Monday, September 30, 2019

The Causes and Effects of Alcoholism

Term Paper 12/7/11 Biology 205 The Causes and Effects of Alcoholism In the United States there are approximately 79,000 deaths annually attributed to excessive alcohol use (NASAIC, 2011). Alcoholism is defined as a medical disease or a neurological disorder. Alcoholism is essentially when a person continues to drink, even when health, work, or family are being harmed (NCBI et al, 2011). Alcohol is not an issue when enjoyed in moderation and responsibly, this however is not always the case. 18. 3 million people in the U. S. are â€Å"heavy drinkers†; among these are 12. million people who have one or more symptoms of alcoholism (NCBI et al, 2011). Some of the many symptoms of alcoholism are hostility when asked about drinking, inability to stop or reduce alcohol intake, or making excuses to drink. The number of problem drinking in the U. S. has increased 8. 2 percent since 1980 and with the growing acceptance of alcohol this number is at risk of rising in the near future (NCBI et al, 2011). Problem drinking can be defined in two categories, alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is when a person â€Å"binge† drinks as way to escape from personal problems.Alcohol dependence is when a person has an addiction to alcohol and cannot control how much they drink. The person simply cannot just have one drink of alcohol without feeling the need to become intoxicated. The highest prevalence of alcohol dependence and abuse is among ages 18-24. Over 80 percent of college presidents in the U. S. identify alcohol abuse as the biggest problem on campus (nd. edu et al, 2003). College students are in the ideal environment to develop a drinking disorder. Students are away from their families and are caring for themselves for often the first time in their lives.Muscular System: Muscle MetabolismWith the increase in responsibility in their lives students can find themselves stressed and confused. These factors only lead to students drinking amongst other students in efforts to fit in or as an escape from their studies or other social problems. However, drinking too much and regularly only leads to even more social and physical problems in the future and possibly for the rest of their lives. Alcoholism is something that should not just be seen as a socially devastating disease. The life of a person with alcoholism is controlled by their alcohol addiction.The many short term effects of alcohol are minor compared to the long term health concerns from excessively abusing alcohol. Public health organizations are utilizing new methods of prevention and research to combat the further rise in this disease. Demographics Though there are risk factors for developing alcoholism there is no definite cause of the disease. A history of alcoholism in a person’s family definitely increases their risks of developing the disorder. This theory has been validated throughout the years utilizing twins in adoption cases growing up in different famil ies.Current research concludes that certain genes may increase the risk of alcoholism, but the identity and function of which genes are still unknown (NCBI et al, 2011). Ethnic and religious background can also play a role in the development of alcoholism, in relation to the culture's lifestyles and acceptance of alcohol. Cultural, religious values and expectations towards alcohol vary and can either promote or disapprove drinking. Members of different ethnic and cultural groups generally show preferences for different types of alcoholic beverages, which can affect their access and alcohol exposure.Other factors such as a race’s reaction to alcohol can affect the prevalence of drinking. For example, blacks are 3 times more likely to develop an alcohol related disease than white (NIAA et al, 2005). The SAMHSA National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that 3. 5% of people in their entire sample could be classified as alcohol dependent. Caucasian and black surveyors had a similar rate of 3. 4 percent of alcohol dependence (NIAA et al, 2005). Alcoholism rates for Native American and Hispanic-Mexican Americans are higher compared to other ethnicities at 5. percent (NIAA et al, 2005). It was found that these groups tend to start drinking at an earlier age and drank more heavily compared to other ethnic groups in the United States. The rates of alcohol dependence were lower among other groups, Caribbean, 1. 9%, Central American, 2. 8%, Cuban, 0. 9%, Puerto Rican, 3. 0% and South American, 2. 1% and Asian/Pacific Islander, 1. 8% (NIAA et al, 2005). The survey also reported that Asian Americans had higher rates of abstention and lower rates of heavy alcohol consumption compared to Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics.Diversity in drinking patterns is very distinguished between subgroups of the same racial or ethnic group. Mexican Americans born in the U. S. report drinking more often, but consuming less alcohol, and have three times higher rates of al cohol dependence (NIAA et al, 2005). This emphasizes that the lifestyle and genetics of a person play a greater role in alcoholism then race or culture. This is also relevant when looking at gender discrepancies. Women and men have the same chances of becoming alcoholics.However, women have a much stronger reaction to the effects of alcohol; therefore there are many more cases of alcoholism in men though there is no research to support gender susceptibility (NIAA et al, 2005). Women’s stronger reaction to alcohol also means that women are more susceptible to alcohol related illnesses after fewer years of heavy drinking. While research has provided many factors that increase the risk of alcoholism the highest risk factor for developing a drinking problem is a person’s lifestyle. This is why college students with their young, eager, and immature demographic are ideal for the development of alcoholism.Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and unlike other drugs alcohol does not activate a specific receptor in the brain. This attributes to the wide range of side effects of intoxication. Some of the side effects from drinking heavily include slurred speech, loss of inhibitions, slowed reaction times, loss of balance and memory loss. Cleary alcohol affects the brain negatively when causing these reactions. A definite sign that someone had consumed far too much alcohol is a â€Å"black out†. This is when a person has no recollection of events while they were intoxicated.A survey of 772 college undergraduates found that 51 percent of the students reported to having a blackout multiple times in their lives’ (nd. edu et al, 2003). What they do not recall is the altered state that their brains were in at the time. An estimated one-third to one-half of all unintentional and intentional injured Americans in accidents, crimes, and suicides were intoxicated (BSCS et al, 2003). Alcohol’s affect on the outer layer of the frontal cortex region of the brain interferes with the conscious thought process (BSCS et al, 2003).This contributes to the loss of inhibitions and sometimes careless behavior when someone is intoxicated. However, research has shown that these short term effects of alcohol abuse can be immensely more severe than just a hangover. People who drink heavily and regularly greatly increase their risk of developing changes in the brain. Up to 80 percent of alcoholics have thiamine deficiency (BSCS et al, 2003). This is a common occurrence in alcoholics and results from poor overall nutrition. This can eventually develop into serious brain disorders such as Wernicke or Korsakoff syndrome.Korsakoff’s psychosis is a chronic and debilitating syndrome, resulting in persistent learning and memory problems (BSCS et al, 2003). There are also cases where people have had difficulty walking and with hand eye coordination. People with Wernicke’s encephalopathy have mental confusion, paralysis of the nerves that move the eyes and difficulty with muscle coordination (BSCS et al, 2003). Drinking during pregnancy can lead to a range of physical, learning, and behavioral effects in the developing brain of the fetus (BSCS et al, 2003). This is known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).FAS infant’s brains may have less volume and fewer brain cells as well as being smaller than average. Therefore, drinking during pregnancy ensures the child a high risk of developing serious health problems early on in their lives. Effects of Alcoholism on the Body The dangers of alcohol are commonly associated with the altered states of mind people can find themselves in; while the negative physical reactions to alcohol can be much more severe. Alcohol offers very little nutritional value and is high calories. The body treats alcohol as fat, converting alcohol sugars into fatty acids (BSCS et al, 2003).This results in a lack of energy and endurance. When alcohol i s consumed 20% is absorbed by the stomach and 80% by the small intestine. When alcohol enters the blood stream it can affect nearly every tissue in the body. This is because cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol (BSCS et al, 2003). This absorption can be affected by the amount of food or liquid in a person’s stomach. Other factors such as how quickly the alcohol is consumed or how much a person weighs also affect absorption which leads to intoxication. Women absorb alcohol faster due to their metabolism.The absorption of alcohol is referred to as the BAC, blood alcohol content. (Graph pg. 10) When our society thinks of alcohol related deaths alcohol poisoning is first to come to mind. Not only can a person die from drinking too much alcohol at one sitting but research has shown that consuming alcohol can result in vast amount of different alcohol related disease. One study determined that 3. 6% of all cancer cases worldwide are related to alcohol drinking, resulting in 3. 5% of all cancer death (NASAIC, 2011). Research has also concluded that drinking alcohol heavily can damage brain tissue, heart, liver and reproductive organs.Problem drinking can also cause pancreatitis, nutritional deficiencies, malignancies, and cirrhosis (NASAIC, 2011). The liver is the most vulnerable organ to alcohol abuse because it breaks down the alcohol into harmless by products and years of this can destroy the liver. Therefore, the negative effects on the body substantially outweigh the possible positive social aspects from drinking. Factors causing the problem In our society drinking alcohol has become widely accepted and is associated with a celebratory or ceremonial atmosphere.This is a key component in the current increase in alcoholism. With the current acceptance, stigmas and speculations about alcohol in our country people are unaware of the severity of the drug. The increase in alcoholism is due to the fact that a majority of people in our nation drinks alc ohol rather than profane. The public receives their information about alcohol through family, peers, media, and personal experimentation. The information people and especially college students or children living in homes with alcoholism are receiving often glamorizes alcohol.Therefore, the public knows very little about effects of alcohol and the consequential harm they can inflict on themselves and others. Other factors such as the quantity and frequency a person tends to drink plays a role in the chances of developing a drinking disorder. People with addictive personalities, depression and other social disorders are also at a very high risk of becoming alcoholics (NASAIC, 2011). These people with stressful lifestyles, depression or anxiety problems often use alcohol as a release. Drinking â€Å"numbs† their pain and is an escape from their social issues.A striking 20% of all suicide victims in the United States had a form of alcoholism prior to their suicide attempt (NCBI e t al, 2011). Adolescents that live in a culture where alcohol use is common are often pressured by their peers to partake. All of these risk factors are directly correlated to scenarios most college students find themselves in. In result, this age group is at the greatest risk of developing a drinking disorder. College students are at an impressionable age and are looking to meet and befriend new people. They are peer pressured into going out with their riends to restaurants, bars and clubs. With easy access to alcohol they are often drinking more frequently than any other time in their lives. Research has shown that immaturity of neurotransmitter system and hormonal changes during puberty lead to more pleasure in drinking alcohol (NASAIC, 2011). This means that developing brains introduced to alcohol may trigger long term biological changes developing into an alcohol addiction. The overall public neglect and unawareness of the severity of alcoholism only leads to increasing rates o f alcoholism in our society.Providing the public with a better understanding of the ease in developing this disorder is an immediate necessity in our nation. Public Health Response In most cases a person suffering due to alcoholism does not accept that they have a problem. This makes it very difficult or sometimes impossible to cure. The support from loved ones and friends is essential to help find the person a form of treatment that suits them. Alcoholism is treated with counseling and support groups like any social disorder. There is very large number of national and local help services for people looking for help dealing with their addictions.Impatient treatment centers are closed communities where patients are able to live focused on controlling their addiction. Alcoholism is common to most drug addictions, whereas after being dependent on the drug sobriety triggers withdrawal symptoms and often results in relapses. In these cases having the close support of an impatient rehab c enter is the most effective. Tragically most alcoholics do not have the chance of obtaining impatient sobriety because of lack of money. Outpatient programs are less expensive and are an effective method of treating an addiction.SMART, LifeRing, and  Alcoholics Anonymous are all support groups that attempt to resolve the behavioral effects that led the person to become an alcoholic (NCBI et al, 2011). Participants meet in groups or class a number of times a week and share their own personal alcoholism experiences. As a whole group working towards a sober lifestyle the patients have the counselor or the other participant to turn to when they need help dealing with a possible relapse. In most cases a person will never completely resolve their alcohol addiction.Refraining from drinking entirely after achieving sobriety is recommended to limit the chances of relapsing. Alcoholics struggling with staying sober can be prescribed medications. Acamprosate and Naltrexone are some drugs tha t have been shown to lower relapse rates in those who are alcohol dependent by reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms (NASAIC, 2011). Prevention methods are currently being utilized to give people a better understanding of the risks and affects of alcohol. Programs such as D. A. R. E and other anti drug and alcohol programs are used to build awareness.Colleges have recognized the vulnerability of college students and have increased student awareness substantially over the past years. Online alcohol education programs are now mandatory for college freshmen to complete prior to admission to most universities. Though these classes are sometimes tedious and time consuming there is no doubt that they give adolescents a better awareness of alcoholisms social and physical effects. Other forms of prevention include warnings on alcoholic packaging and labels. These inform drinkers the percentage of alcohol in the drink and pregnancy warnings are always evident (NASAIC, 2011).Health organi zations are working together to help find out more on the treatment and prevention of alcoholism to combat the prevalence of the disease in the future. Conclusion Alcoholism is not a disorder that only affects the one suffering from the disease. An addiction to alcohol controls the life of the patient, as well as their families. 56 million of Americans say that alcohol abuse has brought trouble to his or her family (NCBI et al, 2011). Getting a person to recognize the harm they are causing to themselves and others from their drinking is the first step of resolving the problem.The immense amount of organizations and support groups in America today provides people the best possible treatment. Studies continue to discover new illnesses that are in result of alcohol abuse. There is still no definite cause of the disease yet the factors attributing to developing alcoholism are definite. With a better understanding of the disease and a raised public awareness alcoholism is something that can be preventable for future generation. The chances of developing an alcohol addiction are higher than ever; which only leads to a new age of alcohol related diseases if the neglect of the negative effects of alcohol continues.Blood Alcohol Concentration| Changes in Feelings and Personality| Brain Regions Affected| Impaired Activities (continuum)| 0. 01–0. 05| Relaxation Sense of well being Loss of inhibition| Cerebral cortex| Alertness ,Judgment, CoordinationVisual tracking, Reasoning and depth perceptionInappropriate, obnoxious social behavior Slurred speech, Lack of balanceLoss of temperature regulation, Loss of bladder controlDifficulty breathing, Slowed heart rate| 0. 06–0. 10| Pleasure Numbness of feelings Nausea, Sleepiness Emotional arousal| Cerebral cortex + forebrain| | 0. 11–0. 0| Mood swings, Anger Sadness, Mania| Cerebral cortex + forebrain + cerebellum| | 0. 21–0. 30| Aggression Reduced sensations Depression Stupor| Cerebral cortex + foreb rain + cerebellum + brain stem| | 0. 31–0. 40| Unconsciousness Death possible Coma| Entire brain| | 0. 41 and greater| Death| | | Advisory committee and NIAAA scientists (bscs. org, 2003)| (Effects of Alcoholism on the Brain continued) Effects of Blood Alcohol Concentration The graph depicts the average person’s emotional and physical altering when consuming a certain amount of alcohol. For most people an hour after the rinking one 12oz beer will result in a BAC of . 02. The amount of alcohol attributes to very different and detrimental side effects the more it is consumed (BSCS et al, 2003). Bibliography 1) U. S. National Library of Medicine and A. D. A. M. Medical Encyclopedia staff, Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse and dependence; ncbi. nlm. nih. gov, March 20, 2011. http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001940/ 2) National Institutes of Health, Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism staff, Information about Alcohol;  bscs. org, 2003. http://science-education. nih. g ov/supplements/nih3/alcohol/guide/info-alcohol. tm 3) University of Notre Dame, Office of alcohol and drug education, Your Body and Alcohol; nd. edu, 2003. http://oade. nd. edu/educate-yourself-alcohol/your-body-and-alcohol/ 4) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism staff, Model 10h Ethnicity, Culture and Alcohol; NIAA. gov, March 2005. http://pubs. niaaa. nih. gov/publications/Social/Module10HEthnicity;Culture/Module10H. html 5) National Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Information Center staff, Alcoholism; addictioncareoptions. com, 2011. http://www. addictioncareoptions. com/alcohol-help/alcoholism

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Research article Essay

Based upon your request, I have conducted a research article on a potential venture which our firs can introduce and invest in a developing country such as India. Due to a shortage of healthcare providers and the poor conditions of the healthcare system, many Indians were dying because of the delay in receiving medical treatment, because labor supply of health professionals is intensive in India, the launch of InstyMeds[R] should help significantly resolve these issues. Recently, a company named InstyMeds Corporation developed their first ATM-Style medication dispenser, â€Å"InstyMeds ®Ã¢â‚¬ , which can label and dispense containers of different shapes and size; most drug forms including tablets, liquids, creams and so forth.   InsteyMeds ® claim that the dispensers can issue medication in a faster, simpler and more convenient way compared to those of traditional drug stores. Moreover, these dispensers are user friendly with their touch screen operating systems. For example, once the patient has been seen, the doctor can simply issue the prescription via the InstyMeds ® system, therefore patients are only required to enter the barcode which has been assigned under their name for verification purposes. The dispenser takes care of the rest and the medication will be labeled and dispensed within five minutes [5]. It is an all-in-one dispensing process which can be done at the same hospital/clinic; patients will no longer have to endure waiting times for medications. Because health professionals are inadequate in India, this is the target sector for this firm to launch InstyMeds ®.   At present there is an unstable drugs delivery schedule and a shortage of health specialists, patients are required to wait longer time before they receive their treatment.   For instance, most of the developing countries have only one doctor and pharmacist per 160,000 people [2]. The absence of health care professionals limits the access of both hospitals and pharmacies to up-to-date medical information; this affects the quality of services.   Since the latest information regarding medication is not accessible to the majority of pharmacists, they are heavily dependent upon the inserted package leaflets used as sources of medical information [3]. To prevent pharmacists from engaging these kinds of practices, InstyMeds ® will be an advantageous approach to solving this. Based on the research, InstyMeds ® can greatly benefit India within three reasons: 1. InstyMeds ® would provide benefit to people in India: Installations of InstyMeds ® allows patients to obtain their medicine 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This service is favorable to patients as the local transportation system is not yet sufficiently developed in India. 2. InstyMeds ® means to Pharmacists: The company claim the dispensers will handle more than 100 prescriptions per day; this can reduce the work load of pharmacists and so it allows the hospital to become more flexible when allocating their manpower.   Moreover, InstyMeds ® internal system will prompt pharmacists to re-stock medicine when the dispensers are running out of drugs.   As a result, pharmacists will then have more time to consult patients with regards to the usage of drugs; this will reduce, if not eradicate medical errors and ideally deliver patients a better service. 3. InstyMeds ® will also benefit the Indian government; the available funds that support the healthcare service are constricted for India, and so the use of InstyMeds ® would be an economical way to allocate the resources of healthcare systems. In general, pharmacists often spend a quantity of time keeping track of drug expiration dates, selecting package and labeling, and maintaining stable inventories. InstyMeds ® can handle everything as mentioned above so instead of hiring new pharmacists, costs can be saved and used in building up the infrastructure. Before the InstyMeds ® becomes public, it is a great opportunity for this firm to donate some of the dispensers free of charge to some non profitable organization such as â€Å"Mà ©decins Sans Frontià ¨res†, this is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger; the organization operates in more than 70 countries. By offering InstyMeds ® to their organization, offers a gesture and a positive image for our company and will promote the dispenser at the same time. I believe the public will commonly use the dispenser in the near future and so it is a great idea for this firm to be the first company to launch it. InstyMeds ®, would be a new business venture of pharmaceutical services in the next ten years and this dispenser is not only beneficial to those people in India but profitable to our firm as well.   By investing capital into InstyMeds ® while offering free dispenser to the Mà ©decins Sans Frontià ¨res, it will develop an investment strategy, which can maximize both financial return and social benefit. InstyMeds ® would be considered a socially responsible investment; conveying goodwill to the public and eventually bringing up our service to the next level. When the use of InstyMeds ® is grounded, it will become a new profit center for the firm.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Law ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law ethics - Essay Example A business involves financial and non-financial costs. Labour and equipment are financial costs that any business entails. On the other hand, an ethical business also incurs non-financial costs of environmental impacts like noise. Thus, such ethical businesses also strive to minimize non-financial costs by taking up the responsibility of causing little or no harm to the people and environment (Kreng 11). The case of product default as explained to me by Doug is of great concern to the general public, and even the employees at Green Moves. The products of the company have to be environmental friendly. I fully understand as a new employee that I should abide by the policies of this given company. However, my position should not be compromised by intimidation. In business, ethical responsibilities include actions and activities that are certainly not systemized in the law, and do not directly serve the company’s economic needs. The moral incentives that guide the business are ass ociated with doing the right things and prevent any harm without any external force or legal restraints. Every organization should have the responsibility of taking part in society in a cooperative manner. Business people recognize their self-presence in the society based on the fact that, business and societies go hand in hand. Business cannot progress without society and society cannot move ahead without business. Hence, every company must realize the presence of the society, which will in turn be important in increasing demand for amorally responsible business. For being ethical, organizations need to have good decision makers who perform their duties with justice, equality, fairness, neutrality, and value the rights of other people. Ethical behaviour requires the organization to treat individuals with fairness in their dealings relevant to the goals and objectives of the organization. Immoral and unethical actions take place when a decision leads a person or firm to benefit at t he cost of another person or the society as one. Ethical responsibilities comprise of those practices and actions that are prohibited by the society even if the law has not stated it. It represents the standards, norms and criterion that invoke a thought of concern for the customers, employees, shareholders, and all stakeholders including the community. Therefore, ethical responsibility should be carried out in line with the desired ethical standards and the expectation of the societal customs and values. It is also important to accept and acknowledge the new, dynamic and developing ethical norms and values that have been adopted in modern societies today. However, companies should not in any way use the ethical norms to achieve their own goals. Ethical standards should not be negotiated or compromised in any way for the achievement of corporate goals (Kreng 45). Organizations also need to ensure they do not cause greater damage to the environment they are operating in, as well as e mploy strategies for minimizing any sort of damage to the societies. This is referred to as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with many of the businesses today adopting its use in achieving their long term goals. Henceforth, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be best defined as a business obligation to contribute towards prolonged economic development, operating with workers, their families, the immediate communities, and society as

Friday, September 27, 2019

Incentive Plans Paper (Human Resources Management College Course) Research

Incentive Plans (Human Resources Management College Course) - Research Paper Example Incentives like bonuses, commissions and pay hikes are some of the examples of motivators in monetary terms. Recognition is an example of non monetary benefit (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2007). The automotive industry is a highly competitive industry and selling cars to customers is a difficult task. Customers target those products which provide them with quality at a minimum cost, so the company tries to provide the customers with products of best quality and best cost. In the same manner each company wants to be profitable and attain a sustainable growth. The best strategy adopted by the companies is to use the motivational strategy, like incentive plans providing the workers with rewards in order to attain the company goals and objectives (Noe, 2006). In exchange for longer working hours and top performances even without the job security the employees demand the company to provide them with comfortable working conditions, more control over their work, several training and development activities and so on. In the same manner Toyota also offers its employees steady amount of work and tries to make the efficient use of the best workers and the company also offers the employees bonuses to attain the referral work. Along with this the company also offers monetary benefits to the workers for attaining the targets and making the company reach its goals (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2007). The bonuses help the workers for representing Toyota with higher quality, integrity and also the workmanship. Providing incentives based on the achievement of the target is attached to the objectives of the organization. The company provides the employees with incentives in attaining a fixed level of sales and does so through a system whereby by attaining that level the employees are further incentivized for the higher sales objectives (or sales targets), in other words working towards greater profitability. The

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Small Animal Husbandry Videos Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Small Animal Husbandry Videos - Movie Review Example This should be repeated to the moment the pet eats the food from the pill popper. The important thing about this step is patience in getting one’s get used to the procedure. The next step in this sequence is staying near the pet while it is eating its food from the pill popper, and holding the popper in the process. Later, one should hand-feed the pet from the popper so that the pet is used to it. With this step successful, one can place a pill mixed with the food on the outside of the pill popper and feed the pet. In the next step, the pet is already excited to eat the pill.  This piece is Dr. Andy Roark’s guide to pet owners addressing the issue of fleas on cats and dogs. Dr. Roark in a humorous way explains how to get rid of fleas on pets without using the flea shampoo. Significantly, the narrator states that fleas are not only a pet problem but also a housing problem because fleas had already laid eggs in the house by the time the owner noticed them on the pet. Sr . Roark suggests that a pet should be on the flea preventatives for a year. If not, it should be at least three months. Otherwise, the owner will be trapped in a vicious cycle. Another solution is flea medicine, but it applies only to adult cats and dogs. Moreover, there is a need to get advice from a vet before buying flea medicine, as there is a lot of worthless cheap medicine for pets. A good solution for puppies and kittens appears to be dish detergent. For cats, removing fleas works with a comb with a mixture of detergent and water. For dogs, it would be a simple bath with detergent in water. An important thing to remember is treating all pets in the house, as the fleas would likely move to another pet if it is not treated as well. Finally, treating the whole house is also an essential point in removing fleas because fleas may be in the house, but now on the pet yet.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The Crash of the Housing Market and its Effects on the Labour Force Essay

The Crash of the Housing Market and its Effects on the Labour Force - Essay Example The United States crash of the housing market was an unconstructive event that transpired and led to a financial crisis, as well as a subsequent recession, which started in 2008. The occurrence, officially referred to as the subprime mortgage crisis, was typified by an increase in subprime mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies and the resulting drop of market securities backed by alleged mortgages. These MBS and CDO – mortgage-backed securities and collateralised debt obligations, respectively, formerly granted appealing rates of return because of the greater rates on the mortgages, but the slightly lower credit quality eventually lead to massive defaults. Whereas factors of the financial crisis became clearer during 2007, a number of major financial organizations collapsed in September 2008, with considerable interference in the credit flow of these organizations and their consumers, along with the start of a harsh global financial crisis (recession). The financial turmoil had long-lasting effects to the United States and European financial systems. The United States, in particular, fell into a deep recession with almost 9 million jobs lost from 2008 to 2009, nearly 6 percent of the nation’s workforce. ... licies to endorse affordable housing, poor local and state governmental programs and mark-to-market accounting principle), role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, poor policies by the Federal Reserve (American central bank), high debt levels and incentives of financial institution, credit default swaps, the trade deficit, technology and globalisation and finally the boom and subside of the shadow banking schemes (Wall 5). As from 1997 to 2006, the peak period of the American housing bubble, the value of a normal American house went up by 124% (Wallison 51). Between 1980 and 2001, the ratio of normal home values to normal household salary, also known as the measure of someone’s capacity to purchase a house, shifted from 2.9 to 3.1 (Wallison 51). By 2005, the ratio had increased to 4.0, and, by 2006, it hit a high of 4.6. This housing bubble made fairly a few property holders refinance their homes at much lower interest rates or back customer spending through taking out other mortga ges secured through the price appreciation. The United States household balance, as a fraction of yearly disposable personal revenue, was a stunning 127% by 2007, against 77%, in 1990 (Wallison 51). Effects on the Labour Force The ILO estimated that roughly 20 million positions will have been lost by the close of 2009 because of the financial crisis, particularly in the construction, financial services, real estate and auto industry, bringing world joblessness rate over 200 million for the initial time (Wallison 56). The number of unemployed individuals the world over was over 50 million, in 2009, as the world recession intensified. By the end of 2007, the United States joblessness rate was 4.9%. By late 2009, the rate had hit a high of 10.1% (Wallison 56). A wider measure of the unemployment

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Gross Domestic Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gross Domestic Product - Essay Example The dependent variable used for this study is the Gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom (UK). GDP is an important measure for any country because it represents the healthiness of its economy. It is calculated by summing the market value of all goods and services produced within this economy. The percent change in GDP is used to measure the growth in the economy during the specified period. GDP is measured in real prices in order to remove the effect of inflation. The data for the GDP for the UK is extracted from the Economic Trend Annual Supplement (ETAS) database. ETAS is released annually from British office of national statistics (ONS). It contains a summary of the United Kingdom (UK) economic accounts. Field number 2.1A is selected from the database which contains the time series of GDP chained volume measures which is referenced by the variable ABMI. These values are seasonally adjusted to represent the period from 1948 to 2005. Annually linked and weighted chain volume measures better highlight changes in GDP than constant price values. This is because take account of year-to-year changes (Aspden & Person 2000). Figure 1 shows little change from year to year in UK GDP. Therefore the percent change from year-to-year is computed and replaces by the real values of annual GDP. The percent change in the British GDP (appendix B) is shown in the following figure: Figure 2: Percent Change in UK GDP from 1948 to 2005 Figure 2 amplifies the changes and highlights that occurred during the period of the study. It shows periods when GDP positively increased or negatively decreased which were not visible in figure 1. From the above graph the following years experienced major increase in the British GDP: 1973 (7.1%), 1964 (5.5%), 1960 (5.3%), 1988 (5%). The following years also experienced the most decrease in GDP values: 1980 (-2.1%), 1981 (-1.5%), 1991 (-1.4%), 1974 (-1.4). 3. Econometric Model: Regression is considered as a special case of econometric modeling (Wang & Jain 2003). Theory suggests that GDP growth is positively related to inflation and negatively related to unemployment and real interest rates (RIT). The following relevances of these three variables are explored in the following sections. 3.1 The relevance of Inflation in predicting GDP: The relationship between inflation and GDP is a very delicate relationship and still causes much controversy in both theory and empirical findings (Hossain & Chowdhury 1996). Mallik & Chowdhury (2001) examined the long-run and short-run dynamics of the relationship between GDP and inflation. They found that inflation and economic growth are positively related on the long run. They also found that inflation is more sensitive to changes in growth rates than that of growth rates to changes in inflation. Thus moderate inflation is good for growth but fast economic growth feeds back into inflation. Thus too much GDP growth would accelerate inflation rates, which would decrease the value of money more than the value gained by GDP and even more taking the economy downhill as verified by Bruno and Easterly (1998). 3.2

Monday, September 23, 2019

Second language teacher education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Second language teacher education - Essay Example Teacher training, on the other hand, is used when it is a non-educator. As a whole, however, individuals who study to teach another language are called teacher-learners. What second language teacher education should be has evolved from content, to the person of the teacher and finally to the process of learning or teacher education. Several researches have been made to connect the two concepts under teacher education - teacher training and teacher learning. Previously, second language teacher education was focused on the content – second language – and not how this should be taught. Although there are many reasons for the gap between teacher education and teacher learning, it was generally acknowledged that teacher education was based on principles on teaching imparted to the teacher in the classroom which are then practiced by the educator in his own class. Background research has shown that this idea of transmitting principles eventually evolved into the teachers’ developing their own knowledge through their experience as a teacher. This change was due to the fact that adoption of the transmission idea failed to recognize the learning teachers would get from their classes. According to the reading, there are four influences that have an effect on the understanding of second language teacher education. These are input, prior knowledge, institutional context and time. Input is recognized as something made, how it is given to the student and the outcome it produces. In second language teacher education, strategies for input come from teacher training and teacher development, which are the combination of content and process. Where teacher training encompasses all the various processes learned by the teacher like academic programs, teacher development deals with the educator’s experiences and knowledge and how they can apply this to their teaching methods. Since in second language teacher education the teachers

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Chromatography method that measures everything Essay Example for Free

Chromatography method that measures everything Essay Yes, it is possible to have a single Chromatography method that measures everything. Chromatography is a laboratory technique that enables separation of mixtures. In most cases, the mixture is dissolved in a fluid and directed to a structure to hold another material called stationary phase. The process may be analytical or preparative. What is important is the whether the process can separate the mixture for advanced use, professionally called purification or whether the process is attempting to accomplish minor separation process. Zhang (2007, p. 247) attempts to argue for the possibility of single chromatography; it is suggestive to apply separation including LC and GC. This allows the separation to occur in stages, primarily, the stationary phase, where the substance is held in a narrow tube through and the mobile where the liquidized substance is held under low pressure. Zhang proposes the use of planer chromatography. This technique endeavor uses flat surface, where the substance component is spread. The technique is effective since it allows different compounds to respond to different distances according to how they significantly interact at the stationary phase. Also, this technique uses the retardation factor (IUPAC, 2006), which is distance travelled from the center of spot to the solvent front, where the substance is separated completely. However, for more complex substances, it is good to use a Universal Chromatography interface (UCI) device. This device allows the usage with Chromatography Management, which establishes a hybrid based analytical mechanism combining various Chromatographic devices. Essentially, the device control is through four ports known as RS-232 ports with eight contact-closure relay as well as, eight TTL inputs aided through a computer communication mechanism (Ottosen, Grout MÃ ¼ller, 2009). Technically, the device accepts analogue from multiple detectors from high performance electronics by ensuring accurate signal measurement. In encapsulation, a UCI combines various technologies in one simpler purification process. References Zhang, C. (2007). Fundamentals of Environmental Sampling and Analysis. New York: John Wiley Sons.IUPAC. (2006). Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. Retardation factor, RF in planar chromatography Retrieved January 16th, 2014 from http://goldbook.iupac.org/R05353.html Ottosen, C., Grout, B., MÃ ¼ller, R. (2009). Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium on Postharvest Quality of Ornamental Plants. New York: ISHS Source document

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Calls for Change in High School Mathematics Essay Example for Free

Calls for Change in High School Mathematics Essay Mathematic educators, parents and students are calling for proper changes in approaches to learning mathematics in high schools. The need to improve learning of mathematics in schools is highly recognized and underlined. Thus, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics that offered recommendations for high school mathematics reform. In addition, the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in their official report ‘The Mathematical Sciences Curriculum K–12: What Is Still Fundamental and What Is Not’ stresses the importance of new topics and techniques in the secondary schools. New approaches should develop new learning techniques that would be discrete from statistics, mathematics, and emphasis on algebra and geometry should be properly re-assessed according to different abilities and needs of students who are taking mathematics course in the secondary school and high school respectively. The need for change and innovation is generally driven by emergence of advanced computing technologies that offers excellent opportunities for school educators to replace manipulative traditional techniques with more complex realistic problem-solving techniques. In its turn, the National Science Board Commission issued a report ‘Educating Americans for the 21st Century’ challenging courses in algebra and pre-calculus and stressing the importance of developing integrated mathematical sciences curriculum in the secondary school. Researchers argue that new curriculum will positively affect students’ achievement outcomes in the secondary and high schools. To make changes more effective teachers are required to understand the advantage of curriculum’s full scope and its consequences; students are required to support the expectations of classroom environment. The Core-Plus Mathematic Project is newly developed curriculum for high school mathematics. Of course, the Core-Plus Mathematic Project or CPMP curriculum is a matter of debates and controversies as not everyone admits the need of high school mathematics reforms. Nonetheless, the CPMP curriculum is worked out with assistance of mathematics education researchers, instructional specialists and classroom teachers. Moreover, the curriculum is shaped by empirical evidence gathered from students and teachers who are willing to participate in field testing. In particular, organization of mathematics curriculum should be interpreted in terms of teaching and assessment recommendations and should follow the standards set in the above-mentioned reports. New mathematics curriculum is a three-year mathematics course for high-school students who are allowed to take the fourth year to prepare for college mathematics. Newly designed curriculum differs from more traditional approaches as new curriculum encourages students’ understanding of mathematics – statistics, probability, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and discrete mathematics. Learning mathematics is developed in focused units that combine fundamental ideas with mathematical habits of mind. It means that new curriculum stresses the need to connect function, data analysis and symmetry with recursive and visual thinking. In contrast to traditional approaches to mathematics, new curriculum emphasizes the role of mathematical modeling and problem-solving instead of simple calculus. Researchers say the primary goal of curriculum improvement is to enhance students’ understanding and comprehension of key mathematical processes and concepts, to enhance student’s ability to use mathematical concepts in real-world problem-solving. Graphic calculators should enhance students’ understanding and abilities to solve authentic problems. Improved instructional materials encourage active teaching and learning processes that will primarily focus on problem situations, abstraction and analysis. Oral and written communication, reasoning with ability to represent, and conceptual understanding are highly appreciated and encouraged. All courses centre on mathematical reasoning and thinking with abilities to develop formal proof. Additional fourth year course will allow to keep students, who prepare for college mathematics, despite whether their undergraduate program is based on calculus. Students interested in mathematics are encouraged to be accelerated into the fourth course year. Today, many researches are focus on identifying whether new curriculum meets its specific goals. In particular, they try to reveal whether the learning outcomes based on new patterns of mathematics learning process differ from outcomes based on more traditional curriculum. During the past eight years researchers conducted various studies to examine mathematical achievement in classroom with CPMP curricula. Research studies have revealed that performance of CPMP students is much better than that of students with traditional interpretation of mathematical representation. It means that problem-solving and recursive thinking appear to be more effective in learning mathematics than simple understanding of key concepts of processes. Further, CPMP students are characterized by higher grade results at the end of the years than students with traditional approach to mathematics. Summing up, recent researches have indicated that CPMP students perform better than students with traditional curriculum. CPMP students are characterized by better abilities to interpret mathematical representation and calculation, to measure conceptual understanding and to recognize the importance of problem-solving. CPMP students are better in probability and statistics, algebraic manipulative skills, etc. Nonetheless, researchers argue that student’s success in college mathematics doesn’t fully depend on CPMP curriculum. Other factors, as, for example, student’s attentiveness, readiness to participate in learning process, self-awareness, classroom environment, play their important role in student’s high school mathematics performance. With guidance from educators, researchers and teachers, curriculum developers will be able to build on stronger patters of student outcomes. References Schoen, H. L. , Hirsch, Ch. R. (2003). Responding to Calls for Change in High School Mathematics: Implications for Collegiate Mathematics. The Mathematical Association of America Monthly, February, pp. 109-123. Available on-line from http://www. jstor. org/stable/3647770 .

Friday, September 20, 2019

Security information and event management

Security information and event management Introduction: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) automates incident identification and resolution based on built in business rules to help improve compliance and alert staff to critical intrusions. IT audits, standards and regulatory requirements have now become an important part of most enterprises day-to-day responsibilities. As part of that burden, organizations are spending significant time and energy scrutinizing their security and event logs to track which systems have been accessed, by whom, what activity took place and whether it was appropriate. Organizations are increasingly looking towards data-driven automation to help ease the burden. As a result, the SIEM has taken form and has provided focused solutions to the problem. The security information and event management market is driven by an extremely increasing need for customers to meet compliance requirements as well as continued need for real-time awareness of external and internal threats. Customers need to analyze sec urity event data in real time (for threat management) and to analyze and report on log data and primarily this has made security information and event management market more demanding. The market remains fragmented, with no dominant vendor. This report entitled Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Solutions gives a clear view of the SIEM solutions and whether they can help to improve intrusion detection and response. Following this introduction is the background section which deeply analyzes the evolution of the SIEM, its architecture, its relationship with the log management and the need for SIEM products. In the analysis section, I have analyzed the SIEM functions in detail along with real world examples. Finally the conclusion section summarizes the paper. Background: What is SIEM? Security Information and Event Management solutions are a combination of two different products namely, SIM (security information management) and SEM (security event management). SIEM technology provides real-time analysis of security alerts generated by network hardware and applications. The objective of SIEM is to help companies respond to attacks faster and to organize mountains of log data. SIEM solutions come as software, appliances or managed services. Increasingly, SIEM solutions are being used to log security data and generate reports for compliance purposes. Though Security Information and Event Management and log management tools have been complementary for years, the technologies are expected to merge. Evolution of SIEM: SIEM emerged as companies found themselves spending a lot of money on intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS). These systems were helpful in detecting external attacks, but because of the reliance on signature-based engines, a large number of false positives were generated. The first-generation SIEM technology was designed to reduce this signal-to-noise ratio and helped to capture the most critical external threats. Using rule-based correlation, SIEM helped IT detect real attacks by focusing on a subset of firewall and IDS/IPS events that were in violation of policy. Traditionally, SIEM solutions have been expensive and time-intensive to maintain and tweak, but they solve the big headache of sorting through excessive false alerts and they effectively protect companies from external threats. While that was a step in the right direction, the world got more complicated when new regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard follo wed much stricter internal IT controls and assessment. To satisfy these requirements, organizations are required to collect, analyze, report on and archive all logs to monitor activities inside their IT infrastructures. The idea is not only to detect external threats, but also to provide periodic reports of user activities and create forensics reports surrounding a given incident. Though SIEM technologies collect logs, they process only a subset of data related to security breaches. They werent designed to handle the sheer volume of log data generated from all IT components, such as applications, switches, routers, databases, firewalls, operating systems, IDS/IPS and Web proxies. With an idea to monitor user activities rather than external threats, log management entered the market as a technology with architecture to handle much larger volumes of data and with the ability to extend to meet the demands of the largest enterprises. Companies implement log management and SIEM solutions to satisfy different business requirements, and they have also find out that the two technologies work well together. Log management tools are designed to collect report and archive a large volume and breadth of log data , whereas SIEM solutions are designed to correlate a subset of log data to point out the most critical security events. On looking at an enterprise IT arsenal, it is likely to see both log management and SIEM. Log management tools often assume the role of a log data warehouse that filters and forwards the necessary log data to SIEM solutions for correlation. This combination helps in optimizing the return on investment while also reducing the cost for implementing SIEM. In these tough economic times it is likely to see IT trying to stretch its logging technologies to solve even more problems. It will expect its log management and SIEM technologies to work closer together and reduce overlapping functionalities. Relation between SIEM and log management: Like many things in the IT industry, theres a lot of market positioning and buzz coming around regarding how the original term of SIM (Security Information Management), the subsequent marketing term SEM (Security Event Management), the newer combined term of SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) relate to the long standing process of log management. The basics of log management are not new. Operating systems, devices and applications all generate logs of some sort that contain system-specific events and notifications. The information in logs may vary in overall usefulness, but before one can derive much value out of them, they first need to be enabled, then transported and eventually stored. Therefore the way that one does gather this data from an often distributed range of systems and get it into a centralized (or at least semi-centralized) location is the first challenge of log management that counts. There are varying techniques to accomplish centralization, ranging from standardizing on the syslog mechanism and then deploying centralized syslog servers, to using commercial products to address the log data acquisition, transport and storage issues. Some of the other issues in log management include working around network bottlenecks, establishing reliable event transport (such as syslog over UDP), setting requirements around encryption, and managing the raw data storage issues. So the first steps in this process are figuring out what type of log and event information is in need to gather, how to transport it, and where to store it. But that leads to another major consideration about what should one person want to do with all those data. It is at this point where the basic log management ends and the higher-level functions associated with SIEM begins. SIEM products typically provide many of the features that remain essential for log management but add event-reduction, alerting and real-time analysis capabilities. They provide the layer of technology that allows one to say with confidence that not only are logs being gathered but they are also being reviewed. SIEM also allows for the importation of data that isnt necessarily even t-driven (such as vulnerability scanning reports) and it is known as the Information portion of SIEM. SIEM architecture: Long term log management and forensic queries need a database built for capacity, with file management and compression tools. Short term threat analysis and correlation need real time data, CPU and RAM. The solution for this is as follows: >Split the feeds to two concurrent engines. >Optimize one for real time and storage up to 30 days of data. (100-300GB) >Optimize the second for log compression, retention, and query functions. (1TB+) The block diagram showing the architecture of the SIEM is as follows: [Source: Reference 2] A collector is a process that gathers data. Collectors are produced in many shapes and sizes from agents that run on the monitored device, to centralized logging devices with pre-processors to split stream the data. These can be simple REGEX file parsing applications, or complex agents for OPSEC, LEA, for .Net/WMI, SDEE/RDEP, or ODBC/SQL queries. Not all security devices are kind enough to forward data, and multiple input methods, including active pull capabilities, are very essential. Also, since SYSLOG data is not encrypted, it may need a collector to provide encrypted transport. A threat analysis engine will need to run in real time, continuously processing and correlating events of interest passed to it by the collector, and reporting to a console or presentation layer application about the threats found. Typically reporting events that has happened for 30 days are sufficient for operational considerations. A log manager will need to store a great deal of data, and may take either raw logs or filtered events of interest, and need to compress store and index the data for long term forensic analysis and compliance reporting. Capacity for 18 months or more of data is likely to be required. Year end closing of books and the arrival of the auditors often necessitate the need for 12 months of historic data plus padding of several months while books are finalized and an audit to be completed. At the presentation layer a console will present the events to the security staff and managers. This is the primary interface to the system for day to day operations, and should efficiently prioritize and present the events with a full history and correlation rationale. SIEM functions: With some subtle differences, there are four major functions of SIEM solutions. They are as follows: 1. Log Consolidation centralized logging to a server 2. Threat Correlation the artificial intelligence used to sort through multiple logs and log entries to identify attackers 3. Incident Management workflow What happens once a threat is identified? (link from identification to containment and eradication). Notification email, pagers, informs to enterprise managers (MOM, HP Openview) Trouble Ticket Creation Automated responses execution of scripts (instrumentation) Response and Remediation logging 4. Reporting Operational Efficiency/Effectiveness Compliance / SOX, HIPPA, FISMA. Ad Hoc / Forensic Investigations Coming to the business case for SIEM, all engineers are perpetually drawn to new technology, but purchasing decisions should by necessity be based on need and practicality. Even though the functions provided by SIEM are impressive they must be chosen only if they fit an enterprises needs. Why use a SIEM? There are two branches on the SIEM tree namely, operational efficiency and effectiveness, and log management/compliance. Both are achievable with a good SIEM tool. However since there is a large body of work on log management, and compliance has multiple branches, this coursework will focus only on using a SIEM tool effectively to point out the real attackers, and the worst threats to improve security operations efficiency and effectiveness. It can be believed that the most compelling reason for a SIEM tool from an operational perspective is to reduce the number of security events on any given day to a manageable, actionable list, and to automate analysis such that real attacks and intruders can be discerned. As a whole, the number of IT professionals, and security focused individuals at any given company has decreased relative to the complexity and capabilities demanded by an increasingly inter networked web. While one solution may have dozens of highly skilled security engineers on staff pouring through individual event logs to identify threats, SIEM attempts to automate that process and can achieve a legitimate reduction of 99.9+% of security event data while it actually increases the effective detection over traditional human driven monitoring. This is why SIEM is preferred by most of the companies. Reasons to use a SIEM: To know the need for a SIEM tool in an organization is very important. A defense in depth strategy (industry best practice) utilizes multiple devices: Firewalls, IDS, AV, AAA, VPN, User Events LDAP/NDS/NIS/X.500, Operating System Logs which can easily generate hundreds of thousands of events per day, in some cases, even millions. No matter how good a security engineer is, about 1,000 events per day is a practical maximum that a security engineer is about to deal with. So if the security team is to remain small they will need to be equipped with a good SIEM tool. No matter how good an individual device is, if not monitored and correlated, each device can be bypassed individually, and the total security capabilities of a system will not exceed its weakest link. When monitored as a whole, with cross device correlation, each device will signal an alert as it is attacked raising awareness and threat indications at each point allowing for additional defences to be brought into play, and i ncident response proportional to the total threat. Even some of the small and medium businesses with just a few devices are seeing over 100,000 events per day. This has become usual in most of the companies says the internet. Real world examples: Below are event and threat alert numbers from two different sites currently running with 99.xx% correlation efficiency on over 100,000 events per day, among which one industry expert referred to as amateur level, stating that 99.99 or 99.999+% efficiency on well in excess of 1,000,000 events per day is more common. Manufacturing Company Central USA 24 hour average, un-tuned SIEM day of deployment Alarms Generated 3722 Correlation Efficiency 99.06% Critical / Major Level Alerts 170 Effective Efficiency 99.96% [Source: Reference 2] In this case, using a SIEM allows the companys security team (2 people in an IT staff of 5), to respond to 170 critical and major alerts per day (likely to decrease as the worst offenders are firewalled out, and the worst offenses dealt with), rather than nearly 400,000. Financial Services Organization 94,600 events 153 actionable alerts 99.83% reduction. [Source: Reference 2] The company above deals with a very large volume of financial transactions, and a missed threat can mean real monetary losses. With respect to the Business Case, a good SIEM tool can provide the analytics, and the knowledge of a good security engineer can be automated and repeated against a mountain of events from a range of devices. Instead of 1,000 events per day, an engineer with a SIEM tool can handle 100,000 events per day (or more). And a SIEM does not leave at night, find another job, take a break or take vacations. It will be working always. SIEM Selection Criteria: The first thing one should look at is the goal. (i.e.) what should the SIEM do for them. If you just need log management then make the vendor can import data from ALL of the available log sources. Not all events are sent via SYSLOG. Some may be sent through: Checkpoint LEA Cisco IDS RDEP/SDEE encryption Vulnerability Scanner Databases Nessus, Eeye, ISS AS/400 Mainframes flat files Databases ODBC/SQL queries Microsoft .Net/WMI Consider a product that has a defined data collection process that can pull data (queries, retrieve files, WMI api calls), as well as accept input sent to it. And it is essential to be aware that logs, standards, and formats change, several (but not all), vendors can adapt by parsing files with REGEX and importing if one can get them a file. However log management itself is not usually an end goal. It matters about for what purpose these logs are used for. They may be used for threat identification, compliance reporting or forensics. It is also essential to know whether the data captured is in real-time. If threat identification is the primary goal, 99+% correlation/consolidation/aggregation is easily achievable, and when properly tuned, 99.99+% efficiency is within reach (1-10 actionable threat alerts / 100,000 events). If compliance reporting is the primary goal, then consider what regulations one is subject to. Frequently a company is subject to multiple compliance requirements. Consider a fortune 500 company like General Electrics. As a publicly traded company GE is subject to SOX, as a vendor of medical equipment and software they are subject to HIPPA, as a vendor to the Department of Defense, they are subject to FISMA. In point of fact, GE must produce compliance reports for at least one corporate division for nearly each and every regulation. Two brief notes on compliance, and one should look at architecture: Beware of vendors with canned reports. While they may be very appealing, and sound like a solution, valid compliance and auditing is about matching output to ones stated policies, and must be customized to match each companys published policies. Any SIEM that can collect all of the required data, meet ISO 177999, and provide timely monitoring can be used to aid in compliance. Compliance i s a complex issue with many management, and financial process requirements, it is not just a function or report IT can provide. Advanced SIEM Topics: Risk Based Correlation / Risk Profiling Correlation based on risk can dramatically reduce the number of rules required for effective threat identification. The threat and target profiles do most of the work. If the attacks are risk profiled, three relatively simple correlation rules can identify 99%+ of the attacks. They are as follows: IP Attacker repeat offenders IP Target repeat targets Vulnerability Scan + IDS Signature match Single Packet of Doom Risk Based Threat Identification is one of the more effective and interesting correlation methods, but has several requirements: >A Metabase of Signatures Cisco calls the attack X, ISS calls it Y, Snort calls it Z Cross Reference the data >Requires automated method to keep up to date. >Threats must be compiled and threat weightings applied to each signature/event. Reconnaissance events are low weighting but aggregate and report on the persistent (low and slow) attacker Finger Printing a bit more specific, a bit higher weighting Failed User Login events a medium weighting, could be an unauthorized attempt to access a resource, or a forgotten password. Buffer Overflows, Worms and Viruses -high weighting -potentially destructive events one need to respond to unless one has already patched/protected the system. >The ability to learn or adjust to ones network Input or auto-discover which systems, are business critical vs. which are peripherals, desktops, and non-essential >Risk Profiling: Proper application of trust weightings to reporting devices (NIST 800-42 best practice), can also help to lower cry wolf issues with current security management Next-generation SIEM and log management: One area where the tools can provide the most needed help is in compliance. Corporations increasingly face the challenge of staying accountable to customers, employees and shareholders, and that means protecting IT infrastructure, customer and corporate data, and complying with rules and regulations as defined by the government and industry. Regulatory compliance is here to stay, and under the Obama administration, corporate accountability requirements are likely to grow. Log management and SIEM correlation technologies can work together to provide more comprehensive views to help companies satisfy their regulatory compliance requirements, make their IT and business processes more efficient and reduce management and technology costs in the process. IT organizations also will expect log management and intelligence technologies to provide more value to business activity monitoring and business intelligence. Though SIEM will continue to capture security-related data, its correlation engine can be re-appropriated to correlate business processes and monitor internal events related to performance, uptime, capability utilization and service-level management. We will see the combined solutions provide deeper insight into not just IT operations but also business processes. For example, we can monitor business processes from step A to Z and, if a step gets missed, well see where and when. In short, by integrating SIEM and log management, it is easy to see how companies can save by de-duplicating efforts and functionality. The functions of collecting, archiving, indexing and correlating log data can be collapsed. That will also lead to savings in the resources required and in the maintenance of the tools. CONCLUSION: SIEM is a complex technology, and the market segment remains in flux. SIEM solutions require a high level of technical expertise and SIEM vendors require extensive partner training and certification. SIEM gets more exciting when one can apply log-based activity data and security-event-inspired correlation to other business problems. Regulatory compliance, business activity monitoring and business intelligence are just the tip of the iceberg. Leading-edge customers are already using the tools to increase visibility and the security of composite Web 2.0 applications, cloud-based services and mobile devices. The key is to start with a central record of user and system activity and build an open architecture that lets different business users access the information to solve different business problems. So there is no doubt in SIEM solutions helping the intrusion detection and response to improve. References: 1. Nicolett.M., Williams.A.T., Proctor.P.E. (2006) Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management, 1H06 RA3 1192006. 2. Swift.D. (2006) A Practical Application of SIM/SEM/SIEM Automating Threat Identification 3. SIEM: A Market Snapshot (2007) from http://www.crn.com/security/197002909;jsessionid=BVQXTH11HH14JQE1GHPSKH4ATMY32JVN [Date Accessed: 20th November,2009]. 4. WHAT IS SIEM (2008) from http://www.exploresiem.com/resource-center.html [Date Accessed: 24th November, 2009]. 5. Securing and Managing Your Enterprise: An Integrated Approach (2008) from http://www.exploresiem.com/images/WP-Securing-and-Managing-Your-Enterprise.pdf [Date Accessed: 25th November, 2009]. 6. Shipley .G.(2008) Are SIEM and log management the same thing? from http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2008/063008-test-siem-log-integration.html [Date Accessed: 26th November, 2009] 7. Levin.D. (2009) The convergence of SIEM and log management from http://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2009/031909-tech-update.html [Date Accessed: 26th November, 2009]

Thursday, September 19, 2019

creative short stories Essay examples -- essays research papers

MacBeth’s Transformation from "Brave Macbeth to "This dead Butcher" William Shakespeare's play "MacBeth" tells the story of Macbeth change from a brave general, to a vicious murderer. At the start of the play Macbeth is acknowledge by the king as a brave and honourable general, after he heard of Macbeth's great victory in the battlefield. He promotes Macbeth to Thane of Cawdor, which was still unknown by both Macbeth and Banquo when they came across the three weird sisters. "All Hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor" (I:III:51) "All Hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter" (I:III:53) Macbeth was sceptical about these prophecies, however developed faith in them when Ross, following the king's orders titles him Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth does not let on to anyone about his ever-increasing desire to become king. "If chance will have me king, why chance will crown me." (I:III:154) Macbeth tells his lady about the prophecies and she is instantly enthusiastic about the prospect of Macbeth becoming king. "Great Glamis, Worthy Cawdor! Greater than both by the all-hail hereafter! Thy letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present and I feel now the future is an instant." (I:V:58) Macbeth's desire turns to an obsession and with...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Hamlet: Hamlets Hate For His Uncle Brought On By Ghost :: Shakespeare Hamlet

Hamlet: Hamlet's Hate For His Uncle Brought On By Ghost In society today one might look back on the time of Shakespeare and say how ruthless and barbaric people were in that time, not realizing that the people of today are just as cruel and unforgiving. Shakespeare's Hamlet is a penetrating portrayal of a young man overcome with rage brought about by his uncle. This deep hate for his uncle along with his inability to forgive his mother, and the betrayal of his friends later brings him to his own destruction. Hamlets hate for his uncle is brought on by a ghost. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father who tells him "Know thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown"(pg. 29) These words tear at Hamlets heart enraging him, thus beginning the steps to his destruction. He vowed to avenge his fathers death, and would stop at nothing to take the life of his uncle. His uncle however is not the only one Hamlet has developed a hate for. He believes his mother played a large roll in his fathers death too. The speedy marriage of his mother to his uncle along with the words of his father"Taint not thy mind nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught"(pg.31) lead Hamlet to believe that his mother also had something to do with his fathers death. His mother whom he loved so dearly now becomes one of his worst enemies, destroying him even more than before. Hamlets mother, and uncle however are only the beginning of this emotional roller coaster, later he is betrayed by two of his best friends. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. two of Hamlets dearest friends betray him by turning him over to his uncle, who plans to ship him to England for his death, and further more are the ones to escort Hamlet to the ship. "will't please you go, my lord?"(pg.104) are the words of Rosencrantz urging Hamlet to board the ship, knowing full well that he boards to go to his death. This brings about the final chapter to Hamlet's mental destruction, and from this point on Hamlet cares nothing about his nor any one else's life. Hamlet: Hamlet's Hate For His Uncle Brought On By Ghost :: Shakespeare Hamlet Hamlet: Hamlet's Hate For His Uncle Brought On By Ghost In society today one might look back on the time of Shakespeare and say how ruthless and barbaric people were in that time, not realizing that the people of today are just as cruel and unforgiving. Shakespeare's Hamlet is a penetrating portrayal of a young man overcome with rage brought about by his uncle. This deep hate for his uncle along with his inability to forgive his mother, and the betrayal of his friends later brings him to his own destruction. Hamlets hate for his uncle is brought on by a ghost. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father who tells him "Know thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown"(pg. 29) These words tear at Hamlets heart enraging him, thus beginning the steps to his destruction. He vowed to avenge his fathers death, and would stop at nothing to take the life of his uncle. His uncle however is not the only one Hamlet has developed a hate for. He believes his mother played a large roll in his fathers death too. The speedy marriage of his mother to his uncle along with the words of his father"Taint not thy mind nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught"(pg.31) lead Hamlet to believe that his mother also had something to do with his fathers death. His mother whom he loved so dearly now becomes one of his worst enemies, destroying him even more than before. Hamlets mother, and uncle however are only the beginning of this emotional roller coaster, later he is betrayed by two of his best friends. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. two of Hamlets dearest friends betray him by turning him over to his uncle, who plans to ship him to England for his death, and further more are the ones to escort Hamlet to the ship. "will't please you go, my lord?"(pg.104) are the words of Rosencrantz urging Hamlet to board the ship, knowing full well that he boards to go to his death. This brings about the final chapter to Hamlet's mental destruction, and from this point on Hamlet cares nothing about his nor any one else's life.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Skil Corporation

Harvard Business School 9-389-005 op y September 15, 1988 Skil Corporation On March 23, 1979, Emerson Electric Company acquired Skil Corporation, a manufacturer of portable power tools, for $58 million. With sales of $2. 6 billion in 1979, Emerson Electric produced a broad range of electrical and electronic products and systems. tC Emerson Electric Company Emerson Electric, originally a manufacturer of electric motors and fans, had gradually expanded into a broad range of consumer and industrial products.It classified its businesses into commercial and industrial components and systems; consumer goods (including portable electric tools); and government and defense products (see Table A). Table A Sales and Pretax Income of Emerson Electric by Business Segments ($ millions) 1978 Pretax Income No Sales Commercial and industrial Consumer Government and defense Intercompany sales $1,380 698 176 (20) $201 123 21 1979 Sales Pretax Income $1,570 865 199 (20) $232 141 24 Source: Company annua l reportsEmerson’s business units manufactured products principally in electrical and electronic fields, such as electric motors, controls, drives, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment. The company also manufactured power chain saws, gas cutting and welding equipment, vacuum cleaners, bench power tools (which it sold to Sears), and other consumer goods. Do With a stated goal of being the so-called best-cost producer in as many of its markets as possible, Emerson stressed cost reduction. Emerson defined best cost as the lowest-cost producer of high-quality products, making its products a superior customer value.Each division was measured on growth and return on invested capital. Cheng G. Ong wrote this case in collaboration with Professor Michael E. Porter on the basis of published materials and interviews with company executives. It is intended as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 1988 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685 or write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 1 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 Skil Corporation op y Emerson had embarked on a program of acquisitions to meet its aggressive goals of growing sales 15% annually and doubling earnings by 1981. Previously, Emerson had acquired only financially successful companies and had retained existing management.With the Skil acquisition, it broke precedent. Carried by a highly profitable electronic switch company, Skil had regist ered mediocre financial performance. Because of Emerson’s major position in the chain saw industry with its Beaird-Poulan Division, for antitrust reasons Emerson had to divest Skil’s $20 million in chain saw sales on acquiring Skil. From Emerson’s perspective, Skil was a turnaround situation. Chuck Knight, CEO of Emerson, wondered if Skil would represent a successful new diversification approach or prove that Emerson’s past acquisition philosophy had been correct.Jim Hardymon and Bill Davis, Emerson veterans installed as Skil’s new president and marketing vice president, had a more pressing problem. Faced with stiff competition from Black & Decker, Sears, and emerging Japanese competitors, Hardymon and Davis had to forge a new strategic direction. tC The Portable Power Tool Industry The power tool industry consisted of portable and stationary tools powered by electricity, gasoline, or air. Stationary tools such as table saws, band saws, radial arm saws, large grinders, and sanders were large, heavy units mounted on floor stands. Portable tools were hand held and mostly powered by an electric motor.The gasoline-powered chain saw was one of the few portable tools with a nonelectric engine. Pneumatic power was largely restricted to automotive tools such as grinders, buffers, impact wrenches, drills, and hammers. In 1979, portable electric power tools accounted for the majority of industry volume. No Portable electric power tools came in a wide range of sizes, prices, and qualities. Principal products were saws (circular, reciprocating, sabre, or jig); drills (corded or cordless, regular or hammer); and sanders (disc, orbital, belt, or combined sander/grinders). Other products included outers, planes, roto hammers, impact wrenches, polishers, and screwdrivers. Exhibit 1 shows domestic U. S. sales of portable tools by type of tool. A typical company product line consisted of about 200 tools plus accessories, for which a variety of sizes and price points were available. The portable power tool market was becoming increasingly segmented by price point. Circular saws, for example, ranged in price from $24. 99 to $199. 99 with typically 20 price points in between, each point designating a certain level of quality, durability, horsepower, and other product features. A typical manufacturer had 15 models. DoPortable electric power tools were used primarily for woodworking, metalworking, or automotive repair. Power tools could be broadly divided into professional (also called industrial) and consumer categories. Professional tools were designed for heavy-duty use and had higher horsepower and a longer useful life. They were markedly superior in quality and precision to those designed for the consumer market. For example, the gears for a professional saw were made of steel, whereas consumer saw gears were made from powdered metal, a lower-strength material. Professional tools sold at higher prices and gross margins t han consumer tools.For example, while a professional drill retailed at $100 or more, a consumer drill typically cost less than $50. The average gross margin for a consumer drill was 37% compared with 45% for a professional drill. Within both markets, the range of price, quality, and size gradations was wide. As consumer tools were becoming more sophisticated and of higher quality, however, the traditional distinction between consumer and professional tools was blurring. As a result, more and more tradespeople and other professionals were buying consumer tools, especially in developing countries where both markets were served through the same channels. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation 389-005 op y Product improvement in portable power tools took several forms. First was the use of battery power. Although the first cordless drill, driven by nickel cadmium batteries, was introduced in the early 1960s , cordless tools did not become commercially successful until the early 1970s. Cordless tools were generally less powerful than corded ones because of the limits of battery power and lightweight motors. They were generally regarded as consumer tools.As battery technology improved, professionals began using cordless tools for quick â€Å"touch-up† jobs while using corded professional tools for the main job. By the late 1970s, sales of cordless tools were growing rapidly. tC The second improvement was the availability of lighter materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, and plastic. For example, Skil and Black & Decker, leading U. S. competitors, had pioneered the use of high-strength plastic in consumer tools and had lowered their costs significantly. Tools were also being redesigned for improved ergonomics and balance.Japanese and European manufacturers had taken the lead in creating tools with better-fitting handles and improved gripping surfaces, thus providing better control for the user. Producers were also designing tools to be more energy efficient. Safety was the final area of development. Saws and other tools increasingly had features such as impact resistance, safety switches, and guards. Typically, using a team of four to six engineers, the design development for a new tool took two to four years, at a cost of $200,000 to $700,000 a year. Manufacturing a new model required $250,000 to $800,000 in tooling. Buyers NoProfessional buyers of tools were a highly diverse group that included metalworkers, building contractors, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and farmers. They were concerned with performance, quality, durability, and service. They were very knowledgeable about portable electric power tools, which were often the primary tools used in the professional’s work. Tradespeople frequently purchased what they perceived as the best individual tool of each type and were only moderately influenced by the brand name. Portable electric powe r tools were also used in manufacturing firms for production activities and plant maintenance.Users in factories were generally less concerned than tradespeople about a tool’s quality and generally purchased whichever brand was available at their supply stores. Sales to the professional segment were growing steadily at 8% per year. Do Consumers were mainly hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers who bought mostly drills and circular saws. Consumer users tended to be more price conscious than professionals and more susceptible to brand advertising and promotions. The consumer segment had grown rapidly in the early 1970s and by 1979 accounted for half the U. S. power tool market.The growth rate for consumer tools varied greatly by individual product category. For example, between 1978 and 1979 alone, sales of cordless tools grew 50%. In the United Kingdom, the do-it-yourself market was growing at 23% annually and the industrial market, at about 2%. The do-it-yourself market in Europe w as projected to grow at a similar rate. In 1979, the portable electric power tool market was approaching $2,350 million worldwide, with about $868 million of that in the United States. Western Europe represented about one-third of the world market and Japan, 12. %. Table B shows the sales distribution of portable electric tools by geographic region. Developed country markets were similar in their channels and product varieties, although safety and electrical standards differed. In Europe, the industrial segment had traditionally dominated, and Black & Decker had pioneered the introduction of consumer tools. European tool designs tended to be more stylish than American ones. In Europe, tools were used primarily on concrete, and in the United States, on wood. 3 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.[email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 World Portable Electric Power Tool Market in 1979 (sales by geographic region) Region Dollar sales United States West ern Europe Japan/Far East Latin America Canada Australia Other Total 37. 0% 34. 5 12. 5 3. 7 3. 1 2. 2 7. 0 100. 0% Units 40. 0% 32. 2 12. 5 3. 3 3. 3 2. 2 6. 5 100. 0% Channels op y Table B Skil Corporation No tC There were 15 separate distribution channels for power tools, ranging from specialized industrial outlets to mass merchandisers. Exhibit 1 gives estimated sales and growth rate by channel.Traditionally, industrial suppliers supplied professionals with their job needs and carried a broad range of higher-priced tools. Consumer channels such as hardware stores and mass merchandisers carried tools for consumers. With the advent of the do-it-yourself market in the mid-1970s, consumers also began shopping at more industrial channels such as lumber and building materials supply stores. These do-it-yourself consumers demanded higher quality and more features in their tools. By 1979, these stores were being partially displaced by home centers, which catered to both professionals an d consumers.A substantial volume of professional tools was increasingly sold through consumer channels. There were significant product and price point overlaps between the high-price consumer channels and the contractor and mill supply outlets. Industrial channels included plumbing supply, electrical supply, contractor supply, automotive repair, tool rental, mill supply, and lumber/building materials supply outlets. Consumer channels included mass merchandisers, hardware stores, home centers, and new outlets such as catalog showrooms and buying clubs.Consumer channels had not developed fully outside the United States and Europe but were emerging in Japan. Industrial channels generally purchased directly from manufacturers; consumer channels were served direct, through wholesalers, or via buying groups. Both types of channels provided customer assistance, while manufacturers supplied service and repairs through company service centers. Fast service was a strong factor in stimulating sales, especially to tradespeople who relied on their tools for their livelihoods. Do Industrial Channels Contractor supply. In 1979, there were about 750 contractor supply stores in the United States.These stores supplied building contractors with a variety of products, ranging from fasteners and tools to generators and building materials. This channel stocked a complete line of portable power tools from many different manufacturers, including at least the top two brands for each tool. Usually independent or part of small chains, contractor supply outlets purchased portable power tools directly from manufacturers. It was a common practice for manufacturers to train the contractor supply outlet’s sales force in selling their new tools to tradespeople and contractors at job sites.Portable electric power tools represented 20% to 30% of a contractor supply outlet’s total business and were generally priced below tools sold through other industrial channels. Mill supply. Mi ll supply stores were usually small, independent outlets buying directly from manufacturers. In 1979, there were about 1,100 mill supply houses in the United States. These outlets 4 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation 389-005 op y carried a broad line of products for factories, ranging from food to work clothes to tools.Although power tools comprised only 1% to 2% of total sales for mill supply stores, they were the most important channel for portable electric power tool sales to factories. Mill supply stores carried a limited line of portable power tools, selecting their assortment from only a couple of manufacturers. They sold mostly drills and grinders for metalworking and maintenance. Mill supply stores expected fast delivery of tools from manufacturers since customers often purchased tools on the spur of the moment. Portable power tools were usually sold at abovemarket prices. tC Tool specialist s.The 300 tool specialists in the United States were mostly independent single outlets whose primary buyer groups were general contractors and manufacturing workers. In 1979, sales of portable power tools were $45 million, growing at an estimated 5% annually. Tool specialists carried the greatest number of product lines, especially low-volume tools. The tools carried were usually the brand leader, high-priced, of professional quality, and sold at prices similar to those of contractor supply outlets. Electric-powered tools constituted about 30% of total sales. Plumbing and electrical supply outlets.In 1979, there were about 700 plumbing and 1,800 electrical supply outlets in the United States. Although several electrical supply chains were large and some were consolidating, plumbing and electrical supply outlets were usually small, independent stores; Graybar, Westinghouse, and General Electric maintained national electrical distributorships. These outlets carried a limited line of h igh-priced tools, especially reciprocating saws and drills, for sale to plumbers and electricians, respectively. Tools represented a minor (1% to 2%) portion of their total business.These outlets normally stocked only one or two brands and bought directly from the manufacturers. No Lumber/building materials supply outlets. These outlets stocked products similar to those in contractor supply stores, but concentrated more on materials. They carried a limited line of portable electric tools, those most in demand by contractors. Automotive distributors. These distributors supplied a wide range of products to the automotive service industry. The portable power tools they carried, such as grinders and impact wrenches, represented less than 1% of total sales. Tool and equipment rental outlets.These outlets rented higher-priced tools such as roto hammers and large sanders to tradespeople, contractors, or do-it-yourselfers for the occasional job. There were a few national rental companies. C onsumer Channels Do Mass merchandisers. Department stores such as Sears, J. C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward and discount merchandisers like K Mart were the largest sellers of portable power tools, accounting for almost 40% of U. S. consumer portable power tool sales in 1979. Sears sold private-label tools under its Craftsman line, which was primarily manufactured by Singer Company.Sears was the most significant single consumer outlet for portable electric power tools. Montgomery Ward and J. C. Penney sold Black & Decker, Skil, and Rockwell products under those brands and private labels. Department stores carried low- to mid-price point products for the middle market, while discounters concentrated on low-price point items. Mass merchandisers generally carried a narrow range of branded consumer tools. Sears offered the broadest line of all consumer channels. Sears, for example, stocked six to ten circular saws, while K Mart stocked two.Discount merchants frequently engaged in aggressi ve promotional campaigns, and tools were often highly discounted, sometimes to the level of the wholesale price of 5 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 Skil Corporation op y the tool to a hardware-store. Customer service was generally limited, although Sears offered aftersales service. Hardware stores. Independent hardware stores and chains offered a broad range of consumer tools and accessories, and some professional tools, often from several manufacturers.Hardware stores offered high levels of customer purchase assistance and service. Manufacturers sold direct to hardware chains and buying groups or through wholesalers. In 1979, there were 5,000 hardware stores serviced by 200 wholesalers. Manufacturers frequently engaged in cooperative advertising with this channel. Sales of portable power tools through hardware stores had been static. Home centers. Home centers were an emerging channel in 1979. They carr ied a wide range of merchandise connected to the home, including tools, lumber, lawn mowers, and general hardware.Home centers carried broad lines of tools at a number of price points but tended to avoid the lowestpriced consumer lines. Home centers offered customer purchase assistance and service. They had partly replaced traditional lumberyards. Other Channels tC Both consumers and professionals shopped at home centers. Consumer-oriented centers carried fewer product lines and lower-priced items than professional home centers or hardware stores. Home centers competed with mass merchandisers for consumer sales. Home center sales were $83 million in 1979 and growing rapidly at 12% to 14% per annum. NoOther smaller channels included government supply agencies, military supply stores, catalog showrooms, agricultural and farm supply outlets, premium and incentive supply outlets, hobby stores, and general merchandise stores. Marketing Most companies maintained a sales force to call on t he channels. The sales forces provided training to the outlet’s sales teams and demonstrated tools at job sites and in the store. They also maintained the company’s product displays. Tools were sold to each channel using different price lists with different discount structures. High-volume channels could qualify for volume discounts.Cooperative advertising with major channels was a common promotional practice by manufacturers. Catalogs and point-of-sale merchandising at industrial channels supplemented co-op advertisements. All the manufacturers also participated in trade shows. Do Competitors that targeted consumer users engaged in heavy media advertising. Exhibit 2 gives the advertising expenditures of major manufacturers. Manufacturing Portable electric power tools generally consisted of an outer shell, an electric motor, and screw machine parts such as gears and shafts, switches and attachments.The manufacture of portable electric tools involved fabrication and ass embly of these components. Parts fabrication technologies included machining, die casting, metal stamping, and heat treatment. The motor housing and tool handle were often made of molded plastic. Professional tools usually had more aluminum diecast parts than consumer tools. Purchased materials, machining, diecasting/ molding, motor win ding and assembly, and final assembly were the most significant costs in manufacturing. Diecasting and molding were subject 6 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.[email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation 389-005 op y to the most significant economies of scale. In-house diecasting and molding reduced costs by about 20% over purchased components. The costs of molding, machining, and diecasting depended on the volume per part. The cost of motor and final assembly was determined by the volume per product family, that is, product lines that could be produced with the same manufacturing process. Purchased materials were the least scale-sensitive of the cost elements, with cost falling by only 3% when volume was doubled.Table C gives an approximate breakdown of manufacturing costs for a typical manufacturer. Table C Breakdown of Manufacturing Costs Consumer Tool 56% 5 5 14 20 100% 43% 25 14 10 8 100% tC Purchased materials Machining Diecasting and molding Motor assembly Final assembly Total Industrial Tool No Manufacturers could achieve significant cost savings through automation. Single-task machines like screw machines and grinders were being replaced by machining systems. A typical machining system cost $400,000, but the cost could be much higher.An automated motor production line cost $3 million and required that a million motors be produced a year to break even. Hitachi, a Japanese competitor, and several European manufacturers had invested heavily in automation and developed lines of tools from common base designs. Table D shows estimates of the percentage of total manufacturing cost, wit h and without automation, represented by each part of a circular saw with annual production of 100,000 units. Table D Estimates of Manufacturing Costs Saw Without Automation (% Unit Costs) 25. 0% 23. 0 5. 0 2. 0 1. 5 Do Housing MotorElectrical Bearings Packaging With Automation (% Unit Costs) 20. 0% 20. 0 5. 0 2. 0 4. 0 Manufacturers varied in their levels of integration, but none were completely integrated. The largest manufacturers produced attachments such as saw blades or feet for jigsaws, which smaller manufacturers purchased from outside suppliers. No tool manufacturer possessed the technology or scale to produce all the necessary components. Critical components that directly affected the performance of the tool (i. e. , parts that required machining or diecasting) were generally fabricated in-house.Most manufacturers also produced the motor, which consisted of two basic parts, the armature and the field. Proper balancing of the 7 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyr ight. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 Skil Corporation op y armature was critical to the performance of a tool. A motor’s power depended on the number and size of the laminations. Because of the high cost of the equipment and the long changeover time per model, lamination stamping was extremely scale-sensitive. A lamination press cost between $750,000 and $1 million, and a set of tooling dies cost $250,000.Production of about 10 million of a particular lamination size was required to break even. Typical motors required 10 to 20 laminations each. Manufacturers could purchase all the main components for power tools from specialized suppliers who sold to a variety of industries. Many supplier industries were mature, and some components were sourced from abroad. The components most often purchased included batteries, direct-current motors, metal stampings, plastic resins and parts, powdered metal parts, switches, cord sets, motor laminations, saw blades , ball bearings, and packaging.The cost of most purchased materials was determined by the overall volume purchased. Table E gives an approximate breakdown of costs as a percentage of sales for a typical manufacturer. Estimated Costs as a Percentage of Sales tC Table E Materials and supplies Direct labor Indirect labor and overhead Advertising expense Sales force expense Competition 35%—53% 6%—8% 10%—22% 4%—10% 4%—8% No In the 1960s and early 1970s, more than 70 manufacturers worldwide made portable electric tools, with approximately 20 located in the United States and the balance in Europe and Japan. Until the mid-1970s, competition in ower tools was largely domestic. Except for Black & Decker and Skil, few competitors exported or manufactured abroad. When manufacturers began selling in foreign markets, they differed in their marketing approach to buyers in different countries. U. S. manufacturers produced a different and wider line of products in their foreign plants compared with that produced for U. S. sale. Japanese manufacturers tended to offer the same range of products worldwide from plants in Japan. Table F lists the brand share of dollar sales in the world market in 1979. Table F Brand Share of World Portable Electric Power Tool Market, 1979Company 31. 1% 11. 1 10. 7 8. 3 7. 1 5. 0 4. 3 3. 5 2. 6 1. 9 1. 5 1. 4 1. 0 1. 0 9. 5 Do Black & Decker Makita Bosch Hitachi Skil AEG Singer Milwaukee Metabo Rockwell Peugeot Fein Elu Ryobi Others Percentage 8 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation 389-005 op y In 1979, there were approximately a dozen manufacturers of portable electric power tools competing in the U. S. market. Of these, seven were U. S. companies. Exhibit 3 shows the share of major companies by distribution channel in the United States.Black & Decker had a U. S. market share estimated at 40% to 43% of total dollar sales. Sears Roeb uck was in second position, with an estimated 16% to 20% market share. Skil was third with about 15%. The balance was held by Milwaukee, Rockwell, small specialist producers, various private-label manufacturers, and some emerging foreign competitors. In the industrial tool segment, Milwaukee was market leader with approximately 25% market share. Black & Decker was second with an estimated 20% market share. In third position was Skil with about 15%. Exhibit 4 lists selected financial data for the major U.S. portable electric tool manufacturers. tC Black & Decker Manufacturing Company. Black & Decker manufactured a broad line of electric and cordless portable power tools, portable air tools, and stationary and gasoline-powered equipment. In the late 1960s, Black & Decker moved into lawn care and began manufacturing lawn mowers and hedge trimmers. A chain saw company, McCulloch Corporation, was acquired in 1974. McCulloch began manufacturing moped engines in 1979. In the same year, Bla ck & Decker introduced its hand-held rechargeable vacuum cleaner. In 1979, worldwide sales were $1. billion. Portable electric tools represented about 75% of Black & Decker’s overall sales. The company’s goal was a yearly 15% growth in sales and earnings per share. In 1979, Black & Decker appointed the first person outside the Black and Decker families to head the company. No Black & Decker was known as the world’s oldest and largest power tool manufacturer. Black & Decker segmented the portable power tool industry into consumer and professional markets. Its product line was extremely broad and consisted of 280 models designed specially for either the professional or consumer markets.The company was best known for its consumer drills and industrial sander/grinder. Black & Decker’s line was designed around approximately 200 motor sizes. 1 Table G shows Black & Decker’s sales by market category. Black & Decker sold to virtually all distribution chann els, including national merchandisers such as K Mart, J. C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward. It had an extremely strong position in consumer channels, especially in low-priced drills and saws. In industrial channels, Black & Decker had established leadership in most product categories in mill upply outlets by focusing on the largest regionally dominant distributors where they were the sole line. The company’s products were in more than 70% of all U. S. homes. In the United Kingdom, Black & Decker had a 90% market share. Black & Decker’s distribution system involved more than 100,000 outlets worldwide. The company sold direct, through wholesalers to smaller outlets and via its network of 104 company-owned service centers in the United States and 221 in 45 foreign markets. Black & Decker’s service centers were supplemented by several hundred authorized service centers operated by independent local owners.Do Black & Decker enjoyed an extremely strong brand reputation a mong both consumers and industrial users. Black & Decker’s tools were priced below most of its competitors’. The company spent heavily on print and prime- time television advertising. Its worldwide advertising budget for 1978 was $47. 3 million, a 20% increase over 1977. Black & Decker had 31 plants in 10 countries. The company was largely nonunion, with only one unionized plant. Manufacturing was divided between professional and consumer tools. Each division produced tools for its own market. Black & Decker plants were partly automated.The company required a three-year payback on its investment in automation. In 1979, the company began replacing single-task machines with machining systems. The machining system comprised four units, an automatic sawing machine, a facing and centering unit, and two tracers. 1In 1979, Black & Decker’s U. K. company had reduced its number of models from 130 tools to 50. 9 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 Skil Corporation op y In late 1978, the company began to standardize its motors and armature shafts. Its U. K. plant produced 3. million consumer motors with one standard field lamination and one armature shaft; the different power requirements were achieved through variations in the windings, produced on an automated winding line. Black & Decker had developed its own â€Å"production flow† system, a combination of conventional flow-line techniques and group technology, in which machine tools were grouped around the production needs of components rather than components distributed among successive production processes. To reduce its work-in-process inventory, the company relied on computerization to organize the flow of parts through its plants.Black & Decker first adopted group technology and related automation in the mid-1960s. It applied the technique to the production of 7 ? -inch power handsaws, with a resulting decrease in direct labor from one hour per saw to 30 minutes and a 16% reduction in selling price. Black & Decker was one of the most vertically integrated manufacturers in the United States. Table G tC Foreign subsidiaries were responsible for marketing and product development in their markets. Research and development was conducted in the United States and four other countries on a budget exceeding $15 million.Each manufacturing facility had its own engineering staff. Black & Decker transacted 60% of its total business outside the United States. Black & Decker’s distribution of sales by geographic area is shown in Table G. Distribution of Black & Decker Sales By Market Category (percent) 1978 1977 63% 28 9 63% 28 9 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 $531. 9 480. 0 193. 2 $386. 4 414. 5 159. 0 $311. 4 361. 7 138. 5 $277. 8 334. 5 135. 9 $249. 0 293. 2 111. 7 67% 25 8 No Consumer products Professional products Service 1979 By Geographic Area ($ millions) Europe United States Pacific 1976 63% 2 6 11 1975 58% 31 1 Source: Black & Decker Annual Report, 1979. Do Sears Roebuck & Company/Singer Company. Sears Roebuck & Company operated 866 retail stores, 1,388 miscellaneous other stores (mostly catalog stores), and 14 catalog merchandise distribution centers. Sears also provided after-sales service at its retail centers. Positioned as a general-line retailer, Sears carried a broad mix of lines directed at the middle-class customer. Many Sears products were sourced from outside vendors and sold under a variety of Sears brand names. Sears had by far the highest sales of power tools of any single retailer.Sears’ own brand, Craftsman, had been an established trademark for more than 55 years. Craftsman portable power tools were seen as a consumer line and priced moderately. Sears’ excellent reputation for service was a major Sears advantage in selling power tools. Portable power tool sales at Sears had been flat. Singer manufactured all of the portable power tools for Sears, which for more than 40 years had been its sole tool customer in the United States. Singer also produced lawn and garden appliances and floor care products for Sears. In 1979, Singer’s total sales were $2. 9 billion. The company also manufactured sewing machines, furniture, and air conditioning and heating equipment for consumers, and aerospace and marine systems for the government. 10 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation 389-005 op y Singer manufactured 50 models of portable power tools in two plants. Its pricing was on a known-cost basis. Sears paid Singer an agreed-on markup over its actual costs, which were disclosed to Sears. Sears owned most of the specialized tooling.In 1979, Singer and Sears marketed power tools for the first time in Brazil under both the Craftsman and Singer trademarks. Singer was believed to enjoy above-average profitability in power tools. Rockwell Internationa l Corporation. Rockwell International was a diversified company operating in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, graphics, textile, and power tool industries. Rockwell had entered the power tool business in the early 1960s with the acquisition of Porter Cable, a well-respected industrial portable tool manufacturer, and Delta, an industrial stationary tool company.The company then marketed professional tools under the Rockwell label. tC Rockwell’s power tool division was estimated to hold just over 6% of the market. Rockwell tools had been sold through industrial channels until the late 1970s, when the company began marketing a new line of tools to consumers through mass merchandisers, hardware stores, and other retailers. Rockwell’s new product line matched Black & Decker’s. Rockwell set out to aggressively grow the business through heavy advertising. The company advertised to end users through comparative advertisements in trade and consumer magazin es.Rockwell’s bench top (stationary) power tools became quite popular among consumer users, although progress in portable tools had been modest: Rockwell produced a line of 130 tools in three plants. It had both company-owned service centers and a network of authorized independents throughout the United States and Canada. Components had been standardized so that 80% of the repairs involved 40% of the parts, lessening inventory requirements. Rockwell entered the U. K. market with its line of consumer tools in the late 1970s and suffered losses.In 1979, Rockwell took a $35 million write-off in consumer tools. No Milwaukee Tools. Milwaukee Tools was a subsidiary of Amstar Corporation, the largest producer of sweeteners in the United States, with sales of $1,056. 4 million in 1979. Milwaukee had been producing portable electric tools since 1924 and was acquired by Amstar in 1976. Amstar’s Industrial Products Group consisted of Milwaukee and other companies producing hoists , jacks, fluid joints, couplings, and other industrial tools and equipment. Sweeteners accounted for 84% of Amstar’s sales, although it was seeking greater diversification.Sugar prices were severely depressed in 1979 and were expected to be soft for the next few years. Milwaukee concentrated on tools for the professional market. Its line consisted of about 280 models of portable electric tools manufactured in three plants. The Milwaukee Sawzall and drill were the company’s best-known tools. Milwaukee sold through more than 5,000 distributors in the United States and Canada serving industrial channels. It had a very strong brand image in the professional market and a good position in all industrial channels, especially plumbing and electrical supply outlets.Milwaukee had established a strong position in contractor supply in high-priced drills and reciprocating saws. Milwaukee’s tools were priced above other brands. Do Makita Electric Works Ltd. Makita Electric Wo rks (Japan) was originally a motor repair shop. It entered the power tool market in the 1950s. By 1979, its annual sales approached $250 million, with international sales accounting for about 45%. Makita concentrated on tools for the professional market, especially for woodworking. The company had 250 professional-quality tool models in its product line.There were strong similarities in Makita tools sold in domestic and overseas markets. Makita priced its tools aggressively, sometimes 20% to 30% below prevailing market prices for the normal professional tools. Makita had pioneered the introduction of lower-priced materials on professional tools (for example, plastic versus metal housings). To sell its tools, Makita had to convince users they were as good as conventional tools but less expensive. 11 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 89-005 Skil Corporation op y Makita manufactured tools in two plants located in Japa n. Dedicated equipment manufactured specific product families. The cost-conscious company awarded employees for recommendations on cost savings or new product ideas. In Japan, Makita had 400 salespeople selling directly to retail outlets. Makita’s sales in the U. S. market had grown from less than $10 million in 1976 to approximately $25 million in 1979. Makita was making a major push for U. S. market share, combining high quality with aggressive pricing.In 1979, Makita sold primarily through industrial channels, although it had an aggressive direct sales force selling at job sites. Robert Bosch Gmbh. Robert Bosch (West Germany) was the second-largest portable electric power tool manufacturer in the world. The company manufactured a variety of products and equipment, ranging from automotive parts to production machinery and systems. In 1979, sales of portable electric power tools were approximately $400 million; $22 million were in the U. S. market. tC Bosch had a very strong position in Europe and distributed through all channels.The company manufactured about 250 models in six plants located throughout Europe. In the United States, the company concentrated on the professional segment. In 1979, it acquired Stanley Tool’s portable power tool business in the United States. Stanley was a strong brand name in routers. Hitachi. Backed by Japan’s largest electrical manufacturer, Hitachi had portable electric power tool sales in 1979 of $175 million, commanding about 40% of the market in Japan. Sales in the United States were less than $1 million. No Hitachi’s power tools were of industrial quality, primarily for metalworking.The company was regarded as an industry leader in several tools. Tools were designed for the world market and manufactured in one plant located in Japan. Others. AEG Telefunken of Germany was an established manufacturer of portable electric power tools in Europe. Ingersoll-Rand, a U. S. manufacturer, also produced po rtable electric tools under its Millers Falls brand. Skil Corporation Skil Corporation was founded in the 1920s in Chicago. Its original product was the circular saw, which it invented, but gradually it expanded into other power tools.Skil had a long history of introducing new products. It had a number of industry firsts or near firsts to its credit, including an early cordless drill, the first portable electric saw, and the first consumer electric hedge trimmer. Do Skil entered the Canadian market in 1946. In the 1950s, Skil invented the roto hammer but, while retaining manufacturing rights, sold the patents to Hilti, a company in Liechtenstein, to raise cash. In the 1960s, the company began producing lower-priced tools for consumers. During the same period, Skil began manufacturing in Europe and Australia.In the 1970s, the company entered markets in the Far East and Latin America. In the 1960s, Skil developed an electronic switch and formed a new company, Capax, in the Netherlands to produce and supply electronic switches to Skil and other power tool manufacturers. Various competitors soon used electronic variable speed switches to control speed in many tools. The Capax subsidiary was still highly profitable. Since its inception, Skil had been managed by members of one family that had controlling interest in the company.Under increasing competitive pressure, Skil’s financial results had not been 12 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation 389-005 op y stellar, although reported profitability had improved in recent years. Exhibits 5, 6, and 7 give recent Skil financial results. Products Skil served both the professional and consumer markets. It had a broad product line, including all significant types of tools in numerous shapes and variations at all price points. In the United States, more than 130 models employed 11 motor frame sizes.Skil also had about 150 different Europ ean models and about 75 for the rest of the world. Its circular saw line remained Skil’s single strongest product area. The company also had good positions in mid-priced drills and roto hammers. tC Skil engineers were encouraged to aggressively develop new models, and the company strove for the best product performance rather than commonality with other models. New designs were released for manufacturing at one of Skil’s plants. In 1978, Skil had 93 engineers and technicians employed in its research laboratories.Expenditure for research and engineering was approximately $2. 7 million. Skil product designs varied in different countries according to local needs. In circular saws, for example, Skil had seven different U. S. saws, two European versions, two Canadian versions, and two for other export markets, totaling 35 models using 12 different motors worldwide. Skil had a higher percentage of professional tools in its product mix than Black & Decker. Skil tools were pre dominantly metallic, with cut steel gears and metal housings. Channels No Skil sold through all the distribution channels for power tools.Skil was well established in hardware stores and had a strong position in circular saws in contractor supply channels due primarily to a â€Å"worm drive† professional saw that was the industry standard. Skil tools were also sold through department stores. The company’s major domestic accounts were with Montgomery Ward and J. C. Penney, which represented 10% of its sales in the United States. Skil’s sales force serviced all its distributors except the mass merchandisers, who were sold to direct, and hardware stores, which were served through wholesalers.The company had 2,200 customers, including 200 wholesalers, which serviced hardware stores. From the beginning, the company had established service centers throughout the country. In 1979, it had 76 company-owned service centers and 427 authorized service stations throughout th e United States. Marketing Do Skil’s 150-person sales force was broadly specialized by channel. Merchandising techniques included self-contained displays that show-cased promotional tools to the consumer. Skil seldom advertised (except in cooperative programs with channels), relying more on product publicity.Occasionally the company sponsored sales promotions and consumer media advertising campaigns in magazines, newspapers, and television. Manufacturing Skil manufactured products in 13 plants throughout North America, Western Europe, and Australia. Plants were dedicated to either component fabrication or assembly. Components plants were generally single-function facilities for such activities as diecasting, screw machining, saw blade manufacture, and motors production. The most popular motor frame size was manufactured in five 13 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.[email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 Skil Corporation op y plants located in four countries, with annual production ranging from 50,000 units to 800,000 units per plant. Annual motor production in other frame sizes varied from 12,000 units to 870,000 units per plant. In the United States (Illinois, Arkansas, and New York), three feeder plants produced components and four manufacturing plants produced different products. The Netherlands had two plants, one for electronic switches, as did Canada; Australia and Brazil (a joint venture) had one each.Skil plants were partly automated with motor winding lines and some machining centers. Skil’s newest plant in Heber Springs, Arkansas, had opened in 1979. International Do No tC Skil sold tools on a worldwide basis, with its greatest international strength in Europe. The company’s worldwide operations were divided into three regions: the United States, Europe, and Other. Each was autonomous and had plants that produced the full product line for that region. A network of country managers was responsib le for sales and service in each country. 14 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.[email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. Skil Corporation U. S. Portable Electric Power Tool Market in 1979: Product Sales by Distribution Channel ($ millions) Consumer Mass Merchandisers Circular saws Drills—corded Drills—cordless Jigsaws Orbital sanders Belt sanders Roto hammers Sander/grinders Planes Miscellaneous Parts/service Total Percentage growth $ 40 36 3 21 19 11 — 6 2 29 22 $189 2%–4% Industrial Hardware/ Home Centers $ 37 37 9 12 7 6 — 3 1 37 42 $191 Mill Supply Contractor Supply Plumbing/ Electrical $ 20 46 2 3 5 8 4 26 1 14 15 $144 2%–3% $ 36 32 3 3 2 8 6 0 2 11 12 $135 2%–3% $2 25 2 2 1 1 3 2 — 13 11 $ 62 2%–3% Others/ Service Total $8 19 1 1 3 1 19 2 — 18 75 $147 $143 195 20 42 37 35 32 59 6 122 177 $868 Do No tC Product op y Exhibit 1 389-005 15 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyrig ht. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 U. S. National Consumer Advertising of Portable Electric Tools by Leading Manufacturers, 1975–1979 ($ thousands) 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 $2,613. 5 178. 7 1,793. 5 590. 1 51. 2 $4,479. 3 — 3,506. 1 973. 2 — $6,487. 6 12. 8 6,339. 4 135. 4 — $6,208. 3 — 5,560. 1 648. 2 — $1,222. 258. 4 345. 3 618. 3 — — $870. 6 318. 6 — 396. 0 — 156. 0 $2,147. 3 761. 4 1,252. 7 77. 0 — 56. 2 $320. 5 217. 7 — 102. 8 — — $1,038. 5 270. 8 767. 7 — — — $1,769. 8 584. 4 1,169. 7 — 15. 7 — $2,541. 7 950. 1 1,425. 2 — 164. 6 1. 8 $3,808. 1 926. 4 1,608. 2 1,163. 8 109. 7 — $4,252. 7 699. 8 2,712. 2 771. 2 69. 5 — $940. 3 106. 4 256. 9 577. 0 — — $1,800. 4 153. 6 — 1,645. 0 — 1. 8 $852. 7 — — 848. 2 — 4. 5 $1,342. 2 — 1,217. 7 13. 8 110. 7 $2,724. 9 99. 9 1,839. 3 699. 9 85. 8 Rockwell Total Magazines Network TV Spot TV Outdoor Newspaper $1,396. 8 434. 2 927. 9 33. 3 1. 4 —No tC Black & Decker Total Magazines Network TV Spot TV Newspapers Sears Total Magazines Network TV Spot TV Radio Outdoor op y Exhibit 2 Skil Corporation Skil Total Magazines Network TV Spot TV Radio Outdoor — — — — — — Source: Leading National Advertisers, Inc. , â€Å"National Advertising Investments. † Includes companies spending $25,000 or more on the combination of national magazines, newspaper supplements, network TV, network radio, spot TV, and outdoor advertising. The data do not include cooperative advertising by retailers, the cost of which is shared by manufacturers. DoNote: No data on advertising expenditures for portable electric tools were available for Bosch, Milwaukee, and Makita. 16 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783 -7860. Skil Corporation U. S. Portable Electric Power Tool Market in 1979: Brand Sales by Distribution Channel ($ millions) op y Exhibit 3 389-005 Hardware/ Home Centers Skil Black & Decker Milwaukee Rockwell Bosch AEG Millers Falls Makita Hilti Singer Wen Total $8 54 — 9 — — — — — 107 11 $189 $ 44 115 6 14 — — — 2 — — 10 $191 Mill Supply $ 12 93 11 13 7 3 2 3 — — — $144 ContractorSupply Plumbing/ Electrical Others/ Service Total $ 26 36 33 11 10 3 5 11 — — — $135 $1 13 35 2 3 2 2 4 — — — $62 $ 15 63 10 5 5 2 1 4 32 9 1 $147 $106 374 95 54 25 10 10 24 32 116 22 $868 Do No tC Company Mass Merchandisers 17 Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617-783-7860. 389-005 Selected Financial Information on Portable Electric Tool Manufacturers ($ millions) 1976 Black & Decker Sales Net income ROS % Debt/eq uity % ROE % Capital expenditures 1978 811. 7 51. 7 6. 4 0. 22 13. 4 29. 4 959. 9 66. 2 6. 9 0. 20 15. 6 38. 3 1,205. 0 94. 4 7. 8 Skil Corporation INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SKIL CORPORATION CASE ANALYSIS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SECTION: C ASSIGNMENT #: 3 INSTRUCTOR: ABDUL QADIR MOLVI DATE: 12TH MARCH, 2013 Q1. What is your analysis of structure of possible Electric Power Tool Industry? According to the Porter’s Five Forces Analysis the industry is moderately attractive. Q2. How the industry structure is changing? Are these changes for better or worse? The power tool industry consisted of portable and stationary tools with wide range of sizes prices and qualities.The industry was becoming increasingly segmented by price point, with each point representing a certain level of quality. The power tools were broadly divided into two categories; professional/industrial and consumer. The professional tools were superior in quality and therefore were sold at higher prices and greater gross margins than the consumer tools. However, as the consumer tools were becoming more sophisticated and of better quality the distinction bet ween both the categories started to blur.As technology was improving the trends of usage of power tools changed (corded tools were replaced by cordless ones). The other improvement was the availability of lighter materials (aluminum, magnesium and plastic). This helped in lowering the costs of production. Also, energy efficient tools were developed and safety was emphasized as an area of development. All the occurring changes reflected growth potential in the power tool industry.Some of the changing factors which indicated the potential for development, betterment and growth of the industry include the increasing emphasis on quality, safety, more energy efficient products, advancements in technology and wide ranges of product with varying prices. Q3. What was Skil’s competitive strategy in 1979? How would you evaluate its relative position? In 1979 Skil Corporation had 76 company owned service centers and 427 authorized service stations throughout United States. It followed a lower-priced tools strategy for its consumers.Also, it differed in its strategy while catering to each country’s (where it exported or manufactured) particular needs. The corporation encouraged its’ engineers to aggressively develop new models and strive for the best product performance. Skil hardly advertised its products and relied mostly on product publicity. It catered to both professional and consumer markets. Initially, circular saws were strongest product among the contractor supply channel because of the industry standard for a professional saw which any other competitor did not match.The circular saws remained Skil’s strongest product area. The evaluation of Skil Corporation’s relative position indicates that it was focusing on new products in existing markets. In short, it was inclined towards new product development. Q4. What strategic options does Skil Corporation have? According to the analysis of Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Mode l the industry was moderately attractive. On the other hand we can also notice that the competition was extremely fierce in the industry by analyzing the brand shares given in the case:Company| Percentage| Black & Decker| 31. 1%| Makita| 11. 1%| Bosch| 10. 7%| Hitachi| 8. 3%| Skil| 7. 1%| AEG| 5. 0%| Singer| 4. 3%| Miiwaukee| 3. 5%| Matabo| 2. 8%| Rockwell| 1. 9%| In this situation it’s not just merely selection and implementation of a strategy that matters but also the right selection (out of the options) and adequate implementation along with follow-up. Following were the strategic options for Skil Corporation: * To go for mergers & acquisitions in order to increase sales and profitability. To use defensive strategies in order to put obstacles in the path of would-be challengers and fortify the company’s present position while undertaking actions to dissuade rivals from even trying to attack. * To use best-cost strategy. This strategy would have enabled Skil to creat e strong market presence by giving buyers more value for the money. * To go for divestment. Q5. What strategy will you recommend to Skil Corporation? Skil can gain its strong position back in the market if it follows certain strategies such as: * Focusing on a particular segment or broadening its distribution horizon to more than just the departmental stores.In short, Skil’s relative position in the market of only around 7% share (1979) is clearly due to the company trying to please more markets than it is capable of and hence, focus and integration could ensure a better position to an extent. * Considerably more spend on consumer advertising. According to the figures shown in Exhibit 2, it is quite evident that the advertising spend of Black & Decker in 1978 was approximately 300% more than Skil Corp.