Social Identity Theory Essay Example for Free

Social Identity Theory Essay Although there are some members of the IMML group that are as foreign to us as the BBAs, we feel more comfortable working with IMMLs because they have the same behavioural characteristics as us, as well as sharing common goals. Tajfel suggests that a reason for this is the need to treat the teams values as our own. Examples of this include: the aim of finding a placement or business school in our respective countries, with a well respected degree in a relatively unique course from a renowned university. Concerns about placements cross language boundaries, and unites all IMMLs. A group thinks and behaves in characteristically design team ways3. This supports the social identity theory of when IMML first attended the Organizational Behaviour lecture of semester 2 with Kate McArdle. Throughout the past 2 years it has become acceptable to enter the management classes late, strolling slowly to the seat and even talking or waving to friends while the class has already started. However, when Kate McArdle started teaching the course this norm was not acceptable to her. By trying to change the group norm (apologising if late), IMML had temporarily modified their behaviour: the number of students being late was reduced, and if they were late they apologised out of courtesy to the entire class. However, when Foster Fei started teaching the class in Week 5, IMML reverted back to their initial behaviour. We can thus say that in this case it is difficult, almost impossible, for the minority to impose a change on a majority, especially if that norm has had time to evolve for 2 years. If a group majority were to accept the new group norm, they must all conform to the new norm. In summary we can say that because the majority of the IMML course was not convinced of the necessity of being on time, Kate McArdle only changed the group norm temporarily. * FIMML. GIMML. SPIMML. According to Tajfel in order to evaluate their own opinion and abilities, individuals not only compare themselves to other individuals with whom they interact, but also compare their own group with similar and distinct, out groups. 4 After the exam results were released, one characteristic of the members in FIMML was that they then tried to compare their results with others in their small seminar group, and secondly in a more general way against the other language groups. This comparison produced concrete (if biased i. e. ask the people you know will have the results to back up your stereotypes and our assertions of other groups) evidence to reinforce the stereotypes of the other groups and emphasizes our opinion of our group being superior. This minimises the perceived difference in the in-group (seminar B) and maximises the difference from the out-group (IMML as a whole) Cross theory example One student, Harry*, who joined group B at its formation was fluent in French. At the start of the year he spoke often in class, offered answers almost constantly and talked very quickly. This was not very well received by the group at first. The student realised this and decided to answer only when no one else did. According to Tajfel: this was so that others could have a chance. Harry sacrificed his own interests for the good of the group as a whole. This shows how Harry moved from thinking individually (personal identity), doing what benefited him, to feeling and thinking as a representative of a group. This also complies with Aschs theory about how groups influence individual attitudes and behaviour. Observing norms is of such benefit to us that we are prepared to suppress any personal desires and are thus willing to limit our individual freedom and abide by them5. Harry therefore supports both the theory of Tajfel as well as Aschs. As a second example of this we refer to an IMML Spanish student, Steve*, who came into the IMML French group in the second year. The French group felt that the new student was violating pivotal norms of our group. Such norms were: speaking a lot during the classes; criticising teachers; and overtly expressing his opinions without taking others opinions into consideration. His norms could either derive from the norms he had learned in his first year in the Spanish group, or due to his individual differences that he has gained through his culture, since his French nationality is exceptional to that of the group. After being in the French IMML group for a few weeks, there was tension between the new student and his language group, whereas the seminar group B didnt seem affected by the new presence because the new student was not in the same group. This example disproves Aschs theory. The new student didnt conform to the group pressure put upon him. In our opinion, his judgement and actions were not affected, even when the group vocalised their general disagreement to him being there. Neither did the group break up as a result of this. * Small (formal informal) Groups In this section of the essay we will use the example of Steve again because he is relevant for this part as well. However, we will do this in the context of small informal or formal groups looking at it from a whole different angle. As long as individuals see themselves as more important than the group, then the latter cannot function effectively. 6 Steve joining the French group lowered our self-awareness and heightened our group awareness. The group has had no influence over his behaviour and showed animosity to him by for example sighing or laughing when he talks. This is the case even now, 6 months after his coming into FIMML. He did not adapt to the norm of the group. Perhaps this insinuates that Steve does not see IMML as one of the groups that form his social identity. In this way he would not be influenced by the group, conform to it or attempt to convert the group to his way of thinking as it bears little or no importance on his self concept, and furthermore his social identity. In not recognising IMML as a key part of this social identity he does not feel that it is necessary to conform to the behaviour. Steves action supports Tajfels theory as mentioned above. This could be due in part to our perception of his elitist attitude, where he feels superior to the rest, stopping the group from functioning. Group members even left his class. For us to conform to him, we feel that he would have to conform to us first. We could perhaps propose therefore that established groups do not conform to newcomers, but rather newcomers conform to previously established groups. When he joined seminar group A, he changed the group norms. He had an outspoken personality and his loud confident attitude contradicted the previously quiet oral class. At first this resulted in others leaving the group, but the remaining students still did not conform to him and so eventually he was forced to leave. As soon as he left, the other group members returned.

Prosperos Choice in The Tempest :: Tempest essays

Prospero's Choice in The Tempest In The Tempest, Prospero achieves his ultimate goals of exiting the island and regaining his kingdom without unnecessary killing, torture or deception. Both this choice, and his decision in the end to rescind his magic, allow him to morally reconcile with himself. Prospero's choice to refrain from murder sets his objectives above mere revenge. By using ingenuity and the spirit Ariel's help, he achieves the semblance of death without the reality thereof. He could have simply made the tempest so furious that it destroyed the ship, or subjected the offenders to lingering torture, but instead spends more time to separate the "survivors" into three groups to deal with them more effectively. Thus he avoids guilt and criticism for unnecessary death. The island magician also abstains from using his arts to force the evil men of the group into excruciating pain with possible death. We know he is capable of this - he has punished Caliban in such a way. However, no only does he refrain from torturing them, but also makes sure they are not uncomfortable! Alonso's group includes the pervasively cheerful Gonzalo, and is never kept away from food or water. Caliban knows the island, and helps Stephan and Trinculo survive. Ferdinand even fins the love of his life. Even though Prospero deceives the shipwrecked captives, it is never for his own personal enjoyment. Instead, he specifically aims to achieve his goals by putting pressure on Alonso and restricting Caliban's scheming. As if this were not enough, he further surrenders his powers and even begs the readers' help to assure his safety! It becomes obvious that Prospero has no desire to rule or lust for power to corrupt him, but only wishes a return to his previous status. Because he avoids death, torture and unnecessary deception, there is nothing to stain Prospero's long trek to return to civilization. He has given Ferdinand love, Alonso his son and recognition of his deeds, and Caliban a lesson in obedience. Thus, the long-suffering magician is able to reconcile morally with himself. PEER FEEDBACK Very precise and well-organized, although it doesn't address every aspect of the question.

Police Corruption Essay

Introduction Police corruption must be taken into account as a likely social cost of the legislative creation of ‘victimless’ crimes: this is a generally accepted conclusion of extensive academic and official investigations, which has had a significant impact on discussions of gambling control policy in the USA (Morin Commission 1976: 40-2). Such willingness to discuss corruption and its effects contrasts with the official reluctance to do so and the defensive reaction which allegations of corruption provoke in the UK (Doig 1984). Corruption and allegations of corruption have occurred regularly in British police history, and gambling has often been involved. In the 1820s and 1830s, lotteries and gaming were the sources (Miller 1977: 126-48). In 1877, a betting scandal was at the heart of the first major corruption scandal to confront the reorganized ‘New Police’ (Clarkson and Richardson 1889: 261). There is little dispute that, until 1960, police-bookmaker relations of varying degrees of impropriety were normal practice and that their existence was no secret in working-class communities. According to Harry Daley, who served in the Metropolitan Police from the 1920s to the 1940s: Collection was all too easy. The bookmaker was usually down an alley or behind a pub. You approached slowly, gazing straight ahead with what you hoped looked like dignified indifference, and wiped up the half crown from the ledge on which he had placed it before getting out of the way for you to pass. Brewers’ draymen, window cleaners, painters and decorators, gossiping women, all suspended their activities for a moment or two to watch the familiar ceremony . . . I wish they could have sent the money to me in a plain envelope, as I knew they did to my Superintendent . . . ( 1986: 94-5). Stage-managed arrests were part of the arrangement, as a witness from ‘the other side’, Arthur Harding, explained: It was what they called ‘taking a turn’. In some divisions it was three times a year, to show the authorities at Scotland Yard when they made up their statistics that the police were doing their job. In every division the police had two men whose job it was to take the bookmakers in. They didn’t have to hide in a cart or anything like that, they’d come round quite polite and say, ‘Albert, stick a man up tomorrow, we’re having a raid’ (Samuel 1981: 180). 15 Corrupt police-bookmaker dealings were a matter of substantial concern during the period of this study not only for the 1923 Select Committee, but also for two Royal Commissions on aspects of policing. It will be argued that this issue had a substantial influence on policy discussions. However, it was seldom discussed frankly: for it to be an acceptable topic of public debate, it had to be presented in the restrictive frame of reference which is generally applied to corruption in British public life. This is constructed around an official rhetoric of ‘rotten apples’ and ‘black sheep’ which generates superficial explanations, minimizes the scale of the problem, and stresses that the authorities are vigilant and committed to the eradication of corruption (Doig 1984: 382-6). When publicity meant that police corruption could not be publicly ignored, the damage which it caused could be contained by dealing with it within this frame of reference. It was rarely in anyone’s interest to challenge this approach. The police and the Home Office were obviously content not to do so. Despite offers of immunity from prosecution, the bookmakers thought that no good would come from being candid about their relations with the police. Finally, it was an awkward issue for anti-gamblers to raise: while they became more forthright in later years, this remained an issue which had to be broached very carefully if anything other than official defensiveness was to be expected in response. Therefore, it would be naà ¯ve to expect an accurate picture of police corruption to emerge from the official reports and papers to which access is possible. The present intention is not to attempt to produce such a picture: rather, it is necessary to examine critically the way in which police corruption was discussed in the official hearings and reports of the period in order to found the argument that corruption was a matter of considerable concern to those involved in the reconsideration of gambling control policy, and that it was a vital, even if unarticulated, factor in the discussions of police-community relations which will be examined in Sections v and vii. Such sources are useful for this purpose so long as one is ‘prepared to work â€Å"against the grain of the material†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and to be ‘continuously aware of how categories and opinions are distorted by the investigative procedure’ (Harrison 1982: 308, quoting Samuel). The qualification ‘officially’ is vital here: the point which this counter-position obscures is that when police officers and others talked about harm to the ‘moral character’ of the force, a reference (which did not have to be made explicit) was being made to the threat and the effects of police corruption. Up to this point, the term ‘police corruption’ has been used loosely: before going further, it is important to note the distinction between two broad categories of police deviance. The tendency of many commentators to treat police corruption simply in terms of bribery as a financial transaction between two individuals (or groups of individuals) can imply succumbing to the official rhetoric about corruption (Shearing 1981: 4). Shearing differentiates between ‘corruption’, defined as activity producing personal, normally financial, gain for a police officer, and ‘organizational police deviance’, defined as activity ‘designed to further organizational objectives rather than to promote financial gain’ (1981: 2). Police culture has habitually distinguished between corruption in relation to serious crimes and in relation to minor ‘regulatory’ offences (Devereux 1949: 81). In the latter case, corruption is seen not as indicative of a deeper venality, but as an acceptable method of negotiating a tolerable everyday relationship with the public. The important, more general point shown here is that law enforcement is only one of several, possibly competing police objectives. As the Morin Commission pointed out, police discretion ‘is broad enough to permit the establishing of policies aimed at achieving goals other than that presumed to be intended by statute–total prohibition’ (1976: 38). These include improvement of the police’s image and public order maintenance. Indeed, the latter is more fundamental to policing than law enforcement: Crime fighting has never been, is not, and could not be the prime activity of the police . . . The core mandate of the police, historically and in terms of concrete demands placed upon the police is the more diffuse one of order maintenance (Reiner 1985: 171-2).   THE NATURE OF POLICE CORRUPTION An Example of Chicago Police Corruption Case Lazarus Averbuch lived on the near West Side, teeming with poor Russian Jews by day, but at night a saturnalia of vice and crime. Cocaine addicts with miserable blank stares shuffled in and out of Adolph Brendecke’s drugstone on Sangamon Street for their daily fix, issued discreetly under the counter for 25 cents a bag. Between Morgan and Green Streets Mike â€Å"de Pike† Heitler ran a white slave racket under the watchful eyes of Inspector Edward McCann, a bull-necked, rough-hewn policeman whose greatest joy was playing cribbage in the back room of the Des Plaines Street Station. [1]A small gold cross was affixed to the front of his vest, for McCann was a man of God who tried to instill in his nine children the Christian virtues. â€Å"I’d say I was glad to be suspended and have a chance to stay at home and play with the kids,† he said in reply to State’s Attorney John Wayman, whose unrelenting crusade uncovered the truth about McCann. For months McCann exacted tribute from the highest gambler bosses to the lowliest streetwalker. Protection money was delivered in a leather satchel in accordance with instructions given to Louis and Julius Frank, two of Hitler’s men. The price of doing business on the West Side in 1909 rose to $550 a month, a sum that the criminal panders finally refused to pay. With his money McCann purchased a stable of prized race horses. â€Å"If I had been grafting I wouldn’t have driven so many people out of business,† he said, failing to add that only the rebellious elements who refused to pay up were banished from the district. McCann was indicted by a grand jury, convicted, and sent to the Joliet Penitentiary on September 24, 1909. It was one of the hardest-fought cases in the court system up to that time. Wayman based his case on the testimony of West Side underworld figures, which raised some doubts about McCann’s guilt or innocence. After the prison doors slammed shut the friends of the inspector circulated a petition urging the governor to grant executive clemency. Thirty thousand people, including church leaders, settlement workers, businessmen, and former President Theodore Roosevelt, who had served for a time as police commissioner of New York, affixed their signatures to the document. Colonel Roosevelt cited McCann’s sterling record before he was sent to the West Side as a reason for an official pardon. Indeed, the scorecard, at least on the surface, showed more hits than misses. Since taking over as inspector of the West Side District in March 1908, McCann was credited with abolishing dozens of immoral houses, the return of 200 errant girls to their parents, curtailment of the cocaine traffic, enforcement of the 1:00 AM closing, and the regulation of concert halls and the five-cent theaters that screened lewd and suggestive movies. Social worker at Hull House lauded McCann for his efforts, and municipal judges, juvenile officers, and church officials marveled at the clean-up of the Des Plaines District. â€Å"Don’t give me all the credit for the work,† McCann protested. â€Å"It’s the men. They know I’m behind them and they do the work. I’m behind them because I know the right men are behind me. I will say this: the day of the man with the pull has passed at this station. I’m not allowing poor ignorant foreigners to be robbed by grafters who say they have a pull.† McCann, like so many other powerful police officials, was able to pick and choose his partners in the vice club. When the indictments were handed down and the inspector went off to jail, there were hundreds of city officials and church reformers who chose not to believe that such a fine man could be guilty as charged. Thus, with an eye toward saving McCann’s police pension, Governor Charles Deneen commuted the sentence just 30 days before his retirement benefits were scheduled to expire (Duis, 1978). The Republican state’s attorney had sent to prison a man of his own party, an uncommon event in those partisan days. He was roundly criticized from all quarters, while McCann was perceived to be a hero who had been railroaded by an ambitious politician. It was a disturbing setback for the reformers, who counted on the elected officials to uphold the will of the court system and punish wrong-doers. With greater power vested in the district inspectors, two predictable forms of police corruption surfaced: arrangements and events. The illicit money and gifts that McCann received over a period of months was an ongoing arrangement. The short-term, single acts of corruption, such as the one-time payoff given to 15 officers assigned to Comiskey Park on Labor Day, 1911, can be thought of as an event. Eyewitnesses charged the police with accepting $50 bribes from a gang of sidewalk bookies betting on the Gotch-Hackenschmidt wrestling match inside the ballpark. In both instances, external factors stimulated the detection and punishment since the police, either through their own inertia or because of direct influence from the chief, seemed unwilling to initiate an internal investigation. These two unrelated incidents of police malfeasance suggest that the department could not satisfactorily manage its own affairs unless the proper internal controls were in place. In direct contrast to the police, the Chicago Fire Department remained relatively free of scandal from the time the City Council took the budgetary responsibility away from the Police Commission in 1874 until 1903, when a Civil Service probe revealed some illegal hiring practices. From 1879 until his retirement in 1901, the Fire Department was run by Chief Denis Swenie, a blunt, hard-working administrator who feared no political reprisals. The firefighters were, in the words of Mayor Harrison, â€Å"Denny’s boys.† One reason Swenie was able to maintain the department on a stable, efficient basis was his ambitious plan to create a unit within the rank-and-file to guard against corruption. In 1880 the Department of Inspection was organized and Chicago profited from an honest, capable Fire Department. Not until 1960 and the reform superintendency of Orlando W. Wilson was such a mechanism put in place in the Police Department. Without these necessary controls the police of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were essentially reactive in their response to a public outcry. THE POLICE AND ROTTEN APPLES In its investigation of police corruption in New York City in the early 1970s, the Knapp Commission 5 encountered departmental resistance to recognizing the widespread nature of corruption throughout the department, although it was especially flagrant in the gambling and narcotics units. This resistance was expressed in a departmental attitude that the Commission designated as the â€Å"rotten apple† theory of corruption (Knapp Commission, 1972: 6). This theory amounted to an unofficial department doctrine as to how corruption, when exposed, is to be handled. The theory asserts that corruption is a problem of individual misconduct and not something that should reflect on the department as a whole. A police officer involved in corruption is â€Å"a rotten apple in an otherwise clean barrel† (Knapp Commission, 1972: 6). The Commission (Knapp Commission, 1972: 6-7) further argued that the rotten apple theory served two purposes: (1) Department morale required that there be no official recognition of corruption and (2) the department’s image and effectiveness required this official denial. In 1993, the Mollen Commission, which again uncovered corruption in the New York City Police Department 20 years after the Knapp inquiry, encountered this same reluctance by police officials to view corruption in a systemic way. Instead, when corruption surfaced in spite of the â€Å"blue wall of silence,† it was largely viewed in terms of â€Å"rogue officers† and â€Å"pockets† of corruption, rather than as behavior that might be more deeply embedded in police culture. This was clearly the interpretation of events that Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly favored (James, 1993). The police view of crime and disorder in general can be characterized by this â€Å"rotten apple† theory of human nature. In this view crime is a function of evil individuals making bad choices; such choices are apparently made in relative isolation from external factors such as past experience, culture, and society. Crime, like police corruption, is personified, and the solution becomes linked to identifying the individual troublemakers–the â€Å"rotten apples.† This rotten apple view is not unique to the police world view; quite the contrary, it is widely shared in our society. When Rodney King was severely beaten by members of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991 after he led them on an extended car chase, 6 the question again arose: Was this brutality due to the aggressive tendencies of a handful of officers, or was it more deeply ingrained in the Los Angeles Police Department? Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates apparently subscribed to the â€Å"rotten apple† view, attributing the problems to just a few officers, 300 at most, in a force that had over 8,000 members (Reinhold, 1991). An independent commission that inquired into the King incident, as well as brutality and racism in the department, reported four months later that there were a â€Å"significant number† of officers who repeatedly used excessive force. However, rather than singling out officers or even the chief for blame, the commission viewed the problem as a â€Å"management and leadership failure.† It concluded that there was â€Å"an organizational culture that emphasizes crime control over crime prevention and that isolates the police from the communities and the people they serve† (Reinhold, 1991). There was also evidence that members of this â€Å"problem group† of officers were seldom punished for using excessive force and, in fact, often received glowing evaluations for their performance. Although the Los Angeles commission, like the Knapp Commission before it, provided evidence for a more systemic view of the problem, it is the rotten apple view that typically prevails. While polls showed that most of the U.S. public (whites and blacks) believed the four Los Angeles police officers were guilty (Pope and Ross, 1992), it is not likely that they would have also viewed the King beating as a wider institutional problem of the police. At best, the misconduct of the officers might be attributed to the leadership of the police chief. In fact, Chief Gates was replaced the following year. John A. Gardiner (1977: 68) observed a similar phenomenon in his study of gambling and corruption in Wincanton, where corruption seemed to be an ongoing problem. Periodic efforts to solve the problem, however, always seemed to follow a similar policy of â€Å"throwing the rascals out.† This, of course, is another version of the rotten apple theory in which criminality is viewed as an individual trait, rather than as something that is rooted in wider social forces. The rotten apple theory is another way in which our conventional wisdom conceals or minimizes the harm of white-collar crime Even though criminality is acknowledged, whether it be corruption, police brutality, or some other wrongdoing, the solution is deceptively simple: Get rid of the â€Å"rotten apples† or the â€Å"rascals.† By emphasizing the individual misconduct in white-collar crime, this view obscures the links such behavior may have to its organizational and social context, wider cultural patterns, and ongoing institutionalized practices. Conclusion Certainly, the studies do not establish that the police are permitted to be more corrupt, but the results of this study are consistent with this argument. They hold the view that the police are fundamentally a control force and when political agreement and super-subordinate social relations are endangered, police violence increases devoid of the state overruling on behalf of those victimized. Police violence and other crimes cannot then be understood exclusively in conditions of the micro processes linked to work experiences, work-related subcultures, and the lack of avoidance. There is also a need to position these factors into a traditionally informed macro analysis since this focuses our attention on the necessary role the police play in maintaining social structure, and how in response, they are allowed to go beyond the restrictions. Reference: Clarkson C. T., and Richardson J. H. (1889), Police! (London: Field & Tuer). Daley H. (1986), This Small Cloud (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson). Devereux E. C. (1949), â€Å"‘Gambling and the Social Structure'†, Ph.D. thesis (Harvard Univ.). Doig A. (1984), Corruption and Misconduct in Contemporary British Politics (Harmondsworth: Penguin). Harrison B. (1982), Peaceable Kingdom (Oxford: Clarendon Press). James George. (1993). â€Å"Kelly Suggests Hearings’ Goal Is a Police-Monitoring Agency.† New York Times (Sept. 30). Knapp Commission. (1972). the Knapp Commission Report on Police Corruption. New York: George Braziller. Miller W. R. (1977), â€Å"‘Never on Sunday: Moralistic Reformers and the Police in London and New York City, 1830-1870†²Ã¢â‚¬ , in D. H. Bayley (ed.), Police and Society (London: Sage), 126-48. Morin Commission (1976), Gambling in America: Final Report of the Commission on the Review of the National Policy toward Gambling (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office). Perry Duis, 1978. â€Å"The World’s Greatest Fireman†, Chicago Magazine 4 (May). Pope Carl E. and Lee E. Ross. (1992). â€Å"Race, Crime and Justice: The Aftermath of Rodney King.† The Criminologist 17 (Nov.-Dec.): 1, 7-10. Reinhold Robert. (q991). â€Å"Violence and Racism Are Routine in Los Angeles Police, Study Says.† New York Times (July 10) Samuel R. (1981), East End Underworld: Chapters in the Life of Arthur Harding (London: RKP). Shearing C. D. (1981), ‘Introduction’ (Shearing 1981b: 1-8). Gardiner John A. (1977). â€Å"Wincanton: The Politics of Corruption.† In Jack Douglas and John Johnson, eds., Official Deviance, 50-69. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott. [1] Honest McCann or foxy McCann? The Tribune could not decide; See issue of August 1, 1909.

Costco mini case study Essay

1. What is Costco’s business model? Is the company’s business model appealing? Why or why not? Generating high sales volume and rapid inventory turnover by offering fee-paying members low prices on nationally branded and private-label products. Yes, it is appealing because the fees paid by members allowed for sufficient supplemental revenues while the turnover rates allowed Costco to receive cash for inventory before it had to pay many of its merchandise vendors. 2. What are the chief elements of Costco’s strategy? How good is the strategy? Pricing, product selection, treasure hunt merchandising, low cost emphasis, and growth are the chief elements of Costco’s strategy. It is a very good strategy because they offer the lowest prices no matter what. 3. Do you think Jim Sinegal has been an effective CEO? What grades would you give him in leading the process of crafting and executing Costco’s strategy? What support can you offer for these grades? Refer to Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2 in developing your answers. Yes, I do think Jim Sinegal has been an effective CEO. I would give him an A in crafting and executing Costco’s strategy because he has been excellent in developing a strategic vision of a no-frills and low-cost store, mission, and core values, along with setting objectives of fast inventory turnover and offering the lowest prices at Costco. He has also done a good job of crafting the strategy by finding out what works best while in charge of his first store, Price Club. He executes and monitors the strategy to achieve the objectives and vision by visiting his own stores and making sure that operations are running in the most smooth and cost efficient way possible for both businesses and individual members. 4. What core values or business principles has Jim Sinegal stressed at Costco? Sinegal’s five core values include: Obey the law, take care of our members, take care of our employees, respect our suppliers, and reward our shareholders. 5. What is competition like in the North American wholesale club industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest and why? Use the information in Figures 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 (and the related discussions in Chapter 3) to do a complete five-forces analysis of competition in the North American wholesale club industry. Competition in the North American wholesale club industry is growing 15-20 percent faster than retailing as a whole. The three main competitors are Costco, Sam’s, and BJs Wholesale. Firms in other industries  offering substitute products is the strongest of the five competitive forces because companies like Wal-Mart or internet retailers are not in the retail wholesale industry but put increased pressure on Costco by selling many of the same types of merchandise at very low prices as well. All wholesale clubs (Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale) offer low prices to attract members and provide them with considerable cost savings enough cover or exceed membership fees. It is easy for a consumer to switch their membership from wholesaler to wholesaler, thus increasing rivalry, which is a strong force in this industry. The window to enter the warehouse club industry is relatively small, unless an outsider decided to acquire BJ’s Wholesale Club, intending to expand into places where there are no BJ’s stores. The barriers for a newcomer are high; therefor the threat of new entrants is weak. While a big percentage of manufacturers for these retailers or discounters are large, they aren’t always in a strong bargaining position that could allow them to dictate the terms or conditions by which they would supply their products to their respective warehouse clubs, thus making bargaining power of the suppliers weak. The bargaining power of the buyer is also weak because of the small influence that an individual buyer has in relation to the wholesaler’s total sales. The threat of substitutes is very high in this industry. There are many places that one could go to purchase the same item. The buyer is also often times more familiar with a substitute retailer. 6. How well is Costco performing from a financial perspective? They are doing very well from a financial perspective. Some of the numbers do not look good to the traditional investor, but that is because Costco is not a traditional company. The current ratio shows that Costco can meet all current liabilities, while liquidity is also high (which means the company can quickly convert assets into cash). Profit is also constantly increased by not having to store inventory. 7. Based on the data in case Exhibits 1, 5, and 6, is Costco’s financial performance superior to that at Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale? Costco is turning in much higher numbers for total revenue than BJ’s and higher sales than Sam’s. Costco holds 57 percent of the market share while BJ’s has 8 and Sam’s has 35 percent. 8. How well is Costco performing from a strategic perspective? Does Costco enjoy a competitive advantage over Sam’s Club? Over BJ’s Wholesale? If so, what is the nature of its competitive advantage? Does Costco have a winning strategy? Why or why not? They are performing very well from a strategic perspective. No, Costco does not enjoy a clear competitive advantage over Sam’s. It does however enjoy a competitive advantage over BJ’s. the nature of this competitive advantage includes the fact that BJ’s has too many products, which makes rapid turnover harder to achieve. I think that Costco has a winning strategy because they are selective with the products they choose to sell, they treat their workers well (which in turn creates higher productivity), and they are able to sell a big volume of products, keeping prices down, along with expenses and overhead costs. 9. Are Costco’s prices too low? Why or why not?  Many would argue that their prices are too low, with only 14% markup. I do not believe that they are. If the prices weren’t so drastically low, the company would not attract so many interested buyers. These prices are what set the company apart from many other competitors, and are therefor necessary for the company’s success. 10. What do you think of Costco’s compensation practices? Does it surprise you that Costco employees apparently are rather well-compensated? Better compensated than employees at Sam’s Club or BJ’s? I think that Costco’s compensation practices are once again, smart. When employees are happy, they are productive. When they are productive, they get more done. When they get more done, it eliminates the need for excess employees to do what could be done by productive employees in the workplace. It would slightly surprise me that they are so well compensated (better compensated than Sam’s Club of BJ’s) before reading the entirety of this case because of the â€Å"no-frills† policy that Costco has obviously adopted, but it also makes sense after reading this case study that the employees are so well cared for. It saves and earns Costco excess money in the long run through rising productivity and encouraging positive word-of-mouth. 11. What recommendations would you make to Costco top executives regarding how best to sustain the company’s growth and improve its financial performance? I would tell Costco’s top executives to try and acquire BJ’s wholesale, thus acquiring their 8 percent market share. I would also encourage the implementation of self-checkout in stores for ease and convenience of the  individual consumer. Other than that, I think that Costco has a strong business strategy and is implementing strategies currently to sustain the company’s growth and improve financial performance.

Browns Chemistry The Central Science,15.8 Exercise 1

Brown's Chemistry The Central Science,15.8 Exercise 1 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips This posts contains aTeaching Explanation. You can buyChemistry: The Central Sciencehere. Why You Should Trust Me:I’m Dr. Fred Zhang, and I have a bachelor’s degree in math from Harvard. I’ve racked up hundreds and hundreds of hours of experienceworking withstudents from 5thgradethroughgraduate school, and I’m passionate about teaching. I’ve read the whole chapter of the text beforehand and spent a good amount of time thinking about what the best explanation is and what sort of solutions I would have wanted to see in the problem sets I assigned myself when I taught. Exercise: 15.8 Practice Exercise 1 Question: †¦ When 9.2g of frozen $N_2O_4$ is added to a .50L reaction vessel †¦ [What is the value of $K_c$] Part 1: Approaching the Problem The question is asking for an equilibrium constant ($K_c$). We want to know$K_c$. Generally, we can know the equilibrium constant ONLY IF we can figure out the equilibrium concentrations of the species (nitrous oxide and dinitrogen tetraoxide): $$K_c = [NO_2]^2/[N_2O_4]$$ Thus, the entire game to figuring out the equilibrium constant here is to figure out the equilibrium concentrations. We are already given that in equilibrium, the concentration of $[N_2O_4]$=.057 molar. So we have half the puzzle: $$K_c = [NO_2]^2/.057$$ The other half of the puzzle if figuring out the equilibrium concentration $[NO_2]$. Sadly, the question doesn’tjust give us this. But we have a piece of information nearly as good, which is the starting (initial) amount of$[N_2O_4]$. Because we know the reaction equation, thekey now is to go from initial amount of$[N_2O_4]$ to the final (equilibrium) concentration $[NO_2]$. Part 2: Converting Grams to Molar We are given that the reaction started out with 9.2g of $N_2O_4$ in a 0.50L reaction vessel. For equilibrium calculations, we generally want to know concentrations of types molecules, instead of actual mass or volume. We apply stoichiometry here and convert grams per liter to molarity using molar mass. We use the periodic table to look up the molar mass of$N_2O_4$ is 92.01 grams per mole. We get that: $$(9.2g N_2O_4)/(0.50L) *(1 mol)/(92.01 g N_2O_4) = (0.100mol)/L = 0.200 molar$$ Thus the initial concentration of$N_2O_4$is 0.200 molar, and written as [$N_2O_4$]=.200 Part 3: Running the Reaction Now that we know the starting concentration, we want to get to final concentrations. The algebraic equation that links the two is the equation of reaction: $$N_2O_4 (g) ↔ 2 NO_2 (g)$$ This means that for every molecule of$N_2O_4$ we get two molecules of $NO_2$. As the reaction goes forward, when$N_2O_4$ decreases by $x$ molar,$NO_2$ increases by $2x$ molar. The concentration table is then: $N_2O_4 (g)$ $2 NO_2 (g)$ Initial Concentration (M) 0.200 0 Change in Concentration (M) -x +2x Equilibrium Concentration (M) 0.200-x 2x Part 4: Calculating the Equilibrium We are given that the equilibrium concentration of[$N_2O_4$]=.057 molar. The concentration table above gives the equilibrium concentration of[$N_2O_4$]=0.200-x, so we just equate the two and solve for x. 0.200-x = 0.057 x = .143 Now that we know x, 2x = .268 Or that in equilibrium, $[NO_2]=.268$ To calculate the equilibrium constant Kc, we plug in the information above: $$K_c = [NO_2]^2/[N_2O_4]=.268^2/.057= 1.43$$ Therefore, the right answer is d) 1.4 Video Solution Get full textbook solutions for just $5/month. PrepScholar Solutions has step-by-step solutions that teach you critical concepts and help you ace your tests. With 1000+ top texts for math, science, physics, engineering, economics, and more, we cover all popular courses in the country, including Stewart's Calculus. Try a 7-day free trial to check it out.

Thomas Jefferson Quotations

Thomas Jefferson Quotations Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was very important as one of the founding fathers of the United States. He wrote the Declaration of Independence. As president, his greatest achievement was the Louisiana Purchase which more than doubled the size of the US. He created numerous writings including his famous letters to political rival John Adams in his later years. Following are some quotes that shed light on Jeffersons beliefs. Thomas Jefferson Quotes But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have been called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived have forced me to take a part in resisting them, and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passions. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property. A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference. I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health, and the liberties of man. I know that the acquisition of Louisiana has been disapproved by some ... that the enlargement of our territory would endanger its union... The larger our association the less will it be shaken by local passions; and in any view is it not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by our own brethren and children than by strangers of another family? A little rebellion now and then is a good thing... The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. Its soul, its climate, its equality, liberty, laws, people, and manners. My god! how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!

Masks Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Masks - Term Paper Example This paper will get to review some of the reasons why people wear masks. Also, if it is something they want to do or want to stop doing. There are different individuals in the world. Some have been identified as the best while others not so much. There is the illusion that having friends is better than being alone. This may not be entirely true. When people find people to be around, they claim an undying friendship for each other. Very few people can identify themselves as having true or real friends. This is true wherever research may be carried out about this topic. When faced with problems, it is very easy to identify the real friends from the fake friends. Helping someone that may be headed in the wrong direction could make them feel wanted and cared for (Nutt, King, Saulsbury & Blakemore, p. 25). Having a friend with problems also comes with the territory. A friend may have problems depending on the way they are used to living. Drugs could be a very big problem if not taken care of at the earliest stage. The question many people may ask them is why they do it. The may not have a clear, concise answer for this. They might claim the feeling that comes with such way of living is comforting. What is the use of ‘good feelings’ whenever the use these drugs while bring health complications to one’s life? It is not worth the risk. One should rather be happy and live longer (Nutt, King, Saulsbury & Blakemore, p. 32). These are the types of masks that are present in society today. This mask is acquired at a very tender age. Usually people grow up thinking that life will be all that they thought of. This, they later come to find out, is not the case. When things do not go their way, they resort to such habits. There are many people in life that do not get to see some of the best things that life has to offer. This is because they