LEGO: Porters Five Forces and PEST

LEGO: Porters Five Forces and PEST LEGO is one of the most popular toy brands due to the companys distinctive brand image, high-quality products and creative business climate. However, the present successful performance of the company went through a period of significant transformation. In the beginning of the 21st century the company experienced drastic net loss which was resulted by internal inefficiency and over-ambitious expansion targets. The transformation path of the company has not always been smooth and flawless as LEGO faced some substantial threats over the lengthy period of operation. In the beginning of the 21st century the company experienced significant tremors which were resulted by profitability deficit of 1.4 billion DKK. At present LEGO has introduced a number of innovative strategies to enhance its consumer insight, reinforce its creative dynamics and produce more market-relevant products. The company has been involved in a number of operations which include the work of external professionals and enthusiasts to attract greater creativity influx to the production of new products. Although LEGO has gone through a period of highly positive transformations, the company is still facing a number of environmental threats and operational risk. The introduction of the Mindstorms NXT product line made the company penetrate in a highly competitive market where innovative and experienced brands as SONY failed. On the other hand, the company is working with a number of external parties which implies a continuous risk and pressure on the companys intellectual property. Moreover, the coordination of external professionals is hard to be sustained in the long-term and also hard for the company to fit these professionals within the corporate culture. In this context, the present report is focused on analysing the strategic capabilities which LEGO possesses, exploring the external environment and identifying business opportunities and threats. The purpose of the report is to outline some strategic issues which the company needs to avoid or exploit and thus introduce recommendations to promote LEGOs profit sustainability in the long-term. The Environment The environment in which LEGO operates can be characterised as highly dynamic. The companys products have been played by some 300 million children and adults on annual basis. LEGO manufacturers more than 1 400 000 components every hour to fulfill sales of some 100 million products worldwide every year (The Voice of the Customer, 2001). Deriving from these findings, it can be suggested that LEGO manages a highly diverse and complex environment where efficient resource allocation is of paramount importance for profit sustainability. The internal complexity of the organisation can be recognised as one of the main source for the past net profit loss as the company could not realise its resource potential, many new concepts were never released to market and the focus on continuous expansion incurred substantial costs. This is the reason why, LEGOs EBIT margins were falling in period when the company achieved high sales growth (Figure 1) (Robertson and Crawford, 2008). LEGOs Revenue and EBIT comparison Figure 1 Apart from the complex internal climate, LEGO has been also operating in a challenging external environment which can be identified from the presented PEST analysis (Figure 2). Political Environmental LEGO needs to consider international emerging markets, such as China. However, the company would need to be knowledgeable and flexible with respect to responding to the specific political characteristics of the Chinese market, such as penetrating through state-owned enterprises and government equity within the venture. Moreover, the company needs to produce products which continuously comply with health and safety regulations and, therefore LEGO is constantly exposed to risk and regulatory pressure (The Voice of the Customer, 2001). The company is operating in a business climate where the global environmental sustainability is continuously growing in importance. This is the reason why, producing plastic products as a core product line is of substantial challenge for the companys corporate citizenship and responsiveness to environmental degradation (Tracey et al., 2005). Social Technological The company has been continuously challenged by the need to keep up with new emerging social trends and lifestyles of their consumers. New toy themes have been continuously released on the market, therefore continuous research and product development would be one of the most expensive operations of the organisation (Robinson and Crawford, 2008). LEGO has penetrated a highly competitive market with its Mindstorms NXT product range. The company is facing competitors, such as the popular robotic brand of WowWee. Moreover, this market requires significant product development costs and thus is likely to challenge the companys profitability. For example, brands as SONY, which has significantly more experience than LEGO in electronic products failed to realise its robotic ambitions (Allonrobots, 2009). LEGOs PEST analysis Figure 2 Strategic Capability The strategic capabilities of LEGO are explored and analysed through the use of the resource-based view theory. The resource-based view theory describes the strategic capability of organisations are based on their internal resources. In this respect, in order for a company to have high degree of strategic capability it needs to possess resources which are valuable, rare, in-imitable and non-substitutable (Colbert, 2004). In this respect, the following table adopts the resource-based view theory to evaluate the strategic capability of LEGO (Figure 3). Resource Characteristics LEGOs Strengths LEGOs Weaknesses Valuable One of the most valuable resources of LEGO is knowledge. The company has a well-developed team of engineers and designers and is also employing external professionals to enhance the industry knowledge and creativity of the team. LEGO is producing an extensive amount of new design and prototypes and only few ever reach the market. In this respect, the company may generate some valuable know-how and intellectual property but at the end appears to be wasted and not successfully utilised. Rare The resource which can be identified as rare is the brand image of LEGO. The company have distinctive brand image and product ranges. This is proved by the case study analysis which revealed that LEGOs reduction of product components ignited dissatisfaction among customers. Although LEGO possesses some rare resources and capabilities the company is facing some significant competition from other toy segments. Moreover, LEGOs Mindstorms NXT product line is competing with WowWee which have greater experience and know-how in this particular segment of the market. In-imitable LEGO is continuously producing new concepts and product lines and therefore it is hard for competitors to imitate them. Moreover, the company has been recently paying extensive attention to community responses to their product prototypes which has been enhancing the companys continuously enhanced insight on segment needs. On the other hand, LEGOs products can be easily imitated by competitors with respect to toy themes and components. However, as already recognised the company has distinctive brand image which differentiates the brand from possible copy cats. Non-substitutable LEGO possesses non-substitutable resources such as intellectual property, designing capabilities, know-how and industrial insight. The company is competing with a great number of toy brands which provide consumers with substitutions for LEGOs products. Moreover, the highly innovative Mindstorms NXT brand has product substitutions from competitors such as WowWee. LEGOs Resource-Based View Figure 3 In order for the author to further analyse the strategic capabilities of the company a Porters Five Forces model is implemented. It will reveal how the internal strategic capabilities of the company relate to the market context (Figure 4) (Porter, 1990). Risk of entry by Competitors Power of Suppliers Competitive Rivalry Power of Buyers Threat of Substitutes Porters Five Forces Figure 4 Deriving from Porters Five Forces model it can be concluded that LEGO is facing a number of strategic challenges. For example, the power of buyers is significantly high as the company needs to tailor product lines to specifically fit consumer segments needs and preferences. Although LEGO has greater power of external suppliers, the company still needs to develop solid collaboration with external partners within the supply-chain in order to increase operational efficiency and innovation (Robertson and Crawford, 2008; Afuah, 2003). In the context of new competitors penetrating the market, it can be suggested that the risk is comparatively higher than other industries. The toy industry does have any high barriers to entry as it does not require substantial investment and know-how to operate. This is the reason why, LEGO faces a number of substitution products form popular brands, such as: Playmobil; BRIO; ELC; Meccano Toys; Geomag; Hasbro; and Logiblocs (ToyShop UK, 2009). All these brands provide construction toys which use similar principles of build-to-play entertainment. However, it should be outlined that the company is facing other substitute toy products which are own-branded from popular names as Hamleys, ToysRUs and Disney (Doyoo, 2009). However, with respect to LEGOs new range of Mindstorms NXT product line the situation is different. There are very few competitors which can provide substitutes, such as WowWee (WowWee, 2009). This product line requires greater investment by companies to penetrate and is likely to increase production costs. This is the reason why. LEGO can develop and sustain advantage in the production of robotic products which are building by hardware and software. Moreover, the greatest competitor WowWee does not have such a diversified range of robotic products as LEGO but still WowWee provide robotic toys and technologies with greater functionality (WowWee, 2009). Business Opportunities and Challenges Based on the presented analysis, it can be concluded that LEGO can exploit a number of promising business opportunities. However, it should be also underlined that these opportunities hide substantial threat to the EBIT profitability of the organisation. In this context, one of the greatest business opportunities of LEGO is the companys focus on external professionals and enthusiasts in the product designing and engineering (Robertson and Crawford, 2008; Lego, 2009). On the one hand this results in influx of fresh idea and creativity due to the diverse range of participants but on the other hand it can result in a number of risks, such as: intellectual rights; outflow of knowledge; inability to fit external professionals to the organisational climate, etc. Another significant business opportunity which can be recognised is LEGOs development of the Mindstorms NXT product range through the use of external specialists and by involving consumers in a virtual collaborative platform (Robertson and Crawford, 2009). On the one hand, this is an emerging innovative market which has strong growth potential as it targets both young and adult segments. However, on the other hand, penetrating this market involves high amounts of investment and operational costs which may push profit margins down. Moreover, the greatest competitor of LEGO in the Mindstorms NXT range is WowWee which can be recognised to outperform LEGOs product by functionality, whereas LEGO is more focused on robotic entertainment (WowWee, 2009). This is the reason why, it can be suggested that WowWee is more likely to attract adult consumer segments and thus generate greater margins sales as adult consumers would be more willing to pay higher price for more functional products. Another challenge for LEGO, which can be directly produced by the product diversification of the company, is the negative impact this may have on LEGOs brand identity. As identified, the company has recognisable brand image and any drastic diversification may have negative impact on consumers perceptions (Robertson and Crawford, 2008). Moreover, LEGO is managing a wide range of product lines and there is not any identified synergetic relationship between them. This is not only challenging to LEGOs ability to optimise costs and enhance efficiency but has substantial impact on what actually the LEGO brands stand for. On the other hand, the numerous opportunities for new product development which LEGO can utilise can be proposed to increase supply-chain complexity. For example, the build-it-by-yourself service which LEGO provides to consumers to construct their own Mindstorms NXT robot may result in pressure within supply-chain operations and specifically inventory management. This virtual platform needs to be integrated with a highly sensitive back-end supply-chain system to indicate any changes in inventory levels. And this is a complex process that may predispose to errors and inefficiencies (Harrison and van Hoek, 2008). Finally, LEGO has the opportunity to continuously develop complementary products to increase profitability. The present case study identified the companys inability to successfully integrate complementary merchandise with the sale of its product lines and toy themes (Robertson and Crawford, 2008). This can be proposed to be a significant drawback as other market competitors provides diversified range of merchandise and other complementary accessories to enhance consumers experience and entertainment. Recommendations Based on the analysis of the external environment and strategic capabilities of LEGO, there are four strategic recommendations which can be made with respect to the companys segmentation strategy; supply-chain efficiency; financial profitability; and brand identity. 5.1 Segmentation LEGO needs to target new segments not only through demographic characteristics but also by identification of new consumer needs. For example, the company may focus on the adult segment by developing LEGO lines, such as LEGO Hobby (e.g. selling construction sets with innovative elements to be used for hobby purposes, such as: small models building of airplanes; ships; automobiles, etc). Moreover, the company may target professional segments such as architects to which components for models can be sold. In this respect, the present Lego Club can be diversified to fit the needs of adult consumers. An interesting theme in the Lego Club may be how parents can communicate with their children through Lego games. In other words, Lego can produce games to enhance parents-children communication and sharing of experience. Moreover, this is an opportunity for Lego to penetrate other family games markets and segments, and produce Lego games to compete with Monopoly, Scrabble, Pictionary, Cards, etc. Lego can also enhance customers loyalty through providing discounts existing customers who wish to return old Lego toys and purchase new ones. First, this would be an effective recycling strategy which Lego can adopt. Second, parents would have the incentive to return old toys but still continue purchasing new ones through discounting vouchers. Third, children would have the opportunity to play with all new Lego models throguh this discounting scheme, which will constantly promote their interest in the Lego brand. 5.2 Supply-chain efficiency The company has developed a Mindstorms NXT range which is a highly innovative and promising product line. However, LEGO should consider competitors threats seriously and thus develop supply-chain partnerships with organisations which have extensive experience in building electronic products. 5.3 Financial profitability Lego needs to focus on developing its merchandise range and complementary products to both enhance the entertainment experience and use additional source of profit. 5.4 Brand identity Lego should consider how the companys brand identity is changes with the introduction of new products. The company may focus on enhancing its corporate social responsibility by introducing product ranges with environmentally friendly components. This would not only have positive impact on the brand image of the company but is likely to target new segments (e.g. environmentally conscious consumers). In this respect, the company could focus on Green Marketing by donating some small amount of every purchase to environmental projects. Another interesting strategy for promoting the brand identity of the company may be also focused on socially responsible projects, such as donating a small amount of every purchase to the construction of hospitals, homes, schools and other public and private sector buildings in developing countries. In this context, the company can promote a campaign slogan, such as: Lego A Real World Constructor.

New Company Business Plan Adventure International Travel Tourism Essay

New Company Business Plan Adventure International Travel Tourism Essay Adventure International Travel would be a sole proprietorship company that will provide adventure trips and activities such as skiing, river rafting, mountain climbing, biking, etc. along with other services such as lodging, car rental, airline tickets and so on. The location of the company will be in the central of California. The idea behind setting up this business is its high growth rate; travel industry growth rate is 4% and 10% of adventure travel per year. AIT will take advantage of this growing sector by providing full adventure packages with the support of experienced staff and effective marketing. The estimated set up cost for AIT would be approximately $102,500, out of this figure $85,000 will be a loan from First National Bank and remaining will be the personal investment. The large percentage of AITs target market would be health conscious, ages between 18-34, and families with annual household income of $50,000 and it will maintain 10% margins on all airline tickets and 20% gross margins on other services such as lodging, car rental, etc. AIT will start with 4 full time positions (manager, marketing and advertising director, accountant, and travel agent). It expects slow growth in first 2 quarters of operation because it will be new in the market and will take time to establish. Details about market analysis, strategy, management, and financial plan are described in this study. AIT is a travel agency that provides adventure trips and consultation to its customers with a view to make their vacation worthy. Providing adventure trips is our primary business and hence we generate profits from it. The required capital for setting-up the business would be approximately $103,000, out of which some investment would come from personal and remaining would come from long-term loan from First National Bank in north-west location (Edward G. Hinkelman, 2004). EXPENSES: this will include rent of the office, consultants fees, cost of insurance, electricity, water and other utilities bills. The large portion of investment will go in setting-up the computer systems. LOANS: a loan of $85,000 would be taken from First National Bank. (Startups, 2010). AIT will be a sole proprietorship owned business that will be located in Central California. Once the Business achieves its goal we may go for a partnership with other agencies to expand our Business. This probably is done after 18 months of operation. AIT has searched for 3 potential locations for setting up the Business. All these locations are in the central of California and are between approximately 1200-1500 square feet of area. After achieving the goal within defined time period in the travel industry AIT would be among the top 30 agencies in California with population of 38 million in 2010 (Allan Beaver. 2005). AIT provides travel services to both individual and group of customers. We provide special offers to corporate clients also. We provide full travel package that includes air tickets, lodging, car on rent, rail passage, sightseeing, etc. Our aim is to keep differentiate ourselves as a specialist in adventure travel agency (Adventuresportsonline, 2010). AIT will provide a high standard of services including air tickets and travel packages. Top of it we will provide services like accommodation and entertainment, customer satisfaction, and assistance in handling the passport. Moreover, we offer quality services with competitive rates focusing mainly on Adventure travel. There are two categories of Adventure travel, hard and soft adventure. Both categories involve physically active and athletic activities. Soft adventure activities involve less physical work and risk as compared to hard adventure activities. Economic indicators suggest that there is a high rise in demand for adventure travel services. We can position ourselves as a niche services provider in the field of adventure travel. AIT will deal with all the top-notch suppliers with accomplished backgrounds. If any of the suppliers failed to meet our requirements for high standards of quality we will discontinue our business with them (Ibid). The travel agency business is very highly competitive in market and the latest technology, computerized reservation systems (CRS) using the internet has changed the way how agencies operate. With the help of internet both agencies and clients can search for best deals in the market. Air fare brokers offer more discount on online reservations. It has resulted in price competition. CRS can increase the speed and efficiency of agencies to respond to customer transactions. It has also resulted in increased set-up costs for other travel agencies those wish to be competitive. Increasing industry competition and the number of travel options that are available have forced smaller travel agencies to become specialist at least one of the travel types and AIT would try to establish as a specialist in adventure travel. AIT believes in establishing customer relationships for its long-term sales and will provide full adventure packages with free consultation and lower prices (Trekamerica, 2010). Brochures such as travel locations, airlines, train passage, car rental companies, etc. would be obtained from the suppliers of these services and wholesale houses with whom IT would deal. On the request of customers, AIT will mail these brochures to them electronically. Also, other marketing mix activities such as direct mailing, printed advertising, pamphlets, etc. will be utilized as needed. Customers contact information can be retrieved if database is maintained by AIT (Howard S. Rowand). AIT need to establish strong relationships with the suppliers who provide travel related products and services. AIT will select two major airlines as its primary ticket providers. As per industry standard we can keep 10% margin on ticket sales. With the help of market research we have identified working relationships with many of the service providers globally. There is an opportunity to keep margins up to 25% in profits in the location; AIT has selected to start business. AIT will keep monitoring the quality of its offerings by taking the advantage of trade fairs, market publications, and other information that is related to travel industry (Travel trends, 2010). It would be better if AIT follows the recent trend of technology in client reservations i.e. Computerized Reservation System (CRS). The CRS will help us in identifying the customers need and in retrieving the required information in just few numbers of clicks. It will increase the speed and efficiency of communication with clients and suppliers. Also, CRS will help us in maintaining the customer database for future references. Excessive use of internet in searching information and communication would be needed (Travel industry wire, 2010). 3.6 Future Services When saturation point will reach then AIT may think to open offices in other locations and may look to participate in other segments of the travel industry. AIT will keep researching for further potential opportunities in market to expand business. The long-term goal of AIT is to achieve global position in providing top class adventure travel services at low costs. We will try to make profits by increasing the number of sales instead of increasing in prices. 4.0 Market Analysis Summary AIT plans to provide adventure travel services in all the greater parts such as California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Utah, Colorado, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, and North Dakota. Adventure travel is one of the sub-categories of leisure travel and further divided into soft and hard adventure travel. Travel agencies in the U.S are generating more than $50 billion of revenue annually and out of which soft adventure travel is generating approximately $40-50 million and $12-15 million for hard adventure travel (tours to United States, 2009). 4.1 Survey Conducted AIT has conducted the market survey for its customers and it has observed the following (Survey money, 2010): Out of the group of 51 individuals Occupation 43 (84.3%) are students + working. 10 (19.6%) are only working 2.0% 1 others Age 22 (43.1%) are between 18 to 20 28 (54.9%) are between 21-34 of age 1 (2.0%) is above 34 Interested in Adventure trip AIT is surprised that due to stress in life, people are moving towards adventure trips to have some fun and relaxation in their life. 49 (98%) are interested in adventure trip 1 (2%) is not interested, and 1 did not decide yet. Annual income of families 22 (45.8%) have $50,000 of annual income 11 (22.9%) have $60,000 of annual income, and 15 (31.3%) have above $60,000 of annual income 3 skipped the question. 4.2 Market Segmentation AIT is targeting health conscious couples and individuals with average of $50,000 annual household incomes as customers. AIT will focus on people with the interest of adventure activities such as river rafting, mountain climbing and biking, skiing. The large percentage of men who were interested in taking adventure travel was between the ages of 18 to 35. But these days the number of women travelers is increasing rapidly. According to survey of women traveling together in 2008, women comprises of 49% of adventure trips. The average spending of men on adventure travels are more than women. AIT will also provide adventure packages to married couples aged between 25- 35 with children (Adventure women, 2010). 4.3 Target Market Segment Strategy The location of AIT would be in the pacific northwest of U.S because this region is rich in the natural beauty and provides outdoor activities to fitness oriented individuals. This area has people with more per capital income than any other part in the country those like to take part in such soft and hard adventure activities. These people will be the AITs target market. This area has many big companies and most of these companies organize such adventure trips for their employees as a group task and to increase group cohesion. 4.4 Market Trends One of the notable trends in the field of travel industry is Increased Deregulation. Deregulation is directly proportional to the need for differentiation of products and services that is if deregulation increases, the need for differentiation of products and services also increases and has resulted in decrease in the prices of airfare and other travel and tourism related services. Other trends include caps on commissions of travel agencies by many of the larger Airlines resulting increase in adventure travel and reducing profit margins. More than 147 million adult travelling populations (about 50% of adult population) of the United States have taken an adventure trip at least once in their lifetime and out of this figure 98 million have taken in the past years. Nearly 31 million of the adult population have engaged in hard adventure activities such as river rafting, mountain biking, and scuba diving and around 25 million population is engaged in both hard and soft adventure activiti es in which people have high interest and participate during their adventure vacations are camping (84%), hiking (75%), skiing (52%), scuba diving (31%), sailing (25%), river rafting (24%), and mountain biking (24%). These customers are young and affluent, aged between 18 to 34 and one fourth of them have $50,000 (Â £ 32,500) or more annual incomes (Adventure travel industry growth statistics, 2009). 4.5 Market Growth The travel industry has a high growth rate. Reasons behind this growth are healthy domestic and international economies and the devaluation of foreign currency in other areas which has made travel cheaper for United States residents. According to the Tourism satellite accounting (TSA) world travel and tourism has generated close to $ 8 trillion of revenue in year 2008 and expected to generate approximately $ 15 trillion over the next ten years. Due to the global economic downturn it has experienced a slowdown in growth (In 2008 it was 3% in comparison to 3.9% in 2007). By looking at the past experiences the long term forecasts believe that the growth for world travel and tourism between the period of 2009 and 2018 would be around 5% per year, supporting 289 million employment and approx 11% of total global GDP by 2018 (Ibid). 4.6 Market Needs Most of the customers are unsure about the location where they wish to go for adventure trip. So travel agencies should provide better knowledge about destinations to their customers. These days customers are price conscious and look for agencies with competitive price. Time is also one of the precious commodities. AIT would be the solution to save time and money and insure that customers are fully satisfied with their vacation. 4.7 Service Business Analysis Before 2000 travel and tourism industry in the U.S. was the countrys third largest retail industry and according to the department of commerce, it is now at number one. There is a 100% increase in the revenue generated from travel and tourism industry in the last decade. The U.S. travel agencies generate more than $100 billion of revenue each year. Travel industry is divided into two main categories 1. Business travel and 2.Leisure travel. Each of them contributes about 45% of the total revenue and remaining 5% of revenue comes from combined business and leisure trips. Travel market is than further divided into domestic into domestic and international travel. 70% of the revenue is generated by domestic travel. Business travel can be separated into medium to large business trips and small independent businessman trips. The classification of leisure travel Customers is based on the type of trip they take, budget, or age (Ibid). The four primary groups of customers under leisure travel are:- Adventure lovers, special-interest groups, honeymoon couples, and sightseeing trips. Rich travelers with high incomes. Budget conscious travelers, and Families with children, group of students and seniors. 4.8 Competition and Buying patterns At present there are number of adventurous activities and types of travel such as theme parks, motor home trips, less expensive self-planned trips and cruises that are available to people to choose from and contemplate an adventure vacation, have created huge competition in the travel industry. Also, many high income people like to invest money in other financial services instead in having vacation. There are many travel agencies that are creating direct competition by providing adventure travel packages. Lifestyle, age and income are three major factors that influence the decision of customer to travel and the type of travel to participate in. According to survey, on average an adventure traveler takes at least one of the adventure travel every 12-18 months (US Travel, 2009). 4.9 Main competitors Rollins and Hayes: They are based on the eastern costal area and are the most famous and respected travel agency in the world that provides adventure trips. Since last 20 years they are in travel business and providing adventure packages to their customers. They are very successful in travel business. This gives them total control over the entire vacation. Rollins and Hayes have the advantage of their established reputation, strategic alliance, and experience in providing high quality trips with economies of scale. The negative thing about them which could be an opportunity for my business is that their packages are expensive and appeal only to rich customers with high incomes. Sundance travels: It is a traditional travel agency based in Colorado and has been in the business for last 10 years. Slowly they have made the move towards adventure trips and are now well known for it. Their major strengths are reputation, past experiences, and financial solvency. And their major weaknesses are high personnel and management turnover and they are lacking behind in constructing better road map for future growth. Global Adventure: They started travel business in 1995 in the Los Angeles area and now successfully established and well-known as adventure travel specialists. The Los Angeles is a very competitive area because of its large number of tourist attractions and other travel agencies. Global has achieved good position through their highly skilled management and successful marketing communications (Ibid). 4.10 Distributing a Service The distribution channel in travel industry pattern is from supplier to agent and then to customer. A conference system can be used for distribution between agency and suppliers. Airline reporting corporation (ARC) and International airlines travel agents networks (IATAN) are the two conferences through which agency and air travel providers communicate. The primary work of the agency is to hold the fixed number of airline ticket vouchers from the airline reporting corporation and then responsible for storing and collecting the payments for the vouchers. To keep the prices down and to attract more customers, agencies are buying airline tickets in large quantities and selling them online (Microstrategy, 2010). 5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary AIT has planned to adopt the following strategies to achieve the goal of becoming leader in the adventure travel business in the Pacific northwest of U.S. AIT would establish its reputation by providing differentiation of products and services to its clients. This could be possible through better Marketing Communication programs at AITs target market using various forms of media. By providing supreme services to the customers so that AIT can gain repeats Business and build trust. This can be done by providing superior services in all stages of the transaction. By promoting adventure travel as a healthy, exciting, and interesting activities and by publishing photos and testimonials of customers who participate in such activities in companys newsletter, website and other advertising Medias. 5.1 Competitive Edge Competitive edge of AIT is its dedication, interest in adventure travel, focus on building long term relationships and trust, and experienced staff. AIT will provide differentiated travel services to customers with the better utilization of Management experience, cost and commitment in maintaining quality service. 5.2 Marketing Strategy The basic goal of the AITs Business is to create and keep clients for future. The Marketing Strategy of AIT will reflect this goal in building its reputation in the Pacific North western area. Though AIT will operate in the travel industry but it will provide much more than just an adventure trip. It will provide adventure and freedom to enjoy it. Due to busy era most of the people spend 50 weeks of a year in their office only. AIT will encourage them about the challenge, excitement, ability to do, and importance of an athletic endeavor. AIT will try to promote the benefits of having an adventure travel and theses benefits may include body fitness, ear to ear grins, personality development, excitement, and lots more (travel agent success, 2010). 5.3 Promotion Strategy During the opening ceremony of AIT there will be a grand party and we will organize and sponsor many athletic related events such as 2km fun race, 5km marathon, mountain climbing and biking, etc. AIT will provide travel related packages to winners and other consolation prizes to participants. It will be easier for AIT to promote its services through interaction with people present on ceremony if all employees working with AIT would from the local athletic clubs background. During the opening ceremony and other fun events, AIT will give presentation on the services and trips it offers. AIT will negotiate with local health clubs and other promotional activities through these strategic alliances (saac, 2010). Specialty advertising association of California will serve marketing service to AIT because they are very famous and provide better advertising service at lower costs. AIT will also promote its services on local Radio stations. Orkut, Facebook, Twitter are also acting like an effec tive tool for promoting services online. AIT will create communities named as Adventure Travel Lovers on these social websites and will publish information about its travel offerings. Personal selling is also very effective promotional tool but AIT will keep it limited to safe cost on phone bills. According o IT facts, in California 96% of households have internet access, so AIT will focus more on online promotional activities. AIT also planes to station sales in major public places such as shopping malls (Ibid). 5.4 Distribution strategy AITs distribution strategy will focus on the direct selling in the area where it is possible to reach at minimum cost and for other areas World Wide Web will be use to establish distribution capability. This will increase the ability of AIT to establish a national reputation. 5.5 Marketing Programs AIT will use traditional marketing communication methods to reach its customers. Every month AIT will conduct surveys to know the taste of both soft and hard adventure lovers and their profiles such as where they live, where they work, what is their profession, etc. According to IT FACTS California, most of the travel customers purchase either over the internet or through travel agents and AIT will assist them in both ways: online and in-personal. The use of internet will provide a better and an effective methods of communication with clients and suppliers. In starting AIT will focus on primary customer group and this group is defined as the number of customers who have purchased an adventure package before and who are interested in buying it. In addition to Internet, AIT will follow all those marketing tools with which customers feel comfortable such as travel magazines, direct mail, in house meetings and personal selling. Initially, AIT will start operating in the local region than within 18 or more months of operation it will extend sales into other national and global markets. It will keep informing about its season, off season offers through newsletter every month (Ibid). 5.6 Positioning Statement Both individuals and corporate clients who are interested in having the adventure travel, AIT is a solution for it because it is a premier adventure travel agency that provides full package including transport, accommodation, sightseeing, consultation, and adventure activities. 5.7 Pricing Strategy AIT will decide its pricing according to the market standards. As per the current market standards (10% to 16%) it will maintain margins of 10% on all travel services (it facts, 2010) and will try to keep 20% margins on remaining products and services that will depend on the pricing of providers. It will keep the prices low (just minimum margin 10%) as compared to other travel agencies in the region to maintain a competitive pricing policy. AIT will try to make its reputation as the best travel service provider in the region and will charge the best for services (resources. net, 2010). 5.8 Sales Strategy The main aim of the AIT is to deliver the benefits of products and services that it offers and promotes. It sells the freedom of life to customers and there are numerous benefits of this freedom such as healthy and balanced lifestyle. AIT will keep reminding its old and new customers about the importance of having the adventure trip and will hold a tag line as There is more to life than building bigger barns. AIT will provide full assistance with adventure travel and its primary concern is to provide high standard services and to make customers satisfy instead of maximizing the profits without concerning customer satisfaction. If AIT follows this, it will reduce costs and gives profit in long run because maintaining a relationship and good will with customers is always less expensive than to develop a new one (Ibid). 5.9 Sales forecast The monthly sales forecast is projected in the table below. AIT expects that in the first quarter of operation there would be a less number of sales but it has been estimated that 3 years growth would be around 20%. 5.10 Strategic Alliances With purpose of promotion AIT will develop strategic alliances with California family fitness centre, spectrum athletic clubs, and many others according to need of the business. Alliances with providers of adventure travel in other US. States and abroad will also be established (California family fitness, 2010). 6.0 Action plan/Milestones 7.0Management Summary However, AIT will start as a small business organization and will hold sole proprietorship, so employees working with it would have to share their duties and responsibilities. There would be a general manager who will be responsible for decision making. It is necessary for all employees to be capable of accepting all types of responsibilities of the business. During hiring period of employees, applicants should meet the following requirements: They must have at least 3 years of experience in the travel industry and activities, AIT will promote. They must hold certification in certified travel counselor from a reputed institute for example Institute of certified travel agents (ICTA) (totaljobs.com, 2010). 7.1 Organizational structure In the beginning AIT will start its operation by hiring four full time positions and these positions are describes below. 8.0 Financial plan The financial plan for AIT is discussed in the following sections. During first 2 quarters of operation, AIT expects slow growth because it will be new to market and other seasonal factors. All the estimated costs are based on the current market standards. AIT has decided to keep sufficient cash to overcome the situation of negative cash flow, if required. There may some differences in the figure during setting up the company due to gross margins, but this will present a realistic financial plan (Travel financial help, 2010). Important Assumptions National growth will not affect the growth of travel industry for the next five years. The demand for adventure travel will keep growing. International situation for providers and suppliers of services would remain positive. All calculations are carried out in Dollar ($). 8.1 Key financial indicators AIT has developed a chart which is shown below and describes major financial indicators for the first 3 consecutive years of operation. The U.S. economy has recovered lot from recession that will support the positive growth in adventure travel business. 8.2 Break Even Analysis AIT has decided to keep 20% gross margins and accordingly break even analysis is carried out. The table below describes the BEA, including monthly sales BE points (Ibid). 8.3 Projected profit and loss AIT will try to improve its operation progress in the third quarter of the 1st year after establishing itself in the market. It will improve gross margins from 22% in 2nd year and 23% in 3rd year. The below graph shows estimated annual profit and loss details. 8.4 Projected cash flow Both monthly and yearly estimated cash flow is projected in the below graph. Yearly cash flow is calculated by taking 60 day collection period. AIT has considered positive cash flow during the mid of the first year of operation (Ibid). 8.5 Projected Balance sheet Estimated balance sheet is shown below. 8.6 Business ratios-Below are the AITs Business ratios, estimated based on Standard Industry Classification (SIC) index code 4724.- Appendix

Femininity And The World Of Semiotics Cultural Studies Essay

Femininity And The World Of Semiotics Cultural Studies Essay Semiotics is the doctrine of signs. Signs take the form of anything that society invests meaning into. Such signs as words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects only become signs when they are interpreted as having meaning (Chandler, 2009). Roland Barthes was a French theorist who had a major contribution to structuralist semiotics. His contribution was to extend the idea of the sign into myth. He later moved towards a post-structuralist view. Barthes began to read culture from a mythic perspective, where myths were seen as connotations. (Bignell, 2002, p58)Ursula, in the film the Little Mermaid, is portrayed as a villain due to her resistance against the discourse of femininity. The discourse of femininity is the social constructions that dictate how women are expected to behave and look. Ursula desires power, which is not considered a conventional feminine trait. This positions the audience to see her as a villain. The film creators have specifically chosen everything about Ursula. The filmmakers are aware of the connotations associated with femininity. They have used this knowledge to create Ursula as a villain. Her image, gender performance and her interaction with animals are all individual signs of her rebellion against femininity. Barthes originally adopted Louis Hjelmslevs notion of orders of signification. (Chandler, 2009) After Barthe had extended the sign he began to read culture through a mythical perspective where he linked myths with connotations and ideologies. The semiotic interpretation of a myth differs to the preexisting definition of a myth being false. Myths help to make sense of experiences within a culture. A myth to Barthes supports ideologies and relates to social realities (Bignell, 2002, p58). A myths function is to make dominant cultural and historical values, attitudes and beliefs seem entirely natural and true reflections of the way things are (Chandler, 2009). Barthes linked myths and ideologies very closely as he also defined ideologies as reinforcing the existing system as appearing natural and acceptable to society (Bignell, 2002, p58). Barthes believed visual signs in media are used to trigger a range of connotations attached to the sign and that connotations came from our social ex periences. (Allen, 2003, p42) Barthes believed when signs and connotations were brought together they shaped a particular message. (Bignell, 2002, p58). Ursulas image is associated with unfeminine connotations. Every detail of Ursulas image, from her clothing to her weight represents a desire for power and resistance against femininity. This positions the audience to view Ursula as a villain due to the myth society holds regarding femininity. These myths are automatically accepted by society, as we believe the connotations associated with these signs are true reflections of reality. Parents and authoritative figures encourage young girls from an early age to speak and act in ways which displays their femininity. Behaviour like wearing frilly dresses is a symbol for appearing weaker and less aggressive than boys (Larner, 2009). Ursula wears a black revealing dress, which refers to her strength, aggression, and power that goes against femininity. Ursula has sharp angular features that she highlights with heavy eye make up, which is a symbol of an unnatural woman. (Stoll, 2005) Ursula is an overweight character who shakes her hips and m oves in an exaggerated and sluggish manner. She is languid, lacy and floppish. (Stoll, 2005) Overweight characters in Disney films have negative connotations associated with them. They are considered ugly, unpleasant, lazy and un- married (Towbin, Haddock, Zimmerman, Lund, Tanner, 2004). These connotations come from the myth that attractive women need protection because they are helpless and are therefore more likely to marry. (Towbin, et al., 2004). Ursulas hair is a disruption to the image of femininity. She has short, bleached and butch hair. (Mallan, 2000) Feminine characters are usually represented as having long, flowing hair that is often seen as sensual. Therefore Ursulas short hair is associated with resisting the discourse of femininity. Throughout the film, Ursulas image is associated with suspense and tension. (Stoll, 2005) Each time the viewer sees Ursula they are reminded she is the villain who brings evil upon others. As Barthe suggests the visual signs within The Lit tle Mermaid trigger connotations associated with femininity. These signs and connotations create a message that Ursula is a villain due to her desire for power, which is represented through her image. Ursula is conveyed as a villain through here gender performance. Gender performance, according to Judith Baxter, is the term that argues that gender norms are constructed by society. She suggests that as much as femininity is about image, femininity is an act and does not automatically come with female genitalia (Frus, P. Williams, C. 2010, p201). Performance is about the repetition of gestures, words, acts and desires. Ursula tries to teach Ariel how to preform woman by bumping her hips through sexual gestures while speaking the words dont underestimate body language. Her gestures and words refer to the connotations of sexually perversity and promiscuity, which is controversial to the image of femininity. Ursulas performance shows the disconnection between the female body of the performer and her masculine persona. Ursula is parallel to John Waters transvestite diva character, Divine. Divine was a drag queen that had a monstrous figure and attempted to resemble a female. (Hallam, 20 09) This false female who conveyed masculine acts and gestures did not fool the audiences. This is parallel to Ursulas character whose overly phallic body represents sexual perversity. The fact Ursula is sexually aware displays her masculine traits, as feminine characters in Disney films are often seen as innocent and unaware of sexuality. The innocent female ideology is reinforced through The Little Mermaid. This demonstrates Ursula is unacceptable to society because she resists this ideology. Desires are a contributing factor to gender performance. Ursula desires patriarchal authority rather than a marriage, which is an unconventional feminine trait that destabilizes gender. In accordance with Barthes theory of semiotics, and the connotations and signs associated with Ursulas performance it is evident that Ursula is an unfeminine character, who for this very reason, is portrayed as a villain. The way animals react and engage with Ursula conveys her villainous behavior and her rebellion against femininity. Wicked women in Disney films are often considered antisocial and are associated with ugly animal helpers who take pleasure in disastrous events. (Bell, Haas, Sells, 1995) Flotsam and Jetsam are Ursulas assistants. These characters demonstrate Ursulas desire for power. Her assistants appear to dedicate their life to her and display no evidence of a life of their own. Ursula fails to show gratitude towards her assistants. These two characters do wicked odd jobs Ursula doesnt want to do. They are inferior characters, yet essential to the portrayal of Ursula. (Stoll, )Ursula steals Ariels voice with the help of her accomplices. Ursula attempts to lure the prince into marrying however she fails, as the surrounding animals are not fooled by her false femininity. Her attempt to usurp male power fails and she is punished and humiliated. The animals degrade Ursula in a performanc e at the altar. Birds fly between her outspread legs, starfish smack her face and the princes dog bites her behind (Zuk, 1998). The animals hatred towards Ursula is highlighted by their love for Ariel. All women are expected to be caring from birth and desire a family. Ursula displays no caring attributes towards others and is a self indulged woman. Women are subconsciously warned of the negative consequences of stepping outside feminine sex roles as the stereotypical female is expected to be biologically maternal. This myth refers to the expectation that feminine women are expected to care and nurture animals and have an automatic bond with them. The way Ursula treats her assistants, Flotsam and Jetsam is an accurate portrayal of Ursula. The way the animals react around Ursula also highlights her wickedness, as they feel hatred towards her and are also cautious of her power. As Barthe suggests, the signs and connotations associated with Ursulas interaction with other characters por trays her as a villain. Ursula resists the discourse of femininity through her image, gender performance and her interaction with animals. Ursulas image resists femininity through her Clothing, weight, hair and make up. The connotations associated with each of these reinforce that Ursula is negatively different from the other female characters and is therefore a villain. Gender performance includes gestures, desires and words. Ursula fails at feminine performance due to her sexual awareness, which is demonstrated through her gestures and words. Her desire is to have patriarchal power over the human and underwater world is considered a male and villainous trait. The way animals react to Ursula shows her true villainous nature and unfeminine qualities. Her accomplices Flotsam and Jetsam are essential to the portrayal of Ursula as they add to her wickedness. As Barthe suggests the signs and connotations within Ursulas image, gender performance and her interaction with animals have shaped the message that Ursul a is a villain due to her resistance against femininity.

Decline of the Muslim Empires: Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Essay

Decline of the Muslim Empires: Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Since the beginning, all empires have faced change in many ways, declining and rising in status. Many empires have collapsed, only to start again under a different name. Like all empires, the three Muslim Empires, the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals have faced this inevitable state. Although each individual empire is different, they each have similarities in their reasons for decline. Whether it is social, religious, economic, or political reasons, the empires, like many others, have fallen. The Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman, had started in the northwestern corner of the Anatolian Peninsula. The empire expanded rapidly, only to weaken again. The first visible decline was the loss of territory at the Battle of Carlowitz in 1699. Many of their reasons of success have deteriorated over the years and actually caused the decline as well. The Ottoman's military was very strong, especially the members of the Janissaries corps. Boys were recruited from the local Christian population to serve as guards but only the best ones became Janissaries. Soon, though, the position became hereditary, so there was no longer a need to be excellent to occupy a position. Also, the training of officials declined, and the elite formed a privileged group seeking wealth and power. Although the Ottoman system was religiously tolerant, non-Muslims were forced to pay a head tax because of their exemption from military service and were divided by religious faith into a number of "nations" that had i ts own leader and laws. Also, before the decline, the position of the sultan was hereditary and a son always succeeded his father. The heir to the throne gained experience by being assigned a... ...itish control. Although all three of the empires had reached their highest point and were considered to be three great Muslim empires, all of them had started the process of decline. Aurangzeb's actions can illustrate some of the reasons for decline. Without religious tolerance, the empire started having a number of revolts against the imperial authority. By forbidding customs of other religions and everything he considered evil, rebellious groups reasserted local authority, reducing the emperor's power. After causing the weakness of his empire, Delhi was reduced to ashes by the Persians. During and after his rule, everything started to fall apart. This comes to show that one lousy ruler can be the reason for decline in any empire because in order for the empire to be successful, it must have a good ruler, wealth, a strong military, and religious tolerance.

Personal Narrative: A Past Relationship :: essays research papers

My preffered companions are books or music or pen and paper.I have only a small circle of close friends,few of whom i get along together.They could easily be counted "misfits." To be plain,I found it quite easily to doubt my ability to have any sort of "close bond."After the closing festivities of "The Lead America conference,"this past summer,on the night before we were scheduled to leave,a girl i had met by the name of Jade,during the program's course approached me.She came to my room and sat down on my bed and announced that she was debating with herself whether she wanted me to become her boyfriend. She wanted my reaction,my opinion.I was startled,to say the least, and frightened.I instantly said,"No."I told her I on no account wanted this and that I would reject any gestures she made towards starting a relationship.I would ignore her entirely,if need be.I elaborate that I don't know the meaning of an relationship and I started rationalizing about past relationships.She never left the room,then I knew she wanted to hear what she wants to hear.To my surprise,she did not leave instantly.Instead,she hugged her knees with a disconsolate countenance,and she rocked back and forth on my bed,while hugging her knees. I watched her from across the room.She rocked,and I watched.Doubts crept upon me.Opportunity had knocked and the door was still locked.It might soon depart."I lied,"I said."I was afraid of what might happen if we became involved.But it's better to take the chance that to be afraid."Then her face was lit as if it was christmas.She told me she knew i had lied.I had made her realize,though,how much she actually wanted me to be her boyfriend.We decided to keep up a relationship after The Lead America Conference.Even then,I was not sure which had been the lie.Now i think that everything I said may have been true when I said it.But I'm still not sure.I learned,that night,that I could be close to someone.I also realize,now,that it doesn't matter whether or not that person os a misfit,the nly important thing is the feeling,the only important thing is the feeling,the closeness,the connection.

Abnormal Psychology and Othello Essay -- Othello essays

To what extent is the science of abnormal psychology involved in the characterization in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? This essay will answer that question. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants affirms the Bard’s commitment to abnormal psychology, and his employment of same in this play: That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages. Still more, Iago’s name will be found appearing occasionally in bold print in books on abnormal psychology.(89-90) Evidence of the ancient’s psychopathic personality is seen early in the play. He manipulates the wealthy Roderigo into awakening the senator Brabantio (â€Å"Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight†); and then he utters very offensive smutty lines about a black ram and white ewe, which indicate the way his sick mind operates. He seems to be motivated by love of money which he has been receiving from Roderigo for some time (â€Å"thou, Iago, who hast had my purse / As if the strings were thine†). Iago himself says that he is motivated by revenge on the Moor (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†) because of the promotion of Michael Cassio to the lieutenancy. But regardless of the question of motivation, it is a fact that Iago hasn’t a single true friend in the play; in his disordered personality he can only manipulate or use people; he is incapable of loving them. His manipulation of his general repeats time and again from the first mee ting: Nay, but he... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the Propontic and the Hellespont,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Till that a capable and wide revenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swallow them up. (3.3) Iago is so in control of the general’s contorted mind that he specifies how the Moor should kill Desdemona: â€Å"Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.† And the general dutifully responds, â€Å"Excellent good!† The enthusiastic answer causes one to suspect that the ancient’s psychopathology has taken possession of the Moor.    WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.    Abnormal Psychology and Othello Essay -- Othello essays To what extent is the science of abnormal psychology involved in the characterization in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? This essay will answer that question. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants affirms the Bard’s commitment to abnormal psychology, and his employment of same in this play: That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages. Still more, Iago’s name will be found appearing occasionally in bold print in books on abnormal psychology.(89-90) Evidence of the ancient’s psychopathic personality is seen early in the play. He manipulates the wealthy Roderigo into awakening the senator Brabantio (â€Å"Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight†); and then he utters very offensive smutty lines about a black ram and white ewe, which indicate the way his sick mind operates. He seems to be motivated by love of money which he has been receiving from Roderigo for some time (â€Å"thou, Iago, who hast had my purse / As if the strings were thine†). Iago himself says that he is motivated by revenge on the Moor (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†) because of the promotion of Michael Cassio to the lieutenancy. But regardless of the question of motivation, it is a fact that Iago hasn’t a single true friend in the play; in his disordered personality he can only manipulate or use people; he is incapable of loving them. His manipulation of his general repeats time and again from the first mee ting: Nay, but he... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the Propontic and the Hellespont,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Till that a capable and wide revenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swallow them up. (3.3) Iago is so in control of the general’s contorted mind that he specifies how the Moor should kill Desdemona: â€Å"Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.† And the general dutifully responds, â€Å"Excellent good!† The enthusiastic answer causes one to suspect that the ancient’s psychopathology has taken possession of the Moor.    WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.   

Radio in the New Age Essay -- Writing Cyberculture Technology Essays

Radio in the New Age The essay is a popular form for writers to express their ideas. It can be found in many sources: newspapers, magazines, and journals. The essay is no longer limited to these mediums, and as communication technology develops, the essay has extended into new arenas. What was once an exclusively paper-and-ink technology is now available over the airwaves and through the phone lines. The essay has found its way to new formats through the radio and internet. We were once readers, but have now become listeners and spectators through the cyberculture revolution. The term "cyberspace" was invented by writer William Gibson to describe the interconnection of society and its technology (Tribble 162). Cyberculture implies a computer-literate segment of society. Our American culture relies heavily on the automobile industry, fast food, instant communication, and the movie industry, yet not all of these aspects of our culture make up cyberspace. Cyberculture narrows its definition to cover only those aspects of technology that instantly connect person to person or person to machine via other machines. This includes telephone, satellite, television, radio, and internet systems and allows us to uplink, download, tune in, channel surf, surf the web, dial up, and ring nearly anything, anywhere, and anyone at anytime. Steven Johnson, in his article "Links", considers two attitudes toward interactions with this technology. Comparing channel surfing to web surfing, Johnson views TV surfing as a passive act requiring only that the viewer accept what is bei ng shown. Web surfing, however, is a n interactive process that allows for inquiries and searches along a line of interest (Johnson 196-7). Similar to TV viewing, listenin... ..., a print version of the broadcast, ready for purchase or to download. The sound quality is significantly worse than the original, and sounds like the radio has de-evolved fifty years. Our advances in technology have, unpredictably, given us a sound experience of the radio medium when it was king of the airwaves. Our new is old again. Works Cited Birkerts, Sven. "Into the Electronic Millennium." Writing Material. Ed. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman Publishers, 2003: 62-73. Johnson, Steven. "Links." Writing Material. Ed. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman Publishers, 2003: 195-212. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek, ed. Writing Material. New York: Longman Publishers, 2003. National Public Radio. www.npr.org/ This American Life. www.thislife.org/ All Songs Considered. www.npr.org/programs/asc/index.html