ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
When a merger takes place, two or more firms usually combine their operations and run as a single business entity. In other words, one firm ceases to exist while another one survives. On the other hand, when one business organization assumes the controlling interest of another organization, it is referred to as an acquisition. Why did the acquirer buy and why did the acquired sell? Skype was sold to Microsoft in 2011 because it had not reached an attractive profitability level. Microsoft bought the VoIP Company because it had better prospects of growth. Secondly, Microsoft acquired Skype so that it could be in a position to avoid taxation in the United States ( [email protected] 2013, p.1). When multinationals earn profit outside the United States, they are not obliged to pay taxes. However, they are liable to taxation if such profits are repatriated back to the country. What are the strategic rationales? Increasing the users of Skype to one billion daily was one of the strategic rationales of Microsoft when it acquired Skype. This would boost the profitability of the new business division. Secondly and as already mentioned, the acquisition of Skype would enable Microsoft to legally evade tax in the domestic market. Microsoft is also planning to incorporate Kinect into Lync (DePamphilis 2008, p.1). This will boost the experience of users in the virtual world and therefore increase the profitability of the new acquisition. In addition, over 8 million Skype users are charged for the services by the service. Hence, it is a more profitable platform than windows live messenger at Microsoft. Are they industry- and/or firm-specific? The acquisition of Skype by Microsoft is largely firm-specific because it involves one company buying the assets and liabilities of another one. How was the merger/acquisition financed? The acquisition was completely financed by Microsoft from the foreign profits reserves. Since foreign profits are not taxed (unless repatriated back to the country) according to the US taxation laws, it was easy for Microsoft to use this reserve to finance the $8.5 billion budget (Jilani 2013, p.1)
Introduction Customers are the backbone of every thriving business. Improving customer experience has a direct positive impact on the growth of any business. The idea secret behind the success of firms lies in the ability to enhance customer experiences. Therefore, business affiliates should embrace existing technology to enhance the operations of the business and maximize their returns through improved customer relations. This paper gives a synopsis of the article and comments on the authors’ views on customer experience. Article Synopsis Customer Experience as an Entity Lemon and Verhoef argue that “what people really desire are not products but satisfying experiences” (2016, p. 70). This is a true affirmation because customers are keen on their expenditure. Most often, what matters is the experience and pleasure derived from the goods and services purchased. The authors also think that the holistic experiences of a customer with the business affect their social and spiritual responses as well as sensory elements and hence have an effect on all interactions between the customer and the business. However, many scholars think that customer experience is a multidimensional concept that entails cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and sensorial components. The authors do not fully subscribe to this idea but have a divergent view that customers’ ideas are mainly affected by specific attributes of the goods or services, for instance, technology and brand. This notion, however, may not be true since many customers may not be conversant with these attributes. Instead, other factors such as the economic state and availability of the products may affect the customer experience. The Progress of Customer Experience The authors have reviewed the roots of customer experience since the 1960s and reveal various models and theories that have been used to explain customer experience. The roots discussed in the paper have gone through seven generations and considered factors such as the customers’ buying behavior, process models, customer satisfaction, loyalty, service quality, relationship marketing, customer relationship management, customer centricity, customer focus, and customer engagement (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). The latest development is customer engagement, which involves recognizing the role of the customer in the experience. I support this model because it attempts to centralize the customers’ role in the overall experience. Experience as a Discrete Concept The authors summarize the customer’s journey and experience into three processes: pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. Pre-purchase involves the customer’s initial interaction with the product, whereas purchase covers all exchanges during business transactions. On the other hand, the post-purchase journey entails actions following the purchase, for example, consumption of the product. The dynamics of events that transpire during the three processes define the final destiny of the customer. The authors are skeptical of such events, and they believe that technology has changed the customer experience construct. The idea th
One of the most tragic events in world history, WWII still makes people ponder over the political and economical motifs of the Axis powers. Although nowadays it seems impossible that the Axis Powers could win, such a result was quite plausible in the distant 1939-1945. In spite of the fact that justice finally triumphed over the Nazis, it would still be reasonable to consider what would have happened if the Axis Powers had won and whether it was possible at all. Since the results of the war often depend mostly on the techniques used in the course of battles, it would be a good idea to evaluate the technical potential of Germany in 1939-1945, as the center of the Axis Powers. According to what Black says, Germany had a plethora of advantages compared to the Allies’ army at the beginning of the war – the chances to capture the entire world were quite high, which means that only the swift and fearless actions of the Allies could stop the Nazi army. Thus, Black claimed, Initially, the German and Japanese air forces held both qualitative and quantitative advantages over their adversaries, particularly the smaller powers confronting them, such as Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, and Greece. [1] Therefore, it must be admitted that the German army had all chances to capture the army of the Allies at the very beginning of WWII, due to the grandeur and the force of the German armor and equipment. It is also worth mentioning that, geographically, the Axis Powers were in a winning condition as well. Since the countries which they were going to capture were, on the one hand, of rather small warfare potential, and, on the other hand, did not expect Germany to start the war, the Nazi army had an opportunity to win. Taking into consideration the economic and diplomatic aspects of the warfare, one can see clearly that Germany faced certain problems at this point. Despite the effective idea of taking the countries out of sudden, the war took much more time than it had been expected, which must have upset the Axis Powers’ plan. It must be mentioned that, basing the economics and the warfare on the idea of the New Order, the German Nazi created a foundation for perfect army. Indeed, with the strategy based on the economical and political calculations, it was highly possible that the German army could win. As Dear recalls, The New Order was created by diplomacy out of economic need, historical resentment, and military aggression. Propaganda put on it whatever gloss it possessed, while the requirements of the industries of the Third Reich at war helped to give the New Order some kind of cohesion. 1 Therefore, it can be considered that the German army was also at ideological advantage compared to the countries of the Allies. With help of the New Order ideas which served as a set of rules to adhere to, the German army could succeed in their attempts to conquer the world easily. Indeed, inspired by the idea that the entire world must belong to them, the Nazi soldiers were able to crush all
A community health nurse (CHN) serves as a link between healthcare organizations and communities, who work together to achieve the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and increase the awareness of these communities about their health status. These practitioners are specialized in finding an appropriate solution for health issues within a particular group by combining their medical expertise with social skills. This practice has emerged in modern days from the disparity in access to healthcare services, the lack of knowledge, and negligence of disadvantaged communities, and involves a thorough examination of socioeconomic and cultural connotations (“The nurse’s role in community health,” 2017). Therefore, these nurses not only provide necessary healthcare but also work on the elimination of the indirect causes of diseases, educate people on healthy lifestyles, and work with healthcare organizations to alleviate disparities. Community resources are a vital component in the process of improving the health of a population, whether local or global. They allow all stakeholders to achieve a better result for involved sides, increase equity in healthcare, and enable healthcare organizations to establish a connection with people (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). A community health nurse can identify what resources are lacking within the target group, what adverse effects this fact introduces to the population, and how to fix this issue. World Health Organization (2017) states that community health nursing involves “the allocation of resources,” “addressing public issues,” and “group facilitation to build partnerships” (p. 24). Therefore, a CHN can involve religious, charity, and other community-focused organizations in his or her work to achieve more significant results by promoting health via multiple channels and using various sources to reach the target group.
Advertising in Media Every advertisement starts with a client brief, which is the document that verifies the mutual understanding between the company and advertising and specifies the core client’s requirements (King, 2020, Advertising agency). There are three types of media advertising, such as ABL (Above the Line) and BTL (Below the Line), and new media advertising (King, 2020, Advertising in media). Also, there is traditional and digital advertising. I assume that my project refers to BTL advertising since it has the target audience and involves the distribution of promotions and banners placed at the point of sale (store) and the busy places (the metro station). In terms of current Google marketing, Adidas is focused on data and customer insights to develop its branding strategy and “inform the art of storytelling” (Google Marketing Platform, 2018). This emphasizes the importance of the real-time strategy when designing a brand and pushing the outbreak. I also used digital advertising through social media platforms to promote the campaign’s content. Jolly (2020, para. 16) outlined core advertising tactics that can be applied to the Instagram platform. They include a focus on custom audiences and lookalike audiences in case of expanding, application of custom images of real people, irresistible offers, and the crucial role of hashtags. It is a relatively low-cost and easy-to-track way to advertise the campaign that enables reaching a highly targeted audience. To achieve the desired result, there is a variety of advertising techniques that can be applied by advertisers. The techniques that I found most applicable to my campaign include bandwagon advertising (convincing women to join the group of those who are already engaged in sports), endorsements (influential females), complementing the customers
The Ritz-Carlton luxury Hotel Company was opened as a multi-use $ 225 million complex facility in the historic Foggy Bottom district of Washington DC with 162 condominiums having three restaurants with 300 rooms and a1000 square foot sports club. The history of Ritz-Carlton Hotel dates back to 1898 when Cesar Ritz opened the Carlton hotel in London. The hotel changed its name to Ritz-Carlton Hotel after it was purchased by Marriott international in 1987. That left Ritz-Carlton to be a management company administering 38 hotels as a fully owned subsidiary of Marriott international with Millennium partners being one of the businesses managed by the company. Ritz-Carlton’s primary growth strategy was to acquire new management contracts for resorts and hotels worldwide. Ritz-Carlton’s sources of income were based on a levy of 3% of a company’s gross revenue and additional revenue was from land rents, franchise fees, profit sharing, and management incentives. Ritz-Carlton’s success was calculated by using the average daily rates and revenue from the available rooms. The management of different companies entered into contracts with Ritz-Carlton property owners at acceptable interest rates that guaranteed high quality services by using highly skilled human resources. High quality was assured by using good quality pro
Macroeconomic Dynamics The effect of the recent financial crisis was felt in mid-2007 and in 2008; as a result, the financial institutions collapsed and others were acquired by other institutions causing a huge crisis in the stock market which drastically fell in large numbers (globalissues.org). The developed countries like the United States came up with bailout policies to rescue their monetary institutions. The financial bubble followed the economic boom and the bubble busted when the United States financial system failed, this led to the collapse of the mortgage market and a turnaround of the home boom in almost all developed nations which caused a wave-like effect around the globe (globalissues.org). Securitization was the 20 th Century innovation; the bank off-loaded the risk from the mortgage owners and they received regular payment. The rating agencies were paid a price to rate the bank’s product leading to interest divergence; this led to more borrowing by the bank which caused even more securitization which eventually triggered the financial crisis (globalissues.org). The housing crisis is over and the negligence issues that caused it have been addressed, at least according to the real estate reports which have been boosting confidence amongst the bankers. In the first quarter of the year 2010 for instance, the prices for many homes on average fell by 46% as a result of foreclosure problems that had crushed home prices (Money.cnn.com). RISMedia.com on May 21, 2011, reported that based on their closing and opening home prices contract information from its businesses and brokerage operations, it expected that the adjusted annual seasonal rate of built home auction on a nationwide basis will remain within the range of 5.0 to 5.2 million in April 2011 and May 2011 (RISMedia.com); a clear indication that the worst part of the financial crisis is now over. Microeconomic of real estate industry Houston Texas Houston is an habitant to a gigantic 24 Fortune 500 head offices which surpasses even those found in New York. In the last decade, 1.23 million people were added to the population statistics of the city, making it the eighth position in terms of population increase (Money.cnn.com). It is also a resident of an “Energy corridor” which employs more than 70,000 people and is the home of Continental Airlines and Sysco (Money.cnn.com). Insurance Insurance over Texas is the company that covers the whole of Texas State; the insurance offers an insurance discount of 20% when purchases of at least 2 policies have been made (Insuranceovertexas.com). These policies are designed to cover disasters that may prevail; the insurance policies include; Houston homeowners insurance, and liability insurance (Insuranceovertexas.com). Property taxes and related fees The housing market and house values are prone to fluctuations but the value
Abstract Testicular cancer is one of the rarest forms of cancer that affects men. It is more prevalent in men aged between 15 and 35 years. It develops in the testicles, and its symptoms include painless lumps or swellings in the testicles, fluid buildup in the scrotum, pain around the groin area, and discomfort in the scrotum. Treatment depends on the severity of the cancer. The most common remedies include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and stem cell transplant. Physicians recommend regular self-examination of the testicles as a preventative measure. Individuals are advised to watch out for abnormal swelling or lumps in the testicles or scrotum. Testicular cancer is a curable disease if diagnosis early. Introduction Testicular cancer is a common disease among men, and develops in the testicles. It mainly affects males between the ages of 15 and 35, and manifests through the occurrence of lumps or swellings in either of the testicles. There are four main types of testicular cancer, namely germ cell testicular cancer, lymphoma, Sertoli cell tumors, and Leydig cell tumors (Govindan, 2008). The disease’s incidence is low and accounts for approximately 1% of all cancer cases in men (Verville & Bozzone, 2009). The most common type is germ testicular cancer and has two subtypes, namely seminomas and non-seminomas. It is a treatable and curable disease. Therefore, early detection and diagnosis is necessary. Nature and Causes The main risk factors for testicular cancer include family history, HIV or Aids, abnormal testicle development, race, age, undescended testicle, hypospadias, fertility problems, vasectomy, testicular injuries, inguinal hernia, and family history (Govindan, 2008). Abnormal development of testicles increases the risk of testicular cancer development. Individuals whose families have histories of this cancer are at high risk. The most affected age group is that of young men between the ages of 15 and 35. Testicular cancer can occur at any age. However, incidence rates among older men are low. Testicular cancer is more prevalent among while men than black men. The development of undescended testicles is known as sryptorchidism (Lin, 2015). This condition involves the failure of scrotum to descend from the abdominal region into the scrotum. Current research has revealed that certain genes could be involved in the development of testicular cancer. In that regard, a history of the disease in a family increases the likelihood of its development in other family members (Verville & Bozzone, 2009). Signs and Symptoms The main symptom of testicular cancer is the occurrence of painless lumps or swelling on both or one of the testicles. The main signs include a feeling of heaviness and a dull ache in the scrotum (Verville & Bozzone, 2009). One scrotum may become harder than the other one or it could appear bigger. In many cases, victims experience a sudden accumulation of fluid in the scrotum, lower back pain, shortness of breath, and swellings on one or both legs (Lin, 2015). In rare cases, breasts become tender or en
The turbulent history of the United States has left its markings on every aspect of people’s lives, so there is little wonder that education, one of the driving forces of civilization, was significantly affected as well. The changes of sociocultural climate and the establishing economy of the state also had its part in influencing the curricular developments as well as other aspects of schooling. Starting from the early 1700s, several key factors have defined the curricular thought. One of the primary concerns with education was the strong dependency on fees. The public education at that time was still on the early stage of development. Several historical figures are credited for the promotion of this concept, with Tomas Jefferson being best known for this. In his work A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge , he has described the system of public education funded through the tax money (Holowchak, 2014). As the economy of the state was not stable enough at that time, the system proposed by Jefferson consisted of three years of free education followed by the opportunity to continue for a fee. This essentially was the first two-track system. Besides solving the economic issue, Jefferson’s bill contained a peculiar detail: the public schools he envisioned were available for both boys and girls. The political scene also influenced the education. In particular, Benjamin Franklin’s vision of perspectives opened by properly trained professionals has resulted in a pamphlet Proposals relating to the education of youth in Pennsylvania . The main point was the benefits emerging from educated young men that the developing country badly needed for governing and leading positions in society (National Humanities Center, n.d.). Franklin was also influential in terms of reshaping the curriculum by shifting its focus from more traditional disciplines like Latin and astronomy to more practical ones, like agriculture, accounting, and modern languages, which, again, were demanded by the times. In this regard, it can be said that he laid the foundation of the contemporary curriculum in 1747. The changes in education in the first half of the nineteenth century were mostly driven by social reform. By this time, public schools were already present in many states of the country, but the conditions and the quality of education they provided were unsatisfactory (Hayes, 2006). Horace Mann, a social reformer and a member of the Senate, has conducted a series of reforms based on his own experience of attending a public school starting from 1835. His reforms expanded the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, which suggested tax funding and a mixed-gender schooling system. He emphasized the importance of teacher training and the availability of the relevant sources of professional information, so he has established the Common School Journal, a periodical for teachers. The Normal Schools, the establishment which trained future teachers and offered scholarly support to existing ones, also emerged thanks in part to his contrib