and was one of our best employees. So, I stopped and forced a smile, my eyes straying longingly toward the door. â€Å"Hey, what's up?† She grinned, dark eyes sparkling. â€Å"I wanted to know if you were going to go to my party next weekend,† she said. â€Å"You never answered the e-mail.† I didn't remember any e-mail, but then, I'd been pretty trigger-happy with the delete key lately. â€Å"I didn't get it,† I lied. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"It's my graduation party. This Sunday.† I frowned. â€Å"It's April.† â€Å"I'm graduating early. I got all my credits finished up, so I don't have to do spring quarter. Pretty cool, huh?† â€Å"Whoa,† I said, actually impressed. â€Å"That is cool. Math, right?† â€Å"Math and Latvian.† â€Å"Why on earth-never mind.† Now was not the time to pursue why someone of Filipino heritage was studying Baltic languages. â€Å"I wish I could go, but I'm leaving town tomorrow for some family stuff and don't know when I'll be back. I'm really sorry.† Casey's face fell a little, but she told me she understood. And like Maddie, she wished me well and hoped my â€Å"family† business would be taken care of easily. That made two of us. She left me and went to finish her closing tasks. As soon as I cleared the store's door and was outdoors, I stopped and exhaled. Breezy night air washed over me. Being in Seth's presence was smothering. It stirred up too much in me. Even while talking business and numbers with Doug and Maddie, most of my attention had been on Seth-exactly how far away he stood from me, the way he smelled, the way his messy hair stuck up today. Everything else had been background noise compared to him. Reaching into my purse with shaking hands, I pulled out my cigarettes, desperately needing one for the walk home. I'd smoked for a century or so and stopped ten years ago, something I'd been very proud of, even though I was immune to the effects. Stress had driven me to pick up the habit again. I felt a little bad about subjecting others to secondhand smoke, but honestly, smoking was the least of my problems right now. â€Å"Fuck.† I flicked the switch on my lighter and got nothing. Three more flicks produced similar results. Holding the lighter up to my ear, I shook it. Nothing. It was out of fluid. â€Å"Fuck,† I repeated. I only lived a few blocks away, but somehow, that walk was now going to be agony. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a boot scuff around the corner of the building. Frowning, I took a few steps forward, wondering if anyone was there. This area was pretty safe, but Lower Queen Anne still had its share of vagrants. Yet, when I glanced around the corner, there was no one there. There was, however, a pack of matches lying on the ground. Kneeling down, I picked the book up and examined them. Mark's Mad Martini Bar. I'd been there a long time ago. It was in Upper Queen Anne, not too far away if you didn't mind trekking up the hill. It wasn't unreasonable that a pack of their matches would find their way here. What was weird was that the matches showed up right when I needed them. Behind me, I heard the store's door open. â€Å"Georgina?† I rose and turned sharply around. Seth. â€Å"Hey,† I said, hoping for blandness. The smothering feeling returned. Light from inside the store lit up his features in the twilight, and I ate up every line and angle of his face. His eyes looked dark in the dimness, but in full light, they were brown infused with amber. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and his gaze wouldn't meet mine. It was painfully reminiscent of how he'd been when we first met, too shy to look directly at me. â€Å"I wanted to see if you were okay,† he said after several awkward moments. I turned the matches over in my hand a couple of times and then placed them in my purse's outer pocket. â€Å"I'm fine,† I said, keeping my voice cool and distant. â€Å"It's just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He relaxed slightly and gave a small, rueful laugh. â€Å"When you're vague about your activities and mention ‘family,' it usually means immortal business. And immortal business always means trouble.† I started to smile, then immediately squelched it. â€Å"Yeah, it does, and believe me, it's a great one this time.† Even after everything that had gone down between us, there was such a comfort and familiarity with him that I immediately wanted to launch in and recap the story for him. I could already see us both laughing at the idea of Canadian Satanists. I could perfectly picture the way Seth would shake his head in exasperation. But it wasn't to be. I was too hurt and too proud to even allow him friendship, so I just shrugged and said, â€Å"But it'll work out. It always does.† â€Å"Yeah†¦but usually not without a lot of hassle. I'm just worried about you, that's all.† â€Å"You don't have to be.† Not anymore . â€Å"I'm not in any danger. Mostly just annoyed.† He opened his mouth to speak, and I knew the gesture. He wanted to argue that there was still cause for concern-but times had changed. He swallowed and let the comment go. More silence fell. I knew I should leave, but somehow, I couldn't make myself do it. He apparently couldn't either. â€Å"You†¦you look really great tonight,† he said at last, still fumbling for conversation. There was a catch in his voice. He knew my looks tonight had to do with more than just my body and outfit. The energy I'd stolen from sleeping with the therapist wreathed me. Life and its power were irresistible to all creatures, mortal and immortal alike. Immortals could literally see that life glowing around me. To mortals, I simply looked beautiful. Unearthly. Perfect. For the sake of politeness, I pretended he was complimenting me for normal things. â€Å"Thanks. I was out with the others when all this†¦stuff†¦went down. It's kind of put a damper on my partying, though.† He nodded by way of answer and shifted so that he actually made eye contact. I wished he hadn't. My heart melted inside me, and I felt a sob building in my chest. Desperate for something to do, I took out the serendipitous matches and lit the cigarette I'd been holding the whole time. I took a long drag and exhaled. Seth stepped back. He wasn't a fan of smoking. It was like I suddenly had armor. â€Å"Well,† I said, feeling bolder, â€Å"I should go home and pack. See you around.† I turned and had only taken a step when he called out to me. â€Å"Georgina?† I glanced back. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Do you†¦um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He faltered, and again, I was reminded of that long-ago Seth. Bittersweet feelings burned within me. â€Å"Do you need someone to feed your cat?† I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. â€Å"No, but thanks. Cody'll do it.† I spoke the next words, fully knowing they'd inflict damage. â€Å"Or Dante will.† Seth flinched, and somehow, I felt both triumphant and sad at the same time. â€Å"No problem,† he said haltingly. â€Å"Just thought I'd, you know, check.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said again. We held each other's gazes a few more moments, and then I turned away and walked off into the night.

Compile a report evaluating how a National Governing Bodys Sports Essay

Compile a report evaluating how a National Governing Bodys Sports Equity Policy conforms to the guidelines set out by Sport England - Essay Example In order to eliminate the inequalities that exist within the sport traditionally Sport England has brought out the Equity Guidelines for the governing bodies which contains, apart from a five stage inclusion plan, specific advices on race, disability and gender to the effect that sports activities should be extended to all the people without any discrimination. The guidelines also deal with the provision of opportunities for ethnic minority communities, disabled people and women in sports activities. This paper envisages bringing out a report as to whether the National Governing Bodies formulated by the Sport England are following the equity guidelines prescribed by the parent body in the promotion of sports activities, specifically the National Governing Body covering the sport of Football (Soccer). It is an established principle that all the governing bodies have ethical, moral and business responsibility to plan and provide equal opportunities to a wider range of participants. Keeping this idea in view Sport England has issued guidelines governing the sports equity to be followed by the governing bodies. ... gender, and aspirations of all the different priority groups." As distinct from the 'equal opportunities' 'Sports Equity' covers a wide range of activities and issues connected with sports like participation and membership, service delivery, selection of voluntary committees and appointment of voluntary coaches. Sports Equity principles provide a number of benefits to the society in general. The Sport England Equity guidelines detail some of these benefits which are: Fair and effective employment practices to all segments of the society Enhancement in the revenue by increase in the number of members Provision of services to the needy customers and members Availability of an enlarged forum of professional assistance from able administrators, leaders. Coaches and managers Improved public image as a professionally organized and forward thinking organization Increasing the representation of all communities in the various positions of committees, volunteers, staff, management and executives 3.0 National Governing Bodies: As per the definition provided by Deloitte & Touche - Investing in Change p9 a National Governing Body is the one which carries out most if not all of the following functions: Sets out and implements the strategic vision and direction for the sport; Promotes the sport; Manages the rules and regulation of the sport, including anti-doping procedures; Manages the sports officials; Establishes and maintains links with the sports' international representative; Encourages participation; Develops talent, including elite athletes; and Organises and hosts competitions. 4.0 Stages to the Planning Process for inclusion of Equity Guidelines: In order that the Sports Equity Policies are effectively implemented the Sport England organization has prescribed five

IMac Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IMac - Case Study Example There was a compatitbility issue. The expensive hardware was hard to replace. It seemed the iMac was not what it was cracked up to be for Ronny. It was not reliable. There was a compatitbility issue. The expensive hardware was hard to replace. The iMac was not reliable. Ronny's computer skills were well-known because he had created an interesting geography puzzle for his classmates. He had also worked on secretly creating a new video game aim at improving mental skills of younger people. He needed to run the program on the latest version of the iMac so he could take advantage of the multimedia capabilities. The failure of the iMac saddened and worried Ronny. Trips to the repair shop wasted important time. He planned on entering his video game in contest by IBM. The iMac was not compatible with certain Microsoft builds. The video game development relied upon advanced technology. Testing is an important step in software development. The failure of Ronny's iMac to accept program modules created in Microsoft software turned out to be the biggest problem. iMac's are some of the most advanced computers. The weakness in this machine to run the important parts of Ronny's programs shook his confidence in Apple's products. The iMac hardware was too expensive. Ronny's father was also not able to replace his computer for him because of the expense.

Corporate Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Corporate Strategy - Essay Example It is a company owned by Dipti Mahapatra in India and has been in the business for close to two decades. Having started in the year 1988, this company started out as a small unit with four tailors and has now gone ahead to become one of the most prestigious names in interior decoration in the state of Orissa. The demand for Dipti’s products grew and there was a market for interior decoration. By 1993, Dipti was busy undertaking several turnkey projects for complete furnishing of guest houses, hotels, as well as the Governor’s residences in the state of Orissa. Orissa is a small state in the Eastern part of India. It is cut off from any major development that takes place elsewhere in the country. For this reasons, Dipti wanted to shift. Following are the problems that she has encountered: Before laying down the formal plan of action, it is necessary to understand the elements that will be involved in the strategy that has been developed later in the paper, from the perspective of the company. This will help us understand the exact application of the theories through the length and breadth of the paper. A major part of Dipti’s plan of action must include following a strategy based on gaining competitive advantage as well as achieving sustainable entrepreneurial growth. Let us first examine competitive advantage to see how and where it will fit in with the overall growth and expansion of the Anukul group. Michael E Porter has paved the way for revolutionary strategising trends and a whole new perspective on competition through his competitive advantage theory. In the corporate world, Porters first book Competitive Strategy (1980), which he wrote in his thirties, became an international best seller, and is considered to be an authoritative piece of work on corporate strategy. The book, which has been published in nineteen languages and re-printed approaching sixty times, changed the way business leaders’ minds worked. Further,

Assess 'Reformasi' and the democratic transition in Indonesia Essay

Assess 'Reformasi' and the democratic transition in Indonesia - Essay Example An assessment is made of the ideals and goals of Reformasi and how these compare with the present reality. The conclusion identifies key issues facing the country. Indonesia is a Southeast Asian archipelago of over 12,000 islands, with a total population of 270 million, making it one of the largest Islamic nations in the world (CIA, 2007). A Dutch colony for over 350 years, it gained independence in 1945 under Sukarno, a nationalist leader who established a parliamentary government with him as its first President. By 1959, the government was struggling to contain three challenging threats: Islamism, communism, and militarisation. Sukarno established a â€Å"Guided Democracy† characterised by military-backed authoritarian rule, a non-aligned foreign policy, and socialist anti-modern economic policies, all of which proved chaotic and difficult to manage (Smith, 1999). Due to growing threats to peace and stability, the army staged a coup d’etat in 1965 under the leadership of Army Minister Suharto, who justified it as the only way to protect the nation from communism. Sukarno was deposed and on house arrest until his death in 1970. In 1967, Suharto was declared President and ruled Indonesia until his resignation in May 1998, succeeded by his hand-picked successor, B.J. Habibie, who initiated the period of reform in Indonesian politics. During his short term, he allowed parliamentary elections, granted independence to East Timor, and in October 1999 handed the Presidency to Abdurrahman Wahid, who in July 2001 stepped down on charges of corruption and handed power to Megawati, Sukarno’s daughter. When her term ended in late 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY, a retired Army general who played a key role in 1998 became the country’s first democratically elected President (Soesastro et al., 2003; McGibbon, 2006). Indonesia’s recent history could be divided into three

United States Department of Labors Website Case Study

United States Department of Labors Website - Case Study Example It also keeps the country updated about the opportunities that you can gain in the working field. This website focus on issues like health plans for employees defines the minimum wage rates and overtime pay standard, hiring issues, current opportunities for the labor force, safety at the workplace, unemployment plans, etc. Â  All the above-mentioned features, which this website encircles, are important from the point of view of employee benefits. The minimum wage rates as stated here gives an insight to the employees that whether they are being paid fairly, or not. This minimum wage rate is of great significance to the employer too, as it helps them to retain employees. The study showed that long-term unemployment and low labor productivity are associated with low labor wages.(Mark D Partridgea, 2000). So it is better for the employer to give their employees the benefits that they deserve. Â  The unemployment plans that are mentioned on the website can be used effectively by the people who are unemployed. The unemployment plans imply only to those people in the workforce, who unemployed through no mistake of their own. There are various other eligibilities for this plan too. Â  There are various health plans given on this website which explain to the employees about their health service rights. These rights can be an inexpensive mean for the employees to remain healthy. The study shows that not just deprived health but continuous decline in health can be a major reason for retirement. (John Bounda, 1999). So it is better for the people in the workforce to avail such health facilities given by the government than to lead an unhealthy life, which can be a great loss to the employee as well as the economy. Â  This website has a separate section for the employer. In this section sufficient amount of information is stated, which can guide them about all the duties that they have as an employer.

Pepsi Co and Coca Cola Stock Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pepsi Co and Coca Cola Stock Analysis - Essay Example The report at the end presents the summary of what has been learnt in the report. COMPARING THE STOCK PERFORMANCE OF TWO FIRMS Historical prices of Pepsi co Adjusted closing price has been taken for the calculation of returns and risk. The average stock returns are found to be negative (-0.08) (Yahoo! Finance, 2013a) Historical Prices of Coca Cola Company STDEV 0.0101 The Adjusting closing has been taken for calculating returns and risk. The average returns are negative (-0.15) (Yahoo! Finance, 2013b). Dow Jones Industrial Average NASDAQ Composite Index The latest price at which the Pepsi co Philippines traded is 6.19, it is 10.03% below its high 52 week of 6.88. The listing of Pepsi co products are primarily on Philippines Stock Exchange (Financial Times, 2013). (Financial Times, 2013) Market closed at 40.81, which is 6.03% below its high 52 week of 43.43. The listing of Coca Cola Company products are primarily on NYQ. Interest Rates: For the last four years wages are being flat and there is no hint of an increase in inflation rate. In 1980s, women began to enter labor force, but still the work force participation is at its low rate. After the financial crisis the financial system has improved a lot, capitalization of the banks are managed in a better way, balance sheets are being improved by both the corporations and households and all these factors can positively impact not only the two companies but Dow Jones index as well as NASDAQ. Industry News: Despite the continuation of Fed with the policy of buying bonds and accommodation, stocks were more than expected rallied on Monday. The Dow industrials were at a positive sign for the whole day despite the sharp rise in Intel and Merck. With a success of key drug trial, Merck was up 3.8% while with the introduction of new processors of fourth generation, Intel was up to 4 %. The Dow industrial average was increased by 138 points at the closing with 15,254 and NASDAQ was up to 9 points with 3465. 545 million shar es were traded by NASDAQ; there was an increase in the volume on NYSE with 879 million shares being traded. Dow Jones industrials violated the moving average of 20 day. The support zone focused concentration on Monday with 15,115 from 15,000. The index of Dow Jones was on a lead till March. Therefore such factors can also impact companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi as they are also traded on similar stock exchange. Company News The Coca Cola Company has announced its investment in Myanmar on Tuesday 4th June. The production of the company will be in Myanmar with an investment of $200 million. This investment will lift its shares in the market and profits will be enormous. The coca cola company was given the investment permit for the foreign investment Law by Myanmar. It is the first production of Coca Cola in decades. The Dow Industrial Average secured an uneven recovery has led the 30 giants of America which includes Coca Cola Company, Microsoft etc to the most comprehensive event (E avis, 2013) PepsiCo has started its joint venture with the Theo Muller Group, established a new art-state manufacturing of yogurt plant in Batavia, New York. There’s an employment capacity of around 180 people. PepsiCo is the leader in food and beverages it has no less than $65 billion of net revenues. With twenty two brands in the portfolio PepsiCo enjoys over $1 billion to in each brand in a result of its annual sales. With the joint venture with the Theo Muller group Pepsi co enjoys expansion in stocks. PepsiCo due to increasing its price on Feb. 2013,

Business Law Essay Example for Free

Business Law Essay â€Å"We have completed this assignment on our own and have not discussed it with any other individual or used any other unauthorized aids. We acknowledge compliance with the academic requirements (e.g. citation of sources) of the University of Toronto.† Legal Issue #1 Who should be responsible for the men with the broken wrist? Background: On the final night of the haunt, there were two young men who ignored the sign that said danger, upper balcony unsafe this is NOT part of the tour and went upstairs to use the bathroom. Due to that fact that the renovation was not done, thus, plumbing was not fully attached As a result, after they flushed the toilet, it turned out to have a huge water spill and caused one of them to fall and break the wrist. Legal issues: If the young man wants to sue whoever is responsible for this tragedy, he must claim that the occupier of that theatre was negligence; otherwise, he won’t get any compensation for the injury Special Negligence – occupier’s liability The occupier’s liability Act under [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 337 states that someone considered being occupier if one of the following requirements is met: 1. Someone is in physical possession of the premises. 2. Someone is responsible for and has control over the condition of the premises. 3. Someone is responsible for and has control over the activities carried on at those premises. 4. Someone who has control over who is allowed to enter those premises. 5. Also, tenants and owners are both occupiers. In this situation, we have three different parties who consider being the occupier. 1. Leanne’s parents: As we know, Leanne’s parents are the legal owner of that theatre, consequently, they absolutely could be counted as one of the occupier, now, let’s examine if they were negligence at that time. (1) Duty of care: No matter what, as long as the invitees, licensees, trespassers are in the premises of the occupier; the duty of care automatically falls on the shoulder of the occupier. In this case, the question is: were Leanne’s parents careful enough to make sure the people in their premises were safe? Due to the fact that by the time the accident happened, her parents had already rent the whole theatre to Leanne by a proper contract, even though the renovation of that theatre wasn’t completed yet. Since the age of Leanne is not given, we could not tell if Leanne is over 18 or not. If Leanne is below the age of 18, According to the law, persons under the â€Å"age of majority†: 18 in Ontario (19 in B.C.) – at time contract made she would consider being a minor, and the law says that a minor usually cannot make a rational decision therefore treated as legal incapacity. In this case, the parents should be responsible for making their daughter the person who has control over the place. On the other hand, if Leanne is above 18, due to the fact that her parents have not warned about the possible hazards that the theatre could have to the visitors, they are still responsible for not fulfilling the duty of care. (2) Standard of care: As we know that the man with broken wrist was a trespasser who is not permitted before entering that premise (upstairs). The unfinished plumbing was not deliberately set up to harm any of the people at the theatre. Therefore, her parents have met the standard of care. (3) Physical causation: the unfinished plumbing was not the direct causation of that harm; nevertheless, it was the cause to make the water spilled and indirectly harm the young man. (4) Foreseeable harm: In this case, the harm is a bodily injury. Before this haunt, the theatre was in renovation, after Leanne proposed the haunted theatre plan; her parents accepted it and stopped the renovation instead. It is reasonable for her parents to notice that there should be some potential dangers in the theatre, however, they were just amazed by the idea and forgot about the foreseeable harms that could bring to the visitors. 3-step analysis: (1) Contributory negligence: Since there is a sign to warn the people that upstairs balcony is dangerous, even though they went to the bathroom instead of the balcony, they were still acting careless in a way that they ignored the sign. Plus, the reason for one of them to fall is because of the fact that they flushed the toilet with a unfinished plumbing, causing the water to spill, and made the floor wet, as a result, the man slipped and broke the wrist. Therefore, these two young man should share the liability for this accident. (2) Other defendant: Other defendants might be Leanne and also the contractor that is responsible for the renovation. (3) Vicarious liability: There is also no vicarious liability for this case. 2. Leanne: As a tenant who rent her parents theatre for one week, also the one that is responsible for and has control over the activities carried on at those premises, she is also consider being the occupier. For Leanne’s case, if she is below 18, then the contract between her and her parents are invalid, then she could not be sued. Otherwise she should be going through the following 4+3 negligence analysis as same as her parents. 4-Step Analysis: (1) Duty of care: As I have mentioned before, since the accident happened in haunted theatre was during the time Leanne rented from her parents, plus the activity on that night was under Leanne’s control, so that she automatically had the duty to make sure everyone is safe no matter the person is invitee, or trespasser. In fact, there were just so many visitors while there wasn’t enough staff to take care of the place, even though she had put a sign to warn the visitors not to go upstairs, but, there is still a possibility that somebody would ignore it and go ahead. On the other hand, the man’s wrist was broke right at the time when he fell, according to the relevant time says by the law, it again assures that the responsibilities would fall on Leanne. (2) Standard of care: As we know, after the contractor told Leanne about the plumbing problems she had set up a sign to warn the visitors to stop going forward. Normally if someone sees a sign tells them not to go forward, people would follow, however, during that evening the situation is slightly different. We know that it is a haunted theatre event during Halloween week; consequently the visitors on that evening are most likely to seek challenges and excitements. Therefore, it is reasonable for some risk loving people who would deliberately ignore the sign and go upstairs to seek for more fun. As the planner and the manager of the event, she should have studied the behavior of the potential customers in order to guarantee a better performance and strategies to control the whole activity. Nonetheless, the two young men were considered to be trespasser in this case due to the fact that the haunted event didn’t invite anyone to go upstairs. As a result, the duty owed to trespasser was extremely limited, according to the Common Law Status Approach, as long as the occupier of that particular premises didn’t mean to set up the hazard to trap the plaintiff, then, the standard of care will be satisfied by the occupier. (3) Physical causation: In this case, the wrist of the young man was broken in an indirect way. The plumbing of the toilet had some problems, after the young man flushed the toilet, it caused the water spilled out and the floor became wet. Finally, the young man slipped and broke his wrist. As we can see during the whole process, Leanne had done nothing directly or indirectly to cause the harm of the young man. However, it is the reckless conduct of the young man himself to cause the accident. (4) Foreseeable harm: As I have mentioned, before the haunted theatre, the theatre was in renovation. After Leanne proposed the idea of stopping the renovation for one week and opened the theatre for Halloween event, and the danger can clearly be foreseen. Even though the actual hazard didn’t harm the visitor directly, but it still created a dangerous situation for the two young men. 3-step analysis: (1) Contributory negligence: As I have analyzed in Leanne’s parents 3-step analysis, the plaintiff himself as a trespasser, ignored the sign to warn the dangerous situation of upstairs, and used the upstairs toilet which has a plumbing problem, as a result to make the water spilled on the ground and made the young man fell. Thereby, the young man had contributed to the accident, and should be sharing the responsibilities with whoever is negligence in this accident (2) Other defendants: Other than Leanne’s parents and Leanne herself, the contractor may also be responsible for this accident which I will be examined later. (3) Vicarious liability: There is no Vicarious liability in this case, since the actual harm brought to the young man was mainly caused by himself, therefore we couldn’t claimed that somebody hurt him while doing his/her job. 3. Contractor: The contractor is the one who is responsible for the renovation, naturally the condition of the whole theatre is somehow related to him and he should be responsible for that. As the occupier’s liability Act says that anyone that is responsible for and has control over the condition of the premises is considered as occupier. Due to the fact that the young man was hurt under the premises that was renovated by the contractor, he should consider being one of the potential defendant. 4-Step Analysis: (1) Duty of Care: As we know the contractor is one of the occupiers, therefore, he automatically has the duty to make sure the people are safe, no matter the people are invitees, licensees, or trespassers. (2) Standard of Care: As we know, before Leanne started her haunted theatre plan, the contractor had informed Leanne about the unfinished plumbing and the potential harm that could bring to the visitors. We could clearly tell that as an occupier, he did not try to harm the trespasser (Two young men) intentionally. Meanwhile, he actually tried to protect the visitors from being hurt. (3) Physical causation: As far as we know, even though the contractor is considered being an occupier, but, he didn’t have any control over the place at that particular day, moreover, he is not there by the time the accident happened. On the other hand, due to the fact that he didn’t finish the renovation and caused the plumbing problem and it lead to the water spill which ended up made the man fell down, this whole series of events are just too â€Å"remote†. In conclusion, there is not physical causation of this contractor to make the wounded man the way he is. (4) Foreseeable harm: As we concluded that the accident is just too â€Å"remote† from the contractor, therefore, there is no foreseeable harm caused by the contractor. 3-Step Analysis: (1) Contributory Negligence: As we have proven previously, the young man got into the premises where he was not invited to, thus, he considered being a trespasser. That is the reason for him to share the obligations of this accident. (2) Other defendants: There is no other defendant other than Leanne, Leanne’s parents, and the contractor. (3) Vicarious liability: There is no vicarious liability in this case. Legal Issue #2 Would two of her friends sue Leanne for breach of contract? Background: Leanne recruited two friends and offered them 20% of the net profit or a set amount of $500. Both of them indicated that they were sure 20% of the net profit would be work out to be more. After the operation of business, Leanne gave them each 20% of the net profit ($400) but those two friends asserted that the contract was for 20% of the net profit or $500 and they definitely would choose $500. Two of her friends would probably sue Leanne for breach of contract if Leanne paid them each only 20% of the net profit instead of $500. Let’s consider is there a contract between Leanne and two of her friends: Contract Requirements: â€Å"O+A+C+I† Offer: Leanne (offeror) offered verbally that she would give two of her friends (Offerees) 20% of the net profit or a set amount of $500. Acceptance: Two of her friends (Offeree) accepted offer by saying â€Å"20% would work out to be more† and also by conduct that they started to work next day. In addition, they did not change any terms in the offer so that no counter-offer had been made. Consideration: Leanne (Offeror) would pay money to two of her friends (Offerees) while the offerees would work for Leanne. There is no gratuitous promise between them. Intention: Leanne had a need to recruit the workforce while two of her friends were passionate to work for Leanne, both of the parties showed their serious intention Hence, there was a contract existed between Leanne and two of her friends. Two of Leanne’s friends were able to sue Leanne for brea ch of contract. This contract could be viewed as either a unilateral contract or a bilateral contract. Reasons for a unilateral contract Two of her friends (Offerees) could accept simply by doing what offer required. They needed to work for Leanne and in return they would get money reward. Issue – Did Offerees have the right to claim an option at any time? The key term â€Å"20% of the net profit or a set amount of $500† would be the main argument for both parties in the court. Two of Leanne’s friends would insist that they had the right to choose an option at any time because Leanne had not made a deadline. Undoubtedly, there are different understandings of meaning in regard to this specific contract term. Both parties agreed on contract wording but the term meant different to them. In the eyes of two of her friends, the contract offered them two options that they could choose after they acknowledge the exact amount of the 20% of the net profit. With no doubt that they would go for the option which had higher amount of money. From Leanne’s perspective, she offered them those two options before they started to work. Leanne believed two of her friends accepted the term†20% of the net profit† by the fact that they said that 20% would work out better. In this situation, the court would apply the most â€Å"reasonable† interpretation to the key term: It was unreasonable that two of Leanne’s friends had the right to choose after they realize which option would be higher. Leanne’s offer would be meaningless if two of her friends could do so. The intention of offering an option of 20% of the net profit was to motivate two of her friends. The most reasonable interpretation would be that two of her friends only had the right to choose an option before they started to work, as a step to accept the Leanne’s offer. Therefore, their wording â€Å"20% would work out to be more† would be considered as approving this term only and accepted Leanne’s offer. Reasons for a bilateral contract This was a bilateral contract because offerees needed to trade promises with the offeror. The offerees’ wording â€Å"20% of the net profit would work out to be more† was strong evidence that they accepted this specific term so that they gave this promise to offeror they would work and in return they would get 20% of the net profit. Issue – was there breach of contract? As a matter of fact Leanne gave two offers to two of her friends, one offer with the key term â€Å"a set amount of $500† and another offer with the key term â€Å"20% of the net sale†. As two of her friends chose the second option, they rejected the first offer and accepted the second offer. In this case, two of her friends would not be able to sue Leanne because there was no breach of contract and the court would surely favor Leanne because she did not violate any terms on the contract. As a result, two of Leanne’s friends would not succeed in the lawsuit. In the future, Leanne should be more careful when she makes the contract. She has to list all key terms in details and elaborate on all those terms so that the offoerees would not have a different understanding on those terms. Legal issue #3 – Would the film maker sue Leanne for breach of contract? Background: The independent film maker would like to film in the haunted house and asked Leanne for the offer. Leanne asked for $500 and told the film maker that he could film any night that he liked. The film maker said he needed time to consider the offer. Afterwards, the film maker got very upset when he came to the theatre on Nov 5 and consequently realized that the haunted house was not in operation anymore and the renovation had resumed. Let’s consider is there a contract between Leanne and the film maker: Contract Requirements: â€Å"O+A+C+I† Offer: Leanne (offeror) offered the film maker (Offeree) that he could film on any night he liked and the price would be $500 Acceptance: After Leanne had offered to the film maker, the film maker said he would have to think about it so there was no acceptance at this point. But later the film maker came to the theatre to film on Nov 5 could be considered as an acceptance by conduct. Consideration: Leanne (Offeror) would provide the film maker (Offerees) a place to film while the film maker would pay Leanne $500. Intention: The film maker had a strong desire to film and Leanne was willing to provide the place Hence, there might be a contract or no contract existed between Leanne and the film maker, depends on whether or not there was acceptance and when the offer lapsed. Issue – when the offer lapsed? There was no specific time in the offer that required the offeree to accept. Thus the court would consider a â€Å"reasonable time†. The â€Å"reasonable† time was usually 1 month. Nonetheless, this â€Å"reasonable† time was difficult to tell in this situation. Leanne would consider the offer goes expire after Halloween, because the operation of the haunted house was a seasonal event and it was reasonable to presume that there would be no more people coming after Halloween. Leanne would likely shut down the haunted house after Halloween. From the film maker’s view, the â€Å"reasonable† time would probably be one month because this was usually a standard. It was reasonable for him to believe that the haunted house would continue to operate because he did not know Leanne only ran this event for one week. Thus, the â€Å"reasonable† time was hard to assess. If the court considered the â€Å"reasonable† time was before Halloween, then Leanne would be free from any legal liabilities. If the court insisted the â€Å"reasonable† time was within one month, then Leanne would be sued for breach of contract since she could not fulfill her promise. Leanne had to revoke the contract immediately before she stopped operating the haunted house to avoid any legal duties.

The Strategies Of Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

The Strategies Of Marketing Mix Marketing Essay There can be many reasons for wanting to be internationalized like saturation in the home market, the desire of export your product and catch new type of customers in new markets, little opportunity to growth in the own countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ HM wanted to get a strong brand and arrive to the best cities and establish their shops. They are looking always for the best cities and places to build their shops in order to get more and more customers all over the world. When they decided to internationalized, their wish was to become in a great famous brand, and finally they got it, because as I said, it is a well-known company situate in 47 different countries which is also planning to build new shops in more different ones. (See appendix2) Target Market HMs primary target market is based on consumer both men and women between 18-34 years old. In order to satisfy the target customer, they produce good design clothes with good quality and all of that in very cheap prices, so that, the customers of HM are very satisfied with it because it offers them everything they want. (See appendix 3) Market Selection Criteria (Keegan, W., J. and Schlegelmilch, B., B., 2001) When a company wants to be internationalised in a new country it must answered this question so as to know exactly where to establish their brand: (See appendix 4) Which market is the best? Philippines Portugal As it can be seen in this two graphics, without a shadow of doubt it can be said that the most secure country to enter in is Portugal. First of all, although this graphics not shows the complete reason, it is the main reason for choosing Portugal. As it can be seen, in Portugal the corruption is really high, the government is not as competent as in Portugal, the infrastructure is not as prepare as in Portugal to be able to build storesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Finally, making the positive and negative points of each country, it is clear that Portugal is the best option not only because of these results, but also because the geographic location of the country. (Global Competitiveness Report, 2012-2013) (See appendix 5) Portugal OPPORTUNITIES THREATS POLITICAL Parliamentary representative democratic republic ECONOMIC High income mix economy The financial crisis ECOLOGCAL Many land hectares Ecology conservation Laws TECHNOLOGICAL Pioneer of technology The financial crisis FASHION INDUSTRY Growth in the industry The financial crisis LEGAL REGULATORY Control competition Not allowed aggressive competition (Technology Portugal, 2009) (Economy of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2012) (Politics of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2012) (See appendix 6) Competitors (See appendix 7) Indirect Competitors HM does not have many Indirect Competitors in the sector, however, there someone that are strong and that they are gaining presence in the online shopping: (See appendix 8) HM ASOS Direct Competitors As everywhere nowadays, in Portugal also there are many fashion retailers that are establishing their shops in many cities so as to get more benefits and became much more international brand. In the case of HM, it would have many competitors, and the main one it would be Inditex. (Retail Index, 2012) (See appendix 9,10,11,12) HM vs. Inditex The major competitor of HM is Inditex, this table shows what main differences are between them: Outsourcing of Core Activities Group Model Competitive advantage Segmentation Communication No own factories 80% is produced in Asia Cheaper Major margins 39,7% of cost upon sales Need to create collection well in advanced Single chain Major margins in the short run Collaborations with Luxury brands, singersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Own industries 40% is produced in Europe Major flexibility Major ability for growth 44,3% of cost upon sales New collection every 2 weeks Different Chains Major dynamism and growth in the long run Collaborations with new designers, actorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Moda Rapida, 2012) Customers in Portugal In all countries the customer do not have the same purchasing habits, how are the shopping habits of Portuguese young consumers? Factors that influence in clothing purchasing At the time of purchasing clothes, young consumer In Portugal prefers not to have anybody behind them asking all the time if they need any help, that is, they prefer to go to big stores and have a look for everything and then if they need any help ask to a staff although they think that are really impersonal places. They prefer to be free, they want to be comfort when they are shopping. Shopping Behaviour and the influence of others Portuguese young consumers prefer to go shopping alone for many different reasons: More freedom of movements: They like to go alone as they dont need to be all the time calling to the other persona come here, go there and so on. More independence in choice: Young consumers do not like to be influenced by anyone; they like to buy things without any other opinion, if they like it they would buy it without having anybody prejudicing them. Individual decision: As it is individual decision, nobody would be saying anything bad about the clothes. Purchasing choice criteria What are looking for the customers at the time of buying clothes? They based their purchase in some factors that finally are the ones that makes one to take the decision of buying one thing or another. Low Price Comfort Good Design Good Quality Brand Name Does not have any influence in purchasing criteria as nowadays almost all brands are equal. (Information sources and clothing,2012) (See appendix 13) Perceptual Map Low Quality High Price High Quality Low Price INDITEX CORTEFIEL MODALFA CA HM PRIMARK MANGO GAP In order to create the perceptual, I use my perception about the fashion brands in the world, that is, I collocated each of the company in the position that I perceive. As it cam be seen, in the same square we can find HM and Inditex, but for my point of view, although the price of it is more expensive, the quality is much better so that its positioning is greater than HMs one. Apart from this, it can be said that for young people, Cortefiel and Mango are so equal in the quality and in the prince and also GAP and CA although being so expensive, their quality is very high. Finally, as for the brands with the lowest quality, although their low price is so attractive for punctual occasions, customers prefer to buy in companies that offer them a major quality. Recommendation I really recommend HM to go to Portugal as it can offer many advantages to HM starting with its geographical location. Although the financial crisis is affecting many consumer, as HM has very low prices it can be a very good opportunity for the young people to get fashion clothes with their low income, so as nowadays the physical aspect is gaining importance, HM would find a very good opportunity in Portugal (About HM, 2012) Appendices Appendix: HM 1980/90 Stores open in Germany and Netherlands. Stores open in France, and the use of celebrities to the advertisements 1947 1977 1976 1974 1968 1964 1952 Sales of cosmetic started. First store opened outside Scandinavia, In London. Listed on the Stockholms Stock Exchange Hennes buy the fish store Mauritz Widforss, and the name is changed to Hennes and Mauritz. First store opened in a foreign country, in Norway. Hennes open in Stockholm First store open in Và ¤steras (Sweedem), with the name of Hennes 2012 Plan to open Bulgaria, Latvia, Malasya, Mexico and Thailand. 2011 HM open in Romania, Croacia and Singapore. 2010 First stores open in Soth korea and Turky. Monki goes to Asia, HM home open in Sweden. 2009 First store open in Russia and in Beijing. HM home is launched, Weekday and Monki open in Germany 2008 First store open in Tokyo. Adquisition of Weekday, Monki and Cheap Monday brands. 2007 First Asian store in Hong Kong and in Shanghai. Expansion of online sales. COS stores launched. 2006 Major expansion of online and catalogue sales 2004 Initiates designer collaborations with luxury brands 2000 Stores open in US, Spain and in many European countries. HMs presence all over the world HM world map.   Ã‚   300+ stores   Ã‚   200+ stores   Ã‚   100+ stores   Ã‚   50+ stores   Ã‚   20+ stores   Ã‚   10+ stores   Ã‚   1+ stores   Ã‚   Upcoming stores (HHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HM_world_map.svgHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HM_world_map.svgM world map, Wikipedia, 2012) HM Group HM as Inditex is completed by many different brands, that is, HM is group that is composed by some different brands: HM: It produces a broad and diverse range of fashion for men, women, youth and children, furthermore, it also sales cosmetic, accessories and products for home. COS It offers customers a combination of timelessness and distinctive trends, for both women and men. Monki: It is a very creative brand that offers to the customer the opportunity to express itself. Weekday: It offers urban fashion for men and women always at the best price. Cheap Monday: Cheap Monday combines influences from street fashion and subcultures with a catwalk vibe. HMs expansion strategy HM is so conscious at the time of opening new stores in other countries, that is, it thinks that the stores should make much stronger the brand and attract customer giving them the best shopping experience as possible. When HM is moving to a new country, so as to see if it would be profitable or not to enter in it analyses the political, economic, demographic, and infrastructural environment. It creates very modern stores in all the countries that it establishes its business so as to offer a great shopping time to the customer. Furthermore, it is working in making its stores much more ecological so as to save the world and do not damage it. HM is looking for a great expansion in the future; it is planning to open many new stores in many different countries, so as to create a very strong brand. HM SWOT analyses Strengths Brand recognition: Low Price and style: It has presence in al over the world and people know it because of the fashionable clothes that sales in a very cheap price Operational efficiency: As it has a great control in the logistic area, it is able to have low cost and maintain really good margins. Opportunities Untapped potential in emerging markets: As the lifestyle is changing everywhere, people is much more aware of its physical aspects, so that, the fashion is gaining presence. Internet retailing: The fashion industry is increasing every day, and nowadays with the help of internet they can growth in an incredible manner, it gave them a great opportunity to growth. Weaknesses Reliance on outsourcing: The reliance of Inditex products put HM in critical situation as Inditex appeals much more to customers. Modest presence in emerging markets: It a well-known brand in the whole world, but the major presence is only in Europe and in North America. Threats Non-food expansion of grocery retailers: Many supermarkets like Tesco, are thinking in competing in the clothe industry with HM. Fast fashion becoming more competitive: Its major competitor is Inditex, that also does fast fashion, but new competitors also are appearing very strong (Ryerson, 2009) Vertical Integration HM has a vertical integration strategy in which was pioneer establishing it some years ago. Due to this strategy, the company is now able to collect information about the sales and customers and use it in order to make a better strategy always so as to get more profits for the future and catch much more customer. (Europa.eu,2012) LCCP, GCCP or FCCP? In the case of HM, it can be said that this company is GCCP( Global Culture Cultural Positioning), as they are a multinational that they sale their self saying that the customer is part of the global family. Although they need to adapt maybe their strategy in each of different country, they sale their brand as a global company; actually all their products are the same in all countries, they offer the same products for the customers of different places, Being the part of the global family is the message that they are selling to the customers mind. Appendix: Internationalization Motives There are 2 kinds of motives that prompt the companies to internationalised, Proactive and Reactive motives. In the case of HM there some points inside those factors that do not have any sense, so only the main points are going to be explained. Proactive Motives Profit and growth goals All companies want to growth, and so as to get that the best option is to go abroad and establish their brand in new countries. This is one of the main reason why the companies want to internationalized, in order to become i and bigger and be well known in the whole work. Managerial urge It is a motivation that the managers of the business have; their motivation is to be part of a company that works all over the world. Foreign market opportunities/market information HM could see many opportunities to growth in foreign markets as is a company that have great presence all over the world. However, it is not established in all countries, so if it wants to become a bigger brand, it should observe what opportunities offered each country and see if it is profitable or not. Economies of scale-learning curve Being internationalized, offers HM the advantage of the economies of scale as it could produce high amount of clothes at the same time. (Hollensen, S., 2007) Reactive Motives Competitive pressure HM could be scared for example of the competitive pressure of Inditex as it has a great strategy that helps it to continue in the top level. If the company see that other brands are growing all over the world and that are gaining customers and getting profits, the no internationalised company also would want to get all that. So for that reason, HM would like to enter in more and more countries so as to be a great company. Domestic market: small and saturated HM was created in Sweden many years ago, but as the market was becoming so small to compete there, it decided to enter in new countries so as to growth its presence. Extend sales of seasonal products As maybe the demand in the home country is not very big and it does not give the opportunity for the company to get the desire profits, they would find new opportunities to get what they want in foreign countries. (Hollensen, S., 2007) Appendix: How to choose the target market? Targeting is the action of evaluating and comparing the different groups of consumers and chooses which is the most suitable for the company. Companies have to base their research in 3 points: Current segment and the growth: It will be enough profitable to the company to centre only in that segment? Competitive intensity and potential competition: If that segment has a great competition, it is suitable to enter in? Compatibility and feasibility: If that segment give problems to the companies, could another company catch them? (Keegan, W.J. and Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2001) When HM creates its brand he had surely been thinking about these points at the time of creating its designs. When the companies are creating their collections they must be thinking on the target market as they are the wanted customers and they should create those clothes that appeals to them. Appendix: Market selection Criteria Market Potential Here the company should analyse if the market satisfied completely the customer and also if the customers has the necessary ability to purchase the product that the old retailers offer them. (International market selection, 2004) Market Size: The companies need to observe how much of the market it can expect to could afford. Market growth: They have to observe how much have grown this sector in that country during all the years so as to know if they would find and increase or a decrease in the industry. Competitive Intensity: The Company have to make a great research relating with the competitors of the industry in that country so as to know in what position they are and how strong are the competitors. Entry Barrier: In all countries are entry barriers to foreign companies so as to protect the future of the home country industries. They should make many deals so as to finally get into a new market. Political Environment The government of a country affects a lot the business life because of the changing policies, regulations and laws. Furthermore, the government of each of the country is who choose which businesses will receive protection and which is going to face an open competition. Furthermore, the political stability of a country will affect the action that government will take, and finally that actions will have many influences in an enterprise. (Sirkeci, I. and Cawley, R., 2012) Economic Environment Nowadays the economy has change radically, due to that factor all countries are now potential targets for every company. When a company has to make research in global marketing, the economy dimension of the world is crucial as it has great influence in this point. (Keegan, W.J., Schelegelmilch, B.B., 2001) Demographic Structure The company should observe how has change the demographic in the objective country so as to control the evolution of the Target customer. Purchasing Power It has to know how is the purchasing power of the objective customer so as to know if they are going to get benefits or loses in that country. Infrastructure The retailer need to observe if the infrastructure of the country is good or not so as to build and factories in that country. The country must have strong infrastructure so as to build powerful companies, strong social, economic, aerialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦infrastructure. Appendix: Philippines and Portugal So as to choose the most appropriate country to enter in, many things must be analysed as it can be seen in the paper. However, not only those shown points are important, there many other things like the GDP, unemployment rate, population, innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that should be take into account when an enterprise want to be opened in that country. Philippines Population: 93,6millions GDB per capita: 2,007$ Infraestructure: 3,1 Macroeconomic environment: 5 Goods market efficiency: 4,1 Labor market efficiency: 3,9 Having a look to these different score between 1-7, it is clear that Portugal it is clear that Portugal is much more secure country to establish their company. Although the most relevant dates had been explained before in the pages, this also are very important at the time of choosing the country to enter in. so finally, Portugal is the country that will be analysed for the report. Financial market development: 4 Technological readiness: 4,6 Portugal Population: 10,7 millions GDP per capita: 21,559$ Infraestructure: 5,5 Macroeconomic environment: 4,2 Goods market efficiency: 4,3 Labor market efficiency: 3,8 Financial market development: 4 Technological readiness: 5,3 (The Global Competitiveness report, 2012-2013) Appendix: Portugal Political Environment Portugal has a constitutional republic and a parliamentary system in which a semi presidential regime is establish. The prime minister is elected every four years and is the person who led the government, furthermore, the president of the government is elected every five years. (Doing business in Portugal, 2012) Economic Environment There can find many industries that has established their main company in Portugal, for example, in the case of Inditex, it has one factory there as the production is cheaper than in Spain. But although been a developed and high income country, it has the lowest GDP in Western Europe, and besides, the population has the lowest purchasing power of the European Union. (Economic of Portugal, Wikipedia, 2012) Regulatory Environment The Law 18/2003 In Portugal is create to maintain a competitive economy, not to have an unfair competitive and so heavy one. The law prohibited the company to make agreements that would affect the competition between economic agents in national territory. In addition to this, the companies are not allowed to make a very aggressive competition so as not to affect the sector in that country. (Doing business in Portugal, 2012) Fashion industry Nowadays the textile industry in Portugal represents just under the 10% of outputs. The situation in Portugal is not the best, but the companies that are surviving are having great profits, so people is seen as an optimist market. Many different brands produce their clothes in Portugal like Fred Perry, Inditex, Paul Smith because of the process is not as expensive as in other European countries, , however, although the industry is surviving, all the companies has suffered losses during the financial crisis. Every type of industry are suffering now due to the 2008 financial crisis, in many countries many companies closed their factories, nevertheless, the textile industry in Portugal is growing up again so slowly but is growing, every brand are getting now profits, so for HM it could be a great opportunity as the industry is having good results nowadays. Besides, it must be said that HMs strategy is very similar to Inditex ones, its clothes are so cheap and finally a country that is s uffering a lot because of the crisis , population wants to have the opportunity to buy cheap fashionable clothes. Inditex is having great results in the country, so as HM prices are cheaper, why it would not get many profits? Portugal as I said, can offer HM many great advantages. (UK reuters, 2012) Barriers to enter in country There many barriers in all countries for different companies that wants to establish their brand there are (Hollensen, S., 2007): General Market Risks The main barriers are the great competitiveness that HM could find in Portugal, the different culture and language, because the Swedish and Portuguese people are so different at the time of working and also the language is totally different. In addition to this, it is no easy to find a new distributor in a foreign country, they should make alliances an all of that work so as to get a great position, and finally, it must be said that it is a very difficult work to adapt all the company for that new culture and make a great company overseas. Commercial Risks Although Portugal is in Europe too, there are always delays in the delivering of the export products or some damages in them. Beside this, there are always changes in rates and that could have a great influence in the cost of a company. Political Risks This subject is a little bit special; companies have to take caution as politics have great influences in all countries. HM have to take into account how is the law of the exports in Portugal, what type of restrictions have impose the government, the thoughts of the citizensà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Opportunities of entering in the Portugal Investing in Portugal it would give companies many advantages for many different reasons (Doing business in Portugal, 2012): Strategic access to market Due to the Portugal economic openness and also because of its strategic geographical position it can offer great opportunities to different companies between EU and also different markets. As it has relations with Brazil and is near Africa, it offers great advantages so as to make exports and imports. Cost competitive, qualified and flexible workforce The Portuguese employers are known for having great attitudes at the time of adapting their self to new technologies, strategies and so on. Excellent environment to live and work It is a country that offers the companies very secure areas and ensure the security for their production, and so on as it is very pacific place. Infrastructure As during the last year Portugal has made great investment so as to modernizing its communication infrastructures, it is great country to establish a company as it can be adapted very easily to the new technologies that the company will bring with it. Appendix: Competitors Market 5 forces Threats of New entrance Rivalry among existing competitors Threat of Substitute products or services Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers (Keegan, W.J. and Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2011) Referring to HM, although it is a great company, its major competitor is doing everything much better than HM does. HM it would be the new entrance in that country and of course all those competitors like Inditex, Cortefiel and so on would be threat of it as they would need to fight with one more company. However, knowing that new entrance, those companies may start making much more deals with the suppliers so as to have the ability to offer much better products and service to their customers and not to lose them. Finally, HM has a great positive factor to the consumers that could be a great advantage to its competitors. It makes many alliances with famous designers like Versace, Moschinoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ so as to create new collection that are attractive to young consumers as they feel with higher status. Inditex should be worry about that as luxury brands are so attractive to consumers, but if it continuous doing a hard work it will be as everywhere the winner of the sector also in P ortugal. Appendix: ASOS ASOS is an online beauty store that provides the customer many products of different brands in very cheap prices. That is, the consumer can buy in the same website clothes from many different brands like Adidas, Armani, Topshopà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it sales hundreds of brands, thats why it became so attractive to the customer, because it can find in the same place clothes from everywhere. ASOS was created firstly in United Kingdom in 2000, but them while it was gaining presence in whole Britain; it started going abroad and gaining presence in many countries of Europe. After that, the market of US was prepared to ASOS arrival as everyone wants to have the opportunity to buy many brands product in the same place. (ASOS, 2012) Appendix: MOFALDA Modalfa is a Portuguese fashion brand that offer the customer very fashionable clothes in a cheap prices. In Portugal, as I explained before, it is a great competitor for HM as it offers the customer similar opportunities as HM do. (Modalfa, 2012) Appendix: CORTEFIEL Cortefiel is the first brand created by Cortefiel group in 1946, which offer the customer an elegant and comfortable style with very high quality. With this personal style, Spanish brand has open its road to many countries and it is very strong competitor for many other companies. Its target customer is based on men and women between 35-45 years, and although HM is addressed to young people, finally all consumers are important for every company. (Cortefiel, 2012) Appendix: CA CA is a fashion company that has presence in 20 different countries of Europe. People have a very good perception about CA, it offers 10000 different products in all the countries, and although its high prices, the products have very high quality, the clothes lasts for years so people do not mind to pay more for those clothes. (CA, 2012) Appendix: Inditex The Inditex group is the most powerfull competitor of HM and as it, has many different brands inside that are very famous and makes the more and more strong everyday: ZARA: Zara has presence in 85 countries and it has opened 1671 stores in the best places of the cities. For Zara there is no any limit, they want to be in all the countries of the world in the future, and due to its great strategy it can get it as it is opening new stores every day. Pull Bear: It was create in 1991 especially for young people as it has very juvenile style. Is it one of the most profitable brand in terms of Urban clothes as every young people go there to get urban style clothes. Massimo Dutti: It has 567 stores spread in 53 different countries. It offers Urban and casual styles both for men and women, its target market is based on men and women adults, thats why the growth of the prices and the change in the style comparing with other brands. Bershka: It was launched in 1998 and nowadays it has 839 stores in 63 different countries, and as it is known, it appeals basically to the young target market. Stradivarius: It produces clothes, accessories, shoesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and its clothes are combination of elegant and hippie clothes that appeal a lot for young people. Oysho: Oysho sells the latest fashion trends in womens lingerie and intimate apparel Zara Home: It is specialised in home decoration and linen things that attract so much to women because of it reasonable prices. Uterqà ¼e: It is the newest brand of Inditex and it is the most expensive brand of the group. (Inditex group, 2012) Zara is the most powerful brand of the group, is the main competitor of HM alone as I said. In the above image appear where Zara has its stores. (Zara targetmap, 2012) Appendix: Customers The culture in which the consumers have been grew up have many influences in the priorities that the customers give to different activities an