BOEING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

BOEING - Assignment Example The Boeing Company has a long history dating back to 1916, when the founder of the company, William Boeing launched a company Pacific Aero Products. The next year the company was renamed to Boeing Airplane and Transportation (MarketLine Advantage, 6). In 1929, the company’s name was changed again to United Aircraft and Transportation. By that time the company has significantly expanded its business operations and diversified into other business lines (such as airport’s maintenance and mail delivery (MarketLine Advantage, 6). In 1934 the antitrust legislation restricted ownership of mail-carrying airlines, and the company has divided its business into three entities: United Aircraft (manufacturing operations in the East of US), United Air Lines (air transportation) and the Boeing Airplane (manufacturing operations in the West of US) (MarketLine Advantage, 6). During the World War II, the Boeing Airplane Company concentrated on building of bombers. Since 1960’s the company has expanded its business significantly through numerous mergers and acquisitions, creation of new divisions, and expansion of business operations across the globe. Nowadays, the company serves customers in 150 countries across the globe and is recognised to be one of the largest defense contractors in the USA and one of the two major manufacturers of 100+ sear airplanes for commercial purposes (MarketLine Advantage, 4). The Boeing Company serves a broad variety of customers, among which are both government and commercial entities. Some of the major government customers of Boeing Company are: the US Air Force, the US Army, US DoD, US Navy, NASA, US Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Israel Aircraft Industries, UK Ministry of Defense, European Aviation Safety Agency, US Federal Aviation Administration, etc. (MarketLine Advantage, 4). Practically all major international airline companies use Boeing

POEMS ABOUT DOCTORS AND PATIENTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

POEMS ABOUT DOCTORS AND PATIENTS - Essay Example Instead, the last stanza does conclude what is in the fourth stanza hence clarifying all the points to the reader. 5. When referring to the ‘you’, the speaker of the poem refers to the patient to whom she was visiting. This is because she said that the hospital lawn is being taken care just as a patient the patient is. 6. The first stanza does compare the lawn and the hospital rooms. When the speaker compares these two parts, she does show how the hospital is clean and well maintained hence the same does apply to the patients present in the hospital. 7. In the third stanza, the speaker draws back to the red and hideous battlefields where many young men were brought to that hospital when suffering from different injuries. This image shows that the hospital has treated many people suffering from different injuries and illnesses. This makes the staff and the doctors in the hospital to be experienced in what they do. 8. In the final stanza, the speaker of the poem describes a scene where a patient has passed away. This is because the speaker says that she turned and stepped inside an empty room while the previous day there was someone there. The machines are silent, and the bed is all made new. This shows that the patient who was there has passed away. 9. The poem is about the hospital and the patients who attend the hospital. The poem does describe how the hospital is maintained. The poem does also describe the different patients in the hospital. The poem does give a description of how the hospital treats its patients. Therefore, the theme of this poem is how patients are treated in the hospitals in comparison to how the environment of the hospital is. 11. The words after line seven portray that the speaker has a different understanding of religion. The speaker has an understanding that the religion is all about kneeling down in forest groves and asking for help. This

How do companies in the retailing industry use twitter to interact Dissertation

How do companies in the retailing industry use twitter to interact with their customers Is Twitter a good tool to interact with - Dissertation Example The notion of â€Å"going global† that was once considered as a prestigious strategic option and it was reserved for mighty organizations in the past (Hennig-Thurau 2010). But in the current scenario of the global economy all of the companies regardless of age and size have the option to serve globally. The common examples that started small and with the passage of time went global include the names of Microsoft and Wal-Mart. The former one has its roots in a small room and the other one started out as a tiny shop in the village. The only thing that has helped the process of evolution in the business world is known as entrepreneurial skills and instincts. The abovementioned attributes has the power to help the process of economic growth and the internet grew significantly because it subliminally fulfilled the purpose of the business that is to experience growth (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke 2008). The cliche is true that states that the company which is not growing then perhaps it is dying out. The global reach is going to be the decisive factor of success in the futuristic market conditions of the international economy in the near future. The internet’s role is increasing in driving the lives of humans (Baird & Parasnis 2011). The internet technology is a huge network of networks that has infiltrated every aspect of human life and the essence of social life is also being lost because it is a complete rarity to communicate face to face. Everyone is using Twitter as the source of socializing (Kaplan & Haenlein 2011). According to modern psychology, the practice of e-socializing is bad for community because in the practical sense, the practice is playing a very powerful role in terms of adding loneliness in the lives. Introduction The information technology has become an integral part of common man’s life throughout the world and therefore, the companies have to adapt their practices in order to accommodate changing and fluxing preferences of the cu stomers (Edvardsson & Gruber 2011). The internet has grown as a notable and major means of doing business in the modern era of the 21st century. The e-commerce is effectively allowing the smaller firms to compete the larger ones in the global marketplace and because of this reason, the playing field has been leveled and that is allowing the organizational and managerial focus to shift from growing in size to efficiency (Kima & Ko 2012). The core business philosophy that is currently being followed in all walks of life is to drive down the costs so that product and service quality can be improved while, experiencing significant growth in terms of profitability (Thackeray, Neiger, Hanson, & McKenzie 2008). The modern times have also witnessed a massive level of knowledge explosion that has indeed made all of the world’s knowledge available on the web and therefore, every business has the ability to avail the information against minimal costs and this information is then, implem ented in the several fields (Boulton & Panizzon 1998). The Chinese nation has developed as an economic superpower because it managed to gather the knowledge that was created and implemented in the west. After gathering the information, Chinese government provided an infrastructure that supported and helped the local scholars in the process of contextualizing the knowledge and that very

Making Decisions Based on Demand and Forecasting Essay Example for Free

Making Decisions Based on Demand and Forecasting Essay 1.Report the demographic and independent variables that are relevant to complete a demand analysis providing a rationale for the selection of the variables. (Independent variables are the variables that have effect on the demand of Pizza). List 5 and explain the effect of each of them on the demand of Domino’s Pizza. I currently reside in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which has a current population, based off of the 2010 Census data, of 118,032 people. The large amount of people that reside in the 18 square mile city, which is the third largest in the state, allows for huge competition amongst the local chain and privately owned pizza restaurants. Within the city limits of Allentown, Pennsylvania, there are 3 Domino’s pizza restaurants within 13.2 miles of each other. The average median income per household is $49,025 and $37,356 per family. This can affect the demand of pizza based on the price of the pizzas being sold. The lower the income of a family is, the lesser the chances they will purchase take-out or fast food. Typically, families that are on a fixed or smaller income will live on a budget and normally that does not include the luxury of eating out. Looking at the price of various Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut and various local pizza restaurants, the average cost of a large, plain cheese pizza pie is $10.42. While this may be a good price to some, families with a higher number of members may not be willing to pay $10+ per pizza due to the fact that they most likely have to purchase in multiple quantities. 15 percent of the Allentown, Pennsylvania population get around by means of transportation other than a car, therefore a pizza restaurant offering delivery services will be a benefit to those not able to pick their pizza up. The local average fee for pizza delivery is $2.00, based off of two of the large chain pizza restaurants delivery fees. The local privately owned pizza restaurants do not charge a delivery fee, which is a greater demand for those residents looking to spend the least amount of money on their pizza lunch or dinner. Many pizza restaurants offer various pizza order specials, such as 2 large plain pies for $19.99. While that is a great offer, the larger chain pizza restaurants such as Domino’s and Pizza Hut offer various specials like a large pizza for 8.00 or a large 3-topping pizza for $7.99. The only disadvantage of these specials is that the pizzas vary in their large size from restaurant to restaurant. 2.Find the price elasticity of demand for Pizza online. Is it elastic, unit elastic, or inelastic? Explain how the price elasticity of demand can affect your decision to open the pizza store and your pricing policies? Price elasticity of demand is defined as â€Å"the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded to the percentage change in price, assuming that all other factors influencing demand remain unchanged† (McGuigan, 2011, pg. 70). With the average cost of pizza in Allentown, Pennsylvania being $10.42, it is still a very high demand product. If the price of pizza were to go up, the demand for pizza may drop slightly, making the demand in price insensitive. There are certain determinants that will affect the price elasticity such as disposable income and the prices of competitors’ products these cannot be controlled by the firm. Determinants that can affect the price elasticity of pizza that can be controlled by the firm are price, advertising, product qua lity and customer service (McGuigan, 2011, p. 69). The price elasticity demand for pizza is and will most likely always be inelastic, because even though the cost of the ingredients to make pizzas may increase and decrease, pizza is a very popular product and will always be in high demand. Being a part of the Domino’s Pizza franchise, offering the various weekly and monthly specials will guarantee that the demand for pizza will not decline by a huge rate should the need to increase pricing arises. This will not affect my decision to open a Domino’s Pizza franchise, I am confident that the demand for pizza will only slightly decrease if economic reasons forces pricing to rise. My pricing policies will always be in line with Domino’s corporate structure, therefore being able to offer special deals on pizzas will counter balance the rise on individual pizza pies. 3.Explain the cross price elasticity. List 3 goods that you consider substitute to pizza in your area. How do they affect your decisions? (opening the store and pricing policy) Cross price elasticity is defined as â€Å"the ratio of the percentage change in the quantity demanded of Good A to the percentage change in the price of Good B, assuming that all other factors influencing demand remain unchanged† (McGuigan et al, 2011, pg. 87). If the price of pizza’s rises and the demand decreases by a certain percentage then this causes the need for pizza boxes will decline. This will be considered a negative cross price elasticity, and the two goods are complementary. On the other hand, if the price of pizza increases, and the demand for an alternative product increases, then this is considered substitutes, and the cross price elasticity is positive. Some substitutes for pizza in the event the price rises could be Subway sandwich platters, KFC family bucket meals, and Chinese food platters. Families buy pizza because of the large quantity for a cheap price, but if the prices were to increase, then these same families may look for similar alternatives that will not empty their wallets. These are possible alternatives that offer a large quantity of food at a reasonable price that can affect the demand of pizza. However, monitoring the costs of the competing fast food restaurants in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area will allow Domino’s to offer certain specials and pizza deals to the community that can keep their demand at a high rate. 4.Explain how you will forecast the demand for pizza in your community for the next four (4) months, using the regression equation including the assumptions that were used. Justify the assumptions made related to the forecast. 5.Based on the forecasting demand, price elasticity, and cross price elasticity discuss whether Dominos should establish a restaurant in your community. Provide a rationale and support for the decision. Establishing another Domino’s Pizza restaurant in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area will be a good idea because there is a true demand for pizzas. Referring to the price elasticity and the cross price elasticity, the positive outweighs the negative sides of supply and demand. Whether or not the price of pizzas goes up, the demand will always be sufficient enough to warrant the decision to open up a new restaurant. The price elasticity is inelastic because if and when the price of pizza increases, the demand for it will not be greatly affected. Domino’s Pizza’s financials for first quarter 2013 were released and the pizza giant had revenues up 8.6% from Q1 2012, and their net income was up 65.9% for the same period in 2012 (Dominos.com, 2013). This proves that even during the decline in the economy, the demand for pizza stays at the top. Domino’s Pizza sells more than one million pizzas daily, it is safe to assume that opening a new Domino’s in the Allentown area will not be a bad decision.

Mental health Essay Example for Free

Mental health Essay Psychotherapy is more internal, and deep. It is more focused on the past, whereas counseling is more focused on the present. In psychotherapy, insight is more important than change, and the therapist’s role is as more of an expert. Psychotherapy is also long-term, where counseling is usually more short term. Counseling focuses on the Wellness Model –understanding the person in their context (job/family/community) 3. Discuss what is meant by counseling being an Art? Even though counseling techniques can be subjective and creative like an art, is still uses technique and strategies, and has standards that must be met. 4. ACA, CACREP, NBCC, APGA. ACA – American Counseling Association CACREP – Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs NBCC – National Board for Certified Counselors APGA – American Personnel and Guidance Association 5. 4 personal qualities counselors should have Curiosity Ability to listen and be empathetic Ability to have a conversation Empathy and Understanding Emotional Insightfulness Capacity for Self Denial Tolerance for Intimacy Comfortable with Power Goodwill – Do No Harm Self Awareness Maintaining Effectiveness Remaining Objective Accepting and Confronting Situations Ability to Laugh Intellectual Competence Energy. Flexibility Support 6. Briefly discuss burnout and 2 ways to avoid it or lessen the likelihood it will occur Burnout is the physical, mental and emotional exhaustions brought on by involvement over prolonged periods with emotionally demanding situations and people. Understand that you are there to support the client and lead them to empowerment, not to â€Å"fix† them. Some ways to avoid burnout are to seek counseling yourself, seeking supervision and guidance, taking a break or a vacation, joining a peer support group, getting regular exercise, meditation, taking time to enjoy hobbies, and seeking support from family and friends. Traumatic events in the counselor’s personal life may contribute to the stress felt when dealing with client issues at the same time. 7. Know terms Ethics is a discipline within philosophy that is concerned with human conduct and moral decision making and are the ideal standards expected by a profession. It governs relationships within a profession Morals are determined within a broad context of culture of society. They are our own and are often influenced by family, community and religion Laws dictate minimum standards of behavior that a society will tolerate Autonomy respects the freedom of choice Nonmaleficence Do not harm. Beneficence Be helpful and do not blame Justice Fairness to all clients Veracity Being honest and upfront Fidelity Loyalty and faithful to what my profession dictates Vicarious Liability- individuals who have control and authority over others will be held accountable for their negligence. (Supervisor is responsible for the actions he/she supervises) Common Law laws that developed as a result of court decisions (set by judicial precident) Regulations accepted guidelines set forth by a profession Federal Laws trumps rules and is established as the minimum requirements set by the government Rules established within the system. Tort Law law resulting from the private sector (laws that result from the suffering or harm from the private sector) 8. Be able to distinguish between Principle Ethics and Virtue Ethics Principal ethics have their foundation in moral principles, which are agreed upon assumptions or beliefs about ideals that are shared by members of the helping profession. ( â€Å"What should I do† [respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, veracity] ) Virtue ethics involve more than moral actions; they also involve traits of character or virtue. Virtue ethics focus on the actor rather than the action (â€Å"Who should I be† [integrity, discernment, acceptance of emotion, self-awareness, interdependence with the community]) 9. Know the reasons for ethical codes Ethical codes give our profession credibility, protects us from government interference, helps to reduce malpractice, protects the clients welfare, ensures accountability within the profession 10. Be able to discuss the 4 beliefs of counseling professionals or identify in a short vignette 1. The best perspective for assisting individuals is the wellness model of mental health. The goal is for each person to achieve positive mental health to the degree possible. Mental health is seen as occurring on a continuum. It accounts for functioning in family relationships, friendships, career, spirituality, leisure activities, physical health, living environment, financial status and sexuality. 2. Most of the issues that people face in life are developmental in nature and understanding the dynamics of human growth and development is essential to success as a helper. Since most problems are developmental, they are natural and normal. We all will experience certain things are different times of our lives. 3. Prevention and early intervention are far superior to remediation in dealing with personal and emotional problems. To do this, counselors provide education. Through education, the clients will have the necessary tools to meet the challenges later in life when encountered. 4. The goal of counseling is to empower individual clients and client systems to resolve their own problems independently of mental health professionals and to teach them to identify and resolve their own problems autonomously in the future. By teaching appropriate problem solving techniques, and increasing their self-understanding, it is hoped that the client will not always need assistance. 11. Be able to identify factors that influence culture 12. Race Ethnicity Nationality Gender Age Social Class Marital Status Sexual Orientation Disability Place of Residence Language Religion Other nonvisible 13. Be able to identify the important things to consider in crisis counseling Distinguish physiological responses from gestures. – Be aware of how things like eye contact can be cultural. Avoid using stereotypical conclusions regarding non verbal behavior Avoid imposing your values on an individual in a crisis situation ( what seems to you to be slef-defeating may actually be cultural in context) 14. Be able to identify and briefly discuss the three areas of Multicultural Competencies Self Awareness – Become aware of your own personal values, biases, assumptions Knowledge – Increase awareness of cultural values, biases, assumptions of diverse clients Skills – Develop culturally appropriate intervention strategies for diverse clients. 15. Be able to identify and briefly discuss the assumptions regarding values AND ways to minimize imposing values on clients Be careful not to project your own values or interests onto the client. Lead them to the outcome that they are comfortable with. Be sure to take into consideration cultural influences, religious influences, etc. There is no such thing as an absolute value that exists objectively. Each person is responsible for their own values system. Acknowledge tendency to see clients as pathological when dealing with personal values. Accept clients as they are instead of sick of immoral because values systems do not conform. Inform yourself about eh varieties of values held in society. Be aware of your own values. Present value options in an unbiased manner. Be committed to freedom of choice of your clients. Respect clients who have values different than your own. Consult others when conflict exists. Refer clients to another counselor if conflicts cannot be resolved. 16. Know Confidentiality an ethical concept that refers to the counselor’s obligation to respect the client’s privacy and to our promise to clients that the information they reveal during counseling will be protected from disclosure without their consent. (Autonomy, respect, pledge of silence, utility) Privileged Communication a judge cannot order information that has been recognized by law as privileged to be revealed in court. Communications must originate in confidence. The element of confidentiality must be essential to the relationship. The relationship is one that needs to be carefully fostered. The injury to the relationship that disclosure of communications would cause must be greater than the benefit gained for the correct disposal of the litigation. Privacy The freedom of individuals to choose when they reveal their information. The right to keep the counseling relationship a secret. Afforded to all individuals in the 4th amendment. 17. Know the limits/exceptions to confidentiality and privileged communication 18. Client waives privilege Does not end in death Sharing with subordinates/superiors Protecting someone in danger Counseling multiple clients (group) Counseling Minors Court Ordered Legal Protections for Counselors in dispute 19. Be able to identify potential legal issues 20. Know SOAP Subjective (â€Å"use quotes†, write whatever the client reports) Objective (info from the counselor, assessments, reports) Assessments (impression of S and O. Does everything measure up? ) Plans (diagnosis and treatment plan with goals and objectives) DAPData (Objective information) Assessment ( counselor’s interpretation of the data) Plan (what you intend to do and what you what to accomplish) 21. Be able to discuss reasons for writing case notes and goals of writing case notes It helps to see your client as a total person. Helps to remember client details. Notes are not meant to be a transcript. It is an integrated view of the interaction. For review by many others who are in on the care of the patient. 22. Be able to identify things that might be considered â€Å"records† related to clients/students in the counseling profession Phone calls, emails, appointments, bills, parking passes, payment records, physical recordings, audio recordings, case notes 23. Know the questions to consider when writing/thinking about clinical notes Be concise. Be transparent. Don’t put something in a record that you would not want to be made public. â€Å"Just the facts. † 24. Be able to identify who might read clinical notes Supervisors, transcribers, other clinicians, lawyers, attendings 25. Be able to discuss problems/issues related to using various forms of technology related to information about clients/students. Security is hard to secure electronically. Files can be intercepted. Phone calls can be intercepted. FB allows for multiple people to see and access information. Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. 26. How might you ensure confidentiality related to various forms of technology Encryption. Fax cover sheets. Getting written instructions as to how and when and where to present and what data can be presented.

Website Evaluation †Apple Store

Website Evaluation – Apple Store In the recent years, electronic business becomes more widespread, and rapidly growing in the whole world. Because of the cost efficiency and coverage, many companies build a website to sell their products on the Internet. One of the most famous worldwide consumer electronic company, Apple Inc. also established an online store which called Apple Store (http://store.apple.com) to sell different products on the Internet from 1997 (Technical Update, 1997). The website is widely use in buying the products of Apple Inc. by the customers in worldwide. Therefore, the quality of the website has to be good enough for to numbers of customers. This essay is going to evaluate, discuss and conclude about the Apple Store and its e-commerce operation by using different methods of evaluation. Website Purpose Outline Company Background Apple Inc. is one of the biggest consumer electronic and computer company in the world. It provides many famous hardware products including the iPhone, the iPod series, the iPad and the Mac hardware products to different types of customers (Apple Inc. Annual Report, 2010). The company sells its products in more than 300 retail stores in various countries from 2010 (Spence, 2010). Other than the website and the retail store, Apple Inc. sells its products by wholesalers, retailers from other company, direct sales force, third-party cellular network carriers, and value added resellers at the same time (Apple Inc. Annual Report, 2010). Website Functions Apple Store is a website provides various services to customers, which are products description, software download, products selling and after sales services. Product Description Finding and filtering information for the customers is important to a successful electronic system since the customers would like to find the products and services in the easiest way (Ng, Yan and Lim, 2000). Therefore, a good e-business website must have a good production description. Apple Store describes the information of different products in detail for the customers understanding the functions and usefulness of the products. Diverse products like the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac hardware products, software and accessories are being introduced by words, videos and pictures in different languages in the website. For the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apples computers, those features, outlook and technical specifications is being showed in the site. The website even uses video to explain how to use the products in detail to attract the consumers. At the same time, in every description page we can see a Buy Now button which is a link to the product selling part to make the purchasing process easier (Apple Store, 2010). Software Download Apple Store provides many types of software for different products. There are both free and paid software for the customers to better use their hardware products. Like many software production companies, customers can choose to buy the software in the normal stores or on the online store. And the software update can be found on the website for providing new features and fixing the bugs on the products. Also, the software can be downloaded in various languages in the world. Product Selling The online Apple Store is a channel of product selling to various customers in the world. Customers can buy anything which can be bought in the Apple retail store including hardware, Apple software, third party software and selected third party accessories on the website. They even can buy the certified refurbished products and the old type products which cannot be bought in the normal store on the online store in a cheaper than normal price (Apple Store, 2010). For the customers who buy the goods on the Apple online store, they can buy the goods on installments without interest. After Sales Services The Apple Inc. provides many after sales services to the customers if they bought the products on the Apple Store. They can check the delivery status on the website in order to know the process of delivery. When the customers take the product to repair in the repair department of Apple, they can check the repair status on the site. And they can get support if they have any problem of using the product. The website provides many product using problem solutions to the users (Apple Store, 2010). Therefore, the customers can get help easily from the Apple store website if they have any problem. Website Analyses Web Accessibility Users with disabilities have to use the website. Therefore, a good website should be able to let them to utilize it easily. Web Accessibility is a standard for checking that whether the users with disabilities can perceive, follow, control, communicate with and contribute to the website (W3C, 2005). For a website, if it is sufficiently flexible to be used by all of assistive technologies, it can be called as an accessible website (Slatin Rush, 2003). For the Apple Store, web accessibility will be evaluated by whether the website has the essential components if it is accessible to people with disabilities (W3C, 2005). In content, the basic text and images introduce the product and the purchasing instruction. For the people who have blurry vision, they cannot read unless the text is very large (Thatcher, 2005, P. 3). By the way, the text size and color cannot be change in each page in the Apple Store website. The minor visual disability people cannot change the text size to what they need when they want to see that page. However, for the product introduction, the Apple Store uses some videos to introduce the major functions and special features of the products, the visual disability people, even the blindness who is completely sightless (Paciello, 2000, P.8), can know more about the product by listening the voice in the videos. But for the auditory people, there is no subtitle in the videos for them to understand what is about on the video. At the same time, for the visual disability people who want to make transaction in the website, there is no instruction video or audio about the process of transaction for those people who need it. And even in the transaction page, no access for the visual disability people to make a transaction. Therefore, Apple Store does not provide enough access to disability people. Webqual 2.0 Research Design Finding the domain which can reflect the situation in reality is better than doing artificial laboratory-based experiment (Barnes Vidgen, 2001). By the way, only analyze one data about the domain is not enough for the website evaluation. Therefore, compare the domain with the major competitors is the best way to evaluate the quality of the website. In the market, there are many competitors of Apple having an online store to sell consumer electronic products (Apple Inc. Annual Report, 2010). The major competitors which are chosen to be evaluated with Apple Store are the Sony Style online store (http://www.sonystyle.com), and the HP online store (http://www.shopping.hp.com). The reasons why those websites are being chosen to be compared are because both of them are selling consumer electronic and computer products. At the same time, both three of them are recommended by the UK consumers (Satmetrix, 2010). Sony is the biggest multinational conglomerate corporation in Japanese. It is one of the leading company of selling consumer electronic and computer products. Playstation, Sony music products and Sony laptops are some example of the famous electronic product of Sony (Sony Style, 2010). Sony Style online store is a channel of distribution on the Internet. HP (Hewlett-Packard) is another major competitor of consumer electronic and computer products of Apple Inc. It is a multinational information technology corporation in USA which is famous by its computer products. HP is famed for selling different types of hardware product. Methodology 40 questionnaires have been done from the user of Internet in the worldwide. Questions in the questionnaires are distributed to different countries, different age and different gender people by Internet. The questionnaire is mainly divided into 2 parts to measure those three websites quality and their view of the importance of the criteria. First part is about their basic information, which is about their age group, gender, and most importantly, whether they have visited those three websites. The data of the interviewees who have not visited those websites are not going to be count in the analysis. The second part is different descriptions of the websites. Each of them uses the scale 1 to 5 to elaborate the interviewees agreeability of the descriptions (Barnes Vidgen, 2001). And the description importance for evaluation is also asked in the questionnaire, in order to know how they feel about the importance of those descriptions. Data Analysis In the 40 interviewees, 28 of them have visited those Apple Store, Sony Style online store and HP online store. Therefore, only this 28 interviewees questionnaire results are being counted in the analysis. All data which are collected are summarized in Table 1 in the appendix page. The marks counted are the average marks of the 28 interviewees in each question. All marks are round up to 2 decimal places for evaluation conveniently. According to Barnes, the Webqual can be divided into different categories in SERVQUAL which are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Barnes Vidgen, 2001). They are going to be the criteria to see how the quality of those three websites is. Importance of specific question for user At the beginning, the importance of each description is going to be analyzed first. From the table, we can see the average marks of importance in different descriptions are quite high. Therefore, most of the descriptions of Webqual are important for the interviewees. In aesthetics, the interviewees think having a good outlook is quite important to them (Description 1). It can attract them to stay in the website for a longer time. However, having an appropriate design and audio-visual effect (Descriptions 2, 3) are not as important as other criteria, since they are not the critical element for them to stay in the website. Then, reliable (Descriptions 4-6), responsiveness (Descriptions 7-8), competence (Descriptions 9-10), credibility (Descriptions 14-15), and security (Descriptions 16-17) are quite important for the website users. It is because both of the criteria are about the safety of the transaction on that website. The users of website most concern the trust and dependability of it (Jones, Wllikens, Morris and Masera, 2000). However, for navigation (Descriptions 11-13), whether the websites are easy to find and to return to and find your way around are not important for the interviewees. Only the website has things where they expect to find them is important for the interviewees. Whether the website is easy to give feedback (Description 18) is quite important for the interviewees. For the empathy of the website, websites are quite good in communication (Descriptions 19-21) and their understanding the individual (Descriptions 22-24) are not as important as others. Descriptions Comparison between Three Websites Referring to Table 1, the evaluation of interviewees can show the differences between those three websites. In terms of aesthetics, the users think that the Apple Store looks much better than the Sony Style online store and HP online store. As we can see in those websites, Apple Store provides more pictures and a better looking homepage between those three websites. At the same time, both of them have an appropriate style of design for site type. By the way, only Apple Store creates and audio-visual experience to the users. In the Apple Store website, there are some videos to introduce the major functions and special features of the products. So the Apple Store has a higher overall score of aesthetics. For the navigation, which is the description that the users thinks it is not that important, we can see Apple Store and Sony Style online store have a higher marks of whether it is easy to find and to return to and Apple Store gets a higher marks in it is easy to find your way around. It shows that the Apple Store is easier for the user to find and use. At the same time, the interviewees claim that the three websites have things what they expected to find them. For the reliability, the marks between three websites are quite similar. It is because both three website are run by big company, which are Apple, Sony and HP. They have to make their websites free from error in order to maintain their credibility. Only about the description about providing up-to-date information, Apple Store get a higher average marks between three websites. It is because after the press conference of the new products, the new products features will be updated immediately on the website next day while the other two websites do not do this kind of update. For the competence, interviewees think that those websites can provide them with professional and competent image and believe they can process transactions competently, again, because both three website are run by the big company. Professional and process transactions competently are important for the credibility for them. For responsiveness, HP online store gives a more clear time for delivery for products or services. It shows what the exact day is for the customers receive the product, while the Apple and Sony website only show the estimate day of delivery which is not enough for the customers. At the same time, the access of three websites is good for the interviewees, both of them are easy to give feedback or contact the company. By the way, for the credibility and security, Apple Store has a higher mark compare with other two websites. It is because the Apple website is more famous in dealing with online trading and many of the interviewees have done the transaction through Apple website. Therefore, it has a higher mark in compare with the two other websites. For the empathy, both websites does not have a good mark since the website does not convey this culture to the website users. In conclusion, Apple Store gets the highest marks between three websites in the evaluation. Therefore we can see Apple website is the best in the group of consumer products websites. E-commerce Operation Evaluation Value Creation model Value Creation is important for a company. According to Mathur and Kenyon, it is about the design of future competitive offerings for the financial success of a company (Mathur and Kenyon, 2001) and the company have to beat the competitor by the value creation (Phillips, 2003). Novelty Apple.com provides a feature that the customers can order the products in multiple configurations. They can customize what they buy on the website. For example, when a customer orders a Macbook Pro, he can choose the processor, memory, graphics card, hard drive he like. This feature is a novelty in the online store market when it was first revealed. It creates value by eliminating inefficiencies in buying process for the customers. Because the customers can chose the product configurations according to their personal needs. So it is easier for them to purchase on the Internet. Customers can buy certified refurbished products on the Apple online store. The certified refurbished products are the products which undergo a rigorous refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale in a price which is cheaper than the normal price. It creates value by creating entirely new markets which is the market of the customers who like buying cheaper product. At the same time, it can help the company to sell the refurbished products. And because it is selling on the official website, it is more reliable for the consumers. The Apple Store let the customers engraving their iPod if they make an order on the website. They can make some personalized words on their iPod by the laser engraving. The text will be engraved near the top, on the back of the iPod. Any different types of iPod can use this service if the customers buy the iPod on the apple website. It creates values by capturing latent consumer need which is personalized design of their iPod. Efficiency The Apple online store provides the consumers with efficiency in different aspects. First of all, the information asymmetries between the Apple online store and the buyer have be reduced since the website provides all information which the buyer need in deciding whether purchasing, including the price of all different product, all possible discount, the price of adding different customize part in the products. Unlike in the normal store, the buyers have enough information in making the decision on buying a product or not. Therefore, we can say the information asymmetries between each group have been reduced. At the same time, the searching and bargaining cost of the buyer has been reduced by using the Apple online store. They do not have to search in different store since the price of the Apple Store is unified in the market. Therefore, their decision making pace will be faster than in the normal store since they have enough information to making the purchasing decision. Complementarities Apple Store provides with vertical complementarities to the customers which are after sales services. On the website, when you login your purchasing account, many individual information about your purchasing can be shown on the webpage. Delivery status, repair status can be checked on the site. Then the buyers can easily organize the usage of their products after the purchase. If they have any problem of using the product, many supporting service are available on the website for the buyers. They can browse the instructions about the using problem on the website. And also read the guideline from the website. For the horizontal complementarities, in some promotion, the buyers can buy the computer with the printer of the partner firms. This cooperation between the company helps to create value that the customers can have the bundle of products and get the value create from the cooperation. Lock-In In the Apple online store, it provides many services that create value for the customers. For the customers who have purchased in the Apple online store, they will receive the email about the latest news about the store, which is about the latest products, latest software download or some news about the company. When the customers can see the email regularly, they will be locked in with the company. And the email have the link for the customers to know more further information about the new, which make some potential purchasing for the company. Also, personalization for the customers appears in the Apple online store. After the first transaction between the customer and Apple store, the customer can turn the one click ordering function in the website with entering the credit card and personal information in the website. The customer is then allowed to purchase anything on the Apple Store with single click on the website (Apple Store, 2010). This personalization service for the customers let them to purchase in the website easier and increase the sales of the Apple Store. Conclusion In conclusion, Apple Store is one of the best electronic business website. In the evaluation, we can see the website quality of Apple Store is on the top in between the competition. At the same time, it provides with values in different aspects. By the way, the web accessibility is not good enough for the use of disability. The company has to put more effort in this aspect. (3243 words) References Article in a Journal Ng, W.W., Yan, G. and Lim, E.P. (2000), Heterogeneous Product Description in Electronic Commerce. ACM SIGecom Exchanges, 1(1) Barnes, S., and Vidgen, R. (2001), An evaluation of cyber-bookshops: the WebQual method. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6(1), 11-30 Amit, R. and Zott C. (2001), Value creation in E-Business. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6-7), 493-520 Jones, C., Wllikens, M., Morris, P., and Masera, M. (2000), Trust requirements in e-business. Magazine Communications of the ACM, 12(43), 81-87 Mathur, S.S and A. Kenyon (2001), Creating Value: Successful Business Strategies, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Book Thatcher, J. (2006). Understanding Web Accessibility, Web accessibility: web standards and regulatory compliance, FriendsofED, 3 Paciello, Michael G. (2000). Introducing Web Accessibility, Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities, CMP Books, 8 Slatin, J. and Rush, S. (2003). Maximum accessibility, Addison-Wesley, New York. Phillips, P. (2003). E-business strategy: text and cases, London: McGraw-Hill. Website Apple Annual Report (2010), phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1, Accessed December 2010 Nick Spence (2010), Grand opening of Apples 300th retail store brings Covent Garden to a standstill, www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?olo=rssNewsID=3234571, Accessed December 2010 Technical Update (1997), Apple Online Store Orders Top 12 Million Dollars in First Month, www.uc.edu/ucitnow/winter_98/apple.html, Accessed December 2010 W3C (2005), Introduction to Web Accessibility, www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php, Accessed December 2010 W3C (2005), Essential Components of Web Accessibility, www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php, Accessed December 2010 Satmetrix (2010), First Direct, Sony, Saga, O2 and Apple, Among the Most Recommended Brands According to 8,000 UK Consumers, www.satmetrix.com/company/press-and-news/pr-archive/pr20100618/, Accessed December 2010 Apple Store (2010), What is 1-Click?, store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/oneclickfaq.html, Accessed December 2010

Racial Profiling is Necessary Essay -- Race Racism Prejudice Essays

In order to understand racial profiling, it must first be correctly defined. Although different authors use different criteria for the term racial profiling, Merriam-Webster’s definition for the word racial is â€Å"of, relating to, or based on a race (Merriam-Webster, 2006; p.855).† The definition the dictionary puts forth for profiling is â€Å"the act of suspecting or targeting a person solely on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior (Merriam-Webster, 2006; p.830).† Based on these definitions, racial profiling could be defined for criminal justice purposes as targeting a person based solely on the characteristic of race. Most people, law enforcement officers included, would consider racial profiling based on this definition as ethically wrong. However, a case must be made for the use of profiling based on race in some circumstances. Critics claim that racial profiling has no place within the justice system because it targets minorities who are not necessarily doing anything illegal. They argue that the evidence that shows that racial profiling as a successful tool in the law enforcement arsenal is skewed, and that those targeted are actually less likely to perform illegal acts than others who are not targeted, because those who are not are less likely to get caught, while those who are targeted are much more likely to be caught in an illegal act, so they will perform less illegal activity. The evidence supporting racial profiling states that this argument is invalid because many illegal acts are cited as being done by minorities, specifically in terms of gang activity. Many people feel that racial profiling is ethically sound because in order to obtain a suspect, an officer must be looking for a person with certain chara... ...rian’s perspective and he believed that any profiling based on race is wrong (Fredrickson, 2002; p.166). Conclusion Based on these authors, as well as others, it can be effectively argued that racial profiling is not, in and of itself, an unethical practice. However, it must be used in a precise manner in order to be morally sound. This method includes using it as a tool in the investigative process and not before it has been determined that a crime has been committed. It must also be used in a specific way: to describe an individual suspect and not a group of people who are suspected of possibly committing one crime or another. The witness’s background and bias must be taken into account, and racial profiling must be done equally and without favor to one racial group. After these steps are taken into account, racial profiling cannot be considered unethical.