The relationship between the angle of a slope incline and the acceleration Essay Example

The relationship between the angle of a slope incline and the acceleration Paper As the angle of the slope incline increases, the acceleration of the model cart moving down it will also increase. I have predicted that acceleration is directly linked with the angle of the slope on which the object is moving. When coming up with this hypothesis, I asked myself the following question, what forces actually act on the model cart as it is going down the slope. There are in fact three forces acting on the cart. The force of gravity (g), friction (F), and the force of reaction (R) (see diagram 1). If we were to draw a Y and X axis on the object, the X axis showing the movement along and the Y axis being perpendicular to that then we can find out how the forces act. On the Y axis, there are two forces, the force of reaction and a fraction of the force of gravity. Since there is no movement along the Y axis we know that the forces cancel out. To find out the reaction force, we can use the formula R = mg cosine   (see diagram). The aim of our experiment is to measure the acceleration as best we can of a wheeled trolley at 3 distinct slope inclines. We will write a custom essay sample on The relationship between the angle of a slope incline and the acceleration specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The relationship between the angle of a slope incline and the acceleration specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The relationship between the angle of a slope incline and the acceleration specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The steps I took to do this are written bellow: 1. Gather all necessary equipment (see Equipment section on following page) and locate a large flat surface, preferably above the group, like a large table 2. Stack several books on one end of the table, not too many. 3. Rest the end of the large wooden board on the stack of books, creating an incline. 4. Measure the angle of this incline from the table, either with a protractor or by using sin/cosine. Record that angle. 5. Carefully place the ticker timer parallel to the top of the board, so that it would be convenient for the tape to come out. Attach all necessary wiring (seek teacher guidance if unaware of what do it). 6. Attach the tape (by means of sticky tape) to the end of the model cart 7. Make sure that there is some sort of block or stopping point at the bottom of the slope, for safety purposes and to know the total distance that the cart will cover (could be used later) 8. Place the cart on its starting point at the top of the slope (try to get it to be in the centre and facing totally forwards to avoid any sideways movements), measure and record the distance from the head of the cart to the blockage point (this will be the distance the cart travels) 9. Switch the ticker timer on (switch on the back), and then carefully release (without any additional force) the cart down the board 10. After the cart has hit the stopping point you may turn off the device. Be sure to then carefully obtain the necessary ticker timer tape and safely store it for further analysis (I will be covering what can be obtained from the information on the tape in the Analyzing Results section). 11. Repeat steps 2-10 again so that you have a 2nd trial (this is handy because you can obtain an average result in order to eliminate any errors) 12. Repeat steps 2-11 using more books, this will give the 2nd larger angle 13. Now finally repeat steps 2-11 using even more books, giving the 3rd and final angle. NOTE: if still unsure of what to do, I strongly recommend viewing Diagram 1 (the set up) below. It should become very clear. Equipment: Usable protractor, Ticker-tape timer (with necessary wiring), flat long wooden board, non-motorized wooden and wheeled trolley, a pile of books or something with height and stability to rest the wooden board on Variables: In this experiment I tried to keep all variables constant, with the exception of the angle of the slope which was changed twice. The distance the cart descends, the surroundings, the cart used and board were all held constant throughout the trials. I have decided that in order to prove my hypothesis correct, I would need to use at least 3 different angles and use 2 trials for each angle (to ensure validity). The 3 angles I chose to investigate were 2. In order to record the acceleration for each, I would first need to have a complete record of the motion of the trolley. The dots that would be presented on the ticker-tape would be sufficient enough for me to then calculate the acceleration of the trolley in each case. The following 3 pages contain results of all three ticker-tapes. To understand what the ticker timer tape does and how we can obtain acceleration from it, see Analyzing Results. Also from those results I have constructed velocity-time graphs (attached) for all trials of all the angles. Results: See following pages Analyzing results (Finding acceleration): In order to analyze the results, we first marked off sections on the tape with 5 dot spaces. This means that 1-dot space is the distance traveled by the trolley in 1/50 second (0. 02 s). So 5 dot spaces is the distance traveled in 1/10 (0. 1 s) If the tape is chopped into its 5 dot-spaces sections, and the sections put side-by-side in correct order, the result is a chart very similar in appearance to that of a speed vs. time graph. The lengths of the sections represent speeds because the trolley travels further in each 0. 1s as its speed increases. Side-by-side, the sections become a time scale because each section starts 0. 1 after the one before. The acceleration of the trolley can be found from measurements on the tape. As I had predicted in my hypothesis, the angle of the slope is directly related to the acceleration of the trolley on the slope. My results strongly suggest that because the acceleration results for a bigger angle were significantly larger then the acceleration for a narrower angle. I believe that the reason for this is due to the relationship between force and acceleration. If the force is larger, then the acceleration is also larger. The forces that were most important in this experiment were the forces of gravity and friction. Gravity pulls all objects down to the surface at an acceleration of 9. 8m/s. And the friction that the cart experienced was increased as the angle increased, making it come down at a greater acceleration. If the trolley was simply dropped next to the slope when the slope was at 90, then the trolley would accelerate to the ground at 9. 8m/s (taking into account that the cart would not make contact with the board, hence no friction). However the angle was 0, or 180 , then the trolley would not move or accelerate at all. Gravity would be affecting it due to the force of reaction canceling it out, and the horizontal surface beneath the trolley would prevent the trolley from moving. When the angle is at 25 , gravity affects the trolley enough to make it accelerate. If you change the angle to 45i however, the force of gravity would be more influential on the trolley. Therefore the trolley would come down at a faster acceleration. Evaluation When it comes to measuring the sources of error and uncertainties in this experiment, I doubt that there is little else to be done to cancel out any more errors. Since a mechanical device (the ticker-timer) did most of the measuring and recording for me, I am unable to be held responsible for any errors inside the machine itself. There was no measurement of time with a stopwatch, however I when I cut up the pieces of the ticker timer tape to be analyzed, that is where errors could have been made. The precision of cutting, and then measuring with a ruler only gave correct measurements to the nearest millimeter. One of the errors I avoided early on while analyzing was to assume that the acceleration was constant since it was partly gravitational. In labs like these, even the most obvious and logical factors may not be just assumed, steps most be taken to prove it. the importance of the errors is very small indeed as seen from the difference in the two trials for each angle was insignificantly small. Also for the aim I chose, and the nature of this experiment, the errors were always unlikely to get in the way of the final result. If granted another opportunity to repeat this experiment, I would certainly change some things. First of all I would chose to perform more then only 2 trials for each angle. I would opt for about 10 trials, then find the average of the 8 best and use that as the final result. Also I would like to experiment with more then 3 angles. As hard as it might be, I would like to try a very steep angle, around 70. Moreover, it would be interesting to see the effect of mass in terms of acceleration. Perhaps try carts with different weights. All in all, the experiment was a success. The small errors did not alter the answers too greatly. The accelerations of both trials where close enough to each other. And my hypothesis stood correct.

Dante essays

Dante essays Upon meeting Dante in the zone of the sodomites, Brunetto Latini tries to convince him that he should follow the path to earthly fame and glory. This is an especially tempting proposition for Dante, whose role models have achieved that goal. The danger is that this would become his sole aim, and he would lose sight of what should be the highest of human goals, the union with God in heaven. The main point of Brunetto's argument is to try and convince Dante that he should pursue fame on earth and do it by means of poetry, not politics. He tells Dante to follow his "star...to reach a glorious port (line 55/6)." He also says that "Heaven so favors you [Dante] (line 59)," by which he implies that he is destined for success on earth, during the "happy life (line 57)." He urges Dante to stay out of politics by referring to the politicians of Florence as a "malignant, thankless rabble (line 61)" as well as "greedy, envious, and proud (line 68)." He encourages Dante to "stay untainted by their habits (line 69)," thus encouraging him to avoid politics at all costs. He, like Farinata degli Uberti, tells of Dante's future exile, but unlike Farinata, Brunetto assures Dante that he can still achieve earthly fame. Not only that, but Brunetto also implies a certain obligation on Dante's part, for "Heaven's favor" is his. Temptation for Dante becomes a factor when Brunetto begins mentioning honor. With the line "Your destiny reserves for you such honor.... (line 70)" Brunetto tells Dante that he is destined to have honor/fame. One must remember, however, that the use of the word "honor" in the Inferno was used the most in the description of the inhabitants of Limbo. It was these inhabitants, especially Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan, and Virgil, that Dante most admires and was very honored to be made one of (the poets, that is, not a member of ...

He owners of land can suffer harm and Tort serves to rectify the Essay

He owners of land can suffer harm and Tort serves to rectify the situation. Is this true with regard to real property - Essay Example However, in mordern days, most of the tort cases related to land property are highly subject to a lot of other considerations such as the public interests and distance to the exact location of the land owner’s property among others. In response to the continuously changing reforms within the English legal system, commercial property lawyers should consider all other statutory guidelines which can directly affect the judges’ final decision when it comes to torts related to land property. For example, when dealing with cases related to â€Å"aggravated trespass in buildings†, commercial property lawyers should consider the guidelines stipulated under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 20032. There are cases wherein the land owners can suffer from harm. In line with this, the main purpose of this study is to determine whether or not Tort law in UK can serve as a solution to situations wherein the land owners are suffering from harm. As a common knowledge, the scope of th e English tort law is too broad. Therefore, in relation to different kind of tort law, this study will make use of several past and current cases to examine the extend in which tort law can rectify situations related to real property. Examples of Tort Cases Related to Real Property Nuisance is legally defined as â€Å"a wrongful interference with the plaintiff’s use or enjoyment of property†3. Unlike in the case of trespassing, nuisance is pertaining to an indirect act of invading or entering the property of another person whether it be an object or not4. Under the English tort law, the land owners can sue another party that causes direct or indirect damages to the property, nuisances, or negligence. For instance, in the case of Miller v Jackson5, Mr. and Mrs. Miller (the plaintiffs) legally sued the chairman of a cricket club in County Durham (defendant) for nuisance and negligence6. Due to close geographical situation with the club (approax. 100 feet), there were ins tances wherein the cricket balls could hit the Miller’s property causing minor damages not only to the house paint but also to their brickworks and roof tiles7, 8, 9. Furthermore, the Millers were also at risk of physical injury each time there is a cricket game10. To address the problem, the club took some measures by putting up a fence and boundary walls. It even came to a point wherein the club offered the Millers ?400 for the minor property damages and promised them that the club would invest in putting up a net to protect the Millers’ garden. Since the Millers were not contented with the said arrangement, the couple filed a case against the club. After hearing the case, Reeve J. decded that the club should pay the Millers the amount of ?150 for the damages, inconvenience, and invasion of Millers’ property11. After the plaintiffs appealed the case, both Geoffrey Lane LJ and Cumming-Bruce LJ12 supported the Millers’ side explaining that the situation c an cause serious nuisance to the couple and each time the cricket ball would cross-over the Millers’ fence and cause damges to the Millers’ property makes the club guilty of negligence13, 14, 15. Because of the need to balance the public interests (i.e. the people who were accustomed in playing the crickets in that area for the past 70 years) with the interest of the property owner close within the said jurisdiction16, 17, 18, 19, Lord Denning decided that the club

Income Statement Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Income Statement - Case Study Example ' Repairs to flat 420 Repairs to shop floor 575 Cash register repairs 125 Re-painting of exterior of property 2,240 Replacement weighing scales 75 Sundry allowable items 2,100 Total 5,535 9. Sundry expenses ' Tea, coffee and milk for staff 78 Telephone, postage and stationery 284 Calendars for customers @ %2.80 each 560 Window cleaning 500 Cleaning expenses 600 Donation to local Playgroup 250 Sundry small expenses 130 Total 2,402 10. Depreciation Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over 4 years for motor vehicles and equipment. Additional information: 1. Capital allowances The written down values for capital allowance purposes at 6 April 2008 were as follows: ' Motor car (Vauxhall Astra) Private use agreed as 25% 10,500 General Pool 7,200 2. Additions and disposals - fixed assets ' Addition 21 May 2008 Computer equipment 3,200 Disposal 1 July 2008 Computer equipment proceeds (original cost '2,100) 300 3. Goods for own use Ted estimates that fruit and vegetables with a retail price of '10 (cost price '3.50), are taken for the family's use each week. No provision has been made in the accounts. Task 1 Prepare a trading profit computation for Ted's business for the year ended 5 April 2009. Task 2 Net property rental income from the flat has been agreed with HMRC as '4,800 for 2008/2009. Lora received dividends of '2700 for the year 2008/2009 Prepare income tax computations for Ted and Lora, showing Income Tax liabilities and Income Tax payable. Task 3 Ted and Lora are not expecting to pay income tax this year as the Income Statement shows a loss. Write a letter to Ted explaining why you have disallowed each of the Income Statement items in the trading profit computation for income tax purposes, the amount of Income... Write a letter to Ted explaining why you have disallowed each of the Income Statement items in the trading profit computation for income tax purposes, the amount of Income tax payable and the dates due, making any reasonable assumptions you wish. Assuming that Ted goes ahead with his plans to expand the business to include a juice and smoothie bar, prepare a trading profit computation for the new business, for a full year of trading based on the projected results for the year to 5 April 2009 given above, (use 2008/9 tax rates and allowances).

Adidas PEST and SWOT Analysis

Adidas PEST and SWOT Analysis The Footwear Industry is a mature industry; it consists of giant players like Nike, Reebok, Puma on one hand and millions of small retailers in the unorganised sector on the other. This industry presents a myriad of interesting observations there are highly specialised segments where performance is the driving force like running shoes, basketball shoes, and soccer shoes. But to some, a highly fashionized shoe is the priority. Therefore the industry is in a creative phase where performance and fashion have now been merged to create a new hybrid, called lifestyle segment. The competition in this industry is mostly non-price atleast for the established legendary players like Nike and Adidas. They compete for mind share of the customer and aspects like marketing campaigns, brand ambassadors, product proliferation and branding, spell success. Brand Stickiness is high once a customer has experienced a brand and has been satisfied, indicating that price stickiness is less which is also due to affluent lifestyles, prosperity and rising purchasing power of the customer today. Nike and Adidas are the two mammoths of the industry today. Nike is the world leader with a close follower as Adidas Reebok combined (post Reeboks acquisition by Adidas in 2006). The report attempts to study the internal external environment in which Adidas operates and competes. To give the study a 360 degree perspective, various aspects of the industry like market trends, customer profile, competitive analysis and are covered. I. Corporate Mission Mission Statements are an insight into a companys intent, it tells various stakeholders the basic premise for the existence of an organisation why does it do what it chooses to do, who does it deal with, what does it aspire to become all these are essential elements of a companys mission statement, Rossiter, J. R., Bellman, S. (2005). Marketing communications: Theory and applications. The Mission Statement of Adidas is as follows: Adidas-Salomon strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with sports brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. We are consumer focused. That means we continuously improve the quality, look, feel and image of our products and our organizational structures to match and exceed consumer expectations and to provide them with the highest value. We are innovation and design leaders who seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product we bring to the market. We are a global organization that is socially and environmentally responsible, creative and financially rewarding for our employees and shareholders. We are committed to continuously strengthening our brands and products to improve our competitive position and financial performance. In the medium term, we will extend our leading market position in Europe, expand our share of the US footwear market and be the fastest growing major sporting goods supplier in Asia and Latin America. The resulting top-line growth, together with strict cost control and working capital improvements, will drive over-proportionate earnings growth. (Mission Statement sourced from www.adidas.com) Adidas is a German company by origin and it had acquired Salomon SA in 1998 as a part of its expansion strategy. It purchased Reebok in the year 2006 to re-strengthen its position and focus on its core businesses of athletic footwear and apparel. The company has been known for its continual zest for innovation, a trait mastered by its founder Adolph Dassler. A detailed analysis of the mission statement reveals the following Post Salomon acquisition, Adidas was clear that it wanted to expand establish itself in a gamut of sports and focus beyond athletic shoes and aptly be known as a sporting goods company. It always had lifestyle in mind while thinking of performance. Customer centricity was always high and a continuous improvement to provide more than the customers expected was essential to Adidas. The management realises that athletic performance is the ethos of the company and innovation is required to deliver high performance. Their mission statement also talks about the scale and the scope by mentioning that it is a truly global conglomerate. It realises its responsibility towards employees, shareholders and the society equally. It mentions that Europe, US, Asia and Latin America will be the focus; the company will strive to maintain its cost, increase its top line and deliver the best to all stakeholders. Deliberating on the mission statement, it appears to be a well focused and an all encompassing one. After the acquisition of Reebok in 2006, Adidas has reinforced its core strategy which had got diluted post Salomon take over as the product line got too diversified to gel with each other or to enable smooth management of the business overall. If one were to write a revamped Mission statement for Adidas considering the current competencies, its focus and the industrial environment in mind, the following can be a suggestive and an all compassing attempt Adidas Mission Statement We will exploit technology judiciously in our entire product lines of footwear and apparel, both in performance and fitness segment, to extend benefits to all our stakeholders globally either in the form of more comfort, better technique in sports, advancement in the materials used, competitive prices, more eco-friendly use of raw materials and maximum growth to enable them to get the best value proposition from us. II. Core Competencies The Core competencies form the basis of edge over the competition. It signals what one company does superbly better than the other, by virtue of which it can reap excellent benefits. Adidas has the following core competencies Living the three core values The vision got established in 1920 when Adolph Dassler started designing the first shoe ever. And ever since then to now, three things have not changed and that is the three genuine intentions of the company manufacture each shoe as a masterpiece for the requirement of the sport, avoid the sportsman from injury and make the product long lasting and value for money. Adidas has sworn by these three values and even over decades, these core values have never been disintegrated. Even when athletes talk of performance, they vouch for Adidas. Continuous innovation and mastering the art of perfection, Adidas believes in outdoing itself each time and this is clearly visible in the vast product range it offers. Be it athletics, tennis or soccer, Adidas is a name integral to success of sportsmen alike. Strategic Expansions organic integrations Management at Adidas has made the right decisions at the right time. Whether it be entering into a merger or divesting, such strategic activities have been well thought of and well timed. In 1999, Adidas wanted to expand beyond athletic shoes and apparel and that is when it bought Salomon which had huge established inroads into other sports such as skiing, skating and golf. It also had presence in bicycle production. Thus Adidas became a true sports equipment, shoe and apparel manufacturer but it retained the identity of different brands, a wise decision as it became easy to disintegrate with Salomon around 2005, when it could no longer handle the vast mutually exclusive set of businesses. In 2006, Adidass decision to acquire Reebok was equally strategic; it was a two pronged strategy as firstly Adidas Reebok combined together could compete with Nike, the industry leader in a more vigorous manner. Secondly it gave Adidas a platform to create its presence in the lifestyle segment wh ere it was earlier non-existent. Adidas was always known as a performance brand and Reebok as a lifestyle and a fitness brand; the coming together of the two is a lethal combination as it presents a complete proposition to all kinds of customer segments. The decision for both the brands to maintain their brand identity is again a well informed decision as it avoids cannibalisation. Technology Innovation The core competence of Adidas is its continuous zest to innovate. It lives and maintains its performance image very meticulously. At the same time, it has constantly believed in innovating, this was exemplified to the world, when in 2002, Adidas along with the Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto launched an exclusive range of sneakers which were sold at a whopping $590. Branding Internet In the year 2000, Adidas launched its website with e-commerce applications functional. Adidas knows that the footwear and apparel industry is very mature; in order to stay abreast against fierce competition it is vital to invest in web marketing and branding. The site ensures ease of use, speed and easy navigation. It has both brick and mortar own brand outlets and a vast network of retailers, distributors and online stores. The self branded stores enable a direct contact with customers and reading their pulse, building face-to-face relationships with them and personifying the brand with the POP merchandise at thee outlets. Internet has enabled Adidas to reduce its cost and increase its reach drastically. E-commerce has provided Adidas far fetching benefits over the competition, the customer data retrieved through the net can be researched upon to understand the customer profiles and their buying behaviour. This enables the management to design highly customer centric communication, discounts and offerings. Though Nike has been a close player reaping all these advantages, other major companies like Converse, Puma, K-Swiss are no way near. III. PESTL Analysis PESTL analysis is an excellent technique to gauge the external environment in which a company operates. These factors are mostly if not always, uncontrollable and an organisation has to find its position within this cloud. Political Adidas enjoys presence in the entire Europe market, post its acquisition of Reebok in 2006 it has created inroads in the US as well. The company has expansion plans in Asia Latin America. At most of these places, the political domain remains stable as they are largely democratic set ups. This implies that the government will not pose undue restrictions or introduce stern impractical decisions to be followed blindly by the organization. Elections every four or five years, (in UK most Asian countries respectively) also do not impact Adidas much as it does not really get impacted by the ruling party. There are other aspects like stable currency, minimum wages, hygienic working conditions in factories, stipulated working hours per week that are more critical factors for Adidas to adhere to. This is one reason as to why most of these big players are shifting their manufacturing base to Asian countries like India and China while retaining the RD and designing at their home countries. Economic Economic conditions have a considerable impact on the sales operations of Adidas. The inflation rate, the purchasing power of customers, consolidation and buy-outs hugely affect the revenues. World economy suffered one of the biggest recessions in the past two years; with the fall of Lehman Brothers and the shaking of the entire financial sector, people lost jobs and unemployment touched a historical high figure. Purchasing power fell drastically as most of the people all over the world, especially in the US and Canada started living on their savings. The economic crisis in Asian countries also mean that labour and manufacturing costs would now rise impacting the net earnings for Adidas. The stability of government and of currency, tax rates, inflation, import and export duties, special economic zones and subsides; all these are critical economic factors that can impact Adidas and other players in the industry. Social This comprises of the culture, beliefs, demographics, psychographics, education levels and spending habits and lifestyle of the target audience. A factor that is too significant for any player to ignore especially when it enters into a new market; this is the most important factor that can break or make a brand. Culture, social groups, race, religion impact how people live in a society and thus marketers have to pick up the cues sensibly as to how to operate in that environment. Adidas has used this knowledge wisely. Its famous slogan Impossible is nothing captures it beautifully as it gels with the youth today globally. The youth today is characteristic of breaking the rules, exploiting their potential and wanting to unfold the undiscovered. It is this spirit which associates the brand with this audience perfectly. The education level and the pace at which the society moves are reflected in advertising today. Reeboks advertising of its range Easy Tone is another example to demonstrate this aspect. Today women are highly conscious of their figure; Reeboks advertising where it claims that Reebok shoes and slip-ons will enable the users to have a well toned figure could not have found acceptance a decade back. With the arrival of internet, the way people shop is also changing. Now Adidas and other major companies have started selling through online stores and promote the same by giving heavy discounts. Technological Continuous innovation and the use of technology is a great imperative in the industry. The breakthrough use of technology signifies some definite improvement more comfort, superior running performance, more support and cushion, better hold on the ground, reduction in manufacturing costs or in customer price! The original perforated technology of Geox which claims that it enables its shoes to breathe and overcomes the problem of sweaty feet is a remarkable achievement for the brand; it not only creates a niche for itself but enables the company to sell its range at a high premium. Nikes 360 air max, Adidas 1 and Crocs colourful shoes for outdoors, are all examples of constant innovation in the industry. Legal Regulatory Legal Regulatory impact the advertising branding significantly. Let us take an example of Nike when it was planning to enter the Spanish market Nike could have faced the biggest challenge of establishing its mark in Spain because of a trademark issue. This was a decade long litigation case where the Supreme Court found out that the Nike name was a registered trademark of a former distributor called Cidesport. Nike could only use its swoosh but not its name on any of the products. This could have been a great set back and would have demeaned the brand equity. However Nike got lucky when in 2009 Supreme Court reversed its ruling post Nikes appeals. Adidas need to make sure all their promotions give a true representation of the products being advertised, as to not break the laws of the Trade Descriptions Act. It needs to make sure all of their retailers have sufficient knowledge of Adidas products in order to obey the Trade Descriptions Act, as if Adidas give the retailers sufficient information and they give customers incorrect information about the product, then it is the retailer breaking the Trade Descriptions Act rather than the manufacturer, (www.adidas-salomon.com/en/news/archive/2000/2000-07.asp, August 2010) IV. Market Analysis Let us analyse the athletic footwear market through Porters Five Forces model to gain a holistic view of the market Barriers to Entry High to Moderate Brand Loyalty is extremely high; economies of scale and scope also restrict entry for small players as the industry is dominated by few giant players who reap huge benefits from the volumes and the supply chain integration. Economies of scale include advertising marketing costs, RD spent in addition to voluminous production and economies of scope would include benefits like umbrella branding, available to large conglomerates like Nike Puma. However, a new entrant will not find it difficult to find suppliers or raw materials largely of the fact that is a billion dollar industry which is still largely unorganized. Bargaining Power of Buyers Moderate to High Switching cost is low for the buyers as options are endless except in the case where brand loyalty is extremely high. Buyers have easy access to the products through online shopping as well. Though the big players dominate the industrys rate but they cannot decide these prices ignoring customers. Billions are spent by these players on market research and studying consumer profiling and buying patterns which shows that buyers have high bargaining power in the market. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Extremely Low The raw materials used in this industry are rubber, cotton and foam. The giants like Nike Adidas lay out stringiest norms which a supplier has to comply with in order to mean quality. Switching between suppliers is also very high in the industry. The supplier power is extremely low, most often than not, these suppliers work at norms and prices governed by the big players of the industry. Threats of Substitutes Low The substitution is quite low as it is not possible for sneakers to be replaced by fashion or high- heeled shoes. Similarly between tennis shoes and running shoes, there cannot be a replacement. Rivalry among Existing Competitors High The rivalry amongst firms is extremely high and mostly being non-price. Each firm lives and dies by the brand identity it creates. There is fierce competition between Nike Adidas. Specialty shoes like Geox, Rockport and Ecko also compete in niche segments. V. Customer Analysis Adidas has a brand identity of being performance oriented, technically superior and with strong European roots. Therefore to study the customer type, Adidas looks at three broad types of customers Governed by Superior Performance: This is typically a customer who looks for premium performance. Be it an athlete, a tennis player, a soccer lover or a college going student who values technological advancement would choose Adidas over other brands. Fitness Health: This segment is best captured by Reebok as it promotes fitness and aerobic shoes. These days the campaign is running globally by Reebok for its Easy Tone shoes where the slogan is take the gym with you. Be it running shoes, aerobic shoes or shoes for casual wear, Reebok has captured huge market share. This range is particularly selling like hot cakes both in US and Asia amongst women as they are constantly worried about toning their thighs and hips. Adidas has wisely let Reebok focus in this segment so that there is no cannibalisation in sales. Lifestyle Shoes Apparel: Reebok and Adidas have had significant increase in the market share, competing very closely with Nike in the apparel industry. Easy Slippers, T-Shirts, jackets and jumpers enjoy brand loyalty by customers. Adidas does big promotions in this segment. The recent FIFA World Cup championship saw players wearing Adidas T-Shirts with the legendary three stripes logo. Customers of these big brands generally have a very gullible temperament and thats the reason these big players engage in celebrity marketing in a big way. Celebrities are chosen with great caution and deals worth millions of dollars are done with these sports sport stars. The idea is to have a rub off effect on the brand and establish strong associations. For e.g. Nike and the coming together of Michael Jordan promoted the shoes in the basketball segment successfully. Even after when he retires, Nikes Air Jordan segment collected significant revenues for the brand. Adidas had tied up with David Beckham and was one of the official sponsors for World cup in 2006; later years saw the sale of Adidas mount like never before. Even till date Adidas leads the industry in soccer shoe sales. VI. Competitive Analysis The footwear and apparel industry is in a mature phase with fierce competition for market and mind share of the customers. Nike is valued at around 14 billion dollars and is the market leader, followed closely by Adidas Reebok combined at around 12 billion dollars (as per the 2006 statistics captured from their websites). Mostly the firms compete on brand image, web site designs, service, advertising celebrity endorsements and innovation. Nike has had a slight edge over its competitors from the time it launched its products as it has considerably invested in RD and high tech designs. But Adidas has narrowed this gap drastically in recent years. Brand image focus is very high in the industry. Example of this can be seen in the case of Nike. Nike chooses to sell its regular range through high end retailers only, it had refused to sell through Sears post the Sears Kmart tie up as it feared brand dilution, it instead started retailing its low priced Starter range through this channel. Technology focus and specialisation is high. Nike focuses on performance plus style, Adidas as seen as a high end performance shoe and it leads the market in the soccer industry. Reebok is deemed as a fitness and health conscious brand. New Balance talks only performance and is seen as a no-nonsense brand. Crocs has positioned itself as an outdoor wear brand is predominantly used for boating. Puma is seen as a stylised brand both for footwear and apparels, it has never really spoken of high end sports performance and this focus has helped the brand create its space in the lifestyle segment. Hence it is imperative that each player positions itself well and delights the customer in that segment rather than being all over the place. Below is a diagram of the total market share of competing firms (post Reebok Adidas integration)- (Chart sourced from www.hoover.com) To conclude, one analyses that it would be prudent for close rivals to think of innovative ideas to increase the overall market for performance and lifestyle shoes than just competing on the market share with each other. VII. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis refers to the technique of mapping the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for an organisation. (P. Kotler, S. Adam, L. Brown and G. Armstrong 2001) While the first two are internal to a firm, the last two are more from an industry orientation overall. Strengths Adidas has an image of high performance and a favoured brand for buyers who seek technology over style The acquisition of Reebok complements the brand as it allows a larger portfolio of high end performance based shoes (Adidas) and fitness lifestyle range (Reebok) Known for its constant innovation, Adidas and Reebok Easy Tone being the case in point Association with sports championships enable the brand to be positioned as the leader for Soccer segment The intellectual quotient of management is seen as very high, as Adidas has been known to take the right decisions at the time (evident from all the mergers acquisitions which the brand has done) Association with celebrities like David Beckham adds to the Brand value and high TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness) User friendly and high brand appearance web site enabling high online presence Vast product portfolio to choose from Shoes for running, tennis, soccer, skiing, golf and related line of apparel, jumpers, watches etc. Weaknesses Adidas has a vast product portfolio but still has a high dependence on soccer shoes as compared to Nike which has several high revenue bearing products Has become synonymous with market-follower tag and Nike being the market leader, to most customers it becomes a second choice only The Adidas/Reebok acquisition results in cannibalisation of each others sales rather than targeting competitors. This is because there is a lack of well defined differentiation between both the brands Not seen as innovative as Nike and is alleged to copy Nike in its advertising, promotions and celebrity endorsements Opportunity Highly brand conscious youth wanting to own a pair of branded shoes only Increasing love for Soccer where Adidas is perceived as the official brand leader High value placed on fitness sports for a healthy lifestyle, resulting in an increase in the overall industry Advanced technology available Use of internet, online marketing and e-commerce widening geographical markets and connecting the globe virtually Threats World Economy recession which has impacted the purchasing power of consumers drastically Competition from online stores who have presence only through e-commerce and sell shoes at heavy discounts because of their low cost manufacturing strategy Changing consumer preferences and lifestyles Reducing popularity of sports because of frantic working lives Increasing power of suppliers to set terms, e.g. Wal-Mart New competitors entering the market Price war between competitors Cheap replicas available in the market Conclusion Adidas has come a long way over the decades and is now positioned second largest most popular player in the athletic footwear industry. Each company in the industry today is trying to reduce its manufacturing costs by shifting the production to Asian markets. Adidas Reebok have strengthened their combined market, post the integration. This is a well suited strategy to compete with Nike and grow by expanding into the emerging markets US Asia. It would be wise if Adidas focuses on its core competencies and engage into aggressive marketing branding. Critical areas for success are summarised as follows Three critical focus areas which Adidas should be focusing on currently are 1. Strong Highly differentiated Brand Positioning for Adidas Reebok Brands: A serious attempt must be made to create a positioning for both the brands. What does Adidas stand for as compared to Reebok? The Company must strategise Adidas as a sports performance brand and create a niche for athletic, tennis, golf, soccer, both in sports apparel. It should position Reebok as a fitness brand and let it handle aerobics, running, walking and casual shoes and apparel. 2. Focus on increasing the total market by innovative marketing: Adidas should creatively focus on increasing its total customer base, it should look at promoting soccer in clubs and schools and offer scholarships and start interacting with the children at an early age so that they become loyal customers for life. Reebok should tie up with gyms could offer discounts on Reebok shoes and apparel. It can tie up with specialty clinics fighting obesity and over-weight, sponsor health check up camps and give aids for other related causes. This will help the brand in two ways one is that it would help create an image of a socially responsible company and secondly reinforce the strategy to capture the ever increasing health conscious customers of today. 3. High end use of technology: Undoubtedly RD technology will remain the catalyst of this industry. Adidas will only be able to survive if it continuously focuses on improving the quality performance of its shoes. So when Nike says Just do it, Adidas should scream aloud the spirit Impossible is nothing.

GE Turbines and Balanced Scorecard Essay

A balance scorecard is essential for developing a healthy business growing place. It is a vital key for defining the goals and targets of a company as well as the vision, mission and the SWOTT Analysis. A balanced scorecard is, â€Å"A set of measures that are directly linked to a company’s strategy: financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth† (Pearce & Robinson, 2013, p. 194). This company will relate the in-building turbines values, mission, vision and SWOTT Analysis with the four perspectives of the scorecard (financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business process, and learning and growth. Financial Perspective/Shareholder Value A strong and well defined vision and mission statement will facilitate this company to achieve its target. The objectives of the in-building turbines should be implemented as a daily routine so as to increase the performance of the company. The first and foremost responsibility of a company is to seek its customer satisfaction, benefit utilization, increased net revenues and also to achieve financial stability. GE being a financially stable company already gives this new product line a head start for the investors to trust this product. In order to evaluate the financial stability of a company, one should calculate the Operating cost, Earnings per share, growth revenue & return on interest and capital. The shareholders of GE should be very excited for this new line because if it is as successful as hoped for, the stock for the shareholders could see multiple splits happening for GE stock in the near future. These splits will double the already invested, as well as lower the cost per share for new investors. Customer Value Perspective The customers will determine the success of the company. Customer satisfaction must remain at the top of the list for this company in order to see it grow in both demand and profitability for GE and their shareholders.  With the approach of letting the customer have constant monitoring capabilities during the fabricating process of their turbine orders, the more the customer will be engaged with the company and satisfied with the product. This type of approach should also increase the image for the turbines in the market. there must be consistency in the value & quality of the product. It’s the responsibly of GE and their new division to generate awareness in the public and should also offer benefits to those customers who believe in the product during its infancy. The in-building turbine company will also implement a survey board on the website in order to constantly better themselves based on the customer’s desires. The company will monitor their stock share value in the market constantly. By doing this it will allow for GE to offer special promotions on the turbine purchases, with discount percentages for all customers if the shares are constantly moving upward. This will be a way to gather the attention of new customers by introducing this program to them. When the new company and employees’ performance reviews by the customers are favorable for a long enough period of time, it could mean the turbine company is strong enough to hold its position alone in the market and do nothing but strengthen GE’s already established position there. If the reviews from the survey system are poor, the turbine company will have a chance to address the issues and still have to lean on GE for support with their structuring and financing. Process/Internal Operations Perspective Strategic planning is necessary to deliver the turbines to the customers. It should be done in accordance with the customer’s needs for energy conservation and desires of lower energy bills. In order to improve the business efficiencies, market value as well as the current position; one should have an effective strategic management team to overcome all the resistance from the energy providers. The most important thing is to define the purpose or intention of the strategy, this will lead a company smoothly towards its goals. The goals highlight the vision and mission statement of the company. GE’s plan with this new company is to show the world they are the new innovation in green energy through normal daily routines. For the satisfactory outcome of the company the strategic objectives and goals should be monitored on a daily basis. The company will set its objective, as  well as start down a path to be followed while keeping in mind the values and interest of the customers without fail. There will be a tool or set of measurements which may be used to measure the targets, public interest, share value in the market, and budget in hand. In the company’s strategic planning, the surveys will be done constantly so they will be able to change daily to critique their new company to the desires of the customers. GE will be providing excessive financial aid to this company to constantly monitor and aggressively attack the market with this new product through marketing, distribution, and any other means necessary. These turbines will make paying for energy easier on every customer who desires lower bills. GE feels that with this new product, all it will take is for the first customer to experience the difference they can make in attacking inflation. Learning and Growth Perspective The learning and growth process is considered as an extremely important aspect in the balance scorecard, this perspective focuses on the growth and prosperity of the company as well as the learning of internal and external public needs. â€Å"Learning† in accordance with this turbine company is to learn about the attitudes of the internal employees and external customers. This technique of Balance Scorecard will help the company to maintain its position in the market and also bring technological changes. The technological changes are being implemented from the initial launch of this product. GE is able to use their influence to create a technology that hopefully will take the competition years to catch up with. The surveys will provide valuable information to achieve the organization’s mission to constantly learn and improve their product and how the company is operating. The strategic planning should focus on employee training to have competent employees who constantly develop their skills and ultimately provide benefits to the company. For the in-building turbine company, the strategic objective will bring constant improvements in the company. The improvements will be in the form of new technology in the company, constant recruitment of the deserving candidates with retaining the highly skilled workers, as well as letting the customers know the company is always working on the suggestions they provided to increase the organization’s trust and customer circle. The organization will develop a strategy in order to provide more benefits to the customers such as online purchasing and billing for the turbines, letting the customer overlook the fabricating process, constantly introducing new advancements with the products and services, and introducing attractive packages and offers like the discounts for the customers for helping keep the shareholders interested in this type of energy production. The success of the company depends on its vision and mission statement. The best way to attain the targets and goals of the company is to have a strategic plan which can effectively explain and deliver the objectives of the company. The achievements and goals of the company will be easily measured. The well-balanced business will develop the balance scorecard, which is the most significant technique to achieve all targets for GE’s new organization. The balance scorecard’s four perspectives defined here are: Financial perspective, Customer perspective, internal process, and Learning and Growth. With each perspective, the company will define the strategic objectives, performance measures, targets and initiatives. References: Budget. (2014). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/budget Buhrman, M. (2014). Energy rates could increase after storm. Retrieved from http://russellville.thv11.com/news/news/111997-entergy-rates-could-increase-after-storm Lorette, K. (2014). Importance of Product Packaging in Marketing. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-product-packaging-marketing-648.html Product Focus. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.productfocus.com/pricing_how_to_price.php What is Carbon Fiber? (2014). Retrieved from http://www.dragonplate.com/sections/technology.asp Strategic Management Insight (Sep 03 2013). Retrieved from http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mission-statements/general-electric-mission-statement.html Balanced Scorecard Institute (2009) Balanced Scorecard Basics. Retrieved Sept. 19, 2014 from http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx Pearce, J. A. & Robinson, R. B. (2013). Strategic management: Planning for Domestic and Global Competition (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Living at Home and Living Away from Home

Nowadays, most students study at a university after graduating from high school. Due to the distance between their hometowns and colleges, a few students live with their family while many others live far away from home, and the most of them think about living away from home as the best part in their lives because they will have more freedom and that can be really exciting for them. However, they do not realize that living at home has more benefits compared to living away from home. Firstly, I prefer living at home, because students who are living at home can enjoy better living conditions than ones living far from home. As home is the whole family’s place, it is normally large and well-equipped with many electric devices. Also, the work required to keep a home clean tends to go unnoticed when the mother does it. Clean floors, tidy rooms, and fresh laundry tend to be taken for granted. Even though the average teenager may help around the house one of the parents tends to do most of the housework. The floor is always clean, the rooms are always tidy, and laundry is never less than fresh and neatly folded. In addition, students are provided with fresh, nutritious food. On the contrary, dormitory or a rented house are usually small with poor facilities. For example, many students living in a cramped rented house have to use one small space for cooking, eating, learning and sleeping. Also the laundry will pile high and become a daunting task for them to achieve. The back door step will be dirty, and the rooms will become cluttered. Owing to busy learning, students may skip their meals or eat fast food, which badly influences their health. Secondly, living at home differs from living far away in that it helps students avoid financial problems. Living at home, students have the telephone bills, electricity bills and other daily expenses paid by their parents. Also living at home with parents makes bills appear as some fictional scary story. The most a students usually pays for is a car to drive, and a few other luxuries. The parents pay for the water left dripping, the gas burnt by the stove, and the power consumed by the light left on. Students living at home will never even notice any of these expenses. In contrast students living far from home have to pay all those things on their own with a monthly amount of money. Unlike students who receive parents’ instruction, students who do not live with their family often lack financial managing skills. As a result, they often spend money on unnecessary items and cope with running out of money. Another difference is the emotional aspect that you have to face. Living at home can result less frustrating than living alone because you can share the problems that you have with your parents, siblings or any member of your family in order to look for some solutions to difficult situations that you may face. In contrast, if you live away from home most of the time you are going to be alone, so finding someone who wants to listen your problems can be difficult to get. Your friends are going to be the only people that might help you to solve your problems. However, they are not your relatives and sometimes they are not going to be with you. The fourth difference between living at home and away from home is the environmental issue. Life at home is secure and well known. Furthermore, home is where one has lived their entire life and they are well adapted to the surroundings. On the other hand, the new home can be in a complete different neighborhood or city. Also, it’s not always similar to the home people are used to since the new house is usually smaller, less fancier, and it’s usually located in a less attractive neighborhood than the parents’ home. While the students who choose to leave home may think that it’s not a big deal to confront a decrease in their living status, those that choose to stay home might think that the difference in the environment is a major drawback. Finally, the other obvious difference is that living far from home provides students more independence than living at home. It goes without saying that parents want to take good care of children by setting a wide range of rules for them. Moreover, when you have an important meeting and it is impossible for you get home, you can stay at a friend’s house without problems. Consequently, students living with family have to ask for their parents’ permission if they want to go out or invite friends to their homes. Additionally, parents also control their time spent on using computer and TV. In contrast, students living without parents’ control have more privacy ecause they do not have to obey the strict rules. They can go out whenever they want and freely gather with their friends. Thanks to independent life, they can flexibly spend time on learning, surfing websites or playing games without any complaints. In general, though living at home and living far away from home have some considerable differences, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages to students, and at some moment in life you have to decide between staying at home with your parents as you have always done or starting a new life alone that means being independent. At the moment that you want to make a choice between these two styles of life. You should know that living at home and living away from home has some similarities and some differences that you have to consider before making a decision. Therefore, no matter what kinds of living students choose, they can still enjoy their wonderful life at college.