Nba During the 70s

The NAB of the ass greatly differs from what our expectations of today's league, especially when evaluating the background In which the players came from. Recent statistics show that more than 90% of ass's NAB players came from urban areas, but when compared to today's league only about 34% of black players come from families in financial situations (Keating). The question that needs to be asked when observing these statistics is what happened to the league or basketball In general that subsequently pushed poorer players out of the league?When analyzing what has could have caused such a shift in the makeup of the NAB we have to observe the rise in popularity of basketball as the years have gone by. Since the offs, the NAB has grown exponentially into a 43 billion dollar industry with international reach (Plunked Research) Much of this growth can be accredited to the creation of superstars during the late ass's and ass's. Along with this expansion and increase in basketball's populari ty, we find that more and more money began to be put Into basketball programs (Keating).Schools that have more access to exposable income, such as those in the suburbs, suddenly can produce better equipment, coaches and basketball programs than those in the city. Basketball camps suddenly spring up more and more with high quality ones having a larger price tag (Five Star). Today's NAB has even gone International with more and more players coming from places such as Europe. So both the expansion of the NAB and the quality of urban area schools become broader topics that should be discussed when looking at the change in the quality of NAB players backgrounds. What possibly answer could there be to why today's NAB Is made up of more well off' basketball players than it was in the ASS? Simple, It cost more money to create an NAB caliber athlete today than it did in the ass's due the increase in the Nab's popularity. To help support this stance I'd have to look at specific aspects of the NAB that have greatly affected who can become an NAB athlete. After analyzing these aspects, they will be connected to how money Is used to adjust to the changing times.Answering the question will require a great amount of research in relatively tiny aspects that have great importance in an NAB players career. For example, looking at the quality of high schools that many great NAB players graduated from and how much money the schools focused into their basketball program. Researching the surge in athletes coming from abroad should also prove as a great factor when discussing the backgrounds of NAB players both because of the difference of life outside of America and the fact that American colligate basketball player now compete with them for a spot in the draft.The Importance of basketball clinics and amps have also become more prevalent in today's world with many of those considered to be â€Å"High quality' to have tuition that is hundreds of dollars. The great Increase In salar ies of NAB players also provide a great looking glass Into why a spot on a team in the NAB would be so sought after and should be heavily researched; especially when considering that the average salary of a NAB player in the ass's was about 35,000 (20 second). Tofu Few counter arguments can be made about the idea that money NAS become a large aspect in determining who can be an NAB athlete in today's world.However, examples like Lebanon James and Derrick Rose could easily be brought up and said that since their families came from relatively less fortunate families. But players like these have to be considered outliers when considering the background of the average NAB player. Annotated Bibliography

Conventional Accounting Systems Essay

Advantages of a Computerized Accounting System The Difference Between Net Income & Pretax Accounting Income The Difference Between Strategic & Traditional HR Before the advent of fast and cheap computers, accounting traditionally was processed manually with all transactions recorded in columnar papers and kept in voluminous binders. Once computers became popular and software affordable, accounting tasks moved into this medium, where concepts stayed the same but mechanics changed from papers to programs. Sponsored Link Diesel Exhaust Brakes Exhaust Brakes On & Off-Highway Euro 6 & Tier 4 Compliant www.GTPP.co.uk Speed The most glaring difference between traditional and computerized accounting is the speed of operations. With an accounting program, data is entered once and it is saved. The program provides management with reports in a speed never dreamed possible in the traditional days. No more waiting days or weeks to know whether your business is making a profit. Using computerized accounting, information can be accessed in a matter of minutes. Once data is available in the system, it can be used in reports, queries and analysis. Accuracy Computerized systems have drastically increased accuracy of calculations when compared to the traditional, manual system, in which columns had to be added up, numbers moved from one page to the next, and trial balance and financial statements manually compiled. If errors occurred, many hours had to be spent trying to find and correct them. With accounting software, this problem is eliminated. In the case of accounting spreadsheets, adding simple formulas still may be needed, but it is an easier and more accurate process. Efficiency goes through the roof when a computerized system is used. Costs The traditional manual accounting system with paper and pencil is cheaper than the computerized version, in which a firm needs a computer, software, printer and other expenses associated with a system. The manual system may work for small businesses up to a certain point, but with the affordable costs of computers and software, many firms are opting for the computerized system. They are easy to use, and finding experienced employees to run the system is not a hurdle. Backups When using a manual system, the risk of losing data is real. If important papers are damaged or destroyed, that work may have to be re-created. Copies of the original work can be made, but that could be expensive and time-consuming. Accounting on a computerized system offers the choice of saving work on a CD, portable or external hard drive, flash drive, or even online. Many firms back up data every night as a precaution. If something happens the next day, the data can be restored from the backup. Considerations Using a computerized accounting system keeps all of the information organized and in one place—the computer hard drive. Finding and accessing information on an accounting software program is much easier than the traditional method. Specific data can be found using system functions, which usually include a "find" or “search” key. For example, finding information about a vendor on a manual system could take many steps and significant time. The same process in a computerized system most likely would yield the information in a snap, with less confusion and aggravation

How Technology Changed Society

Through the years, we've watched technology grow like a child budding into adulthood: It starts out mostly crying and pooping, then crawling, gradually learning to walk, and finally able to run at a speed we all wish we could keep up with. We've seen technology fail, and we've seen it succeed. We've poked fun at it when it doesn't make sense, and we've praised it when it's absolutely brilliant. We've yelled at it when it runs out of power, and we've fixed or replaced it when it gets run down.We treat technology as a family member—even if that is a little co-dependent. You can't blame us, though; it's certainly made aspects of our lives easier: We're no longer forced to send letters through the postal service, book vacations through travel agents, shop in stores, visit the library for research material, or wait for our photos to be developed. Thanks to technology, all of these activities can be performed either digitally or online.At the same time, though, technology can make l ife more convoluted—especially when something doesn't work right or doesn't do what it's supposed to: Say, for instance, a GPS device tells you to turn the wrong way on a one-way street (yikes! ), or a computer erases all of your important data (ouch! ). Unfortunately, it's not always easy to understand how a product or service works, not to mention whether or not to hold off on adopting it until a better, shinier thing comes along. A perfect example is the ever-evolving video format.We've gone from Betamax to VHS to DVD to HD DVD/Blu-ray to just Blu-ray (and everything in-between, of course). It can take years before a technology catches on, and even more time before we see a significant price drop. For the most part, however, technology does us more good than harm: It's reconnected us with old college roommates, helped us learn a foreign language, and encouraged us to exercise. Follow us as we look back at how technology has changed our lives—for the better and for t he worse—in terms of communication, computing, dining, entertainment, and travel.

Criminal Justce Tools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Criminal Justce Tools - Assignment Example rst pioneered through the use and acceptance of the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) by both federal police agencies (such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation) and by local and state police organizations of the United States of America which enabled law enforcement organizations to enhance their crime fighting strategies based on effective criminal information gathering methods and effective analyst of data. As technology continues to evolve, the advent of the computer and consequently, the creation and use of advance analytical software or programs have greatly influenced the further effectiveness of police information management systems. Police intelligence or Law Enforcement Intelligence is a relatively new concept of policing since by tradition, most police agencies do not maintain a dedicated unit with full time intelligence officers and analysts, nor does most police agencies involved in the collection, collation, management or even share criminal information with appropriate members of the intelligence community. The need however for a police agency to have a dedicated intelligence capability have become more relevant with the advent of transnational crime and terrorism in the global scene, with law enforcement becoming more integral and dynamic with the continuing refinement of police methodologies and access to resources that better allows the police to more effectively serve the community. One of the most significant strides in technology which contributed to relevance of law enforcement intelligence is the existing and emerging technologies brought about by custom made software dedicated for law enforcement analytical functions, data management, intelligence production and dissemination. The dissemination of much needed intelligence by means of the internet makes its easier for large, medium and small police agencies to share intelligence and disseminate the same to other police agencies or jurisdiction, therefore directly contributing not only in

Prints Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prints - Essay Example The lines of the frames of the structure in the portraits can be used to illustrate just how irregular lines on artworks resulting from etching can be. Despite the fact that the structure is supposed to have some uniformity in terms of thickness of lines, this is not the case for this portrait. Portraits made from etching also make sure that there are some parts of the art materials that are not reached by the ink. This is because of the ground,which is acid resistant. The surfaces of the metal that are covered by ground are not eroded. In the portrait it can be seen that there is a significant portion of the portrait that are unaffected by the ink. This implies that they are the areas that came into contact with the parts of the metal that were covered by the ground, thus unaffected when the whole metal was dipped into acid. The color of texture and color of these areas are exactly the same as the texture and color on the paper on which the art was

The internationalizing staffing strategies of the BMW group Essay

The internationalizing staffing strategies of the BMW group - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that organizations adapt their human resource management practices for successful strategies execution to survive and grow in the international markets. International human resource field has been a focus of all business organizations, and its significance will grow in the subsequent years. International organizations use three strategies types for transfer of practices of human resource across different countries. The first strategy is the ethnocentric strategy, which uses similar practices of human resources of the parent company in its host nations. Secondly, they use a polycentric strategy that employs local people as labor force and adapts the human resource practices of the host nation. The third one is a geocentric strategy, which only focuses on talents of the employee and adopts human resource practices, which are operational and resourceful irrespective of the nationality. All strategies have their weaknesses and strengths that ar e applied as per the business type, the strategy of the organization, the leadership, and the experiences of the organization regarding diverse strategies. The international groups can use traditionally sensitive and adaptive practices of human resource management for generating a modest advantage in foreign tasks. In an effort to discover novel markets and prospects, international corporations are adapting to practices of human resource management across diverse borders.

Trends in Health Information Systems and Applications (slp4) Essay

Trends in Health Information Systems and Applications (slp4) - Essay Example The military’s electronic health record is the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), which provides secure online access to MHS beneficiaries records (Defense Health Information Management System [DHIMS], n.d.). This is an effective system that allows convenient global access to needed records without requiring too much time. With AHLTA, there is an assurance of continued care and enjoyment of benefits. The online enrollment easily allows beneficiaries to update personal information. This technology is efficient especially in cases new addresses or change of numbers. When the beneficiary logs on the website to update information or enroll in a certain health program, the rest of his or her records are also immediately updated. Online drug comparison permits TRICARE beneficiaries to â€Å"check for availability, costs, alternatives and details about the prescription medication all in one place,† (TRICARE, n.d.) thus they are given options on ho w health care would be provided according to their preferences and needs. Automated patient safety technology is an important innovation that looks into past and present records and treatment of the beneficiary in order to provide the optimum care and preventing complications at the same time.

Child Abuse and Steps for Its Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Child Abuse and Steps for Its Prevention - Essay Example Baby P was admitted in hospital several times before his death in which instances the healthcare providers, who offered complete and conclusive reports on their physical examinations, noted his battered body and the bruises on his skin (Marinetto, 2011). Over the course of 8 months while his mother was living with her boyfriend (not Peter’s biological father), the child experienced physical trauma resulting in over 50 injuries. This was indicative of a trend of physical abuse from the live-in boyfriend and should have been spotted and stopped before it got to such extents.While the physical abuse was being carried out, the family interacted with agencies that could have noticed the problem over 60 times, with none of these encounters being effective in stopping the abuse. Doctors’ reports analyzed during the inquiry over his death indicated that Baby P had swallowed a tooth broken during a beating, had a broken spine and several fractured ribs. The last of these reports was dated a day before his death and according to pathological reports, should have acted as the much needed wake-up call that could have saved his life. About 9 months and then again 2 months before his death, the child was placed under the protective care of a friend of the family to ensure his well-being. The second homecoming resulted in his death and from the wealth of evidence of abuse that had been accumulated, could have been prevented by the provision of better and more adept child welfare practices by all the professionals involved. Professionals in the social fields have a very important job of putting together the pieces that indicate that an individual needs more help from them than their position affords. As a result, agencies involved in such industries operate under a model of interdependency, with practitioners forwarding the cases that another agency will pick up on. This model allows for the sharing of information and the assessment of cases that social workers would, under normal circumstances, not review. This system depends on the communication between professionals and if this is not established, a lot of cases could go under the radar, as was the case with Baby Peter. This case was repeatedly analyzed by practitioners from several departments who ended up with the conclusion that he was safe in the environment that he was in, which is clearly a fallacy. It is therefore imperative that we understand the shortcomings of the agencies and agents that handled the case to negate the possibility of such c alamities in the future. The physical aspect of child abuse manifests itself in a condition that normally requires the attention of medical practitioners. This is the first line of defense and can create awareness if the neighbors and other individuals in the child’s environment are not aware or do not respond to the child’

The Similarities Between Marx and Aurelius Essay

The Similarities Between Marx and Aurelius - Essay Example It will be shown how they agreed and the differences they shared. Karl Marx's Estranged Labour confirms that man is defined by the work he produces. His whole identity is intertwined with the right to work. Man is a product of his environment. He identifies himself with the "fruit of the efforts". Aurelius's environment is the Universe, Nature and Divine Providence. He considers it more important the work one does upon his intelligence and his existence in the present. To explain Marx's economic principle, if the man is a product of his material wealth in which his work is for someone else, the more he works, the poorer he becomes. "The alienation of labor occurs because labor is not essential to his being. He does not affirm himself but denies himself, does not feel content but unhappy, does not develop freely his physical and mental energy but mortifies his body and ruins his mind" (74) If he is poor, he becomes alienated to what he is doing and his self-identity is destroyed. If h e has a low concept of himself. He will become estranged to others and his society. Marx says as we work for others, we become slaves to the material wealth we produce. Material wealth will determine our level of happiness. How can one think highly of himself if he is poor and hates what he is doing? An earlier philosopher, John Locke said that "work was one of the unalienable rights of man". Aurelius said that work should have a purpose. Aurelius defines the man by his introspection and lack of material wealth. Aurelius shows man what needs to be done in order to be happy. Marx's implicitly says that our happiness is defined by the projection of our self-identity. Aurelius says we only can find freedom when we no longer depend on material wealth. Karl Marx "work is essential so that an individual does not become estranged or alienated from himself and other workers." Self-conception is defined by the fruits of one's efforts. Work or labor on physical matter enables an individual to meet his basic needs and see himself in terms of society. If we agree that self-conception is defined by the effort one puts into the work, both Marx and Aurelius agree to the meaning of happiness. Aurelius would say that Necessity is the need to work. The ability to create from the soul forms one's personal identity and thus enables personal survival and the desire to survive. These three concepts are the basis of humanity. Aurelius would agree at his level, as change keeps the universe going. "The transformation of nature into objects is one of the fundamental aspects of human condition. Two different philosophers agree that the universe has to have constant creation and change otherwise there is decay and death. Aurelius used different language to say that we are all from one universe and must work together to find a common ground. It is not natural to stand in each other's way. He would have agreed with Marx that it would not have been natural to have an unhappy worker. Aureliu s didn't want the man to become distracted by the material aspects of life. He did not really explain if the necessities of life were part of the material aspects. One would have to assume that he meant material wealth. The basic daily needs of man were met. Once again Aurelius and Marx mentioned that people should not have to suffer from others, whether they were good or bad if they did not work harmoniously together.

International Trade Simulation Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Trade Simulation Assignment - Essay Example The Island has more immobile resources of natural resources and mobile resources of labor which differs (Fujita, et. al. 140). It trades its resources to gain specialized capital gains from developed country. The specialized capital acquired from developed county help the host country to gain more income and multiply it national revenue employing many people leading to a stable economy. As much as the employment rate increased the inflation curbed making individuals having higher purchasing power thus assisting in the collection of revenue by increasing income tax collection. This effect trickles back to the common person due to return on investment between the trading partners by appropriate governance providing for social amenities achieving social welfare of the host country. The trading partner chosen due to mobility factor of capital that freely invested. Therefore, due to mobility of technology to produce the resources which the host country they had to trade for the capital gain. This is explained by Cobb-Douglas technologies theory that state that the parameters applied to the inputs must vary (Fujita, et. al. 210). Research has found out that capital mobility undermines the free trade. The capital abundant country will gain trade from their capital intensive industries thus import such labor intensive for goods in

Research (continue) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research (continue) - Essay Example The district functions through its department, English Language Learner Programme (ELLP), which offers a range of initiatives for culturally and linguistically students. The department is in charge of English Language Learner (ELL) student placement, student monitoring and access to supplementary materials. ELLP aims at helping the students blend into the system and ensure that their academic progress is at par with other students. It also strives at improving on community, family and school support to enhance their progress. The department trains ELL specialists to use the High Quality Sheltered Instruction (HQSI) model with ELL students. HQSI is a programme, which focuses on building foundation of teaching skills and vocabulary skills. It covers various aspects such as strategies, instruction, lesson delivery, building background, interaction, comprehensible input, application and review. The initiative helps in making language connections between the student and the curriculum. Once the students show an improvement in language, it eventually improves their performance. The district also has Inclusive Schools Practices (ISP), which is designed to bridge the gap between the achievement levels of students by providing access to students with disabilities. This is done by providing a least restricted and a culturally responsive environment to students. It also aims a multicultural form of instruction to create awareness about diverse cultures and make CLD feel at home in classroom. Under this programme, the focus is on instructional strategies, curriculum modification, collaborative practices, cultural diversity and building leadership processes. The district also appoints psychological services assistants, recruited on the basis of a bilingual proficiency test, to help them understand ELL students and assess their requirements. The district also offers special education services for students with disabilities between ages 3 to 21. Working in

Hindustan Unilever Ltd Essay Example for Free

Hindustan Unilever Ltd Essay Hindustan Unilever Limited, a fast moving consumer goods company, manufactures and sells home care, personal care, and food products in India and internationally. The company offers soaps, detergent bars, detergent powders, detergent liquids, scourers, etc.; and personal products, such as oral care, skin care, and hair care products, as well as deodorants, talcum powders, color cosmetic products, and Ayush health care and personal care products and services. It also offers packaged foods, such as atta, salt, bread, etc.; ice creams and frozen desserts; culinary products comprising tomato based products, fruit based products, soups, etc. ; and beverages, including tea and coffee. In addition, the company exports marine and leather products, as well as offers chemicals; Pureit in-home water purifiers; and salon services. It offers food products primarily under the Annapurna, Brooke Bond 3 Roses, Annapurna, Brooke Bond Red Label, Brooke Bond Taaza, Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, Bru, Kissan, Knorr, Kwality Wall’s, Lipton, Magic, Magnum, and Modern brand names; personal care products under the Aviance, Axe, Breeze, Clear, Clinic Plus, Closeup, Dove, ELLE 18, Fair Lovely, Hamam, Lakme, Lifebuoy, Liril 2000, Lux, Pears, Pepsodent, Ponds, Rexona, Sure, Sunsilk, TRESemmà ©, and Vaseline brand names; and home care products under the Active Wheel, Cif, Comfort Fabric Conditioner, Domex, Rin, Sunlight, Surf Excel, and Vim brand names. The company was formerly known as Hindustan Lever Limited and changed its name to Hindustan Unilever Limited in May 2007. Hindustan Unilever Limited was founded in 1931 and is based in Mumbai, India. As of July 4, 2013, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Unilever plc. Many challenges for HULs new boss Cheap Flights from New Delhi to Toronto As low as Fares Have Reduced, Book Your Flight Now! Yatra.com www.Yatra.com Ads by Google Add to My Page Read more on: Hul | Fmcg | Mena | Hindustan Unilever | Sanjiv Mehta Nitin Paranjpe RELATED NEWS Diageo stirs USL in bid to shake Indian market Shreekant Sambrani: Gandhis truth Then and now ITC looks away from fairness for men in personal wash Cabinet to take up ordinance on convicted netas on Oct 2 Rahuls opinion well taken in party, govt: Cong SBI Life Insurance Plans 1 Cr Life Cover @ Rs 543* pm Only Save upto 50%, Get Free Quotes Now!www.policybazaar.com/Tax_Saving IDFC Mutual Fund Invest in a wide range of Funds. Meet an Advisor in Your City Now!www.idfcmf.com Ads by Google Sanjiv Mehta has cut himself an unusual career for a chartered accountant. Rather than move up the echelons of finance management, he was part of crisis management at his first employer, and then the commercial head of home and personal care products and, lately, chairman of MENA (Middle East and North Africa) for Unilever, the second-largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in the world. As he takes over as chief executive at Unilevers India arm, and the countrys largest FMCG company, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), on Tuesday, he will be the first to not have had a stint in Indian business before doing so. The current slowdown has not spared FMCG companies and though fortified on the back of an open offer and a reinforced supply chain, HUL has challenges of its own to battle. If not for these, all Mehta had to do was ensure continuity to ride out the gloom. However, he will now have to iron out creases at one of its bread and butter segments, skincare, at a time when HULs top brass drive on premiumisation is seeing resistance due to sobering consumer sentiment. Comparisons The company is different from the HUL in April 2008, when predecessor Nitin Paranjpe had taken over as CEO. Paranjpe, who joins the Unilever Leadership Executive, took on the role of president, home care, moved up the ranks in  laundry and home care and then personal care, right from being an area sales manager to being the executive director. He took the company out of the woods during the previous slowdown that India had faced. Jyothy Laboratories joint managing director, Ullas Kamath, says: Nitin breathed new life into HUL by doing away with power brands, increasing rural and semi-urban reach and, most important, building a team that worked hard, stayed together in the past five years. I wish Sanjiv all the best; he should strive to not undo what has been done so far. Another industry peer points to the internal changes under Paranjpes watch and what Mehta would do well to preserve: He brought Leena Nair on board and rehauled the human resources at HUL, with a young team which was answerable for bringing about results and members rotated every three years for a rounded experience. Various programmes also led to low-cost production and an extensive distribution in the hinterlands. It is like HUL is now on auto-pilot and process-driven in a way that people are more aware of the company than the man behind it, which is the mark of a leader. Observers are perhaps worried about the new CEO’s rallying skills because Paranjpe did it very well. One of Paranjpe’s peers and batchmates says, â€Å"HUL will have to be mindful of the drain of human capital to other organisations. ITC is also of a similar size but it does not suffer as much. Paranjpe knew the system and got the top people on his side. He was quiet. Rather than be visible outside like Banga (CEO before him), he was visible inside the organisation and, hence, could influence top guys more.† Mehta has not worked with the Indian team so far but taking over without rocking the boat at this time will be crucial. So far, in various interviews, he has spoken about empowering people and developing them. Nirmal Jain, chairman, India Infoline (IIFL), says: â€Å"Mehta will have to reinforce the strategy so far, so that the morale of his team remains high. He is from an emerging markets background, so he will understand the focus on market share, volume growth and spends on brands.† Challenges One of Paranjpe’s peers and batchmates says, â€Å"Mehta might need to reassure shareholders on not losing margins. He would have to think of ways in absorbing the pressure on volume growth in these times. One of these could be telling them that HUL would take a hit on volume but maintain margins since it can afford to do so.† IIFL’s Jain wants Mehta to focus on innovation and relaunches. Nikhil Vora, managing director at IDFC, says: â€Å"Paranjpe has been able to restrict market share losses and even grow in some categories. But the biggest challenge remains the absence of a funnel of new products, especially because its core categories are only expected to grow weaker.† Jain says going into a service-led business of water purifiers rather than sell bottled water amounts to HUL playing in a niche category, whereas it is better geared to succeed in mass segments. The clamour for innovation can also be linked to how one of HUL’s erstwhile blockbusters has run into trouble of late. Fair and Lovely, a Rs 1,500-crore brand in personal care, a segment that contributes nearly 30 per cent to HULs revenue, is in a category (fairness) which is not growing. â€Å"It shows a consumer disconnect with the brand,† says Vora. Food remains a challenge. Analysts like Vora point to a lack of investment in the category. â€Å"It has been historically coy with introducing innovation in snacks, foods and dairy. These are categories in which its competition has been active with innovation. It needs to get into these categories to stay formidable in the years to come.† Ahead In his Bangladesh stint, Mehta was known to take risks and alter the operating style to turn around a troubled loss-making business, in two and a half years. He is also aware of the cultures in Southeast Asia and West Asia. In his first job with Union Carbide, he was part of the crisis management team after the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 and remained till 1992  before joining Unilever in Dubai. Nitin Mathur, consumer research analyst with Espirito Santo Securities, says: â€Å"North Africa due to its proximity with markets in Europe has about 80-90 per cent media penetration and a greater presence of modern trade than India.† While Bangladesh and West Asia not only boast of Indian expats but also media habits that are similar to India. Mehta’s succeeding Paranjpe is reminiscent of the latter’s ascension in the downturn of 2008. However, at that time the FMCG sector was not hit and 2010-11 saw a boom. Will Mehta’s emerging market exposure stand him in good stead now?

A Literature Review Regarding Virus Protection

A Literature Review Regarding Virus Protection Although most of the people think that there is nothing to do a research in the area of computer virus protection, there are more and more things to research as everyday more than 200 computer malware are created by the virus creators. In the modern world most of the people are using computers in their day-to-day activities. So it is more important to have knowledge of computer viruses and protecting the computers from those viruses. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Identifying what the computer viruses are, their types, the threat to the computer from computer viruses, the present situation of computer viruses and prevention mechanisms from the computer viruses are the objectives of this literature review. end{abstract} section{Introduction} As the usage of the computers and creation of computer viruses are increasing all over the world, every computer user began to search about the computer viruses. But there are other various kinds of software like worms and Trojans that can do some harm to the activities of the computer other than the viruses. Although they are different from computer viruses, the computer users are used to call those other types of malicious software viruses. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Though there is no any real definition for the computer viruses, they can be considered as special kind of software programs that have the ability of self replicating over executable files reside in the computer and do some interruption to the activities of the computer. As the computer viruses are spreading only when the executable files are executing, the viruses can effect only for the executable files in the infected computer. So most of the time the files with .EXE , .COM , .BAT , .SYS extensions are infected. A computer virus can be written with a few lines of programming codes in any programming language. Any person who has a personal computer can write a computer virus and send it to another computer or system far away from the computer which produced the virus through a network or any disk. These viruses can destroy any massive computer system or network easily within few seconds. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Computer viruses which do less harm to the computers are only spreading over the computers and computer networks. They do not do any dangerous harm to the computers other than just replicating them in the system. The most dangerous type of viruses effect to the computers by changing the content of the files, partially of completely deleting the files reside in the computer. The data stored in the computer can be lost by infecting these kinds of computer viruses. These types of computer viruses cannot be catch by examining the files in the computer. But only the destruction they have done to the computer will remain. So capturing these viruses is the more difficult thing. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Preventing or protecting from computer viruses not only mean installing an anti virus program and scan the files by getting use of the anti virus program but also awareness of the computer viruses or malicious software and practicing best practices when using a computer. But most of the time most of the computer users trust various anti virus programs to protect their systems against computer viruses. Various anti virus programs use various methods or procedures to capture viruses and other types of malicious software. But with any of the computer protection method, they cannot fully protect the computer from computer viruses or malicious software. The next session of this review is considered about what are the types of Malware and how they infected to computer system. cite{1} newpage section{Types of malware} There is no standard method to categorize viruses into various types. But when we consider current situation of computer viruses in the world we can basically declare types of malware as follows, begin{itemize} item Trojan item Worms item Viruses end{itemize} subsection{Trojan} Trojan viruses do not reproduce in the computer but after a Trojan virus enters into the computer they just allow the outside persons to read the files reside in the computer. Usually Trojans steal passwords and send e-mails to hackers. Then the hacker will get the control of the users account. cite{2} subsection{Worms} Worms are kind of computer viruses copy and spread over the computer networks. It does not need a host to spread. Once they multiplied in a computer, the copied viruses scan the network for further multiplying and spreading via the network.cite{2} subsection{Viruses} Computer viruses are a program, a block of executable code which attaches itself to. It overwrites or replaces some code of computer program without knowing of computer user. A virus always needs a host program to reside. The virus is in its idle state till the host program it resides executes. When the host program executes the bock of code of the virus also executes and searches for another location which it can infect. The computer viruses can be categorized into number of categories like Resident Viruses, Direct Action Viruses, Overwrite Viruses, Boot Viruses, Macro Viruses, Directory Viruses, Polymorphic Viruses, File Infectors, Companion Viruses, FAT Viruses. cite{2} begin{itemize} item Resident Viruses Permanent viruses reside in the RAM item Direct Action Viruses This type of virus spreads and does its work when it is executing. item Overwrite Viruses These viruses delete the content of the files reside in the computer. item Boot Viruses This kind of virus infects to a boot sector of the hard drive or floppy. A boot virus can be infected to the boot sector of the computer by booting the computer from an infected floppy disk. item Directory Viruses These viruses change the path of a file. item Polymorphic Viruses These are encrypting their own code with different algorithms every time they enter into a system. item File Infectors Infect programs or executable files. They infect to a file when the program attached to it executes. item Companion Viruses These are working like resident viruses or direct action viruses. item FAT Viruses These infect to the file allocation table. item Macro Viruses This kind of virus infects to the files that have created using programs that contain macros. Currently most of the times they are affecting to Word 6, WordBasic and Excel as macros are created by WordBasic. In the present situation of the computer viruses, 15 percent of the viruses are macro viruses. On daily basis macro viruses are created by the computer users in their machines. New macro viruses are creating due to corruption, mating and conversion. Macro viruses are the most destructive kind of a virus. Most of the traditional anti virus programs are unable to detect those new macro viruses. cite{2} end{itemize} newpage section{How Viruses affect and infect to the system} begin{figure}[h] par includegraphics[bb =0 0 100 325 ]{virus.png} caption{Malware Detected by Year} cite{10} par end{figure} If the virus generation speed is greater than its death rate, a virus can easily spread within a short period of time. Figure1 shows how Malware spread with time. All the computer viruses do not activate at the time they enter into the computer. But sometimes they activate after some period of entering it into the personal computer or computer system. Some of them will never activate and some will activate and do harm to the files in the system or change the content of the files, format the hard disk, show a picture in the background. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} There are lots of ways which a virus can enter into a computer. Most of the time, they spread and enter into a new computer through a computer network. With a removable media, it is possible to spread a virus. By downloading some games or software through a web site, a virus can enter into a new system. In the past there was a guarantee that the web sites do not contain viruses. But in the present situation, there is no guarantee that the web sites do not contain viruses. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Trapdoor is another common way of entering a virus into a system. Trapdoors are sometimes created by the programmers who developed the software to avoid going through the security procedure or avoid entering passwords during the period of time the system or software is developed. As a trapdoor is a way to enter into a system without entering a password, a virus can easily enter into a system through a trapdoor. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} If have the attention to the new computer viruses, the code of some newly created computer viruses are encrypted so that the anti virus software cannot catch them. cite{3} section{Protection from computer viruses} To spread a virus from one computer to another, it should have the permission or ability to execute its code and do some modifications or completely delete the files other than the file the virus currently residing. According to those facts, protection from computer viruses means prevent the computer virus from copying it self to another location, the computer virus does not contain or avoid modifying or deleting the other files the computer virus does not reside. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} If the content of a file has modified or edited without knowledge of the user, the user can suspect that a virus has been infected to the computer. Other than that when a virus has attacked a system, sometimes the performance of the computer can be reduced, various error messages are displayed or use some storage space from disk drives unexpectedly. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Worms normally find addresses to spread and they capture the addresses in three ways. Worms begin{itemize} item Randomly generate addresses item Find addresses in system tables item Find addresses in a program end{itemize} Protection against worms can include, begin{itemize} item Put passwords that cannot easily guess. item Remove some processes which reveal the secured data in the system. item Apply some solutions to the bugs. end{itemize} As worms are rapidly spread over networks and they are trying to overload the networks, protecting from worms include monitoring network activities and do isolation and deactivation of some parts of the network. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} When it comes to protecting computers from viruses, the simplest things the user can do is always backup the data reside in the computer. But it is not a proper solution to deal with the computer viruses. As most of the computer users are now aware of the computer viruses they control write privilege to computer programs. After infecting a virus to a program since it changes the content of the file, there are some kind of software that can be used to check the content for irregular changes in its content. cite{4,12} section{Anti virus software programs} When protecting a computer from computer viruses with the help of an anti virus program, the service providers of those anti virus programs are providing their service to its clients in number of different ways. Some of the vendors or anti virus software are waiting for a request from a user for their product. After the client or the user requests, the service provider provides their service to the user. Another kind of anti virus vendor automatically downloads and installs their product into clients machine without the knowledge of the user. Some of the vendors are sending emails to the computer users mentioning the availability of their product. However some of those above mentioned ways have some ethically not relevant procedures. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Though thousands of anti virus programs, designed by programmers are there to detect computer viruses, they cannot play a perfect role in detecting computer viruses. More viruses are written for a new platform is the reason for that. To detect those new viruses, new detection technologies should be invented. There are number of computer virus detection methods. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Over some years ago, only the known viruses could be detected by anti virus programs. What those anti virus programs did were, selecting a string from known viruses and when a scan for viruses is started, anti virus program searches for files include that string and detect that file as an infected file. This method of detecting computer viruses looked only for static characteristics of known computer viruses. But as thousands of computer viruses are creating within a year, the industry people started to create anti virus programs that are detecting unknown computer viruses too. These methods are called heuristic method. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} As computer virus infection has become a huge threats to who owns a computer and who uses computers. Most of the computer users are today getting the service of an anti virus program to detect malicious software or computer viruses. Getting use of an anti virus software is the most secured and popular way to protect the computers from malicious software. Anti virus programs identify the malicious software in two main approaches. begin{itemize} item They use a string matching approach to identify previously known viruses or malicious software. item The second method the anti virus programs use is capturing abnormal behaviors of any computer program running on the computer. end{itemize} begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} In string matching approach, the anti virus programs are getting use of a virus dictionary which contains the codes of previously known viruses. When an anti virus program starts to scan a file it refers to the virus dictionary and when it finds a block of code in the scanned file which also included in the virus dictionary, it quickly takes an action against the suspicious file. cite{5} begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} If an anti virus program uses capturing abnormal or suspicious behaviors, it monitors the behavior of the file which is scanning and if the file behaves abnormally the anti virus program detect the file as infected file an take an action against that. By using this method, the new viruses can also be detected. cite{5} subsection{The problem in virus dictionary method} As virus creators are now aware of virus detection methods, they are now writing the viruses so that the codes of the virus as encrypted codes when it is in a program. Otherwise they write the virus programs so that the code of itself doesnt look same as the real code of it. Because of those two reasons, the anti virus program cannot detect the infected file by matching the strings using the virus dictionary. The other problem of this method is it cannot detect a new virus which doesnt contain in the virus dictionary. subsection{The problems of detecting a virus by its behavior} As this method is searching for a suspicious behavior of the file that is being scanning, a files that shows abnormal behavior which has not been attacked by a virus or malicious software can also be detected as an infected file by the anti virus program. If the user gets an action against that file sometimes that non infected file can also be deleted. So modern anti virus programs do not use this approach to detect a virus. There are some fake anti virus software which do not clean or protect the computers. These fake anti virus software come with names which are similar to other real anti virus software. When a user sees such a fake anti virus software the user feels that this ant virus software is a real one and then he install than fake anti virus software into the computer. After installing that fake one in the computer, it displays fake messages saying there are some viruses in the computer and to remove it from the computer pay some amount of money. As these kinds of fake anti virus software are there with only the aim of earning money, the computer users must aware of that kind of fake anti virus software too. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Although there are so many anti virus software to detect computer viruses, the latest computer viruses cannot easily be caught by even the latest anti virus software programs as the code of virus is encrypted. What the virus creators do to hide the source code of the virus is encrypting the code of the virus and sends it to the computers. So the anti virus software cannot easily understand the code and they cannot catch that file as a suspicious file. Some virus creators encrypt the code and keep the key to decrypt in another file to make it more difficult for the anti virus software to find the virus. But good anti virus software, which have used good algorithms, should be able to detect those computer viruses too. cite{6,7} subsection{Most trusted anti virus software} cite{11} begin{itemize} item BitDefender Antivirus 2010 BitDefender is using advanced heuristic detection method and provides protection against online viruses, spyware,phishing scams and more. This provides protection by scanning web, IM and emails and this is capable of encrypting the IM s too. One of the new features BitDefender looking for is Active Virus Control which monitor the behavior of a file continuously. cite{13} item Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 Provides protection from viruses, Trojans, bots, worms and spyware. The interfaces and tools used are advanced but this provides agreat protection against most of the real threats. cite{14} item Webroot AntiVirus with SpySweeper 2010 This is a desktop anti virus package and protect the computer from viruses,trojans,worms and other number of malware. This catches the malware before the malware does any harm to the computer. cite{15} item Norton AntiVirus 2010 Uses signature based protection. However provides a new features like the proactive reputation scanning. But uninstalling the software might cause some problems as its partial uninstallation. cite{16} item ESET Nod32 Antivirus 4 Kind of desktop anti virus software. But this doesnt provide a complete security and misses some protection. This is not in the competition with other anti virus software. cite{17} item AVG Anti-Virus 9 Includes antivirus and antispyware protection. provides complette protection from harmful downloads and web cites. cite{18} item F-Secure Anti-Virus 2010 Great desktop anti virus. Has one of the most effective scan procedure and test results are shown to prove that. When installing this anti virus software, it has been automatically configured to remove the other anti virus software installed to the computer. cite{19} item G DATA AntiVirus 2011 Uses two distinct antivirus scanning engines, behavioral/heuristic protection, and even self-learning fingerprinting.This provides protection against malware spreading via emails and IM. The types of malware which are detected by this anti virus software are,phishing scams, dialers, adware, malicious scripts, Trojans, rootkits and worms. cite{20} end{itemize} section{Getting use of a firewall} The firewall is a kind of a program design to protect the computer from harmful things that are coming from the internet. Firewalls are divided into two categories as hardware firewall and software firewall. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Hardware firewalls are some kind of small hardware which can control the data coming from multiple computer systems. Software firewalls are kind of software that have the ability to block suspicious data coming to the computer from the internet. So to protect the computer from viruses and other kind of malicious software a software firewall and hardware firewall can be use. cite{5} section{Best practices to protect the computer from computer viruses} Though there are thousands of anti virus software are there, the computer users are also having the responsibility of protecting the computer when using the computer. They have to follow some best practices when they use a computer. begin{itemize} item Although the computer user is the owner of the computer he should not always log into the computer with the administrator privileges. If they log into the computer as a normal user, some kinds of viruses will not be able to enter into the computer. item A computer user should avoid from installing some anti virus software or some other software in some other persons computer. item As some viruses are coming with email attachments, when opening emails it is good to not to open emails from unknown addresses. item When downloading and installing anti virus software, download a recommended anti virus software. end{itemize} newpage section{Conclusion} According to the researchers, each and everyday over 200 computer viruses which can destroy a whole computer system within a few seconds are released by the computer virus creators. The worst thing that result an inflection is loosing data the reside in the computer. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} Most of the time, these kind of destructions happen because of the lack of awareness of the computer users about the computer viruses. To mitigate the risk of infecting a computer virus to a users computer, the main thing we can do is make the computer users aware about the computer viruses, risks of infecting a computer virus and avoiding from computer viruses. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} The people who have an idea about computer viruses most of the time trust anti virus programs. But just installing an anti virus software is not enough to protect the computer from computer viruses. The computer users also have the responsibility to protect the computer from computer viruses. As most of the time the computer viruses can come with the e-mail attachments, the e-mails from unknown addresses should not be opened. When downloading something from a web site the users should use only the trusted web sites and recommended software. But now there are nothing called trusted web sites. Even the software downloaded from Microsofts web site may contain viruses. Some viruses cannot enter into the computer if the user is logging into the computer with user privilege. So it is good to normally log into the computer with the user privilege. As viruses attack only the executable files, the write permission to those files can be restricted. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} After installing an anti virus software program in a computer,to get the best protection from that anti virus, keeping it up to date is more important. But though there is an anti virus program installed in the computer, when plugging external removable devices into the computer, it should be scanned. begin{sloppypar} end{sloppypar} But the final conclusion which can come through this review is that though there are many protection methods,that are available in the world, a computer user cannot be completely safe from the computer viruses. That means any of the computer protection methods is not perfect in protecting computers from computer malware. newpage begin{thebibliography}{widest entry} bibitem{1} Markus Hanhisalo,emph{computer Viruses},Available at:http://www.tml.tkk.fi/Opinnot/Tik-110.501/1997/viruses.html# 1.Introduction% 20to% 20Computer% 20Viruses bibitem{2} Top Bits,2010, {http://www.topbits.com/types-of-computer-viruses.html} bibitem{3} McAfee,emph{An Introduction to Computer Viruses and other Destructive Programs},Available at: http://www.mcafee.com/common/media/vil/pdf/av_white.pdf bibitem{4} Stanley A. Kurzban, emph{Defending against viruses and worms},Available at:http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=68697 bibitem{5} emph{How AntiVirus Works},Available at:http://www.antivirusware.com/articles/how-anti-virus-works.htm bibitem{6} emph{How does anti-virus software work?},Available at:http://www.antivirusworld.com/articles/antivirus.php bibitem{7} emph{How Antivirus Software Detect Computer Viruses},Available at:http://security-antivirus-software.suite101.com/article.cfm/how-antivirus-software-dete bibitem{8} emph{What Is A Computer Virus? An Introduction To Computer Viruses},Available at:http://www.computertipsfree.com/computer-tips/security-tips/what-is-a-computer-virus-an-introduction-to-computer-viruses/ bibitem{9} http://www.washington.edu/itconnect/security/tools/ bibitem{10} Tech Bitz, http://tech-bitz.com/2008/04/05/virus-and-spyware-threat-is-larger-than-ever-before-anti-virus-companies-struggle-to-keep-up-with-flood-of-spyware/ bibitem{11} emph{AntiVirus Software Review },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ bibitem{12} Charles P. Pfleeger,Shari Lawrence Pfleeger emph{Security in Computing (4th Edition) } bibitem{13} emph{BitDefender AntiVirus Review },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/bitdefender-review.html bibitem{14} emph{Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010 },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/kaspersky-review.html bibitem{15} emph{Webroot AntiVirus with SpySweeper Review },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/webroot-antivirus-review.html bibitem{16} emph{Norton AntiVirus 2010 },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/norton-review.html bibitem{17} emph{Trend Micro AntiVirus + AntiSpyware },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/pc-cillin-review.html bibitem{18} emph{AVG Anti-Virus 9 },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/avg-review.html bibitem{19} emph{F-Secure Anti-Virus Review },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/f-secure-review.html bibitem{20} emph{G DATA AntiVirus 2011 },http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/antiviruskit-review.html end{thebibliography} end{document}

Response to Hip-hop Feminism

Response to Hip-hop Feminism Let Me Blow Your Mind: Response to Hip-hop Feminism In Let Me Blow Your Mind: Hip Hop Feminist Futures in Theory and Praxis, Lindsey explores the origins of hip-hop feminism, its relation to Black feminism(s), and its application to urban education. She also challenges the centralization of the African American male perspective in hip-hop by focusing on the Black and Brown girls and womens, transgender people of colors, and queer people of colors lived experiences. In this essay, I will examine the social context of the writer, how she describes current realities, how she analysis these realities, her vision and strategy for the future, and how the historical contacts affects this theory. I will end by sharing how this theory has relevance to my own life. Dr. Treva Lindsey is currently a professor at the Ohio State University in the Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College and her Masters and Ph.D. from Duke University. She specializes in Black feminist theory, womens history, and popular culture studies along with work in critical race and gender theory, sexual politics, and African diaspora studies (Treva Lindsey). Lindsey is a self-described diva feminist, which she describes as being audacious, vibrant, passionate, and fierce in [her] dedication to eradicating racism, poverty, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and other forms of socio-historical, political, and cultural oppression and exploitation (Lindsey), who is informed by Black feminist theory, hip-hop feminism, and her position as an African American woman in academia. In her publication, Lindsey states that women and girls not only play an integral role in the formation and sustaining of hip-hop culture(s) but also provide distinct standpoints, perspectives, and interventions into one of the most powerful cultural movements of late-20th and early-21st centuries (Lindsey 53). This idea is the base of hip-hop feminism that argues these contributions and perspectives are ignored or exploited by hip-hop culture. Lindsey describes several key theoretical interventions of hip-hop feminismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦including bringing wreck, kinetic orality, sonic pleasure, percussive resistance, and Black girl standpoint theory (Lindsey 55) to challenge the devaluation of womens and girls engagement with hip-hop (Lindsey 53). This devaluation benefits the African American male perspective in hip-hop which, as hip-hop feminism has argued against, has led to pervasive sexism and misogynyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in rap music (Lindsey 62). Lindsey starts her analysis of this reality by first exploring the relationship, and the differences, between Black feminism(s) and hip-hop feminism. She explains that there are material and discursive differencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦between second-wave Black feminists and women of the hip-hop generation (Lindsey 56). While both feminisms address sexism and the patriarchy, Black feminists do not believe it is possible to base a feminist epistemology in a movement where sexism and misogyny thrive. Hip-hop feminism argues for a feminism that considers the messiness and lived contradictions of human experience (Lindsey 56), such as the women who participate in a culture such as hip-hop, to better understand the reality of women and girls. Lindsey describes this argument perfectly stating if we do not take seriously the pleasure girls and women derive from music, even misogynistic and sexist music, we miss an opportunity to theorize the complexities of women and girls pleasure and enjoyment (L indsey 63). The analysis continues with her challenging the African American male as the subject of hip-hop. As stated, she used the theoretical interventions of bringing wreck, kinetic orality, sonic pleasure, percussive resistance, and Black girl standpoint theory to argue Black and brown womens and girls roles in creating and sustaining hip-hop culture. Activities such as hand-games, Double-Dutch, and childhood chants are ways girls learn to preform race and gender, while constructing a musical Blackness, that then becomes a pivotal part of hip-hop (Lindsey). However, this musical Blackness is also vilified in the hip-hop community as shown by Lindseys twerking example. The co-optation of twerking coupled with its decontextualized deployments in mass media also mirrors histories of cultural appropriation, hyper-sexualization of Black women and girls, and the demonization and devaluation of Black cultural forms and social practices performed by Black people (Lindsey 60). While Lindsey never explicitly states her vision, it is clear that she wants hip-hop to move away from the misogyny and sexism it is known for and for women and girls to both develop new music and to think critically about the music they listen to. She discusses hip-hop education as a possible strategy to address these concerns. Its been shown that the problematic lyrics and images of rap music were secondary to the beat of the music for the girls, even as the girls critiqued the music for its derogatory content (Love 91). This means that teaching women and girls media literacy will help them recognize the misogyny and sexism in music but not stop them from enjoying the genre; which may lead to more of these women and girls to either move towards music, in the same genre, that is less or not misogynistic or to create music that does not have these themes of misogyny. Creation of new music in the hip-hop genre is where hip-hop education can play an important role. Brown argues that we do not hear Black girls or their truths because their sound is at best misunderstood, and at worst, framed as problematic. According to Brown, the tonality of Black girls is the core of their expressivity, but often receives admonishment because of its juxtaposition to acceptable performances of girlhood' (Lindsey 61). Some hip-hop education organizations, such as Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT), demand that grown-ups not tell Black girls to quiet downà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to experience Black girls unique voices and articulations (Lindsey 62). Giving space for these girls to think critically about the messages around them and to develop their own voice and sound will enable them to influence the world and music around them in ways they could not before. Hip-hop feminism has its roots in the hip-hop movement of the late 20th century and Black feminism(s). In 1999, when cultural critic and journalist Joan Morgan coined the term hip-hop feminist, she did not imagine how instrumental her framing of her standpoint as someone simultaneously rooted in both hip-hop and Black feminism(s) would be for the emergence of the scholarly subfield, women in hip-hop (Lindsey 55). Lindsey uses hip-hop feminism to analyze women and girls contributions to the hip-hop genre, to challenge the centering of the African American male perspective in hip-hop, and to suggest possible ways to change the misogyny and sexism in the genre. Hip-hop feminism was created when women of the hip-hop generation felt Black feminism(s) did not apply to their lives because it did not view them as both empowering and problematic. This context created what Morgan called a functional feminism that focused on the unique lives and experiences of the women of the hip-hop generatio n. Unfortunately, I could not discuss every topic Lindsey addressed in this response. I chose to focus on Lindseys descriptions of musical Blackness and hip-hop education because those ideas have the most relevance to my current time and location. As a science educator, I am passionate about minority representation in and access to the sciences. I want the content I teach to be accessible to anyone who walks into my classroom but that is only possible if I ensure my classroom environment is safe for everyone. There are several aspects of hip-hop education that I could bring into my classroom, such as experience Black girls unique voices and articulations (Lindsey 62) as it applies to scientific discovery and inquiry, that would make the space more welcoming to students. By applying hip-hop feminist pedagogy to my classroom, I could help students see themselves as scientists. Lindsey uses hip-hop feminism to challenge the idea that the subject of hip hop is the African American male and to inform educational techniques to empower girls of color. While the theory itself does not have much relevance to my life, its application in the classroom could help me introduce the world of science to students in a way that is enjoyable. Hip-hop feminism may be generationally specific with a focus on critical race theory but it is applicable to many situations as Lindsey showed by applying it to both the hip-hop community, the classroom, and violence against transgender and queer individuals. Work Cited Lindsey, Treva. Blog post. A Diva Feminist. Blogger.com, 30 Apr. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2017. . Lindsey, Treva. Let Me Blow Your Mind: Hip Hop Feminist Futures in Theory and Praxis. Urban Education. 50.1 (2015): 52-77. Web. Love, Bettina. Hip hops lil sistas speak: Negotiating hip hop identities and politics  in the New South. Peter Lang. 2012. Treva Lindsey. Womens Gender and Sexuality Studies. N.p., 5 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Mar. 2017. .

The Occult in A Tale of the Ragged Mountains Essay -- Ragged

The Occult in A Tale of the Ragged Mountains In his collection of criticism on Poe's stories, Thompson discusses the use of the occult in "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains." He begins the article by explaining that this story might be the product of Poe's "fascination with, but detached attitudes toward, the pseudoscientific occultism of his age." He gives us some technical terms for the techniques that Poe uses in this story: "metempsychosis" is the transmigration of souls, and is the word that surfaces frequently throughout this discussion of "Ragged Mountains." First Thompson discusses the idea that Poe set up the tale in a very specific way; as he puts it, "Poe himself wove a web for the purpose of unraveling." He believes that Poe set up a series of clues to guide the reader through the story. So, first the reader gets a "scientific" explanation of the events that seem supernatural, which is then followed by a "psychological" explanation (which is the opposite of the scientific facts). The final clue is the reader discoverin g that this tale is very similar ...

The Telephone :: Informative, Technology, Inventions

The Telephone   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The telephone itself is a rather simple appliance. A microphone, called the transmitter, and an earphone, called the receiver, are contained in the handset. The microphone converts speech into its direct electrical analog, which is transmitted as an electrical signal; the earphone converts received electrical signals back to sound. The switch hook determines whether current flows to the telephone, thereby signaling the central office that the telephone is in use. The ringer responds to a signal sent by the central office that causes the telephone to ring. As simple a device as the telephone, had a mighty big impact on society during the 30's. This was due to the fact that, it was during the 30's when telephone service became economically feasible and also reliable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Men and women alike were captivated by the intrique and fascination of talking to relatives and friends, miles and miles away. Not only did the telephone pamper to individual woes, but it provided a very useful industrial service. It allows commercial companies to expand their horizons infinitely easier than ever before. It became possible to set up meetings and discuss business matters with partners thousands of miles away. Companies that posessed a telephone had a enormous advantage over the rest. And in a time as economically troubled as the 30's depression, everyone was looking for a competitive edge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The telephone wasn't invented in the thirties, nor was the first transatlantic line built then, but the thirties represents a time in history when the world was changing incredible fast and much of that change was made

Clamence from The Fall by Albert Camus Essay -- Jean-Baptiste Clamence

Clamence from The Fall by Albert Camus The Fall, a 1957 novel written by Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus, is a story based on confession. The main character, Jean-Baptiste Clamence, portrays himself to be the epitome of good citizenship and acceptable behavior and now he has come to face the reality that his existence has been deeply seated in hypocrisy. Clamence also openly enjoys the wealth of cheap dreams that the prostitutes and bars his Amsterdam home has to offer. In a bar called Mexico City, Clamence begins to recall his life as a respected lawyer, supposedly immune to judgment. There are different theories on whether Clamence recalls his life to himself or to another person, but it is in fact a random acquaintance from the bar that Clamence shares stories of his life’s triumphs and failures. While Clamence is in the bar, he asks another person who is trying to order a drink if he "may offer his services without running the risk of intruding" because unless the man authorizes him to perform his services, the bartender will not guess that he wants gin. The service Clamence is referring to is his ability to speak Dutch, the only language the bartender speaks and understands. What suggests that Clamence is speaking to another person in the bar is the fact that if someone wants to do something, they do not need to be given permission by himself. If a person feels they are not allowed to do something, it is because one of two reasons. One, the person might feel the action is inappropriate and that would directly deal with that persons set of morals and discipline. Secondly, the person might not be allowed to perform the task by the person it would deal with and that would have to do with power of authori... ...nce states that he is "embarrassed to be in bed when you arrive." This quote clearly states that Clamence is in one location and another person enters this place unexpectedly and catches him by surprise, thus causing the embarrassment of possibly an unkempt house or a unattractive personal appearance due to the sickness. The reason why there are two people present is because Clamence says "you" which means he is addressing some one else. Although different theories on whether or not Clamence is alone when he recalls his life may exist, it is in fact an acquaintance that he shares his life with. In order for Camus' choice of wording that deal with ownership and possession and by definition of key words such as "secret" to be used in accordance with rules of proper grammar, another person must be present for the meaning of the words to be applied correctly.

The American Express Card

9-509-027 REV: APRIL 22, 2011 JOHN A. QUELCH JACQUIE LABATT The American Express Card Marketing is fully integrated into our overall strategy. Our largest investor, Warren Buffett, is very focused on brand health and customer metrics. — Kenneth I. Chenault In April 2008, Jud Linville, president and chief executive officer of U. S. Consumer Services at American Express Company, was preparing for a meeting with Ken Chenault, American Express’s chairman and chief executive officer since 2001, and Al Kelly, president of American Express Company.The purpose of the meeting was to discuss further growth prospects in the United States for the American Express consumer card business while maintaining the brand’s premium positioning. The performance of the American Express card, launched 50 years earlier in 1958, had been remarkable. By 2008, there were 52 million American Express cards in circulation in the U. S. , held by 41 million â€Å"cardmembers† (see Exhibit 1). American Express commanded nearly a 24% share of U. S. credit card payments. 1As Linville prepared for the meeting, he wondered whether he could continue to rely on the same business growth drivers that had served American Express well in the past. With the U. S. economy slipping into recession, the proliferation of cards in the market required American Express to deepen its consumer understanding to provide innovative, value-added products that would attract and retain cardmembers. Company Background The American Express Company was a leading global payments and travel company with revenue net of interest expense of $27. 7 billion in 2007, up 10% from 2006. American Express’s principal products and services included charge and credit card payment products and travel-related services offered to consumers and businesses around the world. American Express was the world’s largest issuer of charge and credit cards as measured by the annual value of purchases charged o n these cards. 3 Yet American Express maintained a â€Å"best-in-class† credit quality, reflecting in part the company’s traditional focus on the affluent segment, its expertise in evaluating the credit risk of individual consumers, and its ongoing commitment to investing in risk capabilities. In 2007, around 70% of American Express’s revenue net of interest expense and 85% of its pretax income from continuing operations5 was generated in the United States. The global diversity of the business included 86 million cards in force worldwide, more than 115 card-issuing or merchant-acquiring ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor John A. Quelch and Research Associate Jacquie Labatt prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion.Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective ma nagement. Copyright  © 2008, 2011 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5457685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www. hbsp. harvard. edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School..This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card arrangements with banks and other institutions, and over 650 American Express network branded products. 6 Fortune magazine ranked American Express the â€Å"Most Admired† megabank/credit card company in its 2008 annual survey. 7 American Express’s roots date back to 1850, when Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield founded an express deli very company.The very nature of handling and transporting customers’ assets depended on security and trust, core attributes that had remained at the heart of the company and brand. In the late 1800s, American Express introduced financial products such as money orders and Travelers Cheques. The company later expanded into the travel business to further support its Travelers Cheques customers who were increasingly going abroad. The First Card The first American Express card targeting the business traveler was launched in 1958. The decision to enter this new business â€Å"faced strong opposition within the company with senior leaders evenly divided on the issue. 8 The debate began when the Diners Club card was introduced in 1950. American Express recognized the card as a potential threat to the company as consumers began using this card as a substitute for Travelers Cheques. 9 Some argued that a charge card would cannibalize the Travelers Cheque business, while others believed competing cards would hurt those sales regardless. There was further concern that launching a card would upset the American Automobile Association (AAA), one of American Express’s largest distributors of Travelers Cheques. At the same time, AAA was known to be considering launching a card of its own.Finally, with the economy in recession, many executives argued that it was a risky time to be launching a charge card. Nevertheless, in December 1957, American Express president Ralph Reed decided to launch such a card without further delay, stating at the time: â€Å"All we have to sell is service. † When word of the card’s imminent launch leaked, the company was inundated with calls from potential applicants. Further, the American Hotel Association approached American Express regarding forming an alliance, which gave the company an immediate customer base of 150,000 cardmembers and 4,500 participating merchants. 0 By the official launch date of October 1, 1958, Am erican Express had already issued 250,000 cards at an annual fee of $6 each, $1 higher than the fee for a Diners Club card. The first American Express card11 was targeted at businessmen on expense accounts, offering them a convenient method of payment rather than a means of financing purchases. This American Express card was a charge card that required the user to pay off the balance monthly. It was not a credit card that offered the user the option of paying interest on the balance as if it were a cash loan.The Gold (1966), Corporate (1966), and Platinum (1984) cards followed despite concerns over cannibalizing the original American Express card. This hierarchy of cards with progressively higher annual fees and services offered business travelers the aspirational prospect of being invited to move up from Green to Gold to Platinum. (In 1999, American Express added an unadvertised, byinvitation-only product, the black Centurion card. Equipped with VIP benefits such as a personal conc ierge, the Centurion card was offered by invitation only to a small, elite group of Platinum card customers.Celebrities and the very rich clamored for the right to carry this new card. ) American Express launched its first credit card, Optima, in 1987. The Optima card was the first American Express card to allow customers to carry a balance and pay interest. It was marketed only as a â€Å"companion† card to existing American Express cardmembers. A downturn in the economy in 1991 resulted in unexpected losses as some Optima customers failed to make their payments.As a result, American Express deferred plans to expand its credit card business and tightened its existing 2 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 credit modeling programs and controls. In addition, American Express â€Å"card suppression,à ¢â‚¬  whereby merchants tried to dissuade consumers from using their American Express card, began with the 1991 â€Å"Boston Fee Party. † Boston estaurateurs were upset with what they viewed as American Express’s excessive discount rate, the percentage fee American Express charged merchants on consumer purchases made with American Express cards. This practice of not honoring the American Express card gained momentum and discouraged some consumers from using their American Express cards. Scale was viewed as a key competitive success factor in the payments industry; American Express considered its 16%—and falling—market share of the U. S. payments market in the early 1990s too low.With too few cards in circulation and too few merchants accepting the American Express card, American Express management faced a â€Å"chicken and egg† dilemma in trying to determine which aspect of the problem to address first. Turnaround Harvey Golub’s appointment as chairman and chief executive officer in 1993 set the stage for restoring health to the American Express business and brand. Golub became the â€Å"vocal guardian† of the American Express brand as he outlined his vision for the company: â€Å"To become the world’s most respected service brand. 12 American Express’s purpose was to manage, market, and promote the core attributes of the American Express brand, â€Å"trust, security, integrity, quality and customer service,† through educating employees, incorporating these attributes into card products and services, and reflecting them in all marketing communications. Future chief executive officer Ken Chenault, who was then running the card business, laid down three guiding principles: to provide superior value to customers, to achieve best-in-class economics, and to direct all activities to support the American Express brand.In addition, Golub established long-term goals as the guiding metrics for the b usiness: earnings per share growth of 12%–15% per year, revenue growth of at least 8% per year, and return on equity of 18%–20% on average over time. With a business strategy built on the company’s brand, Golub refocused American Express on the card business. Starting in 1981, American Express had purchased brokerage and financial advisory firms in an effort to become a â€Å"financial supermarket. † This strategy proved to be a distraction.By 1993, Golub had divested American Express of most of its non-core businesses. Concurrently, the U. S. card business underwent a significant review under the leadership of Chenault. He identified three issues: Costs were too high compared to American Express’s most efficient competitors; the division was too slow to change and adapt, particularly in introducing new products; and the organization was not sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of specific, more targeted consumer segments. 13 By 1995, signs of a turnaround were evident in the American Express card business.New card products began to appear with increased frequency, including proprietary and co-branded cards. A co-branding strategy was initially opposed by branding purists who argued that the American Express brand was too precious to be shared with a partner. This had led American Express to turn down an opportunity to co-brand air-miles-earning AAdvantage credit cards with American Airlines in the mid-1980s. The company came to regret this decision as American Airlines and, later, United Airlines both launched co-branded cards with Visa and MasterCard.The launches of the co-branded Hilton Optima card (1995) and the Delta SkyMiles American Express card (1996) marked the company’s new willingness to partner with other strong brands. In future years, agreements were also struck with Costco, Starwood, and JetBlue. In 1996, Golub decided to open the American Express network and invited other banks and institutions to is sue cards on its network. Doing business with other card issuers that were often competitors was a significant shift for the company. But, by carefully choosing the right partners who 3This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card would tailor American Express products for their high-spending customers, the company could efficiently supplement its own efforts to grow the number of cards-in-force, cardmember spending, and merchant acceptance. The Global Network Services (GNS) division was formed in 1997 to build these relationships.By 2007, there were more than 750 different American Express cards (including cards co-branded with merchants and banks) available around the world. Exhibit 2 lists the principal American Express card offerings and features in the United States as of 2008. In evaluating prospective produc t offerings, Linville asked whether the company was, first, â€Å"removing friction† from the system— making everyday life easier in some way for consumers such as with a â€Å"contactless† card—and, second, â€Å"providing special recognition,† or badge value, to cardmembers.Linville sought to make the American Express brand available more broadly while ensuring that it retained its premium status. Organization As of 2007, the company was organized into two major customer groups: Global Consumer Services and Global Business-to-Business Services. The Global Consumer group contributed 67% of the company’s revenues net of interest expense and 52% of its income from continuing operations. 14 Its range of products and services included charge and credit card products for consumers and small businesses worldwide, consumer travel services, and prepaid, stored value products such as Travelers Cheques and Gift Cards.Business-to-Business Services con tributed 29% and 38%, respectively, to the company’s revenue and income, and offered business travel, corporate cards, expense management products and services, network services, and merchant acquisition and processing for the company’s network partners and proprietary payments businesses. (See Exhibit 3 for a breakdown of company revenues by operating group and division, and see Exhibit 4 for income statement data on the company’s U. S. card business. ) U. S. Payments Industry Payment SystemsAmerican Express competed against all forms of payments for consumer purchases, a market that exceeded $7 trillion in the U. S. in 2008. 15 Payments could be divided into three broad categories: paper-based payments (checks, cash, money orders, official checks, Travelers Cheques); card-based payments (credit, debit, prepaid, electronic benefits transfer); and electronic-based payments (preauthorized and remote). Consumers were shifting from paper-based payments toward cards and electronic methods (see Table A).Converting even a small portion of the paper market to American Express payments represented a big opportunity. Many of these transactions were cash/check-based because either they were low-value transactions (at mom-and-pop stores) or high-value captive transactions where there was little incentive for the merchant (for example, a utility company or apartment landlord) to accept charge/credit cards and absorb the discount fees charged for the service. American Express estimated that around 25% of the cash/check segment represented high-value transactions such as car purchases, tuition fees, and rent/mortgage payments. This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 Credit and Debit Credit cards held a leadership 26% share of the payments market and had grown 45% in dollar terms since the year 2001. Debit cards, which were issued by banks and allowed a purchase payment to be deducted immediately from the cardholder’s bank account, held a 14% share of the payments market and had grown 162% over this same period.Since American Express was not a bank, it did not offer debit cards. The average purchase per debit card in the U. S. was $39 compared to $87 per credit card purchase. 16 While debit card transactions were projected to exceed credit card transactions by 2011, the average purchase per credit card transaction was expected to remain higher. 17 Table A U. S. Consumer Purchases by Payment Type—2006 Method of Payment Paper Checks Cash Other $3,365 1807 1439 119 Cards Credit Cards Debit Cards Other Source: % Change Versus Previous Five Years Market Share -4 % -19 +23 -3 47% 25 20 2 3,048 1,871 ,010 167 +77 +45 +162 +209 43 26 14 3 751 443 307 +177 +136 +270 10 6 4 7,165 Electronic Preauthorized Remote Total Consumer Purchases (billions) +30 100 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 890, October 2007. The average American adult carried 4. 4 payment cards in his/her wallet, be they debit, credit, and/or charge cards. 18 Competitors in the card payments business were either card networks that processed transactions (Visa, MasterCard), card issuers (primarily banks), or organizations that both issued cards and processed transactions (American Express, Discover Financial Services).Charge cards for specific retail chains were declining in importance. American Express aimed to increase its â€Å"share of wallet† by making American Express the payment card of choice for all transactions. This was especially important, as recent evidence showed the average number of cards per wallet falling rather than increasing; 20% of consumers shed payment products in 2007 versus 16% in 2004. 19 Further, only 31% of consumers were adding new payment products to their wallets, a drop from 56% three years earlier. 0 Many American consumer s â€Å"compartmentalized† their spending, using different cards for different types of payments. For example, some long-standing American Express members still used the American Express card just for travel and entertainment, and used a Visa or MasterCard credit card for other purchases. 5 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Competitive Card NetworksPayment networks operated under two business models. â€Å"Open-loop† payment networks, as employed by Visa and MasterCard, were multiparty. Processing a payment typically involved connecting two financial institutions: one that issued the card (issuer) and one that serviced the merchant (acquirer). The open-loop network managed the information and transfer of value between the two banks. In a â€Å"closed-loop† network, as used by Americ an Express and Discover, the network â€Å"owned† the relationship with both the cardholder and the merchant.Leading payment networks are listed in Table B. Credit Card Networks—U. S. Market Share 2007 Table B Share of Credit Card Purchases Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Source: Share of Credit Card Transactions 42. 2% 28. 7 23. 8 5. 3 43. 8% 30. 5 18. 3 7. 4 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 889, 2007. Visa, Inc. Visa operated the world’s largest retail electronics open-loop payment network. Visa provided financial institutions, their primary customers, with product platforms, including consumer credit, debit, prepaid, and commercial payments (see Table C).Visa operated a data-processing network that transferred transaction data and managed payment flow between issuers and acquirers. Visa generated revenue primarily from financial institutions based on fees calculated on the dollar volume of payment activity on Visa-branded cards (service fees) a nd from fees charged for providing transaction processing (data-processing fees). In 2007, Visa USA generated 82% of its gross operating revenue from service and processing fees combined. 21 U. S. Results for Visa, Inc. , Annual Product Performance (June 30, 2007) Table C Payment TypeConsumer Credit Consumer Debit Commercial and Other Total Payments Volume Cash Volumea Total Volume Total Transactions (in millions) Source: Payment Volume (billions) Share of Payment Volume by Payment Type $ 624 637 188 34% 35 10 1,449 79 382 1,831 21 100% 25,942 Adapted from Visa, Inc. , Form 10-K, December 2007. a Cash volume includes cash access transactions, balance transfers, and convenience check transactions associated with Visa. 6 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012.For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 Visa went public on March 18, 2008, raising $19 bill ion in the world’s second-largest initial public offering (IPO). 22 The IPO created a cultural and business challenge: Visa had to shift its focus from delivering benefits to its partner banks toward maximizing profits for long-term shareholder value. 23 As stated in Visa’s 10-K report, â€Å"Many of our employees have limited experience operating in a profit-maximizing business environment. †24 Further, the proceeds of the IPO bought out the interests of the partner banks.As a result, the banks were no longer Visa’s partners and co-owners but were now Visa’s customers. MasterCard MasterCard (MC), which successfully went public in 2006, was a global payment solutions company that was similar to Visa’s open-loop network. MC’s primary sources of revenue were transaction service fees, data-processing fees, and assessments on gross dollar use (purchases, cash disbursements, balance transfers) of MC-based cards. In 2007, transaction fees a nd assessments represented approximately 74% and 26%, respectively, of the company’s net revenues. 5 Discover Financial Services Discover Financial Services (DFS) was the consumer credit and financial services division of Morgan Stanley until it was spun off to shareholders as an independent closed-loop payments network company in July 2007. Founded in 1986, DFS was the only issuer whose wholly-owned network operations included both debit and credit card capability. 26 DFS also offered a range of banking products, such as personal and student loans, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. DFS’s primary source of revenue in its U. S. ard business was interest income earned on revolving cardmember balances. Other sources of revenue included late-payment, over-the-limit, and merchant discount fees. Like American Express, the company offered a rewards program to cardholders; under the Discover program, card users earned a cash-back discount on the value of thei r transactions. Competitive Card Issuers Competitive card issuers (largely banks) issued credit and debit cards, predominantly under the Visa and MasterCard brands, and were responsible for the pricing, positioning, and marketing of their co-branded cards.The top three banks accounted for more than 60% of outstanding bank-issued credit card purchases, as indicated in Table D. Card issuers competed on the basis of card features and quality of service, including rewards, number of cards issued and quality of users’ credit and spending, number of establishments accepting the card, success of target marketing and promotional campaigns, and the ability of the issuer to manage credit and interest rate risks through economic cycles. The primary revenue source for bank issuers was interest income earned on outstanding credit card balances.They acquired new cardholders by cross-selling cards to the customers of their retail branch networks and, increasingly, targeted high-spending con sumers, offering premium cards with enhanced services such as larger lines of credit, cash rebates, lower interest rates, and co-brand benefits with airline frequent-flyer programs. 7 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Table D U. S. Credit Card Volumes by Card Issuer in 2007 Volume of Purchases billions) American Expressa JP Morgan Chase Bank of America Citigroup Capital One Discovera U. S. Bank HSBC Wells Fargo GE Money Other Sources: $459 317 263 222 106 90 65 41 37 27 87 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 896, February 2008, except for American Express (American Express Annual Report 2007). a Do not include third-party business. Emerging Payment Networks New entrants offering nontraditional, convenient, technology-based payment methods were growing in number and importance. It was estimated that cr edit and debit cards generated approximately $200 billion in purchase volume from online bill payments in 2006. 7 New payment methods included online â€Å"aggregator† networks, such as PayPal and Google Checkout, and telecom providers that leveraged new technologies and customers’ existing charge and credit card relationships to create mobile payment solutions where the plastic card would not need to be presented to the merchant. PayPal used encryption software to allow consumers to make financial transfers between computers. 28 Similarly, Google Checkout, which accepted and processed existing payment methods such as American Express, Visa, and MasterCard, aimed to offer buyers a fast, safe, and convenient purchase experience.American Express Card Business Model The American Express â€Å"spend-centric† business model (see Exhibit 4) depended on increased cardmember spending. American Express’s primary source of income was â€Å"discount revenue,† revenue earned from fees charged to merchants for processing purchases made using an American Express card. The fee charged represented a percentage of the dollar value of these transactions. In 2007, discount revenue and card fees accounted for more than 70% of U. S. Card Services’ revenue net of interest expense (see Exhibit 5).The average American Express cardmember charged more each year than the average Visa or MasterCard credit card user. In 2007, the annual average purchase volume per American Express card of $8,360 in the U. S. was substantially higher than that for Visa ($2,470/card) or MasterCard ($1,960/card). 29 By accepting American Express cards, merchants benefited from attracting as patrons the higher-spending American Express consumer. As a result, American Express could justify a premium discount rate from merchants over its competitors.American Express invested this price premium in information systems that studied the purchase habits and inclinations of c ardmembers. These insights led to the development of targeted 8 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 promotions, connecting merchants with interested American Express cardmembers who were in turn motivated to spend even more on their American Express cards.In this way, the spend-centric model became a virtuous cycle, benefiting cardmember, merchant, and company alike. From the outset, American Express targeted the affluent, high-spending consumer. â€Å"High-wallet† consumers were defined by American Express in 2007 as those who spent more than $30,000 annually using cards. Affluent consumers represented roughly 10% of card users but accounted for half of U. S. charge/credit card consumer spending. 30 American Express’s target consumer typically liked to travel, liked to be different, and lik ed special access to exclusive experiences.For many years the American Express consumer skewed slightly toward affluent, older men, a reflection of the company’s early targeting of the male business traveler. The company had successfully increased American Express brand penetration of affluent younger and female consumers. Unlike its transaction-oriented competitors, Visa and MasterCard, the American Express card always emphasized an aspirational lifestyle. An early example was the 1985 launch of Departures magazine for Platinum cardmembers who were active, affluent consumers.The Departures editor defined luxury not as status and privilege but in terms of quality and authenticity. Membership in a Lifestyle From the outset, American Express executives emphasized that the company sold not just a card but a relationship. The relationship involved a â€Å"membership† in which the company committed to providing the member with the following: Access (premium and exclusive ac cess and enhanced experiences for cardmembers), Advocacy (in merchant disputes, for example), Accountability (privacy of information, fairness in billing), and Affiliation (a sense of belonging to a community).Every American Express charge card included the â€Å"Member Since† designation on the front followed by the year the consumer became an American Express cardmember. To underscore the membership status of American Express consumers, the company in 1991 launched the Membership Miles program to motivate customer sign-ups, customer retention, and more frequent card usage. At launch, the Membership Miles program gave cardmembers one point for every dollar charged on the card and the ability to redeem points with seven airlines. The program was renamed Membership Rewards (MR) in 1995.Spending on American Express cards linked to MR averaged four times higher than that on cards without rewards activity. 31 Seventy percent of cardmembers used the MR program. Cardmembers enrolle d in the program were found to be lower credit risks as well as more profitable. 32 The company’s â€Å"data-mining† capabilities helped shape the MR program into an industry-leading loyalty program. For these reasons, American Express’s marketing spending on MR had grown at a compound annual growth rate of 24% since 2001, compared to an average 12% increase in marketing and promotion spending. 33 The MR program in the U.S. had more than 160 redemption partners34 and featured 29 airlines among its 250 merchandise brands. Analytics not only helped to determine whom to reach and with what offer, but also how rewards influenced loyalty. In 2005, the MR analytics team analyzed which members were more likely to redeem, in which categories, how many points they would redeem, and at what cost to the company. This research enabled American Express to craft a more appealing mix of reward offers, to predict more accurately the volume of demand for particular offers, and t o negotiate better deals with suppliers.Innovations such as â€Å"First Collection,† a luxury tier exclusively for U. S. Platinum and Centurion cardmembers that included redemption partners such as Tiffany and Lamborghini, and â€Å"Bonus Points Mall,† an online gateway to more than 100 retailers, were 9 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card examples of how American Express increasingly tried to match the nature and the level of rewards to what its members sought and expected.Data-Based Marketing As a card issuer and network provider, American Express had direct relationships with both its cardmembers and its merchants. â€Å"Data-based marketing† became a competitive advantage at American Express. Analyses of cardmember purchases enabled American Express to develop offers that boosted spending with particular groups of merchants. Open-loop competitors Visa and MasterCard could not match American Express’s data-driven capabilities because they controlled access to either the cardholder or the merchant data, not both.The purpose of data-based marketing was to develop insights and offers that would match members’ interests, drive charge volume, and increase loyalty to American Express. 35 The company did not use individual consumer data for marketing purposes but rather clustered cardholders into segments based on personal, financial, and lifestyle characteristics evident in the patterns of their transactions. Cardmember clusters might have greater than average spending in, for example, entertainment, dining, home, fashion, electronics, or automobiles.Cardmembers whose spending showed them to be more â€Å"passionate† about their homes might then receive offers from local homeimprovement retailers. The company also researched correlations across spending categories to identify potential partnerships. For example, research indicated that affluent consumers who owned at least one luxury automobile brand had a strong affinity not only to other luxury brands but also to consumer electronics brands, an above-average tendency to engage in skiing and antiquing, and a strong likelihood of owning a second, more practical vehicle.Data mining also enabled American Express executives to predict how spending behavior evolved through various â€Å"life stages† and increasing levels of affluence. For example, the company’s predictive model indicated that non-affluent cardmembers who made a single luxury purchase, such as a first-class airline ticket, were three times as likely to become affluent. Card upgrade offers distributed following a cardmember’s first luxury charge purchase resulted in response rates over 50% above normal. 36 Emerging ChallengesBy 2005, competitors had begun to imitate American Express’ s lifestyle platform with premium product offerings (e. g. , Visa Signature, MasterCard World Elite), exclusive experiential rewards (e. g. , MasterCard’s Unique Experiences program), and lifestyle advertising. Visa’s â€Å"Life Takes Visa† advertising campaign emphasized the â€Å"brand’s promise to deliver innovative products and services that empower cardholders to experience life and business their way and on their terms. †37 The quality of a card’s rewards program was increasingly important to higher-spending consumers.No longer did they evaluate rewards programs just on ease of earning and redeeming points. The variety and frequency of unique rewards (such as backstage access at a concert) were more and more critical. American Express had an edge over Visa and MasterCard owing to its cumulative expertise in arranging special events, but bidding wars for such opportunities were increasingly common. While continuing to emphasize relation ship and lifestyle over transaction, American Express had to broaden its merchant network to maintain its share of consumer spending.In 1990, 64% of 10 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 American Express U. S. billings came from the travel and entertainment (T&E) sectors and 36% came from retail and other sectors. 38 This reflected the company’s belief that spending could be segmented into â€Å"business† and â€Å"personal. † American Express’s focus on T&E concerned Chenault and Kelly.They believed that, in the interests of scale, American Express had to expand its presence in the â€Å"everyday† retail market. This change in strategy was opposed initially, partly because it would necessitate launching more new products and, in the eyes of some traditionalists, weaken the brand. However, by 2007 the sources of cardmember spending had more than reversed, with everyday retail spending representing more than 69% of U. S. American Express card billings. 39 Marketing Communications Advertising CampaignsAmerican Express had a long history of successful, distinctive advertising that consistently stressed prestige, inviting consumers to join an exclusive club of cardmembers. One of the first TV campaigns, â€Å"For People Who Travel† (1969–1974), demonstrated how the American Express card is â€Å"All You Need† for your travel and entertainment needs. This was replaced by the â€Å"Do You Know Me? † campaign, which that ran for more than a decade, produced 125 commercials, and marked the beginning of the company’s strategy of using famous American Express â€Å"members† to sell cards to consumers. Do You Know Me? † used a variety of celebrities to highlight the special treatment and recognition cardmembers enjoy, the premise being that people with famous names don’t always have equally famous faces; anyone who carried an American Express card would be immediately identified as someone of note. In 1987, American Express premiered the â€Å"Membership Has Its Privileges† campaign, which highlighted the company’s superior service and showed how the card â€Å"not only facilitated the variety and enjoyment of a cardmember’s lifestyle, but that membership is also invaluable when emergencies arise. 40 To complement this television campaign, the â€Å"Portraits† print campaign was launched. Portraits underscored the message that â€Å"superior customer service, security, and convenience† were important American Express qualities that cardmembers relied on. Shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, â€Å"Portraits† focused on a unique group of high-profile cardmembers. The company’s first global advertising campaign, â€Å"Do Mo re,† was launched in 1996 and emphasized brand attributes such as trust, customer focus, travel relevance, and financial insight.A variety of â€Å"product† commercials highlighted individual card benefits such as no preset spending, purchase protection, and global assist, while talent-driven â€Å"stories,† such as Tiger Woods’s â€Å"Manhattan† commercial in which he plays the world’s toughest â€Å"island† course—Manhattan—were intended to drive emotional relevance. In an effort to encourage everyday usage of the card, the â€Å"Do More† campaign introduced a series of ads showing comedian Jerry Seinfeld using the American Express Card in supermarkets and drugstores. In 2004, a new global campaign with the tagline â€Å"My Life. My Card. featured snapshots of the lives of celebrities, including Robert DeNiro, Tiger Woods, and Ellen DeGeneres. The campaign portrayed American Express cardmembers as exceptional pe ople no matter where they lived or what they did. The campaign was also the first to support both American Express’s proprietary and network businesses. John Hayes, American Express’s chief marketing officer, believed that the company’s history of tastefully portraying the rich and famous had provided it with an edge in attracting A-list talent. DeGeneres purportedly pointed to Seinfeld’s ads before signing on to do her own. 1 11 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card American Express launched its most recent campaign, â€Å"Are You A Cardmember? ,† in 2007. Hayes explained: â€Å"The new campaign continues the tradition of defining the value of belonging to the American Express community by showcasing some of our most exceptional cardmembers and the ways in which membersh ip works for them.But our latest campaign not only reaffirms for existing members why they belong, it also calls on nonmembers to consider becoming a cardmember. †42 See Exhibit 6 for a summary of American Express’s U. S. card advertising campaigns. Expenditures The company’s mix of marketing spending had changed to reflect the growing importance of targeted communication over mass mailings and the emergence of the digital world. Over time, spending on direct mail, while still large, had decreased along with spending on television advertising.Event/experiential marketing and Internet spending had both grown. American Express used direct marketing both to acquire new customers and to motivate existing members to upgrade. Traditionally, American Express sought new customer applications from outbound telemarketing, â€Å"Take Ones† (applications placed in restaurants and other retail establishments), and direct-mail efforts. By 2008, only 40% of successful ne w applicants still came from direct-mail solicitations and response rates had slipped well below 1%.By contrast, a significant portion of applications came from new channels such as the Internet, co-branded partner channels, and consumer-initiated phone calls to American Express customer service. The American Express website had become one of the company’s largest sources of new member applications. It allowed the company to leverage its datamining expertise to provide real-time consumer rewards and offers. The Web simplified the card selection/application process by guiding the applicant through card choices.Based on the applicant’s stated card feature priorities (fees, rewards, payment terms), the American Express website provided card product comparisons and recommended the most appropriate card options from American Express’s portfolio. The growing importance of the digital world was reflected in the company’s shift in media spending, as shown in Tabl e E. American Express Company—U. S. Card Media Spending Table E Share of Media Spend 2003 Media Type Online Share of Media Spend 2007 7% Television 19% 48 57 14 10 Print 23 13 Radio 2 Non Traditional Source: Mediaa Company records. a Non Traditional Media includes billboards, transit, cinema, and other out-of-home media Investing in the website reduced American Express’s costs and built brand presence and prestige. By 2008, 38% of American Express applications, payments, and reward redemptions had migrated to the Web at cost rates 53%, 84%, and 86% lower, respectively, than offline. 43 The Internet allowed the company to attract new customers faster (one application every eight seconds) and more 12This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027 economically. The website, serving as a virtual service cen ter around the clock, increased the frequency with which the company was in contact with its customers, making it a powerful marketing channel. Claiming the americanexpress. com site â€Å"gets more traffic than the Wall Street Journal online,† the company noted that its members used the Web primarily for checking statements and cashing in rewards.With more than 50% of American Express payments left to migrate online, upside opportunity existed for further cost savings and deeper relationships with customers. Bank and Merchant Partners As of 2008, American Express obtained customers in two ways: through direct company solicitations and communications that resulted in consumers being issued proprietary American Express cards; and through third-party financial institutions that solicited their customers to sign up for American Express cards through them, a business managed by the company’s Global Network Services (GNS) division.Bank Partners American Express’s GNS business was set up in 1997 to build partnerships with banks and other institutions to issue American Express–branded products. GNS products were designed to help issuers develop products for their highest-spending, most affluent customers and to support the value of American Express card acceptance with merchants. GNS enabled American Express to broaden its cardmember base internationally at relatively low cost. By 2008, GNS had over 120 partners in more than 125 markets and accounted for nearly 25% of American Express’s overall cardsin-force.American Express particularly wanted to help each bank design card products for their highspending, affluent private banking clientele, and to benefit from new distribution channels that included each bank’s website, direct-mail capabilities, and retail branch network. For their part, the banks were interested in partnering with American Express because of its superior marketing expertise as a card issuer and the higher-s pending profile of American Express cardmembers. Merchants stood to benefit from more American Express cards in circulation.For American Express, expanding the GNS business required little capital; the banks owned the receivables and therefore absorbed the consumer credit risk. While consumers could choose between American Express proprietary cards and those issued under GNS partnerships, cannibalization of direct sales appeared to be minimal. While GNS began building a healthy international business, it was effectively barred from doing business in the U. S. by Visa and MasterCard’s policies preventing their U. S. member banks from issuing other card brands. In 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against Visa, MasterCard, and eight of their member banks, charging anticompetitive practices. The suit charged that Visa and MasterCard prohibited their U. S. partner banks from issuing American Express–branded cards on the American Express network. Discover card s were affected similarly. The legal battle was resolved in 2004 when the U. S. Supreme Court let stand a court ruling that Visa and MasterCard had violated antitrust laws. Visa settled for $2. 25 billion. MasterCard later settled for $1. 5 billion.American Express soon signed Network Card License Arrangements (NCLs) to issue American Express–branded cards with seven leading U. S. banks. MBNA was the first, followed by Citibank, Barclaycard U. S. , USAA, GE Money, HSBC, and Bank of America. Though the banks were licensed to issue American Express–branded cards, American Express owned the relationships with merchants. 13 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y.SUN 509-027 The American Express Card This meant that GNS earned discount revenue from both the bank issuer and the merchant acquirer, a sum that represented roughly one-third o f total GNS revenues. This design feature underscored the importance of the continued focus on the high-spend segment. American Express developed strong account-management teams to manage the relationships with these major banks. Two major banks that had not yet signed on to issue American Express cards were JP Morgan Chase and Capital One. Merchant Partners In addition to U. S. anks, American Express depended on relationships with merchant partners, seeking always to expand its merchant coverage. These relationships were managed by the Merchant Services Group. Despite American Express’s premium discount rate, American Express believed that merchant coverage was not a function of price alone; if it were, Kmart and Walmart, for example, would not have chosen to accept American Express. Further, the Discover card discount rate was less than American Express’s yet Discover had a much lower merchant penetration. (See Table F for fees paid in 2005 by U. S. erchants to accep t card payments. ) American Express account managers and third-party sales organizations aimed to convince merchants of two benefits to offset American Express’s higher discount rate: that American Express cardmembers would spend more with them than with competitive cardholders and that American Express data mining could target promotional offers that would drive business their way. To persuade reluctant merchants to sign up, the Merchant Services Group might target members who were likely shoppers at a new merchant with double points promotions for an inaugural period.Since 2000, American Express increased merchant acceptance of its cards in many categories, especially quick-serve restaurants, mass transit, and health care. American Express card acceptance also increased in industries where cash, checks, or bank transfers were the predominant forms of payment, including apartment rentals, private jet travel, and destination clubs. By 2008, the American Express card was accep ted at millions of merchants in the U. S.. Management estimated that U. S. ocations where the American Express card was accepted covered more than 90% of American Express cardmembers’ general-purpose charge and credit card spending. 44 Table F Fees Paid by U. S. Merchants to Accept Card Payments—2005 Payment Card Brand Visa/MasterCard Credit Cards Visa/MasterCard Debit Cards American Express Discover Source: Fees Paid (billions) Weighted Averagea $25. 13 9. 76 8. 51 1. 46 2. 19% 1. 75 2. 41 1. 76 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Number 862, August 2006. a Fees vary according to merchant category, volume, and type of card. ConclusionBy the spring of 2008, American Express was strategically focused on the payments and travel businesses, having sold off the last of its banking interests. Michael O’Neill, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications, explained this transformation: â€Å"We narrowed the business and broadened the brand. † Warre n Buffett, who was the company’s largest shareholder, described 14 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card 509-027American Express’s â€Å"powerful world-wide brand† as â€Å"an enduring moat that protects excellent returns on invested capital†45 and Chenault as one of the â€Å"giant-company managers whom I greatly admire. †46 In March 2008, Barron’s named Chenault as one of â€Å"The World’s Best CEOs† for having â€Å"positioned American Express well to withstand turbulence. He hasn’t compromised credit standards to gain new cardholders, nor has he cut back on marketing spending to prop up earnings. His loss rates on cards remain among the industry’s best. †47 In the second half of 2007, a U. S. housing downturn and credit crunch slowed U . S. economic growth.American Express issued a profit warning in early 2008. Chenault explained that the slowdown in cardmember spending that had come on suddenly in December 2007 was broad-based and was expected to continue into 2008. â€Å"Now we’ve been through slowing economies before, but none of us can recall such a dramatic drop over such a short time frame, except for the event-driven decline of 9/11. †48 Past-due loans and write-offs also rose, especially in parts of the U. S. that had experienced a housing price bubble. However, superior risk management and credit controls at American Express meant that it was less affected than competitors. 9 It was in this context that Jud Linville prepared for his meeting with Ken Chenault and Al Kelly. How could the American Express consumer card business continue its growth while maintaining the company’s premium positioning? Were there opportunities for his organization to serve U. S. consumers and merchants in n ew ways while continuing to turn in the profits that shareholders had come to expect? 15 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express CardExhibit 1 American Express Card Business Statistics: 2006–2007 Years Ended December 31 (billions, except percentages and where indicated) 2007 2006 Card billed businessa United States Outside the United States $459. 3 188. 0 $406. 8 154. 7 $647. 3 $561. 5 52. 3 34. 1 48. 1 29. 9 86. 4 78. 0 40. 9 29. 2 37. 1 25. 4 70. 1 62. 5 Total b Total cards-in-force (millions) United States Outside the United States Total Basic cards-in-force (millions) b United States Outside the United States Total Average discount ratec Average basic cardmember spending (dollars)d Average fee per card (dollars) d Source: 2. 56% $12,106 32 2. 57% $11,201 $32 Company documents. a Card billed business inc ludes activities (including cash advances) related to proprietary cards, cards issued under network partnership agreements, and certain insurance fees charged on proprietary cards. Card billed business is reflected in the United States or outside the United States based on where the cardmember is domiciled. b The number of cards that are issued and outstanding. Proprietary basic consumer cards-in-force includes basic cards issued to the primary account owner (â€Å"cardmember†) and does not include additional supplemental cards issued on that account.Proprietary basic small business and corporate cards-in-force include basic and supplemental cards issued to employee cardmembers. Non-proprietary basic cards-inforce includes all cards that are issued and outstanding under network partnership agreements. c Designed to approximate merchant pricing, the percentage of billed business (both proprietary and Global Network Services) retained by the Company from merchants it acquires, prior to payments to third parties unrelated to merchant acceptance. d Average basic cardmember spending and average fee per card are computed from proprietary card ctivities only. 16 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card Exhibit 2 509-027 Selected American Express U. S. Charge and Credit Card Products: 2008 CARD TYPE SELECTED FEATURES AND BENEFITS CHARGE CARDS Green (1958) Gold(1966) —Preferred Rewards Gold (2002) —Rewards Plus Gold (1994) Platinum (1984) Centurion (1999) One from American Express (2005) 1% of purchases deposited to high yield savings account CREDIT CARDSBlue (1999) —Blue (1999) —Blue Cash (2003) —Blue Sky (2005) —Blue for Students (2001) Optima (1987) —Optima Platinum (1997) City Rewards —In New York City (2004) —In Los Angeles (2005) —In Chicago (2005) Clear (2005) No annual fee, flexibility to pay over time, free additional cards No annual fee, earn up to 5% cash back, unlimited cash rewards No annual fee, earn points redeemable on airline, hotel or cruise services. No annual fee, flexibility to pay over time, Membership Rewards No annual fee, transfer balances for free, Membership Rewards No annual fee, earn Inside points to at, drink and play in New York No annual fee, earn Inside points to eat, drink and play in L. A. No annual fee, earn Inside points to eat, drink and play in Chicago. No fees of any kind, automatic rewards, flexibility to pay over time PARTNER CARDS Airlines —Gold Delta Sky Miles (1996) —Platinum Delta Sky Miles (2002) —JetBlue Card (2005) Hotels —Starwood Preferred (2001) —Hilton HHonors (1995) Costco—True Earnings Card (2004) Lifestyle Cards —The Knot (2005) —The Nest (2005) Earn Sky Miles on every dollar spent, earn double m iles on some purchases Earn Sky Miles, earn 1 companion ticket each yearEarn points towards JetBlue flights Earn points towards free hotel stays, upgrades, even flights Earn HHonors points on every purchase Earn cash back on purchases Membership Rewards, no annual fee, get special offers from The Knot Membership Rewards, no annual fee, get special offers from The Nest FOR CORPORATE CLIENTS American Express Corporate Cards (1966) Business ExtrAA Corporate Card (2003) Comprehensive reporting to track spending and increase compliance Savings through airfare rebates, free travel awards FOR SMALL BUSINESS Business Gold Rewards (2005) Business Platinum Card (1995) Plum (2006)Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card (2001) Business Cash Rebate Credit Card (2003) Source: Membership Rewards, no limit, year-end summary Membership Rewards, access to special events Membership Rewards, access to special events, 5 free additional cards Airport Club access, 24 hour concierge service, by Invit ation Only events Save 3-25% on business expenses at selected partners (e. g. : FedEx, Delta) Access to airport lounges, professional office space, personal concierge Trade terms, pay within 10 days, get 2% off or defer payment Free awards nights at Starwood Hotels, awards flights on over 30 airlines Earn 2. % on all purchases and up to 5% for certain business purchases. Company documents. 17 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Exhibit 3 Source: American Express Company Overview: 2007 Company records. 18 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card Exhibit 4 509-027American Express: Spend-Centric Model The American Express spend-centric busines s model focused primarily on generating revenues by driving spending on its cards, and secondarily finance charges and fees, allowing the company to grow market share in the payments industry. Source: Company documents. 19 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Exhibit 5 American Express U. S. Card Services—Selected Income Statement Data Year Ended December 31 (millions)Revenues Discount revenue, net card fees and othera Cardmember lending revenueb Securitization income Excess spread, net Servicing fees Gains on sales from securitizations Securitization income, net:c 2007 2006 $10,435 4,762 $9,421 3,434 1,025 425 57 1,055 407 27 $ 1,507 $ 1,489 Total revenues Interest expense Cardmember lending Charge card and other $16,704 $14,344 1,518 964 957 767 Revenue, Net of Interest Expense $14,222 $12,620 Exp enses Marketing, promotion, rewards and cardmember services Human resources and other operating expenses Total Provisions for lossesd Pretax segment income Income provision 5,140 3,354 $ 8,494 $ 2,998 $ 2,730 $ 907 $ 4,445 3,227 $ 7,672 $ 1,625 3,323 $ 1,171 Segment Income $ 1,823 $ 2,152 Source: American Express Company Annual Report 2007, p. 53. a Discount Revenue represents revenue earned from fees charged to merchants with whom the company has entered into a card acceptance agreement for processing cardmember transactions. b Cardmember Lending Revenue represents the outstanding amount due from cardmembers for charges made on their American Express credit cards, any interest charges and card-related fees and balances with extended payment terms on certain charge products. Securitization Income, Net includes non-credit provision components of the net gains from securitization activities; excess spread related to securitized cardmember loans; and servicing income net of related dis counts or fees. d Provisions for Losses include credit-related expenses. 20 This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN The American Express Card Exhibit 6 509-027 Major American Express Advertising Campaigns in the United States 1958–early 1960s Good As Gold.The World Around! Establish prestige image for AmEx card and provide application instructions. 1969–1974 For People Who Travel Show how the American Express card is â€Å"all you need† for your travel and entertainment needs. 1975–1987 Do You Know Me? Show celebrities receiving the special treatment and recognition cardmembers enjoy around the world. Tagline, which continued through 1995, is â€Å"Don’t Leave Home Without It. † 1987–1992 Membership Has Its Privileges Introduce notion of â€Å"membership† and showcase the benefits of res pect, recognition, unsurpassed service as well as Global Assist, Buyers Assurance. 996–2000 Do More/Seinfeld Highlight individual card product benefits such as no pre-set spending, purchase protection, global assist. Talent-driven â€Å"stories† drive emotional relevance and recognition benefit. Use Jerry Seinfeld in a larger than life manner to increase awareness and use of the American Express card at everyday spend locations. Sub-campaign uses everyday moments to highlight individual product benefits such as retail protection and roadside assistance. Make Life Rewarding 2002 Relaunch American Express brand post 9/11 using charge card as the face of propriety.Sub-campaign introduced â€Å"revitalized† charge card with membership reward programs built in. 2004–2007 My Life. My Card. Demonstrate the company’s belief that American Express cardmembers are exceptional people no matter where they live or what they do. Featured extraordinary individuals including Robert DeNiro, Tiger Woods, Ellen DeGeneres, and Laird Hamilton, revealing snapshots of their lives. Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz were commissioned to lend their vision to elements of the campaign creative.While the creative direction varied from ad to ad, the campaign theme was consistent: achievers of all types choose American Express. 2007–2008 Are You A Cardmember? Entice prospective cardmembers to apply and join the American Express community and reinforce the membership benefits to current cardmembers via showcasing the advantages American Express offers versus competition. Celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, and Diane Von Furstenberg are featured within a lifestyle and access theme. Source: Company documents. 21This document is authorized for use only by YUJIE SUN in Intensive in American Business taught by Robert Calamai from September 2012 to December 2012. For the exclusive use of Y. SUN 509-027 The American Express Card Endnotes 1 Adapted from The Nilson Report, Issue 902, 2008. 2 American Express Annual Report, 2007, inside front cover. 3American Express Fixed Income Presentation, March 12, 2008, http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/ irol/64/64467/DebtInvestorPres. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. 4 American Express Financial Community Meeting 2/16/2008 K.Chenault speech, texthttp://media. corporateir. net/media_files/irol/64/64467/KCSTalkingPoints020608. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. 5 American Express Annual Report, p. 110. 6 American Express Fixed Income Presentation, March 12, 2008, ir. net/media_files/irol/64/64467/DebtInvestorPres. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. 7 American Express Fixed Income Presentation, March 12, 2008, ir. net/media_files/irol/64/64467/DebtInvestorPres. pdf, accessed June 12, 2008. http://media. corporatehttp://media. corporate- 8 Americ