Thursday, March 19, 2020
Stories about Great Thinkers and Inventors
Stories about Great Thinkers and Inventors The following stories about great thinkers and inventors will help to motivate your students and enhance their appreciation of the contributions of inventors. As students read these stories, they will also realize the inventors are male, female, old, young, minority, and majority. They are ordinary people who follow through with their creative ideas to make their dreams a reality. FRISBEE à ® The term FRISBEE did not always refer to the familiar plastic disks we visualize flying through the air. Over 100 years ago, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, William Russell Frisbie owned the Frisbie Pie Company and delivered his pies locally. All of his pies were baked in the same type of 10 round tin with a raised edge, wide brim, six small holes in the bottom, and Frisbie Pies on the bottom. Playing catch with theà tinsà soon became a popular local sport. However, the tins were slightly dangerous when aà tossà was missed. It became the Yale custom to yell Frisbie when throwing a pie tin. In the 40s when plastic emerged, the pie-tin game was recognized as a manufacturable and marketable product. Note:à FRISBEEà à ® is a registered trademark of Wham-O Mfg. Co. Earmuffs Baby, Its Cold Outside Baby, Its Cold Outside may have been the song running through 13-year-old Chester Greenwoods head one cold December day in 1873. To protect his ears while ice skating, he found a piece of wire, and with his grandmothers help, padded the ends. In the beginning, his friends laughed at him. However, when they realized that he was able to stay outside skating long after they had gone inside freezing, they stopped laughing. Instead, they began to ask Chester to make ear covers for them, too. At age 17 Chester applied for a patent. For the next 60 years, Chesters factory made earmuffs, and earmuffs made Chester rich. BAND-AID à ® At the turn of the century, Mrs. Earl Dickson, an inexperienced cook, often burned and cut herself. Mr. Dickson, a Johnson and Johnson employee, got plenty of practice in hand bandaging. Out of concern for his wifes safety, he began to prepare bandages ahead of time so that his wife could apply them by herself. By combining a piece of surgical tape and a piece of gauze, he fashioned the first crude adhesive strip bandage. LIFE-SAVERS à ® Candy During the hot summer of 1913, Clarence Crane, a chocolate candy manufacturer, found himself facing a dilemma. When he tried to ship his chocolates to candy shops in other cities they melted into gooey blobs. To avoid dealing with the mess, his customers were deferring their orders until cool weather. In order to retain his customers, Mr. Crane needed to find a substitute for the melted chocolates. He experimented with hard candy which wouldnt melt during shipment. Using a machine designed for making medicine pills, Crane produced small, circular candies with a hole in the middle. The birth of LIFE SAVERS! Note on Trademarks à ® is the symbol for a registered trademark. The trademarks on this page are words used to name the inventions. Thomas Alva Edison If I were to tell you thatà Thomas Alva Edisonà had shown signs of inventive genius at an early age, you probably would not be surprised. Mr. Edison achieved enormous fame with his lifelong contributions of volumes of inventive technology. He received the first of his 1,093 U.S. patents by age 22. In the book, Fire of Genius, Ernest Heyn reported on a remarkable resourceful young Edison, though some of his earliestà tinkeringà clearly lacked merit. Age 6 By the age of six, Thomas Edisons experiments with fire were said to have cost his father a barn. Soon after that, it is reported that young Edison tried to launch the first human balloon by persuading another youth to swallow large quantities of effervescing powders to inflate himself with gas. Of course, the experiments brought quite unexpected results! Chemistry and electricity held great fascination for this child,à Thomas Edison. By his early teens, he had designed and perfected his first real invention, an electrical cockroach control system. He glued parallel strips of tinfoil to a wall and wired the strips to the poles of a powerful battery, a deadly shock for the unsuspecting insect. As a dynamo ofà creativity, Mr. Edison stood as decidedly unique; but as a child with a curious, problem-solving nature, he was not alone. Here are some more inventive children to know and appreciate. Age 14 At age 14, one schoolboy invented a rotary brush device to remove husks from wheat in the flour mill run by his friends father. The young inventors name?à Alexander Graham Bell. Age 16 At 16, another of our junior achievers saved pennies to buy materials for his chemistry experiments. While still a teenager, he set his mind on developing a commercially viable aluminum refining process. By age 25,à Charles Hallà received a patent on his revolutionary electrolytic process. Age 19 While only 19 years old, another imaginative young person designed and built his firstà helicopter. In the summer of 1909, it very nearly flew. Years later,à Igor Sikorskyà perfected his design and saw his early dreams change aviation history.à Silorskyà was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1987. The are more childhood problem-solvers that we can mention. Perhaps youve heard about: Samuel Coltsà childhood experience with underwater explosives;Fourteen-year-old Robert Fultons manually operated paddlewheel; andGuglielmo Marconis early mechanical/electrical tinkering.Even television tinker,à Philo T. Farnsworth, conceived his optical scanning idea at the tender age of 14. Inventions Inventions tell something about the inventors place in the society in which they live, a closeness to certain kinds of problems, and possession of certain skills. It is not surprising that up until the mid 20th Century, womens inventions were often related to childcare, housework, and healthcare, all traditional female occupations. In recent years, with access to specialized training and broader job opportunities, women are applying their creativity to many new kinds of problems, including those requiring high technology. While women have frequently come up with new ways to make their work easier, they have not always received credit for their ideas. Some stories about early women inventors show that women often recognized that they were entering a mans world, and shielded their work from the public eye by allowing men to patent their inventions. Catherine Greene Althoughà Eli Whitneyà received aà patent for a cotton gin, Catherine Greene is said to have posed both the problem and the basic idea to Whitney. Furthermore, according to Matilda Gage, (, 1883), his first model, fitted with wooden teeth, did not do the work well, and Whitney was about to throw the work aside when Mrs. Greene proposed the substitution of wire to catch the cotton seeds. Margaret Knight Margaret Knight, remembered as the female Edison, received some 26 patents for such diverse items as a window frame and sash, machinery for cutting shoe soles, and improvements to internal combustion engines. Her most significant patent was for machinery that would automatically fold and glue paper bags to create square bottoms, an invention which dramatically changed shopping habits. Workmen reportedly refused her advice when first installing the equipment because, after all, what does a woman know about machines? More aboutà Margaret Knight Sarah Breedlove Walker Sarah Breedlove Walker, the daughter of former slaves, was orphaned at seven and widowed by 20.à Madame Walkerà is credited with inventing hair lotions, creams, and an improved hair styling hot comb. But her greatest achievement may be the development of the Walker System, which included a broad offering of cosmetics, licensed Walker Agents, and Walker Schools, which offered meaningful employment and personal growth to thousands of Walker Agents, mostly Black women. Sarah Walker was the first American womanà self-made millionaire. More aboutà Sarah Breedlove Walker Bette Graham Bette Graham hoped to be an artist, but circumstances led her into secretarial work. Bette, however, was not an accurate typist. Fortunately, she recalled that artists could correct their mistakes by painting over them with gesso, so she invented a quick drying paint to cover her typing mistakes. Bette first prepared the secret formula in her kitchen using a hand mixer, and her young son helped to pour the mixture into little bottles. In 1980, the Liquid Paper Corporation, which Bette Graham built, was sold for over $47 million. More aboutà Betteà GRaham Ann Moore Ann Moore, a Peace Corps volunteer, saw how African women carried babies on their backs by tying cloth around their bodies, leaving both hands free for other work. When she returned to the United States, she designed a carrier which became the popular SNUGLI. Recently Ms. Moore received another patent for a carrier to conveniently transport oxygen cylinders. People needing oxygen for breathing assistance, who were previously confined to stationary oxygen tanks, can now move about more freely. Her company now sells several versions including lightweight backpacks, handbags, shoulder bags, and wheelchair/walker carriers for portable cylinders. Stephanie Kwolek Stephanie Kwolek, one of Duponts leading chemists, discovered the miracle fiber, Kevlar, which has five times the strength of steel by weight. Uses for Kevlar are seemingly endless, including ropes and cables for oil drilling rigs, canoe hulls, boat sails, automobile bodies and tires, and military and motorcycle helmets. Many Viet Nam veterans and police officers are alive today because of protection provided by bullet-proof vests made from Kevlar. Because of its strength and lightness, Kevlar was chosen as the material for the Gossamer Albatross, a pedal airplane flown across the English Channel. Kwolek was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995. More onà Stephanie Kwolek Gertrude B. Elion Gertrude B. Elion, 1988 Nobel laureate in Medicine, and Scientist Emeritus with Burroughs Wellcome Company, is credited with the synthesis of two of the first successful drugs for Leukemia, as well as Imuron, an agent to prevent the rejection of kidney transplants, and Zovirax, the first selective antiviral agent against herpes virus infections. Researchers who discovered AZT, a breakthrough treatment for AIDS, used Elions protocols. Elion was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991, the first woman inductee. More on Gertrude B. Elion Did you Know That.. windshield wipers were patented byà Mary Andersonà in 1903?dandruff shampoo was patented by Josie Stuart in 1903?a dishwasher was patented byà Josephine Cochraneà in 1914?the first disposable diaper was patented by Marion Donovan in 1951?a compact portable hair dryer was patented by Harriet J. Stern in 1962?a dough product for frozen pizza was patented by Rose Totino in 1979?the Melitta Automatic Drip Coffee Maker was patented by Melitta Benz in Germany in 1908? Between 1863 and 1913, approximately 1,200 inventions were patented by minorityà inventors.à Manyà more were unidentified because they hid their race to avoid discrimination or sold their inventions to others. The following stories are about a few of theà great minorityà inventors. Elijah McCoy Elijah McCoyà earnedà about 50 patents, however, his mostà famous oneà was for a metal or glass cup that fed oil to bearings through a small-bore tube. Elijah McCoy was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1843, the son of slaves who had fled Kentucky. He died in Michigan in 1929. More aboutà Elijah McCoy Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker created the first striking clock made of wood in America. He became known as the Afro-American Astronomer. He published an almanac and with his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, he assisted in the surveying and planning of the new city of Washington, D.C. More aboutà Benjamin Banneker Granville Woods Granville Woodsà had more than 60à patents. Known as the Black Edison, he improved Bells telegraph and created an electrical motor that made the underground subway possible. He also improved the airbrake. More aboutà Granville Woods Garrett Morgan Garrett Morganà invented an improvedà traffic signal. He also invented a safety hood for firefighters. More aboutà Garrett Morgan George Washington Carver George Washington Carver aided the Southern states with hisà many inventions. He discovered over 300 different products made from the peanut which, until Carver, was considered a lowly food fit for hogs. He dedicated himself to teaching others, learning and working with nature. He created over 125 new products with the sweet potato and taught poor farmers how to rotate crops toà improveà their soil and their cotton.à George Washington Carverà was a great scientist and inventor who learned to be a careful observer and who was honored throughout the world for his creation of new things. More aboutà George Washington Carver
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
10 Tips to Avoid Tick Bites
10 Tips to Avoid Tick Bites Finding an engorged tick on your body is never fun.à Ticksà carry diseases, which might make you think twice before your next hike into the woods. You dont have to avoid the outdoors, though. Your first line of defense is avoiding their bites. Follow these 10 tips to avoid ticks- and, more importantly, tick bites- when you head outdoors. Why Ticks Pose a Serious Health Dangerà Unlike chiggers, cockroaches, and bedbugs, ticks are much more than a nuisance. They can carry and transmit several serious diseases that, untreated, can be debilitating or, in rare cases, even deadly. Not all ticks carry all tick-borne diseases, but of course, its better to be safe than sorry. If you are in areas with brush or grass at temperatures above freezing, you are at risk of tick bites.à According to the CDC, many different types of ticks located all over the United States carry disease. Tick-borne diseases include but are not limited to: Lyme disease- a disorder that can cause a wide range of serious symptoms ranging from joint disorders to heart issuesHeartland virusRocky Mountain heartland feverTick-borne relapsing feverTularemia Once you have a tick-borne disease, it can become chronic. Even after treatment, many people have residual symptoms from tick-borne diseases. About Anti-Tick Pesticides and Repellents DEET and permethrin are the two most effective pesticides against ticks. In combination with long pants, socks, and long-sleeved shirts, they can help protect you from ticks. Its important to know that: DEET is a completely different chemical compound from DDT. It has been tested and found to be safe when used according to instructions. It is very important, however, that it not be ingested.Permethrin is a potent pesticide but does carry some risks. Typically, permethrin is used on clothing, boots, and other outerwear. It should not be used on the skin.Veterinary products such as Advantage and Frontline can be applied monthly to cats and dogs and do a very good job of minimizing pest infestations (including ticks). Pet shampoos and coat treatments are likely to be less effective and much messier. Tips for Avoiding Tick Bites 1. Use a product with 20 percentà DEET or higher on both skin and clothing. Carefully apply the repellent by hand to your face, neck, and ears, avoiding your eyes or mouth. Adults should apply DEET products to young children, and its important to warn children not to touch their skin. You may need to reapply DEET products after several hours. 2. Apply permethrin to clothing, hiking boots, tents, and camp chairs. Permethrin products should never be used on skin. It remains effective on clothing through several washings. Permethrin is sold under the names Permanone and Duranon. You can use permethrin on your own clothing, but if youre expecting to need tick-proof clothing on a regular basis you may want to invest in pretreated clothing such as the line of gear sold by Ex-Officio. The treatment lasts up to 70 washings.ââ¬â¹ 3. Wear light-colored clothing. Youll have a better chance of seeing a dark tick crawling on you before it makes its way to your skin. 4. Wear long pants and tuck them into your socks.à Tuck your pant legs into your socks, and keep your shirt tucked into your waistband. In areas where ticks are abundant, consider using rubber bands or even duct tape to create a tick-proof barrier at your cuffs. 5. Dont forget to treat your pet. Dogs often accompany their humans on the trail, and they are just as likely to attract ticks as you are. Fortunately, once-a-month treatments such as Advantage can keep ticks at bay with relatively little fuss. 6. Stay on the trail. Ticks are usually found in brush and high vegetation, waiting for a passing host. When your leg brushes through the vegetation, the tick transfers to your body. Walk on designated trails and avoid blazing your own trail through meadows or other grassy or brush-covered areas.à 7. Avoid tick-infested places. In some places, ticks may be too abundant to avoid, even with the best repellents and long pants. If you venture a few feet into a wooded area or field and find your legs covered with ticks, turn around. 8. Be vigilant- do a daily tick check. Strip down and search all those places that ticks love to hide: in your hair, under your arms, between your legs, behind the knees, and even in your belly button. Remember that some ticks are tiny, so you will have to look carefully. Ask a friend to check your back, neck, and back of your legs. 9. Put your clothes in the dryer, and tumble them on high heat. Research shows many ticks can make it through the washing machine, even when you wash in hot water. Most ticks will die during a cycle in the hot, dry air of your clothes dryer, though. 10. Check your pets and your kids before letting them loose in the house. Ticks can easily drop off of pets and children onto carpets or furniture. Then they can wait there for days for a human being or pet to come along. Be sure to check both pets and children after time outdoors.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Critique - Assignment Example , (2011), in order to effectively determine the NBO, it is important to collect personal data about the customers from their names, sizes, physical address, phone numbers, occupation, salary range, number of children, ages of the children and of the customer among many others. All these can be collected from their social media and personal data on file in the online stores and then use the same to predict their purchase context and pricing range of their shopping and products. A perfect example provided in the article is where a person purchasing diapers can have an NBO of wipes, powder, beer among others all of which accompany the baby products which the person is in need of without realizing it. In order to know the customer even before they make the purchase of the items, it is important to examine their buyer behavior first a few times in order to get a grip about what they like to purchase, in what quality and quantity, their favorite or preferred brand and the duration between one purchase and the next (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015). All these is important to predict the buyer behavior and hence be in a position to offer then an NBO the next time they are online just as a way to not only advertise the products but tempt them on what else they might need. Once enough personal data has been gathered about a shopper, the next step is to execute the advertisement and promotion. The person may start receiving the NBOs in their emails; receiving phone calls about the same, notifications in their social media accounts among other online places they frequently visit (Davenport, Mule & Lucker, 2011). All these are in an attempt to make them purchase more than what they need or have planned for or make them aware of new product in the market, new prices and even new promotional offers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2015). In order to make it even more interesting and tempting, numerous discounts and advantages such as reward points can be provided which can then be redeemed in
Sunday, February 2, 2020
The key to understanding common law system is their adversarial nature Essay
The key to understanding common law system is their adversarial nature - Essay Example Today, the common law is said to be a mixture, not only of court judgments, but also of statutes and equity and still retaining its distinguishing characteristic of being unwritten, as opposed to statutory law, although many leading and precedent cases have seen printing in law reports and journals. 1 The common law system, is however best understood by studying the components of its adversarial nature. Anglo-Saxon kings like Ine in 689-725 and Alfred the Great (875-900), caused the issuance of codes and laws during their reigns that were largely reflections of ancient customs in addition to some new innovations. The primitive practice, for example, of private vengeance in blood-feuds although not outlawed, but there were subtle moves to restrain them imposing upon a tariff called wergild set by the king, where a manââ¬â¢s value, determined by his social standing, had a corresponding price to be paid when he is wronged. 2 The common law countries, like the Great Britain, the United States and Australia, employ the adversarial mode of trial whilst Continental Europe observes the non-adversarial or inquisitorial judicial system. The distinction between the two is that ââ¬Å"the adversarial mode of proceeding takes it shape from a contest or a dispute: it unfolds as an engagement of two adversaries before a relatively passive decision maker whose principal duty is to reach a verdict. The non-adversarial mode is structured as an official inquiry. Under the first system, the two adversaries take charge of most procedural action; under the second, officials perform most activities.â⬠3 Moreover, adversarial systems are characterised by the following: the parties to the action control its flow or conduct; the trial consists of a continuous hearing and is the center of the judicial system; the production of evidence falls in the hands of the contending parties; the rules of court has no compulsory role. This is
Saturday, January 25, 2020
An Introduction About Aldi Commerce Essay
An Introduction About Aldi Commerce Essay The reason of this assignment, analysis the Porters five forces and value chain and explain how information technology affects the business (base of Porters five forces and value chain) of ALDI. ALDI is a known retail shop in UK, actually it a Germany base business organisation, its one of a medium size grocery related chain shop in UK, lat few years they are doing business in UK. Michel Porter has written difference view how do IT helps an organisation to achieve their goal and provide better service for customer, the activities what is doing by an organisation is influenced by IT, IT helping any business organisation to complete their work properly and gaining profit easily, Information technology lead an organisation to achieve the final goals of it, information technology is combine of computer base work, study, development and application, which helps an organisation to analysis the performance of it, by using Information an organisation can understand how should its go ahead fo r next step, in below I am discussing how analyzed the Porters five forces in ALDI and how they effects on the activities of ALDI, and the way how IT helps an organisation (ALDI) to improve and achieve its goal. 02. An introduction about ALDI ALDI is the short form of Albrecht Discount. Its a global discount supermarket chain based in Germany. ALDI working in UK as a medium type of supermarket. The main product of ALDI is daily necessary household product, dairy food, vegetable , alcoholic product like wine ,beer ,whisky etc .ALDI also selling difference type of dress for male, female and kids. ALDI is selling retail product, founded at 1913, founder Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht. The head office of ALDI is in Essen, Germany. Mathew Barness is CEO of UK operation. 03. Competitors of ALDI Local superstore Off licence Iceland Wait rose Even TESCO, Sainsbury, ASDA also competitors of ALDI. 04. Porters five forces Porter finds out five things that work together to change the work of a competitor in a business organisation (Michel E Porter-2003). Those all are- Threat of a new entrance Bargaining power of supplier Bargaining power of customer (buyer) Threat of substitute product Degree of competitive rivalry All of those forces are very important to analysis any business organisation, threat of new entrance, supplier bargaining power, customer bargaining power , substituted product, competitive rivalry all of these effect any business organisation, in below I am analysing those forces on ALDI and showing how IT helps ALDI to maintain and overcome those factors and go ahead to its goal. 04.1. Threat of the new entrance: ALDI is familiar retail shop, but there are some reasons which create the threat of new entrance. Because of economic reason ALDI need to give lower price in difference product but its not profitable. For new entrance its complicated to achieve goal to sell product in lower price. Selling product within lower price decrease the profit of an organisation and make it more difficult to achieve goal (Mahdi Khosropour-2000), as a result sale of lower price can be a risk for ALDI. Access to supply and distribution is easy but sell is not high by new entrance. Product could be sale in same price in difference store and ALDI but product are same in food retail industry so loyalty of customer is low. In these cases new entrance could be a threat for ALDI. But most of the customer of UK is brand conscious, sometimes customer care brand more than price and ALDI have some of attractive product which attract the customer and attract them to ALDI. 04.2. Bargaining power of supplier: This force indicates the power of supplier which can effect by the large grocery chain and fear the risk of large supermarket. As their have lots of small supplier of product all over the UK so the bargaining power of the supplier is fairly low for ALDI. As their have lots of supplier in market so any supplier dont want to lose their business contract with a supermarket like ALDI, as a result ALDI getting Good product within reasonable price. 04.3. Bargaining power of buyers: Customers are always careful about price and their bargaining power is too high in market, their have lots of opportunity to chose the right product on reasonable price (Edward J.szewczak. coral R Snudgrass-2002). Porter said that the more product that become standardized or undifferentiated, the lower the switching cost and hence more power is yielded to buyers. (Porter M 1980) Their have (in market) lots of competitor of ALDI where slight difference of and more standardised as the switching cost is low so buyer can move another brand too easily. To convince the customer ALDI is giving difference types of promotional offer. ALDI photo voucher Voucher code ALDI discount code Promotional code These all are to convince customer as the bargaining power of buyers are high. 04.4. Threat of substituted product: Threat of substituted is really very high for ALDI, the large supermarket like TESCO, Sainsbury, ASDA, Morison they all are bringing same product at market so customer can be more attractive to them. If ALDI give the low price for substituted product may be their sell will increase but their have a risk of lose, as gaining profit is the main purpose of a business that why substituted product is being a threat of ALDI. 04.5. Threat of new competitor: The threat of new competitor is nearly very low in food retail industry. Where lots of organisations are already doing business a new organisation cant achieve their goal easily (Dan Davis-2005) for a new retail industry its need a huge investment beside major brand like TESCO, Sainsbury, ASDA, and Morison already captured the market. In these view threat of new entry is low for ALDI. 05. How information technology effect on Porters five forces on ALDI Information technology is a combine of study, development, application, implementation and support of computer based system. Information technology is using each and every business organisation to achieve their goal easily and completely (Kathy Schwalbe-2010) ALDI is using information technology for its business purpose. In bellow I am explaining how information technology effect on ALDI (Porters five forces) Because of information technology all information is being spread to all over the world, as a result when ALDI was in new position at market IT helps it to provide information to all customer so on beginning ALDI got help from IT. Every business is being face with their supplier, IT helps ALDI to minimise the bargaining power of supplier, how do ALDI will best product in reasonable price and from where IT can gather knowledge very easily from difference source of internet, so bargaining power of supplier decrees because of information technology. On the other hand, because of information technology bargaining power of buyer is being high, customers are being able to know about product too easily, customers can collect knowledge from difference source of IT like internet, advertisement of difference media like TV, magazine and newspaper. To minimise the bargaining power of customer ALDI also getting helps From IT, ALDI is providing its promotional information to customer by advertising in difference way which is the part of IT. When any chain grocery market launch any new product on market ALDI take these information and try to create same category product as a result ALDI can survive itself with a new product. ALDI is an established chain shop, ALDI dont have too much threat of new competitors, when its face the threat of new competitors IT can help ALDI to reduce these threat. 06. Value Chain To provide the best customer every business doing the value chain analysis, Michel Porter introduce value chain analysis on business organisation, inbound logistic, operation, outbound logistic, marketing and sales, services, infrastructure, HR, technological development, procurement those all are included in value chain. (Michel Porter-1985). In below I am showing value chain as activities of an organisation. 06.1. Activities of ALDI Activities means the work of any organisation, business activities means the business related work for any business organisation. Business activities helps any business improve their profit, how good a business doing is depends on the activities of those business (Kathy Schwalbe-2010), so improve any business, business need to be more active and conscious about the business activities, their have two difference part of any retail business activities, so we can define the activities of ALDI in two parts, those ares- Primary activity Secondary activity 06.1.1. Primary Activities: Primary activities means the primary work of any organisation, a business organisation is doing their primary activities to collect product from supplier, payment of supplier. Bring product to store, store product to warehouse, and decorate the product to shop floor, marketing of product, sales and delivery of product those all are part of primary activities. To make easy the business activities every business organisation is doing their primary activities in two ways, which helps any business to complete their activities easily (Carroll W. Frenzel Jonn C. Frenzel-2004) ALDI is doing their primary activities in two ways- Inbound logistic Outbound logistic Product which are use for sale -receive, store and disseminating process of those product is called logistic. Inbound logistic: The process of a business organisation collect product (product for sale) is called inbound logistic. The way ALDI is doing their inbound logistic those are- Every business need to order to their supplier for the product, thats the first work of inbound logistic, thats the first step of getting product , in these stage ALDI orders to their suppliers for product When ALDI orders to supplier, supplier approves the order and send product to the difference store of ALDI To get right product in right ALDI do kitting and sequencing For quality control ALDI is doing inspection, replying and differencing ALDI manage a good relationship and cash flow with supplier by vendor And managed inventory When all the process become finish ALDI store the product in their warehouse Outbound Logistic: Gaining profit is the main purpose of any business organisation, without profit a business cant run their business, to achieve profit business need to provide service or product or to customer(Mahdi Khosrowpour-2000). The process of a business organisation to distribute the product or service to customer is called outbound logistic. Process of outbound logistic in ALDI: ALDI follow a process for its outbound Logistic, Marketing Sale Delivery Marketing: The way business give knowledge to customer about their product is called marketing, to attract the people about people business need to do marketing about product. Their have lots of way to do marketing, giving advertisement to difference media like newspaper, TV, magazine, talk to customer directly those all are way of marketing. To achieve any business you need to make aware about your product to customer, ALDI is making aware customer about their product by giving advertisement on difference media like newspaper, TV and magazine. Sale: Sale is the one of major function of business (Dan Davis-2005), without sale a business cant earn profit. The way ALDI sale their product its as usual like any other retail shop, customer visit the shop and chose product, pay bill on till, ALDI also take phone reservation for special buys. Delivery: Delivery the product to customer is the final part of outbound logistic, when customer chose any product and collect these product from shop floor and pay money on till product is ready for customer, if customer make a reservation for special buy, they have to be collect product from shop. In here I want to highlight that ALDI dont do home delivery. 06.1.2. Secondary Activities: Procurement, technology development, human Resource, IT infrastructure those all are part of secondary activities (Michel E porter-2003) Procurement: Procurement is a process of buying services and products, in this process preparation, processing, demand, receipt, payment approval all are included. In below in am showing the include process of procurement for ALDI To improve the business policy of ALDI, its following a procurement process, those all are- To buy product from supplier ALDI make a plan for parching ALDI do standards of plan as its can buy best product within reasonable price Development of specification To get right product ALDI research about supplier, after research its prefer the best supplier for collecting product and select the best supplier for product Analysis of value After analysis value ALDI find out the source of finance Negotiation of price In these stage ALDI make decision to do final purchase Contract to the administration is the next procurement process after final purchase ALDI control the inventory and store product After all of these processes as a final stage ALDI do disposals and related function of disposals. Technology Development: Technology development is research and development and the use of research and development, research of a product help to improve the quality of product, by researching its possible to develop the quality of product (Ronald Zigili-1992) ALDI is doing research with the product and service and developing new product, when any other retail shop bring a new product to market ALDI research those product and develop a better product and lunch it to market as result sales increase. Technology development helping ALDI to gain the aim of ALDI, increasing sale is the most effective way to earn profit (Edward J. Szewczak. Coral R Snodgrass-2002) as sale is increasing because of technology development ALDI is gaining profit easily. Human Resource: Human resource or manpower is the main driving power for an organisation; organisation cant do anything without human resource (Edward J. Szewczak. Coral R Snodgrass-2002). Human resource means the human power who is working with an organisation, technologies supporting us in every way of life, but human have to be manage the technology, without human resource technology cant do anything. For business purpose ALDI is recruiting human resource from difference sector, for managerial level to shop floor member. A huge number of people working for ALDI, after requite a stuff ALDI trained the stuff for better service, people who is directly related with customer service they can provide better customer service by getting training , managerial level people also getting training for better service . ALDI is selecting best people for its business organisation, to recruit best people ALDI is following the recruiting process, when ALDI need any stuff, they advertise on their website and collect the application from candidate , its select the best candidate , after selection candidate need to face on interview, ALDI select the best candidate by interview and see all the quality of candidates, are they qualify for work or not, by doing all of these process ALDI is bringing best people for services. Overall, its clear that the people who is working with ALDI they are the best qualify and giving best service for organisation. Infrastructure: Infrastructure is combine of people, technology, system, procedures, policies, processes and intellectual property, all of these elements are co-related with each others. ALDI is maintaining a good relation with those chains as a result its being able to maintain a better organisation infrastructure. The stuff of ALDI is maintaining the chain of command so its being able to provide better service for customer and gaining profit easily. 07. How information technology effect on value chain of ALDI Today world is world of technology, any person or any business organisation cant do anything properly without help of technology and information technology, as ALDI is an business organisation its cant do anything without use of information technology. Firstly, Information technology influence the primary activities of ALDI, inbound logistic to outbound logistic all of these process are being success properly because of information technology , information technology helps ALDI to collect products for supplier, online order to supplier, granted order by supplier, sending process(transportation) those all are being done easily because of information technology Information technology working like blood circulation in business word, now days any business cant think about their business without help of information technology (Gerge Reynolds-2009). ALDI is doing marketing using advertisement of difference media like newspaper, website, TV magazine those all are part of information technology. Information technology is helping ALDI to develop their sale, attract customer by giving difference type of advertisement is increasing sale of ALDI, customer want to collect their product as early as they need, giving phone reservation to ALDI store is making easy for customer buying product and when they come to the store, ALDI deliver their product by checking phone reservation, which are the part of information technology Considering all of those issues, I can say that information technology influencing the primary activities of ALDI. Secondly, information technology is helping ALDI to make a better procurement process and all the process are being done by using of information technology , for technology development, research and develop a new product IT helps it to collect information from difference sources , manage and recruit human resource, maintaining IT infrastructure all are being possible by using of information technology. 08. Conclusion: Today is day of information technology; information technology is affecting every step of life. Information technology is effecting the every business and every organisation, from the above we can see that how information technology influenced the business of ALDI, its also showing the how information technology helping ALDI ho to work in every step of business and how to overcome the risk of business, within less business how to achieve maximum goal of business, all of those policy are described on above.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Financial Analysis on Retail Industry Essay
This analysis studied financial information of three multinational corporations in the retail industry, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, and Gap. This examination is predominantly and analysis of Ralph Lauren and American Eagle, and it compares its financials and performance to that of Gap. In order to reach a decision on which firm my company should invest in; we recreated and cleaned both companyââ¬â¢s financial statements followed by an analysis using key financial ratios and metrics. My company is searching for the firm that would be more profitable in the following fiscal years. After completing an in-depth analysis of these companies, we concluded that Gap would be the best investment for future growth in the industry of retail. Gaps sales growth may not be relatively high compared to other industry leaders but it is on the rise. Also the sales decrease can be related to the closing of stores and restructuring of international operations. This also relates to net income growth showing signs of regression in the past fiscal years. Gapââ¬â¢s EBIT Margin and EBITDA Margin suggest that the company is healthy and also properly managed. These ratios show us that the sales growth and net income growth decreases are due to other factors in the business. Gap will show to be the right choice for our company to invest in as well as other industry research that we have done to help make this investment persuasive. Gap Inc.200920102011 Sales Growth-7.8%-2.3%3.3% Net Income Growth 16.1%14.0%9.3% EBIT Margin10.7%12.8%13.4% EBITDA Margin15.1%17.5%17.9% Case Write Up and Analysis All three of these multinational corporations generate their revenues in the apparel: retail brand industry. Gap is headquartered in San Francisco, California and the year-end date is January 30. American Eagle is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and their year-end date is January 30. Ralph Lauren is headquartered in New York, New York and there year-ednà date is April 3. To perform this case analysis to determine which company which is more profitable using key financial ratios and metrics accompanied with industry research and trends of the apparel retail sector. We have recreated and cleaned financial statements for Ralph Lauren and American Eagle, comparing both to Gap. Using these recreated financial statements, we have performed a case analysis of these three companies in order to find out which company was most profitable. Gap is the largest of the three with a market capitalization of nearly 16 billion while Ralph Lauren comes in second with roughly 15 billion market capitalization. Although Gap leads with market capitalization, American Eagle generates the most revenue that leads to highest net income as well, compared to both Gap and Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren does not lead these companies with its revenues and income but rather with its margins. They are consistently above the industry average and are also much higher relative to the other companies we analyzed. Ralph Lauren also shows the best percentage of sales growth in the past fiscal years. Sales Growth3 Yr Trend Polo14.3%21.8% American Eagle0.9%6.5% Gap-2.3%3.3% For apparel retailers, new fashion trends and steady flow of promotions will help a low single digits increase in sales in 2012. This is what you see with Gap and American Eagle they do not show major increases in sales growth but on steadily rising at roughly 5% in the three year trend. Ralph Lauren shows a jump of 7% which could be due to the luxury brand section of retail section because of the opportunities in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America according to industry reports. American Eagle plans on accelerating growth through internet sales. This generates higher margins for the company, last year it accounted for 12% of company revenues. This trend is also apparent in the other two companies because most retailers want to offer the convenience of online shopping to customers. The online channel provides a cost effective way for retailers to widen their reachà across existing and new markets. Gap intensified its international strategy as well, opening stores in Eur ope and China, and outlets; accompanied by an e-commerce platform in Canada, Europe, and China. The company has 22% of sales from regions outside the US, up 7.6% from the year-ago period. This industry shows a thrust of penetration in the international markets looking to increase in the next few years. Teenagers also play an important role in the industry trends. With 7.1% of US population they have been a powerful force in retail with the leading beneficiaries being Gap, Abercrombie, American Eagle, and Urban Outfitters. This ties sales growth for both Gap and American Eagle due to a majority of the teen population shopping at these two companies. Helping increase sales growth and produce for revenues for the firm. The biggest window for opportunity in the retail sector seems to be the overseas markets but especially China, according to the S&P industry reports. Gapââ¬â¢s profitability has grown over the past three years showing larger EBIT and EBITDA margins which shows strong management and healthy earnings. Ralph Lauren is also growing profitably as well as their margins have increased with time. American Eagle has been on teetering between being profitable and running efficiently to stay in the game. Net Income Growth3 Yr Trend Polo18.4%20.0% American Eagle-16.8%7.9% Gap14.0%9.3% On the margin side of things Polo seems to be the best company, this is because they are a luxury brand which tends to have higher margins. This makes up for their lack of revenues because people buy less quantity of the luxury brands and tend to buy more of the standard products that are affordable and still have above average quality, such as Gap Inc. and American Eagle. The industry research showed that the recent drop in cotton prices will help retail companies enormously in profit margins. This will help companies such as Gap and American Eagle more than luxury brands like Ralph Lauren. This is shown in Gapââ¬â¢s trends in the past years for EBIT Margins; in 2009 they had 10.7% which increased to 12.8% in 2010; this is a 2.1% increase. This increased another .6% to 13.4% in 2011, this can beà projected to grow even more in 2012 with more drops in the cotton prices. Gap reported that two-thirds of their increases were in the drop in cotton prices. Polo has also seen increases in EBIT margins but not in such a drastic change. From 2010 to 2011 they had a .7% increase on EBIT margin and then slowed down to a .2% growth from 2011 to 2012. This is because they were less affected by the change in cotton prices. American Eagle showed a decrease in EBIT margins in 2012 with a change of -3.4%. This loss should not be as great as reported because in 2012 they had a loss on impairment of assets which is not a recurring expense. EBIT Margin3 Yr Trend Polo14.7%15.4%15.6% American Eagle10.6%10.7%7.3% Gap10.7%12.8%13.4% EBITDA margin adds back the expenses taken out from depreciation and amortization, two non-cash expenses. Adding back those two expenses increases both companies EBIT margins by 4-5% for the three years analyzed. Ralph Laurenââ¬â¢s EBITDA margins seem to be declining in the three year trend which could raise questions about their assets and property plant and equipment expenses being raised. On the other hand you can see Gap showing strong 1-2% increases in both EBIT and EBITDA. Another key metric of financial profitability of a firm is earnings per share. Ralph Laurenââ¬â¢s earning per share is $7.09, as they are a more profitable firm within the industry and do not have a lot of debt on their balance sheet, with little leverage, is the reason there earnings per share are consistent and usually higher than the other two firms. Gapââ¬â¢s earning per share comes in at $2.05, they do not carry a lot of debt on their statements which means they donââ¬â¢t carry much leverage as well, giving them a decent earnings per share. They also repurchased stocks from the public which is another reason the earnings per share are moderately low. American Eagle had a earning per share of $0.96, this is due to the fact that they have more shares outstanding than their net income at the end of each year. They also carry no debt on their balance sheet so do not need to leverage themselves. EBITDA Margin3 Yr Trend Polo19.4%19.0%18.3% American Eagle15.2%15.4%11.8% Gap15.1%17.5%17.9% Return on Equity shows how the company is profitable compared to their equity. Ralph Lauren and Gap have shown substantial growth on this in the past three years. This is due to their growth in sales due to expanding sales into emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America, while maintaining level equity in their companies. Gap was also able to buy back some stock which made them able to increase their return on equity. American Eagle has stayed constant the past three years, this happened because they increased equity similar to their increase in net sales. Return on assets shows how the company is profitable compared to their assets. Gap increased their return on assets because they closed numerous shops around the world that were not performing to their standards and also leasing all of their stores. This decreased their assets while maintaining high sales which gave them a better return on assets. Polo was able to increase return on assets by 1% each year, they were able to do this by having sufficient sales growth. The return on assets is also improved because many retail companies entered the fall season with inventory levels in line with sales trends. This means that companies are not over producing product so they are able to sell their product at a maximum price, this maximizes their sales in which maximizes their return on assets. This has the same effect on return on equity. ROE3 Yr Trend Polo15.4%17.2%18.6% American Eagle10.7%10.4%10.7% Gap22.0%22.5%29.5% ROA 3 Yr Trend Polo10.3%11.4%12.6% American Eagle7.9%7.5%7.8% Gap12.8%13.8%17.0% While analyzing financial leverage Polo has the most debt to equity on its balance sheets ranging in 8-9%. Compared to American Eagle and Gap which has little to no debt ranging from 0-1%. Gap has most likely paid of its debts from previous years and now rent their property and stores eliminating the cost of long term debt. American Eagle is very similar with actually 0% debt in the three year trend. Polo is a moderately leveraged company which brings on the additional risk of carrying debt, although can boost earnings per share for profitability. Maximizing sales by keeping inventory levels in line with sales trends helped maximize these companies leverage. Companies that over produce products have to sell at discounts to get rid of inventories; this is not good because they lose out on profits and do not maximize their leverage. Also companies that do not produce enough products lose out on sales; this also does not maximize leverage. All three of these companies were able to keep their inventories in line with sales trends. Gap was able to decrease their debt to equity by buying back stock and maintaining a normal level of debt. Polo was able to decrease their debt to equity by buying back some stock and maintaining a level amount of debt. Debt to Equity 3 Yr Trend Polo9.0%9.0%8.0% American Eagle0.0%0.0%0.0% Gap1.0%0.0%0.0% All of these companies had similar ideas with their cash activities regarding buying back shares in 2011. American Eagle has the best position on cash, this is due to that they have no debt to pay back so all of their cash back into the company or into dividends. American Eagle bought back shares in 2011 to possibly help raise earnings per share. Gap also has a good cash flow; they also did the same thing and bought back shares in 2011. Polo was the worst out of the three but is still in good standing; they followed suit and also bought back shares in 2011. It is important for Polo to have a good cash flow because they still have long-term debts to pay back. Ending Cash Balance201020112012 Polo $ 95.7 $ (123.3) $ 228.0 American Eagle $ 2,317.9 $ (63.2) $ 511.5 Gap $ 620.0 $ (812.0) $ 307.0 We expect Gap to be the most profitable because they have high revenues, little to no debt, in good standing with creditors, and have good margins. This is better than Ralph Lauren because industry research shows that luxury brands will slow in growth while standard brands will continue to grow. Although Gap does not have the highest sales growth their market capitalization will help them succeed in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America. Also with the decrease in cotton prices Gap is now able to have larger profit margins while keeping a lower priced product with the same quality. This increase in profit margins Gap will be able to generate the most amount of cash flow. With the trends continuing with their margins combined with the growth of new markets their cash flow will increase substantially. Ralph Lauren has been noted so have some corporate social responsibility problems in Indonesia where they have broken up unions that have tried to improve working conditions. This issue as well as others should be considered because more and more people now a day are taking into consideration the companies CSR before buying their product. Gap Inc. sets a high standard for their manufactures to up hold health and safety standards. They admit that some places still do not follow these regulations but Gap puts in a lot of resources into fixing them or even terminating the business with them. This is good because they are socially responsible and are willing to terminate business to stay responsible. Most companies try to stay socially responsible by implementing certain regulations for working conditions in third world countries so they do not bad mouth their own firm. The International Labor Organization and United Nations try to keep them in check in order to protect people and the en vironment. The information that we would like to request from senior management at each firm would be the growth forecasts and document containing information about international expansion. It seems apparent that international markets are next big opportunity for the retail sector to increase revenues and income for most firms in this sector. This would help us invest in the company that will grow larger in the years to come as well as forecast numbers for potential growth which would help with our decision making process.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
The Green Revolution Had Many Causes and Consequences from...
The Green Revolution had many causes and consequences from 1945 to the present. One cause of the Green Revolution would be the growth of mechanization and population. Another cause would be poor land conditions and the high rate of famine. Consequences of the Green Revolution would be competition, reduced genetic diversity, water shortages, and changes in lifestyle. The growth of industrialization and of the population were one cause of the Green Revolution. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2005, wheat yields in Mexico increased about 3,500 yields per hectare of wheat, and about 2,400 yields in India, from the year 1950 to 2010. During these years, mechanization continued and made it easier toâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦They competed especially with Punjab, and left it filled with discontent and violence. Around 1879, a newsletter published that the Green Revolution created limited womenââ¬â¢s wage-earning opportunities through mechaniza tion, thus causing competition for women. (Doc. 5, Doc. 7, Doc.8) Dr. Vandana Shiva stated that the Green Revolution had lead to reduced genetic diversity. The Guatemalan National Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Peasants said that the diversity of the native seeds was the heritage of the indigenous people at the service of all humanity, but the revolution sterilized and contaminated the seeds. They were upset to see the loss of their seeds. (Doc. 8, Doc. 10) Dr. Vandana Shiva also stated that the Green Revolution also caused water shortages. There was times of severe drought and the revolution only caused conflicts over diminishing water sources. Intensive irrigation led to large-scale storage systems, centralizing control over water supplies and leading to local and interstate water conflicts. (Doc. 10) One of the social consequences of the Green Revolution was changes in lifestyle. The Human Development Report, issued by the government of the State of Punjab, India in 2004, s tates that one important social consequence of the Green Revolution was the disappearance of caste rigidities and the emergence of the middle and rich peasants as the dominant peasantry in the state. The traditional ââ¬Å"extended familyâ⬠was gradually replaced withShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words à |à 656 PagesSoviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the surge of globalization from the mid-1990s) and afterward (9/11, or the global recession of 2008) when one could quite plausibly argue that a new era had begun. A compelling case can be made for viewing the decades of the global scramble for colonies after 1870 as a predictable culmination of the long nineteenth century, which was ushered in by the industrial and political revolutions of the late 1700s. But at the same time, without serious attention Read MoreMarketing Management130471 Words à |à 522 PagesExercises 7. References 1. INTRODUCTION: The apex body in United States of America for the Marketing functions, American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as ââ¬Å"Marketing consists of those activities involved in the flow of goods and services from the point of production to the point of consumption. The AMA has since amended its definition to read as: ââ¬Å"Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managingRead MoreArticle: Performance Appraisal and Performance Management35812 Words à |à 144 Pages(IOSRJBM) ISSN: 2278-487X Volume 3, Issue 5 (Sep,-Oct. 2012), PP 01-06 www.iosrjournals.org From Performance Appraisal to Performance Management 1 Ms. Leena Toppo, 2Dr. (Mrs.) Twinkle Prusty 1,2 (Faculty of Commerce, Banaras Hindu University, INDIA) ABSTRACT: Performance appraisal and performance management were one of the emerging issues since last decade. Many organizations have shifted from employeeââ¬â¢s performance appraisal system to employeeââ¬â¢s performance management system. This paperRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words à |à 922 PagesWhilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership. Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides
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