Value Based Theory & Competitive Advantage

To remain competitive in the 21st century there are key pillars that an organization needs in order to be a leader in their industry and will enable it to value the needs for their customers globally. These pillars include an effective management style, diversity management and business ethics. These key pillars with a strong organizational culture will enable an organization to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. In order to be successful in the 21st century market, an organization must be able to identify and adapt to these pillars.How these pillars are connected to competitive advantage is what this paper is about. Measuring the values for these pillars will allow an organization to work in different cultural environments and come out strong and successful. They will enable a company to gain a competitive advantage in the global market. These pillars will be represented within a 100 year old corporation that has changed in order to adapt to the 21st century market United Parcel Service, UPS. Introduction: Competitive advantage is something that we hear everyone talking about nowadays.From our CEO’S, teachers, managers, community leaders, small business owners, students, and people who are thinking of embarking in the world of entrepreneurship. The first thing we need to define is what exactly competitive advantage is and why is it so important in today’s world, the 21st century. Competitive advantage is â€Å"the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than they do† (Jones & George, 2010 p. 22).Knowing the definition of competitive advantage is not sufficient for managers to be able to apply a market based value driven management strategy. The authors intend to give the readers an overview of the key pillars that are necessary to develop and maintain competitive advantage globally within organizations. The key pillars tha t every organization must incorporate are a successful management style, diversity management, business ethics and a strong organizational culture that will facilitate competitiveness in today’s global environment.Gable and Ellig (1993) introduced a new approach for businesses to coordinate the different decisions and the amounts of information managers are faced with everyday. They called the new approach â€Å"Market Based Management†. Gable and Ellig (1993) believed that in order to understand an organization and have it compete at an advantage in today’s market they have to let it act as a free society and apply the market principals. Otherwise they will â€Å"find themselves distant competitors to firm that do† (Gable & Ellig, 1993, p. ). In order to apply the market based principals every organization needs to evaluate the eight facets of value driven management (Pohlman, 1997). Pohlman (1997) basically summarizes the theory by stating what is value d is what will ultimately drive actions. In the transportation and logistics industry the customers are one of the main direct forces from the ever changing and evolving task environment in which managers are faced with day in and day out.The reason that customers are one of the main forces is because it is the customers that end up influencing the decisions, strategies, missions, purpose and values of the corporations in the 21st century. The authors must first define what customers are because customer satisfaction is the main goal of any organization that is in business. â€Å"Customers are the individuals and groups that buy the goods and services an organization produces. † (Jones & George, 2010, p. 186). Customers in the transportation and logistics industry demand delivery of their products in the fastest and most economical way possible without suffering any damage.We will examine UPS in each of the main pillars (management, diversity, ethics, culture and global inter action). Organizations and managers must analyze forces in the general environment on an ongoing basis. Organizational planning and the decision making that goes into planning are constantly affected by all types of forces in the general environment. Political and legal forces are the results of the changes that occur from new laws and regulations that affect the ways organizations structure their business model (Jones & George, 2011).Laws are an extension of ethical conduct and practices such as workplace safety and discrimination such as Title V11 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, color. As well, in 1997 the federal government issued guidelines for accommodating individuals’ rights to religious worship in federal buildings in the â€Å"The White House Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Expression in the Federal Workplace† (Jones & George, 2011).UPS has standardized rules and procedu res that are formalized in their Code of Business Conduct which addresses legal and ethical issues and states the company’s values and management philosophies. Since UPS is a global organization, political forces from the general environment such as deregulation and the decline of trade barriers provides the company with increased business opportunities (Jones & George, 2011). These factors also provide challenges for UPS because they must be ever vigilant while operating globally to be sure that their ethical corporate values are being enforced while conducting business outside of the United States.As a global corporation, â€Å"UPS recognizes that it plays a role in acknowledging basic human rights in accordance with our high standards for the treatment of our people† (UPS, 2004). Organizational Culture Organizational culture is defined as â€Å"the shares set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms and work routines that influence the ways in which individuals, gro ups and teams interact with one another and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. † (Jones & George, 2010, p. 684). UPS creates a corporate culture that fosters an environment of innovation. Innovation is crucial for attaining competitive advantage for companies. Innovation versus imitation motivates companies to launch new products and become pioneers on markets† (Jimenez & Sanz-Valle, 2011). The leadership at UPS understands that to use the imitation model of organizational culture can hold back their employee’s creative growth potential. This can affect the company place in the market since they will always be following the market leaders for an opportunity to bring the next great idea to market.In the Market-Based management this principle is under â€Å"Rules that Promote Prosperity† (Gable & Ellig, 1993). There are direct links between an organizational culture and the employee’s attitude towards changes in employees work environment. â₠¬Å"The change within an organization takes place in response to business and economic events and to the processes of managerial perception, choice, and actions† (Pettigrew, 1985). Corporations must be able to adapt to change in regards to their management style.The ability for corporations to adapt to both their internal and external forces will help them remain competitive in the 21st century (Jones & George, 2010) Research conducted in companies in Malaysia, concluded that â€Å"The change process in each organization is unique in each situation, due to the differences in the nature of the organization, the nature of the business, the work culture and values,†¦and also the behavior and attitude of the employees† (Rashid, Sambasivan, & Rahman, June 2008).The study exams the links between an organization’s ability to change in regard to the changing markets and demands of their industries, and how employees and manager attitudes toward rapid changes in marke tplace can affect the success or failure of change. The researchers in this article show that companies that fail to be fluid in implementing change will have a disadvantage compared with companies that adopt changes more quickly. What should be the concept of organizational culture and climate that UPS is to use to operate in the 21st century? In terms of the basic assumptions, values and beliefs, it is the culture of an organization which dictates the expected employee behavior permits to form a compatible work environment, namely, the organizational climate† (Yahyagil, 2006). Management Behavioral management is defined as â€Å"the study of how managers should personally behave to motivate employees and encourage them to perform at high levels and be committed to achieving organizational goals† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 56).Founded by management scholar Mary Parker Follett, â€Å"†¦ was concerned that management theorists of her time were ignoring â€Å"the hu man side of the organization† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 56). â€Å"She pointed out that management often overlooks the multitude of ways in which employees can contribute to the organization when managers allow them to participate and exercise initiative in their everyday work lives† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 56). â€Å"Follett took a horizontal view of power and authority†¦Ã¢â‚¬  verses the traditional vertical chain of command of her contemporaries (Jones & George, 2010, p. 6). By empowering employees UPS managers can give employees the autonomy to make decisions. In this approach managers serve the organization more efficiently because they can spend their time mentoring and guiding employees, and also gaining insight into worker’s knowledge that assists managers with their primary functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Diversity What does valuing diversity have to do with a corporation’s ability to obtaining a competitive a dvantage over its competitors?In order for an organization to create customer and employee values that maximize value over time, the organization first needs to understand employee diversity management (EDM) and how diversity and management will play a role in obtaining a competitive advantage against the competition. â€Å"Treven and Muley (2007) highlight the impact of EDM on competitive advantage and the innovativeness of employees as an outcome to EDM. In other words, by managing diverse employees effectively and efficiently an organization will gain innovation from employees and in turn the corporation will gain a competitive advantage.The findings within their research â€Å"suggests that the organizations that manage employee diversity effectively may gain competitive advantage† (Treven and Mulej, 2007, p 144)† (Olivares , 2011). The positive short term and long term impact that an organization can obtain by effectively managing their diverse workgroups is †Å"Effective EDM can cause lower costs and improved employee attitudes, recruiting efforts, increased sales, market share and corporate profits, increased group problem solving as well as innovation and creativity† (Treven & Mulej ,2007, p. 50). How can EDM lower organizational cost and improve employee attitudes? Treven and Mulej (2007) state that diverse employee feel less inclined to make decisions and are not as satisfied with their careers. This is based on their psychological commitment to the organization they are currently working in because they are different from their co-workers or peers. Based on this alone we can see how a minority employee can suffer a decrease in innovation if not managed properly.Given that most decisions are made by small groups of people working together, Holman, Knippenberg, Kleef and Dreu (2007) it is necessary for organizations to rely on cross-functional work groups in order for them to achieve and stimulate innovation as well as solve pro blems to make the right decisions. Holman et al. (2007) was able to show that work groups with diversity fault lines are still able to effectively use their informational diversity if they believe in the value of diversity. Having a work group with pro-diversity beliefs will in fact provide the organizations with a competitive advantage.This will resonant in the organizations short and long term plans (Olivares, 2011). They were able to â€Å"find a significant main effect of diversity belief’s indicating that groups with pro-diversity belief’s performed better than did groups with pro-similarity beliefs† (Holman et al. , 2007, p. 1193 ) in terms of performance. This demonstrates that we must evaluate the employee’s values to be sure that we manage diversity effectively and take into account the significance the pro-diversity beliefs have on the outcome of our employees.If you have a diverse work group and ineffective EDM that does not value employees you will not be able to create innovative nor will creativity, and that creates a negative attitude among the employees. The lack of EDM would be a value destroyer, â€Å"the major reasons given for value destroyers in organizations were a bad attitude or very poor system† (Pohlman, 1997, p. 9). What are some steps that can be taken in order to make sure that organizations value diversity and therefore maximize value over time? Jones and George (2010) summarize effective diversity management into three steps.The first step is to â€Å"secure top management commitment† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164). Without the buy-in of the top leaders of the organization incorporating effective diversity management would be unsuccessful. â€Å"Top managers need to develop the correct ethical values and performance- or business-oriented attitudes that allow them to make appropriate use of their human resource† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164). The second step is â€Å"strive to inc rease the accuracy of perceptions† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164).Managers need to be open to different views and different perspectives and encourage the same among the entire workgroup (Jones & George, 2010). It is also important for the mangers to not be judgmental of the person and also be willing to change their views about the person, issue or event that is taking place. The last step is to â€Å"increase diversity awareness† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 164). Most people view other people from their own perspective but the organizations should make sure they have some type of â€Å"diversity awareness programs† (Jones & George, 2010, p. 64) in order for the employees to appreciate diversity. A clear example of one way UPS is increasing diversity awareness is through a program called Urban Internship Program. â€Å"The program has been around since the 60’s. The program takes managers in the upper level and some middle level managers out of their usual habitats for a month and sends them to work in communities where they might serve meals to the homeless, help rid communities of ghetto and drugs, help migrant farm workers build temporary houses and schools, or teach teachers to manage a classroom† (Filipczak, 1992).The mangers are drafted and there is no option of saying â€Å"no† to this program. â€Å"The rationale behind it all is simple. Being aware of an issue is not the same as knowing about it, and knowing about it is not the same as doing something about it† (Filipczak, 1992 p. 43) Olivares (2010). That is an example of a program that can be implemented in order to increase diversity awareness, therefore maximize employee value and in turn maximize customer values over time. Business EthicsEthical practices in organizations unquestionably add value and enable corporations to build a competitive advantage. The theory behind Market-Based Management is that the principles of a free and democratic society where people live work and thrive without unnecessary government restriction apply not only to society but to businesses as well (Gable & Ellig, 1993). In successful companies like UPS, strong corporate values and ethics are the underpinning of an effective business model.Scott Davis, chairman and CEO of UPS states, â€Å"UPS’s strong reputation for ethical behavior has enabled us to attract and retain the best people and loyal customers; it has opened doors for us in new and emerging global markets, and allowed us to transform our business to meet changing customer needs. As we continue to seek ways to open doors in new and emerging global markets, our commitment to integrity will allow us to do so† (UPS, 2004). UPS utilizes market based practices in its business model by empowering employees through extensive training and its policies and procedures.UPS develops employee’s careers and promotes from within by emphasizing that employees must continually seek out positions with greater responsibility (UPS, 2004). In addition, UPS creates vested interest in the company by employees since if offers stock ownership. As a business strategy and value adder over time, UPS believes that if it provides excellent employment opportunities and an excellent work environment for its employees, they will in turn provide excellent quality customer service and value to end users.UPS is viewed as an industry leader in ethical business practices, business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Strong corporate ethics have profoundly affected UPS’s ability to compete and excel in the transportation and logistics industry. Value Management theory states that what is valued drives action (Pohlman, 1997). UPS values its employees, which it treats like its customers. This is demonstrated through its ethical corporate structure. One of the business strategies employed by UPS is that they recruit talent with diversity in mind.According to Armstrong, et al. (2010) diversity and equality management systems seek out employees to fill talent deficits with employees that are more similar to customers and who can better communicate and relate to the needs of the customer base. This type of strategic human resource management is associated with higher business performance and added value over time. UPS does not hire simply to fill quotas but because it is the right thing to do, not only from both an ethical and moral imperative, but also a business driver.Market-based management practices dictate that moral decisions are not at odds with profitability rather doing what is right â€Å"enhances profitability over the long term† (Gable & Ellig, 1993). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have become widely used as strategies for organizations to demonstrate their business ethics. These programs can be costly and it is questionable as to their overall impact on creating competitive advantage for the company. There are three drivers for CSR in most corporations: compliance to prevailing laws to avoid legal problems, ethical convictions and a reduction in waste and increase in profitability.Even though CSR programs can be costly if stakeholders, like the public, feel that they are not being served by the way the organization conducts business sales generally suffer. UPS uses CSR programs such as the previously mentioned Community Internship Program (CIP) where managers spend four weeks with a non-profit agency in rural or urban areas in an effort to improve conditions in those areas, and to gain insight into â€Å"walking a mile in another man’s moccasins†. Market-based management shows that pro-social behavior benefits society as a whole as well as the bottom line of an organization.Trustworthiness is a source for competitive advantage in organizations and its link to wealth creation over time. If the organization’s leaders generate an environment of trust the following occurs; high er employee commitment, better interpersonal relationships between employees and management, a stronger â€Å"social contract† or connection between the employee and the organization and a more positive view of human resource policies and procedures (Caldwell & Hansen, 2010).Consequently, the employee bring â€Å"energy, passion and excitement† to his/her role that affect what the person is willing to contribute to the organization and this becomes an enormous source for competitive advantage and value over time (Caldwell & Hansen, 2010). Market-based management states that â€Å"a culture of genuine humility and honesty must be established in order to achieve organizational learning and profitability (Gable & Ellig, 1993).UPS’s mission statement includes principles that promote honesty and fairness through strong corporate leadership that are driven by honest relationships and ethical decision making. The mission of business in a market based society is profit . The business outcome in a capitalistic society is that both the business and the stakeholder benefit from the system. Because there is a power differential between the organization and the stakeholder there is always a chance for an abuse of power. This is where the importance of ethics comes in.Since the stakeholders (employees, customers, stockholders, the community, etc. ) are directly impacted either beneficially or negatively by the actions of the company, it is crucial that business ethics are in place and operational to reduce harm and maximize business objectives. Robin (2008) states â€Å"that business should treat each stakeholder group as if they were partners in the success of the firm†. In other words, what benefits the stakeholder creates value and benefits the business.This ties into Market-based management because when businesses practice â€Å"adherence to commonly acknowledged business ethics (it) makes us all wealthier by reducing the amount of resources we have to devote to contract negotiation and enforcement† (Gable & Ellig, 1993, p. 21). UPS follows a strict adherence to formalized codes of behavior and procedures to ensure business goal are being met while fair and ethical standard are being practiced. Boesso and Michelon (2010) studied the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance of corporations.The research indicates that CSR must be strategic in order to result in the greatest gain for business and generate value over time. Companies which focus on a few core issues rather than hundreds of more generic issues find better success in competitive advantage and better benefit to society as a whole. Furthermore, the research indicates that increased competitive performance and outcome can also be measured by items other than financial performance. Productivity, innovativeness and human capital are also indicators of competitive advantage and value over time.As well, the researchers point out that part of the economic value of CSR and stakeholder management is that it brings companies and society together because of the value generated for all parties. The underpinning of market-based management is that it recognizes that the market system is designed to enable groups of people to achieve superior results when working together that are exponentially greater than could be achieved if they were working separately. Organizations like UPS have a â€Å"big picture† view of CSR as a value-adder and utilize best practices that benefit the organization and ultimately society as a whole.Ethical management alone does not guarantee success for a company. Ethical corporate values and practices are but one element of an entire set of practices that lead to competitive advantage and success. Empowering employees through market-based management techniques and a strong commitment to employee development is a fundamental value driver. Ethics as a whole in business is crucial for long term value creation and sustainability for the organization. Globalization In the competitive environment of global markets, value driven management and adherence to specific requirements must be considered before entering these markets.A business management strategy, such as Value Driven Management, signifies the comprehensive success of a company over time (Pohlman, 1997). In determining long-term results, organizations must also understand the factors and driving components that are crucial to creating these opportunities in global markets (Sherwin, 2010). Through understanding political, economic, demographic, legal, and socio-cultural factors, companies can enter these markets and compete successfully against other companies (Jones & George, 2011).It is important for the companies to know â€Å"the impact of these external factors is processed and greatly affects a firm’s outputs that are the products and/or services produced and the markets targeted and penetr ated that impact the overall performance of the firm† (Sherwin, 2010, p. 66). It has been presented that for companies to create the greatest opportunity of output of good and services requirements, such as, Customer Relationship Marketing, CRM and New Product Development, NPD will be needed.When organizations move from one environment to another, decisive measures must be implemented in order for the consumer within that culture to accept the goods and services offered by the company (Ivanova & Castellano, 2011). By mean of CRM or Customer Relationship Marketing, is one of the strategies used towards incorporating Value Driven Management. This â€Å"is a philosophy that is based upon leadership perspectives regarding differentiating customers and prospects by current and future value and meeting individualized and customer needs† (Sherwin, 2010, p. 9). An example of Customer Relationship Marketing is when UPS expanded into Canada, its first global market in 1975. At fi rst, when entering this market, UPS was not given the license needed in order to drive it trucks on their highways. To meet the needs of the government and still perform deliveries for it customers, UPS decorated taxis with their company logo to transport and deliver packages in order to accommodate government regulations (United Parcel Service, 2007).To satisfy these needs or regulations of the government, it became the responsibility of top-level management or company values to create strategies and procedures in order to allocate their resources effectively (Sherwin, 2010). UPS still continues to do business in Canada today because it had gained the trust of government officials and existing customers by determining their need through their current and future value by using Customer Relationship Marketing strategies. This would not have been realized if top-level management did not comply with overall country values.It is crucial for companies to determine the owner’s valu e, or the overall company’s value and the importance of emphasizing the benefits that maximizing value over time has on an organization. â€Å"It is not to imply that other values are not equally important, but we must understand when we are working in an organization our job there is to maximize the value for the owners. When all is working well, the values of employees, customers, suppliers, third parties, and owners will be in harmony† (Pohlman, 1997, p. 21). Under these conditions, eginning with top-level management, they must strategize or develop a game plan to utilize every resource, asset, or opportunity within the company; to gain a competitive advantage over competitors within the bounds of the global market they are penetrating. For these reasons it is imperative and recommended for companies to use Customer Relationship Marketing with the values of the company to obtain a competitive advantage over time. In order for companies to succeed in the global marke t, innovating new products and services are necessary to obtain sustainable competitive advantage (de Brentani, et al. 2010). â€Å"Product innovation and the trend to globalization are two important dimensions driving business today, and a firm’s global new product development (NPD) strategy is a primary determinant of performance† (de Brentani, et al. , 2010, p. 143). One prime example of this, is in 2004, when UPS designed and introduced Quantum ViewSM Manage, this would allow for consumer who sent the package to effortlessly monitor the transportation of small parcels within the bound of their supply chains and improve services by using technological applications created by UPS (United Parcel Service, 2007).In creating this application, this allows UPS to further globalize itself by introducing innovative services such as the Quantum ViewSM Manage. In the case of UPS, initiating a new product development strategy is a crucial element towards product innovation if c ompanies are to eliminate any barrier to entry (de Brentani, et al. , 2010). To successfully implement a new product development strategy, ideas will originate from organizational culture and senior management (de Brentani, et al. , 2010).It is the environment within the company that shapes the design and direction of innovative ideas and services that will be used and incorporated into global markets. â€Å"Thus, both the strategy factors as well as certain intangibles characterizing the firm’s behavioral environment (BE) have been found to affect global NPD program outcome† (de Brentani, et al. , 2010, p. 144). Without the role of management and culture within the organization, companies will not be able to produce more economically or create value for its customers in the global market in which they are seeking to penetrate (de Brentani, et al. 2010). Conclusion In conclusion, organizations that incorporate strong and functional organizational culture, an effective management style, diversity, and ethics will sustain a competitive advantage in the 21st century only if they value the needs of their employees, customers, owners, countries, and organizations globally. Organizational culture will identify how a company will operate in the market, how they will behave in day to day operations, and how they will be able to adapt to change.Management styles empowering employees will allow them to take more initiative within their work responsibilities which will lead to increased job satisfaction. The authors recommend fro UPS to continue to have an organizational culture that provides an environment which supports the established goals of the organization. For organizations to stay competitive in the 21st century is becoming more and more essential for them to stay on top of their game Second recommendation is to incorporate an effective management style that encourages employees to have more autonomy.This will allow them to take initiatives in deci sions that need to be made within the organization. . Effectively managing employee diversity and making sure that the customer, employee, owners, organization, and external values are all in tune with each other is the mix that is needed in the 21st century in order for an organization to be competitive in today’s global environment.Third recommendation is to continue to manage diversity effectively and that will enable the group to come up with creative and innovative ideas that will put the organization first in their industry Once the key pillars are defined we need a strong business ethics to refrain from questionable practices and set standards that meet or exceed moral and legal measures. Fourth recommendation, it is important for organizational members to be responsible for maintaining a superior level of ethical behavior.Last but not least is to make sure we are valuing and adapting to the customers needs globally in order to maintain a competitive advantage in the g lobal marketplace even it means to change the organizations strategy overseas. If UPS fails to follow these key pillars that are necessary in the 21st century it can impact their global operations in both the short and long term. Our recommendation to UPS is for them to continue what they are doing and also continue to evaluate the needs of their customers, employees, owners, rganization, and countries in which they operate to remain successful in today’s globally expanding market on a quarterly base.

My Business Management and Leadership Style Essay

Management involves getting things done through other people. Leadership, at its best, means inspiring staff to achieve demanding goals. Management style is all about investigating and satisfying your employees’ motivational needs. My main management style would be democratic. This means I would listen to others opinions and take them into account, however I would still have the final decision. I am open to suggestions in the workplace and eager to change policy where necessary as a result of good suggestions. Problems and their solutions can be obtained from quality circles, which I would use in my organisation. Being mostly democratic I would use delegation. This is where my subordinates are entrusted with tasks. This is a motivator as there is a commitment to complete a task effectively. I believe it is important to also be paternalistic and autocratic. I should share an interest in the lives of my employees and what is important to them. They will feel you value them as a person and not just as a worker. I would praise individuals and give incentives, such as bonuses. This would increase motivation and job enrichment. In some areas of business being autocratic is necessary, especially for health and safety reasons and if a task needs to be undertaken over a strict time period. Some people often look for a strong leader to tell them what to do. Overall, I believe the management style is important as the employees have a significant impact of the growth of a company. Each style of management can work effectively in different situations.

Albania Financial System Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Analyse the association between variables Assignment

Analyse the association between variables - Assignment Example The contention was to find a simple equation that could represent the presented proposition with ease (Witte & Witte, 2009). This was followed by a calculation of the correlation coefficient that was meant to express how well the equation connected to the actual plot points. This was done to see how well any calculations based on the equation would reflect on the actual situation. Part (g) In terms of the initial hypothesis, the plotted points provide a strong correlation between the fitting of denture for the first time and the weight loss in the first year. However, it must be taken to note that the plotted points show a consistent behaviour for respondents with an initial weight under 80 kg. However, when respondents above 80 kg of initial weight are looked into, it becomes clear that they tend not to follow the initial hypothesis. The best solution would be to carry out more research with respondents with an initial weight of over 80 kg and to possibly model the situation using q uadratic or higher order polynomial functions in order to find a better fit for respondents with an initial weight above 80 kg. References Witte, R.S. ...

Price Analysis for the Navigation System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Price Analysis for the Navigation System - Essay Example For a cost to be said to be allowable, it has to be reasonable, allocable and comply with the terms of contract. The cost has to be reasonable in the sense that, the government buyers do not feel like they are being over-charged for the goods or services being offered by the company. The cost has also to lie within what the government would wish its citizens charged for the same (CCH Incorporated, 2007). Another type of cost to be determined is the variable cost which is a contrast of fixed cost. With the former, any variation in the expenses incurred will result in a corresponding increase in the output. However, with the former, the variation resulting from the incurred expenses does not affect the output. In the determination of the variable cost; that is after the completion of the start-up phase of a company, one has to bear in mind the costs relating to packaging, raw materials and the labour that is directly involved in the manufacturing process of the company. The total variable cost can be determined by getting the product of total cost per unit of output and total quantity of output. The semi-variable cost, which is also referred to as mixed cost, include both the variable and fixed rates. Electricity is considered to be the most common variable cost especially in the manufacturing companies. Cost analysis is very important to help one determine how to price a given commodity from a particular supplier. Before performing price analysis, there is need to compare competitive bids. This can be achieved through comparing several suppliers of a given similar commodity then at the end of the day, the average of the costs one has obtained can be very useful in helping him/her determine the price of a given good. Despite the fact that the above method is regarded as the best one when it comes to price analysis, there other methods which include prices set by law and regulation, comparison of a published price list,

Hobsons choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hobsons choice - Essay Example Such interaction will help to uncover more evidence that can help with the eventual prosecution of Peter. Jim has joined the FBI of his own volition. He would have had an opportunity to request some other task, if he had any reservations about working undercover with a stockbroker suspected of illegal trading. Stockbrokers who plan to cheat their customers would choose gullible lay people such as elderly women as potential victims. Jim could not expect that Peter would select highly qualified accountants or experienced bankers or successful investors as possible targets. The situation in which Jim finds himself is entirely within the limits of what a person in his position could anticipate in advance (Pollock, 2003, p 150). Each vocation has certain conditions within which professionals are expected to act. An FBI agent is trained to deal with people of questionable morals and with situations in which members of the public are in danger of some commercial loss. Jim would have been trained by the FBI to work under cover. The latter has the fundamental aim of witnessing and recording a criminal transaction with the objective of collecting conclusive evidence. The task assigned to Jim must have the principle objective of collecting evidence that can be produced before a jury in a court of law. Jim's action in the situation under review is to act on behalf of his employers the FBI, and to do everything that can reasonably be expected of him, to further the aims of his employers. Jim is obligated to fulfill the task given to him by his superior officers in the FBI. Jim would have a binding contract of employment that enjoins him to discharge his given responsibilities and tasks. The principle for any person working under cover for a law enforcement agency of the government is that he or she must strive to collect incriminating evidence against the person under surveillance-Peter in this specific example. Supporting arguments The FBI has adequate resources and contacts with stock market authorities and financial institutions to ensure that people cheated by stockbrokers under suspicion are protected from permanent and major harm. The situation that Jim finds himself in with respect to Peter and the women would not be without precedent with respect to the FBI's operating procedures. Agents such as Jim would have systems of both periodic and emergency contacts with support staff and with people to who they are responsible within the organization. Jim would probably have real-time audio contact with the FBI, given the conventional state of electronic surveillance technology. It is therefore unlikely that the woman chosen by Jim to appease Peter as far as selecting a victim is concerned, would come to any permanent material harm (Pollock, 2003, p 197). The choice before Jim to ask Peter to cheat all the women is more likely to arouse the criminal stock broker's doubts that Jim perhaps represents a law enforcement agency, and make Peter take guard. The damage to the victims would also be greater in this alternative, albeit it might only be transient, based on the arguments presented earlier. Therefore, it is better to select one victim, than to ask Peter to cheat all the women. Since Peter has given substance to the FBI's suspicions of his intentions, and since Jim is only a new friend, the alternative of

If Japan had not launched a full scale invasion of China in 1937, Essay

If Japan had not launched a full scale invasion of China in 1937, would the Nanjing government have survived and brought its sta - Essay Example Historians have speculated how things would have been different for the Nanjing Government, had the Japanese not launched their onslaught in to the region. The substance of this prose will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Nanjing government and whether or not it would have been successful in unifying and rebuilding China. From the year 1928 till 1937, the Kuomintang (KMT) was the dominant political party, but was readily losing their popularity amongst the people. They had come to power in China during a time when the country was embroiled political and social turmoil following the success of the northern expedition in the year 1927 by the same party. They unified China under one banner but failed to hold the nation together. This unification move signified a time during which the KMT had the greatest potential to rebuild China (Cochran, 1983). The KMT party started off with the noble purpose of establishing democracy in the country and wished to educate the people in orde r to make them capable of self-governing. They started off with a profound ideology and wished to instil nationalist feelings within the masses and slowly began expanding their control, first from the north and then they worked their way down to the southern region. The ideology of the KMT was established upon the beliefs of Sun Yat-Sen, but after his demise, Chiang Kai-Shek became the leader of the KMT and his policies later on decide the course of events that took place during the Nanjing decade and also indirectly led to the Japanese invasion of Nanjing (Sun Yat-Sen, 1953). The question whether or not the Nanjing government would have been successful in integrating the nation has a very straight forward answer to it, which will be discussed in the following parts of the prose. The greatest flaw of this entire expedition was the fact that it was done primarily by military force and the party lacked a strong ideology that would draw the diverse range of people living in the country and unite them on a single platform. KMT further did not introduce the relevant land reforms that would protect the interests of the peasants and farmers, which naturally caused them to drawn in by the communist faction of the society. Reconstruction became even difficult as the schism between communism and republicanism intensified. It was not just ideology that separated them, but the weakness of their political leader was also one of the crucial reasons that hindered the State Building project. The KMT did work to improve upon the financial and education system that had severely debilitated the country and were vastly successful in doing so. However, despite their many achievements, KMT lacked a certain amount of political acumen that left them in a major predicament. They failed to launch a full-fledged democratic rule in the country and they further did not take any steps to enlighten the people about the democratic system of government. The people remained completely ignorant regarding the procedures of self-government and it was further speculated that the KMT wanted maintain their iron-clad control over the land and were not interested in democracy (Musgrove, 2000). One prime instance that supports the aforementioned statement occurred, when the KMT party established a ‘tutelage government’ and extended it indefinitely beyond the 6 years that

Case Scenario Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Scenario - Assignment Example ssed  that  it  was  his  first  offense  and  pleaded  guilty  of having taken off the roses, the court would be brought to a plea bargain and would not proceed to the trials. These  reflect  a  crime  control  model  where  the  court  has  concentrated  on  the  victims’  rights  after  he  pleaded  guilty  and  needed  no  more  investigations because Michael’s video camera had all the required evidence. A  warrant  of  arrest  will be  issued  to  the  police  to  arrest  Mary since  the  jury  has  confirmed  that  she  has  committed  burglary.  Due  process  model  prevails,  where  the  court  is  concentrating  on  the  rights  of  the  defendant  and  victimizing  the  victim  while  following  rules,after  she  entered  the  house  without  permission  and  stole  some  property.  Also,  the  court  shouldnot  expected  to  concentrate  on  the  facts  approved  by  the  jury  but  will  conduct  legal  procedures  to  declare  her  guilty (Brody, Acker & Logan, 2000). Laura  case  in  the  Uniform Crime Report  falls  under  part  1(index  crimes) of the subdivision  of  property  crimes  because  mark  had  planned  to  steal  a plasma TV,  some  cash, among  other  things.  This  form  of  burglary  is not  clear  if  mark  tried  it  by  force  or  not,  and  so, maybe  classified  as  forcible  entry  or  the  unlawful  type  respectively.   The  idea  that  Laura  killed  mark  while  trying  to  defend  herself is  also  a  crime  and  will  fall  in  part  one under  violent  crimes (McWhirter, 2006).In  case  N I B R S  method  of  reporting  is to be  used,  the  court  would be on category A and be forced  to  conduct  extensive  legal  procedures.  These  would be  so  because; NIBR does not involve  any  forms  of  summary,  while  the  findings  submitted  in ASCII  text  files  electronically (Siegel, 2010).   Herman  committed  forced  rape  and  his  action  should be  reported  in  part  1 of the  violent  crimes, in which

The Bleakness and Humiliation of Our World Research Paper

The Bleakness and Humiliation of Our World - Research Paper Example Singer’s arguments in his article are that the suffering and death that are due to the lack of shelter, medical care, and food are damaging. That we ought, morally, to sacrifice anything that is of comparable moral importance when there is the power to prevent some things terrible from taking place, for instance, one might get wet in order that he or he saves a drowning a child. Singer also argues that it is the obligation of all to prevent the terrible thing. This is, in fact, to preventing people dying from starvation by trying to give food, money to famine relief than one does. The other argument is that by giving more money to famine relief that one do in normal circumstances, and then he or she is not sacrificing anything that is morally significant. The last argument Singer presents in his article is that we should give more to famine relief than we do. Therefore, the surest way to prevent lack of food and shelter without sacrificing anything that is of comparable moral importance is by giving maximally. That we ought to give maximally, or in other term, give at least much more than we currently do (Singer, 2005). The Singer’s concept of marginal utility states that one ought to give until a certain level (Marginal Utility), in which case one shall cause as much suffering to sell or the dependents as he or she would relieve by the gift. This implies that everyone obliged to give as much as possible, to at least some point of giving where one would begin to cause some serious suffering to others who depend on him or her or to oneself. Therefore, one ought to give until one become quite uncomfortable, even when one do not seem to encounter starving. Singer also proposes some ideas of duty and charity change in the world. He says duty is a duty in itself while charity is beyond the call of duty. He reiterates duty as wrong not to do it while, in charity, he reiterates that it is expedient to do it. However, it is not wrong to refrain from doing it. In addition, duty is doing the morally required while charity is doing what is charitable. He then reiterates that duty is refraining from murder and charity is giving to famine relief to the extent that one is sacrificing something morally significant. Therefore, according to Singer, one has to revise the way of thinking. That giving to famine relief should be thought of in terms of duty, as a wrong when one does not do it as morally required (Singer, 2005). Morality may be an object or its state of affair that can be invalid or wicked, an event that can be wrong or right, or it can be an agent that can be either blameworthy or praiseworthy. In the article, Singer suggests the agent that is praiseworthy because of giving to charity but not blameworthy because of not giving to charity is wrong. He stands out that the agent that does not provide to charity should be blameworthy, in which case Singer establishes charity as a duty. In his arguments, Singer is well direct, and henc e, we should be offering help to all those who are physically near to us. This is because of the close proximity. The only flaw that is there in many people is because they do not get the motivation to help someone that is far away, even though the person needs a lot of assistance. This, in essence, demonstrates that there are suffering and challenges in the world. (Singer, 2005, p.633). Singer also

Peter Eisenman Essay Example for Free

Peter Eisenman Essay Introduction * Peter Eisenman was born in 1932 in Newark, New Jersey. He studied architecture from 1951 to 1955 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and later at Columbia University in New York City, and concluded his academic training in 1963 with a doctoral thesis on design theory. * He worked together with Charles Gwathmay, John Hejduk, Michael Graves and Richard Meier in the architects’ group  »The New York Five. At this time, Eisenman developed his principles for design theory in a number of key publications. * At the beginning of the 1980s, Eisenman established his own architectural practice in New York, and since that time has created a number of important and diverse structures. * A recurrent topic is his thesis about an architecture of memory, from which he derives the postulate of a place-oriented or  »textual « architecture, which affords the observer a unique experience, difficult to express adequately, of space and time. MEMORIAL OF MURDERED JEWS, BERLIN INTRODUCTION * The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. * The Berlin Holocaust memorial was the outcome of a process which extended over a period of 17 years, moving from a grass-roots initiative to a government resolution and eventually a multi-stage competition. * Peter Eisenman won the competition and construction of project started in April 2003. It was inaugurated on May 10’ 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II. CONCEPT * Generally, while experiencing a building a person walks through the building perceiving columns on the left and moving around and again there are columns on the right, so there can be a sort of conclusion about the building being symmetric, axial etc. So understanding of a buildings comes from being presence in the experience.But in the holocaust memorial, experiencing the building does not give you understanding of the monument. In this project, when we move, we do not learn anything, there is no specific path to follow, any point within the memorial is no different than any other point.The underlying idea behind the memorial was to reduce the meaning of experience because this relates to what happened in camps. The memorial intends to show the absence of meaning in the executions carried out in camps.The memorial is an analogy to experience of the camps but also an analogy to the idea of breaking down the relationship between experience and understanding. * Often referred to as a â€Å"field of stelae,† the memorial consists of 2711 concrete stelae (95 cm x 2.37 m), with heights varying from less than a meter to 4 meters. * The stelae are separated by a space equal to the width of an individual stele, or enough room for a single individual to pass through. * The memorial is traditional in the sense of using material such as concrete, which is a common means for the construction of memorials, but it is innovative in its form and design. * There is a quality of indeterminacy to the entire field, despite what appears to be a regularly spaced grid. Regularity is only perceived when standing on top of one of the lower pillars at the perimeter or in an aerial photograph. * Upon approaching the site, one might assume that the stelae are evenly spaced but the undulating ground surface defeats the sense of a grid, as does the actual experience of walking through the relatively confined spaces and the existence of varying views framed and obstructed by the stelae. * Eisenman relates this monument to a living memory rather than a sentimental memory as the holocaust cannot be remembered in the first, nostalgic mode, as its horror forever ruptured the link between nostalgia and memory. Remembering the Holocaust can, therefore, only be a living condition in which the past remains active in the present. * The space of the memorial is not overwhelming in scale, the instability of the ground and unpredictability of the heights of the stelae interact to frustrate understanding of the space. * One is further confused or disoriented by the narrow alleys which are not truly perceived as straight lines, due to the varying heights of the concrete slabs and the uneven ground plane. * Perhaps even more disorienting is the fact that there are no written cues or symbols of any sort. Immediately discounting the notion that one should â€Å"read† the pillars as tombstones is the absence of any language and any apparent â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† direction or ending point. INFORMATION CENTER * The Information Centre beneath the Field of Stelae documents the persecution and destruction of the Jews of Europe and the historical sites of the crimes. * The focus of the exhibition lies on the personalisation of the victims and on the geographical dimension of the Holocaust. * A major section of the information centre that supplements the memorial is dedicated to informing the visitor about authentic sites – even about the ones that do not exist any more for reasons of concealment during the Third Reich. * The information centre stresses the importance of authentic sites and encourages the visitation thereof. AUTHENTICITY AND PURPOSE OF MEMORIAL * During the painful debates about erecting such a memorial, a major aspect of criticism was the danger of authentic sites of the holocaust losing their importance. Thus, it is vital to distinguish the different roles of authentic sites from the artificially created monument. * The more specified function was read in the resolution by the German bundestag (a legislative body) of June 1999. â€Å"With the memorial we intend to honour the murdered victims, keep alive the memory of these inconceivable events in German history ,admonish all future generations never again to violate human rights, to defend the democratic constitutional state at all times, to secure equality before the law for all people and to resist all forms of dictatorship and regimes based on violence.† * Peter Eisenman,the architect of the memorial says about its intention that â€Å"The enormity and scale of the horror of the Holocaust is such that any attempt to represent it by traditional means is inevitably inadequate Our memorial attempts to present a new idea of memory as distinct from nostalgia We can only know the past today through a manifestation in the present.† * The design is to turn the visit of the memorial into an individual experience that causes the visitor to reflect about the genocide. * Each individual entering the field of stelae will find him- or herself wandering alone, because the paths in between the concrete slabs are not wide enough for two people to walk next to each other. Thus, the visitation turns into an individual experience. * Lea Rosh, the initiator of the memorial stated that this meant to raise the murdered above their murderers and to raise the victims above the perpetrators. CONCLUSION * Looking at the historical significance of the claimed area, the memorial gains a layer of authenticity, but what is almost of more importance is the setting of the memorial in the government quarter and in the heart of the capital. * Time will show if the memorial will live up to the definition of authenticity in the sense of heritage conservation where it is understood â€Å"as the ability of a property to convey its cultural significance over time†. * For one thing is sure, that the memorial’s cultural significance is complex for being a monument to honour the Jewish victims of the holocaust and at the same time a testimony of Germany’s accounting with the past. WEXNER CENTER OF ARTS, OHIO INTRODUCTION * The firm of Peter Eisenman and Richard Trott won the design competition for Wexner Center of Arts. * Eisenman wowed the Jury with his bold ideas for the art center, which were aimed at linking the past to the present (â€Å"Timeless Earth 1), through the use of unconventional means. * The end result became both Peter Eisenman’s first large public commission and one of the first large scale constructions of Deconstructivist Architecture. * The building is tucked in between the Mershon Auditorium and Weigel Hall both of which are home to programs that were to be consolidated into the Wexner Center. DESIGN PROCESS * The literal use of the rotated grid is used by Eisenman as an extensive method of giving the architecture its own voice. * The identification of the dialectic grids stems from conditions that exist at the boundary of the site, Eisenman then grafts one grid on top of the other and seeks potential connections or ‘event sites’ at the urban, local, and interior scales. * Scalar operations are performed as a means of mediating the scale of the urban grid towards a pedestrian or human scale, lastly, the results of these operations serves as a map that is used to locate program, pathways, structure, interior forms, excavations, and views along the newly afforded possibilities of ‘event sites’ in both the horizontal and vertical planes. * The results of these operations are visible in almost every aspect of the construction, from the module in the curtainwall, the tiling of the pavers, planters and trees on site. * To add to the depth of possibilities afforded by this excavation of the immediate condition of the grid Eisenman grafts figured scaffolding onto the site and integrates this figure into the primary circuit or pathway of the building. * The scaffolding is scaled to represent the module of the grid that is interpretable at a human scale. * The scaffold is reduced to its raw type, to the essential condition that signifies the essence of its existence that being an impermanent accessory to architecture that allows its construction, but does not necessarily shelter. * This architecture of non-shelter is aligned directly adjacent to an interior pathway within the building that does enclose and protect. * Eisenman coupled his grid abstractions with a series of figures that would play a key role in his aim of linking the past with the present. * The most prominent of these figures exists as a reconstruction of a part of the armoury that occupied the site from 1898 until it was terminally damaged by fire on May 17th 1958. * The figure of the armoury Eisenman has presented along the south pedestrian access (the most visually accessible elevation of the building) has been reduced to a series of fragments of armoury-like forms that indicate the ‘essence’ of the armoury without reproducing any of the original intricate detail. * Within the armoury forms the negative space carved out of the solid brick masses that make up these figures is cast with a dark tinted curtain wall, within which is an aluminum mullion pattern evocative of the use of grid. * The contrast created by the anodized aluminum of the mullions intensifies the impenetrable depth of the glass. * The lack of historical fidelity in the reconstruction of the armoury, the fragmentation of the form, and the insertion of dark glass into the voids left between these fragments seems to speak of the disjointed manner in which we reflect the past, and in turn, it serves to remind us of a past we have lost and can never return to. * In revisiting the design devices that Eisenman used in the design of the Wexner Center for the Arts is has been possible to determine that much of the abstraction of form derives itself from co-related processes. * Initiated by a series of processes which appropriate and manipulate ‘rotate’ the coordinates of the urban and pedestrian, horizontal and vertical, and the past and the present Eisenman produces three very distinctive extensive and intensive operations of shifting, figuring, fragmenting that coalesce into an engaging ecology for the celebration of creative thought. HOUSE VI * In the earlier stage of his career he designed a series of houses, named as house I to house X. His House II, VI and X are most famous projects of his initial ones. * Eisenman, one of the New York Five, designed the house for Mr. and Mrs. Richard Frank between 1972-1975 who found great admiration for the architect’s work despite previously being known as a â€Å"paper architect† and theorist. * By giving Eisenman a chance to put his theories to practice, one of the most famous, and difficult, houses emerged in the United States. * Situated on a flat site in Cornwall, House VI stands its own ground as a sculpture in its surroundings. * The design emerged from a conceptual process that began with a grid. Eisenman manipulated the grid in a way so that the house was divided into four sections and when completed the building itself could be a â€Å"record of the design process.† * Therefore structural elements, were revealed so that the construction process was evident, but not always understood. * Thus, the house became a study between the actual structure and architectural theory. The house was effeciently constructed using a simple post and beam system. * However some columns or beams play no structural role and are incorporated to enhance the conceptual design. For example one column in the kitchen hovers over the kitchen table, not even touching the ground! In other spaces, beams meet but do not intersect, creating a cluster of supports. * The structure was incorporated into Eisenman’s grid to convey the module that created the interior spaces with a series of planes that slipped through each other. * Purposely ignoring the idea of form following function, Eisenman created spaces that were quirky and well-lit, but rather unconventional to live with. * He made it difficult for the users so that they would have to grow accustom to the architecture and constantly be aware of it. For instance, in the bedroom there is a glass slot in the center of the wall continuing through the floor that divides the room in half, forcing there to be separate beds on either side of the room. * Another curious aspect is an upside down staircase, the element which portrays the axis of the house and is painted red to draw attention. * There are also many other difficult aspects that disrupt conventional living, such as the column hanging over the dinner table that separates diners and the single bathroom that is only accessible through a bedroom. * Eisenman was able to constantly remind the users of the architecture around them and how it affects their lives. * He succeeded in building a structure that functioned both as a house and a work of art, but changing the priority of both so that function followed the art. * He built a home where man was forced to live in a work of art, a sculpture, and according to the clients who enjoyed inhabiting Eisenman’s artwork and poetry, the house was very successful. MICHAEL GRAVES * Michael Graves arrived in Princeton in 1962, when university offered him first ‘real’ job. * He had worked briefly for architect George Nelson in New York before spending two years at American Academy in Rome, a sojourn which was to have the most profound influence on his mature architecture. * Michael Graves and his two firms have received over 200 awards for design excellence in architecture, planning, interior design, product design and graphic design. Graves is the recipient of the 2001 Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects. * Michael Graves is considered as one of the five architects, known as ‘New York Five’, which includes (Eisenman, Graves, Meier, Hejduk and Charles Gwathmey.) GRAVES WAREHOUSE RESIDENCE * Michael Graves house in the university town of Princeton, New Jersey, is a highly personal work by an architect best known for large-scale projects. * The residence is being renovated from a ruined warehouse. So Graves often address his house as ‘warehouse’. * Modest in scale and virtually invisible from the public street, the ‘Warehouse’ is nonetheless a symbol of Graves’ passionate belief in an architecture which is both natural and humane. Its quiet grandeur reflects his final rejection of the machine aesthetic of the Modern Movement. * The house is a personal statement and a private retreat, where Graves keep the furniture, pictures, books, sculptures and other objects accumulated during a lifetime of collecting. * Graves like John Soane, sees his house as a place to display his collections, which will one day be available to the interested public. John Soane’s museum house has always been an inspiration for Graves. * The warehouse is an L-shaped building, consisting of a northern wing and an eastern wing. * The original north wing, hidden from the street, had large doors where trucks regularly disgorged loads of household accessories. * The later wing, at right angle, was much narrower. It was here that Graves first made his home. He installed a kitchen and bathroom and lived like a student at first. * In mid eighties with his practice booming, he tackled the northern wing, bringing in other members of his office to assist and began work on the garden. This second phase of work took four years and was followed by a year of work in the kitchen wing. * The formal inauguration of house take place in 1992, when a conference of US Governors took place in Princeton and Graves held a garden party for the Governors’ spouses. EXTERIOR * The exterior has a quiet monumentality, which derives from the vernacular barns and farmhouses of the Italian countryside. * Graves have rejected ‘canonic’ classicism in favour of a freer and more ‘natural’ approach to design and stresses that the house is intended as a practical place to live rather than a monument, despite his long term plans to preserve it and possibly house an archive of his work there. * The elevation of the house cannot be read in terms of conventional classical design. Informal and vernacular in inspiration, they equally have an almost Cubist abstraction which suggests connection with Graves’ earlier houses. * The chimney stack in particular, is a boldly expressed sculptural design. * The unity of house and garden is key theme. Graves seeks an idealized landscape, recalling those he loves to paint in Italy, and planting is subordinated to an overall architectural intent. The warm and slightly irregular texture of the stucco, contributes greatly to the overall effect of the exterior. * Highly sculptural in treatment and rigorous in its exclusion of ornament, the Warehouse looks beyond replication and more genuine ‘traditionalism’. * The entrance court at the house is a dynamic and yet comfortable space, open to the sky and preparing guests for the relatively low and intense entrance hall. * The dining room looks into this space, which has an agreeable ‘inside/out’ quality. INTERIOR LIBRARY * The Library is placed such that it behaves as connecting area between Living room and East garden. * The library has a sense of verticality and highly architectural in treatment, like a street of colonnaded buildings. * Skylight enlightens the volume of the library from the top. WORKSPACE * The house is close to Graves’ office, but he occasionally works in here and keeps a small functional study room on the first floor. * He often expresses himself in the delicate, enigmatic water colours he paints, on his tours. * Study room is lit by the square window on the front wall. LIVING ROOM * Graves’ living room is equally made for comfort rather than mere show. The relatively low floor to ceiling heights in the building – dictated by the original structure – have been cleverly utilized to produce interiors of some intensity. * Alcoves to the living room are distinctly Soanean in form, but reflects the dimension of original store rooms used by Princeton students to store everything from books to grand pianos. * A terra-cotta-colored wall sets off furnishings that range from antiques to chairs designed by Michael Graves. DINING ROOM * The dining room is lit by tall metal framed windows which look onto the courtyard which seems to form a natural extension to the space. * The chimney-piece has an austerity which is more Modernist than Classical. * Many of the accessories in this room were sold as Grand Tour souvenirs a century ago. Michael designed the glass-and-metal centerpiece vessel for Steuben (Manufacturer of handmade art glass and crystal). CONCLUSION * The Warehouse is a highly personal building, which expresses not just Michael Graves, master builder, but equally Graves the sceptic and questioner of orthodoxies, whether modern or ‘traditional’. The house is clearly both modern and traditional. * If its plan is essentially Classical and its use of light and shade specifically Soanean, the easy flow of the spaces and the essential informality of the building provide a reminder of its architect’s roots in the Modern movement * The Warehouse is indeed, a clear statement of a lively traditionalism which remains a powerful strand in contemporary American design. * Its quiet beauty is the work of a man who has played a key role in reshaping the face of architecture in the late twentieth century. DENVER CENTRAL LIBRARY * Michael Graves was commissioned in 1990 to renovate and design an extension to the Denver Central Library. * Sitting adjacent to Denver Art Museum, the Denver Central Library stands as the 8th largest library in the United States. * The 405,000 s.f. addition to the existing library allows for the original building designed by Burnham Hoyt in 1956 to maintain its own identity. * So much so that Graves’ addition and the original library are two parts in a larger composition that are connected by a three story atrium. * The expansive atrium serves as a new main entrance that becomes the main focal point for visitor orientation and circulation to either wing of the library. * For a post-modern building, the interior of the library is fairly conservative when it comes to the decorative aesthetics. * Most of the spaces appear as traditional library spaces composed of natural wood evoking a sense of grandeur and extravagance. * Only in the reading rooms is there any trace of the post-modern aesthetic. * One begins to understand the abstracted colonnades, vaulting, and colorful painting creating more of a fun learning environment rather than a stark, serious library space. * In addition to the extensive literary collections, the library functions as a community gathering space consisting of multipurpose rooms, meeting facilities, shops, a cafà ©, and a special â€Å"museum-like† collection on the American West. * The Denver Central Library sits affixed in Downtown Denver as not only an academic institution, but as part of a larger cultural epicenter. MARITIME EXPERIENTIAL MUSEUM * The Maritime Xperiential Museum is an iconic structure that draws its inspiration from sea-going vessels and thus embodies the stories contained in the exhibits and programs presented inside. * Throughout the day, the shadows and dappled light cast by the ribbed frame will enliven the interior exhibits. * The interactive exhibits and the circular 300-seat Typhoon Theater, provide a wide variety of experiences for visitors. * The exhibit focuses on the maritime Silk Route, which historically stretched from Southeast Asia to Oman. Geographically, Singapore is an important part of this history. * The Museum is set back from the water’s edge by an esplanade with a covered pedestrian loggia that allows visitors to enjoy the view of the mainland across the bay. * At night, when viewed from the water, the glass facade of the Museum will reveal the brightly-lit interior, becoming a beacon on the water and a landmark on the horizon. * West of the Museum, a small marina will display examples of sailing vessels, a tourist attraction in its own right, which lends an air of authenticity to the museum complex. * The Museum and Marina are thematically linked to the adjacent outdoor Marine Life Park and form a rich tourist experience focused on the sea, marine life and maritime experiences. * Along the waterfront at the base of Universal Plaza is the Showplace Theater, with large stone steps creating a seating area for 2,000 people. * With views across the bay to the main island, this is the location of the Crane Dance, a nightly sound and light show in the water that epitomizes the fun and drama of Resorts World.

Community Review of Healthcare Services

Community Review of Healthcare Services Community Review Dwayne Potenteau The community experience this term has increased my awareness of the social determinants that affect the population of the Comox valley and Campbell River. While patient’s needs in the hospital are addressed and managed, the ongoing care for the client often extends past the hospital borders into the community and home setting. The change in the client’s environment is based on the need to manage costs. The need to be fiscally responsible is of utmost importance if the health care system is to function for the immediate and long term future. One key piece to maintain fiscal responsibility is to move the client from the hospital to their home. The change in environment has exposed gaps in client care with vulnerable populations. Most of the clients facing health challenges suffered from numerous social determinants, but finances that were imposed on their care were a common between the varying community experiences. This is one of the main reasons for discharge from hosp ital to community. It is not a one sided view, as both the hospital and client do benefit in the discharge, as clients tend to heal or be more relaxed in their own environment. The aspect of my perception and how I am being perceived in order to develop my ability to communicate with others is absolutely crucial help others in the community. I found in my experiences that obtaining information was not as easy as asking a question. I was always cognizant of how I am being perceived so that I could create trust even at the superficial level. The reason for the huge relational component is that without the gained trust providing the proper avenues for care would be difficult. Many clients are referred to the community programs and thus without the nurse relating to the client the care may not be received or the client may defer from treatment. In knowing the client, nurses can setup appropriate discharge support that meets the clients’ needs. Another aspect of the discharge is the ability to work with other interdisciplines. The transition from institutional to community care may present more complex patients that in the past, and thus nurses must be able to use other sources of knowledge. This was evident in home care nursing. Many of the resources in Campbell River can be utilized when preparing a client for discharge. Often nurses act as a medium between physicians, physiotherapists, social workers and dieticians while providing care for clients. Working with other disciplines allows nurses to understand potential problems and anticipate challenges prior to discharge. The ability to anticipate a client’s needs is crucial to their care received in community. Without the adequate dialogue many of the services that a client could benefit from would not be available. It is up to nurses to work with the client to understand what is salient in their world, and if possible align services that can assist in caring for the client. In understanding what is important a nurse should discuss some of the following: (this is not an inclusive list but rather just an overview) The actual community: Where is their community located, and what are the physical boundaries (What are the sanitation/water issues?, Is there access to health care services/911? What are the safety hazards?) The Environment: What are the most common or potential illnesses after discharge? Are there concerns regarding client immunization or proper access to nutrition? Is there an available transit system? Social System: Are there resources available for the client to meet social needs? Client: what strengths does the client have? What strengths do I as a nurse discharging the client perceive? One of the huge benefits most of if not all of the services I visited, would be to visit the client in their home. Most of the clients, outside of home care nursing forced the client to come into the hospital or department. This often posed a problem for clients as they could not make the trip due to the illness, or had no way to make the trip. If some of these services could provide home visits this would reduce the burden to the patients, but may increase costs on an already stressed out system. One element that would benefit is education. The role of preventative health care is in my opinion is key to sustain our health care system. If we could inform to prevent even a single client from developing an illness such as diabetes, that would save the system money. The unfortunate reality is that trying to give qualitative stats where the persons who determine where the funding will go, often want to see empirical quantitative data. Prevention is difficult to show on a graph or pie cha rt. In this community experience I have found a few gaps in service even between districts. For example the quality and accuracy in stroke monitoring between Campbell River and Comox valley. Another facet is the hegemony that nurses experience between physicians and specialist. For example the nurses at the dialysis clinic can call physicians and help make decisions and work with the physician/specialist in Victoria, while the specialists at Nanaimo are not interested in working with the nurses and retain control over the aspects of care resulting in less nurse autonomy. The biggest gap in care comes directly from the health authority. In order to create qualitative data, the health authority had assigned a point system for administering care. One point equates to 15 minutes. The point system is used as a cost measure for staffing. The problem lies in assessing how many points does a client need if they are multi symptomatic. The assessment often takes time and thus puts a great strain o n nurses to provide meaningful, salient and proper care while trying to stay within their allotted point system. To address these issues in Campbell River and Comox, there is discussion on what barriers are impeding Comox Valley from administering additional tests for stroke patients. The barriers could then be addressed and a potential solution discovered. On the issue of varying physician politics, I am not sure how to tackle this issue other than address the concerns to the board of regulations (CRNBC to determine if there is any recourse or perhaps the nurses union for additional guidance or insight). On the topic of managing nursing hours using a point system there needs to be leniency in cases that do not fit the point system. Some patients are complex and thus may need additional time or resources. Neglecting the needs may result in relapse and having the client be reintroduced into the system which ultimately incurs additional costs and is counterproductive. Another point I discovered while at the Comox Valley Nursing Centre, was the gap in communication between clients and the programs and services they were assigned to. Often marginalized clients (people who were forced to live on the street due to health or other social determinants) were very difficult to contact. These clients missed many appointments, even with specialists for whatever reason, and since they often did not have a phone, and could not be contacted. This left the nurse in a difficult situation of advocating for the client when a specialist wanted to drop the client for not showing up to appointments. To remedy this problem perhaps additional communication and education for the client or use of the phone while at the nursing centre may alleviate the current dilemma. Ultimately one of the most profound learning components was for addiction at the Comox Valley Nursing Center. A nurse had stated this mantra â€Å"Addiction is a way to hide from the real problem, discover and treat the problem, you will treat the addiction†.

Reviewing The Problems Of Music Piracy Media Essay

Reviewing The Problems Of Music Piracy Media Essay Music internet piracy is causing serious problems within the global society, especially the music industry. Music internet piracy itself has resulted in big music companies such as Sony, in losing millions of dollars every year and is progressively growing. There have been many institutions and strategies that have been adopted by the music industry to combat music piracy which have addressed music piracy but have not had the ability to stop it. In this essay, I will be investigating The effect of Peer-to-Peer internet piracy on the music industry. I will be doing so by breaking up my essay into different sections. These include an introductory section on music publishing and copyright infringements: this will give some background information as to the whole concept of music rights. Then I would be investigating The Global Music Industry and to follow this, a section on why music piracy has been so successful. Straight after this I will look at the industrys response to combat music piracy and finally a section on the future of the music industry This topic is worthy of study because it outlines the impact of music piracy on the music industry. This should make you think twice before downloading a song or album because you will witness the effect it is having on the artists, producers, singers, and companies if you consistently download music. If music piracy continues, it will have an effect on people entering the music industry because they are being denied of the money they deserve. Music Publishment and Copyright Infringement Music piracy is defined as the illegal duplication and distribution of sound recordings.  [1]  Each time an album or single is purchased a faction of that sale goes to the artist or band that made the song. This money is called a royalty payment. This is where musicians earn most of their income. If people continually download music or tracks from the Internet without paying for them, the musicians receive no royalties.  [2]  This is a serious problem because if singers are not payed, this will threaten the future of music copyright as they might leave the industry due to the decreased return. Music copyright is the legal right to publish and sell copies of an artists, singers, or writers work.  [3]  In the music industry, the copyright to a song is usually shared by the singer and their recording company under the condition that the recording company pays the singer for a share in their copyright, which gives the company the right to prevent any other organisation from selling the songs. The consequence of another company being found selling copies of the song is that the singer or their recording company has the right to sue and press charges against that company for breaking copyright laws.  [4]  The artists have this right to make sure that only their companies can sell their songs, which would result in only that company receiving the money. But when the music is downloaded from the Internet, the companies do not get money out of it as it is a free transition to the downloader. The Global Music Industry The global music industry was quite successful during the 1990s. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic industry (IFPI), album sales grew from US$24.1 billion to US$38.6 billion during the decade.  [5]  Those days are well over now and the industry is struggling and sales have been falling quite rapidly. The Institute for Policy Innovation said music piracy is costing the U.S. economy $12.5 billion every year. 71,060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers earnings, and a loss of $422 million in tax revenues, $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes.  [6]  So not only is music piracy threatening the future of music copyright, it is also threatening the global society in terms of jobs, taxes and salaries. This problem has arisen from the online music file sharing programs that are now available to use through the internet. The most commonly used file sharing is Peer to Peer (P2P) networking, which was used by Napster. Napster was created in June 1999 and made the work of many artists available for free. Napsters popularity was immediate and according to Mediametrix, a company that provides internet rankings and measurement, Napster was the fastest software adoption in history  [7]  and 2.8 billion music files were downloaded each month.  [8]  Napster is a different way to distribute MP3 files. Instead of storing the songs on a central computer, the songs live on users machines. When you want to download a song using Napster, you are downloading it from another persons machine, and that person could be your next-door neighbour or someone halfway around the world.  [9]  Napster also used a centralized directory that facilitated efficient searches for songs, albums and artist s,  [10]  which made it very user-friendly that helped it become more popular and widely used around the world. Given the impact on the music industry, the Recording Music of America (RIAA) soon filed a case against Napster in the U.S. District Court of San Francisco for à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"engaging in or enabling, facilitating or assisting others in the copying, downloading, uploading, transmission, or distribution of copyrighted musical work or sound recordings protected by copyright or state law without the express permission of the rights owners.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ Ã‚  [11]  Napster was then shut down February 2001. This did not see the end of file sharing on the internet though; many other peer-to-peer alternatives to exchange music over the internet remained available such as Freenet, Gnutella, Gnarly, Wired Planet  [12]  and KaZaA. For instance, KaZaA, is currently holding the new record of most downloaded software with more than 230 million users worldwide.  [13]  In all the countries listed by the Yahoo Buzz Index, which is an index that measures internet searc h sing the Yahoo search engine, KaZaA was the number one and most popular search term on the internet in many weeks during 2003.  [14]     [15]   The graph above demonstrates the increasing sales of music from 1991 to 1998, but due to the introduction of Napster in 1999, music sales have decreased rapidly from 2000 onwards and are still decreasing. The graph also indicates that it is projected that in 2012, there would be an increase in the amount of digital format spending on music and less CD sales compared to the sales in 2006. File sharing has been growing ever since it started. In June 2001, IFPI estimated there were 3 million simultaneous global users and 500 million files available for copying at any stage in time. In 2002, the IFPI estimate went up to 5 million simultaneous users and 900 million files.  [16]  Clearly we can see now that file sharing is increasing rapidly every year and is getting more popular with more users and files being put up to download. In 2002, NetPD, a company that provides protection services to copyright owners whose material is being pirated through the internet, reported that 3.6 billion files were downloaded monthly, of which around 60% and 70% were music files.  [17]  The most popular albums are suffering the most. The most popular albums are available for downloading almost immediately after release and in some cases before release. Popular artist Eminems album was available for download even before it was released.  [18]  So it is fair to say that copyright protection technology has been ineffective in preventing music from being downloaded and threatens the future of music copyright. Not only are the producers and artists losing money, the top five recording distributors are also feeling the effect of music piracy. The five recording distributors or record labels combine to distribute over 80% of all sales in the United States in both 2002 and 2003.  [19]  These Big Five companies are , Universal Music Group (IMG), Warner/Elektra/Atlantic (WEA), Sony, Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), and Electric and Musical Industries (EMI). These companies have tremendous market power in the signing of artists, the release of new albums and the distribution of the albums. If music piracy continues, it will threaten the rights of these big companies sales and music copyright  [20]  and impact on their commitment to sign and develop new artists.   [21]   Table above presents aggregate market share data for total album sales in 2002 and 2003, the two years in the data sample.  [22]   Reasons That Contribute to Music Piracys Succession File sharing and music piracy over the internet has been successful due to many aspects that are changing within the society. Back in the 90s there was no technology around to assist in file sharing. That is why the music sales were so successful in those days. But now society has super fast broadband speeds and new computer technology that assist to make file sharing and music piracy possible and simple to do. In this section of the essay I will be underlining all the aspects that have been introduced in the society that have made it easier for music pirates (pirates being a person who downloads music or uploads music on the Internet), to make file sharing and music piracy so successful. The first reason for music piracys success is the development of broadband and cable internet which has facilitated music swapping. A soundtrack that takes more than 12 minutes to download with a dial-up connection can be downloaded to your computer in as fast as 20 seconds with a high speed connection.  [23]  Napster enjoyed the super fast speed of the internet in Universities and used it effectively until they were banned because file swapping was consuming much of the bandwidth available. In the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, file sharing had amounted to 75% of the total bandwidth.  [24]  Now that the internet speeds are faster and more efficient, downloading music is much easier and makes life much easier for the pirate. If this continues and technology keeps on improving, then this will surely threaten the future of music copyright because as mentioned before it is quicker to download and easier. Another change in technology that has the ability to threaten the future of music copyright is that it is getting easier to use such digital formats. The development of digital compression formats has had a major influence on the illegal distribution of music. Online delivery is possible in Motion Picture Expert Group-1 Audio layer 3 format (MP3).  [25]  MP3 is a digital compression method that reduces a piece of recorded music to one-tenth of its original size.  [26]  This is the format used in the online sharing of pirate copies. MP3 is the most popular and productive format of data compression. MP3 compresses the data without significantly compromising sound quality which is what the pirates want. Also, the ease of trading songs using MP3 format will discourage consumers from buying legal copies of albums or songs,  [27]  which potentially does have the ability to threaten music copyright as it has become very easy to download and store music with minimal hassle, due t o the MP3 format. MP3 files are more productive to use than CDs. A 5 minute soundtrack that would take more than 50 megabytes in CD compression format would only take a file of 5 megabytes to store without noticeably affecting the sound quality. This 5 megabyte compressed file takes 12 minutes to download with a dial-up internet connection (56Kbps modem downstream), 1 minute and 20 seconds with a regular DSL or cable connection (512Kbps downstream) and 20 seconds with a fast DSL connection (2000Kbps downstream).  [28]  So now that faster internet assists with faster downloads, many people buy fast speed broadband to download compressed MP3 files efficiently and effectively. The development a myriad of portable MP3 players ranging from top of the range IPods to inexpensive pocket sized MP3 players has also had an impact and will further threaten the future of music copyright. People can upload (rip) CDs to their PCs hard drives and listen to music on their computer. The computer then has the ability to compress the files to a suitable MP3 format to reduce the storage memory on the hard drive and to facilitate the sharing of the files over the internet, and convert the files back to a CD format and burn CDs that can be played by any MP3 player. So the portability of the music is now more convenient, as now the music can be carried in a MP3 player device. MP3 players and IPods are the most popular sources of listening to music, so now if everybodys downloading music files off the internet, they will find it more convenient to listen to music from a little device such as an MP3 player. So if there is a growing number of MP3 users, there would also be a grow ing number of music downloaders, which has the impact to threaten the future of licensed and copyrighted music. The Industrys Response in Combating Music Piracy The music industry has adopted many strategies, punishments and policies to combat and prevent music piracy from continuing. In this section of the essay I will analyse the responses that the industry have implemented to combat music piracy. The first response that the music industry implemented was that the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) individually sued participants in file sharing network. On June, 25, 2003, the RIAA announced publicly that it would be monitoring file sharing networks and taking legal action against users of these networks. This announcement had the effect of reducing file sharing activity across the board because many consumers became concerned about the risk of being sued for thousands of dollars. The RIAA focused their attention on the major offenders who were averaging more than 1, 000 copyrighted music files each.  [29]  Doing this reveals that as a result of the lawsuit strategy, album sales increased by 2.9% over the 23 weeks in the data sample after the strategy was announced. During this period, actual record sales in the U.S. were an average of 11,470,652 albums per week, based on national level data reported by Billboard magazine (2003) each week, and thus would have been 11,147,378 per week in the absence of the reduction in file sharing caused by the lawsuit strategy.  [30]  As you can see this lawsuit strategy was effective in combating music piracy. It increased the music sales and helped overcome the issue of music piracy. RIAA continued with this for 23 weeks and stopped it. Because RIAA had focused only on the major offenders, this gave the chance for many casual users who initially abandoned file sharing for fear of being sued to return to the music piracy networks. Another successful strategy that was implemented by the music industry that has eased music piracy was that it put up legal digital music online. Many companies and organisation are now allowing music to be downloaded with a cost attached to it. The most popular and prominent organisation is ITunes. ITunes charges their customers $0.99 per track downloaded. As of April 7, 2009, and onwards, ITunes is charging $1.29 per track to the most popular songs and $0.69 per track to the least popular songs.  [31]   The ITunes store has sold 8 billion tracks since its launch in mid-2003. It has been confirmed that recent months have seen music sales climb very high to four billion projected track sales each year.  [32]  Between January 6, 2009 and July 21, 2009 the service sold 2 billion songs.  [33]  This compared to the sales between April 28 2003 and January 10, 2007 to sell the first two billion songs. ITunes has also been running extensive programmes of live events in London, hosting great and packed crowds and some of the worlds popular and successful artists.  [34]  So we can tell by this information that ITunes is a successful implementation by the industry and is continuing to grow rapidly. It is getting so popular that ITunes is now extending its stores to new European markets during this year.   [35]   This graph shows a rapid increase of music sales of ITunes from 2002 to 2009. Another strategy that the industry has been implemented is that the major labels such as, Pressplay, owned by Sony and Universal; AOL MusicNet, owned by the other 3 big labels (EMI, AOL Time Warner and BMG) and by RealNetworks, are set to begin offering consumers digital-music subscription packages.  [36]  Most services offer unlimited downloads, for a fixed charge from US$10 to US$20 per month and the possibility to do permanent burnable downloads for around US$1.  [37]  These digital- music subscription packs contain their own library of music and customers are admitted to download the licensed music that is on display and available for downloading. This proved to be a successful strategy as well. It gave consumers maximum downloads for a fixed price, the consumers were happy to use it because they were secured when downloading songs as they were legal to download. The music industry decided to seize CDs from CD companies in Italy, Greece and Spain due to the fact that these companies are producing more CDs to store downloaded music and distribute them illegally. Total seizures of CD-R discs in 2001 were three times higher than in 2000, at 9.6 million.  [38]  Seizures of blank discs destined for illegal CD-R labs totalled 19 million, compared to less than one million a year earlier indicating massive levels of anticipated production. There were also major actions against the mass-producing CD plants. Around 42 CD manufacturing lines, up from 20 the previous year, were put out of action by IFPI assisted police initiatives, mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. These manufacturers have a potential annual production capacity of some 200 million CDs, roughly equivalent to the legitimate market in the UK. A further 22 manufacturers were taken out of action in the first four months of 2002.  [39]   In some places, like the United Kingdom, the Three strikes policy has been introduced to try and combat music piracy and illegal file swapping across the internet. The three strikes policy disconnect the Internet for users who have offended the copyright violation which have been promoted by the RIAA.  [40]   Hull, in the UK, has put the three strikes policy into practice to deal with the internet users caught downloading copyrighted material. Karoo, the citys only internet service provider (ISP), serving approximately 90,000 internet users has been cutting connections immediately if a user is caught downloading copyright material without warning the offender. This harsh practice of cutting the internet connection without notifying the customer, has brought controversy from customers and several digital rights group. Under the new law, Karoo will send three written warnings notices to the customer before cancelling their (ISP) connection, after the (ISP) accepted it was exceeding the expectations of copyright owners. The (ISP)s policy remains contentious as well as substantially harsher than that of other UK (ISP)s, which have apparently been unenthusiastic to deal with illegal file sharing across their networks, and only lately agreed to send warnings notices to persistent offenders.   [41]   The Future of the Music Industry The future of the music industry looks grim for the years ahead. In this section of the essay I will be investigating the future of the music industry and music copyright. File sharing has made a dramatic change in the distribution process since it started causing changes in the music industry. In 1999, 51% of albums were sold in retail stores and 34% in other stores.  [42]  In 2002 and 2003 the share of sales in music stores had a dramatic drop to approximately 35%, whereas the other stores had increased to 50% of music sales. Also, by 2003, 5% of all music acquisition occurred through the internet and music piracy, and it is continually growing. The reason is that the industry is shifting from retail stores to sales through large electronics chains such as Best Buy and Circuit City, as well as mass merchants such as Wal-Mart.  [43]  Therefore, music piracy is effecting not only music sales music copyright, it is also effecting the business industry. Now that most of the music is electronic and can be downloaded at home using the internet, music retailers such as Sanity have suffered due to internet file sharing and music piracy, which does ha ve an effect on the future of the music retail industry as more music is being downloaded than sold traditionally in retail stores. Also, buying a record may be replaced with downloading a record,  [44]  which can affect the future of music industry as downloading a record eliminates the need for labels to manufacture, warehouse, and ship tangible products.  [45]  If consumers continually downloading music and ignore buying them, the industry will affect what music the public listens to and how they listen to it.  [46]  Because of this, many digital labels would be introduced. In the new web-based music industry, artists could make their own labels and record companies individually on the internet, using their own computer. This can affect the current major record labels as many indie  [47]  labels could easily produce their own record labels at home, which will increase the popularity of them, resulting in some of them being as successful as past indies such as Yahoo and Microsoft, which will give way to a more dynamic free market.  [48]   CONCLUSION In this essay I investigated The effect of Peer-to-Peer internet piracy on the music industry. I believe I have demonstrated that music piracy does have the ability to threaten the future of music copyright. I have also analysed the implementations the music industry have implied to combat this problem within the society and evaluate how successful they were to prevent music piracy from continuing. In conclusion, music piracy is infringing copyright laws and costing the music industry millions of dollars each year. With the introduction of Napster in 1999, music sales decreased extraordinarily. In 2001, Napster was put out of business but this did not see the end of music piracy. KaZaA, a Napster successor than came in business and is now holding the record for most downloaded files. As you can see, music piracy is very hard to stop because if you shut down one distributor, many other distributors and organisations come into the illegal world of music piracy. Music piracy is getting easier due to the technologies available for the pirate to work with. Now there is super fast broadband internet speed, data compression, MP3 and portable players for the pirate to use to successfully download music efficiently and effectively. Digital music is now one of the most popular formats of music. The music industry has been working hard to combat music piracy and file swapping online. Although they did not completely stop music piracy altogether, they had certainly eased it and decreased the number of music downloads online. The most successful strategy that was introduced by the industry was to put legal music online. The music was digital, but it had a price fixed to each track. Many companies, namely ITunes, put their songs online legally and this decreased the level of music piracy over the Internet. ITunes is continually growing and is selling more and more tracks each year. A new focus that could be emerged from my study in this essay is What should the global society and music industry do in order to stop music piracy at once and for all?