Analysis of Poetry Essay

This Unit Activity will help you meet these educational goals: 21st Century Skills—You will use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and communicate effectively. Introduction In this activity, you will read and analyze three poems by different poets and examine the similarities and differences among them. __________________________________________________________________________ Directions and Analysis Task 1: Read and Analyze Poetry Read these poems, which revolve around the ideas of darkness and the night: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† by Dylan Thomas â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† by Robert Frost â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† by Emily Dickinson Read the poems a few times, noting each one’s theme, mood, form, structure, rhyme scheme, and use of imagery and figurative language. Use the provided table to record your analysis. Type your response here: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† theme Mortality Isolation To â€Å"find the light† imagery Sunrise and sunset Loneliness figurative language Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay Personification and rhyming Darkness and light mood Somber desperation Discomfort Sadness form Villanelle Iambic pentameter Lyric poem meter, structure, and rhyme scheme five three-line stanzas and a sixth stanza with four lines Terza rima, ABABCBCDCDADAA, Italian form Rhythm is similar throughout, but changes from eight and six syllable lines to seven and six syllables to seven and six syllables. Task 2: Make Comparisons Write a 250-500-word essay describing the similarities and differences you found in the poems. Address the following points in your essay: Examine how the subject of darkness is used in each of the three poems. How has each poet woven the central idea of the poem around the subject? Compare and contrast the figurative devices used in each poem. How do they affect the mood and relate to the theme of the poem? Point out the differences in style and tone, including the choice of words. Which poem do you think has the greatest overall impact on readers? Which one communicates its message most directly and effectively? Which poem appeals most to you? Give reasons to explain your answers. As with any essay, this essay should be structured into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Arrange your ideas logically and group them into paragraphs, using suitable words to mark transitions between ideas. Remember to provide textual evidence from the poems for your opinions. Type your response here: The similar ideas of dark and night appear in works by Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Frost, but the meaning of the two concepts in context of the literary works differ greatly. In Emily Dickinson’s â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark†, Dylan Thomas’ â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night†, and Robert Frost’s â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† the theme of night and darkness is compared and contrasted through the literary elements of point of view, imagery, and structure. The concept of darkness and night is portrayed through the use of point of view. In each of these poems, the poet writes in the first tense, giving the reader a sense that the narrator has personally experienced the presence of the symbolic â€Å"darkness† and â€Å"night†. However, while â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† is written in a plural point of view, â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† is written in a singular view, and â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night† is from the speaker point of view. This gives a differing meaning to dark and night between these poems, because although Dickinson’s plural poem encompasses humanity as a whole, showing the dark to be a natural point in life, Frost’s poem depicts the night his character is experiencing as a lonely, solitary happening, and Thomas’ poem shows loneliness and wanting for companionship. The differences in these poems help to show night as a more unnatural and depressing experience than the dark that happens to everyone. __________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit. Task 1: Read and Analyze Poetry Criteria Distinguished (4 points) Provides a complete and accurate analysis of each poem Exhaustively lists instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides a concise but compelling description of the mood and theme of each poem Proficient (3 points) Provides a complete and largely correct analysis of each poem Lists most instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides an effective description of the mood and theme of each poem Developing (2 points) Provides a complete analysis of the poems with some inaccuracies Lists some instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides a passable description of the mood and theme of each poem Beginning (1 point) Provides an incomplete analysis of the poems with some inaccuracies Lists only a few instances of figurative language and use of imagery Attempts to describe the mood and theme of the poems Task 2: Make Comparisons Criteria Distinguished (4 points) Thoroughly addresses all the points mentioned Effectively compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Thoroughly evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Insightfully compares the style and impact of the poems Provides strong textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay exceptionally well, has a compelling introduction and conclusion, and uses transitions to enhance the organization of ideas Consistently uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout Proficient (3 points) Adequately addresses most of the points mentioned Effectively compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Adequately evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Effectively compares the style and impact of the poems Provides adequate textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay well, has a meaningful introduction and conclusion, and uses transitions effectively Largely uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation Developing (2 points) Adequately addresses some of the points mentioned Compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems to some extent Compares the style and impact of the poems Provides some textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay into paragraphs, has an introduction and a conclusion, and uses transition words Makes a few mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation Beginning (1 point) Marginally addresses some of the points mentioned and omits others Attempts to compare how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Inadequately describes the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Attempts to compare the style and impact of the poems Does not provide textual evidence to support opinions Does not structure the essay well and does not use transitions effectively Makes several mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation

Argumentative Paragraph

My favorite scene is when, Farhan is about to leave the country then he receives a call telling that the caller know where Rancho is. Farhan immediately run out of the airport and he calls Raju who is on his bed. They went in there College Campus where the caller was there. In the top of the building they met their college friend and remember their commitment. And they find nothing in there. Friends, Family or Future: which should come first? Family should come first. Real Story Viruddh†¦ Family Comes First Viruddh is one among relatively few Hindi films that is not a musical, instead thesoundtrack is primarily used as background.The movie begins with Amar telling the story of his family and himself. Amar is the son of Vidyadhar and Sumitra Patwardhan, a middle class couple in India. Amar lives and works in London and he sends some of his salary to them. One day Amar returns home with Jenny Mayer, his girlfriend, and announces his intention to get married to her. Initially reluc tant, his parents are pleased and happy for the two. One day, Amar goes out celebrating with his friends, whilst his parents and Jenny organise a surprise party for him.Outside a pub, Amar witnesses a murder and, while trying to apprehend the killer, he gets mortally wounded in the fight. Amar succumbs in the hospital. The assailant is identified as Harshwardhan Kadam, son of a minister Kadam. Soon, the police start covering the case up. Amar is implicated in false charges of drug peddling. Witnesses and close friends of Amar too give false statements. The torture doesn't end there, as police try to implicate Jenny as his accompolice. Vidyadhar decides that it is not good for Jenny to live there, especially since she is expecting Amar's child.Vidyadhar bails her out and implores her to return before she is locked up for good. Harshwardhan goes scot free meanwhile and Vidyadhar decides to seek justice on his own. Ali Asgar, a mechanic and an acquaintance of Patwardhan's, decides to h elp them. Soon, Ali succeeds in procuring a gun for Vidyadhar. Vidyadhar decides to confront Harshwardhan in his own office. Harshwardhan cockily lets him enter in and starts taunting him. Vidyadhar accuses him and Harshwardhan arrongantly confesses his crimes, telling Vidyadhar that he cannot prove a thing.Vidyadhar points the gun at him, upon which Harshwardhan calls his guards. Vidyadhar guns down Harshwardhan and the guards enter in moments later Harshwardhan's dead body collapses down. Harshwardhan's head guard lets Vidyadhar go, claiming that he won't be able to look at his family in the eye if he arrests Vidyadhar. A case stands up against Vidyadhar, where he reveals a pocket tape recorder on which the whole confession of Harshwardhan is recorded. Based on the proof, Amar is exonerated of all false charges levelled up against him. Vidyadhar is also set free.In an interview, Vidyadhar makes it clear that he doesn't intend to sue Kadam since his son has been killed and Vidyadha r knows the pain. In the end, it is shown that Vidyadhar is living a happy life with Sumitra, Jenny, and his grandchild. Amar now explains that his father has always been a hero for him since childhood and he is feeling a little jealous of his daughter who is being treated with same affection with which Vidyadhar treated Amar in his childhood. The movie ends with Amar disappearing in light claiming now he can rest in peace. From: The Hospitalist, June 2009Pediatric HM should embrace development of â€Å"collaborative† care by Mark Shen, MD I recently returned from a seminar where I sang â€Å"Kumbaya† (OK, maybe I hummed) and performed a skit in front of the 250 other participants. Having once been edited out of my own end-of-residency movie, you might think this was Acting 101 for the next Shen’s Anatomy. Rather, this was â€Å"Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient and Family-Centered Care. † Replete with experiential lessons in positive change, it transformed my vision of the future for patients, families, and our field.Patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) is a movement rooted in the values at the core of our profession. As soon as the hunter-gatherers formed communities, a village healer emerged. Parents could turn to the healer for help when a child developed bronchiolitis. With similar amounts of hand-waving, these healers produced outcomes similar to current bronchiolitis care. But what once was a simple relationship has become fractured through relentless de-evolutionary forces. Progressive specialization has exponentially ncreased the number of healers.The rapid, paternalistic injection of science and technology overwhelms even the most capable of Homo sapiens. The final product can be as cold and sterile as a modern-day operating room. Amidst the labyrinthine tangle of providers, information, and facilities, there is a warm underglow of hope. Unless you’ve been hiding under the concrete foundation of the old part of your hospital, you’ve heard about family-centered rounds (FCR). It’s the new black, or the new steroids, of pediatric HM.And it carries with it the potential to be the bellwether of change. A simplistic view entails moving teaching rounds from the conference room to the bedside. Throw in a multidisciplinary component and you have a theoretical therapeutic milieu from which all manner of positive education and patient outcomes might be measured. But one must ask the question: Can create patient- and family-centeredness The Importance of Family. Families are much more than groups of individuals. They have their own goals and aspirations.They also are places where every child and adult should feel that he or she is special and be encouraged to pursue his or her own dreams; a place where everyone's individuality is permitted to flourish. Although every family has conflicts, all the family members should feel as though they can express themselves openly, share their feelings, and have their opinions listened to with understanding. In fact, conflicts and disagreements are a normal part of family life and are important insofar as they permit people to communicate their differences and ventilate their feelings.The family instructs children and gives guidance about personal values and social behavior. It instills discipline and helps them learn and internalize codes of conduct that will serve them for the rest of their lives. It helps them develop positive interpersonal relationships, and it provides an environment that encourages learning both in the home and at school. It gives children a sense of history and a secure base from which to grow and develop. Yet, as important as these functions are, they do not happen automatically.Every parent knows it takes hard work to keep the family going as an effective, adaptive, and functional unit. Divine law is any law that, according to religious belief, comes directly from the will of God, in contrast to man-made law. Like natural law (which may be seen as a manifestation of divine law) it is independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation. Divine law is eternal law, meaning that since God is infinite, then his law must also be infinite and eternal.In Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Law, divine law, as opposed to natural law, comes only from revelation or scripture, hence biblical law, and is necessary for human salvation. According to Aquinas, divine law must not be confused with natural law. Divine law is mainly and mostly natural law, but it can also be positive law. Conclusion Family should value first. It is a precious thing that a man can have. All the things you have are no match for a family, because with family all your tears, heartaches, problems, burdens will disappear with so much in love with your family.You know what, I dreamed once that my family will be happy at the time were nothing. I always say to myself that my family is the one will love me for a million years. What is the essence of having a beautiful house, a million money, a beautiful life without your family?. Think of it. As I grow older, I can imagine my world without my family. They are the one will fade your tears, they are the one will understand you, and they are the only one will love you. Yes, time come you will having your own family, and with that you can say that your already complete with the love of your family.I always observe in television and also in real life that they have the things they wanted. But aren’t happy enough because they know that they are not complete without a child. Their some people with a peaceful life, a not so beautiful house, nothing to eat but see they are happy because they loving each other. That’s what family is, a perfect family. Friends and Future are always their waiting for us. These two can gone, can steal, c an be nothing, but with family it can never be replace, steal and can be yours because its mine.

Cross Cultural Studies Essay

Beauty, is anything that appeals, and is incorporated in current fads and trends of the area. Its features drastically vary across the globe where antagonizing manners are adopted. Obesity is such an example, where in the west, obesity is shunned, and admonished, and on the contrary, in the African countries, obesity lures and is considered to be a blessing, exhibiting richness. Beauty may be skin deep, but there are cases when such becomes a paradox. Obesity is not just about the weight, or the physical and genetic rationalities we can derive from it. Obesity can also be derived from its psychological roots. What is obesity and how it affects the reputation, personality, or even the attitude towards it varies across cultures as mentioned earlier. In this paper, obesity is seen as good and wanted physiological trait, compared with as a social cancer plaguing the health in most Western countries. RESEARCH FINDINGS Norimitsu Onish (2001), in his article entitled, ‘On the scale of Beauty, weight weights heavily’, has explained in a formidable manner the craze obesity has amongst teenage girls in Nigeria. He has depicted the ways ladies will employ to go beyond their means so as to become fat, and conducts market surveys determining which types of steroids, pills or chemicals they would use. The paper explains how obese women are idealized and looked up onto. Onish indicates that women would tend to consume harmful chemical to gain fatty tissues, and have become so obsessed with becoming fat, that they would go to ‘fattening farms’ and get massaged weeks before their weddings. Likewise, some of the poorer women would consume animal feed in order to get fat and become attractive, as they cannot afford the rich foods. Historically, fleshy African women were considered well endowed financially, because they can afford food, are healthy and fertile. Women in African culture are revered to as the food provider, the one who plants and supplies food in the community. A fleshy African woman connotes someone from an affluent family or perhaps a potential good provider for her family. The heavy African woman was valued and held in high esteem. However, it is important to note that African women labored diligently, working sun up to sun down, and their laborious tasks were not conducive to being big. The arduous work kept African women basically on the thin side (Johnson and Broadnax, 2003). STRATIFICATION: Stratification is an integral part of a community and society that occurs due to a division in the classes which is determined by the economic situation of the household or community. This horizontal stratum is also prevalent among some countries which have a male dominant society, on the pretext of religion. This has been depicted in Onish’s article, where obese women are a status symbol, exhibiting their resources, and that they belong to well to do families, compromising their health in this way. A very good example is quoted explaining how a girl since the age of 11 years, was forced to become obese on the pretext of getting a ‘good match’, and now she suffers from hip dislocation, and bone disorders, as it has become difficult to carry herself around. Culturally, being large was not customary. In the African view, women who are fleshy, had hips, and a voluptuous body are the women to marry. Body size was also perceived to make them excellent mothers. African women who are large have more adipose tissue, and were perceived to carry a fetus to full term and suspend for some time the effects of starvation should there be scarcity of food (Johnson and Broadnax, 2003). In a class lecture by Mead back in 1974, culture was defined as the transmission of values and behaviors and concepts. It is the way one eats, the way one walks, and the way one raises a child. In Africa, the cultural level was subtle for little girls to learn that African men and families values large women and was highly acceptable. But being voluptuous was deemed in a different way when slaves were transported to the new world. African women then were viewed and even designated to be breeders and has a duty to give birth as many times as her owner wants to. Alex Haley documented this in his book by relating how large African women beats slave children and hands them to a slave owner as a sexual prize (Johnson and Broadnax, 2003). In another article, ‘Culture: A sociological view’, Becker (Becker, 1982) explains the significance of culture in a society and how it is regularly modified in order to meet the modern fashion and fad. Culture is being regularly changed, and newer versions of principles and practices are adopted. Likewise, stratification in terms of race and gender is also now being diluted, as a sense of equality is prevalent within most of the societies across the globe. A society is organized by its cultural values, which is the essence to its development, and thus although newer concepts are adopted, older principles should not be ignored and should be passed onto generations in order to preserve a society’s cultural heritage. The gradual changes in society together with the culture in which one grows takes generations. There are a few and core cultural traits which are passed on from one generation to another, preserved in families, despite the many changes that are constantly happening. In the sociological context, this also reflects how society influences the individual’s views and perceptions with the many changes happening around him/her. At some point, the person knows what his culture is inherently, but also adjusts to fit in and cope up with the many cultural changes in our societies. CROSS CULTURAL STUDIES: Cross cultural studies was a very interesting subject that depicts the various anthropologies around the globe. The primary essence in this study is an element of tolerance which various ethnic groups have to incur so as to accommodate and intermingle with various cultural set ups. A united stand in which people from entirely different cultures will team up and constructive serve towards the progress and development of a society is prevalent in most countries. A good example is depicted by the people of Malaysia, in which various ethnic groups coexist and play their respective roles in order to make Malaysia one of the most rapidly developed nation in the past decade, and it is now a role model for others to follow. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism coexist and temples are built right next to mosques and churches, where people go shoulder to shoulder to preach in tolerance and harmony. The same can be derived when slaves where transported to the New World. As African women became sexual prizes to their owners, some Westerner has fathered a child, and bore an African-American child. In the existing culture, being thin is in. Bulimia and anorexia has become an epidemic amongst teens and younger women because of the images of thin women being cultivated in the new society. The cross cultural examination between how women in Africa in comparison with African-American women view obesity is different and is a reflection of how views and perception change over time and across cultures. CONCLUSION: Culture differ across the globe, meeting the geographical requirements of a region, these can vary and be contrary, like the case of obesity, which is endeavored by some, and admonished by other societies, like the westerners. Likewise, cultural set ups are modified and changed in order to meet modern day requirements, and simultaneously maintaining and preserving the ancient cultural values that have been passed on. Similarly, cross cultural set ups also do exist, and various ethnic groups coexist and serve proactively for the development and progress of nations, thus exhibiting discipline, unity and tolerance. REFERENCES: Becker H. (1982) Culture: A Sociological View, Yale Review, September 2, , 71:513-527 Johnson, R. W. and Broadnax, P. A (2003). A perspective on obesity – analysis of trend of obesity in African-American women. ABNF Journal. Onish N. (2001) Maradi Journal: On the Scale of Beauty, Weight Weighs Heavily New York Times dated Feb 12

The Beveridge Approach versus The Workfare Approach Essay

The Beveridge Approach versus The Workfare Approach - Essay Example Nevertheless, it is cautioned that matters are not that straightforward. Often left-wingers favour practices that disable institutional support that may affect their broader ideology and there are right-wingers who may favour it as it positively affects their broader policies. This is only a particular instance. (An Introduction to Social Policy, Undated). In November, 1942, Sir William Beveridge presented his report entitled "Social Insurance and Allied Services" to His Majesty the King. In it he mentioned that there were three guiding principles that he had used to formulate his policy of public social service. These are as follows. Sir Beveridge asserted that any experiences gleaned in the past must be used to build opportunities to the future. Such experience should not be restricted on the basis of any sectional interests vested in its gathering. He personally remarked of this - "A revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching." (The Beveridge Report, 1942) The second principle cautioned that the organisation of social insurance should be treated as only a part of overall social progress. This was so because social insurance aimed at negating all want in the British people. Sir Beveridge cautioned that 'want' was only one aspect of the reconstruction that was then necessary to put the British Empire back on its feet after the war. The other four were - disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. Then third principle was that social security w3as to be achieved by co-operation between state and individual. The state would offer security for service and contribution. It would organise security but not stifle incentive, opportunity and responsibility. It would establish a national minimum but it would leave room and encourage voluntary action by an individual to procure more than that minimum for himself and his family. (The Beveridge Report, 1942)New Labour's Welfare Policy When the 'New Labour' Party came to power in Britain in May, 1997, it did so with a considerably changed economic manifesto from its previous stint which immediately preceded its re-election. Under Tony Blair, the new labour economic policy was strongly oriented towards the supply side and the welfare state was intended to exist on the basis of steady employment provided by the pull of demand. All these changed policies were meant to

Becoming Influential Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Becoming Influential - Essay Example Second, this could mean lower-cost and in-time PHC delivery to a broader population. Third, it will remove or at least lessen the legal barriers, caused by different state laws that hinder APNs to provide PHC (Hansen-Turton et al., 2010; Safriet, 2011). Lastly, it will give the nursing profession the due recognition that has long been denied of it. As such, I hope; my message will accomplish three things: First, it will convince our policy makers address the legal barrier that only they can resolve in order to make the Affordable Care Act truly realizable. Second, it will allay lingering fears among the general public regarding APNs’ competence and reliability as PHC providers. Lastly, it will challenge APNs to continue improving and loving their profession in order to achieve the respect and recognition they long sought for. Deciding on How to Share My Message Being an ordinary nurse, I don’t think that sending a personal letter to President Obama or anyone in the US C ongress will be influential. I believe that using the social media will be the best thing I can do to make my message most influential. I know that I am not the only one who believes that APNs should be given a wider role in the provision of PHC. Other APNs share the same belief as demonstrated by the lobbying of the American Nurses Association (Appleby, 2013). However, if lobbying for this will involve only the nursing profession, this may be perceived as self-serving. It is therefore important to get involved in this fight those who are at the receiving end of the USHCS. The time for this is right, as the recent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges' Center for Workforce Studies reveals that more people, especially the younger ones (aged 18-34 years old), prefer nurse practitioners or physician assistant (Kliff, 2013). Hence, I will appeal to these people to help APNs convince the President and the Congress to once and for all settle this legal barrier for APNs to become PHC providers. I know that the medical community, especially those who are used to the traditional physician-nurse hierarchy will speak against the competence of APNs to do this job. Yet more than this, I still believe that reason supported by empirical evidence will prove that APN-delivered care are actually at par with physician-delivered care in terms of safety and quality (O’Grady, 2008). My Message From this assignment I learned three sad realities. First, transforming the USHCS is truly difficult, because it is marred with vested interests from various stakeholders. Second, commitment and competence of APNs are not enough to ensure the provision of quality healthcare to a broader public due to legal barriers. Lastly, the important role the APNs consistently play in the delivery of safe and quality healthcare remains undervalued and unrecognized within and outside the medical community until today. This is despite the many empirical evidences affirming the equal c ompetence and reliability of APNs and despite their heightened qualifications, training, and experiences. These happen because nurses tend not to get involved

Rule of Taliban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rule of Taliban - Essay Example After several bombing instances, the Taliban were attacked by the United States of America which made them to escape to other areas for safety (Barth, 12). This left them with a mere 5% of the entire country under their control, these were regions on the north and eventually escaping to Pakistan start being driven out of their last city(Kunduz). It was until recently that first signs of their return were detected. Arguments have risen across different political, religious, social and economic divides of whether ruling power needs to be taken back to them or not. The varied opinion on whether Taliban should be allowed to take back Afghanistan under their rule has been strengthened by the impact felt during their regime whether it were positive or negative. Many people believe that despite the pessimistic views labeled against Taliban, lots of positive developments were realized during their regime as compared to before and after their ousting. It should be noted that despite Taliban being considered reckless on women, they were arguably of importance to the economy and social wellbeing of the Afghans. Some of the reasons cited for letting Taliban regain control of Afghanistan include, but not restricted to their goal of minimizing and eliminating crime at all cost. They succeeded in doing so by coming up with their own kind of Islamic law that entailed death sentences and amputations. Crimes committed such as rape incidence against women were minimized by ensuring that women did not walk out of the house without being in company of male counterparts. Wearing of burga (clothes that covered women’s entire body from head to toe) imposed by Taliban also helped with reducing rape incidences. Those found guilty of violating Taliban laws were thoroughly punished by religious police. Cases of children being used as sex slaves also reduced tremendously (Mason, 102). Taliban advocated for basic and isolationist

Philosophy of the Mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosophy of the Mind - Essay Example For example there is a reason why I go to school and this is because of a career in the future. The fact that a college graduate would have a better opportunity to have a career is the objective reason that is a universal truth in its most appropriate sense. The subjective is the more agent-relative reason wherein the reason why I want to finish college is to have a higher salary in the future career I hope to be able to get hold, or, it could just simply be for reason of the future career. This is relative and may be different according to each person but the more universal equation of a college degree as equivalent to a career is the more universal objective reason. In the case I will finish college and achieve a career is only incidental to the objective. Had any other person finished college, the principle would still apply. Nagel suggests that people perform actions according to what effects they would bring. The right circumstances compel people to be moved according to such re asons. This highlights the outcome as the ultimate reason in the performance of actions.

Global Business Environment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Business Environment - Term Paper Example most popular brands of the global beverage industry belong to Coca-Cola company: ‘Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, Powerade, Schweppes, Fuze Tea and so on’ (Coca-Cola, Organizational Website, Our Company, Brands). In other words, all products of Coca-Cola are refreshment drinks being differentiated as of their ingredients. Coca-Cola has published a Code of Conduct on which the activities of the firm in the global market are based. Among the issues addressed in the particular Code emphasis should be given to three, being considered as having a critical role in business success: ‘Anti-Bribery, Dealing with Customers, Suppliers and Consumers and Dealing with Competitors’ (Coca-Cola, Code of Conduct, p.1). These issues have been chosen for the following reasons: a) Anti-Bribery reflects the opposition of the company to any attempt for securing the support of the government by offering money or other benefits, such as the use of the company’s assets and so on; Bribery is a severe problem for business activities worldwide; the response of the company to this phenomenon should be reviewed in order to understand whether Coca-Cola promotes the respect of its Code of Conduct in practice or not, b) Stakeholders, especially Customers and Suppliers, are of high value for the success of a busine ss; if the interests of stakeholders are not adequately addressed by a firm, then this firm’s profits would be threatened, c) Competition; many firms worldwide have been accused that their success has been resulted because of the violation of the laws related to Competition; it would be important to check the response of Coca-Cola to this issue in order to understand whether the firm’s success has been favored by unethical practices or not. In Nestle’s Code of Conduct the treatment by the firm of its Customers, Suppliers and Consumers is explained in Section No.7 where the alignment of the firm’s activities with the rules of Competition is also explained (Nestle, Code of

Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle Speech or Presentation

Debate from the point of view of Descartes and Searle - Speech or Presentation Example It is impossible to prove because mind is unreal. Rene Descartes: John Searle, my argument is based upon my thoughts. I am thinking, so I exist. See, my thought or the process of thinking proves that I am real and I exist. Why you people consider mind and body as a single unit? How can you prove that mind and body are same? I can prove that mind and body are different entities. At the same time, mind and body influence each other. Searle: We need not ponder upon the term ‘mind’ because it does not exist and it is unreal. Sir, you pointed out that mind and body influence each other. At the same time, why don’t you consider that mind is the part of body? I think the study of mind needs a satisfactory conclusion because we are arguing upon an imaginary thing without proof. When you say that the process of though proves the existence of mind, why can’t you say that the same process of thought proves that thought is an inseparable part of brain, which is real? Descartes: For the sake of argument, please think that you do not exist in this world. You cannot prove your argument because you are real. From a different angle of view, your thought or argument is totally against your existence. To be specific, your argument that you are unreal (say, your imagination based upon your mind) proves that you are thinking. At the same time, you are totally aware of the fact that you are not unreal because your physical body is here.

Foreseeability in law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Foreseeability in law - Coursework Example There are numerous arguments claiming this requirement is unjust and that the defendant should be held responsible for the actual consequences of any careless conduct that results in injury, whether foreseeable or not. However, this broadens the scope of the tort considerably and would open up an endlessness of liability. Further, foreseeability ensures fairness for the defendant. Is would be unjust to hold a defendant liable for conduct which they could not have anticipated would result in injury. Being penalized for conduct which does not foreseeably cause injury would result in numerous frivolous claims. Accidents occur all of the time. While it would be fantastic for the injured party to always have recourse for legal action, it would not be fair to those defendants of whom are undeserving. There are some injuries no one could predict and no one but the forces of fate should be held responsible and certainly no one should be penalized. This may be unfortunate for the injured party, but the blame cannot always be laid at someone else's feet. Foreseeability ensures blame can only be laid at the feet of those who should have reasonably foreseen the consequences of their actions. This is fair. This is just. Taking away the requirement of forseeability would make the opposite true.

International Human Resource Management Term Paper

International Human Resource Management - Term Paper Example HR has come a long way from its traditional role of personnel management to being considered the strategic partner of the organization. Today HR plays a proactive role in taking the initiatives and concentrating on the deliverables. HR is involved not only in the implementation of strategy but also in strategy formulation. HR is now considered one of the sources of competitive advantage for the company. Although the role and importance of HR is not debatable any more but in practice its role varies not only from company to company but also from country to country. This paper will discuss international human resource management and its various approaches with special reference to Spain. The aim of this paper is to study the institutional context that shapes and influences HRM in Spain. Different laws related to HRM, education and training system, employer organizations, trade union organization, collective bargaining structures, company governance arrangements and its impacts on HRM w ill be discussed here. A case study of a Spanish organization will also be discussed to study various practices and activities of HR. Historical Background of HRM in Spain Although human capital has always been important but recently the importance of human capital with comparison to capital, raw material, land and even technology has increased a lot. It is believed now that in this global world the key to success is having a better human capital than your competitors. It is difficult to obtain and control positive contributions from the employees hence efforts are made to make an environment that ensures voluntary flow of such employee behavior. The concept of Human resource management (HRM) has followed the same path which international HRM has followed moving from personnel management to strategic HRM. The development of HRM in Spain can be better understood if the developments are studied in the chronological order. The history of Spanish HRM can be divided into five periods. HR M during the Franco regime, (1950-9) marked by clerk autarchy The economic crises and political transition, Human Relations (1960-76) Development planning From the economic crises to economic recovery, labor relations (1977-85) conflicts and agreements HRM in today’s Spain In the period of clerk autarchy the main focus was on bureaucracy. HR was restricted to the daily management of data and ensuring working according to the pre-established rules and regulations. It was the era of personnel management. The purpose of the personnel management was to make employee’s comply with the rules and regulations of the business. Spain has seen different labor conditions during its development. The first form was the personnel management where foreman was assigned the role of personnel manager but in a very restricted form. The second phase was of the economic crises and political transition. It is marked by human resource development planning. In this phase the shift was towards technocracy. The qualified employees were given importance through various incentives for enhancing performance, training and development programs, appropriate selection process accompanied by adequate salary scales classified according to the service. Here the personnel management role of HR was to ensure that employees adapt according

African American Press Essay Example for Free

African American Press Essay ?â€Å"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentation of things which concerns us dearly,† written on the front page of the first African-American owned newspaper, Freedom’s Journal. Freedom’s Journal was published on March 16, 1827 by a group of free African-American men in New York City. Freedom’s Journal was published the same year slavery was abolished in New York and was used to counter racist commentary published in the mainstream press. Samuel E. Cornish and John B. Russwurm served, respectively, as its senior and junior editors where they worked together to publish four-page, four-column weekly newspapers. Though The Freedom’s Journal was not the first African-American paper published, it was the first Africa-American owned newspaper. Freedom’s Journal consisted of news on current events, anecdotes, editorials and used to address contemporary issues such as denouncing slavery, advocating for black people’s political rights, the right to vote, and speaking out about lynching. Cornish and Russwurm desire were to give African-Americans the freedom to voice their thoughts, ideas and opinions. They sought to improve conditions for more than 300,000 newly freed men and women living in the North. They fulfilled this desire, by employing 14 to 44 agents each year to collect subscriptions. Each agent was paid $3 a year for their work. To encourage black achievements Freedom’s Journal featured biographies of celebrated black figures and continued to promote better living conditions by printing schools that were open to blacks, job offering and housing listings. Freedom’s Journal, eventually, circulated 11 states, the District of Columbia, Haiti, Europe and Canada before ceasing publications in 1829. During that time, Russwurm became the sole editor of Freedom’s Journal, after Cornish resigned in 1827. Russwurm began to promote the Colonization Movement which was frowned upon by majority of the newspaper’s readers. The Colonization Movement was a movement that was conceived by members of the American Colonization Colony where they began repatriating free African-Americans back to Africa. When the Freedom’s Journal shifted in complete support of colonization, it lost most of its readers and in March 1829 Freedom’s Journal ceased publication. Even though Freedom’s Journal existed for two years, its two years of existence helped spawn other papers. Since then, African American press has evolved and has substantially increased in the population over the years. After Freedom’s Journal, African-Americans had begun establishing and owning newspapers. It began May 1829, when Cornish attempted to revive the Freedom’s Journal under the name The Rights of All, however, the publication was not successful and failed after a year. David Walker, hired as an agent for Freedom’s Journal, became a well known, anti-slavery writer which was inspired by his experience with Freedom’s Journal. In 1830, Walker’s published his most famous publication known as Appeal which called for slaves to rebel against their masters, â€Å"†¦they want us for their slaves, and think nothing of murdering us†¦therefore, if there is an attempt made by us, kill or be killed†¦and believe this, that it is no more harm for you to kill a man who is trying to kill you, than it is for you to take a drink of water when thirsty,† (Walker). Another attempt at publication, Samuel Cornish, along with, Philip Bell, and Charles Bennett Ray launched The Weekly Advocate, January 1837. Later, the men changed the name to The Colored American March 4, 1837. The Colored American main purpose was to strengthen the moral, social, and political elevation of colored people as well as emancipation of slaves. The Colored American became well-known in the North because of the wide spread support of abolitionists, African-American churches and local abolition societies, and Caucasian allies. The Colored American published 38 articles, becoming an important paper of its time. The last edition of The Colored American was published on Christmas day in 1841. Other early African American newspapers include the Provincial Freeman, published in 1854, which was the first African-American owned newspapers to be published in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. The North Star was an anti-slavery newspaper published in 1847 by Frederick Douglas. He later agreed to merge it with the publication Liberty Party Paper with Gerrit Smith creating the Frederick Douglass’ Paper, in Rochester, New York. The National Era was published in Washington, D. C. in 1847 by the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The Liberator was probably the best-known publication during the era, published by William Lloyd Garrison in Boston between 1831 and 1865. Other anti-slavery newspapers of note include the Friend of Man, published weekly for the New York State Anti-Slavery Society from 1836 through 1842. The Emancipator, originally known as Genius of Universal Emancipation, was one of the first anti-slavery newspapers published in the United States by Benjamin Lundy in 1819 and National. Anti-Slavery Standard established in 1840. All of these newspapers advocated for the abolition of slavery and for the civil rights of all African Americans. By the start of Civil War, more than 40 black-owned and operated papers had been established throughout the United States. After the end of the Civil War, more than 100 newspapers were beginning to publish. Many of the major African-American owned publications include, Baltimore Afro-American, also known as The Afro, was founded by a former slave, John H. Murphy, SR. , in 1892. Today, The Afro is the longest-running African-American, family-owned newspaper in the United States. The Chicago Defender was founded by Robert Sengstacke. Abbott on May 5, 1905. The Chicago Defender included writing pieces from the well-known Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and Willard Motley. The Pittsburgh Courier an African-American newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1910. The Pittsburgh Courier became the most widely circulated newspaper in America for African-Americans. During its peak, the Pittsburgh Courier circulated around 450,000 publications, with more than 400 employees in 14 cities. The Pittsburgh Courier discussed major issues impacting African-American communities. It campaigned against segregation and poverty, and promoted the social advancement of blacks. In the 1930s, the Pittsburgh Courier urged Black voters to vote Democrat, creating a political alliance that still exist to this day. Other publications includes, The Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), Atlanta Daily World (1931–2003), Cleveland Call Post (1934-1991), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934–2005), New York Amsterdam News (1922–1993), and Norfolk Journal and Guide (1921-2003). With African-American newspaper publication on the rise, organizations to help promote the publication began to form to support African-American journalist. In 1940, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, founder of Chicago Defender, along with other African-American publishers, organized the National Negro Publishers Association. The members of the National Negro Publishers Association worked together, â€Å"harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism†, (Sengstacke). Today, the National Negro Publishers Associations is composed of more than 200 black newspapers in the United States and the Virgin Islands. In 1975 in Washington D. C. , 44 African-American journalists founded the National Association of Black Journalists. The National Association of Black Journalist’ purpose was to provide quality programs and services to and advocate on behalf of black journalists. These organizations are still going strong today and have contributed greatly to the African American population. Today, there isn’t a firm count of how many African American newspapers circulating the United States, however, according to Allied Media Corporation, an ethnic marketing firm, they have listed 250 newspapers in circulation. The National Newspaper Publishers Association, better known as the Black Press of America, assist in the publication of African-American owned newspapers, counts more than 200 black-owned newspapers as its membership. As you can see, since the Freedom’s Journal, the number of newspaper publications has increased. It began with the main purpose being that Africa-Americans would stick together to fight the constant oppression they were under. Now that we don’t see African-American oppression, as we did then, publications has different focal points. Many of the newspapers provide news and insight on African-American culture, including a variety of perspectives from leaders, celebrities, trendsetters and great minds from the African-American community. The Freedom’s Journal created a new stepping stone for the African-American population. It provided the platform for issues and concerns pursuant to ensuring our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to preserve a legacy of black conservatism for generations to come. References 2, M. A. (n. d. ). Early African American and Anti-Slavery Newspapers | Marjory Allen Perez. Genealogy Family History | Search Family Trees Vital Records . Retrieved August 1, 2013, from http://www. archives. com/experts/perez-marjory/early-african-american-and-anti-slavery-newspapers. html Black Newspapers Listing | The Network Journal. (n. d. ). Black Business | Black News, Career Ideas for Black Professionals. Retrieved August 1, 2013, from http://www. tnj. com/lists-resources/black-newspapers-listing David Walker, 1785-1830. Walkers Appeal, in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Coloured Citizens of the World, but in Particular, and Very Expressly.

Economic Growth Models and Standards of Living

Economic Growth Models and Standards of Living Essay which examines: 1) Whether economic growth models can explain (and if so to what extent) international variation in the standard of living, and; 2) Whether there is economic convergence, that is, whether poor countries tend to grow faster than rich countries. Introduction Economic is an important factor in the development of every country. For countries, economics symbolize national power. Economic growth brings high income, consumptions and investment and reduces the poverty. Many countries which were poor are becoming rich and powerful because of economic growth. Thats why people devote themselves to study economic growth. In Macro-economics, there are some economic growth theories, such as, classical growth theory, neo-classical growth theory and endogenous growth theory. Classical growth theory emphasizes the free market, which called invisible hand. An increase in GDP will increase the population. In long run, due to the limits of resource GDP and population will decrease. This theory consists of the views of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx. Neo-classical theory mostly relies on Solow model which states labour, capital and technology affect economic growth. Endogenous growth theory which primarily developed by Paul Romer and Robert Lucas expresses technology is exogenous factor and policies and institutions can influence growth. Different countries have different standard of living. This difference makes people in rich countries have better welfare, public institutions, goods and service. Nevertheless, nowadays, many poor countries also focus on economic growth. This essay will analyse different poor and rich countries GDP, real GDP and other data which explains the relationship between economic growth model and international variation in the standard of living and economic convergence. Theoretical Framework Robert M. Solow, an American economist, who was also a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal in 1961 and the Nobel Memorial Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences in 1987, is best known for his endeavours on the hypothesis of economic growth. The Solow-Swan Neo-Classical Growth Model is an exogenous growth model where Solow isolated figures in economic growth into boosts in inputs, such as labour and capital, and technical progress and prompts to the steady state equilibrium of the economy. Solow model is an exogenous growth model of long-run economic growth. Three factors: technology, capital accumulation and labour force that drive economic growth. The model attempts to explain long-run economic growth by looking at the rate of saving [s], population growth [n] and technological progress = steady state. It assumes a standard neoclassical production function with decreasing returns to capital (and labour). Given these assumptions, Solow demonstrates that with variable specialised coefficient there would be a propensity for the capital-labour ratio to change itself through time towards balance proportion in his model. (Solow, 1970) Figure 1: Solow growth model diagram (Commons.wikimedia.org, 2017) Whether the initial ratio of labour to capital is more, then labour and output would grow slowly than capital and vice versa. This growth analysis is convergent to equilibrium path the steady state to begin with any capital-labour ratio. Given exogenous s, n and g (rate of tech progress) and a Cobb-Douglas production function: Figure 2: Solow model derivation (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) According to Mankiw, Romer and Weil, s (savings) and n (population growth) determine steady-state level of income per capita [(f(k*)] ={(n+ÃŽÂ ´)/s} k*). Steady state capital-labour ratio related positively to rate of saving and negatively to rate of population growth. (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) MRW paper (1992) analyses that an Augmented Solow Model which includes accumulation of human and physical capital provides an excellent definition of the cross-country data. As long as any given rate of human capital accumulation, higher s or lower n leads to higher f(k*) and thus a higher level of H*. Human capital accumulation may be correlated with s and n, leading to omitted variable bias. Figure 3: Production Function (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) Using cross-country data, study finds s and n affect income in directions predicted by Solow, however; it does not correctly predict magnitude, effect on saving and income growth is large, the Solow model cannot account for international differences in income. Moreover, assumes omitted variables exist (human capital accumulation physical capital), estimated impacts of saving and labour force growth much larger than model predicted. Equation for income as a function of the rate of investment in physical capital, the rate of population growth and the level of human capital: Figure 4: Equation for income (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) The major part of the cross-country development literature that alludes to the Solow model has utilised a determination where international differences in the capital-output ratio are due to steady-state differences in output per person for a constant level of technology. The MRW paper shows that Solow model does not predict convergence and does not explain long run differences in growth rates, it predicts that income per capita in a given country converges to steady-state value of the country. (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) The Solow growth model correctly predicts the directions of S and N, but it does not correctly predicts the magnitudes. Convergence is slower in the augmented Solow model than in the textbook Solow model. Differences in saving, education, and population growth should explain cross country variation, but it can also explain most of the international variation. Over time there will be further inclusion of other variables as well as population growth, saving and human capital which will explain the cross-country differences, for example: tax policies, education policies, tastes for children and political stability. ANALYSIS Empirical Analysis Mankiw, Romer and Weils study explored determinants of standard of living in relation to the Solow growth model by investigating the following dimensions (Mankiw, Romer and Weil, 1992): Higher saving rate countries results in higher real income. Highly populated countries result in lower real income. (Assuming g and ÃŽÂ ´ are constant across countries). The effect of savings and population growth on real income forms the basis of the principle speculation of the Solow growth model. Recall, the computed steady state income per capita is: where ÃŽÂ ± is the capital share in income and indicates an income per capita elasticity in terms of the savings rate of approximately 0.5, and an elasticity in terms of population growth or (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) of approximately -0.5. One of the main assumptions here is that g improvement with respect to technological progress, is constant across countries. As this improvement is not country accurate it is assumed that g is constant. Another assumption is the rate of depreciation ÃŽÂ ´ to be constant across countries as well mainly due to the lack of data in relation to variation of depreciation rates across countries. We will assume as value of g + n equal to 0.05, which is same assumption made by Mankiw, Romer and Weil in their paper (1992).ÂÂ   In the computed steady state of income per capita equation, the term A (0) illustrates various factors such as institution, technology, resources, climate and since these factors varies across countries, we must equate it: , where corresponds to country-specific shocks and is a constant. (Mankiw, Romer and Weil, 1992) Thus, by taking the log of the computed steady state income per capita equation at a given time- t, becomes the following: Like Mankiw, Romer and Weil, we need to assume that s and n are independent of the term . In other words, the average share of real investment in real GDP and the average population growth rate of a given country is independent to country-specific shocks. Based on this assumption, by accounting for the Ordinary Least Squares method, the values of coefficients of the fundamental equation can be estimated. Mankiw, Romer and Weil illustrated three reasoning for the independence assumption, that is, where s and n are independent of the term . (1992) First, savings and population growth rate are considered endogenous variables in any economic growth model. Second, according to Mankiw, Romer and Weil, many economists have presented casual verdicts regarding the association between savings, income and population growth. Third, as the model speculated the value as well as the signs of the coefficients of savings and population growth, the OLS method will allow testing for salient biases. Recall, in the right model the coefficients or elasticities of Y/L are approximately 0.5 with respect to s and approximately -0.5 with respect to (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´). Now, the joint null hypothesis for testing the model is- the Solow growth model and identifying assumptions are accurate. And the alternate joint hypothesis is- the Solow growth model and the identifying assumptions are inaccurate. If, the magnitudes of the elasticities are dissimilar to approximate values of the identifying assumption then we reject the null hypothesis. This would also mean that the Solow growth model is inaccurate and cannot account for variation in income across countries with respect to savings and population growth. H0 = The Solow growth model and the identifying assumptions are accurate. Ha = The Solow growth model and the identifying assumptions are in accurate. By running the Ordinary Least Squares method on the fundamental equation stated above, we fit a regression line that will estimate the coefficients of s and (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´). Reporting from Mankiw, Romer and Weil (1992), conditional convergence is an occurrence that the Solow growth model can speculate by limiting or controlling the factors of the steady state. Recall, the following equation will be used to run regression in order to determine for conditional convergence without human capital: Data, Empirical Methodology and Definition of Variables The data collected from the World Bank Organisation, Penn World Tables and the U.K. Data Service comprises of one dependent variable and two independent variables. The dependent variable is the log of GDP per capita and the independent variables are- log of average share of real investment in real GDP and log of average rate of growth of the working age population (15 years 64 years). The sample size is; n = 162 and the data is a cross-sectional data for the year 2007 and 1970 separately. A subsample of the data is also tested this subsample refers to the countries which form a part of the Sub-Sahara Africa region. The sample size of the subsample data is 30. (Refer to Appendix A) The following variables of the whole sample data are the following: Real GDP per capita for 1970 and 2007 respectively (Y/L: real GDP divided by the population in 1970 and 2007 respectively) Average growth rate of GDP per worker for the period 1970-2007 (Growth GDP/Worker: computed as ((GDP/Worker07)/(GDP/Worker70))(1/37) 1 ) Growth rate of population during the period from 1970 to 2007 (n: computed as ((population07/population70))(1/37) 1 ) Average investment share of real GDP per capita during the periods 1970 and 2007. (Sk: percentage share of real GDP per capita) A multivariable regression examination will be carried out on the fundamental equation stated above and a restricted regression will be carried on the same equation in order to estimate the magnitudes and signs of the coefficients of s and (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) using Ordinary Least Squares. The OLS method does this by minimizing the difference between the observed values and the speculated values which are forecasted by the linear approximation of the data. This method is used by economists and analysts to test economic models, econometric models, and hypothesis testing using real world data. (Koutun and Karabona, 2013) The software Microsoft Excel is used to run regression analysis on the data. The Excel output will comprise of a 95% lower and upper bound confidence, in addition to the standard errors (s.e.e.), adjusted R2 and p-values which are of importance to us. A restricted regression analysis will be performed on the fundamental equation. The restricted equations without human capital is the following: ÂÂ   (without human capital) In the restricted regression analysis, the mean of the F-statistics will be accounted for as this will help us gauge whether the fit of the restricted equation is notably or not notably dissimilar from the not restricted equation. We anticipate values of both the equation to be similar, thereby the equations should also be similar, and then we can conclude by not rejecting the null hypothesis. The R2 is also known as the Coefficient of Determination which is a measure of the Goodness of Fit which describes how efficiently a model fits all the observation in a sample and can be used to predict values based on the model. The adjusted R2 is useful to check whether the addition of a variable in a model is enhancing or disrupting the model. The fit ranges from 0 to 1, and the value approaching 1 indicates a good fit. (Koutun and Karabona, 2013) The variables that are defined in Table 1 will be used in the regression analysis. Variable Definition Natural log of real GDP per capital in 2007. Natural log of average investment share of real GDP per capita during the periods 1970 and 2007. Natural log of average growth rate of GDP per worker for the period 1970-2007. The sum of technological growth and depreciation equal to 0.05. Population growth rate. Technological growth (exogenous) Capital depreciation rate. Empirical Results One of the main principles of the neoclassical Solow growth model is that a certain country attains its steady-state level of income per capita at a point where the savings rate is higher while the population growth rates, technological growth rates and depreciation of capital rates are lower. Hence, based on this principle, from the regression estimation, the following is anticipated regarding the coefficients: Positive Savings Rate coefficient. Negative (n + g + ) coefficient. Values of the coefficient ln(s) and ln(n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) should be equal in magnitude and opposite in signs. Recall, that both, the basic Solow Growth Model as well as the extended Solow Growth model are estimated by regressing the natural logarithm of real GDP per capital in 2007 to the natural logarithm of average investment share of real GDP, which is also the considered the savings rate, and the population growth rate. The estimation outcomes of the basic Solow growth model are documented in Table 2.ÂÂ   Refer to Appendix B, C, D and E. In both the samples, the coefficient of savings rate and the coefficient of the sum of population growth rates, technological advancement rates and depreciation rate have signs as anticipated. Accounting for the t-test, we also find that, in the Sub-Sahara Africa countries sample, at 5% level of significance, the savings rate that is the coefficient of ln is highly statistically significant. However, for the sample the coefficient of ln(n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) is not statistically significant. For the whole sample, both the coefficients of the estimates are not statistically significant at 5% level of significance. In addition, as per Mankiw, Romer and Weil (1992), the coefficient of the restricted regression estimate should be equal to the coefficient of ln(s) in the unrestricted estimation, holds true for both the samples in our estimation. An assertion made by the Solow growth model, which is that differences in technology accounts for the cross-country differences in labor productivity or income per capita is refuted by the regression estimated for both the samples. Notice that the Adjusted R2is approximately equal to 0.303 and 0.272 for the whole sample of countries and the Sub-Sahara Africa countries respectively. The small value of the Adjusted R2 suggests that the assertion made by the Solow model is contradicted, as most of differences in income per capita is explained by both the variables in this case. This small value of the coefficient of determination could also be due to the exclusion of some important variables in the sample data. In the steady state of income per capita, implied ÃŽÂ ± which refers to the capital share in income has a value of 0.489 and 0.488 for the whole sample and the Sub-Sahara African countries sample respectively. These values are appreciably close to the predicted values of incom e per capita elasticities which is equally to 0.5 and -0.5. Hence, the model does not significantly refute the speculation that capital share in income should be approximately one third. The regression of real GDP per capital for 2007 on average share of real investment in real GDP and population growth rate can, to a great extent, rationalize the variation in real GDP per capital i.e. income. However, as the implied ÃŽÂ ± values are not significantly high as well as not equal to predicted value of being equal to one third i.e. 0.33, one cannot conclusively conclude that the basic Solow growth model is highly successful. Absolute Convergence Model: According to the convergence theory the per capita income of richer economies is likely to grow at a slower rate in comparison poorer countries. This phenomenon can be attributed to the strength of the capital diminishing returns which is stronger in developing countries, like Brazil, India, Senegal and Mexico, in comparison to developed countries like Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand and Australia. Based on this model, income is most likely to be negatively related with growth in income at time zero during the period of the sample, 1970-2007. We anticipate the sign of the logarithm of real GDP per worker to be negative and a high regression coefficient. Table 3: Test for Absolute Convergence. Refer to Appendix F and G The coefficient of the natural logarithm of income per worker for the whole sample has a negative sign as predicted, which is support of the convergence theory, however, in the Sub-Sahara countries sample, is does not have negative sign, in contradiction to the convergence theory. The positive coefficient of the income per worker variable for Sub-Sahara countries could also indicate while doing the test of the convergence theory, the sample needs to include some developed countries, unlike the sample of Sub-Sahara countries, in which most of the countries are either developing or underdeveloped, the support for the convergence theory cannot be tested entirely using this sample of countries. In addition, the low coefficient value of the whole sample, that is, -0.0607 also suggests that this value is not entirely statistically significant. The coefficient of determination is low in both the sample, which also indicates a weak goodness of fit for this estimation. Graph 1: Unconditional Convergence, the Whole Sample. Graph 2: Unconditional Convergence, Sub-Sahara Africa In Graph 1 and Graph 2, the x-axis represents the logarithm of real GDP per worker in 1970 while the y-axis represents the growth in income per worker during the period 1970-2007. The graphs are plotted to indicate the existence or non-existence of unconditional convergence in the whole sample of countries and the countries in the Sub-Sahara Africa sample countries. To conclude the presence of unconditional convergence we anticipate a downward-slopping trend line from left to right. Graph 1 exhibits a downward slopping trend line indicated by the black solid-dotted line which is support of the presence of convergence in the sample of countries. However, Graph 2, exhibited an upward slopping line, which is against the convergence theory. Conditional Convergence: Without Human Capital The regression coefficients are estimated by reviewing the equation (1.2); we regress the difference in the logarithm of real GDP per capita during the period 1970 to 2007 on the logarithm of real GDP per capita in 1970, also considering the savings rate and the population growth rate in the equation.ÂÂ   The sign of the coefficients is as anticipated- the savings coefficient is positive while the population growth coefficient is negative. The coefficients of the income level in 1970, the savings rate and the population growth rate are significant for both the samples. Table 4: Test for Conditional Convergence without human capital. Refer to Appendix H and I. In absolute values, the coefficient on population growth rate is greater than the coefficient on savings rate, indicating that the lower income per capita needs to spread over a larger population thereby reducing income per capita itself. Conclusion Under the principle of neoclassical Solow growth model, the regression estimation of the whole sample and Sub-Sahara we found that at 5% level of significance, the coefficient of ln(s) is highly significant while ln(n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) is not significant in Sub-Sahara and in whole sample, coefficients are both not significant. The small value of Adjusted R2 states the assertion of Solow model is contradicted. Additionally, in the steady state of income per capita, implied ÃŽÂ ± which is closed to the predicted value indicate the model does not strongly contradict the speculation that capital share in income is approximately equal to 1/3. Although the regression of real GDP in 2007 rationalizes the variance, the hypothesis, the basic Solow model which is significant successful cannot be verified because of implied ÃŽÂ ±. With regard to convergence, based on convergence theory, we calculate the logarithm of real GDP per worker. The whole sample supports the convergence while Sub-Sa hara rejects the convergence. However, the coefficient of the whole sample which is low indicates the value of coefficient is not significant. Under unconditional convergence graph, the coefficient prove the weak goodness of fit for estimation. Setting a condition of convergence, which is without human capital, the coefficients of the income level in 1970, the savings rate and the population growth rate are significant. Word Number: 3281 Bibliography Commons.wikimedia.org. (2017). File:Solow growth model1.png Wikimedia Commons. [online] Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solow_growth_model1.png [Last Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. Koutun, Alina and Patrick Karabona. An Empirical Study Of The Solow Growth Model. MALARDALENS HOGSKOLA ESKILSTUNA VASTERAS. N.p., 2013. Web. [Last Accessed 9 Mar. 2017]. Mankiw, G. N., Romer, D., Weil, D. N. (1992, May). A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(2), 407-437 Solow, R. (1970). Growth theory: an exposition. 1st ed. Oxford: Clarendon, pp. Appendix A: Appendix B: Regression, the Whole Sample Appendix C: Restricted Regression, the Whole Sample Appendix D: Regression, Sub-Sahara Africa Appendix E: Restricted Regression, Sub-Sahara Africa Appendix F: Unconditional Convergence Test, the Whole Sample Appendix G: Unconditional Convergence Test, Sub-Sahara Africa Appendix H: Conditional Convergence Test, the Whole Sample Appendix I: Conditional Convergence Test, Sub-Sahara Africa

Explanation Of Choice Of Competitors

Explanation Of Choice Of Competitors The report is regarding Velour which is a Swedish fashion company in the upper medium price segment. The company has existed for 9 years and has succeeded to sustain and also expand on the Swedish market throughout the years. We as a consulting group have focused on Velours womens wear collection. Under a 6 week period we have been investigating how the fashion company Velour is operating. We have looked into the main competitors to the brand which we defined as Acne and Whyred. These are also Swedish companies which have the same target audience group as Velour; young women. The companies are also using the same kind of style in their design in womens wear and are strongly involved in the artistic sphere. The report describes Velours strategy of purchase, assortment and their different use of sales channels. The competitive brands are presented in the same way to create a coherent impression for the reader. The purpose of this report was to develop different parts within the company to be able to achieve its growth in the Swedish market. The improvements of Velours strategies are presented in the end of this thesis. A budget and time plan is also presented in the report. Table of contents 1.Introduction We have chosen Velour which is a brand based in Gothenburg. We were able to get in contact with Ann-Sophie and Hanna who are working with the brand and are also the persons who provided us with information about the company. We consider the brand to be interesting since it is a rather small clothing brand with clothes that attract us and we saw opportunities to develop brand strategies. The brand is still small but we think that Velour has capabilities to become an even stronger brand than it currently is on the Swedish market for womens clothing. We consider the design to be timeless and stylish which can be interesting for a lot of women in the Swedish market. Assignment We are acting as a consultant group with the purpose of developing new strategies for the brand Velour. This is made to be able to increase the sales volume and to increase the awareness of the brand. Method To be able to develop these strategies for Velour we have been in contact with employees of the company and also with employees of the competitors. We have also been visiting the stores and done researches on the Internet to increase our knowledge of the brands. Delimitations We are only focusing on womens wear on the Swedish market. Therefore other collection lines from the brand will not be mentioned in this report, neither will international markets. 2. Industry definition The industry contains of companies that are in the wholesale segment acting as product developing brand suppliers; that means that they are working with product development, design, marketing, purchasing and producing womens wear with a creative twist within the upper medium priced segment on the Swedish market. 3. Industry description Below description of the industry will be presented. Choice of competitors and an explanation of the five force model can also be found. 3.1 General description The fashion industry within textile is one of the most globalized sectors, this due to the great amount of employment opportunities the industry provides. The industry of fashion constantly changes and as a company in this industry one always has to pay attention and be first to deliver the latest trends. What is the latest today is not the latest tomorrow. There are constantly new competitors to the industry and to survive one really has to have a strong business idea and be clear about the message of the companys brand. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/themes/crisis/textil.pdf The Swedish fashion market contains mostly of small to medium sized companies. The Swedish fashion market is of high importance for Swedish trade and today around 300 000 people work within the Swedish fashion industry and this is approximately 5 percent of the Swedish GDP. Many of the Swedish brands have succeeded on an international level. Velour is one of them and is followed by HOPE, Filippa K, Anna Holtblad, Whyred and many other fashion brands. http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/9622/a/96709 Velour is categorized to be an upper medium price brand on the Swedish market. The industry Velour belongs to, has a target group of young women to middle age women in Sweden. The woman is someone who is aware of her approach and has a rather large interest in fashion. However she is not a fashion slave since she does not follow all current trends, instead she creates her own style by combining different pieces. The woman in Sweden is a person who is down to earth and is conscious about society and environmental issues (M. Solomon and N. Rabolt, 2009). In the industry Velour belongs to, collections consist of quite plain designed clothes with a creative twist that very simply create recognition about the brand. Brands in this industry have a collection that fits in a base wardrobe with tops, dresses and chinos. Statistics kring turnover industry- mailat svensk handel 3.2 Explanation of choice of competitors Through the description of the brand and the description of the customer we can say that the competitors of Velour on the Swedish market for women swear are Acne and Whyred. We choose to select Acne and Whyred as competitors of Velour on the Swedish market for women swear through issues of price, presence in the country, style and interest in arts. To begin with Acne it is a young Swedish fashion brand which was founded in 1996. Acne represents the Swedish style for women from 18 to 45 years old and is the typical brand of style without efforts. We see Acne to have the same target group as Velour and to also have the interest in arts just like Velour but more interested in graphics and design. Acne has a Swedish style of clarity, fluidity and urban design and considering the price Velour and Acne are in the same price range. Our other competitor Whyred which was founded in 1999 also has interest in arts, especially in music. Whyred ´s clothes are classic, with a modern twist which give them this artsy touch that inspires Whyred designers. Considering the price Whyred and Velour is in the same range. Whyred as the other two companies have a Swedish styl e in their design. When looking at the three companies we can see that they all three have the same target group. 3.3 Five force model To understand the industry of Velour within the fashion industry we have been using the model of Porters five forces. The model is used to understand the structure and profitability within an industry. Porter states that the underlying economic structure is a factor that plays a great role of a companys strength to be competitive. The company analyzes Industry competitors, Potential establishers, suppliers, customers, substitutes. The five fundamentals in this model establish the strength for each force (Hollensen, S 2007). 3.3.1 Industry competitors Strong competitors on the Swedish market to Velour are Acne and Whyred. Both this companies are Swedish and have a Swedish background. When looking at Acne and Whyred one can see that they have quite the same target group within the women collection. Both Acne and Whyred have similar design of their collection as Velour and they all three is categorized within the middle price brand. You can find the collections near each other in the same town in Sweden. Other competitors on the Swedish market are brands like Filippa K, Carin Rodebjer, Carin Wester and Hope. 3.3.2 Potential establishers Both existing and potential companies in an industry can affect the profitability of the industry. As we already have mention the fashion industry constantly changes and the level of new players is also in constantly movement. The fashion industry has a high level of new entrants and the competition for Velour we see as quite tough. This due to new designers that more easily enter as an middle price brand than in comparison as an high price or luxury price brand. Some French brands like Sandro, Claudie Pierlot, Comptoir des Cotonniers and Maje are today not on the Swedish market but we see these brands to have the potential to become competitors on the Swedish market. They could compete with Velour if they were entering the Swedish Market. They are powerful French companies focusing on women, targeting the same group of people and really involved in arts. The price range is the same and they could offer a wider group of products, where customers could find anything: from shoes, via c oats, to evening dresses. 3.3.3 Suppliers Within the fashion industry the supply chain is of high importance. Merchandise trade in the fashion industry plays a very central role and the suppliers have to take action very fast. The bargaining power is high for the supplier of fashion companies and this due to the fact that they mostly have the control of the production. Some fashion companies own big parts of the suppliers themselves and this result in more control for the fashion companies. The most comment is that the fashion companies outsource some parts of the value chain to another company. Velour has manufacturers of fabrics, trimmings and garments. Velour design within the company and own their designers. The production and distribution is outsourced to other companies and today the company has dependency on single suppliers. 3.3.4 Customers We have been focusing on the companies bargaining power due to the suppliers within the industry. In the industry of fashion the buyers have a restrained power to effect to their benefits, this because there is a great amount of small buyers and retailers in this industry. Velour is selling to retailers who are selling to the end-consumers. Velour is also acting as an integrated retailer since they have their own stores. 3.3.5 Substitutes Substitutes can affect the attractiveness of the industry and also influence the profitability within the industry. A substitute in an industry depends on buyers willingness to substitutes but also of the cost performance of the substitutes. The risk of substitutes in this industry is very high and this because of the great amount of designer cloths and fashion houses. Another factor that influence is high threats between substitutes is the generic substitutes that mostly very easily enter the fashion industry. This with help from the already existing well know name that help the generic substitutes to be introduced on the market. We see luxury brands to be a substitute for Velour and this because the luxury brands offer high fashion products and also the absolutely latest trends to wear. Secondhand are also within this category and this because like Velour, secondhand products offer uniqueness and inspiration to create a style of your own. The option of tailor made fashion we also s ee as a substitute and this since customers today are more aware than ever to have perfect fitted clothes. It becomes more and more usual to travel abroad and in many countries you can get your tailor made items at a very reasonable price. We think this option is going to increase and the prices should decrease if the demand for tailor made clothes gets higher. We also place made to measure and swopping with colleagues as substitutes for Velour. Suppliers Manufacturers of fabric, trimmings and garment Substitutes Secondhand, luxury brands, tailor made, made to measure, swopping with colleagues Buyers Retailers + Velour is acting as an integrated retailer Potential establishers Maje, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Sandro, Claude Pierlot, Industry Rivalry Velour ACNE, Whyred, Filippa K, Hope, Carin Wester 4. Commissioned company description and analysis 4.1 General description The Velour brand was created by Per Andersson and Johan Lundell. The idea for the brand was created through the store Nostalgi which they operated in Gothenburg. The store was opened in 1997 and the idea was to sell never worn clothes from the 1940s and 1980s. The shop found success and became popular amongst the independent scene in Sweden and design and music people found the store interesting. Per and Johan started to design t-shirts during 2001 and the Velour label was created. A third person joined the team at this time, Andreas Remling who had knowledge in finances and could handle the brands economics. http://www.va.se/nyheter/2007/01/19/bakom-kulisserna-pa-svensk/ Mattias Lind also joined the brand but left the company and started his own brand Julian red in 2003. Today the company has got 14 employees working with the brand. At first only a few basic casual clothes were designed but this soon developed into whole collections of garment. The first real collection of the brand was launched in 2001 and could be found at the Nostalgi store. In the year of 2005 a woman named Titti Andersson was hired for the design of the womens collection. http://www.alltomstockholm.se/shoppingmode/article29059.aos The company has had several different designers working with the brand during their years in the business, one of them is Karl-Wilhelm Bjà ¶rk who previously worked with Vivienne Westwood. http://www.kingmagazine.se/Markeslistning/?designer=17771 The core values of the brand are tailoring, graphic and casual. Perfect fit and focus on beautiful details should create the opportunity for the person who wears the clothes to be able to create its own style by combining pieces from the brand. The overall design concept of Velour springs out of a classic preppy look with traditional garments redesigned in a new stylish, yet effortless, way. We call this Feelgood Preppy. [1] The clothes are for people who are interested in fashion but not follow all trends that are present, Velour is for the people who wants to create their own unique style. The colors used in the different collections are mellow with colorful accents. The brand is present in 100 stores spread through Europe countries such as Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom but its largest market is still in Scandinavia. Velour can also be found overseas in Canada, Australia, the United States and in Japan. The target group of the brand is people between 20-35 years. http://feed.ne.cision.com/wpyfs/00/00/00/00/00/0D/6A/CE/wkr0010.pdf The Velour creator Johan Lundell is no longer working with the brand and neither is Andreas Remling, however, Per Andersson has continued his work at Velour and is the head designer for the mens collection. He is at this point alone running the brand management for Velour. The turnover for Velour in 2009 was 19,807 million SEK. In 2008 the turnover was 13, 302 million SEK which was a small growth from the year before. http://www.foretagsfakta.se/G%C3%B6teborg/Velour_By_Nostalgi_AB/989686 Velour has used creative ideas in their marketing. For example in 2006 Velour held a fashion show in a tunnel in Stockholm. They got permission to block off this area and do this project. http://www.foretagsfakta.se/G%C3%B6teborg/Velour_By_Nostalgi_AB/989686 According to Velour people in the music business are dedicated to the brand and find it interesting. Velour is a brand which is inspired by the music branch and they mean that their design is following that lifestyle. http://feed.ne.cision.com/wpyfs/00/00/00/00/00/0D/6A/CE/wkr0010.pdf http://www.businessregion.se/download/18.8afae6210a70372e0c8000236/Business1-06_klar_pdf.pdf According to Velour they have a competitive advantage of being situated in Gothenburg. According to Andreas Remling their main competitors are located in Stockholm and this can result in that the brands from the same city become coherent in their design, they are inspired by each other and the uniqueness can fade. Another positive thing about Gothenburg is the good solutions for logistics and the existence of good suppliers. http://www.businessregion.se/download/18.8afae6210a70372e0c8000236/Business1-06_klar_pdf.pdf 4.2 Value chain 4.3 Brand promise Velours nerve springs out of their history, eclectic inspiration and their values. Velour is offering a perfect fit and beautiful details, leaving it up to the wearer to create his or her own individual style, offering key pieces or a whole wardrobe. Beautiful details Create an individual style Perfect fit To claim to be offering a perfect fit is crucial according to us. Everybody is different and do probably not fit perfectly in Velours clothes. Velour means that they are leaving it to the wearer of the clothes to create their own unique style which we think is correct. The customer is as mentioned above in the report aware of her appearance and approach and is combining different pieces to create her own individual style. They depend on the customer to be able to do this on her own which we think is the case. 4.4 Current Strategy In this part we will explain how Velour works with its purchase strategy and explain lead times within the company. The different lead times are regarding the different activities from idea to finished product and the time to perform the different activities. For Velour from the first day the inspiration starts to the day that the products is out in the stores it takes around 12 months. If Velour starts in August on a new collection the sales samples are done in December. The company uses different manufactures and the samples are sent to manufactures abroad and the manufacturers are choosing matching suppliers to Velour. Below the process will be explained more detailed. 4.4.1 Purchase strategy Velour gets a lot of inspiration from the city Gothenburg where the brand also was founded. The studio of Velour is located in the long streets in the Linnà © district in Gothenburg and this street represents a classic mixed- use variety. They all share the same precious urban oxygen and here you can find galleries, recording labs, artist studios, coffee shops and sex shop all in the same street. This gives a feeling of uniqueness to the design and the brand of Velour. The preppy classic look is the overall design concept for the company. The designers make new collection in an effortless, new stylish way with traditional garments. The Swedish west coast also influences the designers mind when it comes to creating the right style of Velour ´s collection. When the inspiration and the design are finished, Velour picks sober colors to use in the collections and this with colorful touch. The choices of the colors are often grey, black or marine blue. The prints and patterns that are u sed together with the colors are gently created where every image, square and pigment has its place. (www.velour.se ) The inspiration together with product development and the ready sales sample takes for Velour 4 month. (Interview with Velour) The company does not have any production of its own; instead the production is handled by manufacturers abroad in countries like India, China, Portugal and Tunisia. The lead time at the manufacturers is around 3 months. Velour ´s manufactures are always working with different suppliers and this to be able to find suppliers that can produce Velour ´s needs to the price the company is able to pay. The amount of different supplier varies from season to season, usually 20-25 different suppliers are used each season. (Interview with Velour) Velour is using the full price purchase which means that the product development manufacturer place a purchase order to the producers of finished products. Then it is up to the producer to (according to the description of the purchase order) to do the purchase of the different garments and trimmings. Then the producer send Velour a full price suggestion which consists of a total price to produce the products ( Interview with Velour).This way of work can also be called purchase of ready-made garment (RMG) (Hedà ©n, McAndrew, 2005) The transportation is at all times made through shipping by boat and Velour always has the FOB (Free on board) agreement. When a company has the FOB agreement, the company takes the risk of the goods when the goods have been shipped and are placed on the pier. The transportation from the factories to Sweden takes around 3 months. From April to July Velour have sell-in to their different retailers and for Velour this has a show room in Stockholm were they show all new collections to the retailer. Under this period the product also is placed in stock and Velour has their warehouse in Borà ¥s. When the time is ready for the collection to be out in stores all products are sent from the warehouse in Borà ¥s to all the retailers within the Swedish market and to the single store in Gothenburg. The company has no written code of conduct and does not follow any initiative but examines their businesses as well as they can. Velour tries to be as ethical and critical as possible regarding the process of making the clothes. In environmental aspects the clothes that are made in cotton are all made by ecological cotton. 4.4.2 Assortment strategy Velour uses different types of fabrics; the company describes them as traditional. Fabrics they use repeatedly are wool, nylon, lining, acetate, cotton, elastane, lambswool, polyester, polycrepe, acrylic, mohair and ramie. The cotton that is used in the garment making is ecological. The sizes of the womens collections are divided into 4 steps; XS, S, M and L. Two collections are launched each year and these are called spring and autumn. The product groups that Velour offers are visible below. This is based on the womens autumn collection 2010. The assortment in each product group are not the same in every collection, that is why for example no shoes are present in the womens autumn collection 2010. The product groups stay the same, but the number of products in each category varies from the different collections. 4.4.3 Sales channel strategy Velour has only got one store of its own. This store is situated in Gothenburg at Magasinsgatan 19. The brand Velour was founded in 2001 and at this point the brand was sold through the store Nostalgi which was operated by the founders of the brand. However, this store does no longer exist and has been replaced by the one on Magasinsgatan. Velour is mainly sold through retail stores and department stores where the brand is presented amongst other clothing brands. Velour is also sold through their own online store which can be found at the companies website. The reason for using this kind of sales channel strategy is because of the fact that it is requires a high financially capacity to own its own stores. Through shop-in-shops which are currently used, the brand is represented in a lot of location but at a smaller amount of costs. 4.5 Future goals In 2006 the goal was, within a ten year period, to be one of the top fashion brands within Scandinavia. http://www.businessregion.se/download/18.8afae6210a70372e0c8000236/Business1-06_klar_pdf.pdf 5. Brief competitor description and analysis for 2 competitors Below the first chosen competitor, Acne will be described. 5.1 General description of Acne Acne was founded in 1996 and the first collection of Acne clothes was launched in 1998. The company was founded by Jonny Johansson who did not have any background in design before starting the brand. The brand has been a success in Sweden and currently a well known brand among young people which are interested in fashion. Acne studios have an advertising agency, art gallery, furniture collection, magazine. (Acne Official Website) Today the Acne studio represents 5 brands (Acne Paper, Acne Advertising, Acne Art Department, Acne JR and Acne Fashion and Denim) with 200 employees and has approximately an annual turnover of 38 millions Euros. (Georgina Safe, 2010) . The company also enjoy the involvement of a Capital-Risk firm: ÃÆ'-resund, which opens Acne to a wide range of possibilities in term of development and investments. When it comes to self expression Acne sees fashion to be the best way of have that (Acne Official Website). The style is typical Scandinavian, with simple lines, without abundance of colours: The style is simplistic but in the same time Acne clothes can be identified to be cool and personal. They are creating an image, not only a clothing brand. They are building a Lifestyle brand through desirable products. They also created an identity through their jeans with the famous red stitching. This identity is the result of Jonny Johanssons will of a garment that makes you feel stronger and more self confident. The brand is known of the denim jeans but the company dont want to be a denim brand, instead they wanted to offer ready to wear where the denim is included as a product. According Jonny Johansson they did not wanted to categorize themselves (Nina Jones, 2009). When Acne opens a new shop they dont think in the way of where they need to be located, instead they use the strategy of where they want to set up new stores. They are based the store locations on friendship and people who really want to have the brand located in that particular area. Acne doesnt believe in the strategy to put stores everywhere just to cover the map. In terms of strategy they also have an attitude of branding by doing,not advertising(JC Marcus, 2010, [1]). Acne adopted a code of conduct; they joined the Fair Trade Foundation. Acne is in accordance with their value and this new value of the fashion industry: labour practices and conditions have to be taken in account to preserve social matters of the value chain. There are also two types of production, one for their own stores and the other for all the other retailers and franchises. This difference of production shortens or lengthens the lead-time. 5.2 Value chain Acne buys material and produces in factories in Italy, Portugal, Hong Kong and Turkey. All of the production is outsourced. They act in the textile value chain in the wholesale segment as product developing brand suppliers which means that they concentrate on design, purchase, marketing and distribution. Concentrating on distribution, Acne is present in the retail segment in several levels: as a retail branch company (they own 4 stores in Sweden), as integrated wholesalers through Corner in department stores for example, in the Internet through their website on which one can shop online and through outlets with two outlets in Sweden, one in Gothenburg and one in Stockholm and also the web outlet. 5.3 Brand promise; Create novel expression Current strategy We have to precise first that Acne does not have a proper strategy that leads the brand. The team does what is necessary to both realising Acnes envies and to satisfying customers. If once they have to change their own strategy, theyd do it. In fact, the brand is lead by its Brand Promise, its Values and Vision. 5.4 Purchase strategy Acne buys material from Italy, Portugal, HK and Turkey. These counties they also have al the production placed (S.Jà ¶nnson L.Lagerdahl, 2005).In the factories Acne has divided two groups: production for their own stores, and production for the other retailers. They have through this organisation different lead-times between inspiration and arrivals of the clothes on the shelves. Inspiration to garments in the stores takes approximately 10 months year since we first do a sell collection to our WH clients, then we need to wait for their sales figures before we place the production orders. If we do garments only for our stores it takes 4-6 months(Therese Munthe, Acne Chief of Production ) 5.5 Assortment Strategy The assortment strategy comes from a great group work. Jonny Johansson said that in Sweden he was used to work in groups and for him it is the only way to succeed. The brand produces two collections a year: Autumn/Winter, Spring/Summer. The collections do not have so many articles and are made on an arithmetic scale, 15 pieces for each product group (11). 5.6 Sales Channel Strategy In Sweden Acne develops itself through its 4 own stores situated in Gothenburg and Stockholm, they also own a corner in Ã…lhà ©ns and an Outlet Store in Stockholm. They also sell through department stores and via the Internet. Acne choose to work through this way to be able to control the image they have of their brand, they can choose the department stores they want to work with and with their own shops and the Internet they have a total image control of the brand. Moreover, they spotted a trend with the Outlets thanks to which they can sell what was left from the previous collections. 5.7 Future goals New collaborations. Bags/ Underwear 6. Brief competitor description and analysis for 2 competitors Below the second chosen competitor, Whyred will be described. 6.1 General description of Whyred Whyred is a Swedish fashion brand which is founded by three ex-employees of H&M; Roland Hjort, Lena Patriksson Keller and Jonas Clason, in 1999. The story began with a Mens collection in 1999 and one year later the first Womens collection was in the shelves. The brand is positioned in the middle high price segment, with a turnover of 45 million SEK in (2006/2007) and 75 million SEK in (2007/2008) the brand is really growing, touching new customers. The first own shop is opened in 2001 in Stockholm, they have in 2010, 4 stores in the main Swedish cities. In 2005 they launched the shoe production line and also they set up the online outlet stores in 2007. The interesting part is that Whyred has labeled the products with Stockholm instead of Sweden, because Stockholm shows the country of origin (Sweden) and it is known as a beautiful city (Knudsen Lind 2007). The name of the brand comes from a radio interview with Roland Hjorts grandfather who was a famous Swedish artist. In that interview he was asked, What is your favorite colour? He replied: Red and the interviewer asked immediately Why red, he quipped Well, blue then. (A.K Sari, 2010) The strong inspiration of Whyred has been from the iconic style of the 1960s to give to the consumer the possibility of a Clean Living under Difficult Circumstances, inspired from THE WHOs manager Pete Meaden(Whyred Official Website). Whyred is strongly involved into the arts (especially in Cinema and Music) since the primary steps, they have project through collaborations. For instance, for their fourth art project, the short movie La Vitesse Et La Pierre is directed by Igor Zimmermann and the music is composed by Yourhighness which unveiling will happen on November 2010 in Sweden (Whyred Official Website). Moreover, they are pursuing the pull strategy by publishing the pictures of well-known people who dressed Whyred garments in the magazines or the newspapers (Knudsen Lind 2007). The brand is following simplicity by considering postmodern aesthetics, giving aesthetic awareness and making new expressions for their customers. They have ambition to make a brand as a leading European premium fashion brand (A.K Sari, 2010). 6.2 Value chain 6.3 Brand promise 6.4 Current strategy 6.4.1 Purchase strategy 6.4.2 Assortment strategy Whyred has set up its production to tow collection per year f