Tobacco Advertising And Its Dangerous Effects On Young People. Tobacco

Tobacco Advertising and its dangerous effects on young people. Tobacco Advertising Makes Young People Their Chief Target Everyday 3,000 children start smoking, most them between the ages of 10 and 18. These kids account for 90 percent of all new smokers. In fact, 90 percent of all adult smokers said that they first lit up as teenagers (Roberts). These statistics clearly show that young people are the prime target in the tobacco wars. The cigarette manufacturers may deny it, but advertising and promotion play a vital part in making these facts a reality (Roberts). The kings of these media ploys are Marlboro and Camel. Marlboro uses a fictional western character called The Marlboro Man, while Camel uses Joe Camel, a high-rolling, swinging cartoon character. Joe Camel, the "smooth character" from R.J. Reynolds, who is shown as a dromedary with complete style has been attacked by many Tobacco-Free Kids organizations as a major influence on the children of America. Dr. Lonnie Br istow, AMA (American Medical Association) spokesman, remarks that "to kids, cute cartoon characters mean that the product is harmless, but cigarettes are not harmless. They have to know that their ads are influencing the youth under 18 to begin smoking"(Breo). Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia report that almost as many 6-year olds recognize Joe Camel as know Mickey Mouse (Breo). That is very shocking information for any parent to hear. The industry denies that these symbols target people under 21 and claim that their advertising goal is simply to promote brand switching and loyalty. Many people disagree with this statement such as Illinois Rep. Richard Durbin who states " If we can reduce the number of young smokers, the tobacco companies will be in trouble and they know it "(Roberts). So what do the tobacco companies do to keep their industry alive and well? Seemingly, they go toward a market that is not fully aware of the harm that cigarettes are capable of. U.S. News recently featured a discussion of the smoking issue with 20 teenagers from suburban Baltimore. The group consisted of ten boys and ten girls between the ages of 15 and 17. When asked why they started smoking, they gave two contradictory reasons: They wanted to be a part of a peer group. They also wanted to reach out and rebel at the same time. " When you party, 75 to 90 percent of the kids are smoking. It makes you feel like you belong," says Devon Harris, a senior at Woodlawn High. Teens also think of smoking as a sign of independence. The more authority figures tell them not to smoke, the more likely they are to pick up the habit (Roberts). The surprising thing is that these kids know that they are being influenced by cigarette advertising. If these kids know that this advertising is manipulating them, why do they still keep smoking? The ads are everywhere, especially in teen-oriented magazines, such as Rolling Stone and Spin. The ads also fuel some of the reasons the chil dren gave for starting. They represent rebellion, independence, acceptance and happiness. These are all the things a young person, between childhood and adolescence, needs and desires. This type of advertising, on top of peer pressure, is the mystery behind the rise in adolescent smoking. How do we stop the future of America from smoking? Here are three things that the experts recommend. Try to convince your children that smoking is not cool. Talk to your kids at a young age about the dangers of smoking. Identify family members who smoke and ask them to stop (Thomas). Children are the most valuable commodity we are given in life. Let's try to educate them while they're young to be independent thinkers and to not be swayed by the tobacco companies who are trying to take advantage of their mind and body. Works Cited "Bill Clinton vs. Joe Camel." U.S. News Online. 27 Oct. 1996. "Selling Tobacco to Kids." America. 17 Feb. 1996: 3. Infotrac. Online. 27 Oct. 1996. Roberts, Steven. " Teens on tobacco; kids smoke for reasons all their own." U.S. News 18 Apr. 1996: 38. Infotrac. Online.

Loath and Loathe

Loath and Loathe Loath and Loathe Loath and Loathe By Maeve Maddox Paul Russell writes: I am loath to admit, or maybe loathe to admit, that I always thought the correct expression was â€Å"loathed to admit† But having Googled, I find the â€Å"loath† version scores about 1.1m pages,†loathe† around 55,000 with â€Å"loathed† in a lowly last place at 32,000. Please can you tell me which is correct, although I suspect Google has already answered my question. The forms loath, loathe, and loathed are not interchangeable. The word loath is an adjective. It’s from Old English laà ° which meant â€Å"hostile, repulsive.† It’s related to German Leid (sorrow) and French laid (ugly). Its most frequent modern usage is in the expression â€Å"to be loath to do something,† in which the meaning is not much stronger than â€Å"reluctant.† Ex. I am loath to admit my mistake. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath tells the story of the â€Å"loathly lady.† A young man must choose between an ugly (loathly) bride who will be faithful, and a beautiful one who will not be. The word loathe is a verb. It’s from Old English laà °ian which had the meaning â€Å"to hate, to be disgusted with.† The modern meaning is about the same: â€Å"to feel strong aversion for; have extreme disgust at.† The form loathed is the participle form. Ex. The child loathed the cruel teacher. A variant spelling of the adjective loath is loth. The th in the adjective has the unvoiced sound heard in thin. The verb loathe (despite the tutor’s note at Answers.com) has a different pronunciation. The th in loathe has the voiced sound heard in this. The silent final e is what signals the difference in pronunciation. In looking for examples on the web I came across the form â€Å"loather.† The Kingdom of Loathers is an online game. The Loathers is a music group. A blogger criticizing the ACLU indicated that the letters must stand for American Christian Loathers Union. I couldn’t find any indication of how the word â€Å"loather† in these examples is pronounced. If the â€Å"loather† is so called because of feelings of reluctance, I should think that the pronunciation is [lÃ… th-É™r] with unvoiced th. If the â€Å"loather† is so called because of feelings of intense dislike of something (as is presumably the case in the ACLU reference), then it would be pronounced with a voiced th: [lÃ… TH-É™r]. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. FurtherList of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and AdultsPeople vs. Persons

Answer q Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer q - Research Paper Example The current managers did not seem to realize there was a current problem with theft. When she mentioned it to another student employee, he just shrugged it off. Should she tell on the others and risk being fired or should she wait it out until she was a manager and take care of it herself? Some of the strengths of the company are that they are a student run business on campus that offers convenience for food for them. The weaknesses are that they put other students in charge of business and they sometimes do not have training and since they are around peers, they are not seen as authority figures. Opportunities are that students can obtain management experience while in college so they might have better chances for jobs after graduation. They are in a hands-on learning situation. The threats of the company are that some authorities are not right there so cannot be looked to for help and the main managers are oblivious to the issue. As a consultant, in order to make the business more profitable, would be to hire one full time manager who is not a student. Let there be a few student managers that are part-time. All employees should have to follow a code of conduct and they would be let go if they did not follow it. People who notice problems should be rewarded and encouraged to report them to upper staff

Fashion Illustrations in France during the 17th & 18th Century Essay

Fashion Illustrations in France during the 17th & 18th Century - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Illustrations in France during the 17th & 18th Century" talks about French fashion illustrations in the 17th & 18th Century. The most famous fashion style in Europe during this time encompassed the Baroque style, which arrived late in France than any other part of Europe. During the 17th and 18th century, France witnessed a significant development in the fashion styles. Various styles of fashion emerged during this period and gained prominence all over France. This paper will discuss the fashion illustrations in France during the 17th and 18th Century. More specifically, the paper will discuss how the fashion illustrations emerged and developed in France during this period. In the 17th Century, France was under the rule of Louis XIV, the Sun King; during this period, French fashion gained prominence as the leading fashion in almost the whole of Europe. This resulted from the fact that France had developed into a significant cultural as well as political power. As s uch, the fashion illustrations from France became an absolutistic regime. Based on the absolutistic ideal, French fashion became rigid from 1660 because of the strong and strict etiquette, which characterised the fashion illustrations. By the year 1670, French fashion illustrations spread all over Europe to the extent that royal fashion of France dictated the fashion illustrations in many parts of Europe. This made European rulers imitate the powerful Sun King and they lost diversities and national differences in fashion.

Online Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Online Marketing - Essay Example One of the major companies that are currently practising online marketing and doing perfectly in the business is the coca cola company for soft and non-alcoholic drinks (Blum, Sandholm, & Zinkevich, 2002). Coca Cola Company is based in Atlanta, Georgia in United States under the management of Muhtar Kent. The company manufactures, retails, and markets non-alcoholic drinks all over the world. The company was launched by Griggs Candler in 1892 and has been in the business since then making tremendous steps and achieving great success (Hartogh, 2007). Coca Cola Company has been very successful in the market due to its quality drinks that differentiate its products from those produced by the competitors. The company’s great success is not only attributed to quality products but also to recent advertisement techniques such as online marketing and other forms of advertisements such as social media. The company’s high market penetration can be attributed to its ability to respond to customers taste and preferences depending on their geographic area. The company serves and distributes its drinks to over 200 countries all over the world currently. It has its headquarters in every country where bottling and distribution strategies take place (Ba, Whinston, & Zhang, 2003). Coca Cola being a giant company in the field of beverages has taken many steps in the business expansion. The best strategic decision taken by the business is online marketing. The company launched internet websites many years ago (Tian, 2006). Website plays a major role in the field of marketing by improving the relationship with the customers and better customer services. The company is currently running its website that can be accessed by using www.coca-cola.com. Apart from this website the company has several other websites depending on the country of interest. A website fulfils many purposes for an organisation. A website design serves as a

The Impact Of Education

The Impact Of Education Every year the Mauritian Government devotes an increasingly large share of its budget to the development of the education sector. The reason for such an increase in government investment in education lies in the belief that education has a direct impact on the economic growth of the country. In most developing countries, like Mauritius for example, education is regarded as a powerful instrument for reducing poverty and removing social and income inequalities, improving economic growth and standards of living, and helping the country to reinforce its autonomy. Appiah and McMahon (2002), Burneth et al. (1995) and others suggest that education also has some positive indirect effects such as increasing longevity, improving democratization and political stability, and reducing poverty and crimes. Education is considered as an investment in human capital. Human capital can be described as the knowledge, abilities and skills of an individual, acquired through education, training and experience, which help the latter to be more productive and thus improve his potential income earning. Ismael (1998), Becker (1964) and Mincer (1974) have emphasized on the fact that, by investing in human beings, we will gain from some forms of benefits in the future. However, Blankneau and Simpson (2004) find no clear evidence on the link between government spending on education and economic growth. Human capital is one of the most important components of sustainable economic development of a country as illustrated by Lucas (1988) and Romer (1990) in their new growth literature. The expanded neoclassical growth model developed by Mankiw, Romer and Weil (MRW) (1992) and the endogenous growth models developed by Lucas (1988), Romer (1990), Barro (1990) and others have only recently stressed on the importance of human capital in growth theories. Even though human capital incorporates health, experience, skills, education and other social factors, in this paper we will concentrate only on the role of education and its effects on the economic development of Mauritius. One problem that arises is when dealing with the measurement of human capital. In fact, there is no agreed definition of which proxy should be used to represent human capital. Generally, the average number of years of schooling has long been seen as a convenient proxy. Some researchers, for example, Mankiw et al. (1992) use secondary enrollment as proxy for education and Barro (1998) uses enrollment in different levels of education, i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary, and also enrollment by gender as proxies. In our study we will be using the average number of years of different schooling levels as proxies for education. Petrakis and Stamatakis (2002) have stressed on the fact that each different level of education has different impact on growth. For example, they find that the effect of primary and secondary education on the economic growth of developing countries is more significant than that of tertiary education, and for developed countries it is the reverse situation that takes place. Since it improves human capital, we could say that education does affect economic growth predominantly, but actually, the impact of education on the economic development is quite ambiguous. There were countless debates over the years by researchers over whether education has a positive, negative or no relationship at all with the economic growth of a country. Barro (1991) finds that education has a positive and significant impact on economic growth. He observes that any rise in enrollment rate, raises GDP too. De Meulmester and Rochet (1995) provide evidence that this relationship may not always be true. Devarajan et al. (1996) find that education has a negative impact on economic growth for some developing countries. They deduce that developing countries are not productive at the margin because these countries do not fairly allocate their public capital expenditure and this explains the opposing relationship between education and economic growth. Some other researchers, such as Hanu shek and Woessmann (2007), find that it is in fact the quality of education that promotes economic development and not the quantity of schooling or schooling attainment. They observe that the skills of the population directly affect the distribution of income and economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of education on the economic growth of Mauritius. 2.1 Effects of Education Education is a never ending process and as said in a famous diction, Education starts from the womb and ends in the tomb. Education benefits the society by helping to increase economic growth, reducing poverty, reducing crimes, increasing employment etc and also helps the individual to earn higher income and therefore improves the latters living standard. The figure below gives a rà ©sumà © of the effects of education at the micro and macro levels. Source: Michaelowa, Katharina. (2000) Returns to Education in Low Income Countries: Evidence for Africa. The above diagram shows the micro and macro effects of education. There are irrefutable evidences that connect education to economic growth and education in form of human capital boosting productivity. Education is in fact productivity-enhancing. It is said that a person without basic literacy and numeracy skills have many difficulties in completing basic tasks of everyday life, which therefore shows the importance of education. Education affects the growth of the economy in various ways. We here discuss the direct effects of education. Education is said to be connected to the notion of empowerment. Individuals with a certain level of higher education not only have good job with interesting wages but also augment productivity of the economy. Some studies have shown that GDP per capita rises by 1 to 3 percentage points following a 1 percentage point increase in school enrollment rates. Therefore, education is said to increase individuals wages along with the augmentation of productivity and finally GDP per capita. Here we discuss indirect effects of education. According to Glewwe (1999), Schultz (1993), Hobcraft (1993), and Thomas, Strauss and Henriques (1991) mothers schooling have indirect positive effects on the economy. It is said that an additional year of mothers schooling will induce the child to be in a better health and encourage them to learn which will eventually increase their chances to be a productive person in the future and affect the economy positively. Furthermore, educated individuals are more likely to be aware about family planning and this will ultimately reduce childbirth. This results in families having more or less 1 to 2 children, that is, a smaller family where more time is dedicated to the childrens education. This attention in return motivates the children to be more motivated at school and have better results. These children are thus encouraged to pursue their education to higher levels. Moreover, educated workers are more likely to adapt to new technology and new working techniques easier than illiterate workers. It is also said that an educated workforce is more productive than an uneducated workforce, that is, the return of an educated worker is higher compared to that of an uneducated one. Higher returns have a positive impact on the economic growth. Michaelowa (2000) uses the example of an educated farmer who uses new agricultural techniques to produce goods. Through education, the farmer will acquire the knowledge and skills required to use these new agricultural techniques and therefore he will be more productive compared to other farmers who are still using traditional techniques. The other farmers in the neighborhoods will tend to do the same in order to achieve higher profits, so this causes both the farmer and the neighbors to have higher returns and in turn increases GDP per capita. Mincer (1974) says that there is a relationship between education and individual earnings which in turn produce private returns. The Mincerian equation helps to differentiate between the different levels of education and distinguish their effects on the economy. He also claims that an additional year of schooling will lead to higher private returns. 2.2 Theoretical Framework Ramsey (1928), Solow (1956), Swan (1956), Cass (1965) and Koopmans (1965) among others developed the neoclassical model of economic growth. In his model, Solow (1956) claimed that two important factors determined growth, namely the quantity of labor and the capital stock. The neoclassical model assumes diminishing returns to capital and labour independently, and the input-output ratio is determined by exogenous technological factors. This model does not take into account the effects of factors such as human capital, health etc on the economic development. In fact, Schulz (1961) proved that labor and capital did not explain completely the increase in output and Lucas (1988) pointed out that investment in human capital is one of the main determinants of economic development. Moreover, in order to offset the adverse effects of diminishing returns, thus allowing the economy to grow, the neoclassical model suggests that the country must invest heavily in technology. In theory, this is one of the reasons why low-income countries with low ratios of capital to labor are likely to grow faster than rich countries. But empirical results have shown some inconsistencies with this hypothesis as demonstrated by Summers and Heston (1988). Later, Lucas (1988), Romer (1990), Barro (1991) and others developed the endogenous growth models in order to overcome the shortcomings of the neoclassical growth models. In the endogenous growth model, exogenous technological progress does not affect steady growth. This model introduces human capital as an input in the form of effective labor and implies that the accumulation of human capital directly affects labour productivity. The main difference between effective labour and physical labour lies in the fact that the former is calculated by taking into account labour quality such as educational level, training and skills. Both Lucas (1998) and Romer (1990) have used agents to represent the effects of human capital in their models respectively. According to Romer (1990), human capital is the decisive input that generates new products and technology in the Research Development sector and therefore this implies that countries with high levels of human capital stocks will grow faster due to the more rapid development of new products and technology generated by them. Lucas (1988) incorporates human capital in his model and claims that the accumulation of human capital will enhance productivity of other factors and thus will boost economic growth. He also affirms that never-ending increases in human capital will result in never-ending economic growth. In his model, human capital is a measure of abilities and skills used in production by a worker. However, Grossman and Helpman (1994) state that it is some form of knowledge which can eventually cause never-ending growth, not human capital. Schultz (1999) outlines the importance of human capital through education and health in determining economic growth. He insists that education increases both peoples awareness and their investments on health services, and also healthy people tend to be more efficient and therefore more productive. 2.3 Empirical Evidence Barro (1991) finds that education and economic growth are highly correlated. He uses enrollment rate as a proxy for education and per capita GDP as a proxy for economic growth. Data are collected across more than 100 countries during the years 1960 to 1990 and Barro finds that each additional year of enrollment increases per capita GDP. Bils and Klenow (2000) also come across similar results in their research. They find that variation in schooling explains approximately one third of the variation in economic growth. Although Bils and Klenow (2000) provide evidence of the positive relationship between education and economic development, they also claim that more growth could result in more education and not the opposite, i.e. there is a reverse causation effect. Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995) use cross-country data made up of 90 countries over the time span 1965-1985. They employ the AK framework, which displays constant return to capital as it assumes that the other elements (labor and technology) that determine GDP grow proportionately with capital. In other words, each increase in capital increases output correspondingly. Their results indicate strong positive relationship on the long-run between average GDP per capita and the level of educational attainment, terms of trade and life expectancy. However, some researchers claim that the type of regressions performed by Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995) may be subject to reverse causation effect as stated before. For example, a rise in GDP could increase investment in education as the economy develops. Such type of results will have great influence on our research as we want to study the impact of education on the economic growth and not the reverse. Akcabelen (2009) uses the ARDL approach to determine the short-run and long-run effects of different levels of education on Turkeys economic development. Secondary enrollment and tertiary enrollment are used as different proxies for education and this enables us to examine the impact of each level of education on the economic growth. Akcabelen concludes that there is positive correlation between all levels of education and the long-run economic development of Turkey. Loening (2002) uses time-series data from 1951 to 2000 and applies the error-correction methodology to analyze the impact of education on the economic growth of Guatemala. He observes that output per worker increases by 0.16 percent following a 1 percent rise in the average years of schooling. So he agrees on the fact that education does have a positive impact on the overall economic development of the country. Afzal et al. (2010) use time series data from 1970-2009 to analyze the relationship between education, physical capital, inflation, poverty and economic growth in Pakistan. According to their findings, education and physical capital have both a positive and considerable effect on economic growth in the short-run as well as in the long-run. They also find that inflation slows down economic growth in the long-run and poverty has no effect at all on the economic development of Pakistan. Other researchers, such as Kakar et al. (2011), have used time series data for the time span 1980-2009 and apply the Error Correction Model (ECM) and come to the conclusion that education influences Pakistans economic development only in the long-run. They also observe that the quality of education is more important than the quantity of education in achieving economic growth, so the government should increase its investment in education with the aim of enhancing the quality of education further. Since Mauritius is part of Africa, it is also good to see the results of researches conducted in other African countries. Fonkeng and Ntembe (2009) use enrollment and GDP as proxies for education and economic development and they notice that education at higher level, i.e. at tertiary level, is positively correlated with economic growth of Cameroon. Musila and Belassi (2004) use government expenditure on education as proxy for education for the years 1965 to 1999. They apply the cointegration and the ECM methods and find that there is positive correlation between average workers expenditure on education and the economic growth of Uganda. Ndiyo (2007) uses time series data from 1970 to 2000 on real education expenditure, real capital formation and GDP, and employs the VAR technique. Based on the results obtained after computations, Ndiyo (2007) demonstrates that education does not have a positive effect on the economic development of Nigeria. He suggests that this result can be explai ned by various factors such as labor market distortions, redundancy, brain drain, industrial disputes and job discontinuities, and government failure etc. Khorasgani (2008) analyses the impact of higher education on Irans economic development for the period 1959 to 2005. The proxies used for human capital are education attainment and research expenditures. Khorasgani (2008) uses the Cobb-Douglas production function together with the ARDL method to determine the short-run and long-run effects of higher education on the economic growth. The study demonstrates that real output increases by 0.314 percent in the long run and 0.198 percent in the short run following a 1 percent increase in higher education attainment. Hence, higher education has a positive and significant impact on the economic development of Iran. .

Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce Essay -- Business Management Studie

Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Electronic commerce industries that make â€Å"e-commerce† possible are growing at breakneck speed, altering not only how Americans, but also the global marketplace produces, markets, and acquires goods and services. In the e-commerce industry, it is generally agreed that Amazon.com provides one of the best business model â€Å"benchmarks† today. Amazon.com came online in the summer of 1995 with a mission to use the Internet to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience possible. According to their home page Amazon.com â€Å"since the summary of 1995 our customer base and product offerings have grown considerably, millions of people in more than 220 countries have made Amazon.com the leading online shopping site.† When you visit Amazon.com, you can buy books, music, videos, and more--by a click of the mouse. While the company has yet to turn a profit, they have revolutionized e-commerce by making customer interaction and feedback part of their brand image. Amazon’s method is to create a â€Å"community† of consumers. Much of their products speaks for themselves, so the customer feedback provides an objective measuring stick for the integrity of Amazon’s services. Individuals may express their opinions on all available products. Promoting such favorable business environment Amazon hopes to reinforce awareness and confidence in e-commerce customer population, as well as encouraging best practice among competitors. Amazon’s competitive threats come from other e-commerce, Web sites like: Walmart.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Ebay.com, etc. Amazon knows that customers are sensitive to product quality and price, and personal information security so at Amazon.com they can expect to benefit from all three offerings. Amazon.com has a world-class management team led by Mr. J effrey P. Bezos founder and company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He has exceptional knowledge of the industry. As stated in the home page new release â€Å"On a single Saturday in July, 100 airplanes and 9,000 trucks delivered more than 250,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" to customers,† providing the hottest kid’s book faster than local bookstores. This action clearly shows the powers of our suppliers and buyers. Amazon.com is committed to customer satisfaction despit... ...C. (2001). Amazon to cut product offerings, drop layoff clause. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_578031,00.html. Chait, M. (2001). Amazon releases preliminary q4 highlights. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_554311,00.html Cox, B. (2001). Amazon tops in online ad spending. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_534171,00.html Cox, B., Chait, M. (2001). 1,300 layoffs at Amazon. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_580621,00.html Stepankowsky, P. L.(1998). Cyberspace hits the real world. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bus.utexas.edu/~west/wwwboard/messages/90.html#followups http://www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/ http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/ecomcom.htm http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/index.html http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/research.html http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-8139066-0.html?tag=ltnc Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce Essay -- Business Management Studie Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Electronic commerce industries that make â€Å"e-commerce† possible are growing at breakneck speed, altering not only how Americans, but also the global marketplace produces, markets, and acquires goods and services. In the e-commerce industry, it is generally agreed that Amazon.com provides one of the best business model â€Å"benchmarks† today. Amazon.com came online in the summer of 1995 with a mission to use the Internet to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience possible. According to their home page Amazon.com â€Å"since the summary of 1995 our customer base and product offerings have grown considerably, millions of people in more than 220 countries have made Amazon.com the leading online shopping site.† When you visit Amazon.com, you can buy books, music, videos, and more--by a click of the mouse. While the company has yet to turn a profit, they have revolutionized e-commerce by making customer interaction and feedback part of their brand image. Amazon’s method is to create a â€Å"community† of consumers. Much of their products speaks for themselves, so the customer feedback provides an objective measuring stick for the integrity of Amazon’s services. Individuals may express their opinions on all available products. Promoting such favorable business environment Amazon hopes to reinforce awareness and confidence in e-commerce customer population, as well as encouraging best practice among competitors. Amazon’s competitive threats come from other e-commerce, Web sites like: Walmart.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Ebay.com, etc. Amazon knows that customers are sensitive to product quality and price, and personal information security so at Amazon.com they can expect to benefit from all three offerings. Amazon.com has a world-class management team led by Mr. J effrey P. Bezos founder and company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He has exceptional knowledge of the industry. As stated in the home page new release â€Å"On a single Saturday in July, 100 airplanes and 9,000 trucks delivered more than 250,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" to customers,† providing the hottest kid’s book faster than local bookstores. This action clearly shows the powers of our suppliers and buyers. Amazon.com is committed to customer satisfaction despit... ...C. (2001). Amazon to cut product offerings, drop layoff clause. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_578031,00.html. Chait, M. (2001). Amazon releases preliminary q4 highlights. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_554311,00.html Cox, B. (2001). Amazon tops in online ad spending. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_534171,00.html Cox, B., Chait, M. (2001). 1,300 layoffs at Amazon. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_580621,00.html Stepankowsky, P. L.(1998). Cyberspace hits the real world. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bus.utexas.edu/~west/wwwboard/messages/90.html#followups http://www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/ http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/ecomcom.htm http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/index.html http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/research.html http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-8139066-0.html?tag=ltnc