What Is a Gold-Collar Worker? :: Workforce Work Papers

What Is a Gold-Collar Worker? A Higher Level of Knowledge Work. Kelley (1990) described an old distinction that divided the work force into blue-collar and white-collar workers. Blue-collar workers typically did manual labor in a factory for hourly pay, whereas white-collar workers did knowledge work in an office on salary. However, changes in the nature of work and the workplace have led to large growth in the numbers of a particular kind of knowledge worker—the gold-collar worker, whose most valuable assets are problem-solving abilities, creativity, talent, and intelligence; who performs nonrepetitive and complex work that is difficult to evaluate; and who prefers self-management. The gold-collar worker is, for example, the computer engineer as opposed to a lower-level knowledge worker such as an input operator. Kelley pointed out that even though the name is new, there have always been gold-collar workers like designers, researchers, analysts, engineers, and lawyers. Learning, Teams, and Strategic Thinking. Wood (2001) characterized gold-collar workers in information technology (IT) similarly by focusing on qualitative matters. Gold-collar IT workers learn continually from experience. They recognize the synergy of teams and can demonstrate leadership; they are strategic thinkers who see the big picture and can change strategic directions when necessary. They have a portable, flexible skill base relevant to a variety of work environments and maintain that skill base through their own personal development, with well-connected networks of contacts at the leading edge. Interdisciplinary Knowledge. Where business and science intersect, the basic focus of the gold-collar worker is interdisciplinary knowledge and experience (Bartlett 1998; Todaro 2001; Van Nierop and Bow 1997). This interdisciplinary focus combines scientific or other technical knowledge and skills with business literacy to result in a gold-collar worker with expertise across several areas. Gold-collar engineers, chemists, biologists, physicists, or geoscientists understand the relationship between their scientific discipline and business, have the management and financial knowledge needed for a business environment, and can "marry" science and entrepreneurship. Other Characterizations. Roe (2001) called the gold-collar worker "a highly skilled multidisciplinarian who combines the mind of the white-collar worker with the hands of the blue-collar employee" (p. 32); examples include aircraft systems maintenance technicians, network administrators, and advanced manufacturing technicians. A similar case would be online customer service representatives (CSRs), for whom managing customer relationships now involves not only oral communication but also text-based Internet chat and e-mail about tough questions not answered in frequently asked questions or canned e-mail responses (Dicksteen 2001).

The Progressive Era?s influence on the New Deal Essay example -- essay

The accomplishments taken place upon the onset of the many New Deal legislations owe much to the seeds implanted and unknowingly disseminated by the pre-WWI Progressive movement. Sparked by the new image as a world power, industrialization, and immigration at the dawn of the new century, a new found reform movement gripped the nation. With the new found image of the nation and world as a whole, the reforms advanced the position of the previously ignored people of the nation, as did its reincarnation and rebirth apparent in the New Deal. Although the first signs of this pristine Progressive movement shone since the mid-1800s, no one had cleared the way for its momentous effect upon the nation in the same degree as Theodore Roosevelt. Although at times hot-tempered and brash, his charismatic attitude pushed forward many of the original progressive legislations. For example, his Sherman Anti-Trust Act proposed the life of a trust should be based on its history and actions, since he believed â€Å"good† trusts existed along with â€Å"bad† ones. Next, the Elkins Act proposed railroads and shippers to offer rebates illegal. They also had to have fixed rates, and couldn’t change without notice. Also, the Hepburn Act gave ICC the power to set maximum railroad rates. Next, of course because of the impetus for reform provided by the many socialist writers, such as Upton Sinclair, was the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, protecting the health and safety of consumable products a nd establishing the Food and Drug Administration. He also wished to preserve the untainted countryside, and established the National Forest Service and also strengthened the Forest Bureau. He also passed the Newlands Act which helped to create subsidies for irrigation in 16 western states. The actions taken by Theodore Roosevelt proved to throw the Progressive movement into the mainstream of the nation, showing its true, ingenuous face. When Theodore Roosevelt’s successor, William Howard Taft, failed to continue Roosevelt’s ongoing charismatic progressivism, both were bested by the newcomer, Woodrow Wilson. Although not receiving a majority in the vote, he, nonetheless, knew the country still ached for the progressivism it jubilantly basked in for so many years, which he called his "New Freedom." Immediately, Wilson went to work on what ... ...r labor issues of all ages, all fronts were attacked with full pride and confidence. Abandoned or diverted projects in the Progressive movement included many other reform issues that were reinstated during the New Deal. During the New Deal, legislations passed greatly improved the stature of many people who suffered great injustice prior to the Depression and especially during. The Progressive movement, at one time led by Woodrow Wilson and his crusade â€Å"triple wall of privilege,† compares directly to Roosevelt and his â€Å"three R’s,† both crusading for justice against the ignorance and deception taking place against the ordinary man. These everlasting accomplishments to improve the nation were all completed by the determination and perseverance of the reform groups of the Progressive era, which lay the groundwork for the New Deal, and Franklin Roosevelt, providing a resurgence for what the Progressive movement couldn’t accomplish. Resources: 1. http://www.geocities.com/dave_enrich/ctd/3p.roosevelt.html 2. http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/USRA_Progressive_Presidents.htm 3. American Pageant text

Applying the Background and Methodology of the Research Process

Jonathan HoffsuemmerA serious problem seen by nurse practitioners that work in rural areas is teen pregnancy. A peer-reviewed research paper published by The Journal for Nurse Practitioners entitled â€Å"Who Will Listen? Rural Teen Pregnancy Reflections.† There are both medical and social concerns that occur with teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy statistic shows that teen mothers give birth to premature babies with low birth weight. The social aspect is teen mothers do not complete high school and lives in poverty. These situations rank high in abuse and neglect with teen parents.Definition of the ProblemRural areas show the highest rate of teen pregnancy compared to state rates, which produces a problem that researchers are questioning why this rate is higher in the rural areas. The Theory of Adolescent Sexual Decision Making (TASDM) is the basis this research was conducted to resolve. This theory has two main objectives that include the risk-promoting environments teens experi ence and exposure to risky situation that create the situations teens use to justify sexual behavior (Weiss, 2012).The problem with teen pregnancy produces premature birth and low birth weight in the babies. A medical problem with teen pregnancy is the medical expenses incurred with both teenager and infant. These statistics indicate that teen pregnancy result from family with no insurance and no means to pay the medical expenses teen pregnancy incurs. The social problem teen pregnancy presents are that teen mothers tend not finish high school. Teen pregnancy results in low income rates, the need for higher public assistance, poor educational, behavioral, and health problem in children.Study PurposeThe purpose of the study is to understand the decision-making of teens and why teen pregnancy is higher in the rural areas of the country. The TASDM theory indicates that environment promotes the situation of peer influences, substance use, and media influences (Weiss, 2012). The study wi ll focus on the thought process of teens as to why teens make the choice become sexually activity and risk the consequence of becoming pregnant.Research QuestionThe researchers are studying the question of why teen pregnancy is higher in rural areas. Teen pregnancy occurs because of the lack of prevention that teens do not use and why teens make these types of decisions. The essay directions were for students to indicating if the teens thought there was a teen pregnancy problem in the community (Weiss, 2012). The researchers’ directions were only one question to determine the thought processes of both male and female teens regarding teen pregnancy.HypothesisThe study does not state a hypothesis, but strives to understand why there is a higher rate of teen pregnancies in rural areas. The study will evaluate the difference between boys and girls views about teen pregnancy. The study only has one main focus, but the study derives different variables of the hypothesis. The study reviews the thoughts as to how teens perceive sex as good, bad, or ambivalent.Study VariablesThe two variables in the study are independent and dependent variables. The independent variables in the study are the essays that the students wrote defining their views about teen pregnancy in rural areas. The dependent variables are the reasons teen pregnancies occur, which include the idea of  whether sexual activity is good or bad. The study reviews the conception teens have of sexual activities, which studies the prevalence regarding beliefs, consequences to actions, and consequences to others (Weiss, 2012).Conceptual Model or Theoretical FrameworkThis study uses the theoretical framework for the study. The theoretical perspective of study analyzes the answers obtained from participates against the Theory of Adolescent Sexual Decision Making theories. These theories measure the decision-making teens use in determining the risk of teen pregnancy. The theoretical framework weights the consequences associated with the risks and how teenage boys and girls perceive teen pregnancy. These perceptions that teens are reporting in the study are weighted against the two ground theories of risk-promoting environments and risky sexual behavior. â€Å"Using constant comparative methods, the data were analyzed using the MAX Qualitative Data Analysis © software† (Weiss, 2012, p. 805).Review of LiteratureThe literature review of the article addresses the issues of low parental guidance as a significant factor to teen making risky behavior decisions. The fact that rural areas indicate that teens view there is nothing much to do is a contributing factor to teen pregnancy. The education regarding sexual behavior and prevention methods were noted to be lacking in the rural areas. This factor indicates that financial support to provide for after school programs contributes to the notation that there is nothing to do for teens. This is a contributing factor to the higher rat e of teen pregnancy in rural communities.Study DesignThe study design was conducted in Florida involving 125 10th grade students. These students consisted of both male and female from age 15 to 17. The students were from an English class and were asked to write an essay on if they thought teen pregnancy was a problem in their community. The teens  wrote the essay during an English class in high school. This study was conducted with the approval of the institutional review board, teacher, and administrator.

Marriage relationships are increasingly more equal

It is true that marriage relationships are becoming increasingly equal, but to an extent. Since the early 1900's the stereotypical ‘housewife' role has changed, dramatically. This allowed men to try out, on what would have been seen as ‘Women jobs' such as childcare, cooking and cleaning, and also women to do some ‘Men jobs' which were mainly ‘behind the computer' jobs and more leisure time, women also had a say in purchases and money matters, something which would have not been possible without this experience in change of gender roles. Young and Wilmott were functionalist sociologists who came up with a theory that; ‘Marriage roles are becoming more equal.' They called this the Symmetrical family, this is when the husband and wife have similar roles and share tasks and work equally. They claimed to have proven this theory by interviewing 1700 or more women and only asking them one question which was â€Å"Did you're husband contribute to housework at all this week?† Ann Oakley criticised Young & Wilmot's methodology as her personal views were extremely diverse to theirs. She concluded it could vary from a miniscule to a large amount, making it unfair. The people who get interviewed are only allowed to answer ‘Yes Or No' this makes it really hard to know as no additional details are included such as; when did they do this, how often do they do this and how they contribute to the change in stereotypical gender roles. After Ann Oakley Criticised Young & Wilmot's theory, she made her own theory. She divided her questionnaires into four groups, which consisted of; Housework, Childcare, Decision making and leisure. Ann Oakley states that women are increasingly becoming more equal to their husband, but they are unfortunately still doing 70% of all housework. This portrays that, women are more equal in decision making, work and the outside life but still in their stereotypical gender role at home, with housework and child care. She also states that men only contribute to nice, easy, clean and enjoyable things within the household and childcare; such as playing with the children, purchasing them toys or gifts, sending them to parks, washing one plate once in a whilst and may also cook occasionally. However, they never seem to be cleaning up the house, changing dirty nappies or even cleaning up the children's sick or mess. These are all unfortunately left for the ‘housewife' to do. Overall, Ann Oakley has successfully proved that Young and Wilmott are incorrect in their conclusions on ‘marriages becoming more equal within the household,' because of their imprecise interviewing techniques on collecting data. However, research shows that marriages are increasingly becoming more equal in the household, even though it is increasing slowly.

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbour in 1941? Essay

In December 1941, the Japanese struck. A well-coordinated series of attacks across the Pacific, most notably the American naval base of Hawaii, bringing about Japanese dominance in South East Asia; sending a direct message to the ‘oppressive’ west. Japan for a significant period of time had been viewed by the US and its western allies as a major threat in the Pacific, and as a direct consequence of a series of the events tensions boiling point was reached and the climax of nearly 1/2 a century of rivalry exploded. â€Å"The Great War destroyed the multilateral balance of power in East Asia and left Japan and the United States directly confronting each other across the Pacific†; Japan’s continued growth as the leading industrial giant in Asia, allowed an increase in global power but to the Japanese they were never recognised in the manner in which they believed they deserved. Americas realization that this growth could threaten their superiority led to a num ber of subjective decisions but where they left too late, so late in fact that it was a point of no return, the imperialistic mindset of the Japanese was too full of honor to back down in the face of what seemed uncertainty. In the years succeeding the Great War, Japan had embarked on a meteoric rise in its industrial power, and rising concurrently was their global power; this was all achieved under the control of Emperor Hirohito, a man determined to meet Japans goals on the Asian mainland. Nevertheless, this industrial growth would not have been possible without the importation of a number of vital commodities such as oil and aviation fuel. These commodities were imported primarily from the US and if not directly from the Americans from a country allied to the isolationist giant. Yet the US was not blind to the progress of the small island of Japan, the sudden increase had not gone unnoticed and at the Washington Conference of 1921 a report was released that described â€Å"Japans naval armament as a ‘silent power’ with which is used to deter the United States†, in response to this the Americans ensured that the Japanese naval power was restricted to a position weaker than that of t heir own. Within Japan this was met with a feeling of aggravation with her status not being observed as that of a major global power; and not for the first time, Japan had been in a similar position following the Treaty of Versailles with land they had captured in the war being returned and her foreign ambitions once again quelled. Japan was becoming cognizant that â€Å"at some date, the US would interfere and disrupt Japanese goals† and having been used to foreign involvement the Emperor was not going to allow for the Americans to once again change Japan’s ambition: â€Å"the political, commercial and military dominance of the Western Pacific†. This aggressive policy towards its rivals in the Pacific has been attributed to a collection of reasons that led to the attacks in December 1941. To the Japanese they believed that they were entitled to expand their territory and with this being restricted it pushed the ruling elite into a position that, despite experts claiming there were alternative solutions Japan only saw one; and â€Å"war became the most viable option† to render them useless in preventing the objectives of Japan being met. Japan then expanded into Manchuria a military move that left the country isolated internationally. This coincided with the US government banning the export of oil and scrap metals to Japan if not from a licensed company, the first steps towards a complete embargo. Once Roosevelt had given the green light for the complete embargo things began to change internally in Japan as the ultranationalist’s consolidation of power continued ensuring expansion was not held back. This consolidation of power by the ultranationalists was crucial in the decision to attack Pearl Harbor, they felt Japan needed to use what it had learned from WW1 and ensure a ‘quick showdown’. With no oil coming into the country they were left with no choice but to go on the military offensive to keep their booming industry alive. This embargo had put the leading figures in Japan in a position of serious decision making, they could no longer allow being ‘disrespected’ on the internationa l stage; and â€Å"Japan now defined the United States as its foremost enemy in terms of both capabilities and intentions†. Coinciding with the embargo President Roosevelt moved the US fleet to Hawaii in order to discourage Japans expansive ambitions in the Pacific, and with the army officers of Japan being of a militaristic nature it led to a push for action and this action was to be the first strike in what was to become the Pacific War. It can be therefore suggested that the reasoning behind the attack on Pearl Harbour came as a consequence of the humiliation Japan felt it had endured on an international level at the hands of the United States. The United States was a country that â€Å"from the perspective of the Japanese government, was unnecessarily intervening in affairs in which it had little specific, concrete interest†. Despite the continued interference of the Americans in preventing Japans expansive actions, civilians paid little attention to Japan despite the strong racist feelings between the two countries, a feeling that was highlighted by the San Francisco School incident; further increasing tensions between the two feuding powers. The incident was one of five key provocations that the Japanese used to justify their surprise attack; yet despite the increasingly hostile foreign policy aimed in the direction of Japan, little was done to increase military support by the Americans; allowing the Japanese to feel confident enough to attack Pearl Harbour with the hope of undermining American morale, such that the US government would drop its demands contrary to Japanese interests. However, there is no hiding the pivotal reason behind the attacks and this was the defilement of the economy. The destruction of the Naval fleet was a direct â€Å"retaliation for America’s existential attacks on Japans economy†. Coupled together with naval limitation, the unequal treaties and the continued dishonor on the international stage, Japan felt it best to strike swiftly rendering the US military presence in the Pacific non-existent. The elite of Japan was not prepared for the catastrophic consequences of their attack on Pearl Harbor, at the time what was such a successful foreign attack, it turned out to be the defining moment in not only the War but in Japan’s history. Some argue that the attacked doomed Japan by waking a sleeping giant, a giant that up until the point of attack was happy to find a compromise with Japan over the issues in the Asian region. Moreover, the awakening of this giant gave a reason for the whole US military machine to be set in motion; Clay Blair and Mark Parillo â€Å"believed that Japanese trade protection was so incompetent that the US submarines alone would have strangled them to defeat.† Had the Japanese put more time into planning out the response of the US they would have seen to enter the military conflict directly was not the way to go. However they did not highlight this as an issue and the awakening of the Americans ultimately led to the most devastating of con sequences, this was the subsequent dropping of the 2 atomic bombs on Japanese soil, killing 100,000 instantly with the death toll rising for decades thereafter. Despite this Japan did enjoy some positive consequences, the attack allowed a significant area of the Pacific to be conquered and held for a period of time. By conquering these lands, as a direct result of Pearl Harbour, Japans economy continued with a positive trajectory, and the populace continued its â€Å"strong support for the Japanese attack†. Japan had met its goals, the Navy of the US had been removed as a threat for the time being and Japan won every major battle until Midway in June of 1942. However had the military officials of the rising power in Asia targeted the crucial shore facilities that housed the oil reserves, the damage inflicted could have been existential. Consequently, the attacks had the opposite impact on the Americans themselves, â€Å"American attitudes about the war change radically†. This consequence allowed the full force of the US military machine to be put into action, a consequence that conclusively led to the defeat of Japan. Pain and rage swept across the states, a strong feeling of nationalism returned. The surprise attack was seen as ‘unjust and malevolent’ and the racism that had been rife prior to the attack in 1941 was now at the point of Japanese immigrants within America being sent to detention camps for the duration of the war. A reaction that the militaristic government of Japan had not foreseen. And although attempts had been made to prepare the country for war through the publication and use of anti-US propaganda, many were still ‘apprehensive and dismayed’ at the news Japan was now at war with the Americans. With this as a direct result of the Pearl Harbor attack, it did no favors for the morale amongst Japanese citizens who were aroused with both alarm and anger subsequent to the attack. In the long term, Pearl Habor bored more sententious ramifications that struck a blow to the honor and integrity of a once feared nation. Following the decimation of Japan with the dropping of the atomic bombs it was thought that the consequences to the attacks on Pearl Harbor had come to their end, yet this was not the case; American occupation was to follow. It is easy from here to trace back the source of this occupation, had the torpedoes not been dropped on the US naval fleet then it is highly unlikely that the ‘giant’ would have entered the war in the Pacific and engrossed itself in the dealings of Japan.

Apple Case Study 1

Apple Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Opening Case III. Competitor Analysis IV. Sales Analysis V. Profitability Analysis VI. Cross Elasticity of Demand: Competitors v/s iPhone VII. Demand, Cost and Pricing VIII. Pure competition, Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly IX. Conclusion X. References I. Introduction Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets a range of personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, and sells a range of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. It's products and services include Macintosh (Mac) computers, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Xserve, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems, third-party digital content and applications through the iTunes Store, and a range of accessory, service and support offerings. The Company sells its products globally through its retail stores, online stores, and direct sales force and third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers. As of September 25, 2010, the Company had opened a total of 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. II. Opening Case: Apple reveals the iPhone MACWORLD SAN FRANCISCO—January 9, 2007—Apple ® today introduced iPhone, combining three products—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod ® with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, searching and maps—into one small and lightweight handheld device. Phone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting users control iPhone with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones. â€Å"iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobi le phone,† said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. We are all born with the ultimate pointing device—our fingers—and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse. † iPhone is a Revolutionary Mobile Phone iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows users to make calls by simply pointing at a name or number. iPhone syncs all of your contacts from your PC, Mac ® or Internet service such as Yahoo! , so that you always have your full list of up-to-date contacts with you. In addition, you can easily construct a favorites list for your most frequently made calls, and easily merge calls together to create conference calls. iPhone’s pioneering Visual Voicemail, an industry first, lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages. Just like email, iPhone’s Visual Voicemail enables users to immediately randomly access those messages that interest them most. Phone includes an SMS application with a full QWERTY soft keyboard to easily send and receive SMS messages in multiple sessions. When users need to type, iPhone presents them with an elegant touch keyboard which is predictive to prevent and correct mistakes, making it much easier and more efficient to use than the small plastic keyboards on many smartphones. iPhone also includes a calendar application that allows calendars to be automatically synced with your PC or Mac. iPhone fea tures a 2 megapixel camera and a photo management application that is far beyond anything on a phone today. Users can browse their photo library, which can be easily synced from their PC or Mac, with just a flick of a finger and easily choose a photo for their wallpaper or to include in an email. iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone which also features EDGE and Wi-Fi wireless technologies for data networking. Apple has chosen Cingular, the best and most popular carrier in the US with over 58 million subscribers, to be Apple’s exclusive carrier partner for iPhone in the US. iPhone is a Widescreen iPod Phone is a widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets music lovers â€Å"touch† their music by easily scrolling through entire lists of songs, artists, albums and playlists with just a flick of a finger. Album artwork is stunningly presented on iPhone’s large and vibrant display. iPhone also features Cover Flow, Apple’s amazing way to browse your music library by album cover artwork, for the first time on an iPod. When navigating your music library on iPhone, you are automatically switched into Cover Flow by simply rotating iPhone into its landscape position. Phone’s stunning 3. 5-inch widescreen display offers the ultimate way to watch TV shows and movies on a pocketable device, with touch controls for play-pause, chapter forward-backward and volume. iPhone plays the same videos purchased from the online iTunes ® Store that users enjoy watching on their computers and iPods, and will soon enjoy watching on their widescreen televisions using the new Apple TVâ„ ¢. The iTunes Store now offers over 350 television shows, over 250 feature films and over 5,000 music videos. Phone lets users enjoy all their iPod content, including music, audiobooks, audio podcasts, video podcasts, music videos, television shows and movies. iPhone syncs content from a user’s iTunes library on their PC or Mac, and can play any music or video content they have purchased from the online iTunes store. iPhone is a Breakthrough Internet Communications Device iPhone features a rich HTML email client which fetches your email in the background from most POP3 or IMAP mail services and displays photos and graphics right along with the text. Phone is fully multi-tasking, so you can be reading a web page while downloading your email in the background. Yahoo! Mail, the world’s largest email service with over 250 million users, is offering a new free â€Å"push† IMAP email service to all iPhone users that automatically pushes new email to a user’s iPhone, and can be set up by simply entering your Yahoo! name and password. iPhone will also work with most industry standard IMAP and POP based email services, such as Microsoft Exchange, Apple . Mac Mail, AOL Mail, Google Gmail and most ISP mail services. iPhone also features the most advanced and fun-to-use web browser on a portable device with a version of its award-winning Safariâ„ ¢ web browser for iPhone. Users can see any web page the way it was designed to be seen, and then easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on iPhone’s multi-touch display with their finger. Users can surf the web from just about anywhere over Wi-Fi or EDGE, and can automatically sync their bookmarks from their PC or Mac. Phone’s Safari web browser also includes built-in Google Search and Yahoo! Search so users can instantly search for information on their iPhone just like they do on their computer. iPhone also includes Google Maps, featuring Google’s groundbreaking maps service and iPhone’s amazing maps application, offering the best maps experience by far on any pocket device. Users can view maps, satellite images, traffic information and get direct ions, all from iPhone’s remarkable and easy-to-use touch interface. iPhone’s Advanced Sensors Phone employs advanced built-in sensors—an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor—that automatically enhance the user experience and extend battery life. iPhone’s built-in accelerometer detects when the user has rotated the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display accordingly, with users immediately seeing the entire width of a web page, or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio. iPhone’s built-in proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away. Phone’s built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time. Pricing ; Availability iPhone will be available in the US in June 2007, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac. iPhone will be sold in the US through Apple’s retail and online stores, and through Cingular’s retail and online stores. Several iPhone accessories will also be available in June, including Apple’s new remarkably compact Bluetooth headset. iPhone includes support for quad-band GSM, EDGE, 802. 11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2. 0 EDR wireless technologies. iPhone requires a Mac with a USB 2. 0 port, Mac OS ® X v10. 4. 8 or later and iTunes 7; or a Windows PC with a USB 2. 0 port and Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2). Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended. Apple and Cingular will announce service plans for iPhone before it begins shipping in June. III. Competitor Analysis Market Share by OS Nokia still has a third of the overall mobile phone market. The average selling price of a Nokia Smartphone fell by 21% from 2009. Nokia is selling plenty of devices, but they are at the cheap end of the market. They lost what some in the industry refer to as â€Å"mindshare† to Apple's iPhone and the Google Android mobile software platform. Nokia wants to sell services – music, maps, and applications – as well as hardware but high-end phone users are looking elsewhere. The company says a new family of Smartphone’s, led by the N8 released in 2010, will revive its fortunes at the top end of the market. Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop was forced to abandon the mobile phone giant's in September 2010. The news that the Finnish firm might only break even in the second quarter of this year slashed 25 per cent off its value in 24 hours. Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has announced it will shed 7,000 jobs from next year as part of a plan to refocus the company on Smartphone. The Finnish firm is moving from Symbian to Microsoft's Smartphone technology. The firm recently confirmed the deal with Microsoft last week to jointly develop Smartphone technology, which will cut costs by about 1bn Euros a year. Under the terms of that deal, Nokia agreed to start using the Microsoft's operating system on its Smartphone instead of its own Symbian platform. Nokia's response to the Smartphone threat from competitors such as Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android system has been long been a key investor concern. Prior to the iPhone, Nokia was the king of mobile handsets. Now its share of the Smartphone market has plunged from 47 per cent to 27 per cent. It has also lost its ranking as the largest handset maker in terms of revenue to Apple. Android When Google decided to get into the Smartphone business it decided that Android devices would be everything that the iPhone was not. Apple one or two handsets, Google on the other hand was laying out a great number of handsets. Manufacturers such as HTC, LG and Motorola could use the new operating system for free. It enabled Google to have phones for every section of the market – high powered and pricey, cheap and practical. Android's real selling point would be the apps. Here too, the policy was one of openness. Apple controlled its App store controlling every submission and rejecting those that contravened its rules. For Android anyone who had written an app could upload it. At first, users and app developers welcomed the free-and-easy approach. However, some have begun to question if Google's policy for the apps is the best way to manage the Market. Three years after its launch, hardware sales are booming. Yet sales of Android apps remain relatively poor. Estimates of Apple’s App store in 2010 were ? 1. billion. Android Market managed just ? 62 million. The figure was lower than both Blackberry App World (? 100m) and Nokia's Ovi store (? 64m). Research predicts massive improvements for Android by this time 2012 but it is still expected to lag far behind iOS. Finally Android's market share grew to surpass the Symbian platform used by Nokia making it the most sold Smartphone Microsoft Microsoft market share is declining in the Smartphone platf orm market. Windows Phone 7 lacks a number of features despite the innovation of its user interface. Microsoft hopes to gain market share once Nokia Windows Phones and its wide-ranging â€Å"Mango† software update get released later in 2011. Microsoft has unveiled the first major update to its Windows Phone 7 operating system it launched in 2010. The update, codenamed Mango, intdoduces more than 500 changes. Microsoft’s attempts to break into the Smartphone race have been mediocre at best. Currently, the company controls less than 4% of the market. Despite this, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform is forecasted to beat Android in 2013. Microsoft introduced Pocket PC in 2000, followed by Windows Mobile in 2003, prior to Apple and Android's release. However it still failed to compete in the market, or rival Symbian who controlled nearly 90% of the market share. Microsoft lacked the features and compatibility that Symbian was featuring at the time, and as a result, consumers refused to recognize its product or give Microsoft the opportunity to be a contender in the Smartphone industry. The platform was notoriously sluggish and the most difficult of any platform to use. Microsoft tried to solve some of these issues with minor tweaks and software updates over the years to little or no avail. As Windows Mobile market shares continued to decline, Microsoft had no other option than to overhaul the Microsoft platform and launch Windows Phone 7 in 2010. Windows Phone 7 was much improved. But Microsoft still failed to take control of the market, or garner any real significant attention from consumers. RIM Research In Motion has given up more ground to Apple and Google in the hypercompetitive Smartphone market, a report shows, while two brokerages cut their price targets for the BlackBerry maker on concerns it can no longer keep pace. The latest figures dropped RIM from second to third place. The Canadian company's struggle to compete is unlikely to get any easier, with Apple's upcoming iCloud service expected to hurt RIM. IV. Sales Analysis Apple  produced some stellar results: revenues up 48% year-on-year to $13. 5bn, and profits up. The process is confused because  Apple has begun restating its year-ago earnings, to take into account the fact that it now recognizes income and revenue from subscription-based products such as the  iPhone(which may be sold on an 18-month contract) as soon as it gets it, rather than deferring it over the life of the device/contract as it used to. It began doing that in the most recent quarter, covering Christmas, which – confusingly – is the first quarter of its financial year. So previously, the second-quarter revenues were $8. 16bn, not the newly-restated $9. 08bn; the profits were $1. 21bn, not the now-given figure of $1. 62bn. The numbers also don't include the iPad, because the quarter ended on March 31 – the iPad was launched three days later. According to MacJournals, which chewed over the numbers, â€Å"At $5. 445 billion, iPhone sales accounted for 40% of Apple's revenue. All Mac sales were 28%, all  iPod/Music sales were 24%. Mac sales are 2. 943m units, generating revenue of $3. 76bn – which Apple says was 33% year-on-year growth, compared to market growth of 24%. The company's market share of mobile subscribers has also taken a deep plunge. Market research firm comScore says that between October and January, Microsoft's share of the market fell from 19. 7% to 15. 7%. RIM, the maker o f the BlackBerry, remained the leader, growing from 41. 3% to 43%. Apple ‘s iPhone increased slightly, from 24. 8% to 25. 1%, and Google's Android grew by more than 250%, going from 2. 8% to 7. An interesting analysis comes from Tomi Ahonen, a former Nokia executive. â€Å"I am writing the first history of the once-iconic iPhone, written now in early April 2010, before Apple has released its first quarter earnings for 2010. This is literally the peak of the short reign that Apple's iPhone had as the most emulated Smartphone. [†¦] And mark my words, the numbers are now very clear, Apple's market share peak among smartphones, and among all handsets, on an annual basis, is being witnessed now. † V. Profitability Analysis Apple reported in the second quarter of 2011 that net income rose 95 percent, to $5. 9 billion, or $6. 40 a share, from $3. 07 billion, or $3. 33 a share, in 2010. Revenue climbed 83 percent, to $24. 67 billion, from $13. 5 billion. The profit margin in 2011 is 22. 36% of the sales which is an improvement over the level the company achieved in 2010. The company’s return of equity is 38. 78% while in 2010 it was 26. 2% which means that there is a 12. 58% increase on the return of equity. The gross margin is 39. 07% which is slightly better than the company achieved in 2010. VI. Cross Elasticity of Demand: Competitors V/s iPhone When the iphone 3GS was released on July 11, 2008 it cost $199 with the AT;T two year contract. In January 2011 Apple cut the iphone 3GS price to $50. cross-price elasticity of demand = % ? in demand for product A% ? in price for product B %? in price for iphone: Price of Iphone 3GS, 2010 + Price of Iphone 3GS, 2011? Price of Iphone = 199 + 5050-199 = -1. 671% With the Market share OS table above we can compute the % ? I demand for prodct competing with the iphone. %? in demand for Symbian = Symbian market share of Q1 2011 – Symbian market share of 2010 = 27. 4% – 37. 6% = -8. % Symbian-iphone cross-price elasticity of demand = % ? in demand for Symbian% ? in price for Iphone = -8. 6%-1. 671% = 5. 146 %? in demand for Android = Android market share of Q1 2011 – Android market share of 2010 = 36% – 22. 7% = 13. 3% Android -iphone cross-price elasticity of demand = % ? in demand for Android% ? in price for Iphone = 13. 3%-1. 671% = -7. 959 %? in demand for R IM = RIM market share of Q1 2011 – RIM market share of 2010 = 12. 9% – 16. 0% = -3. 1% RIM -iphone cross-price elasticity of demand = % ? in demand for RIM% ? in price for Iphone = -3. 1%-1. 671% = 1. 855 ? in demand for Microsoft = Microsoft market share of Q1 2011 – Microsoft market share of 2010 = 3. 6% – 4. 2% = -0. 6% Microsoft -iphone cross-price elasticity of demand = % ? in demand for Microsoft % ? in price for Iphone = -0. 6%-1. 671% = 0. 359 The price elasticity of demand is the responsiveness of quantity demanded by a change of 1 percent in price. It is calculated by dividing the percentage change in the demanded quantity by the corresponding percentage change in price. The iPhone was launched in the US roughly at the beginning of the second Quarter 2008, at a price of $599. In mid September Apple reduced the price for the iPhone by 33% from $599 to $434. According to the quarterly reports, Apple sold 270 000 iPhones in the second quarter and 1,119 000 iPhones in the third quarter. If calculated according to the equation for price elasticity of demand, the iPhone would have a price elasticity of 4. 7, which means that Apple would lose almost 4. 7 percent of iPhone sales for each corresponding 1 percent increase in price. Since elasticity is greater than 1 the price is inelastic so the iPhone is a luxury commodity. Many consumers wait until increased competition forces Apple to decrease prices. VII. Demand, Cost ; Pricing Demand Apple’s iPhone Supply and Demand Concept of Supply and Demand There is a general rule in economics that if the price of a certain good or service rises, then the demand for such good or service declines. If the price decreases, then potential demand also increases (inverse relationship). On the supply side, if the price of a good or service increases, then firms will be willing to supply the market with higher volume of such good or service. If the price decreases, then firms will cut their supply of the good or service (positive relationship. The market then adjusts the price of the good or service in order to satisfy both the consumers and the suppliers. This is called market equilibrium. Apple iPhone Demand Last July, Apple iPhone was able to outsell all smart phones in the United States. It almost equaled the sales of the most popular feature phone (LG chocolate), giving it a relatively stable position in the market. New Apple handset models accounted for almost 1 . of all phone handset sales in the US for about a month. It was estimated that the demand for Apple iPhone was rising at7 . 2 a month, equivalent to about 5 million units of quantity demanded. The market research firm iSuppli noted â€Å"This is a remarkable accomplishment for Apple, considering that July marked the first full month of sales for the iPhone. While iSuppli has not collected historical information on this topic, it’s likely that the s peed of the iPhone ‘s rise to competitive dominance in its segment is unprecedented in the history of the mobile-handset market (Marsal ,2007 . In short , almost unexpected rise in demand of Apple iPhone was unaccounted by many experts , including of which are some of its competitors . The same research firm also noted that survey revealed that almost 57 of iPhones (bought in July ) were purchased by US consumers . Most of the consumers are aged 17-35. Almost 52 of the consumers of this product are male, and about 48 are female, revealing an almost equal propensity to consume for the product among the sexes. Added to that, iSuppli noted that 62 of the consumers of the product are actually college graduates or those with graduate courses . Nonetheless , the same research firm noted that â€Å"some of the iPhone ‘s success in July can be attributed to pent-up demand following months of hype (stagnant demand). Real proof of success will come in the coming months as demand patterns stabilize (Marsal, 2007). This prediction was almost accurate when the demand for iPhone was almost rising at 8 per month (month of June). Cost Apple's Iphone 4 smartphone, for which it's charging at least $500 at retail, is built of parts that cost $187. 51, according to market research firm Isuppli. According to the tear-down the most expensive part of the Iphone 4 is the 3. 5-inch LCD screen which costs $28. 50. Isuppli thinks that the Iphone 4 screen must be identical to one made by LG. It seems that Apple has managed to keep its parts cost at about $170 to $180 per unit. Isuppli's cost estimate doesn't include labour, shipping, advertising, software development or patent licensing. The cost is based on a 16GB version of the Iphone 4 but the low costs of each componant are fairly staggering. The Apple A4 processor reportedly is made by Samsung Electronics for $10. 75 per chip. Isuppli thinks that Geneva-based STMicroelectronics supplied the gyroscope chip at an estimated cost of $2. 60, as well as an accelerometer chip used in previous Iphone versions, which has an estimated cost of 65 cents. Other component suppliers named by Isuppli include Skyworks, a wireless chipmaker and TriQuint Semiconductor. In 2009, Isuppli estimated that the components and materials used in the iPhone 3GS cost about $179. Since then Isuppli thinks that the materials costs for that model have fallen to $134. Thus the Iphone 4 costs a bit more to make than the earlier model. Of course this means that Apple's gross margin on the hardware in Iphones is extremely high. The actual price margin gets obscured by the fact that AT&T heavily subsidises the phone in the US for about what it costs to manufacture. However the real winner is Apple, which does not have to pay for the cost of manufacture and still takes home about three times Iphone 4 production costs, on average. Pricing Because the iPhone price is entirely set by Apple, it makes an interesting case study on how much the price of technology drops over time. The official price of the iPhone periodically drops, as shown in the table below. But, there are no sales and a new iPhone is never sold for less than the official price. (There are occasionally sales on the refurbished iPhones for example on black Friday the refurbished 3GS was sold for $50. 00 instead of the usual $150. 00. )   Finding historical street price data is harder than historical MSRP data. For the iPhone both prices are the same. The table showing the historical price is included below. 1st Gen 4GB| 1st Gen 8GB| 3G| 3GS 16GB| 3GS 32GB| 29 June 2007| $499. 0*| $599*| N/A| N/A| N/A| 5 Sept 2007| Discontinued| $399| N/A| N/A| N/A| June 2008| N/A| N/A| $199| N/A| N/A| June 2009| N/A| N/A| $99| $199| $299| VIII. Pure competition, Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly Apple Inc. planned to begin producing this year a new iPhone that could allow U. S. phone carriers other than AT&T Inc. to sell the iconic gadget, said people briefed by the company. The new iPhone would work on a type of wireless network called CDMA, these people said. CDMA is used by Verizon Wireless, AT&T's main competitor, as well as Sprint Nextel Corp. nd a handful of cellular operators in countries including South Korea and Japan. The vast majority of carriers world-wide, including AT;T, use another technology called GSM. With Apple developing a phone with CDMA capability, its exclusive U. S. arrangement with AT;T dating to 2007 appears set to end. Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, declined to comment. An AT;T spokesman said: â€Å"There has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time. We haven't seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur. † Apple declined to comment. For AT;T, the Apple relationship has been crucial, helping to make the carrier the U. S. leader in lucrative smart-phone market share. According to comScore Inc. , AT;T has over 43% of all U. S. smart-phone customers, compared with 23% for Verizon. These customers are especially attractive because they generally pay higher monthly rates for data plans. For several quarters, AT;T's growth has come almost single-handedly from the iPhone. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the carrier said it activated 3. 1 million new iPhones. In comparison, it counted only a net total of 2. million new subscribers as some customers moved from other phones to iPhones. Now that a new Verizon-compatible iPhone appears to be on the horizon, Digits looks at what Apple can do to win over mobile business users, particularly from RIMM's BlackBerry market. The people briefed on the matter said the upgraded GSM iPhone is being made by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. , which produced A pple's previous iPhones. The CDMA iPhone model is being made by Pegatron Technology Corp. , the contract manufacturing subsidiary of Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc. said these people. One person familiar with the situation said Pegatron is scheduled to start mass producing CDMA iPhones in September. Other people said, however, that the schedule could change and the phone may not be available to consumers immediately after production begins. Representatives of Pegatron and Hon Hai declined to comment. Verizon has publicly stated its interest in the iPhone, but people familiar with the situation said Apple originally decided against developing a phone for Verizon to keep its development process simple, since the technologies are incompatible. Verizon also is upgrading its network to a higher-speed technology, so Apple has said it believed CDMA was a short-term technology. Apple later changed its mind as it realized Verizon's upgrade would take longer than expected, said people familiar with the situation. Making the iPhone available through Verizon, which has over 91 million customers, as well as potentially other CDMA carriers could open up a significant new market. In 2009, iPhone sales globally rose 83% to 25. million, far outpacing the 20% to 25% growth in smart phones sales overall, according to Bernstein. But since Apple already dominates smart-phone sales through existing partners, â€Å"sooner rather than later, Apple is going to have to look to find incremental distribution,† which implies a monopolistic competition between all smart phone sellers, said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. He estimates Verizon could help Apple nearly double the number of iPhone users in the U. S. Some advantages that iPhone has comparing to other smart phones are: 1. Pod: iPhone is a not just a phone it is widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets you enjoy all your content — including music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, and movies — on a beautiful 3. 5-inch widescreen display (Nokia N95 only has a 2. 6 inch screen). The N95 does have a good media player, however with all the iPod features and 4 GB / 8 GB space, it makes the iPhone the best music phone. 2. Advanced Safari browser: iPhone lets you see any web page the way it was designed to be seen, then easily zoom in by simply tapping on the multi-touch display with your finger which will change mobile browsing for the good. . OS X: All the power and sophistication of an advanced operating system that gives you access to true desktop-class applications and software, including rich HTML email, applications such as widgets, Safari, calendar, text messaging, Notes, and Address Book etc. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email in the background. This software completely redefines what you can do with a mobile phone. 4. User Interface: iPhone features the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse. It’s an entirely new interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets you control everything using only your fingers. 5. Visual Voicemail: The iPhone lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want — just like email using a revolutionary new feature called the visual voicemail. IX. Conclusion Analyzing as managerial economics students, we can conclude that although the current methods and techniques are serving us well in analyzing the current market situation, there will be new techniques emerging in the future with global changes occurring at leaping speeds. What is essential is for us to grasp is that the theory is flexible with these changes and that it can be shaped or rounded to be applied to any market situation analysis. The content and subjects we learned in this course are nothing but the bedrock tools that any manager needs to know and use in his daily life in order to forecast revenues and demand, analyze current markets and evaluate his company’s stance regarding his competitors. X. References ttp://theblogpaper. co. uk/article/business/31may09/price-elasticity-demand-iphone http://news. cnet. com/8301-13506_3-20064223-17. html http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-10725887 http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-13284156 http://m. ibtimes. com/microsoft-windows-phone7-google-android-apple-157595. html http://www. reuters. com/article/2011/06/03/us-rim-research-ubs-idUSTRE7523PP20110603 www. newyorktimes. com www. wallstreetjournal. com

Toyota Company Analysis

Toyota Motor Company has been a strong competitor in the global automobile market since its inception in 1937. Today Toyota has become a globally recognized brand and has won the coveted spot as the worlds top selling auto manufacturer, with 17% total market share. Despite many challenges Toyota has remained relatively financially stable consistent with the S&P 500 and continues to provide low cost high efficiency vehicles appealing to various demographics with the implementation of a high end luxury line (Lexus) as well as a line catering towards the younger market (Scion).Toyota Motor Company  prides itself on the successful implementation of a lean manufacturing system including a one of a kind just in time production system. The success of their inventory management and strong supply chain is apparent through their strong sales to inventory ratio and inventory turnover average between 10 to 15 days. Toyota has also exhibited consistently positive EVA rates which indicates high efficiency and value per capital. Although this practice has cut costs for the company, it has also affected sales in a negative light.In 2010 and 2011 when natural disasters hit the areas of their suppliers, Toyota did not have enough parts to complete necessary purchase orders and keep up with consumer demand. For this reason the sales figures from those years are lower than what they were anticipated to be. Despite  these challenges, investors should maintain confident in the efficiency of their invested capital in Toyota, represented by a continuously rising ROE in comparison to its competitors.Toyotas  dividend yield ratio is very attractive to investors as well with 1. 3% compared to the industry average of 1. 1% despite a significant drop in 2008. When looking at the auto industry, investors should take into consideration that Toyota remains competitive despite not receiving the government bailouts provided to the American manufacturers. Toyota features various threats sp ecifically their slow pace in innovation and structure reform.Another notable area of concern is the diminishing market share of their high end line Lexus. Despite these threats Toyotas earning expansion is at an all time high. A focal point of consideration of many analysts and investors is the volatility of the Yen. When looking at Toyotas 1 year growth of -2. 6% which is heavily understated due to the volatility of the Yen, which has effected consumer behavior as well as purchasing power.With the value of the Yen becoming less powerful, Toyota has the opportunity to leverage this to their advantage through relationships with suppliers and improved export profitability. The future success of Toyota will depend on whether or not they are able to keep up with the fuel economy and safety features of other manufacturers. If they are able to do this effectively while also reducing costs using advantages from the diminishing value of the Yen the outlook for this company looks very posit ive for potential investors.