Apple Inc. AAPL Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Apple Inc. AAPL - Research Paper Example These are supplemented by software platforms like the OS X and iOS operating systems. Te products produced by Apple also vary over a wide range of other products. In this analysis of Apple Inc, this paper will focus on its price history and ratio analysis, which will help in determining its profitability and competitiveness in the market. The competitive position built by Apple Inc is one based on reading the market and understanding what the customer needs in regards to technology. This can be seen from the change in product lines that the company has been going through since its inception. With the advent of computers and the market for personal computers, the company started producing the Macintosh that helped take over the computer market. This changed to the production of laptops in response to the market, and currently, the company is at the forefront in producing mobile phones. The main competitor to the company’s iphone is the threat of competition from Android based phones and applications. An analysis of Apple Inc’s financial history in the last twelve months reveals that the company has had its best performance to date. In august, the stock touched a record high of $665 per share, an indicator of the market conditions that favor the company. However, the bullish market caused the stock to plummet from the august and September highs to another low, but with the regaining market, the company is expected to bounce

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Case Study Example On the other hand, a question is raised whether it is appropriate to arrest more of the criminals and hence not respect their right towards proper humane conditions by making the state prisons more congested. A more congested environment is likely to pose a number of problems related to health to the inmates. However, they are not taking the right and appropriate measures to correct the situation. They include the chair at the parole booard who knows the conditions in state prison. The main reason as to why the Advocates could be threatening the correctional with Federal lawsuits is to put pressure on them to increase the number of facilities and make the prisoners more comfortable and not exposed to poor conditions through the congested facilities. Thus, as the chair of the parole board Robert is motivated by the fact that less risk is presented with the issue of congestion as opposed to the likely chances of re-offense by the criminals who are released on parole. This is because it causes a greater chance of threats and insecurity to the larger public. However, the results of the risk assessment of the offenders also show instances of offenders being habitual criminals who are likely to engage in more criminal activities once they are released back to the society. In this case, the relaxation of standards is likely to increase the number of offenders released to the community, hence presenting great danger to the citizens. On the other hand, the incineration of most of the offenders who also include the petty offenders increases the level of congestion within the prison, thus acting as a form of violation against their rights since it presents numerous problems and risks to their lives. The situation can be corrected through the expansion of the facilities or building of more facilities to accommodate more inmates. In this case, therefore, the decision to be made by the chair of the board is to

Comparing the Mesopotamia and Egypt River Valleys Essay Example for Free

Comparing the Mesopotamia and Egypt River Valleys Essay Though Egypt and Mesopotamia were both river valleys they have a lot of differences, but some similarities. Such as they have very different social and political views while the two river valleys had a quite a bit of similarities when it came to religion. The difference between the two valleys social views were that in Egypt women were treated with respect and as equals where in Mesopotamia women were treated like property and didn’t have the same privileges as men. Both Egypt and Mesopotamia based their social culture through religion, but the Mesopotamians believed that the gods punished them for their wrong doings and that’s why the river flooded unpredictably giving them a pessimistic view of the gods and eternal life. The people of Egypt didn’t fear the gods because the world was always good to them by the river always flooding at the same time of year helping the soil be good for their agriculture which gave them a more cheerful and hopeful outlook of the world and the gods they worshiped. The main difference between the two valleys socially were that in Egypt it was more of a positive and well being environment, while in Mesopotamia the atmosphere was very unequal between genders and they were never happy because the gods were never happy with them. Egypt and Mesopotamia had different ways of politics since Mesopotamia was a democracy it had a king who claimed to be patron deity and who controlled the affairs of the walled city and surrounding rural area. In Egypt they had a centralized government which means the pharaoh was treated like a king, but everyone below him was fairly equal (even the women, though they were still slightly below the men). The main difference between the two valleys politically is that Mesopotamia had a king that made the rules and was the one in charge of everything while in Egypt the Pharaoh was like a king except the people below him had a voice and were treated more equally. Religion is very similar in Mesopotamia and Egypt by both being polytheistic and the fact that the king/Pharaoh was supposively the closest to god in the valley, the king/Pharaoh would have many sacrifices when something bad happened. They also had animism and used carvings, drawings, and statues to show their beliefs towards the gods. And though their gods were not the same the views of the afterlife and beliefs were very similar. The main similarities between the two valleys religion was they’re both polytheistic and that their beliefs were very similar towards the gods and the afterlife. In conclusion the two main differences were social and political views when it came to gender equality, classes (rank), and the way the gods treated the people. The main similarity was religion in the way they showed their beliefs in gods and what would happen when they do wrong things and when they die.

What is cross cultural marketing?

What is cross cultural marketing? INTRODUCTION: CROSS CULTURAL MARKETING: Cross cultural marketing is a marketing done with two or more different cultures i.e. it is done internationally on a personal level, which means when planning marketing campaigns and media cultural differences are taken into consideration, understanding the need for maintaining the balance between Globalization and Localization and last but not the least Implementation of the strategies that are required to respect the differences while unifying of brand messages are taken into consideration. Cross Cultural Marketing is a research that takes place across the cultural groups or nations. Due to Globalization and International marketing, Cross Cultural Marketing has become very important. The nature of the Research is also becoming highly diverse. According to International view, to determine the degrees of adaption, competitive advantage and attractiveness of the markets the information of marked is used. GREET HOFSTEDE THEORY: Greet Hofstedes Cultural Theory has described National Cultures. This research was firstly conducted between 64 countries to identify the national culture differences across subsidiaries of multinational firms (IBM). There were many other research conducted such as: elites of 19 countries, studies of students of 23 countries, up-market consumers of 15 countries and commercial airline pilots in 23 countries. All the above studies together identified four cultural dimensions and the fifth one was added later on. The nature of all the managerial skills depends specifically on their culture. It is not necessary that a management philosophy or technique is going to be same as another. Culture is said to be a conflict source rather than synergy and cultural difference can be disastrous and often nuisance at its best level. There are Five Cultural Dimensions in Hofstede Cultural Dimensions, they are: Power Distance Index(PDI) Individualism(IDV) Masculinity(MAS) Uncertainty Avoidance Index(UAI) Long Term Orientation(LTO) 1) Power Distance Index: It is an extent to which the members who are less powerful in the organisation think that the distributions of the power amongst them are unequal. It defines inequality but it is defined from below and not from above (more vs. less). It says that the level of inequality in society is advised by the followers as much as by the leaders. The power on Inequality are of course includes in the extremely facts of any society. The awareness of societal inequality is there in anybody having some International experience, but some of them are more unequal than others. 2) Individualism: Individualism is a degree in which ‘Individualism is on one side vs. the opposite side ‘collectivism; on the individualistic side individual are collected into groups and we can find the societies in which the co operation between the individuals are loose, everyone is for himself/herself and his/her family. On the other hand Collectivism, we can find the societies in which Individuals are in groups but having great co operation amongst them, these families include grandparents, uncles and aunties, which protect them in exchanging unquestioning loyalties. This dimension is addressed to all the societies of the world and is extremely fundamental. 3) Masculinity: Masculinity has femininity on its opposite side (Masculinity vs. Femininity). Another fundamental issue on any society in the world is the distribution of roles between the genders of the society. According to IBM studies, the value of mens differing more than the value of womans in the society. The value of mens from one country to another containing the dimensions are assertive, competitive and maximal to the value of the women on one side to modest, caring and similar to the value of womens on the other hand. The assertive pole is said to be ‘Masculine. There is a gap between the mens value and womens value in masculine countries as they are competitive and assertive. 4) Uncertainty Avoidance Index: The societies of Uncertainity and ambiguity are tolerated by the ‘Uncertainty avoidance index. It refers to the search of truth by mans. It refers till what extent a culture program is comfortable or uncomfortable to its member in a situation which is unstructured such as surprising, novel and unusual. In the countries avoiding uncertainty peoples are emotional and inner nervous energy motivate them a lot. Countries avoiding uncertainty minimises such situation by applying strict rules and laws, safety and security measures and the opposite countries accepting uncertainty have few rules and are relativist on religious and philosophical level, and avoid their environment to accept emotion. 5) Long term orientation: It has Short term orientation on its opposite side, in this dimention the students of 23 countries were taken into consideration and a study was been done by way of questionnaire framed by Chinese scholar. It was not on the basis of truth. In Long term orientation the values are on the basis of frugality steadfastness and in short term orientation there was traditional respect, fulfilling social obligations. The techniques of Confucius found both the negative and positive v alues of the dimensions. This dimention is also applied on the country without a Confucian heritage. Those who are engaged in International Business, Sometimes it is amazing to know how different peoples behave in other cultures. We Human tend to have a feeling that all the peoples are same, but it is not like that. Therefore if somebody goes to some other country to make decisions and is going to make decisions same like he used to take in his own country, then it is sure that he is going to take some very bad decisions. Hofstedes research gives us some knowledge about other cultures so that if we are going to some other country, we should be more effective   interacting with peoples in that country. If the information of Hofstedes research is applied properly than it should reduce the level of anxiety, concern and frustration. Most importantly this theory will give an Understanding edge which results to more successful results. Apart from all this there are several drawbacks of applying Hofstedes Theory they are: Firstly the individuals of a country are not related to the averages of that country. Even if this model of theory is said to be correct when it is applied to a general population, one has to be aware that all the regions or even individual will not fit in the mould. It can be used as a reference guide to understand the cultural difference of different countries, but not as a law, as it is known that there are always some exceptions to any rule. Secondly, what is the accuracy of the data? The data is collected by the form of Questionnaires and it has its own limitations. In some cultures the content of the questions asked are more important than the context of the questions asked. If the group oriented cultures are taken into considerations than the individual might can answer as if it is addressed to the group in which he or she is. And Thirdly Are the data that has been collected is up to date? As there are many internal and external factors by which the culture of the country change over times. TROMPENAARS THEORY OF CULTURAL DIMENSIONS: Trompenaars theory was invented by a Dutch author named ‘FONS TROMPENAARS. This model was invented to explain the national cultural differences in the organisation and to show that it is a major challenge for international managers to manage this differences in this incongruous world. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner took ten years to   gather data. Over 15000 managers in 28 countries were sent the questionnaire and 500 usable response was received per country. This helped them to differentiate national cultures. They introduced seven cultural dimensions, they are: Universalism vs. Pluralism Individualism vs. Communitarisnism Specific vs. defuse Affectivity vs. Neutrality Inner direct and outer direct Achieved status vs. Ascribed status Sequential time vs. synchronic time 1) Universalism vs. Particularism: This is based on the question â€Å"Rules are more important or relationships†? A culture assigns the degree of importance either to personal relations or to the law. In universalism peoples think that values, standards and general rules are based on the needs of friends and other relationships and in Particularism friendships and other relations are the terms people think as culture and the rules are on the basis of how peoples are related to each other. 2) Individualism vs. Communitarianism: It is based on the question that â€Å"functions that are done by us are on the basis of groups or Individuals†? This means that the peoples are functioning more as individually or in community. In Individualism, Individual are placed in front of community by the peoples and people think that if the individual is happy or fulfilled then they are happy and fulfilled and they themselves take care of their own. In Communitarianism community is placed in front of Individual, hense it is the responsibility of the individual to act in such a way that serve the society. 3) Specific vs. defuse: It is based on a question that â€Å"how far we get involved†? It shows that the responsibility is assigned specifically or accepted defusely. The elements are analysed individually first and then put together in Specific culture and accordingly the lives of the peoples are divided. People concentrates on hard facts, contracts and standards and in Defuse culture all individual elements are related to each other. The Individual elements are given less importance than the relationships between the elements. 4) Affectivity vs. Neutrality: is based on â€Å"Are we displaying our emotions†? In Affectivity people dont feels to hide their feelings, they prefer to show their emotions and on the other side peoples dont posses to show their feelings and they controls their emotions. 5) Inner direct and outer direct: It is based on â€Å"Are we controlling our environment or we are working with it†? This is a degree in which Individual beleaves that they can control the environment or environment is controlling them. In Inner Direct culture peoples believe that Human can control nature if he/she makes an effort to do that even if it is complex. In Outer direct culture peoples believe to live in Harmony with nature as they have an organic view of nature. 6) Achieved status vs. Ascribed status: It is a degree in which Individuals have to prove themselves to achieve status or it is automatically achieved. Peoples in Achieved status culture believe that they have to accomplish something to get their status and in Ascribed Status culture, peoples believe that they have their status from their birth, gender, wealth or age. 7) Sequential time vs. synchronic time: It is a degree with Individual think in one at a time vs. Individual thinking several things at a time. In a sequential culture people think that time is sequential and the do one thing at a time and in Synchronic culture peoples believe that time is flexible and do several things at a time. (http://www.provenmodels.com/580/seven-dimensions-of-culture/charles-hampden-turnerfons-trompenaars/) COMPARISION OF GREET HOFSTEDE THEORY AND TROMPENAARS THEORY OF CULTURAL DIMENSIONS: Of the seven dimensions of Trompenaars Theory two dimentions of Hofstede Theory are closely reflected. Firstly Trompenaars Communitarianism vs. Individualism value orientation seems to be closely identical to the Individualism value orientation of Hofstede theory and secondly Trompenaars Achieved status vs. Ascribed status appears to be linked with Hofstedes Power Distance Index, If one accepts that Nature has done compromise with Status and not achievement than it shows that it has more willingness to accept power distance. This does not completely matches as Hofstedes power index in not dealing only on how according of status is been done but also how power distance is accorded within the society which is not at all covered by Trompenaars Theory. Trompenaars other dimentions such as Affectivityvs. Neutrality which says that feelings are expressed openly can be compared with Hofstedes Masculinity dimension as it focuses highly on some effects of value dimensions as Trompenaars dimension is not a value aspects but behavioural aspect in itself. The Universalism vs. Particularism which does not trust relationships and is preferring roles can determine meaning as a part of Hofstedes Uncertainty Avoidance Index on one hand and Individualism on the other hand. The Specific vs. defuse dimention of Trompenaars Theory cannot be compared to Hopsteades Theory as there are no links between them. CLASSIFICATION OF THE COUNTRIES ACCORDING TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CONSISTANCY: According to an examination that was done and several countries of the world were taking into consideration, It explains that according to both Hofstedes and Trompenaars Theory   the countries like Japan and India are relatively weaker, while UK, USA and Denmark are relatively Egocentric. There are several other countries such as Greece, Spain and Maxico which are more Egostical according to Trompenaars than Hofstedes theory and the differences cannot be explained wholly. According to Hodgetts and Luthans(2000) they feels that the differences can be due to differ in time frames of both the studies which indicates that change of culture has taken place. On the other hand it indicates that Hofstedes theory is becoming out-dated. Let us take an example of Mexico, its consolidation into Global Economy may be moving away from communitarian value. Cultures does not remains same, they changes as time changes. It is not like todays characterization would be same as it was in 1960s or 70s. The interesting point to note is that the countries such as Hungary and Russia are relatively egoistic despite of their communist past. Trompenaars also extended his research by examine the different cultures according to their nationalities, for this he introduced a new dimension: equality vs. hierarchy, in Hierarchy culture the leader has full authority and is having the best knowledge, this dimension is related with Power Distance dimension of Hofstedes theory. There are some more similarities in both the theories such as: UK and North America are relatively egoistic according to   Trompenaars theory and are relatively low according to the power distance dimension of Hofstedes theory. The countries such as Spain and France are said to be less egalitarian and high in power distance dimension on Hofstedes theory. According to Trompenaars German Culture is hierarchical, but Hofstede says that Germany is relatively low according to power distance. These were some of the countries classified by both the theories according to their respective consistency. (www1.ximb.ac.in//Hofstede%20and%20Trompenaars%20compared) TROMPENAARS DIMENTIONS IN INDIA: Indians believe that they are controlled by the environment, so they strongly accept this point, They are concerned how application of ideas and practices should be done. People in India believe that they are a part of a group, as it is a multicultural country; Indians have respect for their religion and are strongly into family values and traditions. Indians displays their affection neutrally, but they shows assertiveness which is allowed to them. They are always non-violent that is what is thought to them from starting. The size of both Public and Private Spaces are same. The people of India Takes care of their Public spaces as entry to their Public spaces can make entries to their private spaces. Most of the Indians are value ascriptions as they believe in their caste system. Their status title depends on their professional titles, their degrees and age. Friendship is given more importance.

Human Rights In Tibet :: Human Rights Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1949, newly communist China sent 35,000 troops to invade Tibet (Tibet Support Group UK 1). The year after that a treaty was made. The treaty acknowledged sovereignty over Tibet, but recognized the Tibetan government’s autonomy with respect to internal affairs. The Chinese violated the treaty on many occasions, though. This lead to the National Uprising in 1959, and after that, the exile of the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet, and many governmental leaders (Office of Tibet 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During and after the Chinese invasion of Tibet, there was mass destruction of Tibetan buildings. Over 6,000 monasteries, temples and other cultural and historic buildings were destroyed. The contents of the thousands of buildings destroyed was taken back to China and sold (Office of Tibet 3). The Tibetan people tried to rebuild their country, but the political leader who tried to start the â€Å"recuperation† policy was forced to resign from office shortly after (Office of Tibet 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the National Uprising alone 87,000 Tibetans were killed. Another 430,000 died in the fifteen years of guerilla warfare that followed. Sources also say that up to 260,000 have died in prisons and in labour camps (Tibet Support Group UK 3). Also, 200 unarmed civilians were killed during non-violent protests between 1987 and 1989. Overall 1,200,000 Tibetans have died since 1959. That is roughly one fifth of the population of Tibet (Office of Tibet 1). That does not include all of the deaths of Tibetans during the Chinese invasion, and all of those who froze to death trying to flee Tibet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Tibetan people who survived the killing were denied what most consider primal freedoms. One of which is freedom of religion. Tibetan religious practice was forcibly suppressed until 1979 (Tibet Support Group UK 4). Also, in early 1989, Chinese authorities undertook a campaign to tighten control over religious practice. This campaign intensified the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement (Churchward 1). The campaign affected Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Buddhists. Another religious suppression on the part of the Chinese is that they have banned public celebrations of Tibet’s Great Prayer Festival because China believed that it would lead to nationalist demonstrations (Churchward 2). Now all Tibetan churches, mosques, and temples must be registered, and to do so, they must meet official standards (Churchward 1). Also, the only people permitted to perform religious duties, according to Document #19, are those who after examination are deemed †Å"politically reliable, patriotic, and law-abiding† (Churchward 3).

Reasons to Learn CPR Essay -- essays research papers

Have you ever thought about what you would do if a family member suddenly stopped breathing? Imagine that you grow up in a small town, the population is 700 people, and one morning you wake up and everyone in the town is dead. On any given day 670 people die of sudden cardiac arrest. Could it be a loved one, someone you care deeply for, or just a complete stranger? The chances are that someone in your family is going to die of sudden cardiac arrest in your lifetime. On average it takes an ambulance no less than seven minutes to reach someone in need, therefore, every adult should know how to administer CPR. Brain death starts to occur four to six minutes after someone is attacked with cardiac arrest, so you should immediately begin with assessing the victim?s airway. You should start out by shaking and shouting at the victim to check his or her level of responsiveness. If the patient does not respond, you should then call 9-1-1. After placing the call, bare the victim?s chest of all clothing and open his or her airway. To open to victim?s airway, you should use the head-ti...

Theories of Early Learning

This paper consists of early theories of learning and development. It starts out with the basics of learning and development and ends with the theories of a few scientists. The first theory is ACT, introduced by John Anderson. ACT is an acronym for Adaptive Character of Thought. The second theory is The Elaboration Theory, introduced by Charles Reigeluth. Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology appears in this paper, along with the Gestalt Theory, introduced by Max Wertheimer. B. F Skinner’s well known Operant Conditioning is covered. Lastly, but not least, is Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. All of these theories are different, and shows how each individual scientist believes the children in their community learned and developed. Theories of Early Learning People may learn in many different ways. Many scientists have their own thoughts of how children learn, develop, and perceive the world around them. There are a few basic principles to learning that most people and scientists would agree on, though. The first is that a person can learn through the context of what he or she is reading or experiencing (Driscoll, 2006). When a person reads a sentence by itself, it may not make as much sense as it would if it had other sentences around it or if the person knew background information. People will try to make sense of such sentences with other experiences in their lives or understandings they have made about something else that could pertain to the sentence they just read. The conclusions they come up with could be completely different from the true meaning of the sentence. People need other information to make sense of what they are reading and learn what they should be learning. The second principle is that people learn by being active in what they are learning. If a person tells a child something, the child will most likely forget it. If a person shows a child something, the child is more likely to remember it. If a person involves a child, however, the child will understand it (Driscoll, 2006). The third principle is that people learn by working in groups. It tends to be easier for a child to work through something if that child has someone else’s perspective. Different strengths can be brought to the activity because each child has a different point of view and a different thought about what is happening with the activity. The fourth and final principle is that learning is reflective. Students do better the second time a situation is revealed to them if they get feedback from the first time they encountered the situation. If students know they spelled a word wrong on a spelling test, they most likely will not repeat the same mistake (Driscoll, 2006). Scientists have been studying the way they believe children and students learn. A scientist named John Anderson introduced ACT (Kearsley, 2011). ACT suggests that learning comes from three types of memory. The declarative memory stores information that is factual and what the child associated with that information. The procedural memory reminds children of how they behaved to the conditions or actions that they have stored in the declarative memory. The child’s mind thinks that if something happens, there is something specific to be done because of what happened. The working memory is the memory that the child uses every day. In this learning theory, children are generalized, making them use the responses in their procedural memory in other events or experiences. The responses are discriminated, to make them more specialized. The responses are later strengthened, to make it easier for the child to recall them. Research shows that facts are retrieved more easily and quickly if the responses are repeated many times (Cooper, 2009). A scientist known as Charles Reigeluth introduced The Elaboration Theory (Kearsley, 2011). The Elaboration Theory suggests that a child most easily learns a subject if the subject is broken down into smaller subjects that are less complex. This theory suggests that a person must teach a child to add before the child can be taught to multiply because the child must understand that multiplication is adding numerous times. The Elaboration Theory is a step-by-step process (University of South Alabama, 2009). Jean Piaget is a scientist who introduced Genetic Epistemology (Kearsley, 2011). Genetic Epistemology suggests that an infant has specific skills, known as schemas, which guide the child through the child’s environment. An example of a schema is that children know how to pick up their rattle and stick it to their mouth. When a child finds a parent’s watch, that child will transfer the schema to the new object. This is assimilation. When the child finds something too large to fit inside the child’s mouth it will develop a new schema. This is called accommodation. All these actions put together signify adaptation. When a child can adapt to its environment, it is easier for the child to understand it (Boeree, 2006). The next theory is the Gestalt Theory, introduced by Max Wertheimer (Kearsley, 2011). The Gestalt Theory revolves around shapes, patterns, and whole pictures. Wertheimer believed that for people to learn, they must use their brain intensely. He made pictures that were actually two pictures meshed into one. It made the brain of the person look more deeply into the picture to find each picture inside. These activities made it easier for children to problem solve in school (Atherton, 2010). B. F. Skinner introduced Operant Conditioning (Kearsley, 2011). Skinner believed that everything a person learned was from experience. Skinner thought that he could change the way a baby reacted to a rat, and it worked. He showed the baby a rat. The baby played with the rat and did not fear it. When Skinner gave the baby the rat a second time, he produced a loud noise that startled the baby. When Skinner showed the baby the rat once more, the baby was scared of it because the baby had associated the rat with the noise that startled him (Levine, 1999). Albert Bandura proposed the Social Learning Theory (Kearsley, 2011). Bandura thought children learned by observing, imitating, and modeling what other children do. He tested his theory by placing a child in a room alone, with toys and games in the room. He told the child he could play with anything that was in there. When he left the child did not move. Later he sent another child in the room. That child began to play with the toys and the games. When the second child left, the first child began to play with the toys. The first child observed the second, and then imitated his actions (Learning Theories, 2008). Many people have different ideas and perspectives about how people learn, develop, and behave. Everyone is involved with other people. Everyone spends time observing other people. People develop their own thoughts as to why the human race acts the way it does. All these theories are common because they all suggest that people’s environment, peers, and resources are the main contributions to how they learn and understand what is going on around them. References http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-3/learn.htmSocial Learning Theory (Bandura)