Physics of A Coaster essays

Physics of A Coaster essays Individuals love to go to the amusement parks and try out the rides that are available. The most common and thrilling ride is the roller coaster. An amusement park is not an amusement park if it does not contain a roller coaster. What makes these roller coasters so fun that every amuse parks has one. A lot of people would say it is their extreme high speeds that makes it very exciting. That is a valid answer, but it is the wrong answer. The speed has nothing to do with the excitement. It is more than likely that most people travel faster on their ride along the highway on the way to the amusement park than they would in a roller coaster. Basically the thrill all comes from the acceleration and the feeling of weightlessness that they produce. Roller coasters thrill people because of their ability to accelerate them downward one moment and upwards the next; leftwards one moment and rightwards the next. How does this thrill machine work? There are two ways that this question w ill be answered. First, through the basic principles and then through a more advanced explanation. Roller coaster rides involve a great deal of physics. The ride often begins with a chain and motor which exerts a force on the train of cars to lift the train to the top of a tall hill. Once the cars are lifted to the top of the hill, gravity takes over and the rest of the ride works on energy transformation. There is no motor or engine that takes a train around the track. The law of physics is basically the engine of the train. At the top of the hill, the cars possess a large amount of potential energy because they are elevated very high above the ground. The potential energy depends on the mass and the height of the object. As the cars are released they lose a lot of their potential energy but they gain kinetic energy because all of the potential energy is transferred into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy depends on the...

ACT Expert Guide Whats the Highest Possible ACT Score

ACT Expert Guide What's the Highest Possible ACT Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What is the highest possible score on the ACT, and how rare is it to get one? Whether you're just now diving into your ACT prep or have been at it for a while, you're probably wondering what the best score is. In this guide, we’ll explore the odds of earning the maximum ACT score and give you tips and advice for reaching it. What Is a Perfect ACT score? The highest possible score you can earn on the ACT is 36(on a scale of 1-36). This 36 is a composite, or average, of your four subject area scores- English, Reading, Math, and Science.Each section is also scored on a scale of 1-36. (If you take the ACT with Writing, your essay willnot affect your composite score. This means you can get a perfect 36 without earning a perfect essay score of 12.) The 36 points you can earn on each section are scaled scores, which are translated from your raw scores- that is, the total number of questions you get right on each ACT section. (For more information about how each ACT section is scored, see our article on ACT scoring.) The magic number. So just how rare is a perfect 36? According to ACT, Inc., out of the 1,914,817 students in the class of 2018 who took the ACT, only3,741earned the highest possible ACT score. That’s just 0.195% of test takers! If you’re looking to be part of that 0.195%, keep reading to learn the raw ACT scores you'll need for each section- and why it’s possible to get a perfect score without answering every single question correctly. The Composite ACT Score Needed for a 36 Your composite score on the ACT is the most important part of your score, since it represents your overall performance. When people refer to a perfect ACT score, they are talking about a perfect 36 composite. However, since your composite ACT score is calculated from the average of your four subject area scores- not the total- you do not need a perfect 36 on every section to get a perfect 36 composite. For example, say you got the following subject area scores: English: 36 Reading: 36 Math: 36 Science: 34 This means your composite would be as follows: (36 + 36 + 36 + 34) / 4 = 35.5 Because you can only get whole numbers- not decimals- for your composite ACT score, this score of 35.5 would round up to the best ACT score of 36. This is a slight difference from the SAT, for which your composite score comes from all the sections being totaled, not averaged. To get a perfect score on the SAT, you need a perfect score on every section.For the ACT, you can have a slightly less than perfect score on one or two sections and still net a 36 composite! The Raw Scores Needed for a Perfect ACT Score While it’s possible to get a 36 composite without getting a 36 on each ACT section, if you're truly aiming for a 36, you should study with the goal of getting a 36 on each section. But why? First of all, this will help you focus your studying on becoming 100% consistent. If you study with the allowance of making a few mistakes, any additional mistakes you make will definitely cost you the 36. But if you study with the goal of getting a 36 on each section, if you do end up making one or two mistakes, you could still net a 36 composite. This official chart estimates how raw ACT section scores will translate into scaled scores. Based on this official chart, you need to aim for a perfect raw score- that means answering every single question correctly- on both Reading and Science to get a 36. Meanwhile, you can miss one question each on the English and Math sections and still get a 36. While these estimates show it is possible to get 74 raw points on the English section and 59 points on the Math section and still get a 36 composite, this could change depending on how the ACT you end up taking is scaled. (This is becauseeach test is scaled a little bit differently- check out our guide to ACT conversion chartsto learn more about how this process works.) Ultimately, the only way to guarantee a 36 is to get a perfect raw score in every section. How to Get Perfect Raw ACT Scores to Guarantee a 36 If you're aiming for a perfect ACT score, the best way to do this is to aim for a perfect raw score on every ACT section (in other words, aim to get every single question right!). Here, we go over our top tips to help you do just this. #1: Be Consistent and Maintain Your Stamina Since you're aiming for a perfect raw ACT score on every section, you must be able to achieve perfection during studying and while taking practice tests. This is especially important for developing better test-taking stamina and efficiency. Even if you're capable of answering all the questions in a section correctly, to get a perfect 36 on the ACT, you will have to be able to work within the allotted time.Here is an overview of the time limits per ACT section: ACT Section Total Time # of Questions Time per Question English 45 minutes 75 36 seconds Math 60 minutes 60 60 seconds Reading 35 minutes 40 52.5 seconds Science 35 minutes 40 52.5 seconds For the Math section, you get exactly one minute per question. For English, Reading, and Science, you get less than a minute. This intense pacing is why it’s so important to aim for speed and accuracy while studying. #2: Find Your Weak Spots Our second tip is to use ACT practice questions and exams to find your weak areas- whether they are trigonometry questions on the Math section or the social science excerpt on Reading. Try to figure out where the gaps in your knowledge are and why you are answering certain questions incorrectly. Once you know exactly where you struggle, you can target your studying. To get a 36, you must learn the concepts behind the questions you struggle with the most, and develop systems and strategies for solving those question types. With enough studying, your weak links could become strengths. #3: Don’t Get Complacent Although you will spend a good deal of time on your weak spots, never assume that you have a section in the bag.For example, even if you're amazing at math and got a 36 on your first official practice test, don't neglect the Math section when you study. Taking practice tests can help you become familiar with the pacing you will need on test day, and they'll also help you spot any careless mistakes you tend to make. #4: Prevent Careless Mistakes Although the bulk of your studying will be spent addressing stubborn weak spots, make sure you are on the lookout for where you make small mistakes. That could be anything from skimming too fast and missing the point of a question, to an arithmetic error on Math, to even bubbling in an answer incorrectly. Want more strategies on how to get the maximum ACT score? Read our detailed guide to getting a 36. Key Takeaways: Aiming For the Maximum ACT Score Although it will be tough to study for that perfect 36 ACT score- after all, only 0.195% of test takers achieve it!- it's not impossible. Keep in mind, too, that although a 36 composite is considered perfect, a composite score of 34 or higher is already in the 99thpercentile of test takers. In other words, if you get a 34+, you have done better than 99% of students who take the ACT. That's a great accomplishment! Studying using the principles in this article and aiming for perfection can definitely help you get a 99thpercentile ACT score- which isn't too shabby, even for a perfectionist. What's Next? Want a more in-depth guide to getting a perfect ACT score? Read our guide on how to score a 36, written by a 36 perfect scorer. Aiming for a top-tier school? Learn what ACT scores it takes to get into the Ivy League. Not aiming for a perfect ACT score? You'll still need to figure out what score you should aim for, and get the best one you can. Read our step-by-step guide to calculating your personal ACT target scoreto get started. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? We've written a free strategy guide to the top strategies you should be using in your studying. Download it now:

Reasons Gillette Is The Best A Brand Can Get Assignment

Reasons Gillette Is The Best A Brand Can Get - Assignment Example The researcher states that the mark-up that a brand commands without sacrificing on market share shows us the value attached to that particular brand by the consumer since he is willing to pay the extra amount for that particular brand because he associates the great value to it. Based on this criterion, there are a handful of brands that come to mind that charge a very big mark-up, however very few global brands come close to the mark-up commanded by Gillette. The razor series by Gillette commands a mark-up ranging from 3000% to a whopping 4750%. This mark-up is huge if we are to compare it with other global brands of our times. The cosmetic industry average is 80% to 90%, while that of brands like Coke is in the range of 300% to 600%. The mark-up of Gillette is all the more significant because in its field of operations it has a market share of close to 70%, which proves the value that the consumer sees in the brand. On another front, it proves the profitability of the brand. The h uge margin that Gillette products have clearly indicated to us that the brand is a star in the portfolio of companies P&G has. Thus the mark-up along with the market share it has and with no clear competitor insight makes Gillette the most enviable brand in the world today. The important factor in analyzing the company’s marketing strategy is to understand the 4Ps in their entirety and not as separate entities and more importantly one has to understand that every strategy comes from the vision and mission the company has and in the case of Gillette the vision is â€Å"to establish a brand value by delivering consumer value faster through innovation in customer leadership†.

Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Immigration - Essay Example Despite the fact that the force to search for better fortunes across the borders is too powerful to resist, it is not always gratifying since problems also exist in the US for the immigrants. To illustrate this, Nazario (12) reckons that Enrique decides to travel to the US since his mother’s expectations of changing their life are foiled with time, to an extent that she even stops calling home. Life in third world countries around the world, particularly those in South America, Central America and neighboring Mexico is difficult due to underdevelopment. The difficult conditions at home for the immigrants make the case for immigration powerful such that not even immigration laws can stand in the quest for a better life across the border. Lack of proper services in home countries of the immigrating population when or poor service delivery when compared to the US triggers survival interests for instance when involving food and medical services. As an illustration, child protection services are poor or inexistent such that children struggle to look for their parents who leave them behind. â€Å"What kind of desperation, I wondered, pushes children as young as seven year old to set out, alone through such a hostile landscape†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Nazario xiii) Other services such as safety and security as well as justice are not as advanced in the third world setting, which compel movement in search of delivery of such in the US (Brick and Rosenblun 5). Several immigrants seek to reunite with their family members such as children in search of their parents who leave them and immigrate to the US never to return home. Under the circumstances of family reunion reasons, blood ties form a very strong force propelling immigrants to cross over the borders despite strict legal regulations. The seriousness of some of the above risks to living a normal life as a

Binge Drinking Essay Example for Free

Binge Drinking Essay Currently, binge drinking has become a crucial issue in the UK, it causes many problems such as car accidents, underage drinking, health. Drinking alcohol is an acceptable activity in a positive way such as people celebrate their holiday or family day. However, it is not recommended binge drinking that means drink beverages over 8 units for men or 6 units for women regularly. (The Drinkaware Trust, 2012) Therefore, government tries to reduce the harm of alcohol by introducing minimum price of 40p per unit. ( BBC News, 2012) I suggest that the minimum price for alcohol is needed to be implemented because it can save lives, improve public health and stop drinking in long-term. This essay will discuss that the reasons why people binge drinking, the consequences of alcohol abuse and the pricing policy of the government. [Drinking is quite normal behaviour in the UK. For example, people usually work on weekdays, which they need to have leisure time to relax or go out with their friends, they might drink during this period. On the other hand, some people drink too much alcohol when they spend time in club or city centre. And another issue with drinking alcohol is that there are too many hazardous drinkers among the young generation in the UK. According to Mistral 2009, younger people has a high percentage increase in alcohol-related death at 57%. Furthermore, they drink more beverages than older people. (Mistral, 2009) There are many researchers suggest that binge drinking can be reduce by the pricing policy for alcohol. (Mistral, 2009) There are several causes of binge drinking. Firstly, most people spend their weekend in a pub or city centre with friends because they do not want to become a unsocial people, which means some of them went to the pub because peer pressure not volunteer, especially among young people. As Szmigin et al. (2007) suggest that they would like build friendship through drinking alcohol. Then another reason that cause people excess drinking is drinking culture and history. It has become an essential part of Britons drinking habit since Vikings period. Traditional drinking behaviour is not the only reason that cause people to drink. Thirdly reason is that the majority of heavy drinkers want to find the self confidence and depression. (Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2010) For instance, students face hard work in school, people who live in a terrible life condition or they want to reduce tension. Moreover, the supermarket always provides great price to drinkers such as buy one get one free by using advertisement, which is beneficial for moderate drinkers but not hazardous drinkers. Therefore, some people buy beverages because they are attracted by the low price. Turning to the consequence of heavy drinking, it causes many problems including physical and mental health problem. According to The Salvation Army 2000, there are two different types of physical including long and short-term risk of binge drinking. Keep abusing alcohol regularly for a long time can lead to brain damage, cancers or infertility. In comparison, drinking enormous beverages in a short period might cause car accidents and violence. In addition, short-term effect of alcohol often involves some violence, crime and road traffic accidents amongst younger people. (Salvation Army, 2000) There are many young people and busy worker likely to spend their pubs or club which create excess violence at midnight. Therefore, people are afraid to go to town centre at night. Follow this, there is a solution for this drinking issue that the UK government announced an alcohol price policy that is raising prices of 40p per unit in March, 2012. There are different argument from the cross-party group. They argue that minimum price for alcohol not really solve drinking problem because pricing policy just for the short-term influence not for the long-term phenomenon of binge drinking. (Triggle, 2012) Furthermore, it seems that this strategy quite unfair to the responsible drinkers who just want to have fun or relax in the local pub. (Woodhouse, 2012) On the other hand, Prime Minister estimate that this alcohol pricing strategy can lower hospital admissions because hazardous drinkers will stop to get drunk to get drunk at night and also reduce the affordability of young people, which will save lives and improving public health.( BBC News, 2012) Prime Minister David Cameron claims that there were one million violent crimes and 1.2 million hospital admissions associated with alcohol last year. Following this, he says that this pricing policy can reduce harmful levels of alcohol and the cost of hospitalization. (BBC News, 2012) Many researchers suggest that the raising price of alcohol can lower the consumption of wine, beer and spirits. In addition, there is a research shows that younger drinker, excess drinker and harmful drinker are likely to buy cheap alcohol item. (Mistral, 2009) Therefore, minimum price for alcohol is the best model in order to solving binge drinking issue in England. in conclusion, many reasons caused binge drinking such as peer pressure, self doubt. In particularly, this is general phenomenon among young people. There are wide range evidence show that problem such as health, economic and young generation associated with alcohol misuse. Many researchers have focused on the relative between the pricing and the consumption of alcohol. (Mistral, 2009) There are many authors show that minimum price can reduce the consumption of wine, beer and spirit in all age, especially among younger drinkers and excess drinkers who likely choose low price alcohol product. Therefore, this study has clearly illustrated the minimum price should be implemented.

Hungary’s Attempts at Modernizing its Banking Industry Essay -- Hungar

Hungary’s Attempts at Modernizing its Banking Industry It has been over a decade since Hungary has transitioned into the market economy. Its banking system has gone through numerous changes in order to accommodate an ever competitive world of financial innovation. Today, we see a Hungary that has adopted much of financial structure seen in Western Europe and whose banking sector is finally starting to see profits. Early transitional privatization saw an assortment of problems for state-owned banks including inadequate regulation and an agglomeration of non-performing loans. Reforms made through legislation in the last decade have helped alleviate the pressures on previously state held banks and lead the industry further through privatization. According to the latest findings by the IMF, Hungary’s banking industry is nearly through the transitional process and well on its way to tightening the gap between itself and its Western European counterparts. In 1987, Hungary undertook its first major reform, separating the Hungarian National Bank and its commercial banking sector. Clearly, the goal was too proceed toward privatization. At the time, the state owned banks were flooded with a large volume of non-performing loans. Because foreign funded banks did not face the burden of bad loans, they had a competitive advantage against state-owned banks. This resulted in the â€Å"skimming off the more profitable clients† from the state owned banks and caused the legislation reforms of 1992-1994(1). The government of Hungary subsidized many state owned â€Å"bad loans† in order to proceed with privatization. Not surprisingly, and encouraged by the government, foreign investors bought significant stakes in Hungarian banks. In fact, acco... ... and divesting its remaining stakes in banks. Although the country is still largely based on cash businesses, reliance on credit cards and other banking related items continues to grow. With the Hungarian people ever more dependent on banking services, perspective for the industry’s growth is substantial. The progress made in the last ten years has been tremendous and the perspectives for the future look good. Hungary is now well on its way to reaching western economic development. Works Cited: 1.Shader,Susan and Ingves, Stefan Financial System Stability Assesment, IMF MAY 3, 2002 (4)- P86 (5)- P86-88 (8)P26,P8-P16 Note: When paper references the IMF, statistics can be found between p25-60 2.Van Elken, Rachel Hungary: Economic Policies for Sustainable Growth IMF Washington D.C. 1998 (1)p37 (2)P37-45 3.http://www.buyusa.gov/Hungary/en/page170.html (3),(6)

Pilgrimage of Grace Dbq Essay

The Pilgrimage of Grace was a religious uprising in York, England which started in late 1536 and finished in early 1537, where people lead by Yorkshire lawyer Robert Aske staged protests and demonstrations in opposition to King Henry VIII’s dissolution of monasteries and break from the Catholic Church. This rebellion was mostly aimed at Thomas Cromwell, who was Henry’s High Chancellor; and many of these marchers influenced Cromwell’s policies. The participants of the Pilgrimage of Grace had a goal to reinstate the Catholic Church, and a concern of the economic impacts caused by losing monasteries; those who opposed the movement had a goal to punish leaders and anyone associated with the movement and a political concern of losing power for the king. Documents 1, 3 and 5 demonstrate the marcher’s religious purpose and desire to bring power back to the church. Documents 4, 6 and 11 prove the marcher’s concerns about the economic impact that the dissolu tion of monasteries caused. A goal to punish anyone associated with the Pilgrimage of Grace can be found in Documents 8 and 10. Documents 7 and 9 indicate the oppositions’ concerns of the king losing power. Commoners who were a part of the movement participated in protests to oppose King Henry VIII’s new policies. In Documents 1, 3, and 5, the marcher’s goal to reinstate the Catholic Church is evident. Document 1 is extracted from the â€Å"Oath of Honorable Men†, which was taken by marchers for this rebellion lead by Robert Aske, and within this oath, marcher’s state that their purpose for participating in the Pilgrimage of Grace is not for â€Å"worldly gain† (individual gain in terms of wealth, reputation, jobs, etc.), but rather for the better purpose of the â€Å"love of God, for the Holy Catholic Church militant†. In Document 1 there are many religious references which prove that the supporters of this rebellion had an ultimate goal to gain back the Catholic Church, in sentences such as â€Å"Take before you the Cross of Christ, and in your hearts His faith.†- the ultimate message conveyed through this document is that a key goal in the uprising is to protest for the Church and for the love of God, to keep God’s faith and help spread love of God and the â€Å"Cross of Christ† through the Catholic Church. In Document 3, a banner carried by peasant marchers depicting the â€Å"Wounds of Christ† is shown. The focal point of this banner is a heart with 2 hands and 2 feet  protruding out of it which have wounds to represent the 5 wounds that Christ had when he was crucified. This banner is representative of the Christian religion and has a very religious point of view to show that marchers were fighting in Christ’s cause for restoration of the Catholic Church. Other specific symbols on the banner such as a communion chalice (with a halo on top showing holiness and god-like qualities) symbolizing members of the clergy (those who pray), a plow symbolizing the commoners (those who work), and a cattle (hunting) horn symbolizing nobles (those who fight) signified that the Pilgrimage of Grace affected a wide variety of people, and several different social classes were on board with the movement. From Document 5, taken from selected articles from a petition (Pontefract articles) presented to members of the King’s Council, one specific article in the petition written by Robert Aske (leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace) addresses the king and outlines specific points/goals of the movement in terms of reinstating the Catholic Church; Aske â€Å"beseech[es]† the â€Å"Sovereign King† to â€Å"have the supreme head of the Church be the pope in Rome as before†. Since the pope in Rome during this time period was known to be Catholic, the marchers support him being reinstated as the head of Church. Also, punishments for heretics are mentioned in â€Å"heresies†¦annulled and destroyed† and â€Å"heretics consigned to punishment by fire†-heretics are professed believers who maintain religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church, the mention of punishment for people who reject the faith of the Church proves that religion was important to the marchers, and therefore reinstating the Catholic church and restoring their faith was of utter importance. Within this document grouping, Document 1 is unreliable due to bias. In Document 1, since it is extracted from the â€Å"Oath of Honorable Men†, the source is biased because this oath was required for marchers to take if they wanted to be a part of the movement; therefore we are not surprised that the marcher holds these opinions because if they wished to participate in the movement but did not necessarily agree with every statement said within the oath, they would have no choice but to repeat it due to pressures from other marchers and desire to fight in the uprisings for several other reasons than simply to reinstate the Catholic Church. Participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace had many concerns about this negative  impact that the King’s actions were causing. In Documents 4, 5, and 11, the shared concern of participants was for the negative economic impact of the dissolution of monasteries, caused from King Henry VIII’s break from the church (since the Church did not allow him to have his marriage annulled). Document 4 is a source from a Marcher’s ballad; it expresses participant’s concerns of the economic impacts of losing monasteries during to the 3 or 4 lines of the ballad, stating â€Å"†¦robbed, spoiled and shorn of cattle and corn, houses and lands.† These lines signify concern of economic impact since due to King Henry’s actions, the monasteries which were â€Å"held in bonds† by the church are removed and therefore the people who held the land are robbed of their houses and land as well as other resources that they would use to gain profit and contribute to the economy, such as their crops (â€Å"corn†) and their livestock (â€Å"cattle†). Document 6 extracted from a pamphlet does not directly address the economic concern of losing monasteries, but indirectly does when the source says that the â€Å"current Parliament has no authority or virtue. It is little more than a council of the King’s appointees. â€Å"-this signifies the concern that since the parliament is ruled by the king and do not â€Å"speak on [it’s] own behalf†, instead it is a parliament â€Å"where men may not speak of the King’s vices but only say what Cromwell says is right†, and this means that the participants of Pilgrimage of Grace are afraid of what the current parliament will dominate. Since parliament and the King controlled the economy, the source shows that it is concerned that due to the changes the King made (like removing monasteries) the negative impact could affect things like the economy, and â€Å"knights and burgesses† or â€Å"counties and towns† will just go by what Cromwell (secon d to the King) and economy will be negatively impacted because all decisions in parliament are based on Cromwell or the King’s opinions. In Document 11 given by the leader of the movement, the economic concerns due to losing monasteries are evident. The source, Aske, explains how monasteries in the north used to give â€Å"great help to poor men and laudable service to God.† But since they were removed negative things have occurred, â€Å"farmers rent out farms and taverns for profit† instead of utilizing their own land to make a profit and contribute to the economy. Also, the source explains that â€Å"any monies earned from abbey lands are now going to the King† meaning that any small profit made goes directly to the King, so obviously the economy is impacted negatively. The  source describes more negative impacts on the kingdom, like the tenant fed and aided by abbeys (monasteries) â€Å"can barely live†, beggars and travelers have no help on roads and things maintained by monasteries for the benefit of the commonwealth like bridges and high walls are unattended. Document 4 is very reliable because it was written by Catholic monks who lived in an abbey, which shows that they have witnessed the effects of the economy on people living on monasteries firsthand-and they have experience which helps them to be reliable since they also inhabited abbeys in monasteries. Document 11 is a biased source that is not fully reliable because the leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace, Robert Aske, wrote it as a testimony shortly before he was executed. It is not surprising that Aske holds this opinion because he founded the movement, and therefore strongly disagrees with any changes that King Henry made (removing monasteries)-especially in this document he goes to great lengths to explain how negatively impacted the economy is due to dissolution of monasteries- it is not completely reliable since Aske was not a part of monasteries so he didn’t experience any of the impacts first hand, he just observed the damage around him. People against the Pilgrimage of Grace had goals against the movement, since they supported the King. In Documents 8 and 10 the shared goal between those opposing the uprising was to punish anyone associated with the movement. In Document 8, although there are no direct quotations from the source proving that the person wanted to punish participants in the movement (and this document is pro-pilgrimage), the source itself was taken from a captive of the Tower of London where he was most likely tortured- this source proves that the opposition believed that the Pilgrimage was treason and by using imprisonment and torture methods in the Tower of London they were trying to coerce Nicholas Leche (the source) into admitting it, and therefore punishing him since he as a parish priest; this is also linked to Document 10 where 80% of the clergy were convicted of treason. Document 10 demonstrates that the opposition to the movement wanted to punish everyone associated with the pilgrimage, since members from every status (gentlemen/nobles, clergy, and commoners) were all tried, and for each more than 50% were convicted of treason. The clergy in particular with 80% convicted shows the opposition’s goal to punish supporters of the  pilgrimage, since because it was an religious uprising it makes sense that more religious people like the clergy (those who pray) would be convicted. Document 8 is not a reliable source because it was taken from a Catholic parish priest (someone who would most likely believe strongly in the movement and be against the King due to break with the church and dissolution of monasteries). Also, since Nicholas Leche (source) was in the Tower of London, a building where they tortured, imprisoned, or killed high profile/highly dangerous men (to English monarch), he may have been forced into saying things like â€Å"it was treason† and â€Å"the gentlemen could have stopped the rebellion then†. Those who opposed the Pilgrimage of Grace were faced with many concerns. One primary concern for the opposition was that they would lose power for authority or for King Henry VIII, which is demonstrated in Documents 7 and 9. Document 7 from a pamphlet, expresses the general idea that if the Pilgrimage of Grace succeeds and the king is no longer in charge the kingdom will fall in to chaos because there will be no order, the source says â€Å"When every man rules, who shall obey?† meaning that no King leads to no obedience to anyone else. By arguing that having a king is â€Å"not only expedient, but also most necessary in a commonwealth† , the source shows its concern that the King will not have power after the movement, since there is an underlying tone of the source trying to persuade readers into believing the king is best since â€Å"the better [should] rule the rest† to convince them to obey the king (instead of him losing power). This relates to Document 10, extracted from a pardon. This document is almost a silent plea for marchers to obey the king, with an underlying message of concern that the king will lost power after the movement; this is why the source is trying to twist around the situation and make it seem like the marchers are lucky to be granted this most â€Å"gracious pity and mercy towards you and to grant you to you his free pardon†, as long as the marchers â€Å"heartily repent offenses and make humble submission to his highness.† Document 7 is not a reliable source due to bias; since the writer of this source is Richard Morrison, a writer hired by Thomas Cromwell he is very biased because he is hired to express the ideas of Thomas Cromwell who was second to the King and who strongly opposed the pilgrimage. Therefore, even if Morrison supported the pilgrimage  he would not be able to express his ideas, since his writing would be passed on to Cromwell, then passed on to the king, and obviously Morrison would not want to be punished for opposing such high authority. Overall, the Pilgrimage of Grace of 1536 was an important historical event during the reign of King Henry VIII, where there were both participants and opposition for the movement. Participants strove to reinstate the Catholic Church and were concerned about the economic impacts of losing monasteries, while opposition of the pilgrimage had a goal of punishing people associated with the movement and a concern of the kind losing power. Through examples in documents presented in our document set, as well as bias/reliability analyzed, the goals and concerns of both participants and opposition of the Pilgrimage of Grace are evident.

Barbara Corcoran Effective leadership qualities Essay

Barbara Corcoran is an American businesswoman, consultant, investor, speaker, author and TV personality. She is the owner of $5 billion business ‘The Corcoran Group’. She is known as one entrepreneur with a real story of ‘rags to riches’. Barbara was born in the year 1949 in Edgewater, New Jersey. She graduated with a degree in Education from St. Thomas Aquinas College in the year 1971. Upon graduation, she got a teaching job which she did for about a year. Barbara was never settled at teaching, so she quit and sought other jobs. However, things did not go as smooth as she had expected, as she had to quit one job after the other. By the time she was 23, she had been in and out of more than 20 jobs. It is her last trial at jobs that would ultimately change her life completely, making her one of the richest women in America. After trying different odd jobs, Barbara felt that she wanted to become her own boss. So she started a small real estate agency, dealing with brokering entry to vacant houses. However, this transformation needed money which she did not have at that moment. She asked for a loan of $1000. On one trip to see a vacant house with a client, things turned out for the best she had never imagined- the client became interested in buying the property rather than renting it. From the sale, she earned a commission of $3000 for the Corcoran-Simone partnership. This excited her, giving her the idea to transform her business into more than just the letting of vacant houses, to include even property on sale. The business began to grow, and the couple was reaping considerable profits until Barbara’s boyfriend, Simone, decided to quit the partnership after running away with Barbara’s secretary and marrying her. The division ended in 1978, when she immediately founded The Corcoran Group. When Simone withdrew his shares, he mocked Barbara that she would never make it without him. This particular incident encouraged her even the more to work hard and prove him wrong. Her determination paid, with The Corcoran Group, the first female-owned realty firm in the Big Apple, expanding to a workforce of 7 agents and over $350,000 in revenue in just her first year. Corcoran Group thrived under Barbara’s leadership, thanks in large part to her unique style. By the year 2006 when she decided to sell the company, The Corcoran Group was so big, with a staggering sales force of 850 agents and annual revenue approaching $100 million. It was sold at $66 million to NRT Inc. I chose Barbara Corcoran because her rise to the top is outstanding, thanks to her exceptional leadership skills. Barbara motivates me to push on despite my humble present- theirs is so much room up there! My vision is to grow into one of the most celebrated leaders of my time, and she fit perfectly as a person who started with nothing and turned every small thing she got into something big. Her definition of leadership is quite unique. â€Å"I never thought of it as leadership, but I knew I wanted to be loved by the people who worked for me,† Corcoran says. â€Å"I built the business exactly the way my mother built and ran her family. I wanted a replication of the big, happy family I grew up in. I wanted happy people having fun†, Barbara says (entrepreneur.com). She believes that leadership is making people feel they belong to the company like it was their family. That is how she enabled others to act, a quality discussed by Kouzes and Posner (2012). Barbara says, â€Å"I found out that the more fun I created in the company, the more creative and innovative it became,† she says. â€Å"That was the big kahuna–the fun piece. That’s what built that culture upside down and inside out. You got innovation. You got loyalty. You got people who would recruit for you.† (entrepreneur.com) She effectively encourages the heart (Kouzes and Po sner, 2012). Barbara Corcoran displays many qualities of a good leader. One unique is that she understands the value of other people she works with. Despite being the boss, Barbara respected every worker in her firm and she let them carry out their tasks with a lot of trust and space. As she says, she never knew what the firm’s revenue was, having delegated accounting duties to Esther Kaplan, the first agent she brought in. Secondly, Barbara believes in rewarding workers for their exemplary performance. She personally put colored ribbons on those workers who performed well. Her rewarding quality became even more evident when she eventually rewarded Kaplan’s hard work with a 10 percent commission in the firm, allowing her to cash in when the firm was sold. Corcoran is a leader who models the way (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). She never sat down and let her agents do all the work. She continued to make sales herself, working very hard. This encouraged her employees to develop a similar determined character. Barbara also exercised her authority very strictly. She gave all new employees a grace period of three months to make a first sale, failure to which they would leave the firm. The fifth leadership quality in Barbara is that she never let her past failure’s pull her down. In high school she scored D’s, but it never bothered her later in life. She was determined to move from one success to the other. Her undying spirit is a clear way of challenging the process (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). However, it is not all that easy for Barbara; she faces various problems as an investor in the New York realty market. While she is a popular investment consultant in the city, she admits that she has problems advising because other factors come into place. After selling her realty company, she was left with several buildings in the city; these building are her source of income, beside other investments. For instance, the values of properties have plummeted and interest rates have gone down tremendously. This gives her problems in deciding what to tell investor to do, especially because they look upon her success for guidance. References Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hann, C. (2014). Barbara Corcoran’s Leadership Style: Rainbows and Steel-Toe Boots. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 15 August 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222798 Source document

Marketing Myopia Essay Example

Marketing Myopia Essay Example Marketing Myopia Paper Marketing Myopia Paper Marketing Management I Assignment 1 Marketing Myopia Myopia refers to nearsightedness or shortsightedness. Marketing myopia refers to the myopia shrouding the vision of certain companies or industries. It occurs when the company/industry focuses mainly on selling its products and services, instead of paying attention to the needs of the consumers. They concentrate their efforts on selling, instead of marketing their product. They tend to ignore the adage, â€Å"the Customer is King†, which more often than not results in disastrous consequences. The concept of Marketing Myopia is applicable to Indian companies as well. Many Indian companies historically have failed to define their purpose from the consumers’ point of view. These firms have focused more on producing their goods and services and then finding customers to sell them to, instead of getting to know the consumers’ needs and then producing goods to meet those needs. The situation was made worse by the licensing era and closed Indian economy till 1991, which led to little competition for firms. This resulted in customers having to buy products of only those companies, which created a high demand for their products. One Indian company that suffered from marketing myopia and paid a heavy price for it is Hindustan Motors (HM). It was founded in 1942 by Mr. B. M. Birla, and was the producer of the Ambassador and the Contessa cars. Hindustan Motors: The History The Ambassador began production in 1958, and was based on the Morris Oxford, a British car. It was an extremely popular car in the Indian market for several decades. It had a constantly growing market, initially due to the prestige associated with the car, and later due to the growing affluence of the population, and was helped by the fact that its only rival till 1983 was the Premier Padmini. There was a long waiting period to acquire an Ambassador, and the company was reaping huge profits, without having to focus on consumer needs. Also, Hindustan Motors did not invest money in RD and did not try to improve its cars’ features. . There was a ready market for their product, and they just had to produce their car for it to be sold. 983: Maruti Suzuki enters the market However, the situation changed n 1983, with the introduction of the Maruti 800 by Maruti Suzuki. Consumers now had another car to choose from, and the 800 was like a breath of fresh air in the Indian automobile industry. It ate into a huge chunk of the Ambassador’s market share, as Indians now preferred this feature-packed family car. Hindustan Motors did take some init iative to ward off the threat posed by the Maruti 800 by launching its own luxury car, the Contessa, in 1983. It included a number of high-end features, and was targeted at affluent buyers looking for a luxury option. In addition, HM were also helped by the fact that the Ambassador was the only Indian car with a Diesel variant. During that time, the difference between the price of Petrol and Diesel was significant, and a lot of price-sensitive consumers preferred it to the 800. Due to its spacious size, it also became a popular choice amongst taxi operators. Lastly, a very significant market for the Ambassador was the Government. It was the first choice for most bureaucrats, and the Government accounted for over 16% of the total sales. These factors combined to mitigate the effect of the introduction of the Maruti 800 in the Indian market. 1991: The beginning of the end In 1991, the Indian economy was liberalized, and the Indian markets were opened for Foreign Direct Investment. In due course, a number of new automobile companies entered the market, and the consumers had a lot of options to choose from. The pursuers now became the pursued, and foreign companies supplied better cars at cheaper prices. These cars were packed with features, and the parents companies put in efforts to market their products in a new market. All these factors were missing in the Ambassador and the Contessa, and the money-wielding consumers gladly shifted base to other brands. Where Hindustan Motors lost the plot As discussed by Theodore Levitt, Hindustan Motors made the grave error of taking its customers for granted. They were under the belief that their growth was assured by an expanding and more affluent population, and belief that there is no competitive substitute for the car industry. These conditions were coupled with the fact that the Indian economy pre-liberalization did not have major rivals for them within the industry, and that the Ambassador was the vehicle of choice for Government officials. Over the course of 5 decades, the Ambassador was never changed drastically. There were only cosmetic changes made to the car, and from 1958 till 2000, only 3 upgrades were made. The company never tried to keep up with the changing market environment by varying the looks of its cars, or offering better features that might attract customers by choice and not due to a lack of choice. Hindustan Motors also made the surprising decision of not varying their price to increase sales. Currently, the price of the Ambassador starts at Rs. 4. 2 lakhs, which is sufficient to buy a feature-packed and trendier sedan offered by other companies. There are also several hatchbacks being made available to the consumers at cheaper prices. Hence, even today, the company is not focusing on the needs of the Indian consumer, who are sensitive to price, mileage, features and status. Hindustan Motors has also been dealt a huge blow by the shifting of allegiance on the part of the taxi operators, and Government officials. Government officials started shifting to better and safer cars ever since Atal Bihari Vajpayee started using a BMW 7-Series Sedan as his official car as Prime Minister. HM has lost a huge chunk of its customers, since they failed to focus on their needs, and adapt accordingly. They could have leveraged on their history of being the unofficial car provider to the Indian Government by coming up with new models that would satisfy their needs. Taxi operators have also moved on to the Tata Indica and Toyota Innovas to provide better service to their consumers. They stopped production of the Contessa in 2002 following low demand, and it seems like the Ambassador will be going down the same path soon at this rate. The decision by HM to continue production of the Ambassador and not invest in RD to launch a new car has been a surprising one. That being said, one positive step that HM has taken has been to enter into a Joint Venture with Mitsubishi in 1998 in India. However, in our opinion, the Mitsubishi brand is more apparent to the consumers, and most people do not know about the JV. Hence, Hindustan Motors have failed to respond to the consumer needs and market changes. Globally, cars like the Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Beetle, Buick Regal have been in the market for decades, and have adapted to the customer and industry demands to have strong sales figures even today. Closer to home, the Maruti 800 also managed to attract new customers over the years by keeping itself relevant in the market. Hindustan Motors have unfortunately been unable to capitalize on their brand value, and the automobile giant of yesteryears has now been reduced to a miserable entity in the current car market.

Author Interviews How to Appear on Podcasts for Book Promotion

Author Interviews How to Appear on Podcasts for Book Promotion Author Interviews: How to Land Appearances on Podcasts for Book Promotion Author interviews via podcast appearances are one of the best ways to build authority and reach targeted audiences of ideal readers, as well as promote your book.Best of all, once you’ve appeared on a podcast, you’ll be able to use your interview as proof of your expertise and experience when you pitch to other podcasts.This is especially beneficial if you self-published a book since you dont have the support of a big publishing house- youre doing all the book marketing on your own!And this is a powerful way to spread the word about all the good your book can do.Heres how to land author interviews:Do your researchRate and review the podcastFeature the podcast hostsTailor your pitchOffer ideas related to your bookLeverage common connections you haveSend samples of previous author interviewsCreate a one-sheetDeliver value firstNOTE: If youre ready to turn being an author into a real career, check out our Sell More Books Program where we teach you how to build sustainable income with book sales. Learn more about it hereWhy do you need author interviews?Author interviews are beneficial for authors to spread the word about themselves as an author as well as their new and previous books.Think about author interviews the same as celebrity interviews when they have movies or TV shows premiering.Heres how author interviews can benefit you:You will reach a new audienceYour audience will be more receptiveYou market yourself as an authorYou market your newest book launchYou can market any previous books you haveYou will gain a larger social platformYou will sell more booksOverall, author interviews can only help you in your quest to become a full-time author by offering you book marketing opportunities.Check out this example of how beneficial an author interview of our very own Student Success Coach, Lise Cartwright, can be below. Its available both on our Youtube channel and Podcast. With over 8700 views on Youtube and many listens on the podcast, this inter view certainly helped maintain her passive income through books.How to Get Author Interviews on PodcastsBelow, you’ll discover 9 simple strategies to stand out in the eyes of podcasters and land author interviews on their shows.#1 Do your researchFirst of all, listen to the show before reaching out to podcast hosts. Podcasters are often approached by an author who sends generic emails proclaiming â€Å"I love your show,† and then ask to become a guest to promote their book.Other times, they’re approached with specific pitch letters, but the fit isn’t right.The reason for the mismatch usually is that the author who is pitching hasn’t listened to the show.If it feels like a chore to listen to the podcast, that’s a sign that you might be better off reaching out to a different podcast host.After all, you want to find podcasts that are in your niche, which usually happens to be those you listen to anyways.Here are a few things to ask yourself wh en you want to reach out to a podcast for an interview:Do you listen to them on your own?Do you resonate with their core message/theme?Are you involved in their community on a regular basis?Would you be proud to be a featured guest on their podcast?Are you a fan of past featured guests?Answering these positively will help you determine which podcasts to reach out to. Without doing the proper research, you could wind up upsetting the hosts and burning those bridges.#2 Rate and review the showOnce you’ve listened to a show, subscribe to it on iTunes. Then, rate and review, too.Ratings, reviews, and subscriptions help the podcast’s ranking. Most importantly, reviews are a powerful form of social proof that will encourage new people to listen.Mention the review when you submit your pitch. For example, you could write, â€Å"Listening to John Doe’s description of his struggle to grow his business in spite of his terminal disease was truly inspiring. Now, when thing s get tough, that message keeps me going. That’s why it was such a pleasure to write a 5-star review of your show on iTunes.†Your message will bring awareness to what you’ve done to support the show, greatly increasing your chances of landing a guest spot.#3 Feature the podcast hostsIf you currently have a podcast or YouTube channel, invite the host to be featured as a guest.By being on your show, the podcasters will learn about your background, and most importantly, about your book. In many cases, they’ll be compelled to invite you as a guest.Even if the podcast hosts don’t ask you to be on their show, they’re still much more likely to say yes when you ask them. Also, I send a copy of my book to my podcast guests, who in many cases write a review of the book on Amazon and then offer to have me on their show.If you dont have a podcast, then feature them on your social media or website.You could also write a blog post about the main lessons l earned from the show, and tag the host on social media when the article is published. Be cautious when applying this strategy, however.A subpar article, a half-hearted effort to capture what’s valuable about the show, or overblown praise will probably backfire.#4 Tailor your pitch to the host’s story and the mission of the showWhen I first pitched my ideas to Dave Lukas, host of the Misfit Entrepreneur Podcast, I mentioned how much I loved that he’d created the show as a legacy for his daughter.When he learned that I related to and understood his mission, it was easy for him to agree to have me on his show.You can do the same. Find out why they do what they do, and if it resonates with you, then center your pitch around that.Here are a few tips for tailoring your pitch to land your author interview:Mention something you learned from their showMake a connection from yourself to the shows mission and themeConnect your books message with their showsDoing this will help you reach podcast hosts much more effectively and show them youre a great fit for their show.#5 Offer three unique ideas related to your bookBefore I submit a pitch, I research the episodes in the past two to three months to see if anyone has explored the topics I have in mind.If my topics are fresh, I submit them. If not, I reposition my expertise with a different angle.My book is about influencer marketing. If I notice that only three weeks prior, another guest talked about influencer marketing as part of a business’s marketing mix, I pitch a different aspect of the topic, such as â€Å"how to build a list of subscribers with influencer marketing,† or â€Å"how to initiate connections with social media influencers to launch your book.†Resist the temptation to speak about a topic that deviates from your book. If you do that, your interview will probably not bring in new book sales.I encourage you to take a moment right now and write down three to five to pic ideas based on the core message in your book, which you can modify depending on the targeted show.#6 Leverage common connections you have with the hostWho do you think has a better chance to get a last-minute appointment with a busy hair stylist: a complete stranger or the friend of a current customer?The same idea applies to landing guest appearances on a podcast. Common connections matter.Often, when I appear on a podcast, the host will offer to introduce me to other podcast hosts who might want to have me as a guest.This is one of the easiest ways to secure future guest appearances.You might not even need a formal introduction. When you pitch, just mention that you know one or more of their previous guests.The idea is to find common ground.#7 Send samples of previous interviewsIn every podcast pitch I submit, I include links to three of my most relevant and significant podcast appearances.Those podcast interviews are relevant because they’re ideal for the audience of the new podcast I’m targeting, and they’re significant because they have reached large audiences.If you haven’t had podcast appearances yet, I encourage you to create audio or video clips with valuable content relevant to your audience that you publish on your site, and use those links as samples for the host.Even though samples of actual podcast interviews are much more powerful, the mere fact that you have a sample of your work will help you stand out among the competition.#8 Create a one-sheetTo save yourself time and effort, and to show your professionalism, I suggest you create a â€Å"one-sheet.†A one-sheet is a document thats a summary of who you are and what you offer as a guest.You could send the link to your one-sheet with your pitch, or use the information within the one-sheet to complete your guest request form or email pitch.Regardless of the situation, having this document readily available will save you time and effort.The main elements o f a one-sheet are: BioHeadshotPotential interview topicsTalking pointsRelevant linksAffiliate linksContact informationHeres an example of my own, personal one-sheet and what all the below information looks like compiled into, well, one sheet.Now lets delve into what each of these sections needs.BioCreate different versions of your bio (50-, 100-, 150-, and 200-word bios) so you’re ready when the podcast host asks you for a specific length. If you’re submitting the entire one-sheet, include the 100-word version of your bio in it.The bio should mention your book (even if you haven’t published it yet), and other credentials as proof of your expertise, along with at least one personal tidbit about yourself.HeadshotIt’s standard for all podcast guests to submit their profile picture before they’re interviewed. Invest in a professional photographer.No selfies, please!Potential interview topicsList no more than seven topics related to your book you could explore as a guest.You can check back to step number 5 if you need to generate some.Talking pointsSome hosts will ask you to provide talking points for the topic you’ll explore. Others favor a free-form style, and will lead the interview as an informal conversation.In either case, you should be prepared to provide talking points within 48 hours of being approved as a guest, though you can double check with the podcast host for specifics about this.Relevant linksInclude links to your main website, your book, your free offer for the listeners, and your primary social media pages.Depending on the host, you might also be asked to provide an affiliate link to a free download or low-ticket offer. In most cases, providing affiliate links isn’t required, but having the ability to create such a link on demand will help you stand out.If you’re submitting the one-sheet, then just write â€Å"Affiliate link for free download available.†Contact informationInclude your email address and phone number.Having your one-sheet ready will allow you to simply copy and paste the information when you complete guest request forms or pitch via email.#9 Always aim to deliver value firstAbove all, remember that your primary goal is to deliver value to your audience, and book sales will be a natural result of that value. If instead you approach the podcasters with the only intention to sell more books, they might simply ignore you.When you submit your pitch, always start what ifs a personalized explanation of why you are a fan of the show and how you can inspire and educate its audience.Then, mention your book as an additional asset listeners may benefit from.Value First!Good luck landing your author interview!After you land your first podcast appearance, itll be much easier for you to land the next. When you least expect it, the word about your book will have spread and you will make a much greater impact with your message.What matters most is that you take a ction and start reaching out to podcast hosts. You- and your book- deserve to be known!Ready to become a successful author?No successful author started from nothing.They had to work hard and earn their place by learning and applying what they learned when writing a book.Heres how you can learn more about how to become a successful author because youll never get there if you dont start today.

Reading response in language discrimination Essay

Reading response in language discrimination - Essay Example In these chapters Lippi Green discussed openly through examples that how language subordination had negatively affected the speakers of different languages resides in the United States. Since the 18th century this is the problem that persists in the United States where people are still facing discrimination due to their non-American accent. The author raised several evidences to support her arguments therefore; she used several authentic information and facts and figures in her findings from 1800 to onward. America has been the house for several immigrants and people are visiting this country for several reasons, but no matter how long they lived in the United States they are unable to learn the accent of Native Americans. Lippi Green had strongly opposed discrimination on the basis of language and accent and called it just a myth. The topic has been researched by several well known researchers and authors across the world in different eras and they did their level best to discuss di fferent aspects of language discrimination. The effect of such efforts can be seen in the modern society where people have learned to ignore some traditional questions such as race, ethnicity, culture, accent, etc. unfortunately, such things are not completely eliminated from the American society and authors like Lippi Green still needs to work on this issue. To look at the issue of language discrimination in the United States, the Author Lippi Green used several authentic and genuine sources. To discuss the issue clearly, Lippi Green used a comparison of political cartoons, US census, historical data of World War II to understand the types of immigrants to the US and an in-depth analysis of the literature of other well known authors. Apart from such sources, the author used a group of frameworks to further clarify this topic. The author used to include her casual observation, legitimated data taken from journals and many latest tools to sketch the

Essay Chosen organisation IKEA Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Chosen organisation IKEA - Essay Example But, the strategy of IKEA is to target middle class families on global level with variety in designs, quality and price. Companies like Sears, JC-Penny, Flanigan and Raymour are competitors to IKEA in the USA. Competitors in Europe include companies like John Lewis, Argos, B&Q and TESCO. Apart from furniture, the extensive range of products of IKEA includes lighting, textiles & rugs, Kitchenware, flooring, storage furniture, beds and mattresses tools and hardware. The IKEA Concept is based on offering a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them as mentioned in the website of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. --------------------------------- 1. The Local, Ikea hit by strikes in France, 14 February 2010, http://www.thelocal.se/24980/20100214/ (accessed April 19, 2005). The IKEA Concept guides the way IKEA products are designed, manufactured, transported, sold and assembled. 2 IKEA's business stra tegy hinges on sustainability and environmental design. The sustainability programs of IKEA envisage social, environmental and economic issues. Internal Environment Strengths and weaknesses of a company are mostly related to internal aspects. The internal environment of IKEA in terms of competitive advantage, market position and financial resources, is by and large conducive for a sustainable growth. Competitive advantage of a company arises out of several factors and the business plan which is very difficult to duplicate and the absence alternate products available cheaply enable IKEA to exploit the opportunities effectively and overcome the external threats. IKEA has established name for itself with designs, quality and competitive pricing in the markets world over. The company has been successful in leveraging its core competency in furnishing to a complete range of related or associated products ranging from flooring to lighting in its business by taking advantage of the externa l environment. Value creation and value addition has been a constant endeavor of the company through continuous introduction of new designs for keeping its position ahead of the competition. . Intangible resources are more difficult for the competitors to understand and replicate the models for catching up with a company in competition. Constant innovation is possible only when the invisible and intangible resources of the company are superior. For instance, special collection of home furnishings using recyclable or unusual materials is a novel idea in tune with the environmental awareness among the public. ------------------------------ 2. Inter IKEA Systems B.V., The IKEA Concept, http://franchisor.ikea.com/showContent.asp?swfId=concept2 (accessed April 19, 2011). The other special features internal environment in the case of IKEA are Modernized plants, global network for distribution, expansion in line with the globalization, balanced and efficient business model, innovative mark eting strategies, cost structure and organizational culture. For example, the relentless cost cutting exercises undertaken by IKEA has been one of the main factors which catapulted the company to its