Penguin Books: Introduction To Modern Business :: essays research papers fc

Penguin Books: Introduction to Modern Business The aim of this essay is to comment on how, over the last six years Penguin Books Limited has grown and managed external and internal changes. Sixty one years ago, Allen Lane, the managing director of the Bodley Head, a British publishing company, revolutionised reading with the introduction of the first ten Penguin paperbacks. Today, over 600 million paperbacks are sold yearly. At a time when there was still little of entertainment, paperback books brought reading to the masses. Nowadays, paperback books bring reading to the world. During the last six years (1990-1996) Penguin Books Limited was faced with many "environmentalist pressures," with a continuous change inside the company, and competitors trying to imitate its successful innovations on both sides of the Atlantic. The major achievement in 1990 was the introduction of a new computer system into several parts of the Company. The Credit Control department was the first area and Stock Management, Invoicing Systems, Warehousing, Distribution and Sales Services followed. Now the whole of the Company's systems are incorporated and networked. During this period a new lists including the Twentieth Century Classics Series complementing the Penguin Classics, Arkana, the New Age list and Fantail, the mass-market children's list were introduced. Internal change that took place during that year was the closing down of the Penguin Bookshops (that expanded to include 12 shops during the last decade), leaving just one, the specialist Beatrix Potter "House of the Tailer of Gloucester", within the Group. This change took place due to the fact that the Company was conscious that it had to concentrate on the publishing rather than on the retail. This decision brought a successful completion of a management buy-out of the shops. This action also compensated the loss that the Company faced in august 1991, when Pearson (an international enterprise quoted on the London Stock Exchange with major media interests including many well-known names apart from Penguin, such as Longman, Pitman, Addison Wesley, the Financial Times, Westminster Press, Mindscape, Thames TV and Madame Tussauds) announced pre-tax profits of Pounds 40.7m for the first half of 1991- a drop of 58 per cent on the same period of 1990. In this period books fell from a trading profit of Pounds 2.1m to a loss of Pounds 13.4m with Penguin losing Pounds 8m. In the following two years no major changes have been recorded. Although, 1993 was generally a successful year for all Penguin group companies. Penguin UK had produced a strong programme including some major best sellers and agreed to a joint venture with the BBC for mass market paperbacks and film deals with two

Internet Regulation in Australia Essay

The Australian Communication and Media Authority – a media content regulating body has come out strongly to bar some oversea internet sites from being accessed albeit criticisms from not only oversea internet website owners but also some of her citizens. The reasons as advanced by this body are that, internet use is non-discriminatory. This means that, the age of the users does not matter to the internet content developers. The aim, according to this body, is not to deter consumers from accessing the sites they want to but instead, to protect consumers who may suffer negative consequences because of exposure to explicit media content. These consumers mostly include the children who are not adequately protected by the Child Online Protection Act. Importance of regulation Mitigation of insecurity deems of importance to the government as it comes to online information access. Cyber crime which include spam, hacking, online fraud, malware dissemination as well cyber bullying and grooming have detrimental effects on unsuspecting or naive users such as elderly people (Newton, 2008). Stalkers are also posing danger to individual’s security. Through censorship, the government endeavors to alleviate all these. Concisely, the government aims to regulate the online content, boost online security as well as uphold moral standards as required by the society. The government also aims at creating a more responsible population in economy building within the country through helping them learn how to protect their information, be it business of personal during use (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008). Channels of internet abuse The use of social media sites is on the increase. People who use these sites are on an upward trend, and proliferation of commission of crime are continues to increase. This is what the government is working hard to avoid by censoring access to some online sites at certain points within the internet transmission channels. The fact that internet service providers cannot hinder one to access whichever site he/she wants to puts the users of their service security at stake (Talbot, 2009). Inappropriate materials like pornography or even media violence cannot be controlled by these service providers because everybody asserts that they have freedom to information access and information dissemination. Online sex is on the increase and rendered incapable of determining who should participate in such or who should not, service providers can only play it safe when they block everybody. The government though does not intend to hinder everything but to create an environment of online responsibility by abating interactions online and having the appropriate content online only accessed. In his view, Gaylord (1999) argues that, internet service providers need to create a culture of responsibility by the users through establishing and overseeing the implementation of code of conduct whilst using internet. Parents play a great role in this censorship as they should control what their children do online. This is only possible by the use digital technology in order to block the inappropriate site. Criticism of regulation Many critics of this kind of control argue that their freedom to information is being curtailed. In the academic field, the move seems detrimental as viable information which is of academic value may be filtered at some points in the control system, as it may be grouped inappropriate (McCarthy, 2005). The question to most critics is that, ‘why deter freedom to access information? Some information might seem inconsequential to the government, but of great use to online writers and researchers. Blocking of some sites will lead curtailing of freedom of expression and part of leisure. Critics argue that the process of censoring has hitches and therefore need not to be implemented. In other countries like the US it has not worked and has proved otherwise counterproductive as those blocked from accessing some of these sites and images are students who really need that information for their study (Thierer, 2003). This led to massive protests creating a row between students and the administration. The same might happen in Australia. The advancement of technology might overthrow the control mechanism the government is advocating. This is because, the use of circumvention program will make all the efforts null and void as this endeavors to surpass censorship in all perspectives. According to Johnson, (2010), each time a national censor blocks news sites and You Tube, or an ISP or website loses or sells or gives away user data, people will seek solutions. In an article published by Electronic frontiers (2006), critics of this move argue that censoring will be a total waste of tax payer’s money. This is because most of the explicit materials that lead to exposure to sexually explicit material are distributed manually rather than through the internet. Therefore, censoring may not hamper children from accessing such content or participating in immoral activities as they will continue accessing these obscene materials. According to critics, regulating internet content is curtailing freedom. This is because one will not have the freedom to expression, through publishing something via the internet. A true free country like Australia should not do such a thing as it will not only portray it in the negative but it will also have a negative impact on the people who visit from other liberal countries (Dobija, 2007). Australia having a certain level of influence over other Western democracies, it might influence them to undertake the measures it is advocating to take, thus creating a kind of communist empire. Communism is oppressive, meaning that people in the countries affiliated to Australia will no longer be free in information sharing as they are. This is because, of the censored materials, most are unclassified and the scope of this information is very wide. Conclusion Though this censorship is a contentious issue, it should be put in mind that for as long as human beings yearn for freedom, unregulated freedom might be disastrous. On the other hand, high handedness might not solve the looming stalemate. Therefore the government and the die hard critics of this regulation should work together to reach to an amicable solution. This should however be done without having to suppress many individuals who use internet content. The government should let the individuals to regulate for themselves whatever they need to use, of course with education and awareness on the need to protect the vulnerable groups like the children (Corsa, 2008). This is because such regulation would put many internet users at ransom and freedom of expression would be a thing of the past. For example, regulation in China has made many not to be able to express themselves freely or even access information that deem of importance. The same applies to Zimbabwe where many journalists are hindered to post online content depicting violence or scenes of suppression and oppression as a way of government protectionism.

Case for Repositioning a Bank Essay

ANZ bank is over 170 years old providing a range of banking and financial products and services to more than 5.7 million retail customers on a global scale (case). . Offering 817 branches and 2600 automated teller machines (ATMs) all over Australia, ANZ is ranked in the top 4 banks in Australia along with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) and Westpac Banking Corporation. This report will identify the current position of ANZ, and how they are attempting to reposition themselves in the financial services industry. The case highlights the strengths and weaknesses of ANZ and how effective their current marketing strategy is. The strengths of ANZ which have been identified in the case are their highly customised bankcards, their trustworthy image and reputation, knowledgeable staff and the size of the firm. ANZ’s weaknesses are that their products are quite easy to imitate due to such intangibility, they are at the bottom compared to their competitors, the communication gap occurring through the reposition of their new brand and the inflexibility due to the large structure of the bank. This paper will explore two of ANZ’s main strategic issues which are the communication gap of through the repositioning and rebranding as well as ANZ’s competition in the financial industry. Key Strategic Marketing Issues The banking industry is very well established and has a limited selection of different products. Due to few substitute products, firms in the industry will find it hard to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Chenet, Dagger, & O’Sullivan (2010) state that, differentiation is important because firms uniqueness is linked to target market focus, client-perceived value and competitive advantage. In result of ANZ’s lack of communicating their service quality, limited product diversity and lack of unadaptable strategies they are ranked number four of the top four banks. ANZ needs to address the amount of ATMs it has throughout the country. Compared to its major competitors, ANZ is one of the banks with the least amount of ATMs available to its customers with almost half the amount of ATMs compared to NAB. Theory ANZ is rebranding and repositioning itself it the market to appear more appealing to customers. They are moving from an  outdated brand and position of ‘ANZ Now’ to a new brand identity and positioning strategy of ‘We live in your world’ implying a modern and fresh new feel to the company. Throughout the rebranding and repositioning process, ANZ is using a customer-led marketing approach by trying to find what customers want and giving it to them (Hooley, Piercy & Nicoulaud, 2012). However, ANZ is a very large firm which affects rebranding, creating a gap in the communication between the firm and their consumers. The slogan ‘We live in your world’ has been adapted to try and differentiate ANZ from its competitors in terms of customer satisfaction; however it has not been aimed consistently across all ANZ’s communication activities. This has resulted in confusion of the customers as well as a lack of awareness of ANZ’s message. Mayer (1975) found that larger firms can generally find it harder than a smaller firm to implement change across the whole organisation effectively and efficiently. Resources and Capabilities A resource is anything that is considered to be thought of as a strength or weakness of a firm and may be defined as those tangible and intangible assets that are tied to the firm (Wernerfelt, 1984). ANZ’s resources include the products they offer, size of the firm, the knowledgeable staff and the strong trust with their customers. ANZ seeks to â€Å"attract and develop the best connected and most respected people to be a part of the ANZ team† (ANZ, 2014). Having knowledgeable and highly skilled staff allows for a financial institution to create superior returns, thus a competitive advantage (lulow, V., Gerstman, J., & Barry, C. 2003). The size of ANZ allows ease of access to funds which will appeal to their customers through providing loans, insurance, small business and corporate. Having a strong brand image and a good reputation, ANZ have had the opportunity to build trust with their customers. The large size of a firm can be a strength; however in turn can be a weakness. Mayer, T. (1975) identified that large banks have the potential to fail if customer service is overlooked. Due to the large amount of customers ANZ has, there is the possibility that relationships with customers may diminish. Furthermore, due to the large size of the firm ANZ may appear as inflexible and changes within the organisation may take a long time, such as the current repositioning of the firm. Creating confusing amongst consumers as the message is not being communicated effectively  across all of ANZ. Competitive Advantage ANZs major competitive advantage over their main competitors is this highly customised bankcards they currently offer to their customers. ANZ have used a customer-led marketing approach with their bankcards, as this approach finds what customers want, and give it to them (Hooley, Piercy & Nicoulaud, 2012). This fits in well with their brand image they are trying to communicate; ‘We live in your world’. Rather than just providing bank cards to their customers as the other major banks do ANZ customises their cards allowing their customers to choose what colour card they want and further using their own pictures on their bank cards. This is giving the customers the chance to create their own products. These customised bank cards have given ANZ a first mover advantage allowing them to enjoy the protection of a resource position barrier (Wernerfelt, 1984). However, Barney (1991) states that to have a ‘sustained competitive advantage’ competitors are unable to duplicate the benefits of this strategy. The customised bank cards may not last that long as a major competitive advantage due to other firms being able to easily imitate what ANZ have done. Strategic Fit Skinner (1969) suggested that for a firm to strategically fit, they need to tailor their production systems to perform the tasks that are vital to success and consistent with the firm’s strategy. The current marketing strategy of ‘We live in your world’ is ANZs new an innovative fresh outlook on branding for the organisation. The strategic planning and strategic marketing of this strategy must penetrate the whole market orientation not just small sections (Hooley, Piercy & Nicoolaud, 2012). This current strategy although isn’t fitting with the needs and requirements of the market. The failure of communication between ANZs resources and capabilities is causing the new strategy to not be implemented properly to its audience (Narver & Slater, 1990). The strategy adapted isn’t connecting with their customers their desired outlook of what they wish to be perceived as. ANZ wants their consumers to focus on them being ‘trustworthy’ and ‘traditional’ but as of now they aren’t practicing what they preach. This is shown with customers feeling confused and unaware of the new adapted strategy. As  Hooley, Piercy & Nicoolaud (2012) have found the marketing strategy needs to be aligned with the overall the relevant resources, capabilities so direction can be achieved and then the overall context of corporate strategy will be accomplished. Recommendation To ensure the repositioning of ANZ is effective, they need to communicate to their consumers more effectively. Rust, Moorman, and Dickson, (2002) found that â€Å"customers differentiate between service firms on the basis of service quality†. Therefore, ANZ need to offer superior customer service through the use of their highly skilled and knowledgeable staff. The best way for ANZ to differentiate their selves is through superior quality. Farrell, Hitchens, & Moffat (1993) found that, superior quality is an effective management strategy as it helps separate firms from competitive rivalry by creating customer loyalty.

The Wilding Of America Book Review Essay Example

The Wilding Of America Book Review Essay Example The Wilding Of America Book Review Paper The Wilding Of America Book Review Paper Essay Topic: Into the Wild Wild The Story is Of a white middle class woman, who was attacked by six black teenagers between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, while jogging in Central Park at night. The teenagers who were allegedly involved displayed signs of happiness, arrogance, and heartless feelings towards the incident; it is because of this that the teenagers received the maximum punishment towards their crimes, however it wasnt until after a confession to that crime from Matins Rexes, in jail for murder and rape, the five teenage boys conviction was overturned. DNA was able to prove the guilt of Rexes and the innocence of the five convicted young black men. In his example of the Central Park Jogger, there was clearly Black Wilding. It was black teenagers who were incarcerated for the crime, but the sigma of black wilding describes how people are so afraid of the stereotypical black male committing a crime against them that they would do anything in order to keep society safe. In this case, they convicted 5 innocent black males, without the proper evidence. The prosecutors and all involved in convicting these 5 males were wilding when they pursued a conviction without complete and proper evidence. Colic Turnbuckle explains his experience with the K people, or sometimes referred to as the Mountain People. They are described as loveless people with food and money as their only concern in life. They are also described as a dying society, since they have abandoned their own humanity. The K people are an example of a Wilding Culture. Cultural Wilding is categorized as that, since people put aside both social and moral bonds that many families are expected to have. They committed the most awful and unthinkable act by a parent, murdering their own child. Turnbuckle uses an example of an K family abandoning their six-year old gather who is starved and locked in her hut by her parents to die. Once this child is dead, the parents take her decomposed remains and dump it to the side like a pile of garbage, without the care for a burial. This form of wilding is defined as being self-centered and acting out behavior, which harms others both directly and indirectly. Instrumental Wilding is the most connected with the American Dream, and has terrible effects on society. Instrumental Wilding is when people ambitiously seek personal gain through a lack of moral restrain. Oliver Stone connected this with the popular movie, Wall Street; the famous line of this film is Greed is Good. This speaks volumes to the views of American cultures and the lengths most people are willing to go to in order to achieve the American dream. A form of legal Wilding is exemplified by the businessman who climbs the ladder of success by stepping on his co-workers to get to the top. Petty Wilding could be compared to minor lying amongst friends and marriages, and political figures. This form of wilding is not illegal but although it could be classified as immoral. Drabber wants to show his reader the effects of wilding acts, small ND large scaled, and are a potential danger to Americas society. Drabber feels that in its degraded form, Wilding encourages unrestrained and sociopath self-interest. L Wilding doesnt have to be a criminal act or a civil act in which laws are broken, but acts in which behavior is not seen as correct and thus deviant to the norms of society. This deviant acts, are labeled as wilding and that in it self is harmful to society. Todays Generation X, or more commonly defined as the millennial generations have a different set Of values than theyre past generations. Kids want to be millionaires rather than having legitimate job. There are willing to do almost anything in order to attain this and thus inevitably leading them to commit crimes where the outcome would be financially beneficial. Drabber describes social wilding when explain ins the great recession in America, and people trying to use their credit cards to achieve those goals of the American Dream. Drabber also uses Deuteriums sociological example of society being lost due to the rise of individualism. Druthers viewed individualism as egotistic and lacking in a shared sense of destiny. He felt that individualism only includes the pursuit of pleasure at the expense of others. 2 Furthermore, declining communities equals a decline in an individuals morality. Immoral actions as mentioned before are not illegal but they are still considered wilding due to a deterring social structure that arises from it. Druthers defines anomie as a failure of colonization. Anomie arises, as societal rules become non-existent. Families, neighborhoods, churches, schools, even the neighborhood watch all make up a community, which create a familiar atmosphere giving people a sense of community. Drabber views American Wilding as a model of our political leaders. Political figures seek and obtain votes through lies and deceit to gain the acceptance of the American people. Although he agrees with many of Deuteriums concepts, he felt that these concepts lack political and economic analysis. Sociologist Karl Marx believes that the American Dream involves self-interest. He felt that people are out for themselves, seeking to be number one. By failing to play a competitive role, people would compromise profits. 3 ultimately, America seeks profits by any means possible. These means may include murder for hire, seeking cheaper labor wages through unethical and legal production overseas, prostitution, illegal drug sales to name a few. This brings into light people like Scott Peterson and the murder of his wife in order to collect the insurance money. 4 This kind of criminal are ruthless and play into the idea of black wilding by setting up the culprits as black people and playing to societies willingness to accept black people as hurtful people. Drabber offers many more examples of Wilding in America. Some examples include reality television; our beloved sports players on steroids, and video games, which display violence and murder as a source of entertainment. One f the biggest games in American culture today is Grand Theft Auto in which all the following games in its series have not only gotten more violent, and have included worse forms of drug related matters, to prostitution, to gangs; the game it selves rewards players to do such acts in order to win. It is this mentality that has spread to younger generations that make kids think these actions are acceptable in society. Drug dealing is a perfect example of trying to attain the American dream by illegal ways. These drug dealers are people who might live next door in a suburban neighborhood, displaying the perfect Emily life. This picture of the perfect family might include expensive cars in the driveway, a beautiful and well-manicured home, expensive clothes, and limitless cash on hand. Drug dealers mentality have been alters to believe that do such acts are the only way they can achieve this because the culture they grew up in did not promote any other ways. Bernie Maddox exemplifies extreme individual wilding, which led to the economy moral collapse. Madams Opinion scheme, which netting him almost 50 billion dollars over decades, made people look further into institutional wilding by mortgage companies. Most of these institutions destroyed the lives of many families. They offered people mortgages that were unaffordable, credit cards at high rates, and supreme car loans. People wanted to live the American dream, and sought expensive methods to obtain their goals. This could be considered a form of systemic wilding. The guilty parties include the banks, brokers, and customers seeking instant gratification. Upper class, middle class and lower class citizens share the same type of greed, the American dream and more commonly to people the effects become the American nightmare. In my opinion, this book was very interesting. I certainly agree with Drubbers opinions and statements made in this book. I found myself interested as soon as I began reading the first chapter. His concept of the American dream, and what society will do to accomplish it, is on point. He begins by describing societys fears and how we allow these fears to take over, without thinking things out clearly. Society believes in and counts on authority to make the right choice. The problem is that our authority lacks in morality, and is leading this society in the same way, with a lack of remorse for our neighbors. It is hopeful that President Obama will continue to inspire pop Of a different kind Of politics, built around community and social justice. Also in my opinion White wilding and the greed these wielders have by doping poor people for their life saving keep minorities at bay. It keeps minorities in a lower socio economic structure in which black wilding comes about. So yes I believe that white wilding leads to black wilding it is inevitable because how are minorities ever to achieve that American dream if they are always stopped by the greed of white wilding. The term Wilding can be defined in a variety of ways. Drabber separates some by describing Economic Wilding, Political Wilding, Institutional Wilding, Criminal and Violent Wilding. These are just a few examples that I feel are gravely present In my society. Wilding is a societal crisis, in which Americans are made immune to its reality. Wilding has been exemplified since the early sasss. As time goes on, the needs of Americans have become greater in scale. Wilding in America is seen today, especially with events going on presently. After reading this book, I was able to relate to many of the examples presented by the sociologists, especially with the need to climb the ladder of success. We would all have the opportunity to achieve our goals, without hurting anyone in the interim.

All About the Word About! - Proofread My Papers Academic Blog

All About the Word About! - Proofread My Papers Academic Blog All About the Word About! One of the most common problems our customers have is how to use the word about correctly. This is particularly tricky because about is a common word and can be used in several contexts. Well run through a few of these uses here. About: On the Subject Of As a preposition, the word about can be used to link nouns and verbs, such as when using about to mean concerning or on the subject of: We spoke about her neighbors awful choice of house paint. However, a common mistake here is using about with discussed. This is incorrect; even though we speak about something, the term discuss doesnt require a preposition. As such, if we were to use discussed in the sentence above, it would simply be: We discussed her neighbors awful choice of house paint. About: To Affect The word about can also be used to mean to affect, as in: There is nothing we can do about our neighbors house. Its staying lime green. About: Around We can also use it to mean distributed around an area: In my town, there are several horribly painted houses about. Or on ones person: She concealed the blue paint about her as she crept up on the house in the dead of night. About: Approximately or Nearly It can also be used to mean approximately, as in: After repainting her neighbors house, she was caught by the cops. They say shell get about 10 months in jail for criminal damage. Furthermore, it can mean nearly: In her mugshot, she was about the same height as Jackson Pollock. About: Movement We can even use the word about to mean movement: As the cops drove up, she was still flinging blue paint about wildly. These are just some of the ways in which about can be used, so dont forget to check a dictionary if youre unsure whether you should be using this term in any particular example.

Custom essay writer Please see assignment criteria to choose one essay

Custom writer Please see assignment criteria to choose one question. thank you - Essay Example cialism around the globe arise from the types of social ownership that they advocate and their degree of relying on issues like planning and markets (Howard, 2000). They may also differ in terms of how various managements are organized within their organizations and their government’s role in the construction of socialism (Kumar, 2009). This paper examines the different types of socialism that exist around the globe and the possibility of there being a future for socialism as a whole in the world. The future for socialism is still bright even after most of the founding socialist systems that were located in the Soviet Union and the states in the Eastern Bloc collapsed. There are still other countries like China and Vietnam that continue with the system and its ideals (Levine, 2003). The socialist ideals have also spread to other parts located around the globe though their influence has been diminishing over time (Howard, 2000). Within a socialist economic system, the production of goods is only carried out for the purpose of satisfying their people’s wants and not for sale in order to attain profits (Yunker, 2004). The accounting systems within these socialist systems base their standards on physical magnitude instead of financial calculations (Kumar, 2009). Socialism is a system that may also involve many political philosophies for it to be implemented successfully (Howard, 2000). Its proponents suggest that the production means within a country should be nationalized and distribution or exchange utilized as the major strategies for implementing the system (Kumar, 2009). There are two types of socialist movements, which are the libertarian and democratic forms of socialism. The libertarian form of socialism advocates for the direct control of workers in their country’s production means as opposed to using state powers for the purpose of achieving such arrangements. This system opposes any form of state or parliamentary controls on various production means

The Lord of Flies, by William Golding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Lord of Flies, by William Golding - Essay Example Through this conflict between good and evil, and civilization and savagery the novel moves on from one step to other till it reaches the end. Lord of the Flies, being an allegorical novel, puts forward his main ideas and themes through symbols. Throughout the novel Golding uses his characters and objects symbolically. The conflict between civilization and savagery is handled by showing the conflict between his two main characters Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Ralph is a protagonist and is the symbol of governance and order. On the other hand, Jack is the Antagonist representing violence, savagery and has thirst of exercising power. In the novel, the writer shows the way people are influenced by these instincts of civilization and savagery to different levels. As for example Piggy is extremely peaceful and does not possess any instinct of savagery but on the other hand, Roger is unable to understand civilization and its rules. For Golding the instinct of savagery is more primitive and central in humans as compared to the instinct of civilization. Golding infers that if humans are left to make their own decisions, the behaviours of cruelty, savagery and violence is mostly shown by them. In the whole novel, the only character who shows natural and innate goodness is only Simon. In Ring of Gyges, Plato by narrating the story of Ring of Gyges raises the question that if one has no fear to be caught then why should one be moral? His character Glaucon through arguments shows that the person who is unfair is better-off as compared to the person who is fair. Apparently there does not appear any disproof of Gyge’s arguments. But on the other hand there are also strong reasons to believe that a person who is truly moral will behave morally in most of the circumstances and even if he is gifted the power of the ring. Philosophers since ages have been debating on the origin of human