Investment Companies Essay Example for Free

Investment Companies Essay Investors need to consider a lot of factors before investing their money in any firm. Company stability and ability to generate profits is the main attraction for any investor. Bank of America and Apple Inc are some of the most stable companies in their respective fields. Besides these are some of the highest paying industries in the world today. Bank of America Bank of America is the largest brokerage house and consumer banking franchise in the United States (Lewis, 2010, p1) during the financial crisis, bank of America posted huge losses coupled by the untimely purchase of Merrill Lynch. However in April 2010 bank of America reported a $3. 2 billion first quarter profit signifying an imminent complete turnaround for the company. Interestingly, most of the profits were generated from the trading at Merrill Lynch. The gamble to buy Merrill Lynch had paid off. With the worst of the financial crisis over, bank of America is poised to make bigger profits and reclaim its eminence that it lost to JP Chase and Goldman Sachs. Though it is unlikely to continue with the acquisitions that characterized most of its growth phase, the bank no doubt will be a big player in wealth management in the US. Long term investment in bank of America therefore will be a wise decision by an investor who is looking to capitalize to a rising stock price and dividend per share revenue. Besides, the regulations that the administration will introduce will ensure profitability and stability of the banking sector. However, given that the financial markets have not fully recovered, coupled with the impending WallStreet reform by the administration, there is likelihood that resulting volatility may eat into the company’s profits and share price. Besides, the company, like many other banks is still repaying government bailout money, a move that will affect its profits and effectively its investors. Apple Inc Dynamism describes the world of technology today. New information gadgets are introduced to the market every year. Apple is on of the companies that has emerged as a market leader challenging established giants like Microsoft and easily cutting a niche for its itself in the market. Apple prides itself with successes such as the i-Pod, the i-Tunes Store, MacBook sales, and excellent Mac OS X. Innovation to meet the ever demanding market is the main driver of apple and with its cutting edge products like the i-phone, i-pod and recently the i-pad, investing in Apple inc will be a good decision because certainly these are not the last of their products. The company has one of the highest share prices in the New York Stock exchange which stood at $140 pr share as of 2008 (Tyson, 2008, p 11). Every time people buy Apple products, it increases the company sales and profits which in return drive up the stock price (Tyson, 2008, p 11). With the continued good performance, an investor is guaranteed of good returns in the long run. While some computer and software companies saw their profits plunge during the recession, Apple’s strong position ensures continued movement of their products, a clear indicator that the company can whether big economic fluctuations and guarantees an investors returns for their money. Apple Inc. has concentrated on developing mobile gadgets but the same effort is needed in developing products like the Mac desktop. Competition from other computer and software manufacturers is stiff and an information technology company that cannot sustain the innovation trends is likely to post less sales, profits and stock price. Competitors like Microsoft and phone manufacturers like Motorola are likely to come up with gadgets that will target the entertainment industry, enterprise and high performance computing, none of which apple is well prepared for (Martellaro, 2006, p1). Expanding their niche therefore to include more products will secure the future of the company and ensure long-term stability.

How to implement SWOT Analysis

How to implement SWOT Analysis INTRODUCTION Change is a very significant word in business. Modern business is defined as the most competitive and active. To survive in the modern competitive business environment, the organizations have to adopt their strategies to meet the changing demands and needs of the customers. SWOT analysis is one the most significant business strategies which helps the organizations to assess their current situation both internally and externally and to implement a new strategy where necessary. Moreover, modern high technology, communication system and online shopping are highly influencing the customers and thus their demands and needs are becoming volatile. They have more choices, alternative products and services to get. Also, the changing life style of human beings is also another important reason why the business organizations need to modify their strategies. To balance these changes, both technological and social, the managers should plan a SWOT analysis and implement a new business strategy. However, change in business enables an organization to compete with its rivals and win the business position. Business organizations, particularly fashion, clothing, perfumed, mobile companies, technological instruments consider change as the most vital part of business strategy. For manufacturing companies, change is important in the sense that it gives variety to the existing customers and satisfies their unexposed desires. However, to bring change in business environment, the first thing is to identify the need of change, which will be followed by a specific plan for these changes. Various business tools, process, technology and performance meters are used to incorporate these changes. There is no alternative for continuous improvement in business environment. To survive in a competitive business environment, continuous improvement is mandatory to meet the business objectives. So, SWOT analysis is very important for business organizations to implement a new business strategy in order to cope with the modern competitive business market and to meet business objectives. Modern Business Environment: Volatile Change is one of the most significant and vital elements in business market. There are lots of reasons whey business market is changing and getting affected by it. The word change has now become the part of corporate business. Change management is a modern business philosophy which is adopted almost by every renowned business organization to meet the challenges of volatile business environment. The reasons of rapid change in business can be economic instability, inflation, changing life style, extensive use of modern technology, etc. Rapid rise and death of new companies also affect business environment. What is SWOT Analysis? An internationally recognized and extensive used business tool, SWOT analysis is a powerful technique to assess the current situation of a business organization and to predict the future business life. It is the primary level for marketers to plan and focus on key issues. However, SWOT is an abbreviated term for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external. History of SWOT analysis: Albert Humphrey developed the SWOT analysis technique. Team Action Model was the research project that Humphrey led a Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s from where the term was derived. He collected the data for this research from many top companies. However, SWOT analysis is an extended form of TAM, which helps to manage change in business organization. Moreover, since 1960s organizations have been using SWOT analysis as a business concept. It has been also used in management structure and corporate marketing. Indeed, with the passage of time the concepts of SWOT have been modified to suit the needs of business setting. Significance of SWOT analysis: SWOT analysis is one of the most significant business tools, which aims to assess the current situation of an organization in order to develop business strategies to encounter competition. It is a key element of strategic development. It helps a company to predict its future prospects and the financial environment. Again, it helps an organization to develop its critical and specific decisions to plan strategic objectives. It helps organizations to predict future difficulties or problems. Notably, SWOT analysis can also be used in human life. It helps individuals to get an instant view of personality or career. In fact, SWOT analysis is a magnificent tool for appraisal both in business and individual life. Apart from these, there are numbers of other reasons whey an organization uses SWOT analysis. It can be used as a tool of problem solving, decision making, planning, brainstorm meetings, workshop sessions, product evaluation and also personal development planning. Discussion and Analysis: SWOT A tool for auditing an organization and its environment, SWOT analysis is the primary stage of planning which helps marketers to focus on key issues of business strategies. However, SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. SWOT ANALYSIS: INTERNAL FACTORS Strengths Strengths are the first elements of SWOT analysis which assesses the positive tangible and intangible attributes of an organization internally. These attributes are controllable and within the organizations. These strengths of a person or a company help to achieve the objectives. Strengths can also be defined as the elements which enable an organization to do well, comparing to the competitors. It focuses on the advantages of the organization over the business. For example, the strengths of an organization can be good quality of the products, brand image, attention of electronic media, customer loyalty, best location, strong communication, etc. Weaknesses Weaknesses include the elements which are harmful and stand in the way of achieving the business objectives. These are the internal factors within an organizations control that prevent to gain the desired objectives. It helps the organizations to identify the specific areas where improvements are necessary. The weaknesses of an organization, for instance, can be poor quality standards, broken reputation, past loss project, rejected by customers, old fashioned products, poor communication system, negligence of media, etc. SWOT ANALYSIS: EXERNAL FACTORS Opportunities Opportunities are the external factors over which the organization does have control. But, these factors affect the companys profitability and business processes both directly and indirectly. These are the factors why an organization exists and develops. These factors help an organization to foresee the future possibilities and opportunities that the organization may encounter. They help the organization to plan and identify the time line to achieve the objectives. Indeed, opportunities are the objectives of organization in a broad sense. For example, the opportunities of an organization can be a new business market, extending business overseas or to other outlets, launching a new product, adding new value (such as, online marketing), moving to global market, etc. Threats Threats are the external factors which cause dangers and risks for an organization to achieve the goals and objectives. As external factors, organizations do not have control over them, but are highly affected by them. These factors help an organization to have safeguard from risks and dangers. These factors also guide the organization to drive on the right road. Threats of an organization, for example, can be: Rising popularity of the competitors in local or global market Changing habits of customers Pricing competition with competitors Arrival of new alternative product in the market New taxation policy Difference between external and internal factors of SWOT: The difference between external factors and internal factors of SWOT analysis is very obvious. The basic difference between the two is that internal factors are controllable, while external factors cannot be controlled by the organization. Usually, the external factors (strengths and weaknesses) of an organization are mainly based on organization itself, corporate market or customer needs and demands. The strength of an organization can be defined as the way of meeting customer needs and satisfaction, while weaknesses are the problems or shortcomings that the company faces to fulfill the market or customer demands. However, the internal factors of an organization usually affect the following factors, such as sale and profitability, product quality and brand image, product cost and customer needs, employee potentiality and the financial ability of management, etc. On the other hand, the external factors of an organization are the issues that affect not only organization but the total business system. The common issues that affect the company externally can be business segments, customer motivations and unmet needs, business strategies, overall business structures, environmental issues (such as governmental, technological, economic, cultural, demographic, etc.), etc. How to implement SWOT Analysis? Though appeared as a simple and easy business tool, SWOT analysis is very powerful and meaningful technique. To implement SWOT analysis, the first thing an organization needs to have is time and adequate information and resources. It is not possible to implement a SWOT analysis in an organization by one person, because it requires team work and efforts. The positive traits of this technique are that it is quick, flexible and comprehensive managing tool, which make the process easy to implement. However, the process of SWOT analysis follows a sequential order. Obviously, there are four steps to follow in this analysis. Whether analyzing a product or a service, the SWOT analysis is done in the same way. First Step: Collection of information In this stage, an organization collects all the information regarding the first two internal factors, strengths and weaknesses. However, this information collection can be done through a number of different ways. One-to-one interview or a group discussion can be carried to gather information. There will be number of different views, questions and issues that related to these elements. Second Step: Listing possible Opportunities and Threats Here, the organization can make a list of all the opportunities that it may encounter in the future. It can make another list of all the future possible threats within the organization. Third Step: Planning action In this stage, the plan of action will carried out to meet these opportunities and to secure the company from the threats. In this stage, the organization makes sure that they can maintain the strengths, change or stop the weaknesses, prioritize opportunies and minimize threats. Again, there are other ways to implement SWOT analysis. The following chart shows another different technique of SWOT analysis. SWOT Analysis Framework Environmental Scan   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  / Internal Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  External Analysis /   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  / Strengths  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weaknesses  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Opportunities  Ã‚  Ã‚  Threats | SWOT Matrix According to the SWOT matrix formula, there must be a balance between these elements. The formula follows the following chart: SWOT / TOWS Matrix Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities S-O strategies W-O strategies Threats S-T strategies W-T strategies S-O strategies: strengthening positive traits or opportunities W-O strategies: stopping or conquering weaknesses to meet opportunities. S-T strategies: strengthening ways to win external threats W-T strategies: having a strong plan to avoid weaknesses and threats CASE STUDY: SWOT ANALYSIS OF TESCO There are numbers of organizations which are using SWOT analysis almost every day in this modern business environment. This analysis can be carried on a small area of the organization or on overall company. TESCO is one of the major global business installations which can be analyzed by applying SWOT analysis as a whole. Strengths in Tesco The first strength of Tesco can be found in their popularity and business achievement of World Retail Award. Again, the constant increase of overall sales is another significant strength of Tesco. Likewise, Tesco has another strength in their reserve funds for business expansion and meeting economic crisis. Weaknesses in Tesco The primary weakness of Tesco can be found in their bad debt, house insurance claims and credit card arrears. Being a price leader in the market, Tesco is losing profit. Again, Tesco business and its profitability is mainly based on the UK market. Opportunities in Tesco Being the 3rd largest global trader, Tesco has strong buying power. Tesco is a global business organization which has number of different products and services. It is still extending to the global market and gaiting global trust. Extensive use of modern technology is enabling Tesco to meet the modern challenge of marketing. Constant increase of Tesco mobile customers can also be considered as a business opportunity. Threats in Tesco Economic inflation is one of the major business threats that Tesco had encounter in the recent past. The rising cost of food and non-food raw materials is another threat for Tesco. Changing buying habits of customers also affect Tescos business strategies and thus it requires reassessment of the current market. Competition with rivals, particularly with Wal-Mart which can takeover Tesco business position anytime is another noteworthy threat that Tesco is encountering nowadays. CONCLUSION To sum up, SWOT analysis is one of the powerful business tools which can be used in almost every business situation and also in individual affairs. It helps organizations to assess their current position and to plan their future plans. It is decision making tool that provides the framework for an organization to generate business strategy, mark its position and direct its objectives. Though very simple, SWOT analysis requires close attention and experienced application. In the modern changing business market, SWOT analysis has been proved to be a very important tool to the marketers. SWOT analysis is often said to be paralleled and alternative to the PESTEL analysis. Often, organizations use both these business tools together to plan their strategies. Once again, the SWOT analysis helps organizations to get an overall picture of the company and the starting point of strategic planning. It is the primary tool of business analysis. To conclude, experienced marketers when utilizing SWOT analysis make sure that the company is based on its strengths and opportunities, able to stop and correct its weakness, and can protect itself from external threats. They consider the business environment extremely unpredictable and thus use this tool that may help organizations to predict their future through this process.

A Case Study And Analysis On Apple Inc Marketing Essay

A Case Study And Analysis On Apple Inc Marketing Essay Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc) is a multinational corporation that is established on April 1, 1976 in California and incorporated on January 3, 1977.  [i]  The company for 30 years was named as Apple Computer, Inc. but it changed its name to Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007 as it wanted to expand to the consumer electronics market and do not only stay in the computer market.  [ii]   Furthermore, the company for the year 2010 employs 46,600 full time employees and 2800 temporary employees and contractors.  [iii]   Apple designs, manufactures and markets a range of computer software, hardware products and personal computers. Some of its products are the following: Products Hardware Products Application Software Operation System Software Displays Peripheral Products Marketing Tools SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis is used inside a company in order to discover its strengths, its weaknesses, its opportunities and its threats. The SWOT analysis is a strategic marketing planning tool that is usually used to help each company understand and analyse its strengths and weaknesses, identify the threats of other businesses and the various opportunities in the market share. The SWOT analysis is divided in two sectors. The strengths and the weaknesses refer to the company and its products as internal factors, while the threats and the opportunities refer to the external factors of the company in which it has no control. In SWOT analysis it is usual to list the strengths, the weaknesses, the threats and the opportunities in the same page. This is done by dividing the page into four squares and entering strengths and weaknesses (internal factors) in the top two squares and opportunities and threats (external factors) in the button square. The SWOT analysis should be brief and interesting and should not exceed more than four or five pages. An example of a SWOT analysis is the following 4: (How to write a marketing plan [electronic resource] / John Westwood, Westwood, John, 1947, London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2006, 3rd ed), (Malcolm McDonald on marketing planning [electronic resource] : understanding marketing plans and strategy / Malcolm McDonald. Publication Info. London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2008.) STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS The number of individual SWOT analysis will defer from company to company. The most common levels that SWOT should be undertaken are the following: For the organisation as a whole For every major Competitor For every major product or service For every major market share The SWOT analysis is used for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, etc. This tool is very useful for each company to understand and make decisions in all kind of situations. (4, McDonald, Malcolm and Adrian Payne (1996), Marketing Planning for Services, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 77-117) A good example of Apple to explore their strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats is to develop a Swot analysis for the company. The Swot analysis for company is showed below: STRENGHTS: Apple is producing innovative, quality and easy to use products. The innovation made Apple such a powerful company. This is obvious if we look its past: 1970-2001-Apple was making changes only to its computers (face-lift), end of 2001-Apple introduced iPod, June 2008- Apple introduced the cinema displays, March 2007- Apple developed Apple TV, June 2007- Apple entered the Mobile Market with iPhone, 2010- Apple introduced iPad. Every year Apple spent around $1.5 billion for the development of new products in order to keep the existing customers satisfied and recruit more new ones. [3] Apple has a very powerful brand loyalty. As it is one of the most profitable and healthy companies in the World, it managed to adopt a large amount of loyal customers. [1] This happened because Apple periodically, provides updates to all its application and operating systems not only for the Mac computers but for Iphone, Ipad etc. With this way Apple keep the customers satisfied and willing to buy its new products. [3] The key success for Apple is its dedicated personnel and more specifically the CEO team. This team includes all the executive team( Steve Jobs, Andrea Jung, Arthur D. Levinson, Millard S. Drexler) and the employees in technical, marketing and staff positions.[2] Steve Jobs, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Apple Inc. plays a vital role inside the company. During his absence (1985-1996) Apple experienced many financial problems. However, when Steve Jobs came back to the company in 1996, he focused on developing new ideas and in 2001 he introduced iPod which is making a lot of profit to the company. Therefore, Steve Jobs is definitely a strength for Apple.[2] Apple developed a partnership with Intel ® microprocessors in June 2005. This was very useful for Apple because it is addressed in a wider market. Furthermore, as Steve Jobs specified Intel is the strongest processor roadmap. Therefore from then until now, Apple computers is much stronger and more stable.[4] Apple has managed to adopt loyal customers through its stable and reliable products. Therefore, in order to make some profit in the introduction phase of its product, it announces a pre-order technique in order for the innovators to pre-order the product and pre-pay it. With this technique Apple gain a large amount of money and invest them in other areas. WEAKNESSES: Apples hardware and software products and services are very complex and high technology that most of the times contain defects such as bugs. For example, when iPhone 4G came to production, everyone was complaining about the signal when they make a call. Therefore, Apple introduced an update to fix the problem. However, there is no guarantee that Apple is able to detect and fix all the defects in its products and services.[3] This failure results in harming its reputation and sometimes losing customers because they are not satisfied.[3] In the US, Apple has made a contract with a specific carrier for selling and promoting iPhone. If this carrier cannot compete with others in the U.S. market concerning the quality, coverage and pricing or if he cannot promote iPhone correctly into the market so as for the customers to buy it, then this will have a negative impact on the sales and the profit for the company as it will not sell enough units.[3] Furthermore, as Apple decided to make a contract with one carrier, it will lose the loyal customers from other carriers Steve Jobs, is simultaneously a strength and a weakness. During the departure of Steve Jobs from the company, Apple was facing many financial problems because it did not have any innovative products. Therefore, if Steve Jobs leaves again from the company then it might face the same problems. Therefore Steve Jobs is both a strength and a weakness.[2] When Apple announced in June 2005 that is going to leave from IBM and to switch to Intel, some specialists commented that it might lose the loyal IBM customers because the swap would confuse them. Apple has very high prices in its products, so it addresses in a low market- share and not to all customers. OPPORTUNITIES Due to the high competitive market, Apple has to introduce new products, services and technologies and enhance existing products and services so as to simulate new and existing customers to buy the new and upgraded products and services.[3] With the success of iPod and iTunes, Apple entered to the Consumer Electronics market. By introducing iPhone, Apple has expanded to the Mobile Communications market. Therefore, now Apple has the opportunity to expand to further markets like home stereo, TV or even a gaming system like play station.[2] Apple made a contract with Intel to install their processors to Apple computers so as to prompt business to replace Pcs with iMacs. They did this in order for their business applications to become stable and reliable. The first example of replacing their computers with iMac is in Japan. Aozona Bank Ltd replaced their computers with iMacs. Therefore, Apple has to find a way to establish themselves as a major player in business applications.[2] Apple have to create a strategy that will expand its product line to other products that is going to be less expensive. THREATS The biggest threat that all the IT companies face is the high level of competition in the technology markets. The most common feature is the price competition. The competitors reduce their selling prices and sometimes adopt the features of Apple products in order to attract more customers. For example, Apple has only recently entered the Mobile Communications market, so many of its competitors have greater experience and more resources, so they could provide their products in a lower price with little or even no profit at all.for the company. Therefore if Apple stops investing a lot of money to research and development, it will lose its competitive position in the market. Furthermore, in these markets the product Life Cycle of all the products and services is extremely short e.g. for mobiles phone their lifecycle is around 6 months. Therefore, each company has to introduce new products and services. [1,3] In 2005 Apple won a legal case about a blog that pre-introduced new Apple products. With this trial, Apple force Bloggers to name the source of their information because the company suspected that the information had leaked from its employees. [1] Therefore, Apple is always vulnerable to leaks from various employees. This information may conclude to the competitors, so Apple will lose its competiveness.[1] As Apple is an IT company, it relies mostly in economic factors to make profit. Therefore, the economic crisis that exists worldwide is a major threat to all companies but mostly to technological companies. This happens as with the unemployment and the decrease of salaries; most customers consider the market of a technological product unnecessary e.g. an iPhone, so the sales of the company are going down. Customers will download music from another free online program without having to pay anything in iTunes. This will have an impact on iTunes and on the profit of Apple. Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/swot/apple-swot.html A strategic Analysis of Apple Corporation, Imothy Pivovamik, Jeff Shaver, Adam Silver, Richard Sterling, Dave Strubbe (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() Annual Report, United States Security and Exchange Commission, Washigton, D.C.20549 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 http://www.apple.com/investor/ Ansoff Matrix Ansoff Matrix is a well known marketing tool which was first published in Harvard Business Review. Many companies nowadays use it in order to help them decide for the development of their product and the market share. [3,4] The matrix has 2 dimensions. The first one consists of existing and new products while the second consist of existing and new markets. Inside the matrix there are four main categories with suggested grown strategies for each one in order to help the company set the correct direction of their business strategy. The four categories are: Market Penetration in which the company enter into an existing market with existing products or services. Product Development in which the company introduce new products/services into existing customers. Market Development which the company tries to attract new customers with existing products or services Diversification occurs when the company tries to capture new customers with completely new products/services.[3,4] An example of the Ansoff matrix is the following: Ansoff Matrix w500.gif Apple could use each of these four categories in order to manage its existing products and develop new products/ services Market Penetration: In this strategy, Apple could aim on selling the existing products, e.g. Mac Computers to the existing markets. More specifically, Apple: Should try to increase the market share of the existing product. This could be achieved by using the appropriate marketing tools( lower prices, sales promotion, advertising) in order to attract new customers to buy its products.[3,4] For example, more advertisement or reduced prices on Mac Computers could persuade new customers that prefer Windows operations system to change to Macintosh. This is more highly to be achieved in the grown markets because in there the product is at its rising stage. In order to increase its sales and its profit, could persuade existing customers to buy more products. This can be done during an economic grown where customers are willing to spent more money in technological items. [4] For example, Apple could use more advertisement or sales promotion to persuade customers to buy an iPhone for all the members of their family. Or Apple could persuade existing iPod customers to buy also a Mac computer. Should try to ÃŽÂ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â€š ¬ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ®Ãƒ Ã†â€™ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹ the leadership role in the market by ÃŽÂ ´ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ Ã… ½Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ all the other competitors. This could be achieved by adopting an appropriate promotional campaign. For example, to drive out any competitors in order to have only its product in the whole market. It will succeed this by adopting a very aggressive promotional campaign. (1,3) Product Development In this strategic option, Apple could create new products for the existing customers. With them, Apple has already a strong relationship, so it knows their need and specifications for creating a new product. Therefore, the company is innovating its products in order to keep satisfied their customers, beat its competitors and keep its leadership role in the market. An example of this strategy is the iPod. The first iPod that Apple introduced was in October 2001. This was the first entertainment tool from Apple for people to use in order to hear all the time their favourite music. However it had a black-white screen and only 5 GB capacity for songs. Therefore, in 2003 Apple introduced an iPod with the maximum of 40 GB capacity. In 2004 it introduced an iPod with a colour screen and 60 GB capacity. Nowadays, Apple has created an iPod that has a 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display, Wifi and many other features. These changes belong to the product development as Apple innovate its products to attract the existing customers and replace their product with the new.[6] Another example is that Apple every year innovate the iPhone. The first iPhone was released in 2007. The next year Apple introduced iPhone 3G. In 2009 Apple announce the iPhone 3GS and in 2010 it announced the 4G. All these products are aiming to the same market share, the customers who have already bought the first iPhone and want to replace it with the new one.[6] Market Development In the Market Development, Apple could use different marketing strategies in order to sell existing products/services to new markets and increase its profit. It can achieve that, either by expanding to other geographical areas or by looking for users with that will use the product in a different way. A common example is by expanding to foreign markets or to expand from the private sector to the public.[4] Some examples of Apple are the following: Apple did not stayed on selling only to U.S but expanded on all over the world and in 2010 it is earning $24,298 from America sales and $30,929 from worldwide. [5] Another example is that when Apple introduces a new product to the market, it leaves the previous one for some time in the market in order for the customers with low income to buy it. With this technique Apple gain a new market and make a small profit. Another example is that Apple in the beginning was only selling only to customer market but a few years later, it expanded to the area of education. Diversification This strategic option is the risky of all as Apple has to think of new products and introduced them into totally new markets. This option has a very high failure rate as many products fail to come up with the expectations of the customers, so the company has a loss instead of a profit. [4] The most recent example of diversification to Apple is the introduction of iPad in 2010. With this product Apple was aiming in capturing the customers who use the Internet all the time and do not want to carry a notebook or a netbook with them. With iPad Apple did not enter to a completely different market because iPad is like an iPhone with a bigger screen. Therefore, Apple knew how to handle this type of product. Another example is the introduction of iPhone. In 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone, the first mobile phone from Apple. With the specific product, it entered immediately to the mobile market which was totally new to them and in which did not have any previous experience. Apple knew that it should have many competitors and it knew that the product will be either a failure or a success. Therefore, with appropriate marketing and management strategies, iPhone proved to be a success. A much older example is the introduction of iPod. Apple introduced the iPod in 2001. Like in the case of iPhone, Apple was entering here into a whole different area from the computer market. It was entering into the music market and was aiming for existing customers to buy an iPod and for new customers to try one and also try the services of Apple. Finally, Apple has already entered in the markets of Mobile Communications, Computers, TV and Music, therefore it could invest money on creating a gaming console, like Play Station 3, in order to enter to the market of gaming. If it enters this area, it will make a lot of profit because young people spent a lot of money on gaming Market Penetration Usage of appropriate Marketing Tools(advertising, lower prices, etc) Persuade existing customers to buy more products. Product Development Introduction of iPod, the first entertainment tool from Apple Innovation of iPhone each year Market Development Apple expended Worldwide Diversification Introduction of Ipad Introduction of iPhone Introduction of iPod Apple could create a gaming console Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3)Boston House | 214 High Street | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | LS23 6AD | Tel +44 0844 800 0085 | Fax +44 01937 529236, http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 4)Marketing in a nutshell, Mike Meldrum, Malcolm McDonald 5) Annual Report, United States Security and Exchange Commission, Washigton, D.C.20549 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 6) http://www.apple.com6] Product Lifecycle(PLC) Another diagnostic tool that is very useful for the companys marketing is Product Life Cycle. With this tool, the company is able to determine different strategies for a product or service. More specifically, the product lifecycle has to do with the life of the product in the market, so it is similar to the humans lifecycle. Humans during their lives pass trough different stages e.g. birth, grown, maturity, decline and death. The same thing happens with product lifecycle. It passes trough introduction, grown, maturity, saturation and the final stage of decline cause of some natural limiting factors.[1] An example of a product lifecycle curve is shown the figure 1. Figure 1 [1] Each product lifecycle has 5 different stages: Introduction: In this stage the company plan and develop the product. In this stage the company does not make any profit because the product is new to the market and the customers are cautious of buying it. Some companies eg Apple, announce their product before it is introduced in order for the early adopters to preorder it and make some money. Generally, this stage is very difficult for each company and has to play with the marketing mix (price, promotion, product, distribution) in order to make some profit.[1] Grown: In this stage the sales are increasing as customers become aware of the product and start to buy it. If the product proves to be a success then more customers will buy it and the company will make more profit.[1] However, not all products reach this stage. This is because in this stage it starts the competition. Therefore, also in this stage the company should develop a smart marketing mix so as to attract more customers. [1,3] Maturity: This stage is the most profitable of all. Sales continue to increase but the cost for the company is decreasing as the advertisements expenditures decline because customers know the product.[3] However, competition is increasing and when the markets are full; the grown of the product begins to decline. [1] Therefore, during this stage, the company should make some radical changes concerning the marketing mix in order not to lose customers. Saturation: This is the stage that the market is full of companies competing for the same product and the sales are decreasing. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are the key to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes more widespread and uses a greater variety of media. The rate of sales grown eventually levels out. Generally, there are too many firms competing for too little business at this stage. As a result, price wars may break out and there are casualties or tactical withdrawals among the competitive companies. [2,1] Decline: In the final stage, the product has come to its decline as there is a downturn in the market. This means that the market is full of more innovative products in more attractive prices.[2] The limitations of PLC are that this tool is not the same for all products e.g mobile phones have shorter lifecycle than automobiles. Its product has a unique lifecycle e.g some go from introduction to decline. Therefore is very difficult for the marketing managers to predict in which stage is the product. The most common is that when sales peak and then decline, the managers conclude that the product is in the decline stage. Furthermore, some products do not experience any decline like Coca Cola or Pepsi. These products are in maturity for many years, so the company has only profits from these.[2,3] To sum up the PLC is ideal as a descriptive model as it focuses on the future sales and understanding the dynamics of the market.[1] 1)McDonald, Malcolm and Adrian Payne (1996), Marketing Planning for Services, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 77-117 2)Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3) http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ After the developing new products and products portfolio, Apple should use a tool in order to manage these products. The Boston Consulting Group Box (BCG Box) The Boston Matrix is another useful tool for the marketing managers in order to plan the product portfolio of their company. The product portfolio is divided into the products that generate cash and the products that do not. Then the managers will use this model in order to see which one produce cash and make profit to the company and which are not. [2] Therefore, the company can evaluate if its products are healthy The BCG Box uses a form of a two- dimensional matrix. The two axes are the market share, which indicates the strength or limitations of the market and the market growth rate. In order for someone to use the matrix, he should divide it into 4 quadrants, stars(high share/ high market grown), cash cows(high market share/ low market grown), dogs(low market share/ low market grown), question marks(low market share/high market grown), like the matrix in Figure2. Furthermore, he should use circles for each product or product portfolio of the company. The size of the circle indicates the size of the sales or profit for the particular product, product line or business unit.[1,5] In order for Apple to apply the Boston Matrix and manage its products, it should divide its product portfolio into 4 categories deciding which of them are dogs, stars, cash cows and question marks. Figure 2 Stars: Stars are products that are in high growth market with high market share. As Tony Proctor said stars are tomorrows cash earners. This means that stars make a lot of profit for the company but in order for the company to keep these products to this stage, it must spend a high amount of money on them. Therefore, stars are neutral from the point of view of cash generation. [1,2] iPhone is an example of the star products that Apple has in its portfolio. iPhone in its grown it generates a lot of gross profit to the company but it needs also a lot of money in order to change it to cash cow. When it reaches the maturity stage and change to cash cow it has only profit to the company without any expenses for investment. Cash cows: In this stage are the mature products with low growth and high market share, so this area is the most profitable of all as they generate a lot of cash that can be used in improving other areas or in supplying research and development of new products. The company have to invest only a small amount of money to keep them where they are. [1,3] An example of cash cow is the iPod. Despite the fact that Apple does not make considerable changes to the specific product, customers prefer it and buy it. In 2010 Apple sell 8,274 units without making considerable changes. Another example is iTunes. Customers from iTunes can purchase many songs, videos and nowadays even books. Apple all these years made minor changes to iTunes but customers continue to buy from there. Therefore, iTunes is a very profitable programme for Apple without any cost for investment. A case in point is Apple Computers flagship product called the iPod, which occupies a dominant 73% share the portable music player market (Cantrell 2006). Analysts believe it is the impetus for Apples financial rebirth 40% of Apples sales is attributed to the iPod product line (Cantrell 2006) Dogs: These are products with low market share and low market growth. These products are completely profitless for the company and have no future. The best thing each company should do is sold off these products.[1] However, many companies that have dog products have to think carefully before divest them because they might be a portfolio of other products which might be stars. So if the customers that buy with the stars also the dogs, they will stop buying both of them and the company will lose money. Many companies like Apple do not have many dogs products because they are IT companies and they innovate their products very often in order not to lose their position on the market. One example is the iPhone 3Gs when Apple released iPhone 4G.This happens to all of the products of Apple. When it releases a new product, it leaves the previous one for some time in the market with a very low price. This is a dog product. Another example is the iPods shuffle that does not have any screen. These are products with little or no demand on the market because most of the customers buy the iPod with a screen. Therefore, these products make little profit for the company, so they are dogs. Question marks: These are products with low market share but high market grown. These are also unprofitable for the company as they are low market share and the company have to invest a lot of money to grow their market share. Therefore, marketing managers have to think very carefully which ones they should invest in. If they invest in a profitable product then it will become star and afterwards cash cow or else they will become dogs.[1,3] An example of question marks is the Mac Computers. Most people worldwide prefer to buy a computer with a Windows operation system instead of Macintosh, so Apple has to invest a lot of money, as they are very complex products with high technology in order to change them into stars. In General each company have to possess at least one cash cow in order to make profit and invest it to other areas, like stars so as to become a cash cow. If a company has many dog products then the best solution is to either convert them to stars or dispatched them. There is the possibility for a company to have question marks. If that happens, then either it should money to change them to stars and then cash cow or let them become dogs and dispose them. [1] However, despite for all the positive results that Apple could have with BSG matrix, it has many limitations. Firstly, the matrix assumes that every product is independent from the product portfolio of the company. This is not all the times true as many products depend from others and if the company consider a product dog and divest it, then it will create a problem to the other product. Furthermore, The limitations of BCG matrix are that the higher rates of profit do not always related to high rates of market share. Furthermore, it is usually applies to product lines instead of simply a product. Finally, the main problem with these tools is that they are not always accurate.[2] 1) Strategic marketing [electronic resource] : an introduction / Tony Proctor, Proctor, Tony, London ; New York : Routledge, 2000. 2) Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3)Boston House | 214 High Street | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | LS23 6AD | Tel +44 0844 800 0085 | Fax +44 01937 529236,http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 4)Marketing in a nutshell, Mike Meldrum, Malcolm McDonald 5) Marketing, David Mercer Swot analysis: Use SWOT analysis for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing, business and product development and research reports. The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organizations. You can then attempt to exploit your strengths, overcome your weaknesses, grasp your opportunities and defend yourself against threats. This is one of the most impor

Motivation In The Workplace Essay -- Business Management

Motivation in the workplace is one of the major concerns that managers face when trying to encourage their employees to work harder and do what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis. According to Organizational Behavior by John R. Schermerhorn, James G. Hunt and Richard N. Osborn the definition of motivation is "the individual forces that account for the direction, level, and persistence of a person's effort expended at work." They go on to say that "motivation is a key concern in firms across the globe." Through the years there have been several theories as to what motivates employees to do their best at work. In order to better understand these theories we will apply them to a fictitious organization that has the following three types of employees: salespeople, production workers, and administrative staff. We will discuss which of these theories would or would not be most effective to motivate these employee groups and try to explain why. The motivation theories that will be discussed are: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, ERG (Aldefer), Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg), Equity Theory (Adams), and the Expectancy Theory (Vroom). Let's start with salespeople. Salespeople Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory says that there are five levels of individual needs from self-actualization and esteem at the top levels, to social, safety and physiological levels at the bottom. Maslow felt that some of these needs are more important than others and that the important ones must be satisfied before the rest of a person's needs can be satisfied. Since a salespersons basic responsibility is to sell merchandise this motivational theory would not be a good choice for an organization to use to motivate them. The reason for this is because s... ...nt from one culture to another and even from one individual to another. Clayton Alderfer's ERG theory emphasizes a unique frustration-regression component. This means a lower-level need can become activated when a higher-level need cannot be satisfied. This would not be a good motivation theory for administrative staff since their goal is to usually get ahead. Both the Equity and Expectancy theories focus on thought processes. The equity theory may or may not motivate administrative staff depending on how each individual perceives the fairness of their work outcomes relative to others. The Expectancy theory does not specify which rewards will motivate particular groups of workers. Individual motivation directly determines work effort, and the key to motivation is the ability to create a work setting that positively responds to individual needs and goals.

Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay -- Fuel Energy Driving Gas Pollution Ess

Benefits of Hybrid Cars Transportation is very important to our every day lives. Throughout the history, many evolutions and changes have been made in transportation technology, and it continues growing at a rapid pace. At first, people used horses and horse trailers as their main transportation. Then in the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine was invented. Later, there was the invention of the combustion engine, and it is the beginning of the automobile industry. Many changes and improvements have been made in the development of automobiles. However, until today, the 21st century, people are still using gasoline as the many fuel for cars. Now in 2005, we have hybrids, a new generation of automobiles. Hybrids are fuel efficient, fuel economic and environment friendly, and they are the dominant cars for the next two decades. Here we are going to discuss the major benefits of driving a hybrid. A hybrid can be simply defined as a vehicle with two sources of power combined. A modern hybrid vehicle, such as a Toyota Prius, uses both an electrical motor and a gasoline engine, and they work together to provide the power needed for a comfortable ride. Hybrids actually have been around longer than we think: From 1897 to 1907, the Compagnie Parisienne des Voitures Electriques (roughly, Paris Electric Car Company), built a series of electric and hybrid vehicles, including the 1903 Krieger. With front-drive and power steering, the Krieger wasn't built in much quantity. One model ran on alcohol, and there was another version with what has been described as a gasoline-turbine engine; in those times, the term "turbine" sometimes meant â€Å"generator."(History of Hybrid,  ¶ 4) Before the full development of gasoline vehi... ...o provide us a better world with cleaner air and greener grass. With features of hybrids, people can live longer and healthier under better environment; with limited resources, people can travel longer in lives and have more opportunities to explore lives as well as the world. Hybrids are the car for the future. Works Cited How Hybrid Cars Work. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car5.htm History. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from http://www.hybridcars.com/history.html Progressive Casualty Insurance Company (2005, April 11). Research Finds Higher Horsepower Cars Involved In Fewer Accidents. Retrieved from http://pressroom.progressive.com/releases/Hi_Horsepower_05.asp History of Hybrid. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from http://www.modernracer.com/features/historyofthehybrid.html

Divine Love in The Canonization Essay -- Canonization Essays

Divine Love in The Canonization Describing the complexities of love, Pascal states that "the heart has reasons which reason knows nothing of" (qtd. in Bartlett 270). Similarly, in "The Canonization" by John Donne, the speaker argues that his unique love obtains reasons beyond the knowledge of the common man. The speaker relates his love to the canonization of saints. Therefore, he implies that his love is a divine love. In "The Canonization," the speaker conveys a love deserving of admiration and worthy of sainthood. In the poem, the lover describes his love as incomprehensible. In the heat of discussion, the lover insults his companion's intelligence with the statement, "Take you a course, get you a place" (5). The speaker implies that his listener does not possess the adequate amount of intelligence necessary to understand his complex love. Resulting from the listener's critical comments concerning the speaker's love, the speaker implores the listener to chide him for his physical features or past mistakes in life. In other words, he tells the listener to deride him for his tangible and superficial flaws, rather than attempt to disparage the inner depths of a love relationship that the listener cannot comprehend. The speaker expresses the rarity of his love by stating that his love is his occupation and his sole purpose in life. In essence, his love becomes his calling, similar to a saint's calling from God. Stressing his devotion to his lover, the speaker reveals an astute comparison between the professions of mankind to his own occupation of love: "Soldiers finde warres, and Lawyers finde out still / Litigious men, which quarrels move, / Though she and I do love" (16-18). Similar to the profession... ...y embracing their isolation, they discover the world through each other's eyes: "Who did the whole world soule extract, and drove / Into the glasses of your eyes" (40-41). Unlike the rest of the world, the two unique lovers find their true identities and ideal desires through reckless abandonment of worldly views. The comparison between the artificial love of the listener and the divine love of the speaker represents another distinction in the two concepts of love. The divine love of the speaker offers complete devotion, intensity and immortality while artificial love of the listener maintains the placid position of peace. In essence, the love of the speaker creates a model for all other lovers that "Beg from above / A patterne of your love!" (44-45). The love of the speaker in "The Canonization" proves to be a divine love relative to the saints.

Case Analysis Texas V. Johnson

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ________________________________________ 491 U. S. 397 Texas v. Johnson CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS ________________________________________ No. 88-155 Argued: March 21, 1989 — Decided: June 21, 1989 This case analysis of Texas v. Gregory Lee Johnson was a Supreme Court case that overthrew bans on damaging the American flag in 48 of the 50 states. Gregory Lee Johnson participated in a political demonstration during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, where he burned the American flag.Consequently, Johnson was charged with violating the Texas law that bans vandalizing valued objects. However, Johnson appealed his conviction, and his case eventually went to the Supreme Court. Facts And Procedural History In 1984, the Republican Party convened in Dallas, Texas for their national convention. President Ronald Regan, seeking a second term in office, was to be officially delegated as the GOP (Grand Old Party) candidate for President. Scores of individuals organized a political protest in Dallas, which voiced opposition to Reagan administration policies, and those of some Dallas-based corporations.Among these protesters was a man by the name of Gregory Lee Johnson, who participated in a political demonstration, called the â€Å"Republican War Chest Tour. † As the demonstrators marched through the streets, chanting their message, a fellow protestor handed Johnson an American flag that had been taken from a flag pole at one of their protest locations. Upon reaching the Dallas City Hall, Johnson doused the flag with kerosene and set it on fire. In addition, Johnson and his fellow demonstrators circled the burning flag and shouted â€Å"America, the red, white, and blue, we spit on you. No one was hurt or threatened with injury by the act, but many who witnessed it were deeply offended. Therefore, Johnson was arrested, charged and convicted under Texas â€Å"desecration of a v enerated object† statue, sentenced to one year prison, and fined $2000. Moreover, Texas was not the only state to have anti-flag burning laws on the books, 47 other states also criminalized flag desecration (Joel, 2011. ) Principles to the case A principle to the case is mens rea accompanying â€Å"Symbolic expression â€Å"which is a phrase often used to describe expression that is mixed with elements of conduct (Cline, 2011. The issues argued were the 1st Amendment, and protest demonstrations. The Supreme Court has made clear in a series of cases that symbolic expression (or expressive conduct) may be protected by the First Amendment (Cline, 2011. ) However, of the approximately 100 demonstrators, Johnson alone was charged with a crime. Johnson appealed his conviction and his case eventually went to the Supreme Court. The principle to the case is burning a U. S. flag in protest was expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.In determining the case, the court first considered the question of whether the First Amendment reached non-speech acts, since Johnson was convicted of flag desecration rather than verbal communication, and, if so, whether Johnson's burning of the flag constituted expressive conduct, which would permit him to invoke the First Amendment in challenging his conviction. The First Amendment literally forbids the abridgment only of ‘speech,’ but has long recognized that its protection does not end at the spoken or written word.If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea; simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable (Find Law, 2011. ) In addition, Johnson argued that the Texas flag desecration statute violated the First Amendment, which says â€Å"Congress shall make no law †¦ abridging the freedom of speech †¦ or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government f or a redress of grievances. † Consequently, the state of Texas argued that it had an interest in preserving the flag as a symbol of national unity.Analysis Of The Court Findings I agree to some extent with the ruling, since it claims that its interest in preventing breaches of the peace justifies Johnson's conviction for flag desecration. However, no disturbance of the peace actually occurred, or threatened to occur because of Johnson's burning of the flag. Johnson deliberately chose to burn the American flag in order to demonstrate his deep distress over the nation’s policies. His gesture was an attempt to cry out to the government for a redress of grievances, and not to commit an act of juvenile vandalism.The 1st and 14th amendments protect Johnson’s symbolic protest. Also, the only evidence offered by the state at trial to show the reaction to Johnson's actions was the testimony of several persons who had been seriously offended by the flag burning. This case sparked years of debate over the meaning of the flag, including efforts to amend the Constitution to allow for a prohibition of the â€Å"physical desecration† of the flag. The only evidence offered by the State at trial to show the reaction to Johnson's actions was the testimony of several persons who had been seriously offended by the flag burning.They rejected the claim that the ban was necessary to protect breaches of the peace due to the offense that burning a flag would cause. Burning a U. S. flag in protest was expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. â€Å"The First Amendment literally forbids the abridgment only of ‘speech,’ but we have long recognized that its protection does not end at the spoken or written word†¦. If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable. (Find Law, 2011. ) Another fact I find interesting is that Johnson was prosecuted because he knew that his politically charged expression would cause a â€Å"serious offense. † If he had burned the flag as a means of disposing of it because it was dirty or torn, he would not have been convicted of flag desecration under this Texas law; however, federal law designates burning as the preferred means of disposing of a flag â€Å"when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display,† 36 U. S. C.  § 176(k), and Texas has no quarrel with this means of disposal (ACLU, 2011. Johnson was convicted for engaging in expressive conduct. The State's interest in preventing breaches of the peace does not support his conviction, because Johnson's conduct did not threaten to disturb the peace; nor does the State's interest in preserving the flag as a symbol of nationhood and national unity justify his criminal conviction for engaging in political expression. Therefore, the jud gment of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was affirmed. Conclusion To put it briefly, grunts and howls do not inspire laws banning them; owever, a person who grunts in public is looked at as being strange, but laws do not punish them for grunting instead of communicating in whole sentences. If people are irritated by desecration of the American flag, it is because of what they believe is being communicated by such acts. Thus, amending the Constitution to permit bans on flag burning is not just a solution in search of a problem. Instead, I believe it is also a â€Å"solution† which will likely serve to create the problem it is trying to solve in the first place. References ACLU (2011. Burn the Flag or Burn the Constitution? Retrieved September 1, 2011 from http://www. aclu. org/blog/tag/flag-burning. Cline, A. (2011) Can Flag Burning Send a Political Message Be Made a Crime? Retrieved September11,2011fromhttp://atheism. about. com/od/flagburningcourtcases/a/TexasJohnson. ht ml. Find Law (2011. ) Cases and Codes. Retrieved September 1, 2011 from http://caselaw. findlaw. com/wa-supreme-court/1102265. html. Joel, S. (2011. ) Texas v. Johnson. Retrieved September 1, 2011 from book Criminal Law, tenth Edition, Page47.