The 21st century obsession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The 21st century obsession - Essay Example To underline the importance of the social networks and media, we need to look at the instrumental role they played in the Egyptian revolution earlier this year (Douglas). With integrated features, social networking sites offer different ways to personalize ways in which individual share. However, while the benefits of the social networks cannot be overemphasized, there are many dangers associated with their use. Such dangers bring a conflict arising from the use of too much of these social networks. This danger is akin to the current situation in the country and globally involving an obsession of the nation by these sites. In addition, the danger is further compounded by the conflict in determining the extent to which one should use the social networks. In this regard, this expose elucidates the issues that conflict the use of the social networks while addressing the history behind the social network. According to Boyd and Ellison, social networking sites are web-based platforms that allowed individuals to construct a profile based on the privacy levels they wished to have and create lists based on their interests in order to communicate effectively. Social networking sites draw their history from computer networking (Bold and Ellison). In this regard, early online services such as Usenet and the bulletin boards that we are all aware of were crucial in the efforts to create the social networking sites. However, integration of social networking sites on the World Wide Web earnestly started taking the nature of communities based on the online platforms. In this regard, these platforms were a tool that enabled people to come together and interact through chat rooms. In addition, the platforms allowed the online communities to come together and share information while communicating (Cotriss). From this point, the technology that enabled the current

Taking Business Abroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Taking Business Abroad - Essay Example , between 2012 and 2013, seen basically flat sales (221M in 2013 and 222M in 2014), which is a problem for achieving growth for this High Street firm. The company was, however, able to raise its net income from  £3.1 million to  £5.3 million between 2013 and 2014 as a result of reduced selling, general and administrative costs in its operational model (Bloomberg). In 2011 and 2012, the company reported no profitability. Thornton’s, as a High Street company, provides gourmet chocolate products under a premium pricing structure to cater to the higher resource consumer in the United Kingdom. It is positioned in its market against quality, attempting to build a premium brand identity to gain interest from its more affluent target customer segments. The firm’s recent advertising strategies included The Art of the Chocolatier and Chocolate Heaven since 1911 as a means of using traditionalism and quality/sophistication to gain interest in markets that lean toward premium products. Fortunately, Thornton’s does not operate in a highly saturated competitive environment, competing against such brands as Cadbury which are not targeted at the high resource consumer. After 103 years of operations, Thornton’s has managed to create a brand that stands out among lower cost, less quality chocolate products and has a reputation for superiority with many UK consumers. Thornton’s, with flat sales volumes, requires a strategy to achieve growth in a market where consumption levels are not growing sufficiently. In the UK, Thornton’s is in its maturity stage which makes it difficult to achieve revenue growth without altering its existing business model and seeking new markets. This report identifies opportunities for Thornton’s PLC to enter the Chinese market as a means of enhancing sales growth and improving the financial position of the firm. The company’s most significant competitor is Cadbury, a company that produces chocolate products targeted at mass markets, but