Shopping online Essay Example for Free

Shopping online Essay People need to purchase items such as clothing, and now have the choice to shop online or make purchases in the traditional manner. I. Online shopping has increased and changed the way people shop. 1) There is convince having the ability to shop from home. *With the introduction of internet shopping online has become popular. Shopping online allows access to merchandise sold world wide. It is a growing part of retail. Online shopping is time saving and convenient. There is often no cost for traveling when ordering items online. People do not have to interact. *Shopping online an individual does not have face to face transactions. There is limited person to person interaction with online shopping. People do not have to deal with crowds or unwanted socializing. Ording items online can occur around the clock without the needing another persons assistance. A person can make returns and purchases with the click of a computer mouse. 3) Security of personal information and merchandise. Reliable shopping websites offers a secure way to make transactions. PayPal is a company that offers a reliable and secure way to make shopping online purchases. Using only secure sites will help secure personal information. Tracking numbers to track packages containing purchased items are often provided or can be requested. When making online purchase a confirmation can be sent to a personal email account if one has been provided. II. Traditional shopping offers things that internet shopping does not. 1) There is the ability to interact face to face with others. *When people go outside of their homes to shop they are able to socialize and make to acquaintances. With face to face shopping you can make sure that you are charged correctly. If someone is not charged correctly or mistakes have been made, a receipt is often given at the point of sell. It is easy to haggle for deals when shopping in person. Traditional shopping offers families and friends the chance to spend time together. 2) People can physically and visually check the quality of the merchandise. *With traditional shopping items to be purchased can be examined in advance of purchase. If the quality of an item is not what it should be it can be noticed quickly and easily when shopping traditionally. Some individuals prefer to look before they buy items to ensure they receive what they want. Shopping traditionally allows people the opportunity to do so. 3) It cost money to travel for shopping to make purchases. * Traveling of some sort will happen when shopping the traditional way. The expense of gas or bus tickets should be considered. Factoring in the cost of travel with the amount intended for shopping can help those on a budget. When shopping traditionally quality products are often found various areas. Travel expense will occur. III. Peoples shopping experience varies depending on how they shop via online or traditionally. 1) Some people enjoy socializing when shopping while others do not. * People shop traditionally to spend time with family and friends. These people often enjoy socializing and are not concerned with crowds. Other people enjoy shopping online because of how convenient it is. People have different needs and desires. 2) Make sure personal information is secure and purchases are correct. *When shopping making sure personal information such as someone’s social security number is secure is important. Online shoppers and traditional shoppers should receive some proof of purchase once an item is purchased. Reviewing the receipt of any purchased item will aid with corrections if needed. Keeping record and receipts will also help if an item purchased needs to be returned or is defective. 3) The quality of merchandise, who, and how items are purchased should be considered when shopping. *Shopping online or traditionally the seller’s reputation and credibility should be a consideration. Traditional shopping and online shopping offer the choice of who someone does business with. Quality and hard to find items are found easily on the internet and when shopping the traditional way. III. Conclusion 4) With the introduction of internet shopping individual can choose to make purchases online or in person. Online shopping has a large consumer market, but people also enjoy face to face transactions when shopping. The quality of merchandise, who, and how items are purchased are things considered when shopping. How someone chooses to shop depends on personal preference. The choices is yours.

The History Of Lsd And Its Effects On The American Counterculture Essay

After World War II ended, the age of baby-booming and urban sprawling began. During this time, many American soldiers came home from the war; married, and had five or six children. This created the largest generation ever. Could this new generation change the social world of America? In 1964, most of the baby-boomer's children were in their late teens. This was the beginning of a major social change in the United States. With the birth of rock-n-roll not far in the past, and a growing liberalism of the normally conservative American Society, it is no wonder that a powerful hallucinogenic drug called LSD gained so much popularity. LSD-25 was first created in 1938 by Albert Hoffmann in the Sandoz chemical-pharmaceutical laboratories in Basle, Switzerland. It was synthesized from the twenty-fifth compound of Iysergic acid. When first tested on animals, scientists had no idea that the powerful chemical had such psychedelic properties until Albert Hoffmann himself, involuntarily tested the new chemical. This "involuntary" testing of the LSD is the first time it was ever tested on a human subject; it was a result of Hoffmann accidentally intoxicating himself with LSD-25 during a routine purification process with the chemical.(3) After the experience, Hoffmann wrote: "Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to stop my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and to go home, as I was seized by a peculiar restlessness associated with a sensation of mild dizziness. On arriving home, I lay down and sank into a kind of drunkenness, which was not unpleasant and which was characterized by extreme activity of the imagination. As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed, (I experienced daylight as disa... ...lso considered to be very inspirational to the hippies. Alan Ginsberg, a popular beat poet was a favorite of many hippies. Rock and folk music were also big contributors to this new movement. (2) In my opinion, the one thing that gave the most inspiration to the counterculture movement, beyond everything else, is the nationwide recreational use of LSD. LSD opened up the minds of the American youth, prompting them to explore life beyond the norms of society. It made people think critically about the information that is fed to us by the establishment. LSD was the tool to see through all the propaganda of the American capitalist's, and see the truths. The truth is what sparked many young people of this time period to stand up for their beliefs. Drugs like LSD seemed to be a good way to cure ones self from the brainwashing of American media and corporate bureaucracies. The History Of Lsd And Its Effects On The American Counterculture Essay After World War II ended, the age of baby-booming and urban sprawling began. During this time, many American soldiers came home from the war; married, and had five or six children. This created the largest generation ever. Could this new generation change the social world of America? In 1964, most of the baby-boomer's children were in their late teens. This was the beginning of a major social change in the United States. With the birth of rock-n-roll not far in the past, and a growing liberalism of the normally conservative American Society, it is no wonder that a powerful hallucinogenic drug called LSD gained so much popularity. LSD-25 was first created in 1938 by Albert Hoffmann in the Sandoz chemical-pharmaceutical laboratories in Basle, Switzerland. It was synthesized from the twenty-fifth compound of Iysergic acid. When first tested on animals, scientists had no idea that the powerful chemical had such psychedelic properties until Albert Hoffmann himself, involuntarily tested the new chemical. This "involuntary" testing of the LSD is the first time it was ever tested on a human subject; it was a result of Hoffmann accidentally intoxicating himself with LSD-25 during a routine purification process with the chemical.(3) After the experience, Hoffmann wrote: "Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to stop my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and to go home, as I was seized by a peculiar restlessness associated with a sensation of mild dizziness. On arriving home, I lay down and sank into a kind of drunkenness, which was not unpleasant and which was characterized by extreme activity of the imagination. As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed, (I experienced daylight as disa... ...lso considered to be very inspirational to the hippies. Alan Ginsberg, a popular beat poet was a favorite of many hippies. Rock and folk music were also big contributors to this new movement. (2) In my opinion, the one thing that gave the most inspiration to the counterculture movement, beyond everything else, is the nationwide recreational use of LSD. LSD opened up the minds of the American youth, prompting them to explore life beyond the norms of society. It made people think critically about the information that is fed to us by the establishment. LSD was the tool to see through all the propaganda of the American capitalist's, and see the truths. The truth is what sparked many young people of this time period to stand up for their beliefs. Drugs like LSD seemed to be a good way to cure ones self from the brainwashing of American media and corporate bureaucracies.

Globalization of Production in the Textile and Clothing Industries Essay

East European full reintegration into the world economy had already started during the eighties, but the end of the decade and the beginning of the nineties saw a sudden spurt in that direction. This has taken the form not only of a swift trade reorientation towards the West, especially the EU, but also of new forms of inward foreign direct investment (FDI), subcontracting and cooperation agreements with Western enterprises. As a consequence, Eastern Europe has become deeply involved in the larger process of globalisation of production characterizing the international economy, where firms’ operations are becoming much more complex and pervasive than traditional arms-length trade and traditional international investment, including both international production and sourcing. Therewith the process of transition to the market appears to be more and more intertwined with Western firms’ strategies. It is then of some interest to analyse the extent of such relocation, its various forms and the possible impact on both the relocating and the host countries. International relocation can be analysed from different points of view. The perspective of the present paper is to concentrate on one of the most important trade partners of Eastern Europe – Italy – and on two industrial sectors in which the latter is specialised in production and exports – textiles and clothing, which are also of paramount importance in Eastern Europe’s exports. A few data on production, employment, investment and foreign trade may suffice to show the enormous importance of these industries for Italy. In 1993 this country produced almost 40% of the entire EU production of textiles, including knitwear. The other major EU countries followed rather distanced: France (17% – including household textiles), Germany (16%) and the UK (11%). The correspondig employment for Italy was 30% of the EU total, taking into account also the firms with less than 20 employees. The second most important country – Germany – employed just half of that amount. Finally investment, both total and per head employed, reveals a similar pattern, these two countries being followed by France and the UK. The ranking is similar in the clothing industry. In 1993 Italy represented 41% of total EU production, 24% of total employment (including firms with less than 20 employees) and headed the investment ranking, both in absolute terms and on a per capita employed basis. It should be added, in this respect, the particular consumption habits of Italians, who devote to clothing a much higher share of their total consumer spending than the other European nationals. The importance of the internal market is only paralleled by the place of the two sectors in Italian foreign trade. During the last few years Italy has been the second or third world exporter both of textiles and of clothing products, if one excludes Hong Kong due to the paramount importance of its reexports. She is the first Western supplier of the G7 markets for clothing and first on a par with Germany for textiles. The industry presents the second, and growing, largest positive trade balance in Italian foreign trade. The two sectors together represent 11% of her total exports, but a much lesser share of her imports (5%). However imports tend to grow faster than exports. A growing number of competitors is gaining market shares in the EU, at the expense of the traditional leaders like Italy and Germany. Import penetration, which has roughly doubled in the last ten years, is but one of the factors that, starting from the late eighties, is exerting growing pressure on the whole industry at a EU level. Production is falling and labour productivity rising much faster than in average manufacturing. The result for the EU has been 639,000 jobs lost in 1988-94, equal to almost 30% of all job losses in the manufacturing industry. Italy was also hit, although less than other European countries for the reasons indicated later. What is the particular place of Eastern Europe in this process? The CEECs represent only roughly 3% of Italian total trade in textiles, but a much larger share in Italian imports of clothing – 15% -, their importance in Italian exports of the same being minor (2%) (table 1). Almost half of the Italian imports of clothing from Eastern Europe come from Romania and more than one fifth from Hungary, the rest being spread among the Czech and Slovak Republics, Bulgaria and Poland, in the order. Together with an increasing deficit for Italy, the share of clothing in total Italian imports from each CEEC has been increasing recently in all cases, and particularly so from Romania and Bulgaria, where it now stands at 41% and 27%, respectively, and from Hungary (12%). The two sectors behave asymmetrically: clothing looms from two to eight times larger in Italian imports than exports, while textiles are far more important in Italian exports, at the exception of exports to former Czechoslovakia. This was also the only country with which Italy ran a deficit in textiles (today with the Czech Republic). Previous studies conducted by the author (Graziani 1993, 1994a, 1994b, 1995) show a generalized relative specialization of the CEECs in most clothing products both on the EU and on the Italian market. Moreover, in both markets import penetration ratios for the same are on the increase. Does this mean that Italian textile and clothing industry is losing ground vis a vis East European producers? The question is whether international trade data – like surpluses and deficits, market shares, specialization indices and import penetration ratios – by themselves are to be considered reliable competitiveness indicators, if a substantial part of trade flows is in some way or other tied to the importing country. From this perspective, imports into the relocating country could ideally be divided into three distinct flows: a) ‘untied’ imports from foreign firms; b) imports derived from non-equity cooperation agreements (in particular from subcontracting) ; and c) FDI-related imports. International relocation of production – taken here to mean not only the physical delocalisation of production abroad, but also the organized sourcing from other countries – affects directly the two latter flows and is then crucial for interpreting the meaning of trade indicators and trends. 2) The Italian model until the mid-1980s International relocation has been almost completely absent in the Italian experience of textile and clothing production until at least the mid1980s. Contrary to the growing international redeployment of its main EU competitor – Germany -, Italian relations with foreign markets were mostly centered on arms-length exports. The few affiliates abroad of Italian bigger firms had just the task to support the sales network in the recipient country. This explains also why Italy did not incur into the same dramatic employment reduction suffered by Germany, wich lost half of it in the last twenty years. Besides limited FDI, Italian manufacturers did also avoid subcontracting abroad by obtaining its advantages on a purely domestic level. The logics of subcontracting are well known, all the more so in the textile and clothing industry. Through it, producers look for: 1) lower costs, since the subcontractors do not invoice for indirect costs; 2) more flexible and reactive supply, that can be disposed of in case of ceased necessity; and 3) eventually some expertise and know-how not available in-house. Subcontracting has always been important within Western Europe. According to a recent survey, in 1992 the clothing subcontracting sector employed in the EU 800,000 workers, including 200,000 artisans and 150,000 illicit workers (Mercer 1994). This is equal to roughly 26% of total EU employment in the textile and clothing industry. Nearly 30% were in Italy and 17% in the UK, the others following suit. Up to the mid1980s Italian producers could limit subcontracting almost exclusively within the national boundaries. The following features allowed its coming to life and its efficiency: a) the main and most original factor was represented by the so-called â€Å"industrial districts† (Becattini 1987 ).  Production was concentrating in a small area, with a myriad of interdependent small enterprises, horizontally and vertically specialized in each of the subsectors of the industry. Production of wool in Prato and Biella, silk in Como and knitting in Carpi are but a few examples of such districts. We are here in a typical Marshallian world of economies external to the enterprise, but internal to the industry, where all the firms, independently from their size, may reap the benefits from a certain clustering of activities. A traditional culture of industrial work, specialized skills both of workers and services, the possibility of rapid exchange of inventions and improvements, coupled with the widespread use of subcontracting, often to the lower paid workers of the so-called informal economy, were enhancing the locational advantages and decreasing the transaction costs, compensating in this way the higher official labour costs vis a vis lower-wage countries (Forti 1994a); b) most firms were family-run and rather small, a limited number of medium size, as compared to the average West European, while the few larger ones had not yet reached the minimum critical threshold below which a clothing manufacturer is not able to finance the very high costs of internationalization, some of which are typically ‘sunk’ costs ; c) the main outlet was represented by the national market, where a very fragmented retail network (in clothing) acted as a relative shelter from foreign competition, limiting the import penetration ratio to a level well under the EU average; d) progressively, Italian producers had chosen the product differentiation path (especially in clothing), by positioning themselves in the up-market segments, characterized by non price competition and a high fashion-, quality- and value-added content. As one knows, internationalisation of production is all the more convenient the larger the amounts to be produced and the more standardized the productive processes. ) finally, especially in the textile sector, Italian producers had continually fostered technological innovation, obtaining the highest productivity levels in the world, which allowed them to compete worldwide. 3) From domestic to international relocation: the new strategy of Italian firms. Apart from the progressive erosion of industrialized countries’ market shares, by the mid- 1980s new features were emerging in the textile and clothing sector. First of all on the international demand side. Consumption growth started to show the first signs of stagnation, while a general rethinking of the relative value of intrinsic quality as against style was in the making. More in general, a better quality/price relation was sought for. Price elasticity increased also for the high fashion- and quality-content goods. A further factor peculiar to Italy was also at work. Domestic demand started to flatten out at the end of the eighties, bringing it more in line with the demand patterns of the other industrialized countries. On the supply side, at the domestic level the concentration rate in both sectors was rapidly increasing, while large firms reorganized and diversified their production. At the same time, Italy became a very high cost country, moreover characterized by a rather rigid labour market. Abroad, emerging countries were progressively upgrading the quality of their products, through a continuous learning process. On the whole, price competitiveness tended to become more stringent. Increasing competition was stemming as well from the concentration processes affecting the distribution sector. Large distributors tended to place big orders and to intervene in the choice of styles, quality, timing and service standards (OETH 1994). A final contingent factor favourable to the internationalisation of production was due to the real appreciation of the lira between 1987 and 1992, which favoured international operations like FDI and subcontracting. As a consequence, Italian firms started to undergo a rather rapid shift from a purely commercial approach at the international level to a relocation approach. This path was followed not only by large, but also by medium and small enterprises. Relocation expressed itself in two main ways: non-equity cooperation agreements – licensing, management contracts, but above all subcontracting – with some FDI, in lower wage countries; equity agreements – mostly FDI in the form of acquisitions – at first in the most developed markets; These two main ways of redeployment obviously respond to different motivations. At the beginning, relocation in low-wage countries took mainly the form of international subcontracting. The only exception was represented by the textile group Miroglio, which already in 1971 had realized some FDI in Greece, Tunisia and Egypt. In a second phase, the same group has switched to an organization of production based on so called ‘platforms’, that have the task of undertaking some downstream operations in the clothing industry and of optimizing the relations with nearby subcontractors. We have already noted above that the most powerful force behind Italian firms’ subcontracting has certainly been the abatement of production costs (cost saving subcontracting). East Europeans subcontractors have been used only in a very minor way as carrying out special functions (specialty subcontracting) or else as capacity reservoirs in case of occasional demand surges (complementary subcontracting). It can also take various forms. The most widespread is at the start a simple agreement with a local producer in order to buy the final product. At most, the Italian firm bought locally or elsewhere the intermediate products necessary to the productive process. In other cases subcontracting involved the export of semifinished products and the reimport of the finished ones, both without or under the outward processing traffic (OPT) regime. Very similar in nature to the US operations of offshore assembly provisions in other fields of industry as well, OPT takes place when some phases of the textile and clothing production chain – typically: the sewing phase – are carried out by foreign subcontractors. The latter utilise fabrics provided (and owned) by the subcontracting firm, temporarily exported towards the processing country under an EC tariff exemption regime. Up to the entry into force of the Interim Agreements of the EAs customs tariffs were levied only on the value added abroad. Since then, they were abolished altogether. On the other hand, acquisitions in the most sophisticated markets allowed Italian producers to attain several objectives: a) to acquire prestigious brand names; b) to adhere more closely to the host nation’s consumers’ tastes, especially in the medium segments absorbing large amounts of production, and gain market shares from within, keeping a presence in strategic markets; c) possibly, to penetrate third markets and also reimport part of the production; and d) to use the international subcontracting network of the acquired company, especially if it is German. So Marzotto, one of the top textile group in Italy, has acquired the German clothing company Hugo Boss, with a lengthy experience of subcontracting abroad, mainly in Eastern Europe. The aim is to have in a few years half of its production abroad. Another big group, Miroglio, has secured smaller, but more numerous firms: the clothing companies Caroline Rohmer and Sym Claverie in France and Glaeser, Flick, Skarabeus and Gili in Germany, plus the German textile company Steiger&Deschler (Ulmia). Finally GFT acquired the third German clothing producer, Baumler.

The Field Of Business Strategy - 1092 Words

Billy The field of Business Strategy is wide and uncertain. It preaches that balance is benefit, and in order to successfully operate a company comprised of many moving parts requires a more general knowledge of everything, rather than a specialization in a few areas, and lacking general knowledge of the rest. What is best to do for business isn’t a formula, or an algorithm, or anything plain and simple. It is like chess strategy, save the few situations that involve an early end of game. It is not known if offence is better than defense, and decisions are based upon the current situation, but decisions, early ones especially, are guided heavily by instinct. There is no â€Å"right move†, or rather there are multiple, many in the business†¦show more content†¦It is no surprise, therefore, that it is becoming a dependable and beneficial resource to companies. Also, extensive tasks that are essential to business operation must be completed by a team, tasks that involve moving parts in a changing market, and therefore the ability to work in a team is a valuable asset for employees, and the ability to craft a team that will work efficiently is a valuable asset to the business strategy of managers. But does there need to be a team for everything? The author articulates that to put a team on a small or simple task actually becomes inefficient. The decision to make a team stems from wanting an efficient allocation of resources. Since some work better on their own, that makes them valuable when it comes to small or large and simple tasks, that would not benefit much from the differing opinions of a team, nor the manpower of a team. The next idea I identified was to build from the bottom. In an article that examined what successful CEOs know and do, two of the four sections are: â€Å"They Know the Whole Business† and â€Å"They Know the Industry†. A little can go a long way when it comes to business strategy. In order to develop an effective business strategy, and therefore the most important foundation of business strategy, is to build from the bottom, including building your own knowledge. Other articles I examined included a start up phone