Stephen Crane s American Dream - 1264 Words

Stephen Crane’s American Dream The American Dream was first defined In 1931 by James Truslow Adams. He described it by writing, â€Å"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement,† in his book entitled Epic of America. He continues to describe, â€Å"that it is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.† Stephen Crane’s novel, The Red Badge of Courage, deal†¦show more content†¦Another example of this is after Henry fled one of the battles and hid until it was over, â€Å"Thoughts of his comrades came to him. The brittle blue line had withstood the blows and won. He grew bitter over it. It seemed that the blind ignorance and stupidity of those little pieces had betrayed him. He had been overturned and crushed by their lack of sense in holding the position when intelligent deliberation would have convinced them that it was impossible. He, the enlightened man who looks afar in the dark, had fled because of his superior perceptions and knowledge. He felt a great anger against his comrades. He knew it could be proved that they had been fools.† Henry currently sees the situation as himself against not only the enemy, but also his very own allies, and maybe even himself. Henry does not truly think this of his comrades, he most likely thinks the exact opposite and is envious of their courage, but he is ashamed in his action. He would do anything to convince himself that he was in the right, and to do that the others had to be in the wrong. This is the point in the novel where Crane represents Henry as being at the farthest point away from t he american dream. He cannot get any closer to the it until Henry gets over his fear and sees his allies for what they are, and stops putting a wall between himself and them. Before Henry is truly able to become a part of the team he must first seeShow MoreRelatedEssay on The American Dream1459 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream in Death of a Salesman, The Great Gatsby, and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Millions of immigrants come to America each year to seek their American Dream. Many people believe that rising social mobility and success is possibleRead MoreHenry Flemming and Then Red Badge of Courage1725 Words   |  7 Pagesdistress, nervousness; all emotions of a young, naà ¯ve soldier entering war for the first time. To the reader, this is exactly what Henry Fleming represents. Because Crane never tells us what he looks like, just how old he is, or exactly where he comes from, and us ually refers to him as the youth (Crane, 12) or the young soldier (Crane, 14), Henry could be any young many experiencing war for the first time. Throughout the novel The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming goes through many psychologicalRead More A Walk Through Reality With Stephen Crane Essay1839 Words   |  8 PagesA Walk Through Reality With Stephen Crane      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Seeking and expressing the bare truth is often more difficult than writing stories of fiction.   This truth can be harsher to the reader than works of fiction;   it can make an authors desire to reveal the essence of society through characters the reader relates to risky and unpopular.   Stephen Crane wrote of ordinary people who face difficult circumstances that his readers could relate to (Seaman 148).   Crane sought to debunk the ideas thatRead More Comparing Symbols and Symbolism in Blue Hotel, Black Cat, Night, Alfred Prufrock, Red Wheelbarrow1620 Words   |  7 Pagesof colors is evident in much of literature. The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane, The Black Cat of Edgar Allan Poe, Night by William Blake, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot, and The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams encompass examples of color symbolism from both the prose and the poetry of literature. When drawing from various modes of psychology, interpretat ions of various colors, with emphasis to dream psychology, an analysis of the colors themselves and then theirRead MoreAmerican Architecture : Constructing An Identity1434 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Architecture: Constructing an Identity Throughout American history, people have been categorized based on what gender they are, and what their race is. In order to explore these ideas and come to terms with their importances many musicians, film makers, and authors have described the inner-workings of this societal construct. Indeed, both racial and female identities have been at the epicenter of many works of art throughout American culture as can be seen in: Maggie: A Girl of the StreetsRead MoreLovely English in The Red Badge of Courage by Henry Flemming1356 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"So it came to pass that as he trudged from the place of blood and wrath his soul changed† (Crane 139). The Red Badge of Courage is a great American classic, and this wonderful quote sums up the entire novel from start to finish. The novel is a novel about a solider in the civil war who deals with the difficulties of being in war. The novel follows and captures his journey using many literary elements. Crane’s use of style , plot, setting, and characters help enhance the story. The use of these literaryRead MoreThe Luck Of Roaring Camp2062 Words   |  9 Pagesin the camp. These men were mostly all fugitives or criminals so, Bret Harte developed his first theme, the strongest love can be shown by even the roughest of people. Axel Nissen wrote in â€Å"The Feminization of Roaring Camp: Bret Harte and The American Woman s Home, â€Å"A Chicago Times reviewer wrote on May 4 1870 that Harte has taken even the lowest phases of this life, and, with a human sympathy and artistic directness that do him equal credit, he has proved that the best of poetry can be made ofRead MoreThe Red Badge Of Courage1797 Words   |  8 PagesAnalysis of The Red Badge of Courage: Idealization of War Homer once said, Beware the toils of war ... the mesh of the huge dragnet sweeping up the world (War Quotes III). This quote, taken from Homer s famous work, the Iliad, demonstrates the idea that war can be seen in a skewed fashion. Realistic mindsets are the key for soldiers in understanding the truth about war. War is often idealized and viewed in an unrealistic light based on heroic stories and courageous stories of battle. The classicRead MoreTaking a Look at Naturalism1496 Words   |  6 Pages Naturalism The style of naturalism, naturalistic writers writers, and naturalistic works were very influential during the1880’s to 1940’s. Naturalism began as a literary movement that used some what of a detailed realism of things to prove that social conditions and environment had shaped the human race. This form of literature was a way of explaining the ways and beauty of everyday reality.Unlike Romanticism, the use of romance to influence the reader, or Surrealism, the use of artworks and writingsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Red Badge Of Courage4842 Words   |  20 Pagesalready been written. Describe what was fresh in Crane s approach to writing about war. Stephen Crane wanted to change peoples mind about the reality of war when he was writing The Red Badge of Courage. His novel shows the differences between the reality of the situations Harry is in and the glorious way other books would portray it. Harry thinks he will receive a sendoff from the town and be looked at as a hero. His mother instead says The Lord s will be done and continues milking the cow. The

The Mexican President Porfirio Diaz - 1348 Words

It is said that those who don’t know their history are bound repeat itself and it is the case of present day Mexico. Mexico is a wonderful country with so much potential: rich in minerals, full of culture and traditions, with beautiful sceneries and landscapes perfect for tourism. However, it has not seen peace or stability in the last century. Currently there is a war in Mexico between several parties including the government and several drug cartels. Everyone involved is hungry for money and power. Similarly in 1910 the Mexican revolution which began because the country was filled with violence and suffering causing many people to flee the country in search for a safer place. All of this is due to poor leadership, corruption, and poverty. In 1910 the Mexican President Porfirio Diaz was taking advantage of his power and taking all he could away from the indigenous people of the country. Diaz acted like a dictator during his term; he would take away the land of the poor and ga ve it away to wealthier Mexican citizens. That way Diaz helped the wealthy Mexicans become wealthier and the poor became poorer. This abuse of power enraged the people and as a result Francisco Madero, Emiliano Zapata, and Pancho Villa started a revolution with the goal of taking the presidency from Diaz. This became the start of the Mexican revolution that developed into a civil war between the government and the revolutionaries. The war had many casualties and most of the country lived in fear.Show MoreRelatedDictatorship, Conspiracies, And Uprisings1615 Words   |  7 Pagesconspiracies, and uprisings are what led to the Mexican Revolution. The long battle among various sectors and changing alliances resulted in the victory of ending the thirty-year dictatorship in Mexico as well as the development of a constitutional republic. The Mexican Revolution was the first revolution of modern times that focused on the needs and dreams of the Mexican people. In the following discussio n, we will dissect the history of the Mexican Revolution and how it has shaped an essentialRead MoreThe Mexican Revolution By Porfirio Diaz887 Words   |  4 PagesVerdin, Ramon Khan, Kamal Santillan, Karen Research Paper The Mexican Revolution was brought on by tremendous disagreement among the Mexican people over the dictatorship of President Porfirio I. Dà ­az. Diaz stayed in office for 34 years. During that time, power was in the hands of only a few people. The people had no power to express their opinions or select their public officials. Wealth was also in the hands of a few people. Porfirio pushed peasants off of their lands and had business men take theirRead MorePorfirio Diaz s Impact On The Country s Material Prosperity And Pulled Mexico Out Of It s Declining State1733 Words   |  7 PagesI argue that Porfirio Diaz made contributions towards his country’s material prosperity and pulled Mexico out of it’s declining state. Porfirio Dà ­az is often remembered as a period of social degradation and oppression of freedoms in Mexico. His 35-year dictatorship brought about an immense amount of hardship for the lower classes and an unfair system of wealth distribution. The image of Porfirio Dà ­az as a ruthless tyrant is one almost everyone has of him post-revolutionary Mexico. However, with thatRead More The Mexican Revolution Essay1160 Words   |  5 PagesThe Mexican Revolution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There was a huge revolution in the country of Mexico that started in the year 1910, led by Porfirio Diaz, the president of Mexico in 1910. In the 1860’s Diaz was important to Mexican politics and then was elected president in 1877. Diaz said that he would only be president for one year and then would resign, but after four years he was re-elected as the President of Mexico. Porfirio Diaz and the Mexican revolution had a huge impact on the country of Mexico that isRead MoreMexico Post Colonial1566 Words   |  7 PagesThe history of Post colonial Mexico included many successful and influential leaders: Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, Francisco (Pancho) Villa, and Emiliano Zapata. Disparities in classification of the revolution arise from the numerous factions and ideological assumptions advocated for the overthrow of Diaz’s rule, hence one can argue that it was a political, social, or economical revolution. A social revolution advocates a complete t ransformation of all characteristic aspects of society, encompassingRead MoreTaking a Look at the Mexican Revolution982 Words   |  4 Pagessuccess didn’t included â€Å"all† Mexicans which its majority were lower class citizens, on this equation the majority of people were never the ones to gain; wealth and land inequalities and abuse of power will part of the daily struggle, as result of this Mexican revolution will began. In 1908, after a publication of an interview of Porfirio Diaz by James Creelman, sentiments of Revolution began to spark in Mexico, but it wouldn’t be until November 1910 when the Mexican Revolution started. The revolutionaryRead MoreThe Mexican Revolution Essay1272 Words   |  6 PagesThe Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution was the culmination of a mass of political, economic, and social tension that accompanied the regime of the dictator Porfirio Diaz. The Revolution began with the aims to overthrow Diaz, but the Revolution had a pronounced effect on the organization of Mexicos government, economy, and society. Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico when the Revolution broke out. He was elected in 1877, and although he swore to step down in 1880, he continuedRead MoreEconomic, Social, and Political Causes of the Mexican Revolution1734 Words   |  7 PagesPolitical causes of The Mexican Revolution 1840-1910 The Mexican Revolution is one of the most significant historical events in Mexican history. Without the revolution Mexico would not be the democratic country that it is today. â€Å"The Mexican Revolution is often seen as a standard bearer through which other subsequent Latin American revolutions are interpreted.†(Darity) There were several significant events spanning several years that led up to the unrest of the Mexican people resulting in aRead MoreIndependence During The War For Independence1512 Words   |  7 Pagesstayed the same. The changes that happen were led by the reformation of a rural police force in Mexico and also the rise/reign of Porfirio Diaz that brought about supporters with a long rule. The bandits and police had many roles in Mexican society after the War for Independence. The bandit’s roles are somewhat unique because bandits took on my characters in Mexican society. Bandits were made up of mostly peasants, but it comprised of temporary bandits from all parts of society that included; unemployedRead MoreModern Mexican Society And Its Culture1616 Words   |  7 PagesTo understand modern Mexican society and its culture we have to analyze its social, economic and political development through the early stages of industrialization and the conditions under which this development took place. Following the Marxist theory of Historical Materialism, we will look at the rise of capitalism during the Porfiriato (time period in which General Porfirio Diaz governed Mexico), the class conflicts arising during this time period that produced the Mexican Revolution of 1910,

Math Ib Ia Sl Free Essays

Jonghyun Choe March 25 2011 Math IB SL Internal Assessment – LASCAP’S Fraction The goal of this task is to consider a set of fractions which are presented in a symmetrical, recurring sequence, and to find a general statement for the pattern. The presented pattern is: Row 1 1 1 Row 2 1 32 1 Row 3 1 64 64 1 Row 4 1 107 106 107 1 Row 5 1 1511 159 159 1511 1 Step 1: This pattern is known as Lascap’s Fractions. En(r) will be used to represent the values involved in the pattern. We will write a custom essay sample on Math Ib Ia Sl or any similar topic only for you Order Now represents the element number, starting at r=0, and n represents the row number starting at n=1. So for instance, E52=159, the second element on the fifth row. Additionally, N will represent the value of the numerator and D value of the denominator. To begin with, it is clear that in order to obtain a general statement for the pattern, two different statements will be needed to combine to form one final statement. This means that there will be two different statements, one that illustrates the numerators and another the denominators, which will be come together to find the general statement. To start the initial pattern, the pattern is split into two different patterns; one demonstrating the numerators and another denominators. Step 2: This pattern demonstrates the pattern of the numerators. It is clear that all of the numerators in the nth row are equal. For example all numerators in row 3 are 6. 1 1 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 15 Row number (n)| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Numerator (N)| 1| 3| 6| 10| 15| N(n+1) – Nn| N/A| 2| 3| 4| 5| Table 1: The increasing value of the numerators in relations to the row number. From the table above, we can see that there is a downward pattern, in which the numerator increases proportionally as the row number increases. It can be found that the value of N(n+1) – Nn increases proportionally as the sequence continues. The relationship between the row number and the numerator is graphically plotted and a quadratic fit determined, using loggerpro. Figure 1: The equation of the quadratic fit is the relationship between the numerator and the row number. The equation for the fit is: N= 0. 5n2+0. 5n or n2+n2, n0 Equation 1 In this equation, N refers to the numerator. Therefore, N= 0. 5n2+0. 5n or n2+n2, n0 is a statement that represents step 2 and also step 1. Step 3: In relation to table 1 and step 2, a pattern can be drawn. The difference between the numerators of two consecutive rows is one more than the difference between the previous numerators of two consecutive rows. This can be expressed in a formula N(n+1) – N(n) = N(n) – N(n-1) + 1. For instance, N(3+1) – N(3) = N(3) – N(2) +1. Using this method, numerator of 6th and 7th row can be determined. To find the 6th row’s value, n should be plugged in as 5 so that N(6) can be found. As for the 7th row’s numerator, n should be plugged in as 6. 6th row numerator is therefore: N(5+1) – N(5) = N(5) – N(4)+1 N(6) – 15 = 15 – 10+1 N(6) = 15+6 N(6) = 21 7th row numerator is therefore: N(6+1) – N(6) = N(6) – N(5)+1 N(7) – 21 = 21 – 15 +1 N(6) = 42 – 15 + 1 N(6) = 28 Not only by this method, but from the equation found in step 2, figure 1, 6th and 7th row numerator can be found also. 6th row numerator: N(6)=0. 5? 62+0. 5? 6 N(6)=0. 5? 36+3 N(6)=21 th row numerator: N(7)=0. 5? 72+0. 5? 7 N(7)=0. 5? 49+3. 5 N(7)=28 Consequently, these are the values of numerators up to the 7th row. 1 1 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 15 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 Using the method in step 3 and equation 1 in figure 1, it is evident that the numerator in the 6th row is 21. Since both equations have brought same values, it can be concluded that equation 1 is a valid statement that demonstrates the pattern of the numerator. Equation 1 will be used later also, in order to form a general statement of the pattern of whole LACSAP Fractions. Step 4: When examining the denominators in the LASCAP’S Fractions, their values are the highest in the beginning, decreases, and then increases again. For example, the denominators in row 5 are; 15 11 9 9 11 15. From this pattern, we can easily see that the equation for finding the denominator would be in a parabola form. Element | 0| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Denominator | 15| 11| 9| 9| 11| 15| The relationship between the denominator and the element number is graphically plotted and a quadratic fit determined, using loggerpro. Figure 2: This parabola describes the relationship between the denominator and element number. The equation for the fit is : D = r2 – nr+r0 . In this equation, r refers to the element number starting from 0, and r0 being the first denominator value in the row. n refers to the row number starting from 1. To see if this equation work, the 3rd denominator value in the 3rd row was measured. D = 22 – 3 ? 2+6 D = 4 – 6 +6 D = 4 With this equation, it is evident that the 6th and 7th row denominator values can be found. We already know the first and last denominators from when numerators were found; which are 21 and 28. 6th row second and sixth denominator: D = 12 – 6 ? 1+21 D = 1- 6+21 D = 16 6th row third and fifth denominator: D = 22 – 6 ? 2+21 D = 4- 12+21 D = 13 th row fourth denominator: D = 32 – 6 ? 3+21 D = 9- 18+21 D = 12 7th row second and seventh denominator: D = 12 – 7 ? 1+28 D = 1- 7+28 D = 22 7th row third and sixth denominator: D = 22 – 7 ? +28 D = 4- 14+28 D = 18 7th row fourth and fifth denominator: D = 32 – 7 ? 3+28 D = 9- 21+28 D = 16 Now, since the denominators in the 6th and 7th row are found, the sixth and seventh rows can be drawn and added in the LACSAP’S Fractions. Consequently, these are the fractions up to the 7th row. 1 1 32 1 1 64 64 1 1 107 106 107 1 1 1511 159 159 1511 1 1 2116 2113 2112 2113 2116 1 1 2822 2818 2816 2816 2818 2822 1 Now that the patterns for the LASCAP’S Fractions are found, all fractions can be expressed in the form En (r) when it is the (r+1)th element in the nth row, starting with r=0. The general statement of the pattern is clearly found when using the equations for the nominator and the denominator. Therefore, the general statement for En r will be En (r) = 0. 5n2+0. 5n r2 – nr+r0 In order to see if the equation works correctly, we can plug in number and figure out if the general statement works out. For example, E7 (3) = 2816 = 0. 5n2+0. 5n r2 – nr+r0 = 0. 5 ? (7)2+0. 5 ? (7) 32 – 7? 3+28 = 2816 . Here, it is clear that the formula is applicable. In order to make sure that the general statement is valid, finding the additional rows of the recurring sequence of fractions by using the general statement above would be useful. Here, I chose to settle on 2 additional rows which are the 8th and 9th rows in the pattern. 8th row numerator: N(8)=0. 5? 82+0. 5? 8 N(8)=0. 5? 64+4 N8=36 9th row numerator: N(9)=0. 5? 92+0. 5? 9 N(9)=0. 5? 81+4. 5 N9=45 8th row second and eighth denominator: D = 12 – 8 ? 1+36 D = 1- 8+36 D = 29 8th row third and seventh denominator: D = 22 – 8 ? 2+36 D = 4- 16+36 D = 24 8th row fourth and sixth denominator: D = 32 – 8 ? 3+36 D = 9- 24+36 D = 21 8th row fifth denominator: D = 42 – 8 ? 4+36 D = 16- 24+36 D = 28 9th row second and ninth denominator: D = 12 – 9 ? 1+45 D = 1- 9+45 D = 37 9th row third and eighth denominator: D = 22 – 9 ? +45 D = 4- 18+45 D = 31 9th row fourth and seventh denominator: D = 32 – 9 ? 3+45 D = 9- 27+45 D = 27 9th row fifth and sixth denominator: D = 42 – 9 ? 4+45 D = 16- 36+45 D = 25 Thus, these are the fractions up to the 9th row. 1 1 1 32 1 64 64 1 1 107 106 107 1 1 1511 159 159 1511 1 1 2116 2113 2112 2113 2116 1 1 2822 2818 2816 2816 2818 2822 1 1 3629 3624 3621 3628 3621 3624 3629 1 1 4537 4531 4527 4525 4525 4527 4531 4537 1 This shows that the general statement for the symmetrical, recurring sequence of fractions is valid and will continue to work. 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Human Resource Management International Digest †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management International Digest. Answer: Introduction This paper analyzes the strategic challenge of maintaining and improving innovation and unique technologies in Apple. Innovation has been the driver of Apples continuous and fast rise and success since the company was started by Steve Jobs more than 30 years ago. The culture of the company has been built upon the idea of uniqueness and innovation. The company has however been facing challenges in the market due to increased competition in the market from different companies such as Microsoft, Samsung and Google. These companies have come up with very innovative products that rival Apple in the market. It is therefore very vital for Apple to design a strategy that will help it to remain competitive and maintain its position in the market as the leading premium consumer electronic company (Dormehl 2012). ,Some of the products developed by the company include; Iphone, Ipad tablet, mac personal computer, Apple TV, Ipod media player as well as the Apple Smartphone. The software designed b y the company include OS, Mac OS, Itines media player, iTunes safari browser and the iLife and iWork software(Appannaiah et al. 2009). The strategic challenge of increasing innovations and increased product differentiation will help the company to become more competitive in the market. The major issues in this strategic challenge is identifying customer needs in order to produce and design products that customers need rather than just what the company wants to sell. Creativity and innovation have been at the core of the growth of Apple company. The strategy of innovation is one of the core values of the organization and it has played a very significant role in the development of Apple. Innovation is very important especially in this industry. The consumer electronic industry is very progressive in terms of technological advancement. In the recent years, the competition has become stiffer with the entry of companies like Microsoft in the Smartphone market which is the main rival of Apples` iPhone. Companies like Samsung have also taken up a huge chunk of the mobile telephones market share. Innovation and product differentiation has helped the company challenging the market position of Apple as the premium mobile phone company with its Samsung s series. Another reason why innovation is a strategic challenged for Apple is because of the desire of the company to maintain its market position and improve its market share. Competitor data on market share in the industry Period Samsung Apple Huawei OPPO vivo Others 2015Q4 20.4% 18.7% 8.2% 3.6% 3.0% 46.2% 2016Q1 23.7% 15.4% 8.4% 5.9% 4.4% 42.2% 2016Q2 22.8% 11.7% 9.3% 6.6% 4.8% 44.9% 2016Q3 21% 12.5% 9.3% 7.1% 5.9% 44.2% SWOT analysis Apple has been successful mainly due to innovation. The main reason why Apple has lasted for so long in the market, while still growing and improving its market share is because of its high level of innovation and product development. The company has produced new and unique products in design, hardware and software that have set the company apart from its competitors. Product differentiation is also one of the strengths of Apple. The company has a wide variety of products ranging from Smartphone, PC, software and music download services (Ansoff 2014). Having a large product portfolio the company to increase its revenue streams hence increasing profitability. Product differentiation also helps in spreading risk (Dormehl 2012) The focus on consumer needs has helped the company grow to a very great extent. Apple develops its entire product after it has conducted a thorough market research to identify gaps in the market and the needs of the consumers. Product positioning has been very crucial to the success of Apple. The company portrays itself as selling premium quality products that are long lasting and easy to use. The company only produces products that are very unique of high quality and high prices and therefore becoming the market leader among consumers with high levels of income.("Apple surpasses Microsoft as world's most valuable tech company" 2010) Another major reason why Apple triumphed in the market is that its products are easy to use compared to those of competitors. The founder and former CEO of the company Steve Jobs always emphasized the need to simplicity. Simplicity in user interface is the guide to both software and hardware engineers and therefore, the company has been able to produce products that are user friendly and therefore encouraging more consumers to buy the products. Weaknesses of Apple Despite the many strengths that the company has, there are also several weaknesses that exist in the company has. One of the major weaknesses of the company is inability to match the expectations of customers. Since the company holds a significant market share and customers pay a premium to buy its products, the customers expect so much from the company in terms of quality and uniqueness. Sometimes, the expectations are overwhelming for the company and it fails to meet the expectations of customers. This results to unhappy customers and this becomes a problem for the company since one of its core values is maximization of consumer needs. Another weakness for Apple is incompatibility. Most of the products manufactured by the company are incompatible with software and accessories from other manufactures. This becomes a problem for users at times since they may need to install a program in their device but since the product is not compatible, it may end up inconveniencing them. Apple has a very limited product portfolio. The product range of Apple consists of approximately eight products. When this is compared with the product range of its competitors like Google and Microsoft, it looks like Apple has a lot of catching up to do. Just like there are strengths and weaknesses that are in the company, there are also various opportunity available for the company that can be exploited. Exploitation of these opportunities results to better financial and economic performance of the organization (O'Grady 2009). The following are the opportunities available in the market and tin the industry for Apple. Since Apple is a leading company in technology, it has become increasingly important for the company to diversify. Apple has an opportunity to venture into the motor vehicle industry where the technology of self driven cars is applied. This technology should be put into commercial tests by the year 2020. 5Technological advancement - this is always an opportunity for companies in the consumer electronics industry. Apple should therefore stay on its toes and always ensure that it is continuously rolling out products that are exciting for consumers. Staying for long without offering consumers new products eventually erodes the sales volumes of products and the revenues for the company reduces. iwatch and Apple TV. The iWatch and Apple TV are products that are focused at the future and should be fully developed and ready for the market with the advancement of digital technology. Another opportunity that should be utilized by Apple is that of growing and expanding market. The current market of Apple for both the iPhone and the Macbook are underutilized. There lies a lot of demand for the companys products especially in the developing countries. This is informed by the fact that the level of income for people in these countries has been on the rise and therefore an increase in demand of luxurious goods. Threats in this case refer to factors that pose a challenge to the operations or products of Apple in the market. There are very few internal factors that pose a threat to Apple. Most of the threat for the companies` products results from outside forces such as competition. The following are the threats for Apple: Market penetration in the Smartphone market. The Android technology which is used in most Smart phones has posed a major competition for Apple. This has eaten into the market share of the company with the Android having a 47.5% market share and Apple having 42% market share. This therefore means that since the Android technology is used by most or all Smartphone manufacturers and therefore competition can only increase in the future. Another threat for Apple that the laptop brand Macbook is facing is increased competition and the fact that its sales are dwindling. This competition is mostly from brands such as Dell, Sony and Lenovo. Therefore the company has to re-position the product in order to help it gain increased brand value in the market. Continuous marketing of the product is also required. The company has a lot of cash in banks estimated to be around $34.8 billion and this has generated to political heat with people calling for higher taxation. The company is also highly dependent on low cost manufacturing in China and therefore in case of political or social unrest in China, the company can suffer huge losses. The companies investment in music could lead to calls for the company to split up and be treated like two different businesses. Increased labor cost in China will affect the companies` competitive advantage in terms of cost. The incomes of middle level income earners is reducing and this may affect Apple sales. Shifting demand for Apples product with consumer spending expected to be highest in Africa in some few years time. There are ethical issues concerning the company manufacturing in China especially in the US market. This may affect the Apple brand position in the country. The competitors of Apple have successfully duplicated apples Products, services and business model and therefore putting a lot of pressure on Apple. The uniqueness of Apple`s products is taken away. The increasing demand for tablets and Smartphones has led to decrease in popularity of Apple. This means that the companies market share may reduce in future. Apple`s operating system limits the decision making by consumers since it is incompatible with most common applications. This inconveniences customers and they may opt to buy other brands. Concern for Apple is disposing off used electronic devices. Most of this devices have lithium batteries which are hazardous to the environment. The manufacturing activities of the company in China are raising concern due to the pollution that comes from the factories. The efforts of China to reduce greenhouse gases could lead to increase in cost of energy and this will increase the cost of the company. There is likely to be increased regulations for Apple since it entered the financial services industry. This will mean that the company will be under increased scrutiny from financial regulators. Apple is planning on entering the automobile industry with the manufacture of self driven cars which means that the legal restrictions of the company will be more stringent. The core strategic value analysis The core strategic value in the strategic challenge of innovation and product differentiation is that it is at the core of the companies` future growth. The Apple company past growth has been centered on development of unique and high level technology. The technology has been in form of both software products as well as hardware products. Apple company is vertically integrated which means that it produces raw materials and the final products. Vertical integration of the company ensures that the company has a complete value chain where it produces raw material, depends on its own software and also manufactures the final product. This has helped the company to maximize value for its products. The company has been able to integrate forward and backward through the emphasis on innovation and technological development. A good example is the IOS software that is used as the operating system in the iPhone (McGee 2014). This technology is unique and is only used in the manufacture of iPhones only. The future plans and strategies of Apple are also based on leveraging on technological advancement through research and innovation. Research and innovation will help Apple to develop new versions of iPhone such as iPhone 8, the Apple TV, Apple car, Apple jets. The company will also be able to develop software for both mobile phones and the Macbook brand which will help the company to become more competitive in the market. Developing of new computer operating system that is different from the one used in macbook will help the company to compete with Microsoft and Google effectively (Kaliannan Ponnusamy 2014). This will broaden the income streams of the company and therefore raise the revenues of the company. Through innovation, a company is able to increase its product portfolio. Increasing the range of products under the Apple brand is in line with the companys future growth plan and objectives. To achieve this, a lot needs to be done in mentoring and motivating employees to develop new products and technologies. These products should not be limited to the industry or the consumer electronics industry. By increasing the product range, Apple will be able to spread its risk among many markets and products and therefore failure in one product will have minimal effect on the company. This will also help the company to utilize its popular brand name since, its almost guaranteed that Apples` customers trust all the products originating from the company and will pay a premium to acquire such products. The strategy of innovation will also help to boast the image of the company further. Research indicates that a progressive and technologically advanced company is viewed more favorably by consumers compared a conservative organization. This is because, most customers like being in the first line when it comes to technology. This therefore means that if Apple keeps the high pace of technological advancement and improvement, its brand value will continue growing a nd becoming more popular: ("Inside Apple: how America's most admired--and secretive--company really works" 2012). It will be able to surpass Google which has become a major technological global force which has put companies such as Apple in a very risky position. Analysis of the competitive environment It is important to analyze the competitive environment in which Apple operates. This is very crucial in designing strategies for the company. Strategy formulation and implementation for an organization requires an in depth understanding of the environment in which an organization is operating so as to understand the strategies used by competitors. This section will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Apple`s major competitors. The major competitors of Apple include Microsoft and Google. Wide range of product. The company has more than 11 products consider its brand which generates revenue in excess of $1 billion per year. This helps the company to be diverse and have different sources of income. The windows phone has been successful in the market and this has helped the company to claim a share in the hardware mobile phone business. Another strength of Microsoft is that its windows product for PC has been very successful and dominated the pc software market (Scott 2008). The windows pc enjoys around 80% market share and this has been very important for the company. High level of innovation in the company has resulted to the company designing and producing very competitive products for the company. The search product for the company called Bing has not been able to compete well in the market. This has been mainly due to market dominance of Google. Bing features are also inferior compared to competitors and the search by Bing is very slow. Another significant weakness is the internet explorer .This product once held more than 80% of the market share of the internet access software(Rotha?rmel 2017).The company has however lost the market share to competitors over the years due to lack of product development which made it unappealing to customers. Google strengths The products of Google are highly diversified and differentiated. The company has more than 20 products in the market ranging from internet search engines to mobile software and operating system (White 2014). This helps to diversify and expand the revenue streams of the company. Another strength of Google is its dominance in the internet business. This has helped the company to gain a lot of revenue from advertisement which has helped the company to grow from strength to strength. The gmail by Google has been a very successful product in the market. The product has been able to overtake traditional giants such as Yahoo and it is the market leader in providing email servers to customers globally (Kaliannan Ponnusamy 2014). Android by Google is the driver of the Smartphone technology. This product is one of the most successful products by Google and has generated a lot of revenue from licensing out to mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung and Tecno. One of the weaknesses of Google is that it is over reliant on software. Most of the companies` products are software and the company has not ventured in the hardware manufacturing and design of smart phones despite being the patent holder of Android which is used by all Smartphone manufactures. This is a weakness because, in case of loss of market share in the internet business, the company may find its revenues highly affected by this change. Strategic position of Apple The strategic position of Apple is that of premium high quality goods and services which are highly differentiated. This strategy has helped the company to maintain a market leadership position in the mobile phone industry. The market position of Apple has been achieved to the ability of the company to innovate and develop unique products on a regular basis. The iPhone series of phones has been very successful with sales hitting billions of US dollars (Hitt et al. 2017). . The company has been able to develop unique products like iTunes which is provides music download services. The companies` products are exceptionally high and this helps the consumers to view the product as being superior to others in the market. Apples products are mostly viewed by consumers as a luxury good and people who own it are seen as of high class in the society. The high prices by the company have a positive impact on the position of the company since the company has retained the appeal as being of premium quality and unique in design and product features. Recommendations Apple should take the following steps to improve on the strategic position of the company. The innovation and technological development in the company is quite remarkable but still a lot needs to be done to improve on the products line of the company so as to help in diversity and product differentiation. Apple should invest more in talented and innovative staff. This will be done by proper training and instilling the right values in young and energetic staff that will help to generate new ideas and products for the company (Hitt et al. 2017). The company should also increase its spending on research and development. Since Apple is one of the biggest companies that allocate very little proportion of its revenue to research and development of the company, it is important for the company to increase its allocation in order to develop more products for the company (Rotha?rmel 2017). Conclusion From the analysis of the strategic challenge of innovation and differentiation, it is quite clear how important this strategic challenge is to the organization. The report analyzes the how the strategic challenge affects the organization and how the strategic challenge can be used by the organization to help it grow and develop further. A SWOT analysis is done on the company to determine the strengths and weaknesses in the organization. Innovation is the most important core values of Apple as a company and it is therefore very crucial for the company to focus further on the coming up with more innovative products. 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