Do a detailed critical analysis of the opening of Coetzee’s Foe

A successful analysis of an opening to any novel can not occur without taking into consideration what sort of journey the author is going to take their audience on. Openings can be deceiving and the point of close is needed to successfully determine the true meanings behind the foundations that the author lays at the start. This is definitely the case in Coetzee's Foe. Hindsight is the analysists greatest ally when looking in detail at the devices and subtext that Coetzee is employing to open this novel. In opening it appears to begin as an alternative story of Daniel Defoe's classic, Robinson Crusoe. However as the novel unfolds it becomes clear that it is an allegory for many pressing issues of today's society such as gender, race, politics and power. But not stopping there Coetzee has also created a piece of metafiction attacking the way in which fiction is created. It can also be seen as an attack on the claimed father of the novel Daniel Defoe. With hindsight all these issues can been seen in Coetzee's opening however I will begin by giving some ideas as to what Coetzee possibly wanted to achieve from the entire novel as it will help shed light upon the structure, devices and meanings that lie in the opening. Coetzee is questioning realism in novel writing, throughout he is proving that, just as Defoe did, he can create realistic characters and setting but he is showing that he too has the power to destroy them. As a piece of metafiction, Foe looks inwardly on its self as a novel and questions itself throughout. Coetzee creates things just to break them down. He is out to prove that Defoe and other authors are, as Paula Burnett described, â€Å"the giver of false witness† and in effect the enemy of reality thus the title and pun ‘Foe'. The attack is on Defoe, the so-called ‘father of the novel', perhaps because he tried to sell Robinson Crusoe off as a real life biography. Coetzee is trying to show that even if Crusoe was real the writer of the novel he would still hold the power to create and destroy what the want to, so fiction can never be taken as reality. The key central issues in the novel are the themes of gender and racial difference and power. Throughout the book there is a strong feeling that Friday represents a lot more than just the slave of Robinson Crusoe. It is through Friday and his treatment in the hands of his white masters that Coetzee is addressing the way the white people have handled there relations with the Negro race. Coetzee probably wrote this particularly with South Africa in mind as it is where he is from but it can be related to any time in history when the whites have tried to help or enslave the black race. Through Susan Barton he also addresses women and their struggles for equality and recognition. A feminist reading of the text would to claim that Coetzee in providing a narrator is showing that the novels has ‘mothers' as well as fathers such as Defoe and Fielding. Also, her struggle to establish herself as the main character of the story and the only true story teller can be seen to represent women's struggle to establish themselves as credible novelists in the early periods of novel writing. So with these underlying issues in mind the structure of the novel is also worth briefly looking at so the opening can be put into context. It must be taken into consideration the stylistically the opening chapter is very different from the rest of the novel. The first chapter is set on Crusoe's island and is a written account as to what occurred. The style is very realistic and detailed. The second chapter is slightly more removed and is written before our very eyes in a set of letters to Mr Foe. The writing style is still detailed and realistic however towards the end of the chapter a few questions are raised as to who Susan Barton is and who is the child following her around. The third part of the novel is set at Foes house and is again a first hand account but has a very different feel to the opening. It becomes slightly more surreal and raising many questions as to whether Foe exists or is a creation of Susan's or whether Susan is a creation of his. The final scene is set in a room and under water. It could not detach the reader any more as we lose who is narrating. We know its is not Susan as she appears to be dead. This is Coetzee destroying the realistic world he had created. Out of the four parts the opening is extremely significant as it crucial for creating the world in which Coetzee can put across the points that he is raising. So what is Coetzee beginning to create at the start of the novel? With his opening chapter he creates the foundations for his attacks on Defoe and the cultural and gender issues of today's society. However my use of the word attacks should not be taken too literally because directly no issues are addressed however it is clear in the subtext what points he wants to throw into debate. The main function of the opening is to throw Defoe's apparent true novel of Crusoe into debate and also to create a realistic foundation that can crumble in on itself as the novel develops. Anything self-critical has to reflect on itself inwardly and the opening sets Coetzee up to be able to do this. From the very opening it is clear that this is a vivid realistic account. â€Å"There I lay sprawled on the hot sand, my head filled with the orange blazing sun, my petticoat (which was all I had escaped with) baking dry upon me, tired, grateful like the saved. † ‘ It is clear immediately from this quotation that the narrator appears to physically feeling what she is describing. The opening few pages include many of these vivid descriptions which lay the setting for Defoe's attack on Crusoe's story. The reader can not doubt her version, as it appears so real. His first attack on Defoe's novel appears early on. † For readers reared on travellers' tales, the words desert isle may conjure up a place of soft sands and shady trees where brooks run to quench the castaways thirst†¦ But the island on which I was cast away was quite another place: a great rocky hill with a flat top†¦ There were ants scurrying everywhere, of the same kind we had in Bahia, and another pest too, living in the dunes: a tiny insect that hid between your toes and ate its way into your flesh. † ‘ This account is a great example of the realism used to put the whole of Defoe's work into question. This is a direct attack by Coetzee on how realistic Defoe's island really is. The reader will of course believe Susan Bartons account as it appeals through realism. It is a clever device used by Coetzee because he knows himself that what he is writing is not true. Another area that lays doubt upon Defoe's story is the figure Crusoe. His name is depleted to Cruso to show he is nothing like the man that Defoe creates. Not only is he a shadow of the main that Defoe created he is also unsure of his own history. ‘ † †¦ he stories he told me were so various, and so hard to reconcile one with another, that I was more and more driven to conclude that age and isolation had taken their toll on his memory, and he no longer knew for sure what was truth†¦ † ‘ This throws again Defoe's account into doubt and would make a reader believe Coetzee's version. Another example of Coetzee trying to strengthen Susan's account is her repetition of the line: â€Å"Then at last I could row no further. My hands were raw, my back was burned, my body ached. † This repetition of the same account to both the reader and Crusoe shows that she knows her story and uses the exact same wording both times she tells it. This is a clever device used by Coetzee to show that Crusoe's story is fragile and various where as Susan's is stabile and unchanging. The other main instrument used by Coetzee in the opening of the book to express his subtext is the use of Susan as the narrator and the way she perceives things. Through realism he sets up his attack on Defoe and novel writing but through the narrator he brings in the allegorical themes such as gender and race. From a feminist point of view Susan Barton is, as Patrick Corcoran stated, â€Å"a representative of her sex who has suffered at the hands of men and who struggles to assert herself in a male dominated society. † To expand upon this comment, she does definitely appear to represent the women of society and how even though she shared the island with Crusoe she always felt that she was not there † When I reflect upon my story I seem to exist only as the one who came, the one who witnessed†¦ † She feels that it is Crusoe's story despite the fact that she is as easily as active as Crusoe and manages to escape, which he does not. Upon arrival she assumes that she is his subject. â€Å"With these words I presented myself to Robinson Cruso, in the days when he still ruled over his island, and became his second, the first being his man servant Friday † She does not even question the fact that he is the master of the island she just excepts that Friday and herself are under his rule. This is put in by Coetzee to question the role of women in Defoe's novel. There is no place for women in Robinson Crusoe and Coetzee provides us with an idea of what Crusoe would have been like with a woman on the island. Also Coetzee leaves it to the audience to decide what type of woman Susan is. He gives us no social background so we expect nothing from her. Throughout the book it is unclear what she is, whether she is a lady, a whore or a gypsy. This uncertainty is thrown into confusion many times, as she seems very educated and full of ideas ‘ â€Å"You are mistaken! † I cried † I do not wish to dispute, but you have forgotten very much, and with every day that passes you forget more! † ‘ This extract shows that Susan Barton's type of language is not uneducated and her ability to speak up to and man and disagree shows strength. This may be a result of her life experience gained on her travels. However it is more likely that it is Coetzee toying with the idea of how putting a female on the island would effect Crusoe's power. These power battles are an important theme in the novel and Susan faces them throughout first chapter with Crusoe then Friday in the second and then Defoe in the third. The other major issue raised by Coetzee is the idea of slavery and race difference. Friday is a shadow that hangs over the story throughout and cannot be ignored, as his silence is perhaps the most telling and powerful factor in the novel. The majority of these issues are raised in the second and third chapters in Susan's handling of Friday. However they are present in the early stages of the novel in Crusoe's approach to Friday. ‘ â€Å"How many words of English does Friday know? † I asked â€Å"As many as he needs,† replied Cruso. â€Å"This is not England, we have no need of great stock of words†. ‘ Dispite Fridays disability this shows that Crusoe has no intention of making a companion of Friday and only wishes to treat him as an inhuman slave. Crusoe's views on Friday can be seen to represent the whites treatment of the African race in the early part of the nineteen hundreds. When Susan takes over the role of master she can be seen to represent the white liberals in South Africa who tried to help the Africans but only tried to help them by trying to make them like white men and by doing so enslaved them further. RM. Post's view on the political level of the novel is that Crusoe represents the stubborn and corrupt Afrikaner government, with Susan Barton the white sympathetic liberal and Friday the black people. He even goes as far as to compare Susan to Mother Africa as she is searching for a child who is searching for her. He justifies his claim that Foe is an allegory of contemporary South Africa by pointing out the crucial fact that Friday is of completely different race in Coetzee's Foe than he is in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. † The fact that the latter Friday is a black man helps us see Foe, set primarily in England in the eighteenth century, as an allegory of contemporary South Africa. † Defoe's Friday has olive skin with straight long hair; Coetzee s Friday is black with a â€Å"head of fuzzy wool. † There are other hints in the opening of the story to suggest some link with the treatment of the blacks in South Africa. The removal of Fridays tongue is perhaps one of the most obvious symbols in the book. He can be seen as having no voice like the Negro's in post colonial Africa. Susan and Crusoe's failure to communicate with Friday successfully is of course down to lack of understanding of his culture. However the fact that Crusoe manages to communicate with Friday better than Susan could be seen to flaw RM. Post's argument as could the fact that Friday was apparently happier on the island before Susan tried to free him. The opening to Coetzee's foe is a vital part of the novel. As discussed it lays the foundations for all of Coetzee's allegorical meanings. The opening is essential to understanding the race, gender and power struggles that are central themes in the novel. In terms of realism it sets Coetzee up to question the fundamentals of the novel and how far can an author go in terms of making a book appear an accurate reflection of real life. From this foundation he also highlights the author's ability to create and destroy there own work no matter how realistic it may appear to be.

Accounting System Essay

Solving Problems: a. A payroll clerk recorded 40-hour workweek for an employee who had quit the previous week. He then prepared a paycheck for this employee, forged her signature, and cashed the check. Violation: The payroll clerk only has an authority to prepare the paycheck, not to signature or cashed the checks. The signature of payroll is the duty of HR manager, while cashed the paychecks is the duties of the cashier, so, the payroll clerk has violated his/her job description and his/her authorities. Solution: In this case, we must make know job description and authorities to the clerk. Because the duty of clerk on this case is only record the activities happen. If all the job done by the clerk, the clerk can make a manipulation or some fraud for example, that the clerk issue a check but the check is not for the employee but for the clerk. So we must have someone to control the clerk and cut it out when some mistake happen. And to solve this case we can also order someone to be the HR manager to make this case more secure from fraud. And for cashed the check we can give that job to cashier. After separate this duty and authorities we can minimize the risk. See more:Â  Mark Twain’s Humorous Satire in Running for Governor Essay b. While opening the mail, cashier set aside, and subsequently cashed, two checks payable to the company on account. Violation: In this case, I think the problem, is why the cashier opened the mail? I think this is clerk job. The cashier job is only spending the money. So we must make a new job description for the cashier and the clerk. Solution: So we can make solve this case by, first we must separate the cashier and clerk job. Make new job description for them. The cashier job is only spend the money if there is check payable. But for checking the mail is still the job of clerk. Then before the check is transform to cash, still must have permission from finance manager so there will be more responsibility in activities. c. A cashier prepared a fictitious invoice from a company using his brother-in law’s name. He sent an electronic payment for the invoice to his brother in law. Violation: Cashier is not have a right to make an invoice, the invoice must be prepared by A/P staff, and the cashier cannot make a payment before they got the assignment from the finance manager, there is no clear job description in this problem. Solution: So in this case, we must make a clear job description. But before that, we must know there is a big fraud that cashier do. She make fictious invoice. To make clear this, we must give punishment to the cashier so they won’t be do that anymore. After we clear that problem now we can make a new design of issue a invoice. Invoice only can issue if already have a permission from the finance manager, or other manager. Because invoice can be responsible if there will be mistake in someday. d. An employee of finishing department walked off with several parts from the store room and recorded the items as having been issued to the assembly department. Violation: The problem is errorness of the employee. Because he walked off with several parts in the store room. In this case we must make a new design of storing inventory. Solution: So with this case we must give the new design for storing inventory. Employee must be complete move the inventory from assembly department to finishing department. There must be no miss inventory that still in the store room. It must all move on. After that the employee is must be given a practice so there will be no more mistake like this again in the future. e. A cashier cashed a check from a customer in payment of an account receivable, pocketed the cash, and conceal the theft by properly posting the receipt to the customer account in the accounts receivable ledger. Violation: This is a fraud problem. The cashier has violated the ethics of work with do this. This problem probably can happen because of the weak internal control, there’s no tight controlling in cash receiving, so the cashier can do this. Solution: This is a big trouble for company. So for the first things we do is we must give a punishment to the cashier and give a warning for other problem in the future. After the problem is clear we must have a new regulation for cashier so there will be no more action like this anymore. And manager must do more action to control every activities of the cashier.

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Employment law - Essay Example t or set of circumstances that can arise. This is particularly so in labour industries where economies and policies are constantly changing to accommodate the realities of the times. With so many sources of law and with employment laws perpetually evolving, obtaining a balance can be a mammoth task. However, because the labour market is constantly in a state of change, the need to maintain a balance between legal certainty and fairness for the purpose of avoiding conflict requires that the law changes to meet those challenges. What is legally certain and fair today may not be certain and fair tomorrow. In this regard, the current law reflects the dynamics and demands of labour market changes and the constant demand for labour market reform. This research paper illustrates this best by critically assessing the current labour laws relative to employee status, contractual terms of employment, unfair dismissal and equality. These areas of employment law best illustrate the need for a var iety of sources of flexible laws and the attending challenges for maintaining a balance between legal certainty and fairness. I. Employee Status Historically, the contract of employment makes provision for the basic employee/employer relationship. However, the terms and conditions of that contract have always been interpreted by reference to statute, hence the significance of the term â€Å"status†.5 The fact is, although the employment status may be agreed to and reflected in an employment contract, the matter does not end there.6 This is entirely important because employee status will often correspond with the degree of employee protection and rights. The law therefore intervenes to ensure fairness in the construction of the employment contract with a view to providing a greater degree of legal certainty and fairness in the determination of the employee’s status. The implications are far reaching in terms of creating a balance between fairness and legal certainty. To begin with, the inequality of bargaining power in the employment relationship is well recognized and accepted. As Edwards explains, it was necessary to depart from the concept that employees and employers were at liberty to negotiate and finally reach an agreement as to what will form the essential terms/conditions of the employment contract resulting from the parties’ own different positions in relation to one another. Specifically, party autonomy is undermined because it necessarily levels the playing field between the relative power imbalances between the employee and the employer.7 In this regard, statute intervenes to define the term employee and even then, provides a degree of legal certainty by leaving the definition vague enough to ensure that adjudicators can flexibly determine whether or not employee status can be inferred. To this end Section 230(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides the term â€Å"employee† refers to a person who either has or â₠¬Å"works under† an employment con

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Module 3 - Essay Example The story is about the son of a man who is a potential arsonist: setting barns on fire. This story is built of a number of characters including Abner the father, Sarty the son and the rest of the family: wife and daughters along with the people this family come in contact with. However, Faulkner uses Barn Burning to be a story that concentrates on the opinion of Sarty Snopes. Though this article is not written from the viewpoint of the character himself, there are certain moments throughout the story that divulge the reader with his emotions. With such a multitude of characters it is impossible for the reader to be unable to gain a true gist of what the story portrays. The concentration on Abner’s character allows a deep understanding of humanity and the instinct which compels each individual to develop an attachment to family. In Barn Burning, Abner is a dark influence on his young son. The protagonist forces his child to delve in a loyalty so deep, that injustice and sin are ignored in the process of protecting one’s own family. The story develops as Sarty begins to see the evil obstacle created by his father in his own growth. His constant belief that the father will change â€Å"Maybe he has done satisfied now, now that he has† However, in the end, the child is forced to give up his loyalty as a sense of righteousness sinks in. Though this confession leads to disastrous consequences, following the death of the very man Sarty has been ardently protecting, the judgment seems to shatter the young man who â€Å"He got up†¦.He did not look back.† Thus, Barn Burning is an evident portrayal of family and the human mind that delves to protect the sacred bond. It also shows the dire consequence that follows when this bond is broken. The Chrysanthemums is another story which concentrates on the importance of character to a story. In this story, the main subject of

Change Management in Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Change Management in Schools - Essay Example But here this paper instead of filling its contents with intentional verbosity, our approach is quite goal-oriented. In addition, many of these research areas are further convoluted with links and interactions to other, nor-related research that need to be considered. Finally, the lack of accurate measurability severely hampers the statistical assessment of suitability of a stated hypothesis. But this paper is rather unconventional and attempts to dig out the actual problems and stumbling blocks that hamper the process of change management in our institutions. While above-mentioned factor pertaining to the lack of accurate measurability is true for the entire field of education, it is particularly acute in researches directly related on such topics. For this reason, published articles have the search for an explanation of actions and phenomena in common as a general rule all, albeit from different points of views. But this paper is, as mentioned above is rather goal-oriented fraught with realistic recommendations and suggestions. Despite the fact that the field of this issue has attracted some of the best researchers within the educational realm, the lack of unity in opinion as well as a structured overview is outmost apparent. This paper attempts to overcome this lack by providing a comprehensive overview and analysis of current recruiting and retaining concepts. Nonetheless, an attempt is made with this paper to lessen the validation pressure from lack of data by providing the results of a small but comprehensive literature review thorough a number of books, journals and web-based sources. Thus, coming out from the ambit of educational concerns, this issue has become an inevitable topic to think upon in general. To date, there have been various researches conducted on this topic; similarly this paper is a humble attempt from my side not only to have a discussion on it in general but also to explore some unexplored avenues related with this issue that may furt her help us reaching at rather down-to-earth conclusion. There is no doubt that in Britain, in the last ten years, we have seen massive strides forward in the education system. The establishment of a national curriculum and other reforms have provided the basic framework for improvement in educational provision, but at a considerable cost to teachers. Since the Education Reform Act (1988), we have seen a continuous stream of systemic, top-down change which has had a major impact on teachers' professionalism. Their roles in strategic planning and decision making have been dominated by the requirement to implement externally driven initiatives, and workloads have expanded leading to high levels of stress, low levels of morale and difficulties with recruitment and retention. This study is offering a strategy to help school management reconstruct their professionalism by providing a framework within which they can play a full and active part in school improvement and school development. The research carried out and the consequent conclusion thereof offered here has the potential to bring about lasting change and has raised standards through the enhancement of teachers'

Are we really justified by Faith Research Paper

Are we really justified by Faith - Research Paper Example As he lived his life, he attempted to prove his faith by acts, and works. But he realized that that was not saving him. As he read through scripture, he came to terms with the fact that he is justified by his faith. What he believes, and his faith in God, will bring him to fruition. In Genesis 15:6, we see that Abraham believed in the Lord and because of his belief, he was made righteous. The word righteous here means just or fair. Because of Abraham’s belief, he was considered to be a righteous man. It did not matter what he did as a person, what mattered was his belief in God. Though he was born again, his works was not what saved him. God accepted Abraham not because he lived a life of perfection, but because he believed and he responded to God’s promises. This particular verse was mentioned three different times in the New Testament as proof of the importance of faith in one’s salvation. It was quoted in Romans, Galatians and also in James. Even in the Old Te stament it is clear that God looked for faith and not moral perfection. Abraham also demonstrates great faith in his offering of his son in Genesis 22:1-18. He blindly obeys God’s command until God forbids him. God spares Abraham’s son because of his obedience to him. ... First God commands things into existence. Then he creates a logical division. After, he names it and last but not least, he evaluates it. This is a pattern that is seen throughout normal life. In teaching, you tell the student what to do, you give instructions, you point out the good/bad and then you evaluate the assignment based on its performance. Faith believes that things will turn out the way it is supposed to at the right time. Justification is like being clothed in divine righteousness. When you think about the book of Exodus, you tend to lean on the changes that are occurring in the Bible. The exodus was a major time period when the Israelites left one area to go to the next. The term is widely used as reference to different things such as a â€Å"leaving† or â€Å"departing† in a simple every day scenario. In Romans, you see an Exodus from slavery. Due to the nature of the people living during the Bible times, slavery was not considered an act of infringement. Instead, it was accepted and there was a simple hierarchy that everyone became familiar with. Without this hierarch, like capitalism in the United States, a society was very incapable of functioning on a higher level. Terry Virgo, a Christian Pastor looks at Christian freedom of slavery from sin. This indeed is in part a form of exodus, a practice justified by the government during those times. Justification is the legal act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his or her sin. It does not mean that the particular sinner is sinless; it just means that God â€Å"declares† him sinless. This declaration of righteousness is what it means to be justified by God and faith. This justification can only be made clear because of Jesus’ shed blood. Without the shed blood of

Job Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job Evaluation - Essay Example The top management, seeing Alan’s performance graph rising has given him a raise already which speaks volumes about the kind of commitment he has had with work and its different manifestations. He recently started writing the company blog which was appreciated by just about everyone. In fact this blog became an instant hit and went on to touch newer heights within the different corporations that are doing similar line of business, i.e. the advertising industry in essence. Alan has also been appointed as the talent hunt executive, working directly under the top boss at the advertising agency. He finds out people who can write well as well as direct movies. He prepares a list of them on a monthly basis and circulates the same to his boss. His primary job however remains working for different advertising campaigns and pitches. He takes a key interest in the different roles that he is working within the advertising agency at the present. As far as Alan’s evaluation of his duties is concerned, he has been very diligent with regards to the same. He has shown a resilient attitude in his work ethos and this suggests a great deal about the kind of perseverance he has and the manner in which his personality can be molded in different situations. Alan has been a smiling character at work and his colleagues always speak very highly of him. He has had a friendly demeanor in his personality which has manifested clearly in his relations that he has built with the colleagues and acquaintances at work. His bosses are also supportive of his stance and the work that Alan does on a regular basis. He has never been late and always made it on time. Seldom does he take a leave from office which depicts the kind of professionalism that Alan has set for his own self. He completes the work on time and leaves right after sunset – the time when the office gets off. He believes there are other things in life which are also sim ilarly important to job and thus he

How Social Media affects the way we live Assignment

How Social Media affects the way we live - Assignment Example Rhetoric is the way in which we use languages and images to persuade. The media through several endeavors asks the people in many ways to buy something, influence in their own way through several product differentiating strategies and mould the consumers behaviors. Rhetorical analysis of the social media helps the user of the social media to become perfectly informed. At the same time evaluation of the ethical messages can be analyzed in order to test the effect on the common public and the way they affect the society (Bolin Carroll, 2010, p.46). Social media and its features The social media in the present world can be thought to be of a group of online media with the array of primal activities including participation, openness, conversation, and community (Mayfield, 2008, p.5). Participation: The social media social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested (Mayfield, 2008, p.5). Openness: The nature of social media basically serves as an open plat form where the feedback and the participation are widely invited. It also helps in the encouragement in the voting, comments and the sharing of information. The barriers of access to the contents present in the social media platform are minimal (Mayfield, 2008, p.5). Conversation: The traditional media is basically concerned with the broadcasting methodology which ensures the content transmission or distribution. But the social media acts as a two-way conversation (Mayfield, 2008, p.5). Community: The social media allows the communities to form quickly and communicate effectively where exchange of information along with the sharing of common interests among the people in topics like photography, any political issues, or it may be any TV shows (Mayfield, 2008, p.5). Connectedness: One of the fundamental agendas of the social media is the emphasis on the connectedness among the people. They try to maintain this connectedness among the public by connecting to the different websites and pertaining links between various people and valuable resources of the society (Mayfield, 2008, p.6). Current forms of the social media There are some well known widely prevalent forms of social media. They are mainly social networking, blogs, wikis, online encyclopedia, podcasts, Forums, content communities, and micro blogging. The social networking allows people to build personal web pages and subsequently maintain connection and sharing content and communication among the people. Some of the popular social networking sites are Face book, My Space, Twitter. The blogs are usually online journals where any news is almost posted at the first instance. The Wikis are those websites which acts as a communal document or database which permits the people to add the contents or edit the information on them. A widely known wikis is the Wikipedia4 which is an online encyclopedia consisting of over 2 million English language articles. The podcasts are audio and video files which can be access ed by people through subscription mechanisms. A widely existing podcast is the Apple iTunes. This creates an indigenous platform for the fusion of several cultures of the globe. The

African American Studies Essay Example for Free

African American Studies Essay The three topics I have picked for this reaction paper are â€Å"Hurricane Katrina, The Bombing Of Black Wall Street And Gangs†. I’ve picked these topics because I believe that to this day everything is still about being in control, racism and a touch of slavery which leads to gangs. Hurricane Karina: was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Most notable in media coverage were the catastrophic effects on the city of New Orleans, La. , and coastal Mississippi. Criticism of the federal, state and local governments’ reaction to the storm was widespread. The bombing of Black Wall Street: community was the sight of a happy, affluent Black community but was too much for angry, jealous Whites in Tulsa, Okla. , in 1921, a false rumor was enough to spark a mass riot that left hundreds of African Americans dead, and a swath of black homes and business burned to the ground. The saddest fact associated with this historic atrocity is that the U. S government and local media were complicit in the death and destruction. Gangs: the word â€Å"gang† comes from â€Å"gonge† a term meaning a journey, but later referring to a â€Å"gonge† of sailors in the fifteenth century. Gangs originally began in the 1800’s which meant kids of the street. But US had other predecessors than unsupervised street urchins. There were four kinds of gangs which were predecessors of the street gangs of today 1. Secret Societies, 2. Gangs of outlaws and in the Wild West, 3. Racist like the Ku Klux Klan, and 4. â€Å"Voting Gangs† tied mainly to the Democratic Party in large cities. Many gangs if armed men were racially mortivated. Racial tensions in the cities like New York were constant, and racist conflict was almost everywhere more violent than nativism.. On May 31. 921 a nineteen year old Black male accidentally stumbled on a bumpy elevator and bumped into a seventeen year old White elevator operator who screamed. The frightened young man was seen running from the elevator by a group of Whites and by the afternoon the â€Å"Tulsa Tribune† reported that the girl had been raped. Despite the girl’s denial of any wrong doing, the young man was arrested and a large mob of 2000 White men came to the jail to lynch the prisoner. With a defenseless Black community before them, the white mob advanced to the greenwood district where they first looted and then burned down all Black business, homes, and churches. Any black resisters were shot and thrown in fires. That’s how it became â€Å"The Bombing of Black Wall Street†. It all comes to what’s going on now with, if you are in a gang you can’t go in one neighborhood if you are not affiliated with that neighborhood gang, just like back in then when blacks wasn’t allowed in white people areas or if blacks were allowed, they were segregated. After the Tulsa riot, White inhabitants tried to buy the Black property and force the Black people out of town. No Tulsa bank or leading institution would make loans in the riot-marred Greenwood district, and the city refused all outside assistance. However, racial pride and self determination would not permit the Greenwood owners to sell. Since African Americans could neither live among Whites as equals nor patronize White business in Tulsa, Blacks had to develop a completely separate business and community, which soon became prosperous and legendary. Black dollars invested in black community also produced self-pride, self –sufficiency, and self-determination.

Samsung Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Samsung Case Analysis Essay 1. HISTORY Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company. It is the chief subsidiary of the Samsung Group that was established in 1969, and its headquarters is located in Samsung Town, Seoul. Samsung Electronics is one of the largest electronics producers in Asia, and its product line includes semiconductors, televisions, telecommunication equipment, computers and many other kinds of home appliances. The Samsung Electronics unit was created to get into the prosperous television and consumer electronics industry. Its first product was a small simple black-and-white television which was sold in the early 1970s. The division developed a diverse line of consumer electronics, and while in its beginning products was only sold domestically; exporting goods began a few years later. It took the company savvy management and huge investments in research and development, but Samsung Electronics expanded their products to creating color televisions and a variety of other consumer electronics and appliances. The company manufactured, shipped and sold a broad range of these appliances and electronic products worldwide by the 1980s. The fast progress and success of Samsung Electronics was not a surprise to people who knew the founder of the Samsung Group, Byung Chull Lee, a highly praised Korean entrepreneur. He overcame several obstacles with the small trading company he founded in 1938. Starting with a $2,000 nest egg and 40 employees, he was one of the ten largest trading companies when the Korean War started. The conquest of Soeul by the North Korean army forced him to give up his operations in 1950. However, one year after losing almost all his inventories and relocating to Pusan, Lee started the company over again with the help of the savings of one of his managers. After only one year, the company had experienced unimaginable growth and its assets twenty folded.Lee, being an entrepreneur that was always looking for more opportunities, founded Cheil Sugar, a sugar refinery in 1953, which became a very profitable business that allowed him to expand into a wide variety of markets. These included insurance, broadcasting, securities and even department stores. Lee was heavily criticized for some of his actions, such as building the â€Å"first manufacturing facility in South Korea after the Korean War† but many of his companies prospered under his vision of making Samsung the leader in every industry he entered. Despite facing major setbacks and fighting political battles in the 1960s, Samsung generated revenues over US $100 million annually. Lee not only broke into â€Å"the mass communication industry by launching a radio and television station†, but also founded Samsung Electronics. Entering the manufacturing televisions and electronics components industry, one that was under the control of US and European companies, seemed to be a risky venture, but Lee succeeded with the help of the national government. The head of the state, Park Chung-Hee encouraged the growth of dominating domestic industries in contradiction to his predecessor, who ruled with favoritism and corruption in order to keep his power. Park protected major industries and the larger companies in South Korea from foreign competition and gave out financial assistance as a part of his economic growth plan. The Samsung Group was one of the main beneficiaries, profiting from the ban on several countries to import consumer electronics, thereby eliminating the big competitors in the home market. As the company was trying to establish itself in the television industry, it added consumer products and appliances to its product lines. In addition to the ban on imports from certain countries, the government also prohibited foreign companies to invest into Samsung, while Samsung was still allowed to invest in overseas businesses. As a consequence, Samsung Electronics rapidly controlled parts of the home market while it also started exported successfully. As Lee had already predicted in the first decade of its existence, Samsungs Electronics division was the main industry for the company’s future. To ensure that Samsung became a major player, he entered the semiconductor business in 1978. Government regulations again played in the entrepreneur’s favor, as foreign telecommunication equipment manufacturers were required to provide semiconductor technology in return for access to the Korean market. In 1983, after receiving proprietary technology from Micron (USA) and Sharp (Japan), Samsung became the first Korean manufacturer of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips. Producing relatively low-tech DRAM chips at a lower cost, Samsung Electronics became a large supplier to computer and electronics manufacturers throughout the entire world within the next couple years. Samsung Electronics increased its efforts on other electronics operations in the meantime as well. Assembly plants were built in Portugal (1982), New York (1984) and England (1987). Together these plants produced 1,700,000 televisions, 700,000 microwave ovens and 300,000 VCRs. Thus, Samsung Groups annual revenues rose to $24 billion in 1987 (from $1.3 billion ten years earlier), which equated about a fifth of South Koreas entire GDP. Most of that growth resulted of Samsungs Electronics success. Despite the death of its founder Byung-Chull Lee, sales for the Samsung Group almost triple folded between 1987 and 1992. His successor, his son Kun-Hee Lee, did not only recognize the importance of the electronics division but moved it to the core of the Group. He combined several divisions and removed some operations while introducing different ideas that were put in place to enhance product quality and employee motivation. Lee focused on pushing Samsung to become a technological leader in the semiconductor, electronics and communication industry and doubled research and development investments. He was also credited for intensifying partnering efforts with foreign businesses to make Samsung the pioneer in the semiconductor technology. During the 1990s, Samsung underwent a groundbreaking change. After Samsung begins to reinvent through design (1993), sets up its in-house design school (â€Å"The Innovative Design Lab of Samsung†) and hires design consultancy IDEO to help develop computer monitors (1994), its biggest change had yet to follow. With the appointment of Yun Jong Yong as the President and CEO, Samsung changed its strategy drastically. Despite making profits as an established low cost supplier of many components to larger and well-known companies as well as providing customers with lower-priced appliances that were more affordable than the more expensive products by brands such as Sony, Yun was worried about the company’s future. He could not envision the company continued success on a low cost strategy with products whose technology had been developed by others. Yun believed that it was not secure to expect to be continuously able to scout for low-cost production locations successfully while retaining high volumes of production. This concern mainly a rose out of the emergence of many low-cost producing countries such as China. The CEOs scare became reality as within the first year of his tenure serious financial trouble threatened the company’s survival. Huge debt and the economic crisis in Asian resulted in the loss of millions of dollars and Yun stated that â€Å"if we continued, we would have gone belly-up within three or four years.† (Dess, 2010, p. C123). A turn-around was the much needed consequence. After trying to continuously compete in a price-cutting environment and increasing volume throughout the economic recession, Samsung Electronics had to lay off more than one-third of its workforce, which accumulated to about 30,000 employees. To get rid of its large inventory, many factories were closed down for more than 60 days. The company also sold off $2 billion worth of business that it perceived to be with minimal significance for its future. Yun decided to move Samsung’s future away from a company based on a lower-cost strategy to one emphasizing product development that woul d ultimately impress their consumers with their attractive design and advanced technology. Developing Samsung into a premium brand was the vision of the leader, and he recruited new managers. Yun removed the seniority-based system and put a merit-based system for advancement in place. These efforts resulted in the construction of newly designed products such as the largest flat-panel televisions, cell phones with new features (Cameras, PDAs, etc.) and thinner notebooks and computers than ever before. Hiring Eric Kim, a marketing whiz, who changed the advertisement agencies from 55 to one to create the same brand image anywhere in the world, worked hard to place a more upscale image of Samsung products into consumers’ minds. To undermine this perception, Samsung pulled out its products of big discounters such as Wal-Mart or Kmart and placed these into more expensive retailers (e.g. Best Buy, Circuit City). Yun was aware of the fact that the company would only be able to maintain its higher profit margins if the firm was able to bring its products faster to the market than its competitors. To ensure a sustaining model of this competitive advantage, the CEO removed several layers of bureaucracy to win approval for new products, budgets and marketing plans. Second steps to maintain an advantage are the huge investments in key technologies. The company has invested more than any of its rivals in research and development (RD), as it almost puts 9% of its revenues aside just for RD. To decrease the time of innovative product development, the large number of designers and engineers that are working in 17 locations throughout the entire world are not only facing the pressure from their own management but also competes with outsiders. Samsung attributes these strategies to its success in the effort of decreasing the time from a â€Å"new product concept to rollout† (Dess, 2010, p. C124). from over a year to â€Å"as little as five months† (Dess, 2010, p. C124). The determined work of the firms top manager, designers and engineers in the firms VIP center is at the core of the products rapid innovation and production. The reduced complexity for project teams in the design cycle’s early stages allows the company to move its products quicker to manufacturing while reducing problems and costs. Jung, a senior manager of the center states, explains that: â€Å"Seventy to eighty percent of quality, cost and delivery time is determined in the initial stages of a product.† (Dess, 2010, p. C124). A senior VP of Best Buy, George Danko, affirmed that â€Å"they will get a product to market a lot fast than their counterparts.† (Dess, 2010,p. C125). Among Samsungs first-to-market products are the first voice activated phones, handsets with MP3 Players and digital cameras that send photos over global systems for mobile communications networks. In addition to that, the firm was first to market projection TVs using new chips from Texas Instruments that employ digital-light processing. (Dess, 2010, p. C125).Yun envisioned that the company’s digital technology advances can result in a po ssibility of dominating the â€Å"digital home†, a home where he envisions that all appliances (from computers to refrigerators) are linked to each other and are capable of adapting to the personal needs of every individual consumer. One of the first products that have been brought to the market includes NEXiO, a combination of a cell phone and a handheld computer, or the Zipel, a refrigerator that has a 15-inch touch screen in its door that allows consumers to browse the web. To emphasize the importance of design, Yun implemented quarterly design meetings with top executives and opened or expanded design centers in San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Shanghai. Additionally, the post of chief design officer was created who ensures that designers can get their ideas to top managers. (Dess, 2010, p. C125). Despite all the improvements that Samsung Electronics made since the mid-1990s, Lee Yoon Woo replaced Yun as the CEO in May 2008. After a tax evasion scandal that involved the parent firm Samsung Group, a major-shakeup along the top executives occurred that not only reassigned over half of its executives to new positions but also introduced many younger executives to various leadership teams. The purpose of the restructuring was to increase efforts and deal better with the prevailing bad economic conditions. Samsung went into the economic recession with a market value of over $100 billion, thus placing them in an elite market position shared only with three other Asian firms. Samsung moved past big players on the market such as Nokia, Sony and Motorola, thanks to their revolutionary products. The efforts to improve design by overhauling it design every two years has been paying off and Samsung won well over 200 awards from internationally prestigious design institutions since 2006. Even though Samsung prides itself of having lower cost structure compared to most of its rivals, the firm experienced its first quarterly losses in the last three months of 2008, when the company lost $14.4 million. This is Samsungs first net loss since it began reporting quarterly results in 2000. The overproduction of memory chips and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) worldwide was mentioned as the main reason resulting in a quarterly loss. Despite recording a quarterly loss, the company still made a yearly profit in 2008 and has increased its revenues steadily in the past decade. Samsung underwent two major restructures in the last three years, one in 2009 when the company began to slim down operations into two divisions from the five separate ones it had the year before. It also appointed Choi Gee Sung the new CEO shortly after the company made him the head of the newly formed digital media and communications unit. Chois appointment was a breakthrough for Samsung Electronic as it previously only picked top managers that had their backgrounds in engineering. In December 2010, Samsung underwent the second restructuring as it switched its management style from the single CEO system of the previous year to a two person management team. Choi Gee Sung remained the CEO of the company but was named Vice President and Lee Jae Yong is now the President and COO (Chief Operating Operator). The firm also added a digital imaging business division so that Samsung Electronic currently consists of eight divisions. (FundingUniverse, 1999) 2. VISION As Samsung stated in its new motto, the company’s vision for the decade is to Inspire the World, Create the Future. his new vision reflects Samsung commitment to inspiring its communities by supplying Samsungs three key strengths: â€Å"New Technology,† â€Å"Innovative Products,† and â€Å"Creative Solutions.† Samsung has also established three strategic approaches in its management: â€Å"Creativity,† â€Å"Partnership,† and â€Å"Talent.† As part of this vision, Samsung has mapped out a specific plan of reaching $400 billion in revenue and becoming one of the world’s top five brands by 2020. Samsung states that it looks forward to increase its diversity by exploring new territories, including health, medicine, and biotechnology. (Samsung, 2010) 3. BUSINESS DIVISIONS 1. Visual Display Business Samsung Electronics has achieved the world’s No. 1 market share in TVs for five years in a row since 2006. After establishing the new market for LED TVs in 2009, the firm has extended its competitive lead with sales of 45.11 million TVs. That included 39.26 million flat panel TVs in 2010, as the Full HD 3D LED TV became readily available. Samsung also leads in the next generation market with total sales of 3D TVs (2 million in 2010). Samsung Electronics announced a monthly record this past October 2011 as it sold more than 1 million units in the United States. A company official was stated: â€Å"Selling over 1 million units in the North American market in just one month is a first for the company, but it is also unprecedented in the industrys history.† According to the official, the company was experiencing increased demand in the â€Å"premium TVs , e.g. the 3D and especially smart TVs, which were just released in 2011 and featured Full HD picture quality and Smart Hub options. Samsung announced that the global share of its 3D TVs came to over fifty percent as of last months ending. Meanwhile plasma display panel (PDP) TVs also reached 40%. [pic] (Samsung,2010) 3.2. IT Solution Business After the implementing of Samsung’s global marketing strategy for mobile PCs, Samsung Electronics realized rapid growth and reached sales of 10 million units in 2010 worldwide. The firm launched a printer for consumers that supports mobile printing. Samsung Electronics provides business customers with a complete product line, including the first dual core CPU-equipped printer on the market, a multifunction printer and an A3 copier. The easy-to-use features and the products powerful performance secured second global market share in the A4 laser printer category in 2010. Samsung Electronics led the world market in the categories of mono laser multifunction printers and color laser multifunction printers for the second consecutive year. In the future, the firm expects to achieve strong growth by launching an ultra-light high-performance laptop for the premium market and by bolstering its business-to-business (B2B) product line. Samsung Electronics anticipates continuing growth in the printer business in the upcoming years. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) 3.3. Digital Appliance Business Samsung Electronics is strengthening its brand image by introducing premium home appliances that offer essential services for daily life. In 2010, innovative products such as the twin cooling side by-side refrigerator; the front loader washer with vibration-reduction technology, the energy-efficient air conditioner; and air purifiers with humidification that maintain clean air quality in rooms resulted in great response worldwide. Samsung brought innovate, smart appliances to the market that deliver gracious and convenient lifestyle options such as Samsung’s autobot vacuum cleaner that cleans rooms automatically. Other products include kitchen ranges and microwaves that offer cooking features suitable for anybody. Samsung Electronics will extend its market leadership by releasing additional premium appliances. These will be supported by strong marketing with the purpose of becoming the world’s most trusted digital appliance brand. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) 3.4. Mobile Communication Business In 2010, Samsung Electronics reinforced its market leadership by achieving sales of 280 million mobile phones worldwide. This number is up 23% compared to 2009. The flagship GALAXY S model posted sales of 10 million units, while the GALAXY Tab also led the Android tablet PC market, earning great customer reviews. The firms leadership in full touch and messaging mobile phones continued in both advanced and emerging markets. Samsung Electronics plans to aggressively challenge a vey competitively growing market. It launched the GALAXY S II, the company’s flagship smartphone, only one day after Apple announced the new iPhone 4S and the Samsung phone received great feedback. The firm plans to keep expanding and improving its unique mobile solutions as it strengthens its competitive lead in both services and content. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) 5. Telecommunication System Business Samsung Electronics develops forward-looking products for two major 4G platforms, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the Mobile WiMAX (WiBRO). In 2010, the firm established the first LTE commercial services network in the US and currently expands in North America, Asia and Europe. Mobile WiMAX—introduced by Samsung Electronics and adopted as a global standard in 2007—has been experiencing dramatic growth in major mobile communications markets, including the US, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Based on its established technology leadership, the firm is expecting to lead the worldwide mobile broadband market in the upcoming years. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) 6. Digital Imaging Business Samsung Electronics is working hard on its brand image and recognition to become a premium brand by introducing a rising number of premium digital cameras and digital camcorders. The product line of interchangeable lens digital cameras was extended in the last year and the newly released mirror less digital camera (NX11) secured the firms competitive lead over professional optical brands. Samsung plans to continue to debut world-first and world-best cameras such the ST700 Dual View camera (which offers excellent image quality plus fun and convenient self-portrait option), the EX1 (the world’s first ultra-wide F1.8 zoom lens), the SH100 (which features Wi-Fi (DLNA) functionality) and many others. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) 7. Semiconductor Business Samsung is the worlds second largest semiconductor manufacturer and is the industry sales and technology leader in the areas of DRAM, SRAM, NAND Flash and TFT-LCDs. A key partner and premier supplier to the global IT industry, Samsung Electronics offers the widest range of advanced semiconductor devices and solutions for PC, server and mobile applications. The firm intends to play a major role in the growth of the green IT industry as they implement their Green Memory strategy, which emphasizes high-performance memory products with lower power consumption. Samsung Electronics differentiated product competitiveness has awarded the company the No.1 position in the worldwide memory market for 18 years in a row. The company consistently leads the industry, and began the world’s first mass production of 30nm-class 2Gb DDR3 DRAM, 30nm-class 4Gb LPDDR2 DRAM, 20nm-class NAND flash memory, 512GB SSD and more. In the storage systems division, the firm introduced high-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs) to the market, including a 2.5 inch 334GB HDD and a 3.5 inch 667GB HDD. [pic](Samsung, 2010) 8. LCD Business Being the industry leader, Samsung Electronics has achieved the No. 1 market share for LCD panels for nine consecutive years. The industry-first active 3D technology supports True 240Hz for 3D TV, which has reinforced Samsung’s leadership.Samsung released trendsetting displays as such as an LCD panel for the tablet PC (which offers vivid colors at a wide viewing angle), a low-power IT panel built with advanced LED backlight technology and more innovations were key to the firms leadership. In 2011, Samsung has been improving its product leadership as they developed differentiated offerings, including ultra-large panel technology, a full range of LED LCD panels, high-value IT products and DID panels. For the future, Samsung stays committed to research and development to produce tomorrows best products. That includes focusing on an oxide semiconductor panel, plastic LCD, transparent LCD and developing high efficiency solar modules. The firm’s goal is to develop the industr y’s most efficient and highest quality products. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) 4. FINANCIAL INFORMATION Samsung Electronics has been increasing its sales from 2008 till 2010 by more than 10% annually. These are extraordinary numbers, given the economic circumstances in todays (western) world. Despite big investments in research and development, the firm managed to almost double its net income from 2008 to 2009 and almost triple it from 2008 to 2010. [pic] (Samsung, 2010) Samsung Electronics experienced an increase in revenue in the first 6 month of the fiscal year of 2011 compared to the first two quarters in the previous year. However, this increase in revenue did not result in an increased operational profit in that period. As shown in appendix 1, the main reason for the decline in operational profits are two factors: increased cost of sales and increased research and development expenses. Stock Information Samsung Electronics stock trades on the stock markets in Seoul, London, and Luxemburg. Samsung Electronics stock is listed on the Korean Stock Exchange as 005930. As the chart below indicates, Samsung Electronics stock price has been considerably grown in the last two decades. However, it experienced many setbacks, the latest ones in the latter of half of 2008 and beginning of 2009 as well as during the third quarter of 2011’s fiscal year. The worldwide economic recession and first quarter losses in last decades in the fourth quarter of the year 2008 were responsible for the declining demand of stocks, while this year’s first half decline is probably most attributed to the slowing world economy. However, the stock price rose to the level of the years beginning in the late summer this year. 1 KRW (South Korean Won) = 0.00089 US Dollar (as of 11/9/11) [pic] (Market Watch, 2011) Financial RatiosRatio data as of 06/30/2011 [pic] (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2011) In the following, I will discuss three major financial ratios. 1. Return on Assets: Return on Assets is an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. The ratio gives an understanding of how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earning. Samsung Electronics Return on Assets is 6.87%, a number that is a little below industry average and shows that the company can definitely improve its efficiency. 2. Cash Ratio: The cash ratio is the most conservative ratio for measuring liquidity and is often used during periods of economic turmoil because cash is the most important asset many companies possess in difficult times. If a company has a ready supply of cash, it can survive sudden drops in sales that might put another less liquid company out of business. Samsung Electronics Cash Ratio (1.6x) is generally speaking a decent number and as indicated above an above average number compared to the industry. 3. Total Debt/Equity The total debt/equity ratio is calculated by dividing the firm’s total liabilities by stockholders equity and indicated what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. High debt/equity ratios generally mean therefore that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt, which can result in unstable earnings as a result of the additional interest expenses. Samsung Electronics 11.6x Total debt/equity ratio is a high number that gives some room for concern, as high interest rates could have a negative impact on the companies financials. 5. SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis will examine the internal and external factors influencing Samsung Electronics. It will identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the company. Samsung electronics has many strengths that can be pointed out. First, they are a very innovative company. As part of their new strategy they have begun developing its own products rather than copying those of other firms. In fact, they invest 9% of their revenues into research and development. This has helped them to gain a competitive edge. Also they switched to a merit-based system for advancement rather than a seniority based system. We believe this is effective because it will motivate employees to work harder knowing that if they perform, they can advance with the company. Interior competition is also healthy to a certain extent. Samsung encourages its two divisions to compete with each other to boost sales and innovation. Also Samsung is very efficient and effective in their product development process as well as getting the product to market. They lead the industry in this and can get a new product developed and released in as little as five months. Another key strength is their brand name. Samsung is recognizable all over the world as a top quality company. Next it is important to exploit Samsung’s weaknesses as a company in order to identify their key issues. The first is interior competition. Note that this was also listed in strengths, but if pushed to far can be a detriment to the company. Too much competition between divisions could cause a loss of focus on the company’s overall vision and more focus on beating each other. This could also cause the divisions to think more short-term rather than focus on sustainability. Also, the company is reluctant to branch out into music, movies and the game industry. Branching out could increase their revenues tremendously and sky rocket the company’s business. Their former low cost structure should be pointed out as well because they focused less on quality and more on cost, which essentially kept them from becoming a premium brand that appeals to a more luxury consumer demand. Overall Samsung has many opportunities to take advantage of. The first is their innovation; with this they hope to expand into creating the full â€Å"digital home† experience. This means that they wish to change the way our homes our designed and essentially used with the use of their technology. This could be a huge cash cow for the company and could create a constant stream of revenues. In addition, they could begin to aggressively pursue and acquire other technology companies in markets that they are not currently in. They have already started this with the failed attempt to acquire SanDisk, a company that makes storage cards and other such products. Furthermore, they should continue to build new factories around the area in low cost areas. Keeping production costs low is a key factor in increasing and maintaining the highest possible profit margin. Due to the innovation and research of Samsung they could penetrate many new markets as well as expand market share. Samsung Electronics also faces many external threats. The current economic state of key areas such as the United States has caused a large decline in demand. This means that they have a large amount of inventory sitting in warehouses. This could put a damper on a company’s financial situation due to holding costs and a decrease in revenues. Also if there is an overcapacity in global production this could drive down prices. When prices are driven down; profit margin decreases and your company could feel the financial impact. Lastly, there is a large amount of competition in the industry. It is important to stay innovative and one step ahead of your competitors to m aintain market share. 6. Porter’s Five Forces The threat of new entrants is relatively low in this industry. The majority of the companies in this industry are established and operating at a very high output. It is hard to enter the market due to the extremely high amounts of costs put forward to research and development, as well as bringing your product to the consumer. Next, there are very many substitutes to the products that Samsung offers. There are many companies competing in the electronics field and they are constantly looking to gain market share. Also companies in the technology industry are constantly copying each other’s innovations in hopes of improving them. The bargaining power of the buyers is high in this industry. The consumer has a large array of options and substitute products. This enables them to have a large impact on the price of the product. This is why it is important to keep your prices competitive. The bargaining power of suppliers for Samsung Electronics is low. This is due to the large market share that the company has. The company develops and manufactures their products in house, which enables them to have more control over their complete supply chain. Ultimately this helps them to be more efficient and keep costs down. Within the electronic industry, there is a very large threat of competition. They face strict competitors such as Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, Philips, and Sharp to name a couple. This is why it is important to stay innovative and keep emphasis on quality, as well as satisfying your consumers’ needs. 7. Problems There are many problems that Samsung faces as a company. We do not believe they are being aggressive enough in entering new markets. The cost of losing opportunity while it is there could be detrimental to the company. Also, because the technology business is always rapidly changing, they could lose sight on the overall long-term growth of the company. Samsung also has very high operating costs because of the constant amount of research and development they use. The company should actively seek ways to become more efficient to keep costs low. High costs and lack of demand have caused their profit margins to decrease. A lack of an internal distribution system could also drive costs up. A problem in the general environment that diminished Samsung’s return is the global economic slowing growth (or in parts also recessions) that Samsung has to keep considering carefully in its product investments and overall company strategy. Our own research conducted in the local Best Buy store also pointed out that even though Samsung’s smart phone series Galaxy is growing in market share, it consistently has lacks and downtimes, which frustrates many of the customers. 8. Solutions/Suggestions There are many possible solutions to some of the internal and external issues that Samsung is experiencing. First, we believe that Samsung should branch out into music, movies and the game industry. This could help the company to expand in a positive manor and could open up many new markets to them as well. Next it is important to keep planning for long-term sustainable growth. Samsung should continuously invest in new technology to keep its market share. Also, they should take full advantage of opportunities to acquire other business entities in new markets. They should take a proactive approach to expansion to help them gain and maintain a competitive edge. The company should also keep looking for new ways to keep their operating and manufacturing costs low. They could even look into bringing their distributors in house by buying them out, or even implement their own distribution division. This could be very effective in keeping distribution costs low. Samsung also has to solve the ongoing problems with its leading smart phone on the market, the Galaxy. Bibliography Dess, G., Lumpkin, G, Eisner, A. Strategic Management Text and Cases.(2010). New York, New York, McGraw-Hill Irwin FundingUniverse. (1999). FundingUniverse. Retrieved 11 10, 2011, from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Samsung-Electronics-Co-Ltd-company-History.html Samsung. (2010). Samsung. Retrieved 11 10, 2011, from Samsung Electronics: http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/ir/financialinformation/annualreport/downloads/2010/SECAR2010_Eng_Final.pdf Market Watch. (2011, 11 9). MarketWatch. Retrieved 11 10, 2011, from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. GDR Pfd. 144A: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ssngy Bloomberg Businessweek. (2011, 11 10). Businessweek. Retrieved 11 10, 2011, from SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD : http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/ratios.asp?ticker=005930:KS

Company Information Of Sports Direct

Company Information Of Sports Direct In this e-business era all the companies are very much interested in attracting customers by presenting a nice looking website with all the relevant information. As a professional in E-commerce we would like to bring some comparative analysis of different competitors in sports business to highlight the best possible option to start an E-business in sports sector. In our survey we have chosen three well known companies who competes radically in the market, these are listed below with their website address: Sports Direct: http://www.sportsdirect.com JD Sports: http://www.jdsports.co.uk Kitbag: http://www.kitbag.com Though the above companies are performing similar business, but still their activities do not very resemble each other. These companies differ from each other from various pints of view; some of them are summarized below: Company information of Sports Direct: In sports business Sports Direct is controlling a whole range of steering in UK. This owns a wide range of elegant brands of products. Sports Direct is trading under its own name and also accompanied by some other companies like Lillywhites, McGurks, and Exsports as a group of companies. As a group of company they sell a wide range of owned brand such Dunlop, Slazenger, Lonsdale and the most famous 3rd party brands as Adidas, Nike, Umbro, Reebok and Puma. They claim themselves as the best sports goods retailers because of the readily availability of branded goods which makes them famous among others. Sports Direct along with its 359 outlets comprises different other companies as partners provides a great deal of offers which allows it be competitive in this trade. Strategically Sports Direct builds up the trading relationship with others so that they can run the business with less competition. Customer services: In trading business customers are the basic underpin on which companies run their operation. Customer satisfaction is a most powerful trigger of business. Sports Direct is always keen to provide good customer services all over the world. For serving the customer satisfactorily Sports Direct has the provision of updated information regarding best deal of products, which is a part and parcel in online businesses. They also take care of the customers by providing helpline, return policy, and secure payment method, online terms and conditions for shopping and so on. It also keeps in mind about the customers of European countries where it created a specialized site for them. Sports Direct also facilitates the customers by secured login support by which the customer can track down their account, which tells them the shopping details at any point of time. Customer information regarding the rights of customers: In E-commerce customers are treated as the weaker part of trade. Customers are those who purchase goods and services for consumption as well as for selling. There are lots of rules and regulation in UK to protect customers from fraud. Sports Direct provides the rights to its customer to have the terms and condition printed, get an overall ideas about the products in terms of price and quality, the rights to have the personal data safe according to terms and conditions, get the delivery all over the UK and also international through delivery partner Etail services LDT, return the defective goods, get a reasonable warranty, give complain for various issues, both the customers and the company has the right to accuse each other in case of any contractual breach to the court of England and Wales. Product warranties: In case of product warranty Sports Direct has just put up a statement which will satisfy the customers regarding the quality assurance as described in its website. This company doesnt give any warranty of virus or other malicious program free website. Design and ease of website use: The design of the website is mostly represented by the homepage where one can get all the relevant information about the company. In Sports Direct.com the home page is mostly contained of some of the inductive offers of products including little description of it. This site also contains an easily accessible and readable navigation bar, a search button, a display of shopping basket, a sign in option to open an account with the company, online payment options and company information in detail. The customers can find their suitable product that they are looking for from the navigation bar where it is given be the name or type of the products. The colour combination and the look and feel of the site is as expected. With all these information and navigation in the design it can be regarded as easily accessible site. Company information of JD Sports: JD Sports started its launch in 1981 and has grown up very quickly with about 400 stores gaining high reputation of selling own and third party brand of goods. Its overriding performance was basically based on the sales of third party brands e.g. Nike, Adidas, Reebok etc. In the rising trend JD Sports acquired many other stores to form the group of business as a competitive advantage. This sports giant has also included its corporate information e.g. share details, little bit of company structure, and the rate of growth which ultimately shows the high performing capacity of the company. In company information they have included a wide range of supplements to give a clear view of it. Customer services: All the businesses are dependent on the customers so they carry out vital activities for a company. In JD Sports they have given high priority to the customers with highly valuable services. For good services JD Sports has incorporated various activities like shopping pattern, delivery information, returning of defective goods, tracking system of order, secure site for payment and different product list including their respective sizes. It has also created a search button for finding the stores around the UK. Customer information regarding the rights of customers: According to the terms and conditions the customers are bound by the companys policy. The customers can only consume the products but not sell them outside as per company aim. Users of this site have access restriction to some parts of it, which reduces the rights of customers in a sense. In this site the rights of customers and other related entities are clearly stated. The company is not held liable for any damage of customers physical goods like computers through any kind of virus infections. So the customers do not have the right to complain against such sort of damages. JD Sports provides a legal right to customers to return defective goods at any point of time after purchasing and cancel the order within 7 (seven) days. Customers have the right to accuse the company regarding any illegal issues. Product warranties: JD Sports provides a warranty period of 28 days of purchasing. If the products do not satisfy the quality of purpose or fit for the purpose then the customer has the right to return back to the company. The company then either replace it or refund the full price after checking the defectiveness of faultiness of the products. JD Sports has also illustrated all the policies and procedures of returning goods under the regulation of product warranty. Design and ease of website use: In designing the website JD Sports has given tremendous efforts. It has differentiated the products gender wise and also age wise, so that the customers dont have to waste their precious time in finding specific products. The special offers are also incorporated and updated time to time under separate section. All these information has made the site wonderful in sense of design and easy accessibility. Company information of Kitbag.com: In the sports goods and accessories world Kitbag is one of the best company. The targeted area of business is mostly EU, but it has expanded its business to UK and US as well. They sell different third party branded products e.g. Nike, Adidas, Puma etc. through their shops and online. They have a wide range of products to sell from cloths, gifts or souvenirs to exercise equipments for all ages of customers. Kitbag.com site is a Hitwise award winner which built on their success day by day. As a sports giant with its associates Kitbag has the right of restricting the users of this site who have breached the terms and conditions. Customer services: As all the company tries harder for its customers, Kitbag also is not out of the community. For its most important stakeholder (customer) Kitbag has also provided enormous and attracting supports. For the customer services it has created a section to create personal account, help option, search button, currency differentiation button, making complains and comments. It has also provided an affiliate network options so that the customers can choose from a larger variety of others as well. Customer information regarding the rights of customers: Customers of Kitbag has all the basic right of using the website e.g. placing orders, easy way of secure payments, get the delivery all around the UK, US and EU, returning of goods, and keep the personal data protected with the company. It addition to this customers have also an important right to remove personal information recorded in the company database. In the return policy customer may return the goods within 14 days from purchase including all belongings with the good, but in that case recorded delivery is preferred by the company which may be a bit costly. Kitbag also allows the customers to cancel the orders in certain condition. Product warranties: Although a big company it hasnt provided clear and distinguished illustration about the products warranty. It has only depicted the information of returning defective goods in one section. Design and ease of website use: In the home page of this site all the relevant links are included from which customer can easily access their respective pages. In the menu bar all products ranges are enlisted to display the products name at a glance. To get the best and up to date offers Kitbag has kept a special search bar for the convenience of the customers. With all these circumferences of this site it can be considered as very well designed and easily accessible site. Comparative analysis of above competitors and proposal for best practice: In case of company information it is clearly revealed that Sports Direct has depicted all sorts of information regarding the company compared to two other companies. A company doing business in the civilized world should give the details of it to get people know about their intention and purpose. So in this perspective Sports Direct is further ahead than other two. In case of customer services JD Sports is very much close to standard. Because all three company has more or less support for customer services but JD Sports has a special section for services even in the site. In case of the third aspect which is customer rights Kitbag has priority over others. Sports Direct and JD Sports provide customers the right to perform basic activities when do some shopping from them, and Kitbag in addition give the right to erase customers personal detail from the company record which relieves the company from some sort of liability in case of any fraudulent activities by third party (hacker). In case product warranty JD Sports is superior to others. The reason is that JD Sports has specific time duration for product warranty with the illustration of refund policy in the site as well. In case of design and easy accessibility JD Sports scores the highest points. Because the texts in the site are fully readable, the product differentiation by gender and age group is transparent enough; all the links are on a finger tip of the customers. So, considering the above analysis and comparison I would like to advise the client to follow JD Sports online business strategy to set up their own business. They should also consider Sports Direct and Kitbag in respect of detail company information and terms and condition, and customer rights respectively. The ultimate target of this new business should be adopting a site which is dynamic, well defined, realistic, clear in view and finally most customer acceptable. Section 2: Company name and Intellectual Property To start a business a name for the company should be chosen. The name should be legally available and registered with proper authority. Before choosing the name the company type should be identified. Here we would suggest to have limited type of company, more specifically private limited company. We would suggest the name as Sports Craft limited company considering all the legal issues and registration regulation. The reason behind choosing this type of company is that, the shareholders are not liable for disaster in business or have limited liability. Other reasons behind the suggestion are of smaller size, shareholder flexibility in terms of number of shareholders, and executive authority formation of the company. As we would suggest a limited type of company, so the name should End with the word limited as Sports Craft Limited Company, The similar name should not be chosen, which is already in the index, The name cant be offensive to the people. If a name sounds same as another company it can be accepted by spelling differently for example, if there is another company name, called Kraft Sports Limited then our suggested name can be accepted, but it is better to select a unique name to avoid objection of other companies and get registration easily. Before applying for registration we would suggest to check the name at companies house website whether it is readily and legally available or not as opposed to similar name. After choosing the name, registering the company with authorised body will come up as a next step to take place. The registration in UK is done through a body named Companies House under the current companies act 2006. Some provisions or clause of companies act 2006 are not enforced so that the act of 1985 is also in force in respective areas. For the registration of the company you may choose to deal directly with the companies house or can go through the different agents those have experienced solicitors and accountants in the field of company formation. To start this registration process you should send off some documents with relevant fee to the companies house. The documents are as follows: A Memorandum of Association which includes the name, established location, and its function in business, it can be available from a law stationery or agent. Articles of Association which include full description of the way of running business (e.g. selling sports goods and providing good service to the customers online), rights and powers of stakeholders and company directors, it can be available from a law stationery or agent. A form 10 after completion which provides the details of company office, name and addresses of directors and secretary of Sports Craft Limited Company. A form 12 after completion which will provide the compliance of the Sports Craft Limited Company to the legal requirement of company formation. If the registered office needs to be in England or Wales the documents should be sent to companies house in Cardiff. These two types of forms are available in companies house as downloadable format. A private company like Sports Craft Limited Company must appoint correct number of directors and secretary according to its article of association and who should be formally qualified. The director of Sports Craft Limited Company should be over the age of 16 and at least one should be neutral to the company. After the company being formed some sort of notification should be sent to the companies house about: Appointing a new officer Resignation of the officer of the company Changes of details of an officer that was provided in Form 10 Changes of registered office address details. After all the necessary checks and examination which will be done by companies house regarding the name and relevant documents an incorporation certificate will be issued towards Sports Craft Limited Company. Advice on the trademark and domain name issues: Trademark is a distinguishable and graphically presented sign that a company can use for the goods or services they provide in respect to differentiate their products from others and is comprised of words, letters, alphanumeric, and also be a logo. Through the trade mark one can protect his/her personal property from infringement. The trade mark of a company can be protected by the Trade Mark Act 1994. If the member of Sports Craft Limited Company have seen a trade mark of a company in Canada and would like to use that as his own company mark, then we suggest to check first whether the Canadian company has the mark registered or not. If it is registered then the chance of having the mark is less. Even if the Canadian company hasnt registered the mark but it has reputation in business, then he can get it protected by the passing off rights. In case of trade mark the principle is Filing First but the not the Using first. If the Canadian company has the trade mark registered and its bus iness is not multinational or limited to Canada then Sports Craft Limited Company will be able to use that mark under the UK Trade Mark Act 1994. The above situation will also be considerable for Sports Craft Limited Company. If Sports Craft Limited Company wants to do business in Canada, then in case of any dispute the Canadian company has to prove that the mark is registered or applied before the application of Sports Craft Limited Company. But if the mark is not registered then Canadian company has to prove his reputation in doing the business in case of goods and services. The above suggestions should be followed by the newly formed company after examining all the possibilities by experts. These are all top level domain names but there is nothing to deal with level to get the name registered. In UK the domain name is registered through Nominate and it is done first come first serve basis. The domain name should be unique in every aspect. Domain name infringement is based on UK Trade Mark Act 1994 where if the mentioned three names are identical to any registered trade mark or any goods and services in any way then it will be called an infringement of domain name. Before choosing any of the names Sports Craft Limited Company has to investigate whether they are already registered or not. Literally it is evident that all three names are registered under the domain name registrar. Although they all are doing different business than Sports Craft Limited Company but due to the principle of uniqueness there is no chance to get those names as domain name. Those companies can make a dispute which will fall under Domain Name Envy where two or more company have similar domain nam e. Sports Craft Limited Company might be given right to have any of those three names if it attains good reputation or it already has the reputation in other business. In that case there is provision for reallocation of domain names and a dispute resolution procedure. There are seven issues concerned with the domain name dispute resolution which are as follows: Did the other party register the domain name before you registered yours? If not then you proceed on registering with any of the three mentioned names. Does either party own a registered trademark? Is the domain name generic? Does the domain include a celebritys name? Does the domain name include a well-known brand? Can you prove bad faith? How long has this been going on? After considering all the above issues you can decide to get a domain name from the three names. If you want to choose the domain name as, www.Sportscraft.com which has similar word like the mentioned others, so it may come under dispute resolution. In this case we would like to remind you about the case of Microsoft VS. MikeRoweSoft, where although Mike Rowe started a business in dissimilar domain name, but the software giant Microsoft made a dispute against him because of resemblance of the name. Section 3: Privacy and data protection Privacy in e-commerce draws the attention of world business people and also the consumers to protect themselves from fraud. Because of the vulnerability in online shopping customer are getting tensed and unwilling to visit any online shopping site irrespective of their shopping habit, which is a threat to e- business. Online fraudulence through malfunction security measures imposed the customers to and businessmen to pressurise the authority for developing regulatory policies for collecting and using of gathered personal data. So the importance of privacy and data protection should not be ruled over while starting an online business. The legal requirements of online business in respect of UK data protection act 1998 can be categorized as follows: The collection of personal data -Get consent from the customers by using a check box -Sending email and text messages for marketing reasons -Making automated calls -Faxing -Sending cookies The above marketing strategy for goods and services requires the prior consent of the customers. The UK e-privacy regulations control these activities with the help of data protection act 1998. Data trafficking Routing of data Duration of keeping the data. Reason behind keeping the personal data for longer period Location data Identification of the customers location Transfers and usage of personal data need to be regulated Fare use of data Adequacy, relevancy, and range of excessiveness of personal data Accuracy and security of personal data while transferring Three main issues in website privacy policy are: Securely and fairly processing of customers personal data Secondary or reuse of data by authorised company and by third party, where transfer of personal data should be restricted. Accessibility in financial information and use of cookies to recognize past customers. Now we would like to advise our client in respect of collecting personal data for business and reutilization purposes. In collecting the personal data the above legal issues or requirements should be fulfilled by the company. In descriptive way we would suggest the company the following: The personal information should be collected for legal and purposeful reason. The collected data should be kept secured and processed fairly which means prevent the third parties to access and carryout the examining of data. The personal information should not be kept for longer than needed unless some exceptions such as investigation for crime, terrorism under the investigatory powers act 2000 or crime and security act 2001 or otherwise for billing purposes. For billing purposes the personal data can be stored for duration of six years. The customers can have the power of erasing their information from the database of the company by using technology. The transfer of information to third party should require consent from the customers. The transfer of personal information should be prohibited to outside business region unless there is enough security and protection of those data. The transfer of data should not be rejected for the reasons of contract formation, public interest, legal proceedings, taxation, national security, and information commissions office authorization. The racial identity information is treated as sensitive personal information which can come under ethnic group. The racial identity information should be kept and processed with more care than the standard personal information such as it must satisfy the fair and lawful processing together with one of mentioning conditions: 1) explicit consent of customers, 2) secure the interest of the customers, and 3) to secure the legality of the information. Section 4: Advertising and marketing: The e-commerce advertisement should have the characteristics of Truthfulness/transparency: Where marketing communication should not be misleading by faulty and ambiguous information. Safe from customer vulnerability: This means the customers should not be motivated or enticed to commit dangerous activities resulting in social unrest. Descent in respect of content: Marketing communication should not contain anything on the platform of racial, religious, sexual orientation and disability. Reality of promotional offer: Where promotional goods and services should maintain the normal quality with mentioning the correct duration, and promoters should not be disappointed in any situation. Fair competitiveness And secured linking. The site design should be clear enough to be understood by the customers. All the products are meant to be available for delivery as advertised for promotion unless any exception included in the terms and conditions. The price content should not include any hidden charges. Direct marketing can be introduced with the legal perspective and customer consent. There is no actual legislation for controlling the content of advertisement. But some rules or code of conduct regulate the e-commerce advertising which are relevant to the trade, marketing and advertising in respective fields. The code of practice provides a self-regulatory environment which can be implemented in accordance with legislation or independently for dispute resolutions. The design of advertisement should comply with the code to rely on the legality, decency, honesty, truthfulness, and consumer confidence for marketing arrangements. The following brief discussion of two UK laws regulating the content of advertisement would provide you some transparent view of advertising online. 1. Trade description act 1968: The trade description act started enforcing since 30th November 1968. With the replacement and extendibility of previous trade legislation the trade description act 1968 enforce the business men providing actual description of goods and services in terms of price, size etc. The Trade Description Act consists of subsections which comply with the trading as follows: A) The business activities by a company can be treated as an criminal offensive action under the Trade Description Act 1968 when the business organization, Present any goods and services in fictitious way in terms of price, size and the quality. Make available such goods for supplying to customers which do not comply with the stated description in advertisement. Provide fake and vague statement of different service facilities to confuse the customers and entice them to buy or use them. B) Describing the trading pattern in terms of products, services, facilities, and the ultimate quality of them include The dimension of the above in sense of size, quantity Production mechanisms such as manufacture, processing Content in terms of which is composed of Quality assurance against the description Results of testing and the approval from respected authority Time duration of the goods and services understandable by the customers. Under the Trade Description Act 1968 any false indication for any sort of goods and services by the trader is a punishable offense. For example the traders are not allowed to present or sell any products with the presentation of any royal family members or any famous person, even if the permission is granted from them. The failure of fulfilling any services stated by the trader is an offense and can be sued by the customers without the involvement of the Act. Spoken statement is outside the reach of the legislation, hence the compensation are not taken into consideration under this Act. Then it can be finalised with the help of civil law if the court thinks it perfect. 2. Misrepresentation Act 1967: The Misrepresentation Act 1967 came in to force in 22 March 1967 by the amendment of two sections of Sales of goods Act 1893. Under this Act the following should be considered: A) If any contract is formed with the misrepresentation of any products then the customers are entitled to cancel the contract without averring the fraudulent activities. B) Where the customers are in a contract by the misrepresentation in advertisement and suffer a massive loss is entitled to claim for damages on the proof of fraudulent misrepresentation and vice versa. C) If a contract is made between two parties with misrepresentation of products subject to accepting any terms and conditions regarding unintentional misrepresentation by the customers, then the traders may not be liable for any damage caused by it as long as it satisfy the section 11(1) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. D) The trader should not represent any products which can be presumably considered as someone elses product that has reputation or registered trademarks in the market. Conformity of advertisement to those laws: As mentioned above about the design or characteristics of Sports Craft Limited Company advertisement, we would like to relate the Trade Description Act 1968 to a) customer vulnerability, b) promotional offers for various products which should be described in clears view and compliance to the relevant products, c) fair competition in case of accurate information about the products advertised on line, d) price tagging where there should be no hidden charges, and e) secured linking of third party advertisement where the trader describes the products with appropriate information. Also the Misrepresentation Act 1967 can be conformed to the a) truthfulness/ transparency of presenting a particular product, b) decency of content of the site, where representing any violated information can result in social hazards. Advise in regard to direct marketing to athletes: The direct email marketing is a campaign through advertisement to reach the targeted people with the ultimate purpose of selling products and differs from other traditional types of marketing strategy. It can be in a form of digital text, HTML, spamming as unsolicited mail etc. To start the email marketing a number of regulations should be taken into considerations which comply with the unsolicited electronic messages sent through different communication media. The most important condition to consider first is that, the unsolicited electronic marketing is only possible with the permission of recipients in this case the athletes. These conditions are complied with the European Communities Ordinance 2004 and the Data Protection Act 1998 for the communication with individuals and organizations. The exceptions of this regulation are as follow: The unsolicited mail or spam can be sent to athletes if their personal information has been gathered in case of any sale of products take place. In case of marketing similar products In case marketing giving the opportunity to unsubscribe the marketing arrangement by the customers while giving p