Western designer with an Eastern touch Essay Example for Free

Western designer with an Eastern touch Essay Designer Vivienne Tam has received quite a multicultural upbringing as she was born in Canton, brought up in Hong Kong, and eventually settled in New York. She has made a name in the fashion world by being innovative, and having her own distinctive style. I want to design harmonious and beautiful clothing that enhances ones personality, she says. Vivienne first became famous with her signature collection of Eastern inspired clothing with a modern edge on the New York stage in 1994. After that, East-meets-West style became her trademark and distinctive feature. Pieces of her now classic Buddha collection of 1997 ultimately became part of the permanent archives of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, The Museum of FIT and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Tams designs that have been described as simple but at the same time unique in their combination of East and West, traditional and modern have attracted the attention of celebrities including Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Madonna, and Britney Spears. At the moment, Tam owns boutiques in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Kobe, Japan. In November, 2004, Vivienne Tam opened her second freestanding store in Xian Tian Di in Shanghai, China, and her ninth store in Hong Kong, located at The Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. One of her recent successes is a partnership with The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group where she is a brand ambassador. Her works will be featured in an advertising campaign to break in spring of 2005 in nationally distributed U. S. publications. Vivienne herself described her style in her book â€Å"China Chic† where she dwells on different aspects of Orientalism including fashion, food, art, architecture and home decor. She describes in the book in detail her own crosscultural style that unites Western and Eastern elements. Vivienne Tam describes the Chinese style that is native to he rand teaches readers to appreciate the Chinese design and assess the beauty of her favorite Ming chair. Vivienne Tam’s style has always been characterized by distinct feature of Orientalism, or something that is perceived by the predominantly Western public assessing her creations as oriental. Most critics describe her style as eclectic, that is, combining the elements of the â€Å"Oriental† and â€Å"Occidental†. Her clothing are carrying the trends similar to the folk Chinese costumes, such as the glistening fabrics and loose cut while remaining attached to the spirit of New York City’ s cultural life. Said’s Orientalism and Barthes’ â€Å"signifier† Thus, Vivienne Tam’s fashionable art can be linked to the concept of Orientalism described in Edward Said’s famous work â€Å"Orientalism†. Said himself, being of Palestinian descent, had a â€Å"cross-cultural† background. Said defined Orientalism as a â€Å"way of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on the Orients special place in European Western Experience† (Said 1979). Said insisted on the Orientalism being a cultural concept that is conditioned by the existence â€Å"cultural contestant† to the European Occident, and a recurring image of the â€Å"Other†. The Orient is thus an elusive notion that is merely a product of the European imagination and is utilized to help the Occidentals to conceptualize themselves in contrast to the Oriental tradition. Said describes Orientalism as a ‘style of thought based on an ontological and epistemological distinction’† between the Orient and the Occident† (Yang). Said insisted that Orientalism is a notion that was artificially created by the artistice circles of the West who were unable to grasp the crude reality of Eastern life and conjured up for themselves a sweetened â€Å"Orient†. He wrote in his work: â€Å"By virtue of the fact that the poet, scholar, and politician speaks for, or writes about the Orient indicates the Orient is absent, and that the Orientalist is outside the orient†¦ Poets make the Orient speak, and renders its mysteries plain to the West. † (Say-Saue 2001). Thus Said sees Orientalism as a kind of representation of the Orient by the Orientalists, found in the so-called truthful texts, such as history, journals, or, in other words, as cultural stereotype other opposite to the Occident (Yang). In Orientalism Said described this notion as it surfaces in the works of the European writers trying to provide an account of Eastern realia. Said connected the orientalist approach with the European culture that tried to control its relations with the Eastern subordinate states. He denoted the Western tradition of Orientalism as corporate institution for dealing with the Orient dealing with it by making statements about it, authoring views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short . . . a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient (Edward Said). Thus, the tool of the Orientalism was utilised by the West in order to subjugate and oppress the East. The ideas present in Said’s works show that the application of Orientalism to the description of an obscure phenomenon was similar to the idea of a â€Å"signifier† used by Bathes. In the sense used by Roland Bathes’s theory of semiotics, â€Å"signifier:† is in some ways a substitute. For example, words, both oral and written, are signifiers, later exchanged by the brain for a working definition. The difference between the word â€Å"tree† and the substance which the brain substitutes for the input tree lies in the fact that you can make something out of the entity that is symbolized by the word, but you cannot use the word itself in construction. The signifier is therefore a kind of icon (Rowland Barthes Theories). Interesting in this respect is the idea of myth utilised by Roland Bathes which he determines

Siddhartha - The Three Stages Essay -- Hesse Siddhartha Essays

Siddhartha - The Three Stages "On the great journey of life, if a man cannot find one who is better or at least as good as himself, let him journey joyfully alone." The story of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse makes this point true. The main character Siddhartha dealt with the Samanas and Gotama Buddha, the second with Kamala and then the ferryman. The three parts correspond to the three stages though which Siddhartha passes on his journey to enlightenment: The stage of the mind; the stage of the flesh; the stage of transcendence. During this period-the realm of the mind, Siddhartha actively sets about letting the self die, escaping his Self. This attempt reaches its most concentrated form during his stay with the ascetic Samanas, during which he discards all material possessions and tries further to flee his own body and control his other needs. This is shown when he says, "He killed his senses, he killed his memory, he slipped out of his Self in a thousand different forms." S... Siddhartha - The Three Stages Essay -- Hesse Siddhartha Essays Siddhartha - The Three Stages "On the great journey of life, if a man cannot find one who is better or at least as good as himself, let him journey joyfully alone." The story of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse makes this point true. The main character Siddhartha dealt with the Samanas and Gotama Buddha, the second with Kamala and then the ferryman. The three parts correspond to the three stages though which Siddhartha passes on his journey to enlightenment: The stage of the mind; the stage of the flesh; the stage of transcendence. During this period-the realm of the mind, Siddhartha actively sets about letting the self die, escaping his Self. This attempt reaches its most concentrated form during his stay with the ascetic Samanas, during which he discards all material possessions and tries further to flee his own body and control his other needs. This is shown when he says, "He killed his senses, he killed his memory, he slipped out of his Self in a thousand different forms." S...

Company Analysis of Nike 2014 Essay

INTRODUCTION/ COMPANY BACKGROUND This report examines NIKE Inc. one of the leading sports brand in the world. It uses business analysis techniques such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s five forces, and Ratio analysis to analyse the business environment and performance of this company. NIKE Inc. is one of the world’s biggest sporting brand based in Oregon USA. Founded in 1968, NIKE is the world’s biggest designer marketer and seller of athletic footwear, sports equipment, apparel, accessories and services, by sales revenue of $21.5 billion in 2012 (NIKE, 2013). With 48000 employees, NIKE’s operation cuts across different regions in the world including Canada, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. They posted revenue of $25313 million in the 2013 financial year ending May 2013, the company has enjoy growth in its revenue since 2010, and this trend is expected to continue as they leverage on top sporting events to boost their brand image (Tefris 2013). PESTEL ANALYSIS PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological Environment, and Legal) analysis is a business analysis technique that is used to analyse the growth potential of a company. It helps firms identify the environment in which they operate, and can firms predict future circumstances and situations by using information and data it provides (Yà ¼ksel, 2012). This report provides a PESTEL analysis of NIKE in the following paragraphs. Political Political environment have a huge implication on the micro and macro environment of a business, and they can significantly influence a range of business decisions (Leslie and Phillip, 2012). Political environment includes political system, government policies and other trade related regulations. Some of the political factors that can affect NIKE includes the relationship between USA (Nike’s country of origin) and other host countries where NIKE operates (for example China). For example increased tension between US and China can lead to certain aggressive policies that can affect the company’s operations in China. Furthermore recent pressure on US firms to keep jobs in the US can affect plans for future factory locations of NIKE. Economical The economic environment of the countries NIKE operate in is very vital to the overall strategy and decisions of the company. These factors include the state of the global economy, economic incentives from the countries where NIKE factories are cited, the general economic condition of these countries, inflation rates and changing oil prices. All of these factors can affect the revenue of the company, increased economic growth in emerging markets such as Brazil and China presented a huge revenue opportunity for the company, however recent decline in the growth of the Chinese economy will also have some negative impact of revenue projections of NIKE. Social Social factors can influence the business decisions of NIKE one way or the other. These factors includes tradition, customs, beliefs, level of education, corruption, customer’s consciousness, changing lifestyle, and income distribution (Singla, 2007). For example increased consciousness to maintain healthy living will lead to more demand for fitness centres and gyms that in turn could lead to more sales revenues for NIKE. Furthermore clamour for increased better welfare for workers in clothing factories in countries like China, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, and pressure from the civil society groups like Worker’s Right Consortium on companies like NIKE to ensure their suppliers follow health and safety standards are among some of the social situations and issues the company have to contend with. Technological The commercial success of NIKE’s product is based on technical innovation and quality control in the design and manufacturing process of footwear, athletic equipment, and apparel (Nike, 2014). For this reason changes in technological factors can have serious impact on the overall operations of the company. For example new technology can lead to new products, improve the manufacturing process, and improve the distribution network. This implies that the revenue of NIKE can increased, or there could be reduction in the cost of manufacturing due to better technology. To maintain competitive advantage the company need to constantly understand the technological factors that affect them. Environmental Business operations of firms such as NIKE can have huge impact on the environment. Factors such as climate change, waste management, water management, and use of hazardous chemicals are all environmental impact areas the company has identified. NIKE highlights its commitment to reducing the impact of the company’s operations through understanding how related these factors are, and how a coordinated approach in the design of its product and processes can mitigate the impact on the environment, and on their business. Legal The judicial system, consumer rights, trade treaties, and ethical codes are all legal factors that affect NIKE. Constant understanding of laws and regulations is imperative to avoid serious legal implication for the company. Gotham (2013) highlights that one serious legal related issue NIKE needs to constantly deal with is the issue of counterfeit product. Ensuring that fake NIKE products are not wide spread is necessary to keep the NIKE reputation, and avoid lawsuits that can increase the legal cost of the company. Furthermore, keeping ethical standards is very vital in protecting the NIKE brand. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT is a management tool that is used to build strategic business plans (Amin et al, 2011). It is widely used in business due to its simplicity of its four factors (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) and its flexibility (Al-Araki, 2013). The SWOT analysis of NIKE is presented in the next few paragraphs below. Strength One main strength of NIKE is its dominant position in the market, and the strong brand portfolio of the company. According to Forbes (2014a) NIKE’s market share in the global footwear market reached 18.6% in 2012, and it is expected to rise to 27% in the long run. The main source of value for NIKE are footwear and apparel that are sold under the NIKE brand, together they make approximately 70% of the overall value of NIKE (Trefis, 2014). This competitive brand portfolio of NIKE and the dominant position of the company  are key strengths that enables the company outperform the industry. Weakness Watts (2009) asserts that one of NIKE’s weakness is their inability to address problems linked to their labour and factory conditions. The company has been consistently criticised for its lack of control, and dependence on contractors and manufacturers that do not meet labour standard, safe factory conditions in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and China. This has caused to bad publicity for the company, and increased calls for product boycott in recent years. Furthermore the company’s focus on quality could be a potential weakness as it explore emerging market like Brazil, because its price points will be higher and some customers in these markets could lack the level of income to purchase their products. Opportunities Increased growth in emerging economies presents a huge expansion opportunity for NIKE. The company’s management believes there is high potential for their products in markets such as China, Brazil, and other emerging countries (Trefis, 2011). The growth these economies enjoy expands the global footwear market, and NIKE is in a strong position to tap into this growth opportunity. Furthermore the increasing use of multi-channel platforms such as online and mobile for shopping is an opportunity for NIKE to reach out to more customers worldwide. Threat The company’s main threat is its increasing competition, the intense competition and unpredicted changes in in technology and consumer preference in the industry NIKE operates presents a huge risk that can threaten the operations of the company (NIKE, 2013). Some of the main competitors that remain a threat to the company includes Adidas, Puma, and Under Amour. Furthermore, the strong brand value of NIKE products increases the risk of counterfeiting of their products. This is a constant threat the company needs to tackle to ensure it doesn’t lose brand value and revenues. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Porter’s five forces analysis helps firms to understand the competition and profitability in an industry, the framework includes potential entrants, industrial competitors, suppliers, buyers and substitutes. According to  Porter (2008) understanding the competitive forces, and their fundamental causes enables companies see the root of current profitability of an industry, while it provides framework that helps anticipate and influence competition over a period of time. The following paragraphs give analysis of the how these five forces influence the competition of NIKE. Potential Entrants Potential new entrants into the market can cause NIKE to lose market share, however in the current situation the risk of potential new entrant to NIKE is minimal because of the high entry barrier because of the established nature of the global sportswear industry. While the risk of new entrants is low, it should be noted that there is a risk of new entrant into NIKE’s existing product line, this can lead to loss of sales and revenue. The company needs to channel its energy into continuously expanding its market share through improving on existing products, and introducing innovative products that will enable them maintain their competitive advantage. Level of competition The level of competition in the global sport footwear and clothing industry is very high. NIKE faces stiff competition from other brands like Adidas and Puma. According to Forbes (2014b) the company faces tough competition in emerging markets and Western Europe, as rival brands like adidas increases their competitive campaign through lunch of products and other related activities aimed at gaining back lost market share. Furthermore, NIKE also faces competition from local brands like Li Ning as they expand to emerging markets like China. The company need to work very hard to continue to protect and expand its brand, for them to be able to maintain the dominant level they are presently. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers often determine the success of companies selling a product (Bode et al, 2011). However, the availability of commodity items like rubber, and cotton NIKE uses for the production of its goods, and the high amount of suppliers in the industry gives the company absolute advantage over its suppliers. NIKE can choose to switch to any supplier at any time with less cost implication, and low risk of disruption to it supplies due of its brand reputation. Furthermore, every supplier will want to do business with NIKE because of the huge manufacturing ability of the firm. This gives NIKE power over its suppliers, and guarantee of steady supplies. Bargaining Power of customers The loyalty of customers to NIKE brand gives the company bargaining power over its customers. NIKE can decide to set its prices at high levels because it knows customers are willing to pay to be identified with its brand. As long as the company continues offer products that are innovative and appealing to its customers, the company will continue to maintain it strong position, and attract more customer loyalty (Lussier and Kimball, 2014). The bargaining power the company has over its customers gives them a great deal of flexibility in their pricing. Threat of Substitutes There is a high tendency for customers to substitute NIKE products for other brands when they face squeeze in their income during economic downturn. This is due to the fact that NIKE product are considered pricey can could be considered luxury product among certain middle class families if there is a squeeze on their disposable income. Competitors can capitalise on this to release cheaper products that will be appealing to these customer during economic slowdown, therefore NIKE need to constantly monitor the overall economic wellbeing of its customers before introducing any product. ANALYSIS OF NIKE FINANCAL RATIO *Extracted data Ratios Formula 2013 2012 2011 Asset Turnover Ratio Revenue/Total Assets 1.44 1.51 1.39 Return on Assets(ROA) Net Income/Total Assets 14.13% 14.37% 14.22% Return on Equity(ROE) Net Income/Equity 22.28% 21.41% 21.67% Gross Profit Margin (Revenue-COGS)/Revenue 43.59% 43.50% 45.58% Quick Ratio (CA – Inv.) / CL 2.60 2.22 2.19 Current Ratio CA/CL 3.47 3.05 2.85 Debt Ratio Total Debt/Total Asset 7.89% 2.49% 4.42% Debt to Equity Total Debt/Total Equity 12.44% 3.71% 6.74% Inventory Turnover COGS/ Inventory 4.16 4.09 4.35 Receivables Turnover Revenue/Receivables 8.12 7.45 6.65 *P/E Ratio 22.90 22.40 18.90 *EPS 2.71 2.37 2.20 Nike’s revenue increase by approximately 8% in 2013 from 2012 figures, looking at the profitability ratios in the table above, it can be observed that the company’s profit margin reduced from 45.89% to 43.50% in 2012 and slightly increased later in 2013 to 43.59%. The gross profit margin is a reflection what is left after the cost of production is deducted, other profitability ratios such as ROE also shows upward trend from 2011 to 2013 indicating a favourable year for the company compared to its 2012 figures. This according Forbes (2014a), and NIKE was as a result of pricing actions, and reduce cost of material such as cotton, and lower investment activities by the company in 2013. The asset turnover of the company reduced in 2013 compared to 2012, this could be attributed to the fall in sales in China one of the biggest market for the company. Furthermore, looking at the liquidity ratio of the company, it can be observed that its current and quick ratio  have been i ncreasing within the period under review. For 2013 quick ratio was 2.60times an increase from 2.22times in 2011, this is well above the industry average which is currently at 0.77times. The current ratio of the company has also been increasing in the years under review, this reflects a strong financial position for the firm because it indicates that the company will be able to meet up future debt obligations. Other solvency ratios such as debt ratio and debt to equity ratio saw a high increase from 2.49% and 3.71% in 2012 to 7.89% and 12.44% respectively. This is an indication that the company relies on debt to fund its assets, this can be due to the strong liquidity position of the company which is reflected in its quick and current ratios. The company has the ability to meets its debt obligations so the risk of using debt of using debt is low. Finally from the efficiency ratios it can be observed that the inventory turnover for the company reduced from 4.35times to 4.09times in 2012, and later rose slightly to 4.16times in 2013. This indicates that the company is still slow in the number of times its inventories is sold and replaced compared to the 2011 figure. This could be as a result of the slow recovery of most countries coming out of recession, and slow growth in key markets for NIKE. However this is not a problem peculiar to NIKE, and the company is still above the industry average of 3.6times. The receivable turnover of the company has been increasing within 2011 and 2013, it is possible that this also adds to the increasing liquidity position of the company. The EPS of the company has observed an upward trend from $2.20 in 2011 to $2.71 in 2013, also its P/E ratio also increased 18.90% to 22.90% this is an indication of NIKE’s profitability within these years and it reflects NIKE’s strong position among the investing community. The increasing P/E ratio of NIKE also indicates investors’ confidence in NIKE’s future earnings and the growth prospect of the company. In conclusion, from the analysis of NIKE financials it is evident that the company maintains a strong position in the industry, because of its inc reasing revenue despite slight drop in certain emerging market, its liquidity position is strong compared to industry average and their growth prospect is also high as reflected in their growth ratios. ANALYSIS OF SHARE PERFORMANCE Figure : Movement of Nike share price in the past 6 months. The figure above presents the share performance of NIKE for the past 6 months, from the figure it could be observed that in the third quarter of NIKE’s financial 2013 year ending May 2014, the share price of the company observed a sharp drop to $70.51, then rose to $79.64 reaching its peak in the period under review. The share price dropped to $73.2 and since then have been fluctuating within 70 and $71. According to NIKE (2013) fluctuations in NIKE share prices can be attributed to various factors that affects performance in these quarter, they include the seasonality of its products, general economic condition, weather condition, and changes in consumer preference. However, dividend pay-out announcements, expectations of quarterly results and other industry related factors could also lead to the fluctuations of NIKE share price. Overall NIKE’s share performance has been fairly stable at $70-$80 as no highly significant drop have been observed in the period under revie w. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the analysis of NIKE indicates that it remains one of the biggest sports manufacturing brands in the world. The company’s focus on manufacturing innovative products has kept them in a very strong position in the sportswear and clothing industry. Though the global economic growth has slowed down slightly, and this has also affected key emerging markets such as China, growth projections for NIKE remain strong as investors believe the company has the ability to fight off intense competition and continue to expand its dominance in the market. It is very imperative for the company to continue to maintain its level of innovation to ensure continued customer loyalty and increasing revenues. References Al-Araki, M 2013, ‘SWOT analysis revisited through PEAK-framework’, Journal Of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 25, 3, pp. 615-625, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed on 19th June 2014]. Amin, S. H., Razmi, J., & Zhang, G. (2011). Supplier selection and order allocation based on fuzzy SWOT analysis and fuzzy linear programming. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(1), 334-342. [Online] available from Science Direct Platform on: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2010.06.071 [Accessed on 19th June 2014]. BanJo , S. (2014) Inside Nike’s Struggle to Balance Cost and Worker Safety in Bangladesh. Wall Street Journal. [Online] available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/frontiers/2014/04/22/inside-nikes-struggle-to-balance-cost-and-worker-safety-in-bangladesh/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Bode, c, Wagner, s, Petersen, k, & Ellram, l (2011), ‘understanding responses to supply chain disruptions: insights from information processing and resource dependence perspectives’. Academy Of Management Journal, 54, 4, pp. 833-856, Available on Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed on 17th June 2014] Forbes (2013) Nike Shares Can Find Some Zip on Emerging Market Sales [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/11/nike-shares-can-find-some-zip-on-emerging-market-sales/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Forbes (2014b) Nike Faces Tough Competition In Europe and China. [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/04/nik e-faces-tough-competition-in-europe-and-china/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014] Forbes. (2014a) Nike Brand Apparel Division in Focus. [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/20/nike-brand-apparel-division-in-focus/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Gotham, S. (2013) Nike’s Changing External Environment. Nike.Blogpost [Online] available from: http://philnike.blogspot.com/2013/02/nikes-external-environment.html [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. Hamilton, Leslie & Webster, Philip, (2012) The International Business Environment, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition. Lussier, R, Kimball, D, (2014), ‘Applied Sport Management Skills’, Elms College, 2nd Edition. NIKE Inc. (2013) Annual Report and Notice of Annual Meeting. [Online] available from: http://investors.nikeinc.com/files/nike2013form10K.pdf [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. ‘NIKE, Inc. (2014) NIKE Inc. SWOT Analysis, pp. 1-8, [Online] Available from Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost , database [Accessed 18 June 2014]. Porter, M. E. (2008) The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40. Singla, R. K. (2007) Business Studies. Prince Print Process, New Delhi. Tefris. (2013) Here’s What Matters For Nike’s $56 Valuation. [Online] available from: http://www.trefis.com/stock/nke/articles/167536/heres-what-matters-for-nikes-56-valuation/2013-02-12 [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. Trefis (2011) Nike’s

Racial Equality And The State s Reconstruction Government...

Wade Hampton, a Southern Democrat, could never accept racial equality and in time would even lead Democrats to overthrow the Republican regime in South Carolina. Hampton III was born into a world of wealth and privileges thanks to the South s slave system. He attended a private academy, went to college, and studied law later on. He had great battlefield skills and gained a reputation out of this. Hollitz in â€Å"Race and Redemption in the Reconstructed South: Robert Smalls and Wade Hampton† describes Hampton as a â€Å"natural leader of a white supremacist counterassault on the state s Reconstruction government,† since he not only shared the same views as many other southerners and white people, but he also demonstrated power, wealth, and security to the state. In the other hand, Robert Smalls was a Republican Representative from South Carolina who wanted to reconstruct the South and guarantee political equality for the freedmen. As described in John Hollitz work, Smalls was born with a common disadvantage: he was a slave. Nevertheless, Hollitz continues to describe Smalls slavery commitment as different, yet beneficial compared to other slaves in that time. He worked for wages known as a â€Å"hired out†, which gave him relative autonomy and even gave him a type of freedom to peruse education during his youth. As Smalls grew older his skills, education, and position as deck hand on the Planter– A ship originally from the Union– served him well to escape the South and become a freeman