Is Nick a Good Narrator Essay Example for Free

Is Nick a Good Narrator Essay As the teller of facts for all of his observations, Nick proves to be a reliable narrator for this story. He is unaffected by what goes on around him, despite people bringing him into personal situations. Nick is factual with details. He is as well, a very private person though, and tells us little of himself during the events. In telling us about his growing up years shows us that Nick has learned many admirable things. In Chapter 1 he tells us how he was raised and the advices given him by his father. These included council on how to speak to people in general. As quoted by Nick, his father told him â€Å" ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had. ’ â€Å" He admits to us here that â€Å"In consequence I’m inclined to reserve all judgments†. He did not appear to like being drawn into drama and would avoid it at all cost. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the con? dences were unsought frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon. † When describing events, Nick seems again unattached. He tells us what people wear, what they say and how they say it, with much emotion. On his own home in the af? uent area that he had moved (Chapter 2) â€Å"My own house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore, and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires all for eighty dollars a month. When he tells us about Tom he explains (Chapter 2) â€Å"His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward people he liked—and there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts. When he introduces Daisy and Jordon for the ? rst time in (Chapter 2) â€Å"The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored Is Nick a good Narrator? ESSAY THE GREAT GATSBY! PJD balloon. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. † he then goes on with further detail â€Å"The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it—indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. The other girl, Daisy, made an attempt to rise—she leaned slightly forward with a conscientious expression— then she laughed, an absurd, charming little laugh, and I laughed too and came forward into the room. The only time we see him express any real emotion is when he realizes that they are all sitting around doing a lot of nothing except to anger and upset each other and that not one person has wished him a ‘Happy Birthday’ that day. He himself, until that moment had forgotten that he turned 30 on that extraordinarily hot day (Chapter 7) â€Å"‘No I just remembered that today’s my birthday. ’ I was thirty. Before me stretched the portentous menacing road of a new decade. † Nick’s privacy is highlighted in events that have taken place in the novel, but not carried forward with any great detail. Though he describes his college year, followed by his time in the army and going to war, he leaves a lot of personal things out. The ? rst couple of things that stand out regarding his personal privacy. He makes friends with a co-worker and after knowing each other a very short time, the two decide to rent a house together in the country. The friend is shipped off to Washington by the ? rm immediately on renting â€Å"a weather beaten cardboard bungalow at eighty a month†. In that same paragraph, we learn that Nick has a dog with him â€Å"at least I had him for a few days until he ran away. Nor does he talk about having a girlfriend out west or someone that he has befriended at very least, though in Chapter 2 after he meets his cousin Daisy, her husband (and Nick’s former classmate) Tom and their friend Jordan Baker (a Is Nick a good Narrator? ESSAY THE GREAT GATSBY! PJD professional golfer). Daisy suddenly says to Nick, as he is leaving â€Å" ‘I forgot to ask you something, and it’s important. We heard you were engaged to a girl out West. ’ â€Å" Nick wards of the question saying â€Å" ‘It’s libel. I’m too poor. â€Å" He then goes on privately that he was aware of this story, but that it was not true. He says â€Å"The fact that gossip had published the banns was one of the reasons I had come east. † He only refers to the woman at hand as an â€Å"old friend†. Nick spoke with clarity on the events of the summer. He described in detail, the costuming and events, the locations and people. Nick seemed unbiased and disconnected in an unemotional way, until the events of his own birthday. Overall, Nick seemed to have a good grasp of the people and events of that summer, while leaving details of himself to be determined.

TATA Steel: UK Case Study

TATA Steel: UK Case Study Nicolson Mustapha Tata steel UK is one of the largest and geographically most diversified steel producers of Europe which is operating in 26 countries and have its commercial offices in around 35 countries around the globe (Tata Steel, 2017). They have been serving different markets such as energy and power, automotive, lifting and excavating, packaging, aerospace, construction etc. with their innovative products. The success of their business lies in their operations being centered on benefiting the society on the whole and making collaborative relationships with customers. The main business values of Tata steel UK include excellence, understanding, responsibility, integrity and unity (Tata Steel, 2017). The proposed strategy for Tata Steel at corporate level is market penetration while the proposed business strategy for penetrating in the market is the hybrid of cost leadership and product differentiation. Tata Steel has the capacity to penetrate into its market because it has a strong brand image and good customer base but due to increasing supply of steel from China and decreased demand, the revenue generated in the last period was a bit less than expected. In a dynamic environment, the foremost priority of a business is to keep an eye on the external environment. So, to cope with the changes taking place in the external environment, Tata Steel has to penetrate the market for increasing its market share. The cost leadership can be achieved by the capacity expansion and employment of new technology. The new technology would be used for differentiating its products from those of its competitors. Tata steel UK is one of the largest and geographically most diversified steel producers of Europe which is operating in 26 countries and have its commercial offices in around 35 countries around the globe (Tata Steel, 2017). They have been serving different markets such as energy and power, automotive, lifting and excavating, packaging, aerospace, construction etc. with their innovative products. The success of their business lies in their operations being centered on benefiting the society on the whole and making collaborative relationships with customers. The main business values of Tata steel UK include excellence, understanding, responsibility, integrity and unity (Tata Steel, 2017). This paper demonstrates the importance of understanding and in-depth knowledge that a firm must have for the formulation of its strategies from time to time. The environment in which the businesses have been operating currently has become dynamic and it is necessary for the businesses to adapt themselves with such environment by continuously updating their strategies to carry out the business (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2003). The previous analysis conducted about Tata Steel suggested that it has strong brand equity and value-chain efficiency due to which it has expanded its operations overseas in the foreign markets. One of the main competitive advantages for Tata Steel UK is that there products are unique and innovative but there are also certain threats for the survival of business i.e. increasing competition, changing economy of UK and the fall in demand from China (Schram, 2015). The first part of this paper discusses different strategic options that are available to Tata Steel UK or to propose a strategy at corporate level, second part deals with formulation of business strategy, while the third part deals with the evaluation of strategy on the basis of suitability, acceptability and feasibility. The main objective of this paper is to see the Tata Steel UK from strategic management perspective. Different models and frameworks from previous academic literature have been used for the purpose of analyzing the industry and proposing a relevant strategy for the selected firm. Strategic options have been defined as the resourceful substitute action-oriented reactions to the major external trends faced by an organization. These options are exercised by taking into consideration the factors, trends, threats and opportunities in the external environment in which an organization is operating. These options are usually taken into consideration for the purpose of increasing the sales and profits of our business (Trigeorgis and Reuer, 2016). The main objective of Tata Steel UK is to become a global benchmark for creating value for the customers and corporate citizenship by offering innovative products and services. Ansoff Matrix Strategic options can be best explained with the help of Ansoff matrix that takes into account existing and new products and markets. There are four strategic options available to a particular firm (Jeyarathnam, 2008). These are explained as follows Selling existing products to existing market which is known as market penetration Developing new products and selling them to existing market which is known as product development Taking existing products to new markets segments which is known as market development Developing new products for newer markets segments also known as diversification The strategic options or Ansoff matrix is presented in the figure as follows Tata steel UK can expand its customer base with the help of market penetration strategy. This strategy is used for the purpose of growing our business. The current market share of Tata Steel UK is 60% sales to the manufacturers of different products in UK while 40% comes from sales to main Europe and 15% outside the Europe. The main products that contribute to the sales revenue of Tata Steel include automotive, construction, packaging, aerospace, and energy and power. The corporate strategy of Tata Steel UK is to become a global benchmark by creating value for the customers at global level. Â   Â   The rationale behind using the market penetration strategy is to sell existing products to existing consumers. According to the SWOT analysis conducted for the Tata Steel Europe and other sources suggest that it is losing the market because of various factors including decreased demand from China, changing economy of Europe, increasing international competition and steel available at cheaper prices. Tata Steel UK can penetrate the market by making its products unique from those of its competitors. It should increase its investments in the projects which helps in differentiation of its products by improving the overall marketing mix and getting closer to customers by forming collaborative relationships. The unique and innovative products as compared to competitors will give Tata Steel UK a competitive edge in gaining the largest market share. This product differentiation requires Tata Steel to develop cutting-edge manufacturing and production technology and to improve their business c ycle to a greater extent to make the products sustainable for the customers as well as for the environment. Tata Steel UK should strive to upgrade their manufacturing and distribution operations because it will help the firm in providing on time products and services to their consumers. An efficient supply chain and closer production plants help in increasing the effectiveness and optimization of services to customers. The presence of competitors cannot threat the existence of Tata Steel unless it is continuously striving to improve its business operations and differentiation of products and services. Overall, in improving the business operations and product differentiation of Tata Steel, it must not compromise the corporate responsibility it owes towards the environment and all its stakeholders (Jha and Arora, 2013). The main point to be considered in the market penetration strategy is the cost-benefit ratio. Market penetration specifically deals with increasing already captured customer base. The fact sheet of Tata Steel UK represents that 25% of Tata sales revenue is generated by automotive industry, 30% by construction, and 10% by packaging. It also exports 80% of its energy and power products to big firms such as Shell, Chevron and Total etc. it also has 10% global market share for the supply of aerospace products (Kelsey, 2016). The main competitive advantage of Tata Steel UK is its brand identity i.e. it is a well-known brand for its quality products, so its customers have loyalty with its products. The factsheet about Tata Steel UK suggested that the demand for its automotive products is increasing in the mainland Europe as well as in other countries because the annual car production rate is increasing at a greater pace. So, this is an opportunity for Tata Steel UK to penetrate the market by using its world-class manufacturing and distribution facilities. The market penetration strategy requires Tata Steel to strengthen its own manufacturing, production and distribution infrastructure to manufacture differentiated products as compared to its competitors. By using this strategy it will be able to increase its sales revenue in the existing market by strengthening the manufacturers of different products across Europe. Own manufacturing and production plants will be helpful for Tata Steel in reducing the cost of manufacturing and achieving the economies of scale. Tata Steel has the capacity and resources to penetrate into its existing market e.g. it has a string brand loyalty, it is producing the products in an environmentally sustainable way, it has its own cutting-edge manufacturing and production plants that only need upgradation. The commitment of Tata Steels towards manufacturing unique and innovative products can help them conquer the market and increase their market share relative to their competitors. After a successful scrutiny of internal factors affecting the business and a thorough scan of external business environment, the next stage is to formulate an ideal strategy for business which is capable of achieving the desired objectives. Business strategy is designed for the purpose of getting to the place where we want to see ourselves. Business strategy requires careful planning and implementation and it also requires a lot of resources that must be used handy to maintain the cost benefit ratio (Teece, 2010). According to a model proposed by McKinsey, it is necessary on the part of organization to have talented staff, an integrated system, proper structure, a unique style, skills, a perfect strategy and shared values to achieve the desired business goals. According to Johnson et. al (2011), strategy clock is a perfect framework that can be used to analyze the customer focus for the prices and differentiation among the products. For Tata Steel UK, it is analyzed that the market penetration strategy could be used for increasing the market share of the company. And it has been already known that it has a strong brand name and also a very good customer base. But the recent statistics of financial times confirmed that the earnings and sales revenue of Tata Steel was not up to the mark and didnt meet the forecasts set earlier (Markets.ft.com, 2017). This requires Tata steel to penetrate into its market with the help of hybrid strategies i.e. cost leadership and product differentiation. Cost leadership is an intensive growth strategy in which the company tends to decrease the cost of its products for the purpose of increasing its sales. Tata Steel UK can exercise the cost leadership strategy either by reducing its costs to increase the profits and charging average industry price for its products or it can increase the market share by reducing the price of its products (Jha and Arora, 2013). For practicing this strategy, a firm must make sure that it will remain number one in terms of low-cost producer and wont be easily attackable by other low cost producers. This requires the firm to have enough capital for making investment in the technology that reduces the overall cost of producing the products, have efficient logistics and being sustainable in terms of its resources and environment. For Tata Steel UK, all of these options are exercisable so they can easily penetrate their existing market with their existing products. One of the main competitive advantages of Tata Steel is capacity expansion i.e. it can expand its capacity of manufacturing and production which will ultimately reduce its cost of producing the products. The quality and sources of raw materials are highly secured from various captive mines which can be used for the enhancement of production capacity. The manufacturing plants of Tata Steel are already located in many countries including USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, and Belgium etc. These plants can be used for the purpose of increasing the global sales revenue and market share of Tata Steel by offering diversified products and services to the customers. Technology and the manpower are two most essential resources that are required for increasing the innovation and uniqueness in products of Tata Steel. The up-to-the-minute technology can be used for producing larger numbers of steel and aluminum products differentiated from its competitors, available in various designs and colors and are sustainable for the community which is using the products. Recently in 2013, Tata Steel made an investment of 250 million pounds to set up two blast furnaces in Port Talbot, 25 million pounds investment at Hot Strip Mill, and 15 million pounds investment in Stockbridge plant in 2015 which will improve the operations of Tata Steel to a greater extent thereby reducing the overall costs of production (Kelsey, 2016). Product differentiation is another strategy through which Tata Steel can penetrate its market. Customers switch products or brands only when they are not satisfied of the quality and prices of the products. A bit of value added to the products and services can increase the customer loyalty and improves the brand image (Anderson and Vincze, 2004). Tata Steel is providing a wide range of its products to the most renowned and big companies around the globe. Tata Steel can increase its market share by offering customized products to its customers e.g. for automotive industry it can provide customized products right from initial design to the fully manufactured vehicle or they can provide effective solutions related to steel in the construction projects. For consumer goods, customers prefer reliability and after sales services and it can also gain a good market share by offering sustainable packaging products to packaging firms. The bottom line is that Tata Steel can use its core competen cies for gaining the market share. A summary of core competencies of Tata Steel is presented in the following table. Core competencies Cost leadership and product differentiation Technology Different manufacturing plants of Tata Steel UK located across the Europe must use the cutting edge technology for the production of high quality and low cost products. Installation of technology helps in the mass production which achieves the economies of scales hence making the firm low cost leader and technology also improve the quality of products by presenting more immaculate outlook and product design to the products. Supply chain management The supply chain of Tata Steel is very sophisticated because it has its own distribution and processing units across the Europe, USA, Middle East and many other parts of the world. This is the competitive edge for Tata Steel because they dont have to make the customers wait longer for the products rather they provide on-time delivery of their products due to their numerous production hubs. Efficient supply chain also helps in making the products differentiated and low cost because there are no additional tariffs and raw material import costs incurred on the products. Quality and customer focus Quality and price of the products are the two essential elements that customers look for in the products. The research and marketing department of Tata Steel continuously tries to analyze the customer preferences for products and tries to invest in the projects which offer the best marketing mix i.e. best price for the products and differentiated products as compared to the customers (Tata Steel, 2017). Based on the core competencies listed in the above table, the competitive advantage of Tata Steel i.e. capacity expansion, and the financial position of Tata Steel UK (SWOT analysis), it is evaluated that Tata Steel can competently reduce the cost of its operations for increasing its revenues and earnings as well as increasing its market share. Moreover, these strategies are also useful for Tata Steel to exist its penetrating market everywhere its operations are in process. Evaluation of strategy is as important as the formulation of strategies because the strategic management process requires a lot of resources for implementation. So, it must be made certain that we are not wasting our resources or using them in a wrongful manner (Atkinson, 2013). Strategic evaluation is carried out in order to know whether the strategy that has been designed will be able to achieve the required objectives or not. Three criteria are used for the purpose of strategy evaluation i.e. suitability, acceptability and feasibility. 1.1. Suitability Suitability refers to the overall objective and rationale of the proposed strategy i.e. whether the strategy proposed will be able to achieve the economies of scale or not or will it acquire the proposed strategic objectives to improve the overall position and outlook of business. For the purpose of measuring the suitability of market penetration for Tata Steel, it is important to analyze the trends and key drivers explained in the assignment 1. Trends: The current trends for the Tata Steel are not good because there is an overall decrease in demand due to cheap supply from China. Another reason is stricter regulation changes on the part of European Union and lower wage laws as well as expensive cost of production in Europe (Islam, 2016). Key drivers: The key drivers that prove to be helpful in boosting the sales revenue of Tata Steel include reduces costs of renewable energy, flexibility in emission regulations placed in by European Union and support provided to UK for numerous steel construction projects to increase the job market for people. So based on the trends in the market and key drivers, it is evaluated that Tata Steel can overcome the cost of production in UK by employing the expatriate labor into its steel industries so that the cost of labor is reduced. The employment of technology in all of its production plants can improve the production rate as well as differentiate its products in terms of quality. The reduced cost of energy i.e. 30% reduction in electricity bills and in gas prices is also a favorable driver for employing the technology in UK plants. Government should also make its regulations flexible so that Tata Steel can invest into steel projects and provide jobs to numerous people. As a result of evaluation, it is suggested that the proposed strategy can work well with Tata Steel because it has enough capacity to expand its operations, have improved infrastructure to add value to its supply chain and have enough competencies to take the market as a cost leader. 1.2. Acceptability Acceptability of strategy relates to the concern with which it meets and exceeds the expectations of its stakeholders. It is obvious that changing the cost of operations and prices of the products also affect the overall revenue of the business which in turn affect the dividend payment to its shareholders, flexibility in regulations involves government and increased production affects the environment (Atkinson, 2013). The key stakeholders of Tata Steel are presented as follows infleuntial stakeholders active particpants Stakeholders that impose The most influential shareholders of Tata Steel are its customers, competitors and the environment in which it is operating. The reduced costs of operations will reduce the prices of products which is beneficial for the customers. Competitors will have tough time imitating the strategy of Tata Steel. For environment, it is certain because Tata steel is producing environmentally sustainable steel. Government and suppliers are the most active participants in the business operations of Tata Steel. It is good that UK has been provided flexibility to invest in steel projects and the supply chain management of Tata Steel is already better and sophisticated and will be enhanced with the help of capacity expansion. The BODs, employees and shareholders of Tata Steel are better off with this strategy because increasing the markets share will eventually increase the market share and profits of the company. Shareholders, employees and BODs are the stakeholders who know the vision and mission of the company so at the end they are confident that market penetration strategy would pay something off to them. The acceptability criteria of strategy evaluation suggests that market penetration strategy will be acceptable to all of the stakeholders of Tata Steel. It can be evaluated in more detail by using the stakeholder matrix of power and interest. The matrix is as follows When the power and interest of stakeholders in an organization is high, it is necessary for them to be both engaged and influential while in case of low power and interest, they only need to monitor the company or keep an eye upon the company. While those stakeholders who impose the company strategy have both high power and high interest in the company. Tata steel UK is safe on all ends because the strategy is acceptable for the customers due to quality and price of products and for shareholders to receive the increased dividends. The most influential stakeholder in case of Tata Steel is environment because the production may impact the environment in an adverse way but it is operating in an environmentally and social sustainable and responsible manner. The strategy of market penetration is meeting the needs and expectations of all stakeholders of Tata Steel UK. 1.3. Feasibility Feasibility means that the strategy is good in terms of resources available to the organizations for its implementation (Atkinson, 2013). It has been studied that the main competitive advantage of Tata Steel is its ability to expand or capital expansion. Different elements have been taken into account for the purpose of checking the feasibility of strategy. The most important enabler affecting the implementation of market penetration is the cost and quality of products. The cost of products can only be reduced when a high cutting-edge technology is employed for the manufacturing and production of products. The RD of Tata Steel continuously strives and works hard to know preferences of customers for newer and innovative steel products. Another important consideration is workforce of Tata Steel. Although the workforce is highly talented and able to boost the revenue generated by Tata Steel, Tata Steel should pay them a handsome amount of salaries to them. They should invest in their workforce to boost their confidence to increase the market share. The financial viability of this strategy is considerably favorable because Tata Steel have enough resource for capacity expansion and reducing the overall costs of operation. Capacity expansion will generate the increased outcome thereby leading to increased market share. The new strategy proposed for Tata Steel is the market penetration using hybrid strategies of cost leadership and product differentiation. The analysis is conducted on the basis of thorough internal and external analysis of Tata Steel and it has been evaluated that the strategy is perfect in terms of its suitability, acceptability and feasibility. Tata Steel should adopt market penetration strategy for the purpose of boosting its market share because it has the capacity to expand its operations by using newer technology, the power of its labor and its efficient supply chain. Tata Steel UK has strong brand image and identity which will be very helpful to penetrate into its current market. It has to reduce the costs of its operations so that the products become a bit cheaper and attracts a new market share. This strategy will be helpful because China has been supplying the steel to the market at much lower price so for its survival and growth, Tata Steel has to adopt cost leadership al ong with product differentiation strategy. Strategy formulation starts with the thorough analysis of internal and external factors affecting the business. The external analysis for Tata steel UK suggested market trends for steel industry and the key drivers that are helpful for boosting the industry. Formulation and implementation of strategy is based upon the environmental analysis of Tata Steel. Market penetration is the best alternative for Tata Steel to increase its market share. It can be done with the help of cost leadership and product differentiation. The cost leadership can be achieved with the help of expansion of business because capacity expansion is the main competitive advantage of Tata Steel. References Anderson, C. and Vincze, J. (2004). Strategic marketing management. 1st ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Atkinson, D. (2013). Dynamic capabilities: implications for marketing strategy formulation and implementation. International Journal of Business Environment, 5(3), p.252. Hitt, M., Ireland, R. and Hoskisson, R. (2003). Strategic management. 4th ed. Australia: Thomson/South-Western. Islam, F. (2016). Understanding The Steel Crisis: 10 Key Points. Sky news. [online] Available at: http://news.sky.com/story/understanding-the-steel-crisis-10-key-points-10223034ÂÂ   [Accessed 15 Jan. 2017]. Jeyarathnam, M. (2008). Strategic management. 1st ed. Mumbai: Himalaya Pub. House. Jha, V. and Arora, S. (2013). Strategic leadership for corporate sustainable development at Tata Steel. International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 7(3), p.283. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R. and Johnson, G. (2011). Exploring strategy. 10th ed. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Kelsey, C. (2016). The facts and figures about Tata Steel UK. Wales Online. [online] Available at: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/facts-figures-tata-steel-uk-11258131ÂÂ   [Accessed 15 Jan. 2017]. Markets.ft.com. (2017). Tata Steel Ltd, TATASTEEL:NSI forecasts FT.com. [online] Available at: https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/forecasts?s=TATASTEEL:NSIÂÂ   [Accessed 15 Jan. 2017]. Schram, B. (2015). Redcar and Tata Steel: Four reasons why the UK steel industry is struggling to survive. International Business Times. [online] Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/redcar-tata-steel-four-reasons-why-uk-steel-industry-struggling-survive-1524375ÂÂ   [Accessed 14 Jan. 2017]. Tata Steel, (2017). At a glance | Tata Steel in Europe. [online] Tatasteeleurope.com. Available at: http://www.tatasteeleurope.com/en/about%E2%80%93us/at-a-glance [Accessed 14 Jan. 2017]. Tata Steel, (2017). Our values | Tata Steel in Europe. [online] Tatasteeleurope.com. Available at: http://www.tatasteeleurope.com/en/about%E2%80%93us/valuesÂÂ   [Accessed 14 Jan. 2017]. Teece, D. (2010). Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), pp.172-194. Trigeorgis, L. and Reuer, J. (2016). Real options theory in strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 38(1), pp.42-63. Multicultural Analysis of Japan: Traditions and Religions Multicultural Analysis of Japan: Traditions and Religions Land of the Rising Sun: Japan Japan is a country filled with old and rich traditional history that cant be found anywhere in the Western world. Japan and America share quite an interesting bond with one another. The bond between them seems to infer that they have most of their trust in each other, but trusting the notorious nation, China, is something that they can both get on terms with. Disagreements between the two powerful nations can form, for example, one being Japans role in regional security. The old nation is located in the continent of Asia, being an chain of islands, it is surrounded by the Sea of Japan ( East) and Pacific Ocean (West). Japan or Nihon as it is said in Japanese, translates to the suns origin. It is also known as, by its nickname Land of the Rising Sun. The old nation consist of a series of islands, which is close to around 6,852 islands. There are also four main islands as well, which include: Hokkaido, Honshu {largest island}, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Although there are no bordering countries since the country is a chain of islands, there are some neighboring countries by Japan, promptly consisting, but not excluding: South Korea, North Korea, China, Taiwan, Russia, and the Philippines. The current size of Japan is around some 145,932 miÂÂ ² and compared to the U.S. which is some 3,536,695 square miles. The country of Japan has the third-largest economy, after the United States and China, in the modern world. The country exports vital goods such as automobiles ( ex. Toyota, Honda, Mazda), computers, and other electronics. etc. Not to mention the fact that Japan natural resources that it exports it ems such as: fish and other seafood, gold, silver, magnesium, oil, Japan greatly depends on foreign/imported natural resources and fuels to keep manufacturing industries functioning and thriving. Some industries in Japan include: shipbuilding, textile, mining, bioindustry, processed foods, and construction. Besides noting Japans economy, the old nation is known for its unique physical features. The geography of the country consists of a mountainous terrain with basins, valleys, plains, and coral reefs; while also having temperate weather and consisting of four seasons. The country has many cultural traditions and holidays throughout the year. Obon, Lantern Festival, ( August 13- 16) is a buddhist festival that is held within the month of August, it that pays tribute to ancestral spirits by lighting lanterns in from of home and on rivers to guild spirits back home and to the underworld. Cultural Day ( November 3rd ) was previously known as the day of commemorating the birthday of the Meiji Emperor, but it was renamed to Culture Day to rejoice the Japanese Constitution as well as peace and freedom. Another holiday is Marine Day (Umi no hi [ July 3rd] ) which commemorates the blessings of the oceans and its significant importance for Japan as a nation. Both Japan and America share unique cultural difference, but their main difference is concerning education, not to mention the fact that recreation among them is quite the same. Similarly Japanese and American elementary schools last for six years. The difference is the in Japan junior high last for thr ee years, while in America it lasts for two. Another distinction is that students in Japanese high schools go to school for three years, while in American high schools students go to school for four years. Japanese and Americans typically do the same thing the same things for fun sports, shopping, hanging out with friends, and using electronics. Meals consumed by the Japanese are mainly homemade meals which may consist of a bowl of rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, fish, and (or) meat. Religion is a thing that sets Japan apart from most countries. Religions in Japan are Shinto, Taoist, Confucian, Buddhism, and surprisingly Christianity. As far back as historians can date, Shinto was the most popular religion and oldest among the Japanese and even today it is. Buddhism was brought by monks in the 6th century. Both religions have been coexisting with each other in harmony for quite a long time, and most classify themselves as either Shinto or Buddhist, but in some instance both. Christianity on the other hand was introduced to Japan ( 1506- 1552) by a man named Francis Xavier. Although its not the most popular religion in Japan it still is practiced by some individuals. Surprisingly religion doesnt play a major role in the everyday lives of ordinary Japanese citizens. People may visit shrine or temples on New Year and participate in local festivals, all in which hav religious (historical) background. As an island nation, Japan has flourished and bloomed into a well known nation full of old traditional and modern ways of life. One may find that the nation is some like any other nation; a rich and old history, recreation, and important holidays/traditions. The fact that Japan is no bigger than the state of California may surprise foreigners at best and that although its a nation with the tenth highest population, its population is slowly decline every year. Such rural and old historical seem to be present in Japan to this day, hopefully this countrys unique history shall never fade.

The Problems of American Youth Essay -- Youth Young Adolescent Essays

The Problems of American Youth 1. Introduction This report briefly presents the problems of American youth. It consists of six parts. The first one deals with the general understanding of the teenagers in general. The second part conveys some facts about historic events and socio – historical context. The third one describes youths and their families and briefly shows the problems. The fourth part describes students and their schools. It conveys some details of educational system. The fifth part shows in what kind of activities can youths participate. The sixth part explain what problems do the youths face at. Finally the conclusions sum up all the parts and tries to show some looks to the future. 2. The Teenagers At 18 years of age, young people in the United States of America can take on most of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. However, before that the young man is understood as a teenager. A young person between the ages of 13 and 19 has to deal with the problems of adolescence. Most people experience conflict during this period of their lives. At this time the young people are changing rapidly, both physically and emotionally. Moreover, they are searching for self-identity, which cause some difficulties. As the young people are growing, they are developing their own values of life that often differ from the ones of their parents. It must be said that teenagers are influenced by the values expressed by their friends, newspapers, television, magazines and teachers. It is good if these expreesed values are suitable for young people and affect them in the right way. During this period of life, young people begin to participate in social activities. They begin to do more things in the company of members of the opposite sex and fewer things in the company of their families. All youths face a certain problems. Some young people have difficulties in their relationship with their parents. Some of them have problems at school, which may lead to use of alcohol or drugs or even grow to refusal to go school or running away from home. Some teenagers even can turn to crime. However, some teenagers, who face such problems, are making positive and important contributions to their communities, schools and society. Many teenagers are studying for college entrance exams or working at part-time jobs after school. Others are volunteering a... ...ancies. Some programs rely on strong counseling against premarital sex and others provide contraceptive counseling. About one million young people run away from home each year. Most return after a few weeks, but others turn to crime. New programs are created to help troubled youths. Young people can go after school and talk with counselors, receive academic tutoring or take part in social activities. 8. Conclusions Most American youths look forward to their future with hope and optimism. American youth now focus on their education and career. They admit that hard work lies ahead and claim they are willing to make the sacrifices needed to reach their goals. Many young people are headed toward four – year colleges and universities. Many other look forward to getting job after high school. Others plan on getting married. Other young people intend to join the armed forces or volunteer organizations. American youth are concerned about problems confronting both their own communities and the world around them. They faced such important issues as drug abuse, AIDS and environment problems. The youth are concerned with global issues such as nuclear war and world hunger.

Anti-Consumerism in the Works of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Roth Essay

Anti-Consumerism in the Works of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Roth    After World War II, Americans became very concerned with "keeping up with the Joneses." Everyday people were not only interested in fulfilling the American Dream because of the optimistic post-war environment, but also because of the economic emphasis on advertising that found a new outlet daily in highway billboards, radio programs, and that popular new device, the television. With television advertising becoming the new way to show Americans what they did not (and should) have came a wide-eyed and fascinated interest in owning all kinds of things, products, and devices suddenly necessary in every home. One could not only hear about new necessary items, but see them as well. Meanwhile, marketplaces and small shops were being dismantled to create the supermarket, a temple of consumerism where any passerby may walk in and purchase almost anything he or she desires without a thought of their neighbor, who runs the suffering little fruit stand around the corner. The literary rebellion o f the 1960's was concerned, in part, with the desire to break down this growing consumer culture. Not everyone was so easily lulled by the singsong mottoes and jingles of television advertising and the call of the national supermarket. Poets like Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Jack Kerouac began struggling, in writing, against the oppression of having. As Buddhists, these writers saw the growing desire to fill whims and wants with items easily purchased as harmful to the ability to transcend suffering (instead of eliminating it). Combining the strategies of Asian Buddhist monks with American transcendentalist theory provided by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emer... ...e when the rest of the nation was blindly enjoying their television programs and the convenience of the supermarket, these writers made strong statements warning against the love of things. During the 50's and 60's, many middle- and upper-class Americans had worked hard to afford conveniences, but Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Roth would say that it is not enough to "deserve" your participation in the consumerist culture. Rather, they would say the consumerist culture, by nature, is mentally and culturally enslaving and to be avoided when possible for the sake of the integrity of the individual spirit. Works Cited: Allen, Donald (ed.). The New American Poetry 1945-1960. Berkeley, CA: U. of California P. 1960. Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York: Penguin Books. 1958. Roth, Philip. Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories. New York: Modern Library. 1959.

Kansas City Board of Trade :: essays papers

Kansas City Board of Trade The Kansas City Board of Trade is where buyers and sellers have the opportunity to trade commodities, this is commonly known as a Commodity Exchange. The Kansas City Board of Trade deals primarily with wheat but also deals with such commodities as natural gas. Many traders participate in what is known as hedging. Hedging is a process where traders can lock in a purchase or a sell price for the commodities in advance. The process is helps reduce the risks resulting from volatile pricing, The prices of the contracts are determined by supply and demand. The exchange provides a place where sellers try to optimize profits and buyers try to optimize utility(which will probably be profits for a finished good instead of the raw material). As a result of this the exchange does not set prices but instead gives a place for price negotiations. As a result of supply and demand; if there is more buyers than sellers the price of a commodity goes up. The opposite is also true if there are more sellers than buyers the price of the commodity goes down. The Kansas City Board of Trade affects everybody in an economic part of their life. Wheat, as the primary commodity, is used on almost every dinner table for almost every night, If the price of wheat goes up then the price to purchase the finished product also goes up. This will affect the purchasers' ability to rationalize and choose substitutes and replacements for the products. If the price of the commodity goes down, the result is the finished good is also cheaper to purchase. Families will then attempt to incorporate more bread and such into their diets possibly affecting demand for other products. The Kansas City Board of Trade is beneficial to the economy because it gives a starting point for price in the economy, My visit to the Kansas City Board of Trade proved very interesting. Although I personally saw no order of any kind to the chaos below, people ensured me there was a code.

David Beckham

Comm 423 The Value of David Beckham Dik Yi Tse (230052113) Ryan Darmasubrata (230055322) The purpose of this paper is to evaluate one of the most phenomenal transfers in the football world. The transferred of David Beckham from Manchester United to Real Madrid has becoming the talk of not just football fans but the financial expert for the last 2 years. Unlike most transfers, the David Beckham transfer has revolutionized player transfer in the football world. It became the standing point on how football player is not valued according to their skills on the field but rather on their skills outside the field. The paper will evaluate the cause, the reasons and the effect of the transfer based on both technical and financial aspects. In order to evaluate the transfer based on its financial aspect, we will use analytical theory of production and competition between firms. [pic] [pic] Variable cost satisfies the following formula: [pic] [pic] Return function: [pic] C: variable cost S: unit price of the product K: fixed cost ?: rate of diffusion r: discount rate T: duration of the facility With the formulas above, we try to justify the returns of the football clubs under different environment. From the calculations, we can see the change of revenue for the football clubs between fixed costs at different levels of market size. David Beckham David Beckham is an English footballer, widely regarded as the biggest icon in the sport. He currently plays for Real Madrid and he is the captain of England national team. David Beckham is especially noted for the quality of his crossing and the ability to hit free-kicks particularly from long-range and swinging corners. He is also famed for his celebrity lifestyle trappings, media attention and marketing potential. Early on in his career Beckham secured a number of lucrative sponsorship deals including Brylcreem, Adidas, Vodafone (which ended in July 2005) and Diesel. Despite the USA's uneven acceptance of soccer, Beckham's recognition in the USA is strong enough to enable him to appear in print and television advertising for various sponsors, including Gillette razors. He has become more well known in North America since the success of the British film Bend It Like Beckham, about a British Sikh girl who idolizes David Beckham and harbours ambitions of being a football player. David was born on May 2, 1975 in Leytonstone, London to Ted and Sandra Beckham. David's parents were Manchester United supporters and he accompanied then to many of the games. He signed for Manchester United as a trainee in July 1991 and he was instrumental in helping the club win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, scoring in the second leg of the final against Crystal Palace. His Premier League debut eventually came at home to Leeds United on April 2, 1995. Partially as a result of injuries to key starters, David established himself in the first team during the 1995/96 season. David's match-winning performances during 1996/97 helped United to win another Premiership title and reach the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. On a personal level, he was voted Young Player of the Year and second in the overall Player of the Year poll. Manchester United's 1997/98 season was one to forget as they finished second to Arsenal in the League, lost to Barnsley in the FA Cup and were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Monaco. David enjoyed a memorable moment, when he was selected for England's World Cup Finals squad. He’s been a team member ever since. Beckham captained England for the first ime in a friendly match in Italy and retained the armband for the friendly with Spain and the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Finland, against whom he scored an important goal at Anfield. Beckham made his 85th appearance for England in 2005 and is expected to captain the team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. If so, he would become only the six th England player to represent his country at three World Cup competitions (although Sol Campbell and Michael Owen are expected to achieve this feat at the same time), and the fourth (after Billy Wright, Bobby Moore and Bryan Robson) to captain the team at more than one World Cup. Beckham is also a reasonable candidate to record 100 appearances for his country. He captained his country for a landmark 50th time in the friendly international against Argentina in November 2005. Beckham is one of only four players to have appeared 100 times in the Champions League. The reasons for transfer Manchester United First reason: David Beckham only had 2 more years contract with Manchester United and under the Bosman rule, every player can sign another contract with another team in the term of 6 months before his contract expired. Because of the clause of the Bosman transfer rule, any club can get David Beckham signature without paying any fee to Manchester United, if David Beckham decide not to sign any new contract within the next one and a half years, Manchester United would lose their biggest asset without getting any returns. Second reason: David Beckham relationship with his manager was in the midst of trouble. David Beckham popularity has divided his concentration between his job on the field and on the runaway. With having conservative method of running a football club, Sir Alex Ferguson, Manager of Manchester United had concern that David Beckham was not performing as best as he should. Hence arguments had arisen in numbers of occasion. Third reason: Pepsi and Adidas played a big role in forcing David Beckham to move to Real Madrid. For Pepsi, it would be more profitable for them to have David Beckham to play in Real Madrid because Real Madrid has three other players that have sponsorship deals with Pepsi. But the biggest influence came from Adidas, which is the main sponsor to David Beckham. Manchester Untied is sponsored by Nike, Adidas biggest competition in the industry and Real Madrid is sponsored by Adidas, so it would be so much better for Adidas to have David Beckham to play in Real Madrid instead of Manchester United. Fourth reason: Manchester United needs more young players in their squad, while the average age of their rosters has reach 30 years old, Manchester United needs to find another potential young player to maintain their reputation, the sale of David Beckham would bring the necessary capital for the investment. Real Madrid Real Madrid is a very successful club with champion’s reputation at their back, their starting lineup is filled with star players, hence their advantage was also their biggest weakness. With many star players in their team, Real Madrid has a high fixed cost in their operation, but most of their star players are not very commercial. Majority of the players are just big names within the industry or in the European market. Real didn’t have any network in the Asian and North American market at the time. With football to be the number one sport in Asia, Real Madrid was missing majority of the action. As a result in 2002/03 season, Real Madrid only spotted themselves the 8th on the list of the richest club in the world. Real Madrid needed to find a player who would pioneer their marketing strategy to the whole world. They are not only looking for someone who can bring sponsors to their stadium, and not just a poster boy for the campaign, but also has the skills to show in the field. This is the ultimate reason why Real Madrid was very determined to get Beckham. The effects of David Beckham to Real Madrid Real Madrid's revenue from club merchandise, such as shirts, jumped 67 per cent in Beckham's first season alone, and climbed another 6. 5 per cent in the year to June. Overall commercial income, which includes money from deals with the likes of Siemens, Adidas and Pepsi, which have all grown in value with the â€Å"Beckham effect†, now stands at around ? 80m a year. Real Madrid also earned ? 48m (26 per cent of turnover) from match-day income (primarily ticket sales), ? 44m (24 per cent) from television, and ? 6m (8 per cent) from promotional activities such as lucrative overseas tours and friendliness, which have also become better earners because of David Beckham. And whereas Real Madrid's annual wage bill (? 98m) now equates to 52 per cent of turnover, and is falling towards an expected ratio of 47 per cent next year. With the financial improvement, Real Madrid is now the richest club in the world, beating Manchester United who wo n the title 8th consecutive years. 2005 Football clubs revenue ranks[1]: 1 Real Madrid (Spain) $330 million Manchester United was No. 1 when it had David Beckham. Now Real Madrid has him and became No. 1. 2 Manchester United (England) $295 million Slips out of the top spot for the first time in the nine-year history of the rankings. 3 AC Milan (Italy) $280 million Nearly 60 percent, or $165 million, of its revenue is from broadcasting – more than anyone else. 4 Juventus (Italy) $274 million Averages only 26,600 fans but moves up from No. 5 last year thanks to a lucrative TV contract. 5 Chelsea (England) $264 million Its otherworldly payroll makes it No. in annual net losses, which reportedly were $244 million. Evaluating the transfer [pic] In determining the justification for the transfer, we use the analytical theory to prove that even though Real Madrid paid a large sum of transfer fee and obligated to pay a high salary to David Beckham, the acquisition would profit Real Madrid more because the larger market size that David Beckham can open for Real Madrid. To make the calculation to be accurate as possible, we had made some assumptions for the numbers used in the calculation. Reader should keep in mind that because Real Madrid is a private organization, it is very hard to find the actual data about their current and past financial statements. Nevertheless, we did our best to present the numbers as it would present the actual case scenario. Fixed cost (K), because we do not have the actual numbers for the fixed operation cost from Real Madrid, we use the assumption that fixed cost would be equal to the salary of the players. We know that there are other things that contribute to the clubs fixed cost but for the sake of the formulation we are ignoring that. The fixed cost increased from $98 million to approximately $117 million because of David Beckham. Discount rate (R), according to our research, the closest number that we found for the discount rate during that time in Spain, was the checking account interest rate, provided by the banks in Spain. Hence we use this number as our discount rate. Term of project (T), David Beckham was 28 years old when Real Madrid bought him from Manchester United, using the assumptions that most football players can play until the age of 34 years old, we use the length of project to be 6 years. Uncertainty rate (sigma), if Real Madrid did not buy David Beckham, they would have an uncertainty rate of 50%, that is they either succeed or not. With David Beckham on their squad, they have bigger uncertainty because they have to add the possibility that will David Beckham can work together with his teammates and produce something positive for the team or will he have some problems in adjusting to the new Spanish strategy. From the marketing strategy, they would also be concern that if David Beckham’s fans would still like him in Real Madrid jersey. The value of product (S), we used the assumption that major football clubs would want to have a success in both the domestic and international competition but as an organization major football clubs also want to bring profit for their business. Because of these factors we concluded that the value of S should be 2 instead of 1. Market size, we use the assumption that Real Madrid previous market size which is the European market to be 100 and the new potential market involving the Asian and North American market would be 145. The 45% increase due to that in North America, football is not that popular, North American people would prefer to watch and buy basketball, American football, baseball or hockey. For the Asian market, the increase of market size would come from people that buy the merchandise, there is a little chance that they would come to the actual game. Analysis & Conclusion From the calculation, it proved that bringing David Beckham to Real Madrid squad was a positive move. The transfer has solved Real Madrid’s problem of having high fixed cost and low returns. David Beckham has managed to open the Asian and North American market for Real Madrid to expand, hence now Real Madrid with high fixed cost on their organization can work and do business more efficiently in larger market size environment. With the emerging of internet and globalization, major sports clubs have tried to improve their business strategy by purchasing international players that can open more potentials market for their business. Another example besides David Beckham is the Chinese International Basketball Player, Yao Ming. Yao Ming was purchased by the Houston Rockets Basketball Club in US. With the help of Yao Ming, NBA (National Basketball Association of America) and Houston Rockets have managed to gain substantial market in the Asia. NBA opened merchandise stores all over Asia and has extradition match between American Basketball Club and the Chinese Basketball Clubs. Their website subscriber, www. NBA. com, has increase significantly during the past 2 years. With major website subscriber coming from the Asian market, it is only for certain that the expansion program will continue with other Asian basketball players coming to the NBA. In baseball, The Seattle Mariners imitated the strategy by purchasing a Japanese National Baseball player, Ichiro. Ichiro is now a market symbol for the major league of baseball, tourist flow from Japan has increased significantly to Seattle. American baseball has gain more popularity because of Ichiro. Ichiro merchandise is one of the top selling merchandise in the league. The main reason for this trend among major sport clubs is the revenue coming from the selling of merchandise and television broadcast license. With the improve technology and internet, fans in other parts of the world can watch their favorite player and club match through website and live television broadcast. The distance and time factors have been eliminated by the technology, hence potential customer is closer in today time. Another factor for the trend is the sponsorship revenue coming from companies that want to put their brand on the team’s jersey. With sponsoring a sport club, major companies can make brand recognition by associating their brand to a specific sport clubs or players. The better the clubs perform, the better publication that the sponsor company will achieve. The last reason is the revenue coming from exhibition games. An exhibition game is when a sport clubs have a friendly match with other sport club from different country. Higher fee has to be paid to attract famous clubs to come to do exhibition match. Today sport industry is not just about winning a game but also about how much money the games will generate for the clubs, the revenue and reputation are the two main factors that influence the livelihood of a sport club. The higher the fixed cost, the more necessary for club to find a player that can open bigger potential market. REFERENCES Chen, J. 2005. The Physical Foundation of Economics: An Analytical Thermodynamic Theory. World Scientific, Singapore. http://www. manutd. com/splashPages/red. sps? itype=5787=17492=1 http://www. realmadrid. com/articulo/rma25156. htm http://news. bbc. co. uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2965336. stm http://news. bbc. co. uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2980958. stm http://www. timesonline. co. k/article/0,,2093-1268730_1,00. html http://www. beckhamwatch. com/beckham. html http://www. theage. com. au/articles/2004/10/05/1096941603889. html? from=storylhs http://www. smh. com. au/articles/2004/10/05/1096871855592. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/David_Beckham http://knowledge. wharton. upenn. edu/index. cfm? fa=viewfeature=829 http://soccernet. espn. go. com/news/story? id=335692=4716 http://www. davidbeckham. ws/bio. php http://www. int. iol. co. z a/index. php? click_id=4=qw1054905484476S163=6 http://breakingnews. iol. e/sport/iestory. asp? j=534839791980=53483979z57x=534839792669t=soccer http://www. int. iol. co. za/? click_id=4=qw1056027062207B216=6 http://www. hindustantimes. com/news/7242_1246466,00180009. htm http://www. manutd. com/newquadrant/home. sps? itype=9189=1257 http://www. rediff. com/sports/2006/feb/16real. htm ———————– [1] Source: http://www. deloitte. com/dtt/section_node/0%2C1042%2Csid%25253D70402%2C00. html, ? Z ? ? ‘ ’ oeo? O? EAEA â€Å"? †¹? †¡ †¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¡{†¡? †¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¡? †¡? †¡Ã¢â‚¬ ¹wo†¹g? jDeloitte Football Money League 2006.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Official Statistics In Sociological Research Essay

Official statistics are quantitative data produced by local and national government bodies, and can cover a wide range of behaviour including births, deaths, marriages and divorce, income, crime, and work and leisure. Official statistics can be produced as a by-product of the normal workings of a government department, but they can also result from research designed specifically to produce them. Two main sources of official statistics are the government and its departments, and surveys. For example, government departments such as the Home Office and Education and Skills request; process and then publish information from organisations such as local tax offices, social services and hospitals. An example of a source of surveys that produce official statistics is The Office for National Statistics, which is a government agency and is responsible for compiling and analysing statistics. Every ten years this agency carries out the Census of the Population, which covers every household in the UK. By law each head of household must complete a questionnaire that includes family composition, housing occupation, transport and leisure. Official statistics are used by sociologists because of their many advantages. A main plus is that official statistics are often compiled from data which has been gathered from a large sample size. The majority of sociologists could probably not afford to carry out such vast research. The size of the sample also tends to increase the representivity of the statistics. They also tend to be well organised and planned when researched, so the standards of sociological research can be met. Official statistics are usually readily available and relatively inexpensive, so sociologists can spend more time and money analysing data than collecting it. Statistics can also sometimes be the only source available for a specific topic, such as unemployment figures. Another advantage is that statistics allow sociologists to make comparisons over time, as they are usually produced regularly, for example the Population Census, which is carried out every ten years. This is similar to longitudinal studies, however the sample size of official statistical data is usually much larger. Looking at the above advantages, it would be easy to draw a conclusion that official statistics are in fact very useful as a source of data, however there are also important disadvantages to official statistics. Official statistics are not always produced in a useful form, making them harder for a sociologist to analyse and draw any trends and patterns from. Another disadvantage is that statistics do not always measure what they intend to measure. For example the Home Office Crime Rates Statistics do not take into account the fact that not all crime is reported. This can decrease the representivity of the data. Another factor which must be considered when interpreting official statistics is that because official statistics are usually produced by the government, they may be politically biased, for example to show that their policies are having the predicted effect. A well-known example of this is that the method of collecting unemployment statistics has changed many times, which gives the appearance that the unemployment rate it falling. From these disadvantages it would appear that although statistics can be very enlightening and useful, there are several pitfalls, which cannot always be avoided. Positivists view official statistics as a potentially valuable source of quantitative data; however they do recognise that statistics have several faults. They generally agree that statistics can provide measures of behaviour that can be used to investigate possible ’cause and effect’ relationships. However Interpretivists, in particular ethnomethodologists and phenomethodologists, reject the use of official statistics for measuring or determining certain behaviour of which they refer to. Cicourel and Atkinson believe that statistics are the products of meanings, which are assumptions of those who construct them. However, although they think that official statistics are not social facts, but social constructs, this does not mean they are not of sociological interest. Phenomenologists believe that they can be studied in order to discover how they are produced. Cicourel said that this is the only use of official statistics, partly because all statistics involve classifyin g things, when such decisions are really subjective. When assessing this view, it seems it cannot be applied to all types of official statistics, especially those concerning data on age and gender. Although there may well be considerable room for interpretation when considering whether, for example, a sudden death is suicide, there is less room for interpretation when deciding whether someone is male or female. Conflict theories such as marxist and feminist theory, argue that official statistics are neither hard facts or subjective meanings. Instead they believe they consist of information which is systematically distorted by the powerful institutions in society. Although the statistics are not complete distortions, they are manipulated through the definitions and procedures used to collect the data, so that they tend to favour the interests of the rich and powerful. One example of this is the claim by Anne and Robin Oakley that official statistics are sexist. They have pointed out that in eighty-percent of cases a man is defined as the head of the household, and that women engaged in housework or unpaid domestic labour are defined as economically inactive, despite the contribution which housework makes to the economy. These theories suggest that official statistics aren’t particularly useful in presenting a valid picture of an area of society. Compared to other methods of collecting data, official statistics can seem both superior and inferior. As a secondary source of data official statistics come ready coded and presented, which can be hard to do with some data, particularly qualitative. However this categorised data may not be categorised in the exact way a sociologist might prefer it, so this is a definite disadvantage. Like questionnaires and social surveys, official statistics produce quantitative data, can generally cover a fairly large sample size, and are pre-coded. Again, like questionnaires and social surveys, the data can be manipulated to support or reject a hypothesis; for example by the way the data is collected and categorised. Official statistics are generally not an in-depth profile of the sample being researched, unlike methods such as participant observation and longitudinal studies. However because these studies are more in-depth, they also tend to have a smaller sample size than statistical data. To conclude, it seems that although there are many benefits to using official statistics as a source of data, they must be treated with caution, bearing in mind the social processes involved in their collection. Although some see statistics as social constructions rather than social facts, official statistics do often provide a unique opportunity for sociologists to obtain data the whole population. This would otherwise be far too expensive and time-consuming for a sociologist to collect themselves.