Free Essays on The Silent Witness

The case of Theresa Shiavo gained national attention because it was an extremely controversial subject. Following a collapse in February 1990 of heart failure, when she was only 26 years old, Terri had been in a coma for three months. When she regained consciousness she was in the generally unresponsive state in which she would remain for 15 years. She remained on a feeding tube to keep her alive. Her husband, Michael Shiavo, stated that it was not Terri’s wish to be kept alive in this way and that she should be taken off the feeding tube and allowed to die. Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, did not agree and petitioned the court to allow their daughter to continue on the life-support. This sparked major press coverage and the attention of Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, Congress and the White House. Over the years, more than 40 judges have been involved with this case. On the morning of February 25, 1990, Theresa Shiavo collapsed in the hallway of her home in St. Petersburg, Florida of what appeared to be heart failure. It is not known what caused the heart failure; however, it was well known that Terri had been concerned about her weight, and had been on a NutraSystems diet in the past. Doctors who examined her after she collapsed presumed that she had the eating disorder bulimia, and because of this she had a potassium deficiency which caused her heart failure. This has never been proven. The cause of her collapse remains a mystery. When paramedics arrived at the scene, Terri was in full cardiac arrest. After seven attempts to defibrillate, or electrically shock the heart into beating normally, a rhythm was restored. Terri’s brain had gone without oxygen for over an hour. She did receive irreversible brain damage. The biggest question that still remains is, â€Å"Was Terri in a ‘permanent vegetative state?’† Some doctors have referred to Terri’s condition as â€Å"locked-in syndrome, which was not the case. Complete â€Å"l... Free Essays on The Silent Witness Free Essays on The Silent Witness The case of Theresa Shiavo gained national attention because it was an extremely controversial subject. Following a collapse in February 1990 of heart failure, when she was only 26 years old, Terri had been in a coma for three months. When she regained consciousness she was in the generally unresponsive state in which she would remain for 15 years. She remained on a feeding tube to keep her alive. Her husband, Michael Shiavo, stated that it was not Terri’s wish to be kept alive in this way and that she should be taken off the feeding tube and allowed to die. Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, did not agree and petitioned the court to allow their daughter to continue on the life-support. This sparked major press coverage and the attention of Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, Congress and the White House. Over the years, more than 40 judges have been involved with this case. On the morning of February 25, 1990, Theresa Shiavo collapsed in the hallway of her home in St. Petersburg, Florida of what appeared to be heart failure. It is not known what caused the heart failure; however, it was well known that Terri had been concerned about her weight, and had been on a NutraSystems diet in the past. Doctors who examined her after she collapsed presumed that she had the eating disorder bulimia, and because of this she had a potassium deficiency which caused her heart failure. This has never been proven. The cause of her collapse remains a mystery. When paramedics arrived at the scene, Terri was in full cardiac arrest. After seven attempts to defibrillate, or electrically shock the heart into beating normally, a rhythm was restored. Terri’s brain had gone without oxygen for over an hour. She did receive irreversible brain damage. The biggest question that still remains is, â€Å"Was Terri in a ‘permanent vegetative state?’† Some doctors have referred to Terri’s condition as â€Å"locked-in syndrome, which was not the case. Complete â€Å"l...

SAT Prep Black Book - Full Review

SAT Prep Black Book - Full Review SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT Prep Black Book's first edition was one of the best resources for SAT Prep, and its second edition continues that legacy. Read this guide for a detailed review of the Black Book's strong points and weaknesses. Also, find out how to integrate this book as part of a complete prep program (because, as we'll explain, it's nowhere near enough for most students). Why Trust This Review? When you get advice on the internet, it's important to understand why you should believe the advice you're receiving. Because your SAT score is important, follow the wrong advice, and it might be too late to improve your score. To be transparent, here’s why you might be able to trust this review more than others: I like to think that I know what I’m talking about.I scored two perfect scores on the SAT and have worked personally with thousands of students prepping for the SAT. I’ve worked with students at all levels, from people at a 800 level to people aiming for a 1530+. Other writers often don't have the expertise to differentiate between books, and they recommend books as an afterthought (and you can probably tell). I don’t get paid for these recommendations, and I don’t get paid if you buy these books.I’ve studied dozens of books for SAT prep, and I review the books that I come across. Other sites, especially about.com and reviews.com, get paid for featuring books and get a kickback when you buy a book they recommend. One disclaimer: I’m co-founder ofPrepScholar, an online SAT/ACT prep program. I believe we’ve built the best prep program available right now. Itdiagnoses your strengths and weaknessesand gives you a structured all-in-one program, combining the best aspects of the books below, so you know exactly what you need to study at every point. But I want to stress that you don’t need a program to excel at the SAT. In fact, writing this guide may lose us some customers, since you might decide that you don’t need a program at all. But if you decide that you don’t want to manage 10 books and want an integrated complete program that customizes to your learning,check PrepScholar SAT out. SAT Black Book Review When I consider the quality of a book, I think about a few important questions: Who's the author, and what is his or her experience with the subject matter? How effective is the book, and why? What are the book's main pros and cons? We'll consider each question below. About the Primary Author: Mike Barrett Mike Barrett describes himself as a test-prep expert "who has been tutoring people for standardized tests ever since he was in high school." He offers mostly online tutoring through his company Concierge Tutoring. The quality of his writing leaves no doubt that he's an expert on the SAT. However, a little known fact about Mike Barrett is that he is a professional marketer by trade. This means that some amount of his book's success is due to marketing skill. As he describes in his LinkedIn profile, "I used my knowledge of SMM, SEM, and SEO to push the book's Amazon page to the top of Google's natural results for a variety of competitive search terms, and to maintain those results through the Penguin 2.0 update.I crafted the book's Amazon description to maximize sales conversions while optimizing its on-page SEO factors (as much as possible within Amazon's on-page limitations)." While this doesn't automatically reflect poorly on the book - after all, even the best companies need substantial marketing skill - it suggests that his heart and focus is on marketing, not on helping you prepare for the SAT. How Effective Is This Book? This book made it onto my list of Best SAT Prep Booksfor good reason. It has its drawbacks,and you’ll definitely need supplemental help and more prep programs, as I explain below. But what it does have is fantastic. What you’ll get from the Black Book is a way to think about the SAT. What does this mean? Here are a few examples: You learn that the SAT is designed to be a predictable, standardized test. It needs to test basic concepts so that it can be administered nationwide to all students, but it also needs to make it difficult, so it distorts the questions in a weird way. You learn that every answer must be unambiguously correct, or else students would complain that their incorrect answer is correct. This means that your strategy should be to rule out all incorrect answer choices, which is important on SAT reading. While most books focus only on test content and somewhat useful strategies, this book gets down to the brass tacks of how to understand the SAT, and what high-level strategies you need to succeed. Some of the concepts in this book were things I understood intuitively when I took the SAT and wasstudying for a perfect score, but the author articulates them in a crystal clear way in this book. It’s influenced the way that I think aboutteaching our students at PrepScholar. Of all books on the market, this book aligns most closely with my personal philosophy on the SAT and how to succeed on it. The book is divided into four separate sections: one on understanding the SAT at a high level, and then one section each for Reading, Math, and Writing and Language. Each section on an SAT section contains background material you need to know, and then goes through clear explanations for all the questions for that section in official SAT practice tests #1-4. What students will find missing from this book is focused practice on individual skills. If you need more practice specifically on Algebra equations, you're out of luck. This book doesn't help you figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are, and it doesn't give you pointers on how to train them. Keep reading for detailed pros and cons for this book. The SAT Black Book's Pros and Cons Pros: Very lucid take on the SAT. The ideas within will change your view on the SAT and hopefully motivate you to work harder, knowing that any student can excel on the SAT. Contains practical strategies that are more helpful than most other books'. Doesn’t rely on tricks like other popular books do. Doesn’t assume that all students are the same. It offers a few alternatives for strategies, then suggests that you try them out and see which one works better. An exhaustive set of answer explanations for every single question in the first four official SAT practice tests. They break down how to approach each question in a straightforward way. Cons: Requires a ton of self-discipline and insight to use effectively. Because you’re learning from your mistakes and no one is there to guide you, you need to be self-driven to experiment with different strategies and find which one works best for you. For some students, following a set of straight guidelines could be less confusing. The fundamental content is lacking. If you’re weak in algebra, for example, this book will not alone help you master that subject area. I believe more in recognizing your weaknesses and, throughfocused prep and specific practice questions, mastering that skill. This book is more about teaching an approach to preppint for the SAT. It is long (629 pages) and can get repetitive, although Barrett points out that you don't have to read every single page to get benefits, particularly because many of the official SAT questions test skills in the same way. I personally disagree with some of his points (e.g. he believes you should aim to reach a certain ability level in a skill rather than aiming for a particular score; I believe setting a score goal is a useful motivator). Overall Rating This book is one of the best out there, for what it does. It's nowhere near enough for most students, and you'll need to supplement with other practice materials and books, but what it does have is excellent, and it''ll change how you view the SAT and point out new ways to study. Overall Rating: 85/100 What's Next? Read our detailed guide to the Best SAT Prep Booksto put together your own study program based on the best SAT books available now. What's a good SAT score for you? Figure it out with our step by step guide based on the colleges you're applying to. Aiming for a high score? Read our guide to scoring a perfect SAT score, written by me, a perfect SAT scorer. Check out our industry-leading online SAT program. We've designed it to cover all the advantages of books and tutors at an affordable price. Featuring in-depth strategy lessons and thousands of practice questions, we have the content from the leading books. We include the critical Official SAT Study Guide. Beyond that, the programacts like your personal tutor. It guides you step-by-step through what you should be working on at every moment to best improve your score. Itcustomizes to your strengths and weaknesses, then gives you focused practice so you learn the patterns on the SAT. Furthermore, it motivates you to study so that you put in enough time. There's a 160 point guarantee - if you don'timprove your score by 160 points, you get all your money back.

Professional Development about Constructivist Learning Environments Research Paper

Professional Development about Constructivist Learning Environments - Research Paper Example Self-regulated Learning with technology accounts for much of the present thinking about the utilization of technology as a supporting tool for learning. As a tool, the internet can be a means of finding and processing information, and to reflect on one’s understandings, beliefs, and thinking processes. Utilized in such a manner, internet technology provides learner to collect information and explore new content knowledge on his own and without the assistance of teachers and parents. Ordinary application software such as word processing, spreadsheet, graphics, presentation, and database software, problem-solving software, simulations, electronic mail, and the Internet are technological tools that help an individual in his quest of learning. Self-regulated learning with the help of online course animations, hypertext, or clickable diagrams and video clips helped concepts that a static textbook image simply cannot. Video clips showing how to mount a camera on a tripod can help ex plain concepts much more easily through visuals that are not easily explained by a lecturer or a book's textual description. The risks in Self-regulated learning involves learner’s dilemma to gather the right knowledge from the flood of information available and incoherency of some of the documents provided. Many changes, which the learners might get, distracted from their learning objectives and without the proper guidance of teachers and classroom instructions. Self- regulated learner will be consuming his valuable time searching for irrelevant information.

Any franchise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Any franchise - Essay Example The demographics of young people interested in sports have changed in Miami with more people filling the limited sport shops for utilities. The city offers a ready market for sports utility The success of these company beings with exceptional leadership as well as an innovative management team that is knowledgeable and experienced to handle the matters in the franchise business. Since this is a small start up, we would not be in a position to have a big management team ( Liberson 23). The C.E.O will be accorded the mandate to higher his workers. The management team will be liable in the running of the operations of this franchise under the authority of the CEO. The CEO will have the powers to take the company to another level. Marketing remains the greatest program and strength of this business. A proper marketing strategy will be deployed in order to effectively reach the wide range of market with the merchandise. Funds will be used to produce advertising materials in order to attract customers. A robust financial marketing plan will be done for the franchise that would revolve around advertising. Several methods of marketing will be deployed with the motive of reaching a wider range of clients. Since this franchise will be entering the job market a new, it will dwell in providing traditional means of advising that will lower the cost of expenses ( Liberson 23). This franchise will ensure proper financial planning and will carry on with proper investigation to find the related costs. This capital to rise in beginning this franchise will be borrowed from different sources in order to fund all the needs of this business. It will be effective to have prepared a financial budget that will support with the effective running of the business. The banks would be the last option in raising the funds for the start up of the business. To incorporate a wide variety of stock in the business, a large pool of funds will be of

From Strategy to Business Essay Example for Free

From Strategy to Business Essay Strategy scholars have used the notion of the Business Model to refer to the ‘logic of the firm’ e how it operates and creates value for its stakeholders. On the surface, this notion appears to be similar to that of strategy. We present a conceptual framework to separate and relate the concepts of strategy and business model: a business model, we argue, is a reflection of the firm’s realized strategy. We find that in simple competitive situations there is a one-to-one mapping between strategy and business model, which makes it difficult to separate the two notions. We show that the concepts of strategy and business model differ when there are important contingencies on which a well-designed strategy must be based. Our framework also delivers a clear distinction between strategy and tactics, made possible because strategy and business model are different constructs. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction The ï ¬ eld of strategy has evolved substantially in the past twenty-ï ¬ ve years. Firms have learned to analyze their competitive environment, deï ¬ ne their position, develop competitive and corporate advantages, and understand better how to sustain advantage in the face of competitive challenges and threats. Different approaches including industrial organization theory, the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and game theory have helped academicians and practitioners understand the dynamics of competition and develop recommendations about how ï ¬ rms should deï ¬ ne their competitive and corporate strategies. But drivers such as globalization, deregulation and technological change (to mention only a few) are profoundly changing the competitive game. Scholars and practitioners agree that the fastest growing ï ¬ rms in this new environment appear to be those that have taken advantage of  these structural changes to innovate in their business models so they can compete ‘differently’. IBM’s Global CEO Studies for 2006 and 2008, for example, show that top management in a broad range of industries are actively seeking guidance on how to innovate in their business models to improve their ability to both create and capture value.1 In addition to the business model innovation drivers noted above, much recent interest has come from two other environmental shifts. Advances in ICT have been a major force behind the recent 0024-6301/$ see front matter.interest in business model innovation. Many e-businesses are based on new business models e Shafer, Smith and Linder ï ¬ nd that eight of the twelve recent business model deï ¬ nitions they present relate to e-business.2 New strategies for the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ in emerging markets have also steered researchers and practitioners towards the systematic study of business models. Academicians working in this area agree that ï ¬ rms need to develop novel business models to be effective in such speciï ¬ c and challenging environments (see work by Thompson and MacMillan, as well as by Yunus et al. in this issue), and socially motivated enterprises constitute a second important source of recent business model innovations. Advances in ICT and the demands of socially motivated enterprises constitute important sources of recent business model innovations. While it has become uncontroversial to argue that managers must have a good understanding of how business models work if their organizations are to thrive, the academic community has only offered early insights on the issue to date, and there is (as yet) no agreement as to the distinctive features of superior business models. We believe this is partly because of a lack of a clear distinction between the notions of strategy, business models and tactics, and the purpose of this article is to contribute to this literature by presenting an integrative framework to distinguish and relate these three concepts. Put succinctly:  Business Model refers to the logic of the ï ¬ rm, the way it operates and how it creates value for its stakeholders; and  Strategy refers to the choice of business model through which the ï ¬ rm will compete in the marketplace; while  Tactics refers to the residual choices open to a ï ¬ rm by virtue of the business model it chooses to employ. To integrate these three concepts, we introduce a generic two-stage competitive process framework, as depicted in Figure 1. In the ï ¬ rst stage, ï ¬ rms choose a ‘logic of value creation and value capture’ (i.e., choose their business model), and in the second, make tactical choices guided by their goals (which, in most cases, entail some form of stakeholder value maximization). Figure 1 thus presents our organizing framework: the object of strategy is the choice of business model, and the business model employed determines the tactics available to the ï ¬ rm to compete against, or cooperate with, other ï ¬ rms in the marketplace. The article is organized as follows. In the next section we deï ¬ ne and discuss the notion of business models and present a tool to represent them, while the following section considers the stage two ‘choice’ in our framework, presenting and discussing the notion of tactics in relation to that of business model. The following section then moves back to examine the ï ¬ rst e strategy e stage, after which we revisit our process framework to integrate the three notions. We discuss the connection between strategy and business model, arguing that both notions can be clearly separated. A detailed example is developed in the following stage, followed by some concluding remarks. Business models Although the expression ‘business model’ has gained in prominence only in the last decade, the term has been part of the business jargon for a long time, its origins going back to the writings of Peter Drucker. Although (as Markides points out) there is no widely accepted deï ¬ nition, Magretta deï ¬ nes business models as ‘stories that explain how enterprises work’, and follows Drucker in deï ¬ ning ‘a good business model’ as the one that provides answers to the following questions: ‘Who is the customer and what does the costumer value?’ and ‘What is the underlying economic logic that explains how we can deliver value to customers at an appropriate cost?’ While not formal, her implicit idea is that a business model is about how an organization earns money by addressing these two fundamental issues e how it identiï ¬ es and creates value for customers, and how it captures some of this value as its proï ¬ t in the process. Amit and Zott’s deï ¬ nition, in contrast, is less broad (as it focuses on e-businesses) but more precise. Reviewing the contributions of several theories including virtual markets, Schumpeterian innovation, value chain analysis, the resource-based view of the ï ¬ rm, dynamic capabilities,  transaction cost economics and strategic networks they point out that each contributes elements to the notion, but that none, by itself, explains business models completely. They analyze a sample of U.S. and European e-business models to highlight the drivers of value creation, and present the following integrative deï ¬ nition: ‘A business model depicts the content, structure, and governance of transactions designed so as to create value through the exploitation of business opportunities.’ The content of a transaction refers to the goods or information exchanged, as well as to resources and capabilities required; the structure refers to the parties that participate, their links, and the way they choose to operate, and governance refers to the way ï ¬â€šows of information, resources and goods are controlled by the relevant parties, the legal form of organization, and the incentives to the participants.5 In this issue, they build on this deï ¬ nition to propose an ‘activity system perspective’ for the design of business models, arguing that activity systems capture the essence of business models and proposing two sets of aspects for designers to consider: design elements (content, structure and governance) that describe the activity system’s architecture, and design themes (novelty, lock-in, complementarities, and efï ¬ ciency) that describe its sources of value creation. The common thread across all of these approximations to the notion of busin ess model is well captured by BadenFuller, MacMillan, Demil and Lecocq in their deï ¬ nition ‘the logic of the ï ¬ rm, the way it operates and how it creates value for its stakeholders’, and we adopt their deï ¬ nition as the starting point for our argument. To make progress toward understanding business models, we ï ¬ nd it helpful to use the analogy of a machine e by which we mean a mechanical device that transmits energy to perform tasks. (Of course, real organizations are different from machines in many important respects, but the comparison is helpful, especially to our thinking in contrasting the notions of strategy and business models.) Any given machine has a particular logic of operation (the way the different components are assembled and relate to one another), and operates in a particular way to create value for its user. To be more concrete, different automobile designs have different speciï ¬ c logics of operation conventional engines operate quite differently from hybrids, and  standard transmissions from automatics and create different value for their ‘stakeholders,’ the drivers. Some may prefer a small car that allows them to navigate congested city streets easily, while others may prefer a large SUV with a powerful engine to enjoy the countryside to the fullest. Automobiles are made of parts wheels, engines, seats, electronics, windshields, and the like. To assess how well a particular automobile works or to create a new one one must consider its components and how they relate to one another, just as, to better understand business models, one needs to understand their component parts and their relationships. (We return to this analogy during the paper: readers will gain more value from it if they understand the design and building of the car as representing strategy; the car itself as the business model; and the driving of the car as the available set of tactics.)

Art History of Central America :: essays papers

Art History of central America Chavin de Huantar was located in Peru and developed around 900 B.C. late in the Initial Period. At an elevation of 3,150 m., Chavin de Huantar was situated at the bottom of Cordillera Blanca’s eastern slopes, approximately halfway between tropical forests and coastal plains. At the intersection of major routes, Chavin de Huantar was in the position to control the routes, increase their exchange with others, and receive goods that were not natural to their area. Chavin de Huantar was an agricultural society, home to a fairly large population. The Old Temple was built during the late Initial Period and it was the â€Å"center of supernatural power and authority.† It was a U-shaped platform opening to the east with a circular courtyard in the center. The Old Temple also consisted of numerous passageways and chambers underground called galleries. These galleries were used for storage chambers, religious rites, and possibly temporary or permanent living for small groups working with temple activities. The Lanzon Gallery is located at the very center of the Old Temple. It was where the sculpture of the Lanzon was found. The Lanzon, the supreme deity of Chavin de Huantar, is anthropomorphic. With its feline head and human body, it has intertwined the feline deity of Chavin de Huantar and the shaman of the pre-Chavin period. For the pre-Chavin period, the object of worship was the feline, but this was gradually changed. By the time of Chavin de Huantar, it was anthropomorphic. During this time, it was believed that priests could become jaguars and interact with the supernatural forces. This was achieved by taking hallucinogenic drugs as part of rituals at the Old Temple. There are many sculptures that decorate the Old Temple depicting the transformation of the priests. There have been mortars, pestles, conch-shell trumpets, and many other items with anthropomorphic design found and thought to be associated with Chavin rituals. The New Temple â€Å"forms a continuum† with the Old Temple. The same belief system continues and there is evidence of the same rituals. The New Temple also has galleries and plazas. The Lanzon, although in a different stance, continues to be a symbol of mediation and harmony. The right hand of the deity holds a Strombus shell, for male forces, and the left hand holds a Spondylus shell, for the female forces. The New Temple, however, did not replace the Old Temple.

How Infidelity Affects the Marriage and Family? Essay

A liaison, sexual or in any aspect, outside of a marital relationship is an immoral effort and excuse to improve something. Others may say that not all people, who are having or had an extra-marital affair, are regarded as bad and despiteful. These people are generally and oftentimes are in pain, bewildered and lonesome. However, for those who were betrayed, these reasons do not justify nor make one’s infidelity acceptable. One’s involvement to other than his or her partner has a lasting painful and devastating effect not only on the marriage of a couple but more on their children. Fidelity among the parents is the most treasured component of a marriage. It can be regarded as a strong foundation of the entire family. When infidelity sets in, the strong union of the couple is shattered, leaving traces of dishonesty, guilt, and anger. Aside from the betrayed spouse, the children who are not involved in the problem between the couple that caused the break-up are the ones who suffer from the effects more. Infidelity is caused by complicated and different reasons. Extra-marital affairs can happen in both happy and disturbed marriages. Regardless of the cause, what the family evidently needs to be overcome is the manners in which infidelity severely affects the couple’s marriage and the family in general. Characteristics of Infidelity According to Marriage and Family Encyclopedia, infidelity is characterized by a â€Å"breach of trust† which is a reflection of one’s adulterous and cheating of ethical and emotional responsibilities to his or her spouse. Infidelity normally and oftentimes connotes a person’s intimate or sexual relationship to another individual other than his or her partner (Treas). Aside from an immoral sexual relationship, infidelity also comes in other forms. For instance, despite the lack of physical contact, women generally consider a deep emotional liaison as another form of a treacherous extramarital relation (Treas). These characteristics present infidelity as any emotion or conduct that go against or not in accordance with what one expects from his or her spouse and what makes the relationship exclusive (Treas). Infidelity is a worldwide issue, with some countries going beyond their boundaries to address its causes and effects. Aside from the ways in which infidelity affects the marriage and the family, its related topic such as an open marriage that is practiced in liberal countries also has an impact to the overall understanding of such unfaithful relationship. The books of Blumstein and Schwartz, as well as that of Greeley, states that the practice of open marriage in the United States which allows and opens an opportunity for a married person to commit extramarital sex is the only exclusion. Although the two books report that some Americans apparently tolerate open marriage, majority of American couples still regard sexual fidelity as an ultimately significant aspect of their marriage and the one which hold their family together (Blumstein & Schwartz; Greeley). This high consideration to fidelity is supported by an article which states that almost one hundred percent of American couples look for â€Å"sexual exclusivity† from their partners (Treas & Giesen 48). The Effects of Discovered Infidelity An article written by Shirley Glass which appeared on the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy site states that it is usual for the couple, either the one who committed infidelity or the one who was betrayed, to be depressed. Glass further stated that such feeling of demoralization includes suicide tendencies and anxiety. She added that an intense perception of loss follows the discovery of infidelity. According to Glass, the responses of the cheated partner correspond to the indications of â€Å"post-traumatic stress† experienced by the victims of harmful or even fatal situations. At the onset of the disclosure of the unfaithful relationship, the usual effects are â€Å"loss of innocence and shattered assumptions. † Included in such premises are the obsessive contemplation of the details of the infidelity, nonstop observation of other aggravating symptoms of cheating, recurring and invasive images of the betrayal, and an increased biological arousal due to a sexual effort to win back the partner (Glass). Those who have exerted much trust and the least suspecting are the most badly affected and hurt. The philandering partner, on the other hand, is worried that his or her infidelity will result in a lasting punishment and further suffering. This is because the dreams he or she associated with the extramarital relationship were wasted (Glass). Ways in Which Infidelity Affects The Marriage Infidelity affects not only the marriage but the divorce proceedings that happen afterwards (Treas). Prior to the passing of â€Å"no-fault divorce laws in the 1970s,† a cheating spouse is expected not to be granted with custody rights over his or her children, endure disadvantages in the separation of conjugal properties as well as in payments of support (Treas). In eliminating adultery as grounds for divorce, the â€Å"no-fault laws† likewise remove extra-marital sex as a vindication for preferring one’s welfare over the other partner (Treas). Aside from affecting the marriage, infidelity or other related laws in the United States would forbid a philandering spouse from casting a vote, engaging in alcohol-related works, exercising law, legally adopting a child and living with the previous partner (Treas). It was unfortunate that adultery laws are almost never implemented, despite the fact that a lot of states have silently revoked such outdated legislative acts (Treas). Unrepealed laws then only function mostly for symbolic intentions, representing the state’s adherence for traditional ethical and family living (Treas). Laumann, and his colleagues, on the other hand, stated that the issue of how sexual infidelity impacts the marriage necessitates further research. However, experts on marriage counseling have attested that sexual infidelity definitely rocks a couple’s marriage (Laumann, et al. ). In their book, Laumann and his associates also identified another manner, aside from divorce, in which infidelity affects the marriage. This is the existence of domestic violence which was also already identified as an effect of sexual enviousness (Laumann, et al. ). Lawson corroborated the above destabilizing theory or effect of infidelity to marriage. According to Lawson, infidelity contradicts the couple’s intimacy, weakens the perceptions of shared â€Å"ownership† between a husband and wife, and cuts short commonality that exists when one’s spouse is the only one giving a treasured intimate or â€Å"sexual service. † Sexual infidelity also deviates â€Å"time, energy, and money† outside of the marital union. This is evident when a betraying partner allots or spends more of his or her quality time, physical energy, and cash with a person other than the legal partner. Lawson also said that women’s extramarital relationships are likely inclined to result into divorce or new marriage. This is because of women’s nature of involving of too much emotion into a relationship (Lawson). Ways in Which Infidelity Affects The Children Aside from the emotional and psychological trauma, the infidelity of the parents creates confusion among children, similar to the effects experienced by the betrayed parent that the children feel. An online article by Dianna J. Gould-Saltman stated that in the event the extramarital relationship eventually resulted into the separation of a couple, it becomes an issue if the presence of the new partner will be considered in limiting custody or visitation right over the children. Confusion among the children is evident when the new partner of their father or mother starts to live in the house and the new couple can eventually and freely exercise their sexual activities even when the children are around. This scenario causes children to ask if sex outside of marriage is alright. However, it was stressed that the law states that â€Å"the court must make custody orders consistent with the best interests of the children. † The said article added that unless there is opposing evidence, it is expected that the children of the separated couple still require constant contact with both the father and the mother regardless of whoever committed the infidelity (Gould-Saltman). Infidelity Affects Both the Marriage of the Couple and their Children The same Gould-Saltman article identified three combined issues resulting from infidelity that affect both the marriage of the couple and their children. First is misappropriation which is manifested when the philandering partner takes away or deviates the money supposedly intended for the needs of his or her family. A married person is obligated to manage his or her marital assets, such as the monthly employment income, for the purpose of addressing the needs and promoting the welfare of his or her family. Gould-Saltman said that â€Å"spending community money on a girlfriend or boyfriend, especially expensive gifts, paying for rent or mortgage, or vacations can be deemed a misappropriation. † In view of this the betrayed spouse and the children are authorized to refund â€Å"one half of the funds spent, possibly with interest, from the date of the misappropriation† (Gould-Saltman). Misappropriation, however, is different to another effect which is â€Å"supported spouse. † In the latter, the spouse who was left behind in favor of a new partner will be burdened with proof in getting support from his or her spouse. This takes place when the spouse already â€Å"cohabits† with his or her new partner who now receives the financial support. In doing so, the child support may also somehow be affected because the income is now shared with the new partner. However, this situation can be resolved through legal arrangements. The last effect, which is the possibility of acquiring sexually transmitted disease, is solely experienced by the betrayed spouse. With this impact, the offended spouse, who was transmitted with the disease resulting from the philandering of his or her spouse, is considered a battered spouse and entitled for monetary damages (Gould-Saltman). Conclusion Infidelity is a sensitive issue which does not only affect the legal union of a couple but also leaves the entire family devastated. It is perceived as a one-sided option wherein only the betraying spouse benefits while the offended spouse and their children suffer. The ways in which infidelity affects the spouse and the children cause them to endure suffering in terms of emotional, psychological, and financial aspects which are unfairly happening to them. Such unfaithful conduct unjustly favors the philandering spouse and steps on the rights and protecting the feelings of the betrayed spouse and children. This is because while the philandering spouse is enjoying his or her sexual trysts with the new partner, a husband or wife and the children are left tormented with the pains of infidelity. Works Cited Blumstein, Philip and Pepper Schwartz. American Couples: Money, Work, Sex. New York: Morrow, 1983. Glass, Shirley P. â€Å"AAMFT Consumer Update: Infidelity. † American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. 2002. 14 April 2008 . Greeley, Andrew M. Faithful Attraction: Discovering Intimacy, Love, and Fidelity in American Marriage. New York: TOR Books, 1991. Gould-Saltman, Diana J. Adultery: Does It Make Any Difference? Divorce Wizards. 1998. 14 April 2008 . Treas, Judith. â€Å"Infidelity-What Are The Consequences? † Marriage and Family Encyclopedia. 14 April 2008 . Laumann, Edward. O, et al. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Lawson, Annette. Adultery: The Analysis of Love and Betrayal. New York: Basic Books, 1988. Treas, Judith and Deirdre Giesen. â€Å"Sexual Infidelity Among Married and Cohabiting Americans. † Journal of Marriage and the Family 62 (2000):48–60.

Thomas Jefferson Biography

Biography of Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is recognized for his many accomplishments during the 18th century. Not only was he a president, but Jefferson was the author of The Declaration of Independence, a founding father of the United States, and the founder of the University of Virginia. Jefferson was a brilliant political writer who used his writing skills to separate the United States of America from Great Britain and to protect the rights of man.Jefferson addresses these rights in the declaration when he says, â€Å"All men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,† (Jefferson, 1. ) These words are popular and have historical meaning. On April 13th, 1734 in Shadwell, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was born to the parents Jane and Peter Jefferson. Shadwell is a town just outside of Charlottesville . His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was from a family that claimed to be descended from English and Scottish royalty (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†).His father, Peter Jefferson, was a skilled surveyor and cartographer, which meant that he studied and practiced making maps as well as accurately determined the three-dimensional position of points. Peter produced the first accurate map of the province of Virginia. Perhaps young Jefferson got inspiration from his father. Jefferson had five siblings. He had two older sisters, two younger sisters, and one younger brother. He lived in a very busy household. As a child, Jefferson spent his free time practicing the violin and reading books. At the age of twenty four, Jefferson married Martha Jefferson.They were both from plantation families and it is believed that they were introduced to each other by mutual friends. Thomas fell for the young American girl’s education and interest in music (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†). Togethe r they had six children, but only two lived to be adults. After many wonderful years married, illness fell upon Martha and she passed away on September 6th, 1782. Jefferson made a promise to her that he would never remarry. After her death, he spent three weeks mourning in his library. In a period of seclusion, Jefferson explained in his autobiography that he felt like a part of him had died after she passed (Jefferson, 42).Later on in life, Jefferson had an affair with slave-girl Sally Hemings. There isn’t much information on this story, but there was DNA proof that he fathered her child. (â€Å"Jefferson – Hemings†). Thomas Jefferson began his education at a very young age. At the age of five, his father placed him in an English school and he was attending Latin school by age nine. The Latin school was conducted by Reverend William Douglas (Beran, 78). In 1758, Jefferson attended the school of Reverend James Maury. He described Reverend Maury as â€Å"a corre ct, classical scholar† (Jefferson, 29. He later attended the College of William and Mary at the age of seventeen in Williamsburg. It was there that Jefferson began his law studies with George Wythe. Jefferson received and unofficial political and cultural education from him. For two years, Jefferson studied primarily with George Wythe and Dr. William Small. He said that Dr. Small taught him a vast majority what he knew about politics. Over the seven years of study spent at Williamsburg, Jefferson culminated in the practice of law, but without any degree. Thomas Jefferson was also strongly influenced by the political philosophy of the Enlightenment and also from John Locke.Thomas Jefferson was not a good public speaker, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his opinions of politics. In his early writing years, Jefferson mostly wrote political letters (Skarmeas, 66). His earliest published work is The Declaration of Independence. He began drafting The Declaration of In dependence after British troops had attempted to confiscate American ammunition stores and capture patriot leaders in these towns (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). The continental congress met in September of 1774 to pick a committee responsible for drafting it. Jefferson was the delegate chosen to write the important document.The Declaration of Independence was written as a letter to King George III hoping for reconciliation. The committee met several time to discuss ideas and think of what they wanted to be addressed in the document. Like most people who write something, he had to first make a rough draft (â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†). Jefferson, by himself, drafted a rough copy of the declaration. He worked on it for two and a half weeks. Only minor changes were made to his draft before it was finalized. The Declaration of Independence became Jefferson’s most popular work.This was such an important document because it formally declared that the thirteen colonies of North America were free and independent from British control (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). It served as the basis for the American Revolution. It began the formation of the federal government and a new United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was released to the public on July 4th, 1776. As time went by, the ideas of Jefferson’s words â€Å"all men are created equal† grew in importance. Northern states used them to free slaves in their states. Abraham Lincoln used equal rights to justify the Civil War (Bernstein, 156).He soon became the governor of Virginia. Jefferson also because the vice President of the United States. To occupy his times during his four years as vice president, Jefferson authored A Manual of Parliamentary. This was one of the most useful guides to legislative proceedings ever written, and served as the president of the American Philosophical Society. After Jefferson’s time as vice presiden t, he became the third President of the United States. As president, Jefferson accomplished many things, including the Louisianna Purchase (Beran, 73). This greatly expanded the size of the country.After his presidency, Jefferson settled down. His tone of writing remained the same as before though. He was still straight forward political writer who expressed his opinions through letters and documents. Jefferson did, however, write an autobiography describing his accomplishments and life journeys. He began writing this is 1821. The last thing that was written by Thomas Jefferson was a letter addressed to Roger C (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†). In this letter, Jefferson thanks him for inviting him to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.He said that he was happy and hopes that the celebration serves as a reminder of the rights he had originally written about. At the end of the letter, Jefferson apologized for having to reject his invitation because of his health conditions. Thomas Jefferson lived a very eventful and successful life. In 1818, his health began rapidly declining. He was diagnosed with kidney failure and many other age related diseases (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography†). His death was mainly caused by a combination of a few things. One thing that contributed to his death was exhaustion from diarrhea. Another contributor was toxemia from a kidney infection.Uremia from kidney damage and orthostatic old-age pneumonia also added to Jefferson’s declining health. He was bed-ridden and eventually died on July 4th, 1826 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The date of his death is ironic because it was the same day as the anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. Jefferson might have lived longer under modern medical care (Bernstein, 187). Jefferson leaves behind a legacy that will always be talked about. He will forever be revered as one of the great American Founding Fathers. He was a spok esman of liberty, but had also been viewed as a racist slave owner.He was a president who expanded government authority beyond the wildest visions of his predecessors. Jefferson is a symbol for the nation he helped create. After he died, he was buried in the family cemetery at Monticello. The cemetery is located in Virginia and Jefferson’s grave is surrounded by metal fences. Beran, Michael Knox. Jefferson’s Semons: Portrait of a Restless Mind. New York City: Free Press, 2003. Print. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Print. Skarmeas, Nancy. Thomas Jefferson. Nashville: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998. Print. Jefferson, Thomas.Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson. New York City: Dover Publications, 2007. Print. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York City: Macmillan Library Reference, 2008. Print. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † The Biography Channel Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 17 Ma y. 2009. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 7 September. 1993. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. † History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † America’s Library. n. p. n. d. Web. 24 April. 2000. â€Å"Jefferson – Hemings. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 4 August. 1993.Related Photo This is a picture of the sign at the Monticello Graveyard located in Virginia. The photo relates to Thomas Jefferson because the Monticello Graveyard is also known as the Jefferson Cemetery. The cemetery sits behind and slightly down the mountain, hidden from the plantation's daily life. Something of a disappointment was the fact that the locked wrought iron fence prohibited visitors from paying homage to the great man and his family. Somehow it felt as if we were being banned from his world. Thomas Jefferson was buried in this cemetery along with many other members of the Jefferson family. Literary InterpretationOne of the most recognized and most popular documents in American history is The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress, was the start of a new beginning for the United States of America. The declaration is a letter to the King of Great Britain, George III. The declaration states the reasons for the British colonies wanting independence. It explains why the colonies have overthrown their ruler. Thomas Jefferson addresses specific details for their reasoning as well as expressing his opinions of the governmental structure.Jefferson uses his strong political writing skills and his knowledge on politics to the colonies’ problems with other nations of the world. Thomas Jefferson’s purpose for writing The Declaration of Independence was to express his ideas for a better society and to help the colonies become free at the same time. â€Å"But  when a  long train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing invariably  the  same Object evinces  a  design  to  reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is  their right, it is  their duty, to  throw off such Government, and to  provide new Guards  for their future security,† (Jefferson 1).This sentence of The Declaration of Independence shows Jefferson expressing how he feels about being treated wrong. Thomas Jefferson and other members of the Second Continental Congress wanted to use the declaration to expose the abuses to the other nations of the world. They wanted to justify the action of congress by blaming the rapture on King George III. The abuses that Jefferson is discussing are the abuses that King George III has applied to the colonies of Northern America. The abuses were a result of the king’s desire of creating a tyrannical government in America.The foundation of representative government is the power of the pe ople to make laws for the public good (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). King George III interfered with that process by rejecting legislation proposed by the colonies, dissolving colonial bodies or representation, replacing colonial governments with his appointed ministers, and interfering with the naturalization of citizens in new regions. King George III extended his tyrannical control by interfering with the objective judicial processes and the civil rights of the colonies (â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†).Jefferson then uses this to create a list of unalienable rights that should be applied to everyone. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident,  that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,† (Jefferson 1). Jefferson addresses that if any form of government becomes destructive of the ends, it is the right of the people t o alter or to abolish it, laying its foundation in the belief of these rights.Jefferson uses these to lay down a basic structure of the government he want and how the people of this society should be treated. Of the abuses that were mentioned, Jefferson devoted approximately one-fourth of the abuses in his original draft of the  Declaration of Independence  to the topic of slavery. Jefferson held the King accountable for maintaining and protecting slavery as an institution in the colonies. Not surprisingly, the moderate congress, already fearful of being too radical, removed all references to slavery from the document.It remains a source of historical debate why a slave-owning man like Jefferson would have devoted so much intellectual energy to criticizing slavery and to attempting to remove it from the colonies. Jefferson thought that slavery was contrary to the laws of nature, which decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. These views were radical in a world wher e unfree labor was the norm. Jefferson spends so much time writing about slavery because he does not approve of it and he does not want to incorporate it in the society and government that he is aiming towards.It is clear that Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence to help the thirteen original colonies to become free from British control. The Declaration of Independence has much deeper meaning than just that, though. Jefferson uses the document to express exactly how he feels about the political structure of a country. From this point on, people should look at The Declaration of Independence as the guidelines and rules to how a country should be run and how the citizens of that country should be treated. Jefferson, Thomas. â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† The American Experience.New York City: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. † History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † America’s Library. n. p. n. d. Web. 24 April. 2000. List of Authors Works 1. A Summary View of the Rights of British America 2. Draft of Constitution for Virginia 3. Original Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence 4. Draft of Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 5. Wall of Separation Letter 6. Manual of Parliamentary Practice 7. Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson Persuasive Essay Thomas Jefferson is an important figure in American history.He was one of the American Founding Fathers, the third president of the United States, and an original American politician. Thomas Jefferson is an important American author and should be taught in an English curriculum. Learning about Thomas Jefferson in an English class can teach students about his influence on early American government structures as well as the history of the thirteen original British colonies. It can also teach students about his progress and developments as an American Founding Father. Thomas Jefferson matters in Americ an literature because he is one of America’s original politicians.Thomas Jefferson is an American forefather. Not only did he write the Declaration of Independence, he was Virginia’s representative to the first Continental Congress, the governor of Virginia and the third president of the United States. As a president, Jefferson accomplished many things. He allowed the Alien and Sedition acts to end without renewal and also had the tax on liquor repealed (â€Å"Thomas Jefferson†). In 1803, Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million. This is considered the most important act of his administration.All of these things are important because it teaches the history of our country and Thomas Jefferson contributed to the history. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence can teach students about how America’s thirteen original British colonies became independent from King George III. If the Declaration of Independence was a ssigned to students, it would teach them the reasons for America wanting to become free from British rule. They would learn how King George III treated the thirteen colonies and what they wanted for their governmental structure.It also teaches the unalienable rights the Jefferson included in the declaration (â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration†). As a champion of civil liberties, Jefferson valued reason above faith. This is much different from other philosophers during his time because they were the complete opposite. Learning about Jefferson’s political beliefs teaches students how he used politics to make his decisions. He was a strong supporter of the ideals of the Enlightenment. Those ideals are reason, liberty and equality (Bernstein, 98). He believed that these ideals should be used to govern nations.He put his beliefs into his writings and into the Declaration of Independence. Many people think that Jefferson should not be taught in an English curriculum because h e favored slavery and was a slave owner himself. But while Jefferson was vocally opposed to slavery, and even passed the Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves during his second term as president,  he was a slave owner and believed that black people were inferior to white people. For some, this is cause enough to dismiss Jefferson as someone for whom history has inflated their reputation, but he was a man of his time and was subject to the cultural beliefs of that time.In truth, Jefferson was instrumental in the America of today, the America that values equality and liberty and freedom. Jefferson’s actions and philosophy shaped the  ideals  of America. In fact, for America to revisit the teachings of Jefferson might be wise. In conclusion, Thomas Jefferson should be taught in English classes. Jefferson is important to American history and shaped our country. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York City: Macmillan L ibrary Reference, 2008. Print. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Print. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. Annotated Bibliography Beran, Michael Knox. Jefferson’s Semons: Portrait of a Restless Mind. New York City: Free Press, 2003. Print. From this source, I got information about Thomas Jefferson’s education and about his life after becoming a president. I used this information in my biography essay and cited in twice. I found this book to be very helpful and it provided a vast amount of information. Bernstein, R. B. Thomas Jefferson. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Print. From this book, I got information about Thomas Jefferson’s work on The Declaration of Independence and on his death.I used this information in both my biography essay and in my persuasive essay. It provided a lot of information that I was able to use and I feel like it was a very reliable source. Skarmeas, Nancy. Thomas Jefferson. Nashville: Ideals Publications Incorporated, 1998. Print. From this book, I got information on Jefferson’s early political letters and writing. This book provided examples of his political letters and details explaining them. I used this information on the Early Writing Career portion of the biography essay. This source was very helpful. Jefferson, Thomas.Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson. New York City: Dover Publications, 2007. Print. From this autobiography, I got information on every aspect of Jefferson’s life. I used this information in all three essays. This source provided the most accurate and reliable information since it was written by Thomas Jefferson himself. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York City: Macmillan Library Reference, 2008. Print. From this online encyclopedia, I obtained information on Jefferson’s early life. I used this information in my biography essay.There was n’t that much information from this source, but what I found was very reliable. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson. † The Biography Channel Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 17 May. 2009. From this source, I found a lot of information on Thomas Jefferson’s early life and his writing of The Declaration of Independence. I used this information in all three essays. This source offered a lot of information that I didn’t find anywhere else. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 7 September. 1993. From this source, I got information of Thomas Jefferson’s death.I used this information in my biography essay. This source offered very little information. â€Å"Reasons for the Declaration. † History King. n. p. n. d. Web. 14 March. 1999. This source offered information about why The Declaration of Independence was written. I found use of this source in all three of my essays. This source offered a lot of detailed a lot of d etailed information. It was a very reliable source. â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † America’s Library. n. p. n. d. Web. 24 April. 2000. This source offered information about the Declaration of Independence.I used the information from this source on the literary interpretation and biography essays. This source offered very straight forward facts and information that I found to be quite helpful. â€Å"Jefferson – Hemings. † Monticello Online. n. p. n. d. Web. 4 August. 1993. This source gave me information about Thomas Jefferson’s affair with slave-girl Sally Hemings. I used this information on my biography essay when I talked about the affair. This source had the most information about the affair. I found this source to be very useful. Jefferson, Thomas. â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† The American Experience. New York City:Prentice Hall, 2002. Print. This source is what I did my literary interpretation on. I found it to be very easy to interpret and it also provided some information that I could’ve used in my persuasive essay. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson Family Cemetery. † Carol House Online. n. p. n. d. 17 February. 2007. This source is where I got the cemetery picture from. All I got from this source was the picture. It was a good source. â€Å"Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government. † Faculty Online. n. p. n. d. 7 May. 1996. This source is where I got the cover picture from. All I got from this source was the picture. It was a good source.

Liz Claiborne Inc. and its Portfolio of Brands

Liz Claiborne Inc. and its Portfolio of Brands Driving Forces: Liz Claiborne, Inc. Liz Claiborne is a name popular in the apparel and fashion business. The brand speaks for itself. Its growth has been unprecedented that can be attributed to several factors. The firm has a different type of business strategy: it manufactures products through subcontracting companies throughout the world. Claiborne’s managers occupy two buildings in New York while their workers are working in factories in more than thirty countries worldwide. But there is more to this that has attributed to the firm’s successes in the past.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Liz Claiborne Inc. and its Portfolio of Brands specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More During World War II, Liz Claiborne fled the Nazis to study art and to start a career in the apparel and fashion industry. Her special design was for the American working women so they could have an alternative to the traditional dark tai lored suits. She introduced a classic style for women that would last for years with a price that is not exorbitant. (Siggelkow 55) Liz Claiborne had the urge and the motivation. While working in a company that manufactured sportswear, she thought she could do more. It was not only sportswear that she had in mind, it was something formal that the ordinary American woman could wear, be comfortable of her clothing and be proud about it. She worked for her dream, i.e. to make a powerful brand that would empower the working, professional women who are left with no other choice but to wear the traditional dresses not fit for the modern American woman. An initial driving force of Liz Claiborne was the emerging demographic at the time she founded her company; this was the working women of America. In 1960, there was an estimated 21.9 million American women working in different industries. This was an ever growing working class because by the 1990s, it grew to 53.5 million, an equivalent of 45 percent of the working class of America. (Siggelkow 54) Ms. Claiborne had noted the lack of choice the working American woman had at that time when it came to career clothing. The young Liz was then a designer of women’s sportswear in a company known as ‘Youth Guild’. She knew that the market segment of the working American women was growing and that she had to grab the opportunity because she felt she had a role to play with respect to fashion and apparel for American women. When ‘Youth Guild’ closed down, Ms. Claiborne saw a greater opportunity.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Along with her husband Arthur Ortenberg, who was also involved in the apparel industry as a consultant, Liz Claiborne opened up a company to design apparel for the professional women of America. (Siggelkow 54) She wanted to save the American women from being too traditional through their clothing and formal wear. She knew she could do something. By her creative design and experience she started the Liz Claiborne Lines, providing the women of her time a casual but unique American wear. Claiborne products also include fragrance products. Now, Liz Claiborne brands are for high-end fashion apparel that includes the moderate fashion apparel for women of all ages and nationalities. Claiborne’s strategy all through the years has been subcontracting. Her style was to go to different countries, particularly in Asia, provide workshops and do presentations for her new designs and fashion, then go back to her headquarters in New York. The companies she worked with knew her strategy and so they offered their expertise for her designs. (Siggelkow 55) Liz Claiborne is a global organization. It is global not only in the sense that it operates internationally but also it is working under certain circumstances, and this includes the structure, th e motivation, the market, and so forth. In the age of globalization and high-technology, Liz Claiborne’s strategy has become effective. Distance is no longer a problem because of the popularity of the Internet. Claiborne’s designers and managers do not need to go to other countries to demonstrate and instruct their subcontracting companies on how to follow their designs. They can use the Internet and teleconferencing to do it. It can use screen-based activities. Features of the Internet provide interactive methods or networks. There are many opportunities and realities the world has offered because of globalization. Transportation has been revolutionized allowing people to travel faster than the speed of sound. Technology is the powerful force that now drives the world toward a converging commonality. Outsourcing has become a trend in the age of globalization. With countries like China and India and the rest of the Asian countries now offering cheap labor, global firms can outsource their production that are labor-intensive. Global companies can utilize the services of outsourcing companies which offer cheap labor. Their costs are relatively low. Liz Claiborne has tapped the emerging market and the cheap labor that could also facilitate an effective supply chain.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Liz Claiborne Inc. and its Portfolio of Brands specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is what the firm has been doing. In the beginning, Liz Claiborne and her husband would personally go to Asian countries, particularly Taiwan and Hong Kong, to demonstrate and instruct the employees of subcontracting companies on their designs. But this is now easily done. There is no need of personally going to those places where subcontracting is being done. The Internet and teleconferencing can provide the necessary tool for two parties to interact and communicate. Globalization has become phenomenal du e to the high-technology tools that have sprung these past decades. ‘We have become globalized’ means we can now connect and conduct business with the rest of the world so easily. With just a computer with internet connection, we can connect with anyone around the world that has an Internet connection. Any sort of business can be benefited with Internet applications. ‘Globalization is happening, faster and faster. But it is far from complete, and far from inevitable. Globalization can disrupt, but it can also empower. What does it all mean, for real people in the real workaday world?’ (Larsson 3) Advancement made in communication and the internet makes it very easy to connect with people in the other side of the globe. The global age is here and will continue to dominate man’s activities – businesses for that matter – for many years ahead, centuries perhaps, with more and more industries emerging everyday as a result of new tools, innov ations, and inventions made by man. Because of these advances, changes, innovations, or development, and new industries are formed. Liz Claiborne has international-based brands. These brands are for retail outlets but they also have MEXX, which has become an international name. They have partnered brands which are for men and women. Liz Claiborne brands also include Dana Buchman, Kensie, Monet, and many more. But the strategy has evolved; they have retails for domestic and international markets. Since Claiborne is a global organization, it licenses third parties to provide cost-effective utilization and sale of Claiborne products. (Liz Claiborne Inc. – Company Overview) Another driving force for Liz Claiborne is its philanthropic activities. Liz Claiborne believes that one way of continuous successes in the corporate world is to give back. By this, Liz Claiborne formed the Liz Claiborne Foundation, a vehicle of Claiborne’s corporate social responsibility (CSR). Claibor ne has close contact with the communities they have businesses with and the various civic organizations for partnerships. Their primary focus is on women who are victims of domestic violence. (Liz Claiborne Inc. – Philanthropic Programs)Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Managers can drive forces either up or down. This happened to Liz Claiborne. There were low sides in business for Liz Claiborne. In 1992, problems started to surface. Its sales were down and market capitalization went down fast at $1.3 billion by the closing period of 1994. A series of strategies in operations and marketing, implemented by the new CEO Paul Charron enabled Liz Claiborne to rise again. The company’s capitalization went up to $3.2 billion. (Siggelkow 54) Organizational performance is responsible for this trend. The managerial capabilities of Claiborne were responsible for the downward trend of the sales and its losses in the stock market. The top management team (TMT) of Claiborne that could have identified opportunities was a driving force for the firm to lose those opportunities. The opportunities are internal and external factors. (Kor and Mahoney, 2000; Bosch and Wijk, 2001 as qtd. in Chen 1) Knowledge and expertise of the managers failed to identify the fac tors that could have maintained Liz Claiborne’s lead in the apparel and fashion industry. And when the company changed the CEO, there was sudden upturn in the sales of the firm, including the price of its share. This was because the new CEO, Paul Charron, instituted drastic operational and marketing reforms. Key Success Factors Designing and marketing are two of Claiborne’s specialized techniques in business. Their premium brands include Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand, and more. JC Penney has the sole right of manufacturing and distribution of some of the department store-based brands. Liz Claiborne was accompanied by her husband and two other partners Leonard Boxer and Jerome Chazen when they started the fashion apparel company that later became a multi-billion dollar business. (Liz Claiborne Company Heritage) Originality and innovations are some of Liz Claiborne’s success factors. She was a designer by birth and her quest to help women like her made her a true des igner for the professional women. Liz Claiborne is said to be the inventor of â€Å"imported fashion merchandise†. She imported the products she designed (Collins 106). While the rest of her competitors were working under one roof, or that their workers and managers were working in one building and one factory. Claiborne perfected the concept of subcontracting to different factories in Asia and the rest of the world. Subcontracting has become a trend because of Liz Claiborne’s successes. Prices were low despite the fact that they were considered designer level. These were compatible with Calvin Klein and Bill Blass, but still affordable for the professional women. Another success factor is Claiborne’s ethical standards which are said to be the backbone of a successful organization. This is what Claiborne aimed to do. Their ethical standards are guided by the virtues of honesty, integrity and their accountability to the people. Because of this, they have gained r espect from their customers and partners. (Liz Claiborne Inc.: A Portfolio of Brands) The strategy of selling is also one of a kind. Claiborne’s first strategy focused on selling via large department stores. In the United States and Canada, Claiborne accounted for about 9,500 locations filled with products on apparel and fashion. This was aided by four of the largest department stores, namely Dillard’s, May, Macy’s and one which was composed of several stores, Federated Department Stores. Liz Claiborne introduced a presentation format unique from other fashion designer companies. They used what Liz Claiborne called â€Å"Claiboards† and â€Å"Lizmap diagrams†. These presentation materials contained sketches and pictures including notes and instructions on how their products should be presented to the public. The pieces of merchandise were grouped together and each group had its own name or label. Claiborne’s strategy is to sell their product s as a collection rather than ordinary clothing or apparel. Presenting their merchandize as a collection is an effective way of selling to a great number of loyal customers. (Siggelkow 56) According to the Liz Claiborne website, department stores used to have a classification-oriented style of selling. This means pants were sold in one section of the store, skirts in another area, and shirts are also separately sold in another department. This provided difficulty to women in that when they would try to assemble an outfit, they would have to transfer from one place to another in the department store. In order to solve this problem, Liz Claiborne Inc. managers talked it out with department owners and retailers on the way the different sportswear collection would be presented. They should be in one location. (Liz Claiborne Inc.: Company Heritage) Consultants travelled to many places to ensure that Claiborne’s products were arranged and presented to the public correctly. For all these stores, a special space was provided to present the entire Claiborne collection. The presentation of the merchandize proved effective as many provided positive feedback. (Siggelkow 56) Among Claiborne’s strategic innovations is the use of technology in its processes. The company website is a 24/7 interactive method wherein customers can make suggestions and also air their complaints. Claiborne also uses technology in their design of products. They use computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) in the design of apparel and fashion products. This is one of the productive means of the company, the use of computers. Speed in manufacturing and quality of products are one of the benefits of using CAM. Other large and successful companies in different industries also use CAM. Another computer method used in making designs is computer-aided design (CAD). Integrating these two concepts – CAM and CAD – allow for more speed, accuracy and quality of the design. Combining CAM and CAD provides ways for a new process known as computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). CIM enables manufacturers to design the product and to control the machinery that makes the products. (Pride et al. 288) Claiborne is also affected by the growing tide of globalization. It is a knowledge-based organization, and its workforce is composed of a pool of talented and expert designers. Claiborne has invested on its employees. The company also aims for customer satisfaction and loyalty; its products and services are quality-oriented. The company sees to it that the company adheres to quality management and best practice. Their strategy is customer-driven, a success factor effective up to today. Claiborne aims for talents and customer’s focus and loyalty and also sees the importance of focusing on their employees because they see the relation between contented employees and contented customers. Satisfied employees result in satisfied customers. Meeting the customer’s need s and wants is a business trend in the age of globalization. Liz Claiborne aims for customer loyalty while keeping cost of production low. This is shooting two birds in one shot but difficult to achieve; difficult because meeting the customer’s needs and wants at the same time minimizing cost of production do not ensure quality product or service. Claiborne focuses on quality in design. Most of the companies nowadays, particular the global ones, prefer standardized products which can be manufactured by outsourcing companies from China, in order to minimize production costs and the flow of supply chain. The apparel industry is labor-intensive; its process of manufacturing requires the services of more people, which is unlike other manufacturing processes where they use machines and robots to manufacture the products. Claiborne’s strategy of subcontracting may be similar to outsourcing strategy. It has been proven effective. Liz Claiborne does not own factories where the y can produce quality apparel. Claiborne’s strategy has long been introduced since its inception as a global company. Products are produced by companies throughout the world. But quality is not sacrificed. They have their own quality control checked by their own managers. (Collins 104) Application of Information Technology Customer interaction is now enhanced by technology and the Internet or the World Wide Web. Customers can ask questions or complain through company websites or through emails. Modern information technology used in supply chain includes Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) which is the information transmission backbone of manufacturing companies and supply interfaces. The popularity of the Internet has led to the introduction of Internet-based EDI. Another important factor that brought success to Liz Claiborne is its application of knowledge management. Knowledge management has made it successfully handle the cost, quality and the different improvements for the organization and its branches overseas. Knowledge management is significant to Claiborne’s global operations and in the study of innovations and adoption. When we say knowledge, we usually understand this to mean theoretical knowledge or practical knowledge, but it also includes experience and skills. In the age of globalization, knowledge is both a product and resource. Knowledge and knowledge management are significant developments in the new globalizing environment. Competitive advantage among organizations is more pronounced with the knowledge people possessed, or what is termed, ‘people-embodied knowhow’ (Rodriguez and de Pablos, 2002, p. 174). Firms are focusing on what their people know, and invest much on intellectual capital. More success factors are attributed to the right fashion they have introduced to the public. From the firm’s initial demographic of the professional women of America, Liz Claiborne has introduced almost any brand for men and women; thus the brand â€Å"Claiborne† (for no gender) has stayed for men and women’s clothing. Their fashion styles introduced to the public are long lasting. Claiborne has a strong brand that they could boast of. These brands have their own particular niche focus. The firm also has a decentralized form of management with departments and units making their own decisions. These decisions are automatically carried out with speed and accuracy. (Scribd.com) Competencies Brands are a name that cannot be taken away by competitors. Sometimes, it’s the brand that competitors are trying to beat and not the product, although the brand speaks for the products. Claiborne has multiple quality brands like Kensie, Kensiegirl, DKNY, etc. These brands are international names and they compete with well known other brands like Zara of Inditex and Hennes and Maurits (HM), etc. Added to the brands were the so-called apparel seasons to meet customer demands and taste. Liz Claiborne was concerned with the buying patterns of customers in order to guide their production processes. Other companies in other industries usually do this particular in-house survey to determine customer demands and loyalty. Some of these companies come from the automotive industry, like for example Yamaha, Honda or Toyota. (Bower and Hout 49) Liz Claiborne opened retail stores aside from going wholesale and selling their products through exclusive contracts with department stores. In 2006, Liz Claiborne competed with other retail stores like Apple, Bose, and Nine West, to find ways to test customer loyalty and following. The stores boasted the company’s exposure to their customers, not only on the market segment that the company serves. (Anderson) In 2008, Liz Claiborne Inc. granted license to Elizabeth Arden, Inc. for the latter to manufacture, sell and distribute Claiborne fragrance products. These fragrance products include JuicyCouture, Usher, Mambo and other fragrances. (Eli zabeth Arden, Inc.) E. Scott Beattie, the CEO and Chairman of Elizabeth Arden, Inc. said that the licensing agreement was a strategic move for both firms that could also bring competitive advantage on their respective companies. The alliance also brought benefits such as improved market share and more profits for Arden in their American fragrance stores; improved supply chain and a wider organizational perspective; increased customer and more sales from a wider audience. Growth in earnings and sales for the company was expected by 2009. (Elizabeth Arden, Inc.) The licensing agreement was made effective with some conditions such as the fulfillment of the requirements of the law known as the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. (Elizabeth Arden, Inc.) Elizabeth Arden, Inc. was founded by Miss Elizabeth Arden in 1919, with specialty in beauty products. Like Liz Claiborne, its mission was to initially ‘serve’ the American woman and it first focused on this particular market segment. Through the years, its strategy has been for continuous innovations. They have tapped other market segments aside from the women demographic. (Elizabeth Arden) Many of Claiborne’s brands have been carried or sold by big department stores. But department stores nationwide suffered a setback; many of them are not earning that big anymore probably because of the recent economic downturn. The once popular and big chains of department stores have been closed. One chain, the Marshall Field, had been changed to Macy’s. Claiborne lost a bit of its popularity. (Boone and Kurtz 376) Liz Claiborne had to part ways with some of the big department stores that sold its products for years. Claiborne is now exclusively contracted by JC Penny to sell its men’s, women’s and other product lines for ten years. In short, Claiborne moved from Macy’s to have an exclusive contract with JC Penny and no other department store shall have the opport unity to sell Claiborne products. Under this agreement, JC Penny also has the exclusive right – if it wants to – to buy Claiborne products in five years. The arrangement also states that Claiborne will continue to be designer of the apparel and fashion products and JC Penney will do all the other responsibilities like production and marketing, procurement of raw materials and promotion and distribution of the finished products to end users. (Boone and Kurtz 376) JC Penney had in the past demonstrated that it could successfully market Claiborne products. With respect to Claiborne subcontracting style, Claiborne developed a special bond with apparel suppliers in Asia. In Hong Kong, the company Fang Brothers made their factories available for Claiborne. Fang Brothers was a growing company in the 1960s until it expanded to other countries like Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. It also expanded to Panama and Ireland. The Fang Brothers was good at the strategy known as â€Å"triangle manufacturing†. In this particular strategy, U.S. companies and other importers would place their apparel orders through companies, for example Fang Brothers who, because of over capacity, would place the same orders to affiliate factories located in other Asian countries that offered lower cost of production. (Collins 108) In Europe, Liz Claiborne’s competitors include Zara and Hennes and Mauritz (HM). Zara and HM are said to be low-cost competitors. Liz Claiborne goes for quality although its prices are not so exorbitant. Zara and HM have been expanding to markets of the same segment. (Ryans 4) Zara is owned by Inditex and is into the international apparel market and fashion, which are customer-driven markets. It is continuously growing and said to be leading in Europe. Following closely is Hennes and Mauritz (HM) which outsources most of its products at lower cost. Like Liz Claiborne, Zara is quality-oriented. It produces 60% of its products and intr oduces quality management. Unlike HM, Zara ensures that its customers are satisfied and hopes to come back to buy more of its products. Zara is more liquid but, like the rest of international firms, is affected by the growing tide of globalization. It is a knowledge-based organization, and its workforce is composed of a pool of talented and expert individuals. Inditex, Zara’s mother company, sees to it that the company adheres to quality management and best practice. The company’s financial standing is as healthy as ever. (Inditex) Zara and HM have been closed competitors of Liz Claiborne, quite a feat for the two since Liz Claiborne is more of a traditional and considered â€Å"higher end manufacture† in the industry, while the two are considered low-cost. They however have been expanding and their financial standings are also considered healthy. To solve the problem of competition, Zara and HM have used high-profile endorsers such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue. (Ryans 15) This also challenged the firm of Liz Claiborne. In responding to the challenge of competitors on low prices, Liz Claiborne also had to act or she could lose some of her following and some profits. Claiborne used the same strategy by producing apparel and fashion products of low cost, something very affordable to the working women. Talking of globalization, this has affected even the smallest firm. But it has worked in Liz Claiborne’s advantage. Liz Claiborne manages a pool of expert managers but not an entire workforce. Production line is handled by subcontracting firms. Claiborne goes to a country and instructs supervisors of firms doing the production. It has only to make sure that the design is being followed to the smallest detail. After that, the Claiborne and her managers go home to their headquarters. Globalization has modernized the concept of human resource. International HRM explores how global organizations manage the demands of ensuring that the organi zation has an international coherence and cost-effective approach to the way it manages its people in all the countries it covers, while at the same time ensuring that it is responsive to the differences in assumptions and in what works from one location to another. This is very relevant to managing an organization of different culture. There are countless other issues that have to be addressed by the assigned senior manager and staffs. Claiborne’s managers do not manage a workforce in a factory setting. They just have to present their design and go home to their headquarters. Finished products are presented to them. And finances would be taken care of by their people on a contractual basis. Although this strategy of Claiborne’s is not new, it has been perfected by the firm. Distinct Competitive Advantages Claiborne’s strategy is marketing orientated which requires that a number of changes takes place in the organization, in practices and in attitudes. Implement ing the marketing concept requires more than paying lip service to the ideas inherent in the concept. Behavioral sciences can lead to an understanding of buyer behavior. Liz Claiborne saw the opportunity when she founded the company, along with her husband and a few trusted friends in the apparel and fashion industry. She knew the business and how to run it. She had discovered her niche and her market segment, capitalizing on the gender she was most acquainted with and her creativity and experience. Liz Claiborne knew what to sell and to whom. She analyzed the future of the company and the market she was in. In doing this, a company can shift focus to analyzing what the future holds with the customer. This may include determining if the customer may still want to deal with the company, or buy products from the company or shift to other competitors. The information on customer satisfaction is vital in the improvement and enhancement of the product. This information and data can be li nked back to the manufacturer for further quality enhancement. Liz Claiborne became aware of this when the firm attained competitive advantage. Competitive advantage became more visible when in the year 1999. Liz Claiborne produced more than 120 million pieces of clothing from 256 factories around the world that supplied these products (Collins 105). Liz Claiborne had used this strategy since the 1970s and has come to perfect it with ease and accuracy to make the firm ahead of the competition. ‘Strategic competitiveness is achieved when a firm successfully formulates and implements a value-creating strategy.’ (Hitt et al. 4) This value creating strategy was attained even during Liz Claiborne’s early years as a firm producing apparel and fashion products. It gradually grew and came to its height of corporate success. In 1976, Liz Claiborne started with a capital of $250,000. It was a small capitalization that became big. Five years later, it went public and earned revenues of up to $116 million, becoming a part of the Fortune 500 list. This was a feat by a woman at that time. Fortune also said that Liz Claiborne had become the top earner with respect to the year-end equity in the 1980s. Then in 1991, Liz Claiborne earned more than $2 billion with its shares of stock rising. An investor who bought $10,000 worth of shares from Liz Claiborne was assured of a profit for investment of up to $610,000 (Siggelkow 54). In 1996, Claiborne’s profit reached $155.7 million, even surpassing Wall Street’s prediction (Kernaghan 36). Claiborne’s top management was successful at the beginning, although later it experienced rough sailing. They effectively used strategic management by focusing on the capabilities of their human resource, designers and managers who were properly screened, tested and trained. A successful strategic management allows for competitive advantage or edge for the organization. In strategic HRM, strategies and peopl e are involved; in other words, the firm was putting people together, including their talents, skills and capabilities, to make the business successful. The concept of strategic HRM is based on the important part of the HRM philosophy that emphasizes the strategic nature of HRM and the need to integrate human resource strategy with the business strategy (Armstrong, 2000, p. 6). The top management team (TMT) failed to deliver the necessary managerial capabilities to its senior and medium-level managers that forced Claiborne’s sales and stocks to go down. The top management team which is responsible for the managerial capabilities of Claiborne failed in their strategic management. When the firm replaced the CEO with a new one, Paul Charron, who instituted reforms, the sales and stocks rose. Moreover, Claiborne’s supply chain also adds to its competitive advantage. The firm has focused on quality, least cost, and effective utilization of the resources to provide the goods and services to the end users at the shortest possible time. Supply chain management is traditionally focused on least-cost transaction, but the new trend in business-to-business transaction is long-term relationship. Claiborne’s subcontracting firms are from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries in Asia. Claiborne maintains a good relationship with these firms, assuring the conditions for a safe and fast delivery of products to the end users. This strategy can test the customers and consumers. The question that is always in the mind of the marketing manager is: â€Å"will the customer come back?† One significant strategy in meeting the needs and wants of customers is introducing an approach to supply chain that aims back at the customer. Satisfying their needs and wants is always a challenge to marketers. Knowing the customers’ needs have become a foundation for which a company is founded. Customer focus is vital to supply chain. The customer wants to be under stood, and the marketer can interpret this by answering what he/she wants of the product. The information can be inputted back to the customer for enhancement of the product. If it is service-oriented, the company has to modify the service. Supply chain has to be continually improved in order to attain customer satisfaction and loyalty, while customer focus can reflect satisfaction and loyalty. An excellent supply chain management can attain customer satisfaction; at the same time, customer satisfaction may lead to loyalty, although satisfaction does not necessarily lead to loyalty. Before loyalty can be attained, customer closeness is crucial; meaning some activities have to be geared towards contacting the customer in order to acquire more data and information about the product, and how the customer reacts to the product, including suggestions for improvement. Acquiring more profits, which is one of the major goals of companies, seems to be not a sure goal. It is also one of the d ifficult objectives to achieve. There are more and more products being manufactured but there are fewer customers who buy these products. Companies, or global business and organizations, have to find their segments and customers because they have more products to sell. There is a surplus of products and less customers. In other words, organizations around the world compete to gain more customers, and one way of gaining more customers is to win their trust, answer and meet their needs and wants, and make sure that they come back. It is not enough that they buy the company’s products; it is important that they come back; this is loyalty. Supply chain is an important factor to consider in attaining customer satisfaction. When a product is being bought by a customer, it must be delivered quickly, with ease and comfort of delivery, and must have the desired quality that the customer asks for. Subcontracting has assured Liz Claiborne of an effective supply chain. The firm sees to i t that their designs are followed and manufactured on time. Marketing however has been changed every now and then to answer the demands of the changing times. As stated in the section for ‘Competencies’, Liz Claiborne entered an agreement with Elizabeth Arden, Inc. for the manufacture and sales of Claiborne fragrance products. This is one way of creating a fast and effective supply chain. Elizabeth Arden, Inc. is a former competitor that has turned into an ally and promoter of Claiborne products. Claiborne products are manufactured by manufacturing companies through subcontracting and now delivered exclusively by JC Penney. JC Penney has acquired exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Claiborne products. JC Penney can provide an effective supply chain for Claiborne products. Innovations and changes are continuously introduced into Claiborne’s strategies. This is to answer organizational and customer needs. An example is Claiborne’s introduction of what t hey call â€Å"fashion moderates†, from branded and costly fashion apparel to â€Å"fashion moderates†. The price has been lowered to meet customer demands and expectations. (Collins 104) The company also emphasizes diversity in the organization and in the workplace. The strategy is to emphasize inclusion that should be a part of the organizational culture and cultural fabric. Inclusion is synonymous with diversity. It allows a collection of ideas and concepts to help in everyone’s advancement and the organization’s. Training and development are a part of this so-called cultural fabric. (Liz Claiborne, Inc.: Diversity) The firm also emphasizes inclusion to its various suppliers and associates. 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