Training and development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Training and development - Assignment Example Training and development are crucial to the business because it equips the employees with the relevant knowledge and skills for realizing the business objectives through a well laid down strategies (Werner, Jon and Randy, 15). With the increasing level of competition, the most organization embraces the fact that there exist the link between policy and training and organizational development. Therefore, human resource is regarded as equally important as any other resource in an organization, in that respect, the team must spend so well in their training. In the training process, the employees go through professional certification. Professional certification is important to both the organization and the individual. It is important to the organization in that the operator will execute his or her duties with due competence. Furthermore, it is also important during the execution of strategy. On the other hand, the employee who has undergone professional certification will have courage in the performance of his duties and policy implementation. Training and development is one crucial and important thing in many organizational setting. Training and development usually lead to improved performance of groups and i ndividuals in any organization. In most cases, professional certification is financed by the business organization (Werner, Jon and Randy, 43). On the part of the organizational development (OD), it is imperative especially for the effectiveness and widening of productivity in the organization. Furthermore, OD acts as a way of solving the problems that involve the execution of strategy. However, the process of executing organizational development requires an investment of both time and finance. It is prudent that the company invests on the human resource through training. Human resource management is always the department charged with the duty of training and development (Wilson, 65). Training

Comparison between Creon and Antigone in Oedipus the King Essay Example for Free

Comparison between Creon and Antigone in Oedipus the King Essay In the Oedipus plays, two of the major characters include Creon, the brother in law of Oedipus and Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus. Although these two characters play different roles in the plays Oedipus the King and Antigone, they share a lot of similarities. Basically, one of the similarities that Creon and Antigone have is that the burdens that they carried throughout the plays were passed down to them by Oedipus following his downfall and exile. After Oedupis’s exile, Creon assumed the throne of Thebes and took control of the city. Although his intentions in ruling Thebes are pure, like Oedipus who refused to listen to the blind prophet when he told him that he was the one who murdered his father, Creon’s judgment was blinded when he initially refused to give proper burial rites to his enemy, Polynices, Oedipus son. As a result, Antigone, hanged herself, causing her lover Haemon, Creon’s son, to kill himself as well. Likewise, Antigone inherited the stubbornness of his father when she defied Creon’s order deny the corpse of Polynices, her brother, a proper burial. For her defiance, Creon had her thrown into a tomb, where she committed suicide through hanging. In short, both Creon and Antigone were affected by Oedipus’s tragic downfall as he apparently passed down his misfortunes to those who succeeded him and to his family members. Antigone herself said this in her conversation with her sister, in which she said â€Å"My own flesh and blood—dear sister, dear Ismene, how many griefs our father Oedipus handed down! Do you know one, I ask you, one grief that Zeus will not perfect for the two of us while we still live and breathe? There’s nothing, no pain—our lives are pain—no private shame, no public disgrace, nothing I haven’t seen in your grief and mine. † In other words, Antigone spoke as if tragedies are passed down in Oedipus’s family like they were family heirlooms. Moreover, both Creon and Antigone exemplified also suffered the same losses. Creon lost his son, Haemon, and his wife, Eurydice who both committed suicide while Antigone lost her father, Oedipus, and her two brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, who killed each other while fighting over who would rule over Thebes. In other words, both characters were left alone in their personal battles. However, while the two characters share several similarities, they also have various differences. For one, Antigone acknowledges the past tragedies as shown in the quote above and uses them as a motivation to move forward. Moreover, she is more bold and prudent than Creon as shown during their confrontation in which he asked her why she was defying him and she answered, â€Å"I didnt say yes. I can say no to anything I say vile, and I dont have to count the cost. But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all you’re crown and your trappings, and your guards—all that your can do is to have me killed. † On the other hand, Creon is a manipulative and narrow-minded person as shown in his initial refusal to believe in the blind prophet’s prediction. His personality is best shown in his description of Thebes wherein he said, â€Å"Anarchy—show me a greater crime in all the earth! She, she destroys cities, rips up houses, breaks the ranks of spearmen into headlong rout. But the ones who last it out, the great mass of them owe their lives to discipline. Therefore we must defend the men who live by law, never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man—never be rated inferior to a woman, never. † In sum, while both characters share similarities due to their close relationship with Oedipus, they also have differences that distinguish their characters. Antigone is a realistic, decisive yet stubborn character while Creon is a person who holds himself in high esteem but later realizes he is human as well. Works Cited â€Å"Oedipus the King. † 2008. The Internet Classics Archive. 3 April 2008 http://classics. mit. edu/Sophocles/oedipus. html. â€Å"Antigone. † 2008. 2008. The Internet Classics Archive. 3 April 2008 http://classics. mit. edu/Sophocles/antigone. html.

Impacts Of Global Fuel Price Fluctuations Tourism Essay

Impacts Of Global Fuel Price Fluctuations Tourism Essay The fuel prices are determined by the crude oil prices. In order to produce fuel and other petroleum products, the main raw material used is crude oil. (Chevron Corp, N/A) The prices of crude oil are determined by the market force of demand and supply. If there are grows in demand or disruptions in supply of crude oil, then the market will adjust by increasing the price of crude oil, subjected to the changes in demand or supply. One of the most recognisable causes of fluctuation in fuel prices is disruptions in the supply of crude oil in the market. Political instability is one of the factors. Majority of oil producer countries are in the emerging regions, where disruptions in supply of crude oil always happened and affecting the price. (Chevron Corp, N/A) Besides, shortages of supply can be resulted from a sudden refinery outage or maintenance and pipeline problems. On the other hand, the rise in the price of crude oil is caused by the increase in international energy demand driven by strong long term economic growth especially in non-OECD countries. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, make a projection that in between 2006 to 2030, there will be a dramatic increase of 44% in the total world consumption of energy. (Caltex, N/A) Adding together political instability, disruptions in the supply and growing demand for crude oil cause the price of fuel to be volatile. (237w) To manage airlines companies, the management will try to minimise any cost associates with the company. According to Air Transport Association, 25.4% of airlines operating expenses were contributed by fuel. As the fuel price becoming increasingly volatile, airlines industries will face risk in rising fuel price and one of the ways to get rid of the risk is by hedging the fuel price. Hedging is a risk management tool that allows airlines to lock in a price for fuel and protect them from the risk of soaring fuel price in future. Neeraj Kapoor, Go Air spokesperson commented that aviation fuel pricing in certain region like India does not favour hedging, but recent hike in fuel price make them reconsider on hedging their fuel. (Kabtta, K, 2008) On the other hand, South West Airlines, which hedged about 70% of its fuel, got to consume it at a lower price of $51 a barrel, compared to the market price of $135 per barrel. (Kabtta, J, 2008) Besides hedging, airlines usually will increase the price of its fuel surcharge. Fuel levy or fuel surcharge is the additional cost to the fare, imposed on per ticket basis in order to retrieve the rising price of the fuel. (Koch, R, 2010) As for example, Virgin Blue had decided to follow Qantas action of increasing fuel surcharges due to the spike in global fuel prices. (Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Sullivan, M, 2011) In short, an airlines company could avoid the surge of global fuel prices by either hedge the fuel price with any hedging instrument such as options or increase the fuel surcharge on the passenger. (268 w) Now let us examined what are the possible impact that fuel price volatility may bring to the airlines industry and suggestion for the airlines company in dealing with this crisis. As we had discussed above, a surge in fuel prices will directly hit the airlines industry as the rising in cost of fuel will result in increase on the cost of operation. Besides, fuel prices are determined to have a relationship with economic recessions. Soaring fuel prices will trigger higher inflation which later be cooled off by monetary policy. As a result, demand for air travel will decline. Despite facing such challenge, there are airlines that determined enough to go against the tide by trying to reduce costs as well as implementing new strategies to be more competitive. Most of the airlines resorted in drastic action by firing some of their employee in order to cut cost since labour cost contributed almost 24.7% out of total operational cost. (Air Transport Association, N/A) As for example, due to s udden hike in fuel prices, Qantas determined to cut down the number of its employees. (Hannan, E, 2011) While other airlines company trying their best in finding new strategies in order to stay competitive with other airlines. For example United Airlines strategy is to use software developed for flight planning to choose the best route and speed of flight. (Wilen, J.2008) Another good example is Cathay Pacific where they decided to opt towards more fuel efficient aircraft such as Boeing 747-8F and Boeing 777-300ER other than issuing fuel surcharge on tickets to cover for soaring fuel prices. (Cathay Pacific Airways Limited 2010)In brief, increase in fuel prices may impact the airlines industry directly or indirectly and there are several ways to face this issue.(291) In summary, airline industry has been badly affected by the rising fuel prices. The industry is losing both customers and revenues. Some airlines are trying to go against the tide by reforming themselves, but to a limited success. These airlines are working hard to reduce cost and implement new strategies to win back customers. While the world is still in recession, those efforts have started to show some good results. As such, it is possible to see airlines will bounce back and recover from bad financial conditions sooner.(88)

Literature: Tool For The Masses To Grasp And Form Opinions On A Subject :: essays research papers

Literature: Tool For The Masses to Grasp and Form Opinions on A Subject Over the centuries, one of the most important tools available to protesting groups was literature. Some of the most famous protest literature in the world has its roots in American history. For example, some great American authors of protest literature include Thomas Paine, Thomas Nast, John C. Calhoun, and Martin Luther King. Through eloquent, sometimes subtle means, these authors became the spokesmen for their particular protest movements. Thomas Paine was an English-born man who seemed to stir controversy wherever he traveled. Paine's forceful yet eloquent prose made him a hero for the three great causes to which he devoted his life; the American Revolution, religious reform, and the natural rights of man. At the age of 37, Paine strove for the fabled shores of America, determined to forget his past. He made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, and settled in Philadelphia. There, Paine was eventually hired into the profession of editor for the Pennsylvania Magazine. He published a series of minor essays, but his first important work was an essay written for the Pennsylvania Journal in which Paine openly denounced slavery. This was Paine's first foray into the world of protest literature, and it clearly whet his appetite. Paine soon became fascinated with the ongoing hostility in Anglo-American relations, and, much to the dismay of his publisher, could not seem to think of anything but. Therefore, in late 1775, Paine had begun what was to become a 50-page Pamphlet known as Common Sense. In this work, Paine stated that: Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a Government, which we might expect in a country without Government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise (Fast 6). This very biting and controversial stance is what characterized Paine's writing. He went on to dismiss the King as a fool, and stated that natural ability is not necessarily related to heredity. Paine argued that the colonies existed only for British profit, and that the colonies must unite quickly if they were ever to form a single nation. This latter argument was more than likely influenced by Franklin's famous "Join or Die" cartoon. Finally, Paine argued that the only way to gain the rights desired by the colonists and help from outside powers was

Art: Interaction vs Participation :: Graduate Admissions Essays

Art: Interaction vs Participation I am a Burning Man participant since 1998. Last year when I went to SIGgraph -- my first since I began participating in Burning Man -- the artwork there left me utterly uninspired. Nothing there brought to life a deeper desire to create like the artwork at Burning Man did, though both events deliver similar kinds of artwork. Don't get me wrong. The art at SIGgraph was good but it didn't change me like the art at Burning Man does. I have been trying to define what that difference is. And more importantly, how to harness whatever aspect of Burning Man art makes it so much more deeply inspiring. I believe I am finally able to draw that line, and that line is what seperates interaction from participation. What is the definition of interaction? The on-line Mirriam Webster dictionary defines interation thus: "mutual or reciprocal action or influence". In art, interaction can be a button or control that has influence over the art in some way. Interaction in art brings the viewer into the art by allowing the viewer to have control over aspects of the art itself. This adds a dimention of action vs. passiveness, inclusion vs. exclusion, direction vs. submission. Interactivity allows a viewer to have defined control over the art in some form. So what makes participation different from interaction? The second M-W definition of participation is this: "the state of being related to a larger whole." A very powerful statement in the area of art, but what does it mean? How can the viewer become a part of the greater whole in a piece of artwork? I have an answer for this question, but first let me describe some examples of participation and interaction and see if that line becomes easier to draw: At SIGgraph 1999, there was a marble-maze game. The viewers step on the virtual maze to tip it to make the virtual marble roll through part of the maze. The first act of "participation" at Burning Man was at the first Burn. Larry Harvey built a large wooden man and took him to Baker's Beach to burn him. People began gathering around. While he burned, a woman went over and held the Man's hand. I read a story about a group that brought materials for building sock puppets.

Amazon Business Model Essay

Overview: Amazon.com was founded in 1994, it started by selling books online. As it grew, the company started offering various products and services. Some goods include: DVDs, videos, electronics, camera and photography, clothing apparels, shoes, and so forth. Other retailers have merged with Amazon.com to offer diverse quality of items based on different degrees of usage, such as new, refurbished, and used items. The company’s headquarter is in Seattle, Washington. It has six global websites that serves customers that are based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, and Japan. Their website features: e-mail order verification, customer review on products, and one-click shopping. Vision: According to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, they want to build one of the most customer-centric company in the world. A place where people can find everything they want to buy online (Amazon.com: the Hidden Empire, 2011). Mission: â€Å"Work Hard, Have Fun, and Make History.† The company’s core value is based upon customer obsession. With the help of innovation and technology, they want to take lead in customer care (Fast Moving Consumer Goods, 2009). Business Model A business model is a conceptual framework which expresses the underlying economic logic and system. It proves how a business can appropriate costs, make money, and deliver value to customers. As a result, this segment will introduce this company’s model, and how over the course of several years, it has managed to adapt their model to keep itself ahead (Business Model Definition, N.D). Business Strategy: Business Foundation: The foundation of Amazon.com was built on the ability to transform. It has proved that when opportunities arise to serve new or existing customers, it manages to adapt new business models to exploit it. The company is able to launch and run new businesses while extracting value on existing ones. Accordingly, they will satisfy their customer’s need no matter what, even if it is foreign to their current model. â€Å"You cannot stop at what you are good at.† Jeff Bezos says, â€Å"You have to ask what your customers need and want, and then, no matter how hard it is, you better get good at those things.† (Jeff Bezos Biography, 2001). The leader of Amazon was always interested in building an online retailer. The business model was not uniquely customized to the peculiarity of the Internet, nor was it predominantly innovative as it was based upon an online catalog operation. He saw himself improving on the traditional brick-and-mortar stores saying, â€Å"Look at e-retailing. The key trade that we make is that we trade real estate for technology. Real estate is the key cost of physical retailers. That’s why there’s the old saw: location, location, location. Real estate gets more expensive every year, and technology gets cheaper every year. And it gets cheaper fast.† (Online Extra: Q&A, 2001). However, it was an inexperienced observation when the company assumed that it could expand without making physical investments. Currently, Amazon has invested a large amount of funds into warehouses. Third Party Sellers: After gaining a large amount of profit from their book industry, they began to expand into easily shippable consumer goods. This lead them into two new directions; the first initiative was to host small business as part of the Z-Shop project. The second was partnering with several e-retailers that sold goods that Amazon.com did not. These projects allowed merchants to list up to 3,000 items at cost of 9.99 USD a month (Amazon.com Opens zShops, 1999). Even though this creates competition between Amazon.com and the third party sellers, it gains a percentage of each sale as commission from these merchants. The company obtains information on consumer’s purchasing habits, and create one destination where purchasers enjoy a consistent experience (Chaffey, D., 2012). Competitive Environment As stated previously, Amazon.com is an e-market, and in order to analyze the competitive environment both SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and Porter’s Five Forces will be discussed. SWOT Analysis Strengths: As of January 2010, Amazon.com has three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples. By offering a large amount of varied categories through its website and other international ones (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.co.fr, and so on), it has managed to grow to a customer based company with over 30 million people. In addition, the online retail format enables the company to reduce costs of managing inventory (Amazon.com; online bookstore, 2008). Due to Amazon.com building their business model around their customer’s ever-changing tastes and preferences, they were able to avoid the dot-com bust – a period between 2000-2002, where many dot-com companies went bankrupt (Dot-com bust, 2012). Amazon.com has successfully managed to make its customers to feel that anything they could possibly want could be found on their website. Additionally, its products are marketed at a competitive price. Another important factor is their speedy delivery with their usage of UPS and FedEx (United States) and Royal Mail (United Kingdom). The company also caters for people that prefer online shopping with extra services such as Amazon Prime – a service with a yearly payment, customers are eligible for free next day delivery. Even though Amazon.com is known to be an online seller of most things, it still excels in its original market of book selling. Evidence of such is that students are more likely to use the marketplace to purchase or sell used university books at a fair value. Weaknesses: From a financial standpoint, Amazon.com’s goal of being a customer-centric company that wants to gain a market share rather than profit may not be appealing to investors. Also by relying on third party sellers to provide products to customers, there is the risk that the seller may fail to commit to their sale. Customers will most likely blame Amazon; therefore, damaging Amazon.com’s reputation more than the third party. Another disadvantage is that prices may differ due to geographical location and economy, for example a FILCO Keyboard is 100USD in the in the States; whereas, in the United Kingdom, it is 100GBP. (Amazon.com; online bookstore, 2008). Opportunities: There is an opportunity to expand to other emerging countries such as China, India, and the Middle East. Not only does Amazon have opportunities to expand its base to other geographical locations around the world, it also has the chance to provide many local shops to sell its products abroad through their website. There will be an incentive for retailers to post products on Amazon’s website to increase their sales around the globe, as a result, the company will generate more revenue through third party sales. In addition, it is also possible to open retail stores or provide its own goods such as the Kindle Fire to well-known and established retailers. These suppliers could then be paid a small commission fee to have them display their goods in a proper showcase. This will allow customers to physically interact with the company’s gadgets similar to an Apple store. They could also provide tech support to any problems that may arise. Threats: Currently Amazon.com faces the threat of 15 court cases in regards to patent infringement. Moreover, international issues with their foreign websites may occur, such as export and import restrictions, taxes, tariffs, trade barriers, different payment cycles, and political instability. To illustrate, American electronics use different voltages compared to Europeans, which may cause issues to buyers that are unaware; therefore, Amazon must take extra precaution to ensure that customers are fully aware of what they are purchasing. It may also struggle to provide proper customer support to people that have purchased goods abroad. Porter’s Five Forces Threat of New Entrants: It is unlikely that competitors will be able to compete with Amazon.com’s information system. The technology that has been used in their website is unique, such as the One-click shopping. It has been patented to deter their competitors from copying it. Competitors will find it difficult to compete with Amazon’s brand recognition, because they are well-known for selling books online and are fairly established in that market (Analysing Amazon.com, 2006). Bargaining Power of Buyer: Due to a wide variety of choice, the bargaining power is high as customers may choose to buy from other sites rather than Amazon. Although, Amazon.com has been known to price their products lower to compete with other services such as iTunes. Threat of Product Substitute: It may be considered high, because people might prefer to physically visit a store rather than buy it online. Bargaining Power of Supplier: Amazon.com is not allowed to directly purchase electronic products directly from main distributers such as Sony, because of its low cost strategy. On the other hand, in their book sector, the company has opened five automated distribution centers located within the United States. This lessens dependence on their main distributer, Ingram (Analysing Amazon.com, 2006). Industry Rivalry: Amazon.com has little competition versus websites that sell everything; however, they will have to compete with websites with certain niche for products. For example, competing with Newegg.com with computer parts, iTunes with music, Netflix with movies, Barnes and Nobles for books, and Best-Buy for electronics. Potential Growth through Agility and Adaptation To be regarded as an agile company it must have four characteristics; it must be flexible, adaptable, coordinated, and balanced. The business must have the capability to adjust and adapt in effective ways to environment and market changes. There are three types of agility, one that involves the customers, another with partners, and finally with operations (Marakas, 2011). Consumer Focused Strategy: As previously mentioned, Amazon.com is obsessed with its customer base, the company’s aim is at gaining market share rather than profit. Accordingly, pricing is said to be the primary tool while considering customer’s bargaining power; therefore, adjusting the price of identical goods to correspond to the purchaser’s willingness to pay is a necessity. Amazon.com does not operate in any physical stores; all of its sales occur through its website. The company captures their customers recommendations and comments for site visitors to read, and this is similar to that of a salesperson in a store offering advice on which product to buy. Their website is consistently improved to be personalized and satisfying for customers. It tracks users traffic, the number and duration of visits, what products have been looked at, and so on. Amazon.com then uses all this information to create patterns. It then uses this data promotions and evaluation of goods. Unique and personalized features such as online customer reviews, personalized recommendations, and One-Click ordering, customers truly feel as if their needs are being catered to. Amazon’s website is so technologically advanced, that each customer’s front page would be different from another (Hill, M., N.D). Furthermore, Amazon.com offer its users almost everything due to the vast amount of resources available, such as Amazon.com Auctions, Marketplace (selling of used items), and Z-Shops (third-party sellers). Growth Strategy: In late 2007, Amazon created a subsidiary company called Lab126. Their first product was the Amazon Kindle E-Book Reader. Its business model was so foreign, that it had disrupted the entire industry. In order to be able to launch this product, Amazon became an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). It has linked the Kindle into a digital media platform that used both transaction and subscription based content delivery. Content producers have also partnered up with Amazon to create new content for the Kindle. Even after changing their business model several times, their ability to improve operational efficiencies such as shopping convenience, discount pricing, ease of purchasing, reliability of order fulfillment, and to purchase a large quantity of products from suppliers allowing them to benefit from discounts and offer a wide selection of goods to their customers is the key to sustainable competitive advantage (Kotelnikov, V., N.D). Innovation Strategy: Amazon has redesigned Android 3.0, as a result, The Kindle Fire has a clean, user-friendly home screen without random widgets scattered within the interface. The company has spent several years building up their services such as their cloud music player, video service, Kindle e-books, Android App Store; therefore, the tablet has a vast amount of content. As a result, consumers will know exactly what to look for in the device, and they will know where to get its content. The price point of 199 USD – compared to 269USD for the Xoom, 379USD for the Galaxy Tab, and 499USD for the iPad (A Tablet Buyers Guide, 2012) – is a price consumers are willing to purchase and weigh off the opportunity cost. It will not affect a large portion of their disposable income; therefore, they are more likely to purchase it for their kids. It is much more appealing to purchase an item that is practical at a price of 199USD in comparison to other practical goods at >350USD price range. The objective of the Kindle Fire is mainly about media consumption. Amazon has supplied this device at a low price point, in return, customers are being hooked into Amazon’s digital distribution ecosystem. The main purpose of this is to buyers to purchase high margin items such as the Kindle Apps and E-Books. The Kindle Fire will become a platform for selling digital content, and its distributer will most likely subsidize some hardware to be able to sell more content in the long run. This is a similar approach to what they have done with the E-Reader Kindles. Adaptation Amazon.com has managed to adapt its markets to current events by creating promotional sales that are equivalent to specific dates of the year; for example, Black Friday, Christmas, and Veteran’s Day. They have daily, weekly, and monthly deals constantly running throughout the year. The company’s website places recent products that are popular on their front page, in order to have people notice it. Furthermore, Amazon.com combats competition by allowing sellers to open their stores for a small fee of 9.99 USD a month, and taking a small percent free from supplier’s sales. Conclusion The essay first introduced Amazon’s business model. This model involved business strategy, foundation, and third party sellers. It then analyses Amazon’s competitive environment through SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces. To conclude, the company has unambiguous potential growth from agility and adaptation. Amazon.com has created one of the most unique e-commerce online store by having a variety of products as well as a huge customer base that, to this day, is steadily rising. Amazon.com is a behemoth e-commerce retailer, only time will tell what wonders and innovations this company will bring in the future. Bibliography A Tablet Buyers Guide. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://community.digitalmediaacademy.org/15165-ipad-2-vs-kindle-fire-xoom-others-a-tablet-buyers-guide. [Accessed 20 November 2012]. Amazon.com Opens zShops – Direct Marketing News. 1999. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dmnews.com/Amazon.comcom-opens-zshops/article/62986/. [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Amazon.com: the Hidden Empire. 2011. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/faberNovel/amazoncom-the-hidden-empire. [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Amazon.com; online bookstore. 2008. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/amazon.php. [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Analysing Amazon.com: Macro Environment and Competitive Forces – Yahoo! Voices – voices.yahoo.com. 2006. [ONLINE] Available at: http://voices.yahoo.com/analysing-amazoncom-macro-environment-competitive-138171.html?cat=31. [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Business Model Definition | Investopedia . N.D.[ONLINE] Available at: htt p://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businessmodel.asp#axzz2CcsE9gly. [Accessed 18 November 2012]. Chaffey, D. Amazon.com case study – Smart Insights Digital Marketing Advice. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-business-revenue-models/amazon-case-study/. [Accessed 13 November 2012]. Dot-com bust definition in the Free Online Encyclopedia. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/dot-com+bust. [Accessed 14 November 2012]. E Marketing Lecture, Part 1. 2009. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/Ballkultur/e-marketing-lecture-part-1-to-3. [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Fast Moving Consumer Goods: Amazon – Business Model. 2009. [ONLINE] Available at: http://fmcgcentral.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/amazon-business-model-company-overview.html. [Accessed 18 November 2012]. Hill, M., N.D. E-Business. Available at: http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/dl/free/0073195588/438531/sample_chapter3 .pdf. [Accessed 19 November 2012]. Jeff Bezos Biography — Academy of

Credibility and Logic in Gregory Curfman’s “Diet Pills Redux”

1. Gregory D. Curfman’s piece â€Å"Diet Pills Redux† is an editorial; therefore, a reader must keep in mind that the content will focus on the author’s opinion(s) and perspective(s) about a particular situation. Having read Curfman’s piece, it does seem credible. The author is a physician, so his analysis of the situation can be reasonably assumed within his field of expertise, especially when one considers it is an editorial published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr.Curfman presents evidence for and against the use of fenfluramine and phentermine and seems concerned only with further exploration of a possible connection between the use of these drugs (separately or together) and heart disease (Curfman, 1997, passim).2. Curfman begins his piece with a summary of an outbreak of pulmonary hypertension that took place in Western Europe that was linked to the use of an appetite-suppressant drug. He goes on to reveal a European outbreak thirty years later which connected the use of an anorectic drug with more cases of pulmonary hypertension.Later, he discusses weighing the risks of using anorectic drugs against the individual’s need, and concludes that only those with no other recourse should be allowed to take the chance. Each of these is an example of logic without fallacy (Curfman, 1997, passim). There were fallacies in Curfman’s piece. To begin with, the events and studies he cited were missing control groups and assurances that exigent factors such as patient history had been taken into account. Technically, these might be construed as misleading statistics.Because the numbers of persons negatively effected by these drugs was so low, the potential that much of his point is perhaps a non sequitur—specifically an argument built on a slippery slope does exist. His closing remark that â€Å"succumbing to the allure of diet pills as a quick fix for excess weight may be courting disaster† presents a significant logical problem: the implication that those who suffered a cardiac crisis in connection with the use of one or more of the involved drugs fall into the â€Å"quick fix† category—this is a hasty generalization (Curfman, 1997, passim).The overall message in the piece was not that blame must be laid, nor was it a call to halt all availability of either drug, so coupled with this piece being an editorial, even fallacy did not necessarily weaken the strength of the article in my opinion as the point seemed merely to be to convince readers that there was more to be investigated. Based on what I read, I have to agree that further investigation is warranted and that consumers must be aware of the potential dangers listed by Curfman.