MKT Assignment 01 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MKT Assignment 01 - Essay Example Bob Iger has set an example of excellent leadership along with Steve Jobs and Hervey Weinstein. These diversifications involved purchasing Pixar, Miramax and now recently Marvel. What makes this deal a major eye-opener is the change in Disney's outlook as an entertainment studio for young children. Where, acquisition of Marvel introduces Disney to a more mature market which involves teenagers and adults as well. Analysts see the deal in a very positive light as both companies have very popular brands and are equally established. It also brings much curiosity how Disney plans to bring Marvel characters and mix with Disney characters, or make their presence in Disney theme parks and movies. This article explains an excellent example of a tactic in in global market entry strategies which is mergers and acquisitions. Although Marvel and Disney belong to similar national boundaries, their global reach makes them indifferent to culture differences and national boundaries. The article first highlights previous marketing ventures such as acquiring Pixar animated studios, which brought out a more flourishing output for market of younger children such as, Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Bob Iger then took a major step of acquiring Marvel Entertainment which is also an indirect competitor of Disney. There were two things that motivate Bob Iger to make a more risky decision. Firstly, Pixar made four releases since acquisition from Disney that grossed $ 2 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Secondly, Marvel made a major success from the movie Iron Man, increasing their market value through popularity. This popularity allowed marvel to sell off at a significant premium market price, a benefit which would not have come without major successes such as Iron Man and X-Men. The article highlights a major example as to how companies assess valuation before striking a major business deal. One of the possible challenges in international marketing of Disney comes from their target market. The attributes of Disney's market is young and below or early teenage compared to Marvel and this may clash with Disney's existing brand image as an entertainment production only for children. Disney may choose to take both companies separately, showing no sign of any link between brands of either company, but the acquisition brings immense opportunities. Acquisition of Marvel will allow Disney to reach out to a larger market under their domain without affecting its own brand image. Speculations claim that Disney may also take the opportunity of taking characters from both the companies and bring out more creative combinations in their coming movies, which projects enormous profits with as much risk. The article concludes however, this is a win-win approach for both the co mpanies as it not only broadens their opportunities for future movies but the benefit of sharing resources for future productions. Global market entry strategies also aid in competing with rival companies, such as in this case, Time Warner. Time Warner however made a major merger with AOL which now makes them the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, owing to its large number of subsidiaries. Two of many AOL Time Warner subsidiaries are Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC comics which are direct competitors of Disney Entertainment and

Internet gambling Essay Example for Free

Internet gambling Essay This document will inform you about the history of internet gambling, the existing issues, and a number of concerns involved with online gambling. Prior to the launching of the World Wide Web in 1993 which changed the setting of gambling, people had to travel great distances to gamble. The worlds first virtual online casino, Internet Casinos, Inc. (ICI) commenced operation on August 18, 1995 with 18 different casino games. Most of these online gambling companies are located outside of the U. S.to avoid government prosecution. ICI operates out of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Kish, 1999). One of the main reasons internet gambling started was because of costs. The value to start up an internet gambling site is around 1. 5 million dollars, which is half of what it costs to actually construct a casino. ICI estimates that the company averages about a twenty four percent profit margin, versus the typical United States casino, which ranges from eight percent to sixteen percent of each dollar wagered (Kish, 1999). An estimated twenty million people are currently online with a projected 160 million online by the year 2020. The overall market for online gambling is estimated to be approximately $49 billion worldwide (Kish, 1999). The history of internet gambling is only a decade old, however, its history will hold on for several more. There are several existing issues facing internet gambling. The first issues we will discuss are how to regulate internet gambling. The question raised by the emergence of Internet gambling is whether old lawsbased mainly on a world of atomsare still viable, and if not, in which way the Internet should be regulated (Walther, 2000). Some scholars believe that internet gambling needs to be regulated, and of course there are those that say let the owners of the sites regulate themselves. Regulatory procedures can be targeted at either or both of the providers and the consumers of gambling services. In the case of consumers, regulation is usually implemented by age, through prohibition of the participation of minors. Procedures might also be contrived to prohibit problem gamblers or undischarged bankrupts from engaging in gambling (Clarke, 2000). Another existing problem with internet gambling is The Wire Act which was intended to assist the states, territories and possessions of the United States, as well as the District of Columbia, in enforcing their respective laws on gambling and bookmaking and to suppress organized gambling activities. Subsection (a) of the Wire Act, a criminal provision, provides: Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both (Rodefer, 2003). During the House of Representatives debate on the bill, Congressman Emanuel Celler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee stated [t]his bill only gets after the bookmaker, the gambler who makes it his business to take bets or to lay off bets. . . It does not go after the causal gambler who bets $2 on a race (Rodefer, 2003). What the government is having a problem with is that most internet gambling sites are run ran in foreign countries, and they cannot enforce this act against them. What they are trying to do is change the act to include these third parties. An example of this is the introduction of the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1997 (Walther, 2000). The bill would have prohibited Internet gambling by extending the Wire Acts prohibitions on traditional forms of gambling by phone or wire to the Internet (Walther, 2000). This amendment would provide penalties for online bets and wagers. This so far seems to be the best solution, however ethical and moral dilemmas still rest in the hands of our lawmakers today. The next issue facing internet gambling is taxes. This seems to be the governments biggest issue. This is because of the billions of dollars we mentioned for profit by these online sites, government can gain significant amount of money from it. The legalization of Internet gambling may cause states to lose some revenue generated from legalized gambling operations because many gamblers would spend their money online (Lassani, 1998). Moreover, states lose revenue by not being able to tax gamblers who win over the Internet. Gamblers who win over the Internet have an incentive not to pay taxes on their winnings because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) lacks the resources to track online gamblers (Lassani, 1998). The likelihood of addiction to Internet gambling among both children and adults is an extremely important concern. In relation to addiction, children are more likely to become addicted to something new than adults (Smith, 2004). For example, the video game-like nature of virtual casinos, labeled the crack cocaine of gambling, could make online gambling a temptation difficult to resist. Furthermore, the fact that the Internet gambler need not leave the comfort and privacy of his or her home could mean that an individual might become easily addicted. This is the worst thing about internet gambling, because there will not be anyone to detect if a person is addicted or not. Consequently the only aid they will get is their selves, and that leaves the player defenseless against the dependence of gambling. Having to go to the casino to gamble has better chances of knowing who is addicted and who is not, they have hired hands to detect this problem, unlike the home atmosphere. Kevin ONeill, Deputy Director of New Jerseys Council on Compulsive Gambling says The real threat comes from the isolation and secrecy of the betting activity itself. I call this threat the cave syndrome due to the gamblers isolated behavior and hidden activity (Wharry, 2001). In closing the short lived World Wide Web as created pandemonium with our lawmakers. The dilemma of how everyone interprets the Wire Act is a major concern. The efforts to amend it to make all users liable for using the websites are tiresome, and stopping foreigners from creating internet gambling sites seems never-ending since the United States cannot control them. In just over a decade there are over twenty million users, expected to increase to 160 million in the next 14 years. Its revenue is over 49 billion dollars and increasing. There are more profit margins with online gambling than the traditional casino. The cost to create a gambling web is 1. 5 million dollars compared to the 300 million to build a casino, this creates profit and increases attendance because of its trouble-free access. One important concern with internet gambling is addiction. Children are easily addicted to new things than adults and it will make it harder to control and detect gambling addiction. Internet gambling is a good creation for those people who can control themselves, but for those who cannot have a greater chance to end up bankrupt. Thus we can see from this example alone, why lawmakers are having such problems to secure the problem, do they let it carry on or let people put themselves in jeopardy of losing everything. Michael Bolcerek the President of The Poker Group said, Its a personal liberty issue with regard to how you spend your money and what you see over the Internet(Roth, 2006). References: Clarke, R. (2000, December). The feasibility of regulating gambling on the internet . Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Regulations of internet gambling Web site: http://www. anu. edu. au/people/Roger. Clarke/II/FeasIGR. html Kish, S. (1999). An analysis of the governments role in addressing internet gambling. Betting on the Net, 51(no 2), 449-6. Lessani, A.M. (1998, May). How much do you want to bet that the internet gambling prohibition act of 1997 is not the most effective way to tackle the problems of online gambling. Retrieved May 4, 2006, from The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act: An Analysis Web site: http://www. gseis. ucla. edu/iclp/alessani. html Rodefer, J. (2003). Federal wire wager act. Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Gambling-Law- US. com Web site: http://www. gambling-law-us. com/Federal-Laws/wire-act. htm Roth, B. (2006, April 25). Foes try to squelch online gambling. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, [1]. Smith, A. (2004). Controversial and emerging issues associates with eybergambling (e-casinos). Online Information Review. 28(6), 435-443. Walther, F. M. (2000). A comparative u. s. -swiss perspective. Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Internet Gambling Related Regulatory Questions and Enforcement Problems Web site: http://stlr. stanford. edu/STLR/Events/gambling/contents_f. html#note5 Wharry, S. (2001). E-Gambling threat worries addiction experts. You Bet Your Life, 165,325.

Blindness in King Lear Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Blindness is defined as, according to dictionaries, â€Å"unable to see and lacking the sense of sight†, but in King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, it has a relatively new definition. Blindness, as Shakespeare portrays, not only a physical inability to see, but also a mental flaw that some characters present in this tragic play. King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester are the two characters who make up the parallel â€Å"double plot† of the tragedy caused of their lack of sight, mental blindness. They both undergo a very similar plot and suffer from their false decisions, the ones they feel very remorseful of later on. In other words, such blindness is the root of false decisions that leads to disasters. The interaction of physical blindness and mental blindness has been dramatically portrayed in the play. To clarify, since their blurred sight has not been cleared until the end, the realization of the statement in the middle of the play, â€Å"I am a man more sinnà ¢â‚¬â„¢d against than sinning† (3.4.60-61), is not reasonably forceful. Lear’s lack of sight has been the most important theme that he is blindest one among all the characters. Due to his social situation, the king of British, he supposes to be the one who have extraordinary wisdom and skills to make sensible choices and to rationally manage his power. However, his mental blindness avoids him to do so. First of all, as a king, he has to be responsible for his kingdom that he should stay as a king until he dies, not ignoring to see the order of chain of being and renouncing his monarchial power and handing it over to his daughters. In Act 1, he plans to offer one of three parts of his kingdom to each of his daughters. According to the idea of â€Å"The Great Chain of Being†, â€Å"the structure of... ...t is to see things with eyes. However, this solution comes up too late to avoid the tragedy happening, the once supreme king has fallen to a heartbreaking status and eyeless but recovering Gloucester is considering to be as mad as the king so that he wouldn’t have to deal with this depressing situation he has as he says: â€Å"The king is mad. How stiff is my vile sense, that I stand up, and have ingenious feeling of my huge sorrows! Better I were distract.† (4.6. 305-307) Such downfall is devastating for both Lear and Gloucester, and mental blindness is the cause of it. As a result, they cannot blame that â€Å"I am a man more sinn’d against than sinning†, because the origin comes from themselves. It’s an impressive lesson for everyone living in this physical world that our eyes can only see the surface of objects and our hearts can see through the essential of objects.

Fundamental Difference between Judaism and Christianity Essay

Judaism and Christianity are closely related religions that can trace their origins back to Abraham and are considered in the studies of comparative religion as Abrahamic religion or Judeo-Abrahamic Faith. While there are those who argue that Christianity is a religion that began independently from Judaism, interpretations of biblical texts from the Old Testament reveal that it started out as Jewish sect during the late Second Temple period of the 1st century. The origins of Judaism on the other hand are still unclear as there are debates regarding the source of this religion. Most scholars however agree that the Genesis book of the Hebrew Bible is the canonical that bears on that question. Whatever the origins of these religions maybe, it is clear that they are currently considered as two (2) separate religions that differ on many fundamental issues. The first fundamental issue upon which Christianity and Judaism differ is with regard to the existence of God. Christianity believes that the existence of God is manifested in the Holy Trinity. God, according to the Christians, exists as three (3) distinct persons who share a single essence, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is indivisible but the persons who form the trinity are distinct from each other. This notion of God existing as the Holy Trinity runs contrary to the tenets of Judaism as they believe that God exists solely as a single indivisible divine being. The idea of the Holy Trinity is incomprehensible to the followers of Judaism because of the rejection of the notion that Jesus or any other object or living being could be â€Å"God†, that God could have a literal â€Å"son† in physical form or is divisible in any way, or that God could be joined to the material world in such fashion. While Judaism has two (2) different words used to label God (transcendence = Ein Sof and immanence = Shekhinah), these refer only to ways of experiencing God and still maintain the indivisibility of God. The other fundamental difference between Christianity and Judaism is with regard to the idea of Original Sin. The concept of Original Sin is found only in Christianity and it makes the assumption that all human beings are born with the original sin which is derived from the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This basically theorizes that everyone is born a sinner and nobody is born a saint. The only exception to this rule however is Jesus Christ who is regarded as the only person born without original sin. The concept if Original Sin does not exist in Judaism. Instead, Judaism holds that people have free will and have the ability to affect the course of their lives even if they be born naturally with a good inclination or bad inclination. Judaism holds that humans are born with either yetzer hatov or good inclination, or yetzer hara or bad inclination but can change because of free will. According to the teachings in some sects of Judaism, there can be no original sin because Adam and Eve cannot be blamed for eating the forbidden fruit because the notion of evil or of sin did not arise until after the fruit was eaten. Judaism and Christianity also differ with regard to the concept of love. According to certain scholars, love, as understood in the Christian sense, is equivalent to charity and that love in the Judaic context means justice. This is seen in this bible passage: â€Å"Whereas Jews believe that law is the ultimate fulfillment of love, Christians believe that love is â€Å"the fulfillment of the Law. † An examination of the core commandments of Judaism reveals that love as justice means that God commands the love of his people or Israel but never professes his love for his people (Israel). The Christian concept of love is manifested by the numerous acts of charity that Jesus Christ was said to perform during his lifetime including the ultimate act of love which was sacrificing himself to atone for the sins of man. These fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity have given rise to the existence of two (2) separate religions who may arguably be worshipping the same God. Whatever the justifications are for having such fundamental differences, there is one common ground that not only Judaism and Christianity but also other religions can agree upon, that is that one should always seek to do good for others and learn to respect the beliefs of others.

Analysis of Sociologically Relevant Film: Forrest Gump Essay

â€Å"The world will never be the same once you’ve seen it through the eyes of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Forrest Gump: a film chronicling the life of a mentally challenged man present during three of the most distinctive and dynamic decades in American history. While on the surface lies a heartwarming and inspirational story, the underlying narrative tends to explore progression of American society while depoliticizing history. Throughout the film Forrest is directly involved in major events of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, yet he never shows any initiative of his own. What is the filmmaker trying to insinuate? Sociological analysis An understanding of Forrest’s background in an important and characterizing element in the film. Disadvantaged by a terrible spine condition and a low IQ, Forrest struggles through childhood in small-minded Greenbow, Alabama. Due to his mental disabilities, Forrest becomes the victim of academic discrimination, which his mother fights desperately to resolve. â€Å"He might be a bit on the slow side, but my boy Forrest is going to get the same opportunities as everyone else,† she stated to the principal of Greenbow County Central School. â€Å"He’s not going to some special school to learn to how to re-tread tires.† (Gump 1995) Forrest’s mother was determined. Taking advantage of this, the principal coerced Forrest’s mother into trading a sexual favor for enrollment in school. In addition to these unsettling events, Forrest finds himself tormented and isolated by neighborhood children and townspeople who seem incapable of treating him with any thing but reproach and disdain. Forrest was also an active part of many important events, including protests lead by George Wallace against desegregation, the Vietnam War, the Ping Pong Diplomacy period, anti-war activism lead by Abbie Hoffman, Black Panther Party meetings, and the Watergate scandal. It would be reasonable to say that being part of such important events and would make him vulnerable to the social forces of the times, yet his lack of critical thought as a result of low intelligence seemed to indicate the complete opposite– he remained wholly oblivious and ignorant of their significance. During George Wallace’s â€Å"Stand in the Schoolhouse Door† protest, Forrest stands curiously in the background, more interested in his surroundings rather than the actual protest. During the Vietnam War, Forrest never questions the morality or the agenda of the U.S. government, and receives the Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts. His entire experience during the Vietnam War can be summed up into one conversation between him and the Drill Sergeant: â€Å"Gump! What’s your sole purpose in this Army?† â€Å"To do whatever you tell me, Drill Sergeant!† (Gump 1995) Still, the most dismaying portion of impassive responses glorified in this film can be contributed to Forrest’s careless involvement in the anti-Vietnam War rally lead by Abbie Hoffman. He was entirely clueless as to the purpose of the anti-war movements. His view of Abbie Hoffman’s role? â€Å"There was this man, giving a little talk†¦ And every time he said th e â€Å"F† word, people, for some reason, well, they’d cheer.† Though the focus of the film is directed towards Forrest Gump, the effects of social forces are most often expressed and implied through Jenny Curran. Forrest’s generally unobservant nature contrasts harshly with Jenny’s forthright and independent character. Without Jenny, we would have a collectively unrealistic and uncertain portrayal of many occurrences that contributed to the structure of today’s society. Unlike Forrest, Jenny was consciously and intentionally involved in the counterculture movements of the 60’s, as she is seen trailing the countryside with fellow â€Å"hippies,† participating in anti-war movements, and secretly involving herself in Black Panther Party meetings. Before Jenny sets off on what turns out to be downward spiral towards debasement, she speaks to Forrest of her motives. â€Å"†¦I want to reach people on a personal level. I want to be able to say things, just one-to-one.† (Gump 1995) However, Jenny’s plans for a better society are brought to a staggering halt when Jenny develops a fatal disease stemming from precarious drug use. Conclusion Although Tom Hanks (Star in Forrest Gump) affirms that the film was â€Å"non-political and thus non-judgmental,† the previous examples show implications otherwise. Though the film does take a stand against disability discrimination by shedding some light on the difficulties that accompany being handicap during a callous time in American history, it’s motives were generally ambiguous and unclear. Based on the filmmakers unattractive outlook on counterculturalism, his lack of discretion when touching on issues like desegregation and independence, as well as his insensitive approach to the deaths of activists, we can arrive at the following conclusion: the harrowing experiences exposed in this film can be easily discarded as something warranted only by devoted individuals who attempt to foster humanity.