9 Pieces of Celebrity Advice That Will Inspire You to Succeed in 2017

9 Pieces of Celebrity Advice That Will Inspire You to Succeed in 2017 Love them, hate them, or roll your eyes when you see them make news for ridiculous things, famous people have something in common: they’re good at what they do, or you probably wouldn’t know who they are. And while you probably shouldn’t, say, take medical advice from George Clooney or legal advice from Justin Timberlake, it’s worth seeing what kind of celebrity advice they have to offer. As we look to the new year with its blank slate, let’s also look at how some household names in business, Hollywood, and politics approach career, success, and life balance. On Finding Purpose and DirectionOne of the first things you should do in the new year is figure out what you  want your  goals to be. To do that, it’s important to figure out what motivates you, and what you really want to be doing with your professional life. A new year is a chance to take a look at what motivates you now, because that may not be the same thing that motivated you in the past. Take the opportunity to look at who you are now, and what forces are moving you forward.â€Å"Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion. - Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zapposâ€Å"’May the Force be with you’ is charming but it’s not important. What’s important is that you become the Force- for yourself and perhaps for other people.† - Harrison Ford, actorOn Being Your Own Biggest AssetNot to get all sappy on you, but your best ally in this process is, well, you. Networks are important, but as you get ready to ramp up your career in the new year, make sure you’re putting enough value and emphasis on the skills, experience, and expertise that you already have. 2017 should be a year of moving forward with confidence, not stalling out due to self-doubt.â€Å"Don’t discount yourself, no matter what you’re doing. Everyone has a unique perspective that they can bring to the world. Just have faith in yourself and trust yo urself.† - Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of FacebookOn Achieving SuccessSuccess is not an instant result, no matter who you are or what you do. People who achieve that success have gotten there because they stuck it out, and threw everything they had at the process. CEOs, entertainers, thinkers†¦the version of â€Å"success† is different for each of them, but they have one thing in common: effort + time.â€Å"When I was 15, I left school to start a magazine, and it became a success because I wouldn’t take no for an answer.† - Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Groupâ€Å"There’s no such thing as overnight success. That’s my concern with a show like American Idol. It encourages the false belief that there’s a kind of magic, that you can be ‘discovered.’ That may be the way television works, but it’s not the way the world works. Rising to the top of any field requires an enormous amount of dedication, focus, drive, talen t, and 99 factors that they don’t show on television. It’s not simply about being picked. Which, by the way, is why very few of the anointed winners on American Idol have gone on to true success. Most have flamed out and gone away. That should tell us something.† - Malcolm Gladwell, authorâ€Å"Success is just a war of attrition. Sure, there’s an element of talent you should probably possess. But if you just stick around long enough, eventually something is going to happen.† - Dax Shepard, actorâ€Å"Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.† - Mark Cuban, entrepreneurOn Why You Should Never Give UpIf you give up on your goals because you’re seeing too many challenges or it feels too hard, no one is going to run up to you, shouting, â€Å"come back! Just kidding, here’s what you want.† Once you figure out what you want to achieve and start devising your plan to get there, itâ₠¬â„¢s crucial to stick to that, whether things get tough or are taking longer than you thought they would. You’re tougher than you think you are, so don’t let setbacks deter you from those bigger goals.â€Å"I’m very glad my mother didn’t let me quit piano lessons at age 10. She said I wasn’t old enough or good enough to make that decision, and she was right. I remember at the time I was shocked. I did not like that my mother said those things to me. But when I got a chance to play with Yo-Yo Ma or more recently with Aretha Franklin, I thought, I’m really glad she said what she did.† - Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of StateOn Seizing OpportunitiesIn 2017, be ready to size up and grab potential opportunities. Do research, talk to people in your network, and always keep an eye out for new jobs, new skill-building opportunities, anything that can help you along the way. If you’re not proactive, you’ll either miss poten tial opportunities entirely, or watch them slip right by you and turn into someone else’s chances.â€Å"People ask, ‘What’s the best role you’ve ever played?’ The next one.† - Kevin Kline, actorâ€Å"Put your head down and work hard. Never wait for things to happen make them happen for yourself through hard graft and not giving up.† - Gordon Ramsay, chef, entrepreneur, and TV personalityâ€Å"If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door- or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present is.† - Joan Rivers, comedianâ€Å"I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.† - Oprah Winfrey, entrepreneur and world dominatorOn Why It’s Okay to FailNobody likes failure- but it’s inevitable at some point. You know that song â€Å"Everybody Hurts,† by R.E.M.? The career version of it is, â€Å"everybody flops, sometimes.† Itâ₠¬â„¢s going to happen, it’s going to hurt, and you should be ready to take that failure and learn from it so you can keep moving forward. Don’t let minor failures derail your year of progress.â€Å"Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a stepping stone to success.† - Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Postâ€Å"Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.† - J.K. Rowling, authorOn Overcoming Career Obstacles2017 will have obstacles. That’s non-negotiable. But when you’re faced with those challenges, don’t let them stop your progress. Instead, ask yourself how they can factor into your journey.â€Å"When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question, ‘Is this person between me and what I want to do?'† - Tina Fey, comedian and writerOn Why Being a Lone Wolf Doesn’t WorkIf you think your 2017 journey is all about you, you’re mistaken. You are the most important piece of it, yes. But being a good team member, and knowing when to rely on others is a skill that you should start practicing as early in the year as possible. It’s not just that others can help you directly (although many can); it’s just as much learning what you can from others to apply to your own professional life.â€Å"What I have discovered, is this: You can’t do it alone. As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.† - Amy Poehler, comedian and writerâ€Å"I look for a positive attitude and are they easy to work with, are people gonna like working with them? It’s very important to like the people you work with, otherwise life [and] your job is gonna be quite miserable.† - Elon Musk, entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceXâ€Å"The best advice I ever got is: You’re the average of the five people you associate with the most.† - Tim Ferriss, author and entrepreneurOn Achieving Balance While Pursuing Your GoalsIf you have some aggressive professional goals in 2017 (new job, promotion, new approach to your existing job), don’t let those crowd out everything in your life. Making room for your personal growth, development, and happiness is just as essential. This may involve some creative thinking and sacrifices, but when you get to the other side of 2017, you don’t want to be thinking, â€Å"I wish I’d made time for thi ngs that make me happy.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Believe you can do anything. This is important for everyone and especially for women. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t have both a meaningful professional career and a fulfilling personal life. When you hear someone say you can’t do something, know that you can and start figuring out how. Ask yourself, ‘What would I do if I weren’t afraid?’† - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of FacebookAs you gear up for 2017 and the banner career year you’re going to have (whether you’re looking for new opportunities or working on growing in the role you already have), think about these bits of advice given by people who’ve reached the top of their fields. And more importantly, think about how you can make these recommendations work for you, and seize your next great opportunity!

Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2013

Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2013 It’s that time of year again! This year I will address some of the top grammatical and spelling errors specifically found on resumes and business documents, both of which constitute a large portion of what I read. Here’s the list: #10 Inconsistencies in Bulleted Lists If you make a list of bulleted items, whether it be on a resume or on a website, make them consistent in terms of the part of speech you start with. Bullets that start with the words Provide, Assess, Ensure, and Designing are not parallel; nor are bullets that start with Creates, Teaches, Organized, and Fulfills. Perhaps the inconsistent word jumps off the page when listed this way, but I see mismatched bullets in many types of documents every day. Check your bulleted lists carefully! #9 Manager/Manger According to Wikipedia, a â€Å"manger† is â€Å"a feeder that is made of carved stone, wood, or metal construction and is used to hold food for animals (as in a stable).† A â€Å"manager,† in contrast, is a person in a professional setting who supervises a person or team. Don’t mix them up on your resume, or in your Christmas greetings ;-). #8 Principal/Principle â€Å"Principal† is an adjective meaning first, highest, or foremost in importance, rank, worth, or degree; or of, relating to, or being financial principal, or a principal in a financial transaction. It can also be a noun meaning a person with a leading role, or one who holds a position of presiding rank or who is a main participant in a situation. â€Å"Principle,† in contrast, is a basic truth, tenet or assumption. I realize this spelling distinction can be hard to remember. One trick I use to keep them straight is to think, â€Å"You’re my #1 pal† and know that the word ending in â€Å"pal† relates to someone or something that is #1. #7 PowerPoint/Powerpoint It’s a common error to miss the capital P in the middle of PowerPoint. Be careful when listing any computer programs on your resume to spell them correctly! #6 Set up/Setup â€Å"Set up† is a verb meaning to set something up or put something in a specified state. Notice that there is a word in between â€Å"set† and â€Å"up† in the definition of â€Å"set up,† which you can think of as being substituted with a space. You must set *something* (_) up. â€Å"Setup,† however, is a noun meaning the process of preparing something to be used. You might set up the menus in a restaurant if you work there, but you would go to a setup menu to get a computer program ready for use. #5 Inconsistent Dashes If you use dashes in between start and end dates on your resume, or between any items in a document, use the same length dash for every similar set of text! I almost always see inconsistencies, especially on resumes, and they appear unprofessional. Don’t write June 2011-July 2013 in one spot and August 2010- June 2011 in another. #4 Apostrophes This issue makes the list for the third year in a row. Main point: Creating a plural doesn’t require an apostrophe. One client, two clients. To make a singular word possessive, add an apostrophe ‘s’: e.g., I wrote one client’s resume today. To make a plural word possessive, add an apostrophe after the ‘s’: e.g., I reviewed 5 clients’ records and discovered errors in 3 of them. See Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012 and Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2011 for more on this topic. #3 Everyday/Every day This is a repeat topic as well. Everyday is an adjective meaning â€Å"common† or â€Å"day-to-day.† Every day means â€Å"daily† or â€Å"each and every day.† Want to learn a trick to remember which is which? See Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday vs. Every Day. #2 Lead/Led The absolute most common spelling error on resumes is the use of â€Å"lead,† meant to be the past tense of â€Å"lead.† The past tense of the verb â€Å"to lead† is â€Å"led†! I would love to see this error disappear from the resume writing world. #1 Two spaces after a period! Sure there are people who still argue that two spaces after a period is acceptable, but I have been fully converted! I have trained my fingers and my eyes to put one space after each period, and I’m attempting to train my clients to â€Å"get with the program† as well. If it’s good enough for the Chicago Manual of Style, it’s good enough for me! Have a happy, healthy, and grammatically correct new year. And remember, I’m always open to hearing your suggestions for my 2014 list!

The doctrine of Parliamentary privilege has no place in a modern Essay

The doctrine of Parliamentary privilege has no place in a modern democratic society. Discuss - Essay Example To understand the magnitude of the doctrine in the modern political establishment, parliamentary privilege can be illustrated to be synonymous with parliamentary system. Even if debate for its review and in extreme debates its abolition persist, it is an issue that cannot be abandoned just in the heat of the arguments. The following discourse explores the possibilities of abandoning the doctrine based on some of its principles, in light of their appropriateness in a modern democracy. Parliamentary privilege and it purpose Parliamentary privilege according to legal experts is the immunity accorded some legislators whereby the legislators enjoy legal protection against criminal or civil liability in the course of performing their legislative duties (BBC2 para 7)1. Essentially, the privilege makes it possible also for parliament to debate or question issues that could interfere with court ongoing judicial proceedings in a case, expose state secrets, undermine national security, scour fo reign relations, and slander individuals – whether parliamentarians or not. The concept of parliamentary privilege has its roots in the Westminster system and is widely applied across the world. The privilege emerged as a direct result of the contentions that hundreds of years ago existed between the courts the Crown, and the House of Commons2 (Attorney General’s Department para 4). Some of the countries that apply the privilege to parliament other than Britain include Australia, the United Sates of America, Canada, and Kenya, in Africa. In the UK for example, such privileges allow members of the two Houses (House of Commons and House of Lords) to freely deliberate in their participation in parliament without fearing legal action based on claims of contravening the Official Secrets Act, contempt of court or slander. This privilege also assures parliamentarian that they are immune from civil arrests in matters undertaken within the precincts of parliament, in this case the Palace of Westminister3 according to the BBC1 (para 2). However this is conditional in that the members of parliament only enjoy this privilege if their statements are uttered as part of parliamentary proceeding. One such event that reinforces the application of parliamentary privilege in the United Kingdom is with respect to the Zircon affair as it threatened to reveal national secrets. Protection of the parliament against any form of interference while handling legislative obligations is by far a genuine reason for the existence of such freedom as accorded to parliamentarians (Limon 34). However, abuse of the privileges appears to be inseparable from the process of their enjoyment. The purpose of the privilege accorded to parliament rests within the context of legislative duties but other contingent intricacies of interpretation have always made efforts futile to identify balance the genuine purposes. Parliament has failed to implement the appropriate balance and checks that w ould facilitate the relevant procedures to be applied in determining parliamentary privilege usage as genuine or not. Democratic institutions need such control as would be necessary for their independence on one hand while their abuse is clearly identified and dealt with amicably on the other hand. Arguments against Parliamentary Privilege The basic rule that parliamentary privilege is intended to achieve is resolve issues bearing a matter that is of public interest

Advertisment procedure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Advertisment procedure - Essay Example Division of audience into small groups because of the increasing number of media outlets is called audience fragmentation. The increasing number of television channels, internet related ad technologies, digital signage etc have opened new opportunities for the advertising people and it is difficult for them to attract a wide range of people towards their ads because of the audience fragmentation. Most of the television like medias depends on their ad revenues and in order to get a substantial revenue from ads they need to attract as much as audiences or viewers as possible. Audience fragmentation is a major threat for such television like medias. Business media consolidation is a term used to refer the phenomenon of majority of the media outlets being owned by a small number of corporations. For example, Keith Rupert Murdoch has almost monopolized world of entertainments by introducing variety of print and television medias like, New York Post, The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, American satellite TV systems, Star networks, Fox networks, etc. In order to conquer the internet, he started the social networking website like myspace.com. Such media consolidation is a big threat to the advertising world since, these corporate which controls majority of the media will try to execute their missions and visions through these media in order to safeguard their interests. The Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations aim to ensure that credit advertisements give a clear and balanced view of the nature and costs of the credit on offer. The Regulations extend to all forms of advertising, including in print (for example, newspapers, circular letters, flyers, catalogues or billboards), on television or radio, on the internet, on teletext or by way of telephone canvassing (Credit advertising).

The Business Organisation And Environment Of Devices Information Technology Essay

The Business Organisation And Environment Of Devices Information Technology Essay Internet is one of the best communicating and information device that created by human it is used in a global scale for faster communication research in data and also online business, there are many type of companies around the world provides the telecommunication service. As regarding the information above our group has selected a company which is currently the leading telecommunication company in Malaysia that is called Telekom Malaysia berhad which owns a capitalization over RM11 billion and total work force of around 24,000. Before moving on to the points that we researched which are related to the company we would like to explain the history and achievement of the company with the information we gathered. The history of the Telekom Malaysia Berhad . The company was established in the year 1946, developed rapidly from the year 1995 where internet was first internet age began in Malaysia. According to the Malaysian internet survey which was conducted by Mimos and beta interactive services on 1995 one out of every thousand Malaysian had excess to the internet. As the company develop step by step with the partnership with the national building it helped the Malaysia country and the company itself with the latest technology and transform its network infrastructure from analog to digital and now moving on towards an IP base. Moving on towards the points that we choose and found the information related to the company is business organization and its environment, individual at work and lastly organization structure of Telekom Malaysia Berhad. Business Organisation and Environment As every Malaysian knows, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is currently a leading telecommunication company in Malaysia which provides internet services, voice services and also entertainment services for each of everyone of Malaysia. TM Company obtains the success today due to the outstanding leadership of the CEO. TM Companys aim is to become Malaysias top leading of new generation communications provider and to fulfill customers needs by their cutting-edge technology and excellence performance. The reason that pushes TM Company to the peak is because that the vision and mission of the company is clear and distinct, which gives their worker a general idea of what is the purpose of working there. Despite that, various types of problems from both internal and external environment still arise in the TM Company which affects the performance of the company. Malaysia is famous for its multicultural races, no doubt inside TM Company also a multicultural organization. Personalities and behaviors of workers in the organization are crucial to the company because they are the one who keep the companys profile high. For sure there are tons of types of personality and behavior inside the organization; therefore it is necessary to maintain the order of it. Human resources policies and legislation had been enacted for this purpose. Example such as Employment Act 1955, among the content, it is prohibited for women to work at around ten oclock in the night and five oclock in the morning, and also women are not allowed for underground working. Furthermore, TM Company also provides training for the new employees to be developed into various levels of staff for the company and also its subsidiaries in their own TM Training Centre. In every field of business, competitors are unavoidable. Same goes to TM Company, other company like Maxis, Digi, P1 W1max, Izzi and others are improving from time to time, which gives TM Company the pressure to upgrade them furthermore. At first, these types of companies had only made a slight impact on TM, but as business industries are affected by the globalization later on in 1990s, the competitive forces increases and forces TM to change its organization in order to cope with it. TM had no other ways but to re-organize their organization that majorly focus in improving and enhancing their productivity in order to keep surviving in the telecommunication industry with these much of competitors. Other than that, knowledge management also affects TM Companys performance and organization. The business today has moved into a rapid-changing and knowledge-based environment compare to the time before. Thus, many believes that running the business based on knowledge is crucial to the organization in order to survive. For TM Company, changing the organization style is keeping their performances remain outstanding among their competitors in telecommunication field. Leaders in TM Company use knowledge management method to keep the organization in shapes and in conjunction with that, they can fully utilize the intellectual capital. This enables the intellectual capital to grow from the aspects of skills, attitude and behavior of employees thus increasing the overall performance. Organisation structure TM Company is a big company in Malaysia. Therefore, TM company has its own unique structure and system which in bureaucracy style. Diagram 1.1 : structure of TM company Six key elements such as work specialisation, departmentlisation, chain of command, span of control ,centralisation and decentralisation and formalisation are used in designing the structure. According to the diagram above, work specialisation do exist in TM Company. For example, there are some workers who are specialised in certain tasks. Workers like technicians will repair all the systems and infrastructures of company. When lot of the specialist work together in an environment, it will form a department to perform certain similar tasks, which is a form of departmenlisation. Another element is span of control. From Diagram 1.1, span of control of each layer can be seen easily. For example, the board of directors got narrow span of control because under him there is only one subordinate, which is the chief executive officer. On the other hand, the chief executive officer got a wider span of control compare to the previous one. Under the CEO is another layer which consists of differ ent department managers and a wider span. This sequence is continued until the lowest layer of the structure.So, the chain of command will pass from the higher layer to lower layer for delegation of jobs. When all the information are gathered or jobs are completed, the final decision and approval will make by the board of directors.That call centralisation.Under some specific situation, decentralisation are used. Board of directors will pass the authority of making decision to lower layer to handle the project.Rules made by the company are call formalisation, that need all workers follow it when they are joined the company. From these elements, a tall structure can seen. Diagram 1.2 shows that a tall structure and the span of control of TM Company Beside that, there are some determinants of organisation structure such as technology, environment and strategies issues. Nowadays, technology are improved rapidly and it is a key success factor for TM Company.Technological advancement can lead TM Company competitive with other firms. In Malaysia, 2 types of telecommunication technologies, wired and wireless are applied. In field of wired internet, data communication technology like Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) being ultilizing via connection of copper lines to households.Therefore, TM company is controls the virtual DSL market.In other side, High-Speed Broadband(HSBB) are invented by TM Company using the Fiber-to-the-home ( FTTH) technology to enhance the wireless internet connection. In this modern era, a huge population of office workers are using internet to do research for their tasks. So, broadband penetration in Malaysia is getting bigger due to citizens are shifting towards knowledge-based nation. Another fact is broadband can carry easily to anywhere. Due to limitation of quota in broadband, those worker rather use wired internet connection in their home and workplaces. The demand of internet is become greater and it is a chance for TM Company to lead the market.The branches of TM, TMnet Streamyx is major choices of workes choose for internet connection.Workers can choose either using wired or wireless connection, unlike Digi, Celcom and Maxis broadband are running in wireless connection. Individuals at work In what specific ways that an individual influences an organization There are three important leadership skills that an individual should have to be able to climb up to the management position. For example, goal settings, attitude and procedure management. According to (Maryellen Gibsons blog ) a manager that has a positive attitude will effect an entire team or company in an encouraging manner and a manager which has a negative attitude will affect the organization in a not so optimistic manner. Other than this, procedure management will help an organization to stay orderly and organized. For example, when there is a new project or task to be done, theres no need to make a whole new procedure just for that project. With proper procedure management an organization can save precious time and become more efficient. Lastly, the third leadership skill is to have a goal setting. A manager which has a clear mind set for his or her company is great for benefiting their company or organization because if there is a project the manager and his company will be able to know the result of the project. A really effective manager will need to let his team contribute to the success of the project so they have ownership in the final result. Individuals at TM Net DATO ZAMZAMZAIRANI MOHD ISA is currently the managing director and the group chief executive officer of TM Net. Aged 50, a Malaysian, has been appointed managing director of TM since 25 of April 2008. He holds a Bachelors degree in communication engineering from Plymouth Polytechnic in the United Kingdom. He is very experienced in the telecommunication field. DATUK BAZLAN OSMAN is presently TM Nets executive director and group chief financial officer. Now at age 46, he was appointed the role of executive director of TM since 25 of April 2008. He started of as an auditor with a public accounting firm in 1986 and finally joined the Celcom Axiata Berhad in 2001 as chief financial officer of the company. Now, he also oversees the operations of Global, Wholesale and Support Business. Interview questions Example: If the job is offered to you, how long do you plan to stay in the job position given? (This question is use to test how high the worker is aiming for and from what can be predicted from the workers performance for the company in the future) What is your expected salary range? (This question is to test the workers deservedness to have the expected salary) What do you know about the job position you have enquired for and what duties do you think this job requires you to do. (This question is to test the workers knowledge about the company) What kind of challenges do you think you will encounter in this job position? (This question is to test the workers thoughts on how to overcome a problem if handling with one) What separate this from our competitors? Conclusion Business organization and its environment is how the organization and business of the company affected by both internal and external environment. From time to time, usually the companys organization structure will be changed as the competitors in the same field increase and to avoid problems occur towards the internal environment which will lead the company to a downfall. TM Companys organization structure was reorganized to overcome problems in both internal and external environments and to stabilize the economy of the company. Organization structure can be determined by six key elements which are work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization decentralization, and formalization. Based on all these key elements in organization structure, the leaders in TM Company can manage the organization better and produce a result higher than what are expected. Every individual in the company is crucial to the company, their personality; behavior and every single commitment are keys to success in the future. Each and every individual in the company have their own roles which can be carried out on their own only, thus they should bear the responsibility and to accomplish their duties either as leaders or subordinates. To improve the company status they use the various methods to achieve their specific goal in the business field. (1808 words)

Blue Nile Case Study

Blue Nile Case Study Cristeen McPherson Student Number 326914 BUSA 506 Dr Terry Power November 11, 2012 1) The competitive forces confronting Blue Nile and other online retail jewellers are medium or weak in strength, with the exception of the strong rivalry between sellers. The potential for new entrants to the jewellery market is relatively low due to the high costs of inventory, the lack of differentiation of product and the brand recognition held by the industry leaders. Good substitute products for a quality diamonds are not readily available.There are synthetic gemstones, cubic zirconium and other jewellery options, but the general consumer does not see these as a true substitute for real diamonds. Supplier bargaining power is a mixture of strong and weak factors leaving this force with a medium impact on the industry. The diamond supply industry is more concentrated than the retailers but is having new entrants emerging. Like the Canadian diamond producers Ekati in 1998, Diavi k in 2003, Jericho in 2006 and Snap Lake-4 in 2007 making Canada now the third largest diamond producer in the world. 1] Two factors contributing to a stronger supplier power are that products are critical to the retailers’ success and there is a lack of good substitute products. In contrast, the commodity trading or buying process for diamonds contributes to a weaker supplier power as retailers have easy ability and low costs to switch suppliers. Industry members are also now integrating backwards into the supply of the product, Diavik mine is a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Harry Winston Diamond Corporation and the De Beers Group owns the Snap Lake-4 mine. [2] Buyer bargaining power is moderately strong due to: Low costs of switching between retailers ? Lack of differentiation of product between retailers – differentiation is more on quality provided than the style or presentation of the product ? Large and diverse consumer base ? Buyers ability to be well info rmed on product; information on quality, prices and costs is growing due to internet accessibility ? Buyers are price sensitive The strongest force is the rivalry between the competing retail sellers. Factors affecting competing rivalry: ? Buyer demand is growing slowly – jewellery market is mature, with a broad range of consumers ?Buyer demand had fallen off in recent years due to recession – many sellers found themselves with slow moving inventory ? Buyer costs to switch brands is low – the buyer has no costs to switch to another online retailer, it’s just a mouse click ? Products are weakly differentiated – diamonds and jewellery are similar offerings between the sellers ? High fixed or storage costs – the bricks and mortar (b&m) retailers and many of the online retailers have high inventory costs, which when not turning incur carrying costs (interest etc) negatively impacting cash flow and earnings ?High exit costs – the high inve ntory costs make it difficult to liquidate quickly ? Competitors are numerous – and diverse in their value proposition, with low value, high volume retailers like Walmart as well as high end prestigious retailers like Tiffany & Co. 2) Some key success factors that will affect the online jewellery retailers in the near future: Fine jewellery buyers are looking for a retailer that offers quality product at a competitive price. Retailers must rely on their brand recognition with consumers; they need to build awareness of their product offerings as well as their customer service.Retailers must prove they are reputable, reliable and trustworthy. Online retailers have to express this through capturing their online audience with an easy to navigate website, appealing to their emotional response and showing other consumers satisfaction and confidence with past purchases. Jewellery retailers must be able to provide exceptional customer service and support. Major purchases of jewellery items, especially a diamond engagement ring, are very emotional to the purchaser. Customer service that acknowledges the significance of the purchase and guides the purchaser hrough the transaction will be a necessity for success and gaining consumer loyalty. With the high costs of inventory, retailers need to manage costs of inventory and operations, keeping costs in line with sales and managing cash flow is a key capability for success. A successful retailer is able to match inventory purchases with their consumer sales at a similar rate, maintaining inventory turnover and cash flow through the business. Not updating and maintaining their awareness and a high level of market knowledge will put a retailer at a significant competitive disadvantage.If they are not recognizing the market trends, striving to achieve some product differentiation and preparing to meet customer needs and wants, they will fall behind and lose customer loyalty, sales and market share. 3) Blue Nile is emplo ying a best-cost provider strategy as their competitive approach in the online jewellery business. Their aim is to create competitive advantage by offering a quality product at a competitive price. Blue Nile is able to do this through their supplier agreements where the diamonds and other gems are not actually purchased by Blue Nile until they have a consumer order for that particular product.This limits Blue Nile’s exposure on inventory costs and the risk of non-selling product. Blue Nile also relies on strict control of their operating costs; expenses for employees, facilities and technology are continuously reviewed to ensure their efficiency and that low costs are maintained. These two components combine to allow Blue Nile to offer comparable quality jewellery at substantially lower prices than their competitors. 4) Blue Nile has a very deep and keen knowledge of their customer and market.This enables them to tailor their website to their customers’ needs, offer su perior service and educational aspects for the consumer, effectively establishing trust with their consumers. This knowledge also gave them the ability to strike very good supply agreements with multiple providers for the quality product they sell online. Many of the diamonds and other jewellery are only available via Blue Nile because of their exclusive supply contracts. In order to remain competitive, Blue Nile must be diligent in maintaining and updating their market knowledge.The ability to accurately predict market trends and proactively alter business strategy is vital to ongoing success. For instance, many of the online retailers are currently relying on their educational information to garner the customers trust and loyalty. With every retailer working to increase the knowledge of the consumer, this strategy will lose effectiveness over time as the consumer becomes more knowledgeable. The ease of switching retailers is very high and Blue Nile must be ready to offer another c ompelling reason to remain loyal.Blue Nile must also be aware of any changes in their suppliers and the diamond market, if new diamond suppliers reach similar supply agreements with any of Blue Nile’s competitors, they may lose their supply chain advantage and risk significant increases in inventory costs. 5) SWOT Analysis – Blue Nile – Table 1 [pic] Although Blue Nile has many company strengths that propel their current success, the many competitors in the online and b&m jewellery industry have many of the same strengths.Blue Nile needs to improve and expand their marketing campaign and strengthen their brand recognition. They also need to develop a program to offer more product differentiation. One suggestion to incorporate both these needs might be to develop a strategic alliance with a well-known jewellery designer and offer custom design service online using the designer name and reputation. 6) Blue Nile posted exceptional double-digit sales growth over the six years 2002-2007, the recession of 2008 interrupted their growth trend actualizing a 7. % loss on sales year over year. They have since achieved moderate sales increases ranging from 2. 3% to 10. 18%. Blue Nile shows a steady gross margin averaging about 21. 7% over the last ten years. They also show very steady levels of selling, general and administrative expenses that have a slight increase each year most likely due to inflation of salaries and input costs. Consequently, their EBT margin is also very healthy, averaging 7. 0% earnings return on sales. Blue Nile has large cash reserves and very little long-term iabilities, their liquidity ratios are very healthy. Their current ratio averages 1. 5:1 over the last ten years. With their cost control and supply chain management, Blue Nile has very positive results for the performance/efficiency ratios. Their cash conversion is excellent due to the payables terms of supplier agreements; they have a positive cash float of about 40 da ys from the collection of sales revenue to the payment for goods. 7) Weighted Competitive Strength Assessment – Table 2 Blue Nile does have enough strength to remain competitive against its rivals.Their main rival based on pricing, quality and market knowledge is JamesAllen. com. Blue Nile is the strongest in terms of cost control and inventory control/supply chain management. Currently Blue Nile does have a sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals. Their product offerings are very similar, as are their websites and customer service policies, but Blue Nile’s cost control is far superior giving the advantage of greater efficiency and lower costs as compared to the other online retailers. ) In order to develop a more sustainable competitive advantage; Blue Nile will need to use their market knowledge to develop a stronger marketing plan to drive their brand recognition, product differentiation and develop greater customer loyalty. Blue Nile also needs to address the future erosion of market share due to the growing strength of competitors, and the potential of the loss on exclusivity from their product suppliers. 9) Recommendations: [pic] The components of the marketing plan and the strategic alliance with a jewellery designer fit together very well and should be quite easy and quick for Blue Nile to develop and execute.The value that would be seen via the increased brand recognition, customer loyalty and product differentiation would increase their competitive strength and be sustainable for the near future. Blue Nile’s current geographic expansion has shown success, continued expansion will need to be founded on research into the jewellery customs of target locations, to use the website’s appeal to the emotional purchase of jewellery. Low costs of online expansion are advantageous, while care must be taken to ensure language and culture are respected.Selective expansion will help to retain competitive advantage for the medi um range future and grow market share internationally. With their keen market knowledge, Blue Nile is positioned to take advantage of the weaker competitors in their market and secure market share growth for the mid range future via acquisitions. The potential to acquire a competitor would take longer to evaluate completely but is still a viable option to gain large portions of market share and increased sales.Blue Nile does have positive cash flow, good cash reserves and available credit facility to use to accomplish the acquisition. While the strategic alliance with a diamond producer/mine would secure long-term guarantees of the supply of quality, exclusive product at very competitive costs, the timeline to complete such a project is lengthy. The cost could also be prohibitive to Blue Nile at this point in time. The potential for long-term sustainable competitive advantage is most beneficial with this strategy and Blue Nile should not rule this option out as a future long-term go al.Bibliography: CBC News, ‘Canada’s Diamond Rush’, http://www. cbc. ca/news/background/diamonds/, Last Updated September 20, 2007, accessed November 9, 2012 Case 9, ‘Blue Nile Inc. in 2010†¦. ’ Thompson, Arthur A. , Strickland, A. J. & Gamble, John E. (2012). Crafting & Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases(18th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Power, Terrance P. (2008). Power’s Case Study Analysis and Writers’ Handbook. Toronto: Nelson. Appendices: Current Strategic Group Map High | | | |Price/Quality | | | |Low |Few Locations |Geographic Coverage |Many Locations | Market Share Chart for Top 20 Jewellery Retailers [pic] Financial Information Growth Profitability and Financial Ratios for Blue Nile, Inc. | | | | | | | | |Financials | | | | Ratios downloaded November 9, 2012 | | | | | | | | | | | ———————– [1] CBC News, ‘Canadaâ₠¬â„¢s Diamond Rush’, http://www. cbc. ca/news/background/diamonds/, Last Updated September 20, 2007, accessed November 9, 2012 [2] Ibid ———————– WalmartSterling Jewelers Zale Corporation Costco, Target Blue Nile QVC, Sears, JC Penney, Fred Meyer Jewelry TV, HSN Macy’s East & West, Neiman Marcus Cartier Tiffany & Co. Walmart, 4. 83% Sterling, 4. 17% Zales, 2. 83% Tiffany & Co, 2. 50% QVC, 2. 33% Sears, 1. 50% JCPenney, 1. 50% Finlay Fine Jewelry, 1. 50% Macy's East, 1. 00% Neiman Marcus, 1. 00% Costco, 0. 83% Target, 0. 83% Fred Meyer Jewelers, 0. 67% Helzberg Diamond, 0. 67% Jewelry Television, 0. 67% Macy's West, 0. 67% Tourneau, 0. 67% Cartier, 0. 50% Blue Nile, 0. 50% HSN, 0. 50%

Compare and contrast the presentation of oppressionin I...

Compare and contrast the presentation of oppressionin I Am Not That Woman and Still I Rise. The poems I am studying are I Am Not That Woman by Kishwar Naheed and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, both in the twentieth century. Both poets have based the poems on their own experiences of suppression in their different cultures and they both continue to end with feelings of hope.The poems show the different reactions and attitudes of two very different women who in similar circumstances. In I Am Not That Woman, the poet has been oppressed in her culture of the Asian society. By this she has been oppressed by the traditional values of the Eastern culture but especially by her father and husband. She is also trying to overcome†¦show more content†¦The poet seems bitter towards her father and husband. She seems strong because she has got through her problems so far and is angry and resentful about the whole situation. She seems adamant to not let it happen to her for much longer. The poet uses figurative language to help create imagery in the readers mind. An example of this is the metaphor is I am the one you hid in your walls of stone, where she means how her husband has literally and mentally locked her away, creating the picture of her trapped. To show that she had been pressurized of the Asian society of being forced to have an arranged marriage metaphors are also used here, crushed with the weight of custom and tradition. The poet even uses a biblical refere nce to help picture some of the imagery in the readers mind. This is where she says she is walking on water which is a reference to Jesus and miracles. When she mentions not knowing, she uses this to emphasize the ignorance given to her by her family and husband. She often repeats herself, such as not knowing. By doing this she is trying to get a point across effectively. By the repetition of not knowing she is trying to make them aware that although she has been locked away and that they are controlling her, she still knows things that they do not. The poet is trying to get the point of view across, that she is not the Eastern woman living in captivity, being told what to