Video Games And Its Effects On Society - 961 Words

Video games have been the subject of objections, controversies and censorship because of depictions of violence, sexual themes, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, propaganda, profanity and advertisements. Critics of video games include parents groups, politicians, religious groups, scientists and other advocacy groups. Sarah Smith, author of Children, Cinema and Censorship : From Dracula to the Dead End Kids, claims that comic books, rock music, computers and video games, all have been cited as threats to children’s safety, health, morality, and literacy, and have been blamed for increases in juvenile delinquency (Smith 2). Because of these groups video games have developed a negative stigma in today s society that scapegoats them as the reason behind acts of violence and tragedy as well as antisocial tendencies among young adults and preteens. Despite the work of detractors, advocates of video games have emphasized their use as an expressive medium, arguing for their protection as an educational tool and for helping children develop cognitive skills. There have been a number of scientific arguments about whether the content of video games change the behavior and attitudes of a player, whether they can cause violent tendencies in a child and compel them to perform acts of tragedy. One of these such cases is Connecticut s Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, which stirred many national debates, including the role that video games and other violent entertainment media played in theShow MoreRelatedVideo Games And Its Effects On Society1463 Words   |  6 Pages Movies, video games, music and television shows come in different genres. However, depending on age in regards to youth not just anyone is allowed to: watch certain movies, buy just any video game, listen to any music or watch any tv show. Sometimes they can see certain movies with a parent or guardian. Seeing violence in excess causes violent acts to take place in society because it gives ideas to viewers or listeners especially those who are young. This the reason there are ratings for mediaRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effect On Society Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pagesthe 1970’s, video games in America have been controversial. Currently around 97% of America s children play video games in some form; from home consoles such as Xbox, to personal computers and mobile games on smartphones, even in an educational form, video games are nearly everywhere and bringing in big money. Around $21 billion is being funneled into a domestic video game industry. But what are these kids viewing when playing video games and how does that affect their role in society? A commonRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On Society1274 Words   |  6 PagesViolence in video games can affect ones mindset in so many different ways, where we don’t even realize it. For example playing â€Å"Grand Theft Auto† for a few hours will change your mindset. Even though it wouldn’t be in a tremendous way, but for a few minutes your mindset will think, â€Å"This game is so much fun, I want to steal cars, have police chase me, shoot at people, even steal helicopters†. According to Social scientists in the New York Times, Many studies have shown that this is becoming a majorRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effect On Society1525 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The reason why people find it so enjoyable is that games are usually the right degree of challenging and the player takes an active role (unlike watching television) so there is an incentive to achieve† (Gee) . Ever since video games were invented there was an immediate attachment and an unwillingness to release them. They present chances to accomplish things one may not be able to do in their life, and provides an escape from reality. Video games also imprint and teach new skills to the gamers whoRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effect On Society980 Words   |  4 PagesAs a growing medium, video games are often associated with various negative connotations that have obfuscated its positive contributions made to society. As a result, the general public is unaware of how video games have shaped modern-day, some even consider it a meaningless teenager pastime, but this is distant from reality. Video games are important to society at large because they do not serve for entertainment purposes only, they are a major force in the economy, scientific research, and militaryRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Society1588 Words   |  7 PagesSince the creation of Spacewar in spring of 1962, vi deo games have dramatically improved along with technology. It has become the most popular way of entertainment in modern civilization, but it also has become a subject of public concern regarding to its negative effects on peoples psychological and physical problems, especially in children and teens. Video games are now recognized by a study as an addiction according to the journal Psychological Science: â€Å"Researchers used data on 1,200 childrenRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effects On Society2285 Words   |  10 PagesFrom the inception of Pong to the latest chapter of the video game series Assassin’s Creed, virtual gaming has been scorned and shunned as a detriment to society. Older generations speculate that incessant gaming in young children insinuates violence, antipathy, lack of creative initiative, and develops an unhealthy isolation from the real world. However, in recent years, these postulates have been put to the test; a number of scientists have conducted ex perimentation in order to discover whetherRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Game On Society1466 Words   |  6 PagesFor generations games have been an important part of our culture. Many of these games center on war and strategic tactics. Boys and girls have played soldier, Cowboys and Indians, Monopoly, or Chess . Through games such as these the future men and women of society learned strategy and the consequences of controlling and restraining themselves because their actions had consequences. However with the invention of the computer high definition graphics, these games, and many others have been createdRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On The Society859 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to a U.S Study by Rideout Et Al (As Cited in Anderson Bushman 2001.a), the popularity of video games is rapidly increasing. In a U.S study by Butchman Funk (As Cited in Anderson Bushman 2001.b), Around 60 percent of 4th grade girls prefer violent games and about 3 out of every 4 boys with a similar age also prefer ferocious ones. This essay will argue that violence in video games should be censored. For the purpose of this essay, violence can be defined as the physical force intendedRead MoreVideo Games And Its Effect On Society1298 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction During the advent of video games, the world was taken by storm, as this new type of entertainment caught the attention and imagination of the populace; but as this attention grew, concern and scrutiny weren’t far behind. Controversy finally got its chance in the 1990s, when games finally upgraded to 16-bit, giving them the ability to depict realistic blood and gore in games like Moral Kombat; which was criticized for excessive violence, a reason Congress used to create the Entertainment

Suffragist Movement in America Essay - 734 Words

Suffragist Movement in America On July 14, 1848, the American women’s suffrage movement was born. Lucretia Mott, Martha C. Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Mary Ann McClintock decided to call a meeting on that day at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Seneca Falls; they discussed womens rights at what became known as the Seneca Falls Convention. Within this female discussion panel, the women historically announced through the â€Å"Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions† the beginning of their movement to win women the right to vote in political elections. American women demanded suffrage because they believed that it was the most crucial characteristic of full-citizenship. The underlying implication†¦show more content†¦Moreover, women received more disapproval for their political movement because many believed that a woman’s place was subordinate to a man’s and that she should be domesticated as a housewife, caring for her children and husband. Therefore, if women won a political life, it was feared that it would challenge the home life and disturb the family. Despite rebuke, these women were determined to progress towards equality with men. They believed that â€Å"it is the duty of the women in this country to secure†¦ themselves their sacred right to enfranchisement† (Pleck 3). However, due to the political climate of the Civil War, the suffragists temporarily shelved their cause to join the abolitionists. They made this move in hopes of securing enfranchisement for themselves and emancipated African-Americans. â€Å"The suffragists quickly realized that there was little hope that their recently formed Equal Rights Association (whose aim was enfranchisement for both blacks and women), could prevail against†¦a strong Republican Party† (2) that only supported ratification of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which gave African-Americans the right to vote. As an unfortunate consequence, rival factions emerged within the suffragist movement that divided the party on the issue of either challen ging or joining the Republicans in the hope of gaining theirShow MoreRelated Iron Jawed Angels Essays546 Words   |  3 PagesIron Jawed Angels Iron Jawed Angels is a film which portrays the womens suffrage movement during the 1920s. The film is a documentary and a drama which uses live action and music to deliver the sympathetic and distressful mood the film creates. An example of the distressful mood is when the suffragists refuse to eat when they go to prison. This shows how passionate and distressed the suffragists are to get the 19th amendment passed, which would give women the right to vote. The films messageRead MoreThe Women s Rights Movement1711 Words   |  7 Pagesall American women the right to vote and it was ratified on August eighteen of 1920. If it was for the women’s suffrage movement which started in 1848 and ended in 1920 the nineteenth amendment would not have happened. Many strong, notable women were part of this movement. Sisters: The lives of America’s Suffragists by Jean Baker and Century of Struggle: The woman’s Rights Movement in the United States by Eleanor Flexner both co ver the issues and the struggle that lead to giving women their rightRead MoreThe Women Suffrage Movement1745 Words   |  7 PagesThe Women Suffrage Movement The right to vote, the right to go to college, the right to own property. Some people take it as a right that they had all along. That is far from the truth. Suffragists fought long and hard for many years to gain women suffrage. Before the suffrage movement began, women did not have the right to vote, child custody rights, property rights, and more (Rynder). The American Women Suffrage Movement was going to change that. People known as suffragists spoke up, and joinedRead MoreWomen s Suffrage Of Women948 Words   |  4 Pages Suffragists advocated for women s enfranchisement to not only secure political rights for female, but also for social equality between genders. This is supported by the information that is outlined in the Declaration of Sentiments, which was written during the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. As a matter of fact, this convention initiated and set the notion of women s enfranchisement into motion. In the declaration, pro-suffragist men and women implied tha t females were not treated equallyRead MoreTake A Moment And Think:For How Long Did Women Have Suffrage,1577 Words   |  7 Pagesright to vote, in America? At first, one would think it has been around for quite a long time, since voting is seen as a basic human right. In reality, women’s suffrage has only been officially around for less than a century, as the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was ratified in 1920 (history.house.gov). In present day society, not many people think about how little time has passed since the amendment came to be, or even reflect on the reasons that the suffragists were successfulRead MoreSuffrage Mmovement Divided1024 Words   |  5 Pagessuffrage in America lasted for 100 years or more and at times was devisee. Women were not only demanding political rights they were fundamentally challenging historic religious and cultural norms. Whether they recognized it at the time or not women were not only challenging men but also they were challenging their own ideas of gender, sexuality and equality. This diversity of perspectives often caused a division among women themselves and created deep divisions in the Women’s rights movement in theRead MoreThe Struggle For Freedom And Equality1621 Words   |  7 Pagesof the time. The need for political freedom was a trend that started in the early 1840s and has not diminished since. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in all elections. This granted all American women political freedom and started a movement to end prejudice against females. Before the amendment was ratified women were prohibited from jury service, public speaking, holding office, and attending college (Nineteenth Amendment 1). The 19th Amendment was one of the most influential turningRead MoreThe Fight for Rights!884 Words   |  4 Pageswhich last till today. For women in 1920s, the fight to acquire rights was called the women’s suffrage movement which on how they hav e rights, have to fight against a dissident to get the 19th amendment and how the suffrage movement influences them today from the suffragist demands they acquired. With the arduous time women had trying to achieve the rights they demand they had to .Women suffragist made associations and paraded down the street to endeavor rights. Two associations were made up, theRead MoreThe Women s Suffrage Movement Essay1153 Words   |  5 Pagesgain their suffrage, or right to vote. The women’s suffrage movement started in the decades before the Civil War, and eventually accomplished its goal in the year of 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified into the U.S. Constitution. After the U.S. Civil War, the women’s suffrage movement gained popularity and challenged traditional values and sexism in the country; the increase of progressive social values benefited the women suffragists by allowing them to succeed in passing the 19th AmendmentRead MoreWomen s Rights And Suffrage Essay1322 Words   |  6 Pagesvoting in this election season, I remember in history others could not. Additionally, in this election the candidate who won the popular vo te was a women, being so close to making history of having a women in the highest position in our government. America has yet to have a female president, but that representation would be crucial in finalizing what women fought for in the past. The article is from the Ebscohost Academic Search Complete Database, The article title is â€Å"Never A Fight of Woman Against

Food Industry Today Free Essays

Food is a basic need and food service industry will always remain in demand. These industry includes restaurants, fast foods, cafeterias, catering opportunities, food carts, food trunks and the like. Filipinos love to eat. We will write a custom essay sample on Food Industry Today or any similar topic only for you Order Now This love for food and eating is the main reason why the food industry has flourished well in the Philippines and why you will see a lot of restaurants and fast foods scattered all over the country. These fast foods and restaurants can be local or international.Filipino food is considered as a unique mixture of Eastern and Western cuisines that mirrors the history of the country. It includes dishes and cooking procedures from countries like China, Spain, Mexico and the United States. Even though Filipino food has been influenced by Eastern and Western countries, what makes it unique is the history, the society that introduced and adapted it and the people who accepted it into their homes and restaurants. Filipinos are not just into good food but the total dining experience, good food is just a part of it.It is the way we feel when we are inside a fast food or restaurant. How it feels to dine out with family or friends or even when you’re by yourself. When choosing a restaurant or a fast food, customers usually check for the cleanliness of the place, freshness of the food, guarded premises, enough parking area, the ambiance, design and landscape of the place, and for some restaurants, even the music. The physical and emotional response is a result of all these factors. These can make the whole dining experience even better. –A recent study shows that due to economic crisis, customers or consumers think that when it comes to food shopping, preparing and dining. They are not for weight loss or just eating out at fancy restaurants but they choose what they eat for wellness. They want more nutrition for their money and are more conscious of it. A s recession hits, consumers are cutting back on visiting full service restaurants and prefers less expensive fast food joints or will go for value menus, budget packs or will take advantage of coupons and promotions. How to cite Food Industry Today, Essays

Faust The Characters That Define Him Essay Example For Students

Faust: The Characters That Define Him Essay Faust: a figure defined by the characters in which he interacts. In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe s Faust first part, Faust is a famous character of self-inflicted tragedy. The characters such as Mephistopholes, Wagner, and Gretchen imply those feelings, impulses, needs, and wants that many may face during a lifetime. Goethe s story of Faust illustrates an interesting path that one may follow at a universal point where we feel we do not know our purpose and feel pinned down by the sadness of the seemingly impossible satisfaction of life. The story appeals to all who read it. It shows that feelings of loneliness and unfulfilment are timeless and take many forms. Lust is personified by Gretchen, temptation by Mephisto, and the past by Wagner. Each character slyly describes pieces to the Faust puzzle. All together the story seemingly resembles that of a very complicated fairy tale. Each character of Faust plays an intense role in Faust s life, however brief. Of the most intense is of course Mephistopholes, the devil. This devil is for the first time comical in literature and is quickly understood. Mephisto takes the opportunity to test Faust with God permission to find if he will betray him. At this same time Faust is contemplating suicide and angry and curious at what he cannot learn. He has become a respected, learned, intimidating person. He feels all that he has learned has done nothing for him and wants desperately to learn unearthly things like those in the spirit world. He is severely unhappy with who he is and where he has come to be, like so many of this world today. He personifies the point at which people sit and wonder where to go next and what to believe or to even believe at all. Each human being wants to know the far-reaching points of the universe and looks upon God as an aggravating puzzle. Faust is this person. Mephisto is temptation towards evil things, thoughts, and discoveries. Mephisto is the chance people have to take the impatient, faithless way out of life. Many, like Goethe s Faust, find this direction easier because they do not care. Faust loses the heart to hope, care, and believe and therefore is tempted easily by Mephisto. Wagner, an understudy of Faust, shows what Faust was. Wagner can easily be seen as the type of person Faust most resembled before losing his direction. Wagner is content and even excited about what he has learned and fascinated by it. He is still eager to approach new thoughts, embrace old beliefs, and look forward to further study. Faust may have felt strongly about those same feelings at some point in time but now only echo from his past. This is paralleled by today s instances where people become fed up with what they are doing and want to understand something more than before. This can be a believer in faith who turns their back on it or even someone leaving their job in order to give something back. Many people many times face a turning point in their lives and continue with a large part of who they once were still a part of them. This is what Goethe is showing readers from the Faust-Wagner relationship. The bottom line is to show the readers a background of Faust. Love, everyone has stumbled upon it no matter what the circumstances. Gretchen is the potential love that lay hidden upon every man s heart until awakened. Potential love because Faust does not know her when he yearns for her on the street, she personifies lust at first. .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 , .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .postImageUrl , .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 , .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:hover , .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:visited , .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:active { border:0!important; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:active , .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451 .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5eaee7b132750b7307dd121c68d4a451:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Raaaaa EssayUp until his lustful thoughts of her, Faust seems to have never come close to love. This relationship tells us nothing that comes by sin (bribery and lies) is worth it. Although Faust seems to fall in love with her, because things must be hidden from her and others doom it to never succeed. Such as life it screams at the reader that virtues such as patience and honesty may not always produce quick results, in the end all is better than before. Faust s relationship with Gretchen illustrates the impatience in life and how fast happiness without virtue will make you worse off than before. This is such a great lesson to learn in today s society most of all. Gretchen s brother Valentine is the image of consequence. He reveals to the reader what Faust knew in the back of his mind of their relationship. Faust was blinded by the immediacy of love from Gretchen that he did not consider the consequences. Although he did not see them at first, he is brought face to face with Valentine himself to realize them. Like so many others, people who do not face quick consequences will always in the end suffer in one way or another as Goethe points out by this relationship. In the end of this story the reader is left thankful that Gretchen is forgiven (like those blinded by deception) but curious as to Faust s fate. Faust, Part One does describe a human s mortality and makes the reader think of similar instances in his own life. As each character slides into place to complete the Faust puzzle one realizes the similarities between him and us and the paths we choose. This slight fairy tale titled Faust imposes the importance of happiness and danger of temptation and appeals to all that discover it.

5 Tips To Survive (And Own) Your Freshman Year

As we reluctantly bid farewell to summer cookouts and Netflix binges, we turn our attention to the start of the school year.Some of you may have already conquered your campus and carved out a piece of it for yourself, but, for many of you, college will be your first year away from home. Here are TCE’s top 5 tips on how to survive (and own) your freshman year experience: 1. Actually go to class. Shocking, right? Your parents won’t be walking you to class anymore. It’s time to put on your big kid shoes and actually attend class. Unlike high school where you can usually make up a test or quiz if youre absent, in college it’s much different. By skipping class not only are you missing material that likely won’t be covered again, falling behind on schoolwork, and making more work for yourself, but you’re also doing yourself a disservice when considering how much you paid for tuition(drops mic). 2. Schedule â€Å"me† time. We know, there are like 10,000 clubs you want to join on campus and only 24 hours in a day. Regardless, it’s important to spend 20 to 30 minutes each day just focusing on yourself. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself by all the amazing opportunities, burn yourself out early, and then never have a chance to participate in anything. Spend the last 20 to 30 minutes of your day just relaxing  ­ whether this means reading a book, catching up with family, or just going to bed early, use this time to step away from the stresses of school. 3. It’s cool to use a planner. While it is important to schedule â€Å"me time,† it’s also important to be maximizing the hours in a day to get more stuff accomplished. For example, if you have around 3 hours of homework for the day and you put it off until late night, it’s likely you will be missing out on some club meetings, social events, and fun stuff since that generally happens at the same time. By figuring out where you have gaps in your schedule, and then utilizing them to catch up on schoolwork, meals, and other important stuff, you’ll save time for â€Å"fun† things at night. Just buy an agenda, use your phone, or download one of those fancy apps  ­ whatever works for you! 4. Go to your professor’s office hours. This one’s often overstated but under utilized. Your professors actually want to help you (shocking, I know). Trust me, I can’t remember the number of times I’ve walked past a professor’s office and found them just sitting there staring at the wall. Actually go to their office hours and introduce yourselves to them! Even if you don’t have any questions, it’s a great way to begin making professional connections, learn about their work, and who knows, spark some sort of interest within yourself. Also, they’ll love you more for not having wasted their time doing nothing. 5. Network, network, network! If you’re a college freshman, you’re probably like, â€Å"wait what, isn’t networking for, like, old people!?† To answer your question: No. To get right to the point, the workforce is competitive. A college degree is essential for getting most jobs in the marketplace, but what also counts is how well you know people and your experience. Unfortunately, to usually get the experience in your desired field means knowing how to network with industry professionals . While you should certainly take advantage of your university’s career services (most of them have workshops on resume writing, networking, cold calling employers, etc.), you should also begin to forge relationships with your fellow peers. Come a decade down the line, and it’s the people around you who will inevitably be holding some of the positions that you may want. Just be yourself, genuine, and humble and the â€Å"networking† piece usually comes by itself.

Medical Billing Changes Create a Whole New World of Jobs

Medical Billing Changes Create a Whole New World of Jobs Physicians’ offices and hospitals are introducing many changes in the ways they bill insurance. The need for individuals skilled in this venue has increased, and is expected to continue growing. Let’s take a look at  why this is happening and what it means for you  if you are interested in pursuing this career. What is ICD-10?Understanding what the latest International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) entails is complex. It replaces the ICD-9 system that has been in use for years. Both systems code for a particular disease, along with modifiers for identification and billing purposes. The ICD-10 system lists more than 140,000 codes used for diagnosis, treatment, and  procedures. Some codes are detailed, and finding the right code might be difficult. Doctors, already burdened by a complicated health care system, may find it difficult to easily find the right code. If the correct code remains unfound, the cost may revert back to the patient. Hiring individuals tr ained in this new system is important to making it run smoothly.The codes are based on an official list originating with the World Health Organization. It is not dependent on a particular health care plan and has no link to the incorporation of the Affordable Care Act in the United States.Readiness for the new ICD-10 implementationPhysician readiness for using the new system is lacking, according to the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange or WEDI. About 25 percent of physicians are not going to be ready, and possibly an additional 25 percent will not be acclimated. This may cause delays in using the new ICD-10 system, and many providers are looking to hire those trained in the new system.Why is ICD-10 so difficult?Part of the problem with the new coding is precision. While this might sound oversimplified or at odds with the delicate balance found in proper billing, it isn’t. For example, there are about  18 codes for a patient who ate a toxic mushroom that  adequate ly describe the patient’s medical  situation. Another example: looking at a fractured leg and properly coding it may mean choosing among  dozens of codes to find the right one.The  ICD-10 coding employs more than 70,000 diagnostic codes, compared with 15,000 in ICD-9. Procedures done in the hospital will rise from 4,000 to 72,000. The transition from the old system and the sheer number of increased codes mean that both office and hospital billing will need people  trained in ICD-10.Increased training for ICD-10Some schools have increased the amount of training for coding based on the new guidelines by providing ICD-10 courses. Those taking refresher courses are poised to take advantage of the need for billing personnel. Hospitals, health insurance plans, and physician and other health care professional offices will have a need for this skill. In addition, the work will become more demanding, and medical professionals who work with coding will be  expected to pass a certification exam.More job opportunities in 2016 for medical billingvia GIPHYJobs in medical coding are expected to increase by 18 percent through 2016, according to the Department of Labor. Due to demand, experts believe many positions will be based on a 40-hour workweek with overtime. Salaries will range between $23,000 and $43,000 based on experience, geographical area, and whether the job is in a hospital or office.Finding the right medical billing job as well as other healthcare jobs depends on having a way to finding positions right for you. TheJobNetwork makes it easy by sorting through jobs meeting your qualifications and needs. After you enter your qualifications and job interests, TheJobNetwork searches around the clock for jobs that match that description and sends you notifications by email. Sign up with TheJobNetwork to get started.

Why International and Domestic Terrorist Hate Research Paper

Why International and Domestic Terrorist Hate - Research Paper Example The fight against terrorism is a global responsibility however, there is need to identify why these terrorist groups target specific regions and nations while attacking. According to LaFree et al (2012) international terrorism has been a threat in USA since 1970. The targets being populated areas and government premises. The tactics have changed over the years but the impacts of their attacks have been devastating both to the affected individuals and the country’s economy. The major tactics used by al- Qaeda remains facility attacks such as the September 11 attack. The main aim of these terror groups is to psychologically and physically affect their targets. The higher the causality would imply their success in their attack. The first reason as to why the hate is the fact that the two regional locations of USA and the terror group have had its historical differences. The historical rivalry has played part in making USA their target. Historical differences have culminated into hatred and lack of trust between the terror group and the nation. The previous leaders of the group also have had their differences with the state hence this has played part in creating animosity between the country and Al- Qaeda. Ideological differences have also played part in making USA the target of al-Qaeda. This revolves around both political and philosophical ideologies. Political stands by the state have meant that they develop their national agenda based on what the state believes is the rule of law (Borgeson & Valeri, 2009). On the other hand the group advocates for traditional methodology in governance and lifestyle. Different political ideologies has meant that the United State revise their military policy to offer aid to their allies. This means that the country has been actively involved in world politics. In most cases the military aid has meant reducing the military prowess of this terror

Environmental Health Assessment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environmental Health Assessment - Case Study Example In Kenya for example, we have the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). The authority is charged with many tasks of managing the environment from destruction, key among them harmonizing a range of environmental management activities that is conducted by other lead agencies. Among other functions, it is also charged with promoting the incorporation of ecological deliberations into development strategies, projects, and programmes, with an oversight of ensuring rational utilization and proper management of environmental wealth on a sustainable yield basis (NEMA, 2008). To start up a project in Kenya, managers must apply to NEMA so that an environmental risk and health assessment can be undertaken. These procedures are usually done to identify an alternative project that harms the environment and health of citizens less. The assessments are also carried out in order to come up with mitigation procedures that can be used to reimburse for possible health and environmental impacts (Turnbull, 1991). In Kenya, NEMA reserves the final say of allowing industries to use the Kenyan environment to conduct their business. It licenses them after the assessment is done and the industries or projects are given a clean bill of health in environmental preservation. When projects flout the rules and start degrading the environment, NEMA can automatically revoke the license and the firm will cease to operate (NEMA, 2008). Kenya Utility Poles Ltd Due to high demand of electricity poles from Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), the main power distributor in Kenya, a consortium of investors from the United States has come up with a plan to build a multi-billion industry that will ease the demand for electricity poles. KPLC has been sourcing majority of its utility poles from neighboring Tanzania, thus using up a huge chunk of its revenue on utility poles. To KPLC, the investors' idea of starting up an industry that will mass produce utility poles at the heart of Nairobi, the capital city, is good news. But this is not well received by NEMA, the authority charged with managing the environment. After the investors presented their proposals to NEMA for consideration, it was realized that the company was intending to use Pentachlorophenol (PCP) chemical for poles preservation. Pentachlorophenol, hereafter known as PCP is mainly used as a restricted pesticide in farming activities. But it is also an effective wood preservative used mainly in wharf pilings, railroad tiers, and utility poles. When individuals are exposed to the chemical at high levels, various counterproductive health as well as ecological issues arises (What is pentachlorophenol, 2008). This is what is making NEMA to sound the alarm bell. The chemicals contained in PCP causes many health complications. They are known to damage the liver as well as weaken the immune system of victims. This will have direct health ramifications for workers of the proposed industry as well as those living in the vicinity. The chemicals are also known to raise the body temperatures and cause developmental defects to those who are exposed. Ecologically, PCP was found to be highly toxic to warm and cold fishes and all the other

Valuing cultural diversityfeeling respected as a way of managing Essay

Valuing cultural diversityfeeling respected as a way of managing diversity is tapping diversitys true benefits and HRM role to support managing cultural dive - Essay Example ept of integration-and-learning perspective, cultural diversity in terms of the access-and-legitimacy perspective and discrimination-and-fairness perspective, and integration-and-learning perspective will be identified and analysed. There are many ways in which cultural diversity at work can be strengthened. One of the major factors that causes problem in managing diversity is the behaviours of people within the working environment. (Henderson 1994, p. 133) Therefore, making employees feel respected has been considered as one of the best ways in promoting cultural diversity within the working environment. In the process of examining the truth behind this statement, the student will conduct a literature review on how the application of integration-and-learning perspective could enhance organizational learning, growth, and renewal. Prior to conclusion, the role of HRM in support of cultural diversity (under the integration-and-learning perspective) in the workplace will be thoroughly discussed. Organizational culture is actually referring to a set of norms, beliefs, principles and behaviour that gives the organization a unique character. (Naylor 1997, p. 1; Brown, 1995) In the case of David (1999, p. 143), the author defines organizational culture as â€Å"a pattern of behaviour developed by an organization to cope with problems related to external adaptation and internal integration aside from enabling the employees to feel and think positively.† The word ‘diversity’ means as â€Å"to include a variety of racial or ethical backgrounds and characteristics of humankind.† (College of the Mainland 2008) Considering the definition of diversity, the study of cultural diversity is focused on acknowledging one or more socio-demograhic traits like gender, race, ethnicity, and age (Janssens & Zanoni 2005). In other words, cultural diversity at work – also known as multiculturalism is about integrating culture in terms of employees’ age, gender, mental or physical

Managing financial resources and decisions JS and CO

Managing financial resources and decisions JS and CO JS and co is a medium sized retailer formed by two partners, James and Sainsbury, who are running it in the UK since 1869. The retailer specializes in quality food products but it sells other non-food products as well. This company got very good success in the market from the past three years. During this discussion we are going to discuss about this company sources of finance, finance as a source, financial decisions, and financial performance. The broad view of this company in our discussion: P1 (sources of Finance) P2 (Finance as a resource) P3 (Financial decisions) P4 (Financial performance) P1 (SOURCES OF FINANCE) IDENTIFY THE SOURCES OF FINANCE AVAILABLE TO THE BUSINESS When a company is growing rapidly, for example when contemplating investment in capital equipment, its current financial resources may be inadequate. Few growing companies are able to finance their expansion plans from cash flow alone. They will therefore need to consider raising finance from other external sources. In addition, managers who are looking to buy-in to a business or buy-out a business from its owners may not have the resources to acquire the company. They will need to raise finance to achieve their objectives. There are a number of potential sources of finance to meet the needs of a growing business Existing shareholders and directors funds Business angels Clearing banks (overdrafts, short or medium term loans) Factoring and invoice discounting Hire purchase and leasing Venture capital A key consideration in choosing the source of new business finance is to strike a balance between equity and debt to ensure the funding structure suits the business. The main differences between borrowed money (debt) and equity are that bankers request interest payments and capital repayments, and the borrowed money is usually secured on business assets or the personal assets of shareholders and/or directors. A bank also has the power to place a business into administration or bankruptcy if it defaults on debt interest or repayments or its prospects decline. ASSESSING THE IMPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT SOURCES. Financial institutions that transcend national boundaries and engage in such activities as extensive inter bank contracts, over-the-counter derivatives contracts, quit, bond, and syndicated loan issuance, and trading activities globally has led to stronger interconnections, innovation, and growth. While tighter interdependencies can increase the efficiency of the global financial system by smoothing credit allocation and risk diversification, they have also increased the potential for cross-market and cross-border disruptions to spread swiftly. In addition, financial innovations have enabled risk transfers that were not fully recognized by financial regulators and institutions themselves, and have complicated the assessment of counterparty risk, risk management, and policy responses. Although linkages across institutions have traditionally focused on solvency concerns, the current crisis reminds us of the relevance of liquidity spillovers, specifically that (1) Interconnectedness means difficulties in rolling over liabilities may spill over to the financial system as a whole; and that (2) Rollover risk associated with short-term liabilities is present not only in the banking sector but, equally importantly, in the nonblank financial sector. Thus, it is essential to improve our understanding and monitoring of direct and indirect financial systemic linkages, including by strengthening techniques to assess systemic link-ages, and thereby contribute to making systemic-focused supervision feasible. Four complementary approaches to assess financial sector systemic linkages and focuses on this definition of systemic risk: 2 The network approach The co-risk model The distress dependence matrix The default intensity model CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR THE BUSINESS. There are a number of ways of raising finance for a business. The type of finance chosen depends on the nature of the business. Large organizations are able to use a wider variety of finance sources than are smaller ones. Savings are an obvious way of putting money into a business. A small business can also borrow from families and friends. In contrast, companies raise finance by issuing shares. Large companies often have thousands of different shareholders. To gain extra finance a business can take out a loan from a bank or other financial institution. A loan is a sum of money lent for a given period of time. Repayment is made with interest. The lender of money needs to know all the business opportunities and risks involved and will therefore want to see a detailed business plan. The lender may also want some form of security should the business run into financial difficulty, and may therefore prefer to provide a secured loan. Another way of raising short-term finance is through an overdraft facility with a bank. The borrower is given permission to take out more from their account than they have put in. The bank fixes a maximum limit for the overdraft. Interest is charged on the overdraft daily. Businesses may also qualify for grants. Government and private funds are sometimes made available to businesses that meet certain conditions. For example, grants and loans may be available to firms setting up in rural areas or where there is high unemployment. Out comes: By this module I understood the different long term and short term sources of finance with the implications of choice of one source over the other and any advantages and disadvantages of sources different sources of finance. P2 (FINANCE AS A RESOURCE) ASSESS AND COMPARE THE COSTS OF ABOVE MENTIONED SOURCES OF FINANCE. A company might raise new funds from the following sources: The capital markets: i) New share issues, for example, by companies acquiring a stock market listing for the first time ii) Rights issues  · Loan stock  · Retained earnings  · Bank borrowing  · Government sources  · Business expansion scheme funds  · Venture capital  · Franchising. Ordinary (equity) shares Ordinary shares are issued to the owners of a company. They have a nominal or face value, typically of $1 or 50 cents. The market value of a quoted companys shares bears no relationship to their nominal value, except that when ordinary shares are issued for cash, the issue price must be equal to or be more than the nominal value of the shares. Deferred ordinary shares Are a form of ordinary shares, which are entitled to a dividend only after a certain date or if profits rise above a certain amount. Voting rights might also differ from those attached to other ordinary shares. Ordinary shareholders put funds into their company: a) By paying for a new issue of shares b) through retained profits. New shares issues A company seeking to obtain additional equity funds may be: a) An unquoted company wishing to obtain a Stock Exchange quotation b) An unquoted company wishing to issue new shares, but without obtaining a Stock Exchange quotation c) A company which is already listed on the Stock Exchange wishing to issue additional new shares. EXPLAINING THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL PLANNING Financial planning it is a process which presents before an individual, organization or even a country, the current financial position and the adjustments in the spending pattern, in order to meet the goals. Importance of Financial Planning It is important to plan finances in order to reap long term benefits through the assets in hand. The investments that one makes are structured properly and managed by professionals through financial planning. Every decision regarding our finances can be monitored if a proper plan is devised in advance. The following points explain why financial planning is important. Cash Flow: Financial planning helps in increasing cash flow as well as monitoring the spending pattern. The cash flow is increased by undertaking measures such as tax planning, prudent spending and careful budgeting. Capital: A strong capital base can be built with the help of efficient financial planning. Thus, one can think about investments and thereby improve his financial position. Income: It is possible to manage income effectively through planning. Managing income helps in segregating it into tax payments, other monthly expenditures and savings. Family Security: Financial planning is necessary from the point of view of family security. The various policies available in the market serve the purpose of financially securing the family. Investment: A proper financial plan that considers the income and expenditure of a person helps in choosing the right investment policy. It enables the person to reach the set goals. DESCRIBE THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF DIFFERENT DECISION MAKERS. Commonly used indicators such as the gross national product (GNP) and measurements of individual resource or pollution flows do not provide adequate indications of sustainability. Methods for assessing interactions between different sectoral environmental, demographic, social and developmental parameters are not sufficiently developed or applied. Indicators of sustainable development need to be developed to provide solid bases for decision-making at all levels and to contribute to a self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and development systems. (a) To achieve more cost-effective and relevant data collection and assessment by better identification of users, in both the public and private sectors, and of their information needs at the local, provincial, national and international levels; (b) To strengthen local, provincial, national and international capacity to collect and use multicultural information in decision-making processes and to enhance capacities to collect and analyze data and information for decision-making, particularly in developing countries; (c) To develop or strengthen local, provincial, national and international means of ensuring that planning for sustainable development in all sectors is based on timely, reliable and usable information; (d) To make relevant information accessible in the form and at the time required to facilitate its use. DESCRIBE THE IMPACT OF FINANCE ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. All the relevant financial information of a business enterprise presented in a structured manner and in a form easy to understand, is called the financial statements. There are four basic financial statements: Balance sheet: also referred to as statement of financial position or condition, reports on a companys assets, liabilities, and Ownership equity at a given point in time. Income statement: also referred to as Profit and Loss statement (or a PL), reports on a companys income, expenses, and profits over a period of time. Profit Loss account provide information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sale and the various expenses incurred during the processing state. Statement of retained earnings: explains the changes in a companys retained earnings over the reporting period. Statement of cash flows: reports on a companys cash flow activities, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities. For large corporations, these statements are often complex and may include an extensive set of notes to the financial statements and management discussion and analysis. The notes typically describe each item on the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement in further detail. Notes to financial statements are considered an integral part of the financial statements. Outcome: By this module, I identify the costs of finance as a resource, how to make up a budget on the basis of given information and implication of failure to finance adequately. P3 (FINANCIAL DECISIONS) ANALYZE BUDGETS AND MAKE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS How much unbudgeted downside risk you should manage Worst-case scenario (given catastrophic losses) vs. regret The value (and cost) of compliance with regulations (for example, SOX) Real Options: The Value of Midcourse Corrections to Projects One of the fundamental insights of modern financial theory is that options have value. The phrase We are out of options is surely a sign of trouble. However, because corporations (and other organizations) make decisions in a dynamic environment, they usually have midcourse options that should be considered in project valuations: The Option to Abandon a project: Has value if return (or savings) turns out to be lower than expected The Option to Expand a project: Has value if return (or savings) turns out to be higher than expected The Option to Delay a project: Has value if the underlying variables are changing with a favorable trend The Option to Outsource a project: Has value if internal resources dont have required experience and expertise In practice, companies sometimes have other choices. They can delay the decision until later, when more information is available. Or, they can call in outside help, even after having deciding not to do so at the outset. Such investment timing options can dramatically affect a projects estimated mean NPV and risk. Projects that can easily be modified in these ways are more valuable than those that do not provide such flexibility. The more uncertain the outlook, the more valuable this flexibility becomes. CALCULATE UNIT COSTS AND MAKE PRICING DECISIONS USING RELEVANT INFORMATION. Defining Costs There are several types of costs to consider when conducting a breakeven analysis, so heres a refresher on the most relevant. Fixed costs: These are costs that are the same regardless of how many items you sell. All start-up costs, such as rent, insurance and computers, are considered fixed costs since you have to make these outlays before you sell your first item. Variable costs: These are recurring costs that you absorb with each unit you sell. Setting a Price This is critical to your breakeven analysis; you cant calculate likely revenues if you dont know what the unit price will be. Psychology of Pricing: Pricing can involve a complicated decision-making process on the part of the consumer, and there is plenty of research on the marketing and psychology of how consumers perceive price. Take the time to review articles on pricing strategy and the psychology of pricing before choosing how to price your product or service. Pricing Methods: There are several different schools of thought on how to treat price when conducting a breakeven analysis. It is a mix of quantitative and qualitative factors. The formula: Dont worry, its fairly simple. To conduct your breakeven analysis, take your fixed costs, divided by your price, minus your variable costs. As an equation, this is defined as: Breakeven Point = Fixed Costs/(Unit Selling Price Variable Costs) This calculation will let you know how many units of a product youll need to sell to break even. Above the breakeven point, every additional unit sold increases profit by the amount of the unit contribution margin, which is defined as the amount each unit contributes to covering fixed costs and increasing profits. As an equation, this is defined as: ASSESS THE VIABILITY OF A PROJECT USING INVESTMENT APPRAISAL TECHNIQUES. Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria 1. Understand the nature of accounting, accountability and stewardship within a business environment Understand the nature and purpose of book-keeping and accounting and the difference between them. Be able to: Explain the difference between book-keeping, financial accounting and management accounting. Identify different stakeholders and their interest in the financial position of the business. Explain how accounting can be used for planning, decision making and control. Be able to: Identify and describe the fundamental accounting concepts of going concern, accruals, consistency, prudence and true and fair. Identify the key elements of financial statements (income, expenses, assets, liabilities, capital) and describe their relationship using the accounting equation. 1. Understand the nature of accounting, accountability and stewardship within a business environment (continued) Identify the main financial statements and explain how they are compiled (Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement). Describe how financial accounts are regulated using accounting standards. 2. Understand how financial statements can be analysed and interpreted to judge the performance of a business Understand how financial statements can be analysed and interpreted using ratio analysis so that stakeholders can judge the performance of a business. Be able to: Identify likely users of ratio analysis and explain how they might use the information. Calculate and interpret profitability ratios (gross profit, net profit, ROCE, asset turnover). Calculate and interpret liquidity ratios (current ratio, acid test ratio, debtor days, creditor days, stock turnover days). Calculate and interpret investment ratios (gearing, interest cover, simple EPS) Use ratio analysis to make comparisons between one business over time, two businesses or to compare results to industry standards. Explain the benefits and limitations of ratio analysis. 3. Understand the importance of working capital maintenance (continued) Explain how creditors can be used as a source of finance and identify the costs of trade credit. Explain how the elements of working capital can be managed effectively to minimise borrowing and its associated costs. Understand how a cash flow forecast can be used to predict and manage future working capital requirements. Be able to: Distinguish between cash and profit. Identify and understand the implications of non-cash accounting adjustments such as depreciation and provision for bad debts. Prepare a simple cash flow forecast and identify periods of cash excess or cash shortage. 4. Identify and assess different sources of funding available for business Understand that there are a range of sources of finance available for businesses and those different types of finance are suitable for different purposes. 5. Understand and distinguish between costs based on their behaviour Understand that costs can be classified in different ways based on their behaviour. Outcome: By this module I able to understand the different investment appraisal techniques and nature of long-term decisions. P4 (FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE) EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF MAIN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The three main financial statements are: The balance sheet-which reports a corporations assets, liabilities, and stockholders equity as of a point-in-time (e.g., as of midnight of December 31, 2009). The income statement-which reports a corporations revenues and expenses for a period of time, such as a year, quarter, month, 52 weeks, 13 weeks, etc. The statement of cash flows (or cash flow statement)-which provides information on the change in a corporations cash and cash equivalents during the same period of time as the income statement. The financial statements that are distributed outside of a company need to be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For example, the cost principle generally requires that the balance sheet should report long-lived assets at cost minus accumulated depreciation. The matching principle requires that the cost of long-lived assets used in the business be allocated to various accounting periods in which they generate revenues or are used up. ANALYSES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS USING APPROPRIATE RATIONS AND COMPARISONS, BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL. 1. CURRENT RATIO OR WORKING CAPITAL RATIO: Current ratio may be defined as the relationship between current assets and current liabilities it is also known as working capital ratio. Current assets CURRENT RATIO = Current liabilities Year ended 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Current assets(in crores) 913.27 2333 1614 1171 913.27 Current liabilities(in crores) 1479 994 475 336 213 Ratio 0.62 2.347 3.397 3.485 4.132 Interpretation: A current ratio of 2:1 is usually considered as ideal. If it is less than 2, then it means the company is not enjoying the adequate liquidity. In past five years it shows a decline in the ratios. 2. QUICK RATIO: Formula = Current Assets Inventory Prepaid Expenses Current Liabilities Interpretation: A quick ratio of 1 is considered ideal. In all the five years, it was above 1, where the funds can be properly employed. LEVERAGE RATIOS 1. DEBT EQUITY RATIO: Debt-equity ratio, also known as External-Internal ratio is calculated to measure the relative claims of outsiders and the owners (i.e., shareholders) against the firms assets. This ratio indicates the relationship between the external equities or the outsiders funds and the internal equities or the share holders funds. Interpretation: A DEBT EQUITY RATIO OS 2:1 IS IDEAL. IN 2004-06 THERE IS NO DEBT EQUITY RATIO. IN 2007 AN 2008 IT SHOWED A NEGLIGIBLE VALUE. 2. PROPRIETORY RATIO: It is the ratio between shareholders equity and Total Assets. Formula= Shareholders Equity Total Assets YEAR SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY TOTAL ASSETS RATIO 2004 125.34 1309 0.095 2005 140.71 1651 0.085 2006 285.15 2257 0.126 2007 291.80 3389 0.086 2008 298.65 3987 0.074 Interpretation: A higher the proprietary ratio the better it is In all the five years it is less than one. It shows weak financial position of the business. 3. INTEREST COVERAGE RATIO: It is the ratio between EBIT and Interest Formula = EBIT Interest YEAR EBIT INTEREST RATIO 2004 355 2005 410 2006 499 1 499 2007 693 6 115.5 2008 834 13 64.15 Interpretation: The higher interest coverage ratio the better it is. In 2004 there is no interest coverage ratio. In 2006, 2007 2008 it showed a heavy ration which indicates a greater safety of Out come: By this I understood the basis business and accounting terminology used and should be able to interpret the information collected from financial statements using ratio analysis and could draw conclusions from it. CONCLUSIONS By this module I understood the different long term and short term sources of finance with the implications of choice of one source over the other and any advantages and disadvantages of sources different sources of finance. By this module I identify the costs of finance as a resource, how to make up a budget on the basis of given information and implication of failure to finance adequately. By this module I able to understand the different investment appraisal techniques and nature of long-term decisions. By this I understood the basis business and accounting terminology used and should be able to interpret the information collected from financial statements using ratio analysis and could draw conclusions from it.

An Analysis of Poetry by Langston Hughes :: Biography Biographies Essays

An Analysis of Poetry by Langston Hughes Theme for English B begins by Hughes describing the specific instructions for an assignment given to him by an instructor. I feel the understanding of that assignment to be one of the major clues to the meaning of this piece of poetry. "Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you- Then, it will be true." At my first glance of this poem I felt I had the idea Hughes was expressing down, but these instructions caught my eye. It grabbed my attention because I did not feel that the statement given by the instructor was necessarily true in itself. Since the instructor did not say "be true to you" at the end of this phrase, he was actually saying that whatever comes out of a person is true. Now in my lifetime I have found, early on as a matter of fact, that many thoughts that come from people are actually no true at all. This being my reasoning I was having a rather hard time moving on to the meat of the poem.

Barnes and Noble Case Study

Management Project 10th of december 2010 History In 1873, Charles Barnes opened a book-printing business in the USA. The first bookstore was set up by his son, William, in partnership with G. Clifford Noble, in 1917 in New York and it is the advent of Barnes and Noble. In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, the bookstore was moved to its current location on Fifth Avenue. Barnes & Noble was acquired by Leonard Riggio in 1971, who oversaw the growth of the business. Leonard Riggio, the company's chairman, began his bookselling career while attending New York University in the early 1960s.Working as a clerk in the university bookstore, he became convinced that he could do a better job serving students,  and he opened a competing store of his own. With a small investment, Mr. Riggio established the Student Book Exchange (SBX) in Manhattan's Greenwich Village in 1965. The store quickly became one of New York’s finest bookstores, known for its knowledgeable staff, wide se lection and great service. In 1974, Barnes & Noble became the first bookstore to advertise on television.In 1975, the company became the first bookseller in America to discount books, by selling New York Times best-selling titles at 40% off the publishers’ list price. During the 1970s and 1980s, Barnes & Noble opened smaller discount stores, which were eventually phased out in favor of larger stores. They also began to publish their own books to be sold to mail-order customers, enabling them mail-order to reach new customers nationwide through mail-order catalogues. In 1979 Barnes & Noble acquired a chain of retail stores called Bookmasters, and then bought up Marboro Books Inc. , a remainder company with discount retail outlets.Barnes & Noble continued to expand throughout the 1980s, and in 1987, the company made its largest acquisition when it purchased B. Dalton Bookseller from Dayton Hudson. This acquisition of 797 retail bookstores thrust the company onto the national sc ene, making Barnes & Noble a nationwide retailer overnight and the second-largest bookseller in America. The company also acquired Doubleday Book Shops from the Bertelsmann Company and the rights to the Scribner’s bookstore trade name from Macmillan. Barnes & Noble purchased BookStop, a company operating discount book superstores in Texas, in 1989.This acquisition gave the company key insights into the ingredients behind a successful superstore strategy, from real estate to operations to marketing and merchandising. In the late 1980s, Barnes & Noble tested selling books online in an early generation venue called Trintex, a joint venture with IBM. In the early 1990s, the company refined its superstore concept and established the modern generation of Barnes & Noble superstores, which today represent over 96 percent of their retail sales. Barnes & Noble became a publicly traded company in 1993, listed in New York Stock Exchange.In the mid-1990s, it sold books on CompuServe and l ater opened a full-fledged book superstore on America Online in March 1997. Before Barnes & Noble created its web site, it sold books directly to customers through mail-order catalogs. It first began selling books online in the late 1980s, but the company’s website was not launched until May 1997. According to the site, it now carries over 1 million titles, as well as a vast selection of music CDs and DVDs. (5) In the beginning of the millenium the company has made two acquisitions that expanded its publishing capability. * In 2001, Barnes & Noble purchased SparkNotes. om, a leading study aids website, offering free online access to literature notes and more than 1,000 study guides on everything from literature to chemistry to computer science. SparkNotes converted its top study guides into print publications, and they have rapidly become bestsellers. * In 2003, Barnes & Noble purchased Sterling Publishing. For 60 years, Sterling has been one of the world's leading publishers of non-fiction books. Sterling strives to publish high-quality books that educate, entertain and enrich the lives of their readers. In March 2009, Barnes ; Noble acquired Fictionwise, a leader in the eBook marketplace.Headquartered in New Jersey, Fictionwise was founded in 2000 by Steve and Scott Pendergrast. In July 2009, Barnes ; Noble launched the world's largest eBookstore as  part of its overall digital strategy. In October 2009, Barnes & Noble introduced Nookâ„ ¢, the world’s most advanced eBook Reader. It was awarded as the Best New Gadget of 2009 in January 2010. Institutional structure Stakeholders A stakeholder is defined as â€Å"an individual or group with an interest in the success of an organization in delivering intended results and maintaining the viability of the organization's products and services. Analyzing the economic interactions of Barnes ; Noble closely, it can be seen that there is a great variety of internal as well as external stakeholders t aking part in the economic and financial decision making of the company as a whole. Internal core stakeholders of Barnes ; Noble first of all include its 40,000 nationwide employees, which contribute to the economic functioning of the company by their direct interaction with customers in Barnes ; Noble’s 720 stores and 636 college bookstores.Also they are likely to contribute directly with their ideas, creativity and expertise. Their expectancies can be identified as job security, financial compensation of their contributions in terms of a salary, esteem, pensions, extended involvement in profit and a health care insurance, as well as a pleasant working atmosphere. Further internal core stakeholders of Barnes ; Noble, who are vital for its business making through their contributions of not only risk capital, but also of ideas and control, are its various shareholders.The expected reward of shareholders concerns capital gain in terms of dividends or a rising stock price, which usually is obtained through sustainable economic growth and a reasonable business strategy of Barnes ; Noble. Besides internal stakeholders, there are also many external forces and groups which indirectly influence the decision making of Barnes ; Noble. Especially competitors play an important role, as their decision-making might directly influence or initiate changes concerning Barnes ; Noble’ operating markets.Besides its fundamental core business, which concerns selling books through its 720 local bookstores in all 50 States of the USA, Barnes ; Noble’s online appearance, www. barnesandnoble. com, has gained on importance over the last years. Especially this sector is highly competitive as big players such as Amazon. com Inc. dominate the market. Possible interactions amongst competitors concern eventual collaborations in innovation. Another absolutely important group with respect of Barnes ; Noble’s stakeholders are its clients. Their contributions to the c ompany concern not nly purchases but also loyalty and most importantly feedback, which can be used to adjust Barnes ; Noble’s business plan depending on consumer preferences. The expectations of customers include quality, special offers and, in case of the book market Barnes ; Noble operates in, a broad variety of books available directly on demand. In a more general sense, also the American government takes part in Barnes ; Noble, as it ensures a fair competition in the market through regulations and a framework of rules which has to be accepted by not only Barnes ; Noble but also by all its competitors.Rewards, which are expected by the government, include tax payments, employment, and economic growth. Also banks are part of Barnes ; Noble’ shareholders, as they provide loan capital upon request as well as advisory in exchange for interest and mortgages. However, as Barnes ; Noble rents most of its stores, there has not been any significant need of loan capitals over the last decades. Ownership Structure The ownership structure of Barnes ; Noble is determined and ranked by the amounts of shares owned by a certain individual or group.The assembly of shareholders is therefore the most important event in terms of power and decision making for Barnes ; Noble, as it is symbolizes the top entity in the hierarchy of power distribution. First of all, 49% of the total available Barnes ; Noble’s shares are in the possession of Insiders and the Top-5-Percent Owners. The most significant position, equivalent to 27. 8% of the total distributed shares, is held by Barnes ; Noble’s chairman Leonard Riggio, as it can be seen in the underneath graph. Also the American business magnate Ronald Burkle is heavily invested in Barnes ; Noble with roughly 18. % of Barnes ; Noble shares in the possession of his Investment firm Yacaipa Cos. Another 49% of total Barnes ; Noble’s shares are held by Institutional ; Mutual Fund Owners, such as Aletheia R esearch ; Management Inc. which holds 15 % on Barnes ; Noble as seen in the underneath graph. The total number of Institutions holding Barnes ; Noble’s shares was 161 in June 2010. Governance Structure and its Mechanism Barnes ; Noble governance structure is equivalent to the standard American governance model: the assembly of shareholders elects the board of directors.Then, it is the task of the board of directors to successfully control Barnes ; Noble’s top managers (the executive committee) according to the expectations and conclusions of the shareholders and the board of directors. Therefore, the top managers are the ones who effectively control the daily business of Barnes ; Noble and who give feedback to upper entities upon developments. The underneath model summarizes the simple interconnection of Barnes ; Noble’s managerial entities: Assembly of Shareholders Board of Directors Top Managers Members of the Board of Directors Barnes ; Noble can be seen in t he underneath diagram:It can be seen that the chairman Leonard Riggio together with his son Stephen Riggio, controls the Board of Directors, whereas William J. Lynch, /as the CEO, is in charge of the executive committee of Barnes ; Noble. The members who are listed as â€Å"Director† are so called independent directors, who worked for other companies over the last years and who contribute mainly with their experience to the overall decision making. The power within the Executive Committee is distributed between three major committees, which are dealing with different areas of Barnes ; Noble economic functioning: The Audit Committee, which is in charge of assuring the integrity and reliability of the ? nancial records and the protection of assets though internal control as well as the external control through an annual independent report of BDO Seidman. -The Nominating Committee, which controls the composition of the members through recommending and selecting qualified individ uals to the full board in order to elect them as new members. -The Corporate Governance Committee, dealing with the overall economic efficiency of Barnes ; Noble, as well as with the distribution of rewards for employees.Core Institutional Goals Core institutional goals of Barnes ; Noble describe the overall strategy of the Board of Directors, to be carried out by the Executive Board. Primarily, Barnes ; Noble wants to become the biggest bookseller in the United States and therefore increase its market share. Also Barnes ; Noble wants to expand its product line by not only focusing on book sales, but also by successfully selling its eBook Reader Nook. Even though the expansion on international markets was already under discussion, this is not yet part of its core objectives.Also Barnes ; Noble wants to invest in restructuring its stores in order to make the stay at a Barnes ; Noble Book Store an experience and thus increase its loyal customer base. Interaction of Elements The interc onnection of the mentioned elements is vital for the understanding of the functioning of not only Barnes ; Noble but of every company. Metaphorically it can well be compared to the mechanism of a automatic watch – if one element is missing or separated from the others, the whole mechanism will not work.Despite their different contributions and expectations, all stakeholders together form the base of the company Barnes ; Noble. Essentially it is the interaction of provided capital, a business plan and employees, which forms the first preliminary framework of a company. However, power within a company has to be distributed, as only a structured hierarchy amongst employees ensures an efficient functioning of all sectors. Therefore a governance structure has to be developed in order to distribute tasks effectively.In order to be able to plan ahead and give investors an outlook in the potential future, institutional goals have to be stated. Thus, all these core elements are absolu tely vital for not only Barnes ; Noble but for all companies in order to successfully compete in their market environment. Institutional Components influencing the Financial Performance Having analyzed the ownership structure of Barnes ; Noble, it can be seen that Leonard Riggios amount of shares owned combined with Ronald Burkles proportion of shares together sum up to almost 50 % of the total shares in the market.Therefore the entire governance structure mechanism is heavily dependent on their, eventually subjective, opinions, which makes the mechanism inefficient. Even though this is a very particular observation, I personally think it might be of significant importance, as the poor performance of the organization in my opinion is mainly due to a lack of innovation. As the founder and chairman Riggio is said to be a very conservative shareholder, he might hinder Barnes ; Noble to modernize as well as to eventually readjust its institutional goals.Corporate strategy The Companyâ⠂¬â„¢s principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles, mass market paperbacks, children’s books, eBooks and other digital content, eReaders and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, music and movies direct to customers through its bookstores or through its subsidiary Barnes ; Noble. com.In October 2009, Barnes ; Noble also launched NOOKâ„ ¢, the Company’s proprietary eReader that the firm considers the world’s most advanced eBook reader, because â€Å"it features groundbreaking lending technology, a color touchscreen and lets readers download books in seconds†. In addition Barnes ; Noble has expanded its approach to bookselling and the products it offers through its self-publishing program and through its Sterling Publishing and through the acquisition of SparkNotes.The company publishes over 500 titles annually, under a variety of imprints including Sterling, Sterling Children’s Books and Barnes ; Noble Classics. In 2009, the Company also acquired Fictionwise, Inc. (Fictionwise), a leader in the eBook marketplace, enabling the launch of one of the company’s eBookstore. Finally, as a result of the acquisition of B;N College (2009), the Company sells textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, school and dorm supplies, and convenience and cafe items on college and university campuses.B;N College sales account for approximately 14% of the Company’s fiscal 2010 sales. Products and Services Because Barnes ; Noble retail business is very complex, a deeper analysis is crucial to understand its main features: Since 1997 Barnes ; Noble has started redesigning its position in the business from a store-based model to a multichannel model centered in internet and digital commerce by launching its website barnesandnoble. om, but the biggest step forward has been done in July 2009 with the o pening of its Ebookstore and digital newsstand, which now allows customers to purchase over one million eBooks, electronic newspapers and magazines. Barnes ; Noble’s eBookstore is available on a wide range of digital platforms, including iPadâ„ ¢, iPhone , iPod touch and several smartphones, as well as most laptops or desktop computers. In Barnes ; Noble retail stores the company offers a huge selection of books, ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 titles.Complementing this extensive on-site selection, all Barnes ; Noble stores provide customers with access to the millions of books available to online shoppers at Barnes ; Noble. com while offering an option to have the book sent to the store or shipped directly to the customer. The online channel also offers the supplemental opportunity to buy not only common hard covers but also out-of-print, rare and used books. Moreover, many of the Barnes ; Noble stores have music/DVD/BluRay departments that typically stock over 20,000 titl es.The Company’s DVD and BluRay selection is focused on foreign films, documentaries and episodic TV shows. The music selection is focused on classical music, opera, jazz, blues and pop rock. The music department features RedDotNet, an advanced listening station technology that is connected to the Company’s online electronic music catalog and enables customers to listen to any compact disc in the store, sampling up to 300,000 music titles using scanner technology.In every store it is also possible to find an Home ; Gift section that offers items for the office and electronics and also Toys ; Games and PC ; Video Games departments with a selection of thousands of titles as well as consoles, accessories and strategy guides. Many stores are also have some cafes inside that offer costumers Starbucks beverages, and other products such as candies and sandwiches. Although the cafes are owned and operated by Barnes ; Noble, servers follow Starbucks' standards in beverage prepa ration.From 2004 all the stores offer a free Wi-Fi access using the AT&T FreedomLink network. Horizontal and Vertical Boundaries: While the company has a complete control on sales and hence has never franchised its retail stores, it has anyway signed many different trading agreements with third parties concerning purchases of most of the products sold, manufacturing, logistics and IT complements with the objective to reduce its operating costs. Below the most important are enlisted: NOOKâ„ ¢, the Company’s eBook reader, and other Company products are manufactured by a third-party manufacturer outside the United States and Barnes & Noble relies on components provided from a number of different manufacturers both within and outside the United States. Many of these manufacturers are concentrated in geographic areas outside the United States.. Barnes & Noble relies also on third-party digital content and applications. * The company is provided with national freight distributio n, including trucking services by Argix Direct Inc. The company’s B&N Retail segment purchases physical books from over 1,700 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. Barnes & Noble also acquires rights to distribute digital content from publishers and distributes the content on Barnes & Noble. com. * The company uses Intel-based server technology in a fully redundant configuration to power its website, which is hosted in two locations. At these locations, the company maintains computers that store its web pages in electronic form and transmits them to requesting users (known as hosting).The Company utilizes two hosting locations. One location is hosted internally by the company and the other is maintained by a third-party hosting vendor. Instead, the company decided to invest in the purchasing of two huge distribution centers: one in Monroe Township, New Jersey, which ships merchandise to stores throughout the country and to online customers and one in Reno, Nevad a, which is used to facilitate distribution to stores and online customers in the western United States.The company also owns another distribution center capacity for facilitating sales by Sterling Publishing to third parties. This investment has clearly enabled the company to source an increasingly larger percentage of its inventory through its own distribution centers, resulting in increased direct buying from publishers rather than wholesalers. Greater volume through the company’s own distribution centers makes it possible to lower distribution costs per unit, to increase both inventory turns and product margins.This has also led to improved just-in-time deliveries to stores and the ability to offer â€Å"Fast&Free Delivery† through its website and for in-store orders placed by customers for home delivery. The improvement in technologies and the changes in culture and society are making books obsolete goods whose demand is getting lower and lower, this reality force d an institution in book retailing like Barnes and Noble to change its strategy and to concentrate in new markets such as e-books production and selling as well as e-book readers manufacturing.This change in the course of action also drove the company to transform its superstores into community centers that host the most important social events as well as to turn into a multichannel distribution company by strengthening its position in the e-commerce industry. These improvements have made Barnes & Noble the only enterprise that nowadays offers readers the option of store visits, e-Commerce, and digital delivery of books to Barnes & Noble-branded devices or other devices of their choosing.The company also makes big effort in marketing and merchandising campaigns in order to drive traffic to both its stores and website: at the center of this program is Barnes & Noble. com, which receives over 450 million visits annually and most of all leverages the power of the Barnes & Noble brand b y offering online customers a premier destination for all the products sold by the company. In this way, Barnes & Noble. com serves as both the Company’s direct-to-home delivery service and as an important broadcast channel and advertising medium for the Barnes & Noble brand.Geographical scope From the point of view of the geographical scope, the aim of B&N has always been to collocate its retail stores and its college stores only in the USA in order to gain the leadership in the book-retailing market of the country. The firm has reached its goal thanks to its huge number of retail stores (720 located in all the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and 637 college stores) and has still no plans to open its stores anywhere else. Concerning the e-commerce B&N hasn’t instead created any geographical boundaries: in the USA b&n. om has a consolidated power that is still overcome just by Amazon. com whereas in Europe the firm is trying to gain shares in the market especia lly through a joint venture created in October, 1998, with the German publishing giant Bertelsmann AG. The purposes of this venture are mainly two: Bertelsmann wants to compete with Amazon. com in the U. S, while Barnes & Noble expects its partnership with Bertelsmann to help it expand into European markets. Organizational structure David Deason V. P. of Development Barnes & Noble, Inc.Chris Troia Chief Information Officer Barnes & Noble, Inc. Alan Kahn President of Barnes & Noble Publishing Group Leonard Riggio Founder and Chairman Barnes & Noble, Inc. William F. Duffy Executive V. P. of Distribution and Logistics Barnes & Noble, Inc. . Allen Lindstrom Control Allen W. Lindstrom V. P. , Corporate Controller Barnes & Noble, Inc. William J. Lynch Chief Executive Officer Barnes & Noble, Inc. Andy Milevoj Manager of Investor Relations Joseph LombardiChief Financial Officer Barnes & Noble, Inc Jaime Carey Chief Merchandising Officer Barnes & Noble, Inc. Mary Ellen Keating Senior V. P. o f Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Barnes & Noble, Inc. Stephen Riggio Vice Chairman Barnes & Noble, Inc. Mitchell S. Klipper Chief Executive Officer Barnes & Noble Retail Group Barnes & Noble, Inc. Michelle Smith V. P. of Human Resources Barnes & Noble, Inc. Mark Bottini V. P. and Director of Stores Barnes & Noble, Inc. Marcus E. Leaver President Sterling PublishingThere are no direct information about the organizational structure of the firm, but by looking at the chart it is quite clear that the company is divided in several functions that deal with both the two main operating segments: B&N Retail and B&N College; anyway the Company board of directors has decided to treat these two businesses as independent from one another, considering the manner in which the business is managed (focusing on the financial information distributed) and the manner in which its chief operating decision maker interacts with other members of management.The company has seasoned management te ams for its digital business and retail stores, including those for real estate, merchandising and store operations. According to its main strategy, the Company management team employs exclusively highly skilled professional with both media expertise and supply chain management skills in order to guarantee a positive customer’s experience regardless the preference for either physical or digital products.Field management includes regional directors and district managers supervising multiple store locations: Each store generally employs a store manager, two assistant store managers, a cafe manager and approximately 50 full and part-time booksellers. Many Barnes & Noble stores also employ a full-time community relations manager.Field management for all of the company’s bookstores, including regional directors, district managers and store managers, participate in an incentive program tied to store productivity. The company believes that the compensation of its field manage ment is competitive with that offered by other specialty retailers of comparable size. Store managers participate in annual merchandising conferences, and district managers participate in semi-annual training and merchandising conferences.Store managers are generally responsible for training other booksellers and employees in accordance with detailed procedures and guidelines prescribed by the Company utilizing a blended learning approach, including on-the job training, e-learning, facilitator-led training and training aids available at each bookstore and for adjusting the buyers’ selection to the interests, lifestyle and demands of the store’s local customers.Organizational Culture Since its foundation, the Firm has been trying to reach mainly one aim: to make its stores centers and active parts of the community life, places where people can meet, interact with the others, feel at ease and share their common passion for books.To achieve this goal the Company firstly h as built imposing bookstores in highly visible areas open seven days a week, secondly has focused on creating a warm and cozy environment with ample public spaces, comfortable settings, including lounge chairs and reading tables, a cafe, public restrooms and also children playgrounds, thirdly has added a calendar of ongoing events, including author appearances and children’s activities and also supports communities through efforts on behalf of local non-profit organizations that focus on literacy, the arts or K-12 education.As well as its stores, also the website reflects the efforts made by the company to offer a pleasant shopping experience: it is easy to browse thanks to a clear site map and a useful search bar and moreover is it organized in order to show to the visitors all the ranges of products and most of all the special offers. It is common knowledge that the artifacts are the direct expressions of some values that every company considers crucial and strives to teach to all the employees, from just a superficial analysis of the firm some of them appear quiet clearly: firstly the importance of quality and customers’ satisfaction.But what is considered absolutely vital for the effectiveness of the firm’s performance it’s both the collaboration among colleagues that can be maintained and strengthened by respecting, supporting and helping each other and the alignment with Barnes and Noble commitment and ethics. As it has already been said, the company has always believed that by concentrating its efforts on becoming a community institution and by satisfying in every aspect the customers it would encourage customer loyalty, word-of-mouth publicity and media coverage and it would have a successful and effective performance.This strategy has clearly worked and hence allowed the firm not to bother too much on competitors’ strategies and become anyway a leader in the book retailing market and one of the most powerful firms in the e-Commerce field. It is evident that the stores haven’t been created to be considered Just as dealers: the relationship that the customers establish with the company is rather more complex: per excellence books- buyers are hesitant, but in B&N stores they have the chance not only to be helped by highly skilled booksellers but also to feel at ease in special relax areas where they can peruse a book over some coffee.Also analyzing the company strategy in the e-Commerce field, the satisfaction of the customer is still the unique priority. The exploitation of the well furnished distribution centers through fast deliveries to all the USA guarantees an standoffish online service. Punctuality and fast delivery made Barnes & Nobles a leader in the e-Commerce. Competitive strategy Barnes & Noble competes in the book selling industry. The industry can be examined by using the five basic competitive forces.The threat of new entrants depends on the barriers to entry and the threat o f retaliation. There is low capital requirement for the industry, because the books can also be sold online, but the economies of scale is significantly high, because of its large inventories and diverse selection capacity. The book selling industry is a highly competitive market. The company has to compete with e-Commerce businesses (Amazon. com, Apple), mass merchandisers such as Wal- Mart, growing market for electronic books and digital distribution of book content.Additionally, it has to face a challenge because of specialty retail stores, furthermore, it competes with large bookstores such as Borders and Book-A-Million, as well as smaller bookstores such as Waldenbooks. That is why, the threat of retaliation in the book selling industry is low, because the profitability in the industry is already low due to intense competition. Legal restrictions are low for the e-commerce business and brand loyalty is also low for the industry. All of these factors approve that the barriers to entry for the book selling industry is low.The suppliers for Barnes&Noble are the third party manufacturers located outside the United States who are the producers of the books and store leasers. The threat of integration for the book manufacturers is low, so their barganing power can not be high also depending on their quantity. Besides, all of Barnes&Noble’s retail stores which are leased premises effects profitability in a very essential way. Its profitability depends on the company’s ability to find the optimum point for its store lease portfolio. number of retail store, store locations, lease terms &conditions). On the other hand the customers’volume of purchase is not that high, but the availability of information is pretty high especially for the Internet. Consequently the bargaining power of customers is high. There are no substitutes for real books except e-books, but Barnes & Noble also exists in that business. Barnes & Noble retail stores primarily c ompete on the store experience, quality of shopping and the price and availability of the products.Barnes & Noble’s most powerful competitor is Amazon. com. Amazon. com is the firm that dominates in the online book selling market, as well as web shopping. It has many advantages over Barnes&Noble, such as easy access and a highly secure information system. Also it has a book recommendation system which keeps the information of every customer by collaborative filtering and recommends books depending on the customer’s previous purchases. Unlike Barnes&Noble, Amazon. com does not have a physical bookstore.The firm has a very small inventory, but Barnes&Noble has to have a large inventory to provide a variety of selection to satisfy customers and it has to pay to the distributor within (at most) 3 months after the purchase which means that the firm has to carry the cost of the inventory for up to four months. This situation creates a disadvantage for Barnes&Noble, against i ts strong competitor Amazon. com. On the other hand, having many stores can be an advantage, because it reduces the advertising expenses of the firm.Only online book seller Amazon. com, has to advertise by links from other web sites and it has to have an advanced information technology which can offer individualized recommendations for the customers, billing and shipping systems. Barnes&Noble’s information system is worse than Amazon. com’s but it also has brick and mortar stores which can never face any technical problems that can lock up all of its sales for a period of time. Therefore, these stores have both advantages and disadvantages for the company.Another specialty that Barnes&Noble has is related to its horizontal boundaries. It majorly sells books but it also sells DVDs, toys, games and music albums. Therefore it does not have a narrow horizontal boundary. So just like Amazon. com it also has to compete with eBay, which is a very popular online auction site. As it can be understood from Amazon. com’s features, it has the market dominance, with the contribution of being the first one in the online book selling market. Still, Barnes&Noble has an advantage over Amazon. om, because Barnes&Noble is a profitable company unlike Amazon. com. It does not have high marketing expenses, because it markets its merchandise by creating a nice atmosphere and opening a coffee shop inside the stores, letting customers have a nice experience which increases their willingness to buy. Nevertheless, Barnes&Noble has to compete with â€Å"Borders† which is an international book and music retailer located in United States. Barnes&Noble is the largest bookstore chain in the US, but it still increases the concentration of the industry.One of the main competitive disadvantages of Barnes&Noble is its high overhead expenses and high cost of production, because the company has more than 1000 stores and 40,000 employees. (Amazon. com has only 7600 emplo yees, and 1600 of them are for book sales) On the other hand, its size allows it to offer some discounts to its customers and lets it have highly diverse selections, which also means that high economies of scale is an important factor for the companies in this industry.Therefore, another effective competitive strategy of Barnes&Noble is its nationwide discount pricing strategy. The current pricing is 30% off publishers’ suggested retail prices for hardcover bestsellers and 20% off select feature titles in departments such as children’s books and computer books. The Barnes & Noble Member Program offers members greater discounts. For an annual fee of $25, members receive discounts of 40% off publishers’ suggested retail prices on hardcover bestsellers, 20% off adult hardcovers, and 10% off on almost all other merchandise.These discounts are available to members for purchases made at Barnes&Noble stores. Barnes&Noble. com implemented an â€Å"everyday low pricingà ¢â‚¬  model that provides a single, low price for each item site wide for members and non members and enables the Company to offer better value to its customers. Members also receive free express shipping on eligible purchases made on Barnes&Noble. com. In addition, members receive exclusive offers and promotions via direct mail and email. Consequently, the switching cost of the industry gets higher.Barnes&Noble’s online customer base is a lot lower than Amazon. com’s. Therefore it developed or copied some strategies to overcome this dominance. For example, it made a deal with Microsoft to become â€Å"the exclusive book seller† for the book shopping category on the MSN network, which is an imitation strategy, because also Amazon. com has a similar agreement with Microsoft. Also, it sold 50% of its shares to the German Publisher Bertelsmann AG, right after Amazon. com’s similar partnership with it. Barnes&Noble’s main purpose was to grow into Euro pean markets.Besides, Barnes&Noble started to move into other markets such as the sales of dvds, toys and music albums, after Amazon. com. Amazon. com, manages to sell a lot in these areas with no profit, because of its high advertising expenses. So it is pretty useless for Barnes&Noble to copy this strategy of Amazon. com. Since Amazon. com has the dominance for the online book selling industry, only a few consumers prefer Barnes&Noble on its new market, unless it does not make any differentiations about it. Also this situation, prevents both companies to have a significant brand recognition.To sum up, Barnes&Noble, uses the Wal- Mart strategy to compete in this industry, which includes huge stores, low prices and a sophisticated technology to track its inventory and get rid of the undemanded products from its supply, but this situation can not actually help the firm to raise its profit, because an innovation is needed in this kind of a highly competitive industry. The company need s essential differentiation. Another copycat like strategy of Barnes&Noble was to create Nook (which looks like an imitation of Amazon. om’s Kindle). But this time there was a difference about this copying strategy, the company created an additional e-book software for PC, Mac and iPad and its own content library. With this strategy the company has vertically integrated. (only by a single layer which is content) Moreover, Barnes&Noble, sells content and makes its platform available to IREX and Plastic Logic devices’ users. This stack strategy, brings additional revenue to the firm and also makes the company’s options unavailable for its competitors.Unfortunately, this strategy is not good enough for the firm to dominate in the market, because scale, efficiency and little differentiations is not enough for a market with many competitors. The increased competition is likely to reduce Barnes&Noble’s sales and profits Finances Consolidated balance sheet of Ba rnes & Noble Inc. (2010-05-01) (in thousands of USD) Assets| Current Assets| Cash And Cash Equivalents| 60,965| Short Term Investments | -| Net Receivables | 106,576| Inventory | 1,370,111|Other Current Assets | 181,825| Total Current Assets | 1,719,477| Property, Plant and Equipment | 812,034| Goodwill | 528,541| Intangible Assets | 580,962| Accumulated Amortization | -| Other Assets | 64,672| Deferred Long Term Asset Charges    | -| Total Assets | 3,705,686| Liabilities| Current Liabilities| Accounts Payable | 1,624,408| Short/Current Long Term Debt | 100,000| Total Current Liabilities | 1,724,408| Long Term Loans | 260,400| Other Liabilities | 505,903|Deferred Long Term Liability Charges | 311,607| Minority Interest | 1,550| Total Liabilities | 2,803,868| Stockholders' Equity| Issued Common Stock  Ã‚  ($0. 01 per share)| 89| Retained Earnings | 681,082| Treasury Stock | -1,052,356| Capital Surplus | 1,286,215| Other Stockholder Equity | -13,212| Total Stockholder Equity | 901 ,818| Total Liabilities + Equity| 3,705,686| Consolidated Income Statement of Barnes ; Noble Inc. (2009/05/02 – 2010/05/01) (in thousands of USD) Total Revenue| 5,810,564| Cost of Revenue| 4,133,819|Gross Profit| 1,676,745| Operating Expenses| Research Development| -| Selling General and Administrative| 1,392,207| Non Recurring| 3,518| Depreciation and Amortization| 207,774| Earnings Before Interest And Taxes| 73,246| Interest Expense| 28,237| Income Before Tax| 45,009| Income Tax Expense| 8,365| Net Income| 36,644| Preferred Stock And Other Adjustments| -| Net Income Applicable To Common Shares| 36,644| Barnes;Noble Inc. financial ratios of the latest annual report (2009/05/02 – 2010/05/01) Return on equity| 4. 06%| Return on total assets| 1. 1%| Return on sales| 0. 77%| Asset turnover| 1. 57| Current ratio| 0. 99| Quick ratio| 0. 2| Debt/equity ratio*| 2. 2| Interest cover| 1. 29| Cost of capital| 1. 42%| *debt = long term loans + current liabilities Barnes;Noble Inc . financial performance evaluation The profitability of Barnes;Noble Inc. is very and despite it is mainly competing in the retailing business ROE = 4. 06% is unacceptable comparing to the average 5-year ROE=10. 5%. The same tendency can be seen looking at the ROTA which is 2. 7 times lower than the 5-year average.Company‘s profit margin is even below 1% and this means that Barnes;Noble does not manage to earn enough money but at least they are able to cover all their expenses on time without losses. Low profitability ratios as well as asset turnover can be partly explained that market was facing a sharp decline, which was caused by global financial crisis and even though it did not cause the reduction in sales which actually increased but made larger costs (i. e. interests) which increased more than sales and caused some financial problems for the company.Barnes;Noble Inc. current ratio is almost 1 and this theoretically allows for the company to cover all their short term fi nancial operations but quick ratio is very low (only 0. 2) and this means that company has much inventory which is about 80% of current assets. This means that company could possibly improve its‘ profitability ratios by increasing sales of the inventory but since Barnes;Noble is in the shrinking market which cannot buy all the goods it is almost impossible to reduce high inventory significantly.Turning to Barnes;Noble Inc. financial strength ratios situation is a bit better. Company‘s debt/ratio (2. 2) looks quite normal and we can deduce that it exploits all the available financial resources to keep its‘ sustainability as well as possible. On the other hand, interest cover is particularly low (only 1. 29) and since company is facing the shrinking market this can cause trouble in the near future and lead to negative net earnings. On of the factors which allows Barnes;Noble Inc. o have positive net earnings is low cost of capital and this means that average interest rate is 1. 42% and is lower than return on the risk capital. In overall, Barnes;Noble Inc. financial results are not very pleasant and acceptable since company is facing decreasin market there is not much it could do in order to improve its‘ situation: firstly, it should try to reduce their administrative expenses, maybe close less than the average profitable which generates higher costs.Secondly, it could try to reduce inventory by lowering prices but as I have mentioned before it is a very dfficult task to acomplish since it is facing shrinking market. Finally, it could try to use their cash which even though does not count much of current assets but this could allow company to pay at least part of their debt and increase its‘ liquidity in the short run. Bibliography http://www. google. com/finance http://www. barnesandnobleinc. com/ http://www. fundinguniverse. com/ www. barnesandnoble. com www. maths. tcd. ie/~nora/FT351-3/CS. pdf www. ichnet. org/glossary. htm