Virtual Private Network Tools Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Virtual Private Network Tools - Term Paper Example This research tells that VPNs create a virtual tunnel over the publicly available internet through the use of symmetric encryption. Common encryption and decryption keys which are used to encrypt all traffic in both directions are shared by both sides of the tunnel. In addition to the provision of an alternative to the use of the proxy server for remote access to campus resources, VPN also ensures secure methods to authenticate to the campus wireless network hence data security through the use of encryption technologies such as PPTP, L2TP, IPSec, and SOCKS. For a smooth establishment and maintenance of a virtual private network, one is required to have appropriate networking software and hardware installed in their computers and the local network. VPN software enables a client to join a private network as if they are at a local computer within the network despite the physical distance the client might be away from the network. This software ensures the security of the private network through the use of cryptographic tunneling protocols to ensure confidentiality and message integrity. In order to completely set up a virtual private network, certain software and hardware tools known as the VPN tools are necessary.T his paper discusses in depth four VPN tools namely, OpenVPN, Cisco VPN Client, LogMeIn Hamachi, and Windows built-in VPN. OpenVPN is an open source software application for virtual private network implementation, meaning it can be downloaded and used for free. Its main role is to securely tunnel encrypted data from the server to the client or client to the server through a single port over an unsecured network. Its popularity among VPN users comes from the fact that it’s a multi-platform application that supports different platforms unlike most of the other VPN software applications. It

The Impact of High Oil Prices on Global Economy Essay

The Impact of High Oil Prices on Global Economy - Essay Example Goods movement across a country or between international countries depend on transporting vehicles like, ships, train, cargo planes, trucks etc; all require oil as fuel. Any price hike in oil and gas price can increase the transportation cost and thereby the cost of the goods also. Oil is also required for the production of electric power which is the most important component of every industry. Many other essential commodities of everyday life like plastics, medicines, clothing, cosmetic items; all depends on oil for its production. Thus global economy is directly proportional to oil price. 1973 -1975 oil price hike has shocked the world economy. The growth rate fell to 2.1% in 1974 and to 1.45 in 1975. The worldwide trade growth rate also dropped heavily from 12% in 1973 to -5.4% in 1974 and -7.3 in 1975. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has dropped from 40% in 1973 to half of it in 1974 (Oil prices and global economy) The above statistics clearly shows the relation between oil price and global economy. In fact oil is the blood of global economy. The world is moving with the help of the energy provided by the oil. Most of the activities in the industrial world, and the real life situations are heavily depend on the availability of oil. For example, consider the case of transportation activities without oil resources. In fact 99% of the transportation facilities depend oil for the fuel needs. All the vehicles which use petrol or diesel engines require oil and any scarcity of oil or price hike of oil may affect the transportation industry drastically. Higher oil prices affect the global economy through a variety of channels: There will be a transfer of income from oil consumers to oil producers; There will be a rise in the cost of production of goods and services in the economy (IMF Research Department) Oil price hike will positively

Disuss being and non-being in lao-zi's concept (老子) Essay

Disuss being and non-being in lao-zi's concept (è€ Ã¥ ­ ) - Essay Example Since nobody knew the name, they called it Tao – the mystery of mysteries. According to the Western culture there is a division between subject and object and prevents the subject from realizing the inner self. Material desires keep mounting and this affects efficiency leading to social problems. LaoZi’s idea of non-being can lessen such desires and enable people to develop with equilibrium. According to this philosophy, ‘being’ is not normal whereas ‘non-being’ is normal. ‘Being’ is not constant; there is continuous movement. ‘Non-being; is actually the denial of ‘being’. ‘Being’ is not limited to concrete material forms but includes abstract ideas and theories. The cosmic process consists of first by giving birth to all things by Dao and then the process of returning all things to Dao. Nonbeing (wu) and being (you) can be seen as the two ontological moments through which the dao manifests itself. From the state of nothingness, from the state of non-being, some forms are realized in the form of being. Hence to become being is to take the form of body. The realm of being comes rarely but the realm of non-being is much richer (Shen, n.d.). Human beings have great potential. Laozi says they should cherish what they have but always remain open to the unfathomable possibilities because the origin is the non-being. In the realm of being, all beings are constituted of opposites, you and wu being one such pair of opposites. You and wu can be analyzed on three different levels of meaning. In the first level, ontologically, you means the real, the actual, the being; wu means non-being, the potential or the possible. Spiritually you means fulfillment and constraint whereas wu means transcendence and freedom. Thirdly, you also means full, presence, whereas wu means void or absence. Non-being or nothingness is the natural state. This state is simply Dao to LaoZi.

Price Elasticity in Air Travel

Price Elasticity in Air Travel Introduction: Elasticity is define as the quality sth has being able to stretch and return to its original size and shape. (Oxford advanced learners dictionary 6th edition). In Physics elasticity is defined as the property of a substance that enables it to change its length, volume, or shape in direct response to a force effecting such a change and to recover its original form upon the removal of the force. (dictionaryreference.com). Suppose that your employer allows you to work extra hours more after your contracted hours for extra pay at the end of the month, the amount of extra money you will earn at the end of the month will depend on how much more extra hours you are able to work. Then how responsive you are to this offer can be seen as elasticity. Therefore I will define elasticity as the measure of degree of responsiveness of any variable to extra stimulus. From my example above elasticity can be calculated as Em = percentage of extra money you earn/percentage of extra hours worked. The concept of elasticity can be used to measure the rate or the exact amount of any change. In economics elasticity is used to measure the magnitude of responsiveness of a variable to a change in its determinants (sloman) such as (demand and supply) of goods and services. For the purpose of this essay am going to be examining the concept of elasticity of demand and supply in the airline industry. Types of Elasticity Price or own price Elasticity of demand Income elasticity of demand Cross elasticity Price or own price elasticity of demand It is the measure of the degree of sensitivity or responsiveness of quantity demanded is to a change in price of a product (Edgar.K. browing). Our assumption often is that all demand curves have negative slopes which means the lower the price the higher the quantity demanded but sometimes the degree of responsiveness vary from product to product. For example a reduction in the price of cigarettes might have only bring about a little increase in quantity demanded whereas a supermarket reduction in the price of washing up liquid will produce a big increase in quantity demanded The law of demand and even Common sense tells us that when prices change, the quantities purchased will change too. However, by how much? Businesses need to have more precise information than this they need to have a clear measure of how the quantity demanded will change as a result of a price change. Price elasticity is calculated as the percentage (or proportional or rate) of change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage (or proportional or rate) of change in its price. Symbolically: Pà Ã¢â‚¬Å¾D=%ΆQ/%à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  p Here à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ denotes elasticity and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬   Graphically Elasticity measure in percentage because it allows a clear comparison of changes in qualitatively different things which are measured in two different units (sloman). It is the only sensible way of deciding how big a change in price or quantity, so their calls a unit free measurement. Generally when the prices of good increases the quantity demanded decreases, thus either of the number will be negative which after division will end up in a negative result, due to this fact we always ignore the sign and just concentrate on the absolute value, ignoring the sign to tell us how elastic demand is. The larger the elasticity of demand, the more responsive the quantity demanded is of elasticity. Degrees of elasticity Perfectly elastic Highly elastic Relatively elastic Relatively inelastic Highly inelastic Perfectly inelastic Elastic Demand Elastic demand occurs when quantity demanded changes by bigger percentage than price.(Sloman) Here customer has lot of other alternative. The value is always higher than 1, the change in quantity has a bigger effect on total consumer spending than in price. For example if there is a reduction in the price of a bottle of washing up liquid say from  £1.00 to 50p people will buy more probably to store up, in doing this they will end up spending more on the product than they will do on a normal day. An Inelastic Demand Elasticity in airline industry The airline industry is deeply impacted by the elasticity of demand, externalities, wage inequality, and monetary, fiscal, and federal policies. The elasticity of demand is based purely on current market conditions, thcustomers September 11th tragedy had a negative affect on the entire travel industry. It impacted the fiscal and monetary policies, supply and demand, and it created staffing problems nationwide. The rate of wage inequality is improving due to legislation that has created a pay increase in participating cities across the United States. The airline industry is viewed has being unstable because it is based on current market conditions, and the market is always changing. purpose for travel, and available substitutes. Externalities continue to influence the elasticity of demand. The Elasticity of Demand The airline industry is an extremely unstable industry because it is highly dependant upon current market conditions. Events such as inflation, terrorist attacks, and the price of oil have greatly influenced the demand for airline tickets throughout the years. Competition consistently affects the price of airline tickets because it gives the customer other options. Substitutes that are existence is traveling by train, car, or avoiding travel whenever possible. Customers have resorted to all named substitutes during turbulent times in our economy. The elasticity of demand is greatly affected by the customers purpose for travel. Airline customers typically fly for business or pleasure. With the wave of technology, a large percentage of business travel has been eliminated to conserve spending. Elasticity In the airline industry, price elasticity of demand is separated into two segments of consumers and is considered to be both elastic and inelastic. A good example of how elastic demand is related to the airline industry is in relation to travel for pleasure. Pleasure travellers will be affected by the amount of travel they do based on the demand increase or decrease, affected by prices that lower with high demand or prices that rise with low demand; directly attributed to competition in this market (Gerardi Shapiro, 2007). Inversely, the business traveller would apply to an inelastic demand for this market. This has shown by demand increases or decreases, as well as the price distribution attributed, which has little effect on the buying power of the business person (Gerardi Shapiro, 2007). Furthermore, Voorhees and Coppett (1981) explain that elastic demands exist for the pleasure traveler due to demand increase rising while prices lower and vise versa. The business traveler exper iences an inelastic demand due to the quantity of service demanded and quantity has not decreased as prices have risen. In other words, this travel is seen as a necessary business tool, not affected by price changes in the demand curve. As we have seen, the airline industry is extremely price elastic. Small shifts in prices have dramatic effects on the consumer base. Externalities, such as noise ordinances, can cause negative effects, driving cost upward and threatening loss in demand due to a price sensitive customer base. Since deregulation, competition in the economy have kept prices in the industry low and have caused airlines to force cuts in areas such as wages; contributing to a growing concern of wage inequality. Refrences: Gerardi, K., Shapiro, A. (2007, April). The Effects of Competition on Price Dispersion in the Airline Industry: A Panel Analysis. Working Paper Series (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston), 7(7), 1-46. Retrieved April 30, 2008, from Business Source Complete database. Mankiw, N. G. (2004). Principles of economics (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: Thomson South-Western. Morrison, S., Watson, T., Winston, C. (1998). Fundamental Flaws of Social Regulation: The Case of Airplane Noise. Retrieved May 8, 2008, from http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/1998/09_airplane_winston/09_airplane_winston.pdf Voorhees, R., Coppett, J. (1981, Summer). New Competition for the Airlines. Transportation Journal, 20(4), 78-85. Retrieved April 30, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database. The airline industry is a private good. Mankiw (2004), states that private goods are excludable and rival goods. One needs to see through the anti-trust laws and regulations that tempt some to call the industry a natural monopoly; airlines still reserve the right to administer price and destination. The airline industry shows that it is an excludable good by having the power to place prices on fares and having the ability to refuse service to any person for whatever the reason. The airline industry also shows that it is a rival good because when someone purchases fare for a seat, it diminishes the ability for another person to get a seat on the plane. Because the airline industry is a private good, in a competitive market place, prices, supply, and demand are very sensitive to new policies or tax incidences placed on them. Associated content.com viewd 18/11/10 WordPress.comThis phenomenal increase in the demand for domestic air travel is not surprising. Airfare is an expensive commodity that few people can afford or are willing to pay for it. Also, a typical consumer may not be able to avail such commodity regularly. It takes time for the consumer to demand for it again. In economics, this scenario is being explained by its ELASTICITY. The concept of elasticity is being referred as the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good or service to a change in its price, income, or cross price. This post will provide a better understanding on this matter, specifically the price elasticity. Analysis Below consists of indicators that determines the elasticity of a good/service. Domestic air travel has been employed as a sample commodity. Substitutes. (The more substitutes it has, the higher the elasticity.) Airlines have numerous substitutes such as land or sea transportation. Percentage of Income. (The higher the percentage that the products price is of the consumers income, the higher the elasticity.) Airfares are too expensive relative to household income. Necessity. (Basic goods have lower elasticity.) Airline tickets are luxury goods. Duration. (The longer a price change holds, the higher the elasticity.) Airline fare does not change for a long time. Breadth of Definition. (The broader the definition, the lower the elasticity.) Domestic airline travel has more specific definition than ordinary air transportation. 1. Introduction The purpose of this study is to report on all or most of the economics and business literature dealing with empirically estimated demand functions for air travel and to collect a range of fare elasticity measures for air travel and provide some judgment as to which elasticity values would be more representative of the true values to be found in different markets in Canada. While existing studies may include the leisure business class split, other important market distinctions are often omitted, likely as a result of data availability and quality.[3] One of the principal value added features of this research and what distinguishes it from other surveys, is that we develop a meta-analysis that not only provides measures of dispersion but also recognizes the quality of demand estimates based on a number of selected study characteristics. In particular, we develop a means of scoring features of the studies such as focus on length of haul; business versus leisure; international versus domestic; the inclusion of income and inter-modal effects; the age of the study; data type (time-series versus cross section) and the statistical quality of estimates (adjusted R-squared values). By scoring the studies in this way, policy makers are provided with a sharper focus to aid in judging the relevance of various estimated elasticity values.[4] 2. Elasticity in the Context of Air Travel Demand. Elasticity values in economic analysis provide a units free measure of the sensitivity of one variable to another, given some pre-specified functional relationship. The most commonly utilized elasticity concept is that of own-price elasticity of demand. In economics, consumer choice theory starts with axioms of preferences over goods that translate into utility values. These utility functions define choices that generate demand functions from which price elasticity values can be derived. Own-price elasticity of demand concept airtrav_2e.gif (1,979 bytes) Therefore elasticities are summary measures of peoples preferences reflecting sensitivity to relative price levels and changes in a resource-constrained environment. The ordinary or Marshallian demand function is derived from consumers who are postulated to maximize utility subject to a budget constraint. As a goods price changes, the consumers real income (which can be used to consume all goods in the choice set) changes. In addition the goods price relative to other goods changes. The changes in consumption brought about by these effects following a price change are called income and substitution effects respectively. Thus, elasticity values derived from the ordinary demand function include both income and substitution effects.[5] Own-price elasticity of demand measures the percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good (or service) resulting from a given percentage change in the goods own-price, holding all other independent variables (income, prices of related goods etc.) fixed. The ratio of percentage changes thus allows for comparisons between the price sensitivity of demand for products that might be measured in different units (natural gas and electricity for example). Arc price elasticity of demand calculates the ratio of percentage change in quantity demanded to percentage change in price using two observations on price and quantity demanded. Formally this can be expressed as: Equation(1) where: Equationrepresent the observed change in quantity demanded and price Equationrepresent the average price and quantity demanded. The elasticity is unitless and can be interpreted as an index of demand sensitivity; it is measuring the degree to which a variable of interest will change (passenger traffic in our case) as some policy or strategic variable changes (total fare including any added fees or taxes in our case). In the limit (when Equationare very small) we obtain the point own-price elasticity of demand expressed as: Equation(2) where: Q(P,S) is the demand function P = a vector of all relevant prices p = the goods own-price. q = equals the quantity demanded of the good S = a vector of all relevant shift variables other than prices (real income, demographic characteristics etc.) We expect own-price demand elasticity values to be negative, given the inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded implied by the law of demand, with absolute values less than unity indicating inelastic demand: a less than proportionate response to price changes (relative price insensitivity). Similarly, absolute values exceeding unity indicate elastic or more sensitive demand: a more than proportionate demand response to price changes (relative price sensitivity). The ratio of change in quantity demanded to change in price [equation (1)] highlights that elasticity measures involve linear approximations of the slope of a demand function. However, since elasticity is measuring proportionate change, elasticity values will change along almost all demand functions, including linear demand curves.[6] Estimation of elasticity values is therefore most useful for predicting demand responses in the vicinity of the observed price changes. As a related issue, analysts need to recognize that in markets where price discrimination is possible aggregate data will not allow for accurate predictions of demand responses in the relevant market segments. In air travel, flights by a carrier are essentially joint products consisting of differentiated service bundles that are identified by fare classes. However the yield management systems employed by full-service carriers (FSCs) also create a complex form of inter-temporal price discrimination, in which some fares ( typically economy class) decline and some increase (typically full-fare business class) as the departure date draws closer. This implies that ideally, empirical studies of air travel demand should separate business and leisure travellers or at least be able to include some information on booking times in order to account for this price discrimination, and that price data should be calibrated for inter-temporal price discrimination: for example, the use of full-fare economy class ticket prices as data will overestimate the absolute value of the price elasticity coefficient. Within the set of differentiated service bundles that comprise each (joint product) flight, the relative prices are important in explaining the relative ease of substitution between service classes. Given the nature of inter-temporal price discrimination for flights, the relative price could also change significantly in the time period prior to a departure time. The partial derivative in (2) indicates that elasticity measures price sensitivity independent of all the other variables in the demand function. However when estimating demand systems over time, one can expect that some important shift variables will not be constant. It is important that these shift variables be explicitly recognized and incorporated into the analysis, as they will affect the value of elasticity estimates. This will also be true with some cross-sectional studies or panels.[7] In particular changes in real income and the prices of substitutes or complements will affect demand. In air travel demand estimations, income and prices of other relevant goods should be included in the estimation equation. Alternative transportation modes (road and rail) are important variables for short-haul flights, while income effects should be measured for both short and long-haul. The absence of an income coefficient in empirical demand studies will result in own-price elasticity estima tes that can be biased. With no income coefficient, observed price and quantity pairs will not distinguish between movements along the demand curve and shifts of the demand curve.[8] The slope of a demand function, which affects the own-price elasticity of demand, is generally expected to decrease (become shallower) with: The number of available substitutes; The degree of competition in the market or industry; The ease with which consumers can search and compare prices; The homogeneity of the product; The duration of the time period analyzed.[9] Given the implied relationships above, any empirical demand study should carefully define market boundaries to include all relevant substitutes and complements and to exclude products that might be related through income or other more general variables. In air travel, ideally market segment boundaries should be defined by first separating leisure and business passengers and second long-haul and short-haul flights. The reason is that we expect different behaviour in each of these markets. Within each of these categories, distinctions should then be made between the following: Connecting and origin-destination (O-D) travel; Hub and non-hub airports;[10] Routes with dominant airlines and routes with low-cost carrier competition. In addition, for the North American context, long-haul flights should be further divided into international and domestic travel (within continental North America). These market segment boundaries are illustrated in figure 2.1 below, which also highlights the relative importance of intermodal competition for short-haul travel. While distinctions in price and income sensitivity of demand between business and leisure or long and short-haul travel are more intuitive, other distinctions are perhaps less obvious. If available, data that distinguishes between routes, airlines and airports would provide important estimates of how price sensitivity is related to the number of competing flights and the willingness to pay of passengers utilizing a hub-and-spoke network, relative to those traveling point-to-point, more commonly associated with low cost carriers. To the extent that existing studies assume that each passenger observation represents O-D travel, they will not be capturing fare premiums usually associated with hub-and-spoke networks and full service carriers, nor will they necessarily capture the complete itinerary of travellers utilizing a number of point-to-point flights with a low cost carrier. For example, a passenger who travels from Moncton to Vancouver with Air Canada, and utilizes the hub at Pears on International airport, is being provided with a number of services that includes baggage checked through to the final destination and frequent flyer points as well as a choice in flights and added flight and ground amenities. The fare for Moncton-Vancouver includes a premium for these services. Now consider a passenger that is travelling with WestJet from Moncton to Hamilton, and then with JetsGo from Toronto Pearson Airport to Vancouver. In this case there are no frequent flyer points to be attained and baggage has to be collected and re-checked after a road transfer between Hamilton and Pearson International. Although the origin and destination is the same for these passengers, the itineraries are significantly different. In many cases data used for demand estimates would not able to account for these differences. Route-specific data can also capture competition that may exist between airports and the services they offer as well as airlines. This may be especially true for certain short-haul routes where intermodal competition (road and rail) can play an important role in shaping air travel demand. 3. Measurement Issues Oum et al. (1992) provide a valuable list of pitfalls that occur when demand models are estimated and therefore affect the interpretation of the elasticity estimates from these empirical studies. 1. Price and Service Attributes of Substitutes: Air travel demand can be affected by changes in the prices and service quality of other modes. For short-haul routes (markets) the relative price and service attributes of auto and train would need to be included in any model; particularly for short-haul markets. Failure to include the price and service attributes of substitutes will bias the elasticity. For example, if airfares increase and auto costs are also increasing, the airfare elasticity would be overestimated if auto costs were excluded. 2. Functional Forms: Most studies of air travel demand use a linear or log-linear functional specification. Elasticity estimates can vary widely depending on the functional form. The choice of functional form should be selected on the basis of statistical testing not ease of interpretation. 3. Cross-Section vs. Time-series Information: In the long run demand elasticities for non-durable goods and services are larger in absolute terms, than in the short run. This follows because in the long run there are many more substitution possibilities that can be used to avoid price increases or service quality decreases. In effect there are more opportunities to avoid these changes with substitution possibilities. Data tends to be cross-sectional or time-series although more recently panels have become available. A panel is a combination of cross-section and time-series information on several routes for a multi-year period is a panel. Cross-sectional information is generally regarded as indicating short run elasticities while time-series data is interpreted as long run elasticities. In time-series data the information reflects changes in markets, growth in income, changes in competitive circumstances, for example. Policy changes should rely on long run elasticities since these ar e long run impacts that are being modelled. Short run elasticities become important when considering the competitive position of firms in a highly dynamic and competitive industry. 4. Market Aggregation/Segmentation: As the level of aggregation increases the amount of variation in the elasticity estimates decreases. This occurs because aggregation averages out some of the underlying variation relating to specific contexts. Since air travel market segments may differ significantly in character, competition and dominance of trip purpose, interpreting a reduction in variation through aggregation as a good thing would be erroneous. Such estimates might have relatively low standard deviations but would be also be relatively inaccurate when used to assess the effect of changes in fares in a specific market. 5. Identification Problem: In most cases only demand functions are estimated in attempts to measure the demand elasticity of interest. However, it is well known that the demand function is part of a simultaneous equations system consisting of both supply and demand functions. Therefore, a straightforward estimation of only the demand equation will produce biased and inconsistent estimates. The problem of identification can be illustrated by describing the process by which fares and travel, for example, are determined in the origin-destination market simultaneously. To model this process in its entirety, we must develop a quantitative estimate of both the demand and supply functions in a system. If, in the past, the supply curve has been shifting due to changes in production and cost conditions for example, while the demand curve has remained fixed, the resultant intersection points will trace out the demand function. On the contrary, if the demand curve has shifted due to changes in personal income, while the supply curve has remained the same, the intersection points will trace out the supply curve. The most likely outcome, however, is movement of both curves yielding a pattern of fare, quantity intersection points from which it will be difficult, without further information, to distinguish the demand curve from the supply curve or estimate the parameters of either.[11] Earlier we identified sources of bias that can arise from problems with aggregation, data quality, implicit assumptions of strong separability among others. Almost all demand studies have an implied assumption of strong separability in that they only consider aviation markets in the analysis. Such studies in effect constrain all changes or responses in fares or service to be wholly contained in the aviation component of peoples consumption bundle. The paper by Oum and Gillen (1986) is the one exception where consideration of substitution with other parts of consumption was included in the modelling. It would be difficult to extract a conclusion from this one study as to existence, degree and direction of bias in elasticity estimates when other parts of consumption are and are not included in the modelling. However, having said this, an inspection of the elasticity estimates from this study shows they are not significantly different than other time-series estimates. 3.1 Data Issues Elasticity estimates depend critically on the quality and extent of the data available. Currently, the best data for demand estimation is the DB1A 10 percent ticket sample in the US, but even this data has some problems.[12] The DB1A sample represents 10 percent of all tickets sold with full itinerary identified by the coupons attached to the ticket. However with electronic tickets, as more and more tickets are being sold over the Internet, there is a growing portion of overall travel that may not be captured in the sample. This means that the proportion is not 10 percent but something less.[13] Other important considerations are the amount of travel on frequent flyer points, by crew and airline personnel. In Canada we have poor quality data because it is incomplete, even if it were accessible. Airports collect traffic statistics but these data make it very difficult to distinguish OD and segment data. Airlines report traffic data to Statistics Canada (or are supposed to) but these data do not include fare information or routing. Knowing the itinerary or routing is important because of differences in service quality and hubbing effects. Fare data is also more useful than yield information since it identifies the proportion of people travelling in different fare classes. Yet, in many cases yield information is used as a weighted average fare. There is also the problem that carriers of different size may have different reporting requirements. Some researchers and consultants have been cobbling together data sets for analysis by using the PBX clearing house information. These data are limited and apply only to those airlines that are members of IATA.[14] The current public data available in Canada simply does not permit estimation of any demand models. Besides demand side data it is also important to have supply side information. Elasticity estimates should emerge from a simultaneous equations framework. This data is more accessible through organizations like the OAG[15], which provide information on capacity, airline and aircraft type for each flight in each market.[16] These data measure changes in capacity, flight frequency and timing of flights. One study, which undertook an extensive survey to collect multimodal data,[17] was the High Speed Rail study sponsored jointly by the Federal, Ontario and Quebec governments. This study, which had three different demand modelling efforts, examined the potential for High Speed Rail demand, and subsequent investment, in the Windsor-Quebec corridor. The analysis included intermodal substitution between air, rail, bus and car. The study was undertaken in the early 1980s. However, it is not possible for public access to any of the technical documents that would allow an assessment of the study. Attempts in the past to obtain access to the data have proven fruitless. 3.2 Distinguishing Elasticity Measures As we have stated, price elasticity measures the degree of responsiveness to a change in own or other prices (fares). However, care must be exercised in interpreting the elasticity since they differ according to how they have been estimated. Many empirical studies of air travel demand estimate a log-linear model. In evaluating such studies, it is important to keep in mind that the empirical specification implies a certain consumer preference structure because of the duality between utility functions and demand functions. It is equally important to remember that empirically estimated demand functions should contain some measures of quality and service differences or quality changes over time. Failure to include metrics for frequent flyer programs, flight frequency, destination choice or service levels in estimating an air demand function can lead to downward bias in the price elasticity estimates. Price elasticities can be estimated for aggregate travel demand as well as modal demand. Figure 3.1 illustrates the differences between aggregate and modal elasticities.[18] Our interest is in modal elasticities not the aggregate amo

What Is Abnormal Psychology? What Is Normal Psychology? Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Psychology? In my research of Psychology and its meaning I have come up with many definitions. To sum all of the definitions into one it’s the study ones feelings, thoughts, and their way of thinking and using all of there senses rather its cognitive, physical, or mental. Some other questions that came to mind during my research are what is normal psychology and what is abnormal psychology?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is normal psychology? Most people consider one to be normal if they seem to have no problems physically or mentally. Are you O.K. the way you are? Should you be different? Most of us tend to roles that are acceptable behavior in society. Society expects us all to play certain roles. Health and science guide says that normality is only questioned when there is a conflict between roles. Why do we conform to these roles? We do it because in most societies, including ours, there are rewards for conformity. People tend to treat us with respect when we play roles that others are comfortable with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is abnormal psychology? I think it could be the study of mental illness as some journals stated. Overall it’s the study of mental illnesses and of how people with mental illnesses can be treated. Stated in Health and Science guide mental illness is a much-debated topic in the world of psychology to which a lot of research is still needed. Problems usually come up when people try to define what is normal. Sigmund Freud was considered to be the father of Psychoanalysis, said there was no such thing as a normal person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mental illness is considered to be an illness of the mind, which makes it difficult for people to carry out a normal, productive lifestyle. Mental illnesses range from depression to schizophrenia (a very serious mind disorder). It is important to remember that people with such disorders ate stricken with an illness. They have no more control over their illness than when a person gets flu or a cold. When I am sick with a fever or flu I would either try or treat with an over the counter product or go to a doctor. A person with a mental disorder may go to a medical doctor, or to a psychiatrist (a medical doctor who specializes in treating mental problems through therapy and medication) or to a psychologist (who is not a... ...cts the other. Thatcher stated that â€Å"we often manifest emotional disturbances through out bodies.† He says that 20 to 40 percent of patients seen by a typical family practitioner involve mental illness. Its important that we try to destigmatize mental illness and get people the help we now have available.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Treatment options for those with emotional, behavioral and mental difficulties include psychotherapy, drug therapy, and a combination of drugs and psychotherapy. Some patients require more supportive psychotherapy, in which the therapist makes suggestions and offers direction, educating the patient about his illness and how it affects his everyday interpersonal interactions, relationships and job.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my research of what is normal and abnormal psychology, I have learned that behavior affects the way society perceives you rather you think your normal or abnormal. That everyone suffers from some type of mental illness whether it’s a problem you are dealing with or how you feel. It may not be long term but when you are suffering with that problem there is a slight chance that you can be considered mentally ill at that time.

Jerusalem Art Essay

Art involving Jerusalem is very controversial. One has to place into context the fact that Jerusalem is a significant city for three major religions—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Having one city be so significant leads to both the creation of conflict and beauty. There is conflict in the sense of war and destruction, and beauty in the sense of art on the subject. The three pieces of art this writer selected were all twentieth century pieces, but all show significant scenes, buildings or represent significant Psalms in the life of Jerusalem. Because of Jerusalem’s historical significance, this writer has chosen a piece of Islamic art that depicts the old city of Jerusalem, a piece of Jewish art that represents the Psalms, and a piece of Christian art that depicts the triumphal entry and some of the significant events of Holy Week, which is the final week of Christ’s life. The first piece of art is an Arab work that shows the old city of Jerusalem. In the painting, one sees a blue-gray sky that overlooks a sandstone colored city. There is a partial wall surrounding the city, and there appears to be two large prayer towers in the background. There are also some people, men, in the picture, looking towards the city and in a couple of cases walking towards that spiritual city. The city appears to be old, but not ancient, which means this is probably dated somewhere around the Crusades. Though this is a contemporary piece, the artist has chosen to depict Jerusalem at its height in Muslim hands. This painting probably represents Jerusalem during the Crusades. This piece would be very inspiring to Muslims, as it shows the city as theirs. It also gives them an image to look to when contemplating their own religious heritage. This brings us to the point of religious iconography and the Islamic faith. Religious iconography does not play as significant a role in Muslim religious life than in other religions. This is due in part to their trepidation about displaying the human form in a religious setting. This writer feels that this piece could be taken a number of different ways depending on the perspective, whether Muslim, Christian, or Jew. For Muslims if would take them back to a time of Muslim supremacy, when they â€Å"owned† one of the most important cities in their religion. Jerusalem is a significant city for the Muslims. According to various scholars, Jerusalem is significant because it is believed it is the city from which Muhammad rose to heaven. It is also significant because some of Islam’s most significant prophets (Abraham and Jesus) preached and taught. It is also a place to which Muhammad made an historic night pilgrimage. For Christians and Jews, it would be a solemn reminder that there was a time when Christians and Jews lost their most holy city to a people they deemed â€Å"infidels†. It would bring about a profound sense of sadness and loss and might inspire a fighting spirit in Jews and Christians to reclaim their city. Over the years, the passions the Muslims have over Jerusalem have become inflamed to the point of outright violence. The attitudes have only gotten more intense and more inflexible towards the Holy City. This writer feels that the times have only served to strengthen the resolve of Muslims to reclaim the city that they perceive as theirs. Emotionally, the tensions in the region have made Muslims even more determined to control the city completely. As significant as Jerusalem is to Muslims, it also has a supreme significance to Jews. Jews actually fee as if the city belongs to them and was bequeathed to them by God thousands of years ago. It is so significant that dozens of Psalms were written about the city. One of the Psalms is 125, which says in part, â€Å"[a]s the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever (verse 2). † In this painting by Irv Davis, one sees an encapsulated city of Jerusalem surrounded by grey mountains. The city is cream, almost white, and it is implied that the city is made of marble. The sky is blue and the sun is shining, adding to the shine on the city. One can imply that the encapsulation is the spirit of God surrounding the city and protecting it from outsiders and enemies. The contrasts are very sharp, the darkness of the mountains are contrasted with the whiteness and purity of the city. This obviously represents a very young Jerusalem. This also represents a time when the Jews were extremely fervent about their faith and wished to follow the Lord and seek his will. This picture represents a Jerusalem on the rise. It is also a bit on the allegorical side, with the young city representing a young faith. The newness of the city represents the fervency of the believers. They wish to follow the Lord and, as with anything new, the new city represents a new faith. This piece of art could be taken by the three groups in different ways. For Jews, it represents a time in their history when they had a true passion for God and would write songs of praise to the Lord using their most holy city as an inspiration. For Muslims, it would be a dour reminder that a region and city of the world they felt they originally owned had been forcibly removed from their possession and would remain in control of another group for several thousand years. They would also bemoan the fact that a new faith system would be replacing the polytheism that had dominated the region in the years prior to the Jewish takeover. Jews view the city of Jerusalem with as many passions and emotions as the Muslims. They see it as one of the most significant cities of their faith, and as such, wish to reclaim it as a purely Judeo-Christian city. The emotions of the Jews towards the city have always been strong, but over time, have waxed and waned, leading to the times that we have now where the Jews are fighting as passionately for the city as their Muslim counterparts. Both groups have legitimate religious and traditional claims to the city, yet either refuses to give in and relent towards their passions for the city. They each want the city, and are willing to do just about anything to get and maintain control over it. Christians have a whole other unique perspective on the city of Jerusalem. Before we can discuss the artistic expression of the selected artwork, it bears discussing the cultural ties that bind Christians to the city of Jerusalem. Christians view the city as very important because not only did Jesus make his triumphal entry into the city during Holy Week, but also taught in the region. Additionally, the apostles taught in the region and it was from the city of Jerusalem that Christianity was established in the form of Christ’s death and resurrection. The piece of art that was selected was some hand painted tiles from Jerusalem that show scenes from the triumphal entry and major scenes from Holy Week. The tiles are well-painted and detailed. Though they are also twentieth century, the story they tell condenses the entire story of Christianity in four small tiles. They are done in yellows, blues, white, black, and red. These tiles show an older, wiser Jerusalem. There is an overall sadness to the scenes, when one places the tiles in the context of the Bible, one can find that there is indeed a sadness, but at the same time a joy in the scene being depicted. It is ironic that death represents life and birth, but that is indeed what this scene and this depiction of Jerusalem shows. For Christians, Jerusalem represents the birth of their religion and the new life that is promised from the rising from the dead of Christ. Though there may be other cities that are significant in Christendom, for Christians, the events that transpired the week of Holy Week in Jerusalem are what assured the promises made in all the other cities. This piece of art could be taken by the three religions in different ways. For Christians, obviously, there is an association with the outright birth of the religion. The death that occurred outside Jerusalem represented the birth of a whole new belief system. For Jews, while the beliefs of Christian might be unusual, would see Christians as having as legitimate a claim to the city as they do, since they feel that the two groups worship the same God. For Muslims, the scenes simply show significant scenes in the life of a major prophet of their faith. They may view the Christian’s claims towards the city as interesting, but not as significant nor as important as their own claim towards the city. Christian attitudes towards the city have always been passionate, and they actually fought seven crusades that were specifically designed to take back the city from the Muslims. While they were not successful for long in keeping the Muslims out, they were able to develop a life of â€Å"peaceful coexistence† with the Muslims. Christians traditionally have supported the Jewish claim towards the city, as evidenced in the fact that we actively support the mission of Israel today. Christian passions have always been high for the city, but they have cooled over time, and we no longer actively seek to crusade against those we perceive as infidels. Christians now instead seek peaceful coexistence with other groups, but especially the Muslims. Christians are a pragmatic people that see the realities of the situation and only seek to have the best possible outcomes for all the parties. As one can see from the above statements, Jerusalem holds a special place in the hearts of all three religions. While it has inflamed passions, it has also inspired Psalmists and believers for centuries. We should seek understanding of the situations that create the passions and instead of seeming to remain in a state of constant conflict. We should view Jerusalem as a source of inspiration and not as a source of contention. The world’s three largest religions each have legitimate claims to the city and each needs to give up something in order to get access to the one city that they all deem to be the most important in their religion. The city is a true test of negotiation and faith, and as such should remain a source of inspiration. Bibliography about. com, â€Å"Painting of Jerusalem Psalms. † Judaism. 2000. 19 Apr 2009 . (picture URL) about. com, â€Å"Painting of Jerusalem Psalms. † Judaism. 2000. 26 Apr 2009 . â€Å"Arab Art Gallery. † Arab Art Gallery. 2004. 19 Apr 2009 . â€Å"Easter Gift-Holy Easter Week. † Jerusalem Pottery. 2009. 19 Apr 2009 . â€Å"Importance of Jerusalem in Judaism and Israeli History. † 2005. zionism-israel. com. 23 Apr 2009 . â€Å"Memorandum of their Beatitudes the Patriarchs and of the Heads of the Christian Communities in Jerusalem on the Significance of Jerusalem for Christians. † al-bushra. org. 14, Nov 1994. 23 Apr 2009 . Procon. org, â€Å"What is the Significance of Jerusalem for Muslims. † 21 May 2008. procon. org. 26 Apr 2009 .

Blue Nile Study Questions

Marking Scheme Mid Semester Exams Lecturers: Anthony Oboe Spool and Robert Amok-LIndsay Section A (40 Marks) Provide Short and concise answers 1 Explain the term sustainable competitive advantage and why it is so Important to a winning business strategy. (5 marks) Suggested Answer A company achieves sustainable competitive advantage when an attractive number or buyers prefer its products/services over those of rivals and when the basis for this preference can be maintained over time.Competitive advantage could stem from offering lower prices than competitors for equivalent benefits or providing unique benefits that more than offset a higher price. (3 marks) Sustainable competitive advantage is necessary for a firm to win in the market place. It is required for a strategy to deliver on strategic and financial objectives (2 marks) 2. Using examples briefly explain and state the Importance of each of the following a) Strategic vision Strategic vision represents the destination that mana gement seeks to take a firm.Ford's vision â€Å"A car in every garage† Importance Give the organization a sense of direction Inform company personnel and other stakeholders what management wants Its business to look like Spur company personnel to action Provide managers with a reference point to (2. 5 marks for explanation and any 2 points mentioned as importance of strategic vision) b) Strategic mission Strategic mission of a firm focuses on its present business purpose. Strategic mission highlight the present products and services, types of customers served and how it intends to do that.Examples Beacon Books: â€Å"To inspire and equip business executives and entrepreneurs with essential information and knowledge they require for professional and personal growth† Google: â€Å"To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful† Importance: It focuses the business by identifying the boundaries of the current business It distinguis hes a firm from others and gives it an identity of its own. (2. 5 marks) (5 marks) 3. Explain the meaning and significance of each of the following: a. Strategic group mapping A strategic group is a cluster of firms in an industry with similar competitive approaches and market positions. Strategic group mapping entails plotting firms in n industry on a two-variable map using pairs of these differentiating characteristics e. G. Product line breadth, distribution channel use, geographic coverage, price, quality etc. It helps firms to know their positions in the industry versus their rivals It helps firms to know which competitors to focus on in their quest to make strategic moves It helps them to know which positions in the market or industry are attractive to players in the market. 2. 5 marks for explanation of strategic group mapping and any of the above points mentioned) b. ) The bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers defines the extent to which suppliers of in puts to competing firms in an industry are able to dictate the price, quality, quantity and even timing of supplies to these firms. The bargaining power of suppliers has an impact on the cost, profitability and a firm's ability to satisfy its customers and for that matter its competitiveness. Powerful 4.Identify and briefly explain any two of the factors that influence the strength or intensity of competitive rivalry among an industry member firms. (5 marks) Factors Competitors are active in making fresh moves to improve market standing and easiness performance Slow market growth Number of rivals increases and rivals are of equal size and competitive capability Buyer costs to switch brands are low Industry conditions tempt rivals to use price cuts or other competitive weapons to boost volume e. . Perishable or seasonal A successful strategic move carries a big payoff Outsiders acquire weak firms in the industry and use their resources to transform new firms into major market contend ers (5 marks for any two of the above factors mentioned and explained) 5†¦ Identify and briefly explain any two factors that lead to strong bargaining power on the part of suppliers. (5 marks)Industry members incur high costs in switching their purchases to alternative suppliers Needed inputs are in short supply Supplier provides a differentiated input that enhances the quality of performance of sellers' products or is a valuable part of sellers' production process There are only a few suppliers of a specific input Some suppliers threaten to integrate forward (5 marks for any two of the above factors mentioned and explained) strength and leverage of buyers. 5 marks) Buyer switching costs to competing brands or substitutes are low Buyers are large and can demand concessions Large-volume purchases by buyers are important to sellers Buyer demand is weak or declining Only a few buyers exists Identity of buyer adds prestige to seller's list of customers Quantity and quality of infor mation available to buyers improves Buyers have ability to postpone purchases until later Buyers threaten to integrate backward (5 marks for any two of the above factors mentioned and discussed) 7.Using examples explain the difference between a core competence, and a distinctive competence. A core competence is a well-performed internal activity central to a company's competitiveness and profitability. It tends to relate to a firm's ability to perform activities that are critical for success in an industry e. G. A better after-sale service capability A distinctive competence is a competitively valuable activity a company performs better than its rivals.For example Toast's low cost, high quality manufacturing of automobiles â€Å"Lean Production† is far superior to that of other automakers, (5 marks for explanation and establishing the difference between core competence and distinctive competence) 8. What is benchmarking and why is it a strategically important analytical tool? (5 marks) Benchmark focuses on cross-company comparisons of how certain activities are reformed and costs associated with these activities. It looks at things such as purchase of materials, management of inventories, getting new products to the market and so on. 2 marks) Identify best and most efficient means of performing various value chain activities Learn what is the best way to perform a particular activity from those companies who have demonstrated that they are â€Å"best-in-industry' or â€Å"best-in-world† at performing the activity Learn what other firms do to perform an activity at lower cost Figure out what actions to take to improve a company's own cost competitiveness (3 marks for NY 2 points identified and explained) Section B (80 marks 1 . Analyze the competitive forces confronting Blue Nile and other online retail jeweler's.Do a five-forces analysis to support your answer. State the relative strength of each competitive force. Below is a representative five -forces model of competition for the online Jewelry business: Rivalry among online Jeweler's?a moderate to strong competitive force that is likely to intensify in the years ahead. Students should conclude that rivalry among Blue Nile and other online Jeweler's is normal to moderate, but it is likely to grow ore intense (owing to the success that Blue Nile is enjoying).Rivalry is centered on such factors as Price and value delivered to customers Selection and breadth/variety of product offerings Ability to customize and customization options The caliber and trustworthiness of the information/guidance provided to online shoppers (educational information, in-depth product information, access to professional grading reports, and so on) Image/reputation Customer service User friendliness of web site?search functionality, ease of browsing through all the selections, finding and understanding the information provided, etc.Refund and return policies Advertising and promotion?Much of the adv ertising/promotion is being done online, but the online Jewelry business is not one that is a heavy user of TV, radio, and newspaper advertising on a regular basis. Word-of-mouth is a fairly big factor Most online Jewelry competitors pursued either a differentiation strategy to try to set themselves apart or else tried to attract shoppers via the appeal of very low prices (which entailed employing a low-cost strategy).Some rivals focused their efforts narrowly on particular Jewelry items/product categories while others had broad reduce lines. Several factors were working to affect rivalry among industry participants: All rivals seem to be actively and busily trying to attract Jewelry shoppers to their websites, partly via online advertising and promotional initiatives (including search engine listings)?fresh strategic initiatives on the part of various rivals heightens rivalry. Low switching costs on the part of buyers?it is simple for people shopping for jewelry online to locate an d visit competitor web sites.Rivalry decreases when the rate of market growth rises?sales of Jewelry online seem o be growing briskly (with the sales increases coming at the expense of brick-and mortar Jewelry retailers). There is reason to suspect that the online Jewelry segment of the overall retail Jewelry industry is in its infancy (an emerging business or industry in its own right); hence, online sales of Jewelry are likely to grow faster than sales of Jewelry in general?a condition which will act to contain rivalry among online jeweler's.Rivalry increases when one or more rivals are dissatisfied with their market position and launch moves to bolster their standing at the expense of rivals. A case can be Dade that Blue Nile and most all of its online rivals are â€Å"dissatisfied† and thus are likely to make further moves to bolster their market standing, image, and sales. Rivalry increases as the product offerings of rivals become more standardized? many of the online J eweler's seems to be offering shopper many of the same things? wide selection, customization, educational information, access to grading reports, and so on.We see the differentiation among online Jewelry rivals as growing smaller/ weaker, not larger/stronger?with the possible exception of reputation/image, where Blue Nile seems to be the standout leader. Threat of entry?a moderate to strong competitive force Blue Niles success and growing reputation will almost certainly draw more competitors into online Jewelry sales. The barriers to entry into the online segment of the Jewelry industry are moderately The costs of developing a Web site.Developing supply chain relationships Developing order fulfillment capability and achieving short delivery times Expenditures for advertising and promotion needed to draw visitors to a web site and build a trustworthy reputation/image. In addition, students should see that the pool of entry candidates is probably fairly rage?especially for brick-and- mortar retailers already in the Jewelry business. Hence, the entry threat in upcoming years should be viewed as fairly strong. There would seem to be ample opportunity for new entrants to gain a market foothold and to achieve a level of sales high to be profitable.But the longer a company delays entry, the harder it will be to compete effectively against online Jeweler's like Blue Nile that have built a clientele and that have formidable images/reputations. Competition from substitute sellers of Jewelry?a very strong competitive force. Obviously, Jewelry shoppers have many other options for buying Jewelry than from online retailers. Traditional brick-and-mortar Jewelry retailers have the lion's share of the market and currently are the retailers of choice for the big majority of Jewelry shoppers. Hence, the competition that online Jeweler's face from other Jewelry retailers is quite formidable.In addition, there are hordes of possible substitutes for Jewelry altogether (but most peo ple are unlikely to see these alternatives as good substitutes). Consequently, students should conclude that substitutes for buying Jewelry online re a strong competitive force, given that Acceptable substitute sources for purchasing Jewelry are readily available and the prices charged by some of these substitute types of Jeweler's are reasonably competitive Buyer costs to switch to substitute types of Jewelry retailers are relatively low Many consumers are familiar with and comfortable with buying Jewelry from other than online Jewelry retailers.The bargaining power and leverage of suppliers to the online Jewelry retailers and jeweler-supplier collaboration?a moderately strong competitive force, especially as encores the suppliers of diamonds/gems and other Jewelry items. Students should recognize that the suppliers of gems/diamonds/]leery items have considerable bargaining power and leverage in determining the prices and terms at which they will supply their products.Yes, there ar e many alternative suppliers, and it would seem relatively easy for a it is doubtful that suppliers compete aggressively with one another on price?in other words, switching suppliers is unlikely to lead to acquiring a particular gem of particular quality at a lower price.There is no evidence in the case that suppliers of monads/gems compete with one another on the basis of price (indeed, with the exception of Blue Nile and other online Jeweler's, there is little evidence that price competition is active in the market for fine Jewelry?that is, rival Jeweler's are not aggressively trying to compete with one another by selling a diamond of given cut, clarity, grade, etc. At a lower price than their rivals). Blue Niles lower prices stem from its lower costs of doing business, not from the fact that it obtains diamonds/ gems at lower prices than do traditional retail Jeweler's.What is important for students to recognize here is that Blue Niles close elaboration with its diamond/gem suppl iers has resulted in giving it a lower cost value chain as compared to traditional Main Street Jeweler's. The distinctive feature of Blue Niles supply chain was its arrangements with leading diamond and gem suppliers that allowed it to display the suppliers' diamonds and gems on its web site; some of these arrangement entailed multi-year agreements whereby designated diamonds of the suppliers were offered to online consumers only at Blue Niles websites.Blue Niles suppliers represented more than half of the total supply of high-quality diamonds in the U. S. Blue Nile did not actually purchase a diamond or gem from these suppliers until an order was placed by a customer; this enabled Blue Nile to minimize the costs associated with carrying large inventories and limited its risk of potential mark-downs. Other online Jeweler's seem to have similar collaborative arrangements with their diamond/gem suppliers.These collaborative arrangements offer a sizable cost advantage over Main Street Jeweler's?these cost- saving arrangements put added competitive pressure on traditional local Jeweler's because such collaboration (and the resulting lower cost business model) puts them t a cost disadvantage. The bargaining power and leverage of Jewelry shoppers?a weak competitive force Individuals have little power to bargain for a lower price on the Jewelry items they are looking to purchase (except perhaps in the case of very expensive items where some price haggling is often fairly normal).Individuals can, of course, choose to buy or not buy at the marked price but no one individual is usually in a position to enter into direct negotiations over the terms and conditions under which he or she will purchase a diamond ring or other Jewelry item from an online retailer. Any individual an certainly opt to buy from one retailer rather than another, but this does not equate to bargaining and exerting leverage.Conclusions concerning the overall strength of competitive forces: Competiti ve pressures in online Jewelry retailing are strong but not overwhelming so (the best evidence for this is Blue Niles record of attracting new customers and growing its sales at a rapid clip?a convincing sign that it is able to successfully contend with the prevailing competitive forces). Currently, we see competition from substitute types of forces.The entry of new competitors could also prove to be significant, if one or more f the new entrants have a well-recognized and trusted brand name and if such entrants opt to price their products competitively versus the prices charged by Blue Nile. Moreover, while competition is fairly strong, it is not so strong as to prevent companies like Blue Nile from being profitable. The online Jewelry retailing portion of the Jewelry industry is rather attractive from the standpoint of promising growth and attractive long-term profitability?Blue Nile is demonstrating that its business model and strategy are quite attractive.This is the big reason why new entry can be expected. But online sales of fine Jewelry is likely to remain a relatively small fraction of total sales of fine Jewelry for years to come?traditional brick-and-mortar local jeweler's are not going to be driven out of business by online Jeweler's in the foreseeable future. (5 Marks for each point well discussed with the appropriate verdict or conclusion on each competitive force) 2. Do a SOOT analysis of Blue Nile. What are key conclusions you can draw about the its situation?Blue Niles Resource Strengths and Competitive Assets the current market leader in the online retail Jewelry segment by a wide margin AAA teeter known brand name and reputation than rivals AAA first-rate strategy and business model AAA broad and attractive product line from customers to choose from AAA user-friendly web site with good search functionality and very good educational information A sizable and competitively potent cost advantage over traditional local Jewelry stores due to lean operating costs and a cost-effective supply chain Its collaborative partnership arrangements with important diamond/gem suppliers Good product customization and order fulfillment capabilities (core competencies) Blue Niles ability o grow sales with very little incremental capital investment Blue Niles Resource Weaknesses and Competitive Liabilities Limited brand name recognition?many shoppers for fine Jewelry have never heard of Blue Nile Limited financial resources relative to bigger and better-known retail Jewelry chains There is nothing proprietary about Blue Niles strategy and business model?both are subject to imitation by rivals Market Opportunities Geographic expansion?entry into the markets of foreign countries Lots of room to grow the business by attracting customers away from traditional local Jewelry stores in the U. S. ?Blue Nile still has such a relatively small market share of the total market for fine Jewelry in the U. S. That it can continue to employ its current st rategy for many years. The more that the word spreads about Blue Niles attractive prices and quality the more it stands to steal away customers from traditional local Jeweler's.Product line expansion External Threats to Blue Niles Future Well-Being The entry of more online Jewelry rivals that opt to employ much the same strategy and business model?especially if these new entrants should be retailers that have a brand name that is more widely recognized and trusted than Blue Niles. Diamond/ gem suppliers either become less willing for Blue Nile to display their inventories on Blue Niles web site or decide not to renew their multi-year agreements with Blue Nile whereby certain designated diamonds in their inventories are offered to online consumers only at Blue Niles websites. (Blue Niles suppliers represented more than half of the total supply of high-quality diamonds in the U. S. Untold numbers of people shopping for fine Jewelry are very leery of buying fine Jewel online and thus a re not likely to ever be customers of Blue Nile Key Pointed and Conclusions Blue Niles strategy, business model, resource strengths, and competitive capabilities put it in a very strong market position to succeed in the online retail Jewelry business in the upcoming years?it is easy to understand why the company has been extremely successful in growing its sales over the past several years. Blue Nile would seem to have a sustainable cost advantage over traditional brick-and mortar retailers of fine Jewelry. Blue Nile has no resource weaknesses that make it highly vulnerable to competitive attack from local Jeweler's.