Acer Case free essay sample

How can it sustain its growth? Answer: Acer Inc. , the world’s second-largest computer vendor, needs reengineering and repositioning because its previous winning formula is not effective any more, its founder Stan Shih said Tuesday. Shih, who no longer manages the Taiwan-based multinational computer group but still controls a huge stake in the company, made the suggestion on the sidelines of a cultural seminar. His advice came after Acer unexpectedly lowered its PC sales estimate for the first quarter of this year last Friday and gave a conservative forecast for its Q2 business prospects. Shih acknowledged that smartphones and tablets have had a significant impact on the personal computer industry. He expressed the view that Apple’s products, such as iPhone and iPad, have brought new visions and new concepts to the technology industry. Because of changing business environment, Acer underwent a major re-engineering almost once every 10 years. In 1992, Acer reshaped its increasingly bloated organization under a lean and mean strategy. We will write a custom essay sample on Acer Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Now the company is at a crossroad again. Shih said Acer has only lowered its business forecast and has not incurred any losses. â€Å"But its misforecast indicates that the PC market is undergoing substantial changes, † Shih said. â€Å"The unexpected slow sales in Q1 should serve as a wake-up call. It’s time for Acer to undergo its third wave of re-engineering and re-positioning. Noting that Apple not only sells products but also sell services and that HP has announced its decision to install its Web OS system in its PCs, Shih said Acer should come up with new strategies to sustain its growth. 3. Despite strong competition from Dell and Hewlett-Packard, Acer’s US. Market share increased from 1 percent in 2004 to 16 percent by the end of 2009. what are Acer’s prospects for gaining further share in the United States? Answer: From its inception, Acer had been a component and equipment manufacturer for relabeled lectronic products marketed and sold by recog nized global companies. Along with the booming of the PC industry came the need to produce PC components faster, cheaper and more efficiently; this need gave birth to several companies akin to Acer, which in turn contributed to market saturation. Strategic management theories have taught us that when a company faces market saturation, the most effective way to growth is to engaged in expanding its operations, marketing and selling activities to another market. In this case, Acer determined that they would take the company into the global electronics and personal computer playfield. Right now Dell and Hewlett-Packard are two much positioned brands and I think their market share is way bigger because their market is different, they decided to have different strategies and if Acer decides to gain further share in the US, they should do a new campaign to position Acer as â€Å"choice for a PC†.

What Is American Dream Essay Example

What Is American Dream Essay Example What Is American Dream Essay What Is American Dream Essay Name: Instructor: Course: Date: The American Dream The American dream can be defined as the assurance of a perfect America filled with utopian objectives and endless possibilities (Schulman, 2008). This is regardless of racial background and social status. Life is believed to be better and comfortable for all and there is potential to become whatever you want. Everyone dreams of a life without stress and challenges, with never-ending supply of money and bliss. With enough money to buy anything, a good job, a great family and living in affluent places in America like Hollywood and Los Angeles. It is believed that all this is possible in America, hence the phrase ‘The American Dream’. This dream provides you with the perfect friends and family, who are always there for you and love forever. This is the reason why many people go to the United States of America. They believe that in America, they would achieve their personal goals, autonomy and impartiality, something they could not achieve in their countries. Those who come to America are promised a life full of money through hard work and fortitude. In addition, all Americans are provided with equal opportunities and rights to accomplish their dreams. Thomas Wolfe is noted to have said, â€Å"†¦to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity†¦the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him† (Wolfe, 2011, 2). According to this quote, everyone is provided with equal opportunities on orders to achieve the American dream. However, this depends on the efforts put into making this dream come true. This means that there are those who will work hard enough and achieve their dreams while others will not be as lucky to realize the American dream. Everyone, in spite of ethnicity, race or religion, is given the same chance at success but only those who are strong will live to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Some examples of the American include owning a decent home, having a well-paying job, a beautiful wife or husband and having supportive family members and friends. These examples are painted to society and they have helped many people to move to America. The thought of having all these things is what attracts people to the United States. Some of the immigrants in America are currently living their personal American dreams because they worked to get to where they are. Some have been able to bring their families to America from their countries of origin. Higher education is another example of the American dream. Education in America is considered cheaper than that in most third world countries hence the reason why numerous students are opting to travel to America. This opportunity at higher education also provides them with chances at better-paying jobs and eventually living their American dream. The media plays an important role in portraying the American dream because of its grasp on society. Shows that are run on television and radio on how fast richness can befall individuals for example ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ are used to paint the perfect image of achieving the American dream. Those watching such shows are made to believe that one can become wealthy overnight. They think that by participating in the game and reality shows, anyone can get prosperous and prominent quickly. What they do not know is that these shows are created to improve ratings. Another example is the lottery systems. These are used to lure unsuspecting foreigners to America with the hopes of winning and consequentially achieving their American dreams. This has also created a notion in many people that it is better to become rich through fortune than through hard work. Not everything on television and radio is what it appears. Music videos, movies and international models portray a different picture of the American dream (Marchand, 2007). Through music videos, people are convinced that through becoming a rapper or singer, one can land himself millions of dollars. The lavish mansions and beautiful women on these videos lure young people to immigrate to America in pursuit of their American dreams. Many artists are seen throwing money and using expensive cars in their music videos. This is used to attract young to watch the videos; however, they are not told made aware of the struggle it takes to produce such videos. They are not aware of the amount of money it takes to own a mansion and establish musical careers in America. In addition, through music videos shown online and on television, people are made to believe that music can land themselves beautiful women and wealth. This is contrary to the reality in which it takes more than music videos to achieve the American dream. The international modeling industry exposes young men and women to things that they are not accustomed to seeing without offering proper explanations. Models in America and other developed countries are seen living exclusive lives and enjoying extensive riches. They are on billboards and television advertisements, they own expensive cars and enjoy the company of the most influential people in the world; living their American dreams. This has been used to persuade people to pursue modeling careers for a chance to have a taste of that life. What is hidden is the negative aspect of the modeling industry like the cases of anorexia and sometimes death of models because of pressure to stay thin. Movies also play a vital role in convincing people that the American dream is easily achieved. Movie stars are constantly seen living in luxurious mansions and driving customized vehicles, it is a vicious game of trying to stay ahead of each other. There are cases of achieving the American through social media. This can be viewed from social media celebrities who have attained their wealth through connecting people. These are people like Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Such celebrities spend all their time on the internet trying to create a connection between people in different parts of the world. Most times, they do not have to work eighty hours a week and they make unbelievable amounts of money. However, this seems unfair to those who have grown up in places where the internet is unheard of and those who do not have the required education to operate computers and the internet. Such people are forced to work extra hard just to get by because they do not possess adequate qualifications to land better-paying jobs. This means that their chances of achieving the American dream are slim, as their hard work does not always pay. The media plays an important role in trying to lure people to immigrate to America with hopes of living the American dream. Through music videos, movies and the internet, America is portrayed as the perfect country with money, fame and prosperity. It is paramount that the media exaggerates on the matter because their sole purpose is to attract and maintain an audience. Americans themselves are caught up in the American dream as most of them have accumulated huge debts in order to emulate their wealthy counterparts (Best, 2012). In their quest to experience the American dream, many people, American or otherwise, have resorted to criminal activities. Such include robbery, fraud and sometimes murder. This is encouraged by movies where crime is seen as the fastest way of acquiring wealth. Therefore, without the media the American dream would continue to be just that, a dream. It was easier for people to define the American Dream a few decades back, this is because many people were leading it. When people come to America looking for the American Dream, they hope to come to a country that is full of opportunity. In 1931, James Turslow Adams believed that the American Dream is land where people can lead a â€Å"better, richer and fuller life† for anyone in pursuit of this dream (Adams, 2012, 16). This is where the American Dream is and this where people want to live. As was defined many years ago, the promise of the American dream is today used by politicians to woo voters. Every political party strives to help its members achieve the American dream in one way or another. Democrats are in support of labor unions so that the meager-earning workers can have a slice of their American dream whereas republicans support an economic system that only looks into the welfare of the rich and successful in society and this is done at the expense of others. Nevertheless, this land flowing with milk and honey is not what Americans have been experiencing in the recent past. The American dream, it is believed, is long. People would now like to live in the past, where it was possible to own a house without the fear of losing it, where the economy was strong and people could feed their families if only they worked hard enough. When the concept of the American dream first came into being, it was because the economy was stable and life was cheaper. Owning a house was easy and job opportunities were available for anyone who was willing, regardless of educational qualifications. Today, the American Dream is no longer about the physical address or location in the town. Where do people want to live when they think of the American dream? They want to live in the past, the American dream that was promised by the founding fathers of the greatest nation. An example of the where the people want to live when they think of the America dream is where they have a big house, with a beautiful family in a peaceful suburban neighborhood. The hope that their houses will be surrounded by a white picket fence and that no one would think of jumping over it to do harm. People believed in owning a dog and having friendly neighbors. People want to live in a place where the education system is good and guarantees prosperity. For example, when one thinks of education in terms of the American Dream, they think of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Berkley, MIT, and Stanford among other great universities. These are examples of schools that exemplify the great American promise of prosperity. If one does not go to a good school, they are not likely to lead prosperous lives as expected. People look at the beautiful skyline of New York City and see that the American Dream is limitless and that everyone can have it. In New York, people enjoy a good life with good schools, good healthcare and good jobs. People are making money in Wall Street everyday. Money is the measure for success and the attainment of the American Dream. Therefore, when people think of the American Dream and they believe that they can achieve what the rich in New York can and enjoy the high social life that has been associated with the elite in the city. People come from allover the world to ensure that they lead such a life. Americans wake up every single day hoping that one day their lives would measure up to the American Dream. When people think of the American dream, they want to live in Los Angeles, the city of stars. People want to be rich and famous because Los Angeles is one of the few places in the world where one becomes rich and famous at the same time. Hollywood has been a shinning beacon for actors everywhere. A chance to act in a movie or even in a television series is a chance to pursue the American Dream of a person who wants to become a star. The American Dream promises a life that is devoid of suffering and epitomizes togetherness and equality of all races. Washington DC, the capital of America, is a beacon of hope for all who pursue justice and equality. People would want to come to America because they will be accorded justice and asylum from oppressive nations. These are just some examples of cities and places that embody the American Dream. What people pursue in the American Dream is a chance to be prosperous regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and nationality. However, the prosperity of the nation is threatened by the tough economic times that have grappled the country. It is increasingly becoming difficult to sustain life in America given by the rise in living standards and the economic downturn affecting developed countries in the world. People, it seems, no longer believe that they are pursuing the American Dream. This dream is increasingly becoming difficult to pursue and the people who are believed to be enjoying the American Dream are only the rich. Those who are fortunate enough to own their own homes and drive luxurious cars are movie stars and other celebrities while the rest of America struggles to put food on their tables. While the rich continue to get richer, the poor continue to become poorer. This gap, it seems, can no longer be bridged because the rich do not want to share the secrets to their wealth and the poor are not willing to work hard enough to acquire wealth. Only a handful of Americans are said to be living the American dream and this includes those holding government positions, politicians and celebrities. The others are living below the poverty line, which is a grave situation because America is believed to be the land of milk and honey. The economic situation is affecting many people across America. People are therefore worried about where exactly in America the can achieve the American Dream (Hochschild, 2001).

The Screenplay Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Screenplay Analysis - Essay Example 56). The main theme of the movie is the forbidden love between the fictional characters Rose and Jack, who are from different worlds but fall in love during their journey. The focus of this paper will be carrying out a screenplay analysis of the Titanic movie highlighting the outstanding features that Cameron uses to develop his story. Without doubt, James Cameron is an experienced producer and director considering he successful films that he has done. In the development of the Titanic movie, he makes use of the three act structure in developing his story line. As the name of this feature suggests, the film has three distinct parts, namely the setup, the confrontation and the resolution. A close examination of the film reveals that act one serves as the setup. This is because it is in this act that the audience is introduced to the characters and to the story. Cameron presents the background of the film in act one. The audience gets to understand that Brock Lovett, who is a hunter of treasures and has been on a rigorous search for a necklace called ‘Heart of Ocean’. It is at this point that Rose admitted that it was her necklace and begins to narrate how things transpired after she and other passengers including her mother and fiancà © had boarded the Titanic ship. From the description presented, the audience becomes aware of the setting of the story which is specifically in a ship (Wright 2004, p. 66). As Rose remembers what transpired, the turning point in the setup is revealed. This occurs when she tried committing suicide but was saved by Jack Dawson who was in the third class section of the ship. This serves as the turning point in the setup because it served to take the story into a different direction. Because of the reason that Jack saved Rose, Cal and Rose’s mother were compelled to invite him for dinner (Tucker 2012, p. 126). This provided an opportunity for Rose and

Religions of the Common Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Religions of the Common - Research Paper Example Abraham, the first Patriarch is considered as the founder of Judaism, while Christianity on the other hand was founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century A.D (ReligionFacts, 2013). Both religions are intertwined because both can trace their earliest beginnings from Abraham. Christianity literally means followers of Christ and those who follow His teachings. Judaism denotes the people who belong to the Jewish heritage or ethnicity and who mostly follow the law given to the Jews and Moses in the Old Testament. It also means those that belong to the tribe of Judah. Christ Himself was a Jew but ushered in the dispensation of Grace, coming into great conflict with those who believed in Judaism during hid days on earth. Christians have the belief that one God exists, and is in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is narrated in the Jesus’ great commission to His disciples in Mathew 28; 19 where new believers are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son a nd Holy Ghost. Christians also believe in the Bible which they believe is God’s word revealed to man. Christians believe that the people who wrote the Bible had inspiration from God and thus they refer to it as the Word of God. Christians also believe in the deity of Christ, that He is the second of the Godhead and that He is equal to God (ReligionFacts, 2013).... oman Catholic division of Christianity, for example, writings of ecumenical councils and ancient church Fathers and creeds are included in the division’s beliefs and practices. Christians also have sacraments and ordinances like baptism and Holy Communion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox divisions adding the sacraments of marriage, confirmation, penance, Holy orders and anointing of those who are sick (ReligionFacts, 2013). In all of the Christian divisions, prayer is given great preeminence though the order and conducting of the same has varies from division to the other. Christians believe that mankind inherited an original sin from their first parents Adam and Eve who sinned against God. Jesus Christ paid for sin by His death on the cross to reconcile man back to God as narrated in the Bible in scriptures in Romans 5: 17. Christians and mostly Protestants believe in salvation through the work the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and not by any other works or sacri fices (Horbury 2006). They believe that God redeems man through the work of the cross, giving them a new birth and new life, 2 Cor 5: 17. Christians also believe that there is a place of eternal fire known as hell which will be used to punish the unrighteous from everlasting to everlasting. They believe that man is destined to die, and after death there will be judgment, with those that are righteous going to heaven and those that will be not being condemned to eternal hell. The Roman Catholic division of Christianity teaches that some souls that will need cleansing will be taken to purgatory before being allowed into Heaven. Christians practice their worship in churches, chapels, cathedrals and Basilicas (Avery-Peck & Neusner, 2009). On the area of clothing, Christian divisions like orthodox

Threat Of Substitutes And Bargaining Power Of Customers Marketing Essay

Threat Of Substitutes And Bargaining Power Of Customers Marketing Essay As mentioned earlier in part 1.3, I will be using Porters Five Forces to analyse the external environment to obtain a comprehensive understanding of a given industry. My focus here will be the fast food industry. BK is my chosen company to evaluate the effect of globalisation has upon fast food industry. The analysis will be done in four areas as below and there may be some overlapping of points as they can be interrelated. There are six major sources identified as barriers to a market entry which include economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirement, switching cost, access to channels of distribution and government policy (Porter, 1980). All these have had impact on BK especially as from the point of view of globalisation. In my observation, it is very possible to open one or two outlets but to globally have a chain of outlets with the same branding requires tremendous capital requirements. Thus globalisation has directly impacted BK in the way it structured its business model through franchising. BK could afford to do so as with agreements such as US- Canada Free Trade Agreement and North American Free Trade Agreement (Reference for Business, 2010). BK took advantage of the relative free flow of resources under globalisation to expand globally. Franchising is a relative low cost and low risk business model. Most of the US franchisors often use this method to enter a new market with diverse economical, cultural and political environment (Alon, 2006). For instance, 88% of BKs restaurants worldwide are franchised in fiscal 2009, contributing to $412.5 millions of total revenue globally (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). Franchising enables the business to develop in an unfamiliar market relatively quickly on a larger scale, allows the use of local partners who are familiar with local environment and also to create a standardised, global brand image, generating marketing economies of scale (McDonald et al., 2002). Charts below will provide further information on BKs franchise restaurants. Chart 1: Percentage of BKs Franchise Restaurants and Company Restaurants Worldwide ( Burger King Holdings Inc.,2009; SEC Info, 2007) Chart 2: Revenue Breakdown From BKs Total Revenue Worldwide (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) However with globalisation, competition is globalised and relentless. McDonalds is actually BKs largest competitor as it provides better menu variety with more valuable and affordable prices (CNN.com, 2009), biting into BKs revenue by securing a larger market share. McDonalds is also more a pioneer compared to BK because it opened its first restaurant in 1940 (Spiritus-temporis.com, 2005) compared to BK with its first restaurant in 1954 (WikiAnswers, 2010). Being a pioneer, McDonalds has many advantages which includes entrenchment of position in consumers minds, creating higher thresholds for later entrants in terms of quality, advertising and distribution support, enjoys long-term market share advantages and reputation benefits (Gass et al.,2003). It is the effect of globalisation where McDonalds has built around 32,000 outlets in more than 117 countries (McDonalds Corporation, 2010). With its expansion into international markets, the company is famous throughout the world and is the leader in this industry followed by BK only at second place. The difference in number of outlets worldwide which also translates into sales volume differences between these two fast food chain can be seen clearly in the diagrams below. Chart 3: The total number of restaurants worldwide for BK and McDonalds. ( Burger King Holdings Inc.,2009; McDonalds Corporation, 2009) Chart 4: Comparison of Sales Revenues Between BK and McDonalds (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, McDonalds Corporation 2007; 2009, SEC Info, 2007) Based on the charts, McDonalds is approximately 3 times larger than BK in terms of outlet and 10 times larger in terms of sales revenues. Substantial capital is also needed in terms of advertising to build up BKs brand. The advertising cost of McDonalds is approximately 8 times higher than BK thus creating a higher barrier entry when BKs brand name is lacking compared to McDonalds. To compete with McDonalds, BK needs more capital to increase its advertising as it is very much needed in globalisation to introduce BK in new markets and building up its image that they may otherwise not known about (Coulter, 2001). To ease comparison of the advertising cost, it is illustrated in chart below. Chart 5: Advertising cost of BK compared to McDonalds (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009; SEC Info, 2007; McDonalds Corporation, 2007;2009) With these type of cost outlays, for other competitors to come into the same scale as these two companies is extremely daunting indeed, thus the threat of entrants is low, though for smaller players is possible to find niches that are under or not exploited as yet. Luckily the advertising costs have resulted in branding, which builds a better image globally and flows ultimately into higher sales and profitabililty. Table below provides Best Global Brand Ranking 2009 highlighting few of BKs major competitors and where BK succeeded in positioning its brand among top 100 in year 2009. 2009 rank 2008 rank brand country of origin sector 2009 brand value ($m) 6 8 united states restaurant 32275 61 64 united states restaurant 5722 79 81 united states restaurant 3876 90 85 united states restaurant 3263 93 new united states restaurant 3233 Table 1: Best Global Brand Ranking 2009 (Interbrand, 2009) It is clear that BK lags behind McDonalds though in many ways this is to be expected given its much lower advertising cost outlays, which besides outlet costs, form a significant barrier of entry as mentioned earlier. 3.1.2 Product Differentiation With globalisation, BK differentiates itself from other fast food giants by acknowledging culture and country specific needs. For instances, Pork-based Bulgogi Burgers are offered in korea and the ultra-spicy Rendang Double in Singapore (Wikipedia, 2010). Picture 1: Pork based Bulgogi Burger Picture 2: Rendang Double (flickr.com, 2008 ) (therealnurulle.blogspot.com, 2010) BK also keeps its promise of Have it your way with customers having 221184 possible ways of ordering a Whopper meal (Swabey, 2007). This will help to ease its penetration into new market with different local conditions. BKs response to globalisation is obviously to cater to local tastes, as the pictures above testify. Another response to globalisation has been the move towards becoming more healthy by offering healthier menu with less salt and also with its product innovation to provide food with higher nutrition contents. At all times, BK is trying to differentiate itself to meet customers demands. Further details regarding food offerings will be mentioned in later part. 3.2 Threat of Substitutes and Bargaining Power of Customers Various global fast food chains have successfully make inroads in diverse market settings around the world (Watson, 2006). These restaurants stand the most conspicuous symbol of globalisation and modernity in countries worldwide (Wilk, 2006). Hence, they are often viewed as the cutting edge of emerging global consumer culture which have caused societies worldwide to become increasingly homogeneous and deterritorialised (Friedman, 2000). Although the expansion of Western quick-service eateries outside America and Europe has done much to transform established notions of service, taste and lifestyle (Schlosser et al., 2001), their spread has also given rise to rival domestic chains whose extensive knowledge of local preferences offers real advantages in attracting and retaining customers (Matejowsky, 2008). It is the strong bargaining power of customers which intensify the competition among various food chains with more substitutes available. To deal with these forces on a global basis, BK resorted to differentiate itself through innovative marketing and menu items. 3.2.1 Innovative Marketing BK has adopted a strategy which helps to differentiate them from their competitors. The company appointed TMP Worldwide Advertising Communications to create an exclusive company-wide employer branding campaign based on the concept Fun with a Future which concentrates on brand recognition, employee engagement and delivering on brand promise. BK decided to differentiate itself through its product and people with its employee as brand ambassador where all employees at all levels are linked to the company brand featuring in BKs advertisements and posters (Business and Finance Week, 2008). This is in line with the concept of globalisation where people of different races, culture and family background will have a common global identification as BKs brand ambassador. Pictures below feature BK employees who are of different races and cultures. Picture 3: Employees of BK in Tokyo Picture 4: Employees of BK in U.S. (associatedcontent.com, 2010) (farsons.com, 2010) BK also uses a creative marketing strategy by building an edgy, hip image with young men, who are targeted consumers (Jargon, 2006). For instance, in November 2006, BK began offering BK Xbox and Xbox 360 games with their value meals. After one month, 20 million of BK Xbox games had been sold. The games could only be bought with a value meal which means that BK attracted a lot of customers with this promotion, earning a nice profit from it. Comparing with BK, McDonalds on the other hand only places Nintendo mascot toys in their Happy Meals (Mattie, 2007). A picture of both BK Xbox and McDonalds Nintendo toys can be seen below. Picture 5: Burger King Xbox Picture 6: McDonalds Nintendo Toy ( blogs.ft.com, 2006) (toadcastle.net, 2006) The successfulness of BKs innovative marketing was already proven in 1999 in a TV campaign where Whopper was proclaimed as Americas Favourite Burger. That claim was based on the result of a research where 700 consumers were asked to name their favourite burger. 33% of them picked Whopper and only 12% chose McDonalds Big Mac (Cebrzynski, 1999). Having innovative marketing is a response to the threat of substitutes and bargaining power of customers as BK tries to embed itself on consumer consciousness globally. 3.2.2 Menu Options and Changes BK tries to reach out more customers through its menu to reduce threat of substitutes, which of course with globalisation is a full time and relentless force. As mentioned in part 3.1, health consciousness was rising among people with the obesity crisis hitting globally. It was found that United States tops the hierarchy for obesity with 30.6%, followed by Mexico and United Kingdom with 24.2% and 23% (NationMaster.com, 2010). Even though BK tries to blunt customers bargaining power and the threat of substitutes through aggressive marketing as seen above, in truth they are obviously much stronger with no switching cost. New Products Thus a response from BK is to try to be almost all things to customers. For instance, provide healthier food options. The company in its social responsibility statement promises to work with its trained chefs and nutritionist to develop new menu options that meet customers nutritional needs globally (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010a). BKs efforts could be seen when it unveiled a healthy eating adaptation of its Have It Your Way strategy where posters in restaurants tell customers how to order a low carbohydrate, low fat and low calorie meal (Walker, 2004). The famous Whopper can also be served without the bun, mayonnaise and ketchup (MacArthur, 2004). BK also launched a new salad line offering shrimp and sirloin steak with grilled peppers and onions on it (Walker, 2004). Besides, health drive was initiated by BK by reducing salt and fat content in burgers and fries. Even children are targeted where childrens menu also comes with a choice of apples or grapes, milk or fruit juice (Forte, 2006). In 2008, BKs kids meal underwent makeover with the introduction of apple fries as part of the meal (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010b). A list of BKs healthier options with their calorie contents are provided in Appendix 3. Pictures below show two healthy options from BK. Picture 7: Kids meal with Apple Fries Picture 8: Bunless Whopper (fastfood.ocregister.com, 2009) (hungry-girl.com, 2010) In addition, BK also later launched its Joe Coffee. This made-to-order coffee processed from 100% Arabica coffee beans (The Franchise Mall, 2005). This is actually a response to global economic crisis where it was found that consumers were trading down from more expensive coffee such as starbucks into lower ranking choices, providing a perfect option for BK. Thus even though globally the economic situation was dire, for instance it was found that 2009s world economic growth rate was only half percent (International Monetary Fund, 2009). BK found a new market segment to exploit to further reduce the threat of substitutes and bargaining power of customers. Latest initiatives include where in February year 2010, BK decided to replace its own coffee brand BK Joe with Seattles Best Coffee, a brand owned by Starbucks to increase falling sales by improving its product offerings (Tice, 2010). Pictures below show BKs Joe Coffee and its replacement, Seattles Best Coffee. Picture 9: BK Joe Coffee (ebay.com, 2010) Picture 10: Seattles Best Coffee (myalohavibe.com, 2010) BK also imitated a McDonalds breakfast item. BKs Breakfast Muffin Sandwich was promoted through an advertisement where a cleverly disguised BK breaks into McDonalds Headquarters to steal the Top Secret Blueprints for the Sausage McMuffin With Egg (Dave, 2010). Picture below shows the contrast between the two breakfast offering from McDonalds and BK. Picture 11: McDonalds Sausage McMuffin with Egg Vs BKs breakfast Muffin (davescupboard.blogspot.com, 2010) New Pricing It is not just menu changes were offered but also menu pricing as well. To meet the changing economic conditions as an impact of global recession, BK also announced that it will offer $1 double cheeseburger in order to gain market share back from McDonalds (Johnson, 2007). This has cause BKs franchisees to file a law suit challenging BKs right to dictate maximum prices as the products costs is at least $1.10 per sandwich (Glover, 2009). Thus even though BK tries to satisfy customers other stakeholders may not be happy, showing the complexities in managing relationships in the era of globalisation. Further in many ways, as seen in breakfast, and even in pricing, since the RM $1 cheeseburger, BK is imitating McDonalds. 3.3 Bargaining power of suppliers With globalisation, BK is required to maintain the quality of services in its restaurants worldwide. As a measure of quality control, BK will evaluate before approving the existing or potential manufacturers and distributors of food, packaging and equipment products used in the restaurants. Evaluation is done based on their delivery, timeliness and financial conditions. To ensure consistency, franchises are required to purchase their products from approved suppliers. (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). 3.3.1 Purchasing Power of BK Restaurant Services Inc. (RSI), a not-for-profit independent purchasing cooperative leverages purchasing power of the BK system in United States by negotiating the purchase terms for most equipments, food, beverages, toys and paper products used in the restaurants (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). RSI currently involves in the negotiation of purchase with BK for more than $3 billion a year in goods and services, managing supply agreements with over 300 suppliers and 27 distributors (Sterlingcommerce, 2009). For company restaurants and franchise restaurants in Canada, a subsidiary of RSI is responsible to purchase the products. However, there is currently no appointed purchasing agent that represents franchisees in other international regions. BK will work closely with their franchisees to implement programs that leverage their global purchasing power and to obtain lower product costs outside the United States and Canada. (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). Globalisation has increased the purchasing power of BK and therefore reducing bargaining power of suppliers with the ease of selection of suppliers who meet the company criteria 3.3.2 Suppliers of BK Food As a global fast food chain, it is important for BK to maintain its brand name worldwide. The image of the global brand could be destroyed in a day due to globalisation where news travels billion times faster than it used to be in the past. BK was labelled Murder King by animal activists forcing the company to implement new policies that are more closely monitor its suppliers. Thus by 2001, there were guidelines that require the egg suppliers battery cages to contain two water bottles, allowing the birds to stand upright and be at least 75 square inches (Detweiler, 2001). BK further discourages its suppliers from trimming chickens beak and breaking their wings to save packing space when transporting (Detweiler, 2001). Reports in media of one or more cases of food-borne diseases in one of BKs restaurant also negatively affect its sales worldwide when being highly publicised (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). During an earlier case in year 1997, BK cut off its ties with one of its biggest beef supplier, Hudson Foods Inc. as its beef supplies were contaminated with E.coli..Hudson voluntarily recalled the beef after the severity of E.coli contamination was discovered at its plant in Columbus, leaving some BK restaurants without sufficient beef supply for 24 hours to 48 hours (Papernik et al., 1997). Soft Drinks In fiscal 2000, BK decided to enter into a long term contracts with The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Inc to supply all restaurants of BK in United States with their product (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). BK prolonged its long term liaison with The Coca-Cola Company as an approved soft drink supplier for its international region covering Greater Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific (PRNewswire, 2003). With the effect of globalisation, consumers in around 200 countries enjoy Coca-Cola products of more than 1 billions servings per day (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010). BK International President believes that with this renewed alliances, Coca-Cola Company, recognised as the worlds best known brand (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010) will help to grow the BK brand rapidly by providing the best burger experience to their consumers in all restaurants globally (PRNewswire, 2003). Getting into alliances with suppliers is a good way to also set up higher barriers of entry. From my analysis, bargaining power of food suppliers are strong but over soft drinks especially in terms of dealing with companies with strong brand name is weaker. Obviously, the extent to which the other party uses branding and distribution network as leverage globally as well. Employees Other than external suppliers, internal supplier is also an important piece of puzzle which without, BKs supplier network would not be complete. Hence, the bargaining power of its employees should not be shoved aside. BK had approximately 41320 employees in its company restaurants, field management offices and global headquarters as at 30th June 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). As mentioned in part 3.2.1, there are diversity of employees with different backgrounds, race, religion and cultures. It is clear that like globalisation, the factors in Porters Five Forces are interlinked and do not stand alone. The success of BK is highly dependent on its ability to attract general managers with necessary competences to be part of the management team to motivate the employees to sustain high service levels and maintain sales growth. The competition for the right employee candidates causes higher payment of wages featuring the high bargaining power of employees (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). However, where boundaries between countries became narrower and communication made easier with globalisation, the search for the right employee is more efficient and effective through online application, which could perhaps reduce their bargaining power. The selection of employees is important as a wrong choice would lead to negative publicity. In one of the cases, a BK employee in Jacksonville had tried to poison a customer as he was pissed due to his suspension for misconduct (Morbid, 2010). In another case, a Washington State Deputy, Edward Bylsma after discovering a spit on his Whopper ordered fr om a BK employee decided to sue BK seeking $75,000 of compensation (Ryan, 2010). No doubt with globalisation, these news would definitely spread fast and adversely impact the companys brand. Further, since a large portion of outlets are franchised as a result of BKs decision on this bus model to move globally, employees become even more important as front link assets to keep sales and profits up. With payroll expenses on the increase as seen in the chart below, it is clear that for employees, their bargaining power is, in my opinion, rated medium to high. Chart 6: Payroll and Employee Benefits for BK ( Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) 3.4 Rivalry among Existing Competitors Globalisation has increased the competition among the fast food chain. With various quick service restaurants mushrooming worldwide, other than competing on a national or regional basis, they are competing with each other globally. As an effect of globalisation causing increases in degree of awareness among consumers, there has been intense competition among the competitors globally to gain market share. Increasing prices of raw material, agitation by social organisations, slow down of U.S economy and also increasing fuel prices has prompt many fast food chain to divert their attention to eastern part of the world especially China ( Naim, 2008). Although globalisation has ease the expansion of fast food chain worldwide with the ease of information transfer and seeking global suppliers, entry into China and other Asian countries still pose logistical and political challenges. As quoted from Martin (1994) in Nation Restaurants news Among the most frustrating obstacles are the scarcity and inordinately high cost of prime locations in most markets as well as the steep tariffs and patchwork of inconsistent regulations that impede imports of commodities and equipment. 3.4.1 New Geographical Regions and New Ventures Taking a closer look, even though globalisation has blurred boundaries, there are still differences in cultural issues between United States and other countries resulting in different eating habits of consumers ( Glazer, 2007). From consumer point of view, globalisation has resulted from development of sophisticated media contributing to the creation of a borderless market but it does not mean it is without internal differences or local tastes (Ziedman, 2003). When a company goes global, they are bound to satisfy the demands of local customers. For example in India, cows are sacred and worshipped by the Indians, beef could not be served and the muslims, they could not consume pork (Kulkarni et al., 2009). Hence, it is a must to substitute the beef and pork in the product offerings. To further compete globally, BK invested in Whopper Bars. BK opened their first Whopper Bar in Orlando during spring 2009, and the first in Asia in Singapore during September 2009 (International Wire, 2009). It offers a specialised burger menu with more than 20 toppings (Ruggles, 2010). On 8th February 2010, BK further announced that beer sales will be added at a new unit opening in South Miami. ( Ruggles, 2010). BK changes may not be rapid enough to obtain further market share from McDonalds but the company has been spending more effort in improving its sales in this global competition ( Anderlini et al., 2010). Competing on a global scale gives rise to global income streams. This would help BK to sustain the worldwide competition where the profit from a restaurant would balance the loss in another. The pie charts below show the distribution of revenue from different geographical region. Chart 6: BKs Geographical Sales from Year 2007-Year 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) In a way, the company is more dependent on its home market, as showed in the pie chart above where most portion of global stream income is generated. In a recent case in 2009, BKs advertisement for Texican Whopper burger in Europe had angered the Mexicans where a small wrestler featured in the advertisement was dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. Mexicans have high respect for their flag and therefore could not tolerate such an insult from BK ( The Assiociated Press, 2009). This adverse publicity could have adversely impact its profits. Still, the company had not done unduly badly as seen in the charts below. Chart 7: Revenue, Gross Profit and Net Profit of BK from Year 2005 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, SEC Info, 2007) It is clear that BK has done well as seen in increasing absolute figures of all sales, gross profit and net profit. A look at gross profit and net profit margin also shows that on a relative basis the company is handling itself well in the world of globalisation. Chart 8: Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin of BK from Year 2005- 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, SEC Info, 2007) Even though Gross Profit Margin has been decreasing slightly, its net profit margin has been increasing with a drastic improvement from year 2006 to 2007. This is definitely a good sign. 3.5 Conclusion and Recommendation Globalisation can be a threat to the company and also it may help its expansion. Being a global brand, BK has a lot benefits which include cost-efficiencies, sharing of resources and ability to attract partners, employees and customers on entering new market. It all depends how the company took opportunities and work towards their goals. Management of globalisation is the key to success and most importantly, BK need to balance between global and local control (Samli, 2008). The company has retreated back to the US market, which is why the share prices have been sliding back down in recent times as seen below. Chart 9 : BKs Share Price Ups and Downs from 2001 till 2010 ( Yahoo Finance, 2010) Recommendations made to companys performance are as follows: Moving In Developing countries, Especially India and China Aggressively: India and China both has a steady high economic growth rates of 8.8% and 10% in 2010 (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2010) and will probably be the major players in the world economy. It is definitely a wise option to expand BKs growth in these two countries by using local partners, local employees and local ingredients. Furthermore, BK could also offer limited promotions during festive seasons or special events, for instance during Chinese New Year or Deepavali as this will help to attract more customers during that period. Broader Menu Selection: As mentioned earlier in the project, BK should continuously provide more choices of menu which allow customers to pick from wider choices. This step should be taken to also reduce threat of substitutes from new entries and existing competitors. Its product offerings must also be ensured to meet the local taste. As mentioned by the officials of market research firm of the NPD Group, quick service operators who are expanding their brands outside the United States must customise each unit to meet the specific needs of consumers in the country and region they seek to enter (Glazer, 2007). Promotions and Advertising: As observed so far, BKs advertising has been giving positive impact on its sales. Hence, BK should continuously invest in its promotions and advertisement to gain market share. BK could perhaps invite its employees to give their opinion as they are also the brand ambassadors. This would allow a fresher and a more creative in flow of idea and to boost the motivation of the employees as they are invited to participate in the companys program. However, BK should avoid price wars with its competitors ie. McDonalds as this would pull down the profits of all burger chains. BK should choose to differentiate from its competitors. There is only one winner in cost strategy but there may be more than one winner in differentiation strategy. Relationships with Franchisees: There has been cases where the franchisees are not happy with the decisions of BK Inc..The most obvious example is the sale of doublecheese burger at $1. BK should strengthen its ties with the franchisees by encouraging them to provide ideas and feedbacks on how to improve sales. When there is a disagreement between them, BK should understand the reason behind and to solve it on a win-win situation. If this could be practised, law suit against BK Inc. could be avoided. In conclusion, Porters Five Forces Analysis that was used to analyse BKs stand in the industry gives a birds eye view of the company and industry globally. Globalisation plays a major role in pushing and shaping the company. The survival of BK is dependent on its ability to adapt to constant changes in business environment due to globalisation. With BKs effort in improving its performance, it will definitely survive in this field and could perhaps be the number one fast food chain worldwide in the future.

Explain Biblical Ideas About the Goodness of God Essay

Throughout the bible the goodness of God is shown in many ways, the bible presents God as being morally perfect, and everything that he is or will ever be is also presented as morally perfect; The Bible presents God as benevolent, an all loving figure. It displays this in a number of ways throughout the Bible, the first and possible the most important way is in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Genesis states that everything that God creates is â€Å"Very good†; When God created the world in the Genesis creation story he commanded various things. â€Å"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light, and God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness â€Å". (Genesis 1:3-4). The authors of the bible when praising God do so because he provides reason for it. The creation of animals, plants and waters are all necessary for the sustainment of life, and religion, â€Å"Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth and God said, â€Å"See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. (Genesis 1:28-29). Some Christians believe that there is still goodness like God’s around us today in the form of stewardship. We look after our world to improve it so we can pass it on to the next generation. Another way in which the bible shows Gods goodness is; Christians believe that God’s goodness is shown in his son Jesus, and his sacrifice in the name of God. Jesus came to earth as God in human form, he done this to experience the lives of his people. God thought it was all well and good requesting people to follow rules but because he cares he wanted to experience the lives of his believers and the difficulties they incur so he sent Jesus. Jesus was the ideal of moral goodness for humanity; he displayed the right way in which people should treat each other and how to worship God, and this was recorded and passed onto future generations by it being retold in the bible, even today people can still read it and gain knowledge of Gods sacrifice. The form of good described in the bible is very different from Platos form of good; Platos form of good was perfect and it didn’t exist on Earth it existed in the realm, making it a concept and not personal to anyone, Platos form of good doesn’t take an interest in situations or in life, it just simply exists, where as the idea of ‘Gods good’ in the bible focuses almost entirely on moral behaviour. It is concerned that humanity should be making the right choices to life by and always aims to be good. Plato’s form of the good is perfect, but because it doesn’t physically exist what ever goodness is on earth is only of copy of the ideal thus making it imperfect when it is practiced. So whatever you think you are doing is good, it is not. However God believes that everyone can be morally good thus living their lives accordingly. As soon as God creates humans he gives them rules of follow, they are to take responsibility for the earth he has created and not take from the tree of knowledge. This shows that he cares not for worship being their main duty, but he takes an interest in their lives. Gods goodness is also shown through his love in the bible, God gives humans free will, to make their own moral decisions but he clearly sets out what is right and what is wrong. However he doesn’t force them into obeying those rules, he is loving and lets them choose for themselves, this is an act of love. He knows that because he has made man in his image (Genesis 1:27) they are like God and they know what is expected of them. Even thought they haven’t been socialised they still know what is morally right. Plato would agree with this statement because he believes we all have knowledge of ideal forms from birth. God commands things to be good because he is omniscient and knows all. So everything that he commands will be perfect, good and loving.

Boycotts, Sanctions and Embargoes

Boycotts, sanctions and embargoes have been used for a very long time by the government to maintain social order. Although their use is characterized by lack of democracy, autocratic leaderships as well as dictatorial leaderships, the three terms have come to be recognized as international tools of dealing with rogue nations especially when such are applied by the international community through world recognized bodies such as the UN.While boycotts refer to the act of desisting from using a certain product of engaging in relationship with a given organization or individual it may also be applied to individuals such as presidents and political leaders as a means of coercing such to comply with the given code of conduct . Boycotts, sanctions and embargoes as applied to South Africa during the apartheid era were used as tools of suppressing the apartheid rule to recognize the rights of the blacks in South Africa. Boycotts, sanctions and embargoes are only effective if there is internati onal solidarity on the dimension on which they can be applied.For such tools can never be effective if applied in small proportions. Beginning in the late 1960s throughout to the early 1990s the international community put pressure on the apartheid rule in South Africa to recognize the rights of the blacks in South Africa. The successive handover of independence to South Africans can be partly attributed to the effectiveness of the boycotts, sanctions and embargoes. The history of boycotts, sanctions and embargoes can be traced back to the 1700s with colonial boycotts of British trade goods during the colonization of America by the Britains .In the 1800 boycotts were evident and were successfully used as a tool to fight slave trade when different nations such as France, the Balkans and the Americas called for their population to boycott and resist from buying goods or products originating from slave fields . This led to the colonial masters to understand the dissent and dislike of s lave trade as a practice. This amongst other factors can be used to explain the eventual abolishment of slave trade in late 18th century.Boycotts were used by the anti-apartheid movement in two folds, either as a threat or an actual action aimed at eliciting the desired reaction from the apartheid rule to hasten the hand over of independence to South Africa . The pervasive nature of the boycotts made the boycotts to be viewed by the apartheid movement as one of the effective tools in that whenever boycotts were called either from the international community or by the south Africans themselves it would deal a big blow to the smooth functioning of the apartheid government.This was the desired effect on the government given the ability of boycotts to disrupt the normal functioning of government. For instance, the South African apartheid government depended on exports of products such as gold, diamond and uranium and therefore successful boycotts meant that the apartheid government woul d be denied the much-needed income to carry on its governance issues .Boycotts were so effective in South Africa such that they are classified as one of the greatest factors which led to the fall of the apartheid regime considering the fact that South Africa relied on export of its goods to earn foreign exchange. The anti-apartheid in South Africa played a critical role in ensuring that the boycotts received international recognition hence the reason why much of the campaigning was directed towards achieving official state sponsored international support.International anti-apartheid movement as it applied to South Africa was founded on tenets such as the belief in the right of every human being to fundamental right to freedom, self-rule, the right to every state to be independent, the right to recognition and upholding of every people’s culture and beliefs as well as the social and moral responsibility of the international community to fight apartheid irrespective of who prac tices it or who perpetrates it. The above tenets formed the basis for the international anti-apartheid movement and were consequential in the subsequent defeat of apartheid in South Africa.International solidarity is manifested in the ability of nations of the world to join together and advocate for a common goal . In regard to an apartheid movement in South Africa solidarity was demonstrated in sanctions and embargoes enforced by the international community to fight apartheid. In that sense the international community shows the intention to decapitate the legal framework with apartheid rule upholds as a means of sustaining the economic dominance over people.In the case of South Africa the Boers segregated Africa by making sure that the quality of education they received was insufficient to guarantee them good position in the labour market . This greatly relegated the natives to abject poverty in that they were economically not a match to the Boers. Apart from denial of access to ed ucation, the native South Africans were denied equal opportunities even in situations whereby they possessed equal qualifications to those of the whites. In addition, the apartheid rule dictated where the Africans could own property as well as what kind of trade they could conduct.This meant that economically, the Africans were at a disadvantage. At the policy level all policies were biased against the Africans and this meant that it was very hard for them to achieve the economic independence required to wage any meaningful ‘war’ against the mighty white rule. This shows how the Africans were incapable of successfully fighting apartheid on their own. Without international solidarity as demonstrated in the international apartheid movement the native South Africans would not have achieved independence.Where the Africans lacked the economic power to fight apartheid, the international community showed solidarity by enforcing sanctions, which would greatly reduce the whiteâ €™s economic prowess . Pressure from the international community led to the call of boycotts and expulsion of South Africa from participating in the international sporting events . This was too much for the apartheid rule to bear as embargoes such as expulsion from world sporting events and the calls for boycotts of the consumer goods meant that South Africa was slowly drifting away from the international community .Even before the official handover of independence to the South Africans the impact of the international community intervention was evident and by 1985 the apartheid rule started doing away with some apartheid practices such as forced ejections from homes, classification based on colour, as well as the denial of equal opportunities . As the internal resistance waged by the South Africans through their umbrella party ANC sufficed international relations worsened as the sanctions, embargoes and boycotts were unbearable to the apartheid rule.The support from the internat ional community accorded to the native South Africans acted as a morale booster and as a result the native South Africans took the fight against apartheid a note higher as all social groups took to the fight. As a result of international solidarity in calling of the eradication of apartheid in south Africa, the natives regained confidence and the fight against apartheid changed tactics from confrontational needs to more subtle means such as freedom songs, as well as the use of black owned media to produce films which called for the end to apartheid .In the contemporary society international solidarity contributes largely to political struggle. This takes other forms other than embargoes, boycotts and sanctions for instance, international recognition of democratically elected governments. For example, in the present day Somalia, it is the leadership, which gains international support, which enjoys credence and credibility. For instance, the Islam court government could not successful ly lead in Somalia because it lacked the support of the international community.International solidarity calling for the recognition of the democratically elected leadership lead to the ousting of the Islam courts’ led government barely six months after it had seized power from yet another leadership; the tribal led government. The case of Somalia clearly shows that international solidarity can play a role in winning struggles not only the struggle against apartheid but also other struggles against terrorism, colonialism as well as dictatorial regimes.However, there is a need for caution in how the international community plays its role when it comes to intervention in conflict situations. There is evidence that most international actions are informed by the leadership of specific groups as opposed to being informed by the need for impartiality, fairness and the observation of international law. The moment international community degenerates into a tool for certain groups in the struggle, the effectiveness of the international community to fight against oppression of a given people whether in apartheid, colonial or occupation.The international community should base their support on any given group on merit but not other factors such as on the basis of friendship with the leadership of a given struggle movement. The international community has in the past made grave mistakes by supporting struggle leaders who later turned out to be no better than the oppressive powers. This can be clearly demonstrated in the case of leaders who have taken over from dictatorial regimes with the full support of the community only to turn out to be worse than the ousted regimes.For the official leadership of any struggle to receive international support, it must clearly demonstrate its ability to end aggression once it takes power. Such official leadership must have put in place proper mechanism to deal with issues of poor governance, which often lead to difficulties in lea dership once such a struggle movement, takes power. It is therefore paramount that the international community serves the role of a mediator rather than actively being involved in the political activities in any given struggle.Sanctions, boycotts and arms embargoes have been criticized for going in contravention of freedom and autonomy of states especially in cases whereby the sanctions, boycotts and embargoes are imposed on independent sates for reasons ranging from; failure to honor some demands by donors which may not be in the best interest of such nations or in other cases where embargoes, sanctions and boycotts are solely motivated by the need to exert influence over a regime which has fallen out of touch with the wishes of western powers.For instance, the world is currently witnessing a situation whereby there is a tendency by the United States of America to endorse boycotts and sanctions to nations which fail to support it or collaborate with it on fronts such as the war aga inst terrorism. This leads to questions on how appropriate it is for the United States of America and other developed Nations to dictate to independent nations on how they can handle their internal affairs.For example, the sanctions imposed on Iran solely on grounds that, the country is developing weapons of mass destruction are a clear indication of how sanctions, boycotts and embargoes can be imposed at will by the powerful nations to the detriment of militarily and economically weaker nations. This has been a cause of tensions in the Middle East region and it threatens to get worse and spill into an international conflict. Embargoes lead to the suffering of citizens whose country is brought under sanctions.In addition, embargoes, sanctions and boycotts increase vulnerability for such a country to face external attacks if arms embargoes are imposed. The above clearly demonstrate that, in as much as sanctions, embargoes and boycotts are useful in containing the capacity of dictator ial regimes, apartheid regimes and rebel movements, if not well regulated, they can lead to atrocities against the people they are meant to protect or liberate. Where sanctions, embargoes and boycotts are imposed haphazardly, citizens suffer. In addition, the countries under arms embargoes become more vulnerable to attacks.In addition sanctions, arms embargoes, and boycotts can lead to heightened regional and international relations characterized by tensions. There is a need to de-emphasize the use of sanctions and embargoes and concentrate on other methods of intervention in times of crisis. While sanctions, embargoes and boycotts can create an opportunity for abuse of human rights, abuse of independence of states and unnecessary interference in the running of internal affairs of independent countries, other alternatives such as negotiations can work marvelously and cause less undesired effects.In addition, an alternative such as diplomacy is les expensive to implement in the long run. Diplomacy is usually given a wide support by nations of the world compared to sanctions, boycotts and embargoes. For instance, although there are sanctions in place against the current regime in Zimbabwe specifically targeting the leadership of President Robert Mugambe, not every nation in the world supports the measure as some countries like China have gone ahead with healthy trade ties with Robert Mugambe.This clearly indicates that, sanctions are not always ideal and must only be applied selectively as opposed to being applied blatantly. In conclusion, it is clear from the discussion above that international intervention in form of enforcing boycotts, sanctions and embargoes against the apartheid rule in South Africa was effective in the fight and eventual defeat of apartheid. The international campaign, which saw South Africa being banned from participating in international sporting events as well as the calls for boycotts of South African products, was greatly successful a s a tool to fighting apartheid.At the center of the struggle against apartheid was the apartheid movement, which coordinated the anti-apartheid struggle and advocated for the imposition of embargo, sanctions and boycotts. The case of apartheid struggle is a clear demonstration of the power of international solidarity in relation to the politics of a particular struggle and how international solidarity can greatly influence the outcome of the given struggle. Reference Lodge, T. 1983. Black Politics in South Africa since 1945.Johannesburg; Ravan Press. Mandela, N. 1994. Long Walk to Freedom. Abacus. Meli, F. 1988. South Africa Belongs to Us: A History of the ANC. London. James Currey. Robert, Innes 2006. A Theory of Consumer Boycotts and a Symmetric Information and Imperfect Competition. Economic Journal. Robert, Innes 2006. A Theory of Consumer Boycotts and a Symmetric Information and Imperfect Competition. Economic Journal. Seagal, R. ed. 1964. Sanctions Against South Africa. Pengui n.