The success of Apple with the application of Porter's strategy theory Essay

The success of Apple with the application of Porter's strategy theory - Essay Example In 1996, Jobs arrived on Apple's campus for the first time in nearly 11 years, becoming interim and then permanent CEO† (Kanter, 2010). Many commentators therefore separate Apple’s history under Jobs as â€Å"Jobs I† and â€Å"Jobs II,† with the latter being his re-introduction to the company. Apple, during its early years, was quick to establish a core competence. As one group of authors states, â€Å"A company’s core competence can relate to any of several aspects of its business: expertise in building networks and systems that enable e-commerce; speeding new or next generation products to market; good after-sale service; skills in manufacturing a high-quality product; (and) innovativeness in developing popular product features;† these authors also stress the importance of â€Å"speed and agility in responding to new market trends and changing competitive conditions; know-how in creating and operating a system for filling customer orders ac curately and swiftly; and expertise in integrating multiple technologies to create families of new products.†(Thompson and Strickland, 1997). ... â€Å"We are living through extraordinary times for the music business. One of the great success stories of the 20th century is turning unpleasantly sour in the 21st† (Cook, 2003). From this perspective, it is fairly impressive that Apple has been able to capitalize in a market where it is essentially competing with a free product by putting its own 99 cent downloads up against it, successfully. â€Å"Apple has sold more than 500 million songs in 19 countries since it introduced iTunes in the United States over two years ago. While iTunes by itself is not viewed as a big money maker for Apple, it has helped drive sales of its wildly popular iPod portable music player† (Apple, 2005). From this perspective, the service is selling the hardware. Another major issue facing Apple is that if consumers do not see what they want aligned with their needs in a retailer, they are likely going to go someplace else to hire the product they are seeking. â€Å"The record companies hav e never had it so bad. The world is still saturated with popular music, but somehow its very omnipotence has taken the shine off its profitability: as popular as pop stars are, many of us have had enough of them† (Cook, 2003). Porter’s framework applied Porter’s Five Force analysis has achieved wide credibility as a form of industry analysis. Also, some of Porter’s key concepts can be applied to Apple. â€Å"The intensity of industry competition and an industry’s profit potential are a function of five forces of competition: the threats posed by new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, product substitutes, and the intensity of rivalry among competitors† (Schmalnese, 1985). Porter’s Five Forces model of industry analysis is, stemming rationally from the

Criminal Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal Behavior - Essay Example An investigation of male and female criminal activity will see a shift in female behavior that has been influenced by social and cultural pressures, and a narrowing of the gap between male and female perpetrators. Recent decades have seen an increasing prevalence of female criminals and the crimes that they commit have become more violent. During the 10-year period from 1986 to 1997 the adult male correctional population increased by 67 percent, while the women's population increased by 100 percent (Demographic trends, 2008). Still, crime is an activity that is dominated by males as 5 percent of them are under some form of correctional supervision in the US compared with only 1 percent of the female population. However, female crimes have become more violent in nature. In 1989, 13 percent of the crimes committed by females were violent in nature, but that number had increased to 17 percent by 2002 (US Department of Justice, 2004). In addition, in the year 2000 women constituted 6.7 percent of the total state and federal prison population, and that number had increased to 7.2 percent in 2007 (US Department of Justice, 2008). Data from a variety of sources verifies that women have become more a ctive in crime in a more violent fashion. The contrast between male and female crime and the shift in demographics in recent years can help give an indication of the motivations that underlie criminal activity. Emotion has a far lesser impact on a man's decision to commit a crime than it does for a female. When men commit a crime it is often the result of learned behavior that has been the result of social interaction. Ramoutar & Farrington (2006) report that, "According to social learning theory, if individuals have ample opportunity to observe aggressive or violent behaviour, this will increase the chance that they will learn to value violence and incorporate it into their behavioural repertoire" (p.562). These behaviour patterns are learned from parents, family members, social networks, and promoted through the culture of the popular media. The male dominated society has traditionally tolerated male violence and males are responding to the motivation of perpetuating the existing social norms (Women's Aid, 2005, p.7). Soc ial and cultural norms are at the foundation of the difference in male and female demographics in regards to the types of crimes committed. Women commit violent acts as a means of reacting to their socially repressed status, while males commit violent acts as a learned behavior and minimizes the act based on society's acceptance of male domination. While social learning is a factor that impacts a male's decision to commit a crime, it is also a factor that discourages women from criminal activity. Social control theory further states that "human beings have a natural tendency to engage in antisocial behavior, irrespective of gender" and that strong community, family, workplace, and social ties all contribute to a person's reluctance to engage in criminal activity (Li & MacKenzie, 2003, p.279). According to Corbett (2007) there are significant "informal pressures and sanctions placed on women by family to conform to appropriate gender prescribed behaviours that discourage deviance" (p.258). Women have traditionally been perceived as the 'weaker sex' and sheltered from the male dominated activities associated with

Wk 11 (2nd Discussion) Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wk 11 (2nd Discussion) - Article Example is really about questioning the authenticity of something regarded as fact, and this perspective should be adapted and not disregarded if one aspires to grow in truthful information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way to interact with information is by delving deeper into its research basis. If a claim is made, one should ask, â€Å"What scientific research supports such claims?† (Pope, 1998). If none can be provided, then this claim can be dismissed as mere hearsay, or looking at it as a challenge, is a statement which can fuel a research study to be conducted to determine whether it is true or not. If a research study is provided as a support though, then it is but proper and fitting to scrutinize the instruments and methods utilized in gathering and analyzing data. For example, if s survey questionnaire was given out by a psychologist to the respondents, validity of the tool should first be established to ensure that the questions will not bring about bias to the study or it should undergo face and content validation by experts in the field first to ensure that the questions are not leading towards specific results. This should be done since the anomalie s may be rooted foremost in the methodology, which also paved way for erroneous conclusions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Now, the aforementioned approach can be likened to the scrutiny of the branches of a plant. Another way to determine the accuracy of information is to examine closely vague and ambiguous terms. Repressed memories of sexual abuse during childhood have been studied by many, but the definition of repressed memories has been haphazardly used by in media, literature and in legal proceedings. A gray area has clouded the vivid demarcation of whether repressed memories are figments of the unconscious defense mechanisms or whether it is a scheme of forgetting (Pope, 1998). Defining terms and allotting which definition is described in which study can provide a much clearer way of assimilating information, and a way to determine

Reaction Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reaction Journal - Essay Example The arrest of Eugene V. Debs is reminiscent of authoritarian governments which Americans now criticize in other global regimes, such as China. However, this had a positive consequence: the formation of the American Civil Liberties Union. ‘The Roaring Twenties’ appears to be a misnomer! Economic prosperity was concentrated in big business, but did not extend to the agricultural sector or rural area. Public support for the Ku Klux Klan, the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the National Origins Act of 1924, lynching, and the banning of interracial marriages indicated an upsurge in racism. Christian fundamentalism raised its head. Perhaps it assumed a connotation of general well-being, because it was sandwiched between the World War 1 and the Great Depression. Ironically, the New Deal failed to satisfy the privileged class (who resented the higher taxes imposed on them), critics in the Democratic Party (Huey P. Long declared that it failed to do enough for the poor), or the Republican opposition (Senator Taft condemned it for its socialist stance, deficit spending and its attack on private enterprise). The AAA’s destruction of ‘surplus’ agricultural production (during a period of acute food scarcity!) and discrimination against blacks, debase the New Deal.3 President Roosevelt’s ‘Four Freedoms’ – freedom of speech and worship, and freedom from want and fear, was accepted American ideology, but contradicted and undermined by racism. It is tragic to read Foner’s account of the government â€Å"bending over backward to accommodate German-Americans and Italian-Americans in the war effort† but â€Å"viewing every person of Japanese ethnicity as a potential spy†4. The meaning of ‘freedom’ was controversial during the 1950’s. The Cold War identified freedom with anti-communism: racially segregationist South Africa was part of the ‘Free World’ merely because

Biblical Exegetical paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Biblical Exegetical paper - Essay Example Admittedly, Israel in this context is accused of disobedience to God. Before probing further, I would like to shed light on two commentaries on Micah 6:8 to know how this verse is understood widely. To begin with, Barnes on his commentary on Micah says that the prophet through the 6:8 versus tells the people ‘what thing is good; the inward man of the heart righteousness, love, humility’. This is a question from them â€Å"with what outward thing shall I come before the lord†. What the lord requires is an earnest search within. God seeks you, your heart and your spirit rather than yours, your substances and ram or goat. To seek mercy and love there requires righteous judgment. It is not right if you praise yourself and accuse god for evil in you. It refers to the duty of the man too. As god himself humbled in flesh we need to humble ourselves with God, walk on with him. Matthew 5:48 says be ye perfect as your father which is in heaven is perfect. Be merciful as you r father also is merciful. God is not pleased when they offer creatures ‘blood that cannot take away their sin; and instead they themselves become sinful. In the sight of the lord no man living in this world are righteous. No human can wipe away sins that there is nothing that can wash away the stains of offences. It reveals the helplessness of people that they are not at all able to please god by their own abilities except with the help of god. As we are ignorant about what to do to get our sins forgiven, being hesitated we ask, where and how shall I come before the lord. The obedience to god by the people, especially the Pharisees went single dimensional. They lacked the true meaning of it. It was evidential in their Sabbath practices, their offerings and their interpretation of the law and so on. The blood of the animal cannot compensate our sin but that of us. And Barnes continues that even though we dedicate ourselves with all we have, they are not a repayment for our sin s; only the blood of Christ can cleanse our hearts. Micah adds nothing new to the law but only repeating what is in the law. Micah reveals to the people about their half service to God and that is contrary to the law of God. Micah changes the way people looked at and observed the words of Moses to expose unforgivable sins of Israel. According to Barnes, Micah includes nothing more to the law when he prophesies. He just reminds the people who are doing countless rituals and meaningless practices to please God. God being kind towards his people again asks them to pay attention to the same thing that he had been telling through his prophets before. But on the other hand, Matthew Henry in his commentary looks at the verses of Micah with a different perspective. According to him, the people had been trying hard to please God whenever they were warned by God about their ingratitude towards Him. ‘Where with shall I come’ signifies the inner cry of everyone. People still believ e that there is a God who saved them from slavery and who guided them. First of all they seek to come before God and they also want pay homage to him. Further they inquire what the Lord will be pleased with. Like Barnes Matthew Henry also focuses further on the three requirements that God expects from us. Firstly we must do things justly in our daily life and we must be righteous. Secondly, as God does, love to be merciful. Thirdly, the most important is to walk humbly

Statement of the problem Essay Example for Free

Statement of the problem Essay This study explored the experience of subjective well-being (SWB) among the institutionalized aged: concept of well-being, indicators of the cognitive and affective components, and the factors which contribute towards their sense of well-being. It also looked into the perception of their close associates on the SWB of the elderly under investigation. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: 1. What is the concept of subjective well-being among the institutionalized elderly? 2. What are the indicators of the cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being? 3. What are the factors which contribute towards the subjective well-being among the institutionalized elderly? 4. How do the close associates of the elderly view the following: the concept of SWB, the indicators of cognitive and affective components, and the factors contributing toward SWB among the elderly? 5. Are there similarities and differences observed in the view of the elderly and their close associates with regard to the experience of SWB among the institutionalized aged? This chapter presents in detail the research design, the description of the participants, the instruments used, the data gathering and analysis procedures. Research Design The present study employed the qualitative research design (Heppner, Kivlighan, Wampold, 1999; McLeod, 2001). Qualitative research involves doing one’s utmost to map and explore the meaning of an area of human experience. Generally it examines people’s words or actions in narrative or descriptive ways more closely representing the experiences of the people involved. It emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found and the qualitative researchers believe that human behavior cannot be understood outside of its context. According to McLeod (2001), the knowledge generated by qualitative research through eliciting peoples’ stories, sensitive listening, building up an understanding, and checking it out is usually holistic, nuanced, personal, contextualized and incomplete. Key (1997) observes that in qualitative research detailed data is gathered through open ended questions that provide direct quotations, and the interviewer is an integral part of the investigation. The present study was exploratory in nature (Westman, 2004) and employed case study as well as interview method to collect the data. It helped in understanding the concepts and personal meanings and theories held by the people who were being studied. The study also contributed to the understanding of how the elderly in the home for the aged conceived and defined quality of life or subjective experience of well-being in their lives as perceived by their administrators. Case Study. The rationale for including case studies were: (1) case studies strive towards a holistic understanding of cultural systems of action (Tellis, 1997). The interviews on the elderly elicited holistic information and nuances about their life and subjective sense of well-being. Content analysis alone could not do justice to the nuances came across in the accumulated data. According to Tellis (1997), selecting cases must be done so as to maximize what can be learned. (2) Case study is known as a triangulated research strategy (Tellis, 1997). The present study being qualitative, employing triangulation confirmed the validity of the findings (Yin, 1994). Interviews are one of the most important sources of case study information. Interview Method. In a qualitative study human person is the primary collection instrument. Insisting upon measurable outcomes to determine the quality of life is a disservice to elders (Moberg, 2001) and the world has many accounts of what aging looks like from the outside, but we have little insight into what aging looks and feels like and their sense of well-being from the perspective of older adults (Ray, 2002). It is an unquestionable truth that questions about what makes life worth living and what is their subjective experience of well-being to individuals are answered only by asking the individuals themselves. It helped to explore and explain the complexity of the fabric of life entering to its labyrinth, expressing the personal which is always interpersonal. In other words it gave access to the phenomenological data, which is the respondents’ perception, of themselves and their world. Exploring the concept of well-being, the indicators of cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being among the elderly and different features that they thought were helping toward their subjective experience of well being in the given situation of life, the researcher was able to gather the subjective description of the lived experiences of the institutionalized elderly.

Modified Radical Mastectomy for Contralateral Breast Cancer

Modified Radical Mastectomy for Contralateral Breast Cancer Abstract Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide. With improving survival figures and early breast cancer detection, treatment related long term adverse effects of radiotherapy have become a concern. Contralateral breast cancer due to scatter radiation from during radiotherapy of diseased breast is one of them. This prospective clinical study was conducted to measure the dose received by the contralateral breast and compare the different techniques which influence this dose. It was found that in post mastectomy patients, treatment with telecobalt medial tangential field contribute more dose to contralateral breast compared to supraclavicular field and lateral tangential fields. The mean dose received by contralateral breast during irradiation of chest wall was 168.29 cGy which 3.36 percentage of the prescribed dose. Key Words; contralateral breast dose, breast malignancy, thermoluminescent disc, scattered radiation Introduction Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among the women worldwide. [1] With improved survival figures due to early breast cancer detection and multimodality treatment, long term adverse effects in the form of second malignancy of contralateral breast (CLB) has become a concern. In patients getting radiotherapy to the affected breast, CLB also receives radiation in the form of scattered radiation due to scattered from primary. Second malignancy is a late sequel of radiation appearing at an interval of 10-15 years. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] Since breast is highly radiosensitive structure this dose to CLB is a major concern especially in younger women and patients with longer life expectancy. Although radiation induced malignancy is a stochastic effect but the intensity increases linearly with increase in dose. [8] Studies have measured CLB dose on phantom and patients and have observed that the dose to CLB is more for medial tangential (MT) than supraclavicular field (SCL) field and later al tangential (LT) field. In our centre 22% of female patients are suffering from breast cancer and majority of them belong to low socio economic status and presented with advanced disease. In the present study we measure the dose to CLB in patients receiving radiotherapy following modified radical mastectomy (MRM). The radiation dose to CLB were measured with the help of CaSO4: Dy thermoluminescent discs (TLD). The TLD are highly sensitivity and can measure even very small doses. Materials and methods Measurement of CLB was done in 25 patients undergoing for EBRT by cobalt teletherapy machine (THERATRON 780 C and E) following MRM. Precalibrated TLD (9mmÃâ€"13mm) were placed on the surface of CLB. Total three discs were placed one at the nipple and other vertically on either side of nipple 3 cm apart. We tried our best to place the TLD on the same position each time. Skin tattooing was done to demarcate the exact position at the first sitting and this was used subsequently to replicate the position. After delivery of radiation dose for a particular field the discs were removed and another set of three discs were placed for next reading. In this way total six discs were used daily, three for SCL field and three for MT or LT field as MT and LT fields were treated on alternate days and SCL field was treated daily. For MT and LT fields breast cone was used for half beam block. Total dose delivered was 50 Gy in 25 fractions, 2 Gy per fraction, 5 fractions per week in 5 weeks. The expos ed TLD were stored in radiation free zone and the readings were taken after 24 hours and within 7 days after exposure because after seven days the TLD start to loose electrons. The scattered dose received by TLD were measured on NUCLEONIX TL 10091 TLD reader. After one set of measurement, the discs were annealed by heating 400 degree celcius and then used for next measurement. For each patient, measurements were carried out at first week, third week and last week, total three times during the course of treatment. Statistical Analysis Mean dose calculation received by CLB. Total dose received by CLB, this was calculated by multiplication of mean dose to number of fractions. The percentage of radiation dose received by CLB with respect to the prescribed dose to diseased breast (Total doseÃâ€" 100 / prescribed dose to diseased breast). We also stratified data based on gantry angle at which EBRT was delivered (≠¤50 degree and > 50 degree). The statistical software SPSS version 20.0 was used for the data analysis. Results The age wise distribution of patients and the mean dose received by CLB is shown in table 1. 19 out of 25 patients in our study were 50 years or younger. 52% patients had left sided breast cancer. Table 2 shows the contribution of SCL, MT and LT field dose with the gantry angle at which the radiation dose was delivered. Total dose received by CLB varies from 1.22% to 5.82% of the prescribed dose of 50 Gy to the affected breast. Mean total dose received by CLB was 105.55 cGy with MT field followed by SCL field, (33.96 cGy) and LT field {(28.97 cGy) as shown in table 2. This data shows that the maximum contribution of dose to CLB was with MT field followed by SCL field and LT field. Mean dose with all three fields received by CLB was 168.48 cGy with SD  ±62.23 which corresponds to 3.36% of prescribed dose to affected breast. 11 patients were treated on cobalt unit with gantry angle ≠¤ 50 degree having 3.00% contribution of CLB dose (table 3). 14 patients treated with gantry angl e > 50 degree had 3.79% contribution of CLB dose (p=0.199). The mean, median and range were 3.66, 3.34 and 4.60 respectively. Discussion It is well known that exposure to ionizing radiation causes carcinogenesis in healthy tissues. Although it is a stochastic effect having no threshold dose but the intensity increases with increase in radiation dose. CLB must be considered as an organ at risk during radiotherapy planning for treatment of cancer breast. Many previous studies conducted to calculate the dose received by CLB, were based on patients, phantom or treatment planning system. Boice et al analyzed the record of 41109 patients of cancer breast and they found the mean CLB dose was 2.82 Gy. [9] They also hypothesized that there was increased relative risk of CLB malignancy due to exposure to ionization given to diseased breast. The relative risk was 1.19 for all patients, however the relative risk was more (1.49) for younger patients who were less than 45 years old. In our study, the maximum dose received by CLB in women below 40 years which was 3.93 percentage (196.437 cGy) of prescribed dose. The minimal dose was received in patients who were above 60 years of age {(1.96 %) (97.875 cGy)}. The possible reason could be the increased laxity of breast tissues in older women cause more lateral shifting of CLB away from the radiation at the time of exposure. Half beam block technique is routinely used while irradiating the breast with tangential beams. [10, 11] Kelly et al measured CLB dose on Alderson Rando phantom using TLD with four different techniques of breast cancer treatment using 6 MV photon beam on linear accelerator. [12] The used half beam block with asymmetrical jaws, custom blocks and symmetrical collimator jaw. Another technique used was isocentric method with non divergent posterior border. They observed highest dose to CLB in MT field with wedge. In our study radiation was delivered using half beam block with breast cone. The dose to CLB was maximum with MT field because in half block beam, the breast cone is placed near to surface of breast which cause increased dose due to secondary collimator scattering. Bhatnagar et al compared dose to CLB during EBRT to chest wall irradiation using conventional tangential technique and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). [13] They observed 20 percentage reduction of dose to CLB using IMRT. According to a study by Chougule, the average contralateral nipple dose was 152.5-254.75 cGy and the percentage was 3.05-6.05% for a dose of 5000 cGy in 25 fractions for post mastectomy breast cancer. [14] In our study, the measured mean contralateral nipple dose on was 171.88 cGy (55.5-303.80 cGy) which accounts to 3.47% (1.11%-6.07%) of prescribed dose (table 2). Dose to CLB were higher for dose calculated at the level of nipple as compared to dose received by whole CLB. This may be due to TLD at level of nipple being closest to the radiation source. According to Rankel et al with high gantry angle the beam will be closer to the surface leading higher dose to the CLB. [15] In this study, it was found that with gantry angle >50 °, more dose was delivered to the CLB though the difference is not statistically significant (p=0.199). Conclusion In our patient cohort, higher inadvertent CLB dose was delivered in younger patients with MT field; overall, dose being 3.36 percentage of prescribed dose.