The Minoan Civilization An Aegean Bronze Age Civilization

The Minoan civilization was an Aegean Bronze Age civilization that was rich with culture, art and architecture. They were so intellectually advanced for their time period, that they have made a significant contribution to the development of the Western European civilization. The Mycenaean civilization flourished in the late Bronze Age. Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were militaristic and more calculating people. They had very specific reasons behind their actions. Both civilizations had differences and similarities in their technology, trade, military, and society. Being in close proximity of other ancient civilizations, both the Minoans and the Mycenaeans learned from others to fortify their own identity as a society. The Minoan civilization developed rapidly during the middle of the Bronze Age in 2000 BCE until 1500 BCE in the island of Crete. The Minoans were a sophisticated culture that had a unique palette in art and architecture. We know from archeological discoveries, that they had complex settlements and structures, but there were no fortifications, suggesting that they were peaceful and harmonious. This harmony carried through to their art giving it literary and mythological essence that questions, who exactly were the Minoans? Their lack of walled citadels, temples, and unclear kings and priests, suggests that there was an absence of male domination in this society. This leads to believe that the females played an important role in the Minoan society. In manyShow MoreRelatedAncient Mediterranean Art Essays1098 Words   |  5 PagesAncient Mediterranean Art I. Description of a Cycladic female figurine Cycladic civilization is divided into three periods: Early Cycladic (3000-2000 BC), Middle Cycladic (2000-1500 BC), and Late Cycladic (1500-1100 BC). The large amount of white marble sculptures located in the Cycladic islands, especially Naxos and Paros, a place exclusively made up of female folded-arm figures. These impressive marbles seem to be a symbol of Cycladic art. These figures are the best-knownRead MoreCauses Of Minoan Civilization993 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Civilization is an important part of people’s live. It develops when the environment of a region can support a large and productive population. Civilization is a social, economic, and political entity distinguished by the ability to express itself through images and written language (H.Sayre, 2011, P.1). Minoan civilization is the first advanced civilization of the prehistoric Aegean region that was developed on a small island of Crete, where Sir Arthur Evans an English archaeologistRead Morehis112 r3 Ancient Civilizations and the Greek World Matrix1457 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿University of Phoenix Material Ancient Civilizations and the Greek World Matrix Complete the matrix by entering cultural, political, and economic developments that had lasting effects or that are significant of each civilization. The table includes one example. Civilization Cultural Developments Political Developments Economic Developments Mesopotamian Developed the beginnings of astronomy and mathematics Believed in many gods not just one. Emergence of Kings, exercised distinct political ratherRead MoreThe Aegean Bronze Age Essay1516 Words   |  7 PagesThe Aegean Bronze age displayed a proliferation of beliefs manifested in social practices, and material culture. Among these practices, the display of idols became substantial in epitomizing social realities. The Minoan civilization, being one of the most momentous urbanization formed during this period, established the use of icons to exemplify their cultural and societal views. Emblems in the form of deities, monstrous creatures, hybrids and composites were prominent, alluding to the ways in whichRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Minoan2114 Words   |  9 Pagesthe Minoans? Well they are considered by many Historians and Archeologists to be the first great European Civilization. Some people believed that this was the mythical land of Atlantis. They were located near the Aegean Sea and lands such as Greece, Troy and Asia Minor. One interesting fact is that these people n ever called themselves the Minoans. There wasn’t any name listed in the history books for these people but the Ancient Crete Civilization. They were known as the Crete Civilization becauseRead MoreThe Minoans and Mycenaeans Essay842 Words   |  4 PagesThe Minoans and Mycenaeans were both from the Greek era. They differentiated quite a bit between each other. While the Minoans were peaceful people, the Mycenaeans were brutal and warlike. These two civilizations help the people of today learn about ancient culture. Although the two places were varied much from one another, the cultures wrote the most understandable historical evidence about themselves. This paper will tell how these close regions compared and contrasted. The Mycenaeans existedRead MoreCollapse of Bronze Age Greece Essay1955 Words   |  8 PagesThe Bronze Age in Greece was a period of time in which their civilization flourished. They were a main power at the time and seemed to have everything they wanted in the palm of their hands. Many other civilizations have a period of time also known as the Bronze Age, however, the bronze age of Greece is widely known to be the most prolific and dominant in history. The Greece Bronze Age is estimated to have lasted from between 8th to 6th century BC to about 146BC. Nobody knows for sure the exactRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between Minos And Mycenaean On The Sea By Trade Essay920 Words   |  4 Pagesimpresses and honor to this masterpiece. The Minoan built an unusual and distinctive type of column. It referred to as an â€Å"inverted column because unlike the later Greek column, it tapers downward, the diameter being smaller at the bottom than at the top. And the columns were m ade of wood rather than stone and were painted bright red. Minoan civilization that developed on the island of Crete around 3000 B.C.E. â€Å"According to later Greek myth, the Minoan civilization was created by an off scoring god ZeusRead MoreGreek Culture : Ancient Greece1688 Words   |  7 Pagesand Bronze Age to the Twentieth century. The Stone Age is the first age in the Greece history, which dates all the way back to 11,000 BC. This age goes all the way until 3,000 BC. The reason that archaeologists call this the Stone Age is because during this time the population started to develop stone tools and basic agriculture skills (history of Greece). Greeka says between 3,500 BC and 3,000 BC larger villages and special organization started to form a high elite group. The next Age is theRead MoreThe Minoan Civilization2030 Words   |  9 PagesHistory Of Architecture Building: Palace Of Minos. Dates: 1700-1400 BC. Time period : Bronze Age. Location: Knossos,Crete. Civilization :The Minoans. In the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, South of Greece, lays the island of Crete refuge of the lost civilization of the minions.The island is first refereed as Kaptara at the Syrian city of Mani dating from 18 000 BC; Also known as Keftiu† from the fresco of the Tomb of Rekhmire in the valley of the kings in Egypt. The islands length is 260 km

MRI Contrast Agents Free Essays

â€Å"MRI contrast is used for a variety of reasons.   Primarily, it is used to improve the detection of disease; that is, to increase sensitivity and diagnostic confidence, to enhance the ability to differentiate normal and abnormal tissue; and to identify the extent of the disease† (Muroff, 2001). Contrast agents are chemical substances used in anatomical or functional imaging for the purpose of increasing visual differences between normal and abnormal tissue. We will write a custom essay sample on MRI Contrast Agents or any similar topic only for you Order Now    These chemical substances are used to alter relaxation times.   Contrast agents are classified by changes in relaxation times after injection. There are six main categories of MRI contrast agents: Gastrointestinal, Intravenous, Intravascular (blood pool), Tumor-specific, and Reticuloendothelial contrast agents. Within the Gastrointestinal contrast agent category, there two subcategories: Positive and Negative contrast agents. Positive contrast agents cause a reduction in T1 relaxation times.   These agents appear brightly on images.   They may contain Manganese, Iron or Gadolinium as active elements. Positive contrast agents have three classifications: Paramagnetic agents, short T1-relaxation agents, and a combination of the two. Paramagnetic contrast agents have magnetic centers which create magnetic fields.   These fields interact with water protons, and have a larger effect on relaxation rates.   They include ferric chloride and gadolinium, which cause T1 and T2 shortening.   In low concentrations, T1 shortening holds the domination of the intensity of the signal.   In high concentrations, T2 shortening causes the signal to decrease.   At mid-level concentration, T1 and T2 shortening show an increase in the signal on T1 weighted images, and decreased the signal on T2 weighted images. Short T1-relaxation agents include mineral oil and oil emulsions.   In these agents, protons relax faster than protons in water, which results in short T1 time.   In bowels with T1 weighted images, a bright signal is apparent. Combinations include emulsion oil that contains corn oil and ferric ammonium citrate, and an emusion containing baby formula with ferrous sulfate.   Combination contrast agents distribute evenly through the bowels. Negative contrast agents will appear largely dark on images.   They are frequently called superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO).   They have shorter T1 and T2 relaxation times. Negative contrast agents have three classifications: diamagnetic agents, superparamagnetic agents, and perfluorochemicals. One readily available diamagnetic contrast agent is barium sulfate suspension.   It reduces the loss of bowel signals, resulting in improved pancreatic visualization. Superparamagnetic contrast agents are generally administered orally.   They include magnelite albumin microspheres and superparamagnetic iron oxide.   A large loss of the signal in the stomach and small bowels that give immense visualization of the pancreas and anterior renal margins.   This contrast agent type â€Å"accumulates in the reticuloendothelial system of the liver, and darkens healthy liver tissue in T2-weighted images† (mr-tip.com). Perfluorochemicals are organic compounds that replace protons with fluorine.   They are a special group of negative contrast agents that appear completely dark on images, because they do not contain hydrogen atoms, which are responsible for the signal in MRIs.   In gastrointestinal imaging, the purpose of perfluorochemicals is to give a complete signal absence in the bowels. Intravenous contrast agents include both ionic and nonionic chelates.   When using paramagnetic metal ions as contrast agents, there is a high level of toxicity in the doses required for imaging.   Chelates reduce the chances of long term toxicity by reducing the toxic levels. Intravascular contrast agents remain in the blood longer than most other contrast agents.   They are highly useful in diagnosis imaging that may require longer imaging times. Tumor-Specific contrast agents are targeted to tumors.   There are four main types of tumor-specific agents: Metalloporphyrins target multiple types of tumors, such as melanomas and lymphomas. Monoclonal antibodies are for specific tumors such as colon carcinomas. Ferrioxamine is a paramagnetic agent used for the kidneys and urinary tract. Nitroxides are also paramagnetic agents, but are not widely used. Reticuloendothelial contrast agents are used in liver, spleen and lymph node MRIs.   In liver and spleen imaging, specific contrast agents are used that target the reticuloendothelial system of the liver and spleen.   Because of the inability of most imagers to differentiate between normal and abnormal lymph nodes, USPIO has become widely used.   USPIO allows imagers to have the ability to differentiate between lymph nodes. â€Å"In cases where it is difficult to differentiate two types of tissue, because the signal intensity they produce is so similar, the solution is to add a contrast agent to one of them in order to distinguish it from the other tissue† (GE Healthcare, 2007).   MRI contrast agents affect hydrogen atoms and the time they take to return to their original state, thereby increasing the signal intensity differences between the tissue with the contrast agent and the tissue without the contrast agent.   This results in an increase of contrasts on the image. References GE Healthcare (accessed January 13, 2007) www.amershamhealth.com/public/medical/mri_3.shtml Medline Plus (revised March 2000) http://mplus.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202770.html MR-Technology (accessed January 13, 2007) www.mr-tip.com Muroff, Lawrence R. (Aug. 2001) â€Å"MRI Contrast: Current Agents and Issues† Applied Radiology Online (vol. 30, No. 8) www.appliedradiology.com Runge, Val M. (Aug. 2001) â€Å"The Safety of MR Contrast Media: A Literature Review† Applied Radiology Online (Vol. 30, No. 8) www.appliedradiology.com How to cite MRI Contrast Agents, Essay examples

Brave New World Essay Example For Students

Brave New World Essay Huxleys Brave New World is definitely new and is something that is difficult for a person living in a 90s world to imagine for it is so very diverse compared to our society and customs today. The odd world and lifestyle that was prophesied by Aldous Huxley in the first half of the 20th century has much of the same basis of customs but they are just performed different ritually in these peoples everyday routines. If anyone from our time and our world were ever to spend any given amount of time in Huxleys world then they would be confused, shunned by society and looked at almost as a savage like John for having such different and â€Å"primitive† ways. This of course would happen to anyone from Huxleys world that infiltrated our world that we know. Its all in ones opinion whether or not Huxleys adjustments for a stable environment are just are not but what can be done is to show a comparison between a world subjected to Huxleys ideas from Brave New World and our reality today. One comparison that can be made and also the most obvious is how people are brought into the world. In Huxleys world there is a complicated hatching process where embryos are monitored and adjusted. This occurs in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center. There are many, many aspects to this process and many different methods used to bring life into the world then what we are accustomed to. Here embryos are kept in jars and processed in several ways and conditioned in such a way that everything about the person can be determined and altered. Once these children are born they are put through several events from day one which help to suit them for the rest of their lives. For example, a type of treatment would occur to a certain group of children with a certain determined destiny and so that they enjoy their occupations and niche in their world no matter what that role may be. The people who work to keep this world stable would not want a child predestined to become a construction worker to ever find curiosity in books and learning; that child would be conditioned to stay away from books and learning by means of bad association with those certain things. The child may be given a book and then shocked so they can affiliate bad memories with studying. All persons produced by the center are subjected to many other types of conditioning processes to fit them perfectly to perform their job in the world such as hypnopaedia which is sleep-teaching. In todays reality two people mate and the woman conceives the child through birth. There is no other method of creating a human being. In our world pregnancy is considered natural and beautiful. Children are brought up very individually and in different ways, usually by families and taught the basics of growing up. Children are educated in school learning all subjects including history which is another aspect of life that is shunned by Huxleys society. The mating part in the ritual of creating life is what brings us to our next comparison, sex. In Huxleys society sex is had hastily and through promiscuity, with many partners. Love is something that is not even imagined in their world. But in reality sex is something precious and is not had without thought and without knowing the person well, actually, this is in most scenarios but it is sad to say that promiscuity does exist to some extent in our world. Love is a very serious thing in reality, even more precious than sex and love does occur often. Symbolism In The Fall Of The House Of Usher EssayHuman reproductive instincts are compromised! This is partially due to the counterbalancing desire for self-fulfillment in humans. Since the State provides to satisfy all sensual pleasures of its citizens, this desire is appeased and therefore enables the suppression of reproductive instincts. Moreover, the State provides nurture, through conditioning, in such a way as to conform all individuals to the ideals of the State. This takes place from the time of fertilization to and throughout adulthood. It guarantees, in most cases, the citizens complete acceptance of every aspect of life. For example, when babies destined for the working-class are exposed to books and flowers, they are also subjected to electric shocks coupled with loud and frightening noises; thus, paired stimuli are used to condition, or predetermine a responds, to an object or experience. As the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning puts it, what man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder. The human species has finally learned to master what its instinct desires. Furthermore, through hypnopaedia, the mind of each individual is filled with suggestions from the State. These suggestions become the thought processes and mold the desires of each citizen. The Director claims that all conditioning aim at making people like their unescapable destiny. Therefore, not only has man conquered nature by developing the ability to categorize the genes of individuals and to maximize the efficiency of the workforce, through conditioning, individuals are also taught to conform to societal values and to enjoy their status in society. If you were an Epsilon, your conditioning would have made you no less thankful that you werent a Beta or an Alpha. Ultimately, one has to wonder whether humans are slaves to genes or slaves to conditioning. In Brave New World, cultural conditioning seems to be the dominating factor in the behavior of individuals. The introduction of the Savage into civilization illuminates the slavery of the seemingly robotic Epsilon workers. In both the book and movie versions, the Savage assaults the Soma-distribution line. He sees that the masses of people are trapped, trapped by their conditioning. They are conditioned to take Soma when agitated, to behave in a certain way as to not disrupt the stability of society, and to conform to the ideals of the State. The Savage asks, but do you like being slaves? Dont you want to be free and men? Dont you even understand what manhood and freedom are? Unfortunately, his audience has no notion of freedom due to their conditioning. They are so deeply entrapped and conditioned to be content in life that freedom has no value and no meaning to them. While Huxley focuses on the sacrifice of individualism in favor of social stability, the movie version of Brave New World addresses the lack of love. This lack of love is not only evident between individuals, but it is also pervasive in the mass attitude toward art, philosophy, and even religion and science. Anyhow, the result of both worlds is the same. Through conditioning or mass propaganda, people are taught to live in universal happiness. Universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty cant. And this happiness, achieved through ingestion of soma and conditioning, leads to social stability. And according to the Controller, in Brave New World, stability is the primal and ultimate need. Men are no longer slaves of genes but are instead conditioned to serve the stability of society. Each person has his/her place, and everyone works for everyone else. While Huxley presents his Brave New World as a hopeless environment lacking love and real happiness, the movie offers a glimpse of hope in its ending: it shows that a young boy voluntarily disconnects his conditioning process. This is done intentionally. There is hope at the end of our story, Mr. Williams, one of the directors said. Throughout the movie, we get screenshots of this young boy frowning, as if he realizes that something is wrong with the world. Moreover, in the ending, his actions leave a provoking statement that suggests a victory over cultural conditioning. It suggests the presence of a stronger force driving the inhabitants of Brave New World to go against their conditioning. This force constitutes the instincts, the desires and behaviors that are programmed into our genes, that is inherent in human beings. Therefore the movie presents a comeback by nature to overcome nurture. The story of Brave New World presents a scary scenario of government control, regulations on reproduction, and a resulting lack of love in society. The battle between nurture and nature takes place. The State represents the nurturing factors that influence the behavior of individuals; the genes that provide the individuals with instinctive behaviors represent nature. While Huxleys Brave New World hails nurture as the ultimate winner, able to suppress all instinctive desires, the movie version proposes that instinctive desires can drive the inhabitants of Brave New World to go against their conditioning. The movie acknowledges the powerful instinctive desires that counter the conditioning of people. However, after examining both versions of Brave New World, one cannot help feeling entrapped by the society that one lives in. Through a careful analysis of both the book and the movie version of Brave New World, it becomes evident that our world is not so different from Brave New World. Society conditioning induces individuals to strive for better careers, more money, and larger properties. Happiness is often derived from the fulfillment of sensual pleasures and the pursuit of a luxurious life. In Brave New World, we are shocked by the amount of influence that social conditioning exerts on individuals. However, who is to say that we are not under similar influences today in our very own world?

Gun Control Essays (1285 words) - Gun Politics In The United States

Gun Control Gun Control Gun control is an action of the government that is supposed to reduce crime. Congress has passed many laws on this subject and there really has not been an effect. Gun control has been a controversial issue for years, but the citizens of the United States have a right to own guns and the Constitution states that. On the government's path to control guns they created the Brady Act. Handgun Control Incorporated is the major organization for lobbying, and introducing legislation on gun control. It is headed by Sarah Brady, wife of former White House Press Secretary James Brady. James Brady was shot during an attempt on President Reagan's life in 1981. Sarah is the one responsible for introducing this bill. This bill was supposed to stop criminals from obtaining guns. If an individual wants a firearm bad enough, chances are they will get one (Brennen and Polsby). All it does Is prevent honest people from being able to purchase guns. The person purchasing the gun has to wait for two week while the government performs a background check. The problem with this is it stops the average citizen from purchasing a gun on the whim, while it protects the common criminal. What if a burglar enters a house with full intention to maim or kill? The innocent victim can not get a gun to protect his family because he was arrested seven years ago for drunk driving (Larson). According to the General Accounting Office, in the first seventeen months of the law's existence only seven criminals were convicted for attempting to buy a handgun. Banning more and more guns may reduce gun violence, but it will not eliminate guns from society and will only lead to more and bigger problems. While continuing to take more freedom away from the American people. Gun control laws do not prevent little kids from using guns and harming people. Violent video games help children with their marksmanship and to get over their fear of shooting someone. Parents of three slain girls in the Heath School shootings are going after the manufacturers. They feel that violent video games are partially responsible for their children's death. They claim that the video game taught the shooter how to be an excellent marksman. The boy had never used a gun, but was skilled enough to hit eight moving targets in only eight shots (Prichard). Another fact that backs up the parent's belief is that of military training. Each year billions of dollars are spent to train police and the military how to shoot. Video simulation is the best way to help overcome the natural resistance that most people have about shooting someone. Studies show that people are extraordinary susceptible to programming. One main difference between military training and video games is that military instructions are constantly pausing the action and where the video game is in constant action (Blakemore). There is no direct relationship between the number of guns and the amount of crime in the United States. Between 1973 and 1992, the rate of gun ownership increased by forty-five percent while the homicide rate during that period fell by nearly ten percent. Even with the increasing number of guns in society the homicide rate decreased, highlighting that guns are not the root of the problem, people are. Guns do not kill people, people kill people. Guns do not work as self-protection against criminals. Guns are just as valuable to civilians as they are to police officers. As many as sixty-five lives are protected by guns for every life lost to a gun. Every year potential victims kill between two thousand and three thousand criminals, and wound an additional nine thousand to seventeen thousand. Private citizens mistakenly kill innocent people only thirty times a year, compared to about three hundred and ten mistaken killings by police. Criminals succeed in taking a gun away from an armed victim less than one percent of the time. Gun control laws are needed to prevent the purchase of saturday night specials and assault weapons. Criminals generally prefer larger caliber and more expensive handguns (Brennen and Polsby). President Clinton proposed a restriction on armor piercing ammo. However, the FBI reported that sixty-eight percent of officers killed were not wearing a vest. Of those killed wearing a vest ninety-five percent were shot in unprotected areas. Many people like to use guns for recreation use. The NRA, National Rifle Association, even has its own hunting magazines. These magazines are

What You Should Know About Ronald Reagans Radio Career

What You Should Know About Ronald Reagan's Radio Career Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. President was many things - including a radio broadcaster. More specifically, he was a sportscaster for several stations between 1932 and 1937 including WOC-AM and WHO-AM. You may not have heard the details, so here are some highlights: WOC - AM 1420 in Davenport was the First commercial radio station west of the Mississippi River and [in 1932] first to hire Ronald Reagan.WOC, needed an announcer to broadcast University of Iowa games. Reagans first assignment - for $5 and bus fare - was the University of Iowas homecoming game against Minnesota. (RonaldReagan.com)After WOC consolidated with WHO in Des Moines...WHO, an NBC affiliate gave Reagan national media exposure. (Reagan.utexas.edu.)  Dutch (a childhood nickname because of his Dutch boy haircut) gained national media exposure recreating Chicago Cubs baseball games from the studio.  One of his responsibilities was to give accounts of Chicago Cubs baseball games via telegraph. During one game between the Cubs and their arch rivals the St. Louis Cardinals that was tied 0-0 in the 9th inning, the telegraph went dead: An often repeated tale of Reagans radio days recounts how he delivered play-by-play broadcasts of Chicago Cubs baseball games he had never seen. Hi s flawless recitations were based solely on telegraph accounts of games in progress. (PBS.org) Once in 1934, during the ninth inning of a Cubs - St. Louis Cardinals game, the wire went dead. Reagan smoothly improvised a fictional play-by-play (in which hitters on both teams gained a superhuman ability to foul off pitches) until the wire was restored. (Wikepedia.org)  Reagan said: â€Å"There were several other stations broadcasting that game and I knew I’d lose my audience if I told them we’d lost our telegraph connections so I took a chance. I had (Billy) Jurges hit another foul. Then I had him foul one that only missed being a home run by a foot. I had him foul one back in the stands and took up some time describing the two lads that got in a fight over the ball. I kept on having him foul balls until I was setting a record for a ballplayer hitting successive foul balls and I was getting more than a little scared. Just then my operator started typing. When he passed me the paper I started to giggle - it said: ‘Jurges popped out on the first ball pitched .’† (intellecualconservative.com)   Did you know that less than six months after President Ronald Reagan left the office he attended an All-Star Game and did some more broadcasting? (BaseballAlmanac.com)  His political career started through the presidency of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He gained political stature through radio broadcasts and speaking tours sponsored by the General Electric company.

Marriage Practices of Chicano Population Research Paper

Marriage Practices of Chicano Population - Research Paper Example The mother in law plays a significant role during the marriage ceremony. Firstly, they help the bride to prepare for the big occasion. Mother in laws is expected to prepare their children for the roles that are expected of them as a mother and wife. Similarly, in Chicano culture, the mother in law is expected to prepare her daughter for her new roles. In addition, they are expected to help them to prepare for the big moment in their lives. A Chicano woman is expected to enter the marriage institution fully aware of expectations and equipped with the necessary skills to be a good wife and mother (ODea 812). Furthermore, they are expected to prepare the big dinners. The Chicano community has a special relationship with food. In the community, food plays a significant role, as the community not only enjoys eating a well-prepared meal but it also serves as a celebration of their culture. The Chicano community is among the closest-knit community in America. The bride is not expected to see the groom before the wedding day. The practice is widespread among all societies in the world. Most people believe that seeing the groom before the wedding would jinx the marriage. As a result, there is a period of separation between the bride and groom before they get married. The liminal phase is represented by the actual wedding day. The Chicano community loves to party. As a result, weddings are an excellent excuse for having a good time. The event is characterized by good music and dancing. The Chicano community has a deep appreciation for music. In addition, the community loves to celebrate the big moments in a person’s life.

Porter's Five Forces Strategy Analysis as it applies to the Auto Essay

Porter's Five Forces Strategy Analysis as it applies to the Auto Industry - Essay Example For international organizations, decisions have to be made on whether the strategies would be the same for every country it competes with as well as giving managers the mandate to choose their own strategies. Functional strategies for particular operations derived from business level strategies include marketing, accounting and finance. An automotive industry manufactures, designs, develops, markets and sell motor vehicles and is considered the world’s most significant economic sector in terms of revenue generation. The American automobile industry is the only industry that has never changed for years since its inception. Businesses begin, grow, develop, and end just like human beings. Some do not complete their life cycle as a result of their interruptions. They undergo a myriad of challenges that make them eventually die. Contrary to a human being, a business can change its methods of operation to more efficient mechanisms for improvement. From this view, the American automo bile industry has raised the question of whether it will be able to adapt or it will end from its stagnating condition. Before establishing an organization’s business-level strategy, it must discern the determining factors of profit maximization of an industry. The tool of analyzing these factors is what is known as Porter’s Five Forces Model. ... Introduction to the Auto Industry As defined earlier, an automotive industry manufactures, markets, designs, develops and sells motor vehicles. It does not include industries attached to automobiles after delivery to the client such as fuel stations, electronics and repair shops. An automobile industry involves producing and selling individual powered vehicles such as trucks, passenger cars, farm equipment and other commercial vehicles. The auto industry has facilitated the growth of infrastructure for long distance commuters, entertainment and shopping, growth of market centers, increased urbanization and industrialization (Burgess, 1980). The industry is also one of the key employers thus contributing to economic growth. Until 2005, the US dominated the world in production of automobile. Majority of the auto dealers in the US were blacksmith and carriage shops. Progress was soon developed when the car replaced the horse and buggy. Blacksmith shops were everywhere in the market cent ers and played the role of serving customers at a great deal. The inventors of automobile industries were engineers like Henry Leland and Henry Ford. Blacksmith shops were service oriented whereas carriage shops required time to time management together with the horses that drew them. Since their goal was to provide exceptional satisfaction to the customers needs, they slowly became auto dealers of servicing their customer’s vehicles. They were able to compete with service stations such as Jiffy Lube, Midas, and Meineke among others. From that time the number of dealers began to increase giving rise to many franchised automobile dealers. This trend went down from 1950 until 2007 (Tuman 19). 3.1 Industry definition The first fifty years saw the industry