The Founding Of The Vanity Fair Brand

The Founding Of The Vanity Fair Brand Founded in 1899, Vanity Fair (VF), the worlds largest publicly owned apparel company, offers various products such as jeans, bags, sportswear, footwear and outerwear. It operates mainly in the US and Europe, but also in developing countries like India, Russia and China. In the last decade, VF made some acquisitions including The North Face, Napapijri, Nautica and Vans. Five major coalitions consist of multiple brands a total of 700 brand stores in 2009 leading the Growth Plan strategy. The company recorded, in 2008, $7,561,621 of revenues. VF brands are attempting to establish close relationships with its suppliers to reduce production costs, respond to changes in other cost factors, and shorten the lead time that occurs with the traditional suppliers. Also, Fraser, the President of the Supply Chain International for VF brands, is concerned that the companys current supply chain strategies will not satisfy the future demand that will occur in the Asia-Pacific areas. In this paper, we will analyze four alternatives that VF brands can execute for its global expansion into the Asian markets. Those 4 alternatives are as follow; (1) To abandon the Third Way; (2) To continue with the current supply chain strategies; (3) To pick the best method for each coalition and products categories; and (4) Gradually switching to Third Way altogether in the end. Based on our analyses of the 4 alternatives and the apparel industry, we will suggest the best solution that will satisfy the new demand and help the other areas to become more e fficient and effective in the future. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Since the company was established more than a century ago, it was able to develop certain competencies in various areas and a good reputation. One of them is the strong performance in its internal plants, and the know-how and expertise involved. All these led to VFs own sustainable competitive advantages. In addition, the company built a technical know-how and engineering capabilities, which are very difficult to imitate. The rapid production at the internal plants and its supply chain are very valuable. Moreover, a large number of suppliers and the experience gained accumulated over time give VF a considerable and reliable network. Also, during the various acquisitions, VF preserved the unique organizational cultures and brand identities to keep the design groups intact. Every brand has then a strong personality that can be managed and developed individually, giving more diversity. Besides, the financial situation of VF is strong with a low level of debts and a high cash position th at can help them in case of tough economic situations and give them more flexibility to respond accordingly. Weaknesses When operating such a big and diversified company, some difficulties may occur. The first one is the lack of coordination and trust among suppliers and the company. A bullwhip effect may be observed due to the lack of inventories. Also, the supply chain is often illogical and highly fragmented due to various outsourcing locations. Certain dependence may be caused by some suppliers, making it very costly (ex: Nicaragua). Thus, building a reliable supplier network is very expensive. VF has a sheer complexity of its product line, leading to different needs and priorities among its numerous brands. The diversity of ideas between coalitions and directors causes some problems in the decision-making as well. Low costs pressuring for outsourcing can lead to quality matters and lack of control. Additionally, not much differentiation can be made in terms of supplying and transportation. Opportunities As the apparel industry is changing at a very rapid rate, innovative companies can see various opportunities. The supply chain management is a very first change in the companys structural changes; then the Third Way is described as an opportunity to gain another competitive advantage, going forward. Partnerships can be developed in a long term vision. Moreover, the expansion of sales in developing countries represents a huge growth opportunity. Asian markets seem like a favourable location for new stores. Also, the development of new line products at a broad range of price can be designed at any time to satisfy a new market segment. Fashion is seen differently around the world, thus, various strategies are used to fulfill each need. Future acquisitions can also contribute to the growth of VF. Threats Apparel industry is very much affected by economic situations. In times of crisis, too much dependence on some suppliers might be fatal; especially that competition is very hard and intense with brands competing directly. Continuous investment must be made, essentially in marketing to maintain margins. Plus, the growing bargaining power of mass retailing chains put pressure to lower the price at all time. Also, the frequent changes in tariffs and quotas make outsourcing unsure sometimes, making the research for suppliers challenging. Agile supply chain and vf brands The third way seems to be a new way to deal with suppliers and with a supply chain in general. However, third way could be seen as an agile supply chain in many aspects. In the next section, we will discuss what are an agile supply chain, the differences between lean supply chain and hybrid supply chain, and the link with VF Brands third Way. This part will give basic information that will be useful for our recommendations. VF BRANDS and THE AGILE SUPPLY CHAIN In a turbulent and volatile world, the only thing that does not change is change by itself . Basically, companies compete at several competitive dimensions like cost, delivery time, quality and flexibility. However, todays intensely competitive market is more and more defined by an instability and unpredictability of demand that represent the new challenges organizations face. For many reasons, the product and technology life cycles are shortening, forcing more frequent product changes in addition to new competitive pressure. Now, companies look beyond cost and quality advantages. Speed to market, speed to delivery and flexibility are being emphasized as a way to be more reactive to the needs of customers. However, more than speed, companies require a high level of maneuverability, or in other words, a high level of agility. What is an Agile Organization? Agility is a business-wide capability that embraces an organizational structure, information and systems, logistics processes, and in particular, mindsets. The key to success of an agile business is speed and flexibility. Agile organizations are market-driven, with more product research, and short development and introduction cycles. An agile organization can be defined as an organization capable to cope with unexpected challenges, to survive unprecedented threats of business environment and to take advantage of changes as opportunities. This kind of organization must be a fast moving, adaptable, robust business able to achieve a competitive advantage in a very instable environment. The basic way to define agility is the ability to quickly match supply, however, it is important to explain that agile is not a synonymous of leanness. Indeed, lean can be seen as doing more with less by implementing a lean manufacturing (Porsche Consulting) with zero inventory or Minimum Reasonable Inventory (MRI) and just in time approach. However, lean manufacturing system does not often mean flexible manufacturing system. A lean manufacturing system can result on less waste and high efficiency, but sometimes with important inventory. Finally, a company with a lean chain of supply can make their consumers wait a longer time to receive their products. We can illustrate that with the automotive industry and more specifically with the Toyota Production System. Indeed Toyota production system can be seen as lean, but that does not mean that consumers do not have to wait, often during months, to have the car of their choice. Therefore, Lean approach works best in high volume, low varie ty, and predictable environment. Whereas, Agility is needed in less predictable environment where demand is volatile and the requirement for variety is high. The Agile Supply Chains and Characteristics All organizations have supply chains of varying degrees, depending upon the size of the organization, the depth and scope of international outsourcing, the type of product manufactured, and the international production network. A supply chain describes the series of linked activities creating a process that changes supplies and components into finished products that will be distributed to customers. The agility of a Supply Chain is a measure of how well the relationship involved in the process enhances four pivotal objectives of agile manufacturing: Customer sensitivity, Virtual integration, Process Integration, and Network integration. First, all the agile supply must have the capacity to understand and respond to real demand quickly, in other words, the supply chain must be customer sensitive. The organization must be able to make forecast based upon past sales or shipment demand and convert these forecasts into inventory. For instance, the main challenge for companies is to be able to hear the voices of the market by receiving Efficient Response from customer (ECR) using information and technology to capture data on demand directly from point-of-sale and point of use. The organization must use information and technology to share data between buyers and suppliers creating a supply chain based on information rather than inventory, basically, create a Virtual Supply Chain. Sharing information using information and system (for example EDI) with our partner will create a collaborative work environment (process integration) that can be illustrated by joint product development and process improvement between buyer and s uppliers. Integrated your process offer the potential for major performance gain. This form of co-operation in supply chain is more and more important as many companies focus on their core competencies and outsource all other activities. Partnerships between buyer and supplier are inevitable to achieve an agile supply chain. To this extent, integration can mean the combination of sell through data, exchange of inventory status information, order coordination, open-book accounting, buyer supplier team, share information about the future products, and change in manufacturing process need to be changed as well as simplified pricing schemes . Figure 1 Dimension of Supply Chain Agility Supply chain agility can be discussed in terms of two dimensions of reach and range of activities covered by networking amongst companies (13;8). The figure shows this two-dimensional framework. On the vertical axis, there is the reach from Personal Division to Global. When, in the horizontal axis, there is the Range of activities from the basic way to send a message (EMAIL for instance) to Internet integration. This figure shows three steps from Bill of Material through Purchasing efficiency with electronic commerce, Supplier coaching, and Relational Database to the top level of planning, and control with Demand Planning, and Capacity Planning, and so on. To achieve agility on the Supply Chain, an organization must go through these steps and access the highest level with planning and control. In fact, the company must achieve the highest level on Reach (Global) and on Range (Integration). Indeed, on the last step, internal operations will be transparent to suppliers and customers. T his transparency allows cross companys team to work. Local teams are able to think globally and discuss the process and requirement without restriction without major problems of communication. Any change, modification, and new project can be implemented quickly, efficiently, and easily without creating high cost, or affecting quality of the output. (Figure 2) Another study, by Vankatranan and Handerson, implemented these three steps in addition with three inter-dependent dimensions of the supply chain (customer interaction, asset configuration, Knowledge Leverage). In fact, these three stages can be implemented to evaluate progress on each dimension of the supply chain and see how well integrated and agile it is. (Figure 3) Hybrid Strategy, another Solution Lean and agile supply chain are two concepts focusing on two different issues. Lean initiative is said to focus on cost and quality and impacts on flexibility and times based technology leadership objective (e.g. TPS), whereas, agile supply chain influence costs and time based technology leadership. However, companies often need to keep in mind cost quality as well as flexibility and technology leadership at the same time. A combination of the two approaches could be appropriate to create a hybrid strategy. Hybrid Supply Chain focuses on the fact that characteristics of demand must be taken into consideration when designing the supply chain. Within a mixed portfolio of product and markets, there could be some products with stable demand and some other with unpredictable demand that is why a supply does not have to be totally agile of lean. For instance, the Supply Chain of the fashion apparel, Zara, could be shown as a agile supply chain with some lean characteristic in order to have the most effective quick-response system in its industry. Indeed Zara is able to quickly understand trends, producing some items with low flexible demand in low cost country (low cost, long time delivery, and so on), but at the same time they are able to be produced quickly in response in Spanish high-automated and very efficient factories that allow quick production, shorter time to delivery in point of sale, lower risk, and more flexibility. We can discuss another case, IKEA. IKEA deals with many suppliers mostly in European Union (more than 50%) and 20% in China. Two ideas must be underlined; Ikea usually implement long-term relationship with strong partnership with its suppliers, however, these partners must respect very strict norms created by IKEA itself. IKEA can help is suppliers (by financings machines, increasing the efficiency of the supply chain, and on) that make these supplier very efficient and very dependent to the buyer. To this point of view, IKEA supply chain can be seen as an agile Supply Chain, however, Ikea produce many products in Asia (China), but these products have a more stable demand trend. VF BRAND and The Third Way: Implementation of an Agile Supply Chain? Vanity Fair brands were used to deal with their own very efficient factories located closed to the companys main market, the US. However, the group decided to extend globally by buying other brands where the policies were sometimes to totally outsource the production. VF brands needed to deal with a very complicated supply chain, very decentralized design, and so on; a kind of mix between traditional sourcing and outsourcing, for some aspect similar to ZARA. However, just chasing low cost and building its own factories are not seen as a long-term solution for Chris Fraser, President Supply Chain international for VF Brand. At the same time, some of the inefficiency was due to lack of coordination and lack of trust between apparel companies and suppliers. A new solution was adopted, the third way. Third way means that VF should focus on supplier network. Suppliers and VF brand would work together. Suppliers would own their factories, but VF brand will help them for free using their ow n resources in engineering and management forces as well as with their purchasing power to procure fabric and other raw materials -resources previously used in their own factories. This solution looks like IKEAs solution, however, Ikea focused on a network of suppliers geographically near its location which is not the case for VF Brand that have to deal with low cost countries regulation and particularities and many brands in order to achieve its agile supply chain. The results are not very good for the moment: difficulties to convince shareholders that sharing resources with outsourced suppliers is a good solution, and as well as difficulty linking with the country where products are supplied; which probably is the reasons why. As a conclusion, results from studies like shows that only a few companies have adopted agile supply chain practices. However, most companies have created long term collaboration with suppliers as well as customers; it can be seen as lean Supply chain or hybrid strategy. Indeed study suggests that lean supply chain has a higher level of impact on competitive objectives in contrast to agile supply chain. Nevertheless, this result would probably be discussed within a few years as it will take some time before current companies investments and research effort on agile supply chain lead to more concrete and enjoyable results on competitive outcome compared to lean supply chain. Lets see what VF Brand can achieve if it pursue this third way. ALTERNATIVES Alternative 1 Abandon the Third Way go back to the old way The Third Way could potentially cause many difficulties for VF, hence abandoning this way before investing too much money is a possible alternative. Firstly, you maintain the flexibility to change volumes or to change to a supplier who is offering a lower price. You are also independent from the suppliers problems, for instance if you are not satisfied with the quality of the product, you can simply switch to a different supplier. Following the old way, you do not need to spend money and time until the problem is fixed. Secondly, it is tough to find suppliers willing to form a partnership with the given conditions. To agree to not supply the same category of products to competitors anytime in the future is a huge barrier for a supplier and drags him into dependence on VF. Since the price paid is vague at the establishment of the relationship, the supplier faces the risk to be exploited. The fact that one of the test Third Way suppliers could not manage to survive financially is a hint that the relationship might not work out for suppliers. In Addition, VFs existing suppliers were carefully selected and since they were not interested in a closer relationship. Thus, VF needs to establish the Third Way with unknown companies, a great risk if you are concerning the trust needed. Thirdly, there is still the possibility that VFs knowledge leaks out to competitors. The technology you provide your supplier is not necessarily limited to a specific category of product, but you relationship might be. In this case, the technology could be used by competitors if they buy products of a different kind from that supplier. Since VF is not the owner of the supplier, it is also harder to control the knowledge leaking. For example, an employee may change to a competitors supplier. Fraser and Green called VFs technical capabilities a trump card, therefore it should be highly protected and not being risked. Another point is that the problem of switching costs is also an issue. To establish a Third-Way-relationship VF has to invest money to transfer their knowledge to the supplier. Since the latter is not losing any money in case of termination of the contract, the chance for dropping out is higher. Regardless whether the supplier drops out or is closing down for some reasons, it takes a long time until a new relationship is established, so VF might face severe supply difficulties. Lastly, in a study there was no significant relation between strategic sourcing and gaining competitive advantage. Therefore, the effort spent on the Third Way might not return the expected results. On the other hand, the same study showed that strategic sourcing (and therefore the Third Way) has a positive influence on business performance. A close relationship is also speeding up goods entry. Also keep in mind that the total costs for a five pocket jeans were the lowest of all three ways. Alternative 2 Continue the current supply chain strategies Another alternative strategy for the situation which Vanity Fair brands are facing could be to keep working on the current strategy. As explained in the article and supported by its strong financial performance compared to its competitors, the company has maintain its competitive position in the apparel industry. VF brands have been well established through a series of successful mergers and acquisitions of different brands, products, and styles. In the course of these acquisitions, the company was able to gain huge competitive advantages from operating its own manufacturing plants and traditional outsourcing, simultaneously. This combined strategy allowed the company to juggle between based on the geographic markets, demands, different products and coalitions. Frasers Third Way strategy seems very attractive for VF going forward. Many of the challenges the company faces are due to production inefficiency and supplier relationship based on little or no trust. Fraser and VF brands are at a crucial stage to decide which means to carry on international expansion goals in the future. Despite many benefits of the Third Way, the company must examine if this supply chain strategy is a strong fit for Asian markets. As mentioned previously, there is no doubt that a combination of full integration and traditional sourcing is a VF brands strength. Internal manufacturing sites are able to produce high quality products more efficiently and reliably compared to not only its competitors but also its outsourcing suppliers. The significantly reduced production time is a great strength with respect to the products that experiences a high inventory turnover rate. Another advantage arises in unexpected crisis such as the global economic downturn in 2008-2009. If the company operated solely based on outsourcing, it would have been very difficult to survive due to the shutdown of small shops and short notice of their discontinuation. On the other hand, outsourcing for certain coalitions or products due to the nature of its operations is inevitable. Cut and make (CM) contracts allowed the company to oversee cost drivers at each stage, mostly for heritage lines supplied in Central American and Caribbean. Full package sourcing was mainly used for the lifestyle brands in Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa. Outsourcing strategy provides VF brands with more flexibility when dealing with different suppliers across different geographic regions, especially with regards to tariffs and quotas. While the Third Way has many benefits going forward, this strategy also involves a high risk and costs associated, more so if executed without thorough research and examinations. Besides the concerns from different areas of the company itself, the Third Way should be carefully selected and applied to the most suitable product lines. For example, the strategy is most suitable for products that require the steady and regular supply of its inventory with the staffs of a certain level of education. Also these potential suppliers should be willing to build the strategic partnership for a long term. As mentioned before, switching costs are another hindrance. Since it is much easier to persuade new suppliers than existing suppliers, the company needs to thoroughly examine the qualifications of potential suppliers and there is always a risk that the supplier might not meet the standards later on. Rather than expanding globally extensively through the Third Way, Fraser and the company must fi rst identify the strategic fit for certain geographic regions for certain products/coalitions, and then pursue this strategy. A product line which makes up a small volume or not much techniques or skills should rather be outsourced. Alternative 3: Hybrid Supply Chain VF Corporation world headquarters is located in Greesboro, North Carolina where the senior management team is based, along with the corporate strategy, Finance, Global Business Technology, Law, Human resources and finally, Global Supply Chain. VF Brand Business model focuses on supporting the individuality of lifestyle of each VF Brand and has to deal with each headquarter. Indeed, each Brand has its own headquarter and focuses on its own consumers and customers.(1) However, VF Brands had divided the globe into 4 areas: US Region, Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Asia-Pacific. VF Corporation has a specific strategy for each region even some brands are in different regions and are often global. Each brand has specific suppliers that can deliver globally and deal with the headquarter of this specific brand (not with VF Corporation). However, different brands in different regions might need the same supplier for almost the same product. For instance, two brands may need the cheapest supplier as possible for a specific type of product that can accept a long lead time whereas some other products may need a short lead time as the demand trend could fluctuate a lot. The next recommendation could be for VF Brand to have a more original and customized production and purchasing strategy. The basic idea is to create more coherence between where suppliers are based and where products are distributed. Lets take backpacks for example. Backpacks are needed for many companies inside the group, however the demand for backpacks is not fluctuating a lot and the demand is often lower for a backpacks than for jeans or a shirts or t-shirt. This implies that these backpacks could be produced in Asia with lower prices and longer lead time with classic suppliers. However, Jeans for the US market could be manufactured in Mexico in highly automated factories owned by VF Brand, and shipped quickly to the US. Manufacturing these Jeans in Mexico allowed shorter lead times and flexibility depending on fashion trend and thus, demand. The idea is to base suppliers where it is more significant for distribution. If goods are produced in Eastern Europe or Asia, these produc ts should be shipped directly from suppliers to a distribution center that will be located near where products will be sold. Indeed, nowadays, many products are produced in Asia and shipped to the US to finally be sold in Asia. This new approach will significantly reduce lead times and cost. Previously, we only talked about regular suppliers and factory owned by VF. However, VF Brands do not own their own factories for instance in the European and Asian markets. The key idea is to implement the third way in this case. Indeed, some products in the Asian or European market could have a very fluctuating demand trend; for these specific products some brand may need suppliers as efficient as VF Brands factories. Choosing specific suppliers and implementing the third way with them could be a good solution. These third way suppliers could produce for different brands of the VF Corp when they want to produce common products for a specific period of time or deal with specific products for different brands of the group. These third way suppliers could act like VF Brands factories; but in this case, close to EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region or Asia-Pacific region markets. To avoid sending products to other part of the world and then send them back to the original region , regional centers could be created. These centers will received product from normal suppliers (common for all VF Corp Brands) and then send these product to other regional centers, reducing lead time and cost. At the same time, Third Way suppliers will only focus on production for their actual area of the world. VF Brands must act local and think global. However as I will show, VF Brands do not have to think global just with its supply chain. Indeed, as we previously said, some products -like backpacks- are not often a trendy product. These not-so-specific products could have a common base -platform- share between the brands that will allow mass production with the same suppliers-reducing cost by dealing with more significant volumes-. In other words, some products could probably be designed by and for a different brand of the group but with the possibility of customization to differentiate these products. Exhibit 1 shows you an example for 3 areas, (EMEA, USA, ASIA) 1- VF Corporation Website http://www.vfc.com/about/global-presence VF CORP, how to think Globally Alternative 4: Gradually switch to Third Way altogether in the end Another alternative is that VF could gradually change their strategy to Third Way altogether in the end. As mentioned in the given case, VF can achieve more efficiency and long term stability through the Third Way. In our previous alternatives, we mentioned our concerns about the Third Way that it would not succeed. According to this point of view, the Third Way will bring loss of flexibility, leakage of VFs technology to outside and many other losses that will not benefit the company. However, to survive in apparel market of today, it is crucial for a company to satisfy various needs of consumers while supplying products as quickly as possible, which can be achieved by the Third Way. In order to quickly respond to market changes, it is important for VF to have a simplified, efficient production process so that it can immediately act when necessary. By achieving the Third Way, VF can gain two advantages. First, it can bring efficiency to its supply process. Second, it will result in a long term and sustainable supplier relationship. First, by implementing the Third Way, VF can make its supply process more efficient. By providing high technology engineering resources of VF, suppliers of VF can improve its production processes. This will result in cost benefits for VF as it will shorten lead time, and decrease production and inventory cost. Not only that, improving production process and shortening lead time mean VF can act more quickly. It is important for an apparel company to react quickly to changes to satisfy ever changing needs of the fashion market. Second, VF can create a long term and sustainable supplier relationship with its suppliers by following Third Way. As previously mentioned, contract of Third Way includes long term contract with its supplier in producing goods. By having a long term relationship, VF can decrease cost of finding new supplier for every new season. Also, by providing VFs engineering resources to improve the production process for suppliers, VF can gain trust from its suppliers. By building trust with suppliers, VF can minimize the cost of excess inventory and long lead time. Those against the Third Way argue that it will result in low flexibility, technology leakage. However, recent experiments in countries like Bangladesh showed the Third Way suppliers were able to greatly shorten lead time, allowing VF to respond to market more quickly than compared to traditional ways. Also, no leakages of VFs technology were reported. Those against the Third Way argue that the Third Way has many holes and also it is unable to persuade existing suppliers to change into the Third Way and therefore risky and ineffective strategy. However, this is a myopic view of the issue. Such problems are transitional errors that can be dealt with in the long term. Holes that might appear through the Third Way can be revised when such problems are found. Also, the supplier persuasion issue can be dealt by gradually replacing existing suppliers with the Third Way suppliers while continually trying to convert existing suppliers into the Third Way. It is essential for VF in order to sur vive in apparel market to build a supplier relationship that is sustainable and interactive; hence, the Third Way is the answer. RECOMMENDATION The company is currently in a no-return process. It needs to find the best way to satisfy the growing demand all around the world but parti

Intellectual Property Piracy

Intellectual Intellectual property is under attack by pirates. These pirates are not wearing an eye patch or sporting a peg leg, they are anybody and everybody who are selling or copying software for personal or business use. When it comes to software and online piracy, in certain countries, it is like the Wild West, there are laws that are very cut and dry but it seems like nobody follows them. On the other hand there are certain countries where it almost seems like anything goes with a lack of government regulation.The United States has very strict laws about copyright infringement. If a person is found guilty of copyright infringement in the US, it is considered a felony charge which carries a heavy fine as well as possible jail time. In December 2011, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released a list of â€Å"notorious markets,† or markets that â€Å"typify the problem of marketplaces that deal in goods and services that infringe on IPR and help to sustain global piracy and counterfeiting,† according to a USTR press release(China Urges US, 2012).Along with strict enforcement of anti-piracy laws, countries of North America, Western Europe and Australia tend to follow the Rule of Law in which society validates laws and codes. There are many associations emerging to fight technology piracy to ensure intellectual property rights. Such organization such as WTO (World Trade Organization), WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), and the WCT (World Copyright Treaty) have been created to police the piracy of intellectual property. With these organizations, intellectual piracy had seen a decline for a short amount of time.In a study in 2009, it was found that of all software found in developed countries, 80% of the software was legitimately purchased. On the other hand, it was also found that in emerging countries, about 60% of software was found to be pirated. Those emerging countries account for 45% of the global hardware marke t while they only account for less they 20% of legitimate software. Emerging countries are actually putting out more computers then legal software to put on the computers. In 2009 alone, the US lost 50 billion dollars to software piracy. It is a daunting task to police these intellectual thieves.When looking at the piracy of intellectual property globally, it seems to be a complicated task at hand to police. There are many countries that are trying to get a grasp on the problem at hand. Statistically the United States are leading the way with only 21% of its software was pirated in a 2008 report. In January 2012, the US passed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U. S. House and the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA ) which would strengthen penalties for pirating movies, music, merchandise and books, have pitted corporate interests against each other and against free-speech advocates(Mitchell, 2012).Though one out of five computers in the US had illegal software, which is better than the 95% of software pirated in the country of Georgia. Organizations such as the WTO are helping on the forefront of against piracy by creating treaties amongst countries to in order to reduce the level of theft of IPR’s. The countries that seem to be adhering to this these treaties tend to have a higher level of individualism as well as a stronger grasp of the rule of law in compared to their counterparts. Other ways of controlling the piracy plague have been put into place.Technological security system like adding passwords and login, putting protection on the purchased software that would make it incapable of copying or burning are progressing to slow down the taking of intellectual property. Will this stop the problem completely? Most likely not, but it provides a promising future for IPR’s. In undeveloped countries across the world, piracy is running rampant with out much government enforcement. In China, it is legal to have 499 pirated DVDs i n a person’s possession. If caught with more, it’s only a fine that would be about the same as a parking ticket.With countries such as China India or Russia that have a low sense of individualism, IPR is not a pressing matter. Those are some of the greatest populated countries of the world and the problem spreads even further then them. Without stricter enforcement in such countries, there is no end to how far piracy of software will go. In Western Europe, there is the alarming fact that more computer hardware is being produced then software is being sold. These emerging countries are taking hold of counterfeiting and sophisticating the way of doing business illegally.With the internet and person to person sharing, it is getting easier and more efficient to sell and trade pirated software. Piracy is inevitable. When the people of the world have no ethical problem with breaking IPR’s, there will be no end to the problem. The majority of the people that are pirati ng do not believe they are even breaking any laws. As much as we try to control, regulate and enforce piracy, there will always be someone looking for a new way of finding an end to a means. Piracy has been compared to that of illegal drug trafficking, it is an endless war that seems to have no end in site.If your take the cultures in where the heaviest of piracy of software is taking place, it is those that are a collective society, with little regard for those IPRs of individuals. The only way that piracy will end is if the world changes and conforms to having principles that respect these creative individuals and their governments take initiative and lead the way in solving this problem. This unfortunately, may never happen, and piracy will continue to be a problem that plagues the business world.

Special Occasion Speech

Before beginning, I'd like to offer my sincerest gratitude to ChMlotte and Justin for allowing me 10 be pan oflhls special occasion. Aho, I wouJd like to say thank you 10 Charlotte' 1 parenU for . 11 that you've done to make this ! he special day tha! il is. And, of course. my gntefuln~ to Justin' s parentS for all oryour suppon and all that you've done to make this, by all accounts, the perfect day. I love 1 wedding – especially when it happens to such great people. From the moment [ saw you two together, Charlotte, I knew this would happen. Charlotte has been. great rriend in. w many ways. We've come to know one another so wen, that we have an undemanding that goes beyond wOf'ds. We don't judge. and we don't have 10 explain. So. when Clwiotte found her soul-mate, she didn't really have 10 say much to make it clear to me that Justin was the one and only for her. The love in her beart and the joy in ber spirit were obvious from the beginning. I've seen that same Jove and happiness in JUSlin. Charlotte and Justin, I am elCtremely happy for both of you. You truly complement one another. You rod u friends and it evolved into a love that so many people r1U'eIy find today. Love after a1~ doesn't make the world go around †¦ Love is what makes the ride wonhwhile. And it's a wonderful thing when two people who were made for each othefmanage to frnd each other and ! all io love. So, I'd like to make a toast. And I'd like to make it with this thought in mind: If there is such a thing as a good marriage, then it cqmes from unconditional and enduring love that grows from commitment and friendship. So this is to you, Justin and Charlotte, your love Bnd friendship have always been special and your future as busband and wife promises to be bright. Here's to a wonderful, enchanted life together rich with love and happiness . Special Occasion Speech Before beginning, I'd like to offer my sincerest gratitude to ChMlotte and Justin for allowing me 10 be pan oflhls special occasion. Aho, I wouJd like to say thank you 10 Charlotte' 1 parenU for . 11 that you've done to make this ! he special day tha! il is. And, of course. my gntefuln~ to Justin' s parentS for all oryour suppon and all that you've done to make this, by all accounts, the perfect day. I love 1 wedding – especially when it happens to such great people. From the moment [ saw you two together, Charlotte, I knew this would happen. Charlotte has been. great rriend in. w many ways. We've come to know one another so wen, that we have an undemanding that goes beyond wOf'ds. We don't judge. and we don't have 10 explain. So. when Clwiotte found her soul-mate, she didn't really have 10 say much to make it clear to me that Justin was the one and only for her. The love in her beart and the joy in ber spirit were obvious from the beginning. I've seen that same Jove and happiness in JUSlin. Charlotte and Justin, I am elCtremely happy for both of you. You truly complement one another. You rod u friends and it evolved into a love that so many people r1U'eIy find today. Love after a1~ doesn't make the world go around †¦ Love is what makes the ride wonhwhile. And it's a wonderful thing when two people who were made for each othefmanage to frnd each other and ! all io love. So, I'd like to make a toast. And I'd like to make it with this thought in mind: If there is such a thing as a good marriage, then it cqmes from unconditional and enduring love that grows from commitment and friendship. So this is to you, Justin and Charlotte, your love Bnd friendship have always been special and your future as busband and wife promises to be bright. Here's to a wonderful, enchanted life together rich with love and happiness .

International Trade Simulation Essay - 1294 Words

Every economy can count on two things; there will always be supply and there will always be demand. For some countries, supply cannot keep up with the demands for the economy and when that happens, international trade is sometimes an only option. As with anything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to international trade. One of the major advantages to international trade is that it allows countries with a surplus of supply to trade with another country that may have a shortage of that same supply. Another advantage is that if a country is in short supply of a particular product or service that country can import from other countries. One of the major disadvantages to international trade is the amount of surplus countries are†¦show more content†¦Comparative advantages calculate opportunity costs involved with the overall production of the good or service. The absolute advantage refers to the ability to produce a good or service at a higher quantity than the comp etition, while at the same time utilizing the same amount of resources. This can also be stated as the ability to produce the same amount of goods or services using less input than the competition. In the â€Å"Rodamia and its neighbors† trade simulation, I came across a few advantages and disadvantages of international trade. First let’s talk about the simulation itself. The first step of the trade simulation involved deciding whether to import or export corn, cheese, DVD players, and Watches. I decided it was best to import corn and watches and export DVD players and cheese. This was an easy simulation because all I had to do was decide which items we had a comparative advantage with and which countries offered the best products at a lower opportunity cost. Even though Rodamia does not have the absolute advantage on corn or cheese, I was able to help maximize the countries benefits by specializing in the production of cheese which gave us a comparative advantage. The second exercise, Suntize was importing watches into Rodamia at prices lower than that of their own home market. The dumping of watches into Rodamia caused some harm within our domestic watch industry. In this simulation, I decided to impose a tariff of $30.00 perShow MoreRelatedEssay on International Trade Simulation987 Words   |  4 Pagessummarize the International Trade Simulation, explain the basic concept of International Trade, emphasize the four key points from the reading assignments in the simulation, and apply these concepts to my workplace. Simulation Summary In the International Trade simulation, you are the Trade Representative of a small country called Rodamia. You are introduced to international trade--the theory of comparative advantage and the impact of tariffs, quotas, and dumping on international trade (Applying InternationalRead MoreInternational Trade Simulation and Report1965 Words   |  8 PagesInternational Trade Simulation and Report ECO-212 Principles of Economics - Robert Coates University Of Phoenix Faithlyn Wright, Trina Drinka, David Barrett, Amber Kemper, Josue Garcia July 11, 2010. Advantage and Limitation of International Trade International Trade is important to many countries because it allows a country to import products or resources that may be difficult to produce locally. As a result, this enhances the country’s growth and economic wealth, andRead MoreEssay about International Trade Simulation1416 Words   |  6 PagesInternational Trade Simulation Gina Caraiman University of Phoenix ECO 360 Kimberly Swaney March 5, 2007 International Trade Simulation Introduction This simulation will provide reasons for international trade and help me determine which countries to trade with, what products to import or export. Also, help with determining when to impose trade restrictions like: tariffs and quotas, and when to negotiate trade agreements. Overall, the story in this simulation has cast me in the role ofRead MoreEssay on International Trade Concepts Simulation827 Words   |  4 PagesInternational Trade Concepts Simulation Abstract The following paper will present information found in a simulation based on international trade concepts. Key points found from the reading will be noted and concepts discussed will be shown integrated in the workplace. 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As we review these factors,Read MoreInternational Trade Concepts1095 Words   |  5 PagesInternational Trade Concepts Shelly Hall ECO/372 March 12, 2010 Robert Chase The Simulation on International trade concepts is a study of the country of Rodamia and the decisions the leaders made regarding imports and exports for the country. While Rodamia is a fictitious country, the concepts of international trade, tariffs, quotas, and imports and exports are all applicable to the effects on the U.S. economy. This paper will discuss in detail the meaning and effect each of these conceptsRead MoreThe International Trade Concepts1357 Words   |  6 PagesThe International Trade Concepts The International Trade Concepts simulation helps one to learn the advantages and limitations of international trade. One can also take what is learned from the simulation and relate it to the U.S. economy and the effects international trade has on it. Learning about how fiscal and monetary policies affect the exchange rate is important as well. Not only can one apply what was learned in the simulation to the U.S. economy but they can also apply it to their workplaceRead MoreAddressing International Legal and Ethical Issues Simulation Summary718 Words   |  3 PagesAddressing International Legal and Ethical Issues Simulation Summary LAW/421 August 6, 2013 Addressing International Legal and Ethical Issues Simulation Summary International trade is important and beneficial to business. However, international trade guides a safeguard of interests, specific business contract, defined law, forum of dispute settlement, and understanding of contract clauses. â€Å"A working knowledge of international law helps business owners and managers with global interests reduceRead MoreTheoretical Justification Of The Gravity Model1583 Words   |  7 Pagesmode has been successful in its accurate prediction of the trade flows between countries for the goods and services traded. However, most scholars believed that there were no existences of the theoretical justification for the gravity equation. In almost all the economic models, gravity relationship often arise including trade costs that tend to increase with distance. Besides estimation of the patterns involved in the international trade, gravity model presents utilizes factors that are closely relatedRead MoreA Comparative Analysis of Balance of Payments of India and China1657 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of Two Trade Integration Approaches By Przemyslaw Kowalski Discussion Matthieu Bussià ¨re European Central Bank New Delhi, 7 December 2007 Note: The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ECB. Main assessment of the paper †¢ A very nice overview of a key topic Useful comparison China/India A valuable effort to collect relevant data †¢ †¢ Two main assets: discussion of trade policy and model simulations Main suggestion: refocus