Friday, December 27, 2019

Inventions Timeline Middle Ages Innovations

Though there is a dispute as to the exact years that bookend the Middle Ages, most sources say 500 A.D. to 1450 A.D. Many history  books call this time the Dark Ages as it reflected a lull in learning and literacy, but, in fact, there were plenty of inventions and highlights during this time.   The time period was known for its famine, plague, feuding and warring, namely the biggest period of bloodshed was during the Crusades. The church was the overwhelming power in the West and the most educated people were the clergy.  While there was a suppression of knowledge and learning, the Middle Ages continued to be a period full of discovery and innovation, especially in the Far East. A lot of inventions sprouted from Chinese culture. The following highlights range from the year 1000 to 1400. Paper Money as Currency   In 1023, the first government-issued paper money was printed in China.  Paper money was an innovation that replaced paper money that had been issued by private enterprises in the early 10th century in the Szechuan province. When he returned to Europe, Marco Polo wrote a chapter about paper money, but paper money did not take off in Europe until Sweden began printing paper currency in 1601.   Movable Type Printing Press   Although Johannes Gutenberg is usually credited with inventing the first printing press about 400 years later, it was, in fact, Han Chinese innovator Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the  Northern Song Dynasty  (960–1127), who gave us the  worlds first movable type printing press  technology. He  printing  paper  books  from ceramic  porcelain china  materials around 1045. Magnetic Compass   The magnetic compass was rediscovered in 1182 by the European world for maritime use. Despite European claims to the invention, it was first used by the Chinese around 200 A.D. mainly for fortune-telling. The Chinese used the magnetic compass for sea travel in the 11th century. Buttons for Clothing Functional buttons with buttonholes for fastening or closing clothes made their first appearance in  Germany  in the 13th century.  Prior to that time, buttons were ornamental rather than functional.  Buttons became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting garments in 13th- and 14th-century  Europe. The use of buttons used as adornment or decoration have been found dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization around  2800 B.C.,  China  around 2000 B.C. and the ancient Roman civilization. Numbering System   Italian mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci introduced the Hindu-Arabic numbering system to the Western World  primarily through his composition in 1202 of  Liber Abaci, also known as The  Book of Calculation. He also introduced Europe to the sequence of  Fibonacci numbers. Gunpowder Formula   English scientist, philosopher, and Franciscan friar Roger Bacon  were the first European to describe in detail the process of making  gunpowder. Passages in his books, the Opus Majus and the Opus Tertium are usually taken as the first European descriptions of a mixture containing the essential ingredients of gunpowder. It is believed that  Bacon most likely witnessed at least one demonstration of  Chinese  firecrackers, possibly obtained by Franciscans  who visited the Mongolian Empire during this period.  Among his other ideas, he proposed flying machines and motorized ships and carriages.   Gun It is hypothesized that the Chinese invented black powder during the 9th century. A couple hundred years later, a  gun or  firearm  was invented by Chinese innovators  around 1250 for usage as a signaling and celebration device and remained as such for hundreds of years.  The oldest surviving firearm is the  Heilongjiang hand cannon,  which dates back to 1288. Eyeglasses   It is estimated about 1268  in Italy, the earliest version of eyeglasses was invented. They were used by monks and scholars. They were held in front of the eyes or balanced on the nose. Mechanical Clocks A major advance occurred with the invention of the  verge escapement, which made possible the first mechanical clocks around 1280 in  Europe. A verge escapement is a mechanism in a mechanical clock that controls its rate by allowing the gear train to advance at regular intervals or ticks. Windmills The earliest recorded use of windmills found by archaeologists is 1219 in China.  Early windmills were used to power grain mills and water pumps.  The  concept of the windmill spread to Europe after the Crusades. The earliest European designs, documented in 1270. In general, these mills had four blades mounted on a central post. They had a cog and ring gear that translated the horizontal motion of the central shaft into vertical motion for the grindstone or wheel which would then be used for pumping water or grinding grain. Modern Glassmaking The 11th century saw the emergence in  Germany  of new ways of making sheet glass by blowing spheres. The spheres were then formed into cylinders and then cut while still hot, after which the sheets were flattened. This technique was perfected in 13th century  Venice around 1295.  What made Venetian  Murano glass  significantly different was that the local quartz pebbles were almost pure silica, which made the clearest and purest glass.  The Venetian ability to produce this superior form of glass resulted in a trade advantage over other glass producing lands. First Sawmill for Shipmaking In 1328, some historical sources show that a sawmill was developed to form lumber to build ships. A blade is pulled back and forth using a reciprocating saw and water wheel system. Future Inventions Future generations built upon the inventions of the past to come up with marvelous devices, some that were unfathomable to the people in the Middle Ages. The following years include lists of those inventions.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Government Protecting Citizens from Corruption

Introduction The fundamental ground of our democracy is â€Å"The First Amendment† that gives its citizens the promise of freedom of expression. The First Amendment may be seen as a concept of basic freedom, which carries the idea that it, is more important to practice rather than to protect it. Regardless if a person is liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, the role within the United States government is to carry out essential responsibilities its citizens cannot perform. The United States citizens are responsible of electing politicians into government positions to solve the problems the country faces. One of those problems is corruption. The power of money is at the center of political corruption and even though fraud has been in existence for a long time, in recent years it has become a lot worse. In the past when politicians sought to run for office each individual had to raise a few thousand dollars, businesses in the past were smaller, manageable and the risk factors were minimal. Currently political contributions run in the millions, making Washington a booming business. Most of the money that is raised goes to lobbyist, campaign aids, deceiving PR operations, and pretentious grass-roots groups. The American citizens have felt the repercussion with the political and lobbying establishments who are now in control of the public debates and the policy-making process all for the benefit of the well-financed special interest groups. 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Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Truman and Stalin Eats and West Rivalry free essay sample

Shamil Aly IB History HL Period E 26th January 2011 Re-do Test Essay (Question 2) During the Second World War, Truman and Stalin were allies because the US and the USSR were the two most powerful countries that took part in the war. Their will do defeat Germany is what kept their alliance stable and they became much more powerful after combining their powers. After the Second World War the east and the west were having bad relations which caused a separation of the two areas, Stalin controlled the east while Truman controlled the western areas. The events that occurred during this separation led up to the start of the Cold War. This event was post revisionist; this means that both Stalin and Truman were to blame for start of the Cold War. The reason why they became enemies was because they both wanted to prove to be more powerful and that just made things worse. Both Stalin and Truman had similar and different actions and thoughts while they were in power and their alliance ended which caused them to become eager on making every attempt possible on attacking each other. Before the Cold War both Stalin and Truman were quite defensive. They didn’t plan on any attack to another country but instead focused mostly on protecting their land and themselves in general. This was before the development of the atomic weapons which then changed this and made them feel more confident with their military. They both also had alliances with other countries and this made them feel more secure. The USSR had a stable alliance with China and West Germany which had just been founded. On the other hand the US had an alliance with two European countries being the UK and France. I believe that the fact that they played a defensive role was a good choice because if a war started then many countries would get involved. Later on East Germany was founded and became allies with the US. This means that Germany was split into East and West because they had different allies. Truman and Stalin decide to make a move and overtake Korea, what actually ended up happening was that Korea got split into North and South. Truman was in power of North Korea while Stalin was in power of South Korea. This agitated Truman and Stalin to start a war between each other because they both wanted to keep power in Korea. Then the Marshall Plan containment was made, it stated that the US would support the European countries economically by making loans so that they could rebuild their economy from the damage caused by the Second World War. The Comecon was the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance which was founded by the Soviet Union. It was similar to the ERP and the Comecon stated that Economical support would given to the European countries in order for them to rebuild. Stalin and Truman both had ideological and realpolitik thoughts about the world and didn’t just have one way of thinking. They both refused to stay neutral and they wanted to gain as much power as they could. The atomic age began in 1945 and it started with the US which was led by Stalin. The atomic weapons were developed in private by the Manhattan Project. The Project continued at around the end of the Second World War until July 1945 in which a successful bomb was produced. Stalin was Communist while Truman was Capitalist. Truman tried to end the spread of Communism and he used the atomic monopoly as a threat to the Communists since the US was the only country with atomic weapons. The time in which the atomic weapons became successful was basically the start of the Cold War. US lead the monopoly but scientists figured that it was just a matter of time before Stalin/the USSR developed atomic weapons too. During this time period in which the atomic weaponry wasn’t developed in the USSR made the US feel very powerful. The Truman Doctrine was then brought up by Truman himself. It basically stated that the US would support any government which was being threatened, the Truman Doctrine didn’t mention anything about communism but Truman said that he would let any country get taken over by the USSR which was communist. Stalin had broken promises at Yalta and so Truman decided to get him back by trying to remove troops from Eastern Europe and holding up free elections from the countries that were part of Eastern Europe. Stalin wanted to turn Greece to become communist and so Truman saw this as a good opportunity to start a war against the communists. Truman decided that the best option would be to move all the communists to Russia. Berlin was a Capitalist island in East Germany which was led by Truman. He changed the currency of West Berlin and wanted to make Germany more independent. Truman made a blockade in Berlin and no rivers would lead to Berlin. Truman supplied food to Berlin with the use of aircrafts as a mode of transport. The West lost around 100 million US Dollars using the aircraft method of transport, around 79 deaths occurred and overall it was very expensive. Stalin gave up on Berlin and decided to leave it as a Capitalist island. Stalin then claimed victory of East Berlin and East Germany. West Germany became independent, the Berlin Blockade made Stalin and Truman realize that if they kept wanting more power then the war would never end. This caused the creation of NATO. After Roosevelt died the East and West created bad relations with each other because Truman didn’t get along with Stalin while Roosevelt and Stalin had made peace between each other. Also the UK was being led by a new president which was inexperienced and couldn’t create peace between Stalin and Truman unlike the vice president who could do so. The Cold War started because both Stalin and Truman were eager to gain as much power possible and this created a rivalry between them, the development of the atomic bomb just added to the reasons of why the Cold War should have started. Both Truman and Stalin contributed to the breakdown of the East and West relations.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Politic Fights Essays - Arbitration, , Term Papers

Politic Fights Every election year brings on the same hurdle for the firefighter's union. The mayoral candidates approach the union and ask for their support throughout the election. This is a major decision the union (union representatives) has to make. The representatives of the union have to approach the membership with their recommendation for whom to support so that the candidate will have full support from the union. Hopefully, the candidate chosen by the representatives of the union wins the election. If the candidate chosen does not win the election, the elected candidate not supported by the union, understandably, he has little or no respect for the union at that time. In the 1993 election year the union had to make a major decision on whom to support for mayoral position, the one we chose was defeated. Because he did not win, there was a struggle between union and management. This did not come about because the union was looking to control the new administration, but the town wanted benefits given back which were negotiated with the mayor that we were supporting. The union's main goal during this time frame was to get the new administration to have some kind of respect for us when we went down to the town hall to resolve issues that arose. For the first few years, the only way the town would see it our way was when the arbitrator's decision was in our favor. This was quite often. Since 1993, I have been either on the executive board or vice president of the union and received experience in grievances, arbitration and negotiations. The town is forever taking us to arbitration and seldom winning. We have a contract that protects us. Our contract was negotiated collectively by the union and management. When a new administration controls the finances of the town, their first goal is usually to attack the benefits in our contract. The administration now, which is running the town of Johnston, took over in 1994. They thought that the firefighter contract was a lucrative one. The town leaders thought that they would win many benefits back by just taking us to arbitration. Along with this attitude, the town leaders had little respect for the union and the leaders of the union because of the reasons mentioned before. The town of Johnston's first task with the firefighters union was to negotiate a contract. They came after our Blue Cross insurance, pension, pay, and our promotional exam. They would soon find out that the firefighters union was in no position to just give benefits back to the town. They were in for a fight. These negotiations went on for an extensive amount of time. Being part of negotiations in the past, I knew that most concessions the town was asking for were part of negotiations and immaterial to them. After weeding out the non-essential proposals we were down to the bottom line. The raise was the last item left that would make or break the agreement. The negotiation team, which I was a part of, came up with a unique way to receive a raise. We were to receive no raise for eighteen months then go from a bimonthly payment schedule to biweekly a payment schedule, which gave the union a eight percent raise that year and a total of thirteen percent over a three year period. The town agreed and the contract was signed. The union and town ended the negotiations, with the union not conceding to any issues we felt were significant to us. This would be our first major victory. The town's next fight was not to pay the union members their longevity the way it was calculated in the contract. We went to the town leaders to rectify the situation but the administrators would not negotiate anything but what they thought the contract said. Since the town and the union could not reach an agreement, the union filed a grievance with the American Arbitration Association (this association will schedule a date and an arbitrator to hear the case) so that the two parties could resolve the issue. This was another major mistake the town made, in not having any respect for the unions advice in how to handle the dispute the town cost the taxpayers money in arbitration and in payment to the union members. The town would not take our advice no matter how straightforward we were with them. I can understand that they thought we were trying to manipulate them into the way we seen

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

EBay Corporation Internationalization Strategy

Executive Summary EBay Corporation is a U.S. company that operates in the internet and digital media industry by providing an interface to buyers and sellers of different products online. The industry is very competitive and the company has managed to keep up with the level of competition. The management of eBay has pursued the internationalization strategy that has enabled it to expand over time to other multinational markets.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on EBay Corporation Internationalization Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While operating in different multinational markets, the company has faced various challenges and risk such as fraud risks, difficulties of coping up with regulations in different countries of operation. The company obtains its revenue through eBay marketplaces, Paypal and Skype. The findings of this study on application of internet marketing in eBay indicates that the company ma rkets and earns revenue online by providing market stores for different companies selling different products to online customers. Introduction The internet and digital media are advanced technologies that are utilized by organizations in the modern business environment to ease business transactions. The two technologies were developed many years ago with their development beginning immediately after the Second World War. The internet has made business transactions easy. Some companies such as eBay have utilized the technology as a competitive advantage in providing services to sellers and buyers. The company was established in 1995 and has utilized the internet to enable suppliers meet and supply products to their clients. The system has been successful and has enabled the company to grow and expand into international markets. However, it has not been able to succumb to competition in all markets since it was pushed out of the Japanese market. Fraud risks and the risk of conforming to different regulations in different countries of operations threaten its future existence (Racin, Van Der Loos Illes, 2007, p. 183). The internet and digital media dates back many years ago after the Second World War in which there was need to develop a communication system that would survive any difficulties. The proposal to create the telecommunication network that had no central authority and could operate while in disrepair was put forward by Rand in 1964.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Research for the telecommunication network began in early 1960 with some milestones being made in 1967 when the physical laboratory of Britain developed the initial tests of the network (Lohse, et al. 2000, p. 19). This discovery was followed by the U.S development of the network that contained four nodes in 1969 that were characterized by high-speed computers. The high-speed network developed in the U.S. grew faster in the 1970s and more networks were developed in the 1980s. For instance, in 1984, NASA entered into the internet industry. The company provided technical advancement that linked newer and faster microcomputers using thicker fast links (Calvin, 2004, p. 66). A team of programmers in Geneva designed the web. The web is a form of the internet that utilizes the hyper-textual format of the internet to develop a network of information that is global in nature (Blossom, 2009, p. 65). It comprises individual sites for different organizations. Through the sites, firms and individuals are able to share different kinds of information both business and social. The web can be accessed by any individual interested in it and has enough time. Blossom (2009, p. 65) notes that the legacy of the internet can be reduced to two that are egalitarian openness and flat pricing. Therefore, any individual can access the internet and the web at any time worldwide at a very low price based on the bandwidth being accessed (Lohse, et al. 2000, p. 21). Company Profile: eBay EBay Corporation was established in 1995 as an online auction that provides an interface between buyers and sellers of different products online. Pierre Omidyar, a software engineer base in California, established the firm. According to Blossom (2009, p. 68), eBay has its mission as â€Å"pioneering communities around the world built on commerce, sustained by trust and inspired by opportunity.† The business practices in which eBay is involved in is three and includes: EBay Marketplaces: this is the major revenue earner of the company. Under this section, eBay creates an online market for global corporations and individuals. In this online market, the company sells over 100 million products online daily.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on EBay Corporation Internationalization Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The online marketplace is the number one revenue earner for eBay contributing about 70% of the total revenue earned by the corporation (Lohse, et al. 2000, p. 21). EBay has been successful in online marketplace because of the ability of the company to manage its functionality, safety, and reliability of the trading platform. In addition, eBay has increased the usability of the online marketplace making its customers and suppliers to like it and prefer using it for the sale and purchase of different products (Blossom, 2009, p. 69). Paypal: this is the second revenue earner for eBay because it contributes about 25% of the total revenue realized by the corporation. Under this business model, the company aims at creating a new global standard for online payments. The company made the acquisition of Paypal in 2003 hence utilizing it to make payments for its clients (Charlesworth, 2009, p. 121). Skype Internet telephony: eBay acquired Skype in 2005 as another investment venture for the company. The venture is the third source of income for eBay since it earned the firm 5% of total revenues realize din the 2007 financial period. EBay used to value the firm highly beyond the true value of the firm hence incurring an impairment charge. However, the corporation has been able provide services for MySpace users (Ngai, 2003, p. 30). The last business model that was a source of about 4% of the firm in 2007 financial period was advertising among other online sources of revenue. The revenue Model Much of the revenue realized by eBay is obtained from the listing and commissions earned from its business transactions. The firm charges an extra commission on Paypal transactions. According to Allen (2008, p. 81), the margin that the corporation realizes on the transactions is phenomenal because the incremental costs made after the construction of the infrastructure are tiny.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The income that eBay realizes from advertising and other non-transaction net revenues only make up a small portion of the total net revenue realized by the corporation. According to Blossom (2009, p. 66), eBay intends to maintain this strategy of low revenues from advertising and non-transaction net revenues. For instance, in 2004, non-transaction net revenue was about $94.3 million, which was only 3% of the total revenue realized by the company (Ngai, 2003, p. 33). Customers and Proposition The main customers of eBay are online customers willing to purchase different products online. In addition, the company provides an interface for suppliers willing to supply different products to their online customers. The company has established a competitive advantage on core service provision (Ngai, 2003, p. 38). EBay is a reliable marketplace in which sellers can successfully list their items for sale on bids or fixed prices. Due to its reliability, the online marketplace is attractive to m any sellers. For instance, in 2007, the firm had about 532,000 online storefronts established by different users throughout the world. Different software tools such as Turbo Lister, Sellers assistant and selling manager among others to help them in conducting their transactions, provide traders utilizing the site on a frequent basis. Therefore, about 60% of suppliers listing their products are aided by software (Silver, 2004, p. 58). Fraud is a significant risk experienced by different online operators selling and purchasing different products online through the company site. One out of 10,000 transactions recorded in the UK in 2005 were fraudulent. Although the number is small, the translation of the figure into the total number of transaction the firm makes worldwide results in a significant volume of transactions. To overcome fraud cases and risks, eBay has developed trust and safety programs that reassure customers of the safety of their online transactions. For instance, the co rporation has initiated the feedback system in which the credentials of both sellers and buyers can be identified (Charlesworth, 2009, p. 121). According to Blossom (2009, p. 66), eBay make propositions to both the sellers and buyers. The proposition for buyers involves selection of products, their value, convenience and entertainment. The firm has established an online forum called neighborhoods in which buyers can discuss the different products and provided by the company. For sellers, their propositions include access to broad markets, marketing and distribution that are cost effective, access to a large market base and good conversion rates (Acquisti Varian, 2001, p. 25). The company changed its marketplace into three structures that are free structures, seller incentives and standards and feedback. The structures were aimed at improving the quality of experience that would enable sellers provides detailed ratings. In addition, the structures provided sellers with the ability t o review the items described, improve communication, period of delivery and improve postage charges. The changes made by the corporation improved the shopping experience by the firm’s clients (Acquisti Varian, 2001, p. 25). Competition The competitiveness of an organization determines the survival of the company in the industry. Every organization including eBay aims at maximizing profits while minimizing the costs incurred. In order to minimize costs while maximizing the realized profits, it is necessary for the firm to have a competitive advantage (Tanner, Honeycutt Erffmeyer, 2008, p. 116). The company has established a competitive advantage in interfacing between online buyers and seller of different goods and services. The uniqueness of the services provided by eBay is that there is a direct link between firm and its clients since a feedback system exists for the clients on the services provided. The services provided by the company are reliable and free of risks becau se the company has minimized fraud risks (Wang, Lee Wang, 1998, p. 66). The examination of competition in the internet and online business will be done using porter’s five forces as explained below. Porter’s Five Forces Source: Porter (1980, p. 29) Buyer Power There has been an increase in the bargaining power of the online customers of online products and services due to their ability to purchase any products of any company in the industry competitors’ products. By venturing into different markets across the world, eBay competes with other dominant companies in the industry such as Yahoo among others. The buyer power is high and the company requires strategic planning in order to provide high quality services that can compete with competitor products for effectiveness in the industry. The free choice from available alternative quality products of various competitors has raised the buyer power (Gay, Charlesworth Esen, 2007, p. 99). Supplier Power There are ma ny suppliers to eBay supplying different products being sold by the company online. Any fluctuations in the demand for online products and goods could easily cause an increase in the supplier power (Honeycutt, Ford Simintiras, 2003, p. 219). For instance, a fluctuation in the demand for computer chips sold through eBay could easily lead to supply of the chips on demand hence the increase in the supplier bargaining power for HP. Supplier power affects the operations of eBay (Porter, 1980, p. 77). Substitutes Substitutes to eBay services comprise of online and offline retailers, distributors, liquidators, import and exports companies. In addition, there are other online auctioneering companies, mail order companies, catalogues and directories. Companies provide online and offline shopping channels and networks that are substitutes to the services provided by eBay. Due to these substitutes, competition for eBay provided products has increased. Market Rivalry There is very high rivalry among competitors in the online marketing and internet business. The main competitors in the industry include firms providing various services similar to the services provided by eBay. For instance, there are mail order companies, liquidators, online and offline participants, search engines, catalogue and mail order companies among other companies (Racin, Van Der Loos Illes, 2007, p. 184). EBay is not complacent with the competition in the industry. Due to the high level of competition in the industry with firms such as Yahoo providing similar services, eBay pulled out of the Japanese market in 2005. The company still faces competition from Yahoo in other markets such as Asia and China. Yahoo provides similar competitive services that are likely to attract more customers in the markets (Silver, 2004, p. 59). New Entrants The online business industry is characterized by free entry and exit. Every organization operating in the industry is aware of the threats that new entrants pose to their existence. In spite of heavy investment in the industry by eBay, new entrants such as Yahoo among others still pose a danger to the existence of the firm in the industry. Opportunities Competitiveness in the industry increases operating risks of operating in the industry for eBay. However, there are still many opportunities to be explored by eBay. For instance, the company can exploit emerging markets such as India and Brazil. In addition, the firm can exploit mergers and acquisitions with other upcoming organizations in the industry (Zacher, 2009, p. 201). Threats The threat in the industry is the threat of new entrants. The industry is at a mature stage and it has enough companies operating in it. Therefore, the entry of new firms would increase the level of competition further than expected. Moreover, fraud risks pose some dangers to the operations of eBay. Strategic Decisions made by eBay Management Strategic management is mandatory for firms in the modern business envi ronment because of the dynamism of the business environment. EBay operates in a very competitive industry that requires the management of the company to make strategic decisions in line with its strategic goals and objectives. The company has its strategic objectives as: Increasing the number of new users registered to utilize the services the company offers on its online marketplace. Increasing the number of registered users that actively participate in bidding, buying and selling on the company’s marketplace (Ngai, 2003, p. 45) The firm aims at increasing not only the value, but also the volume of active transactions on eBay marketplace. The organization had about 83 million active users by the end of 2007 compared to the 82 million active users that it had in 2006. The company defines active users as clients who bid, purchase or lists items on the website of the company in the past 12 months (Racin, Van Der Loos Illes, 2007, p. 183). The company achieves these objective s through other approaches as outlined by the management. The company has strategies to pursue the increase of category numbers and sizes of the marketplace. For instance, the company pursued this strategy to increase the categories such as books, art, antiques business and industrial clients in the marketplace. EBay pursues the interaction strategy in which it has traditionally been realized through auction listings. The strategy was refined to its current â€Å"Buy-It-Now† price format (Schwartz, 2006). The format of the strategy is the ‘Dutch auction’ format that is characterized by sellers selling multiple identical products to the highest bidders. EBay Corporation developed its stores for the main reason of enabling suppliers with multiple products to display their products in a more retail format. The management is pursuing the acquisition of other firms as a strategy to provide an enabling environment for suppliers of multiple products. For instance, eBay acquired Mobile.de in 2004 from Germany and Marktplaats.nl from Netherlands. In addition to the acquisitions, the company has invested heavily in other organizations such as Classified ad in the U.S., acquisition of Rent.com and stubHub in 2007 (Silver, 2004, p. 57). EBay has pursued another strategy of localization in different regions and countries. Under the localization strategy, the company has been able to achieve a larger market place for localized geographies such as Australia, India, Malaysia, Canada and U.S among others (Ngai, 2003, p. 48). Success factors Basing on the above strategies undertaken by the corporation, the company has been successful in meeting its set objectives. The ability of eBay to meet its set objectives is attributed to different success factors such as the ability of the company to attract buyers and seller, the ability of the company to handle a large volume of transactions, selection of a good price and good selection of goods for sale. According t o Howe (2000, p. 91), eBay provides high quality customer services that when coupled with high quality products and services offered, it creates a brand recognition, customer satisfactions and loyalty. These success factors have been able to lead to success due to the importance that the developing the value added tools and services by the company. Value adding tools to eBay include tools used before and after trade to enhance user experience while making trading faster, easier and safer. With regard to competitors, success factors for eBay include the ability of the company to enhance community cohesion, system reliability, and convenience of the website, lower level of service charges and provision of quality search tools (Chaffey, et al. 2008, p. 78). Challenges of doing business on the internet EBay is a multinational corporation that operates in different business environments across the different regions of operation. Due to the dynamism of the business environment, the compan y encounters different issues that have negatively affected the performance and competitiveness of the company (Acquisti Varian, 2001, p. 19). To begin with, the company faces regulatory requirement challenges including regulation of auctioneering, professional selling distance selling and transmission of money. The company encounters legal uncertainties regarding the liability for listings and contents provided by users (Sellers, 2010, p. 103). The uncertainty could also result from the less user-friendly internet systems in different markets of operation. As the company operates in the countries, it faces the challenge of integrating with local payment providers such as banks, credit and debit card associations and electronic fund transfers. Other challenges faced by eBay are as listed below: differing levels of retail distribution, shipping and communication structures Different employer/employee relationships that affects productivity and service provision of the firm, hence p rofitability Challenges in staffing and managing overseas subsidiaries Adverse taxation consequences that could affect negatively the profitability of the company The firm faces strong local competitors that have forced eBay to exit some markets such as Japan. The company faces cultural ambivalence towards or non-acceptance of online trading. Fraud In spite of the above challenges, eBay if doing everything to overcome them and ensure that it maintains its global competitiveness. The firm has employed various strategies such as utilizing locals from the different countries of operation to conduct it business. The locals in different regions have enabled the company improve employer/employee relationship in a bid to improve its performance. The advance in technology has enabled the company to outsource expertise from different countries. This has enabled eBay to reduce its operating costs while maintaining a competitive edge. Conclusion EBay Corporation operates in the online market place industry that is dynamic and competitive the firm was established in 1995 and since its establishment, it has been able to grow and expand its operations to not only online marketplace, but to include international payment systems such as Paypal and Skype, online communication. The company has established a competitive advantage in customer service and quality service deliveries that have enabled it maintain a competitive edge in the highly competitive industry. The management of eBay Corporation has pursued the internationalization strategy that has been achieved through several mergers and acquisitions over time. Through the mergers and acquisitions, eBay has been able to successfully venture into other international markets such as in UK, Asia, China and Canada. In spite of the success in the expansion, the eBay has not been successful in keeping up with competition in all markets. The company has been forced to exit in some markets such as Japan in which it received stiff competition from Yahoo. The company faces some risks such as fraud and high competition. It is recommended that the company increase its level of interaction and diversification in order to hold onto its market share while improving it performance. References Acquisti, A Varian, H 2001, Conditioning Prices on Purchase History, Marketing Science, Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1-33 Allen, C 2008 Advertising and integrated brand promotion, New York: Cengage Learning. Blossom, J 2009 Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives, and Our Future, New York: John Wiley and Sons. Calvin, R 2004 Sales Management. 2 Ed. New Jersey, NJ: McGraw-Hill Professional. Chaffey, D et al. 2008 Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice, 3/E, Pearson Education, USA. Charlesworth, A 2009 Internet marketing: a practical approach, Butterworth-Heinemann, Slovenia. Gay, R, Charlesworth, A Esen, R 2007 Online marketing: a customer-led approach, London: Oxford Univers ity Press. Honeycutt, E, Ford, J Simintiras, A 2003 Sales Management: A Global Perspective, London: Routledge. Howe, K 2000 Understanding advertising: History, persuasion techniques, mass media, target audiences, Ad creation, Wako, TX: Prufrock Press. Lohse, G et al. 2000, Consumer Buying Behavior on the Internet: Findings from panel Data, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 15-29 Ngai, T 2003, Internet Marketing Research (1987-2000): a Literature Review and Classification. European Journal of Management, Vol. 37, no. 1/2, pp. 24-49 Porter, M 1980 Competitive Strategy, New York, NY: The Free Press. Racin, E, Van Der Loos, A Illes, J 2007, Internet Marketing of Neuroproducts: New Practices and Healthcare Policy Challenges, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Review, Vol. 16, no. 02, pp. 181-194. Schwartz, M 2006 Fundamentals of sales management for the newly appointed sales manager, New York, NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Sellers, N 2010 Advertising techniques and consumer fraud, Volume 8, New York: Gregg Division, McGraw-Hill. Silver, D 2004, Internet/cyberculture/digital culture/new media/ fill-in-the-blank studies, New Media and Society, Vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 55-64. Tanner, J, Honeycutt, E Erffmeyer, R 2008 Sales Management: Shaping Future Sales Leaders, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Wang, H, Lee, M Wang, C 1998, Consumer Privacy Marketing about Internet Marketing. Communications of the ACM, Vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 63-70. Zacher, R 2009 Advertising techniques and management, Harrison City: R.D.Irwin. Print. This report on EBay Corporation Internationalization Strategy was written and submitted by user Kyler Wise to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Seven Voyages of the Ming Chinese Treasure Fleet

The Seven Voyages of the Ming Chinese Treasure Fleet Over a period of almost three decades in the early 15th century, Ming China sent out a fleet the likes of which the world had never seen. These enormous treasure junks were commanded by the great admiral, Zheng He. Together, Zheng He and his armada made seven epic voyages from the port at Nanjing to India, Arabia, and even East Africa. The First Voyage In 1403, the Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of a huge fleet of ships capable of travel around the Indian Ocean. He put his trusted retainer, the Muslim eunuch Zheng He, in charge of construction. On July 11, 1405, after an offering of prayers to the protective goddess of sailors, Tianfei, the fleet set out for India with the newly-named admiral Zheng He in command. The Treasure Fleets first international port of call was Vijaya, the capital of Champa, near modern-day Qui Nhon, Vietnam. From there, they went to the island of Java in what is now Indonesia, carefully avoiding the fleet of pirate Chen Zuyi. The fleet made further stops at Malacca, Semudera (Sumatra), and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Zheng He beat a hasty retreat when he realized that the local ruler was hostile. The Treasure Fleet next went to Calcutta (Calicut) on the west coast of India. Calcutta was one of the worlds major trade depots at the time, and the Chinese likely spent some time exchanging gifts with the local rulers. On the way back to China, laden with tribute and envoys, the Treasure Fleet confronted the pirate Chen Zuyi at Palembang, Indonesia. Chen Zuyi pretended to surrender to Zheng He, but turned upon the Treasure Fleet and tried to plunder it. Zheng Hes forces attacked, killing more than 5,000 pirates, sinking ten of their ships and capturing seven more. Chen Zuyi and two of his top associates were captured and taken back to China. They were beheaded on October 2, 1407. On their return to Ming China, Zheng He and his entire force of officers and sailors received monetary rewards from the Yongle Emperor. The emperor was very pleased with the tribute brought by the foreign emissaries, and with Chinas increased prestige in the eastern Indian Ocean basin. The Second and Third Voyages After presenting their tribute and receiving gifts from the Chinese emperor, the foreign envoys needed to go back to their homes. Therefore, later in 1407, the great fleet set sail once again, going as far as Ceylon with stops in Champa, Java, and Siam (now Thailand). Zheng Hes armada returned in 1409 with holds full of fresh tribute  and again turned right back for another two-year voyage (1409-1411). This third voyage, like the first, terminated at Calicut. Zheng Hes Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Voyages After a two-year respite on-shore, in 1413 the Treasure Fleet set out on its most ambitious expedition to date. Zheng, He led his armada all the way to the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, making port calls at Hormuz, Aden, Muscat, Mogadishu, and Malindi. He returned to China with exotic goods and creatures, famously including giraffes, which were interpreted as the mythical Chinese creature the qilin, a very auspicious sign indeed. On the fifth and sixth voyages, the Treasure Fleet followed much the same track to Arabia and East Africa, asserting Chinese prestige and collecting tribute from as many as thirty different states and principalities. The fifth voyage spanned 1416 to 1419, while the sixth took place in 1421 and 1422. In 1424, Zheng Hes friend and sponsor, the Yongle Emperor, died while on a military campaign against the Mongols. His successor, the Hongxi Emperor, ordered an end to the expensive ocean-going voyages. However, the new emperor lived for just nine months after his coronation  and was succeeded by his more adventurous son, the Xuande Emperor. Under his leadership, the Treasure Fleet would make one last great voyage. The Seventh Voyage On June 29, 1429, the Xuande Emperor ordered preparations for a final voyage of the Treasure Fleet. He appointed Zheng He to command the fleet, even though the great eunuch admiral was 59 years old and in poor health. This last great voyage took three years  and visited at least 17 different ports between Champa and Kenya. On the way back to China, likely in what are now Indonesian waters, Admiral Zheng He died. He was buried at sea, and his men brought a braid of his hair and a pair of his shoes back to be buried in Nanjing. Legacy of the Treasure Fleet Faced with the Mongol threat on their northwest border, and the huge financial drain of the expeditions, Ming scholar-officials deplored the extravagant voyages of the Treasure Fleet. Later emperors and scholars sought to erase the memory of these great expeditions from Chinese history. However, Chinese monuments and artifacts scattered all around the rim of the Indian Ocean, as far as the Kenyan coast, provide solid evidence of Zheng Hes passage. In addition, Chinese records of several of the voyages remain, in the writings of such shipmates as Ma Huan, Gong Zhen, and Fei Xin. Thanks to these traces, historians and the public at large can still ponder the amazing tales of these adventures that took place 600 years ago.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Venus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Venus - Essay Example Her genital area has a clear definition. This figurine has a large, round stomach. Her stomach hangs, but does not cover her genitalia She also has large flat buttocks. Her head has a pattern of concentric rings which can represent her hair or a kind of head dress. Her thighs and knees are large. She has no feet. This means she cannot stand on her own. She has no facial features. This makes her anonymous (Lammerhuber 2008). Venus of Willendorf is an exceptionally erotic figure. Her female aura was expressed in her ample bosom and detailed genitals. Her large sexual features depict her as a fertility icon. Her form portrays her nurturing abilities. She lacks a face. This imparts her with universality. She is a universal symbol of womanhood. Her lack of feet could be to provide immobility. Studies show that she may have been a prehistoric fertility goddess. Her power would lie in the ability to procreate. Other translations depict her as a doll for children in the prehistoric age. Venus of Willendorf has also been translated as a self-sculpture of a large woman. This figurine represents an impressive degree of artistic ability in its basic structure and intricate details (Lammerhuber