Amazon Inventory Management Essay Example

Amazon Inventory Management Essay Example Amazon Inventory Management Paper Amazon Inventory Management Paper Introduction Launched by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon. com website started in 1995 and is today considered as one of the most prominent retail website on the internet with a record turnover of US$ 14. 87 billion in 2007. Jeff Bezos’s intention was to create an internet based company with the most dedicated product portfolio on the internet where customers could find anything they might want. Amazon’s success is based on technology, services and products (Jens et al. , 2003). Controlling inventory is known to be one of the toughest problems for companies. With 39 million active customer accounts and a vision such as being â€Å"Earth’s biggest selection of product†, Amazon has been putting a lot of effort to be as efficient as possible in their inventory management. The purpose of this report is to understand the evolution of the inventory management of Amazon and how it has affected the company’s growth. This case study is both a practice case and a problem solving case, so the first section of this report focuses on the practices used by Amazon in the 4 stages and then in the second section we will solve the problem regarding their product returns problem and provide recommendations. I-The 4 Stages of Amazon Amazon’s Inventory management can be divided into 4 stages: An initial start with no inventory Built warehouses to store inventory Entered into partnerships with distributors Entered into partnerships with retailers Initially started with no inventory In the first stage Amazon’s main objective was to create a virtual bookshop, where customers could have more choices than any physical bookshop in the world, but also, he did not want to spend time and money on building warehouses and deal with inventory because each warehouse could cost around $50 million dollars. First stage logistic process As shown in figure 1, customers used to order products from Amazon’s website, Amazon then forwards the order to the distributor, who in turn sends the product back to Amazon and finally, Amazon ships the product to the customer. Initially this didn’t look like a bad idea but it wasn’t long till Bezos understood that if he had to build on strong customer satisfaction and needed to have his own inventory. This left him with two choices, either improve information system flow throughout the supply chain or build warehouses to manage its own inventory (Hof, 1999). Built warehouses to store inventory In this stage the objective of Amazon was to build warehouses and gain better control over their Inventory and increase the range of products while reducing their logistics cost (Choen et al. , 2004). Figure 2: Second stage logistic process As show on figure 2, Amazon used to procure items from their distributor and store them in their warehouses. Customer makes an order and Amazon couriers it to them. This helped Amazon to maximise its storage capacity as well as decrease their logistics costs. However Amazon did face a major problem of managing a large inventory along with high warehouse maintenance costs. This left Amazon with two options, either to use its warehouses more effectively by boosting sales or outsource its inventory management. 3. Entered into partnerships with distributors This was a huge risk as Amazon had a very good reputation in providing superior customer service and if this task was outsourced; their hard earned reputation may be damaged (Saunders, 2001). On the other hand Amazon would now be able to concentrate on its core activities by reducing the need for warehouses. Figure 3: Third stage logistic process (Drop-shipment model) This model gave greater flexibility in terms of product range. They could focus their attention on listening to the market in order to be more reactive by discovering products Amazon’s visitors wanted and then being able to rapidly add them to the product list. On the other hand, there was no capital investment and no danger of suddenly having a warehouse full of outdated items. Figure 3 shows how drop shipment works. However, whereas Amazon was planning to extend this model to all other categories, the company started to encounter some problems (Julie et al. , 2004). Since Amazon uses drop-shippers as well as their own warehouses, split shipments became problematic. This reduced overall efficiency as 35% of Amazon orders were of this nature. 4. Entered into partnerships with retailers This led Amazon to enter the fourth stage where they entered into partnerships with other retailers. The process is illustrated in figure 4. Figure 4: Fourth stage logistic process They main benefit of this stage was that Amazon could expand its product categories while cutting cost incurred through shipping and operating their warehouses. Amazon used best practices from eBay to assist them in this stage as shown in figure 5. Figure 5: Best Practices from eBay 5. Further Analysis As we have mentioned above we have analysed and discussed the various stages that Amazon went through in terms of their business strategy, which also affected their logistics management. We identified that Amazon had different motives for modifying their logistics management when moving from one stage to another. When Amazon went from having no inventory to building warehouses, was primarily to grow their business as they wanted to offer a larger range of products to their customers. From there, Amazon then decided to enter into partnerships with distributors. The main motive behind this move was to improve its logistics efficiency. Finally they entered into partnerships with retailers. Again Amazon’s key objective was to grow the company as now they will be able to display the retailer’s products on Amazon’s website, thereby further expanding their product range. After our case study date Amazon has gone on to further increase the variety of products offered and at the same time improving their operations. This has been achieved by taking up the Six Sigma approach to its distribution operations and by applying lean manufacturing and Total Quality Management methodologies to its processes. Amazon now ships to more than 200 countries. Therefore they have begun to use a global trade management solution to provide customers with more information. They have also started to be a drop shipper where Amazon will handle inventory and shipping for other e-businesses. Many years back Amazon would have never thought of doing such an activity as having more inventory meant more costs. However, Jeff Bezos has seen the potential in doing this, as they have the experience and reputation in managing inventory and logistics, which other e-businesses find that hard to ignore. II-Conclusions and Recommendations 1. Conclusions We have learnt some important lessons when it comes to logistics management in e-businesses after considering Amazon’s case. Firstly, flawless logistics and fulfilment are key drivers of customer retention and long-term profitability. Like Amazon, all other e-businesses should get their corporate mind set straight, meaning that they should understand that it’s all about the customer and a positive profit-margin. E-businesses should be able to provide customers with the 3R’s, which are the right product at the right place at the right time. At the same time they have to make a profit. So they key challenge is to be able to deliver both. Other e-businesses should consider outsourcing some of its activities so that they could direct focus towards their core activities. Amazon did this and was able to concentrate on other activities such as marketing its brand. After arriving at the fourth stage Amazon was faced with a major problem regarding their reverse logistics process. This has resulted in frustration among customers due to difficulties in returning a product to Amazon and the handling of returned products by Amazon was not very efficient. This was eating into their profits. Therefore a solution must be developed to tackle this issue. 2. Recommendations Amazon’s reverse logistics procedure is a very long process and required Amazon to allocate a lot of resources to make sure that it runs smoothly. These resources may be put to better use in attending to Amazon’s core activities such as product fulfilment. Figure 6 shows the reverse logistics procedure of Amazon. Figure 6: Amazon’s Reverse Logistics Process We would recommend that Amazon considers in outsourcing its reverse logistics to a third-party reverse logistics provider. There are certain factors Amazon will have to take into consideration if an outsourcing strategy is to be chosen (Rao, 1994). These factors are as follows: Amazon has to see if it is a company that handles a large inventory. Amazon has to see what the characteristics of the products that they offer. Amazon should look into the level of required customer service that has to be offered. Amazon should see if reverse logistics is considered to be a core activity in the company. We have answered these questions to see if our recommendation is appropriate for Amazon to consider. The number of products that they handle is unimaginable and they receive countless amounts of orders per day. For example, Amazon. com just finished its 13th Christmas season in 2007 and December 10th of 2007 was the busiest day with customers ordering more than 5. 4 million items on that day, which is 62. items per second (Chaffey, 2008). Therefore it is inevitable there would have been a large number of returns. Even their vision states that they want to offer customers anything they might want by having Earth’s biggest selection of products. The characteristics of the products that Amazon handles vary considerably. They handle products of different shapes and sizes. Larger items would take up valuable space. Amazon will have to offer good customer service to its buyers. If customers have a difficult experience when returning products and do not get a quick response, they may end up being dissatisfied and etaining first time buyers at Amazon may prove to be a failure. After analysing the company more closely, we realized that Amazon is more interested in getting the products to their customers in the most efficient manner. Therefore forward logistics could be considered to be a core activity with the company but is not the case for reverse logistics. After answering these questions, outsourcing their reverse logistics seems to be the best option as Amazon could then focus on their core activities. Bibliography Saunders. R (2001) Amazon. com way – Secrets of the world’s most astonishing web business, Capstone Bezos, Jeff (1998) A Bookstore By Any Other Name, viewed 20 March 2008, commonwealthclub. org/archive/98/98-07bezos-speech. html Jens, C. , Peter, M (2003) The Industrial Dynamics of the New Digital Economy, Edward Elgar Publishing Hof, R. (1999) Whats With All the Warehouses? , viewed 18 March 2008, ; businessweek. com/1999/99_44/b3653046. htm; Ordering from merchants, viewed 26 March 2008, ; amazon. com/gp/help/customer/display. html? nodeId=537794; Choen, S. Roussel, J. (2004) Strategic supply chain management, McGraw-Hill Julie, A. , Sokol Robert, J. Thomas (2004) State of the art, viewed 27 March 2008, ; accenture. com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Alphabet/StateOfTheArt. htm; Rao, K. , and Young, R. R. (1994) Global supply chains: Factors influencing outsourcing of logistics functions. International journal of physical distribution and logistics management. Vol. 24. No. 6. Chaffey, D (2008) Amazon. com case study, viewed 20 March 2008, ; davechaffey. com/E-commerce-Internet-marketing-case-studies/Amazon-case-study;

The Impact Of EU Membership on Estonia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The Impact Of EU Membership on Estonia - Essay Example loose monetary policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...21 Currency board†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..21 Fiscal policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...26 Tight and loose fiscal policy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..26 Debt†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...â⠂¬ ¦27 Deficit†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦28 Maastricht criteria†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.31 Agricultural and regional conditions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.32 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.34 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.35 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...38 1. Introduction In 1997, EU decided to give 5 central and Eastern Europe countries a chance to join EU, one of the countries was Estonia. This is where the journey of Estonia into joining the EU started. In 1998, Europe agreement came into force and this was the legal basis between Estonia and EU until 2004 when a full accession treaty was signed in 2004. The Europe agreement contained cooperation’s in political affairs, economy, trade, crime prevention and culture (Angelopoulos, Economides, and Kammas 2007, p.890). The agreement promoted bilateral relations between Estonia and European Union. The agreement also helps Estonia ambitions to grow its economy and carry out comprehensive reforms in leadership and trade. Further more, it created conditions for expansion of free trade relations. Some of the reasons why Estonia wanted to join the EU was t o have free trading conditions for agricultural products, fish products and processed agricultural products (Angelopoulos, Economides, and Kammas 2007, p.890). They also wanted the subsidies for EU agricultural products eliminated on agricultural exports and bringing to an end the unfair practice of anti dumping. Another reason was the problem of customs and duty free services that Estonia encountered

Senior Information Technology Auditor for the consulting firm of Term Paper

Senior Information Technology Auditor for the consulting firm of Comroe - Term Paper Example This paper presents a description of an independent audit conducted on security, governance and business continuity assessment of Adams Brick Communications Company’s Information Technology. Introduction As the Senior Information Technology Auditor, it is my responsibility to ensure that the audit committee undertakes reviews and conduct tests and assessments on Information Technology department of the company that will provide management assurance that the business as a whole is operating effectively. Information Technology audit is basically responsible for reviewing both the operational and technical aspects of existing and planned computer systems in addition to assessing whether the risks they pose are significant or has the ability to add to the anticipated business specific risks. Adams Brick Communications Company heavily depends on Information Technology department in order to meet its goals and objectives as a business entity given that it is a communication company which generates most of its revenue from advertisements. The normal and up to standard functioning of the information technology of the company is therefore considered vital for the company’s survival. ... Â  The corporation is located in the heart of the city, with one satellite office in a nearby suburb. Â  ABC’s primary business is a local newspaper and news website. Â  They also have multiple small niche magazines that support special interests in the community. Â  All of these assets are supported through the advertising division of Adams Brick Communications. The company has its advertising division as its backbone given that it’s the main source of revenue even though its overall goal is to provide services to the community Information Technology governance The Information Technology Group (ITG) is tasked with supporting the endeavors of Adams Brick Communications. Â  It is led by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and a staff of ten information technology professionals. Â  The CIO reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, and is on the same level as the other executive officers of ABC. Â   ITG, while being led by the CIO, is split into three groups. Â  A two person networking team, a five person system administration team, and a three person team focused on security. Â  While the security team is responsible for privacy and security matters, it is mostly implemented by the two other teams. Â  The IT governance is handled by the Chief Information Officer. The networking team is responsible for the connectivity of Adams Brick Communications. Â  They are first responsible for ensuring that the business has appropriate bandwidth to support all business operations. Â  As new hosts are added to the network, the networking team must give them the lines needed to connect to the intranet. Â   The system administration team handles the equipment at the host level. Â  They ensure that proper hardware and software has been deployed at each user as needed.

British Sky Broadcasting Limited Essay Example for Free

British Sky Broadcasting Limited Essay The share price calculated for BskyB using the residual income valuation model is  £ 3.72, which is  £ 5.64 below the market share price of around  £ 9.36. Reason for such depleted share price is that the profits reported by BskyB are not showing the impact of the equity capital and hence valuing the BskyB stock on the basis of reported profit for the period doesn’t show the true and fair view of BskyB share price. The price calculate by using the residual income valuation model is showing that how the cost of equity capital has affected the profits of BskyB and thus reporting a decreased value of the company and for the share price as well. Operating income predicted on the basis of the growth rate is showing a constant increase in the operating income in the future period. It is very important for BskyB to achieve a higher rate of growth in revenues which will ultimately gives rise to the need of investing in BskyB’s operating assets and thus both variables will end up with the increased value of company per share for the next period forecast. As the value of company is equal to the net present value of future cash flows discounted at appropriate rate of return to the investor. So the company should try focusing growth in its revenue rather than expending its business in the UK and around the globe. Return on net operating assets of BskyB is also decreasing in the next three years period. The decrease is miner but this is a sign that BskyB could be in more depressed financial conditions if attention is not paid to the growth rate of revenue. As in the above graph the return on net operating assets has been dropped from 49.00% to 48.99%. As the investors are much interested in the future prospects of the company rather than the historical performance of company. At first instance the investor will forecast the value of its investment and if the investment is generating some additional amount on their investment and if investment is not generating any additional return on it then they will consider the alternative company to invest. Following would be the basic assumptions: 1- The stock price can be predicted by using the residual income valuation model. 2- The relationship of current stock price and between the predicted share prices is significant. 3- Share piece of BskyB calculated using the residual income method divided by the current share price is more reliable and appropriate as compared to the book value of stock divided by the current value of stock. 4- The cost of capital will remain the same in the period under forecast which is 5.73%. 5- Terminal value will grow at the rate of industrial sector growth which is 4.00%. 6- Tax rate will not change. 7- Company will invest continuously in its operating assets. Investment recommendations: 1-As BskyB Vodafone are already partners, Vodafone has its customer base and the BskyB has the numerous type of entertainment and various license for the sports events. Recently the BskyB has announced that for the upcoming soccer league season the company has spent 299 million pound. If company sign a contract with Vodafone to show its direct broadcast to the Vodafone users than it will not only enhance the customer base of BskyB but will also promotes its sport broadcasting channels. (Thomson, 2014) Moreover, this could be more beneficial if the company also provides high speed broad band services to its Vodafone customer on a very cheap rate by introducing some attractive sport events covering packages. As the company has a strong customer base of 4.9 million. This will certainly be increased by taking over this investment opportunity. Because the competitor there is capturing the market share very rapidly (British Telecommunications) and due to BT BskyB has lost 1.5 billion pound of its value in November. So it is much vital for BskyB to maximize the revenue by investing in secure opportunities. (PLUNKETT, 2014) 2- â€Å"British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, known as BskyB, (BSYBY.PK,BSY.L), Friday said it agreed to invest $8 million in Luminari Capital, a venture capital fund focusing on technology and media startup companies that operate within the theme of innovation in video. This investment is expected to aid Sky to choose relevant startup companies to partner with in the future†. (British Sky To Invest $8 Mln In Luminari Capital Quick Facts, 2013) As the broadcasting industry needs continuously development and up gradation of its broadcasting technology and thus it will need investment to achieve that level of competitive broadcasting to compete within the industry and make keep its distinctive position in the UK  broadcasting industry. Furthermore, UK film industry has also called for investment from BskyB of 20 million pound annually; this is major part of the annual investment in the UK film industry which signifies the position of BskyB in the UK broadcasting industry. (Macnab, 2014) As the strategy of BskyB has always remain customer focused and the company has always aimed high to serve its customer with its robust and highly innovative broadcasting technology, from a long period the company has reaped the fruits of its consumer focused strategies. So again the company has the opportunity to gain several film licenses by dominating is position to generate considerable cash flows in future. Already the company is the choice of around 40% of the British household and such continuous significant investment opportunities can turn the ship of BskyB around the globe. 3-As the company is in the industry in which it is required to maintain a research and development for its broadcasting equipment. Currently the company pays a large portion of its earning to the supplier for the payment of equipment which it has purchased time to time. If the company invests in such a operating facility which is well equipped and has the capacity to produce the all tangible broadcasting equipment and as it will also have its RD department then off course it can innovate its products in house and frequently. This will also be considered as separate revenue generating business segment of BskyB which will ultimately increase the company’s potential to increase its revenue in upcoming periods. BskyB can also sell those in house broadcasting equipment to other organizations operating under the umbrella of the broadcasting. More over a company like BskyB must also consider the investing in the other competitors as it has already invested in many other media and broadcasting companies. this will help the company in a manner, if in a certain year the company remains unable to show increase in its revenue it will be compensated by earning revenue from its short term or long term investments. References: Thomson, A. 2014. Vodafone Said to Discuss Sharing Broadband With BSkyB in U.K. [online] 20 January. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/vodafone-said-to-discuss-sharing-broadband-with-bskyb-in-u-k-.html [Accessed: 31 March]. PLUNKETT, S. 2014. Vodafone, BSkyB in talks to curb BTs broadband reach report. [online] 19 January. Available at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/19/uk-vodafone-bskyb-idUKBREA0I09C20140119 [Accessed: 31 March 2014]. British Sky To Invest $8 Mln In Luminari Capital Quick Facts. 2013. [online] 15 November. Available at: http://www.rttnews.com/2224924/british-sky-to-invest-8-mln-in-luminari-capital-quick-facts.aspx [Accessed: 31 March]. Macnab, G. 2014. UK panel urges broadcasters to invest. [online] 23 January. Available at: http://www.screendaily.com/news/uk-panel-urges-broadcasters-to-invest/5065719.article [Accessed: 31 March].

Plato’s Unwritten Doctrines from a Hermeneutical Point of View* :: Philosophy Philosophical dialogue Essays

Plato’s Unwritten Doctrines from a Hermeneutical Point of View* ABSTRACT: In this paper, I will show the deep roots of dialogue in Plato’s thought, in order to examine the validity of the so-called ‘esoteric Plato’. The confrontation between dialogicity and unwritten doctrines is the main theme of this article. These two views — Hermeneutics and TÃ ¼bingen School — are not far away on concrete contents, with more or less variations. But it must be noticed that both conceptions of Platonic thinking are contradictory and that is reflected in their explanations of Plato’s own philosophical project. To begin with, I will not compare each point of the Hermeneutic and Tubingen School positions. I will explain, so far as I can understand, why the explanation of the TÃ ¼bingen School is unsatisfactory. (1) These insufficiencies are not related to its deep analysis of the Platonic oral tradition, exactly to its interpretation. (2) The question is wholly hermeneutical and refers to the pretension, extension and value that this oral doctrine can have in Platonic philosophy. I will avoid the content questions, because they are far away from the purpose of this paper. The implicit question in these two trends is the following: can Plato’s own philosophy be reduced to a metaphysical system? (3) The affirmative answer to that question holds the whole account of the TÃ ¼bingen School. But I consider that this assumption is not correct and that it supposes the projection of alien elements to Platonic philosophy. And my task in this contribution is to show why. Plato’s thought has two axes: thematical and formal. Thematically it moves around the Good, and formally, around the dialectic. Both themes are the ground of his whole work and the ideas are not more than the attempt of joining them. The dialectical access to ideas is fully congruous with the question of the Good, at all levels. This is clearly exposed in the beginning of Philebus, (4) where it is necessary to reach the truth about the good through dialogue, with all required efforts. But dialogue is not a combat between enemies to win one position, but the battle between allies supporting the truth. Dialectic is not another thing than the ability to guide a conversation, that is, the capability to dialogue. (5) Because of that, language —exactly (6) — has no secondary position in Plato’s philosophy. Even one of his works is wholly dedicated to that theme — Cratylus —, and there it can be seen that language is neither pure nature nor complete artifact.

Twelfth Night, 3.1.1-26

Michael Nodurft English 208 Mrs. Walter Twelfth Night, 3. 1. 1-26 Jan. 30 2007 True Lies Reading this conversation between Viola and Feste the clown there is definite multiple meanings to each of the words that they both say. You can tell that Viola’s wit is matched to Feste’s which makes this conversation so cleverly written. This passage offers pun’s to the audience who understand that Cesario is truly Viola. And have Feste hinting that he knows Viola’s hidden identity. This passage offers hints to the truth of the Viola and the fact that Feste is truly not the fool that everyone believes he is. In this passage I will prove that this conversation is crucial to the plot, and defines beoth of these characters roles. When Feste enters the room he is playing his pipe and tabor, and is being his normal fool self. The first couple lines are normal speech when Viola asks, â€Å"Dost thou live by thy tabor? †3. 1. 1-2 I like how Viola used the word tabor because it is the perfect description of Feste personality, the way he is always playing games with people for money. When Feste’s witty remarks are matched by Viola, Feste begins his more intellectual wittiness. â€Å"A sentence is but a cheverel glove to a good wit,†3. . 10-11 In this sentence you tell that there is a deeper meaning when Feste is talking about a glove. The way that Feste describes the glove to Viola is interesting because when a person uses a glove it is normally hiding the hand. Feste has stumble onto a crucial part of the play making the plot much sweeter for the audience because they know t he truth about Viola and he doesn’t; Cesario is the glove to Viola. This is perfect not only is the fool being a mocked in the play; his fooling is now involving the audience making subtle hints of something he does not know. The next line Feste says is â€Å"How quickly the wrong side may be turned outward. †3. 1. 11-12 I like this comparison between the glove turning outward and Viola trying to keep her cover, because Viola doesn’t know what Feste knows. Another note that I stumbled on when reading this scene was the fact that Feste repeated the word â€Å",Sir,† when he was addressing Viola. When you look into Feste’s lines it is almost like he is mocking the word sir by putting a coma before and after. I can see the imagery of Feste’s face when he pauses and announces â€Å",sir,† I can see his eyes looking into Viola’s almost jesting that he knows that she is not truly a sir but a woman. It seems like Feste knows a lot but I don’t really think he entire understand it yet. So for the audience who knows Cesario is a woman, it is quite enjoyable seeing Feste sort of stuck in the dark and not truly understanding everything. This is how Feste obtains both the fool in the play and to the audience. Another idea that I have thought about was what is Feste hiding? Feste is the loveable fool that plays tricks for money, but is that his true nature? I believe that the â€Å"glove† sentence applies to both characters Viola and Feste. Viola is trying to keep her cover, but one slip up and she could be uncovered causing terrible trouble. On the other hand Feste, if his cover of being a fool is blown then he has no way of living. If one was thinking hard about this speech Feste is talking about himself. Being witty and fun, but at the same time scared to let his more intelligent side out. He has to purposely put himself outside of the box so that no one can understand his true meaning of life. The way that this passage is put together it is not rhythmic at all. The lines don’t flow together like other parts of the play. There is no iambic pentameter is these sentences they are either too long, or too short. I think that Shakespeare purposely made these lines uncut and off rhythm for a reason. This reason is that Feste is a fool and is always being witty never making a direct point. Viola is fooling right back and not being entirely serious as well. From a literary stand point having the fool talk in such a manner makes them both out of the box or â€Å"party†. It makes sense that Feste talks in such a manner in the play, but I like how Viola’s lines are almost the reiterating the argument that Feste and Viola are very similar characters with their wit. I have showed the evidence threw out my paper proving the idea that Feste and Viola are very much alike. I have shown you the style on how they talk to each other using the wit to the best of their abilities. I have proved the non rhythmic lines that complement the fact that both characters are intelligent fools that think they know what they are talking about but are still in the dark. The fact that Feste is messing with Viola the way he does, shows that he has some knowledge on her true identity. The way that Feste mocks Viola makes this passage so important to the plot of the play because of the funny pun’s it gives the audience; hinting at the fact that Cesario is the glove to Viola. All of this evidence digs deeper into this passage and pulls out the hidden pun’s and messages that you couldn’t see with one glance, and enriches the story with hidden thoughts. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"Twelfth Night. â€Å"The Norton Shakespeare based on the oxford edition. 1997.

Ethics And Morality Are The Same Thing - 812 Words

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Whereas ethics is based on social norms, following coherent philosophical principles. Nonetheless, morality can form a basis for ethical leadership, such as ethical leadership. The modern context of ethical leadership Ethical leadership is essentially a leadership theory, which uses the above ethics concepts as a guide to managing subordinates. Since ethics deals with the principles of ‘right’ behaviour and leadership with influencing other people to achieve goals, ethical leadership is influencing people through ethics. The rise of ethical leadership can be traced backShow MoreRelatedEthics: Moral Absolutes Essay1180 Words   |  5 PagesEthics 3.1 1. Why are Christian ethics and theology inseparable? What did Francis Schaeffer mean when he said that not all things are the same to God? Christian ethics is inseparable from theology because it is grounded in the character of God. 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