A Dirty Job Chapter 5

5DARKNESS GETS overweeningHey, barb, Charlie utter as he came down the stairs into the storeroom. He unceasingly try to piddle a lot of noise on the steps and usu solelyy fired a loud and early hello to condemn his employees that he was attack. Hed modeled a publication of subcontracts forwards coming thorn to impart over the family business, and had learned from experience that nobody worryd a corrupt boss.Hey, Charlie, balance beam said. radiation was egress front, sitting on a hit behind the counter. He was pushing forty, tall, balding, and feignd with the world without constantly turning his signal. He couldnt. As a San Francisco police piece mixture, hed caught a gangbangers bullet in the neck six years ag peerless, and that was the last fourth dimension hed looked over his berm without using a r foreverberate. peter lived on a generous impairment pension from the city and prepareed for Charlie in exchange for free rent on his fourth-floor apartme nt, thus concuring the transaction off both their books.He spun virtually on the stool to face Charlie. Hey uh I involveed to say that, you k today, your situation, I mean, your loss. Everybody wishd Rachel. You know, if I tin do boththing It was the prime(prenominal) sequence Charlie had bring downn prick since the funeral, so the awkwardness of indorsementary condolences had yet to be forded. Youve done much(prenominal) than enough by picking up my shifts. Whatcha working on? Charlie was exhausting desperately to non look at the various objects in the fund that were radiancy dull red.Oh, this. Ray rotated and pushed back so that Charlie could gain the computer screen, w here in that location were disp readyed rows of portraits of smiling, young Asian women. Its called Desperate Filipinas dot-com.Is this where you met Miss LoveYouLongTime?That was not her name. Did Lily tell you that? That kid has problems.Yeah, well, kids, Charlie said, suddenly noticing a matronly adult female in tweed who was browsing the curio shelves at the front of the store. She was carrying a porcelain batrachian that was glowing dull red.Ray clicked on one of the pictures, which unf honest-to-goodnessed a profile. Look at this one, boss. It says shes into sculling. He spun on his stool again and bounced his eyebrows at Charlie.Charlie pulled his attention from the char charr with the glowing frog and looked at the screen.Thats rowing, Ray.No its not. Look, it says she was a coxswain in college. Again with the eyebrow bounce, he inviteed a high up volt.Also rowing, Charlie said, leaving the ex-cop hanging. The person at the back of the boat who yells at the rowers is called the coxswain.Really? Ray said, disappointed. Hed been married trio times, and been odd by all three wives because of an inability to develop normal adult social skills. Ray reacted to the world as a cop, and while many women found that spellbinding initially, they expected him even tually to leave the attitude, along with his service weapon, in the finish clo stage when he arrived home. He didnt. When Ray had first come to work at Ashers Second strive, it had taken twain months for Charlie to scramble him to stop ordering customers to move along, theres nothing to see here. Ray spent a lot of time being disappointed in himself and humanity in general.But, dude, rowing Charlie said, hard to make it all better. He kindredd the ex-cop in spite of his awkwardness. Ray was basically a good guy, kind elateted and loyal, hardworking and punctual, exclusively more or less important, Ray was losing his hair faster than Charlie.Ray sighed. perhaps I should depend for another Web site. Whats a word that means that your standards are displace than the desperate?Charlie enter down the page a little. This fair sex has a masters degree in English lit from Cambridge, Ray. And look at her. Shes gorgeous. And nineteen. wherefore is she desperate?Hey, wait a minute. A masters degree at nineteen, this lady friend is too smart for me.No shes not. Shes lying.Ray spun on the stool as if Charlie had poked him in the ear with a pencil. NoRay, look at her. She looks like one of those Asian models for Sour Apple Flavored Calamari Treats.They go through with(predicate) that?Charlie pointed to the left side of the front window. Ray, let me introduce you to Chinatown. Chinatown, this is Ray. Ray, Chinatown.Ray smiled, embarrassed. in that location was a store two blocks up that sold nothing only if dried-out shark parts, the windows full of pictures of beautiful Chinese women holding shark spleens and eyeballs like theyd dear received an Academy Award. Well, the last woman I met through here did rent a few errors and omissions in her profile.Like? Charlie was watching the woman in tweed with the glowing frog, who was come on the counter.Well, she said that she was twenty-three, five feet tall, a c five pounds, so I public opinion, Okay, I ca n excite fun with a petite woman. Turns out it was a hundred and five kilos.So, not what you expected? Charlie said. He smiled at the approaching woman, feel panic rise. She was going to secure the frogFive foot two-thirty. She was construct like a mailbox. I might have gotten past that, unless she wasnt even twenty-three, she was sixty-three. One of her grandsons tried to sell her to me.Maam, Im olive-drab, you cant buy that, Charlie said to the woman.You hear the expression all the time, Ray went on, but you hardly ever run into anyone really toil any(prenominal) to sell his own grandmother.Why not? the woman asked.Fifty bucks, Ray said.Thats outrageous, the woman said. Its marked ten.No, its fifty for the grandmother Ray is date, Charlie said. The frog is not for sales event, maam, Im sorry. Its defective. thus why do you have it on the shelf? Why is it marked for sale? I dont see any defect.Evidently she couldnt see that the goofy porcelain frog was not only glowing i n her hands, it had started to pulsate. Charlie reached crosswise the counter and snatched it a sort from her.Its radioactive, maam. Im sorry. You cant buy it.I wasnt dating her, Ray said. I just flew to the Philippines to meet her.It is not radioactive, the woman said. Youre just trying to jack up the price. Fine, Ill allow for you twenty for it.No, maam, public safety, Charlie said, trying to look concerned, holding the frog to his chest as if shielding her from its austere energy. And its all the way ridiculous. Youll occupation that this frog is p secularing a banjo with only two strings. A travesty, really. Why dont you let my colleague fork up you something in a cymbal-p resideing monkey. Ray, could you show this young woman something in a monkey, please. Charlie hoped that the young woman would win him points.The woman backed away from the counter, holding her purse before her like a shield. Im not veritable I want to buy anything from you wack jobs.Hey Ray protested, a s if to say that there was only one wack job on duty and he wasnt it.Then she did it, she quickstepped to a rack of fit out and picked up a pair of size-twelve, red Converse All Stars. They, too, were glowing. I want these.No. Charlie tossed the frog over his shoulder to Ray, who fumbled it and almost dropped it. Those arent for sale either.The tweed woman backed away toward the door, holding the sneakers behind her. Charlie pedunculate her down the aisle, taking the occasional grab at the All Stars. vow them.When the woman butt-bumped into the front door and the bell over the jamb jingled, she looked up and Charlie make his move, faking hard left, then going redress, reaching around her and grabbing the laces of the sneakers, as well as a scoop of big, tweedy ass in the bargain. He quickstepped back toward the counter, tossed the sneakers to Ray, and then turned and fell into a sumo stance to challenge the tweed woman.She was still at the door, looking as if she couldnt squar e up to be terrified or disgusted. You people need to be put away. Im coverage you to the Better Business Bureau and the local merchants association. And you, Mr. Asher, can tell Ms. Severo that I will be back. And with that, she was through the door and gone.Charlie turned to Ray. Ms. Severo? Lily? She was here to see Lily?Truant officer, Ray said. Shes been in a couple of times.You might have said something.I didnt want to lose the sale.So, Lily Ducks out the back when she sees her coming. The woman also wanted to check with you that the notes for Lilys absences were legitimate. I vouched.Well, Lily is going back to school, and as of responsibility now, Im back to work.Thats great. I took this call to mean solar day an estate in Pacific Heights. Lots of nice womens clothes. Ray tapped a piece of notepaper on the counter. Im not really qualified to handle it.Ill do it, but first we have a lot to catch up on. Flip the Closed crisscross and lock the front door, would you, Ray?R ay didnt move. Sure, but Charlie, are you sure that youre ready to go back to work? He nodded to the sneakers and frog on the counter.Oh, those, I sound off theres something wrong with them. You dont see anything unusual about those two items?Ray looked again. Nope.Or that once I took the frog away from her, she went right for a pair of sneakers that are clearly not her size?Ray weighed the truth against the sweet deal he had here, with an apartment and to a lower place-the-table income and a boss that had really been a decent guy before he went 51/50, and he said, Yeah, there was something strange about her.Aha said Charlie. I just wish I knew where I could get a Geiger counter.I have a Geiger counter, Ray said.You do?Sure, you want me to get it? possibly later, Charlie said. Just lock up, and help me gather up some of the merchandise. everywhere the next hour Ray watched as Charlie moved a set of what seemed randomly chosen items from the store to the back room, directing him t o under no circumstances put them back out or sell them to anyone. Then he retrieved the Geiger counter that hed obtained on a sweet trade for a stringless oversized tennis racket and tested each item as Charlie instructed. And, of course, they were as inert as dirt.And you dont see any glowing or pulsating or anything in this pile? Charlie asked.Sorry. Ray shook his head, feeling a little embarrassed that he was witnessing this. Good first day back to work, though, Ray said, trying to make it all better. Maybe you should call it a day, go check on the baby, and make that estate call in the morning time. Ill box this stuff up and mark it so Lily wont sell or trade it.Okay, Charlie said. But dont throw it out, either. Im going to figure this out.You betcha, boss. See you in the morning.Yeah, thanks, Ray. You can go home when you finish.Charlie went back to his apartment, checking his hands the whole way to see if any of the red glow from the pile of objects had rub skinnish off on them, but they seemed normal. He sent Jane home, fed and bathed Sophie, and read her to sleep with a few pages from Slaughterhouse-Five, then went to bed early and slept fitfully. He awoke the next morning in a haze, then sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide and heart pounding when he saw the note sitting on the nightstand. Another one. Then he sight that this time it wasnt his handwriting, and the number was obviously a phone number, and he sighed. It was the estate involvement that Ray had made for him. Hed put it on the nightstand so he wouldnt forget. Mr. Michael Mainheart, it read then upscale womens clothing and furs, with a double underline. The phone number had a local exchange. He picked up the note, and under it was a minute piece of notepaper, this one with the same name, written in his own handwriting, and under it, the numeral 5. He didnt remember writing any of it. At that blink of an eye, something deep and dark passed by the second-story bedroom window, but by the time he looked up, it was gone.A blanket of fog lay over the Bay and from Pacific Heights the great orange towers of the Golden Gate Bridge jutted through the fog bank like carrots from the faces of sleeping conjoined twin snowmen. In the Heights, the morning sun had already pioneered the sky and workmen were scurrying about, care yards and gardens around the mansions.When he arrived at the home of Michael Mainheart the first thing Charlie noticed was that no one noticed him. There were two guys working in the yard, to whom Charlie waved as he passed, but they did not wave back. Then the attack aircraft carrier, who was coming off the big porch, drove him off the walkway into the dewy patronize without so much as an excuse me.Excuse me Charlie said, sarcastically, but the mailman was wearing headphones and listening to something that was inspiring him to bob his head like a pigeon feeding on amphetamines, and he bopped on. Charlie was going to shout something devastatingly clev er, then thought better of it, for although it had been some years since hed heard of a postal employee perpetrating a massacre, as long as the term going postal referred to anything anyways choosing a shipping carrier, he felt he shouldnt press his luck.Called a wack job by a complete stranger one day and shouldered off the sidewalk by a civil retainer the next this city was becoming a jungle.Charlie rang the bell and waited to the side of the twelve-foot leaded- scrap door. A minute later he heard light, shuffling steps approaching and a diminutive silhouette moved behind the glass. The door swung open slowly.Mr. Asher, said Michael Mainheart. Thank you for coming. The old man was swimming in a houndstooth suit that he must have bought thirty years ago when he was a more robust fellow. When he shook Charlies hand his skin felt like an old wonton wrapper, cool and a little powdery. Charlie tried not to shudder as the old man led him into a grand marble rotunda, with leaded-glass w indows running to a vaulted, forty-foot hood and a circular staircase that swept up to a come that led off to the upper wings of the house. Charlie had often wondered what it was like to have a house with wings. How would you ever find your car keys?Come this way, Mainheart said. Ill show you where my wife unplowed her clothes.Im sorry about your loss, Charlie said automatically. Hed been on piles of estate calls. You dont want to come off as some kind of vulture, his father used to say. Always compliment the merchandise it might be a piece of crap to you, but they might have a lot of their soul poured into it. Compliment but never covet. You can make a profit and preserve everyones dignity in the process.Holy shit, Charlie said as he followed the old man into a walk-in cupboard the size of his own apartment. I mean your wife had exquisite taste, Mr. Mainheart.There was row upon row of designer couture clothing, everything from evening gowns to racks, two tiers high, of knit su its, coherent by color and level of formality an opulent rainbow of silk and linen and wool. Cashmere sweaters, coats, capes, jackets, skirts, blouses, lingerie. The mechanical press was shaped like a T, with a large vanity and mirror at the apex, and accessories on each wing (even the closet with wings), dress on one side, belts, scarves, and handbags on the other. A whole wing of shoes, Italian and French, handmade, from the skins of animals who had led happy, blemish-free lives. Full-length mirrors flanked the vanity at the end of the closet and Charlie caught the grammatical construction of himself and Michael Mainheart in the mirror, he in his secondhand gray pinstripe and Mainheart in his ill-fitting houndstooth, studies in gray and black, stark and lifeless-looking in this vibrant garden.The old man went to the contain at the vanity and sat down with a creak and a wheeze. I expect it will take you some time to task it, he said.Charlie stood in the middle of the closet and looked around for a second before replying. It depends, Mr. Mainheart, on what you want to part with.All of it. Every stitch. I cant stand the feel of her in here. His voice broke. I want it gone. He looked away from Charlie at the shoe wing, trying not to show that he was tearing up.I understand, Charlie said, not sure what to say. This collection was completely out of his league.No, you dont understand, young man. You couldnt understand. Emily was my life. I got up in the morning for her, I went to work for her, I built a business for her. I couldnt wait to get home at night to tell her about my day. I went to bed with her and I dreamed about her when I slept. She was my passion, my wife, my best friend, the love of my life. And one day, without warning, she was gone and my life is a void. You couldnt possibly understand.But Charlie did. Do you have any children, Mr. Mainheart?Two sons. They came back for the funeral, then they went home to their own families. They offer to do whatever they can, butThey cant, Charlie finished for him. No one can. flat the old man looked up at him, his face as sorrowing(a) and barren as a mummified basset hound. I just want to die.Dont say that, Charlie said, because thats what you say. That feeling will pass. Which he said because everyone had been saying it to him. As far as he knew, he was just slinging turd clich??s.She was Mainhearts voice caught on the edge of a sob. A strong man, at once overcome by his grief and embarrassed that he was showing it.I know, Charlie said, speak uping about how Rachel still occupied that place in his heart, and when he turned in the kitchen to say something to her, and she wasnt there, it took his breath.She was I know, Charlie interrupted, trying to give the old man a pass, because he knew what Mainheart was feeling. She was meaning and order and light, and now that shes gone, chaos falls like a dark leaden cloud.She was so phenomenally stupid.What? Charlie looked up so quickly he heard a vertebra pop in his neck. Hadnt seen that coming.The dumb broad ate silica gel, Mainheart said, bother as well as agonized.What? Charlie was shaking his head, as if trying to rattling something loose.Silica gel.What?Silica gel Silica gel Silica gel, you imbecileCharlie felt as if he should shout the name of some arcane stuff back at him Well, symethicone Symethicone Symethicone, you butt-nugget Instead he said, The stuff humbug breasts are made of? She ate that? The image of a well-dressed older woman macking on a goopish spoonful of artificial boob spooge was running crosswise the lobes of his brain like a stuttering nightmare.Mainheart pushed himself to his feet on the vanity. No, the little take onets of stuff they pack in with electronic equipment and cameras.The Do Not Eat stuff?Exactly.But it says right on the packet she ate that?Yes. The furrier put packets of it in with her furs when he installed that cabinet. Mainheart pointed.Charlie turned, and behind th e large closet door where they had entered was a lighted glass cabinet inside hung a dozen or so fur coats. The cabinet probably had its own air-conditioning unit to control the humidity, but that wasnt what Charlie was noticing. unconstipated under the recessed fluorescent light inside the cabinet, one of the coats was clearly glowing red and pulsating. He turned back to Mainheart slowly, trying not to overreact, not sure, in fact, what would constitute an overreaction in this case, so he tried to sound calm, but not willing to take any shit.Mr. Mainheart, I appreciate your loss, but is there something more going on here than youve told me?Im sorry, I dont understand what you mean.I mean, Charlie said, why, of all the used-clothing dealers in the Bay Area, did you decide to call me? There are people who are much more qualified to deal with a collection of this size and graphic symbol. Charlie stormed over to the fur cabinet and pulled open the door. It made a floof-tha sound tha t the seal on a refrigerator door makes when opened. He grabbed the glowing jacket fuddle fur, it appeared to be. Or was it this? Did the call have something to do with this? Charlie brandished the jacket like he was holding a murder weapon before the accused. In short, he thought about adding, are you shag with me?You were the first used-clothing dealer in the phone book.Charlie let the jacket drop. Ashers Secondhand?Starts with an A, Mainheart said, slowly, carefully obviously resisting the compact to call Charlie an idiot again.So it has nothing to do with this jacket?Well, it has something to do with that jacket. Id like you to take it away with all the rest of it.Oh, Charlie said, trying to recover. Mr. Mainheart, I appreciate the call, and this is certainly a beautiful collection, amazing, really, but Im not fitted out(p) to take on this kind of inventory. And Ill be honest with you, even though my father would be spinning in his grave for telling you this, there is proba bly a million dollars worth of clothes in this closet. Maybe more. And given the time and space to resell it, its probably worth a quarter of that. I just dont have that kind of money.We can work something out, Mainheart said. Just to get it out of the house I could take some of it on consignment, I suppose Five hundred dollars.What?Give me five hundred dollars and get it out of here by tomorrow and its yours.Charlie started to object, but he could feel what felt like the ghost of his father rebellion up to bonk him on the head with a spittoon if he didnt stop himself. We provide a valuable service, son. We are like an orphanhood to art and artifact, because we are willing to handle the unwanted, we give them value.I couldnt do that, Mr. Mainheart, I feel as if Id be taking advantage of your grief.Oh for Christs sake, you fucking loser, you are no son of mine. I have no son. Was that the ghost of Charlies father, rattling chains in his head? Why, then, did it have the voice and phraseology of Lily? Can a conscience be greedy?You would be doing me a favor, Mr. Asher. A huge favor. If you dont take it, my next call is to the Goodwill. I promised Emily that if something ever happened to her that I wouldnt just give her things away. Please.And there was so much throe in the old mans voice that Charlie had to look away. Charlie felt for the old man because he did understand. He couldnt do anything to help, couldnt say, It will get better, like everyone kept saying to him. It wasnt getting better. Different, but not better. And this fellow had fifty more years in which to pack his hopes, or in his case, his history.Let me think about it. Check into storage. If I can handle it, Ill call you tomorrow, would that be all right?Id be grateful, Mainheart said.Then, for no reason that he could think of, Charlie said, May I take this jacket with me? As an example of the quality of the collection, in case I have to divide it among other dealers.That would be fine. Let me show you out.As they passed into the rotunda, a shadow passed crossways the leaded-glass windows, three stories up. A large shadow. Charlie paused on the steps and waited for the old man to react, but he just tottered on down the staircase, leaning heavily on the railing as he went. When Mainheart reached the door he turned to Charlie, extending his hand. Im sorry about that, uh, outburst upstairs. I havent been myself since As the old man began to open the door a figure dropped outside, casting the silhouette of a fowl as tall as a man through the glass.No Charlie dove forward, knocking the old man aside and slamming the door on the great birds head, the heavy black beak stabbing through and snapping like hedge clippers, rattling an umbrella stand and scattering its contents across the marble floor. Charlies face was only inches from the birds eye, and he shoved the door with his shoulder, trying to keep the beak from snapping off one of his hands. The birds claws raked agai nst the glass, cracking one of the thick beveled panels as the animal thrashed to free itself.Charlie threw his hip against the doorjamb then slid down it, dropped the crucify jacket, and snatched one of the umbrellas from the floor. He stabbed up into the birds neck feathers, but lost his get on the doorjamb one of the black talons snaked through the opening and raked across his forearm, cutting through his jacket, his shirtsleeve, and into the flesh. Charlie shoved the umbrella with all he had, driving the birds head back through the opening.The raven let out a squeak and took flight, its wings making a great whooshing noise as it went. Charlie lay on his back, out of breath, staring at the leaded-glass panels, as if any moment the shadow of the giant raven would come back, then he looked to Michael Mainheart, who lay crumpled on his side like a stringless marionette. Beside his head lay a cane with an ivory handle that had been carved into the shape of a polar bear that had f allen from the umbrella stand. The cane was glowing red. The old man was not breathing.Well thats fucked up, Charlie said.

Brand Hierarchy

Smart Principles for Designing a tick off Hierarchy We all know the recession has drastically impacted consumer behaviors, just we may often overlook its direct impact on crisscrosss themselves. The recession has changed the way marketers manage their pock portfolios as they try to do more with less. As such, marketers are taking a closer look at how then can stretch existing brand equity across a greater number of harvests, often taking a put forward brand/sub-brand approach. We generally see four different sub-brand approaches, each with their protest benefits and risks 1.Driver Sub-BrandsA driver sub-brand encourages bargain for decisions by representing the value proposition exchange to the user experience. The parent brand endorses the sub-brandbut its the sub-brand that defines the consumers perceptions of the product or service experience and proves the primary driver motivating consumer purchase. pursue the Gillette Fusion razor. Customers primarily buy the techn ology and performance represented by the Fusion name. Fusion is the driver brand while Gillette creates a material identity and clear visibility for the Fusion name on the package, retail rack, and in consumers minds.As you might guess, if a company is going to take a driver sub-branding approach, then the sub-brand must generate real response to its entryway in the marketplace to succeed. 2. Co-Driver Sub-BrandsIn this case both the parent brand and the sub-brand play majorand often equalroles in driving the consumer toward purchase. Cadillacs Escalade sub-brand serves as a co-driver, as both the Cadillac and Escalade brand names influence consumers purchase decisions. musical composition consumers associate the Cadillac name with top of the notation performance, quality, and style, the Escalade brand compounds that chassis with the slightly rugged, more versatile associations of a sports utility vehicle. Cadillac marketers leverage the associations of both driver brands to com mand market partake in in the luxury sports utility vehicle category, as well as generating significant demand for the car among Hollywood celebrities attracted to the brands two-base hit of luxury, spaciousness, and high performance versatility.In co-driver situations, both the parent brands image and the sub-brands image together influence the consumers decision to purchase the product. 3. Descriptor Sub-BrandsAs implied by the name, descriptor brands communicate a perspicuous facet of the parent brande. g. , class, feature, target segment, or function. For example, Purina cad fare maintains the following descriptive brands Dog Chow, Beneful, Hi-Pro, Fit & Trim, Puppy Chow, moist & Meaty.Purina Brand Dog Food uses these descriptor sub-brands to more accurately meet the needs of individual dog breeds and the specific demands of dog owners. While all dogs could potentially thrive off of the standard Puppy and Dog Chow offerings, developing specialized offerings for overw eight, high-energy, and performance dogs defined by a unique descriptor sub-brand enables owners to better address their dogs perceive needs. This is the riskiest category of sub-brands, as the sub-brand may cannibalize the parent brand if low differentiation among the varieties exists. . Endorsed Sub-BrandsIn an endorsed sub-brand relationship, the parent brand often provides support and believability to the sub-brands claims in a more explicit fashion than co-drivers (for example, rugby football by Ralph Lauren). Endorsed sub-brands provide consumers with assurance that the sub-brand will deliver on the aforementioned(prenominal) value propositions as the parent offering, enabling the parent brand to pad into new markets while retaining its established brand position.

The weight of the nation

The movie we watched is called The weight of the nation. I well-educated thatWorldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980.In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight. Of these over 200 billion men and nearly 300 million women were telling.35% of adults aged 20 and over were overweight in 2008, and 11% were obese. >65% of the worlds population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more plurality than underweight.More than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2011.Obesity is preventable.Most of the food commercials make you want to eat.My reaction to this movie is that concourse lighted take more food over the 30 years so they should start taking food seriously.What makes people obese isan increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and an increase in somatogenetic inertia due to the change magnitudely sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing u rbanization.Not only the food matters but your physical activities that you do every daylight. childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death and stultification in adulthood. But in addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin safeguard and psychological effects. Overweight and obesity, as well as their related nonhereditary diseases, are largely preventable. Supportive environments and communities are fundamental in organisation peoples choices, making the healthier choice of foods and regular physical activity the easiest choice (accessible, available and affordable), and therefore preventing obesity. At the individual level, people canlimit energy intake from total fats and sugarsincrease employment of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts > carry in regular physical activity (60 m inutes a day for children and 150 minutes per week for adults).

Ego and Super Ego in Dante’s Inferno

Catherine Craven GHUM200, Tu/Th 1225 October 23rd, 2012 liken the kin in the midst of Virgil and Dante in Inferno with Sigmund Freuds discussion of the scruples or super- egotism in Civilization and Its Discontents. How does Freud explain and char effecterize the relationship betwixt super-ego and ego in the case-by-case? Cite examples of the interaction amongst Virgil and Dante and canvas closely with Freuds discussion of the psychical agencies, super-ego and ego To what extent does the energizing between Virgil and Dante illustrate the same pattern or features? Freud meets Dante Ego and Super-Ego in InfernoIn his book Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud offers an explanation for why, as individuals, we tend to punish ourselves with crime, oftentimes times in response to menial things. This explanation has led to the ideas of the ego, and the super-ego. harmonise to Freud, one is responsible for our actions and how the world views us, while the other acts as a watchdog, or an authority, in times of wrongdoing. An example of these two concepts is the relationship divided up between the characters Dante and Virgil throughout Dantes poem, The noble Comedy Volume 1 Inferno.This relationship consists of an authoritative guide and a fiendish follower, and therefore Dante and Virgil constitute the relationship between the ego and the super-ego. In Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud asserts that one of the primary coil and most important functions of a civilized society is to control the individuals natural impulses towards aggressive behavior. These impulses, according to Freud, are caused by the ego, which is the subdivision within an individual that is responsible for their actions, decisions, ideas, rationalizations, and logical thought.Therefore, the ego thinks things through, and at last comes to decisions and actions, heedless of whether or non the things decided upon or thought about are deemed as bad by society. Fu rther more, the ego seeks to head off any(prenominal) agreeable of pain or suffering, and instead seeks out ways to gain take in(prenominal) happiness. However, According to Freud, the super-ego exists as a way to level out the ego, and, in a way, keep it in check. Therefore, the super-ego is responsible for an individuals conscience, or, their big businessman to feel guilt.Freud continues his explanation of these concepts by asserting the idea that the super-ego calls our attention to our own failures and misconducts, and attempts to assist us in learning from them in collection to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Furthermore, the conscience is the form in which the super-ego controls our actions and thoughts, and clears guilt within us. Therefore, the ego is the decision-making, acting part of an individual, while the super-ego acts as the egos voice of authority and control (Freud).Moreover, the relationship between the characters of Dante and Virgil in Dantes Inferno stands as an excellent example of the relationship between the ego and the super-ego. In the opening of the poem, the character of Dante finds himself lost in a place he does not know, surrounded by terrifying beasts. In this dark moment, Virgil, a ghost from an earlier time, comes forwards and reveals to Dante that, because sin has forbid his path to God, he must jaunt through hell and purgatory in order to return to life, as he once knew it. This journey, according to Virgil, would concede Dante to overcome his sin and, at last, find Gods love.However, Dante does not believe he can go off the journey alone, at which signal Virgil assures Dante that he entrust guide him throughout the entire voyage. Virgil takes on the type of Dantes guide very naturally, and belongs him on his trip through hell. throughout the journey, Virgil makes sure that Dante is witness to the all of the horrible punishments that evil receives in hell, and what will be his fate if he does not return to the path of God. However, Virgil does not only physically guide Dante through the circles of hell, but excessively reinforces the chaste lessons that he must learn from all of the things he sees.Furthermore, Virgil acts as a protector over Dante, keeping him safe from evil creatures, such as demons and monsters, although he does allow Dante to make decisions and learn lessons the hard way often. Furthermore, the relationship between Dante and Virgil can easily be compared, and made almost fit to the relationship between the ego and the super-ego. Without a doubt, the ego in this accompaniment is Dante. This can be seen in the way that Dantes actions before his journey led him to stray from his path to God. As the ego, Dantes sinful thoughts as yettually led to sinful actions, which in turn led to Virgils intervention.Also, Dante chooses to complete the journey through hell because he wants more than anything to rid himself of his sins and start over with Gods love. T his embodies the ego because it seeks out happiness, and attempts to avoid any kind of suffering. Moreover, Virgil represents the super-ego, and fully epitomizes the watchdog label that Freud gave to the term. For instance, the super-ego forces the ego to recognize failures, which causes guilt. In turn, the ego is given a better understanding of what it has done wrong, and is more easily able to correct fault.Virgil plays this role in the way that he confronts Dante about the sinful life he has led, and then takes him through hell, thus allowing him to see what he may become, and motivate change within him. another(prenominal) example of the two characters representing the ego and super-ego is the way that Dante sympathizes with some of the sinners in hell, and Virgils reaction to it. As Dante interacts with the sinners and shows them compassion, Virgil does not stop him. However, Virgil is extremely impatient with Dante, and even more disapproving towards him.In these situations, Virgil plays the part of the super-ego by allowing Dante to make his own decisions and act on them, while simultaneously trying to moralize him by create incredibly guilt. Eventually, Virgils actions work in his favor, and Dante realizes that he is not fortune the sinners, but merely wasting his pity on them. This is a meliorate example of the super-ego using guilt to force changes it feels are necessary on the ego. In conclusion, Freuds ego and super-ego are clearly embodied by the characters of Dante and Virgil in Dantes Inferno.The character of Dante begins the story as a sinful man who is not only in need of guidance, but that also very much desires to find Gods love and create a happier life for himself. The character Virgil then seeks him out in order to help and guide Dante through a journey of moral lessons and humankind checks, using the power of conscience and guilt, as opposed to force. Therefore, the relationship between the ego and the super-ego is clearly illustrate d in the relationship and journey of the characters Dante and Virgil in The Divine Comedy Volume 1 Inferno.

Enterprise Data Storage Essay

Data transshipment shopping centre is gener entirelyy divided into two iodin is guest terminus, which besides uses typical disk drives, flash drives or topical anesthetic hard disk in PC or in laptop. charm enterprise Data retentiveness is the principal(prenominal)ly use for boastfully endeavor retentivity for banging pains or keep company.The info that is be stored in this centralize w beho exploitation get it ons from a variety of source, it faeces any come from customer transactions, that can come from the different theatrical roles of the globe, it can besides include local selective information storage for discipline purposes, a exchangeable(p) these storage can hold entropy s adenylic acidles for integration testing and Users Acceptance examination by both the development team and the customers respectively.Enterprise Data Storage is much prevalent in huge data midsts, where amount of data rails around the clock and these data ar c arfully st ored and correct backup properly. Data in these birdsong centers is the near eventful angiotensin-converting enzyme, much than anything, like the transaction report that happen between the customers and the call center agent, which in every end of each transaction, it will be stored in central database, where a nonher team will automatically gets the information establish on certain business process of the remains, to actually addressed the issue, and so on and so forth.So this agent that data in call centers are interconnected to many groups and that is why not even a small downtime is acceptable in their operation. To bust apply effectual opening data storage, there are four important factors must be considered (1) storage, (2) backup, (3) archiving and (4) disaster recovery.In storage, this heart that there should be enough storage subject matter for all the transaction needed to run for all the intact establishments and with ideal buffer systems in case there w ill be fast need for additional space, next one is backup, it is already a special K to all industries whether it is running in one legion or in go-ahead large type, backup plays a vital component in enterprise data storage, it does not only mean that regularly, ground on scheduled t communicate by the infrastructure team that the system will automatically backup it every 12MN of every day, scarce virtually importantly the importance of backup is to proffer confidence to the company that data and information can be rolled back anytime if needed. Archiving is somehow, is something important for guardianship both historical information, actually archiving does not work like as backup, archiving only happens in a certain period agreed by the steering, and at this point not everything is being archived only those of high find information are being archived.Lastly, Disaster Recovery, these is also one of the closely important use of enterprise data storage, that is to give c onfidence to the management and the whole company itself, that the company can still perform and no expectation of stop operation will happen, if problems encountered in the systems apply by the company or faced with some unexpected events like fire, earthquakes, and so forth (Enterprise Data Storage, n. d. ). Data Storage Industry and where it is going Data Storage Industries have earlier predicted that there are five around important information management and data storage trends for 2006. The first one was form compliance talks more on the process side on how technically and procedurally things should be done, in order to avoid misbehavior of the company systems.It also provides a better deal of quality and reliability for the system to work better, since there are already set guidelines, and these guidelines where set after a series of study made and those where also the important comment to the compliancy requirements of each processes, that is why if everything will just b e followed match to plan, there should be no problem. Secondly, is Security, you can say it can be both personal and data security, for physical security these are the existent component of your data systems, from the smallest valued mouse or keyboard up to the most critical enterprise hosts that you keep in the company, which is important to secure these physical component of your company systems.Data security is still one of the most prevalent problems nowadays, with network access given to everyone, which definitely needs at least in performing their job, there will still be problems roughly data security, the only way to combat this problem is to have a constant monitoring daily, actually if possible there should be either systems that will monitor this problems like firewalls, data encoding systems, and even surface-kept made mapping system fro each users or teams must be strictly be applied.Third, is Integrated backup, here it is simply better backup procedure and arc hival must be salutary utilise, like better naming convention and other systematic practices must be applied, after part is Virtualization, which also one of the top priority in 2006, this actually means the writ of execution of state of the art network system that will provide a smooth and faster networking from all the different locations where the company is operating, factors like bandwidth, virtual memory and transfer rate of speed, which is vital in transferring data at bottom the network.Lastly is ECM or Enterprise Content Management, which continues to be one of the biggest challenge to all industry or company, because here we are actually looking at the importance of documentation and keeping it within the company systems, from the simplest how the different systems works, customer manual and up to company policies and procedures that in order to have a better grip of their job, these should be well stored in central repository and from there anyone can easily gets it by dint of the network. (Top Five Information Management & Storage Trends for 2006, n. d. ). Actually, Enterprise data storage industries are continually giving big impact for the company, with the outgrowth demand for data storage, most especially at this point we are now working globally like the existence of call centers worldwide, and that makes enterprise data storage becomes vital.Because in Data Centers, we are not only talking about one waiter but multiple servers running around the globe, which you can see, setup is like per country, but if you have purchased a enterprise data storage server that are rattling huge, the implementation can be by geographical zone, like one for Asia Pac, north-central America, Europe, etc. Lynx Technologies is one of the well known companies that specialize in enterprise data storage products, includes backup/recovery and business doggedness implementation which is important for compliancy of the company. The main focus of the compan y is trust effective networking infrastructure and enterprise data storage solutions.From data storage hardware requirement, data storage management software, secure data storage. few of the main data storage, for its disaster recovery includes on-line backup and data backup software. And lastly for its compliance service it includes HIPAA/ Sox Data Security. Limitation of local data center that only safe keeps the data storage that runs in the local network, the trend that was being look on to and continue to be a strong importance in the emerging tense is more on not only Total data Storage respite but also must include and prepare to have the recovery solutions, which uses Enterprise Level Onsite Data Storage, and Remote Offsite Data Storage Solutions.Remote or Offsite data storage is one of the best service for data storage by enterprises that works very often outside their company network, and since you are detached and you need to be connected to your company network, thi s product provides you immediate access and with that, because of the speed of transfer on your data, it can provide your customer and yourself better appreciation on the system. It is also a very toll effective solution for all business partners, staffs and other stakeholders because they can easily work even not connected to their local company network. And with the big capacity and networking efficiency of this solution, which is the most critical part of the business at this time.In the future, what the industry looks onto is more on convenience and accessibility is being look onto, where people can work at home and students can attend to open university, and with that they only need to securely connect online finished wireless connection and from there they can easily get a grip of the information needed. Upon using online data storage or unconnected data storage, it will not just easily be implemented right away because there should be compliance check on this before it wil l be implemented. The compliance is being conducted by HIPPA or Sarbanes Oxley. The following major impact to the industry is reliable and immediate accessibility to data and information in different strategic location, as well as easy deployment of masking for the target customer. (Enterprise Level Onsite (Online) Data Storage, & Remote Offsite Data Storage Solutions, n. d. ). HP also has provided a honest defend on the future requirement of enterprise data storage.HP it is the old storage or data deduplication will be the future of most industry. Active research and study for these technology movers in the future of data storage is being conducted at the company, and this will be the common data storage trend for all data storage industry in 2009-2010. Alongside with it there will also be encryption process that would separately take place, which will also be the part of the feature for data storage on the future. Another HP prophecy is the integration of its high end ac tivitys with data storage, meaning putting their application on a high scale level. Specific integration like in search engines for faster processing.And since data warehousing is also gaining popularity and bulky acceptance by most companies at the present the need for ascendable data storage will also be an immediate need, because having to implement that would make presentation and downloading of reports in a front end-system like with that of using portal technology will be faster and easy. Since the creation of application, development of databases and managing business intelligence tool and datawarehosuing will be in one very powerful enterprise data storage also includes the effective implementation of networking infrastructure, you can say that customers will no longer ask for more and sure enough satisfaction rating will really be high. (Pariseau, Beth, 2007). Next is lake herring, and this time, it will be how the look of a large call centers see how enterprise data sto rage works.Data Centers for deal Centers have greatly impacted the change in the industry not only storage requirements, which obviously increasing, but almost every factors in Information engineering science it is impacted a lot. Actually there are two important aspects, Technology applied, and Data Centers Storage and Servers. To start with, Technology applied, for CISCO as one of the most well known and trust name in their field, the implementation of VOIP, which makes it very effective and convenient in combining data and role in one cable. One of its products SRST or Survival Remote Site Telephony which is used to protect the voice in case of server network failure.Data Centers Storage and Servers, in a typical data center, it is actually almost different types of server and data storage running for a typical call center that runs global support. For SAN or Storage Area Network, Most of the well trusted storage used is EMC and HP. The data center has production servers, wh ere all application is installed for the customer to use and access. It also connects to hundreds of host to their data storage server. Which means that, many applications on the web or in client server applications that are being hosted by the enterprise data storage server and with that the enterprise data storage server hold critical data which all of the application gets and stored or even backup. The SAN is made up of CISCOs MDS multi layer switches. SAN has greatly improve and utilize the storage resource.And, since it is used for large data centers, with multiple servers, it hold 2 Petabytes or a huge 2 quadrillion bytes of data, which even the numbers are hard to count. With this capacity you can say that it is a good example and direction for all enterprise data storage industries should be. Another one is the Tape Backup Storage, this is used for backup of important and necessary records or data. Its primary purpose if to be on standby backup. This is actually designed to support the critical systems, that whenever there will be problem in the main site, this will be placed as the data storage to be used. (Data Center Storage and Servers, 2004).

Effects of Media on Society Essay

The hatful Media is a unique feature of new-fangled society its culture has accompanied an increase in the magnitude and complexity of societal actions and engagements, speedy social change, technological innovation, rising personal income and standard of life and the extraction of some traditional forms of control and authority.There is an association mingled withMedia checkCRITICALLY ASSESS THE WAYS IN WHICH THE MEDIA CAN BE state TO INFLUENCE OR HAVE EFFECTS ON SOCIETY. /> The Mass Media is a unique feature of modern society the development of aggregated media and social change, although the degree and direction of this association is still debated upon even after age of study into media govern. Many of the consequences, either detrimental or beneficial, which have been attributed to the mass media, are almost undoubtedly due to other tendencies within society. few sociologists would refute the importance of the mass media, and mass communications as a whole, as being a major factor in the twirl and circulation of Media warpMEDIA INFLUENCE The media play an important role in our lives and yield us in our choices and things we value in life. We definitely live in an information social understanding and social imagery in modern societies. Therefore it is argued that the mass media is used as ?an instrument?, both more powerful and more flexible than anything in previous existence, for influencing people into authentic modes of belief and understanding within society.Read more Effects of Mass Media on SocietyThe question of medias influence on society and its ethnical framework has often been debated upon from leading theorists to anyone with any form of media connections, but toThe Influence Of Media On BasketballInfluences of Mass Media in Sport When communication is airing non just between two individuals but rather between tens of millions of people it is known as mass media. contemp tardy that a reputation in Coronation Street or Eastenders can have an influence on an audience members attitude, beliefs or interpretations of society is a very simplistic and debatable version of the truth. The media does influence, but using more diverse and penetrating roles of impact. Some theorists suggest that it is even a case of society influencing the media and not the more widespread and presumed version.HistoryIn theMedias Influence On TeenagersJosh Goldstein 4/25/01 DOES MEDIA (TV, radio, magazines) INFLUENCE US TEENAGERS? I kindle up to the radio, eat breakfast to the TV, drive to school to the radio, use computers aboriginal 1930?s, the Payne Studies study took place into the effects and influences of the mass media on the society as a whole using, at times, theories or beliefs that dated back to the late nineteenth century. This is regarded as one of the first in the area of or notion that the mass media has an affect on the societal attitudes and beliefs of that time.

Leadership model

Malcolm Muggeridge, towards the end of his life, reflected Looking over my 90 years, I realize I have never do whatsoever kick in in comfortably times. I only progressed in the hard times. while this may not be easily pleasant in at presents ears, in leaders, whatever progress in personal goals is made and sustained most of the time, not in good times, scarcely during touchy times. lead Behaviors to Sustain MomentumFirstly, lead has something to do with motley, stimulation of ideas, devotion and encouragement for the tasks, and influence. I wish to enumerate three vital traits, each(prenominal) one linked with a specific live on for leaders (Beckhard, R. 1969).1. The visual modality to innovateTo promote innovation, successful leaders assist in cultivating wise view, the ideas, paradigm, and applications of expertise that makes an organization distinct. During the course of the implementation this particular trait is chief(prenominal) especi any last(predicate)y that there go out be delays, resistance to the change forge that normally occurs. A good leader is ingenuous to create something which impart contribute to enhance and sustain the momentum.2. The professionalism to perform. leadership offer personal and organisational capability, assisted by strength preparation and education, to implement impeccably and get by worth to ever more difficult and exacting customers. in that respect go out be criticisms to come, many personal-all of which fecal matter possibly help if the leader knows how and what to do with them. He is a professional, and an Coperni bear virtue that he should characterize is to be adequate to(p) to deliver and keep his cool whenever difficulties arise.3. The openness to work in partnership.Leaders create associations and linkages with partners who can enlarge the organizations contact, improve its contributions, or ratify its systems. Since an organization is composed of the broad unwashed, this leader kno ws a lot about(predicate) military personnel nature and behavior in group settings so he can appropriately anticipate and plan as well as queue to various personalities.Authors Sullivan and Decker, wrote a very efficacious communication piece in the 2005 book in force(p) leading and Nursing management in Nursing. The authors tried to convey the idea that the practical application of the skills comes in two definitive aspects and that they atomic number 18 indispensable as well as distinct and inseparable. The authors deter exploit that organizations argon designed in their specific arrangements as they function and these argon pertinent in how the people work in their specific bailiwicks are hand take and led.According to Dr. Jacques (1997), there are prime values placed on every part of the organization which he postulated in his stratified systems guess. When he called for the several(prenominal) responsibility, he meant that whether the person in the spotlight may b e the rank and file individual or happens to be the plant manager, the symbol of leadership that is seen is expressive of this core value.Management then implies the adoption of obligation and this summarily implies leadership knowing as mentioned in the preceding scalawag on influence and exercise of power, when a person exercises accountability, he genuinely exerts leadership leading by example and it is fundamentally ethical and transferable. Management and leadership are seen then, as interchangeable essentials, and according to Dr. Jacques, the existence and persistency as well as the perpetuation of a successful team up up depend much on the kind of leadership exemplified in the theory he posited.This need has never been brought about only by factors which necessarily affect not only the established structures and ways of doing things within the personnel area but also by the more meaningful and tangible task of managing the organizations most important asset the hu man beings superior.Among these factors are stiffer competition in business rapid changes in technological, belligerent and economic environments the explosion of technical and managerial knowledge spiraling salary and benefits cost and so many others. These factors have no doubt been answerable for the emergence of the personnel function as a vital area in the implementation of corporate strategy.ConclusionThe leadership approaches are important to imitate and assimilate as I go about my induce quest for the implementation of leadership behaviors in my own workplace. Certain people who have been visible today who are worthy to emulate embarrass men like Collin Powell and women like Oprah Winfrey. Although not all of their decisions are acceptable or popular, certainly their manner of leading have taken the knowledge domains notice and made them trailblazers for others to follow.ReferencePermissions Department, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ07030 USA. Jacques, Elliot. 1997. Re quisite Organization entirety System for Effective Managerial Organization and Managerial Leadership for the twenty-first Century. London Gower. GBR Mulhauser, Greg. Management Skills and Leadership Skills. Accessed March 17, 2008. http//coaching.mulhauser.net/executive/manage-vs-lead.htmlevidence Sullivan, Eleanor and Phillip J. Decker. 2005. Effective Leadership and Nursing Management in Nursing, with Student Video (4th Edition).Leadership modelI have never really had any founder to emulate nor a family that could guide me. Many would say that I was all alone and would never be a leader type because I never had any role models growing up. Yet I crave to differ from the public stereotype of leadership role models because take down tending(p) my difficult situation growing up I did find a leadership role model, my coach. While this may not seem to be a conventional choice for most people, I firmly cerebrate that it was because of my basketball coach that I have developed the l eadership skills I have today and have become a leader myself.Before I relate why I bring forward my basketball coach is the break down leadership role model that I have had in my life, albeit arguably inexperienced, I olfactory sensation that it is important for me to discuss just what I turn over a leader is and should be.Great leaders have been said to be catalysts of change because of their ability to motivate, to inspire and to make any group of individuals act as a cohesive operative unit (House, 2004). While there are those who argue that a leader must forever make waves in order to make a definite impact in any working environment, it has also been shown that an effective leader must be able to contextualize his actions and understand what the best course is given the environment he is working in (Warneka, 2006).Coach smith, as we used to call him, was that type of leader. He never insisted on making waves but addressed the needs of the players and motivated every s ingle one of us. Superstar egos on the team were shelved and the goals of the team always came first before personal glory. At the same time however, he made the person who contributed to the success of the team feel and know that it was his undischarged performance which made a difference and in doing so stir that person to work harder, not only for the good of the team but for himself as well.This leadership carriage employed by Coach metalworker is also quite analogous to another great leader who achieved imposing results, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines, the lodge he created, consistently fared better than its competitors, surviving the tough times for the aviation industry. One of the secrets to the alliances success is its unique culture that differentiates it from its competitors. At Southwest, there is a great emphasis on the people aspect of the business. In fact, Herb Kelleher in an interview with Babson Insight vividly demonstrated his commi tment to the staff of the company by calling them People in this way, written with a capital letter (Herb Kelleher, 2004).Coach metalworker empowered people. He never sought to tow people in line and force them to do their bidding. In a way he inspired me and the other members on the team to do better, much like Kelleher who made people feel that they played a major role in the success of the company. This quiet but stir leadership style proved to very effective as our team won the local tournament.I realize know just how pivotal his leadership methods were for our team. A leader does not necessarily have to make waves in order to make to press forward change. There are many types of leadership styles that do not call for the application of any drastic actions or forceful management techniques. The problem with the idea that making waves is necessary to facilitate change is that the outcome and effect on the other members on the team may not react as intended and it may even have a negative effect (Torbert, 2004). This may result in team members being unable to communicate properly with the leader or with decreased productivity due to the sudden changes and major changes in the working environment brought about by the waves.This was exactly the problem that Coach Smith was able to avoid when he took over the team and inspired us with his quiet leadership. 12 strong resulted and capable individuals, each person compete for his own personal glory, to rack up the most number of points or even the league Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy, would hardly make an efficient and effective team. Yet Coach was able to harness the individual talents of each player but still make the unit function as an effective team.In popular leadership models such as Situational Leadership which was developed by Blanchard and Hersey in the late 1960s, the need for a flexible leader who was able to adapt leadership practices to suit the needs of the working environment was emphasiz ed (Argyris, 1976). A good leader must be able to assess the situation and determine what the best approach is, whether it is by making waves or softly empowering and inspiring the team members. Leaders do not need to make waves to facilitate change. Other flexible and more effective means of quietly inspiring change are on hand(predicate) and may even prove to have more of an impact than manifestly making waves.I like to believe that my leadership style today is similar to that which my Coach practiced or that of Herb Kelleher. I have consciously patterned my leadership methods with the way that these great leaders have led others and inspired them. The reason I have done so is because I believe that a person cannot motivate a team to feel good about their work if you, as their leader, do not. Similarly, team members get out not feel ownership or go the extra nautical mile if you do not. You must set an example by demonstrating passion about your work and displaying confidence in the team to do a good job. Leaders must practice personal integrity and fairness. Model it and convey it from others. People who feel they can tell the truth, without fear of reprisal, grow as they experiment and experience success and failure (Cran, 2003).This approach to leadership of mine has as much to do with the great influence that Coach Smith has had on me as has my background. As I mentioned earlier, I come from a broken family and my mother has been battling with cancer since I was young. This led me to grow up in an environment that was all but bereft of role models and leaders. There was no support and I had to work for everything that I had and still glide by to do so. It is this that has also led me to choose this style of leadership for myself because I believe that everyone had potential in them and with the proper motivation and inspiration it can be brought out, not only for the benefit of the team, the business or the company but also for the individual hims elf.Todays assistant-leader relationship shows that followers indirect request trust and are not motivated by what the leader think they want, but rather by what each specific follower wants (Bain, 1982). pauperization is generated internally, and a leader merely taps into the internal power of the follower (Thach, Thompson, and Morris, 2006). Followers determine their commitment to organizations by reflecting on how hard they will work, what type of recognition and reward they might receive (transactional), and if that reward will be worth it (Strebel, 1996).Today I am a leader, I may not be a great leader but I am confident that I can develop my leadership skills to be one. My leadership style is in motivating people and in quietly inspiring change and developing the talents and abilities of the people around me and in my organization. This is the style that I have chosen because I feel that it is the most effective method. I do not choose to be excellent or wealthy or powerful , I choose to lead and that makes all the difference.ReferencesArgyris, C. (1976) change magnitude Leadership Effectiveness, Wiley, New YorkBain, D. (1982). The productivity prescription. New York McGraw-Hill.Cran, C (2003). Eight shipway to Motivate Your Team. Retrieved 11/14/2006, from http//www.refresher.com/ccmotivate.htmlHouse, R. J. (2004) Culture, Leadership, and Organizations The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, sharp-witted Publications, Thousand OaksNorthwestern University. (2004). Herb Kelleher. Retrieved November 11, 2006, from http//www.transportation.northwestern.edu/programs/patterson/lecturers/97kelleher/kelleherBio.htmlThach, E. C., Thompson, K. J., and Morris, A. (2006). A Fresh Look at FollowershipTorbert, W. (2004) litigate Inquiry the Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership, San Francisco, CA Berrett-Koehler Publishers.Warneka, T. (2006). Leading People the glum Belt Way Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing Leaders Today. Asogomi Publications Intl. Cle veland, Ohio

Netflix Case Study Essay

Comp round(prenominal) OverviewThe idea behind Netflix, the most public provider of online and by- weapons rental emoluments, came from an unsatisfied, embarrassed node. Reed battle of Hastings, imbeder and current chief executive withdrawicer of Netflix, was charged 40$ as a late fee because he drive finish uped the exposure Appolo13 six weeks late (Zarafshar, 2013). This made him think creatively almost an idea to transform the cinema rental model into a much than(prenominal) than innovative craft. In 1997, Hastings and Randolph come forwarded Netflix which was a goggle boxdisc rental-by-mail business line with no subscriptions. Later in 1999, and as a step further towards set break throughth the business, Hastings tacked the subscription-based business model which was based only on rent videodiscs by mail with multiple externalizes dependent on the enumerate of titles at a clock. Netflix brooked its subscribers to admit from its panoptic videodisk class library with more than than 120,000 titles for unmeasured monthly DVD rental with free shipping as salutary as zero late and per title rental fees. It was very(prenominal) taking for clients to adjudge subscriptions on the spot as they were tempted with the incredible Netflix service. For example, smash hit subscribers found Netflixs offers more openhearted and it was easy for them to make the make. (Wikipedia, 2014) Netflix has been al ship butt endal straight-from-the-shoulder to fresh opportunities that Hastings believes it bequeath sustain the bon tons agonistical advantage.A parvenue opportunity was magnetized when the b petty(a) service was introduced in January 2007 w present it en adaptedd Netflixs subscribers to instantly go through word-paintings, TV-episodes, documentaries, series and overmuch more on meshing-connected devices much(prenominal) as smart TVs, PCs, DVRs, Blu-Ray impostors and special Netflix thespians. During that sentenc e, Netflix was leading the industry as it was the un executed confederation to offer paid stream services to its subscribers in US, backsideada and Latin the States. Today, Netflix is k at a timen as the bangingst provider of online float service with almost 44 million subscribers in more than 40 countries offered access to an ever- gro kick upstairsg library of thousands of titles. (Netflix PR, 2014) Netflix executives were exquisite to devise flexible strategies accompanied by a profit adapted business model that gave them sustainable matched advantages over their equals. They constantly monitor their away purlieu and do the required amendments firmly and swiftly to leverage the emerge opportunities and tackle the upcoming threats. Strategies ranging from growing its library topic, service differentiation, very agonistical DVD-by-Mail service, whimsical securities industrying plan and ambitious outside(a) expansion al genius made Netflix a leader in its i ndustry.However, Netflix isnt the only player in the DVD-rental and streaming services market. Blockbuster and Redbox argon oneness of the galore(postnominal) competitors in the DVD-rental market that use different agonistical models to break throughcompete Netflixs. Hulu Plus, amazon and HBO GO suck in fueled the competition in the streaming service market. They all(prenominal) compete on acquiring more titles to expand their libraries and try to offer the exceed subscription plans in dictate to array more market sh be. Having this in mind, what should Netflix do adjoining in order to outperform its competitors and sustain its agonistical advantage.External environs AnalysisMacro EnvironmentWe impart spring our assessment of the external environment by examining the PESTEL factors in the Macro (General) Environment of the movie renting industry.Political FactorsNet wee-wee Neutrality is the principle that bear on the internet to re primary(prenominal) free and o pen for in each(prenominal) users. It defends a pull leadingst discrimination of the internet use based on the meat or website services (Ala, 2014). adopt(ip) Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would want to charge a high society wish vigorous Netflix more money because its website of online movie streaming is eating a lot of their internet bandwidth. According to the broadband internet service track firm Sandvine, Netflix alone is consuming 32.3% of the downstream traffic in northeasterly America, much more than any separate site or service. (Protalinski, 2013) study ISPs may well contemplate the idea of blocking Netflix from their service to vent-hole tot every(prenominal)y that traffic or they  big businessman demand increase internet subscription fees from Netflix to continue hosting their website this would be a disaster for Netflix who is facing increasing marrow obligation courts and if ISPs opted for that step, they depart fix no other select other t han increasing the monthly fees of their streaming service which lead by all in all odds non come to the delight of their guests.All of this is against the Net Neutrality rule, which states that all internet users lead be under the aforementioned(prenominal) conditions to beat back place on the net whatever their website or theme, is. The possibility of regulations designed to sanction the neutrality of the Internet has been subject to fierce debate, especially in the linked States (Internet Cleaner, 2013) In an interview (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014), Reed Hastings reads he is non touch on with the threat that ISPs might block Netflix since it will fuel the fire for more regulation and no one is interested in this.Environmental FactorsHistorically, the impression rental industry was built on the idea of reusing the same thrust by different plurality over and over again and this construct is environment-friendly. more thanover, fault to the soft copies of me dia and streaming it through the internet reduces energy white plague and pollution levels due(p) to a decrease in de get it onring DVDs by mail and likewise little(prenominal) manufacturing of DVDs.Socio-Cultural FactorsPeople ar judge to watch movies or play video games when they amaze more leisure time. However nowadays, more flock are having 2 jobs to support their families which basically means less leisure time and less notice movies. In addition to that, the great unwashed are now becoming more convenient watching movies at their homes sort of of going out to the theaters since it is cheaper, less time consuming and is idol later on(prenominal) having a long tiring day this emerging ignore will boost the volume of the streaming media subscriptions. Moreover, the rapid acceptance of the rules of order for technological advancements greatly benefits the online movie rental industry, this is particularly correct due to the refreshful educational and pedagogical forms that stress more on calculating machine learning qualification people more convenient when dealing with applied science. scientific FactorsThe rapid technological advancements and production of electronic products much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as Blu-ray DVD players, Video game consoles, smart phones, smart TVs and some(prenominal) other devices that send word connect to the internet, made the concept of online rental and video streaming easier and more adaptable. As the internet services are becoming more prevalent and an important ingredient in peoples daily life, companies like Netflix will be able to increase its operations especially in the video streaming service. thitherfore, the advancement in technology is an opportunity and enabler for the industry as a self-coloured. 4K streaming is a new spunky-quality video technology that reduces compression rate and produces output in 4K/Ultra HD format. (Burns, 2014) Netflix started offering well-nigh of its meat in this format, which signals their aim to go spatial relation by side with technological advancement. Of course, to be able to stream at this die hard resolution, you pauperization to have a super speed internet (40-50 Mbps) so people now have a reason to upgrade and it means more profits to the ISPs. (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014)Economic FactorsThe industry depends on the consumers spending power and accepted income, which is affected by employment rate, interest rate, tax rate and pompousness rate. When consumers have more money, spending on entertainment facilities rises and this is an opportunity for the industry. On the other hand, the spending power of dramatic arth emerituss usually decrease in break periods, so they will probably tend to sacrifice the theater ticket and may well reward themselves with some older movies visible(prenominal) on streaming services such(prenominal) as Netflixs.Legal FactorsThere is a considerable latent fo r legal actions to be taken against companies operating in this industry, actions related to the use of licensed material and clients privacy coming covering fires. Moreover, any company that operates in the international market should study well the rules and regulations specific to that market or else it will shortly fall in trouble or lose valuable opportunities. Some legal actions might have a positive impact on companies in this industry such as the amendment of the VPPA law discussed earlier. On the other hand, Netflix had some hard times in 2010 with lawsuits pertaining to privacy issues when an academic research suggested it exposed the movie preferences of its customers for the programmers who participated in the Netflix repute to produce a better recommendation algorithm. (Buley, 2010) The issue was later companytle and Netflix bumcelled the sequel Netflix Prize II competition. warlike EnvironmentIn order to determine nature and strength of the competitor pressur es in the movie rental industry Netflix is operating in, we use Porters tail fin forces model of competition.Bargaining Power of CustomersIn the streaming market, customers have a high bargaining power the reason behind this is that people are very well informed about other companies which are in the same line of business as Netflix. Customers are always in search for a better deal because acquireers are very impairment sensitive when it comes to the video rental industry and they are always face for the best quality, so they will leave Netflix as soon as a better offer is obtainable since in that respect is no transmutation represent. Customers always expect product differentiation, and if Netflix does not give it customers this variety, they will alone leave.Bargaining Power of SuppliersBargaining power of suppliers is very high Netflix relies on getting undivided rights to certain television shows and movies so suppliers play a very with child(p) role in bargaining over what mental tycoon is exclusively reserved for Netflix users. Also, there are only a occur of studios who supply the movies and shows. other reason bargaining power of suppliers is high is that Netflix endure only get its nub from those studios and there is no substitute for that content, likewise contracts with those studios are usually for a short period of time (1-3 historic period) and expensive a good example of this is when Netflix was unable to renew its contract with Starz because they were demanding a much larger amount of money $300 million instead of the $30 million paid in 2008. (Kafka, 2011)Threat of New EntrantsAlthough accounting entry the online movie rental industry needs a huge initial orderment to get content and effective exclusive copyrights, we gage say that the threat of new entrants is conceally high since it remains a growing market with a growing demand, and huge rich companies like apple and Google may be tempted by its growth potential and might well enter the play stage with generous budgets and also the low vex flat costs in this market make this threat high. But in order to be profitable in this industry, companies need to achieve economies of measure and try it best to have a large volume of subscribers, which in Netflixs case is how they achieve profitability, and also to have a large number of viewers if it is a VOD company.Threat of SubstitutesThe threat of substitutes is relatively high since substitutes are available, such as Blockbuster On demand, amazon tip flash Video and galore(postnominal) other VOD streaming media. Rather than having a subscription of unlimited views, customers flowerpot bastinado to a net profit per view option. other reason is that there is no switching cost. In addition to that, the equipment casualtys of substitutes are convenient and low which makes it relatively easy to switch. Customers might also choose to switch because companies working on a VOD bases have bet ter features such as making certain television shows and movies available within a few hours of airing them on T.V, unlike Netflix where customers need to wait a few months.Intensity of rivalrous RivalryCompetition is very high in the video rental industry Netflix has many current competitors which overwhelm Blockbuster on demand, Amazon, Apple, Hulu Plus and many others. Also Netflix has to keep examine the environment for new competitors since it is easy for new rivals to enter the market for there are low barriers to market entry and exit. Netflix must fear its competitors because they can easily lose customers to them since switching cost is very low and they have no loyalty programs to make it harder for customers to leave.VRIO AnalysisNetflixs top imagings can be constituteed as follows1. The variety and big survival of the fittest of titles ( door-to-door library of movies and TV-episodes)2. The unique package package system for streaming and recommendation3. Nationw ide distribution network4. chief operating officer Reed HastingsResources must have plenteous competitive potential for the organization to outcompete its rivals. By applying the VRIO framework ( overtake table 1), one of the best strategical alikels to evaluate the firms resources, Netflix is shown to be at a moderate sustainable position. Providing its subscribers a wide selection of titles has been always Netflixs primary scheme. During the year 2012, its library has get toed over 120,000 DVD-titles and more than 30,000 titles ready for streaming (Wikipedia, 2014). This extensive library is in spades valuable for Netflix to attract more subscribers to watch from a wide variety of titles. Moreover, this resource is rare as not all competitors are able to offer its customers a huge number of titles for some(prenominal) DVD-rental and streaming services. However, such a comprehensive library is not very punishing to imitate. Apple and Amazon, for example, are constantly w orking hard to gain license agreements to acquire new content and grow their library of titles.An empower example on this is when Amazon won over Netflix and secured the streaming rights of the whole 8 seasons of Foxs award winning series 24 (Cantisano, 2014). Netflix has shown to be organized to spellbind the assess of its library by making it available for its subscribers when using twain services. Thus, having a big selection of titles places Netflix at a sustainable competitive advantage as long as no competitor grows a more extensive library. Otherwise, it will become easy for Netflix subscribers to switch to another(prenominal) company that offers wider selection. Netflix had well developed and easy-to-use software that provides titles recommendations for each subscriber based on ad hominemized ratings. This resource is an added repute to Netflixs business because it became convenient for subscribers to quickly view movies they like or place them on instant queue for wat ching them later. (Netflix, 2014) Netflix announced a 1 million-dollar competition to challenge programmers to create an algorithm that can shake up its Cinematch system by at least 10% of enhanced truth (Netflixprize, 2009). In 2009, three teams of talented programmers combined forces and developed that algorithm and Netflixs system was given a major(ip) boost. Since the software is customized only for Netflix and consists of composite algorithms, such a resource is considered rare.Although Netflix had set the bars high for its rivals, another company can call for a competition or utilise top programmers to develop their own software that may beat that of Netflixs. There is always room for improvement, and for that reason, this software can be imitated. Nevertheless, Netflix is continuously ready to capture the value out of its smart software and make the best use of it. As a result, the recommendation software positions Netflix on a sustainable competitive advantage as lo ng as no competitor develops similar or alter software. For its DVD-by mail service, Netflix had largely frameed in developing its nationwide distribution network by establishing as much distribution centers as possible. Their strategy is to provide customers with the profuseest shipping service by delivering coherent DVDs within one business day. This is of a big value for customers who used to wait several days to obtain a DVD. To make it more effective and efficient, Netflix utilizes a distribution network system (logistics system) that saves a lot of time looking for the closest center that has the ordered DVD in stock.The combination of wide-spread distribution centers and effective logistics software makes it a rare resource. Its fluid almost impossible for competitors, such as Blockbusters, to deliver any of its DVDs within 1 business day. Furthermore, its difficult to have a large number of shipping points close to every home. Therefore, this resource is considerably ini mitable. Obviously, Netflix is doing a great job in regards to quick spoken language. It has promised its customer to ship DVDs anywhere within 1 business day. Today, by in effect employing the distribution network system, the company leveraged its capability to reach 98% of its subscribers. Hence, Netflix is organized properly to capture the value of their distribution centers. It is worth noting that although this resource gives them an sustainable competitive advantage, the demand on this type of service (DVDs direct by mail) is on a continuous decline, and the service might completely vanish in the next few years. Last but not least, Netflixs CEO, President and co-founder Reed Hastings is considered one of the firms most valuable resources. In the most difficult times, this innovative and oracle man knew what he was doing and didnt lose the focus. His vision was very clear since the very send-off back in 1997 when he named the company Net-flix and not DVD-by-Mail (Fortune, 2009) he saw what the industry will be like in the future and believed in the powers of the internet. an intangible asset, as we are interested in his vision, education, expertise, know-hows, innovation and skills, is considered a valuable one.If you take a quick gleam on what has happened in the past few years, youll find it clear how such influential people affect their organizations in every aspect. For example, when Steve Jobs died, Apples stock outlay went down by 5% immediately (Kollewe,2011) which shows you how people believed that the tremendous success Apple had in the past few years was directly linked to the innovative out-of-the-box thinking of their ex-CEO, and future manifestations showed that that was extremely true. So these brilliant executives are so valuable to their firms and they are also rare. Blockbusters ex-CEO Jim Keyes had the chance to buy Netflix in year 2000 for as scant(p) as 50 million dollars (now its worth more than 20 billion dollars), but he was so arrogant and refused to give any recognition for Netflixs success claiming his firm can easily do anything Netflix does. (Zarafshar, 2013) Failing to see the opportunities, combined with many wrong assessments of the external environment led to the bankruptcy of Blockbuster in 2011. Many analysts were actually preferably sure that Netflix will be sold after the 2011 missteps that caused the stock price to fall by about 80% however, at that same take in time Reed Hastings was confident and quite sure that Netflix will not only survive but flourish (Morrissey, 2013).Those same analysts didnt see, at that time, anything of a value in Netflix other than its CEO, who previously one the CEO of the year 2010 award (Hartung, 2013) and whom they had great respect for (Morrissey, 2013) and indeed he was able to turn on his company and return it back to the diagnose of the most successful companies in the world and the stock prices went up by more than 700% between 2011 and 2014 (G oogle Finance, 2014) In an interview, Hastings clarified that he doesnt see his firm just competing with the other companies in the media-entertainment industry, but he believes to be competing with all companies that offer any large-hearted of product or service that a person can enjoy during his leisure time, whether it is a soccer match, a newspaper, a video game or still hiking with friends or family (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014). This gives you an idea of the high mindset of this man which explains the success his company is now enjoying. Such a resource is hard to imitate as they usually come through the hierarchy of the same company thats what explains their full understanding of the industry theyre working in and the loading competences of their firms. Just moving one brilliant CEO from one company to your company doesnt guarantee you any success at all since many complex factors take action in the whole mix-up. legal proceeding from here, it is obvious that this re source is organized to capture value for the firm.By desktop the strategies and adjusting them whenever and wherever needed depending on the ever-changing environment, Mr. Hastings is the captain who controls the helm to take Netflix to the island of success. Therefore, this resource gives Netflix a sustainable competitive advantage as long as hes on the helm. In the future, will Netflix face the same difficulties Apple faced after their CEO was decedent?RESOURCEValuableRareInimitableIs the company organized to capture the value of the resource? Competitive PotentialBig Selection of TitlesYESYESNOYESsustainable/Temporary CATitle Recommendation SoftwareYESYESNOYESSustainable/Temporary CANationwide Distribution NetworkYESYESYESYESSustainable Competitive AdvantageCEO Reed HastingsYESYESYESYESSustainable Competitive AdvantageTable Conducting VRIO analysis on Netflix top resourcesNetflixs Competitive StrengthThe Netflix StrategyNetflixs strategy so farther hasnt been to just focu s on one or two aspects of their customer base, but to focus themselves in a number of directions in order to build upon and capitalize on a growing subscriber base. Their main strategy has been to build and maintain the most comprehensive selection of DVD titles in the industry, and they have done so by creating mutually in force(p) relationships with a number of entertainment video providers. Their second main strategy has been focused on service differentiation- not only how customers receive content and consume it, but also how customers choose what to watch. Netflixs number one competitive advantage over Amazon and Blockbuster is their unique software that takes what a customer has seen or rated, and based upon that information builds a list of suggested titles similar to ones they have just watched. While other companies had begun to leak into the rent-by-mail inlet category that Netflix had started, no other company had customer profiling software quite like Netflix. Betwee n 2006 and 2009, the film rental market underwent a major shift. The in-store rental market declined, speckle vending machine rentals increased and by-mail rentals n primeval doubled. However, VOD (Video on Demand) services through cable, digital, and subscription also saw major increases.All of these changes meant companies like Blockbuster had to any restructure and make a complete business model shift or face bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the increases in by-mail rentals and online subscriptions, two services that Netflix offered, meant that the number of Netflix subscribers more than doubled in that same time frame. Purchase decisions from customers were focused on convenient access, price, variety of DVD offerings, and ease of return/return fees. Customers like variety a video rental store that only stocks the newest releases will not appeal to all markets. Increasingly, customers are becoming more nostalgic in their movie preferences, searching for titles long past premiere. Custo mers have also become increasingly busy, oftentimes not having the time to go to a store to pick out a movie or re outgrowthing to return their rentals on time. We live in a world of instant gratification, where existence able to palaver a few buttons and watch the latest movie or an old classic is extremely important. Customers also do not like fees. More and more companies today are offering free shipping/return shipping, and the same is true in the DVD rental industry. Netflixs trine main strategy was to attract more subscribers using multiple merchandise channels including online advertising, radio stations, regional and national television, direct mail, and print ads. iodine of these marketing strategies included participating in a variety of concerted advertising programs with studios through which Netflix received cash for featuring a studios movies in its advertising.Moreover, Netflix worked closely with the makers of Netflix-ready electronics devices to expand t he number of devices on which Netflix subscribers could view Netflix-streamed content (Thompson, 2012). This is considered Netflixs second competitive advantage because it got ahead competitors by universe the first to market with next-generation products. By 2012, with the aid of new technology, Netflix added another substance strategy which was to grow its streaming subscription business domestically and globally. By doing so, executives expect that the number of members with DVD-by mail subscription would decline, as subscribers migrated from renting DVDs to streaming online and as subscribers with both DVD-by mail and streaming subscriptions opted to only streaming online. The company continuously im prove its streaming experience by expanding the sizing of its content library, increasing the number of Internet-connected devices, and improving the ease of navigating Netflixs website of locating and selecting content to watch. The result was a rapid growing customer acceptance and interest in the delivery of TV shows and movies directly over the Internet.Finally, a central element of Netflixs long-term strategy was making Netflixs streaming service available outside the US, in countries like Canada, Latin America, the UK and Ireland. (Thompson, 2012) Although this international expansion was expected to temporarily depress the companys overall profitability and amaze huge expenses of obtaining licenses from movie studios and owners of TV shows, Netflixs entry into such markets would launch a preemptive strike to secure an advantageous position of being market leaders with high-quality suppliers via exclusive partnerships or long-term contracts (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, Strickland, 2014). We have to win the bidding for a big set of content, and accordingly market ourselves effectively to start the membership growth (Seave, 2013). How long it takes for such a out-and-out(a) move to yield good results was not a major issue because Reed Hastings indi cated that Netflix would take longer than eight quarters after initial entry to reach sustained profitability.How Does Its Competitive Strength compare Against That of Blockbuster and Amazon Compared with Blockbuster and Amazon, Netflix operates within the highly competitive media streaming market that has been forecasted to increase to $12.5 billion in 2017 (Bauman, Deal, Ishak, & Johnson, 2013). Netflix by far has the most comprehensive number of products and distribution channels, given that consumers can either rent DVDs by mail or stream them on their PC or TV. Its identity is valued greatly among consumers as a quick, easy, and available destination for streaming media. Additionally, the value of their dirt has risen recently after the strong media attention for the success of its first original series, House of Cards. When it comes to competitors, Netflixs main competitors were Amazon and Blockbuster. Operating as Amazon Prime Instant Video, it has three main advantages over Netflix it offers subscription as a prime member for $79 a year which is $6.59/month, less than Netflixs streaming price of $7.99/month, subscribers get free 2-day shipping on millions of items and its users can buy or rent a movie/show just after a few hours of it being broadcasted on TV, while Netflix subscribers needed to wait a few months in order to view the same movie or show (McGrath,2014). However, Netflixs competitive advantage over Amazon is its library which has more variety and includes original content, thus making their library comprehensive in the streaming market.They also offer all their content to their subscribers for streaming through a very user friendly personalized interface and effective recommendation system that boosts the watching experience in comparison, Amazons Prime Instant Video library have less categories and less straightforward search results, plus a significant delegate of their online content cannot be streamed for free, you have to pay a dditional money to watch certain shows or movies. (Honorof, 2014) Blockbusters strategy was to keep expanding geographically by opening new stores in different locations, rather than switching to online streaming, thinking it would increase their market share. But due to the rise in competition from Netflix and Amazon, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and in January of 2014 they permanently close all their stores and only operated through Blockbuster On Demand on a pay per rental bases and operated only in the US (Netflix Alternative, 2013). The competitive advantage Netflix had over Blockbuster is the number of titles they offered.Because Netflix did not operate from a physical store, it made it possible to store thousands of titles, both old movies and movies which were on high demand, and thus satisfying the preferences of much more customers than Blockbuster. Blockbuster was qualified in the amount and titles they had to offer in their stores because of its limited storage space. Another advantage was convenience. Netflix made it very convenient for customers to get their DVDs without having to leave the house and having unlimited videos on a subscription basis without late fees, all of which are things Blockbuster lacked. With all this said, it is obvious that Netflix used wicked strategies that helped it build its theme as a market leader and created a strong brand loyalty by binding customers to its service. As a first mover, Netflix was able to move down the learning curve ahead of rivals, so it now knows exactly what customers are expecting and learned a hard lesson not to do sudden strategic changes as it did in 2011 missteps of price changes and split of service. As a first mover also, Netflix was able to set the technical model for the industry by adopting the advanced streaming player and recommendation program that customers now cant imagine accessing huge movie libraries without it, and Netflix is ahead of its rivals in this and its building it over time.Back in its early stage of existence, Netflix had no chance to compete traditionally with the giant Blockbuster, so it chose a special kind of offensive strategy called The Blue-Ocean Strategy which dictates that a firm can gain a dramatic and durable competitive advantage by abandoning efforts to beat out competitors in existing markets and instead inventing a new industry or distinctive market fraction that renders existing competitors largely irrelevant and allows a company to create and capture altogether new demand (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, Strickland, 2014) This is exactly what Netflix did as it didnt go into the block and mortar business but focused from the very beginning on growing its online library and achieving its most important strategy back then which is to deliver DVDs by mail within one business day. This created a new segment of customers for its service and factors in the external environment started changing to its advantage which sho ws that Hastings and his team where correct in instruction their external environment. Then in 2007 they started their streaming service which is also an offensive strategy that positioned Netflix far ahead of its competitors.RecommendationsThe past few years have shown how volatile the stock price of Netflix was as it fluctuated between as low as 53 dollars in 2012 to as high as 448 dollars in March 2014 (Google Finance, 2014). This is an indication that Netflix is operating in a very fast moving industry where innovation and continuous improvement are the keys for survival. Consequently, as professional consultants, we advise Netflix executives to learn from what has happened in the past and put new strategies or amend existing ones to tackle the future probable homecoming of the problems they have faced in the past few years. One of the major competitive advantages of Netflix over its rivals in the industry is having this huge and varied arrangement of title selections in its offering. First we advise them to convert all their DVD-version content, which is not available for streaming, to soft stream-able versions as statistics showed more customers are leaving the DVD-by-mail plan and registering for the more convenient trendy streaming service (Roettgers, 2013). Maintaining an increasing selection of title offering is vital in this respect, as in such an entertainment industry, we dont see loyalty in customers as decreed by Marketing gurus what we mean by this is, if another rival had a similar service with a richer content, many customers will switch with the blink of an eye. Thats why we are stressing on this point as it is a key for survival.Accordingly, Netflix should opt to create strategic alliances and cooperative partnerships with many movie studios to maintain its database of titles retaining existing ones and adding new collections, and negotiating to reduce the wait time for streaming movies after they are out in the theaters. This will definitely create value to the customers, but Netflixs harder job is how to create value for those suppliers, that is, how to convince them to add their productions in the Netflix service. This can be done by creating a win-win model that will persuade those studios to choose Netflix over other rivals, and hence can be achieved by highlighting a set of advantages theyll get from the deal. An example of such an advantage, is to have the studios work available not only in US, but in all the 41 countries Netflix currently operates in, and maybe make it available in topical anesthetic languages this will increase the popularity of the studios work internationally and will basically mean more profits for future project releases. hereditary up from this last point, it is vital for Netflix to find new smart ways to continuously increase their subscription base. By the end of Q1 2014, the number of subscribers went up to 33 million US subscribers and 11 million international subscribe rs (Welch, 2014).More subscribers alone mean more annual income which will lead to the ability to get richer content to their offering, which will in return link more customers in. This algorithmic hertz is so prominent and can be triggered by some smart tactics, to initially get more customers. Lowering the subscription price might lure many potential customers to register, but is not advisable to do that since the profit margin of the streaming service is already narrow (Roettgers, 2013). On the other hand, increasing the price of subscriptions is also risky and the crazy cuckoos nest that happened in 2011 will remain unforgettable. Hence, Netflix executives should devise new innovative ways to increase the value proposition of their service that will increase their customer base and enhance their reputation as a market leader. This can be achieved, for example, by doing the exact opposite of what they did in their 2011 missteps. What happened back then was to increase the pric e of their service for the same quality they offered so lets now try to increase the service quality holding the price fixed. One way of doing that, is to diversify their content for example to start providing experience programs such as Sports events and News. This addition will get-in new customer segments not only those who love to watch movies and TV series. So, if Netflix was able to secure the online broadcasting rights for a major soccer league matches, for example, and broadcasting Live CNN news, their customer base will be more fragmented and they will be moving in the direction of being an Internet TV provider with a variety of shows that suites all the different categories of viewers.Another proficiency to increase the quality of their service is to enhance their GUI (graphical user interface) by creating a new advanced online player for streaming media that can get a line voice dominations sent from the embedded microphone of the clients personal gadget (laptop, Sma rtphone, tablet, etc), analyze those commands and perform actions accordingly. For instance, Volume Up to increase players sound volume instead of using your laptops mouse or going to Settings on your Smartphone/iPad or the voice command Action Category to go to the list of movies in the Action category. Adding such a high-tech innovative feature in their player will amaze their happy customers and will leave their competitors contemplating in the shadows. Netflix can also enhance its online service by continuously challenging and rewarding dexterous programmers to come up with new algorithms that increase the effectiveness of their rating application. What they did with their one-million-dollar contest, which was won in 2009 by a team called BellKors Pragmatic Chao who were able to come up with an algorithm that overcame Netflixs recommendation system by more than 10% (Netflix Prize, 2009), was very tidy and it unfeignedly paid off so they need to continue upgrading their sys tems as it goes side-by-side with the ever increasing size of their database.Speaking about the content, it was very clear that the bargaining power of the suppliers, which are the TV shows producers and movie studios, are becoming increasingly high and what happened with the Starz merriment deal is one example to mention here, when it announced it would remove it movies from Netflix streaming starting February 2012 (Young,2011). This leads us to what we believe is the most important recommendation for Netflix to consider, that is, invest more in original content. Going backward to the recursive cycle we previously explained, it is clear that getting new content goes in match with increasing the number of subscribers. For example, when Netflix secured the deal with Disney for exclusive rights to stream its movies starting 2016, many analysts assumed that the firm needs to get 4 million new subscribers to just breakeven with the cost of that deal (Morrissey,2013). One here might c ontemplate, that before or later, Netflix will reach a stage where it will eat up to be able to increase its customer base, so its revenues will reach a kind of a slow moving ceiling, but their content obligations will continue to rise to maintain the licenses for the current collection and to get new content in. Many movie studios are closely supervise Netflixs performance and stock prices, and they are demanding higher money for transmutation their contracts, and this is a major threat for Netflix to consider.Unable to reach a transformation agreement with a major movie studio, will result in the disappearance of hundreds or thousands of titles from their online library in a fortnight. This will really embarrass the customers. Thats why we recommend that Netflix needs to heavily invest in original programming before they reach the saturation stage, or a deadlock situation whereby they cannot enhance their content because its withal costly and they need more money by grow ing membership, and they cannot grow membership because they arent able to enhance their content because its too costly Reaching this stage means the firm is approaching its last days. The solution for this misery, and to avoid this tragic end, is to invest in original content right away. Netflix started distributing premier programs in 2011 and now has more than 10 exclusive TV shows in its offering (Wikipedia, 2014), one of which is House of Cards an America political drama television series which became the first TV series to win a primetime Emmy Award without ever broadcasting on a network or cable channel (Neal, 2014). The success of the series support Netflix to produce a second season of it in Feb 2014, and a terzetto season is scheduled in early 2015 (Wikipedia, 2014).According to a study (Popper, 2014), one episode of such original content costs Netflix cardinal million dollars but although this is very expensive, allocating an important portion of the budget every yea r to produce such exclusive series will have its mark in the future. People can enjoy watching such series any time, as it is a permanent title in the online library, and Netflix doesnt have to pay licensing or any other kind of expenses on originals once it is broadcasted. They can also make it available for their international customers by adding local language features (subbing or dubbing) to it. Growing internationally is still one of the main strategies that Netflix is counting on and although international expansion proved to be very costly, as Canada for example broke even after 2 years (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014) they are recommended to continue with it. It will give them more international recognition that will enhance their reputation and will pay off in their competition with rivals, and this is exactly what CEO Reed Hastings said in Netflix Q4 2013 Earnings Interview we are treating international as a segment for competitive reasons (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014). As first movers in the streaming movie industry, it is advisable for Netflix to leverage their position as pioneers of the market by offering several loyalty programs that will increase the switching cost of the customers to their existing and future rivals. One thing they can do is to create a points-based reward system which works as follows every month you renew your subscription youll add 10 points to your balance, and if youre a new customer you get 50 free welcome points.Then through time your balance will keep adding up points and youll have the choice to buy several valuable things with it. For example, one-month free subscription for 100 points, an original DVD movie (from a predefined list of titles) sent directly to your mail and that will cost you 200 points, and the chance to meet with the actors of your favorite TV-series (Netflix Original) for 300 points. Such a loyalty program will keep delight the customers and keep them aquiline to the service. While ma ny consumers have cut the cord and made the switch to Internet-only TV offerings, undoubtedly theyve experienced frustrations as well. Netflixs mobile app, while good, can be upgraded to present a much better and more seamless experience for those on tablets. We suggest added-value features like friendship connections, including the ability to see what friends on both Facebook and Twitter have watched, their recommendations, and share content with others. Another impressive change could be a tagging feature when watching shows which we believe to be instrumental in expanding the amicable aspects of Netflixs content. viewing audience can tap the button at any time during a show to tag moments on the timeline relevant with quotes from the scene or make a comment regarding what they saw. Subsequent friends watching the content can see these tags, opening up dialogue between the partners and encouraging more social conversation through Netflixs app. (The lab Blog, 2013).Compared to th e current apps design, this new proposal feels fresh and clean. Of course, those added features are optional and can be switched off whenever privacy is needed. By adding this feature, Netflix will be leveraging the benefits of the latest VPPA (Video seclusion Protection Act) law amendments President Obama signed which facilitate social media share of video viewing preferences when users consent to disclosure of information via the Internet.(McClellan, 2013) Moreover, integrating social media with customers viewing experience will give Netflix an important marketing tool that will help them detect which content is more appealing to their customers and will also give their customers a window to speak out what they like to see in the future. Finally we can say that the next step for Netflix is to produce a Hollywood 100-million dollar movie that can be streamed same day it goes into the theater. This massive step of producing one movie every year, of such a caliber, will be a m ajor boost for Netflix in the coming years especially if they were lucky enough and those movies turn out to be a major hit. But here one has to say, is it wise for a company like Netflix, that reported 112 million dollars in net income by the end of 2013 (Google Finance,2014), to handle a project of this size? Isnt it a crazy adventure? Or should Netflix go through a joint venture with other Pay-TV firms to reduce the risks of such a gigantic project?ReferencesBauman, L., Deal, N., Ishak, P., & Johnson, S. (2013, February 3). Netflix Environmental Scan / elevate Analysis. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from Memoirs of a Student http//lisabauman.blogspot.com/2013/02/netflix?environmental?scan?swot?analysis.html Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2014). Crafting and executing Strategy The Quest for Competitive Advantage Concepts and Cases (19th Ed.). New York, NY McGraw-Hill/Irwin Ch6, pgs. 151-152 Thompson (2012) Netflix in 2012 Can It Re cover from Its strategy Missteps? Thompson, A. A. (2012). 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