Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The Old News About the Oxymoron

The Old News About the Oxymoron The Old News About the Oxymoron The Old News About the Oxymoron By Mark Nichol Oxymoron, a Greek term combining the words for â€Å"sharp† and â€Å"foolish,† has been adopted in English to refer to inadvertently contradictory or incongruous mash-ups of terms such as â€Å"military intelligence† and â€Å"jumbo shrimp† a class known as subjective oxymora (that latter word is the pedantic-looking plural) because they are not literally at odds with each other. However, the original connotation is of an evocative paradox deliberately framed by a writer an objective oxymoron. One of the most well-known examples is William Shakespeare’s line â€Å"Parting is such sweet sorrow,† from Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet exults in the bittersweet anguish generated by the lovers’ separation. Shakespeare provided a short list of literary oxymora in this earlier passage from the same speech: â€Å"O heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!† The Bard employed oxymora on other occasions, including in Hamlet (â€Å"I must be cruel, only to be kind†), in Julius Caesar (â€Å"fearful bravery†), and in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (â€Å"A tedious brief scene . . . very tragical mirth†). Likewise, John Donne wrote of â€Å"beggarly riches,† Herman Melville of â€Å"a careful disorderliness,† John Milton of â€Å"darkness visible,† and Alexander Pope of a â€Å"bookful blockhead,† and Lord Tennyson ventured of his Lancelot that â€Å"faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.† Classic authors do not have a monopoly on oxymora, though; contemporary coinages are often more than subjective punch lines like â€Å"responsible government.† Here are some other recent examples that might inspire you to convey original ideas in phrases that are more than the sum of their parts: alone together: said, perhaps, of two people that share a physical space but are emotionally isolated from each other cheerful pessimism: a description of a person who blithely notices and remarks on the dark cloud behind every silver lining eloquent silence: a lack of response from someone that nevertheless clearly conveys that person’s attitude hellish paradise: an environment designed to make inhabitants or visitors feel bliss but is, to the more perceptive among them, unnerving in its illusory promise sad smile: a mild expression of superficial cheer that does not mask melancholy or sorrow sublimely awful: a reference to something that is so bad, it arouses ironic delight wise fool: a person of supposed mental weakness more shrewd than he or she seems at first Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help†75 Idioms and Expressions That Include â€Å"Break†50 Synonyms for "Song"

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Why the Eiffel Tower Should Not Be Torn Down Essay

Why the Eiffel Tower Should Not Be Torn Down - Essay Example It took 26 months, 700 engineering plans, 3,000 workshop drawings, and more than 18,000 parts to complete the construction. The Eiffel Tower has cultural importance. With respect to the event that it was built to commemorate, the French Revolution, the Tower holds cultural significance to the people of France. This is because the French Revolution was a time characterized with events aimed at eliminating dictatorship regimes (Eiffel Tower, n.d). Therefore, the Tower indicates a desire for hope as well as freedom. It also signifies the passage from an oppressive time to a hopeful one for the people of Paris (McDowall, 2014). This is a key point that shows a historical significance linked to the Eiffel Tower. People should read about and visit the Eiffel Tower because of its uniqueness with respect to design and cultural uniqueness. It displays the culture of the people of Paris and visiting the site allows a person to experience this culture. In addition, the design of the Eiffel Tower is unique and no other replica has managed to accomplish its features. People should read about it especially in history so as to understand why it was built and what it symbolizes. One of the key reasons as to why the Eiffel Tower is special is that it is the world’s most visited monument. Although there are other monuments of interest around the world, the Eiffel Tower has been the center of interest because it receives more tourists than any other monument. Besides being a monument, it has economic significance to Paris in that it incorporates hotels. The other reason as mentioned earlier is that it marks the end of an oppressive era, which was marked through the French Revolution; therefore, it is special to the people of Paris. Furthermore, the Eiffel Tower is special because it is one of the tallest buildings in the world and remained the tallest for many decades. As a conclusive point, the Eiffel Tower should never be torn

Friday, November 1, 2019

NIKE CASE STUDY based on Corporate Strategy Essay

NIKE CASE STUDY based on Corporate Strategy - Essay Example By focusing differentition on product, businesses could commnd premium prices for their products. Products represented top-of-the-line offerings in the industry. In this mrket, degree of differentition is not lrge. Nike entrees mrket where competitors cn differentite their products nd tht is why hve less rivlry. Rivlry is reduced where customers hve high switching costs - i.e. there is significnt cost ssocited with the decision to receive products from n lterntive competitor. Nike proposes to its customers competitive prices nd ensure customer stisfction. Nike's min competitor (Dniels et l 2006), dids, follows the strtegy which hs gret impct on competition. The nlysis suggests tht ny superior mtch between compny competencies nd customers needs permits the firm to outperform competitors. In generl, Nike bses its competitive strtegy on overll ledership nd differentition constructing the most efficient fcilities (in terms of scle or technology) nd obtins the lrgest shre of mrket. These dvntges, in turn, give them substntil led in terms of experience with building the service. Experience then leds to more refinements of the entire process of production, delivery, nd service, which leds to further cost reductions. Nike hs mrketble portfolio which ensures its ledership position on the mrket. The study reveled tht Nike does not pursue low-cost strtegies. Within these globl competitive environments, Nike overwhelmingly emphsizes differentition strtegies, where competitive positioning is predominntly bsed on qulity offerings nd brnd imge. Qulity is lmost universlly stressed s necessry determinnt of competitiveness. nother theme evident in the findings is the importnce strtegy-industry fit plys in determining business unit performnce. Here it is recognized tht perceptions of industry pressures my be more importnt thn the ctul pressures in determining strtegies nd hence performnce (Johnson & Scholes 2003). Question 2 In order to improve its strtegies position, Nike should chieve competition dvntge nd re-position itself. The compny cn position itself s premium brnd which proposes exceptionl qulity. While ll businesses my emphsize qulity, some my select strtegy bsed on further differentiting their offerings ccording to the qulity of the products nd services they provide. Indeed, in this study one of the dominnt competitive positioning strtegy types identified is 'high-qulity" (Johnson & Scholes 2003). Here, the emphsis on qulity permetes every ctivity long the vlue chin; qulity is clerly the overriding determinnt of competitive positioning. The exceptionl qulity is crucil for footbll tems nd the 2008 Europen Chmpionship. In this cse, qulity domintes competitive positioning nd differentites businesses in globl scle. Here, qulity is consistent with both innovtion nd speciliztion (Dniels et l 2006). Mngeril perceptions of strong pressures re evidence tht lrge number of businesses competing in globl industries mke imprecise ssessments of globl industry opportunities nd threts. It is possible to ssume tht Nike's competitors will follow cost focus strtegy nd cost differentition. dids, direct competitor of Nike, provides comprble buyer vlue but perform the ctivities less efficiently. In contorts, Nike performs the ctivities in unique wy which rises the vlue to the consumer nd thus llows them to commnd premium price - the

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Analytical Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analytical Paper - Essay Example Moreover, the sign boards and signals that can be seen in both sides of the road helps the driver to be conscious about the importance of limited speed while driving, attention to other vehicles and pedestrians. As the rules and regulations are formulated to help the individual citizen to perform his or her rights and duties in a successful manner, it helps one to be aware of one’s rights while driving or travelling and to be duty minded towards other drivers, travelers and pedestrians. Government and the authorized department on road safety should give importance to public safety and give proper training and education against motor vehicle violence. Besides, education on road rage would help driver to become a responsible driver. The process of widening the Roads is essential because it helps to reduce the chance for traffic congestion in important places. Government must provide financial support for secure roads and make public attentiveness for safe and sound roads. Besides, the authorities must boost the media which expose the misconduct and misbehavior from the drivers while driving and must use it for advertisement and campaign purpose against road rage and safety. Karin Sternberg makes clear that: â€Å"When suddenly enraged drivers commit acts of road rage, they may have a flash of hatred and destructive intent toward those who have harmed them, whether in reality or imagination;† (Sternberg, 2008, p.17) misbehavior while driving create hatred in other drivers and will cause severe problems, reality or imagination. The usage of monitoring equipments like close circuit camera, speed detector, breath analyzer etc can detect violent actions and misbehavior on road and is essential to prevent road rage. The authorities must show keen interest and vigilance to fix cameras on appropriate places and must provide maximum punishment to traffic rule violators who are involved in the road rage activities. Andrea Campbell makes clear that: â€Å"Road rage and

Monday, October 28, 2019

Media Giant Rupert Murdoch And His Empire Media Essay

Media Giant Rupert Murdoch And His Empire Media Essay As the new millennium dawned, global television tracked the rise of the sun across the world (Thussu, 2006, p. 1). The twenty-first century brought with it the opportunity for millions of people to be able to communicate internationally in different time zones (Thussu, 2006). In such a global village that we live in, competition plays a magnetic role for attracting media giants to be present across borders spreading like wild fire. An apparition now haunts the world: The birth of a mercantile media structure is globally dominated by a diminutive numeral of influential media giants, mostly U.S.-based transnational media corporations (TNMCs). This structure continuously strives to strengthen the foundation of the global market and works towards advancing commercial values, while negatively portrays journalism and culture. It is a disaster for anything but the most superficial notion of democracya democracy where, to paraphrase John Jays maxim, those who own the world ought to govern it. (McChesney, 1997). The development of this mercantile system is very recent. Previously in history i.e. 1980s, the structure was tilted towards national boundaries. Communication and media industries were locally regulated and owned while importing limited music, books, TV shows, and films for decades. The decade of the 1980s saw the worlds economy become more fully privatized. Current trends in privatization and free market economies have led to an international consolidation of media companies. The trend towards consolidation has begun to emerge worldwide (Gershon, 1997, p. 5).The pressure implanted by the IMF, World Bank, and U.S. government in the 1980s to deregulate and privatize media and communication systems which overlapped with the new digital and satellite technologies led to the consequences towards the growth of transnational media giants (McChesney, 1997). The Major US media giants which dominate numerous universal media and international media-related markets are Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation, Viacom, and NBC Universal among a few others. They are spread widely nationally and across national borders. All are based in the United States, the central nation, with broad semi peripheral and some peripheral market activities (McPhail, 2006). This paper will concentrate on the media giant Rupert Murdoch and his empire News Corporation, one of the main benefactors of privatization of infrastructure of global communication. It will briefly describe the history of the existence of the company whilst focusing on an analysis of the international expansion strategy that Murdoch adapted during his journey to acquire the world of media. While analysing different strategies; as well as geographic expansion, there will be an effort to decipher the relation of the tools of extension to the powerful existence of different theories which have played a vital role in the establishment of media structures. Historical Background of News Corporation Changes in technology have pushed the flow of transnational traffic in media products. This development has mainly benefitted media conglomerates like News Corporation which lead media content and delivery mechanism by owning numerous networks and production facilities. This commercial dominance has raised many concerns about cultural homogenization. However, an obvious effort has been noted towards regionalisation and localisation of content to match local and cultural precedence of viewers given the heterogeneity of the universal market (Thussu, 2007) The President and founder of the News Corporation Ltd, Keith Rupert Murdoch, is a legendary example of a tycoon from his era who contributed immensely in the 19th century towards the tradition of the great press barons (Gershon, 1997). Murdoch, in one of his speeches said that For better or for worse, our company (The News Corporation Ltd.) is a reflection of my thinking, my character, my values. Rupert Murdochs universal vision of a new communications atmosphere is made up of both a corporate strategy and a social vision. The companys existence can be traced to the year 1923, in Australia, when News limited was set up in Adelaide with the intention of circulating a daily newspaper. Rupert Murdochs father Sir Keith Murdoch invested in minority interest in News limited in the year of 1949. The company was then officially established in South Australia in 1979 (Gershon, 1997). News Corporation is an entertainment based transnational media company which diversifies within eight different media sectors including Newspapers, Book Publishing, Magazines and Inserts, Filmed Entertainment, Television, Direct Broadcast Satellite Television, Cable Network Programming and other. Geographically the activities of News Corporation are spread out primarily in the United Sates, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin (News Corporation Press Releases, 2010). News Corporation is engaged in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Ireland in the publishing business of magazines, newspapers through its variety of subsidiaries. The Company publishes English language books worldwide via its wholly owned subsidiary HarperCollins Publishers. Furthermore their subsidiaries allow them to be also involved in the enlargement, invention and allotment of network and television programming as well as broadcasting television stations. It also owns shares in BSkyB and V, and Sky Italia which are involved in the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) business. The company currently owns the entire FOX franchise of broadcast networks; as well FOX film studios responsible for many blockbusters (News Corporation Annual Report, 2007) The birth of free flow of information after World War II contributed majorly towards the liberation of media markets. This theory lead to the existence of modernization theory, it also played a vital role in the decision of privatization. Murdoch has strategized to make competent use of liberation of cross-media ownership widely in the USA and the British media markets. He also strategically entered the private satellite operators into the arena of telecommunications and broadcasting. News Corporation risked a large sum on investment by leasing time on new satellite ventures such as Astra and Asia Sat (Thussu, 2000), Murdoch has been able to create a truly international media corporation, at the heart of which is satellite television. (Thussu, 2000, p. 107) All parent companies and subsidiaries are united through a common owner Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch demonstrates an expansion strategy through vertical integration, which has played a vital role in its most crucial times. The company was one of early migratory conglomerates of vertical integration, this move helped News Corporation to utilize the profits through its content operation via their existence in numerous distribution sectors of the media value chain. This move has certainly been a tactical way to achieve authority and probably produce a profitable position in various media markets (Flew and Gilmour, 2003). Murdoch chose to adapt a borrow and buy philosophy that enabled him to debt leverage his way to the very top. Each successful acquisition would generate profitable results however that required greater patience. Foundations of News Corporation in Australia After his fathers death on his return to Australia in 1954 Murdoch instantly started to struggle to increase the circulation of his Adelaide newspaper. Despite the negative attitude of other publishers and the constant underrating by his opposition he dedicated all his efforts to the print business with a passion, and learned the techniques of every aspect of newspaper production. He published exciting news stories in an effective writing style, soon making returns to Murdochs small holdings. He strategically took risks by acquiring smaller newspapers that were not doing well and then turned them around (Tuccille, 2003) Murdoch in a few years of success bought his first television station in July 1959, in Adelaide, calling it Southern TV. He was an innovative young man who throughout was in search for new communication technologies continuously making an effort to amalgamate them into his existing businesses. Later in a year he took over the Daily Mirror in Sydney and its associated Sunday paper for $4 million; the paper soon enough was known to be notorious for exciting and bizarre headlines and articles about sex and mayhem. He took immediate action to change this image and established TheAustralian in the mid of1964, as a national newspaper in Canberra. This paper was a twist from the norm; it discussed social issues and government policies and rapidly acquired the respect of journalists. (Encyclopedia of Business, 2010) Expansion to Britain Murdochs past in the U.K., from his days in Oxford, had left in him bitterness for the English upper class; they had made him feel like an outsider, as if they regarded Australians as inferior being and he planned to strike back at them. He had planned to expand to Britain at the first opportunity. As evident, Murdoch has no set strategy to operate his business; however he expanded internationally through making strategic alliances in Britain which later he transformed into acquisitions. This is evident as he become a principle investor in 1969 for News of the World (a newspaper previously owned by the Carr family) while facing direct competition by Robert Maxwell, who had an infamous reputation in the news circle. Murdoch gradually became the sole proprietor for News of the World by manipulating complete control of the corporation (Tuccille, 2003) In the same year he had an opportunity to take over a dying newspaper at its true cost called the Sun formerly known as the Daily Herald, a predominantly left-wing newspaper. The unions at that time felt that Murdoch would have been a better choice to keep the newspaper viable and trade union jobs unharmed, as opposed to Maxwell who had also shown interest in buying the newspaper. Murdoch revamped the newspaper into a tabloid which was greatly criticized by many of the British newspaper establishments. However Murdochs rebellious nature ignored the criticism and planned to assemble a team of reporters and promotion experts including many from Australia. By the 1970s the Sun had become Britains most popular publication with an increase in circulation to 1.7 million, which at present is replaced by 4 million. News Corporation has grown beyond its newspapers origin as it continues to be the largest newspaper producer in the world. In addition News Corporation owns many different British newspapers including the prestigious, The Times, New of the World, and The Sunday Times (Gershon, 1997). Murdoch uses cross-media ownership and synergies as another strategy, resulting in him being able to promote his ventures across, virtually, all media segments. There is an expectation by News Corporation for major synergies to be created between U.S. satellite operations and its global business. These synergies are part technology-related, for example by sharing security software or electronic programme guides, and part content related, as for the example the combined bidding for global sports rights. The power of cross-platform synergies is most evident in association to motion picture studios and television/cable platforms and networks. This is the vicinity where synergistic potential of power in relation to media supply chain are mainly noticeable (Gunther, 2003). Furthermore, Murdochs launch of Sky Digital in 1989, a four channel satellite television service, was afterwards merged with a competitor named British Satellite Broadcasting to form British Sky Broadcasting, in 1990. The merger instantly became a success with its multi-channel subscription service which was positioned to dominate interactive digital television (Forreste, 2010). BSkyB provides a wide portfolio of genres of television programming like entertainment, news, sports etc. in order to cater to a wide variety of target audience. Sky News and Sports have seen trends of consistent growth and viewership (McPhail, 2006). Moreover, BSkyB is now Europes most profitable broadcaster with 40% holding of U.K. news corporations; though at one point it led New Corporation towards bankruptcy due to a week global economy and lack of cash flow (Guardian, 2010) Murdochs media power supported Margret Thatcher with her struggle to liberalize regulation on cross media ownership. The victory of the British labour party in the 1997 election supported by the Sun lead to the Murdochization of the media, which transformed the media background in the U.K. and other countries. Since then, entertainment and infotainment have emphasised at the price of the public service function of the media (Thussu, 2006). Expansion to Europe Having established a base in the U.K., Murdoch expanded his business into Continental Europe by establishing partnerships in Germany and Italy. News Corporation penetrated the satellite television industry in 1983. It possessed many assets in Satellite Television PLC (SATV), which during the 1980s was set up to supply to Northern European audience. After two years alongside the scrutiny of the BBC, SATV, renamed Sky Channel and consisted approximately, of three million subscribers in 11 European countries. Murdoch was not encouraged in further increasing his acquisitions as he had already forged a union with, French television giant Canal Plus to create paid-television-services across Europe. Having only conquered 6% of Western Europe, few homes had cable television; the market for pay-TV was unreached (Fiero, 2002). Now News Corporations central business policy is to use soccer as a fuel to powered satellite dish sales across Europe. Murdoch is using sports programming to enter new markets; he has acquired premium sports rights for his network and is using an identical content approach that he pursued with BSkyB (News Corporation Annual Report, 2007). Expansion to the U.S.A. Murdochs journey to enter the U.S. market began in 1976 when he acquired the New York Post. Following this, in September 1985 Murdoch decided to become an American citizen in order to satisfy the legal requirements of the U.S. markets that only a U.S. citizen was permitted to own assets in the U.S. television industry. Later that year News Corporation entered the U.S. media market, by purchasing Metromedias seven television stations amounted at $2 billion. Murdoch not only took over these seven stations but also gained their market rank and their competitive position. This purchase resulted News Corporation to build the foundation of Fox television network. In 1986, News Corporation purchased 20th Century Fox for $1.55 billion (Fiero, 2002) From Murdochs early stages of business acquisitions recognized the significance of vertical integration as a strategy for launching a new business. In the two years Murdoch was guaranteed to create a stable source of programming and readymade distribution channels. The Fox Television Network was launched in April 1987 with 108 affiliates. Fox network opted for a highly differentiated strategy in comparison to the other U.S. networks. They plan to aim their programming towards a younger and urban audience. Fox introduced three distinguishing programming formats, reality based, counter culture and tabloid television (Albarran, Chan-Olmsted, O. Wirt, 2006) In the early years of development Murdoch faced heavy financial losses, however in a few years the network was able to reach 91% of United States through an amalgamation of VHF and low powered UHF stations. The network also transformed its programming from three nights a week to five nights. The financial recovery of these loses how Murdochs long term strategy in which he is prepared to suffer losses in the short run with the expectation of gaining long term returns in the future. Murdochs synergizing strategy helped him save Fox network in its initial years by cross investing from his other well to do companies (Gershon, 1997). Further to this Mr Murdoch and his management spend a good deal of time lobbying for support for proposed mergers and acquisitions and for favourable changes in the law such as those relating to media ownership and digital piracy in the USA. (Curwen, 1999) Other assets under News Corporation in the U.S. are the Weekly Standard, Hughes Electronics with a 34 % stake in the company and DIRECTV. Â  The vertically expansion acquisition of DirecTV is a fundamental piece representing Murdochs media empire, providing him with a lucrative distribution platform in the US, which can be used to offset the rising influence of large cable operators such as Comcast. There is a strong concern that News Corporation might not be able to advantage from its economies of scale and from efficient allocation of resources as of its vertical structure due to variations in strategies with DirecTV. Joint ventures with DirecTV are necessary for absolute vertical integration which allows News Corporation to adapt to an incomplete vertical structure. It may be added that Mr Murdochs position is so dominant that there is a niggling fear that he could yet put recent advances at risk, although he has recently made clear that the immediate strategy is to absorb and im prove DIRECTV rather than make further acquisitions. (Curwen, 1999). In 2005 News Corporation bought inter-mix media which holds myspace.com and many other famous social networking websites. In 2007 News Corporation attained Dow Jones, the publishers of the famous Wall Street Journal for $ 5.6 billion (News Corporation Annual Report, 2007) One of Murdochs moves has lead to a shift in the Australian market as he announced to move the head quarters from his native land to the U.S. This has created uproars and criticism by many, however the U.S. government subsided this protest by announcing that this move was in the best interest of the U.S. market (Shah, 2004). Expansion to the Asian Markets News Corporation further expanded to the Asian media market in the mid 1990s by investing in a joint venture with Phoenix TV and Star TV. Star TV then acquired Hutchvision Hong Kong Ltd; the very first satellite television licence in 1998. Very soon Star TV in China realised that Pan Asian broadcasting was not a practical strategy to adopt for Asian markets. Hence, it divided the media services into northern and southern i.e. China and India, respectively, as their main target. The flourishing Zee TV which is a joint venture of Star TV in India broadcasted in their native language Hindi further emphasised for Star TV to go local. Therefore Star TV continuously was on a quest to seek joint venture prospects in the district (Chalaby, 2005) News Corporation has used an array of strategies to consolidate its position in Asia, potentially the worlds biggest television market.(Thussu, 2000, p. 112). STAR TV network was set up to cater Asian audiences to global corporations and promoters. The enhancement of technology in satellites and dishes as well as the rapid expansion of liberalization and government deregulation certifies a concrete broadcasting future in Asia. STAR TV aims to stay in Asia on the very top of Satellite broadcasting. To capitalize on viewership Star TV is moving towards local language fare (McPhail, 2006) Star TV has assertively taken on the strategy of indigenisation in offering localized channels. This is truly an example of going glocal this strategy demonstrates how the global can include both the transnational and geo-culture by nominating the local to sustain the leading flow. Their localized channels include Star Chinese channel (for Taiwan), Star Japan, Star Plus and Star News for India, VIVIA cinema for the Philippines. ESPN Star Sports a joint venture of ESPN and Star to provide coverage of Pan Asian and international sports event is Asia. Murdochs Star Select are gradually localizing their content to cross into the gulf region. This Arabisation includes the use of subtitles for American programs and sensitising language as well as the depictions of sex and nudity (Thussu, 2006). In Asia News Corporation are faced with many burdens; political, economical, cultural and social. In order to eliminate these barriers to entry this works hand-in-hand with morality, democracy as well as with capitalism. This liberation of mechanisms for Asia is a result of communication, capitalism and democracy which create greater access, choice prosperity and social equality (Weber, 1995). Conclusion With News Corporation Murdoch has created an international empire of media, technology and sports franchise. His vast multimedia holdings have always been global in nature. With satellite system in Europe (BSkyB) Asia (Star TV) and North America (direct TV) Murdoch may be on his way to create a global media infrastructure (McPhail, 2006). There are three main strategies News Corporations business model is based on vertical control and horizontal networking, vicious quest of market expansion and the leveraging of community, and political elite opinion. In context of globalisation theory the company has been steadily occupied in structuring a foundation of geographically dispersed assets via mergers and acquisitions, direct foreign investment and strategic partnerships. This mechanism is interconnected, equally fundamental and established on the capability of Murdoch to build connection between media, political and economic system in the joint ventures of the corporations financial development (Arsenault and Castells, 2008) News Corporation consists of many various businesses within the umbrella of the company and therefore when examining the overall strategy of News Corporation, one needs to understand and scrutinize the various, individual, tactics that each sub-business applies in order to stay ahead of their competition in each respected industry. When examining Murdochs growth-tactics, in order to expand the News Corporation Empire, it would be adequate to state that he practices very aggressive strategies despite the industry divergences. In the print industry the company has adopted a cost-leadership strategy (van den Bosch, de Man, 1997), in order to monopolize the industry competition. When it comes to the television media, i.e. Fox, the company has spread in many directions, and their assets are vertically integrated to live up to the strategies of expansion in order to benefit from long-term returns. News Corporation has always been in quest to search power more than distribution, and the introduction of new digital technologies has created an opportunity to develop that type of power. The proceedings that help the continuous growth of News Corporation are the mature, non-digital distribution activities. Murdoch complies with a three-phase strategy in which profitable, high growth old businesses move the company ahead and please investors while mature parts of the company fund the growth areas of the future. (Turow, 2009). Diversification of News Corporation might create a possibility to enhance the position as more than one sector of the business is experiencing damaging changes. The major issue with that would be that Company would have to either adjust to an absolutely new business, or they would have to stick to what they know and hope they can keep ahead in the media market. Globally News Corporation thinks of itself more grandly than other media conglomerates. Like Disney another major media conglomerate, News Corporation necessitates for synergy among subsidiaries, global reach, and the use of new technologies. Unlike the other giants, News Corporation does not run on a business model of an official planning department. Criticism has been highlighted upon the way the company does not undertake acquisitions on the grounds of comprehending synergies with the core businesses, but mainly have the incentive of acquiring an asset on a lower price and selling it for a significant profit after it has been turned around. Due to which News Corporation lacks the connectivity to exploit synergies to its full capacity. The company is vastly spread out with very little connectivity. Murdochs strategic vision has always composed of expansion as the key factor. He has deserted his 1980s high-debt strategy, and has substituted it with more conservative management style. This allows him to be less dependent and exempts him from creating short-term shareholder value and rather focusing on long-term vision even if shareholders and financial markets would likely oppose such actions (Freedman, 1996). Murdochs strategies at times seemed risky and unsuitable and were against market norms but his commendable ability to handle the media industry, his fearless risk taking approach, joint with his exemplary familiarity of the media industries and his mystifying capability to sense the popular pulse, still lead to his extraordinary success (Thussu, 2000) Rupert Murdoch is a businessman. He has built News Corporations competitive advantage by continuing to maintain control of his joint ventures with other media giants and by leveraging his ability to influence audiences around the world in order to gain political favours. Authority in every system is attained on the foundation of safe entrant to the others. According to this point of view, Murdochs authority is not bound to a particular association with a political actor in a nation at any one point in time. What really matters is his control over multiple connecting points (Arsenault and Castells, 2008). Murdoch quoted The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore, It will be the fast beating the slow (Chappelle, 2007).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Transnational Mgt. Case Analysis :: essays research papers

Problem Statement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company is a highly successful consulting firm worth over 1.8 billion dollars. However, its leader Rajat Gupta wondered if the company could better utilize the knowledge of its employees to better serve its worldwide clients. It was obvious that McKinsey & Company had a strong base of core competencies among its employees, but Gupta was unsure if knowledge development was meeting its clients’ needs in an information and knowledge driven age. Clients hired McKinsey & Company expecting leading edge information from to assist them in their decision-making processes. Gupta felt a process was needed to develop, capture, and leverage this information which he considered an asset to the company. So, the task lay before them on how to accumulate and store the information quickly and make it readily available to consultants on a global scale. List of Symptoms †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company desired to provide state-of-the-art knowledge to its clients but currently had no means of measuring exactly how well they were doing in developing their knowledge. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Employees were not being properly developed for the new direction of the McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company still had the ability to provide excellent advice to its Clients. However, they were not as prepared as their competitors for dealing with the upcoming technologies of the future. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company had experienced rapid growth. McKinsey & Company had 3,800 consultants in 69 offices worldwide. In its present state, the large number of employees and offices it managed actually hindered McKinsey from effectively performing its operations worldwide. Essentially, McKinsey & Company had become too large for itself under its current architecture. Alternative Solutions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McKinsey & Company did not desire to rest on its laurels and remain content with the status quo, rather they aggressively sought out to find answers to their dilemmas. They realized that being a 1.8 billion dollar company did not come easily and also that without modifications they would not remain in their top position in consulting. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (1) McKinsey & Company must implement a system of knowledge management in which the entire organization is able to benefit from the sharing of knowledge between employees. This will allow the company to benefit internally. Alternative Solution One: (2) In order to measure the results McKinsey & Company must revisit their goals to develop, capture, and leverage their knowledge to better serve their clients. Alternative Solution Two: Know the audience to be measured and what benefits they seek from their relationship with McKinsey & Company.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Successful Fashion Marketing Strategy

When I first read that the topic of this creative assignment was to write about a successful fashion marketing campaign only one name came to mind: Marc Jacobs. How do you even begin to put his legacy into a one-page paper? Marc Jacobs is truly a fashion icon and is worshipped by anyone with half of a brain. His ability to make soft-feminine floral into something edgy and new has always been one of a kind. He has repeatedly transformed himself and his brand each year into something different.From his wacky sweaters in his early days at Parson's, to his amazing work at Louis Button, Marc Jacobs has done it all. His own words describe him best: â€Å"a little preppie, a little grungy, a little couture†. He covers every type of man and woman. His brand has grown with its clientele base like no other brand on the market. As a woman I can shop his collections no matter if I'm looking for a funky tee-shirt or a classically beautiful gown. Early on he worked for Perry Ellis with his â€Å"grunge† attire. The world followed his lead and grunge became a worldwide sensation.Marc Jacobs shows are haphazard ND messy, yet glamorous and beautiful all at the same time. He knows the simple elegance of throwing an outfit together that looks half-runway, half-thrift shop. His ads are moody, and draw you in entirely. I cannot think of one product that he has touched that hasn't turned into gold. His outreaches into perfumes and makeup have only solidified him even more. He breathed life back into Louis Button and made them what they are today. Marc Jacobs will continue to be the most inspiring and motivational person in my life. His empire knows no end.