Corporate governance and the role of executive incentives Essay

Corporate governance and the role of executive incentives - Essay Example The paper seeks to determine the role and effectiveness of executive incentives in corporate governance drive of an organization and draws the conclusions from various research findings to anchor the understanding of the concept. Inclusion of real life cases assists the application of theories in practical sense. Separating management and ownership is one problem that has always posed serious challenges for corporate form of an organization. The fundamental problem of conflict of interests where managers focusing on personal gains overlooking shareholder’s interest gets severe in loosely governed organization. Corporate governance is a tool which aims to align the interest of all parties and stakeholders in the organization and provides a strategic direction to the performance and control functions by ensuring order and decision making process are done effectively. In this regard, areas where most of the conflicts arise within an organization are related to recruitment and compensation of CEOs and top level management. Based on the above conflicts a detailed theory has been developed which is known as Agency-theory (Jensen and Meckling 1976). The theory describes various types of costs which are incurred owing to the different type of conflicts between shareholders, managers and debt owners. Agency cost is defined as the sum of monitoring cost, bonding costs and residual loss. Other two types of costs are agency cost of equity and agency costs of debt where former arise due to conflict of interests between managers and shareholders whereas latter arises due to conflict between shareholders and debt holders. Corporate governance is a system that brings more transparency and control in the organization. The approach involves setting accountabilities and linking management’s compensation with shareholder’s value. There are many mechanisms that can be applied to

Equal Pay and the Glass Ceiling - Key Issues for Women Essay Example for Free

Equal Pay and the Glass Ceiling Key Issues for Women Essay Glass ceiling can be described as an economic term that refers to a scenario where the promotion of a qualified individual to a higher rank within an organization is overlooked so he or she is stuck at lower ranks mainly because of factors driven by discrimination, especially gender and racism (Arnwine, 2010). However, other factors considered as barriers to advancement at work place may include disabilities and aging. A good example are barriers women face when aspiring or attempting to attain higher position which is senior as well as to have higher salary levels in workplaces such as government offices, education, nonprofit organizations and business organizations. Indeed, glass ceiling is a term that was first used to refer to factors that barred women from promotion in the work place in the US yet they possessed the necessary qualifications (Hakim, 2004). Women are vital for contribution of work force around the globe and thus they should be regarded as equally potential like men. Despite their potential, women have been marginalized in various fields and especially in their work place since they are not much considered for advancement in their job groups even if they have the same qualification for promotion as their men counterpart employees. This is critical issue that should be addressed by the human resource management to ensure that job opportunities and promotions are granted on merit but not by any discrimination of whichever form. There is need for human resource management to combat glass ceiling, expand leadership roles of women and also advancement of women in their work places in both domestic and global fronts (International labor Office, 2004). Human resource managers and professionals can have a great impact in an organization because their role in recruitment and promotion of employees (Crampton, Hodge, Mishra, 1997). In other words, they ensure the well-being of all employees, especially with effect to job satisfaction to so that employees carry out their roles effectively. In that effect they should be concerned and have knowledge on how the phenomenon of glass ceiling may be impacting the organization reputation either indirectly or directly. They should also have to understand how this phenomenon is impacting the customer loyalty, growth potential, skill set diversity, and even the organization’s bottom line. Often, the chief executive officer or the organization’s president should invite the professionals of human resource in a meeting and discuss on the possible organization’s changes that could be made in order to reduce glass ceiling which has been in existence. This would maximize the organization’s reputation and performance. The human resource managers should also have knowledge of the organization’s employment laws, practices and programs. This is because the law can protect certain groups such as the women viewed as minority in labor markets. These professionals should also have the knowledge on the potential impacts that barriers caused by glass ceiling may have on the performance of the concerned employee. In some countries such as the United States, work place discrimination, especially sexual discrimination is illegal as stipulated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even though it exists in various forms. For instance, women may be discriminated in forms such as low salary increments and generally lower pay as compared to their male counterparts (International labor Office, 2004). This discrimination may also be manifested in the practices of hiring, promotional opportunities, development and training activities are disproportionate in favor of the men. Human resource professionals have the potential of impacting barriers of glass-ceiling either negatively or positively due to the changes in workplace which they implement or facilitate such as employee recruitment, development and trainings, transfers, succession planning, promotions and terminations. In many organizations, affirmative action plans (AAF) should be conducted to utilize analysis that compares number of minorities and women who are available in labor markets with the ones employed in their organization (Hakim, 2004). Another requirement of compliance is the review of corporate management, which is sometimes known as glass-ceiling audits and is usually conducted when the organization is conducting the audit of affirmative action plan and focus primarily on the process of decision making of CEO and senior executives. For non-compliance of affirmative action plans for a company, it can be fined severely and also companies who do not comply with employment laws may also have unfavorable publicity. The glass ceiling evidence can be described as invisible, overt or covert (Arnwine, 2010). Glass ceiling has spread its roots to the gender based barriers which run gamut from the stereotypes of gender to leadership styles that are preferred up to the ranks of high management. The glass ceiling effect sign is the gender-biased compensation where by anecdotal reports and studies have shown big discrepancies on salary favoring men even for similar job levels in the same organizations. Discrepancies favoring men exists in many organizations which are of different sizes. In these organizations women who do not have opportunities of gaining other competences are not likely to get any chance of adding their skills unlike their counterpart men working at the same organization (Crampton, Hodge, Mishra, 1997). Women mostly do not get chances of training in various management fields in most organization and this is a vice that need to be sort out since the world is changing and women are breaking the glass ceiling and are now in senior position in many large organizations including high ranking government offices. Another indicator which shows glass ceiling in an organization is when advancement of women is hampered by corporate cultures that are well-ingrained. Corporate practices and policies for example may maintain status quo in a manner that men are kept in the corporate power positions (International labor Office, 2004). Mostly the board directors in many organizations comprise men as the majority and they may also perpetuate the men status quo by choosing chief executive officers who are like them so as to plant the vice of glass ceiling in the organization. Other barriers that can be said to be gender based are communication and behavioral styles that vastly differ from norms of company and the lack of women opportunity of gaining line experience and also the general management. Human resource professionals should iron out the norms and policies, which can be a barrier to advancement of any group of individuals in the organization and ensure that employees are all motivated without discrimination. Human resource professionals should understand that challenges of work and personal life balance can have impact on women advancement and failure of dealing with them can result to the phenomenon of glass ceiling. They should have the assumption that women are care givers of the family and especially for the elderly and children and thus they may not meet all their work responsibilities due to family responsibilities. Furthermore, there are organizations which cannot give some programs that will involve outside commitment to women especially for the positions which are at senior levels. Therefore a lot of women are disadvantaged to take aspiration steps of advancing in the organization. In addition, promotion opportunities are often given in favor of men mainly due to their developmental prospects which include networks and mentoring (Hakim, 2004). Women are limited to access of the informal networks that men use in developing relationship networks in the organization or company. These networks tend to eliminate women because of nature of their work or sometimes the promotion or advancement may be perceived as male activities and thus this contribute to work place gender barriers. The human resource professionals should ensure that all organization activities are conducted in the organization but should not be discussed outside especially on the matter of promotion or job advancement in the organization. They should also see the need of balancing the personnel who are in the management and leadership line to include women so long as they are competent for such posts. Human resource personnel should avoid glass ceiling by avoiding perception of seeing women as being incompetent in various fields like management and stop stereotyping them. They should do away with the barriers that prevent women from advancing in the organization such as societal barriers and governmental barriers. In recruiting new employees in the organization they should not consider the potential candidates with any discrimination under whatever grounds. The recruitment personnel should not stereotype people and consider other people such as men being more suitable thus leaving women out and may be they could be more competent than the men selected. The government officials who are responsible for recruiting new employees should not be biased on a certain group of people since this is one thing that contributes to glass ceiling placing women on the losing end. Another point of view is that the human resource personnel should wipe out business and structural barriers such as recruitment and out reach practices which can make the minorities and women not to be considered in recruitments. They should also be conscious about the corporate climate which isolate and alienate women from receiving promotions and job advancement in the organization they are working in so as to break the glass ceiling. Another area of adjustment is the training where many organization personnel responsible for training employees have pipeline barriers making women in the organization to receive poor training, which make them unable to have carrier growth in their organization (Crampton, Hodge, Mishra, 1997). They should also eliminate inadequate mentoring in the organization to make women able to be considered for such promotional posts in the organization rather than mentoring men only. Rating and testing systems should not be biased in the organization but should be fair and job advancement should be granted on the merit of performance and competence so as to avoid imbalance of the people in leadership positions in the organization. Internal communication networks in the organization should not be limited to some people but the networks should be among all the employees working together because this is one barrier which makes women to lag behind at the times of job advancements and promotions. To reduce or eliminate glass ceiling in the organization, women employees should not be limited when it comes to job rotation and assignments because limitation of such nature may lead to executive suite. The institutions should not be too much rigid to deny women employees the balance between work and family. With no access of training, developmental assignment, mentoring and other activities of job enhancement, too many women who are qualified are cut short before they reach their aspirations. Corporate leaders should realize that there is need of input and talent of minorities and women at the senior levels in their organization to meet the need of the changing environment in the market (International labor Office, 2004). The demographic and competition internationally is changing and requires all types of gender so as to improve the today’s global world economy. Breaking glass ceiling should be addressed as economic imperative and is the bottom line critical issue in every business internationally and also a pocketbook issue to the working women together with their families. The chief executive officers should focus on job diversity so as to influence the organization culture and create atmosphere which utilizes fully capabilities and talents of the diverse workforce. Setting timetables and goals for diversity of the work force is a business extension practice that can enable it to weigh their growth and progress. Line manager should be held responsible to break the glass ceiling and thus they should have systems of rewarding and compensating in accordance to the diversity objectives accomplishment. Organizations should have affirmative actions to ensure that all employees have access to opportunities equally and they should be based on merit and ability. Opportunities of advancement should be promoted to people who can effectively contribute to the performance of the organization. This means that the rich talent should be used so as to improve the economic stability and also to break the glass ceiling. Another way of breaking glass ceiling is for the organizations to make expansion of their traditional recruitment networks to use a method that seek candidates with experience and backgrounds of non-customary. All in all, the human resource professionals should be concerned on how they can break glass ceiling in their organizations because the world has changed and also glass ceiling is one of the issue that is much of concern in the today life. There is need of selecting and promoting employees in an organization on the grounds of merit so as to improve performance of the organization and have competent employees who know how to tackle changes as they come. References Arnwine, B. (2010). Breaking the Glass Ceiling. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from http://www. newdeal20. org/2010/03/29/breaking-the-glass-ceiling-9240/ Crampton, S. , Hodge, J. , Mishra, J. (1997). The Equal Pay Act: The first 30 Years. Public Personnel Management, 26, 12-21. Hakim, C. (2004). Key Issues in Women’s Work: Female Diversity and the Polarization of Women’s. Oregon: Routledge Cavendish. International labor Office. (2004). Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from http://www. ilo. org/dyn/gender/docs/RES/292/f267981337

Child Abuse and Neglect :: Violence Against Children

Child abuse is defined by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services as being, "Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation"; or "An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm."(Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect 2015). Child abuse is a growing social problem which results in the death of about two thousand children annually. In just one day five children will die from abuse or neglect. In fact every thirteen seconds another child is abused in the United States. The fact that so many children are being abused and may be killed by this abuse is significant, but it is also important to realize that there are detrimental effects that the abuse may have on a child ten or twelve years later. The abuse that a child sustains may affect people in very different ways, but child abuse has never and will never have a positive effect on a child lat er in life. A child that goes untreated for having been abused has an increased likelihood of arrest for a violent crime than that of the general population by thirty eight percent. Children that have been abused have been found to have a greater chance of delinquency and a life of crime. Victims of child abuse have been proven to be more at-risk than people of the general population for negative personal and social events later in life. Since there are so many negative effects that child abuse has on people later in life, there have to be ways for people to speak about their problems and have other people's advice who have experienced similar abuse in their life. One way in which people may feel comfortable speaking of their past abuse is on-line on the World Wide Web. They can write about their experiences and get feedback from people with similar problems. People tell their personal stories of the abuse that they sustained as children and the negative effects that it has had on their life as adults. Many of the stories speak of ways in which some sort of child abuse, such as sexual abuse, has affected their lives as adults in their relationships with people of the opposite sex. Anyone can get on-line and tell their life story of abuse whether it be sexual, physical, or mental.

English for Business

This course is designed to develop the student's ability to communicate through listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. It is our goal to: Sensitizes the student to the diverse nature of cultures; Enable the students to make connections with other areas of study; Prepare students to participate In local and global communities.In this way, we fulfill the school's mission and goals to encourage our students to become responsible and contributing members and leaders of their various communities. I believe that learning more than one language opens doors to new ways of thinking and doing, comparing and contrasting, and perceiving and communicating. Through these processes, students will learn more about themselves, their own language, communicating and making decisions. Not only Is language learning enjoyable and valuable In Itself, It has also become increasingly Important In a global community.Knowing another language helps us understand and assess world events because it rings us closer to the people and cultures of that language. The knowledge of a language other than Spanish is an essential career asset. Through cultural awareness, our students will develop a greater acceptance of others. The mall objective of the class Is to train International students with a global perspective. Who are able to add value In complex International transactions by means of providing top-quality services with an awareness of business issues and the highest standards of professional ethics.Socio Cultural Forces 2. Ethics in Business 3. Human Resource Management 4. Communication in Negotiation 5. Organizational Leadership 6. Strategic Planning, Organizational Design, and control in International Business. Come to class on time. If you are late you will not be allowed to come In. 2. After the 8th absence you will automatically fail the course, with no exceptions 3. Attend to personal needs before coming to class.

Explore the presentation of Heathcliffs Essay

Explore the presentation of Heathcliff’s journey in Wuthering Heights, in the light of the Marxist Perspective. In Wuthering Heights, Bronti show’s Marxist view’s that ‘it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness’. Bront? first published her text in the form of a novel in 1847. During this time England was influenced by Marx’s ideas, socialists in England held a conference in London where they formed a new organisation called the Communist League, the aims of the organisation being to overthrow the old bourgeois society based on class antagonisms and to the establish a new society without classes and without private property. Despite England being influenced by Marx ideas at the time, Bront? created Wuthering Heights: a mix genre novel with themes such as domestic realism, tragedy and gothic love, which were very much open to critic and discussion at the time. This shows the extent to how she was much stipulated in her ideas and therefore Wuthering Heights might not have been influenced by the Marxist ideas at the time. When Heathcliff enters in chapter four with no social or domestic status, emphasised by his ‘gibberish that nobody could understand’ suggesting his lack of social skills and ability to communicate; his lingual acquisition depends on his surroundings. Miles notes how ‘rather than a dual function there is an oscillation resulting in the name never satisfactorily serving him either way’, when he enters his name ‘serves’ him as both his ‘Christian name and surname’ immediately setting him as an outsider and determining his role because he does not embody conventions of society. Victorian Society was organised such that the base of the society determines its superstructure, everything associated with culture: education, law, religion and the arts but because Heathcliff is not an Earnshaw his status means he cannot access this cultural economy and he is ultimately rejected. His name therefore presents his inability to gain access and the extent of his exclusion, as Miles notes is ‘a constant reminder of the unsatisfactory fit between himself and the codes of a society denying him incorporation’. It is his status and his social existence that therefore does determine his consciousness. Bronti creates suggested possibilities that cannot ultimately be realised; when Heathcliff first enters he is referred to as ‘landlord’, yet is not given the opportunity to become an Earnshaw. Also, as Gilbert and Gubar note: ‘smashing Catherines rival-brother’s fiddle and making a desirable third among the children in the family so as to insulate her from the pressure of her brothers domination’, this shows the possibilities that Heathcliff might have been able to integrate into the Earnshaws and therefore society in turn becoming Catherine’s chance for freedom from strict social structure, but because of the base structure of the Victorian Society he is rejected. Perhaps the ‘smashing’ quote from Gilbert and Gubar refers to the ‘three thrashings’ Heathcliff had to endure, foreshadowing the idea that the only way he can become part of Victorian Society is in a destructive way. The first reason why possibilities cannot be realised is that Heathcliff is learning his social position: Mr Earnshaw calls him ‘poor, fatherless child’, Heathcliff is constantly made to perceive himself as poor, these social circumstances determine why Heathcliff is placed into the servant quarters and therefore kept separate from social events by Hindley, who is in power after Mr Earnshaw dies. Heathcliff’s access to the superstructure of Victorian society becomes limited, and even though Heathcliff ‘bore his degradation well’ this heightens his perception of himself as someone in need of charity, making him susceptible to charity or abuse. Perhaps the possibilities might have been realised if Catherine hadn’t accessed Thrushcross Grange: a place ‘carpeted with crimson†¦ pure white ceiling bordered with gold’, suggesting Thrushcross Grange’s wealth, status and a place that epitomises gentry and reflecting the Victorian connection of wealth and heaven. When Catherine is taken to Trushcross Grange she is introduced to a new social status, where she has ‘combed her beautiful hair’ and ‘pair of enormous slippers’, we see how her ‘consciousness’ has now changed as she has been introduced to Victorian Societies superstructure. It is only until this integration into the Heights that Catherine realises Heathcliff is not adequate for her. She is enabled access to the Heights because of her name and its association with economic position. Heathcliff is a gypsy and by ‘putting up the shutters’, ‘curtains half closed’ while Heathcliff’s looking through the window panes shows how the barriers symbolise Bronti presenting the strict Victorian Society which denies Heathcliff’s access to culture and education. Trushcross Grange becomes somewhat of a Victorian society’s ideal, a materialistic ideal. Catherine’s awareness of her social existence results in her new perception that she cannot marry Heathcliff because: ‘if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars’ Even though he is her authentic love and she hints at Heathcliff and her being inseparable she does not follow through. She has already chosen to marry Edgar; and so the novel can be read from a Marxist perspective as Catherine’s outlook in marrying Edgar is materialist as she thinks about social reasons and survival, as opposed to the idealistic perspective. Bronti shows how Catherine is affected my material circumstances reflected when she says she will be â€Å"queen of the neighbourhood† and does not chose Heathcliff, who can be seen as a symbol of her freedom. However, it can be argued that she never has a choice between the two as the way she is set to think is largely conditioned by the way the economy is organised. Bront? presents through the novel how this economy determines the superstructure and therefore even though Heathcliff stands for Catherine’s freedom it is Victorian society’s mentality that means people remain ignorant of Heathcliff’s potential goodness, who is instead driven away because he does not have the capital (money) or culture (education) to support her. So, Catherine probably is right in saying they would be beggars. It is their social circumstances that have determined much of their life and results in Heathcliff running off. Bront? creates this gap in the novel where we are unaware of Heathcliff’s situation which effectively creates a sense of mystery around Heathliff and and forms tension until his return, even if it be full of vengeance.

Big Picture Questions in SAT Reading Strategies and Tips

Big Picture Questions in SAT Reading Strategies and Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Of the many question types on SAT Reading, "big picture" questions are the ones that require the most thorough comprehension of large amounts of text. You'll be asked to discuss and examine the main claim or purpose of a paragraph, passage, or even multiple passages. But how do you identify these "big picture" questions on SAT Reading? And what are the best ways to approach answering them? Below, I’ll discuss the three primary types of big picture questions you’ll encounter on the SAT, along with common ways the SAT will ask you about each. I'll also give you expert SAT Reading strategies to answer these questions, illustrated with examples from real practice questions. Secret Bunker Turn Right and My Garden_in The Big Picture by Amanda Slater, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped and rotated from original. Big Picture Questions: A Brief Intro On SAT Reading, there are three kinds of questions that require you to read large amounts of text and distill them down into answers. At PrepScholar, we call these "big picture" questions. In contrast to "little picture" questions that ask for specific details, big picture questions tend to ask about big ideas found in large chunks of text, which can be anything from a paragraph or a series of paragraphs up to an entire passage (or multiple passages, if it's a paired passage question). Learning to answer these sorts of questions will prove very useful for college or university, where professors will expect you to do exactly this with even more dense and academic writing. Type 1: Main Point, Perspective, and Author Attitude On the SAT, you'll rarely get asked questions about the main point of a passage outright like this: "The main idea of the passage is that the author..." "Over the course of the passage, the main focus shifts from..." Instead, questions are far more likely to ask you about the author’s attitude or perspective towards something discussed in the passage. Here are a few examples of ways I’ve seen these questions asked, all modified from actual SAT questions: "This passage is written from the point of view of a..." "The author's attitude toward narrative structure is best described as one of..." "Which of the following best characterizes Staffaroni's attitude toward 'today's digital technologies' (lines 42-43)?" "Which best reflects the perspective of the "narrativists" (line 42) on aleatoric music? "The authors of both passages agree that Valve’s Portal..." "With which of the following statements about the role of music in games would the author most likely agree?" In some ways, these perspective questions are just inference questions that are only focused around the point of view of the author (or narrator). What makes these questions big picture questions, rather than inference questions, is that the perspective of the author or narrator inevitably affects what is written in the whole passage. Being able to answer these kinds of perspective questions is not only important for your SAT score, but an important skill for you to have going into post-high school life: if you can figure out where someone’s coming from and what their attitude is, you can use that to inform how trustworthy you should consider their information. Type 2: Primary Purpose These questions ask what’s the point (vs. what’s a point, which would be a detail question). Is the cited text describing an issue or event? Is it trying to review, inform, prove, contradict, parody, or hypothesize? Primary purpose questions are almost always asked in this way: "The primary/main purpose of the passage(s)/paragraph/X paragraphs is to†¦" On occasion, there's a little variation in the wording: "The sixth paragraph (lines 67-68) is primarily concerned with establishing a contrast between†¦" "The passage primarily serves to " Sometimes questions asking about purpose are function questions, rather than big picture questions; which type of question it is depends on the answer choices. More specific answer choices that include information about what the point of the paragraph is indicate a big picture question, while vaguer answer choices point to questions asking about the paragraph's function (what does the paragraph do). For example, if the question was "The primary purpose of the paragraph is to†¦", answer choices like "analyze a faulty assumption" or "disparage an opposing viewpoint" would indicate this is more of a function question. If, on the other hand, the answers choices were more like "discuss findings that offer a scientific explanation for the Venus flytrap’s closing action," "describe Nawab’s various moneymaking ventures," or "convey the passage’s setting by describing a place and an object," then it would be safe to assume it is a big picture question. Type 3: Rhetorical Strategy Rhetorical strategy questions are more commonly asked about, but not limited to, paired passages. Rather than asking why something happens in the passage (an inference question), these questions ask how something happens/happened in the passage(s). In contrast to primary purpose questions, which have relatively specific answer choices (eg. "The primary purpose of this paragraph is to...explain what rhetorical strategy questions are"), rhetorical strategy questions sometimes require generalization. Like the answers to primary purpose questions, however, the answers to rhetorical strategy questions are usually in the form of "verb a noun" (or more often, "verbs an X of Y," as in "explaining the appeal of a discredited tradition"). Abstract answer choices can be tricky, because they can require some degree of analogy/inference skill (you have to take the answer choices and see if they apply to the passage). How do you get around this? Answer the question in your own words first, then see which answer aligns with yours (we’ll show an example later on). Here are some examples of questions you might be asked that fall into the rhetorical strategy category: "Which best describes the overall relationship between Passage 1 and Passage 2?" "Which choice identifies a central tension between the two passages? "Which best describes the overall structure of the passage?" Notice that the wording of some of these questions is similar to that of little picture/detail questions. Again, just as with primary purpose questions, the answer choices are what turn the question into rhetorical strategy. Here's a specific example: In the context of each passage as a whole, the questions in lines 25-27 of Passage 1 and lines 67-69 of Passage 2 primarily function to help each speaker (A) cast doubt on the other's sincerity. (B) criticize the other's methods. (C) reproach the other's actions. (D) undermine the other's argument. This is a rhetorical strategy question because the answer choices are relatively abstract. If the answer choices were more specific (eg "relate Maguire's study of mental athletes to her study of taxi drivers"), then this would be a detail question, and you would need to use little picture skills to find this specific detail in the passage. A Brief Warning: Big Picture Questions ≠  Function Questions Caution Tape by Eugene Zemlyanskiy, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Big picture questions are different from function questions because they ask what the author said (not asking why the author wrote a thing). The wording of the questions sometimes makes it difficult to clearly see this, so I wanted to hash it out here. Questions about the author’s purpose (function question) ask "why is the author writing this?" rather than "what is the perspective the author is saying/arguing?" (which would be a big picture question). Questions about the paragraph’s function ask "how does this paragraph function?" or "what is the purpose of this paragraph in the context of the passage as a whole?" rather than "The main argument of this paragraph is," "what is the primary purpose of this paragraph" or "The author develops her argument by†¦" Read more about what exactly goes into answering SAT Reading function questions in this article. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Strategies For Answering Big Picture Questions Naturally, part of your strategy depends on how you read the passages. If you have enough time to read each passage all the way through, then you should be trying to figure out the main point and author perspective as you read. You can do a quick check to see if there will be any questions about it first (usually they're among the first few questions on the passage), but even if there aren’t any questions that directly ask you about the main point, knowing it can be helpful in answering other questions (more on that later). If you read the questions first before going back to the passage, you may be able to get a sense of what the big picture is just by the various questions that are asked- for instance, if all the passages are asking about food in the UK, you can be pretty sure that the main point of the passage isn't going to be about the Mayan calendar. This is also the one case where I recommend answering detail questions first- those are much easier to answer with just line numbers, and their answers (as well as the questions themselves) may give you even more clues about the main point/primary purpose/rhetorical strategy of the passage. If you skim the passage, then attack questions, you should focus on just the key information the first time skimming through and answer the big picture questions first. But how do you know what the key information is? Read on for three strategies to help you out with that. #1: Check The Introduction and Conclusion When it comes to nonfiction passages, chances are that if the author’s done a good job, the main point and perspective should be clear in the conclusion (if not also in the introduction). This can be true for fiction passages as well, but since having a clear thesis isn’t as essential to the construction of a successful piece of fiction, the author doesn’t always structure her writing that way. When finding the main point of a single paragraph, however, this rule gets a little fuzzy, because sometimes there will be direction-changing words in the middle of the paragraph that are essential to understanding the main point. In addition, last/conclusion sentences often try to take the argument a step beyond what has been discussed in the article, placing it in a broader context. Still, reading the introduction and conclusion can be helpful as a place to start. If the introduction and conclusion seem to contradict each other, that is a clear sign that you need to go even deeper into the passage/paragraph to find the main point/primary purpose/rhetorical strategy. #2: Use Key Words as Clues If you're looking for key words in a passage or paragraph, it makes sense that you’d want to note where the author says things like "important" or "significant"- those things probably are important (or even significant). What isn't as obvious, however, is that you should also pay attention to words that signal changes of direction to help uncover key information. Words like "in contrast," "while," "however," and so on, indicate important, contrasting information, while words like "again," "still," and "similarly" indicate the information is the same (or comparable to) what was just written. Spotting key words and reading the sentences around them can help you get to the meat of the issue and also help you avoid the trap of just reading the first sentence of a paragraph and assuming that's what the paragraph will be about. Let's take a look at this strategy in the context of a sample of my own writing: This paragraph is excerpted from the paper "‘This was a triumph:’ Narrative and dynamic uses of music in Portal" by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2013 by Laura Staffaroni). This paper was written as the final assignment for a Research and Materials class. In general, because Portal is a puzzle game, it might be expected to lack a strong narrative; this, however, is not the case. While the gameplay is focused on the solving each level’s puzzle, you are also provided with tantalizing bits of story in the form of dialogue spoken to you by GLADoS, the AI directing the "tests." Bits of the story are revealed over the course of the game in this way, picking up with the introduction of secret rooms with writing on the walls and the adorable but deadly turrets. The beginning sentence seems to start with "Portal doesn’t have a strong narrative," which might cause you to stop reading- after all, you've found the author's argument, right? Not so fast! The word "however" in that sentence should catch your eye, as should the following sentence that starts with "While", because they indicate that something in contrast to the opening statement is being presented.  ©2013 Laura Staffaroni Don't just read the first part of a sentence or paragraph and walk away- look out for key words as well! #3: Answer In Your Own Words First If you come across a question that asks you a big picture question, try to formulate the answer using your own words before you look at their answer choices. When doing this, it's important that you rely only on what you read in the passage or paragraph, not on things that could be true but aren’t supported by the passage. After you've answered the question in your own words, when you go to look at the answer choices you can simply see which one best matches your own answer and choose it. You must be careful, however, not to oversimplify with this strategy. Remember, the central argument and primary purpose are asking about the specific point the author is making, not a general topic or theme. Also, since you're not being directly scored on your "own word" answers, you should use as few words as possible to write them down- you don’t want to waste too much time on something that won’t be graded. Putting SAT Reading Strategies To Use: An Example Before I set you loose on big picture practice questions, I've written out a walkthrough of an example from an actual SAT to find the primary purpose of a paragraph. Here's the relevant paragraph for the purposes of this question (fifth paragraph, lines 45-56 of the passage): This passage is adapted from Ian King, "Can Economics Be Ethical?"  ©2013 by Prospect Publishing. There is yet another approach: instead of rooting ethics in character or the consequences of actions, we can focus on our actions themselves. From this perspective some things are right, some wrong- we should buy fair trade goods, we shouldn't tell lies in advertisements. Ethics becomes a list of commandments, a catalog of "dos" and "don'ts." When a finance official refuses to devalue a currency because they have promised not to, they are defining ethics this way. According to this approach devaluation can still be bad, even if it would make everyone better off. Here's the question: The main purpose of the fifth paragraph (lines 45-56) is to (A) develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good. (B) provide support for the idea that ethics is about character. (C) describe a third approach to defining ethical economics. (D) illustrate that one's actions are a result of one's character. Where should I start with figuring out the main purpose of the fifth paragraph? Step 1: Check out the introduction and conclusion (sentences, in this case). Introduction: There is yet another approach: instead of rooting ethics in character or the consequences of actions, we can focus on our actions themselves. Conclusion: According to this approach devaluation can still be bad, even if it would make everybody better off. What do these sentences reveal about the main purpose of the paragraph? My thinking: Both these sentences call whatever's being discussed in this paragraph an "approach", so the main purpose probably has something to do with whatever this approach is. Since both the intro and conclusion tie back into this approach, maybe the main purpose of the paragraph is to explain it? Not enough information just from this to be sure, though. Step 2: Look for direction words The next step is to look within this paragraph for words that indicate the author might be presenting information that either contrasts with or matches what he already wrote about. Direction words in this paragraph: "yet another", "instead", "even if" My thoughts: Wow, there are a lot of direction words in this paragraph, most of them in that first sentence: "There is yet another approach: instead of rooting ethics in character or the consequences of actions, we can focus on our actions themselves." So "yet another" is interesting because it implies that there were at least two other approaches before the one described in this paragraph; if it were just one other approach, the author wouldn't bother with the "yet" and would just say "another". The word "instead" also backs this up, because it implies that in previous paragraphs at least one alternate approach was taken. Plus, two alternate approaches (rooting ethics in character and rooting ethics in consequences of actions) are listed in the same sentence. What about "even if"? Does that add or change anything? "According to this approach devaluation can still be bad, even if it would make everybody better off." Hmm, not much more here. It further fleshes out the idea that doing a thing that some might see as good (devaluation) can be bad under the approach described in this paragraph, I guess. Step 3: Answer the question in your own words The final step is to answer the question in my own words before looking at the answer choices. My thoughts: The main thing this paragraph talks about is the ethical approach of focusing on actions themselves, rather than on their character or consequences, which means the main purpose of the paragraph is probably something like "describe the action-focused ethics approach?" maybe? let's check how it fits into the rest of the passage to see if that changes everything- nope, that seems pretty accurate. Here's the question, once more: The main purpose of the fifth paragraph (lines 45-56) is to (A) develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good. (B) provide support for the idea that ethics is about character. (C) describe a third approach to defining ethical economics. (D) illustrate that one's actions are a result of one's character. Okay, now that I've gone looked at the first and last sentences, key words, and answered it in my own words, let's consider the answer choices one by one. (A) develop a counterargument to the claim that greed is good. Not really? I guess it kind of has a counterargument to the other two ethics approaches, but it doesn't really say one thing or another about greed being good. Oh and plus there's that thing about this approach seeing devaluation as bad even if it technically is better for everyone, which doesn't seem greedy. I'm going to put this one as a probable nope. (B) provide support for the idea that ethics is about character. This one is a definite no- in the very first sentence of the paragraph it says that the approach being discussed in this paragraph is an alternative to ethics being about character ("instead of rooting ethics in character"). And the rest of the paragraph follows through on ethics being about actions, not character. (C) describe a third approach to defining ethical economics. Yep, this is pretty much what this paragraph does. The author talks about "yet another approach" which is at least the third approach based on wording, definitely the third approach based on reviewing the rest of the passage and counting the other approaches mentioned. And this answer lines up with my "answer in my own words" answer, which was "describe the action-focused ethics approach." This answer's certainly more correct than choices (A) or (B). I'll double check that the last choice isn't an even better answer, though. (D) illustrate that one's actions are a result of one's character. For one thing, no, it doesn't do that; for another, isn't that basically the same as (B)? I guess not exactly, but either way, it's still wrong. The main purpose of this paragraph is to say that in yet another approach, you could say that ethics is about the actions we take. It doesn't say anything about whether or not those actions are a result of one's character in particular. Looking back over the answers, (C) is clearly the one that discusses the main purpose of this paragraph, which is to talk about "yet another" way to define ethical economics. Boom! The answer is (C). August 25th "The Big Picture We've Done It_I'm a World Record Holder!" by Amanda Slater, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original.Huge success! Try It Out on Your Own! Below, I've provided three questions on short paired passages from an official, publicly available SAT practice test. As a bonus, these questions also involve paired passages (for more on paired passages, read my article about how best to attack paired passages on the SAT). Want more practice tests? Check out our list of official practice SATs, complete with links to free content! Questions 1-3 are based on the following passage. This passage is adapted from Henry W. Blair's statement to the United States Senate during the 1886 "Debate on Woman Suffrage" in Washington, D.C. There is no escape from it. The discussion has passed so far that among intelligent people who believe in the republican form- that is, free government- all mature men and women have under the same circumstance and conditions the same rights to defend, the same grievances to redress, and, therefore, the same necessity for the exercise of this great fundamental right of all human beings in free society. For the right to vote is the great primitive right. It is the right in which all freedom originates and culminates. It is the right from which all others spring, in which they merge, and without which they fall whenever assailed.This right makes, and is all the difference between, government by and with the consent of the governed and government without and against the consent of the governed; that is the difference between freedom and slavery. If the right to vote be not that difference, what is? No, sir. If either sex as a class can dispense with the right to vote, then take it from the strong, and no longer rob the weak of their defense for the benefit of the strong.It is impossible to conceive of suffrage as a right dependent at all upon such an irrelevant condition as sex. It is an individual, a personal right. It may be withheld by force; but if withheld by reason of sex it is a moral robbery.But it is said that the duties of maternity disqualify for the performance of the act of voting. It can not be, and I think is not claimed by anyone, that the mother who otherwise would be fit to vote is rendered mentally or morally less fit to exercise this high function in the state because of motherhood. On the contrary, if any woman has a motive more than another person, man or woman, to secure the enactment and enforcement of good laws, it is the mother. Beside her own life, person, and property- to the protection of which the ballot is as essential as to the same rights possessed by man- she has her little contingent of immortal beings to conduct safely to the po rtals of active life through all the snares and pitfalls woven around them by bad men and bad laws which bad men have made. And she has rightly to prepare them for the discharge of all the duties of their day and generation, including the exercise of the very right denied to their mother.I appeal to you, Senators, to grant this petition of woman that she may be heard for her claim of right. How could you reject that petition, even were there but one faint voice beseeching your ear? How can you deny the demand of millions who believe in suffrage for women, and who can not be forever silenced, for they give voice to the innate cry of the human heart that justice be done not alone to man, but to that half of this nation which now is free only by the grace of the other. By our action today we indorse, if we do not initiate, a movement which, in the development of humankind, shall guarantee liberty to all without distinction of sex, even as our glorious Constitution already grants the su ffrage to every citizen without distinction of color or race. #1: The central claim of the passage is that (A) the United States Senate should extend suffrage to women. (B) both sexes should have all of the same roles and responsibilities. (C) members of the Senate wish to enslave women by denying them the vote. (D) the female vote will lead to improved laws and better politicians. #2: The second paragraph is primarily concerned with establishing a contrast between (A) the interests of men and the interests of women. (B) politics before and after slavery ended. (C) governments in different countries. (D) having and not having suffrage. #3: With which of the following statements about the right to vote would the author most likely agree? (A) It is unrelated to the protection of other privileges (B) It is essential to the preservation of liberty (C) It is difficult to institute and execute in society. (D) It is unnecessary to some social groups. Answer key (scroll down when ready): 1. A 2. D 3. B In Conclusion Big picture questions require being able to read through a text and sum up "what’s the point," "what's the author's point of view," or "what does the author do here?" Knowing the answers to these questions can be useful for answering other types of questions, like function and author technique questions, that rely on you understanding the "big picture" of what's going on in the passage. No matter how you approach the passage, use the strategies of checking the intro/conclusion, looking for key words, and coming up with the answer in your own words to help you answer big picture questions What’s Next? Want more in depth guides like this? Our ultimate study guide for SAT Reading is a fantastic index of all of our SAT Reading strategy articles, including ones on Inferences, Words in Context, Analyzing Data Graphics, and many more. What if you can't finish Reading section before time's up? Learn strategies to improve your time management and stop running out of time on SAT Reading here. What are the other types of questions you’ll find on the SAT Reading section, and what’s the best way to read the passages to answer them? Check out our article on the three best ways to read the passage on SAT Reading. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Potpourri of Misspellings

Potpourri of Misspellings Potpourri of Misspellings Potpourri of Misspellings By Maeve Maddox Strolling along Internet Boulevard one morning, I encountered more than the usual quota of misspelled-words-per-minute. INCORRECT: My level of stress is nothing compared to your personal battles with illness and other life hurtles. CORRECT : My level of stress is nothing compared to your personal battles with illness and other life hurdles. hurtle verb: to dash, rush, or hurry, especially with force. â€Å"The bull hurtled through the crowd.† hurdle noun: an obstacle. Literally, a hurdle is a frame that runners jump over. Figuratively, a hurdle is something that stands in the way of a desired achievement. â€Å"Even though she is cancer free, she still has  one more hurdle to overcome.† INCORRECT: We want to be sure we don’t loose our earnest money. CORRECT : We want to be sure we don’t lose our earnest money. loose adjective: not tight. â€Å"Since I lost weight, these jeans are too loose to wear.† lose verb: to part with. â€Å"Don’t lose your lunch money again.† One sentence, from a bewildered college student, yielded not one, but three misspellings in a row. INCORRECT: Theres to much of a differents in the trilagy CORRECT : Theres too much of a difference in the trilogy to preposition: function word that indicates spatial relationships. â€Å"The children have gone to the movies.† too adverb: to an excessive degree. â€Å"He reached the station too late to catch the train. different adjective: unlike, not the same. â€Å"You are wearing two different socks.† difference noun: the state of being different. â€Å"Please explain the difference between refugee and migrant.† trilogy noun: a group of three related things, such as plays or novels. â€Å"Have you read The Lord of the Rings trilogy? I expect to find- and enjoy finding- different registers of grammar and diction used in informal contexts. Non-standard usage in a non-standard register doesn’t jar. Misspellings, on the other hand, distract in every register. Spelling, it seems to me, is a â€Å"cross-platform† sort of thing. Unless the intention is to write like Artemus Ward, native speakers who have completed eight or more years of formal education can be expected to spell common words correctly in every context. 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 Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?Capitalization Rules for the Names of GamesApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

What Are the Ivy League Schools Should You Go to One

What Are the Ivy League Schools Should You Go to One SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When we hear the phrase â€Å"Ivy League†, most of us probably think of rich people who tie sweaters around their necks. Believe it or not, there’s a lot more to it than that. The Ivy League is a group of elite colleges that have a long history of impressive achievements and notable alumni. But how did this come about? And what are these schools really like? Read on to learn more about the formation of the Ivy League, its member schools, and whether you should consider applying. A Brief History of the Ivy League The Ivy League consists of eight of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the United States.These schools originally formed a league based on their common interests in both academics and athletics. The Complete List of Ivy League Schools: Brown University (founded 1746) Columbia University (founded 1754) Cornell University (founded 1865) Dartmouth College (founded 1769) Harvard University (founded 1636) University of Pennsylvania, AKAUPenn (founded 1740) Princeton University (founded 1746) Yale University (founded 1702) Even though the schools themselves date back to well before the American Revolution, the term â€Å"Ivy League† has been around for a shorter time than you might think. The most popular origin story is that the term wascoined in the early 1930s by a sportswriter for the New York Herald-Tribunewho complained about covering a football game between Columbia and UPenn instead of a game featuring his alma mater, Fordham University. He somewhat disdainfully referred to Columbia and UPenn as old "ivy-covered" schools and was the first to use the term "Ivy League" in the article that followed. The label didn't become official until 1945, when the presidents of the eight schools got together to form an agreement â€Å"for the purpose of reaffirming their intention of continuing intercollegiate football in such a way as to maintain the values of the game, while keeping it in fitting proportion to the main purposes of academic life.''Essentially, they made it their mission to work together to balance athletics and academics at the colleges (originally just football, but later extended to other sports). They would call themselves the Ivy League. The Ivy League is kind of like the Justice League, except back when it was originally formed only rich white dudes could be a part of it. Well, I guess that's mostly true for the Justice League too. Now I'm depressed. Two inter-university committees were formed, one that enforced the rules of eligibility for Ivy League sports (mostly comprised of college deans) and one that established general athletic policies (comprised of athletic directors).Starting in the mid-1950s, these schools began to organize competitions amongst each other in a variety of sports.The Ivy League later added committees for admission and financial aid as the organization took on a more academic focus. Although the creation of the Ivy League was rooted in athletics, nowadays these schools are known for their academic prestige and famous alumni.All the Ivy League collegeshave large endowments that are the product of wealthy alumni contributions over the years.Ivy League schools are often seen as symbols of elitism because they attract students who come from legacies of wealth, but they offer some great financial aid packages to disadvantaged students because of their large endowments. They represent some of the most selective and well-known colleges in the country.The schools of the Ivy League have had more time than most other colleges to build up their reputations through the accumulation of highly successful graduates.In addition to competitive undergraduate programs, Ivy League universitiesoffer some of the best professional programs for law and medicine. Gavel Banging 101 is by far the best law school class, but the finals can be a little chaotic. Ivy League Schools: The Specifics For each of the Ivy League colleges, I’ll list enrollment, admissions, and tuition statistics so you can get a better idea of how they differ from one another: School Location Undergrad Enrollment Admit Rate Yearly Cost US News Rank Brown Providence, RI 6,320 9% $62,046 14 Columbia New York City, NY 8,613 6% $68,825 4 Cornell Ithaca, NY 14,315 14% $67,613 out-of-state; $50,869 NY residents 15 Dartmouth Hanover, NH 4,289 10.5% $66,174 12 Harvard Cambridge, MA 6,700 5.2% $60,659 2 UPenn Philadelphia, PA 10,406 9.4% $63,526 9 Princeton Princeton, NJ 5,275 6.5% $63,690 1 Yale Hartford, CT 5,477 6.3% $63,970 3 Are Ivy League Schools Really Better Than Other Universities? The members of the Ivy League may be some of the most prestigious colleges in the country, but will they actually give you a better education than other schools with similar acceptance rates? The main reason an Ivy League school might be better than any other top-tier university is due to name recognition. Adiploma from an Ivy League collegemay open doors for you because employers and graduate school admissions officers will know immediately that you went to an extremely competitive school.Ivy League universitieshave great international reputations that not many other colleges can claim.You’ll also get the opportunity to network with highly successful and influential alumni. Still, you should keep in mind that there are major differences between schools within the Ivy League in terms of reputation. The traditional top three, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, are seen as somewhat more impressive than less selective Ivies like Cornell or Dartmouth. They're all well-respected schools, but getting into one Ivy League school isn't equivalentto getting into all of them. For this and other reasons, it's risky to assume that Ivy League grads will end up more â€Å"successful† overall than other students. Success ismore about a student’s inherent drive and ability than which school he or she ends up attending.One study found that â€Å"the better predictor of earnings was the average SAT scores of the most selective school a teenager applied to and not the typical scores of the institution the student attended.†In other words, students who applied to Ivy League-caliber schools but ended up attending less selective colleges fared no worse than their elite school counterparts. Ambition is one of the most important factors in success. It's also a good idea to carry a heavy briefcase at all times. People are more likely to hire you if you have one disproportionately strong arm. The truth is that Ivy League collegesdon’t always have the highest quality of instruction for undergraduate students. Overall, they tend to be very focused on doing academic research to maintain their position at the forefront of academia.Professors may be less interested in teaching than they are in their personal projects.You could end up with a better learning experience at a small, highly selective college that exclusively enrolls undergraduate students because the professors are there primarily to teach. Ivy League collegesalso aren’t the only schoolswhere you’ll derive inspiration from the amazing things the students around you are doing.There are many selective colleges and universities around the country that attract highly motivated students and have learning environments that will challenge you.Though the Ivies have high concentrations of intense students, they definitely don’t have a monopoly on undergraduate talent. In summary, here's a chart that details how different types of non-Ivy universities compare to Ivy League schools. A plus sign indicates that this type of college is arguably better than Ivy League schools in the category specified on the left. A minus sign indicates that it's not quite as good. An equals sign indicates that the type of college is comparable to the colleges of the Ivy League. Top Tier Research Universities (Stanford, MIT) Top Tier Small Teaching Colleges (Amherst, Pomona) Slightly Lower RankedUniversities (16-30 US News) Reputation (National and International) = - - Undergraduate Teaching = + = Research Opportunities = - = Graduate School Potential = = - Caliber of Students = = - Should You Apply to Ivy League Schools? The prospect of going to an Ivy League universitymight sound great, but before you decide to apply, you should take a few different factors into consideration. Here's what you need to do before sending in an application. Check Your Qualifications For it to be worth applying to any of these schools, you should be performing at a very high level academically.Even at the Ivies with acceptance rates above 10 percent (Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn), serious applicants have very impressive high school transcripts and test scores.At Cornell, for example, the average SAT score for admitted students is a 2170. If you want to have a strong chance of admission at most of the Ivies, you should shoot for at least a 2200 SAT score or a 33 ACT score.The GPAs of most students who are accepted to Ivy League universitiesare at or close to a 4.0. It’s expected that you will have taken the hardest courses in high school and be at least in the top 5-10 percent of your class. As you might know, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are the most notoriously selective of the Ivies (although Columbia has snuck up on them in recent years).To get into these schools, you should have great test scores and grades plus other impressive and unique accomplishments that will distinguish your application.This could be anything from winning a national science fair competition to starting your own business to writing a novel.Read this article to learn more about how to get into the most ridiculously selective schools. If most other applicants are the little pink flowers, you need to be the big pink tree. Or better yet, be the mountain. Do Your Research OK, so you think you probably have a chance of acceptance. Should you just apply to Princeton because the name sounds like some sort of magical kingdom of learning?Definitely not! Eventhough all the Ivy League collegeshave great academics and highly motivated student bodies, some will fit your preferences better than others.You might decide that none of them are the right fit for you even though you have the appropriate qualifications. You could be more interested in applying to colleges locatedin a different area of the country.There are some great schools on the west coast that are at the same level as the Ivies (think Stanford) without the nasty winter weather.If you’re interested in very small or very large colleges, you might not want to go to an Ivy League school.The smallest, Dartmouth, has between 4 and 5 thousand undergraduates, and the largest, Cornell, has between 14 and 15 thousand, so all of these schools are more in the middle range for size. If possible, you should visit the campuses of schools that interest you, so you can get a feel for what they’re like.When I was looking at colleges, I considered applying to Princeton, but when I went on a campus tour, I decided that it seemed like too intense of a place for me. I ended up choosing Dartmouth because I felt like it had a more comfortable atmosphere with a close-knit community and a campus that encouraged outdoor activities. These are just some of the factors you could consider depending on what’s most important to you.Other concerns might include financial aid, research opportunities and facilities, quality of undergraduate teaching, study abroad options, and more.Don’t apply to an Ivy just because you’ve heard of the school before. Check outmy guide on how to do college research for more detailed information! Plus, you'll get some practice for doing research in college! Fake fun fact: Ivy League libraries provide hideous complimentary glasses to all students to prevent them from flirting with each other while studying. Make Sure the Decision Is Yours I think this idea is important enough to be its own point even though it ties into doing your research.Most of us have it drilled into our heads from a relatively young age that going to anIvy League university is the best way to prove once and for all that you’re a card-carrying smart person (even as I’m joking, I’m also cringing).It’s so hard not to be influenced by this societal norm, especially if your parents, teachers, and even peers are pushing you to go to one of these schools.I know I was influenced by it, and I sometimes wish I had made a different decision that was more firmly based on my personality and interests rather than what others expected of me. Remember that going to an Ivy League universityisn’t something that you have to do just because you can.If you genuinely love one of these schools, then go for it, but if there’s another college that fits your needs better, you shouldn’t feel pressured to go to an Ivy instead.There are plenty of great colleges out there, and you should take the time to think about what you really want before you make a choice.This will be your life for four years, so make sure you get to enjoy it! "Dear Diary, I hate it here at Harvard. Crimson is a terrible color. I wish my parents weren't so obsessed with obscure shades of red." What's Next? If you're interested in attending an Ivy League school, you'll need to take the most difficult courses your high school offers. Find out how many AP classes Ivy League universitiesexpect you to take based on the options available at your school. Recommendation letters are an important component of most college applications, but if you're aiming for an Ivy League school, you should be especially careful about quality control. Read our complete guide to getting an outstanding recommendation letter for Harvard (or any other highly selective college!). All of the Ivies recommend or require that students take two SAT Subject Tests. Learn more about what constitutes a good SAT Subject Test score if you're aiming for an elite college. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

EMPLOYABILITY AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

EMPLOYABILITY AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - Article Example The following discussion reveals all the important issues highlighted on after intense evaluation of the factors that coincide with learning and employability. The process of elevating employability and personal development The phenomenon is crucial in guaranteeing the society of educated professionals, and career oriented individuals. The subject seeks to emulate the ideal personal skills sort in the elite after completion of academic courses. Employability also seeks to ensure to learners that the working environment has numerous obstacles, which can only be derailed by the expression of the ideal knowledge prior to seeking jobs in the specific industries reflecting personal careers (Gallagher, 2013, p. 259). During personal development, the workshop highlighted that students in different learning institutions needed to involve themselves in self-awareness evaluation processes. Such processes would enable them to accrue an understanding of their individual capabilities, and ideolog ies of the perceptions that may be shown by their potential employers on the event of seeking employment opportunities. ... Further, the study describes that students should rely enviably on the present resources in order to be capable of realizing the future outcomes. Personal esteem and identity match conclusively in this case since students are able to adapt the variables prior to emulation of their personal abilities (Gonon, 2008, p.89). Such practices are salient in enabling the students to realize their potentials in emulating a match in accordance to the needs and wants of the employment fraternity. The seminar highlighted on students’ modelling and rehearsal programs as subjects to the underpinning theoretical frameworks. Mainly, the seminar highlighted on John Locke’s 1968 arguments that employability procedures coincided abundantly individuals’ own goal setting, and future forecasts on their lifelong wishes. Arguments are that the process of employability and accountability further facilitate the improvement of the ideal personal abilities and talents. It is sound for studen ts to understand that their potential is ideal to the acquisition of reassurances that they will be able to earn employment opportunities after completion of their studies. Evidence from the London employability and personal development seminar highlighted that students would be working towards achievement of their future dreams only if they would be building upon their future dreams. Further, these efforts would saliently lead to the acquisition of their dream lives thus they would live quality lives. The theoretical frameworks were important in assuring learners of success since the knowledge accrued during the process would be exhorted in the future learning process. The aspect

Economic Slump Outcome Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic Slump Outcome - Article Example The withdrawal of major clients and lack of suitable counseling made the employees to search for an alternative job. Attrition is inevitable because there is insecurity of job in the minds of most of the employees and the shattered company image adds more fervor to quit.Satyam employees are absorbed by companies who have acquired the lost projects of Satyam and there is scope of survival for them. If this attrition scenario continues, then Satyam cannot go on the revival phase and sustain its existence in the software industry. In Marketing, it is a mandatory process to focus on the ROI (Return on Investment) especially during the economic crisis phase. The above citation identifies solutions to sustain the credibility of the marketing process. The split focus on increasing revenue and improving accountability and optimizing the cost. Focus on online marketing is a success as most of the people prefer to shop at the doorstep. Creative production management focuses on improving the existing technique or process to a higher degree of efficiency involving less time and cost. Automation of selected equipments contributed largely to creative production management. ... Creative production management focuses on improving the existing technique or process to a higher degree of efficiency involving less time and cost. Automation of selected equipments contributed largely to creative production management. Saving the accessories, raw materials cost is an important aspect of marketing fulfillment. Elimination of marketing wastes also paves way for effective storage solutions. Finally the entire revival process during recession depends on one critical factor which is financial management. Financial Budgets for marketing should be decided with a proactive approach focusing on the balance between allocation of funds and the return on investment. Useful alert and monitoring techniques can value add to financial management. Citation 4 Weblink: www.hindu.com/2009/02/02/stories/2009020255121400.htm - 21k Review of Citation 4 Economic Slump affected the political stability as the government is unable to grant fresh tax concessions or allocate additional source of funds to the needy. There is a lot of brainstorming done on the additional expenditure impacting the growth of economy .Banks and financial companies were in a shaken state as they are unable to slash the loan interest rates and financial crunches and trends enlighten that the crisis will continue till end of September. Appropriate decisions can be taken only after minimizing the economic crisis. Citation 5 Weblink: http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/26/stories/2009012650691400.htm Review of Citation 5 Economic slump contributed to higher degree of financial crisis and it is a shocking fact that leading banks confessed on their financial losses and instability to function as a standalone embodiment. The root cause is the lending policy

Supply Chain Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Supply Chain Assignment - Essay Example These include a lean supply chain, an agile supply chain and lastly a hybrid supply chain. This study will seek to discuss the growing supply chain relationship in today’s supply chain management while analysing the various established relationship management models and exploring both the strategic and operational considerations that are extremely essential for enabling a relationship posture that is appropriate within the supplier (Christopher 2004). Additionally, the study explores the various emerging concepts of lean supply management while discussing the importance of both the efficiency and effectiveness brought about by a lean approach and consequently proposing a general approach an organization can initiate, develop and sustain. The growing importance of the supply chain relationship in today’s supply chain management Numerous studies have observed a highly interesting trend amongst the leading companies in the world. The companies are discovering a somehow ver y powerful new source of competitive advantage in the market (Christopher 2004). This is what is increasingly gaining popularity as the supply-chain management. Supply chain comprises of all the integrated activities responsible and that can be traced to the final product in the market and which determines customer satisfaction. Supply chain management by the nature of its existence heavily depends on relationships and connections. In the context of supply chain management, the term relationship implies a lot. This may include strategic relationship, internal relationship, and transactional relationship amongst many more others. What has made supply chain necessary is the benefit that is derived from supplier relationships, most notably the increasing value and supply chain cost minimization. Additionally, the need by most companies to gain competitive advantage has made maintaining supply chain relationship very serious (Robert, Ernest 2002). The programs related to supply chain ma nagement integrates topics from all the departments of the organization which include the manufacturing operations of the company, purchasing of the company’s products, and transportation of the sales, in addition to, physical distribution into a unified program (Robert, Ernest 1989). For supply chain management to be considered successful, it must coordinate and ensure there is integration of all the above stated activities into a process that is seamless (Robert, Ernest 2002). The supply management team should further, in addition to, embracing link all the partners in the chain. Consequently, in addition to, the various departments within the organization, the other partners include vendors, carriers, information system providers and third party companies. The most fundamental objective of the supply chain management has always been to add value. Supply Chain Management has been transformed into a tool that is essential for accomplishing corporate strategic objectives (Fin ancial Executive 2002). Amongst these would include reducing working capital, accelerating cash-cash cycles, taking assets off the balance sheet and increasing inventory turns amongst and most importantly monitoring average annual sales (Carlisle & Parker 1989). Supply chain management has in the recent past become top managements new main focus area. In light

Movies Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Movies - Movie Review Example Heartbreaking in its representation of normal lives affected by political turmoil, this ode to the basic values that subsist even under such harsh circumstances has an impressive gravity that remembers another great historical romance, â€Å"Doctor Zhivago.† While younger audience may find Zhang’s grungy period and classical style backdrop too untrendy to engage, the film’s prosperous melodramatic thrust has opened the gates for a large number of domestic audiences. In additional, the ‘’Coming Home† borrows from the novel â€Å"The Criminal Lu Yanshi† by a Chinese American-based writer Yan Geling. ‘’Coming home† is a real love scenario that captures various ways of love and romance. According to the movie, not even political violence and other infirmities could come in the way of love. The most interesting episode is the moment is the tragic coincidence that begets the two lovers; Feng Wanyu (Gong Li) and Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming). Lu is arrested and detained in a political prison while his wife is involved in an accident where she sustains serious injuries. This episode is quite interesting as it exhibits the extent to which love can go. In this eposode, not even the prison bars of hospital confinement separate the two lovers. The ‘’Random Harvest† is a 1942 movie that is based on the James Hilton novel of the year 1941. The film, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, modified form the novel for the screen. It received several Academy Award nominations and won several award. The film diverged from the novel in various significant ways, as it proved quite hard to translate it to a film in it totality. It is significant to note that the movie is starred by Ronald Colman as an amnesiac-shell shocked, World War I fighter and Greer Garson as his girlfriend. According to the movie, "John Smith" (Ronald Colman) is a British soldier who was gassed and became shell shocked in the trenches in the course of First World War. He is

The Economic and Political Migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Economic and Political Migration - Essay Example The shift to the west was promoted by the federal government's massive wartime defense spending that centered in the western states and most notably California. In addition there were tax breaks for the oil industry as well as the social security program that helped sustain the area's growth. Perry and Watkins contend that once the western cities gained the advantage of defense spending, they were able to capitalize on that advantage by the theory of "cumulative causation" (Walton 409). Perry and Watkins further argue that the sunbelt cities that prospered from this advantage also erected artificial developmental barriers in a shift away from the New Deal liberalism, and this perpetuated the process. (Walton 409). As the rustbelt declined, it was unable to attract new economic activity in the changing face of technology. William Julius Wilson puts forth a more contemporary theory. Wilson states that the cities of the Northeast declined due to "economic transformation" (8). He describes this as a shift in metropolitan development strategy that was driven by the change in industry from production based to capital and technology based (8-9). More modern machines were replacing the methods popularized by Henry Ford. International competition further eroded the cities and diminished the value of physical capital.

Movies Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Movies - Movie Review Example Heartbreaking in its representation of normal lives affected by political turmoil, this ode to the basic values that subsist even under such harsh circumstances has an impressive gravity that remembers another great historical romance, â€Å"Doctor Zhivago.† While younger audience may find Zhang’s grungy period and classical style backdrop too untrendy to engage, the film’s prosperous melodramatic thrust has opened the gates for a large number of domestic audiences. In additional, the ‘’Coming Home† borrows from the novel â€Å"The Criminal Lu Yanshi† by a Chinese American-based writer Yan Geling. ‘’Coming home† is a real love scenario that captures various ways of love and romance. According to the movie, not even political violence and other infirmities could come in the way of love. The most interesting episode is the moment is the tragic coincidence that begets the two lovers; Feng Wanyu (Gong Li) and Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming). Lu is arrested and detained in a political prison while his wife is involved in an accident where she sustains serious injuries. This episode is quite interesting as it exhibits the extent to which love can go. In this eposode, not even the prison bars of hospital confinement separate the two lovers. The ‘’Random Harvest† is a 1942 movie that is based on the James Hilton novel of the year 1941. The film, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, modified form the novel for the screen. It received several Academy Award nominations and won several award. The film diverged from the novel in various significant ways, as it proved quite hard to translate it to a film in it totality. It is significant to note that the movie is starred by Ronald Colman as an amnesiac-shell shocked, World War I fighter and Greer Garson as his girlfriend. According to the movie, "John Smith" (Ronald Colman) is a British soldier who was gassed and became shell shocked in the trenches in the course of First World War. He is

Boston - Geological Development and Human Settlement Research Paper

Boston - Geological Development and Human Settlement - Research Paper Example This will be in regard to the liquefaction phenomenon, and what considerations need to be put in place, with regard to overall safety measures. The Boston area, part of the larger New England region, is often vulnerable to different earthquakes of varying measures, many of which are small and therefore largely destructive. However a few of these, over 30-40 strikes annually, are critical due to the effective destruction they can cause in terms of lost lives and damage to property and infrastructure (Miller 1). Furthermore, the region surrounding Boston is also vulnerable to shocks and earthquakes, which can be felt in the area as well. A study conducted by John Ebel, a Boston College seismologist evidently places the epicenter of these different quakes to New Hampshire portraying them as aftershocks of a bigger historical occurrence. Importantly is that he predicts a future mega-quake occurring (Miller 1/ Rashed and John 11). Fundamental to the discussion is Boston’s distinguishable feature of having â€Å"elegant brick-and-mortar architecture, which in many cases sits on loose, unstable soil† (Klee 1). Furthermore, expert opinion is of the view that the aging state of the city’s utilities and infrastructure is also a major area of concern. The Beacon Hill’s history as an abolitionist center, especially its northern streets, makes it more prone to such occurrences (Klee 43). This is complemented by Mcphee in his article Travels of the Rock in the New Yorker, who is able to investigate the region’s rock formation origin; relating the concepts of geological history and settlement schemes in the region (Mcphee 108). Accordingly, this provides a basis on which target audiences are able to link the current state of affairs, the architecture involved, and the general vulnerability; to different aspects such as historical settlement, as well as

Toll Fraud Schemes Essay Example for Free

Toll Fraud Schemes Essay Toll fraud is identified as the stealing of long distance call services by unknown third party hackers (Aginsky). The said call operators are after the money they can get from stealing and selling access to international calls. There are also instances that they are doing toll fraud schemes just for fun (Aginsky). It primarily uses telephone calls to gain profit in a very easy way by fabricating stories and disguising as company representatives. Three Examples of Toll Fraud Schemes (1) Toner Phoner or Voice Mail Penetration Scheme This scheme usually happens when someone receives a call from someone declaring to be from any office supply companies and offers best deals and last chance promos for you to buy their products (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman 38-39). Upon payment, no supplies will be delivered and if ever supplies are delivered, it is overpriced and of low quality (Rosoff, Pontell, Tillman 38-39). Once a complaint is filed against the supplier the truth will came out and the customer will be surprised to know that the one who called him/her has nor elation with the regular supplier (Aginsky). â€Å"Fraudulent companies often use threats of collection or legal action to get payment† (Aginsky). (2) Telemarketing The scam with telemarketing varies in forms. It can be in mail form or by means of phone calls solicitation of products to be donated in prominent charities only to find out that these charitable institutions are unregistered and fake (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman 35-41). Callers often disguise as sick or old and attempts to obtain delicate information like bank account or credit card numbers (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman 35-41). Another scenario of telemarketing is when business offices are called and they are asked of the brand and specifications of their products. After the call, shipments of unsolicited supplies will be received by the company and they will be charged with overblown prices. (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman 35-41). (3) Phone Phreaking Phone phreaking occurs by acquiring facts about the network operation of a certain telephone company in order to gain access to place unauthorized international calls (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman 366). Phone phreaks usually do this for personal use especially when their relatives are based abroad. It is also used for tricking telecommunication employees to gain technical information (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman 386-389) The effects of fraudulent schemes to consumers and businesses Victims of fraudulent schemes are not only consumers but business owners and employees as well. The reputation of businesses will be damaged and they will loose loyal customers because of wrong accusations against their company. Customer reliability is important to gain trust from customers who will patronize a particular business. Because of fraud schemes, this reliance is lost and business owners will be criticize and ridiculed   Consumers are left with the burden of paying phone bills and certain products which they did not made or purchased (Rosoff, Pontell, and Tillman).

Nintendo Market Analysis

Nintendo Market Analysis Introduction: The purpose of this assignment is to how do marketing research through analysis data of existing product, Nintendo Wii, competitors, and environment to achieve an increased understanding of the subject matter. Variety of marketing analysis tool, such as PEST, SWOT and Porter Five Force is illustrated in this report that evaluates marketing trend and future potential. Recommendation about Nintendo is given in the last chapter after identification key issue which includes customers, competitors and market place. Company background: Throughout its history in the home entertainment arena, Nintendo has created unique hardware and software as one integrated entertainment product, with software being the primary driver. Nowadays, Nintendo intends basic strategy that extends the worldwide gaming audience. For this purpose, Nintendo offers unique hardware and software to attract as many customers as possible around the world, which brings different experience to enjoy video game entertainment, regardless of their age, gender, language, culture background or gaming experience (Company Annul report, 2008). However, Sony usurps the pioneered static console market of Nintendo, even upstaged for a brief time by Microsoft, for years. It means that the GameCube console is not companys successful hope any more. In the same times, the console of choice for causal gamers the Wii falls short of convincing hardcore gamer that it is an essential purchase but with an estimated 3.5 million units sold in the UK, Nintendo will not be too concerned. (Mintel) Market summary The definition: The video games consoles market includes all video games used in conjunction with consoles and all associated hardware including consoles, peripherals and accessories such as gamepads, memory cards and cables. During in economical downturn, the global video game market maintains growth of 23.7% in 2008 to reach $ 49.6bn and expects to climb at a CAGR of 8.9% over the period 2008-2013, while the growth is slowly compared 2007. Console game dominates video game market as largest segment, however decreases from 54.1% in 2008 to 46.3% in 2013 by forecast. In 2008, the largest consuming market, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), occupies 35.3% of market share, which will reduce their market share in the total video gaming market by 2013. According to business insight forecast, Asia-Pacific will lead the video gaming market as the largest consumer. Nintendo, headquartered in Japan, is the largest video game publisher in the world. In the present, the majority of top 15 video game publisher exists in U.S. or Japan. There are three major players in console hardware market, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo is the market leader in the console hardware field, with around 50% share in global video game market in 2009. PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox owns similarly market share positioning at 2nd and 3rd respectively. Marco environment Macro environment is composed of broad environment factors which are considered the most general level environment. However, when many important changes take place in the environment, the organisation will be affected. PEST is illustrated to identify Nintendo future trends and determines the key drives of change. Porter five forces analysis is also used to understand how the competitive dynamics within and around the video game industry are changing from another point of view. PEST analysis PEST stands for the political and economic, social (including legal and cultural) and technological environment respectively. PEST analysis on video game industry is implemented on the followed context. Political Political environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individual. (Kotter, 2003, P174) There are many factors impact on video game industry, such as taxation policies, foreign trade regulations and social welfare policies. Due to video game play has associated as emotion of people which introverts some people to threat peace and law, therefore, government control the contents of video game with strong attitude. Another problem is copyright, which one of the recent products launched by company, Nintendo Wii, is in a controversy involving patent infringement. The company has been sued by Maryland-based Hillcrest Laboratories, which filed a case alleging a patent infringement against Nintendo. The lawsuit that is currently placed with the US International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. alleges the company of being guilty of infringement in four patents, particularly the technology used in handheld pointing device and also regarding the display interface system that manages graphic content. This allegation, if proved right, could cause the company to pay up heavily for the damages and could also result the company refraining to use the product further. The Wii console, launched in 2006, has been a huge hit and a judgement against the company could have a material impact on the company ( ). Economic During the global economical downturn, the video game industry still continues growing, driven by expansion of software sales and installed new generation of console hardware. Some places, U.S. and Japan, video game business contributes their GDP with huge dominated market. Nintendo distributes its product globally with overseas sales accounting for approximately 80% of total sales (annual report 2008). Therefore, interest rates have less influenced the video game business as they produce their own units. However, the video game business is depended on disposable income of customer. Nintendo grasps this opportunity with low manufacturing cost that increases sales volume towards normal price. The exchange rates is another majority condition to be considered that company holds a substantial amount of assets consisting on cash deposit denominated in foreign currencies without exchange contracts. When the exchange rate fluctuates, the company revaluated for earnings while foreign currencies are converted to Japanese yen. In other hands, Japanese yen appreciation against the U.S. dollar or Euro would have negative affect Nintendos profitability. Social The social factors impact on the video game industry from population demographics, income distribution, lifestyle changes, social mobility, attributes to work, level of education, consumerism, and consumer behaviour namely. Nintendo use the World of Nintendo showroom to attract and show interest to customers in order to affect customer through satisfaction their needs. Games also have magic to influence the culture of people, especially brings violent to children. These all elements will be exercised influence over the industry. Technological Focused on technological is giving Nintendo higher competitive advantage than normal video game console. The speed of technological innovation always restricts gaming industry developing. Nintendo has attributed the success of the Wii to idea of blue ocean strategy that reflects from price, movie playing, graphics, physics, fun, game library, and magic wand. Nintendo create new technologies both in game and console. For game, brain training of Nintendo DS Lite, and Wii sport brings new experience to players which they never played before. For console, it is the most distinguishing technology, Wii Remote, which contains motion sensing capability that allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and point through the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology. At last, the online capability of Nintendo Wii is a major change in the technology of the video game industry. Micro environment In this part, porter five forces and SWOT analysis are illustrated to analyze micro environment. Porter five forces Michael Porter established five forces to identify the intrinsic long-run profit attractiveness of a market or market segment (Kotler, 2003) which base on analysis supplier, customer, substitute product and potential entrants. Porter five forces model is identified source of competition in video game industry to determine competitive advantage. Supplier The Power of Suppliers is very high as there are more suppliers available to a handful of companies in the video game industry. The suppliers are companies themselves that companies are developing their own video games. There are lots of products to innovate and develop may consist of CDs disk, hard disk, electronic components, softwares, game writers, packaging of the consoles, printing of manuals and additional features like graphics and so on for marking the game more acceptable and popular. Potential entrant Although Sony and Microsoft are strong competitors to Nintendo, industry rivalry exists in the strategic alliances, for instance straggling to control market. These huge players such as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, are already becoming tuff battle between companies to control market. This means that the threat of entrant into the industry can be ignored with existence of player during these big players. Customer The Power of Buyers in the video game industry is low as there are very few successful companies in the video game industry, therefore a small variety of video games available to the buyers. The individuals playing video games comprise an increasingly large and definition-defying group. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average gamer is 35 years old and has been playing for 13 years. Today video players comes from different diverse segment of students, employees, military troops, seniors, mothers and fathers who have driven the evolution of games into new territory. When these first players grow up, their family will enjoy more fun during game with their children and parents. This is so called multiplying the pool of multi-generational gamers exponentially. As volume of player increasing, the market forces push the video game developed and bring new and diverse audience. Substitute product There are too many products, such as online game, PC game and mobile game; however, no product can replace console game. They have special fun during init, such as Wii Remote. Strengths Nintendo plays the important role of console hardware which is a market leader position. It means that the primary target is video game market instead of other product portfolios. This is considered to increase aggressiveness in bolstering sales through its existing formidable product line up. Nintendo also reduces the manufactory cost due to only focuses game function. As previously chapter, the console game depends on customer disposable income, which Nintendo low price strategy will reach an extensive number of loyal users transferring to customer expectation and demands into sales. Be worth mentioning, Wiis arsenal is totally different to its competitors, which innovates motion-sensitive controllers made for game. Weakness Nintendo is market leader in the moment, however still concentrates on remaining and expanding market share instead of developing new brand or games. Nintendo maintains profitability via extensive price competition. Designing new game requires large financial investment and research which cost numerous resources. That is why it depends on more existing brands rather new game. Nintendo abuses the strong censorship and restriction implement on new software game, which bound new game developer creative and innovation. For instance, Square Enix cooperates with Sony PlayStation for its Final Fantasy VI stand of Nintendo, owning to strictly censorship. Opportunities Online video game continuously grows and many of software sales also drive a growing base on console hardware and accessories. Nintendo also launch new product known as Touch generation DS, and Wii which expands new definition of video game industry. Specially, Wii promotes lots of fun via Wii Remote and accessories, conventional operation. Threats Development of hardware is complex and time consuming. With technology growing fast today, it is possible limitation factor if company may be unable to acquire necessary technology. It leads to delay hardware launched and lost market share. Cooperation with third party is also important element because third party manufactures key components and assemble final product. If some of these businesses are failed, Nintendo procures or manufactures its products difficultly. In addition, these elements, short of key components, quality of product and high base cost, causes margin decline and impairs the relationship between Nintendo and third party. Key issue Competitor analysis The major competitors of Nintendo are Sony and Microsoft. Microsofts Xbox 360 had been in market since November 2005 and Sonys next generation system, PlayStation 3, would to launch November 17, 2006. With a combined 93% existing market share, these industry behemoths shared a winning strategy: obsessing over the hardcore male gamer who invested tons of money and time into video gaming (Source: NPD, Sept. 2006). Sony: Sony has strong competitive advantage that Playstation 1 dominates 37% of the market and Playstation 2 (PS2) is even better, which only launch in the 4th quarter of 2000, shares 8% of the console market. Now, new generation product Playstation 3 (PS3) with improved technology controlled 21% market share for the latest generations of players in the U.S. in 2007. Sony still focuses 18-34 year old as target group, sophisticated video game consumers. Microsoft Xbox Live: Microsoft forays the console game industry that Xbox 360 has sold 2.4 million in UK by mid-2008 compared to around 2.3 million original Xbox console. Position somewhere between the hardcore players console that is the PS3 and the family-friendly Wii, the 360s main strength are its Xbox Live product and its exclusive games, such as Halo (Mintel). Xbox Live owns 12 million subscribers in worldwide, but less 3 million lives in Europe. Xbox is one of major online game provider. Market issue Global economical downturn influence too many areas, Japan, North American and Europe, which dominate Video gaming market. For example, Japans real GDP growth rate dropped from -0.7% in 2008 to -6.4% in 2009. Combination of unemployment and low wage of weight, customer purchases necessary goods instead of toy and video game. Wii launches into market until now to prove two strategies correct, which is low price of console and focuses family game. According to SWOT analysis, Wii markets issue is sub-standard software which means censorship. Fish Games CEO believes the Wii markets issue that have partly been the result of poor quality games that flooded the market, leaving consumers who had bad experience to spend money only on the key franchises. Nintendo relies on third party software developer and publisher, however the strictly censorship system leads to too many valuable and interesting game miscarried. Final Fantasy VI is good example of Nintendo censorship. It directly leads to limitation of game and loss aggressive to its competitors. As we known, the majority of players are made by male that are unable to accept childish and changeless game. They prefer more exciting game, such as activity game rather than Cook Mama female game. Nintendo attempts to create new market, home video game, overseas and expand the range of its product in the toy sector. In response this objective, the company is developing new characters other than Ben 10 and collaborating with overseas TV networks on their respective promotions (business inslight). Recommendation Nintendo should not only focus market share, but also develops variety of game to increase aggressive. Only depending on low price cannot win customer loyalty. PS3 and Xbox owns over 200 titles games attractive customers mind, whereas Nintendo Wii is only famous as Wii sport. Although there are a serve of sport games, customer do not satisfy monotonous games. They demand the more exciting, interesting and variable game. Nintendo works as global company, which do not only sale its products in several specific county or area. The company should develop more region as its market, such as China and Indian. Until now, there is no product sale in China, which loss lots of opportunity and margin as well. References Dibb, K. P. (1991). Marketing..Concept and Strategies European Edition. 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Web references The Video Gaming Market Outlook: Evolving business models, key players, new challenges and the future outlook (2009) Business Insights http://blog.royaltyuniverse.com www.money.cnn.com www.Nintendo System History.com www.revolutionportal.com www.businessweek.com www.gamespot.com www.mevuk.com www.ninetendowiifanboy.com www.nwiizone.com www.rpsite.net www.theesa.com/gamesindailylife/health.asp www.wii.com www.wiisworld.com