The Ethics of Shopping at Wal-Mart Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive E

One has to work hard to consider their values in particular issues and how strongly they feel. This is the choice many people make when they invest in mutual funds, and have no idea where their mutual funds are invested. Many vocal opponents to shopping at Wal-Mart might discover they hold investments in the Wal-Mart. There are 1050 mutual funds that are invested in Wal-Mart, some of the largest mutual funds in the world. There are many people who have no idea where their investments lie. If you want to be true to your value against shopping at Wal-Mart, you need to be careful to remove yourself from investments that support Wal-Mart. You have to review your investments and find out where your money is invested. Let's consider the case of the prominent politician, John Kerry. John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz was a highly vocal critic of Wal-Mart. An investigative journalist discovered that she had one million dollars invested in the company. She held a lot of stock in a company of which she was critical. This provides insight into the idea that you have to work hard to consider your values in particular issues and how strongly you do feel. Regardless of what you think of Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart is continually voted as one most admired companies in America by Fortune magazine. This is how Jerry Useem began the article he wrote for Fortune magazine: There is an evil company in Arkansas, some say. It's a discount store-a very, very big discount store-and it will do just about anything to get bigger. You've seen the headlines. Illegal immigrants mopping its floors. Workers locked inside overnight. A big gender discrimination suit. Wages low enough to make other companies' workers go on strike. And we know what it does to weaker su... ...oods they buy in order to have a saner, more livable lifestyle. 2 In conclusion, I agree with the noted shortcomings of Wal-Mart. But, I don't think people can argue that it's unethical to shop at Wal-Mart, that anyone who shops at Wal-Mart is unethical or believe it is ethical to point the figure at those who do shop at Wal-Mart. I suggest everyone first check their values and then their investments, and they'll discover they probably are supporting Wal-Mart, a company they believe is evil, via 401Ks or mutual funds. Works Cited Jerry Useem. Should We Admire Wal-Mart? Some say it's evil. Others insist it's a model of all that's right with America. Who are we to believe? Fortune Magazine February 23, 2014 From "No Place Like Home/Community and the Marketplace" (p. 191 - 193) How Cities Work by Alex Marshall, University of Texas Press Austin, 2013.

Ansoff Matrix Essay

1ï ¼Å½ What are the four product growth strategies according to the Ansoff matrix? Critically evaluate each of them with an appropriate example of each. Answer1: (1) Product strategies for growth: a useful way of looking at growth opportunities is offered by the Ansoff Matrix as it is a practical framework for thinking about how growth can be achieved through product strategy. It comprises four general approaches to sales growth: market penetration/expansion, product development, market development and diversification. Market penetration and expansion are strategies relating to growing exiting products in existing markets. Market penetration depends on winning competitors’ customers or buying competitors (thereby increasing market share). Defense of increased penetration may be through discouraging competitive entry. Market expansion may be through converting non-users to users or increasing usage rate. Although market share may not increase, sales growth is achieved through increasing market size. Product development is a strategy for developing new products for existing markets. It has three variants: extending existing product lines (brand extensions) to give current customers greater choice; product replacement (updates of old products); and innovation (developing fundamentally different products). Market development is a strategy for taking existing products and marketing them in new markets. This may be through the promotion of new uses of existing products to new customers, or the marketing of existing products to new market segments (e.g. overseas markets). Diversification (entry into new markets) is a strategy for developing new products for new markets. It is the most risky of the four growth strategies but also potentially the most rewarding. (2) For example: market penetration (Cadbury Schweppes did by increasing expenditure by 87 percent over a four-year period); market expansion (Kellogg’s has targeted lapsed breakfast cereal users who rediscover the pleasu re of eating cornflakes when feeding their children); product development (the development of the compact disc is an example); market development (Andy Thornton Ltd., an interior design business, successfully increased sales by entering Scandinavia and Germany, two geographic segments that provided new expansion opportunities for its services.); diversification (Sony’s move into 8 mm camcorders) Answer2: Ansoff Matrix ( can deal with new product) In order to increase sales volume, Ansoff matrix provides a framework, by combining present product and new product, present market and new market into 2*2 matrixes, which are market penetration or expansion, product development, market development and diversification. 1. Existing product + existing market. The strategies for this matrix are market penetration or expansion. For penetration, the most basic way is to win competitor’s customers. This may be achieved by more effective use of promotion (compared with competitors) or distribution, or by cutting prices. Increasing promotional expenditure is another method of winning competitors’ customers, as Cadbury did by increasing expenditure by 87 per cent over a four-year period. Another way to win competitors’ customer is to buy competitors. The biggest advantage of this method is to capture customers immediately. Moreover, buying other rivals can also gain their limited resources and advanced skills and expertise. However, it also has its disadvantages, such as high cost of capital and risk. In addition, in order to protect gained penetration, a company has to discourage new competitors to enter into market. Barriers can be created by cost advantages. For example, low labor cost. Highly differentiated products and high switching costs as well as displaying aggressive tendencies to retaliate play a role in repelling new entrants. As for expansion, there are two methods to boost sales. One is to convert non-user to user, another is to increase usage rate. For example, carnation entered the powdered coffee whitening market with coffee mate, a key success factor was its ability to persuade hitherto non-user of powdered whiteners to switch from milk. 2. New product + existing market. The strategy for this category is product development. It can be achieved by three ways. The first way is innovation. Both extend existing product lines for giving customers more choices and add new feature to trigger the trading up can increase sale volume. The second way is product replacement, which involves the replacement of old brands/models with new one. This is common in car industry and often involves an upgrading of the old model with a new replacement. The final one  is replacement of an old product with a fundamentally different one, often based on technology change. The development of CD is an example. 3ï ¼Å½ Existing product + new market. The strategy is market development, which entail promotions of existing product to a new market, or existing product to a new segment. For instance, nylon is marketed as a replacement of silk, but expanded into shirt, carpet and so on. For new segment, Andy Thornton Ltd. Successfully increased sales by entering Scandinavia and Germany, two geographic segments that provided new expansion opportunities for its services. 4ï ¼Å½ New product + new market. The strategy for it is entering into new markets (diversification). This is the most risky option, especially when the entry strategy is not based on the core competences. However, it can also be the most rewarding, as exemplified by Honda’s move from motorcycles to cars and Sony’s move into 8mm camcorders.

The Effects Of Music On Music Throughout History - 1587 Words

Toby J. Hess Professor Paschke Humanities 220 April 15, 2015 Technology: The Effects on Music throughout History Music and technology aid one another. In a way a person can capture music they love through technology and then the electronic companies flourish due to the sale and popularity of these electronic devices. If a person wants to listen to music they can turn on a stereo or TV, choose a CD or DVD to play, or listen to a songs downloaded in ITunes. All of these devices are proof to show how technology is used to record, play, and change the way music is heard. A look through history will show how far society has come in music alone. The development of technology has changed the way the music industry operates and the way society hears and purchases music today. It started off with humming, then singing. People sang in church choirs, in the living room, or on a stage. Music can be heard by vocals or by the melodic tune of instruments. People paid to go to symphonies and listen to composers perform their masterpieces. Family gathered around the piano, or at a church to listen to music on the holidays. Music was not portable, nor was it recordable. According to the novel, Looking Backward in 1888, the philosophy was that technology was the â€Å"solution to the ills plaguing modern life and the means to achieve a perfect society† (Katz, 51). Meaning that life was boring and technology was the answer to bettering and changing society. In 1877, Thomas Edison invented theShow MoreRelatedBudget Cuts are Destroying Music Education: Music Programs are Essential to Education1082 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. 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