Balanced Scorecard Essay Example for Free

Balanced Scorecard Essay Rivalry amongst competing firms – Apple is in the unique situation that it has its own proprietary operating system and only used by Apple. So although the competition is fierce for customers, it is a different type of battle for Apple than for others such as Samsung, Google or Microsoft. Apple does face stiff competition but it is in the battle for use-case preference. The Android or Windows OS is different than the Apple iOS and consumers make a choice as to which road they are going to go down. Apple is competing for winning this important thought process and decision-making process. They are not competing on hardware alone because Apple alone produces their products with their OS. The competition will continue for easily the foreseeable future, 10 years and beyond, as the world becomes more digitized. Force: Moderate Potential Entry of New Competitors – The barriers to entry in this industry are steep. Cost of production is very high for new entrants until significant economies of scale are reached. Over the next 10 years there will be many new entrants into the industry though either brand new, or companies already in similar technology markets that will branch out into markets that compete with Apple. Again, that would be a competition for OS preference, not hardware per se. There is always the possibility of an entirely new and 4th, or more, operating systems being developed as technology advances. Moore’s Law tells us this is likely but difficult to ascertain from where it will come, whether it will be significantly better than any existing, and if it will gain wide user acceptance. Force: Weak to Moderate Potential Development of substitute products – Again, since Apple has its own exclusive OS, substitute products are only a threat as being other choices of entirely different OS’s from Microsoft or Android producers, or any other possible future OS development. But Apple does not have any substitute for its own products. Force: Weak Bargaining Power of Buyers – Apple users tend to stay Apple users. Their loyalty is strong and they love Apple products. Apple charges a premium for its products but the image and allure of Apple products and their perceived high quality keep unit sales strong. Although technology economies of scale have certainly been reached in Apple production, they have continued to keep their products priced higher that competing products. Buyer choice based on price alone should affect growth amongst some new customer segments, but will have little effect on the current loyal Apple user base. Unless their products begin to lose some of their luster and appeal and effectiveness, they should remain strong for the future. Force: Weak Bargaining Power of Suppliers – With Apple’s exclusive product line and OS and the relatively small number of products, they are not threatened by supplier power. Apple can easily find factories more than willing to be a part of the Apple supply chain. As their products gain more market share and production increases, Apple is in an ideal situation to manage their suppliers effectively.

Red Sky At Morning: Stepping Into Adulthood Essay -- essays research

Red Sky At Morning by Richard Bradford, is a coming of age novel that illustrates the maturing of a young man. In the summer of 1944, Frank Arnold, a wealthy shipbuilder in Mobile, Alabama, receives his volunteer commission in the U.S. Navy. He moves his wife, Ann, and seventeen-year-old son, Josh, to the family's summer home in the village of Corazon Sagrado, high in the New Mexico mountains. Mrs. Arnold finds it impossible to cope with the quality of life in the largely Hispanic village. Josh, more the son of his father than his mother, becomes an integral member of the Sagrado community, forging friendships with classmates at Helen De Crispin school, with the town's resident artist, with Chango Lopez--macho bully turned model student--and with Amadeo and Excilda Montoya, the couple hired by his father to care for their house. Josh narrates the story of his fateful year in Sagrado and reveals the events and people who influence his progress to maturity. Josh matures throughout the book into a young man who learns the understanding of change, responsibility, and duty. Josh stays strong through the changes he goes through and it helps him mature into the man he becomes. When his family moves to Sagrado he makes new friends and adapts well to the new environment he is put into. Josh stays open-minded when making friends at school. He gets to know many different kings of people. Unlike his mother he doesn’t judge people by where they live or their racial background. His mothe...

America Should Have Stricter Gun Control

The scene is all too recognizable. A troubled person pulls out a gun in a school, an office, or a shopping center, and he or she slaughters innocent men, women, and children. Recently, mass murders have occurred at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech University, and Omaha’s Westroads Mall (Schwartz). These tragedies are not inevitable, so people wonder one question. Are guns in our society getting out of control? Four out of every ten Americans own a gun; which leads to the perception that America has returned to the Wild Wild West. In fact, it is to be assumed that where guns are present, there is a higher risk of drug abuse, crime, and accidents. About 31,224 people died from gun violence in 2007. In just one day, 268 people were shot in murders, assaults, suicides, accidents, or by police intervention (Grunwald). Not only do four out of ten Americans have gun ownership, but an additional three out of four Americans believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to carry a gun. Hypothetically, these people believe that they have a right to bear arms and that right should not be infringed. Part of the reason why there are such outrageous statistics is because there is lost momentum towards gun control (Schwartz). People are discomforted by the fact that a ridiculous 15 years have passed since there has been an urge for gun legislation on the federal level. In the 2008 presidential campaign, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama talked at all about gun control. In fact, Obama received an F for leadership on gun control to prevent gun violence from â€Å"A Brady Campaign† (Grunwald). However, Barack Obama did acknowledge the gun control dilemma only enough to make it seem unimportant in comparison to other issues he takes on. Obama stated â€Å"We essentially have two realities when it comes to guns in this country. We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets† (Schwartz). Guns are given with laws, and when people continuously break those laws, the government should tackle the issue; America has returned to the Wild Wild West. Along with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ignoring the issue, Congress has done hardly anything to toughen gun control laws. In truth, Congress has relaxed the laws very little. For example, in 2003, Congress passed an amendment to block the government from publicly releasing most data that trace guns used in crimes. In 2005, Congress gave gun manufacturers immunity to lawsuits if their firearms were used in crimes. Andy Goddard’s son, Nick, who was injured in the Virginia Tech shooting said, â€Å"people don’t know how poorly protected they are† (Schwartz). Along with the lost momentum towards stricter gun control, America has become more dangerous. According to the article â€Å"In Congress, the Uphill Battle for Gun Control†, where guns are present, there are more likely to be drug abuse, crime, and accidents. Supposedly, the main challenge in discovering guns used in crimes is the insufficient amount of research on exactly which laws help cut down on gun shootings. Research by Emma Schwartz proved laws that demand owners to shield their children by keeping their guns locked or unloaded decreased deaths among children in Florida, but not in Connecticut or California. Laws that allow people to carry weapons, which advocates say tend to discourage criminals from shooting, have brought little meaningful decrease in crime. Therefore, America is violently out of control. Also, the article â€Å"Fire Away† states, â€Å"Nationally, less than 1% of all gun deaths involve self-defense; the rest are homicides, suicides, and accidents. In a study of 23 high-income countries, the U. S. had 80% of the gun deaths, along with a gun homicide rate nearly 20 times higher than the rest of the sample. Also, in one year, more than 100,000 people die from gun violence in America (Grunwald). Some people question the president’s concern. At one time, Barack Obama promised to reinstate a federal ban on certain semiautomatic assault guns. The ban was initially passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress in 1994 and lapsed five years ago. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a New York Democrat, is extremely impatient with the party’s silence. With every right to be impatient, a gunman randomly fired on a Long Island commuter train on Dec. , 1993 and murdered her husband while severely injuring her son. However, when she addressed the issue to Obama, the response given was, â€Å"that’s not for now, that’s for later† (Isikoff). To emphasize that America has become an unsafe society; On the morning of April 4, 2010, Richard Poplawski got into an argument with his mother. The argument was over the family‘s dog urinating on the carpet. Richard’s mother called the police to have her 22-year-old son confiscated from her house. Richard Poplawski and his mother live in what portrays to be, a rough neighborhood. Responding as police would to any other situation, two officers responded to the call, assuming that it was a typical familial dispute. Margaret Poplawski greeted them by saying, â€Å"Come and take his ass. † But little did they know Richard Poplawski, who recently was fired from his job in a glass factory, had other ideas. He went to a private, hidden section of the house, where he grabbed his guns and put on a bulletproof vest. Poplawski shot officer Paul J. Sciullo II, 37, inside the house and hit 29-year-old Stephen Mayhle on the stoop. Immediately, both men feel dead. Looking calm and collected, Poplawski stood in the doorway and fired two or three more bullets into Mayhle’s body, according to a witness. Then, he ran back into the house and fired hundreds of rounds, using an AK-47 assault rifle and other weapons to slay off a police SWAT team for four hours. He killed another officer, 41-year-old Eric Kelly, and wounded a cop (Isikoff). Poplawski’s cringing story is an ideal example of how America lacks gun control. Years ago, national political leaders would have raised questions or concerns about how such a person like Poplawski could easily get his hands on high-powered guns. They might have been even more driven because Poplawski’s cop-killing rampage was part of a rise of mass homicides that have caused 58 people dead over the past month. Or the fact that Mexico’s high violent drug cartels equip themselves with high-powered weapons, purchased at U. S. gun control measures are silent. These are including Obama White House officials who have put the lid on any talk in pushing further gun-control measures (Isikoff). With the increasing numbers in drug abuse, crime, and accidents, America has a bad reputation. Sadly, there is lost momentum towards gun control including relaxed gun laws, Obama ignoring the issue, and Congress doing hardly anything. Four out of every ten Americans own a gun; which leads to the perception that America has returned to the Wild Wild West. The fact that there were mass murders at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech University, and Omaha’s Westroads Mall is not okay. The fact that 31,224 people were dead from gun violence in the year of 2007 is not normal. The fact that four out of every ten Americans own a gun is not tolerable. Because America has lenient gun control makes our country wilder than the Wild Wild West.

An Essay on Jamba Juice - 10168 Words

Introduction Our product is Jamba Juice and our target country is Spain. We chose this product because it has grown to become one of the nation’s best-known smoothie chains, emphasizing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and because the company is looking for international expansion opportunities. We chose Spain as our target country for expansion of our product due to its current economic status and economic growth forecasts for the future. This combination provides the firm with an opportunity to offer our product to a growing economy and marketplace. Company Background and History Jamba Juice takes its name from the African word jama, which means ‘to celebrate’. It was the creation of Kirk Perron, an avid cyclist and graduate of†¦show more content†¦The government of Spain actively supports the small business sector of the economy. As of 2006 there were over 3 million small and medium-sized businesses in Spain, representing over 99% of all businesses in the country. The Spanish government provides various grants and incentives for the creation and expansion of small businesses in Spain as well as support and services to business owners. Recent government campaigns and initiatives have focused on support for entrepreneurs, primarily in response to Spain’s economic goals for the future. Increasing competitiveness and promoting innovation were identified as key strategies to maintain, grow and keep Spain’s economy dynamic (Dreamer, 2008). The key factors such as strong economy, large population base, expansive tourist trade and active government involvement provide a strong argument for migration into Spain’s marketplace. Reasons for Expansion Jamba has become a way of life for millions of Americans and the company believes that they can extend that opportunity to Spain and other international marketplaces. A recent Piper Jaffray report suggested that the company has room to grow not only in U.S. markets but internationally as well (Fuhrmann, 2007). Spanish Culture and Lifestyle Geographic Setting and Culture Spain isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Jamba Juice External Analysis1591 Words   |  7 PagesCase Analysis #1: Jamba Juice Sociocultural Factors Sociocultural factors influence and restrict consumption ideas, needs, desires and purchase behavior. People from different countries and different regions have different life patterns and different sociocultures. These differences directly influence the products that industries want to produce because people may even have different attitudes and value toward the same product due to different sociocultural factors. With the rapid developmentRead MoreJamba Juice Marketing Plan Essay1436 Words   |  6 PagesCompany Description In the year 1990, Kirk Perron, opened up a small, convenient, and healthy food store named Juice Club. It was located in the state of California in the city of San Luis Obispo. 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During the 90s there was a trend towards healthier foods and healthier alternatives to fattier ingredients. â€Å"manufacturers found ways to make everything reduced fat, low-fat or fat-free — even fat.†(Leite, 1999) In the 90s there was a smoothie craze which spawned businesses like Jamba Juice and Orange Julius. Jamba Juice allowed the customer to add boosts toRead MoreStarbucks Final Case Study4310 Words   |  18 Pagesprepare it for sale and later consumption. Consumers can elect to either eat or drink on location or take them to go. Interestingly, some retailers in the industry even offer delivery. Some notable products sold in the industry include coffee, juice, soda, ice cream, smoothies, frozen yogurt, bagels, cookies, and donuts. As of today, Starbucks leads the industry with operations in over 64 countries with a total of 23,187 stores. As a result of the  economic crisis in 2009,Read MoreAnalysis of Building Brand Equity of Non Traditional Ways Red Bull11410 Words   |  46 Pagesalternatives to traditional energy drinks are rapidly growing in popularity. In 2010 Nestle USA partnered with Jamba Juice Co. and developed three Jamba All Natural Energy Drinks. The drinks, which contained 80 mg. of natural caffeine and only 90 calories, were also made with 70% fruit juice. The Campbell Soup Co. also produced a line of natural energy drinks as part of their V8 vegetable and fruit juice line called V8 V Fusion + Energy. Like Red Bull the V8 drinks come in 8oz cans, however the V8 drink contains