Empathy essay- my life as a slave (capture to the auction) :: essays research papers

MY INTRODUCTION TO SLAVERY We don’t have the same limitations as other people of different tribes do. I am a free woman, or shall I say I was a free woman. I am the wife of our tribes chief –Jankay Boto, that’s where I got my surname, Boto. Before my marriage I was a Touray. My father, or Paupa, was the chief of the tribe Adance. The two tribes, Adance and Denkyira, my husband’s tribe, are in the same village, Juffure. The two tribes have been friends for as long as anyone can remember, I mean they have been friends for since like ever. That’s how I got married into this tribe. As these tribes are very close to each other I can visit my Paupa’s house whenever I want. I, being the daughter of the tribes chief, was allowed to study but up till a certain age and when that age I came I wasn’t willing to stop my studies but my father and my brother wanted me to leave school and help my mom in the rice plantations. However this didn’t satisfy me, so I oppose th is idea up till my male relatives agreed on me having further studies and I did succeed, thanks to my mom. Now I teach to small children in my tribe and they are quite happy with me. My students include my 2 children, Brima and Saloum. I do more of religion there, I teach my students about Islam –my religion. My name is Yaisa Boto, and now you will learn about my life in detail. I had a very respected position in my tribe. People came up to me for consultancy because of my high experience of life. Apart from teaching I also did some house works with my slaves. I did not want to lay a heavy burden on their shoulders, I believed in justice not injustice. My husband and I had a couple of fights involving the slaves; he disagreed on the fact that I had to work with them but I ignored him. I did not want the slaves to do a lot of work. They just cleaned the house prepared the meal and did other such things. My slaves were not treated as slave; they lived in a comfy condition, they were never mistreated. I never saw them as slaves. The only two things that gave them this name, slave, were that they weren’t paid and they didn’t have the right to own property.

The Changing Role of the Hero in The Red Badge of Courage Essay

The Changing Role of the Hero in  The Red Badge of Courage      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, the concept of the heroic figure begins to shift farther away from clearly defined characteristics. The idea of a single individual rising up to heroically conquer in any situation lost favor with the changing views of the nineteenth century leading Crane to address as a theme "the quandary of heroism in an unheroic age" (Beaver 67) by creating in Henry Fleming a figure both heroic and non-heroic all in one. His exploration of the concepts of courage and cowardice shows them to be opposite sides of the same coin as evidenced in the heroic figure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through Henry's progression in thoughts, Crane explores this changing view of the hero. As the book opens, "the youth [Henry] had believed that he must be a hero" (Crane 50), as he set out as a newly enlisted man. Awaiting the call of his first battle, Henry reflected that "[s]ometimes he inclined to believing them all heroes" (Crane 75) based simply on their role as soldiers. However, when confronted with the reality of battle, Henry soon noticed that "[t]here was a singular absence of heroic poses" (Crane 86). Trying to cope with his own inadequacy, Henry finds himself always lacking in comparison with those around him. As they marched along he thought that heroes "could find excuses . . . They could retire with perfect self-respect and make excuses to the stars" (Crane 123). Marching among those heroes wounded in battle, "they rendered it almost impossible for him to see himself in a heroic light" (Crane 125). Henry began to despair "th at he should ever become a hero" (Crane 126). However, through a new confrontation in battle, Henry found himself funct... ...a of his "red badge" of cowardice known only to him, he earned his "red badge of courage." However, the necessity of a turn in character to create the final hero is still evidenced. By showing the close relationship between the negative and positive aspects of a single characteristic--in this case confronting battle with either courage or cowardice--Crane opens the door for an infinite understanding of what makes a hero by demonstrating that perfection is not a necessary characteristic.    Works Cited Beaver, Harold. "Stephen Crane: The Hero as Victim." Modern Critical Interpretations: Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. Ed. Harold Bloom. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 65-74. Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. Intro. Pascal Covici, Jr. NY: Penguin Books, 1985. Credy, Edwin H. Stephen Crane. Rev. Ed. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980.

Case Study Discussion: Walgreen Co. Essay

Please discuss the following: Review the Balance sheet of the latest Walgreen Co. 10k Filing. Select two of the following questions to review/discuss: 1. Which current assets are the most significant? 2. Which non-current assets are the most significant? 3. Asset the level of debt and risk that Walgreen has by looking only at the balance sheet. 4. Evaluate the creditworthiness of Walgreen based on the balance sheet 5. Does Walgreen use off-balance sheet financing? Explain your answer. 6. Compute the current ratio and debt ratio for the past two years. 1. Which Walgreen current assets are the most significant? In 2011, Inventories were the most significant current asset ($8,044 million). The Inventories section of Note 1, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, advises Walgreen Co. valued 2011 inventories with the last-in, first-out (LIFO) cost method. Had Walgreen elected to use the first-in, first-out (FIFO) cost basis for the 2011 inventories would have been greater by $1,587 million. GAAP permits companies to select which inventory accounting method they will use to report inventories (LIFO or FIFO). Companies must state the method selected in the financial statement notes. Most companies calculate the value for both methods and select the method with the lower tax liability. For the past couple of decades, costs have risen (inflation). LIFO has been a popular choice as it produces the largest cost of goods sold expense, the greater the expense deduction the lower the taxable income. 6.Compute the current ratio and debt ratio for the past two years. Current Ratio = Current Assets Current Liabilities Debt Ratio = Total Liabilities Total Assets 2011 2010 Current Assets $12,322.00 $11,922.00 Current Liabilities $8,083.00 $7,433.00 Current Ratio 1.52 1.60 2011 2010 Total Liabilities $12,607.00 $11,875.00 Total Assets $27,454.00 $26,275.00 Debt Ratio 45.9% 45.2% Current Ratio measures a company’s ability to pay current liabilities as they come due. It is a measure of short-term liquidity, an indicator of how easily a company can pay amounts due for the next 12 months. A current ration greater than 1.0 is considered healthy as it indicates a company can meet all its upcoming expense for the next twelve months. With a debt ratio of 1.52, Walgreen appears very health. Of concern, is the decrease from a  2010 debt ratio of 1.60. Further investigation is warranted. If this trend continues it could indicate mismanagement of company assets. A look at the notes gives a clue into the reason for the decline. Note 4, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, state in 2011 Walgreen completed several acquisitions. Through the acquisitions, Walgreen assumed additional debt. The increase in liabilities explains the decrease in current ratio. With this in mind, current ratio is within acceptable limits. Debt Ratio indicates the percentage of the company financed by debt. It measures solvency, an indicator of a company’s ability to pay back long term debt when due. A low debt ratio indicates less financial risk and strong solvency. Debt ratios greater than 100% indicate a company has too much debt and will have trouble paying back principal with interest. Walgreen’s debt ratio for 2011 is 45.9%, up 0.7% from 2010. Considering the increase in assets and liabilities from the acquisitions Walgreen completed in 2011, a 0.7% increase in debt ratio is acceptable. A debt ratio of 45.9% indicates Walgreen is solvent and should have no issues paying back long term debt as payments come due. References Schoenebeck, K. P., & Holtzman, M. P. (2010). Chapter 1 – Balance Sheet. In Interpreting and analyzing financial statements: A project-based appro2ach (pp. 38-39). Boston [u.a.: Prentice Hall. Ormiston, A., & Fraser, L. M. (2013). The Balance Sheet. In Understanding financial statements (10th ed., pp. 56-59). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 16

November 12, 1864 Life with Damon is like playing chess with a mad person. I can think of a thousand different possibilities to defend against, a thousand different moves he could make, and then he goes and changes the rules of the game. It's just his newfound predilection for casual violence that makes him so incalculable, but the way he revels in it. Though blood is our diet, we as vampires at least have a modicum of self-will. Damon doesn't have to let his dark side win, and yet he embraces it. I view this change in him with horror and guilt, as I was the one who set him down the path of the vampire. Katherine was the one who changed him, but I force-fed him his first human. After seeing his message to me I can't consider leaving the Sutherlands until I have figured out a way to keep them all safe. What my brother did to Callie†¦ it obviously isn't beyond him to just dispose of the entire family once they serve their purpose. But when will he take action? At the wedding? After the wedding? After the honeymoon? Next year? Could I spirit the girls away somewhere? Could I convince them to hide? Could I compel them to? Damon managed to find me here, could he find me – or them – anywhere? I have to come up with a plan, in case Damon doesn't just leave town with his newfound fortune. Of course, the simplest solution would be to kill Damon. Voil – one maniacal, insane, unpredictable, murderous vampire gone, the world, and myself, a thousand times safer. That's assuming I could do it. I am so much weaker than he is, it would have to be done by surprise or guile or something equally underhanded, like a knife in the back. Like he killed Callie. There isn't any point in thinking that way. I will not stoop to his level. He is my brother. And as awful as he is, he is the only relative left to me. The next day, time flew by as if it had nothing better to do than gallop me toward matrimony. Before I knew it, I'd been stuffed into my suit, force-fed pancakes, and spirited over one hundred blocks north to the altar, where I stood awaiting my fate, as the Sutherlands unknowingly awaited their own. Damon and I stood side by side in Woodcliff Manor's great hall – the pretty family chapel nearby was far too small for Bridget's tastes. The Richards were kind enough to let her use their home at the tip of Manhattan Island. It was really more of a castle than a home, with gray towers, parapets, and decorative portcullises, all made from the gray rock that jutted seamlessly out of the rocky promontory on which it sat. Not so far from there, outside the arched gothic windows, were the remains of Fort Tryon, the site of a sad defeat of Continental forces under George Washington by the British. My thoughts drifted as I imagined redcoats and scrappy American soldiers and puffs of gunpowder†¦ and then something occurred to me. Katherine could have witnessed such a battle. I never asked how old she was – perhaps Damon did – but she was far older than her appearance suggested. She had probably witnessed events I only read about in history books. I shivered at the thought, but the chill was instantly dispelled by the incredible heat in the room. Damon and I stood in front of a crowd of more than two hundred of New York's finest socialites, all sitting uncomfortably in hastily pulled together pews. They had no idea how dangerous it was for them to be there. I pulled at my collar and tie, which suddenly felt too tight, my vision blurring. The room shifted and morphed, and for just a second, the finery and skin of every wedding attendee melted off as though they'd been caught up in a blaze. Skin flaked off like corn husks, leaving behind pure-white bone and twisted tendons. â€Å"Stefan!† Damon hissed, elbowing me. I realized then that I was clutching his arm. â€Å"Do I need to call a medic for you?† he asked sarcastically. I shook my head, wondering what illness had overcome me. The crowd came back into focus, alive, happy, laughing, and fanning themselves discreetly. Even I had to admit that Mrs. Sutherland had done a fantastic job working with Mrs. Richards and her housekeepers. A rich red carpet had been laid out, and it was scattered with so many rose petals you could scarcely see the fabric beneath. Pink, white, and deep, deep red, it looked like a beautiful trail through a magnificent rose garden. Garlands of expensive and exotic flowers hung along the pews, and the scent of orange and lemon was heavy in the air. Overhead hung giant balls of flowers like fireworks in petals. Vases in every gothic arched nook and cranny held elegant arrangements of grasses and blooming branches of quince, enhancing the woodland effect. Everyone wore full formal regalia, tailcoats for the men, some with diplomatic sashes. Heavy moire silks for the older women, lighter for the young women, yards and yards of fabric swirled around their feet like more rose petals. Hats were decked out in plumes and gems and sometimes entire birds. And the real heirloom jewelry had been pulled out for this occasion, pearls and diamonds and rubies on every neck and wrist, some gems the size of my thumb. All the women had fans, of course, made from silk and painted in Japan or England, and they tried to flutter them delicately, but most wound up just flapping them as fast as they could. The ladies' countenances remained stubbornly rosy despite their efforts to keep pale. Everyone whispered and talked excitedly, and of course I could tune in to any conversation I felt like listening to with my enhanced hearing. I almost didn't mean to, because it was the same in every seat: â€Å"†¦ so quick. Only met a month ago. Did you hear the story? He was so chivalrous†¦.† â€Å"†¦ lucky girl. I hope my Lucretia marries as well†¦.† â€Å"Apparently, the youngest Beaumont threw herself at DeSangue, but he only had eyes for Lydia†¦.† â€Å"†¦ such a handsome man! And a count!†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦ yes, but who's that other one again? Marrying Bridget?† I closed my eyes, wishing I could close my ears. How I longed to be back in my grotto in the park. â€Å"Seems like old times, doesn't it, brother?† Damon sighed, adjusting one of his cuffs. â€Å"In another life, you and Rosalyn would be married already.† â€Å"Shut up,† I said. He was right, though. If Katherine hadn't killed my childhood playmate, I would have married her. Back then, I thought a forced marriage with someone I didn't love was the worst fate imaginable. How innocent I was†¦. I continued smiling, although it must have looked forced by that point. My eyes darted over the crowd, seeking out anyone in a badly matched scarf. That morning I had managed to grab and drain a pair of white doves, initially intended to be released as a romantic gesture after the wedding ceremony. But when was the last time Damon had fed? Or did he have a big, bloody feast planned? â€Å"Look at us, together,† Damon whispered, nodding at someone in the crowd and smiling. â€Å"We make quite a handsome pair.† â€Å"I'm doing this,† I whispered, â€Å"to save lives. Now be quiet.† Damon rolled his eyes. â€Å"You're no fun, brother. I hope you develop a sense of humor soon, or it's going to be a loooooong eternity.† The wedding march began, saving me from having to respond. Margaret's husband and Bram, ushers, came down the aisle first. The remaining ushers were callow youths who flirted outrageously with the bridesmaids they escorted. The girls wore pretty matching peach gowns and absolutely giant hats†¦ but I noticed that one had a slightly different accessory from the rest. Hilda wore a hastily tied kerchief around her neck. I glared at Damon. He shrugged. â€Å"I got a little peckish waiting around.† In truth, I was a little relieved – it meant he wasn't starving himself in anticipation of something later. Finally came Winfield, proudly striding down the aisle with a daughter on each arm. Lydia walked regally and easily. She wore a simple white gown of heavy material whose folds rustled with her movements. It went to the top of her neck and the bottom of her wrists, and its only ornamentation was a line of pearl buttons down the front. A net veil hung behind her, floating down her back. She looked like a fairy-tale queen, and smiled with a secretive look that only added to her beauty. On Winfield's left arm was Bridget, wearing her brocade and satin. She actually looked quite beautiful, if a bit overdone. An enormous lace veil perched on top of her head like a crown. It was hard to imagine, now, that I'd ever seen anything of Callie in her. Where Bridget was frilly and immature, Callie had been independent and practical. Thinking of Callie now was a bad idea. Time slowed down. Bridget's foot rose and fell, bringing her a few inches closer to me. Her skirts drew forward, as if of their own accord. Her mouth opened and closed in a giggle that sounded far-off and distorted. And then came the distinctive scent of lemon and ginger. Everything blurred – Katherine? Suddenly, instead of Bridget coming toward me dressed as a bride was the woman who had brought me to this place. Her thick black hair was caught up in a lace veil, revealing her perfect shoulders and neck. The blue cameo gleamed on her neck. She lowered her head demurely, but beneath her long lashes her eyes danced mischievously in my direction. She pursed her lips and I felt my knees weaken. Did Damon see her, too? I looked askance at my brother, to see if he was thinking or seeing the same thing I was. Whatever compelled me to feel the way I did about Katherine, true love or a vampire's Power, I was still under her spell, haunted by her. But Damon's face was a perfect mask of happiness and love. Time started back up again. Bridget resumed her place in my sight, smiling excitedly up at me. And then the girls were before us, and the priest was there, and rings were in our hands. It was, thankfully, a fairly short ceremony. The priest gave a speech about love and read several nice passages from the Bible that I would have liked in any other circumstance. I wasn't sure whether to pray that the priest go on, and on, and on, and give me as much time as possible before the inevitable, or if he should just hurry up and get it over with. â€Å"If anyone here knows of any impediment why these two couples may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, you do now confess it.† I looked around the room, hoping someone would stand up and object. Maybe Margaret would speak out, with some sort of proof that Damon DeSangue wasn't who he said he was, or that I was some sort of Confederate spy, or†¦ The oldest sister shook her head and gritted her teeth, but kept silent. I may have imagined it, but I think her mother's hand had an iron grip on her knee. Damon went first, marrying the elder bride. I wasn't listening; there seemed to be a dull roar in my ears that was so loud I was surprised no one else could hear it. What was going to happen when it was over? Would the Sutherlands make it through this night? Would I be forced, on my wedding day, to fight my own brother to the death? â€Å"Repeat after me,† the priest finally said. I did as I was told. â€Å"I, Stefan Salvatore, take thee, Bridget Lynn Cupbert Sutherland, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till†¦ death us do part.† I almost choked, and could only hope that the audience thought I was overwhelmed with emotion. â€Å"I, Bridget Lynn Cupbert Sutherland, take thee, Stefan, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.† She forgot my surname, and from the look in her eyes it was because she was thinking about the night before. And then there was a ring in my hand. A simple gold band with my and Bridget's initials inscribed on the inside. Precious metal binding me to my fate. I took Bridget's hand. My voice came out surprisingly clear and calm. â€Å"With this ring, I thee wed, and with my worldly goods I thee endow, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.† I slipped it on her finger. She squealed in joy. I kissed her. It was hard and quick, hopefully long enough for the audience to appreciate. Bridget clung to me, trying to make the moment last. She tasted of mint. I felt terrible. And just like that, I was a married vampire.

Weston Meehan

In today’s society there is a war going on, a battle to control our minds, hearts, and souls with a simple idea. An idea so dangerous that it not only has it indoctrinated us as a generation, but indoctrinating future generations without so much has a scrap of scientific evidence. An idea that questions our livelihood, why we are here, why we do what we do, and where do we go when it is all said and done. This idea is known as the Evolutionary theory and its concepts derived nearly 200 years ago by Charles Darwin in his book the Origin of Species.Darwin states† I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone. † (1859, pp. 520) Claiming Evolution does not exist would be as empirical as proving God does exist. In these arguments there is no middle ground, either God does exist or he does not, either evolution is real or it is not. There is only one way to prove the evidence and that is to seek it out with examinatio n. Would such evidence exist? If so what could possibly the nature of this evidence?Before the Evolutionary theory’s inception the four burning questions of man has been who am I, where did I come from, why am I here, and where do I go when I die? The answer to these questions has always been some sort of religion, and that this world has a designer with an incredible plan. Now as time has progressed a very dangerous solution was introduced to the world and with its arrival it is changing the very fabric of humanity. The new religion of the day is science and this affects our legal system, school system, and thought process.These effects over time can be detrimental to the minds and morals of us as a society. One of the most basic and fundamental questions of the human mind is the question, â€Å"does God exist? † The one thing every human has in common is having a worldview. A worldview is how you view the world. There are two ways you can view this world. Some people look at this world and say, â€Å"it’s amazing this came from evolution† that is the Evolutionists’ worldview. Others say, â€Å"this world has incredible design there must be a designer† this is the Creationists’ worldview.These two views are polar- opposite from each other in a clash where one side has to be wrong. When mentioning Evolution, keep in mind that there are six theories and basis to the word evolve. Cosmic Evolution: the origin of time, space, and matter i. e. the â€Å"Big Bang†. Chemical Evolution: the origin of higher elements from hydrogen. Stellar and Planetary Evolution: origin of stars and planets. Organic Evolution: the origin of life. Macroevolution: the changing from one kind in to another. Finally, Microevolution: variations within kinds.These theories are studied in every American education curriculum but only one has scientifically been proven. In a common Webster Dictionary from an online website the definition o f the Big Bang Theory (Cosmic Evolution) is â€Å"a theory in astronomy: the universe originated billions of years ago in an explosion from a single point of nearly infinite energy density. † (Webster Dictionary Online) Another is Alan Guth’s theory stating, â€Å"†¦ the entire observable universe could have evolved from an infinitesimal (Greek for dot) region.It’s then tempting to go one step further and speculate that the entire universe evolved from literally nothing. † (1984 p. 128). The two theories of the creation of the Earth are basically the same but the Evolutionists believe it happened for no reason. The Creationists believe that God was the creator. The first law of the Conservation of matter is that, â€Å"matter (and or energy) cannot be created or destroyed. † Thus, if the matter cannot be created nor destroyed then who created this world? The choices still remain, it created itself or someone created it.Scientifically how can s omething be created from nothing unless there was a creator? Instead of raising questions that are gaudy, scientific, and quite frankly a bit harder to understand I would like to use history as the main source of discussion. The arguments most skeptics tend to stray away from are whether or not Dinosaurs existed with man. As ridiculous as that might sound to do believe that the very thought of such a notion existing could shake the beliefs of your modern Evolutionists. If dinosaurs did exist then the Evolutionary theory would be completely and utterly false and visa versa for creation.This topic is rarely touched based on just due to most of societies’ presuppositions on the matter and considering alternative evidence with an unbiased open mind. Let’s start with the question â€Å"what happened to the dinosaurs? † and there are scores of theories on this matter. The main theory is that a comet struck the earth, and the dust that was raised blocked out the sun. W hen the sun was blocked out the climate turned cold and the cold-blooded animals couldn’t survive. The flaw in this theory is that we still have animals today such as alligators, crocodiles, and Komodo dragons and supposedly these species date back to before the inosaurs were evolved (according to Evolution). Another theory is E. Baldwin’s exotic notion to say that they use to eat a laxative plant and when this plant went extinct the dinosaurs died out due to constipation. (2002, pp. 210) According to the Bible there was a major catastrophe that wiped out the Dinosaurs as well as most of the life on Earth. This was the great Genesis flood, which was global destroying all of existence except a man named Noah, his family, and two of every kind of animal to be taken aboard an Ark and to repopulate the Earth.Logically, Noah would of obtained only infant animals. This is for three reasons; they eat less, sleep more, and take up less room. This account of a global flood is n ot only found in the Bible but in every major culture’s history such as China, Mesopotamia, and Polynesian cultures. In 1841 the first use of the term Dinosauria (meaning terrible lizard) was created by the famous British anatomist and Paleontologist Sir Richard Owen. The term was used for the first time at a meeting of the British Association of the Advancement of science held in Plymouth. No reptile now exists which provides a complicated and thecodont dentition with limbs so proportionally large and strong having such well-developed marrow bones and sustaining the weight of the trunk by synchrondrosis or anchylosis to so long and complicated a sacrum, as in the order Dinosauria. † (Owen 42) After that meeting the word Dinosaur became a popular term to describe these giant lizards that were being discovered by paleontologists. During the 1800’s after the first discovery of theses fossils scientists began to look for clue to what had happened to these â€Å"ter rible lizards†.Unfortunately the focus was on the rocks and buried fossils and failed to examine history on what had really happened. Examining ancient history and the historical record you will not find the word â€Å"dinosaur† remember the word dinosaur was not created until 1841. Every culture shared a common name for these creatures but the most familiar is the name dragon. Even in our local library’s dictionary the definition of dragon shares a chilling depiction. Even the old dictionaries recognize these dragons to be real and not apart of myth.It seems that all cultures have different names for these dragons such as the list provided on page 13. Dragon history is nearly universal through ancient cultures. Where did this concept derive? Why is it so universal among cultures that are separated by continents? How did societies through out the world describe, etch, draw, and sew these creatures with such uniformity if they were not of eyewitness accounts? Cert ain things that aren’t shown to us growing up when learning the evolutionary theory as well as all of history are all of the artwork of the ancient cultures and the people of the culture depicting dinosaurs.It is safe to say that most of all the ancient art are mainly illustrations of everyday life and this gives us a good idea of how these cultures hunted, lived, and the ceremonies they practiced. The highly technical civilization of the Nazca Indians off the coast of Peru flourished from about 1 A. D. to 750 A. D. These cultures produced an array of technologies as well as crafts including ceramics, textiles, and geoglyphs. Today it is still unknown how this culture produced these geoglyphs called the Nazca lines. The Nazca Indians also produced thousands of carvings on burial stones, these carvings are known as the Ica stones.There have been over 16,000 of these remarkable stone found over the years. They contain depictions of daily life, battle scenes, advanced technologi es, and most amazingly dinosaurs. Most skeptics try to debunk the Ica stones being a hoax or created during our time period, but the evidence points otherwise. Other than the Ica stones there has been thousands of pieces of ancient art depicting dinosaurs found in many different cultures spreading over the planet. The authenticity of this art has divided skeptics, but most that have no preconceived biases believe in their genuine nature.Here are just some of the different examples of the uniformity of these creatures that are shared. Again, how could each culture depict these dinosaurs if they were not of eyewitness accounts? Could it be possible that dinosaurs still exist today? For at least a hundred years there have been many reputable reports in English speaking countries of seeing a dinosaur like creature in the lakes of Loch Ness, Champlain, and Ogopogo. The accounts describe a Plesiosaur or a water dwelling dinosaur. These lakes are vast bodies of water reaching depths of fou r hundred feet in certain parts.To add to the elusiveness of these creatures it is believed that like crocodiles, alligators, and caimans this type of dinosaur is nocturnal. The most intriguing of eyewitness reports do not come from the lakes of England, Scotland, or America but from the darkest regions of the African Congo a swamp named Likoula. Likoula is the largest swamp in the world, 55,000 square miles in size and remains eighty percent unexplored. Most civilized people do not venture into these swamps due to the harsh conditions, but tribe’s people living in the swamp say that several creatures that are apparent dinosaurs are still alive today.There’s a creature the natives call Mokele-Embembe â€Å"described as a large animal 16 to 32 feet in length with a long neck and a tail. It is also alleged that the reddish-brow to gray, which lives in the swamp and only eats on vegetation. † (â€Å"Half-God, Half-Beast†, 1999) The National Geographic show à ¢â‚¬Å"The Beast Man† presented an episode where the host interviewed a local villager and the experiences he had with the creature. The villager stated, â€Å"it was a long time ago, I was scared and ran away. † (Beast Man) This shows the power of the creature and how scary it can appear.The Bible shares a probable depiction of this very same creature, â€Å"behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. † (King James Bible, Job. 40. 15-19) The dangers of the theory of Evolution have affected and corrupted the minds of people for generations.With the evidence shown the devotion put in to this theory brings loyalty s imilar to no other. Most scientists put all of their faith in science just like as if it were a religion. As a Christian would lay their faith in to the Bible their faith lies in theories that are still not proven today. I chose to interview an Environmental Science professor at our college to question his openness and possibility of such a notion. In my interview with professor Meizeka I asked, â€Å"if dinosaurs still existed and what would that do to the evolutionary theory? He then stated â€Å"it’s not possible† when I told him about the eyewitness accounts in the Likoula Swamp he stammered around the question stating â€Å"it just doesn’t†¦you’re certainly going to find species that we never thought existed, but a large scale dinosaur hard to believe. † My question never seemed to be answered if the theory would be shaken or not but maybe his silence speaks volumes. Why are these issues confronted with such skepticism? What would be the reasoning behind not thoroughly accessing the possibility of this phenomenon?In conclusion through out all of my research and reflecting on my thesis, the Evolutionary Theory has indeed indoctrinated society. The majority of scientists would rather reject the possibility of dinosaurs’ existence with man to better enforce their belief system. The scariest notion is what if this theory was made to prevent our generation and future generations in the belief of creation. (Word Count) 2231 ? Dragons in Different Cultures 1. Arabic: ah-teen (pl. tah-neen), (Al)Tineen, Plural: (Al)Tananeen ? 2. Athebascin (Alasken): Manchu 3. ?Austrian: Drach`n, Lindwurm? 4.Bulgarian: drakon (phonetic), a? aeii (Actual spelling) ? 5. Catalan (N/E Spain): drac ? 6. Chinese: lung/long, Liung (Hakka dialect) ? Chinese: old & new: ? 7. Croatian/Serbian: zmaj (pronounced â€Å"zmai† means Dragon), azdaja (pronounced â€Å"azhdaya† means Hydra) ? 8. Czech: Drak, Draeek (Draaachek) ? 9. Dani sh: drage 10. ?Dansk: drage ? 11. Draconian: Khoth, (pl. Khothu)? Driigaran (music language): C4 G4 C5 D5 B5 C5? Double-Dutch: dridi-gag-dridi-gen? 12. Dutch: draak ? 13. Elven/Drow: Tagnik'zur ? 14. Egg-Latin: Dreggageggon ? 15. English: dragon ? English (Middle): dragun, dragoun ? 16.English (Old): draca ? Enochian: Vovin (Voh-een)? 17. Esperanto: drako, dragono? 18. Estonian: draakon, lohe, lohemadu or tuuleuss (Wind Snake), lendav madu? 19. Euskera (dialect of the Basque Country): Erensuge ? 20. Faeroese: eitt dreki, eitt flogdreki, ein fraenarormur ? Finnish: lohikaarme, draakki, dragoni? 21. Fire Witch tongue: Katash wei' vorki (kah-TASH whey VOR-key) ? 22. Flambian: kazyeeqen (comes from kazyee-aqen, fire lizard) 23. ?Flemmish: Draeke? French: dragon,dragun, dargon ? 24. Gaelic: Arach ? 25. German: drache (pl. Drachen), Lindwurm, drake (pl. draken) ? 26. Greek: drakon, drako.Male: drakos (or thrakos), Female: drakena (or thrakena) ? 27. Greek (ancient): Male: drakkon (or thra kon), Female: drakkina (or thrakena) 28. ?Hawaiian: Kelekona, (plural) Na Kelekona ? Hebrew: drakon (plural) drakonim, Tanniym ? 29. Hungarian: sarkany ? 30. Icelandic: dreki 31. ?Indonesian: Naga ? I 32. ranian: Ejdeha 33. ?Islamic: th'uban, tinnin ? 34. Italian: drago, dragone, volante, dragonessa ? 35. Japanese: ryu, tatsu ? 36. Jibberish: gidadraggidaen (pronunced â€Å"gid-a-drag-gid-ah-en†)? 37. Klingon: lung'a' puv (pronounced loong-AH poov) â€Å"Flying Great Lizard† ? 38. Korean: yong ?Latin: draco, dracon, draco, dragon, dragoon, serpent,serpens 39. ?Luxembourgian: Draach ? Middle earth Ency. : Anguloce: generic, Ramaloce: winged dragon, Uruloce: fire breath dragon 40. ?Malay: Naga 41. ?Milanese (Italy): Dragh, Draguun,Dragoon ? 42. New Zeland (Maori): tarakona ? 43. Norse: ormr ? Norsk: drake, dragonet, liten drake ? 44. Norwegian: drage ? Oppish: dropagoponop (pronounced drop-ag-op-an-op)? 45. Ourainic Barb: Duxobum ? 46. Philippines: male: dragon short o, female: Dragona with a short o and a ? 47. Pig-Latin: Agon-dray ? 48. Polish: smok 49. ?Portuguese: dragao ? 0. Quenya (elven): Loke, winged: Ramaloke, sea: Lingwiloke, fire: Uruloke ? 51. Reinitian (of Reinita): Dralaghajh ? Roman: draco ? Romanian: Dragon, (pl. Dragoni), Zmeu (pl. Zmei), dracul, drakul ? 52. Russian: drakon ? Sanskrit: naga (type of snake-human-dragon)? Slovenia: Zmaj = Dragon, Hidra = Hydra.? 53. Spanish: dragon, El Draque, Brujah? 54. Swedish: drake, lindorm ? Swedish (Ancient): flugdrake, floghdraki? 55. Swiss German: Dracha ? 56. Tagalog: drakon ? 57. Thai: mung-korn ? | Works Cited â€Å"Ancient Dinosaur Depictions. † Genesis Park. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. ;http://www. enesispark. com/exhibits/evidence/historical/ancient/dinosaur/;. (Internet) Conner, Susan, and Linda Kitchen. Science's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Outrageous Innovators, Deadly Disasters, and Shocking Discoveries. Washington, D. C. : Brassey's, 2002. 210. Print. (Book) Critt endon, Jules. â€Å"Half-God, Half Beast. † Boston Herald [Boston] 29 Jan. 1999: n. pag. Print. (Newspaper) Darwin, Charles (1859), The Origin of Species (London: A. L. Burt). (Book) Guth, Alan and Paul Steinhardt (1984), â€Å"The Inflationary Universe,† Scientific American, 250 116-128, May. (Magazine) Hawk, Ray, and E. E. Hubbard. What Is the Law of Conservation of Matter? † WiseGeek. Conjecture, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. . (Internet) Job. King James Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible, 1973. Print. (reference) N. p. , n. d. Web. . (Internet) â€Å"John Meizeka. † Personal interview. 29 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Nazca Lines. † , Peru. N. p. , n. d. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. ;http://www. sacred-destinations. com/peru/nazca-lines;. (Internet)Neilson, William Allan, Thomas A. Knott, and Paul W. Carhart. Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language. Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam, 1960. Print. (Reference) Owen, Sir Richard. â€Å"Report o n British Fossil Reptiles. Part II. † Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 60-204 (1842): 42. Print. (Journal) â€Å"Say â€Å"Dragon†Ã¢â‚¬  How to Say Dragon in Many Languages. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. . (Internet) Spain, Pat. â€Å"Mokele Mbembe. † The Beast Man. 7 Dec. 2012. Television. (Media) African: nrgwenya ? 58. Afrikaans: Draak ? 59.Arabic: ah-teen (pl. tah-neen), (Al)Tineen, Plural: (Al)Tananeen ? 60. Athebascin (Alasken): Manchu 61. ?Austrian: Drach`n, Lindwurm? 62. Bulgarian: drakon (phonetic), a? aeii (Actual spelling) ? 63. Catalan (N/E Spain): drac ? 64. Chinese: lung/long, Liung (Hakka dialect) ? Chinese: old & new: ? 65. Croatian/Serbian: zmaj (pronounced â€Å"zmai† means Dragon), azdaja (pronounced â€Å"azhdaya† means Hydra) ? 66. Czech: Drak, Draeek (Draaachek) ? 67. Danish: drage 68. ?Dansk: drage ? 69. Draconian: Khoth, (pl. Khothu)? Driigaran (music language): C4 G4 C5 D5 B5 C5? Double-D utch: dridi-gag-dridi-gen? 70. Dutch: draak ? 1. Elven/Drow: Tagnik'zur ? 72. Egg-Latin: Dreggageggon ? 73. English: dragon ? English (Middle): dragun, dragoun ? 74. English (Old): draca ? Enochian: Vovin (Voh-een)? 75. Esperanto: drako, dragono? 76. Estonian: draakon, lohe, lohemadu or tuuleuss (Wind Snake), lendav madu? 77. Euskera (dialect of the Basque Country): Erensuge ? 78. Faeroese: eitt dreki, eitt flogdreki, ein fraenarormur ? Finnish: lohikaarme, draakki, dragoni? 79. Fire Witch tongue: Katash wei' vorki (kah-TASH whey VOR-key) ? 80. Flambian: kazyeeqen (comes from kazyee-aqen, fire lizard) 81. ?Flemmish: Draeke? French: dragon,dragun, dargon ? 2. Gaelic: Arach ? 83. German: drache (pl. Drachen), Lindwurm, drake (pl. draken) ? 84. Greek: drakon, drako. Male: drakos (or thrakos), Female: drakena (or thrakena) ? 85. Greek (ancient): Male: drakkon (or thrakon), Female: drakkina (or thrakena) 86. ?Hawaiian: Kelekona, (plural) Na Kelekona ? Hebrew: drakon (plural) drakonim, Ta nniym ? 87. Hungarian: sarkany ? 88. Icelandic: dreki 89. ?Indonesian: Naga ? I 90. ranian: Ejdeha 91. ?Islamic: th'uban, tinnin ? 92. Italian: drago, dragone, volante, dragonessa ? 93. Japanese: ryu, tatsu ? 94. Jibberish: gidadraggidaen (pronunced â€Å"gid-a-drag-gid-ah-en†)? 95.Klingon: lung'a' puv (pronounced loong-AH poov) â€Å"Flying Great Lizard† ? 96. Korean: yong ? Latin: draco, dracon, draco, dragon, dragoon, serpent,serpens 97. ?Luxembourgian: Draach ? Middle earth Ency. : Anguloce: generic, Ramaloce: winged dragon, Uruloce: fire breath dragon 98. ?Malay: Naga 99. ?Milanese (Italy): Dragh, Draguun,Dragoon ? 100. New Zeland (Maori): tarakona ? 101. Norse: ormr ? Norsk: drake, dragonet, liten drake ? 102. Norwegian: drage ? Oppish: dropagoponop (pronounced drop-ag-op-an-op)? 103. Ourainic Barb: Duxobum ? 104. Philippines: male: dragon short o, female: Dragona with a short o and a ? 05. Pig-Latin: Agon-dray ? 106. Polish: smok 107. ?Portuguese: dragao ? 108. Quenya (elven): Loke, winged: Ramaloke, sea: Lingwiloke, fire: Uruloke ? 109. Reinitian (of Reinita): Dralaghajh ? Roman: draco ? Romanian: Dragon, (pl. Dragoni), Zmeu (pl. Zmei), dracul, drakul ? 110. Russian: drakon ? Sanskrit: naga (type of snake-human-dragon)? Slovenia: Zmaj = Dragon, Hidra = Hydra.? 111. Spanish: dragon, El Draque, Brujah? 112. Swedish: drake, lindorm ? Swedish (Ancient): flugdrake, floghdraki? 113. Swiss German: Dracha ? 114. Tagalog: drakon ? 115. Thai: mung-korn ? | Dragons in Different Cultures

Business Strategy and Innovation of Cisco Systems Inc

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of the report was to discuss the business strategy of Cisco Systems Inc (Cisco), a company widely considered innovative. The report was to discuss the justification of Cisco’s status of innovative, how the business environment impacted on Cisco and it’s opportunities for innovation, their sources of competitive advantage, strategic options available to Cisco, and evaluate the risks of implementing the strategic change to achieve this optionThis was done by evaluating Cisco’s current strategies, its business environment and markets, applying strategy frameworks in the context of its industry and innovation, and by analysing the risks that could be associated with implementing this change. Cisco innovate in three ways; they build innovation using research and development budgets; they buy innovation, by making strategic acquisitions; and they partner, developing strategic partnerships and ecosystems to aid innovation. Cisco’s ex ternal environment was assessed using PESTEL analysis and applying Porter’s Five Forces framework.It was established that the main key drivers for change were technological and worldwide competition laws. VRIN Frameworks were applied to assess Cisco’s sources of competitive advantage, as well as some of the threats they face in these areas. It would appear that the biggest threat to Cisco in this area is Non-substitutability; Cisco’s competitors are eroding their market share by offering similar products. Two strategic options were discussed; selling their enterprise products directly to the end users and entering the consumer market.It was decided that the more radical of the two was entering the consumer market; and the risks associated with implementing the change, along with advice on how Cisco could manage the strategic change, were discussed. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 0 INTRODUCTION5 2. 0 IS CISCO INNOVATIVE? 6 3. 0 CISCO AND THEIR BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT8 3. 1 TH E MACRO ENVIRONMENT8 3. 2 KEY DRIVERS FOR CHANGE8 3. 3 APPLYING PORTER’S FIVE FORCES FRAMEWORK9 3. 3. 1 The Threat of Entry10 3. 3. 2 Threat of Substitutes11 3. 3. 3 Power of Buyers11 3. 3. 4 Power of Suppliers12 3. 3. 5 Competitive Rivals12 4. 0 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE13 4. 1 Value14 4. 2 Rarity15 . 3 Inimitability15 4. 4 Non-Substitutability16 4. 5 Cisco’s Organisational Knowledge16 5. 0 STRATEGIC OPTIONS17 6. 0 IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC CHANGE19 6. 1 Risk20 6. 2 Managing Strategic Change21 7. 0 CONCLUSION22 8. 0 REFERENCES24 9. 0 BIBLIOGRAPHY26 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Cisco Systems Inc (Cisco) was established in 1984 by a husband and wife team who wanted to solve the technical issue of emailing each other, but on different networks, and developed the first multi-protocol router, a device which allowed the different networks to ‘talk’ to each other by translating the different protocol languages (Cisco Systems Inc, 2012).This report will examine Cisco as an innovat ive company, the external factors affecting their ability to innovate, their sources of competitive advantage within the industry and consider some of Cisco’s strategic options, the risks associated with the changes in strategy and how this can be managed. The information has been compiled from information published by Cisco on their website, Exploring Strategy, Ninth Edition (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011), Academic Journals and published articles. 2. 0 IS CISCO INNOVATIVE?To establish if Cisco is innovative, first we have to define what innovation is. Innovation can be defined as, â€Å"†¦the conversion of a new knowledge into a new product, process or service and the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use. † (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011, pg 296). Therefore until the product, process or service is brought to the market; it cannot be considered an innovation. In regards to innovation, Cisco has an extensive innovation strategy. They do this using their â€Å"three pillars of innovation: build, buy and partner† (Cisco, 2012.Acquisitions, pg 1. ), The ‘Build’ aspect relates to internal innovation, whereby they develop products and services with Research and Development (R&D). They have 7 major laboratories in locations around the world, and employ around 20,000 engineers (Cisco, 2012). The diversity of basing these facilities all over the world will only help to aid innovation, as the people can use their own cultures and experiences to develop new product and services, thereby helping to develop worldwide solutions to global industry problems. Yearly Cisco invests over $5 Billion on R&D (Cisco, 2012).With regards to their ‘Buy’ aspect of their innovation strategy, Cisco is constantly looking to acquire technologies to improve their current product range. Cisco has acquired over 160 companies up to the end of 2012, and will continue to actively seek out acquisition opportunities to increase their product range (Cisco, 2012). It may be argued that innovation by acquisition is not innovation; however the innovation comes with the integration of these technologies into their existing product ranges and taking new products to market.Cisco also purchase technologies that have yet to be brought to the market, so are more inventions than innovations, and take calculated risks in doing so. Cisco’s approach to innovation is an open one, and they have many strategic partnerships. Cisco is aware that to maximise the potential of their products, they must rely on the products of other vendors. Cisco have created an Ecosystem, to help develop their Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS), a system that Cisco see as the future of the IT network; the collaboration of the network, all managed simultaneously on one platform (Cisco, 2012).By opening up their innovation to these ecosystem partners, it will engage the partners on a positive way and ensure tha t the partner’s complimentary products and services will be fully compatible with the UCS. The ecosystem approach will help speed up innovation, as more people working together to create innovative products or services are more likely to get superior products to market faster (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). Cisco has, since inception, been a first-mover in its markets. Cisco’s vision, â€Å"Changing the way we work, live, play and learn† (Cisco, 2012.Corporate Overview Pg 11), shows that they want to lead the market in developing networking technologies. This gives them considerable advantages, allowing them to become market leaders in these areas, and charge a premium for these products. 3. 0 CISCO AND THEIR BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT When we discuss the business environment, we are in fact looking at the environment where the business operates. In this section the external environment will be analysed using PESTEL framework, focusing on some of the key dri vers for change, use Porters Five Forces to analyse the Industry and will look at the opportunities and threats Cisco face. 3. THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT The Macro Environment of a business is concerned with the external factors which affect almost all organisations (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). Appendix A shows a PESTEL analysis for Cisco, outlining some of the issues which they face. For the purpose of the report, however, only the important key drivers for change will be discussed. 3. 2 KEY DRIVERS FOR CHANGE Looking at the PESTEL Analysis, there are some that are more relevant to the industry Cisco operate – Technological. Virtualisation technology became one of the most important key drivers for change in the IT industry of recent times.This meant companies like Cisco had to begin to develop systems that would take advantage of this. This has led to huge developments in ‘Cloud’ technologies, where the resources are provided, at a service fee, over the internet. They provide several variations of the ‘x-as-a-service’ model. This is beneficial to cash-conscious companies, who are looking to reduce the expensive CAPEX costs IT infrastructure incurs, passing this responsibility onto the service provider. The rate at which this technology has been released and adopted has fuelled Cisco’s innovation, as they have to innovate to continue to remain competitive.Another key driver for change is the Competition Laws Cisco are faced with, namely the US Antitrust policy, whereby all acquisitions have to be approved by the Department of Justice and the Federal Change Commission, who look at how acquisitions will affect the competition balance. They do not, however look at the innovative developments these acquisitions will create, nor if the benefit of such innovation outweighs the competition problems (Mandel and Carew, 2011). Appendix B shows some of the scenario outcomes of the effects of acquisition laws on the develop ment of technologies in the Cloud market.Scenario building can be useful, however you cannot have just one universal scenario for the company as a whole, there can be an endless chain of scenarios created for every situation that can be thought up. That is why, when looking at scenarios, it is important to identify the key drivers for change. 3. 3 APPLYING PORTER’S FIVE FORCES FRAMEWORK Porter’s Five Forces Framework can help Cisco establish if an industry is an attractive option, identifying five areas in competitive forces; the threat of entry, the threat of substitutes, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers and competitive rivalry (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011).For the purpose of the report, we will focus this next section on Cisco’s Switching market. 3. 3. 1 The Threat of Entry Cisco must be aware of potential competitors into their markets, and creating sufficient barriers to entry can help. These barriers need to be overcome by new entrants to the market if they wish to compete (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). Cisco, as first-movers, has created several barriers to entry; Cisco has greater experience over its rivals and uses its first-mover advantages to secure market share before anyone else tries to compete.Cisco do not manufacture the components of their products, they rely on over 600 companies for this (Cisco, 2012). They could try to secure exclusivity with these suppliers, thereby reducing the new entrant’s ability to buy the same components, making it harder for them to replicate Cisco’s products. In response to competition threats, Cisco could, in theory, enter into price wars with new entrants to the market, they could increase their marketing spend, and out-market the new entrants, as they have the financial means to do so.Overall, the threat of new entrants means Cisco have to remain innovative, to product new products, protected by patents, and creating new industry standards, to ma intain their share of the market. 3. 3. 2 Threat of Substitutes With the emergence of cloud technologies, Cisco was in danger of falling behind and their products substituted with Cloud technologies. However Cisco has developed products to compete in this area, for example their Switching-as-a-Service, giving their customers the option to have their network switching hosted in the cloud.To avoid being substituted, Cisco had to adapt to the emergence of Cloud technologies to remain relevant. Emerging technologies such as this ensure Cisco retains their innovative edge. 3. 3. 3 Power of Buyers Cisco only sells their enterprise products through a network of distributers. This increases the distributers buying power as Cisco are reliant on them. However due to the complexity of the products, there doesn’t appear to be a threat from the buyers in terms of competition, as they are unlikely to find backward vertical integration attractive.Cisco have to remain innovative to maintain the relationships with their buyers, if Cisco are seen to fall behind technology’s advance, then they will become obsolete to the buyers, and they will look to buy other products that are innovative. 3. 3. 4 Power of Suppliers As previously discussed, Cisco relies on over 600 suppliers to provide the components of their products. This gives the suppliers power, as delays in Cisco receiving their products will disrupt their supply chain. 3. 3. 5 Competitive Rivals In the switching market, Cisco currently hold around 69% of the market share Cisco, 2012), and while this is a comfortable position to be in, Cisco must not become complacent. HP is growing in market share year-on-year (Gabra, 2012), offering Cisco real competition in affordable managed switching products. HP also has a strong brand and a large presence in both the business and consumer markets. This makes HP an attractive alternative to the end user, which is a threat to Cisco’s core switching business. Cisco has to continue to develop their products, make them better than the rivals, to ensure they can maintain the market share.Customers need to see that they are getting value for money, so Cisco must do this with that in mind, they have to make the products affordable AND innovative. Cisco is strong in many areas discussed, they are innovative in nature, it is part of their history that they began and continue to innovate. As innovation is part of Cisco’s DNA, this is unlikely to change. They are developing some of the traditionally physical technologies (switching for example) for the cloud market, creating cloud platforms which they can still provide their core products from.Cisco has patent protection on their products, which puts them in a strong position to their competitors. To keep this patent protection relevant they need to continue to invent new designs to bring to market. They do have some weakness; the entry of HP to their core switching market is worth noting. Cisc o have still got a good market share, however HP are slowly eroding this, with gains in market share each year. Cisco will have to tackle this to ensure this erosion does not progress too far. To do this they must continue to produce superior products to HPs, and thereby drives their innovation. 4. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE As previously discussed, Cisco currently have over 69% of the market share in their switching market. How does Cisco maintain their competitive advantage? The resource-based view is that, â€Å"†¦competitive advantage and superior performance of an organisation is explained by the distinctiveness of its capabilities. † (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011 pg 83) This is to say that it is the capabilities of the companies which give it the competitive advantage; the development of new innovative technologies alone will not give a company this competitive advantage (Eng & Luff 2011).Looking at some of Cisco’s resources and competences (Appendix C) we can see that these are wide-ranging, from the obvious of buildings, Computer Equipment and Employees, to the less obvious; strong balance sheet, worldwide R&D and Ecosystems. From here we can establish which of these are threshold resources and capabilities, those which are required to compete in a market (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011) and the distinctive resources and capabilities, those required to give a company it’s competitive advantage (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011).These have been illustrated in Appendix D. For the purpose of this report we will focus on the distinctive resources and capabilities, as those are the ones which will secure Cisco’s Competitive Advantage, and apply VRIN Framework to assess Cisco’s basis of these advantages; Value, Rarity, Inimitability and Non-substitutability. 4. 1 Value â€Å"Strategic capabilities are of value when they provide potential competitive advantage in a market at a cost that allows an org anisation to realise acceptable levels of return†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011 pg 90).Cisco does this by taking advantage of opportunities and limits the threats that they are presented with (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). Acquisitions allow them to adopt new technology that their rivals cannot. If, for example, they were only to licence technology from these companies, their competitors could also. By buying these companies this allows them exclusive access to the technologies. Cisco’s R&D spending and the acquisition of technologies allow Cisco to produce products, which they protect with patents, that their competitors do not have, putting them ahead of the competition.Cisco spends billions of dollars each year on R&D, however still produce good profits which is acceptable to their shareholders. This shows that the shareholders understand that to achieve and maintain the market share, then spending on this level is acceptable. 4. 2 Rarity â€Å"Rare capabilities†¦are those possessed uniquely by one organisation or by a few others. † (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). Cisco currently has over 8000 patents protecting their products, and files around 700 more per year.This gives them long lasting protection from competitors. Cisco employ over 20,000 engineers (Cisco, 2012) and the skills and knowledge of these people is a valuable commodity. Cisco must ensure they try to maintain a high level of staff retention to avoid engineers going to work for competitors. Cisco has a strong brand in the business market, with around 69% of the market share in the switching market alone (Cisco, 2012).Cisco have to ensure that they keep creating new rare capabilities to maintain this competitive advantage and adequately protecting innovations, for example, in the USA design patens last 14 years (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2003) and 20 years in the UK (Intellectual Property Office, 2011). 4. 3 Inimita bility â€Å"Inimitable capabilities – those that competitors find difficult to imitate or obtain† (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011 pg 91). Cisco work with their customers to ensure that their needs are met, in turn this leads to co-specialisation (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011).If Cisco is successful with this, then the customer is more likely to come back to them with future problems for Cisco to solve, and are unlikely to move to a competitor. Cisco’s innovative culture was imbedded into the company right from inception. Cisco has a competitive advantage here as innovation is something they just ‘do’ and have always done. Breeding this into an established company may prove difficult due to a lack of experience, resources and change resistance.Cisco also adapt well to changes in market conditions, and as technology moves forward, so do Cisco; by producing products and services to meet emerging technology. 4. 4 Non-Substitutability Cisco is at risk of substitution by competitors. Patent protection lessens the risk as by the time the patents expire; technology will have advanced so much that the patented technology is already old. This also does not stop companies from copying ideas; you only need to look at the press coverage of Smartphone producers taking each other to court, accusing the other of patent infringement.Cisco has to ensure that the products and services they offer remain ahead of the competition, to get a foothold on the market, to avoid substitution. 4. 5 Cisco’s Organisational Knowledge â€Å"Organisational knowledge is the collective intelligence, specific to an organisation, accumulated through both formal systems and the shared experience of people in that organisation. † (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011 pg 94) The items discussed in the VRIN framework above can be consolidated into the organisational knowledge of Cisco, and this too creates competitive advantage.The ex plicit knowledge gained by using codified information within the company’s structure and the tacit knowledge gained by experience and expertise combines is difficult to imitate, thereby creating a source of competitive advantage over rivals (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). 5. 0 STRATEGIC OPTIONS When assessing Cisco for potential strategic options, the following had to be considered; what markets do Cisco currently operate in, what products and services do they provide and is there any scope within the value chain for vertical integration?Two of the options which came to light were selling their enterprise products directly to the end user and entering the consumer market. Using the â€Å"Ansoff product/market growth matrix† (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011 pg 232) selling products to the end user would be market penetration, which would involve Cisco increasing their market share with their current product range through vertical integration of the Sale s and Marketing part of the value chain.The reasons behind Cisco taking this approach would be the potential of increased profit margins. By selling through distribution channels and partners, Cisco will come up against bias towards their competitors. As end users often rely on their IT reseller for advice on what they require, if the IT reseller has a preference for a competitor, then Cisco will lose the opportunity, regardless if their product is superior. They will increase their contact with their end users, and this will increase customer visibility and co-specialisation.Marketing direct to the end user will provide a greater visibility of the Cisco brand and could help build their brand awareness. This would also give them an advantage over competitors who do not sell online, and allow them more direct competition with those that do. They would still be able to work with their partners, as the partners would be the ones implementing the equipment, and will maintain their curre nt partner program revenue.There are a few issues that Cisco needs to be aware of if they implement this option; this will be costly. They will have to increase their sales and marketing presence, and they will also have to increase their distribution facilities, as well as create a direct sales channel, especially an online sales platform. They also run the risk of alienating their partners, as they will be in direct competition with them, which could result in partners looking to other options.This however could be combated by working with the partners, using partner deal registration procedures, to ensure that Cisco and their partners do not end up going after the same deals. They could also provide a referral system for new customers to the partners, if they buy direct from Cisco, then Cisco will refer them to a partner to handle the installation and management of the system. It may be that for this to work Cisco would have to withdraw their business from the distributers, essen tially cutting out some of the middle men.With regards to entering the consumer market, Cisco could go into the market selling new products and services (conglomerate diversification) however in this their current portfolio could be included, as they would be new products into the market (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). Consumers are looking for ways to combine their work and home technologies, making accessing all of the information they require easier. Therefore entering the consumer market with a mix of both current and new products may be prudent.This would allow them to build a market share on the products they know well. With new products, Cisco’s innovation policy of â€Å"Build, buy and partner† could apply here; they could build new products, for example set-top TV boxes and smart TVs which include their collaboration products (Cisco Jabber and TelePresence); buy innovation, for example if they were to buy a telecoms provider such as TalkTalk, they co uld introduce IP Telephony at home as a standard offering; or they could partner with the producers of these products to integrate Cisco technologies into these products.This would allow Cisco to generate Economies of Scope, as they would be able to use their existing resources in the new market. This may also produce a synergistic effect (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011) as the increased brand awareness in the consumer market may bring more sales into the business market and vice-versa. 6. 0 IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC CHANGE In the previous section two possible strategic options were considered; selling their enterprise products direct to the end user and entering the onsumer market. Here the focus will be on the more radical option of entering the consumer market and will look at the risks associated with implementing this change and how this change can be managed. When evaluating strategies, it is important to look at three key areas; Suitability, Acceptability and Feasibility , otherwise known as SAFe. For the purpose of the report we will focus on risk, a key point in assessing the Acceptability of the strategy (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). . 1 Risk â€Å"Risk concerns the extent to which the outcomes of a strategy can be predicted† (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011 pg 371). This can be assessed using different financial and statistical tools to establish the effects of the strategy on the Cisco’s risk level. Sensitivity testing can be used to challenge the different assumptions about a strategy and what the effects the ‘what if’ scenarios will produce (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011).If Cisco enters the consumer market with assumptions of how much revenue this will generate, and there is an economic downturn, resulting in reduced revenue, what will the effects if this reduced revenue be? Financial Ratios would allow Cisco to look at the financial impact of the strategic option (Johnson, Whittington a nd Scholes, 2011). For example, entering into the consumer market would be of high financial risk due to sunk costs in setting up the new business stream and increased R&D costs, which would have a negative impact on the financial position of Cisco.Break even analysis is another financial tool that can be used to assess risk. This analysis shows the point where revenue will match fixed and variable costs, allowing Cisco to know the level of revenue required to break even (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011) and assess if it is even viable. 6. 2 Managing Strategic Change Due to the rate that the technology markets change, Cisco should adopt a revolutionary change strategy (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011) to ensure they take advantage of the opportunities available to them.They must ensure that there is a clear and concise strategic direction communicated throughout the company and to its stakeholders. To do this Cisco may be required to make changes to management, taking in new people to reinforce the changes (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011), preferably people with a proven track record in the consumer market. Management must also be ready to provide a business case for change (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011) to outline why the proposed strategy is a good one, and may include some of the risk assessments mentioned above.Some of the decisions made to facilitate the change may seem extreme; changes in management, portfolio changes, increased focus on the consumer market and increased R&D spend, however these can be seen as both symbolic and rational levers for change (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011). In managing resistance to change, Cisco should adopt a situational leadership style, where they can use different styles in change leadership to adapt to different situations (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011).This will allow Cisco the flexibility to use different methods to increase stakeholder ‘buy-in’ to the s trategy. Some stakeholders may resist the changes as they may feel they are unnecessary or the timing is wrong, and it is essential that this is controlled to avoid stakeholders just ‘doing what they are told’. Compliance, as opposed to co-operation (or ‘buy-in’) can be detrimental to the success of the strategy, as underneath the surface nothing will have changed. Using this methods to achieve co-operation from stakeholders will keep the strategy focused (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011).However managers must also be sensitive to the strategy resistance, if there is a large amount of resistance they must assess to see if the resistance is warranted. Managers should be, wherever possible, honest in regards to the progress of the strategy (Johnson, Whittington and Scholes, 2011), from their business case for change, the progress of the change, through to the results achieved by the change. Failure to be honest in this will result in the stakeholders l osing faith in the strategy. 7. 0 CONCLUSIONCisco’s innovation is based around their ‘three pillars of innovation’; ‘Build’, where they spend around $5 Billion per year on R&D; ‘Buy’, they have acquired over 160 companies over the years and actively seek out new acquisition possibilities each year; and ‘Partner’, Cisco has developed strategic partnerships and ecosystems to aid innovation. The innovation culture has been part of Cisco’s strategy since the company was formed in 1984. The business environment Cisco operates in was discussed using PESTEL analysis and applying Porter’s Five Forces Framework.With the PESTEL analysis it was established that most of their Key Drivers for Change came from the Technological area of PESTEL. It was also decided that the legal aspects relating to competition law was also a Key Driver for Change, as it impacts their Acquisition policies. Scenario building was deemed importan t, however Cisco must be aware that not one scenario was sufficient, they must develop scenarios for all of their Key Drivers for Change. Porter’s Five Forces was discussed to show some of the factors which determine if the industry is attractive, and the threats Cisco face within the industry.It was determined that innovation alone does not bring competitive advantages. Cisco’s distinct resources and capabilities were assessed against the VRIN framework to identify the sources of their competitive advantage. The VRIN framework can also be consolidated to form Cisco’s organisational knowledge, which was also identified as another competitive advantage. Two strategic options for Cisco were discussed, selling of their enterprise products direct to the end user, and entering the consumer market. It was decided that the more radical of the two was the entry into the consumer market.The risks associated with implementing this strategy were discussed as was managing t he change. It was concluded that Cisco should adopt a revolutionary change strategy to facilitate the strategy implementation. 8. 0 REFERENCES CISCO SYSTEMS INC, (2012). 2012 Annual Report. [online]. San Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. Available from: http://www. cisco. com/assets/cdc_content_elements/docs/annualreports/ar2012. pdf [Accessed 19 November 2012] CISCO SYSTEMS INC, (2012). Corporate Overview. [online]. San Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. Available from: http://newsroom. cisco. om/documents/10157/0/Corporate+Overview+-+Q2FY12. pdf [Accessed 19 November 2012] CISCO SYSTEMS INC, (2012). Cisco Overview. [online]. San Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. Available from: http://newsroom. cisco. com/overview [Accessed 19 November 2012] CISCO SYSTEMS INC, (2012). Acquisitions. [online]. San Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. Available from: http://www. cisco. com/web/about/doing_business/corporate_development/acquisitions/about_cisco_acquisitions. html [Accessed 21 November 2012] CISCO SYSTEMS INC, (2012). Ecosys tem Partners. [online]. San Jose: Cisco Systems Inc.Available from: http://www. cisco. com/web/strategy/energy/ecosystem_partners. html [Accessed 29 November 2012] ENG, T-Y. and LUFF, P. , (2011). Competing and developing competitive advantage in the digital world. [online]. London: Routledge. Available from: [Accessed 19 November 2012] GABRA, M. , (2012). Ethernet Switching Market Share: Did HP eat up that much share from Cisco? [online]. Palo Alto: Hewlett-Packard Company. Available from: http://h30507. www3. hp. com/t5/HP-Networking/Ethernet-Switching-Market-Share-Did-HP-eat-up-that-much-share/ba-p/120753 [Accessed 25 December 2012]IPO, (2011). Renewing your patent. [online]. Newport: Intellectual Property Office. Available from: http://www. ipo. gov. uk/types/patent/p-manage/p-renew. htm [Accessed 28 December 2012] JOHNSON, G. , WHITTINGTON, R. and SCHOLES, K. , (2011). Exploring Strategy, Ninth Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. MANDEL, M. and CAREW, D. G. , 2011. Innov ation by Acquisition: New Dynamics of High-Tech Competition. [online]. Washington: Progressive Policy Institute. Available from: http://capitalis. com/admin/white_papers/file43. pdf [Accessed 3 December 2012] USPTO, 2003.How long does patent protection last? [online]. Alexandria: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 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A Study About Archimedes History Essay

A Study About Archimedes History Essay Archimedes, also known as Archimedes of Syracuse was born in Syracuse, Sicily in 287 BC. The exact date of his birth is not known, but the commonly accepted date of 287 BC derives from a statement given by 12th century historian John Tzetzes in that Archimedes had lived for 75 years. Sadly like his exact date of birth, the exact details of the life of Archemides have been lost to history. In one of Archimedes works entitled The Sand Reckoner, he gives his father’s name as Phidias and says he was an astronomer. Other than this one account, nothing more is definitively known about his parents or family history. The Greek historian and biographer Plutarch claimed Archimedes was related to the ruler of Syracuse, King Hiero II, in his work Parallel Lives, though whether this is accurate has never been substantiated. History lost what could have been the greatest chance to know the definitive history of Archimedes when a biography of Archimedes written by one of his friend was los t to history like so much else relating to Archimedes life, leaving historian to have to piece together Archimedes life from what little accounts survived. Simple things like whether Archimedes ever married or had children may never been known. It is believed that Archimedes may have studied in Alexandria, Egypt in his youth, where he would have been contemporaries with the likes of Greek astronomer and mathematicians Conon of Samos and Eratosthenes of Cyrene. This conclusion is reached from Archimedes himself referring to Conon of Samos as his friend, and two of his works having had introductions addressed to Eratosthenes. Archimedes died 212BC when Roman forces captured the city of Syracuse during the Second Punic War. Like nearly everything else about Archimedes life, the exact circumstances of his death are not known for sure. The Greek historian Plutarch presented three different accounts of Archimedess final moments. In one version Archimedes was contemplating a mathematical diagram when the city was captured. Archimedes was commanded by a Roman soldier to come and meet the general of the Roman forces but Archimedes declined, saying that he couldnt leave until he had finished his work. The soldier was so enraged by his refusal that he slew Archimedes with his sword. In another version the Roman soldier had intended to kill Archimedes, and despite Archimedes plea to him to allow him to finish what he was working on so as to not leave his work eternally incomplete, the soldier kills him anyway. In yet a third account by Plutarch, Archimedes was carrying mathematical instruments, and was killed by the Roman soldier because he thought that they were gold. The general of the Roman army was reportedly greatly angered by the news of Archimedes death, as he considered him to have been a valuable scientific asset. Archimedes was laid to rest in a tomb with a sculpture of a sphere and a cylinder of the same height and diameter, an illustration of his mathematical proof that the volume and surface area of the sphere are two thirds that of the cylinder including its bases.