Childhood in Robert Frosts Birchess and William Blakes...

Childhood in Robert Frosts Birchess and William Blakes The Chimney Sweeper Robert Frosts view of childhood is much different than that of William Blake, as expressed in their respective poems, Birches and The Chimney Sweeper. Living in the late seventeenth century, Blake saw some hard times; and as such, paints a very non-romantic picture of childhood. Frost, however, sees things differently. The result is two glaringly different poems that goes to prove how very different people are. Blakes portrayal of childhood is far from happy. A small childs mother dies while that child is still very young; this is sad but not all together strange. However the childs father then, very soon after, sells him off to be a chimney†¦show more content†¦Blakes poem London describes his era as on of pure hopelessness, a time when ones only goal is survival on to the next day. This hopelessness comes across very strong in The Chimney Sweeper as well, when on a cold day the boy Tom feels warm because he has the hope of heaven as motivation to live on. However, there is no since of any hope in Toms current life; there is no promise of any break in the sorrow, no Christmas vacation so to speak. This is rather depressing; thinking about any number of large tasks we do in our everyday lives, and how we know that each part we finish brings us always closer to completion. But imagine if no matter how hard you tried you could never reach that completion. Imagine what it would be like if for every part you finished two more where found needed to be done. This alone is enough to abolish any romantic notions; of childhood or just life in general. Another factor important in ones childhood is location. Childhood in the city, for example, is far different then that in the country. The sharpest contrast here would be that of a poor family living in the slums of some large city, and a poor family living on a remote farm. One might go on and on comparing and contrasting these two styles of living, however this is already shown in the these two poems. Robert frost describes his boy as living too far from town to learn baseball (Frost, 26), and as one Whos only play was what he found himself (Frost,

A Comparison Of Thor And Beowulf - 728 Words

Beowulf has delighted and intrigued a wide array of people for centuries. The timeless nature is visible in modern-day extensions of this epic, through heroics and battles of good versus malevolent forces. Beowulf continues to appeal to sophisticated audiences because it tells the story of a great hero prevailing over evil, a timeless theme valued by society and portrayed by his counterparts in modern media, although these new heroes display more complex qualities. Beowulf can be compared to Marvel universe’s Thor. Marvel has revived and modernized the Norse god, Thor, for 21st century audiences. Thor and Beowulf both demonstrate incredible physical strength in battle against villains. In the section â€Å"The Battle with Grendel† Beowulf†¦show more content†¦Beowulf uses strategy by sneaking up on Grendel, â€Å"watching his evil steps, waiting to see his swift hard claws† (257-258). Bond and Beowulf are unapologetic and unhesitant in battle, but they n ever kill without reason. Beowulf puts an end to the villagers’ suffering at the hands of the evil Grendel. â€Å"The Danes had been served as he boasted he’d serve them.† James Bond and Beowulf have a few similarities. Beowulf shares characteristics with female superhero Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman sprung to the top of box office charts last summer, the story focuses on a female warrior named Diana who endeavors to defeat the malevolent forces of the Nazi regime. The morally righteous Diana travels from her peaceful home to war torn Germany, where she contends with Ares and other super villains to restore peace for the innocent citizens of the country. Beowulf also travels to aid the villagers who desperately need his help. â€Å"He who had come to them from across the sea, bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction off† (344-345). Much like the previously mentioned James Bond, Wonder Woman does not need swords or shields in battle, she is described as a weapon herself, â€Å"the God Killer†. While Beowulf’s followers wield their sword against Grendel to no avail, Beowulf uses his sheer strength to tear off â€Å"the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder† and snap Grend el’s bone, leaving him to die of bloodShow MoreRelatedAn Article On Earth Essay10094 Words   |  41 Pagesglobe itself.[n 13] As with Terra and Gaia, Earth was a personified goddess in Germanic paganism: the Angles were listed by Tacitus as among the devotees of Nerthus,[92] and later Norse mythology included Jà ¶rà °, a giantess often given as the mother of Thor.[93] Originally, earth was written in lowercase and, from early Middle English, its definite sense as the globe was expressed as the earth. By early Modern English, many nouns were capitalized and the earth became (and often remained) the Earth

Abortion Two Sides of the Argument free essay sample

In todays society every time a person turns on the television, goes on a computer, turns on a radio, passes a billboard, or picks up a newspaper that person is bombarded with debates. There are many different debates and each debate with two parties both of which have two very different and sometimes conversational opinions. Everywhere a person looks they are faced with arguments such as president Obamas affordable healthcare act, gay rights, the matters of the death penalty being legalized or illegalized in all states, and many more. In this paper I will not talk about any of the previously stated arguments. I will however talk about one of the most heated and controversial arguments of today. Before I continue with the debate I have chosen I am stating that I will not be sharing any of my personal opinions or views on the matter. I have chosen to discuss the debate regarding abortion and the two sides of the argument. I will explain both Pro Life and Pro choice and the fallacy both sides use when trying to gain followers. Just about every person has an opinion or a side when it comes to the topic of abortion. I have researched percentages based on people who are Pro Life vs. Pro Choice and if abortion is ever Justified. A poll done by Gallup in May of 2013 helps to show some percentages on what side or sides the American people are taking. Based on a one hundred percent model forty five percent of people are Pro Choice, forty eight percent are Pro Life, three percent were mixed, 2 three percent did not understand the meaning of the terms provided, and two percent had no opinion. In the poll a majority of the people who participated had chosen which side of the argument they had agreed with. In another recent model done in May 2013 by Gallup shows the percentages of peoples views on if abortion hould ever be legal and Justifiable. Legal under any circumstances has a vote of twenty six percent, legal under certain circumstances fifty two percent, illegal in all circumstances twenty percent, and no opinion had two percent. Pro Life is a Christian based non- profit anti- abortion organization that was founded in the year 1980 by Joseph Scheidler with the organizations head quarters in Chicago Illinois. The goal of the organization is to protect and save unborn children and their mothers with non violent protests. The organization believes that women are being exploited by the abortion industry. Also that the abortion industry is the main cause of what the organization believes is the murder of an human being. The members of Pro Life have many different tactics implemented to publically protest abortion. The Pro Life organization does not condone any violence in the protesting of abortion, but the organization does use graphic material in the Face the Truth: Public Education Initiative. This educational initiative uses graphic pictures of real aborted fetuses to show the aftermath of the procedure. This protest is described as to show our fellow Americans the ugly truth about abortion. The Pro Life members line the major road ways and intersection while showcasing the graphic images. Pro Life organization also uses less graphic forms of protesting such as sidewalk counseling, youth outreach projects, public, protest, 3 presence at abortion clinics, and confronting abortionists. The majority of protesting takes place at the abortion clinics. Pro Life members will stand outside of the clinics to perform prayer vigils, last minute consulting to women and couples with abortion alternatives, pregnancy resources, as well as confidential counseling. Pro Choice I organized by the National Abortion Federation. It is the national association for professional abortion providers. The N. A. F provides training and services to qualified abortion providers in North America. The goal of the N. A. F is to ensure womens safety when to comes to abortion whether it is elective or medically necessary. Pro Choice is centered around that women should be able to make private medical decisions with their healthcare providers and to have the right to chose what happens to their bodies. The N. A. F also supports the education for women and youth n different contraceptive methods to help prevent unplanned pregnancies. Also the organization provides resources for women to make inform decisions when it comes to their choices. The organization helps to provide women with the education about abortion, adoption, and parenthood. The organization sets quality standards for abortion care and to make sure the medical providers such as Nurses, Physician Assists, Doctors, and Mid wives are qualified to provide high quality care. N. A. F also helps with legal legislations to keep abortion legal. The organization fears what ould happen to women if abortion was to made illegal. Pro choice does protest to keep abortion legal in the United States. The Pro Choice advertisements are not as graphic as Pro Lifes. Though Pro Choice does have advertisements of what environments women may find themselves in if abortion were to be made illegal. Pro Life also uses education to teach women about what had happened in the 1950s to the 1960s before 4 abortion was legal in America. This is used to create awareness so that history will not repeat itself. According to Our Bodies Ourselves a Pro Choice website uses statics o show mortality rate in women to either tried to perform a self initiated abortion. Between 1950 and 1960 before women were legal able to get an abortion 1. 2 million of those women did self performed abortions. In countries where abortion is still illegal unsafe abortion is the leading cause of maternal deaths. This accounts to 219 women dying daily worldwide. Both organizations use medical facts and statics for a large part of their demonstrations, however they both employ of use of a logical fallacy to make their cases. The logical fallacy that Pro Life and Pro Choice both use is appeal to emotion. Appeal to emotion is a fallacy to manipulate the recipients views by using an emotional trigger. This means that the parties involved may not be using actual valid intormation to persuade a person. It is very clear botn ot the organizations are against the other. The names are the first thing I had noticed. The names are completely opposite from one another. For example is a person is Pro choice then they are against life or that person is for death or murder. Also if a person is Pro Life then that implies that person is anti-choice. For another example Pro Life members eb advertisement and That I have personally seen driving on 95 is a image of a baby with the saying Endangered species. Obviously children are not a endangered species because human beings are not endangered. This is used to evoke a strong emotional response to gain Pro Life members and not using actual facts to prove a point. Pro Choice also use the appeal to emotion to gain members as well. In a advertisement for the Pro Choice Public Education Project it contains a picture of a dirty bathroom thats covered in filth. Above what is the bathtub is a plaque that says Operating room. A bathroom is not an operating room this once again used to invoke emotion. The 5 emotions of despair and fear. This is used in the campaign for keeping abortion legal. Also someone the slogans each side uses appeal to emotions a well. For example Pro Life slogan You might forgive yourself, but a dead baby sure cant. Whether the baby to speak of is dead or alive the said baby does not have the capability to comprehend forgiveness. Both side also use TV adds to discount the other side and to persuade the viewers. The internet video 180 shows how to change a persons mind about abortion within seconds. The method that was used involved Hitler and his influence on the German people. Ray Comfort is the interviewer in the movie. Comfort asks a few young people about their feeling regarding the killing of the Jewish people. All the participants agreed that what had happened was wrong and that killing a person was wrong. Comfort then moved into abortion after using emotional response to what happened in the holocaust and comparing that to abortion. Comfort put that abortion is Americas holocaust. In conclusion though both Pro Life and Pro Choice have valid points and information both of the rganizations use appeal to emotion to persuade potential followers.

Strategic Management of Apple Inc †Free Sample Assignment

Questions: Prepare a report addressing the following tasks, answer all questions and relate your answers to Apple wherever possible:Task 1 The Process of Strategic Planning1.1. Explain the concept of strategy, vision, mission, goals, objectives and core competencies. 1.2. Review the issues involved in strategic planning. 1.3. Explain different planning techniques that organisations can use Are You Daunted by the Thought of Due Assignments? Avail Our Services and Receive Assignment Help from Experts. Task 2 Formulating Strategy2.1. Produce an internal organisational audit of Apple evaluating their strengths and weaknesses 2.2. Carry out an industry analysis of Apple using Porters 5 Forces framework, and conduct and environmental analysis of its macro environment using PESTEL model, clearly identifying Opportunities and threats present in the external environment. 2.3. Explain the significance/importance of stakeholder analysis.Task 3 Approaches to Strategy Evaluation and Selection3.1. Analyse possible alternative future strategies of Apple relating to substantive growth (horizontal and vertical integration, related and unrelated diversification), limited growth (do nothing, strategies described in Ansoffs Matrix market penetration, market development, product development) and retrenchment. 3.2. Select an appropriate strategy Apple can pursue for its future growth.Task 4 Strategy Implementation4.1. Compare the roles and responsibilities of the different levels of strategy in impl ementing the strategy adopted in 3.2. 4.2. Evaluate what resources will be required to implement Apples chosen strategy. 4.3. Discuss targets and timescales to monitor the successful achievement of the adopted strategy for Apple. Answers: Introduction This unit aims at analyzing and understanding strategy processes, which includes strategic planning, strategy formulation, implementation of strategies, and the different approaches of evaluating strategies. In order to achieve this objective, this paper discusses different elements of strategic planning, the various issues involved in strategic planning, and different ways or techniques that organizations can use to organize and strategies effectively. This report also uses a real life analysis of a case study of a leading organization to assess its strategic processes. Strategic planning refers to a systematic process that organizations use to envision their desired future in their respective industries. The process entails translating the desired vision through some broadly defined objectives or goals and a sequence of other specific steps of procedures that aim at achieving the desired goals and objectives. Strategic planning can also be defined as the process of a firm defining its desired direction and making appropriate decisions regarding allocation of resources and time in ensuring the desired goals and objectives are met within the specified time. Strategic planning emerged as a critical component of strategic management in the 1960s. It has remained vital for planning processes in contemporary organizations. Implementation of strategies general involves setting desired goals and objectives as well as determining the various actions that will lead to the organization achieving the goals, mobilizing resources that will ensure the organization executes its plan effectively and efficiently. It is the responsibility of senior management to define strategies for their organizations; creating detailed plans of implementing the strategy as well as setting up appropriate structures for evaluating the plan. Strategic planning is important for any organization. A clear understanding of the process of strategic planning is crucial for successful implementation of the same. This chapter focuses on mission, vision, objectives, goals and core competencies of Apple Inc., issues involved in strategic planning and also different planning techniques. Apple is one of the leading technology companies in the world. The report will present an organizational audit for the company as well as environmental audit. The paper will also discuss the significance of stakeholder analysis for Apple Inc. Apple is an American multinational organization, with its headquarters based in Cupertino, California. The company develops, designs, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, while also offering a wide range of other online services. Among Apples renowned list of brands, include the iPod Media Player, iPad tablet computer, iPhone smartphone and the Mac line of computers. The compan y also offers a wide range of services search as iCloud, App store and iTunes, as well as producing and selling software products such as OS X, iOS operating system, iTunes media browser, and the Safari Web browser. 1. Understand the Process of Strategic Planning 1.1: Explain Strategic Contexts and Terminology According to Johnson et al (2011), strategy refers to the the long-term direction of an organization. Therefore, strategic planning has an element of long-term direction through which an organization hopes to achieve its goals. For instance, Apple Inc. has established several practical measures categorized under three main aims and objectives. These aims are innovation, operational excellence, and customer relationship management (CRM). The practical measures of the company can be identified as the desired long-term direction of the company. Strategic planning of any company has five main contexts or components. These are the companys missions, visions, objectives, goals, core competencies. These components are often identified and written in clear statements that define the companys ideals and desired direction within a specified time frame. Mission refers to the organizations role or purpose, which acts as a guiding principle in the companys interaction with its stakeholders. Mission statements describe what the company does, its stakeholders, and the different things that make the organization unique. This is basically a justification of the organizations existence. Ideal mission statements are clear and brief, but manage to capture the organizations essence in the few words described. It shows the focus of the business. For instance, Apples mission statement is to Deliver value to our customers by providing the most reliable and efficient solutions through information technology. Vision, on the other hand, refers to the direction in which the firm intends to be in the future, or the point at which the organization will be best suited to serve the needs of its stakeholders. This incorporates a shared understanding of the purpose and nature of the business and uses this understanding to drive the organization towards a far much greater purpose. The main purpose of a vision statement is to inspire the employees and management of the organization to work together collaboratively in driving the organizations agenda and accomplish the companys desired goals. A good vision statement is one that is brief, powerful, and simple. It must also have an emotional impact because its main objective is to inspire people towards achieving greater good for the business. Objectives of an organization describe its desired outcomes for its activities. The objectives of an organization are much more specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. For instance, Apples top-level objective is to achieve profitable growth. Goals refer to organizational targets that must be achieved within a specific time. Without elaborate goals or aims, one cannot live happily and with the feeling of satisfaction. Goals can be one or more objectives that need to be achieved by specific time. Goals make one to get clarification to do a specific task choosing from various options what one thinks of about his future. The goals explain the way in which the organization is going to achieve its mission. Organizational goals and aims can be identified as similar concepts. There are three main types of organizational goals; uniform goals, performance based goals, and potential based goals. Uniform goals refer to a single goal is set for all departments within the Company. Every department is expected to meet the same goal. In performance goals, every organization is given a goal that reflects an increment on last years performance. On the other hand, potential based goals are the criteria used to assess organizations potential. Core competencies differentiate the organization from its competitors. Skills, resources, and activities which cannot be imitated by other competitors can be identified as core competencies of the organization. Apple has many core competencies and it has led to achieve the competitive advantage through available resources. 1.2: Review the Issues Involved in Strategic Planning Sadler (2003) defines strategic planning as the form of systematized, step-by-step, procedure to develop an organizations strategy. This strategic planning involves with many issues and Sadler (2003) has identified five (5) major issues which involve with strategic planning namely, confusing strategy with the strategic plan, detachment from reality, paralysis by analysis, lack of ownership, and dampening of innovation. There can be confusion with the existing strategies at the stage of strategic planning. Managers may feel that the strategic planning is the planning of same strategies which they are practicing now. Also detachment from reality is also another issue. Sadler (2003) argues that strategic planning is an intellectual process and it damages to the reality of operation. This basically happens because of the lack of involvement for the strategic planning of employees. The next issue is paralysis by analysis. This argues that strategic planning can be over-detailed because of the extensive analysis. Lack of ownership is another problem. Most of strategies are planned by the corporate planning department or by the senior management. Thus, it can be argued that strategic planning does not have a wide spread of ownership within the organization. The final argument is that strategic planning is dampening of innovation. This mainly happen since strategic planning introduces many strict controls to the organization and it limits the flexibility of the organization (Sadler, 2003). 1.3 Different Planning Techniques for Organizations There are several techniques or strategies that organizations can use for their strategic planning purposes. The two most common strategic planning techniques are BCM Matrix Model technique and the SPACE Analysis Matrix model technique. The BCM matrix model technique is founded on the product life cycle theory, which helps organizations determine the priorities that should be given to different products in the companys portfolio of a business unit. In order to be sustainable in the long term, a business ought to have a portfolio of products containing both high products that need more cash inputs as well as other low growth products that generate more cash for the business. Therefore, the BCG matrix model has two dimensions for business planning purposes. These are market growth and market share dimensions. The main objective for tis classification is that the bigger the market share for a product or the more the product grows in the market the better it is for the business. The BCG matrix has four categories for placing products of a company in relation to their market share and market growth aspects. These are stars, cash cows, dogs, and question marks. Products in the star category have higher growth and higher market share. These products consume huge amounts of cash, but also generate more cash because they command a bigger share of the market. Products in the cash cow section, on the other hand, have low growth and a bigger market share. These products generate a lot of profits for the business, but since they have a lower growth, the business should put in les investment. The third category, the dogs, consists of products with low growth and low market share. The business needs to minimize or avoid this kind of products because they are not as productive for the long term business development plan. Finally, products in the question mark category have higher growth with a low market share. This implies that these products have a higher demand in th e market, but they bring in little returns for the business. If there is no change in the market share for these products, they may end up consuming a lot of investment, and end up as products in the dog segment. The BCG matrix can be illustrated as shown below; The Stars High business growth High Market share The Question Mark High business growth Low market share Cash cows Low growth High market share The dog Low growth Low market share Source: www.valuebasedmanagement.net Strategic Position and Action Evaluation Matrix or SPACE analysis matrix helps businesses to assess the sense and wisdom in implementing specific strategic plans. This strategy was devised by Alan Row et al. This planning technique is useful in helping a company to review its current strategy to determine if they will be a success or failure for the business. SPACE Analysis can be used in the initial stages of planning for the purposes of predicting main themes in the planning process. The model can also be used as one way of evaluating the strategies of a company to determine whether they have helped the company to meet its objectives. Similarly, this method can be used to evaluate individual strategic options generated by using a tool like the Ansoff Growth Matrix SPACE Analysis is a systematic appraisal of four key issues that balance the external and internal factors that should determine the general theme of the strategy: External Industry Attractiveness Environmental Stability Internal Competitive Advantage Financial Strength The SPACE Analysis model can be illustrated as shown below Source: www.differentiateyourbusiness.co.uk 2. To Formulate a New Strategy 2.1 Produce an Organizational Audit For a Given Organization SWOT analysis method is one of the most used strategies in analyzing the environment of an organization. It refers to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that characterize and organizations internal and external environment. In developing an organizational audit for Apple Inc. the SWOT technique will be the most appropriate because it helps to paint a clear [picture of the factors that affect the organization, both internally and externally (Thompson, 2001). Strengths The strengths of Apple can be listed out as follows Apple is a global Company with a huge client base serving customers in over 200 countries around the world. This huge customer base give the company a bigger market share when compared to its competitors. Apple is considered the most reliable manufacturer of smart phones, personal computers, and other consumer electronics. This gives the company adequate strength in the market because it already has the customer trust and a good brand and image among consumers The company uses sophisticated technology. This ensures it manufactures its products in the best environment, reducing the production costs and time. This gives the company sufficient strength because it facilitates production of high quality products. Apple has a committed and a highly trained staff. This gives the company enough strength in its human resource to implement its policies. Weaknesses Being a well-established organization and as an organization, which maintains a healthy organizational environment, well planned strategies, missions, visions and objectives, Apple can be considered as an organization with a minimum amount of weaknesses. However, some of the notable weaknesses of the company include; High prices for its products lock out a huge portion of the market who cannot afford the companys products. This makes the companys products out of reach for most customers, hence a weakness it its marketing strategy. The companys products are incompatible with other devices. This makes it difficult for clients to make a switch from their current devices to adopt Apple products. This also weakens the companys marketing strategy since it makes it difficult for the customers to integrate Apples products with other electronics they use. Opportunities The companys global operations open up more opportunities for further expansion in to other markets around the globe. The demand for smartphones, iPhones, and tablets has been on the rise in recent years, enlarging the companys market. Threats Threats those are prevalent in the industry are applicable to the Apple as well. The strengths of the organization have been responsible for Apple to be immune to lots of threats from outside. There is a fierce competition in the market. Other companies such as Samsung and Nokia are entering the market with similar products, providing customers with more options for smartphones and tablets. The fluctuations in the global financial situations threaten the survival of the company because it makes it difficult to plan. 2.2: Carry Out an Environmental Audit for a Given Organization The major 5 components of the forces are Barriers to Entry Barriers to Entry are the factor which shows the difficulty for any new upcoming brand to enter the market. The various factors which affect the barriers to entry are as bellow:- Time and cost of Entry Time and cost of entry for any product is very important. If the entry of the product in the market is done when there is already much similar type of products in the market as a competitor. The cost of the product should be compared with the other products in the market. The time and cost of the product while launching the market should be perfect and matching the competition and the market required. If the time and the cost of the product goes wrong it will never be a success. Knowledge Knowledge of the product should be studied in a detailed manner. It is important to understand the all the factors affecting the growth and success of the product Cost Advantage Cost Advantage of the product means the cost of the product and what advantage can it provide to the customers in the market. It is very essential to fix an appropriate cost for the product so that it proves to be an advantage for the company. Technology The technology used to manufacture the new product should be the latest and the new technology. If the technology is not updated it will affect the manufacturing as well as the flow of the product sale. Buyers Buyers are the people who play a vital role in the organization history. It is important to have a good amount of buyers in the market; it is also important that they are brand loyal and will continue to use the same product. Number of Customers Numbers of customers in the market decide the growth of the product. It is essential to have a right group of buyers which will create an image for the product in the market. The increasing number of customers will help in the growth of the company. Buying Volumes Buying volumes are the customers who help in the retail and wholesale nature of the business. It is necessary for the organization to understand who will do the bulk selling of the product for the organization. Differentiation Differentiation should be created in the product which will help the customer to understand that your product is different from the other product. Differentiation strategy is the best strategy that can be used by the company while entering in the market. Price Elasticity Price elasticity means how price elastic can the product be. It is necessary to understand how much a price can be stretch for the buyer. Switching costs Switching cost is the cost which decides the cost of the product when the customer switches its choice from one product to another product. Suppliers Number of Suppliers Number of suppliers is the people who will help the product to reach the correct market. When a product is new it is necessary to supply the product in the right market so as to ensure that the customers are aware about the new product entry. Size of Suppliers Size of suppliers means how big is the supplier and how can he take risk of keeping the stock of the new product with him. This will decide how big his reach in the market is and how wide can he make the product reach. Ability to substitute Ability to substitute means the ability of the new product to create a substitute in the minds of the customers. It is necessary for the new product to understand the requirement and the expectations of the customer and to react accordingly. Unique Service When a new product is launch it is very important that the company provides unique service to the customers with their new product. This will help in creating difference in the minds of customer. Unique service will also include free home delivery service, or cash on delivery etc. Competitive Rivalry Competitive rivalry means competition creating a difference and a rivalry against your product in the market. Number of competitors Number of competitors will decide the strength of the competitive rivalry. It is necessary to understand how strong our competitive and how the competitive rivalry will affect their organization are. Exit barriers Exit barriers means if a company decides to shut down what will be the difficulties that they will have to face during exit. This will include the machinery cost, the cost invested in the manufactured goods etc. Industry concentration Industry concentration means how the industry concentrates on new product and one product for its success. It is important to understand the correct market where the demand rises for the product. The company should ensure that the market should never have shortage of the product. Diversity of competitors Diversity of competitors is a factor that shows how diversity of the competitor is affecting the growth of our product. Substitutes Substitutes of the product are the other products which can take place of our product in case our product cannot fulfil the customers expectations. In case of sport shows if Apple is unable in certain market or it proves to be a default there are many other products like Microsoft, LG, and Samsung etc Substitute Performance A customer uses a substitute in case the current product cannot be available, the substitute performance will decide whether the customer wants to continue with the substitute product or want to come back with the previous product. Cost of switching Buyer willingness 2.3 Significance of stakeholder analysis Stakeholders are important for any organization. Stakeholder can be defined as a party that affects or can be affected by the actions of the business (Thompson, 2001). Stakeholders can be government, employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, community; trade unions etc. (Thompson, 2001).Stakeholder includes a whole array of parties, which are crucial for an organization. Hence, when new strategies are to be developed for an organization, a clear understanding of its stakeholders is necessary. In order to gain knowledge on an organizations stakeholders, a stakeholder analysis can be done. Stakeholder analysis can be defined as a technique that can be used to identify and assess the importance of key people, groups of people, or institutions that may significantly influence the success of an organization (Thompson, 2001). As Lynch (1999) points out there are various reasons as to why an organization should conduct a stakeholder analysis. As Lynch (1999) says, they are: To identify people, groups, and institutions that will influence the actions of the organization (either positively or negatively) To anticipate the kind of influence, positive or negative, these groups will have on the organization To develop strategies to get the most effective support possible for the organization and to reduce any obstacles for the successful operations of the organization Many scholars have pointed out the importance of doing a stakeholder analysis. According to Wilson and Gilligan (2005) advantages of doing a stakeholder analysis can be shown as follows: The organization can use the opinions of the most powerful stakeholders to shape the organization and its initiatives at an early stage. This ensures support as well as quality the organization. Gaining support from powerful stakeholders can help the organization to win more resources One can anticipate what people's reaction to the organizations actions This makes it clear that a stakeholder analysis is important for an organization to operate successfully. 3. Understand approaches to strategy evaluation and selection One of the key objectives of organizations is to expand operations and cover greater portions of the market in order to have increased profitability. Therefore, an organization should be ready to expand its business operations whenever such an action seems possible. There are various methods through, which organizations can expand their operations. This section of the report examines the different strategies that Apple, Inc. can use for expansion. Furthermore, this section also proposes an appropriate strategy for the company to use for its future expansion projects. 3.1 Analyze Possible Alternative Strategies Relating to Substantive Growth, Limited Growth or Retrenchment Growth strategies for businesses can be categorized into three major groups, limited growth, substantive growth and retrenchment. Strategies for limited growth include market penetration, market development, and product development. The strategies for substantive growth include horizontal integration, related diversification, vertical integration and unrelated integration. On the other hand strategies for retrenchment include turnaround and divestment strategies (Bryson, 2011). Apple, Inc. can use these strategies as part of their growth and expansion strategies to help the organization meet its objectives. Market penetration is a strategy for limited growth, which entails promoting existing products and services within the same market. The main objective here is to increase the market share for a particular brand or company. A company can achieve this by lowering its prices or differentiating its products. Product development strategy entails expanding a companys products for instance, through further development where new features will be added to the products (Bryson, 2011). Market development strategy, on the other hand, involves selling products in a new market. Reasons for this strategy may include seeking a new market with limited competition and room for growth in the market. These limited growth strategies would not be suitable Apple because it already has the largest market share in comparison to its competitors. Horizontal integration is a substantive growth strategy involving a situation where an organization acquires or creates production units that are similar, either complimentary of competitive in order to create a monopolistic situation in the market. This can happen when a company acquires its competitors within the same industry. Vertical integration, on the other hand, involves an organization acquiring other companies within its supply chain system. Related diversification is a substantive growth strategy that involves an organization adding to its product line, similar or related products either through diversifying its production or through acquiring other related products. Unrelated diversification, on the other hand, occurs when an organization adds to its product line, a different product (Assen, Berg and Pietersma, 2009). Apple, Inc. can use one of these substantive strategies to grow and expand within the expand its market. There are two main retrenchment strategies that a company can use to facilitate its growth. Turnaround strategy involves an organization backing out of an earlier strategic decision in order to reverse the process of decline in the company. Divestment strategy, on the other hand, involves the sale or liquidation of a portion of business, or a major division, profit centre or SBU. Divestment is usually a restructuring plan and is adopted when a turnaround has been attempted but has proved to be unsuccessful or it was ignored. 4. Understand how to implement a chosen strategy Implementation is the most critical stage in strategic planning. Organizations should exploit proper methods and strategies in successful implementation of their plans. In this section of the reple developiort, the paper focuses on strategy implementation. Consequently, this section discusses the roles and responsibilities for implementing organizational plans (Courtney, Marnoch, Williamson, 2009). Therefore, the paper compares the various roles and responsibilities involved in strategy implementation while also discussing the resource requirements and relevant timescales involved in implementing the strategies. 4.1: Compare the Roles and Responsibilities for Strategy Implementation Corporate Level Strategy Corporate Level strategies are the strategy whichare developed and decided at the corporate level. These strategies basically discuss the corporate level issues,exampng a new product which the competitor is developing. Or understanding the competitors product and developing a new product for our organization basis the market demand. Business Level Strategy Business level strategies are the strategies which are developed at a business level where the decisions of the corporate level are implemented. These strategies discuss about what changes they need to take at different organizational levels to implement the changes. They discuss the business level functions and the changes with the same. Functional Level Strategy Functional level strategies are the strategies which are developed at every departmental level. All the functional levels like human resource management, Supply chain management, marketing management etc. are the various functions which are taken care of. 4.2 Evaluate Resource Requirements to Implement a New Strategy for a Given Organization The physical resources include finance resources, production resources, and marketing resources, which are needed for implementing interactive strategies at Apple, Inc. Because these interactive strategies focus on the quality improvements of Apple products, it is advisable to allocate more physical resources on improving product quality. Human resource is also a major requirement for strategy implementation. Apple should develop its human resources by implementing employee training and development activities. Finally, these all these strategy implementation processes are involved with initial start-up cost and Apple should allocate appropriate finances for these implementation activities. 4.3 Discuss Targets and Timescales for Achievement in a Given Organization to Monitor a Given Strategy Monitoring strategy Johnson et al (2011) discusses three criteria for monitoring a strategy; acceptability, suitability, and feasibility. Suitability requires one to assess whether proposed strategies address the key issues. Acceptability measures whether proposed strategies meet the expectations of stakeholders. Also feasibility is measured whether strategy could work with in practice. From the above discussion, Apple will use interactive strategies as its main strategies for the future. These interactive strategies can be monitored by the suitability criteria. Under this criterion it can be monitored that whether Apples interactive strategies address the key opportunities and constraints in the organization face (Wittmann and Reuter, 2008). Acceptability criterion can be used to monitor whether implemented strategy meet the expectations of stakeholders. Under this criterion the risk and return also monitored. Feasibility measures whether strategy work in practice. Further, feasibility can be used as to check the targets of the implemented strategies. For an instance, it can be used to measure the finical targets of Apple by implementing interactive strategies. Smart objectives Target Advantages Time-scales Responsible Budget Human Resources Building the Organization Staffing Training Core Competences Developing Org. Structure Building core competences, developing individual abilities Hone skills with experience Ongoing HR Manager 1.5M Market development Strategic partnerships These strategies will help Apple increase its market share around the globe. On going Marketing department $2.0 M 25 people Conclusion In conclusion, strategic planning is an essential element in the success of any business. As seen in the case of Apple Inc. discussed in this paper, strategic planning is a broad concept in organizational planning and management with a host of other intricate issues that need to be addressed comprehensively. Nevertheless, strategic planning is essential for the success of the business. Each organization has to develop its own objectives and goals before aligning its strategic planning ideas ion the direction the organization intends to go in the future. Recommendation Apple Inc. should use strategic planning tools discussed in this paper such as the Five Forces model, SWOT analysis, planning techniques and growth strategies. These strategic planning tools will help the company to evaluate its internal and external environment and devise appropriate strategies for strengthening the company and expanding its market share. Reference List Assen, M.V., Berg, G.V.D., and Pietersma, P. (2009) Key Management Models:The 60+ Models Every Manager Needs to Know, Pearson Education. Bryson, J.M. (2011) Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guideto Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement, John Wiley and Sons. Courtney, R., Marnoch, G., Williamson, A. (2009). 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