Whether vs. If

Whether vs. If Whether vs. If Whether vs. If By Maeve Maddox A reader writes: A colleague at work says the following sentence is incorrect: â€Å"Promotion depends on if the employee maintains a good attendance record.† I don’t see anything wrong with it. Is she just being disagreeable? I can’t say whether the colleague is being disagreeable or not, but I can say why she objects to the sentence. The conjunctions if and whether are often used interchangeably. Sometimes such usage can pass, but sometimes whether is the only choice. One rule often cited is that if does not follow a preposition. Corrected, the sentence is â€Å"Promotion depends on whether the employee maintains a good attendance record.† Seeking to avoid confusion, Sir Ernest Gowers added this entry to the 1963 edition of Fowler’s Modern English Usage: To avoid possible ambiguity it may be prudent to confine if to its proper duty of introducing the protasis of a conditional sentence, and not to use it as a substitute for though or whether or (with not) to introduce a possible alternative. Note: In the context of grammar, protasis is â€Å"the first or introductory clause in a sentence, especially the clause which expresses the condition in a conditional sentence.† The Chicago Manual of Style spells out two instances in which if should not be used in lieu of whether: 1. to introduce a noun clause in an indirect question the answer to which is either yes or no. INCORRECT: He asked if his tie was straight. CORRECT: He asked whether his tie was straight. The only possible answer is yes or no. 2. to avoid ambiguity. INCORRECT: Call me to let me know if you can come. CORRECT: Call me to let me know whether you can come. With if, two interpretations are possible: 1. Call regardless of your answer. 2. Call only if you will be coming. By using whether, the speaker makes it clear that a call is desired, regardless of whether the person is coming or not. Chicago includes three other notes on the if/whether dichotomy in the â€Å"Good usage versus common usage† section: determine whether; determine if. The first phrasing is irreproachable style; the second is acceptable as a colloquialism. The same is true of decide whether versus decide if. doubt that; doubt whether; doubt if. Doubt that conveys a negative sense of skepticism or questioning: â€Å"I doubt that you’ll ever get your money back.† Doubt whether also conveys a sense of skepticism â€Å"The official says that he doubts whether the company could survive.† Doubt if is a casual phrasing for doubt that. question whether; question of whether; question as to whether. The first phrasing is the best, the second is next best, and the third is to be avoided. Paul Brians (Common Errors in English Usage) acknowledges that if â€Å"can’t really be called an error,† but adds, â€Å"when you are discussing two alternative possibilities, whether sounds more polished.† A note by David Foster Wallace in the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus offers â€Å"a simple test†: If you can coherently insert an â€Å"or not† after either the conjunction or the clause it introduces, you need whether. He gives these examples: He didn’t know whether [or not] it would rain. YES She asked me straight out whether I was a fetishist [or not]. YES We told him to call if [or not] he needed a ride. NO If is used to express a conditional. Whether is used to introduce alternative possibilities. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Rules for Capitalization in Titles30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

The Biggest Differences Between College and High School

The Biggest Differences Between College and High School Sometimes, you need a little reminder of the differences between high school and college. You could need motivation about why you want to go to college  or why you want to stay in college. Either way, the differences between high school and college are vast, stark, and important. College vs. High School: 50 Differences In college ... No one takes attendance.Your instructors are now called professors instead of teachers.You dont have a curfew.You have a roommate who you didnt know until right before you moved in together.Its totally acceptable if your professor is late to class.You can stay out all night without anyone caring.You dont have to go to assemblies.You dont need a permission form to watch a movie in class.You dont need a permission form to go somewhere with your school/classmates.You can pick what time your classes start.You can nap in the middle of the day.You can work on campus.Your papers are much longer.You get to do real science experiments.Your goals in your classes are to learn things and pass, not pass an AP test for credit later.Group work, while still lame sometimes, is much more involved.Theres no busy work.There are museums and exhibits on campus.Campus-sponsored events happen much later at night.You can drink at school-sponsored events.Nearly every event has some kind of food.You can borrow books and other research material from lots of schools. Your student ID gets you a discount - and now a little respect, too.Youll never be able to get all your homework done.You cant turn in fluff and expect to get credit for it.You dont get an A just for doing the work. You now have to do it well.You can fail or pass a class depending on how you do on one exam/assignment/etc.Youre in the same classes as the people you live with.Youre responsible for making sure you still have enough money in your account at the end of the semester.You can study abroad with much less effort than you could in high school.People expect a much different answer to the So what are you going to do after you graduate? question.You can go to grad. school when youre done.You have to buy your own books - and lots of them.You have more freedom to choose the topics about things like research papers.A lot more people come back for Homecoming/Alumni Weekend.You have to go to something called language lab as part of your foreign language class.Youre no longer the smar test person in the classroom. Plagiarism is taken much more seriously.Youll learn how to write a 10-page paper on a 10-line poem.Youre expected to give money back to your school after you graduate.For the rest of your life, youll always be a little interested to see where your school ranks in the annual rankings done by newsmagazines.The library stays open 24 hours or more extended hours than High School.You can nearly always find someone on campus who knows more than you about a subject youre struggling with - and who is willing to help you learn.You can do research with your professors.You can have class outside.You can have class at your professors houses.Your professor might have you and your classmates over for dinner at the end of the semester.Youre expected to keep up on current events - and connect them to what youre discussing in class.You really do need to do the reading.Youll attend classes with other students who want, instead of have, to be there.

Foreground, Middle Ground and Background. Winslow Homer compared to Essay

Foreground, Middle Ground and Background. Winslow Homer compared to Andrew Wyeth - Essay Example The grass in the foreground also suggests that the picture was drawn regarding to the dry spell or the harvest season in Chadds. Christina seems mesmerized by her rural setting, a suggestion of breeze stroking her loose features of hair as she stares in the direction of her home, totally fascinated. Besides, we can note the distinguished passive color palette in the foreground that helps us to differentiate the harvested grass and that which is yet to be harvested. Moreover, the different color used helps distinguish the clothes that Christina is wearing from the where she is crawling. The light sandwiched between the household and the barn is the brightest theme of the painting and Christina is leading her head upwards in the direction of it.   In the middle ground of the Christina world painting, we can note several different features from the foreground. The foreground contains a huge part occupied by dry grass fields. In addition, we can see a huge part of this grass field has been harvested exposing the Christians family home. There is also a path created by a car that is used to access Christians home. At the rear end of the middle ground, there is a fence that surrounds Christians home. In the background of the painting Christina’s World, we can see the the family home where she lives. The painting suggests that she might be living with her family since it shows a huge two storey family home with other structures surrounding it. Among the structures are two large separate houses and a small single structure built in the unharvested grass field. We can also see a huge section of Christian’s family home has a compound with harvested grass. From the picture, we can suggest that the economic activity in the Christian’s World was farming. Content, Style, Axis, Symmetry, and Asymmetry In Christina's World, Wyeth used subdued colors to convey the tranquility of being restricted to a country setting.  Andrew Wyeth’s works merged i nto his established and continuing style characterized by a passive color palette, convincing representations, and the illustration of emotionally charged, symbolic objects or people. Christina's World is based on a real life situation, which he encountered in Chadds, Ford area. This picture is a depiction of a victim of polio disease who tried to crawl up a hill. Christina looks as if fascinated by her rural background, a suggestion of just cuddling her movable filaments of hair as this woman stares en route to her home, entirely captivated. The perkiest part of the sky looks as if to gesture Christina like a blissful white light. A sole figure in the vast countryside, Christina is fairly susceptible to the harsh set up, but embraces it nevertheless to relish the attractiveness of the scene and her freedom. Andrew Wyeth’s, main passion of painting lay on the land and people around him. His works paintings were mainly based in his home town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and a t his seasonal family home in Cushing, Maine.  His most popular painting was Christina's World, a 20th century art, currently preserved in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.   This painting portrays his neighbor, Christina Olson, rambling on a dry ground fronting her house. The countryside is in her world is generally dry and unproductive but has a suppleness to it which is bizarrely appealing. An else intimidating scene emits a sense of safety to the onlooker. The addition of a "crippled" young girl alters the background to to some degree obliging and approachable. This meant that Christina Olson had to

Critical thinking questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical thinking questions - Assignment Example To enhance teamwork in the center, I would aim to focus on team building by ironing out all the issues raised to do with overloading, remuneration, communication and mistreatment. Establishing a suitable communication network would also help me strengthen my relationship with the subordinates. Building on the morals of the subordinates can also be achieved through fair remuneration, team building and also laying out a suitable communication mechanism that will help the employees feel appreciated. On the other hand, to deal with the limited resources, I would channel the resources that are available to the needy sectors of the health care unit that we cannot do without. The strategy would help cope with the limited resources available as we wait for the state to resolve the situation (Newell & Shanks, 2014). It would be a suitable approach for me by all means. To develop team-building skills, there is a need to understand ones mission, vision, and objectives. It allows the team leader to communicate effectively all the expectations of the team members. Moreover, it is this understanding that helps one to accommodate the ideas of other team players that have the same goal but come from a different sector (Chaffee, 2014). It is also important to learn to communicate ones expectations to others as well as their fears to help promote trust and understanding towards the attainment of the common goal. To create a suitable working environment, all the bad blood ought to be eliminated through apt communication. The continued assessment of the action plans will also help ensure that all team players do not deviate from the set goals of providing quality health care to the patients. Also, including the patient in the final decisions about their health care is crucial and should not be overlooked. Having the patients contribute towards their healthcare in case of children should also be involved. The key

The Mesopotamian Dbq (Outline) Essay Example for Free

The Mesopotamian Dbq (Outline) Essay Group 1:Mesopotamia * Document 1: This document describes the story of an innocent god that shared water with animals at a watering hole. The document describes the importance of water by referencing to the herds of wild game and Enkidu. The people that have created this document have put much emphasis on water systems. * Document 2: This document covers the spectrum of the river systems and agricultural growth in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus regions using a map. * Document 3: In this document, a picture depicts reed huts in the marshes of Southern Iraq. It appears that in this area, a large, agricultural-based city does not thrive here. This document stresses that a successful river system is the base of cities. * Document 5: This document describes Marduk’s journey and his conversation that he held with the gods. Overall it is about the creation of Babylon. In the first paragraph, it mentions the location of where Babylon would be locates (near the Tigris and the Euphrates river). This displays the importance that the Babylonians placed on river systems. A: Marduk thought of the Earth as a mirror image of heaven, because he strengthened and prepared the grounds to create holy precinct that would be the home of the gods. Group 2: Egypt * Document 2: This document covers the spectrum of the river systems and agricultural growth in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus regions using a map. * Document 6: This document shows the Pyramids of Giza located nearby the Nile. The mud blocks used to create the Pyramids must have been created from a nearby river system. Group 3: Indus River Valley * Document 2: This document covers the spectrum of the river systems and agricultural growth in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus regions using a map. * Document 4: In this document the formation of mud brick fortification suggests that the Indus river valley Harappa, India indicate that they had an accessible river system nearby. * Document 7: In this document, the walls appear to be made from mud brick, which is a sign that they had utilized a nearby water system. Although the document above delivers evidence of the effect of rivers in these regions, it would be beneficial to have additional documents. A chart of population growth over time of all three regions would suffice. It would be able to display the comparisons and differences in the growth of population within each region. A excerpt of an Egyptian or Harappan script that described the role that their river systems played in their society.

Jean Paul Sartre :: Philosophy, God, Creation

Discussion Most western Philosophies and monotheistic traditions base the creation of man as a design of god. God is the primary artisan that is the creator for all, and god’s conception of man is conceived before the creation of man. For Sartre this means that because god created humanity through a conception, it must mean that we are all created to that conception and are created with a purpose, or as Sartre defines human nature (Sartre, p.206-207). As an atheistic existentialist Sartre sees a problem with a notion of a divine creator, as this would mean that our essence precedes our existence. Jean Paul Sartre’s notion of existence preceding essence is his ideology that debates freedom and human choice. Sartre’s basic claim is that the existence of humanity exists before there is conception of values and morals, human nature (Sartre, p 207). For Sartre humanity is born with a blank slate, no predetermined value and no basic essence that humanity shares. Subsequently this means that because we have no particular ideal abstract of human nature, we are all responsible to create our own construction of essence through the choices we make. We define ourselves by the sum of choices and actions we make. (Sartre, p. 208) Sartre’s argument denies the traditional philosophy of an existing human nature, or an ideal abstract of being that we are all born with. Sartre’s theory articulates the absence of an omnisc ient creator (Sartre, p. 209). Sartre believes that man creates his nature and finds value though his free choices. Sartre elaborates this through his concept of freedom by establishing that our conscience is separate from the physical world; it is without restriction and therefore must be free. (Sartre, p. 239-241) The radical freedom Sartre expresses however does have restrictions of facticity. The limitations that are instilled in us, the situations we are all thrown in does restrict some possibilities of our freedom, this is called facticity. Facticity is the situation we find ourselves in, but this does not change that we are still more than our situation; we always have choice and are destined to it. (Sartre, p 240-241) Analysis: To accept that existence precedes essence one would have to come to the conclusion that there is no innate human nature and therefore no god to conceive it (Sartre, p.207). For many western philosophies and monotheistic religions this proves to be problem and they dispute existentialism in that respect. Jean Paul Sartre :: Philosophy, God, Creation Discussion Most western Philosophies and monotheistic traditions base the creation of man as a design of god. God is the primary artisan that is the creator for all, and god’s conception of man is conceived before the creation of man. For Sartre this means that because god created humanity through a conception, it must mean that we are all created to that conception and are created with a purpose, or as Sartre defines human nature (Sartre, p.206-207). As an atheistic existentialist Sartre sees a problem with a notion of a divine creator, as this would mean that our essence precedes our existence. Jean Paul Sartre’s notion of existence preceding essence is his ideology that debates freedom and human choice. Sartre’s basic claim is that the existence of humanity exists before there is conception of values and morals, human nature (Sartre, p 207). For Sartre humanity is born with a blank slate, no predetermined value and no basic essence that humanity shares. Subsequently this means that because we have no particular ideal abstract of human nature, we are all responsible to create our own construction of essence through the choices we make. We define ourselves by the sum of choices and actions we make. (Sartre, p. 208) Sartre’s argument denies the traditional philosophy of an existing human nature, or an ideal abstract of being that we are all born with. Sartre’s theory articulates the absence of an omnisc ient creator (Sartre, p. 209). Sartre believes that man creates his nature and finds value though his free choices. Sartre elaborates this through his concept of freedom by establishing that our conscience is separate from the physical world; it is without restriction and therefore must be free. (Sartre, p. 239-241) The radical freedom Sartre expresses however does have restrictions of facticity. The limitations that are instilled in us, the situations we are all thrown in does restrict some possibilities of our freedom, this is called facticity. Facticity is the situation we find ourselves in, but this does not change that we are still more than our situation; we always have choice and are destined to it. (Sartre, p 240-241) Analysis: To accept that existence precedes essence one would have to come to the conclusion that there is no innate human nature and therefore no god to conceive it (Sartre, p.207). For many western philosophies and monotheistic religions this proves to be problem and they dispute existentialism in that respect.

Development in the novel Essay

â€Å"Great Expectations† has been described as the story of a â€Å"snob’s progress†. In the light of this comment, describe Pip’s development in the novel. Refer to the changes in the way he behaves and talks, the reactions of other characters in the novel and the reasons why he normally retains the reader’s sympathy.  In â€Å"Great Expectations†, Pip’s character goes through many changes. His morals and outlook on life are both greatly affected by his lifestyle, and his view of other characters is changed by his experiences and surroundings. At the beginning of â€Å"Great Expectations†, we see Pip as a very young child, living in fear of his sister, Mrs Joe Gargery. Joe is described in much the same way, which shows how he is childish at heart. We are told that Pip also sees this in chapter 2, when he tells us â€Å"I always treated him as a larger species of child†. Pip and Joe both live in fear of Mrs Joe’s regular â€Å"Ram-pages†, and her wax coated cane, Tickler. Although Pip and Joe obviously fear Tickler, Pip never really speaks of his fear in the book. It is seen more as a part of his life than a painful experience. For example, when Pip arrives home late after his encounter with Magwitch and learns of Mrs Joe’s â€Å"Ram-page†, he is told by Joe that â€Å"Which is worse, she’s got Tickler with her†. Instead of showing fear, we are simply told that â€Å"At this dismal intelligence, I twisted the only button on my waistcoat round and round, and looked in great depression at the fire† Mrs Joe’s treatment of Pip is mimicked by Uncle Pumblechook, who seems to be fully supportive of her complaints against Pip – mainly that he exists and that she has to look after him. At the start of the book, Pumblechook is very nasty to Pip, and is also fully supported by the Hubbles (at Christmas dinner) and Mr Wopsle. The main topic of conversation (apart from pork) is how ungrateful Pip is. This is brought up first by Pumblechook, who says â€Å"be grateful, boy, to them which brought you up by hand.†. This is then backed by Mrs Hubble, who adds â€Å"†Why is it that the young are never grateful?†. This conversation continues for some time, which cause Pip to remain silent and sink into his chair. These two examples show that in the first section of the book, Pip is afraid of his surroundings. He keeps quiet and tries to stay away from company (except Joe) to avoid punishment. Joe is Pip’s only friend, and makes up for the absence of other children in his life. Pip is happy talking to Joe, unlike Mrs Joe and her circle of friends.  Pip meets two other main characters in the first part of the book, and they are Miss Havisham and Estella. These are two of the most important characters in â€Å"Great Expectations†, and Dickens develops their characters a lot. Upon Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham, he is afraid of her, but it is not the same kind of fear as he has for Mrs Joe. He fears Mrs Joe as he fears Tickler, and does not want to be punished. However, he is afraid of Miss Havisham because she is strange and twisted. Pip does not understand her, and does not know what she is capable of, or what she could do to him. He speaks of her as a â€Å"ghost†, and sees many disturbing sights inside Satis House, such as the infested wedding feast and the stopped clocks. Pip tells us of his terror at his first sight of Miss Havisham. She can see his fear, and asks him â€Å"You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born?†. We are then told that â€Å"I regret to state that I was not afraid of telling the enormous lie comprehended in the answer â€Å"No.†Ã¢â‚¬  As the book progresses, Pip comes to realise that there is nothing to be afraid of in Miss Havisham. By the end of the book he is happy to confront, criticise and even insult her. Pip also misinterprets Estella’s character. He falls in love with her the first time he sees her, even though he is only seven years old. This is obviously what Miss Havisham was trying to achieve, as she is continually quizzing Pip on his thoughts about Estella, and one of the first things she asks him is â€Å"What do you think of her?†. Pip, after some hesitation, replies that he thinks she is â€Å"proud† and â€Å"rude† but also â€Å"pretty†. Pip says little to Estella herself, but once he has left Satis House he is totally obsessed by Estella. This leads us onto a sudden change in Pip’s character.

Analyst Apple 4ps

Analysis, segmentation and marketing mix of Apple Introduction The aim of this report is to analyse the current position of the company which includes the products, current strategic position, and current financial strength. Different types of marketing tools are used in this report. PEST analysis and Porter’s five force model for looking into the external environment. SWOT analysis for looking into the internal environment of the organization.This report also looks into market segmentation and the marketing mix of the product. Apple was first introduced by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976 to market and sell the Apple personal computer kit. The first computer kits were hand built and was kept for a public display first at the homebrew computer lab. This computer kit consisted of Motherboard with RAM, CPU, and some video chips.Since then apple have come a long way in the market all over the world and they are one of the leading companies in electroni c products. This can be known with the information given below: Current Strategic Position Apple believes in continuous improvement and they look into all the key sectors like environment, health and safety management systems and the quality of our products, processes and services.Looking into the Principle and goals of Apple, Apple has set out their own principles where they look to meet all the health and safety requirements, promote energy efficiency, and their main goals are; innovation is the most important thing for apple, to increase the number of sales of the product in the education field, providing new and user friendly software for the customers, and last but not the least providing high quality products to the customers.Looking into the current strategic position of Apple, with the introduction of its own operating system, hardware, software application, and with a completely new design, Apple looks to meet all the customer requirements like new products, ease of use, an d an innovative design of the product. Apple is currently focusing on, brand awareness and improving the product by increasing the financial investment on marketing and advertisement, they are looking at expanding the retail segment by opening more number of stores all over the world, they are looking at keeping it up with the competition by mplementing a cost leadership strategy, and they are looking to continue the reputation of being the leader in innovation for new technology by implementing product differentiation strategy. Looking into the current finance position of Apple, on October 19, 2009 Apple announced the financial results for the year 2009. The company posted revenue of $9. 87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1. 67 billion. These results can be compared to the revenue of $7. 9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1. 14 billion in the previous year quarter. International sales also helped 46% of the quarter’s revenue.Gross margin is 36. 6% when compared to the previous year quarter which was 34. 7%. Apple reached 17% increase when compared to the previous year quarter by successfully selling 3. 05 million Mac computers during the quarter. PEST analysis and Porter’s five forces are very important tools to establish the external environment of Apple: PEST Analysis Political Factors Different countries have different rules and regulations which can act as a positive or a negative barrier which can result in restricting the companies or lend opportunities to the company.Good thing for Apple is NAFTA, European Union and other regional trade open doors so that the company can have a wider market in Europe, Asia, Latin, and America which can offer enormous potential to the company. Beatles lawsuit against Apple can affect the reputation of the company in a negative way. There is a direct impact on the overall business of the company (Apple) due to the political uncertainties caused by terrorism. Apple relies on the government to give a grant and intellectual property obtained from third parties. Economic FactorsApple has been affected in the last year by the slow economic and that resulted in low consumer spending. However the current economy shows consumer spending, some amount of improvement, and investment might increase as well. In US due to the weak economic condition the educational segment is encountering a large loss in many states. Hence this has caused a negative impact over the Apple’s sales in the educational segment. With respect to sales of product Apple having a worldwide market can be affected by currency exchange rate and by international trade regulations as they obtain the components of the product from foreign suppliers.Social Factors Apple have designed their own computers and their own software’s which will help this generation as the computer and internet usage is rapidly growing worldwide. With the introduction of Mac people have more information, gain more knowledge about different types of computers and becomes a good source of opportunities for the Apple computer industry. Education has become the primary issue for the new generation which is a key factor for the company’s business. Social factors also include internet revolution, shopping online, Brand awareness of the company. Technological FactorsTechnology is experiencing a rapid boom in this generation, and people appreciate more and more innovative changes in their systems and are switching over to the new information appliances and Apple have been successful in providing new appliances. There is a rapid growth in the usage of the internet which is also a good opportunity for the company. The traditional desktop is becoming outdated with new products coming into the market like Mac laptops. This new technology can be used in schools, collages, and by professionals as they will be able to gain the more knowledge and this in turn increases the demand of the product.Porter’s five f orces Porter’s five forces model is an excellent model to use to analyze a particular environment of an industry. In this report we are entering the PC industry and hence Porter’s model will help us to find out about: Competitive Rivalry Competitive rivalry for Apple is very high as it is a competition among the big companies and it is fierce as everyone is aiming at a larger market share, intensive price cuts and changes. PCs are differentiated as hardware / software configurations. Competition is mainly based one cost. The main competitor for Apple is Microsoft.Microsoft also has their own operating system but is providing it to the customers in a very cheap price when compared to Apple. Hence I can say that there is a fierce price competition. Bargaining Power of suppliers. (Low) Looking into Apple, the company is highly dependent on component suppliers. If the supplier wants to increase his profits he can put pressure on the market by supplying the components at a higher price. Apple is running at a higher risk than other as they are working with only few selected suppliers. Bargaining Power of customers. Low) In the PC world there is high number of suppliers in the industry and Apple being a part of it, has its product price higher than the other company products. Hence there will be lot of options for the customers to buy the cheapest and the best product. Threats of substitutes. (Low) In the present generation PCs represent 90% of the market share as they have multiple configurations, performance and price ranges. Looking into Apple they have their own operating system called as Mac and there is no product competing in the market. Threat of new entry.In the world of PCs any company that has a new technology that is efficient in terms of price and performance is considered as a threat to the industry. Looking into Apple there is no threats from any new entrants as there is no product competing in the market. Apple has a very good brand imag e and it will be very difficult for the new entrants to pose a threat to the company. SWOT analysis is also a very important tool which will help in establishing the internal environment of Apple: SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a market tool which helps to understand the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats in a business.During the strategic planning process the most commonly used tool is SWOT. STRENGTHS: Corporate reputation is high. Apple manufactures have their own product and their own operating system hence they have a good control over the product. Leader in innovation and product differentiation. Apple has a very good strategic alliance with HP. Creativity style. WEAKNESSES: Apple has set high prices on their products. Apple has high inventory in their products. Apple has problems in distribution of their products. Apple has too many product lines. OPPORTUNITIES: Demand for innovation. Internet. Growing industry.Employee benefit programme. Opportunity to create a ne w software markets and selling the hardware in those markets. THREATS: There is fierce competition among the PC industry. Loss of market share. Price competition. Increase in supply’s costs. Market Segmentation The market segmentation includes: Demographical bases. Geographical bases. Behavior bases. Psychographic bases. 2. 1 Demographical bases (age, family size, life cycle, occupation) Looking into Apple, the Demographical market segment is successful because they are developing products on the age, life cycle, occupation of the people.They are distributing their products into various places and the PCs are categorized on age, family size, for example they would have more games and entertainment in the PCs for the kids and a professional PC with all the latest software’s. 2. 2 Geographical bases (states, regions, countries) Looking into the geographical bases of Apple they have established their business all over the world like U. S. , South America, Europe, Japan, a nd Australia. Recently Apple chose to implement a vertical growth strategy and began expanding their own retail stores.The company also sells its product via third-parties dealers, or via internet through their own website or through the iTunes online music stores. 2. 3 Behavior bases (product knowledge, usage, attitudes, and responses) In this market segment Apple providing good product knowledge to the customers by advertizing on search engines, T. V. as they have a very good brand image. Using this brand image they are continuously coming up with new ideas and products and attracting the customers. Apple has got a very good response rate as many of the customers are looking for new designs and innovative products which Apple is successfully delivering. . 4 Psychographic bases (lifestyle, values, personality) Looking into Apple the psychographic market segment is successful because they are developing products on the lifestyle of the people such as Mac book for the younger generat ion. Apple having a very good brand image has very good value for its products as they are different and innovative. Looking into the personality (style) sector Apple is providing their products with different colors for the people who like fancy colors. MARKETING MIX Marketing mix is the combination of the product, the price, place and promotion. These are popularly known as Four Ps.When the marketing condition like political, social, economic, and technological factors change even the marketing mix has to be changed. The four Ps are listed as below: 3. 1 Product: Apple is committed to sell original, good looking products that have an easy-to-use interface. The company offers a range of personal computing products, related devices and various third party hardware-products. In addition, the company offers software products (Mac OS X), server software and related solution; professional application software; and consumer, education and business oriented application software.Apple has been very innovative by finding new usages for its Mac computer, such as desktop publishing and strong graphics/animation capabilities. The Mac functionality for managing multimedia files from cameras, DV recorder and MP3 devices has been very popular and successful. 3. 2 Price: Apple price is known to be above average in the industry. The company is using a differentiation strategy and focuses more on innovation, and quality. This strategy is justifying their premium prices.Lately, however, their new technology and their high cash flow allowed them to lower their price and to offer more discount to certain markets such as the education market. This new pricing strategy may help Apple to compete better with the non-Mac user market but might cause some issue with the brand image/recognition. 3. 3 Place: Apple’s operating segments are comprised of: U. S. South America Europe Japan Australia. Recently Apple chose to implement a vertical growth strategy and began expanding their own retail stores.The company also sells its product via third-parties dealers, or via internet through their own website or through the iTunes online music stores. 3. 4 Promotions: The best in the Apple Mac is that songs can be played only from iTunes and hence Apple In 2003, formed a strategic alliance with PepsiCo. The Pepsi iTunes music promotion calls for people to use the winning code found under the Pepsi’s bottle caps products to redeem songs from Apple’s iTunes music Store. This promotion has already been successful for both companies and increased the awareness of the iTunes presence in the market.In 2003, Apple also announced marketing partnerships With America Online that are aimed at driving iTunes use deeply into the mainstream. Apple computers could play a song only from the iTunes. Apple and America Online have agreed to put iTunes â€Å"buy this song† buttons next to every song that’s listed in AOL’s music service, which its 25 mil lion subscribers can access. Clicking the button will automatically launch the iTunes music jukebox and begin downloading the song; billing will be handled through the customer’s existing arrangement with AOL.Apple has a joint venture with Hewlett Packard. Apple has produced an iPod for PC users and the success of this product was a good way for the company to capture non-MAC users. The company’ also drew on endorsements from music stars. In 2005, Apple Computer has initiated a partnership with Wal-Mart that saw the iPod shuffle featured at Wal-Mart discount locations around the country. Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/analysis-segmentation-and-marketing-mix-of-apple-marketing-essay. php#ixzz2QZbbQKIn

Set It and Forget It Three Small Tweaks That Can Make a Big Difference in Your Bottom Line

Set It and Forget It Three Small Tweaks That Can Make a Big Difference in Your Bottom Line In business, people outsource. In business, people use technology to solve their problems and make their lives easier. Writers? Not so much. We like to find that hardest, longest, most frustrating way of doing things and hold onto it as if our very existence depends on it. Right? Or perhaps you’re a writer who feels there’s nothing in your business that could even be automated, certainly not the process of finding clients or generating assignments. And that’s where I come in. Because I’m a big believer in making life easy when it can be made easy. I don’t skimp on research, I certainly don’t skimp on the time I spend perfecting my writing and my work, but if there’s a way in which I could automate the business end of my work, I’m all for it. Here then are three things I do routinely in the set it and forget it category that could help free up some time and generate a bit more income for you. Your Website I like to think of assignments that come to me through my website as â€Å"found money.† It’s not work I go looking for and it usually pays pretty well, because clients who’re searching on Google for freelancers in India just haven’t found the right ones yet and are willing to pay good rates for someone they think might make their life easy. I built my website once, and, while I update it frequently, it doesn’t actually require work or effort on my part to find these clients. A presence on Google is enough. My website works for me because of location, but you may have another specific skill set. You may, for instance, be a writer who does a lot of copywriting work for waste management companies. You want to make sure that when someone searches for that niche, your name pops up. That’s going to bring you business constantly and if you’re not popping up on some niche on some Google search, you’re losing money. Your Reprints I don’t believe there’s a lot of found money in reprints anymore but if you automate the process and make it simple, a few resulting sales may be worth the time investment you make in setting up the system. My trick is simple: When you get a contract for your piece, make a note of how soon after the piece is published you’re allowed to have it reprinted and set that date on your calendar. On that date, spend an hour or two looking for markets for that reprint (you can usually find about 20-30 markets) and do an e-mail blast. If the market is good, the timing is perfect, and you’re lucky, you’ll make a sale - or three - and if not, you haven’t spent hours wasting your time on trying to market a reprint that’s not going anywhere. If it sells, great. If not, move on. The next time you have something published, do this again. Your Letter of Introduction I’ve just rewritten my Letter of Introduction because I wanted it to have an even greater impact, but my last LOI brought in tens of thousands of dollars worth of revenue for me. I did a blast every couple of months when I felt that work was drying up. Without fail, it managed to either drum up some business or help me connect with a new editor or client. A good Letter of Introduction takes work, though, so don’t expect to just bang one out in ten minutes and expect to see the money rolling in. I try to personalize my LOIs each time I send them out, even though the basic format remains the same. And I also take great care to write it well the first time so that it’s a template I can build off. Spend a few hours perfecting your LOI like you would a brochure or any other marketing material. But once you’ve done it, it’s an easy income generator that can bring in clients quickly without much more than an email blast every few months. When you set it and forget it, you create time for yourself to do the things that are important to you, like writing. What part of your freelancing business will you automate today?

The History of Figure Skating and Ice Skates

The History of Figure Skating and Ice Skates Historians generally agree that ice skating, what we also today call figure skating, originated in  Europe several millennia ago, though its unclear when and where the first ice skates came into use. Ancient European Origins Archaeologists have been discovering ice skates made from bone throughout Northern Europe and Russia for years, leading scientists to posit that this method of transport was at one point not so much an activity as a necessity. A pair pulled  from the bottom of a lake in Switzerland, dated back to about 3000 B.C., are considered to be one of the oldest skates  ever found. They are made from the leg bones of large animals, with holes bored into each end of the bone into which leather straps were inserted and used to tie the skates to the foot. It is interesting to note that the  old Dutch word for skate is schenkel, which means leg bone. However, a 2008 study of northern European geography and terrain concluded that ice skates likely appeared first in Finland  over 4000 years ago.  This conclusion was based on the fact that, given the number of lakes in  Finland, its people would have had to invent a time-saving way to navigate across the country. Obviously, it would have saved precious time and energy to figure out a way to cross the lakes, rather than circumnavigate them. Metal Edged These early European skates didnt actually cut into the ice. Instead, users moved across the ice by gliding, rather than by what we have come to know as true skating. That came later, around the late 14th century, when the Dutch started sharpening the edges of their formerly flat-bottomed iron skates. This invention now made it possible to actually skate along the ice, and it made poles, which previously had been used to aid in propulsion and balance, obsolete. Skaters could now push and glide with their feet, a movement we still call the Dutch Roll. Ice Dancing The father of modern figure skating is Jackson Haines, an American skater, and dancer who in 1865 developed the two-plate, all-metal blade, which he tied directly to his boots. These allowed him to incorporate a host of ballet and dance moves into his skating- up until that point, most people could only go forward and backward and trace circles or figure eights. Once Haines added the first toe pick to skates in the 1870s, jumps now became possible for figure skaters. Today, increasingly spectacular leaps and bounds are one of the things that have made figure skating such a popular spectator sport, and one of the highlights of the Winter Olympic games. Sporting Developments  was developed in 1875 in Canada, although the first  mechanically refrigerated ice rink, named the Glaciarium, was built in 1876, at Chelsea, London, England, by John Gamgee.   The Dutch are also likely responsible for holding the first  skating competitions, however, the first official speed skating events were not held until 1863 in Oslo, Norway. The  Netherlands hosted the first World Championships in 1889, with teams from Russia, the United States, and England joining the Dutch. Speed skating made its Olympic debut at the winter games in 1924. In 1914, John E. Strauss, a blade maker from St. Paul, Minnesota, invented the  first closed-toe blade made from one piece of steel, making skates lighter and stronger. And, in 1949, Frank Zamboni trademarked the ice resurfacing machine that bears his name. The largest, man-made outdoor ice rink is the Fujikyu Highland Promenade Rink in Japan, built in  1967. It boasts an ice area of 165,750 square feet, the equivalent of 3.8 acres. It is still in use today.

UAE stock market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

UAE stock market - Essay Example The stock prices were fluctuating widely. Lack of sustainability produced the need of making a proper system with outlined regulations and laws. Government and other officials realized that the appropriate existence of market will be able to attract the investors in UAE in market. Hence, the Government decided to develop such a system where investors can rely and invest their money. After a great effort, the development of a proper stock exchange market took place in the year of 2000 in the presence of law number 4, and then in the year of 2000, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) were established. From 2000 the proper mechanism of stock exchange was started in UAE (GulfBase). STOCK AND COMMODITY EXCHANGE BOARD The development of stock and commodity exchange board presumes overall controlling responsibility in the stock and commodity exchange market in UAE. It practices the essential control and executive functions to discharge its allocates responsibi lities, and amenities investment of savings and other funds in the stock exchange market in the way that would give out the countrywide economy and make sure communication between the forces of supply and demand to decide fair-haired prices and guard investors, in addition to to promote investment knowledge in a way that would comprehend financial and economic consistency. Dubai Financial Market (DFM) The establishment of Dubai financial market took place on 26th March, 2000. It was registered as a public organization having self-governing authorized individuality. At the initial stage, the joint-stock companies use this market as secondary market for the buying and selling of stocks, In addition to the exchange of bonds that are issued by the UAE government, any of the local government bodies, institutions and public organizations within the government or investment units allocated from the local investment funds of a country or any other local or foreign financial instrument that are acceptable to the market of UAE (DFM). ABU DHABI SECURITIES MARKET (ADSM) The establishment of Abu Dhabi financial Market took place in the year of 2000. The establishment of market gives the stock exchange market as self-governing legal identity, managerial and financial independence, in addition to the essential control and decision-making authorities required by the market to release its functions. The official inauguration of the market took place on 15th November, 2000. It works for the security and protection of financial and economic constancy and the establishment and explanation of exchange procedures in such a way as to make sure the liquidity and stability of the market. After the development of stock exchange market the economy of UAE has been continuously growing and there are lots of investments from foreign companies are coming in the economy. The political stability and cultural diversity of UAE attracting the multinationals to make investments in UAE stock marke t. UAE is planning to serve as a financial hub in the Middle East region. The government is starting new projects to attract the investors. The most recent investment in the real state sector is an example. Now there are several companies listed on the stock exchanges of UAE that belongs to different regions of the world. The stock market of UAE is very prominent in Middle East region because it has a high growth rate. The government of UAE is continuously making plans for future projects and revealing it to