Monday, December 30, 2019
Customer Relationships And Services Business Operations...
ASSIGNMENT 7455-V5 April 11 2015 DEVELOP AND STRENTHEN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AND SERVICES BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT Task 1 Question 1.1 ââ¬Å" The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-qualitymerchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.â⬠- Sam Walton (1918-1992) (Wal-mart service strategies) a) Consumer requirements are the key factor in any service industry. It is important to know what they want and how far they received it.One step to check this is through consultation with them. There are many other reasons to consult with the end users and customers to identify the real needs, potential barriers they may face, specific individual needs, also to identify who is not using the products and services and why and contacting disabled users and potential users to bring them into the process. It is important to identify the real service users in your local area. At the same time itââ¬â¢s important to make sure that the consultations are accessible to all. (Effective consultation(2013 May news letter), 2013) Some other ways to do this are, 1. Feedback forms at service counters 2. Train staff members to get verbal feedback and suggestions from customers 3. Having a customer serviceShow MoreRelatedVerizon Wireless: Operational Analysis1648 Words à |à 7 Pagesmanner, the ability to manage the labor force or the ability to develop positive relationships with the external stakeholder, such as the customers, the business partners, the public and so on. Still, while all these factors are crucial, they are merely adjacent to the core operational function which builds towards organizational success, namely the organizational operations. The concept of the organizational operation is seldom approached within the specialized literature and a proven definitionRead MoreIntroduction. Operation Strategies Aligned On The Internal989 Words à |à 4 PagesIntroduction Operation strategies aligned on the internal or external customer and fortifying customer relationships pave a way to latter-day organizations to get a competitive edge on the market and make a significant profit. This signifies that enterprises must evolve their skills in relation to identification of customer needs and hopes and then dispense substantial benefits to their customers resulting satisfaction therefrom. Construction and development of customer relationships are conditionsRead MoreThe Operation Strategies And Cost Leadership1399 Words à |à 6 PagesExecutive Summary This business report discusses and explores the operation strategies and cost leadership of both IKEA and Fruity fro-yo and how it relates to business operations. The success of the business will also be assessed through the identified operations strategies that each of the businesses applies into their operations. This results in increased operations efficiency, which is discussed within this business report. Strategic role of management - Cost leadership Cost leadership:Read MoreNorth Metro Home Services ( Nmhs ) Is Owned By Cody And Tera Hopkins1720 Words à |à 7 PagesNorth Metro Home Services (NMHS) is owned by Cody and Tera Hopkins, Cody Hopkins has over 20 years of experience in the plumbing industry as a master plumber. The company is a small privately-owned plumbing company headquartered in Stanchfield, MN operating from the residence of Cody and Tera Hopkins. North Metro Home Services has started to provide plumbing services for the north metro of Minnesota. The Company was started to take advantage of the perceived weakness and inadequacies of other regionalRead MoreNorth Metro Home Services ( Nmhs ) Is Owned By Cody And Tera Hopkins1717 Words à |à 7 Pages *North Metro Home Services (NMHS) is owned by Cody and Tera Hopkins, Cody Hopkins has over 20 years of experience in the plumbing industry as a master plumber. The company is a small privately-owned plumbing company headquartered in Stanchfield, MN operating from the residence of Cody and Tera Hopkins. North Metro Home Services has started to provide plumbing services for the north metro of Minnesota. The Company was started to take advantage of the perceived weakness and inadequacies of other regionalRead MoreCase Study : Citibank Financial Consultant1268 Words à |à 6 PagesWriting the short report Citibank financial consultant Name: YANGQIYU ID: Course name: professional development in business BUSS1060 Professor name: Paper Due date: 02/09/2016 Table of contents: 1. Introduction. 1.1 Purpose of report. 1.2 Background information. 2. The purpose of the Citibank. 3. Mission and vision of the Citibank. 4. Company s operation and stakeholder. 5. What strategy Citibank use? 6. Discussion and Analysis of what Citibank occurred before. 7. FinancialRead MoreIndividual Assignment: Strategic Plan1617 Words à |à 7 Pagescourse of its business (Kotler, Brown, Burton, Deans, Armstrong, 2010). SWOT Analysis helps a company in assessing which factors from its internal and external environment are in favor or against its business strategies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the internal and external environment of a proposed business entity We Do Your Proposal by identifying its distinctive capabilities, weaknesses, issues, opportunities, and circumstances which are the part of its business environment. ItRead MoreCase Study : Bb s Bakery ( B3 ) Will Be A Sole Trader Enterprise, Owned And Operated1516 Words à |à 7 Pagesthrough superior customer service and the traditional family recipes used. Business Goals B3ââ¬â¢s financial goals include establishing the business by holding 10% of the market share in the first year of operation to progress towards achieving the vision of being the leading bakery in the Sydney CBD and maximising profit to cover all first year operational expenses by selling enough baked goods and coffee to break even. B3ââ¬â¢s non-financial goals include establishing a strong customer base in line withRead MoreHow Analytics Helps An Organization Optimize Their Business Processes1730 Words à |à 7 Pagestheir business processes to make them effective as possible.â⬠[3]. It is a proven fact that proper use of analytics can lead an organizations to success, providing them with that distinctive advantage over their competitors. In this essay, details will be provided on how analytics has helped my organization to compete in their business segment. Ability to compete on analytics Digicel Group is a total communications and entertainment company. The companyââ¬â¢s objective ââ¬Å"is to bring our customers never-endingRead MoreHow Entrepreneurs Align It And Strategy Essay1482 Words à |à 6 PagesNOTES - Introduction - IT USE IN BUSINESS Information Technology is inseparable from business operations and strategy. A survey conducted by the Small Business Administration in 2003 gives the statistic that 75% of small businesses have heavily invested in computing technology. This is an important and good trend, because the growth of IT has introduced methods and has facilitated the implementation of new business models. The traditional view of IT is that it is an enabler of efficient processing
Sunday, December 22, 2019
The Island of Equal Rights and Freedom in Lord of the...
We all want to live in a world where we have freedom, rights, opinions and democracy gives us that. In the book Lord of the Flies, Ralphââ¬â¢s democratic leadership style is much better than Jackââ¬â¢s dictator leadership style because everyone has equal rights and that is fair. Firstly, Ralph gives everyone on the island a chance to express their opinion and contribute. Secondly, getting rescued is the most important thing for Ralph. Last but not least, Jack is very self centered and selfish. He is rude and inconsiderate. He doesnââ¬â¢t care about anyone but himself. Ralph gives everyone on the island equal rights and freedoms. Ralph makes everyone feel worthy but Jack makes almost everyone feel useless. Firstly, Ralph lets everyone on the islandâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬Å"Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, Iââ¬â¢d like to catch a pig first,â⬠(54) says Jack to Ralph. Later, Jack puts out the fire so he can have more hunters for his hunt. During that period, a ship passes by but there was no smoke signal because of Jack. The boys couldââ¬â¢ve been rescued. Secondly, Ralph also cares a lot about keeping the fire going since this is the only way the boys can get rescued. Keeping the fire going is Ralphââ¬â¢s primary objective. ââ¬Å"So long as your hunters remember the fire,â⬠(54) says Ralph to Jack. This shows that Ralph cares about other things too but keeping the fire going is always on the back of his mind. Therefore, getting rescued is the most important priority for Ralph because he has a positive attitude towards it, he takes a lot of responsibility for the fire and mostly because he knows it is important. Jack is a horrible leader because he is a self centered, selfish prick. He is very rude to others and very inconsiderate about others feelings. Firstly, Jack has been very rude to Piggy since the boys got on the island. He broke one side of Piggyââ¬â¢s glasses knowing Piggy can barely see without them. ââ¬Å"I got have them specs. Now I only got one eye. Jusââ¬â¢ you wait,â⬠(76) says Piggy to Jack. Later that night, Jack refuses to give Piggy meat because he didnââ¬â¢t hunt but he gives meat to Simon who also did not hunt. Secondly, Jack does not care about the lilââ¬â¢uns. He tortures them with his words by scaring them and that spreads fearShow MoreRelated The Prevalence of Humanity1662 Words à |à 7 Pagessociety [can be traced] back to the defects of human nature ... The shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.â⬠This idea, quoted from author William Golding, of a corrupt individual corrupting an otherwise idyllic society is exemplified many times over the course of human history: Joseph Stalin corrupts Karl Marxs idea of communism into a totalitarian government that eventually results in the deathRead MoreComparing Animal Farm And Lord Of The Flies Present Human Nature3587 Words à |à 15 PagesFarm and Lord of the Flies present human nature. George Orwell and William Golding were both writers who were concerned with human nature. They both thought that human nature had been twisted but they had slightly different interpretations of what it entails. George Orwell, who published Animal Farm in 1945, was influenced quite heavily on the Russian Revolution and was portraying human nature to be something that is weak and is easily corrupted through power and money, whereas Golding saw that humanRead MoreEssay on Thomas Hobbes Leviathan970 Words à |à 4 Pagespower. Hobbes believes that any account of human action, including morality, must be consistent with the fact that we are all self-serving. His theory notes that humans are essentially equal, both mentally and physically, so that even the weakest person has the strength to kill the strongest (p.44). Given our equal standing, Hobbes believes that there are three natural causes of quarrel among people: competition for limited supplies of material possessions, distrust of o ne another, and glory so thatRead MoreThe Leadership of Jack and Ralph in Lord of the Flies: Essay examples2248 Words à |à 9 PagesThe Leadership of Jack and Ralph in Lord of the Flies Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph tries his best to create a society based on survival. As time progresses, it is clear that Jacks feelings are towards living life and having fun. Jacks society eventually leads to corruption, killing innocent people, while Ralphs prevails as the boys are rescued. Ralph uses a repetition of hope towards being saved while Jacks technique with no thought clearly flounders creating savagesRead MoreBelonging the Crucible, Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm3249 Words à |à 13 Pagespower)and corruption of power turns a town against each other and highlights the different groups in the town and how they are linked or exiled from the rest of the town and how better understanding of each group could effect this. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the different views and beliefs of Ralph and Jack and the need for power in both boysââ¬â¢ segregates the group and the loss of innocence and humanity turns the group away from civilisation and towards Savagery. In George Orwellââ¬â¢s AnimalRead MoreReview Of Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre 10879 Words à |à 44 Pagesfamily. Bronte also loved her master just as Jane loved Rochester (in this case it was Constantin Heger). It has often been pointed out that Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte, as Bronte also struggled to come to terms with balancing her feelings and freedom. It has also been pointed out that Bertha Mason is Charlotte Bronte. Both did not get to go out, failed to find love, and expressed themselves in unorthodox ways. Literary Period: Victorian Produced: October 16, 1847 Published: Smith, Elder, andRead MoreRelationship Between Politics And Literature2000 Words à |à 8 Pageshistory. A political novel is ââ¬Å"constricted to political aspects of history, whereas a historical extends beyond political terrain, to social, cultural, moral and economic aspects of history. As she is the daughter of Ranjit Pandit, a distinguished freedom fighter of Independent Movement and Vijayalakshmi Pandit, a remarkable woman who held important positions in national life as well as important assignments abroad and as she is also the ââ¬Ëravan eyedââ¬â¢ niece of Jawaharlal Nehru, the lieutenant of theRead MoreSAT Top 30 Essay Evidence18536 Words à |à 75 Pages21 Billie Jean King (Tennis legend and womenââ¬â¢s rights activist) ................................................................. 23 Jesse Owens (Track star and civil rights icon).......................................................................................... 25 Muhammad Ali (ââ¬Å"The Greatestâ⬠boxer of all time) .................................................................................. 27 Fiction and Literature: Hamlet by William Shakespeare (ââ¬Å"To be? Or not to be?â⬠) ..........
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Native American Boarding Schools Free Essays
An Indian boarding school refers to one of many schools that were established in the United States during the late 19th century to educate Native American youths according to Euro-American standards. These schools were primarily run by missionaries. These often proved traumatic to Native American children, who were forbidden to speak their native languages, taught Christianity and denied the right to practice their native religions, and in numerous other ways forced to abandon their Native American identities and adopt European-American culture and the English language. We will write a custom essay sample on Native American Boarding Schools or any similar topic only for you Order Now There were many documented cases of sexual, physical and mental abuse occurring at these schools. In the late eighteenth century, reformers starting with Washington and Knox, in efforts to ââ¬Å"civilizeâ⬠or otherwise assimilate Native Americans (as opposed to relegating them to reservations), adopted the practice of educating native children in modern American culture. The Civilization Fund Act of 1819 promoted this civilization policy by providing funding to societies (mostly religious) who worked on Native American improvement. Attendance in Indian boarding schools generally grew throughout the first half of the 20th century and doubled in the 1960s. Enrollment reached its highest point in the 1970s. In 1973, 60,000 American Indian children are estimated to have been enrolled in an Indian boarding school. Several events in the late 1960s and mid-1970s (Kennedy Report, National Study of American Indian Education, Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975) led to more emphasis on community schools. Many large Indian boarding schools closed in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 2007, 9,500 American Indian children lived in an Indian boarding school dormitory. This includes 45 on-reservation boarding schools, 7 off-reservation boarding schools and 14 peripheral dormitories. From 1879 to the present day, hundreds of thousands of American Indians are estimated to have attended an Indian boarding school. Native American children were often separated from their families and people when they were sent or sometimes taken to boarding schools off the reservations. These schools ranged from those like the federal Carlisle boarding School, to schools sponsored by religious organizations to some created by non-profits such as the founding of an Indian school in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1769. In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic, the Carlisle curriculum constituted of vocational training for boys and domestic science for girls, including chores around the school and producing goods for market. In the summer students were often outsourced to local farms and townspeople to continue their immersion and provide labor at low cost. Carlisle and its curriculum would become the model for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and by 1902 there were twenty-five federally funded non-reservation schools across fifteen states and territories with a of over 6,000. Although federal legislation made education compulsory for Native Americans, removing students from reservations required parent authorization, although coercion and even violence were often used to secure the preset quota of students from any given reservation. Once the new students arrived at the boarding schools, life altered drastically. They were given new haircuts, uniforms, and even new English names, sometimes based on their own, other times assigned at random. They could no longer speak their own languages, even between each other, and they were expected to convert to Christianity. Life was run by the strict orders of their teachers, and it often included grueling chores and stiff punishments. How to cite Native American Boarding Schools, Papers
Friday, December 6, 2019
Recording Industry and the Digital Age Essay Example For Students
Recording Industry and the Digital Age Essay In this essay, several studies are examined that illustrate the economic impact of digital piracy on the music industry and the U. S. economy. Also examined are the changes made in copyright laws, as well as the recording industryââ¬â¢s strategies designed to deal with this growing problem. The first study, done for California Management Review in 2010, shows steady industry growth throughout 1990ââ¬â¢s quickly eroded with Napsterââ¬â¢s rise in popularity in 1999. A second study, completed in 2009 for the International Science Review, backed up earlier claims made by the recording industry in Federal Court that they account for a significant portion of the U. S. Gross Domestic Product. The study also shows a direct correlation between increases in file sharing and decreases in sales. The final study examined was completed in 2009 for Contemporary Economic Policy. It offers evidence that the recording industryââ¬â¢s partnerships with digital content providers, is having a positive effect on consumerââ¬â¢s willingness to pay for low priced premium content. Further research is required in order to measure the impact these partnerships have in reducing online piracy. Keywords: digital piracy, music piracy, file sharing, economic impact, U. S. Copyright Law Captain Crook: Why the Recording Industry must Adapt to the Digital Age According to the U. S. Department of Commerce, the Entertainment Industry accounts for 6% of the United States Gross Domestic Product (Bender Wang, 2009). Since 1999, the RIAA has seen sales of recorded music drop from $14. billion in 1999, to $7 billion in 2011 (Scope of the Problem, n. d. ). The source of the recording industryââ¬â¢s dramatic losses since 1999, are the pervasive number of sites that offer free uploaded music available for downloading and sharing. These sites have crippled a music industry that many felt had been too slow adapting to changes in the way music was being sought after and ultimately consumed. The act of making music available on-line , and/or copying said music , for free, without compensating the copyright holder, is called piracy. Piracy is a form of copyright infringement. No matter what name it is given, piracy is a criminal act that is wrong and is impacting the Recording Industry and this countryââ¬â¢s economic recovery. A major issue that must be addressed is the overall attitude of indifference towards illegal downloading. This is especially true with the generation that came of age at the turn of the Millennium. The role of technology in their lives, and its ability to provide instant access to information, informs how they perceive information and its uses. Itââ¬â¢s not to say this generation condones theft; they simply donââ¬â¢t see it as stealing. To them, downloading and sharing digital music files without paying, is nothing more than an exchange of information. Traditionally, this is the very demographic that has always been the recording industryââ¬â¢s bread and butter. There are those who would argue that the current copyright laws are outdated and no longer apply in the 21st century. In the opinion of some, the rules have changed; and so must the very definition of what constitutes copyright theft. Regardless, there is no denying the legalities of this issue must be addressed. In the meantime, the recording industry and lawmakers have pro-actively sought to adopt more pragmatic policies and legislation enabling them to compete with illegal file sharing. By pursuing partnerships with Digital Service Providers and utilizing digital media marketing strategies, the recording industry can create value and demand for their products; making illegal downloading less and less attractive. Background and Brief History Piracy, as it pertains to this subject, is defined as ââ¬Å"the act of illegally reproducing or disseminating copyrighted material, such as computer programs, books, music, and filmsâ⬠(Hosch, n. . in Encyclopedia Britannica). Music piracy, or bootlegging, has been a problem for record companies for as long as the recording industry has been around. However, since the advent of personal computers and the rapidly expanding digital age, digital piracy has become a major problem for the music industry. By the late 1990ââ¬â¢s, readily available computer software made it even easier to copy music in many formats and compress it into a digital file, or MP3 format, that is easily transferrable. Music could then be shared by simply uploading it to a file sharing site where anyone could download it for free. These sites became known as P2P sites (Napster, n. d. ). The Sound Recording Act passed by Congress in 1971, allowed for an array of reforms to copyright laws. The three biggest reforms were the lengthening of copyright terms, first in 1976, and then again in 1998. In 1984, Congress banned the rental of sound recordings around the time that cassette tapes were beginning to overtake vinyl albums as the primary from of music distribution. Congress also made it illegal to even attempt to circumvent these anti-piracy measures (Cummings, 2010, p. ). In 2001, as a reaction to changing technologies, the Supreme Court ruled against P2P sharing networks and criminalized sites that allowed its users to share and/or exchange digital audio files without the expressed consent of those who owned the copyrights. It seemed that this ruling was a reflection of a broader consensus. Sharing these files without compensating the copyright holders, as the Supreme Court saw it, was illegal. They also saw it as detrimental to the U. S. economy (Cummings, 2010, p. ). The most notorious of these file sharing sites was Napster. It is estimated that at its highest volume in 2001, there were 1. 5 million people sharing and downloading music for free using Napsterââ¬â¢s P2P software (Napster, n. d. ). In 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America was successful in receiving a court ordered injunction against Napster, effectively shutting the site down. It seems, however, that it may have been too little too late. The seed had been planted. Other sites began filling the void left by Napster. The idea of file sharing had taken off The Economics of Piracy The word piracy usually brings to mind images of buried treasures, Caribbean islands, and Johnny Depp In recent years however, another form of piracy has increasingly become the bane of the music industry. It is known as on line, or digital piracy. In the late 1990ââ¬â¢s, rapid advances in technology, access to information, and ever advancing software, began to re-shape the way music was listened to and consumed. On-line music piracy, in the form of file sharing, quickly became the most prevalent form of copyright infringement. The music industryââ¬â¢s inability to adapt to these rapid changes had cost them dearly. It is because of the digital piracyââ¬â¢s negative impact, that an immediate response to this problem is needed; the survival of the recording industry and its artists depend on it. The 1990ââ¬â¢s were good for the music industry. It enjoyed continued growth throughout the decade. CD sales and shipments saw steady increases from $7. 5 billion in 1990, to $14. billion in 1999 (Goel, Miesing, Chandra, 2010, p. ). But, as the decade began to draw to a close, trouble was looming just on the horizon. The introduction of Napster in 1999 was a sign of things to come. It is no coincidence that shortly after the launch of Napster, sales quickly began to decline. By 2008, sales for the recording industry had dropped to $8. 5 billion (Goel, Miesing, Chandra, 2010, p. ). Initially, the entire entertainment industry seemed to be caught off guard by the file sharing phenomenon; but soon enough, a strategy for litigation had been developed. By 2001, the music and movie industries had joined forces and were successful in getting an injunction against Napster. Their strategy was simple, but effective. It was their position that, because their products consume so much of Americaââ¬â¢s disposable income and leisure time, it impacts a very valuable percentage of this countryââ¬â¢s Gross Domestic Product The U. S. Department of Commerce statistics cited to make this claim showed that the entertainment industry actually accounts for 6% of the United States Gross Domestic Product was also able to show that the entertainment industry is one of a few that still enjoys a positive trade balance globally. These statistics, obviously, weighed heavily in the courtââ¬â¢s deciding in their favor (Bender Wang, 2009). A study done for the International Social Science Review published in 2009 concluded that the RIAAââ¬â¢s argument did have statistical merit. In fairness, the study does acknowledge that file sharing could actually be a more efficient way for the recording industry to market their products. Doing so would allow customers to sample an artistââ¬â¢s work prior to purchasing it. But in its conclusion, the study estimated that for every 1% increase in file sharing, music sales decreased by . 6% (Bender Wang, 2009). That is almost a 1 to 1 ratio. To put it in monetary terms, the recording industry loses $6 million every time digital piracy increases by a percentage point. And while 1% may not seem like a lot, when dealing in billions of dollars, it adds up quickly. Grammy Winner Promotes the Virtues of File Sharing Surprisingly, some of the most vocal opposition to the theory that digital piracy hurts the music industry comes from the artists themselves. One of the first artists to come out in opposition to the theory was Janis Ian. In 2002, the Grammy winning singer, songwriter, author and poet, offered a different, and more personal perspective on file sharing. Her position is that file sharing does little to harm the multi-billion dollar global recording industry. In fact, as she sees it, file sharing actually benefits the artists by increasing demand for their music; at least thatââ¬â¢s been her experience. According to Soundscan statistics there were 32,000 new releases in the U. S. by the major labels in 2001. This figure does not include the smaller independent labels that do not report sales to Soundscan. Conservatively, it is estimated that about 100,000 titles were released that year. To her, that seems like ââ¬Å"an awful lot of releases for an industry thatââ¬â¢s being destroyedâ⬠(Ian, 2002). Currently, Janis Ianââ¬â¢s website still averages about 75,000 hits per year even though her last charted hit on Billboard was in 1975. Pressures Of Industry On Education EssayHowever, the No Electronic Theft Law act of 1997 specifically addresses digital copyright infringement. In fact, the United States vs. LaMacchia case was one of the primary reasons the law was enacted. It would only be a matter of time before the merits of the law would be put to the test. It finally happened in 2006. At age 28, Jammie Thomas, a single mother of 2 from Brainerd, Minnesota found herself facing multiple lawsuits from several music industry organizations for allegedly using a file sharing service called Kazaa to illegally download music. The case achieved notoriety because, unlike others facing similar lawsuits, the now married Mrs. Thomas-Rassert, refused to settle her case out of court (Browning, 2012). And because of extensive media coverage, the case has essentially become the face of the recording industryââ¬â¢s war on piracy. After several court battles, rulings, reversals and appeals, her case still remains far from settled. In October 2007, a jury awarded the plaintiffs $222,000 in damages However, Chief U. S. District Judge Michael Davis concluded that he erred in his instructions to the jury, and awarded Mrs. Thomas-Russert a new trial. His position was that simply making a copyrighted work available to the public may not necessarily constitute distribution under the law However, the second trial ended with the jury finding in favor of the plaintiff again. This time the plaintiff was awarded $1. 92 million Judge Davis found that amount to be excessive, and reduced the damages amount to $54,000 The recording industry refused to settle for that amount and successfully argued for a third trail. So after a third trial in November 2010, the jury again sided with the plaintiff and awarded them a $1. 5 million judgment. This time, Mrs. Thomas-Russertââ¬â¢s attorneys appealed the decision; arguing that amount violated her rights of the due-process clause in the constitution. Judge Davis sided with the defendant, and reduced the amount awarded back down to $54,000. However, upon review, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this decision and remanded the case back to Judge Davis, and ordered the original $222,000 amount reinstated in September 2012 (Browning, 2012). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision clearly represents a broader consensus as well as upholds the merits of the No Electronic Theft Act. No matter the legal nuances, digital piracy is illegal and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Solution While issues with the legal definition of what constitute theft in the digital age continue to persist, one solution adopted by the recording industry has been to partner with Internet Service Providers and use a warning and throttling system. This method can identify and then issue a warning to the most egregious violators. If those progressive warnings are not heeded, the ISP will then begin to throttle the connection This method can also include ISPs blocking certain URLs, and shutting down the individualââ¬â¢s internet connection all together. From a public relations standpoint, this method of deterrence has gained a wider range of acceptance than the previous method of prosecution/litigation (Nakashima, 2008, n. p. ). Perhaps the most effective solution has been the recording industryââ¬â¢s willingness to market and create value for their products by finally embracing the very technology that once was being used against them. This is evident in the rise in popularity and profitability Digital Service Providers like iTunes and Amazon. Sites like these offer ever expanding catalogues of music for every taste imaginable. Between the two, there are over 40 million songs available download, most for . 99 cents per song, as well as entire albums for as little as $5. 00 (Google Music Has a Lot of Catching, 2011) (MP3 Music Download, n. . ). Purchased music can be downloaded and even streamed to almost any enabled device. Now, purchasing high quality sounding music online, legally, has become so convenient and cost effective that it rivals illegal file sharing sites. With that in mind, and to further illustrate the point, review the results of a 2009 study titled ââ¬Å"Estimating the Willingness to Pay for Digital Musicâ⬠conducted for Contemporary Economic Policy. The study concluded that simply reducing file sharing through legal means would not necessarily be enough to lead to an increase in revenue (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 12 522). The consumerââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Willingness To Payâ⬠must also be considered. In other words, offering a convenient high quality product, at a low price, can sway oneââ¬â¢s decision to purchase said product. This study took controlled samples of students from diverse social and economic backgrounds nationwide and surveyed them. Their study indicates that the rise in popularity and availability of fee based services such as iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify does have a positive influence on consumerââ¬â¢s WTP. By continuing to partner with digital/online music services, the recording industry can now offer a viable alternative to peer-to-peer file sharing (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 512 522). The study determined that an individualââ¬â¢s willingness to pay is largely influenced by two things. One would be the level of disposable income. The second would be the perceived risk of getting caught. Obviously, the perceived level of one will undoubtedly influence the other. While the study doesnââ¬â¢t directly address the attitudes towards file sharing in the digital age, it does demonstrate that, government policy in conjunction with effective marketing, does have a positive influence. In its conclusion, the ââ¬Å"Willingness To Payâ⬠study determined that the two pronged approach does seem to be working. Increasing the perceived risk of music piracy, and the perceived value and convenience of legal music downloads, can reduce illegal downloading (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 512 522). The study concedes that there will always be an underground market for illegal file sharing. But, by continuing to build on its momentum, the recording industry has begun to make up some ground (Chiang Assane, 2009, p. 512 522). To put this all in perspective, Jeff Beck, an Accounting Manager for Saddle Creek Records, offers insight into how the recording industry has had to adapt its business model in order to stay competitive in the digital age. Because of the popularity of Digital Service Providers like iTunes and Amazon, music is now available instantaneously (Beck, personal communication Saddle Creek Records, January 8th, 2013). Jeff summed up the new business ââ¬Å"mantraâ⬠that record companies have begun to follow, ââ¬Å"the proliferation of these services means we have dozens, if not hundreds of more revenue streams, albeit very small revenue streams in a lot of cases. The industry mantra is to put out as many buckets to collect as many pennies as possible. It eventually will add up. â⬠In Conclusion The law is clear. Digital piracy is a criminal act. Not only is it a criminal act that must be prosecuted, there is also clear evidence that it is detrimental to a U. S. conomy that continues to struggle. Remember, the entertainment industry accounts for 6% of the United States Gross Domestic Product. Digital piracy adversely affects economic recovery. It also adversely affects oneââ¬â¢s personal economy as well. Take a moment, and do some simple math. Spend . 99 cents for one song downloaded legally, or $750 for downloading the same song illegally. Which of these options makes more financial sense? With all the low cost music readily available for legal downloading and streaming, why risk breaking the law as well as breaking the bank? Bibliography: Bender, M.T. Wang, Y. (2009). The impact of piracy on music sales: A cross country analysis. International Science Review, 84(3/4), 157-170. Browning, D. (2012, September 12). Ruling revives music sharing case. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from http://www.startribune.com/local/169320686.html?refer=y Chiang, E., Assane, D. (2009). Estimating the willingness to pay for digital music. Contemporary Economic Policy, 27(4), 512-522. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from Academic Search Premiere database. Cole, T. (2012, April 21). Eulogy for a record store. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/04/21/151103039/eulogy-for-a-record-store Copyright law of the United States of America and related laws contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2013, from U.S. Copyright Office website:http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html Cummings, A.S. (2010, December). From monopoly to intellectual property: Music piracy and the remaking of American copyright, 1909-1971 Journal of American History, 97(3), 659-681. Dolfman, M. L., Holden, R. J., Wasser, S. F. (2007, October). The economic impact of the creative arts industries: New York and Los Angeles. Monthly Labor Review, 130(10), 21-34. Goel, S., Miesing, P., Chandra, U. (2010). The impact of illegal peer-to-peer file sharing on the media industry. California Management Review, 52(3), 6-33. Google music has a lot of catching up to do iTunes by the numbers. (2011, November 18). Retrieved February 7, 2013, from http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/11/18/google-music- has-a-lot-of-catching-up-to-do-to-itunes-by-the-numbers/ Gorry, Anthony G. Many People Do Not View Online Music Sharing as Wrong. Internet Piracy. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from Steal This MP3 File. Chronicle of Higher Education 23 May 2003. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Retrieved Web. 25 Jan. 2013. Hosch, W. (n.d.). Piracy. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from Encyclopedia Britannica at http://www.britannica.com Ian, J. (2002, May). The internet debacle: An alternative view. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.janisian.com/reading/internet.php MP3 music download. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2013, from http://www.amazon.com/ MP3-Music-Download/b?ie=UTF8node=163856011 Nakashima, R. (2008, December 20). Music industry drops effort to sue song swappers. Hanford Sentinel. Retrieved February 7, 2013, from SIRS Issues Researcher database. Naptster. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2012, from Encyclopedia Britannica at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/754550/Napster Scope of the problem. (n.d.) Retrieved December 16, 2012, from the Recording Industry Association of America website at http://riaa.com/ Statement of Marybeth Peters the Register of Copyrights. (1997, September 11). Retrieved January 25, 2013 from http://www.copyright.gov/docs/2265_stat.html
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