Sandra Bullock - Oscar Award for Best Leading Actress Acceptance Speech free essay sample

Try These Spooky Halloween Science Projects

Try These Spooky Halloween Science Projects Are you ready for some spooky science? These projects and experiments are just right for Halloween. Make your holiday educational as well as fun! Mad Scientist Party - Are you throwing a Halloween bash? Why not give it a mad science theme? Make Spooky Fog - Fog is a great spooky effect. Find it naturally while trick-or-treating or make your own for a party.Creepy Halloween Jack-o-Lantern - Creepy tendrils of fog flow from the carvings of this jack-o-lantern.Green Fire Halloween Jack-o-Lantern - This Halloween jack-o-lantern is filled with green fire.Glowing Pumpkin - A glowing pumpkin is a little more ghastly and creepy than your typical orange pumpkin. This is an easy project that yields a great result.Glowing Hand of Doom Punch - A glowing hand rises from the fog of this bubbling punch. Its the perfect party drink!Glowing Slime - Make glowing slime for a haunted house, a Halloween party, or just because glowing slime is cool.Water into Blood Demonstration - Learn about pH indicators or just use this as a cool trick.Laundry Detergent Glowing Skull - Make a glowing skull decoration using laundry detergent.Homemade Face Paint - Make your own non-toxic Halloween face paint. The base paint is white, though you can customi ze it to be any color you like. Make Fake Blood ... or fake snot, vomit, wounds, or glass.Fake Blue or Green Blood - Blood isnt always red. Spiders, for example, have blue blood. If your Halloween adventure includes blood from another species, you might like this edible blue or green fake blood.Glowing Ink can be used to write eerie glowing messages.Make Colored Fire - Fire is fun, but colored fire can be spooky. Try adding a bit of color to your jack-o-lantern flame.Make a Fizzy Potion - Halloween drinks can bubble and fizz like something a mad scientist might drink.Dry Ice Crystal Ball - All you need is dry ice and bubble solution to create an eerie, long-lasting bubble that resembles a cloudy crystal ball.Halloween Reaction - This clock reaction makes a spectacular Halloween demonstration since the colors change from orange to black. This demo is for the chemistry lab rather than home.Smoke Bomb Jack-o-Lantern - Lighting a homemade smoke bomb inside of a jack-o-lantern is a lot of fun, plus it produces a ton of smoke. Glowing Ice Crystal Ball - This glowing crystal ball is the perfect addition to any Halloween punchbowl, especially if you add a little dry ice, too.

Education of Police Officers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Education of Police Officers - Essay Example While many of these skills can be learned on the street in the day-to-day execution of their job, many of them are more easily acquired in a formal classroom setting. A college education would not only benefit the individual officer, it would also give the public an increased perception in regards to the professionalism of the police. Police work today is far more scientifically based than it was in the past. Police officers are continually challenged to keep current in the areas of "technical support, forensic science, fraud investigation, and high tech crime" (Fleming and Wood, 2006, p.262). This knowledge is applied from the moment the police begin to analyze a crime to the time they are preserving a crime scene and collecting evidence. The science of DNA, the expanded technical databases available, and new analytical techniques require the police officer to enter into a lifetime of learning. In addition to the pragmatic side of police work that entails collecting and analyzing the evidence, there is the human contact that officers must constantly confront. In many ways, and in many situations, the police officer needs to act almost as a psychologist. Whether they are trying to defuse a tense situation or attempting to get a suspect to talk, a knowledge of psychology can make them more effective.

What do you think are the most important qualities for women to Essay

What do you think are the most important qualities for women to succeed in todays business environment Do you feel you hold these qualities - Essay Example Education has infused them with an understanding of liberty, which they use for their own good. Margaret Thatcher once said, â€Å"If you want something say ask a man, if you want something done ask a woman† (Evans, M. 2009). This can be seen as representative of the increasing importance that women had achieved in the twentieth century, Margaret Thatcher being a shining example of this. The ability to communicate to all sections of a firm would be one of the most important abilities that decide the success of a woman professional in the business environment of the twenty first century. Communicating with different people from different sections of the society is a challenge and would require women o come out of the roles that are traditionally assigned to them. These roles could pull them back from success as it may be construed to be a weakness. Communication requires one to be aware of the different situations that may arise in the functioning of a business firm as different situations would require different modes of communication. The ability that women are traditionally assigned, that of organization, is also something that is greatly required in business environments of today. It would enable the organization of events and meetings which may be crucial in the success of young women professionals. Being noticed in a business firm would require women to take up such roles and seek to be noticeable to their seniors at the workplace. An urge to succeed should be behind these actions of the employee. This would result in them wanting to succeed for the sake of their career rather than traditional institutions like the family. Being creative is another essential aspect of a person’s character that would enable him or her to succeed. This is a feature that is, again, traditionally attributed to women. Hence, women have lesser difficulties in accepting this role. This is also part of a person’s ability to be a leader. This ability would be the one that

Global & International Business Contexts in India Assignment

Global & International Business Contexts in India - Assignment Example The paper throws light on India, the land of potential because of its growing population therefore it is economically beneficial to evaluate its national market. Porter’s National Diamond framework allows country specific analysis so that a firm may decide to expand into a suited country. The four pillars of the model are factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, firm structure, strategy and rivalry. Using these four factors PND model aims to evaluate national competitiveness and to study a firm’s ability to operate in a national market. It is therefore a very relevant tool for country specific analysis. Below each of the four factors of the model will be explained with respect to India. Factor conditions entail those factors in a country that can be of advantage to the firm. Basically all the conditions that a firm can exploit in an economy are included in factor conditions. India has an abundance of labor. Given the high population of th e country it can be safely assumed that the firm will not face any labor shortages. 42 percent of the population is living below the poverty line in India according World Bank. This points to the fact that labor is not only in abundance in the country but it is also very cheap. The labor force is both skilled and unskilled in the country so the firm can benefit a lot with regards to labor in their business. Another advantage of working in India is that there is not a language barrier like in China. Official language of India is Hindi but English is widely understood and used in the business (Kapur & Ramamurti, 2001). This is why the firm will find no language barrier to deal with. It is located near the Arabian Sea which will be beneficial when setting up business in the country. The country has a developed technological base with its software industry growing rapidly. This can also give the firms a huge boost when operating in India. Complicated technology will be at the disposal o f the firm in India. Demand Conditions The demand conditions factors in the local market conditions of a particular country. A strong and demanding domestic market can have a positive effect on technological growth and innovation in the market. The economy of India is mainly export oriented therefore international markets are also an important part of the country’s economy. Due to the sophistication of international markets, local industries have also developed in order to meet the demand of foreign buyers. This trend has brought many advantages to the local firms. They have enhanced their production and capabilities by innovating on a regular basis as a result of complex foreign markets. The effect of international markets has also impacted the local markets because they have also developed as a result. Domestic markets are now demanding higher quality of products and services. This is a sign

Role and Responsibility of Media in Shaping Death Penalty

Role and Responsibility of Media in Shaping Death Penalty Introduction: Nothing has received more praise and abuse than Death penalty. As a global controversial issue, Death penalty has been discussed for centuries. From the definition of the death penalty, it is obvious that the punishment is brutal and inhuman for people who commit a severe crime simply because Death penalty deprives a human’s right of living on this earth. Since the peaceful lives are expected by the whole society, the crime of punishment is discussed by people anywhere at any time. Each country has different kind of crime punishment, but as for death punishment, it arise public attention and the whole democracy has focus on this issue. People hold different opinions regarding to the penalty of death, since it relates to people ‘lives. Some people support death punishment because they believe people should be punished for what they did wrong. Others refuse the regulation of death penalty, because they expect liberal. There are many reasons that people support or object the death penalty, which encompass the political consideration, Liberal consideration and democratic reasons. However, these people can be affected by the social media in reporting the content of death penalty. The website, video and TV are considered as the social media, which is produced as a movie or advertising video to educate public. People who watch the news or events related to news every day may tend to be affected by the media (Bandes,S. 2003). This is considered as the power of me dia, people may change their mind by following the content or idea from media (Bandes,S. 2003). The aim of this article is to discuss the popular global issue-death penal. The reasons why people hold different opinions regarding to death penalty are various and why the social media could people’s opinion, which is to say, the relationship between social media and death penalty. Literature review In a lot of countries, The law allows countries to life imprisonment, But reserves the right to life. At present, Law and practice about 109 countries against the death penalty, 86 countries retain and use of the death penalty, (AI 2001). In Europe, there is no country introduce the death penalty now; and in 1999, The UN Human Rights Commission called for a global moratorium on the death penalty (Dieter 1999). Between 1990 and 2001, More than 30 countries abolished the death penalty (AI 2001). the United States still different in death penalty . In 2000, just five countries of the world government approval to perform death penalty which are: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq ,United States and China. the U.S. was one of them that accounted for 88% of executions of the worlds known (AI 2001). In the 1990s, there are seven countries to execute prisoners for crimes under 18 years old which are Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Congo , Yemen, Saudi Arabia and American (AI 2001). 38 American states and bot h civilian and military jurisdictions currently authorize the death penalty for capital crimes. Of this gross of 40 jurisdictions, 24 perform commitment under 18 years old (Streib 2001). Proposal In this essay will focus on â€Å"how the media influencing and covering death penalty.† and â€Å"what the influence of social media on the people opinions’ about the death penalty.† Death penalty is known as the capital punishment, which means the legal process and sentence that put people into death as the consequences for being guilty (Soss, J., Langbein, L., Metelko, A. R. 2003). There are many types of death penalty punishment, which includes burning, crushing by animals or car, falling, poison gas, hanging, sawing, shooting and so on (Niven, D. 2002). There are all brutal and horrible in the modern society which people carries the ideas of peace and cooperation. The establishment of these methods of death penalty strongly protects the whole society and people and makes sure that the criminal have the consideration of death when committing crime (Tyler Weber, 1982). However, everyone makes mistake and it does mean the person who make the mistake deserve d eath. For example, in most countries, stealing is not punished for death, but it is considered as illegal action. Therefore, how do we define if the crime is fair or unfair? As many case reveals the wrongful conviction and innocent people who dose not make the crime are killed. With respect to the reasons, people who support capital punishment would think that killers need to pay the price for what they do, slight punishment is not enough to prevent them from killing again (Wonkglog 2014). However the capital punishment is deemed to be unfair because the regulation is different from countries to countries. To illustrate, killers is sentenced to death in America but for those people who kill someone in Australia, it will only be sentenced into jail. Furthermore, some people believe that the criminal should be given the second chance, because they may be forced to kill someone or commit a crime as self-defense. Moreover, the capital punishment is an effective way to reduce crime rate (Sotirovic, Mira, 2001). Admittedly, everyone is afraid of death. Sometimes people are guilty because they need survive. Consequently, death punishment will be major consideration when they conducting a crime, such as killing, violation of women or bribery. Due to the implementation of death punishment, the rate of crime is decreased. For example, the White people are strongly supported for the death penalty for the consideration of the racial attitudes and composition. Since racial discrimination is severe in the US, everything related to the Black will be underestimated or discriminated by the White. Also, from the previous case or the imaginary content of books, movies or TV shows, the Black are deemed to conduct more severe crime for surviving. As the Black possesses low living standards, most Black people are sentenced to be guilty because they expect better living quality. They are forced to steal and kil l or duplicate ID. Because of the ambivalence, people are susceptible changing his mind. Social media play integral role in influencing people’s mind on the implementation of the death penalty. Media exaggerates and highlights the problems in the application of death penalty by evaluating the fairness of capital punishment (Lipschultz, J. H., Hilt, M. L. 1999). To be specific, to protect the safety of the society, the government tries to put up with effective way to deal with the crime rate. It is not possible that the government can educate and encourage each person to behave well, follow the moral instruction, obey the related laws and regulations, discipline as a reputable citizen. Therefore, the application of social media will assist government to report and reveal the nature of problems on the crime to the public. Since social media is an effective communicative tool that links people and people, people and society to interact each other globally. For example, a large amount of informatio n events and news can be seen from web-based Internet, TV, newspaper and on-line videos. These are useful tools as the public advocation when people using the social media to understand the information around their lives. The positive and negative effect of media on people’s opinion about death penalty The influence of social media on the people opinions’ about the death penalty can be positive or negative (Lynch, 2002). As for the negative point, media tend to exaggerate the problem regarding to the crime in order to tell people that the reality and crime is closely related and thus leading people to moral noble instruction and positive attitudes. The purpose of social media exposure and report crime is to educate the public in an opposite way, which is telling people the serious For instance, in America, the Black is discriminated. Most movies, related videos demonstrate the violence and bloody picture and pornographic contents about the black crime. Publishing and describing the negative side of the Black to people, the society and the whole world that the Black is dangerous and ruthless. Then, people are aware of the Black is dangerous and they will threaten the facilities and societies and tries to connect with them, avoid them to be friends or neighbors. Also, with more and more unhealthy, bloody and pornographic content exited via media, people, especially youngsters are affected by these content and thus their minds are changed followed by these. Indirectly, it is easy for them to go astray and more violent, supportive for the death penalty, instead losing the nature of real young people that possess native, nice and kind-hearted. Therefore, people tend to be more supportive of the death penalty in protecting themselves and societies. With respect to the positive effect, the social media is powerful tool to encourage people and the whole society to behave well as a responsible, law-abiding citizen. The media release the political news, economic information or Cultural issues, which are all considered as useful way to make people know more about the world and thus , understanding the right or wrong, what is a good responsible person? What should be done or what should not be done as responsible citizens? In understanding and acquiring more information regarding the politics and economics, people have the lower chance to commit crime. The primary aim of the creation of media is to educate and provide more information to public. The invention of social media is to offer the close relationship between people and people, people and society or the whole world. Given that each country has own sort of regulation and rules, but the main purpose is to make the better development of the society and improve the people’s living standards, provide the peace and security to people’s lives. Considering this reason, the government applies various of media resource to educate people or obtaining the democratic opinion on some important decisions. Specifically, some related video, newspaper and Internet are compiled with a story or documentary content of crime to be published with the purpose acquiring the public opinions or may change the people’s mind. For example, people who against death penalty change the mind due to the governmental advocation of the media. The liberal and democratic consideration is always the crucial when people thinking the punishment of crime. However, because the media highli ghts the problems of crime and the punishment, people consequently may choose opposite side to support capital punishment in protecting the whole society. Some citizens believe that death is bloody, violent and high profile, which indicates that the countries have no consideration of peace and sympathy. Also, it will bring a great impact in the education children’s lives. Although the media and press will cover the content or information of the real punishment of death, such as how one person should is killed by gun shot or how one person should is hanged by the rope, children can understand their countries have the regulation or laws about the death penalty. Because children are part of social media, they also, connect with the world; there is no doubt that, they can find the information via media regarding the crime punishment. The influence of media is tremendous. In the contemporary society, many actors and actress features the movies or TV shows which tells the duplicated and imaginary story and case of crime and punishment. After being sentenced as guilty, if the crime is server enough, such as killing or raping, the death penalty will be applied (Slater, M. D., Rouner, D., Long, M. 2006). Also, some bloody and unhealthy pictures are demonstrated in front of viewers, which mean people will be affected by the media potentially through watching these. In the movie of Saint of Joan, the French girl Joan was participated in the Country War to fight with England Arm. During the fight with the intruders, she was suspected as a traitor and sentenced as the death by fire. This is a good example of death penalty being implemented in an innocent people. In fact, there are several wrongful cases that innocent people being sentenced into jail or executed as death. What’s more, people could interact through media to discuss the crime related case or whether the death crime is appropriated around the society. Also, some governmental agency registered own account number on Twitter or Facebook to facilitate the discussion with the society and thus knowing if the democracy is supportive for the death penalty. Twitter and Face book provide the stage that billions of people could communicate and discuss the latest or popular news or events, no matter the limitation of the distance is bothered. Since Twitter and Facebook is globalized website and have share-linked function. People who live in the planet could communicate each other regarding global issue. One countries can attain the ideas or opinions regarding the implementation of penalty death from people who come from other countries in order to know what others people believe. Therefore the development of the countries can be better. Some people commit the guilty but the reasons can be forgiven by the public. It is common that some unsolved cases are being uploaded into website to let the public. The criminal acknowledge the guilty but he or she may be forced to do that or for the purpose of self-defense. The media provides that channel to people to speak or deliver their own opinions. People represent democracy and may have the opinions represents democracy, which means they have the sympathy on the criminal who can provide the reasons that could be forgiven to commit crime (Conquergood, 2002). By considering the opinions from people, the policeman and the government may or may not take the opinion from people but at least the democratic opinion will affect the final sentence they will be given. Also, considering the people’s opinions will reduce the chance of executed a innocent people and a false claim, because the multiple opinions and suggestions will improve the accuracy of a case. Death is not the best way to solve the problem of killing Sometimes, even the case is finished and the criminal is sentenced into death, it not the best solution for what he or she did harmful to people or the society. To illustrate, death is not the best way to solve the problem of killing. Instead, it still left panic or scare to the whole society. The primary purpose of death punishment is to ensure that people who make the severe crime, such as serial killer is responsible for what he or she did and thus it will not happen and threaten people and society in the future (Capital punishment, 2014). If the serial killer has already cause the panic and scare to people and society, capital punishment cannot help to solve the problem. After killing them, people are still scared of going outside alone at night or working alone at night. This indicates that the problem is not solved and people’s lives have been affected. Therefore, the key point is to solve the problem radically, which means make the serial killer get punished and also gi ve the society the peace and security. Last but not the least, the criminals make the crime because they are most physically and psychologically defect and probably lack of good education when they are young. Moreover, it is possible that the criminals have the bad living standards or inferior environment around them. Most case shows that large majority of criminals are from single parent family or they are divorced or they are suffered from harmful thing and horrible experience during the lives (McLeod et al. (1995). Therefore, it is effective and valid for the government to utilize social media as a channel to deliver more educated and moral documentary, motivational films on the TV, website or video. Also, the encouragement of young people accepts education when they are young and the government and parents should be supportive for children’s education. The crime rate is closely related to the education (Howard, 1995). In order to reduce the crime rate, the government should be not only educating public but also applying the cooperation of the social media. In providing the effective educational documentary via social media, people tend to behave well knowing how to be a responsible person and knowing the right thing to do and release positive energy to the whole society. Conclusion To sum up, death punishment which is known as the capital punishment is considered as brutal and ruthless in the contemporary society. To evaluate if this implementation is fair or unfair has been discussed globally. People hold different opinions because they pursue different things. As for many reasons, political, liberal and democratic consideration, the consequence of death penalty has arisen for various feedbacks. For those who support death penalty, they believe a good development and security of society can not live without punishment by people who do wrong. Death punishment is an effective tool in protecting the security and safety of human and society, so it is necessary. However, People who refuse the implementation of death penalty think it is brutal and will bring negative effective to the whole society, especially children; the key point is to solve the problem radically. These are under the consideration of liberal and democratic. Social media is a powerful tool to educ ation public with delivering the crime case to people and making them to behave moral and get away from the crime. It also highlights and exaggerates the problem of crime and thus makes people changes’ the mind and following the media. Everyone has the right to make the mistake and the right to be forgiven by public. Death penalty may be too serious for people but if the society is lack of severe punishment, the whole countries will be in chaos and people’s lives can not be guaranteed.

Ambrose Bierces An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Essay example -- Bi

Ambrose Bierce's â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,† by Ambrose Bierce, is the story of the hanging of a Civil War era Southern gentleman by the name of Peyton Farquhar. The story begins with an unidentified man being prepared to be hanged by a company of Union soldiers on a railroad bridge that runs over a river. He is then identified as Peyton Farquhar, a man who attempted to destroy the very bridge they are standing on based on information he was given by a Federal scout posing as a Confederate soldier. As he is dropped from the bridge to hang, the rope snaps and he falls into the river. After freeing himself and returning to the surface of the river, he realizes that his senses are all much heightened and he even â€Å"noted the prismatic colors in all the dewdrops upon a million blades of grass† (153). Peyton then begins to swim downstream as he is being shot at by the soldiers and a cannon as well. He soon pulls himself ashore and begins the long journey home. After walking all day and night, to the point where â€Å"his tongue was swollen with thirst† and â€Å"he could no longer feel the roadway beneath his feet† he finally makes it to his home (155). Just as he is about to embrace his wife he feels a sharp pain in his neck and hears a loud snap. He is dead from the hanging, and all this was just a dream. â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† shows the potential strength that a person’s will to live can have, and that we often don’t appreciate...

Victoria`s Secret Economic Environment

IntroductionThe apparel industry faces various supply chain challenges, many due to the fact that the major part of apparel manufacturing activity for the United States market has moved outside the country to low-labor-cost countries in the Far-East. Thus, due to long physical distances, apparel companies in the US are continuously challenged to quickly respond to changing trends, to reduce long lead-times, to execute collaborative product development with suppliers using effective communication and to ensure total supply chain visibility. Moreover, fickle consumer preferences and shortening of the product life cycles make the apparel industry very challenging from a supply chain perspective.The Victoria's Secret business provides a case study representative of most supply chain challenges faced by the apparel industry as a whole. Victoria's Secret is a multi-channel retailer selling its products through physical stores located throughout the United States, as well as through a colle ction of printed catalogs and an online shop. Its major product offerings lie in the category of intimate apparel, sleepwear, beauty, apparel, shoes and swimwear. For the purpose of this research, we focus on the intimate apparel segment of Victoria's Secret. Intimate apparel represents the largest portion of Victoria's Secret business and is sold through all the retail channels described above.Company HistoryAccording to company lore, after a disagreement with his father in 1963 over the operation of the family store (Leslie's), Leslie Wexner, then 26, opened  the first Limited store in Columbus, Ohio, with $5,000 borrowed from his aunt. Leslie Wexner's desire was to focus on moderately priced fashionable attire for teenagers and young women (Hoover's Online). The Limited went public in 1969 with five stores. Rapid development of large malls spurred Limited's growth to 100 stores by 1976.Two years later, The Limited acquired Mast Industries, an international apparel purchasing an d importing company. In 1982, Limited purchased Lane Bryant (a plus size brand) and Victoria's Secret (lingerie). In March 2002 the so called The Limited changed its name to Limited Brands. Limited Brands is currently focusing on its star players, Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works.Company StrategyThe company strategy has evolved over time. Prior to 1995, the company's strategy was primarily driven by a knock-off design, shop-and-copy system. During this period, the company's merchants searched for forthcoming fashion designs, all over the world, especially in Europe, and produced merchandise inspired by these designs. Their strategy involved speed sourcing of the products and selling them out even before the original brand could actually be launched. By the early nineties, there remained little competitive advantage in this approach, as the rest of the world had figured out similar ways to do business (Limited Brands Presentation, 2005), between 1995 and 1998, the company st rategically planned an overhaul, focusing on developing a distinct brand identity.The Limited became the largest employer of apparel designers in the world (as mentioned by a top executive). The company re-positioned itself to operate like an upscale consumer package company. With aspirations to be a large powerful brand that controlled its own retail distribution channels and seeking a consistent repeatable business, the company soon incorporated vertically integrated capabilities into its supply chain. In its quest to narrow its portfolio and create a distinct brand image, the company closed all of its poorly performing businesses, including the sale of its bank, and spun off or sold Abercrombie and Fitch, Lane Bryant and six out of seven Henri Bendel stores (Limited Brands Presentation, 2005).Financial PerformanceVictoria's Secret Business UnitWithin Victoria's Secret, all three channels – Victoria's Secret Stores, Victoria's Secret Beauty and Victoria's Secret Direct â₠¬â€œ are experiencing revenue growth as well as profitability. As of august 2013, Victoria`s Secret stores sales increased 3% on top of a 9% increase last year. Increase was primarily driven by strength in bras and panties. Victoria's Secret Direct, the catalog and online business, also experienced growth. Direct enjoyed a 3% increase in sales in 2013. The growth came from improved clothing assortment at more competitive prices and growth of its intimate apparel category, especially of panties and sleepwear.Direct now represents approximately a third of Victoria's Secret sales. A 2001 â€Å"share of drawer† analysis indicated that one-third of the typical customer's lingerie drawer comes from the Victoria's Secret brand. Most of the drawer, however, consists of daily wear lingerie products, of which Victoria's Secret is a relatively lower percentage. Thus, the trend for the new product introductions will likely be toward more pretty, yet every day, styles like the Body by Vic toria sub-brand, a line of everyday intimate apparel.Victoria's Secret StoresVictoria's Secret (VS) is the most profitable as well as the biggest revenue generating brand for Limited Brands. Its net sales for the year 2013 were $ 271 million correspond of 16.7% of the total % of sales. Victoria's Secret comprises 3 sub-businesses: Victoria's Secret Stores (VSS), Victoria's Secret Beauty (VSB) and Victoria's Secret Direct (VSD) network of stores. VSD sells VS lingerie, sleepwear as well as 3rd party brands in the categories of apparel, shoes and accessories through its online store and catalogs. This case study focuses on Victoria's Secret's lingerie business.ProductsVictoria's Secret sub-brands or collections can be said to focus on a central theme. For example, the most recently introduced Victoria's Secret sub-brand called ‘Pink† is a new collection of intimate apparel aimed at a 19 year old  woman (Limited Brands Interview, 2005), and the â€Å"Victoria† is t he new glamorous fragrance launched that build on its fragrance business. Each of these collections is offered in a variety of different styles based on the extent of coverage given by the bra, the configuration of the bra strap or even its entire silhouette.Overall, the products carried by Victoria's Secret Stores can be divided into 3 broad categories: Launch Fashion Products, Non-Launch Fashion Products and Basic Products. About 60% of units in store are basic, 25% non-launch fashion and the remaining 15% are launch products. Basics consist of products which sell all year round and have styles and colors which can be sold in all seasons and for the most part, never go out of style. Beige Dream Angel's bras, white and black bras from the Body by Victoria collection are examples of basic products.Fashion products are loosely defined as items with styles, colors or silhouettes which typically sell for one season (1 season = 6 months) and then shift to regular replenishment. Launch p roducts are fashion items which are heavily promoted and may even announce the introduction of a completely new category. These products involve special planning and are typically launched two times per year, in spring and fall. An example of a highly successful recently launched product is the new The Close-Up ®. The company also engages in about fifteen annual reconfigurations of its stores also termed as â€Å"floorsets†. A floorset may or may not involve a launch.Customer SegmentsVictoria's Secret Stores is trying to be the dominant, young, sexy and sophisticated lingerie and beauty brand in the world. Victoria's Secret serves a wide range of customers with varied psychographics and demographics. On a household income scale, the VS customer loosely lies between 30-75 percentile ranges. With presence in almost all major malls in the United States, VSS aspires to become a destination brand, which means that a customer would be tempted to visit the malls just to see the VS store. With the Pink ® sub-brand, the space Victoria's Secret is trying to fill as â€Å"young and casual†, a category which had been previously overlooked  by Victoria's Secret.Pink was developed in response to the fast growing Abercrombie & Fitch brand, which was once a part of The Limited. Out of the three key words describing the overall target customer above, â€Å"young† is the most important. The goal is clearly to target a young demographic. Finally, the company sees VS as an â€Å"aspirational† brand, and as such, older women may be encouraged to buy Pink  ®' products as well, as a 40 year old is likely to aspire to look like 30 rather than to look.Demand Forecasting and PlanningOn the demand planning and forecasting front, the Catalog and Web businesses are governed by separate strategies. This is primarily because the drivers of demand for the two channels are different. For the catalog, the demand forecast is mapped against the curve of the pr oduct life cycle from the point the catalog is mailed to when 98% of the product is sold. Moreover, circulation of printed books is the primary driver of sales. Within a catalog, dynamics related to location of the display of product, and to the model selected for the display, are sales drivers. Once Direct has visibility as to the actual product layout of the catalog, it re-forecasts the demand several weeks before it is mailed, and subsequently adjusts its purchase orders.For the web, on the other hand, the forecast is based on individual item performance on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. One of the key metrics that Direct uses to monitor its sales is given by the Net-Growth Ratio. This ratio measures for every $1 of demand generated, how much was generated for sales after accounting for returns, cancellations and failure to fulfill back-orders. Victoria's Secret Direct, especially the catalog business, has additional levers in the way that offer a wider breadth of fashion asso rtments. This is because the marginal costs of carrying fashion versus basics product in Direct is governed by different dynamics in comparison to stores, as the stores have huge fixed costs due to real-estate.Moreover, it is possible for Direct to leverage assets between the catalog and web operations such as common photography. About 400 million catalogs are mailed in a year; approximately one fresh book a week having anywhere between 60 to180 pages and including between 250 and 600 items. About 95-98% of the Direct products are sold in US. Semi-annual sales are  tied together with Victoria's Secret Stores and a sale period is comprised of 8 weeks, requiring approximately 8 mailings during this time (Limited Brands Interview, 2005). Last, but not the least, if a product doesn't perform well in one media, it is not introduced in the other.Sourcing and ProductionVictoria's Secret Direct utilizes the Mast network, as do the Victoria's Secret Stores. Direct is able to maintain accur ate data about customer preferences and buying patterns due to the online nature of its business. It is therefore able to quickly translate this information to its vendors, making it much more responsive to changing customer needs than the Victoria's Secret Stores. This allows Mast to adopt a sourcing strategy based on the vendors' ability to deliver smaller and more frequent orders. Smaller orders mitigate risk of over-stocking and frequency allows the company to react closer to the demand and to get the right product out to market in time.Distribution and FulfillmentOn the distribution front, Direct uses its own distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, separate from the Victoria's Secret Stores' distribution center. Both web and catalog share this DC. The process of picking in distribution centers is different from stores, as these products are picked as single items based on orders, whereas in the Victoria's Secret Stores' operations the products are picked and shipped in cases. Th e average time it takes to get to customers is about two days. The online business is well integrated to inventory systems at the DC level, but is not integrated with Victoria's Secret Stores. With only about 15-20% of overlap in SKUs between the stores and Direct, this is not an immediate need (Limited Brands Interview, 2005).Direct keeps a close watch on its inventory and maintains fairly accurate item levels as well as order level data. For example, the current percentage of service level that Direct operates shows an 88% in stock and 12% back-order at the item level. This level of data integrity allows Direct to be much more responsive than Victoria's Secret Stores and  as a result allows them to make dynamic changes to order quantities, pre-packs and size-curves based on latest selling patterns. In contrast to placing large orders with Mast, as do Victoria's Secret Stores, Direct can thus place smaller and more frequent orders. Moreover, Direct doesn't require excess inventor y for the purpose of its floor and window displays as do Victoria's Secret Stores.Goals and ChallengesAs a part of the INSIGHT project, Victoria's Secret Direct is working closely with its production team to create a library of fabrics and raw materials to make a choice matrix such that lead times can be reduced dramatically. They are also a part of the same initiative to reduce concept to market lead times from 72 to 40 weeks.The challenge for the company is in the area of returns. Currently, returns amount to approximately 25% of demand and are primarily driven by the Swim and Apparel categories; however, a considerable part of returns are put back in stock. These are products which are in reasonable condition to be resold. The return rate for lingerie is negligible. One of the challenges that Victoria's Secret faces overall is in the category of fringe sizes. Fringe sizes are the ones which are on the tail-end of the demand curve and whose demand patterns are harder to predict. C ustomers looking to buy these sizes typically feel the need to try them on before purchase.If these products are carried by Direct, there is potential for reduced customer service levels. On the other hand, if Victoria's Secret Stores decides to carry these sizes to provide better customer service, they will be faced with challenges of less predictable demand patterns for these sizes, leading to over or under stocking of product. Therefore, the company has to work a delicate tradeoff between providing better customer service levels and the subsequent financial impact of this service. A survey about multi-channel retailing tactics used by retailers, conducted by Forrester research, showed that 87% of retailers allowed purchases made online to be returned to stores.Limited Brands fully integrated Victoria's Secret with its Direct business. This involves large logistical challenges for the brand but have a  positive impact of customer satisfaction levels as the customers are able to return goods purchased online to Victoria's Secret Stores, and are even able to order products in stores which they purchased online and have them delivered to their house with no additional cost.Victoria's Secret's Supply Chain FrameworkVictoria's Secret's business strategy has evolved from a shop-and-copy system to a branded concept, that of selling innovative, technologically advanced products at reasonably high profit margins. The Victoria's Secret brand is positioned to be the dominant, young, sexy and sophisticated lingerie and beauty concept, targeting young customers who appreciate the value of possessing innovative lingerie. At the same time, the company is somewhat risk averse.It does not rely solely on its fashionable bra launches for all of its sales. It distributes risk by having a mixed assortment of fashion and basic goods. However, having this mixed assortment adds complexity, in that the brand has to operate two supply chains; one for each of these types of products . Below I underlined the operating model, operational objectives and important tailored business activities that drive sustained competitive advantage within the Victoria's Secret supply chain and align with the overarching business strategy.Complementary Operating ModelThe operating model at Victoria's Secret Stores is to achieve desired brand recognition through innovative product development, glamorous bra launches and high shelf availability of its products. Most of the Victoria's Secret Stores' new product introductions are offered in both fashion (items with less predictable demand) as well as basic (stable demand) styles. This mix of fashion and basic items helps Victoria's Secret to distribute risk, to ensure profitability and to offer compelling value to customers. The company identifies that there is not a single all-in-one supply chain solution for both of these categories of products and therefore it maintains two different types of supply chains for each.The supply chai n for Victoria's Secret's fashion items is driven by â€Å"Speed-to-Market† to ensure responsiveness. This is reflected in the company-wide initiative to shorten its â€Å"Concept-to-Market† calendar. This supply chain is further governed by a sourcing strategy that requires a set of suppliers with an excellent record of product innovation, value-adding capabilities and no minimum volume requirements. Due to the prioritization of speed over low labor cost, these items are made in the most capable factories in the world, wherever they may be, and are consistently air shipped to the company's distribution center in Columbus, Ohio.On the other hand, the supply chain for Victoria's Secrets basic items is driven by factors like asset utilization and supply chain efficiency. As a result, basic goods are manufactured in vertically integrated factories which provide close control over capacity utilization and productivity. These factories run at full capacity and provide econo mies of scale (Limited Brands Interview, 2005). Mast holdings have an equity stake in two of Limited Brands' largest factories in India and Sri Lanka. This is a strategic decision in order to maintain tighter control and better supply chain visibility.Operational ObjectivesThe help of Limited Logistics Services (LLS), Victoria's Secret has drafted a Service Level Agreement that defines various performance metrics for services to Victoria's Secret Stores. This agreement also defines the role of the Victoria's Secret Stores in successfully meeting these objectives. The performance metrics are divided into three broad categories as defined below.Customer ResponseThese metrics are customer-focused and customer-facing. They include a set of distribution metrics as well metrics related to store performance such as responsiveness, floor-set, business priorities, new stores, Value Added Services (VAS), meeting cadence, reporting, and air shipments.EfficiencyThese are internal metrics. They are productivity and cost-related and include a set of metrics at the manufacturing as well as distribution center level such as Auditing/Cycle Counts, Through- Put, Network Productivity, DC Metrics, DC Throughput, and Store Throughput.Asset Utilization These metrics are also internal-facing and largely focus on maintaining economies of scale. They include: Capacity Utilization and Inventory Turns.Objectives Balancing FrameworkThe focus placed on each of the metrics mentioned, varies by whether the product is basic or fashion. For example, in the category of basic products, asset utilization metrics like capacity utilization and efficiency objectives like supply chain costs and productivity carry more weight than responsiveness. The factories making these products run at full capacity with two shifts per day to efficiently deliver these products to market at minimum possible cost of production. These products generate moderate margins for the company in comparison to the fashion pro ducts.On the other hand, in high-margin product categories of fashion goods, particularly in highly promoted launch-related fashion goods, which are most often a result of innovative product development and have relatively short-product-lifecycle of just one season, responsiveness metrics are seen to carry more weight overall. The focus in this model is to increase in-season product availability to reduce lost sales and maximize margins.Tailored Business ActivitiesAt the operational level, there are a set of three tailored business activities that provide significant competitive advantage to the Victoria's Secret supply chain and place Victoria's Secret in a unique position in comparison to its competitors. These activities are aligned to the overarching strategy, which is to deliver an assortment of innovative  fashion products and less risky basic products. The first tailored activity emanates from the company-wide open innovation model. The decentralized design culture within V ictoria's Secret adds unique capabilities to its supply chain design.Product Innovation can come from the supplier, from in-house development or through design inspirations from external concepts. This creates the possibility of inter-company operating ties with outside suppliers. For example, if Limited Design Studios in New York initiates a design concept, it can go to a preferred supplier to be further developed and even changed. This relationship during the design process adds flexibility, which is hard to replicate.The second tailored activity has to do with the sourcing model that Limited has adopted as a whole. The presence of Mast Industries as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Limited Brands is of tremendous value to the company. Mast carefully selects its vendors based on capabilities to manufacture and deliver fashion versus basic products. Mast works with a set of vertically integrated factories as well as raw material suppliers to create a product that is hard to replicate.V ertical integration helps the company to control the production process from fiber to garment. On one hand, this leads to greater manufacturing efficiency required for producing basic products, which generate relatively lesser profit margins than fashion items. On the other hand, vertical integration also helps to speed the product development process essential for new and fashionable products.Finally, the role of Limited Logistics Services' (LLS) â€Å"shared service model† in the smooth operation of its supply chain is indispensable. As mentioned earlier, the Service Level Agreement with each of its brands, including Victoria's Secret, not only defines the detailed performance metrics but also defines the role of each brand in order to carry out the objectives on time. LLS consistently benchmarks itself against outside logistics providers and has been able to provide higher service levels to its brands at competitive costs. The dynamic ability of LLS to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate its performance against external agencies, helps Victoria's  Secret to stay ahead of the competition. In its logistics design, LLS incorporates the fact that whether a product being delivered is fashion or basic.For example, in most cases, fashion lingerie is air-shipped from Asia to Columbus, OH and basic products are ocean-shipped. This is because the fashion products, which have relatively higher margins, are less expensive to transportation costs per unit. Fashion and launch products may also have to go through a customized value-added service process in order to cater to the requirements of the individual stores to which they are shipped. These value-added services are performed at the DC level and the company claims to perform them more cost effectively and efficiently than an outside third party logistics provider. MarketMonopolistic competition is a form of imperfect competition where many competing producers sell products that are differentiated from one a nother (that is, the products are substitutes, but, with differences such as branding, are not exactly alike). In monopolistic competition firms can behave like monopolies in the short-run, including using market power to generate profit. In the long-run, other firms enter the market and the benefits of differentiation decrease with competition; Textbook examples of industries with market structures similar to monopolistic competition include restaurants, cereal, clothing, shoes, and service industries in large cities, which the company Victoria`s Secret fit perfectly.The â€Å"founding father† of the theory of monopolistic competition was Edward Hastings Chamberlin in his pioneering book on the subject Theory of Monopolistic Competition. Joan Robinson also receives credit as an early pioneer on the concept. Monopolistically competitive markets have the following characteristics: There are many producers and many consumers in a given market, and no business has total control over the market price. Consumers perceive that there are non-price differences among the competitors' products. There are few barriers to entry and exit.Producers have a degree of control over price.

Foods Chocolate and Cup Essay examples

Foods Chocolate and Cup Essay examples Foods: Chocolate and Cup Essay examples Summer Recipes DRINKS 1. Melon Lime coOLER 2. Lemonade 3. Lemonade punch 4. Mango pEACH smoothie 5. Cucumber Lemonade 6. Watermelon Frosty Melon Lime Cooler Makes 4 Servings 4 1/2 cups cubed honeydew melon 1 1/2 cups lime sherbet 2 tablespoons lime juice 4 fresh strawberries (optional) Place honeydew melon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cover and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Transfer frozen melon to a food processor with the sherbet and lime juice. Puree until smooth. Pour mixture evenly into 4 glasses, and garnish each glass with a strawberry. Serve immediately. Lemonade Makes 20 Servings 1 3/4 cups SPLENDAÂ ® 8 cups water 1 1/2 cups lemon juice In a small saucepan, combine SPLENDAÂ ® Granulated Sweetener and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve SPLENDAÂ ® Granulated Sweetener. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled. Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water. Lemonade Punch Makes 22 servings 1 can frozen pink lemonade concentrate 1 jar maraschino cherries 2 cans frozen pink lemonade concentrate 1 bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage 1 bottle red wine 1 orange, sliced 1 lemon, sliced In a pitcher, mix together 1 can lemonade with 1 can of water. Pour mixture into an ice cube tray, and place a cherry in each cube. Freeze until solid. In a punch bowl, combine 2 cans lemonade concentrate, lemon-lime soda and red wine. Stir in lemonade ice cubes, and garnish with maraschino cherries, orange slices and lemon slices. Mango Peach Smoothie Makes 2 smoothies 1 peach, sliced 1 mango, peeled and diced 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk 1/2 cup orange juice, or as needed Place the peach, mango, soy milk, and orange juice into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve. Cucumber Lemonade Makes 4 servings 3 large cucumbers 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus 4 sprigs for garnish 1 cup water 6 ounces (3/4 cup) gin 1/2 cup lemon juice 3 tablespoons agave syrup Cut 12 thin slices of cucumber for garnish. Peel and chop the rest of the cucumber; transfer to a food processor, add rosemary and puree. Pour the puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium bowl or large measuring cup. Press on the solids to extract all the juice. Add water, gin, lemon juice and agave syrup to the cucumber juice; stir until the agave is dissolved. Divide among 4 ice-filled glasses. Garnish with cucumber slices and rosemary sprigs. Watermelon Frosty mAKES 2 SERVINGS 2 1/4 cups frozen watermelon cubes 1/2+ cup water 2 Tbsp maple syrup 1 large lemon, squeezed (lime juice also works very well! use 2 limes) 1 fresh banana party version - make it a margarita: add 2 shots of tequila Garnish: a few slices of watermelon - with rind on - frozen. Add some lime or lemon slices too. Add all ingredients to the blender - plus 1/4 cup of water. Start blending. Add more water as needed to blend. Add as little liquid as possible to keep your frosty thick and "frosty!" Blend Pour. Garnish with frozen watermelon/rind slices. Serve! Enjoy. Summer Salads 1. Strawberry Spinach Salad 2. Melon & Mozzarella Salad 3. Buffalo cHICKen Pasta salad 4. Traditional Fruit Salad 5. Berry Delicious Summer Salad strawberry Spinach Salad Serves 6 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 2 (6-oz.) bags baby spinach 1 (16-oz.) container strawberries, quartered 1 (4-oz.) package crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds Bottled red wine vinaigrette Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Toss together red onion and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with red wine vinaigrette; sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Note: For a tasty flavor combination, replace the almonds, blue cheese, and red wine vinaigrette with pecans, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. Melon & mozzarella Salad SERVES 8-10 3 cups peeled, coarsely chopped fresh peaches (about 1

How to write excellent reports [Webinar recording] - Emphasis

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Sicko Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sicko - Assignment Example After seeing how well the universal healthcare programs worked for the people in Canada, England, France and Cuba, I would have to say that the program should become a norm for the United States as well. I truly believe that if it is implemented in the same manner as in those countries, then the system would actually work for us. Since we are already paying one of the highest taxes in the world, why not actually make that money work for the people paying for it by covering their healthcare costs? Granted that the cost subsidies would put the health insurance companies out of business and maybe the doctors will earn less under the system, but isnt the idea of healthcare to â€Å"help† people become well or prevent their illnesses? Isnt it the job of doctors to â€Å"do no harm† under the Hippocratic Oath? None of that is happening under the American system of healthcare at the moment so yes, it may not be cost-effective for the bottom line of the insurance companies and doctors who are used to fleecing their clients, but it is what will be in the interest of their patients and should therefore be done for them. I would definitely like to initiate the British form of universal healthcare in America. That is because nobody is turned away from the hospitals, the care is given without question, and the medicine is subsidized at a flat rate cost that is affordable to the working class and free to the retirees and jobless who do not stop needing medical care or medicines just because of their age or situations. That is why I would definitely be willing to sacrifice the quality of the healthcare for the quantity of the healthcare. Imagine, being able to get the tests that you need albeit in a schedule in Canda, while you need to wait for health insurance approval for the test in the United States and most likely get denied the procedure anyway. It seems like a no-brainer in that instance. The test will get done, you just need to wait your

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