Bergquists four cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bergquists four cultures - Essay Example Delaune and Ladner (2006) in their book on Fundamentals of Nursing defined culture as â€Å"knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, habits, customs, languages, symbols, rituals, ceremonies, and practices that are unique to a particular group of people† (p. 388). Simple folks ordinarily know culture as a way of life. Aretz (2007), in his article Managing Change in Health Professions Education -Experiences from the Trenches explored two definitions of culture as: â€Å"â€Å"the deeply embedded patterns of organizational behavior and the shared values, assumptions, beliefs, or ideologies that members have about their organizations or its work† (Petersen and Spencer) and culture is â€Å"Obedience to the Unenforceable†; â€Å"It is a realm in which not law, not caprice, but virtues such as duty, fairness, judgment, †¦ hold sway. In a word, it †¦ covers all cases of right doing where there is no one to make you do it but yourself.† (John Fletcher Moulton) (p. 22). In an academic research written by William H. Bergquist, an international consultant and professor in the fields of organizational psychology and management, he identified four cultures in higher education which are interrelated and have profound effects to an organization, to wit: collegial, managerial, developmental and negotiating. Walter (2007) distinguished between collegial and developmental as: â€Å"the collegial culture is one in which individuals find meaning primarily through their discplines and through the original research that helps to further knowledge in that discipline. The developmental culture, by contrast, is one in which individuals find meaning primarily through their participation in teaching, learning, and professional development activities† (pp. 11-12) Collegial culture emphasize the value of scholarship, governance, rationality and decision making as opposed to personal and professional growth as the focus of developmental

Best Practices for Human Services Delivery Essay Example for Free

Best Practices for Human Services Delivery Essay The delivery of human services is one venture that organizations can not embark on blindly. It requires key competencies especially on the part of the staff charged with the responsibility of delivering these essential services. It is a task that also requires active participation of key stakeholders, which are basically the population and the agency. When delivering the services, the agencies concerned need to put in to consideration the views of the population. In fact, the population should be involved in the entire process of service delivery, from conception of the idea to implementation. By involving the population, it shows that the agency appreciates their contribution and value of population participatory in the process of service delivery. As a consequence, the population becomes trustworthy partners proud to be identified and associated with the agency and its services. It should be appreciated that the success of the agency in this service delivery solely depends on the response of the population. Indeed, the role of the population can not be overstated. Before the organization embarks on any service delivery, Katherine and Ellen (2009) argue that knowledge about the background of the population is vital. In the modern society, most populations are diverse. It is important that any agency understands all aspect of the population to avoid making mistakes unknowingly. One very important aspect is the competence of the agency. The staff of the agency needs to have basic skills that are vital in service delivery. Lack of skills puts the quality of the agency’s performance at stake. This is then reflected in the results of the delivery. Poor results not only have a negative impact on the image of the agency, but also threaten the future of the organization. It is unlikely that an organization whose performance is poor would get any future reference or even contracts. Besides, the agency delivering such services needs to be well endowed with adequate resources. These include money, time and knowhow (Katherine Ellen, 2009). These resources are mandatory for any success to be accomplished. They enable the agencies to finish their tasks in timely manner. In addition, they also affect the quality of service delivery. Quality and timely service delivery boosts the confidence of the population in the performance of the agency. This then ensures future growth and population confidence with the agency as contracts can be renewed and secured. Katherine and Ellen (2009) affirm that for any service delivery to be successful, trust is of essence. This should be mutual. They also argue that building trust of a diverse population can be a tricky affair. They suggest that agencies should draw part of their staff from the population. They argue that the agency may not be aware of part of the cultural expectations of the population. Besides, they may not understand the local language, a tool that is very basic in as far as communication is concerned. Poor communication system impacts directly on service delivery as misunderstandings are bound to occur. The agency should also respect the culture of the population in order to successfully deliver its services. Cultures tend to vary considerably and it is important that the agency understands every bit of the population’s culture. For instance, some populations prescribe different dress code for different persons. Although this may not be an issue in an urban population, it is highly significant in a rural setting. Contravening such may negatively impact on service delivery. In extreme cases, the service delivery may even be halted Conclusion The delivery of human services can be a very sensitive process. Utmost care need to be taken to ensure that the population approves of the agency’s performance. This will enable the agency to carry out its activities with ease, all for the benefit of the population. Above all, the agency should market its brand to the population to gain aspect of positive association.

Netflix Business Model Analysis and SWOT

Netflix Business Model Analysis and SWOT 1 Introduction Netflix is the worlds largest online movie rental service with over 6.3 million members and a collection of more than 75,000 titles. They are known for both their excellent customer service and their convenient and user-friendly interface on their award-winning website. Though Netflix has received many criticisms, it has continually grown and thrived in the movie rental market. New technology has enabled Netflix to provide high quality streaming videos directly to their subscribers PCs. This service is being rolled out over the first six months of 2007, free of charge, to Netflixs current subscribers. In order to maintain its superior position in the in home filmed-entertainment, Netflix must enter the Video On Demand (VOD) market immediately. By entering the VOD market through offering streaming videos, Netflix will be able to differentiate itself from its competitors, and reduce the likelihood of price competition. Offering a movie streaming service as opposed to a movie downloading service will further aid it in differentiating itself. For the short run, Netflix needs to incorporate the service of streaming movies to complement its DVD rental service. In the long run, after the popularity of streaming movies has grown and the technicalities of this service are fixed, Netflix can separate the DVD rental and streaming movies services, offering two different sets of plans. Pursuing this strategy is vital to Netflixs future, because as new innovations in technology become popular, the DVD-rental subset of the home movie market will shrink, while the downloading and streaming of movies will eventually come to dominate the majority of this market. Therefore, the correct implementation of Netflixs entry into the VOD market, wi ll serve as a bridge strategy, aiding Netflix in its evolution from a DVD rental service to a distributor of digital entertainment. 2 A Closer Look at Netflixs History Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997. DVDs were a relatively new technology, with less than a thousand titles available at the time, but Hastings and Randolph believed it had potential to replace the VHS format. The company began operating in April 1998, offering 7-day rentals for about $6. Netflix, along with Magic Disc, DVD Express, and Reel.com, were the first few companies to rent DVDs by mail. Netflix differentiated itself by spending heavily in promotions. It created partnerships with companies selling the most vital complementary good, a DVD player. It offered free rentals with the purchase of DVD players from Toshiba and Pioneer and computers with DVD drives from HP and Apple. However, Netflix was in direct competition with Amazon.com in selling DVDs so they came to a compromise in December 1998: Netflix would stop selling DVDs in exchange for being heavily promoted on Amazons website[2]. Netflix began to partner with online movie information providers and promoted more features on its website to attract more customers. In September 1999, it began the Marquee Program, offering 4 DVDs rentals per month with no late fees or due dates for a monthly subscription fee[2]. In February 2000, it introduced CineMatch, a program that evaluates the rental patterns of customers, identifying which movies customers of similar tastes would enjoy[3]. Both programs were highly popular and soon Netflix did not rent out individual DVDs, relying fully on the Marquee Program. Continuing its aggressive marketing and networking campaign, Netflix signed a deal with major DVD produc- ers, such as Warner Home Video and Columbia Tri-Star. In exchange for cheaper prices on large quantities of DVDs, the movie studios received a portion of the rental receipts[2]. As the success of Netflix grabbed the attention of the media, competitors began to respond. In the summer of 2002, Blockbuster started its own unlimited rentals and no late fee subscription plan and bought out an online DVD rental company. Wal-Mart and Columbia House also tried to amass large volumes of DVD titles to compete with Netflix. However, Netflix already had a solid foothold in the market, fending off these major competitors. In re- sponse, it announced the opening of more distribution facilities. Five years after its debut, Netflix finally began to produce profits[2]. On January 16, 2007 Netflix issued a press release regarding a New Feature Will Be Included in Subscribers Monthly Membership at no Extra Charge. For every dollar a user pays for their subscription, they will be able to view one hour of streaming video from a selection of about 1,000 movies and TV series on their PCs. Netflix also announced that they plan to expand the technology to reach every Internet-connected screen, from cell phones to PCs to plasma screens[10]. 3 SWOT Analysis 3.1 Strengths Entry timing Netflix entered the market for DVD rentals at a time when there were few other competitors in the market, allowing them to establish their brand name and image for providing a unique service. They were the first to offer DVD rental by mail and this allowed them to offer a greater variety of DVDs to consumers as compared to their competitors at the time, as DVDs were relatively new to the market. Combined with its successful business model, Netflixs early entry has allowed it to maintain a high relative market share in the online DVD rental industry. Understands weaknesses of competitors: Customer Satisfaction From the start, Netflix understood what irritated many video rental store customers: late fees. Usually after renting and watching a movie from a store such as Blockbuster, the customer has to rush to return the movie on the subsequent day (before midnight) or pay a late fee comparable to the price of the rental. Although Blockbuster does get an estimated 18% of its total revenue from late fees, it leaves the customer annoyed, frustrated, and unsatisfied. On the other hand, Netflix lets the customer keep the DVD until the customer wants to see the next one in their queue, allowing the fredom to return the movie at ones convenience[1]. Networked connections with many partners and even potential competitors From the very beginning of its entry into the market, Netflix understood the importance of making partner- ships with the movie industry, the electronics industry, and retailers[1]. Netflixs name was spread widely through promotions with complementary products, such as DVD players and movie websites. When it saw Amazon.com as a competitor, it stopped selling DVDs to cease all tensions in exchange for being promoted on their website. Additionally, quality leadership has enabled Netflix to stay afloat despite the advent of powerful competitors like Wal-Mart. Not only was Reed Hastings able to fend off Wal-Marts attempt to bankrupt Netflix, he was able to convince Wal-Mart to encourage customers to switch to Netflix after the Wal-Mart service fell through[3]. By staying strong but cooperative, Netflix ended up profiting from many threats. Award-winning website Netflixs website boasts many features. Netflixs CineMatch implements an award-winning algorithm that can predict with surprisingly consistent accuracy what movies someone would prefer given their previous rental history, planned future rentals, and ratings of movies theyve seen in the past[4]. Furthermore, theyre constantly trying to improve the CineMatch program: Netflix is offering a prize of $1 million for a better algorithm[18]. Netflixs large subscription base has allowed a small type of network externality to take shape. More Netflix subscribers means more people rate movies, write reviews for movies, and recommend movies to one another. This also helps fine-tune the accuracy of the CineMatch program. Unique and very large selection of DVDs Netflix has the largest and most diverse collection of DVDs out of any competitor. They have more than 75,000 titles, including foreign films and independent films that are usually not carried by other distributors such as Blockbuster Video and Wal-Mart[7]. Foreign films such as those from Indias Bollywood are particularly successful at attracting customer attention[2]. This selection of movies taps into the underserved population of consumers who are solely with Netflix because the unique titles Netflix has to offer cannot be found for rent elsewhere in the United States. 3.2 Weaknesses Like most brick-and-mortar rental businesses, Netflix often has trouble providing enough copies of new, popular movies. As a result, a main cause of customer dissatisfaction is Netflixs inability to completely satisfy the initial rush for a new movie. However, the company knows it would be unprofitable in the long run to buy more copies just to serve the rush when a movie first becomes available, because the copies will not be rented with nearly as much frequency soon after the rush. Customers have caught on to the fact that Netflix only purchases a limited quantity of new releases right away, opting to wait a few weeks to buy the bulk of its supply at lower costs. While this might save Netflix money, it also has the tendency to drive away current and potential customers. Finally, Netflix does not have a direct connection to any movie studios so it must purchase its entire media through the consumer market[5]. One disadvantage of Netflixs rent-by-mail business model is that customers have to wait (often for several days) for the next movie on their queue to arrive in their mailbox. In many cases, by the time the subscriber receives the DVD, he or she may no longer be in the mood to see that particular movie. Likewise, a Netflix subscriber may feel like watching a movie on a night where all of the DVDs that are part of their plan are currently on route to or from a Netflix distribution center. In such a case, the customer will likely leave the home and rent a movie from a brick-and-mortar retailer, or perhaps order a movie from a service such as Pay-Per-View or iN DEMAND. 3.3 Opportunities Netflix is in a position to expand right now. Previously, sending movies to customers through the mail was a novelty in the rental industry. Now, delivering movies straight to computers of customers is likely to be the next revolution in how consumers view movies in their homes[6]. Luckily for Netflix, this service is only available as a per-viewing basis. Netflix can seize this opportunity if it is successful in efficiently providing streaming content to a customer on a time usage basis rather than a per-viewing basis. In addition, active management could possibly enable Netflix to absorb current providers of this service, such as Movielink, in a way similar to how it absorbed Wal-Marts DVD division. 3.4 Threats The clearest threat to Netflix is Blockbuster and other established rental businesses. Beyond this, customer satisfaction is the only aspect of this business that can make or break a company. If Netflix were to lose its wholesome, reliable image, it might not be able to retain enough of the market to survive. Also, companies like Apple can potentially harm Netflix if they are able to provide services through ones computer that can be easily ported to ones TV[6]. Netflix is less suited to compete with hardware innovations such as Apple TV because it has little to no experience in this area, though such innovations may eventually be complementary rather than competitive. Moreover, there is always the threat of entry by another firm, especially into the VOD industry, a closely related industry, which Netflix is about to enter. 4 Six Forces Analysis of the Video on Demand Industry By offering streaming movies through its website, Netflix is entering the Video on Demand (VOD) industry. This industry, along with DVD rentals (both from online providers such as Netflix, and cable services such as On Demand and Pay-Per-View), is part of the larger industry of watching movies in the home. However, since Netflix is already positioned in this market, with its online DVD rentals, we will examine the smaller portion of the market that is streaming online movies. This business is too closely related to the movie downloading service to be considered as a separate market. 4.1 Entry The Video on Demand industry requires a significant level of capital, so potential entrants face the large sunk costs of acquiring licenses to the movies they want to provide. Moreover, it is too expensive for a firm considering this market to merely test the waters. An established video rental retailer already has experience in marketing movies to people, giving them an experience advantage over potential entrants. Netflix, for example, invested over $40 million to launch its Watch Now streaming video service, shocking many shareholders[6]. These shareholders reactions only highlight the risk involved with such sunk costs. Netflixs Watch Now feature will be fully integrated with its normal online DVD rental website. A firm without the technological advantage of a website with movie-recommendation algorithms like Netflixs CineMatch program is at a significant disadvantage. Moreover, Netflixs website alreay has reams of user reviews and input, that a new firm would be unable to match for years. The technology to offer high-quality downloads is also a barrier to entry, but this barrier is small because such technology is available for licensing from third parties. In this market, product differentiation takes the form of varying quality in the downloaded movies, yet it should be noted that all firms will at least have to offer quality that is very close to DVD quality in order to ensure that discerning customers continue to use their service. Besides quality, differentiation exists in the type of service offered by a company: streaming movies, permanent downloads, or limited time downloads. In sum, this is an industry where entry is difficult for all but the most experienced firms with already established online movie rental/sale experience. These firms are more likely to thrive in this market due to their experience, reputation, and recognizable brand names. 4.2 Rivalry The movie download industry, like the online DVD industry, is not very concentrated[20], and so the few market leaders that share the market may engage in rivalrous price competition. A key example of this is Netflixs and Blockbusters recent price war[8], which lasted until both resolved to settle on a higher price through tacit collusion. A variety of services are being offered in the online movie industry. Amazon Unbox sells movies that one can download and keep on ones harddrive for one to two days[9]. Netflixs Watch Now feature ties in its streaming movie service with its online DVD rental service. Current Netflix customers will get this service for free, which will cost significantly less than Amazon Unbox. Because the product is not easy to differentiate, the competition focuses more on the services provided with the product than the price. An existing variety of movies is essential in this market because consumers will frown upon not finding a movie they want to see. The entry barriers mentioned in the previous section will prevent small and undifferentiated firms from entering the market, practically ensuring that the prices will not be competitive. With a low concentration of firms and emerging differentiation, this industry will not likely be especially rivalrous. 4.3 Supplier Power Netflix and its competitors buy their movies from the movie studios that create the films. The major studios have marginal supplier power in the online movie download market because they are the exclusive source of big name movies that customers desire. These highly popular movies have practically no substitutes in the rental market. However, buyer concentration in this new market is relatively high[20], so suppliers tend to want to sell their product to all of the companies in the market to maximize their revenue. This reduces competition for supply and therefore prevents supplier power from being very high. In this particular market, studios may be concerned with cannibalizing their own product[6]. By making inexpensive movie downloading available to customers, they may lose sales on the more profitable hard case DVD sales. Therefore, large studios may be more willing to withhold licensing agreements to movie download providers such as Netflix, thus strengthening their own supplier power. Overall, the suppliers to this market have only enough power to slightly control prices, but not enough power to influence the evolution of the market as a whole because they must sell their product to survive. 4.4 Substitutes The main substitutes to streaming movies are brick-and-mortar rental stores, online rentals, pay per view TV and theatres. Brick-and-mortar rental stores provide the same service with possibly a better selection of movies as compared to movies available for download by Netflix, but they do not provide the instant gratification of downloading or streaming them whenever a customer desires[3]. Furthermore, the streaming movies service provided by Netflix is more cost effective than these other substitutes because Netflix plans to allot its users a total amount of stream time. For instance, if a customer decides after 20 minutes of watching a movie that he does not want to watch it anymore, switching to another movie incurs no extra cost. Substitutes such as buying per download or traditional renting do not offer this convenience. For this reason, these are weak substitutes to streaming videos. 4.5 Buyer Power Buyer power is very low in this market because one customers decision to buy the service or not will not affect the overall market at all. Similarly, one customers dissatisfaction will not influence a significant amount of other customers. The source of dissatisfaction would have to be concerning an inferior product or service to incite such a widespread response. Clearly, this is not something an independent customer can control. There are substitutes for movie rentals, but these are weak substitutes. Buyers can rent movies from local brick-and-mortar businesses, but this is not nearly as convenient as the instant-gratification downloading of movies. In a broader aspect, a customer always has the option to not spend their free time watching movies, no matter what the source, so the price of rental services cannot climb much higher than they currently are. Overall, individual customers do not hold bargaining power over the price of products in this market; however, the prices themsel ves are regulated by the substitutes and preferences of customers as a whole. 4.6 Complements Technology is the main complement to streaming videos offered by Netflix. The basic complement required is high bandwidth. According to Netflix, a consistent bandwidth of 3 megabits per second is required[10] to watch streaming videos online at DVD quality. This bandwidth is already present in over 47% of US households, which means over 50 million households have broadband service available[14]. Because the required infrastructure is already well developed, Netflix has access to a large customer base. This figure is projected to grow to 55% by the end of 2007, making it a dependable complement. Apart from bandwidth, another possible complement is a product similar to AppleTV that allows users to watch streaming videos directly on their big-screen televisions[15]. Currently, users with S-Video capability can connect their desktops to their televisions but this does not provide the simple and elegant solution the average Netflix customer is looking for. With easy methods to view stream ing videos on the television, physical media (CDs, DVDs, etc.) would be much less functional in the movie rental industry. 5 Netflixs Entry into the VOD Industry via Streaming Movies In our analysis below we will examine Netflixs current business model to find that their business can suc- cessfully incorporate such VOD offering. Netflixs choice of providing streaming content as opposed to downloadable movies allows it to differentiate its service from others in the market, thus aiding Netflix in its strategic positioning. There are both advantages and disadvantages in tying in this new service with Netflixs current subscription plans as opposed to offering the services separately, but the two can complement one another at this early stage in Netflixs entry. These proposed strategies will place Netflix in a strong position in the newly developing market of VOD, and can act as a bridge to allow Netflix to leave the DVD rental industry as physical media becomes obsolete. 5.1 Business Definition The question arises, however, as to how streaming videos and DVD rentals can both fit within Netflixs business definition. There exist scale economies associated with the offering or bundling both of the services, as Netflixs good relations with the movie studios will help enable it to negotiate better prices for its streaming movies. Much of Netflixs existing infrastructure, including its award-winning website cited to be one of Netflixs keys to success, will also apply to streaming movies. The same page that allows one to add a movie to their queue will have a Watch Now button allowing the user to begin streaming the movie immediately. Moreover, a substantial proportion of customers who rent movies online will be open to watching streaming movies, as both are ways of watching movies at home. Streaming videos may be used as a way to sift through movies they are considering to watch on DVD. Since these two somewhat different services have a similar consumer base and share benefits in cost structure, they can both be successfully integrated into the same business model. On the downside, however, it should be noted that many of the elements that allowed Netflix to succeed in renting out DVDs via mail, will not carry over to the digital distribution market. For example, superior logistics in mailing out DVDs and processing receieved DVDs will not aid Netflix in addressing bandwidth problems. The business model will have to undergo some changes if Netflix decides to offer a stand-alone streaming plan in the future (see Tying-in DVD Rentals and Streaming Movies below). 5.2 Netflixs Choice of Streaming Video over Movie Downloads The Online Video on Demand industry has consisted of services such as Amazon Unbox and Movielink which allow users to download a movie for a fixed cost of about $3 and have 24 to 48 hours to view it. Recently, Starz launched Vongo, which allows users to download and watch movies for an unlimited amount per month, but are only allowed to choose from a catalog that is mostly representative of movies currently airing on one or more of Starzs cable television channels[11]. Therefore, Netflixs immediate entry into the VOD market will mark the arrival of one of the first monthly payment-based content providers that will allow viewers to watch their movies via streaming video files, similar to the format that has been popularized on websites such as YouTube and Google Video with higher quality. Perhaps the greatest advantage to streaming video is that it offers an even greater instant gratification incentive than downloadable VOD movies, as one can get the former up and running within a couple minutes with a modest connection speed, whereas a full movie download will often take about a half hour or more. A disadvantage of Netflixs business model has been the waiting times associated with the turn-around between DVDs. Netflixs competitors have been quick to make use of their infrastructure to exploit this disadvantage. Blockbuster frequently gives monthly in-store movie rental benefits to its online subscribers such as a speedier gratification bonus, where the customer can drive to the store and rent a DVD for free to watch for the night while the DVDs previously requested online are still in transit[12]. Now, Netflix can take the lead again in offering the fastest way to watch a movie in ones home. 5.3 One Subscription: Tying-in DVD Rentals and Streaming Movies Netflixs Watch Now will be available at no additional cost to all subscribes within the first half of 2007; there is no plan offering only the streaming download service without DVD rentals. The bundling of these two services is a necessary component of Netflixs strategy. By doing so, Netflix will differentiate its service from the services offered by its competitors and use these complementary goods to reinforce one another (as mentioned above in Business Definition). Netflix simply needs to consider this new bundled feature as just another method of delivering their product. Movie studios who supply films to Netflix are afraid that this Watch Now feature will contribute to cannibalization of their own DVD sales market. They are also concerned with the potential piracy of streaming and downloaded videos[6]. Due to the studios unusual supplier power in this particular matter, the catalog of movies that can be streamed with Netflix is much smaller than the size of their total DVD catalog. If Netflix offered a separate streaming plan, it would have a library of only about 1,000 films and television series to offer to its subscribers, making it difficult to satisfy a wide range of consumers. Variety of selection has always been one of Netflixs keys to success, so spinning off a half-hearted stand alone service could potentially harm its brand name. Tying the two services together allows consumers to see that Netflix is expanding its features since it offers it at no increase in price. It is providing existing subscribers a greater value and giving potential subscribers more incentive to try Netflixs services. By offering the new product as a tie-in, consumers are presented with a unique service that they can only get from Netflix. Consumers are given the opportunity to see a movie precisely when they want to, but can still order a DVD they feel like watching later. This gives consumers the opportunity to see more movies for a relatively lower cost than using only rental services or only temporary download services. The threat of price competition is reduced because the bundle of services makes Netflix appear to be less of a direct threat to download-only VOD services. The only firms able to replicate Netflixs bundling structure are those with an established DVD rental infrastructure. However, Blockbuster is such a firm capable of imitating Netflixs bundling model, especially as it has recently entered negotiations to acquire Movielink, a movie downloading service that offers both downloadable purchases and temporary downloads[13][20]. Blockbusters interest in Movielink suggests that it will more specifically attempt to integrate movie download rentals and sales into its online subscription plans[13], as opposed to streaming content. Should Blockbuster acquire Movielink, it will be able to offer a similar subscription plan to that being offered by Netflix. This apparently small difference reduces the threat of price competition because it will present consumers with a dilemma of preference, rather than an obvious choice of choosing the cheaper of two seemingly identical services. At this early stage in Netflixs attempts in the VOD industry, it is important that Netflix ties in its VOD offerings with its existing, time-tested DVD rental service. This ensures Netflix offers a unique and differen- tiated good, while not risking Netflixs brand name due to the lack of selection in the movies being offered, potential problems that may arise due to Netflixs lack of experience in the industry, and the relatively new and untested technologies being put to use to offer these services. 5.4 Positioning for the Future Over time, Netflixs bundling of DVD rentals with streaming movies will enable them to work out any kinks they have with their ability to distribute movies digitally, while continuing to build a large customer base of subscribers. Traditionally, Netflix has relied on a combination of word-of-mouth suggestions from their existing subscribers and an aggressive marketing campaign[1]. Should they continue to market their services effectively, their subscriber base will grow steadily, and Netflix will be able to collect more personalized user data and become even more proficient at being able to personalize [their] library to each subscriber by leveraging [their] database of user preferences[17]. Netflixs compilation of this data and their subsequent understanding of their customer base will serve a vital part in aiding their positioning in the coming future. However, the future of the DVD rental industry is very unclear as newer forms of media are developed. There are several factors that could hurt the industry that Netflix and other DVD rental outlets have been paying attention to. It is predicted that DVD and its successor formats (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) will be more prevalent than digitally distributed movies in the short term[6][19]. Yet as complementary technologies grow that will allow for streaming of high definition movies directly to HDTV, VOD will continue to gain popularity and will eventually unseat DVD and other physical forms of media as the dominant format for watching rented movies at home[17]. Technology, however, is not the only barrier to the inevitable prevalence of VOD. As previously mentioned, the studios are wary of allowing the legal digital distribution of films to take place on a major scale, as they rely on DVD sales for a large portion of their revenues. Moreover, if the studios start reducing the window of time in which a movie is exclusively available on DVD after its major theatrical run or allow movies to be distributed in the home in other formats before they can be distributed on DVD, Netflix and other DVD rental firms will be adversely affected[17]. They will no longer have a significant advantage in allowing consumers to view new releases first through their services and more substitutes emerge for viewing those new releases (Pay-Per View, iN DEMAND, etc.). The fate of the DVD rental industry largely depends on factors outside of the hands of Netflix and its competitors. In order to prepare for the demise of the DVD industry, Netflix must make its streaming services available under a separate subscription plan of its own. This point will likely come at a time when the penetration of technology allowing for viewing streaming content on high-end TVs is substantially high. The technology already exists in some ways; the Apple TV is used to wirelessly connect to ones computer and retrieve movies downloaded from the iTunes store onto the computer, then play those movies on ones television[16]. However, it will be some time before this expensive technology is adopted by the mainstream population to such an extent that the digital distribution of movies onto those TVs will return large profits. It is also at this time that Netflixs experience with streaming under the previous tie-in structure will aid it in completely changing its business model toward eventually becoming a digital distributor of filmed entertainment as opposed to a DVD rental outlet. The o ne important factor it will maintain from its rent-DVDs-by-mail days will be the aforementioned personalized library available to its subscriber. Netflix will continue to benefit from the advantages associated with its superior understanding of its customer base through their databases, which they have acquired over the years and will continue to develop. Clearly, Netflixs competitors will be trying to do the same. As mentioned before, Blockbusters acquisition of Movielink only serves to signal that it is also pursuing a similar strategy in trying to survive beyond the death of physical media[20]. Yet, Netflix has historically been more adept at understanding its consumers and delivering easier to use cont

Southworths Brilliant Writing Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

Southworth's Brilliant Writing    Few nineteenth-century American women novelists met with success equal to that of Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth (E.D.E.N. Southworth). Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan Warner, Fanny Fern, and others certainly sold record numbers of individual novels; however, E.D.E.N. Southworth's over 40 novels consistently became best-sellers throughout a 44-year career, making her, over time, perhaps the best-selling author, male or female, of her generation. Her stories entered into the American consciousness--becoming popular plays, shaping fashion trends, developing women's visions of themselves--as well as shaped the image of "Americanness" in the minds of international readers around the globe. In particular, Southworth's novels taught the world a vision of the American woman that equaled in power and influence James Fenimore Cooper's presentation of the American man that so captured international attention. Back at home, reviewers, critics, and other novelists either praised or rejected the immense energy of her writing, her vision, calling her the best novelist of the age or, conversely, attacking the unladylike exuberance of her prose or themes. Her primacy forced the literary world to respond--either as lovers or haters. Southworth's life trials shaped the fiction writer she became. As a woman repeatedly placed on the margins--by poverty, neglect, social stratification, status as an abandoned woman--Southworth learned to speak the language of the dispossessed. In an era when debates over human rights dominated the political and social landscape, Southworth wrote fiction celebrating strong independent women, aboli... ... to rewrite nineteenth-century literary history to include Southworth, for she reflected and commented upon the social realities for women in her time, argued for human rights for many without voices, and promoted tolerance of religion, race, and class, and in doing so, captured the imagination of generations of readers. In her own time, Southworth's voice certainly carried far, reaching across the country and over the oceans to England, France, Germany, and Iceland to touch the hearts and minds of millions. She deserves a place in literary history, not only for the impact she had on readers, but also for the lessons she teaches us about nineteenth-century culture, social tensions, and gender, class, and race ideology. Southworth stands, then as now, as a vital figure in the development of the novel in America.   

Did Women Gain from the Revolution

Women’s place before and after the revolution was no different. They were regarded not as masters of the house nor the maternal backbones of great men, but they were almost possessions of husbands, property no more or less valuable than slaves. According to Forrest McDonald, the generation after the Revolution saw the first gains for American women, but those who lived through it saw no significant improvements in their lifetime.His argument relies on the words used during the construction of the new government as being masculine words such as â€Å"Republic† which formal definitions of at that time excluded slaves, non-property holders, children, and women. Men at the time of the Revolution, asserts McDonald, subscribed to a theory by a popular political theorist of the seventeenth-century, who claimed that men should cultivate their land, as well as their homes. This notion disagrees with some of the arguments that Elizabeth Fox-Genovese put forth, that women took car e of the home and family and men took an active role in the public sphere.Fox-Genovese believes that women had established a different perspective of themselves after the war, that they were seen less dangerous or deviant and more as mothers of patriots and respected for the work they put in raising the children and taking care of the household while the men fought the war. While this may or may not be true, judging how mass social perspectives change in this case is not easy. For example it is much easier and reliable if today we wanted to see how peoples perspective on the role of women in the workforce has changed.We could look up Gallup polls conducted over the past fifty or more years and be able to see a definite concrete assessment of how people’s opinion over the years has changed. Today women are interchangeable in almost every profession that men occupy, but in the 1950s and early 60s a good majority of the American population still believed that women’s plac e was in the home. But in the 18th century they did not conduct Gallup polls, and to assert that men’s perception of women changed in any significant way is going far out on a limb.Women could have gained more respect after the revolution, but was it necessarily a result of the revolution, or perhaps they just riding a wave of social enlightenment that was happening all over the world at this time, not just in the Americas. This may have indeed been the case, also one must ask was anything significantly gained for women during the revolution that has some concreteness, something written in law or legislature. Maybe it would be correct to say women gained from the revolution if there was something written in for women in the Constitution.The fact of the matter is women before the revolution had no rights, and the new â€Å"free† republic formed after the revolution still had no formal clause granting women citizenship, or any guarantees to the rights protected by the Co nstitution. The Revolution itself did little for women, it was a war fought by men for men who believed in an ideology that was constructed by men. At the time of the revolution there were no factories, or large manufacturing plants in cities where large numbers of people could be employed.This was a characteristic of the Industrial Revolution, which started more than half a century after the Constitution was written. The Industrial Revolution also saw large exoduses of people from the farms to large cities, where the factories were located. But during the revolution, the majority of the population lived far away from cities. They lived off the land they cultivated by hand and sweat. They were farmers. They owned their land and profited from the things they made or grew or raised.This meant that going to work was as simple as going out the front door on to the large corn-field to plow. The men were always home, so there was not a need for women to take a dominant role in taking care of the day to day duties of the home. If the man viewed himself as the head of his family, then there was no need to make women in charge of the home because he should already be in charge of the home himself, with the children and wife subjugated below him. The man at this time raised his children, controlled his wife, and basically was the dominant figure in the household.It is noted by Fox-Genovese that Abgail Adams, Sam Adams’ wife wrote to her husband and asked him to â€Å"remember the ladies. † But that is not all she wrote, she also warned in that same letter that arrived to her husband during the construction of the Constitution at the Continental Congress, â€Å"If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice or Representation. Even with this message in mind, Sam Adams did not fight hard enough for his wife in order for there to be an y rights or priveledges guaranteed for women in the Constitution. I think that it is important to note that, because the threat that the wife posed was not strong enough there was nothing done for women in the Constitution. It was not strong enough because at the time women could not strike, for what would they stop doing?At that time they were not the sole responsibility of taking care of the house, nor did they work for one particular industry at all. Women at the time were not much better off than slaves, often uneducated and unable to perform any time of skill that would get them employed. They were basically just there to bear children and help their husbands. And unfortunately that would remain the case for years to come.

Essay on Polynomial and Great Falls College

Essay on Polynomial and Great Falls College Essay on Polynomial and Great Falls College INSTITUTION: Great Falls College Montana State University COURSE TITLE: College Algebra COURSE NUMBER: M 121- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 80, M 121- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 81 NUMBER OF CREDITS: 3 SEMESTER/YEAR: Fall 2013 INSTRUCTOR: Ronald Yates Email: ronald.yates2@gfcmsu.edu Office Hours: By appointment I. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course presents concepts, principles and methods of college- ­Ã¢â‚¬ level algebra. Topics to be covered include polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions and their graphs, and real and complex numbers. II. COURSE MATERIALS: Textbook: College Algebra: Graphs and Models, Fifth Edition, by Bittinger/Beecher/Ellenbogen/Penna, published by Pearson Access Code: MyMathLab access code is packaged within new textbooks or may be purchased separately. Calculator: A scientific calculator is required. A TI- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 83/84 (or equivalent) graphing calculator is strongly recommended. A calculator with a symbolic manipulator (TI- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 89, TI- ­Ã¢â‚¬  92, etc.) will not be allowed for testing. III. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of the course, the student will demonstrate a minimum competency level of 70% in the following areas: 1. Manipulate real and complex numbers. 2. Manipulate polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions of a real variable. 3. Graph polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions of a real variable. 4. Find inverse functions for selected polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions of a real variable. 5. Use polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions of a real variable to model real- ­Ã¢â‚¬ world phenomena and solve applied problems. Revised August 2013 IV. COURSE OUTLINE: (See Addendum for Detailed Calendar) Chapter 1: Graphs, Functions, and Models Chapter 2: More on Functions Chapter 3: Quadratic Functions and Equations; Inequalities Chapter 4: Polynomial and Rational Functions Chapter 5: Exponential & Logarithmic Functions V. COURSE CALENDAR – See Addendum This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the course instructor to accommodate instructional and/or student needs. VI. COURSE EVALUATION – See Addendum for Details