Business Summary of Home Depot

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Declining mortgage rates have created a sizeable economic boost for the building and home improvement industry. The lower rates now allow more consumers to fulfill the old American dream of homeownership. To save money, many of these new homeowners willingly join the ranks of the "do it yourselfers" to tackle repair and improvement projects. Because of the active housing market and the correlating increased demand for building supplies and home improvement materials, suppliers such as Home Depot, Inc. appear to have a bright and promising future.

Home Depot, Inc. is classified as a home improvement retailer. Founded in 178, the company is the world's largest home improvement retailer and ranks among the ten largest retailers in the United States with fiscal 00 sales of $5 billion. Its common stock, publicly traded since 181, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HD". As of February , 00 (fiscal year-end 00), the Company operated 1,404 Home Depot stores throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico, and 41 affiliated EXPO Design Center stores in the United States. Home Depot stores sell a wide assortment of building materials, home improvement and lawn and garden products and provide a number of services. EXPO Design Center stores sell products and services primarily for design and renovation projects including interior design products, such as kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, tiles, flooring and lighting fixtures and installation services. In addition to these outlets, at fiscal year-end 00, the Company was also operating four Villager's Hardware test stores in New Jersey offering products for home enhancement and small projects. The Company also has one test store in Texas called the Home Depot Floor Store, which sells only flooring products.

History

When founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank opened the first Home Depot stores in Atlanta on June , 17, the home improvement industry was changed forever. The first few stores were attached to Treasure Island stores and stocked around 5,000 products. Today, an average Home Depot store is approximately 10,000 square feet, and offers between 40,000 and 50,000 products.

The founders had a vision of warehouse stores filled with a wide assortment of products at the lowest process with trained associates offering advice, instructions and the best customer service in the industry. Because of this service, The Home Depot grew to encompass stores in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama within the first 5 years. This growth rate continues to this day, with more than 1,400 stores throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The Home Depot is credited as being the innovator in the home improvement retail industry by combining the economies of scale inherent in a warehouse format with a level of customer service unprecedented among warehouse-style retailers. The stores cater to the do it yourselfers, as well as home improvement, construction and building maintenance professionals. Each store staffs a design center with professional designers who offer free in store consultation of home improvement projects ranging from lighting to computer-assisted design for kitchens and bathrooms. Professional installation services are also offered for select products ranging from single-items such as carpeting and flooring to more extensive projects such as kitchen cabinetry replacement. The company is also testing the At-Home Services program which will offer complete installation of roofing, siding, and window products in limited markets.

The Home Depot progressive corporate culture includes a philanthropic budget of more than $5 million for 00 which is directed back to local communities through a Matching Gift Program tied to associate interests. The major programs funded have been affordable housing, at-risk youth, environmental and disaster recovery projects. Team Depot, an organized volunteer force, was developed in 1 to help promote and coordinate volunteer activities within each local community.

In February 00, Home Depot was ranked 6th in Fortune magazine's Top Ten Most Admired Companies and for eight consecutive years, the company has been ranked by Fortune as America's Most Admired Specialty Retailer.

Home Depot Summary of Financial Ratios (Millions of Dollars)

Ratio

Calculation

Ratio Industry

Average

Comment

Liquidity

Current 10,61

6501 =1.6x

1.55x

Good

Quick 66

6501 =. 56x

0.5x

Good

Asset Management

Inventory Turnover 555

675 =8.1x

5.11x

Good

Days Sales Outstanding

(DSO) 0

555/65

(146.7) =6. Days

8.87 Days

Poor

Fixed Assets Turnover 555

1575 =.5x

4.86x

Good

Total Assets Turnover 555

64 =.0x

1.0x

Good

Debt Management

Total Debt to Total Assets 81

64 =1.5%

N/A

Profitability

Profit Margin on Sales 044

555 =5.7%

5.1%

Moderate

Basic Earning Power 4

64 =18.7%

11.5%

High

Return on Total Assets

(ROA) 044

64 =11.5%

11.0%

Good

Return on Common Equity

(ROE) 044

1808 =16.8%

1.47%

Poor

Market Value

Price/Earning (P/E) .

1.0 =6%

18.%

High

Home Depot Trend Analysis

(All dollar figures except earnings per share are in millions)

00 001 000

Net Sales $5,55 $45,78 $8,44

Gross Profit Margin 1.1% 0.% .%

Operating Profit Margin 10.0% .% .%

Current Ratio 1.6 1.77 1.75

Quick Ratio 0.6 .0 1.75

Working Capital $,860 $, $,74

Inventory Turnover 8.0 6. 7.0

Return on Assets 11.5% 1.0% 1.6%

DuPont Analysis Components 5.7 x .0 5.6 x .14 6.0 x .

Return on Equity 16.8% 17.% 18.8%

Total Debt to Equity Ratio 1.5% .8% 7.8%

Earnings per Share $1.0 $1.11 $1.0

Cash Flows from Operations $5,6 $,76 $,446

Upward trend noted for total revenues, and both gross profit and operating profit margins indicating increasingly efficient operations and cost controls. Consolidated effect of lower sales recorded per store however, cause reductions in ROI and ROE from prior levels. Current ratio is still strong even though slightly decreased for 00 with increased total debt indications. Working capital and cash flows from operations both continue a healthy upward trend indicating adequate funds for operations. Earnings per share are also continuing on an upward trend providing increased return for stockholders.

MSN Money Comparison Model Home Depot vs. competitors Lowe's and Fastenal

HD LOW

FAST

Name Home Depot, Inc. Lowes Companies, Inc. Fastenal Company

Industry Home Improvement Stores Home Improvement Stores Home Improvement Stores

StockScouter rating 8

10

5

Whose share price is estimated to gain the most?

Current $5.75 $.85 $7.46

FY End $6. $44.50 $.8

% Change 1.8% 11.67% 6.48%

Next Fiscal Yr $0.06 $5.50 $4.65

% Change 16.74% 1.74% .55%

Who sold and earned the most over past 1 months?

Total Sales 58.5 Bil 4.67 Bil 81.40 Mil

Total Income .6 Bil 1.8 Bil 71.0 Mil

Who grew sales and income the most over the past 1 months?

Sales Growth 1.40% .40% 11.0%

Income Growth 7.60% 46.60% .10%

Whose shares are priced cheapest relative to earnings?

Price/Earnings Ratio 16.70 5.00 40.70

Whose financial health is strongest?

Net Profit Margin 6.0% 5.0% 8.00%

Debt/Equity Ratio 0.07 0.4 0.00

Whose share price has performed best in the last year?

Company Price Performance

-Mo Price Change -1.5% -7.% 6.6%

6-Mo Price Change -.8% -1.0% -.1%

1-Mo Price Change -47.% -11.% .%

Industry Price Performance

-Mo Price Change -16.40% -16.40% -16.40%

6-Mo Price Change -6.0% -6.0% -6.0%

1-Mo Price Change -8.0% -8.0% -8.0%

Company relative to all stocks

-Mo Relative Strength 1 1 68

6-Mo Relative Strength 50 70

1-Mo Relative Strength 47 8

Noted Insights

Three red flags indicate a higher degree of risk even on the lower estimates according to financial analysts

1. Sales per store continue to decline a trend expected to continue in the coming quarters.

. Moderating gross profit comps even on significant gross margin improvement indicates potentially magnified bottom line impact.

. Positive SG & A per store trends a key driver to earnings the past two years appear to be moderating.

These concerns lead analysts to believe that there is a higher degree of risk even on their lower estimates. Should expected declining sales per store trends coupled with either a slowdown in gross margin expansion or the effect from moderating SG & A per store declines or in a worst case scenario both, then their $1.80 estimate may ultimately prove to be unachievable. Home Depot's third quarter earnings hit on the bottom line due to significant gross margin expansion, and declining sales per store, however top line results were weak as same-store sales fell %. Consequently, a Neutral rating on shares of HD is maintained drawing on this performance as well as some related market considerations.

First, sales per store continue to generate lower average volumes. After peaking out in 000 during the last mortgage refinancing cycle and stock market boom, store volumes have fallen consistently a trend expected to continue in the coming years. In third quarter, sales per store declined by 4.8% continuing the trend that has seen negative growth in eight of the last nine quarters. This can be attributed to three observations

1. HD's self-cannibalization to which management attributes roughly a 4% hit to same-store sales in the third quarter.

. Lowe's cannibalization as it enters many former HD-dominated markets including New York, New England and the West Coast. Many of the HD stores in these markets have not faced formidable competition in the past ten years since the last recession drove many of the regional players away.

. HD is opening more stores in smaller markets that are having difficulty supporting the $40 million volumes to which HD is accustomed. As HD opens more and more stores in counties with 0K and 5K households, these volumes could continue to decline.

Another consideration affecting the rating is moderating same-store gross profits and rising gross margins. Home Depot has historically been successful at driving earnings by improving gross margin through improved inventory management, improved shrinkage control and a long-held company focus on vendor relationships to reduce costs and lower the cost of goods. However, the positive gross profit trend reversed itself in the first quarter of this year and has been moderating the past two quarters. There is concern that this slowdown may cause a more pronounced jolt in same-store gross profits and resulting risk levels are increased even for reduced estimates.

BETA

The Beta for home depot is 1.17 compared to the Industry's Beat of 1.8 which indicates Home Depot is less volatile than the Industry average.

Pro

• Earnings growth in the past year has accelerated moderately compared to earnings growth in the past three years. Positive

• Two or more executives, directors or major shareholders purchased a large number of shares recently. Very positive

• The price-to-sales multiple is slightly lower than the average for all stocks in the StockScouter universe. Neutral for a medium- to large-sized company like HD

Con

• One or more analysts has modestly decreased quarterly earnings estimates for HD. Negative

SWOT

Sales Total Sales for the quarter increased 8.% to $14.5 billion, driven entirely by new store expansion. Comparable store sales for period declined .0% and the company offered the following four reasons for the decline

 Customer Traffic Below Expectations Despite an increased investment in inventory in the stores during the quarter as well as above plan investments in advertising, many store resets contributed to customer traffic that was below expectations. Management estimates that this potentially impacted comp store sales by about 1%.

 Declines in Lumber Prices Depressed lumber prices put pressure on lumber comps. Currently, lumber represents about 1% of overall sales volume. The company indicated this impacted comps by about 1%.

 Depressed Mill Work Sales With the anniversary of last year's energy crunch, sales of energy efficient windows and exterior doors were down, impacting comps by an estimated 1%.

 Cannibalization Companywide, % of HD's existing stores were cannibalized by new store openings, with that number as high as 0% in California and the Northeast. The company indicated this impacted sales by as much as 45% for the quarter.

 Strengths Categories that showed the greatest strength for the quarter included appliance sales, which increased 7% for the quarter along with solid performance in plumbing, paint and flooring products.

Recommendation

Investing in Home Depot stock appears to be a positive move in spite of Lowe's expansion into the same market areas. Home Depot's established program of customer relations and services far outweigh the competitive effects of Lowe's low prices. Home Depot stock appears to be a sound investment.

Given recent trends, Merrill Lynch lowered its 004 EPS estimate from $1.0 to $1.80 representing 14.6% growth. If the declining sales per store trends couple with either a slowdown in gross margin expansion or the effect from moderating SG & A per store declines or in a worst case scenario both, then the $1.80 estimate may ultimately prove to be unachievable. Accordingly, Merrill Lynch maintains their Neutral rating on shares of Home Depot.

Expected Risk/Return

Risk

Return

Low High

Factor Grades

Fundamental

B

Ownership

A

Valuation

C

Technical

C

Previous Ratings

1 Month ago 5

Months ago

6 Month ago 5

Home Depot, Inc. Stock Rating Summary 8

Home Depot, Inc., a large-cap growth company in the consumer services sector, is expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with average risk.

10 is the best possible rating.

REFERENCES

http//www.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy

http//www.MSNMoney.com

http//www.Homedepot.com

Declining mortgage rates have created a sizeable economic boost for the building and home improvement industry. The lower rates now allow more consumers to fulfill the old American dream of homeownership. To save money, many of these new homeowners willingly join the ranks of the "do it yourselfers" to tackle repair and improvement projects. Because of the active housing market and the correlating increased demand for building supplies and home improvement materials, suppliers such as Home Depot, Inc. appear to have a bright and promising future.

Home Depot, Inc. is classified as a home improvement retailer. Founded in 178, the company is the world's largest home improvement retailer and ranks among the ten largest retailers in the United States with fiscal 00 sales of $5 billion. Its common stock, publicly traded since 181, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HD". As of February , 00 (fiscal year-end 00), the Company operated 1,404 Home Depot stores throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico, and 41 affiliated EXPO Design Center stores in the United States. Home Depot stores sell a wide assortment of building materials, home improvement and lawn and garden products and provide a number of services. EXPO Design Center stores sell products and services primarily for design and renovation projects including interior design products, such as kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, tiles, flooring and lighting fixtures and installation services. In addition to these outlets, at fiscal year-end 00, the Company was also operating four Villager's Hardware test stores in New Jersey offering products for home enhancement and small projects. The Company also has one test store in Texas called the Home Depot Floor Store, which sells only flooring products.

History

When founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank opened the first Home Depot stores in Atlanta on June , 17, the home improvement industry was changed forever. The first few stores were attached to Treasure Island stores and stocked around 5,000 products. Today, an average Home Depot store is approximately 10,000 square feet, and offers between 40,000 and 50,000 products.

The founders had a vision of warehouse stores filled with a wide assortment of products at the lowest process with trained associates offering advice, instructions and the best customer service in the industry. Because of this service, The Home Depot grew to encompass stores in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama within the first 5 years. This growth rate continues to this day, with more than 1,400 stores throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The Home Depot is credited as being the innovator in the home improvement retail industry by combining the economies of scale inherent in a warehouse format with a level of customer service unprecedented among warehouse-style retailers. The stores cater to the do it yourselfers, as well as home improvement, construction and building maintenance professionals. Each store staffs a design center with professional designers who offer free in store consultation of home improvement projects ranging from lighting to computer-assisted design for kitchens and bathrooms. Professional installation services are also offered for select products ranging from single-items such as carpeting and flooring to more extensive projects such as kitchen cabinetry replacement. The company is also testing the At-Home Services program which will offer complete installation of roofing, siding, and window products in limited markets.

The Home Depot progressive corporate culture includes a philanthropic budget of more than $5 million for 00 which is directed back to local communities through a Matching Gift Program tied to associate interests. The major programs funded have been affordable housing, at-risk youth, environmental and disaster recovery projects. Team Depot, an organized volunteer force, was developed in 1 to help promote and coordinate volunteer activities within each local community.

In February 00, Home Depot was ranked 6th in Fortune magazine's Top Ten Most Admired Companies and for eight consecutive years, the company has been ranked by Fortune as America's Most Admired Specialty Retailer.

Home Depot Summary of Financial Ratios (Millions of Dollars)

Ratio

Calculation

Ratio Industry

Average

Comment

Liquidity

Current 10,61

6501 =1.6x

1.55x

Good

Quick 66

6501 =. 56x

0.5x

Good

Asset Management

Inventory Turnover 555

675 =8.1x

5.11x

Good

Days Sales Outstanding

(DSO) 0

555/65

(146.7) =6. Days

8.87 Days

Poor

Fixed Assets Turnover 555

1575 =.5x

4.86x

Good

Total Assets Turnover 555

64 =.0x

1.0x

Good

Debt Management

Total Debt to Total Assets 81

64 =1.5%

N/A

Profitability

Profit Margin on Sales 044

555 =5.7%

5.1%

Moderate

Basic Earning Power 4

64 =18.7%

11.5%

High

Return on Total Assets

(ROA) 044

64 =11.5%

11.0%

Good

Return on Common Equity

(ROE) 044

1808 =16.8%

1.47%

Poor

Market Value

Price/Earning (P/E) .

1.0 =6%

18.%

High

Home Depot Trend Analysis

(All dollar figures except earnings per share are in millions)

00 001 000

Net Sales $5,55 $45,78 $8,44

Gross Profit Margin 1.1% 0.% .%

Operating Profit Margin 10.0% .% .%

Current Ratio 1.6 1.77 1.75

Quick Ratio 0.6 .0 1.75

Working Capital $,860 $, $,74

Inventory Turnover 8.0 6. 7.0

Return on Assets 11.5% 1.0% 1.6%

DuPont Analysis Components 5.7 x .0 5.6 x .14 6.0 x .

Return on Equity 16.8% 17.% 18.8%

Total Debt to Equity Ratio 1.5% .8% 7.8%

Earnings per Share $1.0 $1.11 $1.0

Cash Flows from Operations $5,6 $,76 $,446

Upward trend noted for total revenues, and both gross profit and operating profit margins indicating increasingly efficient operations and cost controls. Consolidated effect of lower sales recorded per store however, cause reductions in ROI and ROE from prior levels. Current ratio is still strong even though slightly decreased for 00 with increased total debt indications. Working capital and cash flows from operations both continue a healthy upward trend indicating adequate funds for operations. Earnings per share are also continuing on an upward trend providing increased return for stockholders.

MSN Money Comparison Model Home Depot vs. competitors Lowe's and Fastenal

HD LOW

FAST

Name Home Depot, Inc. Lowes Companies, Inc. Fastenal Company

Industry Home Improvement Stores Home Improvement Stores Home Improvement Stores

StockScouter rating 8

10

5

Whose share price is estimated to gain the most?

Current $5.75 $.85 $7.46

FY End $6. $44.50 $.8

% Change 1.8% 11.67% 6.48%

Next Fiscal Yr $0.06 $5.50 $4.65

% Change 16.74% 1.74% .55%

Who sold and earned the most over past 1 months?

Total Sales 58.5 Bil 4.67 Bil 81.40 Mil

Total Income .6 Bil 1.8 Bil 71.0 Mil

Who grew sales and income the most over the past 1 months?

Sales Growth 1.40% .40% 11.0%

Income Growth 7.60% 46.60% .10%

Whose shares are priced cheapest relative to earnings?

Price/Earnings Ratio 16.70 5.00 40.70

Whose financial health is strongest?

Net Profit Margin 6.0% 5.0% 8.00%

Debt/Equity Ratio 0.07 0.4 0.00

Whose share price has performed best in the last year?

Company Price Performance

-Mo Price Change -1.5% -7.% 6.6%

6-Mo Price Change -.8% -1.0% -.1%

1-Mo Price Change -47.% -11.% .%

Industry Price Performance

-Mo Price Change -16.40% -16.40% -16.40%

6-Mo Price Change -6.0% -6.0% -6.0%

1-Mo Price Change -8.0% -8.0% -8.0%

Company relative to all stocks

-Mo Relative Strength 1 1 68

6-Mo Relative Strength 50 70

1-Mo Relative Strength 47 8

Noted Insights

Three red flags indicate a higher degree of risk even on the lower estimates according to financial analysts

1. Sales per store continue to decline a trend expected to continue in the coming quarters.

. Moderating gross profit comps even on significant gross margin improvement indicates potentially magnified bottom line impact.

. Positive SG & A per store trends a key driver to earnings the past two years appear to be moderating.

These concerns lead analysts to believe that there is a higher degree of risk even on their lower estimates. Should expected declining sales per store trends coupled with either a slowdown in gross margin expansion or the effect from moderating SG & A per store declines or in a worst case scenario both, then their $1.80 estimate may ultimately prove to be unachievable. Home Depot's third quarter earnings hit on the bottom line due to significant gross margin expansion, and declining sales per store, however top line results were weak as same-store sales fell %. Consequently, a Neutral rating on shares of HD is maintained drawing on this performance as well as some related market considerations.

First, sales per store continue to generate lower average volumes. After peaking out in 000 during the last mortgage refinancing cycle and stock market boom, store volumes have fallen consistently a trend expected to continue in the coming years. In third quarter, sales per store declined by 4.8% continuing the trend that has seen negative growth in eight of the last nine quarters. This can be attributed to three observations

1. HD's self-cannibalization to which management attributes roughly a 4% hit to same-store sales in the third quarter.

. Lowe's cannibalization as it enters many former HD-dominated markets including New York, New England and the West Coast. Many of the HD stores in these markets have not faced formidable competition in the past ten years since the last recession drove many of the regional players away.

. HD is opening more stores in smaller markets that are having difficulty supporting the $40 million volumes to which HD is accustomed. As HD opens more and more stores in counties with 0K and 5K households, these volumes could continue to decline.

Another consideration affecting the rating is moderating same-store gross profits and rising gross margins. Home Depot has historically been successful at driving earnings by improving gross margin through improved inventory management, improved shrinkage control and a long-held company focus on vendor relationships to reduce costs and lower the cost of goods. However, the positive gross profit trend reversed itself in the first quarter of this year and has been moderating the past two quarters. There is concern that this slowdown may cause a more pronounced jolt in same-store gross profits and resulting risk levels are increased even for reduced estimates.

BETA

The Beta for home depot is 1.17 compared to the Industry's Beat of 1.8 which indicates Home Depot is less volatile than the Industry average.

Pro

• Earnings growth in the past year has accelerated moderately compared to earnings growth in the past three years. Positive

• Two or more executives, directors or major shareholders purchased a large number of shares recently. Very positive

• The price-to-sales multiple is slightly lower than the average for all stocks in the StockScouter universe. Neutral for a medium- to large-sized company like HD

Con

• One or more analysts has modestly decreased quarterly earnings estimates for HD. Negative

SWOT

Sales Total Sales for the quarter increased 8.% to $14.5 billion, driven entirely by new store expansion. Comparable store sales for period declined .0% and the company offered the following four reasons for the decline

 Customer Traffic Below Expectations Despite an increased investment in inventory in the stores during the quarter as well as above plan investments in advertising, many store resets contributed to customer traffic that was below expectations. Management estimates that this potentially impacted comp store sales by about 1%.

 Declines in Lumber Prices Depressed lumber prices put pressure on lumber comps. Currently, lumber represents about 1% of overall sales volume. The company indicated this impacted comps by about 1%.

 Depressed Mill Work Sales With the anniversary of last year's energy crunch, sales of energy efficient windows and exterior doors were down, impacting comps by an estimated 1%.

 Cannibalization Companywide, % of HD's existing stores were cannibalized by new store openings, with that number as high as 0% in California and the Northeast. The company indicated this impacted sales by as much as 45% for the quarter.

 Strengths Categories that showed the greatest strength for the quarter included appliance sales, which increased 7% for the quarter along with solid performance in plumbing, paint and flooring products.

Recommendation

Investing in Home Depot stock appears to be a positive move in spite of Lowe's expansion into the same market areas. Home Depot's established program of customer relations and services far outweigh the competitive effects of Lowe's low prices. Home Depot stock appears to be a sound investment.

Given recent trends, Merrill Lynch lowered its 004 EPS estimate from $1.0 to $1.80 representing 14.6% growth. If the declining sales per store trends couple with either a slowdown in gross margin expansion or the effect from moderating SG & A per store declines or in a worst case scenario both, then the $1.80 estimate may ultimately prove to be unachievable. Accordingly, Merrill Lynch maintains their Neutral rating on shares of Home Depot.

Expected Risk/Return

Risk

Return

Low High

Factor Grades

Fundamental

B

Ownership

A

Valuation

C

Technical

C

Previous Ratings

1 Month ago 5

Months ago

6 Month ago 5

Home Depot, Inc. Stock Rating Summary

Home Depot, Inc., a large-cap growth company in the consumer services sector, is expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with average risk.

10 is the best possible rating.

REFERENCES

http//www.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy

http//www.MSNMoney.com

http//www.Homedepot.com

Please note that this sample paper on Business Summary of Home Depot is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Business Summary of Home Depot, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Business Summary of Home Depot will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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There were many aspects that could of affected the results of the experiment, as we found that was the case. There is nothing in this world, which has not got errors in it. Our group did its best to eliminate as many errors in the experiment so we could therefore record the most accurate results possible. Such errors, which we tried to eliminate, were wind resistance, the calculations of measurements and time, gravity and its effect on the experiment and trying to keep the radius of the circle as constant as possible, therefore giving us the most accurate result possible. The way we tried to eliminate these were by conducting the experiment indoor, which took care of wind resistance because there was no wind what so ever in the room we were in. We couldn't really do much about the errors in the measurements of the twine or the weight of the washers because we used a ruler, which was pretty accurate, as well as the scales used to measure the weight of the washers. Gravity was one thing we had no control of eliminating because it is all around us. When we were doing the experiment we needed to get the rubber stopper at a constant speed so therefore the rubber stopper would be spinning in a circular motion above our heads horizontally, and hence eliminating the gravity exerted, although if the radius wasn't constant in length and if the spinning of the stopper wasn't constant, the gravity would've had a much greater effect on the experiment. Another error, which altered our final results, was friction. In this experiment there was friction between both the cylinder and the string, which was used to create the centripetal force. This friction gave an error due to the constant rubbing effect of the sting against the cylinder head (top), which was causing the rubber stopper to slow down fractionally, which meant it was slightly leaning down over the top of the cylinder, therefore not allowing it to stay perfectly horizontal during its path of motion. As it follows its path of motion the friction slows the speed of the revolution due to it changing the state of kinetic energy to its new form of heat energy that is due to the friction.

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The Dramatic Feature and Practical Significance of Pride and Prejudice

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The Dramatic Features of Pride and Prejudice

AbstractPride and Prejudice is considered to be Jane Austen¡¯s most famous works.Its everlasting artistic charm attracts generations of readers thoughout the world.This article will analyze the dramatic features from its structure,plot,characters,dialogues,ironic skill and social significance.From these aspects we¡¯ll know jane Austen¡¯s writing style further.Then we can understand why she was given a high honour in the history of British literature and was regarded as a person who carves on a ¡°two-inch ivory¡±.

Key wordsPride and Prejudice,dramatic features ,ironic skill,significance,fortune and marriage.

I.Introduction

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1.Introduction of the author and her writing style

Jane Austen (1775-181) is regarded as one of the classical female writers,who first published the realitic novel at the beginning of the 1th century.She lived in the British countryside ,and her father was a clergyman,who had very high attainments in literature.Jane Austen did not obtain the regular school education in her life ,but she acquired abundant literary knowledge with the help of her father and brothers.She aslo liked reading lots of classical and popular literary works,which were thought to be the resources of her novel writing.

Austen spent a large part of her life in rural areas,where there is a strong fedural conservative power.Mainly she met smalland medium landlords and clergymen,so she had a narrow circle of friends.Although she lived in this situation,she had a vivid description of her little world with her sharp insight.in her writing¡°there were no secret chamders,no drops of blood upon a rusty dagger and no a violent war¡±. You can only find the calm idyllic life and the love stories of the gentlemen and the maids.She did well in the search for writing materials from the ordinary events,then displayed so many vivid stages on her ¡°two-inch ivory¡±.In her novels she used to describe the daily life with the dramatic words and in concise words,which was known as her most different writing feature from other masters.She aslo created a lot of young women to show that real love was valuable while the false one was laughable.Among all her writings,Pride and Prejudice is Austen¡¯s masterpiece,whose unique artistic characterristics attracts generations of readers.

.Introduction of Pride and Prejudice

First impression was the first version of Pride and Prejudice when Austen¡¯s father had offered it to Cadell,a London publisher,it had been rejected unseen.Fifteen years later,on January 8,181,Pride and Prejudice was published.It had been highly appraised.One of the literary adviser to the publisher,John Murray,in 1815 said that it was really a very pretty thing.This work has been translated into many languages and extensively read by the people of the world.The story surrounds the problem how Mrs.Bennet marries her five daughters.In this novel ,after going through many setbacks and misunderstandings,the leading characters find their own happiness.Mrs.Bennet successfully marries her three daughters and realises half of her wish.Jane Austen has shown in her novel that the course of ture love never does run smoothly.Bingley and Jane,Elizabeth and darcy,constitute¡°the happy few¡± who make up the final idyllic paradise,represent the balance of romance and the realistic appreciation of ordinary,everyday living,which seems to have been Jane Austen¡¯s idea for the good life in her maturity.Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful novel.Now let¡¯s analyze its literary features from the structure,the plot,the dialogues,the characters, the ironic skill,and the significanece of the novel.In this way,we can further appreciate the author¡¯s writing style.

.Introduction of the social background

In the letter of March 1,1816,Austen said ¡°single woman have a dreadful propensity for being poor,which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony¡±.In her time ,there was no wayfor young woman of genteel class to strike out on their own status or to be independent.Therefore some women were willing to marry just because marriage is the only allowed route to financial security,or to escape an uncongenial family situation.Obviously,it was lack of fortune that caused young women of the genteel class to choose marriage as their only¡°honourable provision¡±.Furthermore,in their process of looking for husband,financial consideration continued swaying their choise.A marriage without financial insurance counld not be tolerated,which was equivalent to jumping from one dilemma into another.Thus in Austen¡¯s time,as well as in her novel ,women¡¯s marriage was determined by fortune all the way.

II.On the dramatic features of Pride and Prejudice

1.The structure

From the novel¡¯s structure,we can easily find that the whole story is filled with comic atmosphere and it is a dramatic one.In the first chapter,there is a remarkable beginning-¡°It is a truth universally acknowleded,that a single man in possession of a good fortune,must be in want of a wife¡±¢ÅIn this sentence,the author selects¡°a truth universally acknowledge¡± to set the comic tone.The whole story begins from the conversation between Mr.Bennet and Mrs Bennet,and then it takes us into a comic world.The story surrounds how Mrs.bennet is anxious to marry her five daughters.We finds that the beginning of the novel decides the direction of the plot.In the novel Mr.and Mrs. Bennet livewith their five daughters at Longbourn in Herfordshire.The daughters marriage prospects are Mrs.Bennet¡¯schief interest in her life.Since Charles Bingley,a rich young bacholor who takes Netherfield near Longbourn, brings his friend Fitswilliam Darcy to visit Longbourn,Bingley and Jane ,the eldest of the Bennet girls,very soon fall in love.but Mrs. Bennet acts with undue haste and doesn¡¯t speak properly,which makes the members of the Bingley¡¯s family and his friends feel ashamed.They all persuade him to leave Netherfield.After Bingley has left,it seems that the marriage between Bingley and Janeis impossible,and the first hope of Mrs.Bennet is broken.When we read this first dramatic arrangement in the novel,we must be anxious about Bingley and Jane.The curiosity makes us continue to read.Then the author changed her attention from Jane to Elizabeth.In order to push Elizabeth onto the stage and make her become theleading character,the author arranged William Collins,a male heir to Mr Bennet¡¯s estate,in her novel.At that time William decides to choose Elizabeth as his wife in order to remedy the hardship caused to the Bennet girls.But unfortunately,Elizabeth¡¯s firmly rejects him.Then he promptly transfers his affecttion to Charlotte Lucas,a friend of Elizabeth¡¯s,who accepts him.For this monent,it seems that Mrs.Bennet¡¯s hope failed again,and we¡¯ll feel that the daughters mariage prospects becomevery gloomy.But the author arranged a transition in the novel.The arrogant Darcy can¡¯t help telling Elizabeth the truth that he loves her and formally proposes to her although Elizabeth indignantly rejects him on the grounds of his pride.To some extent,the story is likely to reach the hopeless situation,and this is the second dramatic arrangement of the novel.It aslo arouses the reader¡¯s great interest and makes themcontinue to read and find how the Bennet girls deal with the facts.Beacause of Darcy¡¯s proposal,Elizabeth shows her misunderstanding and the prejudice to him.And all of these pave the way for clearing up their misunderstanding and their final happiness.Finally the story ends in a cheerful atmosphere.

In short,Mrs.Bennet successfully marries her three daughters, we can easily find that the end which works in concert with the beginning and the structure does really leave nothing to be desired.Although Jane Austen only described the ordinary British coutry life,her description is not tedious;and although the love story is not complicated,the literary feature in the structure and the a series of dramatic arrangements increase the novel¡¯s artistic charm.Pride and Prejudice is seemingly ordinary,however,in fact ,its implication is so profound that it¡¯s widely loved by readers from all over the world nowadays.

. The plot

Pride and Prejucice is a fascinating story.Its plot attracts lots of readers,for the witty and humorous words and the philosophy contained in the novel.The plot is extending with the writer¡¯s philosophy,aslo the writer shows us many different characters and makes them vivid.In the novel everyone has his or her distinctive character and personality,and all of these make the whole novel interesting and profound.Among them the typical one is the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy.We should take a look at the plot,from which we can easily find a dramatic end.

When Mr.Bingley,the rich young bachelor,rents Netherfield,his arrival stirs in the Bennet family and attracts five marriageable daughters.The fighty Mrs.Bennet,immediately begins plotting which daughter to marry the un suspecting Bingley.Darcy,Bingley¡¯s friend turns up his nose at the vulgarity of Mrs.Bennet and snubs her daughter Elizabeth,the livelist and most intelligent of the Bennet girls,who overhears Darcy¡¯s remarks about the local society.When he refuses to be introduced to her,Elizabeth becomes instantly prejudiced against him,despite his good-looking and great wealth.Darcy unbends a bit towards Elizabeth and the two engage in ironic banter.A serious obstacle to their romance is Darcy¡¯s distaste for Elizabeth¡¯s vulgar,scheming mother .

In the story,Wickham is a negative character.Fearing to meet Darcy face to face,Wickham stays away from a ball which he knows Darcy will attend.Misinterpreting Wickham¡¯s motives,Elizabeth becomes increasingly suspitious of Darcy.

Later Elizabeth learns Bingley has never called on Jane.Elizabeth believes that Darcy has deliberatedly kept Jane presence in the city from Bingley.While in Kent,Elizabeth again meets Darcy who is visiting his aunt Lady Catherine.Again,Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth.He proposes to her in a so haughty manner that she refuses him and upbraids him for his mistreatment to her sister and misfortune to Wickham.Darcy listens to her accusation in silence.The next day,he writers her a litter admitting that he has tried to keep Bingley from Jane because he considers the Bennnet family beneath his friend¡¯s attention.He strongly denies having wrong with Wickham.Despite its condescension towards the Bennet family,the litter begins to allay Elizabeth¡¯s prejudice against Darcy.She begins to see Darcy¡¯s inherently honest character.Later she feels that she has begun to love Darcy.While Darcy is now deeply in love with Elizabeth,Lady Catherine wants her to give up Darcy.But she refuses it.Darcy knows this and he proposes to Elizabeth again,this time with proper humidity,and is happily accepted .The complexity of Elizabeth and Darcy makes the story more interesting and meaningful .In this story the writer used the plot around the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy to show the theme-pride and prejudice.Although there are many other characters,everyone gets their happy end.In real life ,people hardly get this result and they can only dream of it.But Austen wrote her dream in the novel and make every character have his or her own good and happy result with the skillful arrangement of the plot.

.The characters

When we discuss the dramatic characters,everyone will think of Mrs.Bennet.Though she is not the leading character,she makesus laugh and is full of dramatic characteristics.If she doesn¡¯t exist in the novel ,the whole story can not develop freely and would loses its dramatic features.As an emotional and lively foolish woman ,she is vividly described by Jane Austen.When she heas that a single man of large fortune takes Netherfield and doesn¡¯t how the man is,she regards him as a property of her daughters.¡°Four or five thousand a year,what a fine thing for our girls¡±¢Æ,¡°you must know that I am thinking of his marring one of them¡±¢ÇThese are her thoughts,but we know only a child will have these navie and romantic ideas.Of course only in novels is there thus woman.Mrs.Bennet is always teased by her husband ,while she is not aware of that.For example,He says¡°I will sent a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marring whichever he choose of the girls,though I must throw in good word for my little lizzy.¡±¢ÈBut to our surprise,she argues with her husband about which daughter should be recommanded first.She doesn¡¯t consider that it¡¯s a most absurd thing of asking her five daughters to win Bingley¡¯s heart.She aslo doesn¡¯t realises that her husband just make a fool of her.And let¡¯s analyze this character further.We know she is a woman of uncertian temper.when Mr.Bingley doesn¡¯t reveal that he has already visited Bingley,she is very unhappy and scolds litty inexplicably¡°Don¡¯t keep coughingso,Kitty,for Heaven¡¯s sake!Have a little on my nevers.You tear them to pieces.¡±¢ÉAfter Mr.Bingley teels her about the visit,she is greatly pleased.¡°How good it was in you,my dear Mr.Bennet!¡±¢Ê¡°What an excellent father you have,girls.¡±¢ËOf course,there is another dramatic change of her feeling.when Elizabeth refuses Collins¡¯ proposal,Mrs.Bennetis ill.And her illness is no abatement until Mr and Mrs.Gardiner call on her.When she talks with Mrs.Gardiner, she has many grievances to relate,and much to complain of.She says¡°Your coming just at this time is the greatest comforts.¡±¢ÌMrs.Bennet has a great dramatic chang from her illness for a long time to suddenly bestiring herself because of the Gardibers¡¯s visit.We all know that these can only happen on the dramatic characters while in real life these cases could hardly be found.After reading this novel,we¡¯ll be conscious that Mrs.Bennet often makes many mistakes and contradicts herslf.For instance,at the beginning.She is eager to know Bingley,but she doesn¡¯t want to count on Mrs.Long¡¯s introduction.So she says¡°I do not believe Mrs.Long will do such thing.She has two nieces of her own.She is a selfish,hypocritical woman,and I have no opinion of her.¡±¢ÍAnd at the end of the story,whenMrs.Bennet is sure that Bingley and Jane¡¯s marriage becomes an inevitable outcome,she is very happy and again mentions Mrs.Long¡°I do think Mrs.Long is as good as creatures as ever lived-and her nieces are very pretty behaved girls,and not at all handsome.I like them prodifiously.¡±¢ÎThse two different comments echo each other over a distance and show how Mrs.Bennet is changeable.All of those give prominence to her dramatic characteristics.

As for Mr.Collins,he is a dramatic character as well as Mrs.Bennet,especially in his proposal.He comes to Longbourn in order to choose one of the girls as his wife.At first,Jane¡¯s beautiful appearance charms him,and at the first evening she is his settled choice.however,the next morning,he changes his idea Because Mrs.Bennet mentions that Jane is likely to be very soon engaged.Then he shifts his preference from Jane to Elizabeth.Several days later,he formally makes his proposal of marriage to Elizabth.He confidently believes that Elizabeth will accept him easily,but out of his consideration,Elizabeth refuses him firmly,and what she has done makes him surprised.Then he promtly transfers his affections to Charlotte Lucas.As to have a comfortable home and a ¡°happy¡± future,she accepts him.The strangeness of Mr.Collins¡¯s making two offers of marriges within those days is aslo can be seen in a novel,but we can appreciate Austen¡¯s dramatic arrangement once more.

Jane Austen put these characters in her novel not only to let us laugh after reading,aslo her intention is to increase the plo and make the story more attractive.In Pride and Prejudice these tow characters play an important role in enforcing the masterpiece¡¯s dramatic features

4.The dialogues

In Pride and Prejudice,the dramatic feature is aslo shown in the wonderful dialogues.Some dialogues can hardly be changed for they have already be actor¡¯s lines on the stage.In the 1th century,the famous scholar and critic,George Henry Louise,said that Jane Austen mastered the dramatic skills,which was a difficult one .She didn¡¯t tell us what was the characters¡¯ next experience ,while she put the character in front of us and let themselves performby using a ¡°special writing style¡±.From this aspects,we know that Jane Austen is a wise director.She prefered to let the characters use their own words and push the plot forward by their own actions.The following dialogue between Elizabeth and Darcy proved it.

¡®What think you of books?¡¯said he ,smilling.

¡®Book-Oh!No-I am sure we never read the same. Or not with the same feeling¡¯

¡®I am sorry you so ;but if that be the case ,there can at least be no want of subject -We may compare our different opinions.¡¯

¡®No-I can not talk of books in a ballroom;my head is always full of something else.¡¯

¡®The present always occupies you in such scenes-does it?¡¯said he,with a look of doubt.

¡®Yes,always,¡¯she replies,without knowing what she said,for her thoughts had wandered far from subject ,as soon afterwards appeared by her suddenly exclaiming.¡®I remember hearing you once say;Mr.Darcy,that you hardly ever forgave,that your resentment once created was unappeasable.You are very cautious,I suppose,as to its being created.¡¯

¡®I am,¡¯said he,with a firm voice.

¡®And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?¡¯

¡®It is particularly incumbent on those who never chang their opinion,to be secure of judging properly at first¡¯

¡®May I ask to what these questions tend?¡¯

¡®Merely to the illustration of your character,¡¯said she,endeavouring to shake off her gravity.¡®I am trying to make it out.¡¯¢Ï

After we have read the dialogue,we know that the author fully uses her artistic talent to make the dialogue between Elizabeth and Darcy poetic and ironic.If we further discuss it,we may find that their dialogue ha a deep implication.It really looks like the actor¡¯s lines in a play.This dialogue,on one hand,shows Darcy¡¯s pride,and on the other hand it aslo displays Elizabeth¡¯s prejudice.She always attacks Darcy with her sharp remarks which shows her humor, wisdom and naughtiness as well.In the first reading,it seems that this is only a normal argument,while be reviewed again we will realize that it¡¯s a rational dialogue.Its implication is profound,and it fully expresses that they have different dispositions owing to they different backgrounds.Darcy lives in comfort,which gives him a sense of superiorityand makes his pride grow slowly.whereas Elizabeth is not growing up in a wealthy family,and she has conciousness of rebelling and wants to respected in her inner heart .This dialogue makes the different dispositions express incisively and vividly.

In Pride and Prejudice,the words are popular,vivid,humorous and easily to be understood.As well they are full of poetic quality and philosophy.The dramatic feature is reflected in the character¡¯s words in the novel.In the works,the vivid language and the development of the plot supplement each other.It demonstrates Jane Austen¡¯s wisdom.As a novelist, Jane Austen tells the story ,but as a spectator,she seizes the oppoture moment to comment on it.She is an outstnading dramatist because she puts the character on the stage and lets themselves perform.After reading the novel,we can deeply appreciate her vivid description just as she carves on a ¡°two-inch ivory¡±.Using this wrting style ,she make us see a colorful and witty artistic world with all kinds of actors and artress performance in it.

5.The ironic skill

The ironic skill is one of the most outstanding characteristics in Jane Austen¡¯s novels. In Pride and Prejuice, the dramatic feature of the creation is not only showed in her ironical remarks, but also in the characterization. Besides irony is shown not only in key and the writing style of Jane Austen¡¯s novels. She does paricular well in sneering at people¡¯s foolishness,innocence and blindness by using the ironic skill. One word or sentence often can achieve comic and ironic results. Let us read the first sentence of the novel again. ¡°It is a truth universally acknowledge that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want lf a wife .¡±¢ÐThis sentence decides the comic ironic tone. The tone of the principal clause seems serious and grave. ¡°a truth universally acknowledfed¡±lets us feel that she is announcing a law for everyone to obey. But suddenly she changes her tone. ¡°a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.¡± This sentence is very prosaic and makes us laugh, Jane Austen uses Anticlimax, which is an English rhetorical figure,to make a comic ironic effect.

The author particularly pays attention to using symmetrical sentence structure to attain ironic aim. There are two sentences in describing Mrs. Bennet¡¯s disposition. ¡°The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.¡±¢�

These two symmetrical sentences put the strength of the language together. There is a striking contrast between the tightknit sentences and ordinary content, which makes the ironic effect. This also is one means of Jane Arsten¡¯s expression.

In the aspect of characterization , Austen also uses the ironic skill. She makes the dispositions of the characters form a sharp contrast at the different periods and shows the developing process of the characters. For example, Elizabeth is the heroine in the novel. But Jane Austen also fully gives the lovely character an ironic literary flavor. Elizabeth is the most reasonable person in the story. She is clever,lively and full of human dignity, And she is the most excellent girl of the daughters. But she also can¡¯t avoid the influence of the truth universally acknowledged, She takes part in Bingley¡¯s party and is treated coldly by Darcy, She is also unable to rise above the conventions,.Isn¡¯t the fact an irony? As for Darcy¡¯s pride, Elizabeth attacks Darcy by using her sharp remarks and defends her human dignity and produces her particular disposition. But at the same time, she readily believes what Mr.Wickham says. She refuses Darcy¡¯s proposal and blames Darcy plausibly and at length. Obviously, it is an irony for her prejudice. Then she goes through a tortuous process to conquer her prejudice.Darcy¡¯s letter lets her know the truth, she feels ashamed and refrects. After she has visited Pemberley, she is aware of her prejudice and fantastic deeds. Then she generally finds that she has already loved Darcy. But Lydia has run away with Wickham, which makes Elizabeth feel hopeless for her love. Lady Catherine¡¯s interference tests her love. At last, through exchanging their thoughts and ideas,she completely clears up her misunderstanding and prejudice. When Darcy proposes again, Elizabeth accepts Darcy and gains her happiness. During this process, Jane Austen taunts that a reasonable person who overcomes her prejudice is very difficult. The author uses the ironic skill in the characterization, and jeers at Elizabeth¡¯s prejudice many times. She completely reveals Elizabeth¡¯s reason and prejudice in her disposition. All of those tell us the development of her disposition, from the limited reason to the more..

In Pride and Prejudice,we can see that the ironic skill not only permeats between the lines,but aslo runs through the structure of the novel. From the beginning, Mrs.Bennet makes many mistakes in order to marry her daughters. So she becomes an object to be sneered. The author jeers at her and her turth universally acknowledged as much as she likes. At last, the novel ends according to Mrs, Bennet¡¯s truty.Really, it becomes the fact that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Bingley marrys Jane, Darcy marrys Elizabeth and Collins marrys Charlotte. At first we laugh at Mrs. Bennet and now we have to admit her correct prediction. The absurd Mrs.Bennet¡¯s own wishful thoughts also can transform into a truth universally acknowledged. Jane Austen puts the ridiculous,contradictory things in front of us and doesn¡¯t make any arbitrary conclusion. All of these show that the author deeply thinks of the life. Austen uses the examples in her novel to demonstrate that the people who are often laughed at may be the most correct one in the end.

6.The social significance

In Jane Austen¡¯s novel,marriage is ever the main sublect.According to her thoughts,an ideal marriage should be built on both firtune and love,but actually this kind of marriage is difficult to get.Marriage of money and status was common in England of 18th century.For everyone in England,fortune meant not only miney but aslo status ,meanwhile it had an important position in society and people¡¯s lives.because of the lack of fortune most woman of the genteel classes,in Austen¡¯s times,has no other way to live in and marriage is the only allowed route to get financial insurance.At the same time,Because their small portion,their choice of husband was not determined by their own wills,no matter how attractive ther were.They were in the position of being chosen in the ¡°marriage market¡±.In this sense ,it was a sorrowful reality,not romance.The four marriages in Pride and Prejudice are all the affirmation of the power of fortune on marriage-fortune is the decisive factor to marriage.Both in Austen¡¯s time and in her novel,any marriage in pursuit of love could not deny the great power of fortune,and any woman in pursuit of a happy marriagecould not escape the important effect of good fortune.Thoughmany marriages determined by fortune were not happy ones,marriage without financial consideration were surely unhappy ones in these days.This important social signifinance is reflected only by several characters,and their typical and dramatic experiences.Jane Austen show the whole appearance of the society from a very small and narrow social circle or classes with the methods of dramatic skills.And this dramatic feature focus on three pairs of marriages.

The marriage,which involves both love and fortune,between Elizabeth and Darcy is Austen¡¯s ideal marriage.The heroine Elizabeth is aslo a poor woman and must want a rich husband to support her future life,though her initial rejection of Darcy usefully assures that she does not want to marry just for Darcy¡¯s 10,000 pounds a year.Her choice is aslo affected by the conception of money and class.In her opinion,he choice is yet not beyond her own class,although there is a big gap betweem their fortune.It may be affirmed that Elizabeth would not choose a man from loweer class as her husband if there were no Darcy.Elizabeth freezes Darcy off because she feels he is proud and pretentions;but when she discovers his goodness as the master of Pemberley she warms to him.Though her final acceptane to Darcy¡¯s proposal is based on her understanding and love of him,during her gradually-knowing of him and falling in love,Darcy¡¯s great fortune has played an important role.Therefore,through Elizabeth,Austen¡¯s favorite heroine,the author admits the unsuspected function of fortune an marriage and expresses her view on the ideal marrige.The marriage between Charlotte and Mr.Collins involves money but without love.Charlotte is not beautiful,without an especially large portion.She thinks marriage is the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune.So for her there will not be better opportunity than Mr.Collins,and she decides to marry him ¡°from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment¡±,and feels lucky of it.This aslo is a kind of social phenomena of that times.As to another marriage in the story ,the one between Lydia and Wckham,is with neither love nor money.Their runing-away is just for lust out of impulse.Without Darcy¡¯s great help,an amount of money and a post in the army for Wickham,Lydia would lost her marriage.Unfortunately,the last kind of marriage is the most widely existing one in Austen¡¯s times.The author uses three typical pairs of marriage to describe the whole society.Dramatically,by comparing and arranging many coincidences between every characters,Jane Austen told us which kind of those is the ideal one and she desired for all for her life.As a whole ,the three pairs of marriage shows an ¡°universally acknowledged truth¡±-without good fortune,without happy marriage.

III.Conclusion

All in all,in Pride and Prejudice,the whole novel is filled with comic atmosphere.The story about five daughters¡¯ marriage is different from any other popular fictions and is more interesting than them for its attractive ideas and artistic power.The story¡¯s artistic charm attributes to the author¡¯s deep thoughts about the life and her unique dramatic writing style,which was analyzed from six aspects mentioned above.George Henry Louise believed that Jane Austen¡¯s success relied on her wonderful dramatic writing skills .Her novels pave the way from the development of the British realistic literatureand connect the literature in the 1th century.In her times,Jane Austen stood a important status in the British literatue,so many critics regards her as an ¡°Incomparable Jane Austen¡±.She is worthy of the name.Let¡¯s remember this great British writer and her novels forever.

Please note that this sample paper on The Dramatic Feature and Practical Significance of Pride and Prejudice is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on The Dramatic Feature and Practical Significance of Pride and Prejudice, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on The Dramatic Feature and Practical Significance of Pride and Prejudice will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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To be happy,

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on To be happy,. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality To be happy, paper right on time.

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To be happy, you must be at peace with yourself. This is like a basic law of nature. This means that if you want to be happy you have to be assured that your life style entails not hurting other people. To illustrate this point, let us consider an extreme scenario. If you commit a murder, even if you get away without being caught by the authorities, nature will not let you be happy. The thought that you killed a human being will follow you everywhere you go and will not let you have a good sleep.

I found that people everywhere want to live in comfort and they want to be happy. Every one wants to accumulate enough money so that he or she can become financially self-sufficient. But many people, even after becoming self-sufficient financially, still hanker after money, which makes them unhappy. It seems that the needs of man for money never seems to end. The more one has, the more one wants which is the root cause of unhappiness.

Then I asked this question to a number of ordinary people of various religious persuasions and ethnic background. They all said that their main aim in life was to be happy. This answer confirmed what I had thought all along. Since no one wants to be unhappy, it can be deduced that everyone wants to be happy.

I asked the question, What makes you happy and what you consider to be the purpose of your life? to a number of people. First I asked a Communist. He said that the purpose of his life was to establish Communism in every country in the world. Then I asked a devout Christian who said that the purpose of his life was, and in his opinion my lifes too ought to be, to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to spread the message of the Bible to everyone. Then I asked a devout Muslim the same question and he replied that the purpose of his life was to spread the message of the Koran to everyone, especially to the non-believers. Then I asked a follower of the Hare Krishna group in Toronto the same question. He said that the purpose of his life was to chant the name of Lord Krishna and to spread his message to everyone. Custom Essays on To be happy,

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Networking

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1) Will this be a peer-to-peer or a server-based network?

It will be a server based network because the founder wants the software to run on the server. There are more than 10 computers and the data is sensitive, needs control of users.

) If it is the server-based network, how many servers will be attached to the network?

One server or two will be attached to the network.Cheap Custom Essays on Networking

) How many computers will be attached to the network?

5 to 40 computers will be attached to the network.

4) What applications will the computer run?

The computer will run word, excel, new brokerage software application.

5) How many printers will be attached to the network?

5 laser printer or 7 attached to the network.

6) What fault-tolerance level do the applications require? No fault-tolerance level is required.

7) What funding is available for this network design? A combination of star bus topology.

1)We can describe consciousness, but how does waking consciousness differ from altered state of consciousness? Waking consciousness deals with the thoughts, feelings and perceptions when we are awake and alert. Altered state occurs when we are in certain states such as sleeping, daydreaming and dreaming it can also occurs at the spur of the moment.

)Define classical and operant conditioning, then explain the main difference between them? Classical conditioning is a type of learning where a response is naturally elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus. Operant conditioning is the type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards or avoid punishments. The main difference between classical and operant is that classical is used to change an unwanted reaction and a response is automatically triggered by stimulus. Operant involves making a certain response because of the consequences it brings.

)How do we know a lion is not a bird, but a penguin is? We know a lion is not a bird but a penguin is by using our prototype by comparing them and determining if they are birds or not. Another thing we also use is our concepts to help us formulate thoughts and using words, images to understand the things around us.

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Apple Computer Corporate and Business Strategy

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APPLE 00 CASE ANALYSIS

STUDENT NUMBER 8

Executive Summary

Apple began with the mission to "change the world through technology." More specifically, the company sought out to make the personal computer an accessible and affordable device to the mass market. The proliferation of new software and hardware technology drastically changed the landscape of the industry and Apple adopted a differentiation strategy. Software and hardware integration allowed Apple products to be more "versatile," reliable, and superior in performance.

Rapidly changing industry dynamics dictated Apple's competitive strategy. In essence, the intended strategy did not develop into the "realized" strategy. In fact, empirical evidence shows us that realized strategy tends to be about 10-0 percent of intended strategy. What really determines strategy is the "patterns of decisions that emerge from individual managers adapting to changing external circumstances and the ways in which the intended strategy was interpreted." . What is Apple's mission and strategy today? Apple's mission is to deliver a highly innovative and superior solution to a customer's personal computing needs. Apple's present day competitive strategy is a return to differentiation. Key elements to this strategy are an emphasis on design, service, branding through advertising, and quality. Drivers needed to attain these objectives are through the firm's unique marketing abilities, engineering skills, creativity, and R&D.

Apple's long range objectives are to obviously regain market share leadership and return the company to profitability and maximize shareholder return. Can Apple do so by continuing a differentiating strategy? Yes. To do so, every aspect of the way Apple conducts business and relates to its customers must be involved and driven by strategy. Apple's distinctive core competencies lie within their ability to provide quality products through their vertically integrated inbound activities. Not only are Apple's finished goods differentiated by quality, they are innovative and cutting edge. Innovation is driven by consistent investment in R&D.

Although the company has excelled in delivery and order processing, it still has yet to prove its operational efficiency. Therein lies Apple's principal weakness. In the past, Apple has failed to reconcile the added cost of differentiation with operational efficiencies in production and distribution. Apple has also shown competencies in building brand reputation and generating buzz for its products. Their marketing campaigns have been successful and remain a value added activity. Financially, the company remains liquid with substantial cash reserves and is not highly leveraged in debt.

Apple's differentiation strategy is uniquely aligned with the changing dynamics of the industry. Firstly, Apple owns the only viable alternative to a "Wintel" machine. All other major computer manufacturers are only slightly differentiated because they are forced to conform to the "Wintel" standards of an Intel chip and Microsoft operating system. They are limited to differentiating themselves based on accessibility, service, and marketing.

Apple has successfully differentiated itself as the only viable alternative to the PC standard. The two major forces that have affected market share loss are the misconception that Apple computers are incompatible with available software for Wintel machines and buying one will result in losses in functionality. This can be overcome with aggressive marketing campaigns in which Apple has demonstrated value added competencies. The second major factor contributing to Apple loss in market share is the unmatched price erosion from the PC market. Apple has failed to narrow the gap because of its operational inefficiencies. If Apple can narrow this price gap and overcome the negative software perception, it will undoubtedly regain market share.

Internal Analysis

Mission, Long-Range Objectives, Current Strategy, and Performance

Between the years of 180 and 001, Apple slid along a turbulent slope of declining market share and profit erosion where it lost its leadership position and now lags as a market follower with a mere % total market share. (See Exhibit 1.) Apple's inability to defend its market share and leadership status can be directly attributed to one general, yet prevailing driver. Throughout this fleeting tenure, Apple lacked a clear mission and competitive strategy that drove the value creating activities of the firm.

Between these years, Apple morphed itself between alternating cost leadership and premium priced differentiation strategies. Four CEO's took the helm between this time and each brought with them a compelling strategy for the company. Strategy links people and cross functional departments to an overall goal, or vision. However, without a consistent vision and an accompanying roadmap, a company looses sight on how it is creating value. When a company fails to understand its competencies and value creating processes, it looses the continual ability to innovate, improve, and learn.

Apple began with the mission to "change the world through technology." More specifically, the company sought out to make the personal computer an accessible and affordable device to the mass market. The proliferation of new software and hardware technology drastically changed the landscape of the industry and Apple evolved into a leader in desktop publishing. The crucial point not to be overlooked is that the company's mission did not guide Apple into this differentiating strategy. Rapidly changing industry dynamics dictated Apple's competitive strategy. In essence, the intended strategy did not develop into the "realized" strategy. In fact, empirical evidence shows us that realized strategy tends to be about 10-0 percent of intended strategy. What really determines strategy is the "patterns of decisions that emerge from individual managers adapting to changing external circumstances and the ways in which the intended strategy was interpreted." If Apple had decided to be consistent with its vision, it wouldn't have introduced "Lisa," an incredibly expensive machine that limited its mass market appeal. Instead, strategy would have focused on cost leadership and the processes that optimized operational efficiencies in order to compete with the new entrants, such as IBM, who had cost advantages.

The adopted differentiation strategy explains Apple's future decisions to vertically and horizontally integrate. Software and hardware integration allowed Apple products to be more "versatile," reliable, and superior in performance. However, superior and integrated products meant higher manufacturing costs. Products were priced at a premium to their PC counterparts. It is no surprise that when the company, in response to higher costs decided to change its strategy by attempting to become a cost leader overnight, failed in this endeavor. The executive team overlooked the firm's value creating activities and picked a strategy that was inherently incompatible with the company core competencies.

I argue that during this time, management should have realized that the company's true value was bringing to the market a highly differentiated product based on form, features, design, and quality. Although this has taken some time, I believe Apple has finally arrived at this conclusion and its strategy today incorporates the company's core competencies and value added benefits.

What is Apple's mission and strategy today? Rather than focusing on delivering a mass market product, which inevitably translates into a low cost commodity-like product, Apple's mission is to deliver a highly innovative and superior solution to a customer's personal computing needs. Is this product designed for everyone? No. Because the mission statement focuses on superiority and innovativeness, it inherently segments the broad market into consumers whose computing needs demand a solution that is powerful, cutting edge, reliable AND who are willing to pay a slight premium for such value added features and functionality.

With such a mission in mind, it logically follows that in order to provide a superior computing solution, Apple's corporate strategy must not limit itself in terms of scope. A complete computing solution expands industry and market boundaries. We are not just talking about a personal computer anymore. Apple's corporate strategy is to compete in the markets that encompass all the devices, peripherals, and software to make a computing solution or "experience" complete. This corporate strategy implies vertical integration. As one Microsoft executive so eloquently put "this isn't the post-PC era; it's the PC-plus era."

Apple's present day competitive strategy is a return to differentiation. Key elements to this strategy are an emphasis on design, service, branding through advertising, and quality. Drivers needed to attain these objectives are through the firm's unique marketing abilities, engineering skills, creativity, and R&D.

For Apple, differentiation encompasses tangible and intangible dimensions. Tangible differentiation is concerned with the physical characteristics and performance of a product, in this case, a personal computer. Physical characteristics include form, features, performance quality, durability, reliability, and style. Products that are enhancements or complements to the personal computer are also vital in pursuing this differentiation strategy. The scope, functionality, and ease of integration of these complements affect the "utility" consumers will gain from an Apple PC. Apple adopted a competitive strategy that vertically integrates these complementary products that include the iPod, digital cameras, PDA's, and wireless devices.

In an effort to gain market share, Apple is pursuing several growth strategies. Obvious to this pursuit is international market expansion into the explosive Asian and European markets. Domestically, Apple is focusing on three variables concerning its growth strategy. Firstly, it must convert nonusers before they choose a competitor. Secondly, they need to enter new markets such as server based and mainframe computers. Thirdly, they are trying to win their competitors' customer base through aggressive advertising and promotion. Apple can also attain domestic growth though convincing users to use their products on more occasions as in entertainment, research, and communication. Apple can likewise convince customers to use more of each product on each occasion and use their products in new ways. Who would have thought that a computer can be used to watch movies, play songs, talk over the internet using voice over IP technology, and much more?

Apple's long range objectives are to obviously regain market share leadership and return the company to profitability and maximize shareholder return. Can Apple do so by continuing a differentiating strategy? Yes. To do so, every aspect of the way Apple conducts business and relates to its customers must be involved and driven by strategy. These goals are indeed attainable and the company actually made significant headway once it committed and aligned the entire organization to the differentiation strategy.

I would argue that the introduction of the iMac, with its sleek design, innovative features such as "Fire Wire" ports, "Blue Tooth" technology for peripherals, and its Herculean advertising budget, wasn't Jobs at his best, but differentiation at its best. During this time, PCs were standardized, lacked unique form and features, and their open and interoperable system allowed for performance deviations.

It is also important to note that adopting a differentiation strategy by no means insinuates that a company is not concerned with cost. Although differentiation adds costs by way of higher quality inputs, skilled labor, higher advertising, and increased vertical integration, these costs need to be continually assessed an evaluated so that they can be improved. Apple made significant progress in this arena. They streamlined operations to the point where they now have the highest inventory turnover in the industry. This feat has significant implications. Dell's core competency is in their direct model that leverages JIT inventory. They pioneered this method and had a first mover advantage for quite some time, yet Apple has been able to surpass their arch rival in terms of inventory turnover. In 1 and 000, Apple's operating and profit margins exceeded industry averages. (See Exhibit .) Although 001 was a dismal year, this was more due to industry wide demand contraction as industry sales declined by over 5%. (See Exhibit .) If Apple had maintained its year growth rate, their operating and profit margins would have been competitive with Dell, Compaq, and HP.

Functional Analysis

Using Porter's value chain analysis, we are able to identify differentiation potential for Apple. Porter's method divides a firm's endeavors into 5 primary activities encompassing inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. (See Exhibit 4.) Inbound logistics involve relationships with suppliers and include all the activities required to receive, store, and disseminate inputs. Inputs for an Apple personal computer include an operating system, chassis, memory, CPU, etc. Apple practices horizontal and vertical integration of computer components to a greater extend than any other PC manufacturer. As a result, the firm's ability to influence quality control of inputs and intermediate processes such as logistics is greater. Apple can specifically define its specifications for product form and features and can logistically control where and when they are manufactured. A higher degree of quality of components and materials is therefore perceived by the end user as a differentiating factor and to the company, a key value added activity.

Supporting activities such as technology development also plays a major role in developing value added activities in the inbound logistic environment. Apple allocates the most amount of capital to R&D when benchmarked against competitors. This allows Apple to produce highly innovate products and technologies. With an R&D rate of 8% in 001 (See Exhibit 10), Apple has introduced several successful products such as the iBook and iPod, technologies like Fire Wire and Blue Tooth, and a superior operating system.

Historically, Apple hasn't been on the forefront of integrating efficiencies into the manufacturing process. Operation activities refer to all the activities required to transform inputs into outputs. In general, operation activities refer to production or assembly. It is here where assembly line innovations, inventory management, and supply chain management drive down costs and act as value added activities. However, as mentioned, Apple has made significant improvements to its operations, streamlining them to a great extent. Restructuring efforts such as closing facilities, outsourcing specific manufacturing tasks, and centralizing core functions improved Apple's operating efficiency. From 17 to 18, operating margins improved by 0% and continued to approve in 1 and 000. (See Exhibit .)

Human resource management plays a significant supporting role in operations. By downsizing, more is expected from workers and productivity has to increase per employee. Training and hiring skilled employees that can immediately contribute their skills to the production process is in itself a value added activity. Jobs also recruited an executive team that instituted and managed these drastic operational improvements.

Outbound logistics refer to the activities required to collect, store, and distribute the output. Apple specifically excels in these activities. Their efficient web site order processing allows them to have the highest inventory turnover rate in the industry. The firm infrastructure supports these fast response capabilities through investments in MIS and knowledge sharing systems. Apple also eliminated thousands of resource draining distribution outlets and complemented their direct selling efforts with wholly owned retail boutiques. Additionally, Apple expanded their presence in national chains. These value added outbound activities translated into reduced distribution time and increased delivery reliability to the end user.

Marketing and sales activities act to build brand reputation and stimulate sales. In 18, Apple demonstrated its competencies in marketing with the unveiling of the iMac. Backed by a $100 million campaign, clever strategic advertising helped sell 78,000 iMacs in just six weeks and 6 million in .5 years. This massive advertising campaign generated positive buzz for Apple and helped reinvigorate its image.

This campaigned strategically targeted young and contemporary market segments and helped position Apple as a differentiated product with plug and play multimedia peripherals that seamlessly complemented the PC. This advertised differentiation was by no means an accident. The iMac sold 6 million units at premium prices compared to its PC counterparts because the marketing campaign succeeded in communicating the differentiation advantages of the iMac over the cheaper PCs.

Service represents the last primary company activity in Porter's value chain analysis. Service activities include all the activities required to keep the product or service working effectively for the buyer after it is sold and delivered. Here, Apple demonstrated value by creating nation wide support groups. Leveraging the ubiquitous attributes inherent to the Internet, Apple was able to establish regional and local software and technical support groups for its installed customer base. Strategically, Apple forged alliances with over 400 software developers to provide more than 100 new software applications for Apple. The company's ability to continually add functionality to its PC line via new software availability is a key value driving activity. What good is it from the customer's perspective to have a quality product that is limited to a few functions?

To summarize, Apple's distinctive core competencies lie within their ability to provide quality products through their vertically integrated inbound activities. Not only are Apple's finished goods differentiated by quality, they are innovative and cutting edge. Innovation is driven by consistent investment in R&D. Although the company has excelled in delivery and order processing, it still has yet to prove its operational efficiency. Therein lies Apple's principal weakness. In the past, Apple has failed to reconcile the added cost of differentiation with operational efficiencies in production and distribution. Apple has also shown competencies in building brand reputation and generating buzz for its products. Their marketing campaigns have been successful and remain a value added activity. Financially, the company remains liquid with substantial cash reserves and is not highly leveraged in debt. (See Exhibit 10)

Opportunities exist for Apple to emerge as a leader in providing a complete system that seamlessly integrates peripherals as these complements become more prevalent and adopted. By horizontally integrating, Apple can maintain stringent conformity standards and ensure all its peripheral offerings are compatible with its PC offering. Please see Exhibit 5 for a more a complete SWOT analysis.

Competitive Environment Analysis

Product Life Cycle

Domestically, the PC market seems to be in its maturity stage characterized by a slowdown in sales growth as a result of mass acceptance. (See Exhibit 6) Following its worst year ever in 001, unit growth is expected to exceed revenue growth, indicative of falling prices and profit erosion, both characteristics of a mature market. The industry consists of well entrenched competitors whose basic drive is to gain or maintain market share.

A commonly used statistic to measure market structure is the Herfindahl index. The Herfindahl index equals the sum of the squared market shares of all the firms in the market. If perfect or monopolistic competition exists, then index should be below .. Anything above . reflects either an oligopoly any anything above .6 usually points to a monopoly. The Herfindahl index for the PC industry in 001 is ..05 or 5%. The top market share leaders dominate 60% of the world wide industry. (See Exhibit 7) Firms with a market share of .01 or lower are too small to significantly affect the final calculation.

Porter Five Forces Analysis

Unfortunately, the PC industry is presently experiencing a contraction period after achieving impressive expansion during the last two decades. Demand has been stagnating with a 5% drop in sales for 001. Accordingly, each individual firm has been experiencing larger than average excess capacity. These two factors have elicited intensified competition among current incumbents.

Factors such as the ability for consumers to switch from one competitor to the other with relative ease, the absence of any cooperative pricing, and the ability of incumbents to adjust prices quickly all attribute to intense internal rivalry within this industry. And as a result, these factors have exerted a downward pressure on prices. In fact, prices are expected decline by 6% going forward to 005. This is consistent with the internal rival theory, where increases in rivalry will result in further price competition and erosion. Aside from Apple, there is little differentiation among sellers and cost differences among sellers are relatively low. (See Exhibit 8)

Threat of entry into this industry is relatively low for this industry. With an industry consisting of over 100 incumbents ranging from powerful brand names such as Dell and Compaq to no name cloners, it is reasonable to conclude that the industry has reached a certain saturation point. This accompanied by several structural barriers to entry make it highly unfeasible for new companies to enter the market unless significant consolidation or exit occurs within the incumbent group. Economies of scale, learning curve advantages, access to distribution channels, and relationship specific investments into direct sales channels all make the threat of entry highly unlikely. (See Exhibit 8)

Currently, substitutes are becoming more of a realized threat to the industry as they become closer in functionality to the PC. With the ability of PDAs, WebTV, and SmartPhones to handle email, word processing, communication, and other ancillary functions, the demand for a bulky home desktop or laptop computer is being flanked. One could argue that these some of these devices are complements to the PC an one should pursue a differentiation strategy that incorporates these devices into a product offering such as Apple's strategy. Nevertheless, as computer technology continues to evolve and bandwidth increases, a PDA may soon be able to duplicate most of the functions inherent to the PC. (See Exhibit 8)

Supplier power is relatively high in this industry. Two major components are a computer's operating system and CPU. These two components are supplied by their respective industries that are more consolidated than the PC industry. Intel and AMD own over 80% of the CPU market and Microsoft owns 0% of the operating system market. There are few substitutes for these input devices. Firms make relationship specific investments that creating extensive switching costs if a change were to be made in the choice of operating system or CPU chip. Although these firms pose little to no threat of forward integration, they can charge PC manufacturers premiums due to their market dominance. (See Exhibit 8)

Buyer power is relatively low to medium in the PC industry. Because firms make relationship specific investments by choosing to adopt a OS and CPU chip, they are forced to maintain long lasting relationships with their suppliers. The PC industry is more fragmented than the OS and CPU industries and PC manufacturers pose little threat in their ability to backward integrate. Apple has already accomplished this feat with its own proprietary OS. Because price elasticity is high for the PC industry, and increase in price will adversely affect sales and profit for PC manufacturers. This exerts downward pressure on component prices.

The key success factors associated with this industry can be generalized into rapid technological innovation. Technological innovation has consistently stimulated the demand for more powerful products in the areas of performance (computing speed), reliability, and data storage. The proliferation of the Internet has also been a major factor affecting PC adoption rates. Likewise, a steady and continual flow of complementary products that enhance the "computing experience" also has positively affected the industry's success. PC companies must keep up with the pace of technological innovation to remain competitively viable. Systems must be able to comply with new and innovative complementary products and performance must match what component suppliers such as Intel are providing.

With that said, is Apple's competitive strategy aligned with the industry's dynamics? I would argue that Apple's differentiation strategy is uniquely aligned with the changing dynamics of the industry. The following industry characteristics serve as supporting premises to this argument. Firstly, Apple owns the only viable alternative to a "Wintel" machine. All other major computer manufacturers are only slightly differentiated because they are forced to conform to the "Wintel" standards of an Intel chip and Microsoft operating system. They are limited to differentiating themselves based on accessibility, service, and marketing. Differentiation has been realized by the way the industry evolved and Apple is positioned as the only alternative to the PC.

If differentiation results in a highly inferior yet differentiated product, then this strategy is doomed to fail. However, Apple has developed a superior product because it controls a large degree of input components, peripherals, and the operating system. The result is a differentiated product that outperforms PC competitors on speed, design, style, ease of use, and peripheral integration. Additionally, Apple is not subjected to the same degree of supplier power as PCs. It has the advantage of picking and choosing which technological innovations to pursue based on what will perform best on their system whereas PC's are forced to deal with Windows and the associated software incompatibilities that may arise with new releases.

Long term, PCs are subjected to increased competition from small brands that use alternate, yet inferior components, allowing these manufacturers to offer comparable products at discounted prices. Companies like eMachines and other small brands are undercutting costs by adopting alternative components from lesser well know brands such as AMD versus Intel. You can't clone an Apple. Therefore Apple is not directly subjected to the same threats as PC manufacturers are.

A major weakness in Apple's differentiation strategy is in its operating costs. As PC prices fall, Apple must remain somewhat competitive by narrowing the gap in production costs. This provides a continuous challenge for Apple. How high of a premium can Apple justify for their differentiation strategy? In times of economic contraction, large discrepancies between the selling prices of a PC and an Apple can result in a loss of market share for the company.

An additional weakness to Apple's differentiation strategy is that by adopting its own operating system, the company limits itself to the availability of software. With a significantly dwarfed customer base, software developers are more inclined to save costs by not developing Mac compatible versions. This remains a critical competitive issue that needs to be addressed.

Critical Issues & Recommendations For Action

The major issue facing Apple executives is how to return the company to profitability and regain market share. Although the entire industry contracted in 001, sales for Apple declined by % while Dell's sales increased and Compaq, HP, and IBM revenues were reduced by 1%, 7%, and % respectively. Apple lost strength in every market segment including its core niche markets and the company still lacked mainstream consumer awareness and adoption. Consumers weren't buying into the premium price tag associated with Apple's differentiation strategy and a major hurdle existed in overcoming the widely accepted perception that Apple computers were incompatible with major software vendors. Supplementing these issues are Apple's operating costs. Apple failed to initiate cost containment counter measures during the industry wide contraction period. In fact operating cost increased during 001 even though sales decreased by 0%.

Going forward, should Apple appeal to the mass market or entrench during economic uncertainty and focus on their niche market strongholds? Can Apple compete on cost with its PC counterparts or will they always be regarded as the "BMW" of personal computing?

My recommendations for action will be based on an analysis utilizing the Balanced Scorecard approach developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. Central to this approach is vision and strategy. This approach will attempt to complement financial measures with operational measures on customer satisfaction, internal processes, and the company's innovation and improvement activities. These measures are the drivers of future financial performance.

Apple's corporate mission or vision is to deliver a highly innovative and superior solution to a customer's personal computing needs. This vision is strategically accomplished by differentiating Apple from its competitors on the basis of quality, design, performance, and peripheral integration, hence the term "Digital Hub." With this vision and strategy in mind, we now will examine the four elements to the scorecard approach customer perception, internal business perspective, innovation perspective, and financial perspective. (See Exhibit )

How do customers see Apple on the basis of quality, performance, service, and cost? Apple's customer base is unparalleled in loyalty and satisfaction. Customers view Apple as the only integrated alternative to the chaotic interoperable PC alternative. When paired head to head with a PC, Apple fairs very well, much better than what its current market share demonstrates. Therefore actions need to be taken to change the market's perception. The objective here is to communicate to the various market segments what Apple's current customers feel about their computing "experience." Apple needs to overcome the myth that its products are severally limited on the software side. To do this, Apple needs to leverage its value added marketing competency and initiate a testimonial like campaign that stresses the quality, performance, and functionality of Apple products, in essence, its differentiating features. Measures such as new user adoption rates need to be continually monitored so that Apple can see if their marketing efforts are succeeding.

Internally, how will Apple be able sustain its ability to change and improve? Strategically, Apple needs to continue to be on the forefront of innovation. This can be accomplished through continual R&D expenditures. New products generate buzz and free publicity and Apple's core competency rests in its ability to introduce new and exciting ways to enhance its products' functionality. Internally, the entire company from top to down must be linked with the driving strategy of delivering an enhanced computing experience. Emphasis on differentiating features such as quality, performance, and innovation should drive all processes.

What business processes must Apple excel at? Crucial to achieve its mission, Apple must excel in operational efficiencies. This is directly related to costs and Apple's premium price tag is undoubtedly the most significant hindrance to widespread adoption. Apple needs to maintain its core competencies in inbound and outbound logistics, but its greatest area of improvement is in its operations.

To succeed financially, Apple has to return equity back to its shareholders. Overcoming negative customer perceptions through marketing, building upon Apple's rich tradition of product innovation, and improving operational efficiency will drive improved financial performance. Costs will be lowered and net margins will then be buffered.

In summation, Apple has successfully differentiated itself as the only viable alternative to the PC standard. The two major forces that have affected market share loss are the misconception that Apple computers are incompatible with available software for Wintel machines and buying one will result in losses in functionality. This can be overcome with aggressive marketing campaigns in which Apple has demonstrated value added competencies. The second major factor contributing to Apple loss in market share is the unmatched price erosion from the PC market. Apple has failed to narrow the gap because of its operational inefficiencies. If Apple can narrow this price gap and overcome the negative software perception, it will undoubtedly regain market share.

Exhibit PC Industry Ratio Analysis

Exhibit PC Industry Sales & Profit

Exhibit-4 Porter's Value Chain

Exhibit 5 Industry SWOT Analysis

APPLE SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

• Product innovation

• Vertical integration higher perceived quality.

• Superior OS

• Segment dominance in multimedia and education markets.

• Horizontal integration PC complements such as the iPod, iBook, etc.

• Ease of use, technical elegance.

• Diversified sales channels stores + website.

• Increased ISV support

• Lowest inventory and cash conversion cycles

• Improved operational efficiency.

• Low debt levels.

• Cash reserves.

Weaknesses

• Historical higher manufacturing costs, highly uncompetitive operating margins.

• Declining market share.

• Non-interoperable, "closed" system.

• Premium pricing, higher production costs.

• Lack of available new and existing software compatibility.

• Poor stock performance.

• Short term strategic management.

• High executive turnover.

Opportunities

• Increased distribution channels national chains, Apple Stores, Web site.

• Outsourced production.

• Improved OS to compete with next generation Windows OS.

• Seamless integration of PC complements into one complete "system."

• Mac on Intel chip, "Star Trek."

• International sales.

• Market expansion into peripherals for PC's.

APPLE SWOT ANALYSIS (CONTINUED)

Threats

• Microsoft slashes OS costs, forcing PC prices to plunge.

• Increased price erosion of "Wintel components" such as CPUs.

• Hostile takeover.

• ISV no longer supporting Mac platform.

• Proliferation of "me too" PC peripheral devices.

• PC industry contraction.

• Economic recession.

• Alternative OS to Windows and Mac.

• End to Microsoft Office software compatibility agreement.

• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV

• Increased PC industry consolidation

• Joint marketing efforts by PC industry players.

DELL SWAT ANALYSIS

Strengths

• Pioneered direct selling model, first mover and learning curve advantages.

• Economies of Scale Efficient use of assets in PC industry as prescribed by ROA.

• Low overhead JIT 6 day inventory turnover.

• Profit margin leader within PC industry.

• Operating cost leader.

• Strong brand equity not highly dependant on marketing.

• Market share dominance

• Continued growth while industry contracted

Weaknesses

• Lack of product innovation lowest allocation of R&D funds in industry

• Inherent to the direct selling model is that it is easily replicated.

• Narrow product offering scope no peripherals, servers, mainframes, etc.

• Higher than average debt leverage - related to ROA.

• High COGS = low gross margins.

• Web Site integrity sales highly dependant on web site

Opportunities

• Marketing value added differentiation customer customization & direct sales.

• Line extensions growing server market

• Brand extensions monitors, printers, peripherals, etc.

• International sales

• Increased supplier competition = lower COGS.

Threats

• Price erosion

• Continued growth of "white boxes."

• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.

• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV

• International Competition

• Retail exclusion

COMPAQ SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

• Strong brand equity.

• Market share leader.

• Extensive product line.

Weaknesses

• Longest cash conversion cycles.

• Longest inventory turnover.

• High overhead low operating and profit margins.

• Slow to incorporate direct selling model.

• Lack of product innovation tight R&D budget.

• Poor ROE

• Heavy debt load

• Declining market share.

Opportunities

• Less price erosion within high end server market where foothold is present.

• Direct selling website

• Acquisition or merger

• International sales

Threats

• Continued industry price erosion

• Continued growth of "white boxes" cutting market share

• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.

• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV

• International Competition

HP SWAT ANALYSIS

Strengths

• Brand leader in printer and imaging markets complements to PC industry.

• Ability to leverage IT services and printer markets to boost profit margins.

• Product innovation pipeline largest R&D budget among top 4.

• Increasing market share.

Weaknesses

• Poor stock performance shareholder skepticism on firm's ability to generate profit.

• Lowest operating margins among PC manufacturers.

• Highly diversified, undefined core competence.

Opportunities

• Printer, Imaging, & IT services market.

• Direct selling website

• Acquisition or merger

• International sales

• Outsource production.

Threats

• Continued industry price erosion

• Continued growth of "white boxes" cutting market share

• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.

• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV

• International Competition

IBM SWAT ANALYSIS

Strengths

• Highest operating and profit margins, extremely efficient.

• Procurement lowest COGS.

• Largest computer company by revenue economies of scale

• Diversified products and markets hardware and software.

• Horizontally and vertically integrated.

• Mainframe market leader

• Corporate market dominance bundled services

Weaknesses

• Heavy debt load.

• Inferior OS and CPU performance.

• Declining market share.

Opportunities

• Direct selling website

• Large cash reserves make acquisition possible.

• International sales

• Outsource production.

Threats

• Continued industry price erosion

• Continued growth of "white boxes" cutting market share

• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.

• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV

• International Competition

• Compaq entering mainframe market.

Exhibit 7 Herfindahl Index PC Industry

Exhibit 8 Porter's Five Forces Analysis-Personal Computer Industry

Factors Affecting Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

Characterization

(Current) Future Trend

Degree of seller concentration? HIGH HIGH

Rate of industry growth? LOW LOW

Significant cost differences among firms? LOW LOW

Excess capacity? LOW LOW

Cost structure of firms sensitivity of costs to capacity utilization? HIGH HIGH

Degree of product differentiation among sellers? LOW LOW

Brand loyalty to existing sellers? MED MED

Buyers' costs of switching from one competitor to another? LOW LOW

Are prices and terms of sales transactions observable? YES YES

Can firms adjust prices quickly? YES YES

Large and/or infrequent sales orders? NA NA

Use of "facilitating practices" (price leadership, advance announcement of price changes)? NA NA

History of cooperative pricing? NO NO

Strength of exit barriers? MED MED

Factors Affecting The Threat Of Entry

Characterization

(Current) Future Trend

Significant economies of scale? HIGH HIGH

Importance of reputation or established brand loyalties in purchase decisions? MED MED

Entrants' access to distribution channels? LOW LOW

Entrants' access to raw materials? HIGH HIGH

Entrants' access to technology/know-how? MED MED

Entrants' access to favorable locations? LOW LOW

Experience based advantages of incumbents? HIGH HIGH

"Network externalities" demand side advantages to incumbents from large installed base? HIGH HIGH

Government protection of incumbents? LOW LOW

Perceptions of entrants about expected retaliation of incumbents/reputations of incumbents for "toughness"? NA NA

Factors Affecting Or Reflecting Pressure From Substitute Products And Support From Complements Characterization

(Current) Future Trend

Availability of close substitutes? MED HIGH

Price-value characteristics of substitutes? LOW MED

Price elasticity of industry demand? HIGH HIGH

Availability of close complements? HIGH HIGH

Price-value characteristics of complements? HIGH HIGH

Factors Affecting Or Reflecting Power Of Input Suppliers

Characterization

(Current) Future Trend

Is supplier industry more concentrated than industry it sells to? YES YES

Do firms in industry purchase relatively small volumes relative to other customers of supplier? Is typical firm's purchase volume small relative to sales of typical supplier? NO NO

Few substitutes for suppliers' input? NO YES

Do firms in industry make relationship-specific investments to support transactions with specific suppliers? YES YES

Do suppliers pose credible threat of forward integration into the product market? NO NO

Are suppliers able to price discriminate among prospective customers according to ability/willingness to pay for input? YES YES

Factors Affecting Or Reflecting Power Of Buyers

Characterization

(Current) Future Trend

Is buyers' industry more concentrated than industry it purchases from? NO NO

Do buyers purchase in large volumes? Does a buyer's purchase volume represent large fraction of typical seller's sales revenue? YES YES

Can buyers find substitutes for industry's product? NO NO

Do firms in industry make relationship specific investments to support transactions with specific buyers? YES YES

Is price elasticity of demand of buyer's product high or low? HIGH HIGH

Do buyers pose threat of backward integration? NO NO

Does product represent significant fraction of cost in buyer's business? NO NO

Are prices in the market negotiated between buyers and sellers on each individual transaction or do sellers "post" a "take it or leave it price?" POST POST

Exhibit Balanced Scorecard Approach

Exhibit 10 Apple Financial Ratios

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