Thoughts On 2oth Century Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thoughts On 2oth Century Art - Essay Example Salvador Dali, on the other hand, was very vocal about what the Nazi had systematically deprived the human race. Dali’s The Persistence of Memory had left a strong impression as a new representation of the qualities of time. Time, as we believe, is something that is stoic and unchangeable. However, in the painting, Dali depicted his surrealist impression of the collapse of this cosmic order. He had incorporated time, man and death in what is to become his most famous painting. In retrospect however, if I were to choose which painting I would want to for my own aesthetic pleasure, I would choose Dali’s two depictions of The Basket of Bread. It is probably because bread is not only the sustenance of one’s being but because it depicts his impression of Hitler’s irrational hunger. In conclusion, Picasso and Dali are both great artists and were able to influence a majority of artists up to now. I believe that being regarded as a sarcastic genius, Picasso was not compelled to look into the society’s evils as much as Salvador Dali. Picasso was imprisoned in his own secluded being that did not allow him to see what occurred outside. Whilst Dali has incorporated his personal convictions during a time of war and unrest into his art describing the reality

Kraft and Cadbury Merger Essay Example for Free

Kraft and Cadbury Merger Essay What is the role of the government in this merger? What is the impact on the shareholders, what are their thoughts about it and is it a successful merger or not. Other than Kraft and Cadbury four aspects of doing business internationally has been discussed and their influence in an international business career. 1. 1 How and why Kraft identified Cadbury as a potential partner? On 19th January 2010 Kraft the American Giant, acquired Cadbury the most popular and one of the most selling brand in chocolates for . 5bn. The reason for Kraft to identify Cadbury as its potential partner and even after Cadbury rejected its first bid on 7th September 2009, and then came up with a higher bid, was that Kraft wanted to bring in the most loved British Chocolates to USA, because the chocolates that America produces are only loved by American’s and are not so loved around the world, while they targeted the British company because they make better chocolates plus they wanted to get into the British market and to get into the British market remaining into the food industry they could not identify a better option than acquiring Cadbury by merging these two companies one they capture the British market of dairy food plus they introduce their products into Britain and the Cadbury products into USA having the plus points of both cultures. Expected benefits Kraft is the second largest Food beverage company in the world, which produced revenue of 49. billion USD in the year 2010 (Kraftfoodscompany, (2011) and is operating in more than 150 counties worldwide and has an Employee number of around 100,000. Where as Cadbury on the other hand is the second largest Confectionary Company in the world, which produced revenue of 5. 38 billion USD in the year 2008 (Cadbury annual report, 2008) and has a very strong hold in Asia Pacific and Latin America and has an Employee number of around 70,000. When these two giants combine, one American Giant and other British Giant, they both can conquer the food industry if they both are managed well. In 2010 Kraft already made revenue increase of 0. 7 billion USD from 2008 to 2010 after the take over of Cadbury (CNN, 2011). Kraft and Cadbury can both work very well and can avail a lot of benefits from each other provided that both them work together, because Kraft has its own management too large in scale and Cadbury as well. 1. 3 Synergies for both companies involved? After the merger of Kraft and Cadbury, both companies are expected to have revenue synergies and have an increase of the net revenue of up to 5% or more. They are targeting the long-term output for it. Which as a result will increase the net revenue. The combined company (Kraft and Cadbury) is targeting to increase their per share cost in 2011 of approximately $0. 05 and on the basis of cash. These two companies combined can make a lot of revenue. Parliament publication, 2012) Other than that Cadbury has other channels of gaining revenue like gas filling stations, corner shops which are well being forced by Cadbury and on the other hand Kraft has a strong hold on supermarkets and groceries. As they are merged now the overall distribution will be higher for Kraft and Cadbury and their revenue will increase. Both of the companies has opposite markets that they have captured for Cadbury they have a large influence in Asia, Africa, Mexico and Turkey and for Kraft they have more influence in Brazil and China. By combining together they both can capture almost every market around the globe. The total value of the British chocolate confectionery sector amounts to approximately EUR 3. 9 billion. In the UK, the parties activities overlap only in the markets of tablets and pralines. Kraft is active in tablets and pralines mainly with its brands Milka, Toblerone and Terrys chocolate Orange, and Cadbury with its brands Dairy Milk, Roses and Green amp; Black. (http://ec. europa. eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m5644_20100106_20212_en. pdf page 9 ) (Kraft Foods Official 2011 Report) 1. 4 The risks associated with the choice of acquisition as an approach to this particular ‘partnership’ The first and last risk which is associated with this particular partnership is of keeping their word. The official position of the Fairtrade Foundation is the following: The Fairtrade Foundation is very proud of our relationship with Cadbury, and what we have achieved together, including the conversion of Cadbury Dairy Milk to Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland in 2009, now being extended to three other international markets Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This has had a tremendously positive public response, and is delivering major benefits to cocoa farmers in Ghana, quadrupling the amount they are able to sell on Fairtrade terms in 2010, compared to 2008. The Fairtrade Foundation and Cadbury have a shared vision for the future, and there are contractual commitments in place, which will form part of any intellectual property transfer between Cadbury and Kraft in any takeover. We believe that the progress we have made together in strengthening cocoa farmers to deliver long term sustainability of the cocoa supply chain, along with a fast growing level of consumer demand for Fairtrade products, not just in the UK but globally, present a unique and compelling case for continuing to pursue the Cadbury commitment to their Cocoa Partnership and to Fairtrade, and taking it even further in coming months and years. Treehugger, 2012) According to the Official Statement, they will perform Fairtrade for both the companies and Kraft confirmed that it would uphold Cadbury’s commitments to Fairtrade which were that: †¢ Dairy Milk will continue to be Fairtrade in the UK and Northern Ireland and in three more markets, Canada, Australia and New Zealand by early 2010; †¢ Green amp; Black’s (which is owned by Cadbury) will move its entire range to Fairtrade by the end of 2011. (http://www. publications. parliament. uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmbis/234/234. df ) But no one is quiet happy with the outcome of the merger. Because Kraft did not really act upon what they stated to do before the merger, expression of the former first Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell asked Kraft in the Scottish Parliament to Honour the Fairtrade Part of the deal, he said There have been concerns expressed for many years that Kraft has never shown any enthusiasm for fair trade and therefore this must be under threat as a result of the takeover. (Treehugger, 2012). Warren Buffett isnt too keen now either. Discussing the CEO of Kraft, he said She thinks this is a good deal, I think its a bad deal. Mind you, he is probably not worrying about the fairtrade aspect. Cadburys 6,000 UK workers are also worried, because it is a hi risk for the workers to now work at Cadbury under the American Management which has already influenced the Cadbury management. 1. 5 Feasible alternative? The most feasible alternative to Kraft for Cadbury was Hershey Chocolates, which is also an American Chocolate brand. In 2009 before the hostile takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, Cadbury talked to Hershey personal to include themselves in the bid so they can recommend Hershey over Kraft to its shareholders and are taken over by Hershey, but unfortunately Hershey did not want to be the part of the bidding war over Cadbury with Kraft because Hershey is its self weighing up. Even for Kraft Hershey was a good alternative over Cadbury because both are American Companies and would understand eachother easily rather than taking over a company is a completely different region, Ferrero maker of Rocher chocolate and Nutella is also a very good alternative for Cadbury but at the time of bid according to Trevor Datson the spokesperson for Cadbury said the company had no comment. No one at Ferrero was immediately available for comment. Involvement of National and corporate cultures Neither is the Nation nor the Corporate section is happy with the merger of the both companies, because for public there is a fear of cutting off more than 6000 jobs is Britian and more than 46,000 globally so people working at Cadbury are really afraid to work at it and other than employees the Corporate personal are also in fear of that the world leading brands like Dairy Milk, Flake and Wipsa are at risk with this merger and the shareholder are also not very happy with the $11. 5 bn deal. Critical Evaluation of both the companies about this Partnership Both of the companies had their own management and their own way of doing business around the world. As Kraft is majorly dairy products maker and is being loved by that around the world. Where as Cadbury is also a very well known name in the chocolate industry, because a lot of people in United Kingdom and at other major parts of the world such as Asia and Africa Cadbury is really loved for chocolate. As through the analysis this is a very hostile takeover i. e. , between Kraft and Cadbury, after taking over Cadbury Kraft accepted some of the points that they will do and keep is at it is and after that takeover they did not manage to fulfill those commitments which lead to misunderstanding between these two companies after their merger. As Kraft agreed that they will stick to Faretrade organization and to keep the same cocoa supplier as Cadbury had before and before the merger Cadbury was to close one of their plants but after merger Kraft did not do so and now they are facing these problems which are not very good in the long run for both of the companies. Involvement Of the Government In this hostile takeover not just the employees and shareholders but also the government, had and also has issues with this mergers. With the merger of Kraft Foods and Cadbury a number of important issues have bin highlighted in the way through which the foreign takeovers of UK companies are conducted.

Win-Win Situation :: essays research papers

LOOKING FOR A WIN-WIN SITUATION This past weekend marks the largest contract signing in Major League Baseball history. On the 12th of February 2000, Ken Griffey Jr. (formerly of the Seattle Mariners), signed a nine-year $116.5 million contract with his hometown Cincinnati Reds. The city’s fans were ecstatic to bring Griffey back, and considering he turned down an eight-year $148 million deal to re-sign with Seattle, they feel that the acquisition was a real bargain. It really is amazing when a man can make $12.94 million a year, simply for playing the game of baseball and millions upon millions of people are calling it a bargain. Salaries in sports are incredibly sensitive and controversial issues. There are many die-hard fans that believe high-profile athletes are worth each and every cent their contract gives them, however most people believe otherwise; I am one of them. What exactly is it that athletes do that makes them deserving of such high salaries? The real issue at hand here, is that the more money athletes are making, the more fans are going to have to pay to see them in person. Is there really a win-win situation here? As entertainers, athletes are paid for fan satisfaction. The more fans that want to see an athlete perform, the more the athlete is paid. In fact, most athletes, even those who make millions of dollars for each flubbed fly ball, dropped pass, and missed free throw, feel they probably deserve even higher salaries; the reason being that they’re still in demand. While certain athletes may never bring a championship ring to their team, or even bring home a winning season, those athletes will always pack the stands. Fans in the stands translate into ticket sales. Ticket sales can potentially lead to national television broadcasts. Inevitably, the formula of ticket sales plus national television broadcasts leads to massive revenue, and this is how owners and organizations can afford to pay players like Michael Jordan $25 Million for his retiring season alone. However, how does society (as a whole) benefit from these over-inflated salaries? In short, it doesn’t. It is a delicate and confusing situation. If the fans will pay for everything from the hats to the T-shirts, to the tickets to the hot dogs, the teams will generate more money. However, if that happens, come contract time athletes will demand for more money. If the athlete demands more money, the cost of tickets and memorabilia will go up.

Toyota Car Crisis

Halmstad University School of Business and Engineering Master in Management of Innovation and Business Development Toyota Crisis: Management Ignorance? – A Swedish Case of Consumers Perceptions Master’s Dissertation in Management of Innovation and Business Development, 15 ECTS Final seminar 2010-05-27 Authors: Yuanyuan Feng Supervisor: Mike Danilovic Hamlstad University Feng(2010) TOYOTA CRISIS: MANAGEMENT IGNORANCE? – A SWEDISH CASE OF CONSUMERS PERCEPTIONS Yuanyuan Feng School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, Sweden AbstractSince the late 2009, the famous vehicle manufacture Toyota has suffered a severe crisis due to unintended quality problems in its cars which had triggered Toyota’s largest officially recalls of its cars around the world. This crisis threatens the company’s previous reputation of good quality cars, as well as the brand image built up over time. This study aims to elaborate on the Toyota crisis in order to unders tand why Toyota faces this crisis and how they deal with the crisis; and investigate consumers’ perceptions of Toyota brand as the outcome of the crisis, with a focus on Swedish market.A qualitative research along with a number of face-to-face interviews with Toyota Swedish dealer and Swedish vehicle consumers is conducted. The findings reveal that the impact of the Toyota crisis in Sweden is not as serious as that in America; there remain satisfied and loyal Toyota’s customers who are not swayed by the negative publicities; While Toyota should manage the crisis even in a better way in order to retain its good reputation. Crisis, Toyota, Corporate Reputation, crisis management, consumer perception Key Words INTRODUCTION We deeply regret the inconvenience and concern caused to our customers and others by our recent recalls of multiple vehicle models across multiple regions. † – Aki Toyoda, the CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation1 (Toyota website). Since the abo ve apologetic speech was addressed by Aki Toyoda at a press conference in February 2010, it had been highlighted at the front page of Toyota’s official website for a few months. Beside the regretful expression we can learn from this public release, it also implies that the Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, is suffering in their recent recalls of millions of vehicles round the globe.Safety recalls are common issues occurring in automobile industry, few may have long run impact on the automakers involved if handled correctly. However, in this case, the disaster engulfing Toyota is of a different order (The Economist, Feb. 6, 2010). Toyota’s quality brand has been at a risk due to its sedans’ safety problems sequentially emerged recently. 1 Toyota Motor Corporation is the full name of the company, however, in this article the word â€Å"Toyota† will be used instead of Toyota Motor Corporation in order to make it short. Hamlstad University Feng(2010) In 2008 Toyota became the world’s largest carmaker when it successfully exceeded General Motors in sales and production. However, this leading position of Toyota had changed since the end of 2009. In United States, Toyota’s largest marketplace, a fatal crash of a Lexus ES 350 happening on August 28th 2009 was highly publicized, due to the gas pedal was stuck and the car was out of control (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 25, 2009).Since then, Toyota’s vehicles have been largely exposed to a series of issues associated with unintended acceleration problems, which had triggered Toyota’s escalating crisis and its massive recalls of approximately 9 million vehicles globally within six months. For Toyota, this is indeed a tragedy not only related to heavy financial losses due to repairing costs, market share lost and production suspending, but also to Toyota’s reputation for matchless quality and management.The firm's reputation for quality cars, on which the business was built over time, is shattered. Problem Discussion Toyota has long been regarded as the pinnacle of Japanese innovation, manufacturing quality and industrial pioneer (The Economist, Feb 13, 2010). Its vehicles are well known for economy, reliability and fuel efficiency. Its ‘lean’ manufacturing techniques and culture of continuous improvement were the envy of the business world (ibid). It is absolutely astonishing that Toyota has been embroiled in such a serious quality issues with its vehicles.Just within six months, almost 9 million cars have to be taken back for modification under the potential problems with floor mat, acceleration pedals, and braking, all of which were related to unintended acceleration problems by publics. As we know, cars nowadays have become more complicated in features and functionality. The growing numbers of wires, sensors and computer chips embedded in auto electronics have profoundly changed the automobile in the last decade (Krisher, 2010).As more and more hi-tech systems are fitted to modern cars, it has become more and more perplexing in quality-control testing along with troublesome interferences and uncertainties. Any small electronic flaws randomly happened in the complicated machine, as well as the influence of environmental factors, can easily lead to a failure of a car. In the Toyota crisis, we would wonder if the massive recalls were simply as a result of mechanical problems that could happen in any automaker potentially, or were caused by other errors of the company that can be avoided in term of their technology and management.No matter how, the recalls stories made the headlines worldwide. Especially in United State, Toyota has received unprecedented attentions from mass media, most of which have published a lot of negative news related to this issue, questioning to the quality problems of Toyota’s car and its reputation. Negative events usually come unexpectedly with the pote ntial to bring an organization into reputational crises and thereby imperil its future profitability, growth, and survival (Greyser, 2009).Whether the negative impacts are immediate or sustained over months and years, crises would probably affect both internal and external stakeholders of the company (Weiner, 2006). Suffering in such disaster, Toyota has taken action to manage the crisis, in order to retrieve their reputation and rebuild trust from stakeholders, especially the most important groups – consumers. Toyota has been in the hot center of coverage in United State, where the crisis is originally initiated. While, other countries involved in Toyota recall issues seem to pay less attention to this event than that of North America.Since the recalls have been conducted across regions globally not only in North America, it would be interesting to see how vehicle consumers in non-American regions perceive the crisis and the Toyota brand. 2 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) Pur pose and Research Questions With the above problems in mind, this study aims to elaborate on the Toyota crisis in order to understand why Toyota faces this crisis and how they deal with the crisis. This can be achieved through a detailed overview on what have happen in Toyota related to the crisis on a general level, as the recalls had been released globally.Moreover, the purpose of this research is also to investigate consumers’ perceptions of Toyota brand as the outcome of the crisis. To be specific in this aspect, Swedish market will be the focus of the research where Swedish vehicle consumers are examined. Accordingly, the research questions can be set as following: What are the reasons that force Toyota coming to the troublesome crisis? How does Toyota handle this crisis in order to retrieve its reputation? What are the Swedish consumers’ perceptions of Toyota brand as the outcome of the crisis?Although this research is inspired by an empirical case, the findings would also help to develop our understanding on how an organization can more effectively respond to crises, as well as building new knowledge to the area of corporate reputation and crisis management. It can also draw practical implication for crisis managers in auto motor and other industries. RESEARCH METHOD This study is done in a way of focusing on the Toyota case, it is therefore a case study that has an emphasis on empirical finding.Through empirically studying the Toyota crisis, which typically represents organizational crisis, the intent of this research is to develop an understanding of organizational response to crises and brand images management in auto motor industry and other industries. An explorative research along with descriptive characteristic is thus employed, by raising open questions to illustrate the crisis phenomenon and try to explore relatively new knowledge for organizational crisis management. A qualitative strategy is selected for formulating questions, p urpose and gathering data.Characteristics of this approach are closeness to the respondents, to capture their values, attitudes and perceptions based on their own words and meanings (Bryman and Bell, 2007). According to the study purpose and the research questions placed above, this research is conducted from two perspectives: the Toyota itself on a general base and the vehicle consumers in a specific market. When formulating the purpose and research questions, here raise a problem with the selection of consumer respondents.Although the Toyota crisis occurs on a global level, it is impossible to conduct the research targeting consumers in all the markets around the world. Furthermore, compared to the United States where triggered the crisis and dominantly receive extensive coverage negatively related to Toyota’s stumble, other countries and regions that are involved in the recalls are less focused and could present more pertinent opinions toward this issue. Consequently, in o rder to gain more reasonable insights, I would like to look into a specific market instead of American market.Since I live in Halmstad city of Sweden, the sampling respondents – Toyota dealer and vehicle consumers – will be targeted within Halmstad city, for the purpose of convenient location to conduct the research. 3 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) In order to elaborate on the Toyota crisis, secondary data associating with Toyota crisis on global level is examined and collected initially through different sources, such as media coverage, official releases from government regulatory bodies, critics’ comments in journals, and Toyota official websites.This is done to provide an overview on what exactly happen in Toyota connected to the crisis basically. In addition, to be more specific, primary data collection is considered significantly critical since it is a more exploratory-oriented study. In this research, face-to face interview manner, which is one of the mos t important sources for a case study (Yin, 1994), is employed to investigate the reflections toward this crisis both from Toyota’s dealer and vehicle consumers in Halmstad city.Consequently, in Toyota dealer store which is named as Toyota Center in Halmstad, a face-to face Interview with the sales executive is conducted, lasting about 40 minutes by following a semi-structure interview guide (see Appendix I). On the other hand, the consumer respondents are randomly targeted by separating into two distinct groups: 1) Toyota customers, who own Toyota cars or have the intention to buy a Toyota car, are found when they are visiting in Toyota dealer store; 2) other consumers, who are using other rands’ car, are randomly selected in some gasoline stations or large parking places in Halmstad city. It might be interesting to make comparison between these two consumer groups for the possibility to draw valuable insights on consumers’ perception of Toyota brand and the cri sis. As a result, total 21 consumer respondents are interviewed (9 Toyota consumers and 12 other brands’ consumers). The interviews with consumer respondents last with a range of time from 3 to 6 minutes respectively.Although pre-designed interview guides are used as well (see Appendix II & III), questions for consumers are asked flexibly and may not follow on exactly in the way outlined on the schedule (Bryman and Bell, 2007). This is to allow the consumer interviewees to have a great deal of leeway in how to reply according to specific situations (ibid). Despite the collected numbers of consumer respondents are too small to cover the whole sampling population in terms of generalization, it’s important to note that this research is not aimed to simply generate a universalized outcome covering the whole Swedish vehicle consumers.Instead, it intends to capture consumer respondents’ cognitive and affective values, attitude and perception, to explore new insights b ased on their own words. Their responses collected on a face-to-face interviews basis are therefore considered as valid and reliable to achieve this inclination, as well as to some extent standing for what the Swedish vehicle consumers really perceive toward the Toyota crisis. LITERATURE REVIEW When facing a crisis the former and present reputation of a firm would be shaken, and it might be twisted in something unfavorable for the organization.How a firm communicatively responds to the crisis can influence its stakeholders’ perceptions of the corporate reputation, and in turn impact their future purchase intentions. In this part, theoretical literature regarding corporate brand and reputation, crisis management and consumer perception about the post-crisis outcomes are mainly reviewed in order to serve as pre-understanding knowledge for better analyzing the Toyota case later on. Corporate Branding and Reputation A brand can convey a numbers of facets, such as attributes, bene fits, values, ulture, personality, and user identity (Kotler, 2003). Through a set of symbols and characteristics a brand convey, consumers 4 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) can easily identify what a brand stand for, what value it represents, how it differentiate from others. Corporate branding draws on the traditions of product branding with the same objective of creating differentiation and preference to customers, while it involves more complex activities at organizational level, and requires to manage interactions with multiple stakeholder audiences (Knox and Bickerton, 2003).Branding on corporate agenda has been increasingly recognized as a strategic tool that leads to a dramatic extension of the applications and scope of branding (ibid). Urde (2003) emphasizes that the importance of core values created in corporate branding process, in which the core values are linked to organizational mission, vision, culture and organizational values, all of which affect the brand architectu re, product attributes, brand positioning and communication strategy.Consumers tend to identify with the personification of brands through the association of the companies or brands to traits such as values, characteristics, attitudes, and ideals. Therefore, to personify the corporate brand, the impressions that the communication creates must be consistent with the values that the company claims to stand for (Urde, 2003). In addition, Benefit associations provide a central reason for consumer’s choice of a specific brand over other in the category (Dawar and Lei, 2009).To gain customer-based brand equity the consumers must be aware of, and familiar with, the value offering (brand awareness), and hold brand associations that are strong, favorable and unique in comparison with other brands offered in the same category (brand image) (Petruzzellis, 2010). Corporate reputation is the cornerstone in corporate branding. It is of significant importance to all organizations, regardles s of being commercial, governmental, or not-for-profit organizations (Watson, 2007). Essentially, orporate reputation is an aggregate evaluation made by stakeholders of how well a company is meeting stakeholder’s expectations based on its past behaviors (Wartick, 1992). The value of a brand is determined by both its tangible and intangible assets, and brand image and reputation forms a critical part of the intangible assets (Wang, 2005). Fill (2006) suggests that reputations are developed over time from the image, and it is more embedded and stable; while image is more transient and can be instantaneous and reality superficial.Watson (2007) argues that reputation does not occur by chance, it relates to leadership, management, and organizational operations, the quality of products and services, relationships with stakeholders, and communication activities and feedback mechanisms. A favorable corporate reputation can convince the undecided to choose a certain product or service and dissuade existing customers from moving to a competitor; whereas a damaged reputation can be irreparable and, in extreme cases, lead to a company’s downfall (O’Rourke, 2004).Fombrun (1996) claims that in order to build a favorable reputation four attributes need to be developed: credibility, trustworthiness, reliability and responsibility. Everything an organization does, and does not do, has a direct impact on their reputation (Dolphin, 2004). Stakeholders will develop expectations as to how the firm will act in a given situation. When customer’s expectations are satisfied, they will feel safety, credibility, and security as perceived value in this relationship, which all together increase trust and then enhance customer’s loyalty (Ravald and Gronroos, 1996).However, failure to meet those expectations may cause a negative reputational impact. Furthermore, despite firms have achieved overall and continued marketing success, it would appear that the r eputation of corporate brands can be tarnished when facing crises (Fill, 2006). Therefore, reputation may offer both benefits and challenges to organizations. Nevertheless, the strength of the brand, as well as the management’s 5 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) flexibility and willingness to be open and transparent with questioning publics, can protect the organization’s reputation in the long run (ibid).Crisis Management In such business environment the need of a robust, corporation-wide plan to deal with unexpected crises is required. Crisis management researches investigate the essences of organizational crises and how appropriate organizational response influences post-crisis outcomes for the entity involved (De Blasio and Veale, 2009). Through crisis management planning and implementation, organizations can be better prepared to deal with unforeseen events that may cause serious or irreparable damage (Zhao and Fan, 2007).Threats of Crisis Crises are rare events tha t disrupt the normal operations of an organization, with knocks on the implications for its assets, its future relationships with a company’s stakeholders and which threaten the very survival of the organization (Carroll, 2009). Crises are seen as threats to the organizational reputation, and could harm an organization’s future profitability, growth and possibly its survival (Tucker and Melewar, 2005). The extent to which a crisis threaten corporate reputation is rather complex.Some crises can be sudden and unexpected while others can be the result of problems that festered over time (Greyser, 2009). A business might face local citizens, competitors, industry commentators, statutory bodies, pressure groups, the media and academics as influencers of its reputation (Tucker and Melewar, 2005). Greyser (2009) proposes some typical sources of corporate brand crises, which are caused by: product failure, social responsibility gap, corporate misbehavior, poor business results , executive misbehavior, poor business results, loss of public support, and controversial ownership, etc.Tucker and Melewar (2005) argue that news media and internet are certainly a substantial threat to any corporate reputation since the public are more sensitive to a corporate scandal. When a crisis emerges, a wide range of stakeholders are adversely affected by a crisis including community members, employees, customers, suppliers and stockholders (Coombs, 2007). Most stakeholders will learn about a crisis through news reports and online social media, therefore the news media and the internet play a critical role in affecting people’s perception in a crisis (ibid).The headline-hungry media has vicarious appetite for obtaining newsworthy material. Their claims often go unchallenged if there is a possibility to create a sensational story (Tucker and Melewar, 2005). There is also the temptation for journalists to sensationalize any ‘corporate gossip’ which they mi ght hear, in order to maximize their own revenues, especially in the powerful news (ibid). As a result, crises pose certain risks to an company – potentially affecting critical aspects like reputation, image, brand equity, credibility, publicity, financial viability, legitimacy, community standing, etc. Smudde, 2001). The more respected a firm’s reputation the more sensational a corporate scandal will be and so these firms are subjected to the most intense scrutiny (Tucker and Melewar, 2005). A corporate reputation needs to be stable and consistent, if it is to withstand the scrutiny of many factors influencing it (Greyser, 2009). If a reputation shift from favorable to unfavorable, stakeholders can change how they interact with a corporate, and they may even server 6 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) ties to the organization and/or spread negative word of mouth about the organization (Coombs, 2007).Crisis Communication Strategies When facing a crisis, how the company han dles the crisis and what the reputation of the company is viewed by stakeholders may imply whether the firm can survive/recover or not. It's critical for organizations to recognize what is the issues generating the reputational threats, who is/are involved, and figure out what and how to respond the crisis (Greyser, 2009). In crisis management, corporate communication is widely acknowledged to play the key role in overcoming crises and repairing reputation.Sturges et al. (1991) suggest that communication content as a component of crisis management must meet three needs depending on different objectives: 1) instructing information tells stakeholders how they should behave in a crisis context; 2) adjusting information allows affected stakeholders to cope with the emotional aspects of crisis; 3) internalizing information is absorbed by stakeholder members and forms the basis for long-term judgments about the organization’s image as it endures a crisis.This is supported by Coombs (2007), who argues that since a crisis causes uncertainty and stress for the stakeholders, companies need to be more open with sincere information to their stakeholders in order to helps them cope with the psychological threat from the crisis; furthermore, stakeholder want to know what corrective actions are being taken to protect them from similar crises in the future and thereby reduce their psychological stress.When examining the role of corporate communication in crisis situations, the theory of image restoration have become perhaps the most dominant paradigm in this field (Dardis and Haigh, 2009)). Based on image restoration theory, Benoit (1995, cited in Fortunato, 2008) identifies a typology of five main communication strategies that can be used to restore image and reputation in face of crises: (1) Denial strategy – the organization attempts to remove any connection between the organization and the crisis by claiming that there is no crisis and offers a simple denial that it did not perform the act in question. 2) Evasion of responsibility – the organization attempts to reduce responsibility for the crisis by claiming that it was either forced into the crisis by another culprit and its inability to prevent the crisis that causes a mistake, or there were good intentions in its act. (3) Reducing the offensiveness of the crisis – the organization attempts to minimize perceived damage caused by the crisis and reinforce the good traits of the organization by creating a more complete context with which the organization should be evaluated. 4) Corrective strategy – the organization implements steps to solve the problem and prevent a repeat of the crisis by taking corrective actions; (5) Mortification strategy – the organization takes full responsibility for the crisis and asks for forgiveness. Based on Benoit’s typology, Coombs (2007) characterizes crisis response strategies by their level of acceptance by critical s takeholders. He identifies a full apology as having very high acceptance, where the organization takes responsibility for the crisis and requests forgiveness from stakeholders.There is also high acceptance for corrective action, where the organization conveys a notion that actions are being taken to prevent a recurrence of the crisis; while a denial strategy has no 7 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) acceptance even when the crisis occurred or attacking the accuser (Fortunato, 2008). However, in rumor and challenge crises, managers need to deny and argue that there is no ‘real’ crisis (Coombs, 2007).To effectively implementing different kinds of response strategies, crisis management often has a strong focus on public relations to recover any damage to public image and assure stakeholders that recovery is on-going. Public relations is defined as the practice of managing communication between an organization and its publics (Huang, 2004). It enables the organization to expo se themselves to stakeholders by using topics of public interest and news items.It is usually conducted in communication activities including speaking at conferences, working with social media, interacting with stakeholders, etc. In public relations, researchers also argue the need to form en executive ‘crisis-handling team’ directing to crisis response. Because the crisis-handling team can provide access to detailed crisis plans, control knowledge in terms of tactics, empirically established relationships, propositional facts, and strategies for making use of factual and procedural knowledge (Nunamaker, Weber and Chen, 1989, cited in Hale, 1997).In addition, the role of CEO is recognized to be important spokesman in crisis communication, as corporate reputation and CEO reputation are increasingly intertwined and the CEO is inevitably cast in the role of chief communicator (Watson, 2007). Therefore, what an organization says and does during/after a crisis can affect a v ariety of important crisis communication outcomes including the organizational reputation, anger, negative word-of-mouth, and account acceptance (Coombs and Holladay, 2009).Choosing appropriate crisis communication responses mitigating negative consumers, public and stakeholders’ perceptions are critical to managing corporate reputation (De Blasio and Veale, 2009). Consumer Perception of the Post-Crisis Outcomes As mentioned above, how effectively a company deals with a crisis will influence the post-crisis outcomes related to its survival or recovery. The more acceptable the crisis communication strategies are to consumers, the less serious outcomes occur to the company.In addition, the post-crisis outcomes perceived by consumers are also determined by other factors, such as consumer attribution of crisis responsibility, and company’s prior image and reputation, which will be discussed as follows: Crisis Seriousness and Crisis Responsibility According to Coombs and Ho lladay (2002), the evaluation of a crisis situation and its reputational threat to a company is largely a function of consumers’ attributions of crisis responsibility, which implies how much consumers believe organizational actions caused the crisis, and whether the crisis was accidental (e. . , technical error) or intentional actions (e. g. , human errors) by the organization. They identify the relationship between attributions of crisis responsibility and the threat to reputation through a range of crisis types, which are classified into three clusters based on attribution of crisis responsibility: 1) the victim crises (e. g. , natural disaster, rumor, workplace violence and product tampering), in which the company is regarded as a victim of the crises and thus is attributed to have low level of crisis responsibility; 2) the accidental crises (e. g. technical-error accidents, technical error, product harms and challenges) are considered unintentional or 8 Hamlstad Universit y Feng(2010) uncontrollable by the organization, and thus cause moderate attributions of organizational responsibility; 3) the preventable crises (e. g. , human-error accident, human-error product harm and organizational misdeed) are viewed as intentional and inappropriate actions taken by organizations to place people at risk, or violate a law/regulation, thus lead to high attributions of crisis responsibility (Coombs and Holladay, 2002; Coombs, 2007).Crisis responsibility is negatively related to corporate reputation (Coombs, 2007). The more responsible an organization is held to be for a crisis, the more negative the perceptions and the greater the damage to brand, image and reputation (De Blasio and Veale, 2009). Hence, a preventable crisis which leads to greatest attributed crisis responsibility in turn results in the greatest harm to organizational reputation (ibid).Crisis responsibility triggers affective reactions as well as being a reputational threat, especially the intent ional crisis cluster (Coombs, 2007). Negative emotions can cause stakeholders to criticize a company (engage in negative word of mouth) or to cease interactions with the organization (ibid). The more serious a crisis is perceived to be, the more involved the public become, the more negative emotions are triggered and, subsequently, the greater damage posed to organizational reputation (De Blasio and Veale, 2009).The Effect of Favorable Prior Brand Image and Reputation Researchers have demonstrated that good prior brand image and reputation have the potential to protect a company from harm caused by crises (Dawar and Pillutla, 2000; Coombs and Holladay, 2006; Dawar and Lei, 2009). When encountering negative publicity, consumers differentially weight aspects of the crisis information, such as the dangers of the product and the firm’s responsiveness, depending on their prior expectations (Dawar and Pillutla, 2000).The informational basis and other strength-related characteristic s of a prior attitude will influence subsequent judgments and evaluations (Pullig, Netemeyer and Biswas, 2006). Dawar and Lei (2009) suggest that consumers perceive familiar brands to carry less â€Å"responsibility† for the crisis, because when a crisis occurs at a familiar brand, consumers’ direct or indirect experiences with the brand will allow them to easily retrieve he pro-attitudinal information, which in turn reduces the influence of the crisis information. Therefore, the positive prior evaluations of familiar brands create a hypothesis-confirming context in which consumers interpret crisis information, leading to diminished negative impact on brand evaluations (Dawar, and Pillutla, 2000). In this way, Consumers’ existing positive expectations may provide firms with a form of insurance against the potentially devastating impact of crisis (ibid).By linking benefit association with a brand, Dawer and Lei (2006) argue that the perceived seriousness of a cri sis and the impact of the crisis on brand evaluations are a function of the relevance of the crisis to the brand’s key benefit associations. Since benefit association provide a central reason for consumer’s choice of a specific brand over other in the category, consumers may assess how seriously the crisis damages the brand depending on how relevant the crisis is to the key associations (Dawer and Lei, 2006).The less relevant the crisis is to the key associations, the less serious the crisis is perceived, the fewer damages occur to the brand image. In addition, proposed by Coombs and Holladay (2006), a favorable prior reputation can act as halo effect that protects an organization’s reputation during a crisis in two aspects: 1) halo as benefit of the doubt, which means if a consumer holds a general favorable view of the company, the consumer might assign the company less crisis responsibility which in turn result in less reputational damage 9Hamlstad University Feng(2010) from the crisis; 2) halo as shield, which serves as a part of the larger psychological phenomenon of expectancy confirmation, emphasizing that stakeholders will focus on the positive aspects of the organization and ignore the recent negative information created by the crisis. In these ways, a good prior reputation perceived by consumers plays as halo effect that has the potential to reduce its attributed crisis responsibility and dismiss the impact of the crisis on the brand (Coombs and Holladay, 2006).Therefore, the stronger and more positive the organizational image and reputation, the more resilient it may be to potential damage to its reputation. Post-crisis Reputation and Buying Intention On a macro-level, an organization is expected to suffer some loss in reputation capital from a crisis (Coombs and Holladay, 2006). As discussed above, how much reputational damage occur and how about the post-crisis reputation looks like in the mind of consumers may mainly rely on h ow the consumers perceive the company’s prior reputation and brand image, attributed crisis responsibility, and its handling of the crisis (Coombs, 2007).The more positive these aspects they have perceived, the less negative post-crisis reputation they declare, and the more likely they generate positive attitude and behavioral consequences for the company, such as, loyal attitude, buying intentions; vice versa (ibid). Consumers’ overall perceptions towards a company in the context of crisis can affect consumer’s trust in that company and its product and service (De Blasio and Veale, 2009). According to Morgan and Hunt (1994), trust is one of the most important moderators of long-term relationship; it plays an important role in developing loyalty.Corporate reputation is rooted in trust and ethically shaped over time, and can be a highly visible signal of an organization’s capabilities and reliability providing information about future performance (Dolphin, 2004). When consumers hold good overall perceptions about the affected company, they are likely confident that the company will correct its mistakes from the crisis and has the capability to perform better in the future, on the basis of their trust beliefs.Trusts are developed in relationship, where consumers have direct interactions with the company over times. Such consumers’ experience-based beliefs are powerful, it reinforce and strengthen the brand meaning with existing customers, generate positive word-of-mouth, and stimulate new customer trials (Berry, 2000) TOYOTA CASE FINDINGS Toyota is the one of the world’s largest automakers, based in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. Since its establishment in 1937 in Japan, Toyota has a long history of building safety, reliable and high quality vehicles.Today, the company manufactures vehicles and parts at 53 production sites in 27 countries and regions around the globe, with a variety of sub-brands categories such as Lexus, Yaris, Corolla, Camry, Toyota trucks, and the world’s first gas/electric hybrid Prius, etc. (Toyota website). Its vehicles have been well known for quality, reliability and fuel efficiency. Recent years, Toyota’s fast global expansion made it successfully exceed General Motors in production and sales in 2008 to become the world's largest automaker.Its success has long been regarded as the pinnacle of Japanese innovation, manufacturing quality and industrial strength (The Economist, Feb 13, 2010). Its â€Å"lean† manufacturing techniques and culture of continuous improvement were the envy of the business world (ibid). This pioneering lean manufacturing technique includes continuous process improvement, flexible production with just-in-time principle, and removing waste without removing 10 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) value (Angel, 2008).So far, America has become Toyota’s largest market, where Toyota is rank as one of the top-selling brands (Toyota USA website) . Toyota Crisis Overview However, Toyota’s leading position has changed since the end of 2009. A highly publicized fatal crash of a Lexus ES 350 happening on August 28th, 2009, which killed four passengers of a family inside the car in United States (Los Angeles Times, Oct 25 2009), has triggered Toyota’s largest officially recalls and brought Toyota to the crisis misery.So far, Toyota has announced recalls of approx 9 million vehicles globally across a wide range of its sub-brands (Toyota website), due to problems associated with â€Å"unintended acceleration†. According to Stewart (2010), Toyota has a full-blown crisis on its hands, but the problem has been compounded by a long-delayed and less-than-reassuring response from Toyota. By looking back from the beginning of the horrific Lexus accident, quality complaints and safety problems involved in Toyota vehicles have been brought to light with the increasing investigations by The National Highway Traffic Safe ty Administration (NHTSA) in North America.Toyota American Sales organization (TMS) previously attributed the problem in the Lexus to an incompatible floor mat that may potentially interfere with accelerator pedal (Los Angeles Times, Oct 25th 2009). They issued a public safety advisory on Sep 29th 2009 inform the owners of specific Toyota and Lexus models of the ill-fitting floor mat problem, and then followed by the first large-scale recall announcement in November 2009 for remedy of this problem (Toyota USA Newsroom).However, Toyota’s explanation of ill-fitting floor mats was questioned by NHTSA, stating that the problem was â€Å"related to accelerator and floor-pan design† (Stewart, 2010). Consequently, the problem of gas pedals that get stuck led to Toyota’s second large recalls of 2. 3 million vehicles in U. S. market, as well as the third recall announcement of 1. 8 million vehicles in European markets in January 2010.Meanwhile, Toyota released the decisi on about temporarily suspending production at most of its North American plants and halting sales of eight popular models in U. S. market (Toyota USA Newsroom). These issues put Toyota’s reputation at a high risk. Suspicion and criticism toward Toyota were full of headline among mass media, especially in North America. By late January 2010, Toyota began issuing apologies and promises to do better; its engineers brought up a fix for the accelerator pedals and began rushing it to dealers around the world (Welch, 2010).In face of the blame from mass media presses, Toyota maintained that the recalls and actions were taken voluntarily rather than the insistence from NHTSA, with the intention to â€Å"help ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota†, according to Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter (Toyota USA Newsroom). Subsequently, Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s U. S. organization TMS, apologized for the recall and acknowledged it was embarrassing for the company that built its reputation on the reliability of its vehicles (Linebaugh, Mitchell and Wakabayashi, 2010).Despite Toyota announced remedy solutions to fix the recalled cars, fresh reports of sudden-acceleration incidents continued to crop up from American Toyota owners involving vehicles excluded in the recalls, raising suspicions that whether the company has identified all of the factors that could cause unintended acceleration, which was closely linked to a failure of vehicle’s heart ‘the vehicle electronic throttle control system’ (ibid). In a conference call with reporters, Mr. Jim Lentz gave explanation that â€Å"these two fixes solve the issues that we know 11 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) f,† and â€Å"we have done exhaustive testing, and we have found no evidence of problems with the electronics† (ibid). Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s CEO, issued his public apology candidly at a news conference in Tokyo on Feb 5th 2010, emphasizing that they will â€Å"go back to the basics of â€Å"customer first† and â€Å"genchi genbutsu†(means ‘go to the source to find the problem’) by improving products quality around the world. He added that he will be the head of a global quality task force newly formed to lift quality standards within the company (Toyota Website). However, bad news seemed not to end up.Toyota’s tragedy were aggravated again with their further recall announcements in February 2010 including: the Hybrid vehicles containing the celebrated Prius with antilock brake problems in Japan and American markets; and the Tacoma trucks with drive shaft problems in American regions (Toyota USA website). After years of being the benchmark for quality, Toyota has been losing its edge even as its rivals catch up (Welch, 2010). Some analysts estimated that the immediate impact of Toyota’s global recalls and sales stoppages could c ost Toyota more than $2 billion USD (Trottman and Mitchell, 2010; Businessweek. om). Meanwhile Toyota could be forced to spend considerable amounts on advertising, sales incentives and legal bills (Linebaugh et al. , 2010). Moreover, Toyota has been blamed for its misreading and mishandling of the crisis. The longer-term damage to the automaker's brand could be much larger, according to Linebaugh et al. (2010). To respond those negative issues, Toyota maintains that they never misled regulators and they properly responded to potential safety problems (Linebaugh, et al. , 2010). We’re committed to doing everything we can – as fast as we can – to restore consumer trust in Toyota, and these recalls are part of this effort,† said Mr. Jim Lentz (Toyota USA website). Toyota President Akio Toyoda also outlined the company’s plans for earning customer trust back, stating that: â€Å"we are taking responsibility for our mistakes, learning from them and acti ng immediately to address the concerns of consumers and independent government regulators† (Toyota website). As BusinessWeek reported on Jan. 9, the company planned to break its silence, with an explanatory newspaper ad, as well as more tools such as the internet, social media, cable TV, etc. (Bush and Thomaselli, 2010). Special recall web pages were created in late January 2010 with latest recall and repairing information, along with posing some updated statements officially released by Toyota. Through various online or offline communicating tools, Toyota has attempt at highlighting its existing goodwill on, for instance, innovative technologies, excellent engineers, brilliant history, as well as its consistent social mission for making contribution to sustainable environment.In the American market, in order to solve quality problems involved in its cars, one area that Toyota has to focus on is how it manages its relationships with suppliers, which as outside firms play a big role in making engineering components for Toyota (Welch, 2010). There are reports pointing out that in recent years Toyota has been demanding that suppliers make parts more cheaply (ibid). Those accelerate pedals which had the potential sticking risk were mainly made by Toyota’s major supplier CTS Corp.Toyota American organization addressed that they have been working closely with supplier CTS on a revised design that effectively remedies the problem associated with accelerator pedals. In addition, an independent North American Quality Advisory Panel consisting of external distinguished group of safety and quality experts has been formed to advise the company’s North American affiliates on quality and safety issues. In retrieving customers, TMS in March 3rd 2010 announced plans to launch the company’s most far-reaching sales promotion programs for American customers 12Hamlstad University Feng(2010) includes 0% APR financing, low leasing rate, and complimentary two-year premium maintenance offers (Toyota USA Newsroom). Although Toyota has working on the crisis, the way they handling the crisis in United State seems not easy to go: they had to confront with three times testimonies in the American Congressional hearing; to pay $16. 4 million civil penalty imposed by NHTSA for accusing Toyota of a deliberate delay in recalling the vehicles by hiding its defects; and Toyota have been withstanding intense investigation from U. S. overnments and extensively keen-edged coverage from mass media. Dealing with the issues after a serious crisis is a long way to go before everything is back again. As Toyota stating, they are now â€Å"working as one, and putting all their efforts into new initiatives aimed at rebuilding consumer trust and contributing to society through our products and services. † (Toyota website). In sum, the following table shows the related events including five times’ major recalls and other issues that lead to the escalating crisis involved in Toyota since August 2009: Table 1 – Toyota crisis events Aug. 8th, 2009 A fatal crash of a Lexus car in USA due to the gas pedal was stuck was highly publicized that brought â€Å"unintended acceleration† problems of Toyota cars to the light with increasing investigations by NHTSA in USA. Toyota attributed the problem in the Lexus to the incompatible floor mat, but their explanation couldn’t convince NHTSA and public in USA. Toyota issued a public safety advisory suggesting owners of specific model about the ill-fitting floor mat issues in North America. 1st large Recall for potential accelerator pedal entrapment problems (ill-fitting floor mat), U.S. market, 4. 2 million vehicles. nd 2 large Recall for sticking accelerator pedal problems, U. S. market, 2. 3 million vehicles covering 8 models. Toyota Temporarily suspends production and sales of selected vehicles in the U. S. market. rd 3 large Recall for potential accelerator pedal issues, European markets; 1. 8 million vehicles. Toyota began issuing apologies and breaking silence with response to the crisis under the tense pressures from public media and governments in America. Toyota’s CEO Akio Toyoda made public apology for the recalls and nnounced global quality task force for focus on quality issues. th 4 Recall for antilock brake system (ABS) software problems on 2010 model-year Toyota Prius and Lesus HS 250, Japan and U. S. markets. th 5 Recall for inspecting the front drive shaft on 2010 model year Tacoma 4WD trucks, U. S. market. Three times testimonies to the Congressional Hearing in USA. Toyota agree to pay $16. 4 million civil penalty imposed by NHTSA in USA related to Toyota’s recall for slow-to-return and sticky accelerator pedals, but Toyota denies NHTSA's allegation that it violated the Safety Act or its implementing regulations.Source: Toyota Website (2010) Late of Sep. 2009 Sep. 29 , 2009 Nov. 25 , 2009 Jan. 21st, 2010 Jan,26 , 2010 Jan,29 , 2010 Late Jan. 2010 Feb. 5 , 2010 Feb. 09 , 2010 Feb. 12th, 2010 Late Feb. to Mar. 2010 Apr. 19, 2010 th th th th th th 13 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) Toyota Crisis in Sweden From the above information we could find that the serious impacts of the crisis on Toyota were mostly coming from the United State. To investigate the influence of the crisis in a more specific way, Halmstad market in Sweden is researched.The following sections present the primary data collecting from interviews with Toyota’s dealer and car consumers in Halmstad city, showing what the Toyota crisis is perceived in Swedish market. Toyota Swedish Dealer’s Reflection Compared the strenuous troubles in USA, it is surprising to find that Toyota has a different situation in Swedish market. The crisis is not a really big deal that influence Toyota brand in Sweden. According to the sale executive in Toyota center in Halmstad of Swden, what recently happened in Toyota is ot a big issue sin ce those quality problems never happen in Toyota’s vehicles in Sweden. He insists that Toyota didn’t have real quality problems with its cars, all the recalls made by Toyota are voluntary for the purpose to reduce potential risks within the affected models as well as reassuring its customers; the recall is normal issues in car industry, there are no repairs in the recalled vehicles but just little modification to make the affected cars even better.Those negative coverage related to Toyota in USA are not consistent with what things really are within Toyota. â€Å"When you became largest, the other competitors envy you and always want to put you down, this would happen in many biggest companies not only in Toyota†, the dealer says. While the recall news were exposed negatively, they would tend to eliminate unnecessary anxieties among customers through clarifying what really happen in Toyota when the customers made calls. We explain to customers and assure them the re are no such problems happen in Sweden; we never want to sell cars with brake problems or something defective; we are always concern about our consumer, concern about the safety quality of our cars. † According to the interviewed sales executive in Toyota Center in Halmstad, they have a head office named Toyota Sweden AB in Stockholm, which is responsible for guiding and communicating with other dealers around Sweden, as well as in charge of the recall issues in Sweden. Swedish dealers can get consultant advices from this head office.Accordingly, when Toyota officially released the recall announcements of affected vehicles involved in Sweden, Toyota Sweden AB in Stockholm is responsible for informing the Swedish owners of the affected cars with mail letters, by suggesting those consumers to contact their local dealer for arranging fix appointments. The interviewed sales executive states that they are satisfied with the interaction process with the head office in Stockholm; t hey are confident that Toyota is taking effective and professional measures in dealing with the problems.As for consumer complaints, he points out consumer complaints could always take place due to different daily indisposition in cars, regardless of the recalls issues happen or not. Since Toyota in Sweden didn’t have the similar issues as exposed in USA, the recall crisis do not have significant impact on the sales of the dealer. â€Å"We don’t have the same problems, but it of course more or less influences our sales when bad things were reported†, the interviewed sales executive says, â€Å"I’m not sure how much he effect occur, but in Sweden that [issues] haven’t affected [us] too much, because now we are selling the same numbers as we did a half of year ago, so I don’t think Toyota’s situation is really bad in Sweden. † 14 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) Swedish Consumers’ Reflection Since the consumer respondents ca n be separated into two distinct groups – the Toyota customers and other brands’ consumers, it is interesting to compare their reflections to see how the both groups’ consumers perceive differently on Toyota crisis as well as the brand.Some typical statements among the consumer respondents are showed in Table 2, which clearly reflects their cognitive and affective opinion toward Toyota crisis and the brand. The Toyota customers. The respondents within this group are mainly found in Toyota’s store. Some of them have owned Toyota cars before, while the others are new customers who didn’t have Toyota cars but visit the dealership store with purchasing intentions. The Toyota customers as observed are mostly in the middle age and elderly people, who usually tend to drive the cars with relatively lower speeds within cities.Being less influenced by news coverage about the crisis, Toyota customers in Sweden are not as sensitive as American stakeholders per ceive toward negative aspects of Toyota, such as quality problems, delayed handling crisis, etc. Being different from the affected American consumers, Toyota owners and new customers in Sweden do not exhibit much anxiety and panic by the recall events. Their attitudes toward the issues are mostly depended on their real past experiences with the brand or friends’ word-of-mouth effects.Accordingly, customers in this group have showed relatively loyal attitude toward Toyota, as well as presenting strong affective bonds to the brand. Their opinions about the brand are kind of positive even though Toyota is undergoing the troublesome crisis. They tend to trust in Toyota’s reputation, without perceiving the crisis as big as what has been reported in American mass media. Although with a little worry about potential safety problem, most of loyal consumers still think that Toyota cars are quality and energy saving with relatively good prices.Despite realizing that Toyota is get ting some troubles with the massive recalls and involving serious problems in USA, they believe that Toyota will solve this out and make it better in the future. Still, when stepping into Toyota dealership store, these customers would be willing to buy Toyota cars according to their own interests and needs, regardless of recall events. The other brands’ consumers. Compared with the above Toyota customers groups, the respondents within this group have shown relatively different opinions toward the crisis issues and Toyota brand.Since the respondents in this group are randomly selected in gasoline stations and parking places in Halmstad city, the backgrounds of the interviewees are mixed across a wide range of age, with different professions and interests. Therefore, their answers are various, depending on their background and the degree of awareness of the recall issues. Those who have little knowledge about Toyota’s troublesome recalls show little interests in talking about the crisis. While, the others who know much about cars are more willing to share their knowledge, which help to increase the opportunity to gain more deepened insights about the case.Since the interviewed consumers of this group are using other brands’ cars, most of them do not have direct experience in driving Toyota cars. Their knowledge about Toyota mainly depend on their awareness of Toyota’s brand image, as well as making evaluation by instinctively comparing Toyota with the brands they are using. Furthermore, most of them admit the situation in Toyota is kind of troublesome in USA but not in Sweden. They think car recalls is normal in car industry, not only happen in Toyota. As for the buying intention, most of the respondents in this group reveal their 15Hamlstad University Feng(2010) Table 2 – Typical Statements of Swedish Vehicle Consumers Toyota customers (owners and new customers) â€Å"I have a Yaris and it is reliable and economical. † Other brands’ consumers â€Å"I think it’s a wide brand with high function. † â€Å"It’s about fuel efficiency and fit for those who want an economical car, but if you enjoy fast driving, Toyota is not that kind. † â€Å"Toyota could be good in sustainable and innovative things, but since I’m Swedish, I more prefer our national brands which also have very quality function and more suitable for my personality. â€Å"I don’t think it is a bigger thing as media and newspaper report†¦it’s serious of course what happen in USA, but it can happen in any cars and I don’t think it’s so important to quality safe. Maybe in USA I don’t’ know, but in Europe I don’t think so. † â€Å"I’m not sure how exactly Toyota is handling this, I didn’t read much about this, but I guess they’ll solve this out with professional. † â€Å"[As being an engineer working in another a utomaker], I know too much [about cars]†¦ I don’t think Toyota should take the full responsibility for the problem.It is always customer complaining accelerate pedal get to stuck, but maybe they press the accelerate pedal as the brake pedal, and they are so sure they didn’t [do wrong]! So it’s hard to handle those issues, and no one trusts the technical specialist from the car manufacturer thing. But I think Toyota should handle this earlier to be clearer to the customers and the governments. However, the picture we have is that Toyota have a long time trying to buy this down and just say we don’t have any problems, and now they have this huge crisis caused by this. â€Å"Handling this serious now, keeping the public informed in time, then I think they may gain reputation again, but it takes time. † â€Å"They have lost some credits from safety point of view right now because of the crisis. In two years, they will recover, but right now, mayb e they have lost sales. They had sales stops [in America] because the recalls. † Prior brand Image Toyota Crisis Crisis handling Post-crisis reputation â€Å"Toyota is my favorite brand,†¦we driving too much, me and my wife, we are saving for much gasoline, saving about 7 thousand SEK per year. † â€Å"Capability, good technology, good service, and you can go with very good quality. â€Å"My friend who works with cars said it is a good car, and you can get a good car for nice money. † â€Å"We have two Toyota cars [which have been] running so many kilometers and just worked perfect. There’re not any such serious problems with my cars at all. I don’t think the problem is really so big, but maybe the news media is more so become reporting problems than reporting good things. † â€Å"[I’ve heard that they have] the problems with the brake and the gas pedal†¦but I don’t think it is a serious problem, because the first I know it is a good brand for years. â€Å"Actually I haven’t heard much about Toyota response†¦ I do care about [quality], I see the news, but since I have good experience with Toyota, I still very trust in Toyota, they will be nice to recall the cars together and fix alright. † â€Å"I got the recall notification letter, the dealer told me there was nothing wrong with it and that is just a voluntary recall for small modification. But since I more care about safety problem, I think Toyota parent company needs to report honestly what has happen, to be more open to the public. Toyota has given me years of reliable service, and I’ve always had respect for Toyota. I believe they’ll be getting better in the future. † â€Å"Perhaps Toyota has some troubles right now due to such big recalls, but I hope Toyota gets this solved correctly and still retains their reputation. † â€Å"Toyota will definitely have my trust as long as they stay honest and avoid the same mistakes happening again. † â€Å"So far it has been good, I want to buy another one. † â€Å"This is the first time we checking Toyota, if the price is suitable, I would consider to buy one. â€Å"Because we drive mostly in the city, it is good to have a car that driven by electricity, not so much by gas. † Buying intention â€Å"It depends on the price, and what it can help to hold money many years a car if it is new or not or whatever and the guarantee as well. † â€Å"Buying a car is a big decision, I’ll consider about price, service, insurance guarantee, quality, living place and other things as a whole, other than to be simply influenced by recall issues. † Source: primary data collection from interviews with Swedish vehicle consumers 16 Hamlstad University Feng(2010) reference in the brands they are using, while pointing out that they would not be influenced so much by a recalled crisis, instead, what can really inf luence their buying intention depend on many factors as a whole, such as the price, the guarantee, the insurance, the design, brand personality, etc. Overall, the perceptions of the Swedish drivers toward the Toyota crisis are quite mixed, but one common thread is that the Swedish respondents do not think the Toyota has so many serious quality problems as what extensively reported in America. Toyota’ crisis situation in Sweden is comparatively less serious.The Swedish consumers all believe that Toyota will recover in the future and regain its reputation. ANALYSIS The analysis will be made on a basis of combination with the pre-understanding of crisis management theory and the empirical data, by answering the three research questions respectively as follows: (1) What are the reasons that force Toyota coming to the troublesome crisis? Crises pose certain risks to an company – potentially affecting critical aspects like reputation, image, brand equity, credibility, public ity, financial viability, legitimacy, community standing, etc. Smudde, 2001). In auto industry vehicle recalls happen all the time and everywhere. However, the Toyota massive recalls show a very different situation and involves more serious consequences. We have seen that almost 9 million of Toyota vehicles around the world had to be recalled within a few months, and the potentially defective quality involved were mainly focused on unintended acceleration problems, which were closely related to the most important thing for drivers – safety driving. It’s thus hard to believe that there was nothing wrong with Toyota’s â€Å"quality† cars.The massive recalls were indeed a disaster for Toyota: not only means that they had to pay for the extensively financial losses due to repairing costs, market and stock share dropping down, production suspending, civil penalty, and other relevant expenses for dealing with the troublesome issues; but also it has heavily hit to Toyota’s intangible assets – its brand image and reputation of quality, which have been ethically shaped over time (Fill, 2006; Dolphin, 2004) and in turn influence the brand value (Wang, 2005).Although Swedish consumers do not blame Toyota itself that much for the crisis, by looking through the whole process it is obvious to find that the sequentially massive recalls were not just a couple of simple faults mechanically in the complicated machine; there should be something ignorant in the their management. Reputational troubles can come in many forms, from a wide variety of causes and from many pu

Danone and Wahaha Case

The main causes of conflict seem to derive from different attitudes towards key issues in the formation and operation of the joint venture, suggesting major differences in business culture and expectations as to how business should and is being conducted. The first and main problem described in the case study revolves around the ownership structure and the control over the JV. It seems that the Chinese Wahaha expectations were that their 49% of the JV meant full control, as the other 51% were split half-half between Danone and Peregrine through the Singapore registered Jinjia. Danone later took over Peregrne’s part essentially gaining the 51% of the JV and theoretically gaining effective control of the JV. This was not received well by the Chinese partner and later by the Chinese public which interpreted the move as a takeover, resulting in a JV based on distrust and hostility between the partners. Another source of conflict was due to the management structure agreed upon. Effective control of daily operations was handed to Zong and Wahaha, as the local China experts, while the only involvement Danone had was through the board of directors. It seemed Danone was attempting to empower the local partner and was not fully aware of the potential implications. This led to dissatisfaction on both sides, as Danone felt it knows very little in actual JV operations while Zong was feeling that Danone has left him to do all the hard work, only expecting to rip off the benefits of his efforts with little to no contribution.

Difference Between Marvel and DC Comics

Difference Between Marvel and DC Comics DC vs Marvel Comic Many fans wonder what studio creates best comic books. In an opposition DC vs Marvel comic, who would be the winner? Which stories are more appealing to the public? Our article will help you understand the main differences between comics of two studios and answer the question: which is better Marvel or DC? Huge Differences Between Marvel and DC Comics #1. Origin of characters Most of Marvel books heroes of are originally ordinary people without super powers, who gained them under specific conditions (For-example, Iron Man, Capitan America, etc.). At the same time, DC heroes are can boast having their extraordinary abilities sine the time they were born (e.g. Wonder Woman, Superman). #2. Superpowers If to compare superpowers of heroes in DC comics vs Marvel comics, one can notice that the creators of Marvel books were not so generous in enduing their characters with force compared to DC writers. Most of Marvel characters possess one ability (like most of X-men), compared to flying, eye-beams shooting, speed and strength all given to one Superman. #3. Time of creation One more difference between Marvel and DC characters is that the latter were created much earlier in 30s and 40s. This is the reason why some of the Marvel characters have names, which reecho the names of DC heroes. For example, Iron Man vs Batman, Invisible Woman vs Wonder Woman, etc. Moreover, it is also a reason why most of DC comic books told about a single hero without putting him in a team. They had to present a hero to the world before making him a part of some superhero alliance. #4. Marvel vs DC comic: Who brings more magic? Except for such characters as Dr. Strange, Mephisto, and a couple of others, Marvel heroes do not often face magic in their fight against evil. On the other hand, we have DC comics where Justice League members with something mystical and magical. So, if you are a fan of magic and mythology, you are going to like DC stories more. #5. Fantasy, sci-fi, mystery in DC vs science fiction in Marvel If you still wonder Marvel or DC which is better? Just think about what you like most: science fiction stories with an interesting, however, a bit grounded plot or stories full of out-there things? If we forget for just a second that comics are based on made up events, heroes and villains, the weirdest staff you can find in Marvel books is a dragon as a result of a crazy experiment. At the same time, DC comic books are full of things like alien invasion, issues with Atlantis, Amazons and sorcerers, demons, members of Injustice Gang, time travelling, and even transportations between comic universes. #6. The quality of movies Speaking about and comparing DC vs Marvel comic, many fans stress the quality of movies based on the graphic novels. It is not a secret that Marvel movies are more popular among comic fans due to the fact that the movie makers managed to create memorable, interesting and bright characters who are liked by the public. A bit of heroism, a bit of seriousness, few drops of humor and we have what we call a good movie. In contrast, the films of DC studio can be characterized as too serious and sometimes even too noir (Watchmen). It can be suggested that the viewers are not always ready to something too deep and too philosophical in relation to comics. May be it is the reason why DC films have 47% average rate on Rotten Tomatoes. #7. Teamwork The other difference between DC comics vs Marvel comics characters is that many characters of Marvel were created as team players. It can be said about the X-men, Avengers, etc. At the same time, characters of DC were presented in 40s as separate units who never played in team. Many people can say that making teams is not always a good choice as less attention is paid to each particular character. Their responsibilities in a crew have to be divided between all its members. Lets say that one is a scientist, the other one is a technician, etc. However, such heroes as, for example, Batman can do all the staff on his own, which helps concentrate attention on one character and present him in more details. Nevertheless, creating teams in their fight against enemies is common to both studios (For example, Marvels Avengers and DCs Justice League). #8. Powers of Marvel characters are easier to explain We have already mentioned that Marvel characters have less powers, which are easier to explain compared to DC heroes. For example, Cyclopes shoots beams of energy out of his eyes, while Superman can fly, turn back time, has eye-rays, fast, superstring, etc. Iron Man is a genius inventor and scientist, who developed his robot-suit, while Batman is a scientist, ninja, detective, fast driver, technician among others. #9. Real and fictional location Every hero has its own city to protect. However, while Marvel superheroes usually protect real cities, DC characters tend to fight in fictional locations. Nevertheless, regardless of the fact that Gotham City cannot be found on any map in this world, it is not difficult to suggest that it is a prototype of a modern New York. This parallel is drawn considering that both studios are located in NY, which is sometimes too obvious. #10. Office hours Opposition Marvel vs DC comics is visible not only in books but also within the facilities of both studios. They differ not only in terms of heroes and their superpowers but also in terms of productivity of both teams. For comparison, DC issues 4 to 8 series per month, while Marvel creates up to 15!

Help Me with a Thesis Proposal Rescue Plan The Greatest Services

Help Me with a Thesis Proposal Rescue Plan The Greatest Services Help Me with a Thesis Proposal! Expert Assistance for Students in Need The first stage of writing an academic paper is creating and submitting a thesis proposal. Although the assignment seems easy to complete, it requires considerable time and attention investment. Usually, more than a student is prepared to give. That is why we often receive such requests as, help me with a thesis proposal, I need thesis proposal online help, write an academic thesis proposal for me, etc. To be honest, in cases when a student does not have much time, using a reliable thesis proposal writing service is the most viable option if they want to receive a positive feedback from the professor. At, we know how important it is to submit a flawless thesis proposal. So when you need the best results, seeking help with writing a thesis proposal is a really good decision. is the best place to buy a thesis proposal. Consider these benefits! Things to Keep in Mind When Writing Your Thesis Proposal When writing a thesis proposal, keep in mind that it cannot simply be a rehash of previously-researched problems. It must focus on the gap in the research related to your topic and explain the significance of your proposed research. PhD and Masters-level thesis proposals generally serve the same purpose, although the PhD is far longer and more comprehensive. The proposal must be submitted and approved before you can begin working on the full-fledged paper. Here are a few things that must be addressed in the proposal: A summary of the topic you plan to research An explanation of the importance of your topic and how it will make a contribution to your particular field of study as well as broader academia in general. A discussion regarding your proposed time frame and how you intend to fund your research. Evidence that your are committed to the research and have the knowledge required to complete it properly. Thesis Proposal Writing From the Top Academic Service When it comes to writing a thesis proposal, so much is at stake. If you fail to demonstrate that your research is viable and contributes to academia, it is bound to be rejected by your academic adviser. This is why we want to help. We offer thesis proposals for sale that will help you achieve your objectives. The professional writer assigned to complete your thesis proposal has been writing them for years, which means they know exactly what your professor and the dissertation committee are looking for. But before you order, consider these two frequently asked questions. I need a proposal by later today. Can you provide one? Absolutely. In fact, we can provide you with a thesis proposal in as little as 6 hours. However, the more time you are able to give us, the better. It allows our expert more time to develop a plan, plus it saves you money since we charge less for longer deadlines. Why Would I Need to Hire a Professional Writer If I Can Do it Myself or Ask a Friend to Help? If you feel confident enough to complete your thesis proposal yourself, more power to you. But the majority of students need assistance and we provide it for an affordable price. If getting help from a professional writer gives you the boost that you need, why would you not hire one? We generally do not recommend asking a friend to write the thesis proposal for you, unless they have an advanced degree and thorough knowledge about the topic. After all, you are not in high school or even college anymore. Any major flaws will be exposed and your proposal will stand a good chance of being rejected by your professor.Buy Thesis Proposal Writing From the Experts As you can see, we really are the best option. We provide quick, affordable thesis proposal writing online. Some of our customers provide us with detailed information containing the research idea, how they will achieve the research in the time frame permitted with the resources allocated, and we do the rest. In other cases, our customers will ask us to do it all, including developing a topic idea and time frame. Whichever way you wish to do it, we will make it happen. We offer high quality solutions at low prices, so order now contact our customer care team for more details!

Average ACT Scores by State (Most Recent)

Average ACT Scores by State (Most Recent) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Did you recently get your ACT scores back and are now wondering how your score compares with those of other test takers in your state? Or perhaps you're curious as to how your state’s average ACT score stacks up against other state averages. For this article, we compiled the average ACT scores by state, as well as the average in each subject area, using the latest data from ACT, Inc. Read on to learn how your state's SAT data- and your ACT score- compares with the averages in the rest of the country. What's the National Average ACT Score? Nearly two million students nationwide took the ACT in 2017/18- 1.91 million, to be precise. Out of all of those tests, the national average scores came out as follows: ACT Section Average Score English 20.2 Math 20.5 Reading 21.3 Science 20.7 Composite 20.8 Source: ACT National Profile Report 2018 Remember that each ACT section, and the overall composite score, are scored between 1 and 36. This means that if you get a composite score of 21 or higher, you will beat half the other high school students in the country.If you get significantly higher than 21, you will have beaten out a majority of test takers. Likewise, if you get lower than 21, a majority of test takers will have beaten out you. But what about the ACT averages in your state specifically? Read on to learn how well you have to do on the exam to be considered above average in your home state. All Average ACT Scores by State (2017) The following table containsall ACT state averages for the class of2017(the most recent data available). We've also included state participation rates to give you an idea of the reach of the ACT in each state and the size of the population being tested. State Participation English Math Reading Science Composite Alabama 100% 18.9 18.4 19.7 19.4 19.2 Alaska 65% 18.7 19.8 20.4 19.9 19.8 Arizona 62% 18.6 19.8 20.1 19.8 19.7 Arkansas 100% 18.9 19.0 19.7 19.5 19.4 California 31% 22.5 22.7 23.1 22.2 22.8 Colorado 100% 20.1 20.3 21.2 20.9 20.8 Connecticut 31% 25.5 24.6 25.6 24.6 25.2 Delaware 18% 24.1 23.4 24.8 23.6 24.1 District of Columbia 32% 24.4 23.5 24.9 23.5 24.2 Florida 73% 19.0 19.4 21.0 19.4 19.8 Georgia 55% 21.0 20.9 22.0 21.3 21.4 Hawaii 90% 17.8 19.2 19.2 19.3 19.0 Idaho 38% 21.9 21.8 23.0 22.1 22.3 Illinois 93% 21.0 21.2 21.6 21.3 21.4 Indiana 35% 22.0 22.4 23.2 22.3 22.6 Iowa 67% 21.2 21.3 22.6 22.1 21.9 Kansas 73% 21.1 21.3 22.3 21.7 21.7 Kentucky 100% 19.6 19.4 20.5 20.1 20.0 Louisiana 100% 19.4 18.8 19.8 19.6 19.5 Maine 8% 24.2 24.0 24.8 23.7 24.3 Maryland 28% 23.3 23.1 24.2 23.2 23.6 Massachusetts 29% 25.4 25.3 25.9 24.7 25.4 Michigan 29% 24.1 23.7 24.5 23.8 24.1 Minnesota 100% 20.4 21.5 21.8 21.6 21.5 Mississippi 100% 18.2 18.1 18.8 18.8 18.6 Missouri 100% 19.8 19.9 20.8 20.5 20.4 Montana 100% 19.0 20.2 21.0 20.5 20.3 Nebraska 84% 20.9 20.9 21.9 21.5 21.4 Nevada 100% 16.3 18.0 18.1 18.2 17.8 New Hampshire 18% 25.4 25.1 26.0 24.9 25.5 New Jersey 34% 23.8 23.8 24.1 23.2 23.9 New Mexico 66% 18.6 19.4 20.4 20.0 19.7 New York 31% 23.8 24.0 24.6 23.9 24.2 North Carolina 100% 17.8 19.3 19.6 19.3 19.1 North Dakota 98% 19.0 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.3 Ohio 75% 21.2 21.6 22.5 22.0 22.0 Oklahoma 100% 18.5 18.8 20.1 19.6 19.4 Oregon 40% 21.2 21.5 22.4 21.7 21.8 Pennsylvania 23% 23.4 23.4 24.2 23.3 23.7 Rhode Island 21% 24.0 23.3 24.7 23.4 24.0 South Carolina 100% 17.5 18.6 19.1 18.9 18.7 South Dakota 80% 20.7 21.5 22.3 22.0 21.8 Tennessee 100% 19.5 19.2 20.1 19.9 19.8 Texas 45% 19.5 20.7 21.1 20.9 20.7 Utah 100% 19.5 19.9 20.8 20.6 20.3 Vermont 29% 23.3 23.1 24.4 23.2 23.6 Virginia 29% 23.5 23.3 24.6 23.5 23.8 Washington 29% 20.9 21.9 22.1 22.0 21.9 West Virginia 69% 20.0 19.4 21.2 20.5 20.4 Wisconsin 100% 19.7 20.4 20.6 20.9 20.5 Wyoming 100% 19.4 19.8 20.8 20.6 20.2 National 60% 20.3 20.7 21.4 21.0 21.0 Source:ACT College Career Readiness 2017 ACT Averages by State: Hall of Fame Now that you've had a chance to skim the list of state ACT averages, we thought it would be fun to highlight the highs and lows of the United States' ACT performance. See if your state made the cut below! Highest ACT State Score: New Hampshire New Hampshire narrowly achieved the highest score in the country, with an average composite of 25.5, just above Massachusetts (25.4) and Connecticut (25.2). †¦ and your high ACT score! However, it should be noted thatthese three states have relatively low ACT participation: 18% for New Hampshire, 29% for Massachusetts, and 31% for Connecticut. This is because the SAT is more popular in these states. So what does this data mean? Ultimately, it suggests that those taking the ACT in these states are ambitious, college-bound students looking to improve their applications, which would make for a higher average ACT score. Team Players: 100% ACT Participation There are 17 states with 100% ACT participation- that's 34% of the country! These states have made the ACT a mandatory part of their statewide testing regimens, helping high school students be better prepared for their college applications. Alabama Arkansas Colorado Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Utah Wisconsin Wyoming Highest ACT State Score With 100% Participation: Minnesota As you know, 17 states currently have 100% ACT participation. The state with the highest average score out of this group has a lot to be proud of because that average represents the entire high school population of that state. So who wins? Minnesota, with a 21.5 average composite score. The runner-up is Colorado with a 20.8 average composite, and Wisconsin is inthird with a 20.5 composite average. Lowest Participation: Maine Maine wins this one by a landslide, with just 8% of its students taking the ACT. This is likely because the SAT is still the test of choice in that northeastern state. However, the SAT, which was once required in Maine, is now optional as well. ACT-free, it would appear. Lowest ACT State Score: Nevada Nevada earns the dubious honor of getting the lowest average ACT score, with an average composite of 17.8. This low average is likely due to the fact that Nevada only recently began to mandate statewide ACT testing starting in 2016. In general, big jumps in test takers often result in lower averages. As such, this new average is noticeably lower thanNevada's 2015 average of 21, back when just some students took the ACT. As the ACT becomes a staple of Nevada's state testing regimen, averages will likely increase. Key Takeaways: Average ACT Scores by State As you can see, the average ACT score can change pretty dramatically depending on which state you're looking at. Nationally, the average composite ACT score is21- but many states' averages are higher or lower than this. In general, states with 100% participation rates (i.e., states that require the ACT) tend to havelower averages,whereas states with low participation rates tend to havehigher averages. In terms of notable states, here's a quick wrap-up of the ACT "awards" we gave above: Highest ACT State Score: New Hampshire (25.5 average) Team Players: 100% ACT Participation Alabama Arkansas Colorado Kentucky Louisiana Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Utah Wisconsin Wyoming Highest ACT State Score With 100% Participation: Minnesota (21.5 average) Lowest ACT State Score: Nevada (17.8 average) If you're ever curious what ACT score you need to aim for to be considered above average for your state, simply come back to this page, check the chart, and see whether your state made our Hall of Fame! What’s Next? Want more context for your ACT score? Learn more about the national ACT average score and ACT score percentiles. What ACT scores are considered good by various colleges?Check out our guide to developing a target ACT score based on the schools you want to apply to. Wondering about what your composite ACT score represents in terms of right and wrong answers?Learn the ins and outs of ACT scoringand get tips to help you use this info to your advantage. Trying to maximize your ACT score? Avoid this common ACT mistake to improve your composite. Also,check out our top strategies to raise your ACT essay score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Change Stages and Strategies in Popular Culture Essay

Change Stages and Strategies in Popular Culture - Essay Example In the case of the jilted lover, he/she must give up his/her identity as one half of a romantic relationship, and must resume his/her identity as an individual. Sheryl Crow's song "My Favorite Mistake" presents the case of a woman who knows that her relationship with her lover is at an ending point. She tells her lover, "I woke up and called this morning. The tone of your voice was a warning that you don't care for me anymore" (Crow). She goes on to say how all of this man's friends know about his "secret lover," and they pity her for holding on the way she is (Crow). She even admits that she knows she is wrong for staying in a relationship with a man who doesn't love her. She calls him her "favorite mistake," but she concludes that she will continue to stay with him because "maybe nothin' lasts forever, even when you stay together. I don't need forever after. It's your laughter won't let me go, so I'm holding on this way" (Crow). The woman in this song is stubbornly holding on to a relationship that she knows is bad for her, and possibly even bad for her lover; however, she is not willing to accept the end of their relationship. She knows that she should let go, and she should go on with her life and let her lover go on with his so that he won't have to try to pretend he adores her, but she is hesitant to make that first step.

Hardware Security Module - Optimization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words - 1

Hardware Security Module - Optimization - Essay Example In this study, an HSM optimization solution will then be proposed to fill the gaps identified. This document mainly aims to perform tests and obtain numeric figures that can be trusted in finding optimal points for the application of this solution in HSM devices of similar nature. 4.1.General specification and capabilities A hardware security module (HSM) can be described as a crypto processor that is dedicated and it is specifically designed to be used for the protection of the crypto key lifecycle. Hardware security modules therefore act as trusted anchors that protect the infrastructure designed from cryptography and some of the organizations that are security conscious in the world. This is achieved by managing, processing, an storing cryptographic keys securely inside a hardened and tamper resistant device. [16] 15 5.1.Signature Service â€Å"The Spanish e-Identification board is currently working to upgrade the infrastructure for electronic identification in (Country Name), based on federated techniques using the SAML standard. This infrastructure contains two important functions are to allow citizens to authenticate themselves securely and to electronically sign documents that represent transactions, agreements, applications and declarations of various forms and types. The signing service does not keep track of users and user keys, but simply generates a new signing key and signature certificate for each signature. This is a procedure that provides a number of important advantages such as: 1)It reduces the amount of user sensitive information that needs to be stored in the server and hence, limits the amount of user sensitive information that can be stolen and abused.2) It provides proof of signing time as the certificate is generated at singing time.3)The signature is always associated wit h a certificate that has sufficient remaining validity time for the intended use of the signed