Odysseus Essay

In the poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, 3 strong character traits of Odysseus, the main character, are demonstrated. Homer makes all of these traits very clear, they can be qualified as good or bad traits. Homer displays these traits constantly but in different ways. In other words, his weakness hurt him but his quick thinking would help him. Odysseus’ arrogant attitude could either be considered a good trait or a bad trait. Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey by Homer demonstrates weak leadership, quick thinking, and an arrogant attitude throughout his journey. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus often shows a very weak side of himself. Not physically weak but emotionally weak, thus Odysseus is always caught in the corner weeping. Calypso was the first to admit â€Å"Off he sat off a headland weeping there as always† (Homer 155) which shows he is over dramatic considering the fact that Calypso says he is weeping, as always. Since this is a normal thing for Odysseus, another example of this is when he â€Å"buried his handsome face, ashamed his hosts might see him shedding tears† (Homer 195). Not only is Odysseus often caught in the corner crying but he always seems ashamed of himself. He knows when he shows signs of weakness and he doesn’t want his men to think of him as anything less than the powerful man he is. Another character trait Odysseus demonstrates throughout the story is his ability to react quickly in tough situations. On page 317 the men are struggling to stay warm. They admit that the cold will do them in. But as for Odysseus, he has a plan. a thought flashed in his mind; no one can touch a man at plots or battle–Odysseus had a plan†(Homer 317). Odysseus always has a plan, a quick plan because he is a quicker thinker. Later in the book when Odysseus distracts his people while he hides the slaughters of the suitors. He quickly realizes he can have his minstrel play his music while Telemachus drags the suitors outside. Because of Odysseus’ ability to react quickly to his many obstacles he is always able to get himself out of the sticky situations he is dragged into. If it wasn’t for this trait, he most likely wouldn’t have made it half as far as he did. Odysseus was always very confident of himself in each problem he came across. So confident that I would consider him to be conceited. Some of the things he thought of himself were very true but others were what he thought to be true. Odysseus himself admits, â€Å"my wits kept weaving- weaving cunning schemes† (Homer 224). Yes, Odysseus is a very cunning person but he also isn’t afraid to admit it, which is where his cockiness came into play. Another one of the many examples is when he is so confident he could win the challenge against Phaecia’s best. Odysseus is challenging the Phaecians to â€Å"go match that, you young pups, and straightaway– I’ll hurl you another just as far, I swear, or even father† (Homer 198) which is very confident of him.. They aren’t just any of the Phaecian’s but they are the best. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing he is so confident because it shows that he is brave and willing, but sometimes it can come off as him being overly cocky which irks his men and makes it difficult to get along. During The Odyssey, Homer portrays Odysseus to be dramatic, arrogant, and a quick thinker. He is such a strong leader but he always brings out the worst in himself but he definitely knows what to do in every situation considering he makes it home safely. Although he came across many life threatening obstacles throughout his journey home, his quick thinking often helps but his arrogant attitude sometimes ruins things for him.

Free Essays on A&P IT System

What problems did A&P have with its business? A&P was once the most famous supermarket chain in the United States and it had one time the second largest revenue reported followed by General Motors in 1950. However, by 1990, this famous old America supermarket faced depression in its business mainly due to serious competition and its old information system, which could not keep up with new trends of business. Strong competitors such as Safeway, Kroger and Wal-mart have their excellent information system to help their decision makers to manage inventory efficiently and to serve customer better. In the other hand, A&P still had a number of serious problems. â€Å"Its obsolete information technology infrastructure was composed of a complex web of stitched-together old legacy systems. The company was primarily using 12- to 20-year-old software running on two large mainframe computers.† (Laudon, Pg 67). Loli explained, â€Å"We had extremely antiquated systems, from finance to merchandising to store and warehousing sys tems.† (Laudon, Pg 67). Basically, they had outdated software and hardware for current business transaction. According to moor’s law, every 18 month or 2 year, computer speed and capability double. At the same time, we could apply this law and same concept to computer software. Every such amount of time, computer software’s capability and speed also double, because computer hardware and software are designed to cooperate mutually. In fact, there was such a tremendous improvement and development in the software world as well as computer hardware for last few decades. It is needless to say that there was a big change and huge gap between now and twenty years ago. Therefore, A&P would have outdated its software and hardware in the information technology compared to it new competitor such as Wal-mart. It would bring inefficiency in managing inventories and responding with consumer’s demand to A&P. Information ... Free Essays on A&P IT System Free Essays on A&P IT System What problems did A&P have with its business? A&P was once the most famous supermarket chain in the United States and it had one time the second largest revenue reported followed by General Motors in 1950. However, by 1990, this famous old America supermarket faced depression in its business mainly due to serious competition and its old information system, which could not keep up with new trends of business. Strong competitors such as Safeway, Kroger and Wal-mart have their excellent information system to help their decision makers to manage inventory efficiently and to serve customer better. In the other hand, A&P still had a number of serious problems. â€Å"Its obsolete information technology infrastructure was composed of a complex web of stitched-together old legacy systems. The company was primarily using 12- to 20-year-old software running on two large mainframe computers.† (Laudon, Pg 67). Loli explained, â€Å"We had extremely antiquated systems, from finance to merchandising to store and warehousing sy stems.† (Laudon, Pg 67). Basically, they had outdated software and hardware for current business transaction. According to moor’s law, every 18 month or 2 year, computer speed and capability double. At the same time, we could apply this law and same concept to computer software. Every such amount of time, computer software’s capability and speed also double, because computer hardware and software are designed to cooperate mutually. In fact, there was such a tremendous improvement and development in the software world as well as computer hardware for last few decades. It is needless to say that there was a big change and huge gap between now and twenty years ago. Therefore, A&P would have outdated its software and hardware in the information technology compared to it new competitor such as Wal-mart. It would bring inefficiency in managing inventories and responding with consumer’s demand to A&P. Information ...

Last Minute Speaking Activities for ESL Teachers

Last Minute Speaking Activities for ESL Teachers Any teacher whos been in the business for more than a few months knows its important to have short speaking activities on hand to fill in those gaps that inevitably occur during class.   Student Interviews Introducing Students to Each Other / Expressing Opinions Choose a topic that will interest your students. Ask them to write five or more questions about this topic (students can also come up with the questions in small groups). Once they have finished the questions, they should interview at least two other students in the class and take notes on their answers. When the students have finished the activity, ask students to summarize what they have found out from the students they have interviewed. This exercise is very flexible. Beginning students can ask each other when they do their various daily tasks, advanced students can make up questions concerning politics or other hot topics. Conditional Chains Practicing conditional forms This activity specifically targets conditional forms. Choose either the real/unreal or past unreal (1, 2, 3 conditional) and give a few examples: If I had $1,000,000, Id buy a big house. / If I bought a big house, wed have to get new furniture. / If we got new furniture, wed have to throw away the old. etc.   Students will catch on quickly to this activity, but you might be surprised by how the story always seems to come back to the beginning.   New Vocabulary Challenge   Activating New Vocabulary Another common challenge in the classroom is getting students to use new vocabulary rather than the same old, same old. Ask students to brainstorm vocabulary. You can focus on a topic, a particular part of speech, or as a vocabulary review. Take two pens and (I like to use red and green) and write each word in one of two categories: A category for words that should not be used in conversation - these include words like go, live, etc., and a category that students should use in conversation - these include vocabulary items youd like to get students using. Pick a topic and challenge students to only use the target vocabulary.   Who Wants a...? Convincing Tell students that you are going to give them a present. However, only one student will receive the present. In order to receive this present, the student must convince you through his/her fluency and imagination that he or she deserves the present. Its best to use a wide range of imaginary presents as some students will obviously be more attracted to certain types of presents than others. A computerA gift certificate for $200 at a fashionable storeA bottle of expensive wineA new car Describing Your Best Friend Descriptive Adjective Use Write a list of descriptive adjectives on the board. Its best if you include both positive and negative characteristics. Ask students to choose the two positive and two negative adjectives that best describe their best friends and explain to the class while they chose those adjectives. Variation:Have students describe each other. Three Picture Story Descriptive Language/Reasoning Choose three pictures from a magazine. The first picture should be of people that are in some sort of relationship. The other two pictures should be of objects. Have students get into groups of three or four students to a group. Show the class the first picture and ask them to discuss the relationship of the people in the picture. Show them the second picture and tell them that the object is something that is important to the people in the first picture. Ask students to discuss why they think that object is important to the people. Show them the third picture and tell them that this object is something that the people in the first picture really dont like. Ask them to once again discuss the reasons why. After you have finished the activity, have the class compare the various stories that they came up within their groups.

M5 Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

M5 Reflection - Essay Example Inclusive schools cultures that are open and friendly to the communities around them as well as the rest of the stakeholders can be achieved through ensuring the communication between all these entities is trusting and open (Stuht, 2009). Social capital is greatly increased when the schools and the community are able to communicate openly and teachers must word hard to eliminate any misunderstandings founded on cultural differences. I order to improve the academic achievements of schools and students, it is important to involve community-based organizations such as libraries, zoos and museums among other organizations as they provide the students with additional information. Additionally, the schools should adhere to the federal regulations for the involvement of parents and parents can ensure this through creating awareness in the school environment (Wanat, 2010). The parents should have a commitment to creation of a positive school culture as well as a safe and operational learning environment, which is able to support holistic education. The schools should also be committed to lead and manage evidence based instructional programs that will make sure that all the children who learn in their institutions gain knowledge, skillsets and values that will mold them into contributing society

CSR WEB REPORTING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11000 words

CSR WEB REPORTING - Essay Example The corporate need to communicate information regarding corporate social responsibility practices at regular periods. There are various ways to do the same. One of them is web reporting. The web reporting of corporate social responsibility is relatively unexplored area. This paper discusses various issue related to corporate social responsibility, internet and web reporting and analyses the web reporting pattern of five companies from different sectors and parts of the world. Every organisation must function within the context of society and community. Concepts like competence, competitiveness, and profitability are the key to a successful organisation. Along with these comes the all-important aspect of responsibility. An organisations needs to adopt a responsible attitude not merely when dealing with employees, clients and shareholders but also its other stakeholders too. The image and success of an organisation is reflected in its commitment towards society, the commonly used term for which is Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. Organisations have their own inner and external environment to manage. The management aspects of both the environments require transparency and proper information sharing. There are various factors that constitute together the concept â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility†. Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of the wealth creation process. The paper first covers issues related to corporate social responsibility in the Section 1. Various views regarding the concept are discussed here. The next section elaborates the role of Internet and web reporting at present. One of the reasons of growing web responsibility in present scenario is the growing number of Internet users. Internet provides a faster mean of communication and information sharing. The information sharing has a great impact on stakeholders. Internet has provided a fast mean

The Dicode PPM (DiPPM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Dicode PPM (DiPPM) - Essay Example The results from the simulation tests have revealed that when the RS decoder is used it increases the transmission efficiency of the DiPPM to a large extent by decreasing the number of photons. In addition, the system using the RS code has also been shown to provide an improvement of 5.12 dB as compared to the systems which do not employ the RS code. Such an improvement is observed when the code functions at the optimum rate of (3/4) and at a code length.Further, the results have also shown that at this optimum code rate, the DiPPM system achieves maximum transmission efficiency. However, when the system is operated below this optimum level, there is an increase in the number of redundant symbols which in turn negatively affects the performance of the system. It is only above the optimum coding rate that the redundant symbols are found to decrease which implies that the amount of correcting symbols also decrease thereby reducing the transmission efficiency. From the results, it is al so evident that the DiPPM system while using the RS code required only about 14.3 x 103 photons per pulse when it is operated at a bandwidth equal to or above 0.9 times the PCM data rate. On a comparative basis when the DiPPM system uses the MLSD system it achieves a reduction in a number of photons per pulse when it is operated at a bandwidth of less than 1 normalization. From this, it is evident that the DiPPM system when using the RS code outperforms that of the MLSD system when it is operated at a high bandwidth.

Environmental Strategic Analysis

Environmental Strategic Analysis Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN AND STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF HP Environmental Scan and Strategic Analysis of HP Introduction to HP Hewlett-Packard (HP) is a computer and electronics company, and in the Fortune 500 list, it has been ranked 11th. It has an eminent team of 142,000 employees scattered around 170 countries. Palo Alto in California is the headquarter of HP. The companys offerings are in the fields of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, imagining and printing, global services. Silicon Valley start-up is the other name given to HP and is known for developing scientific calculator which was the first hand-held. It has a huge Product and service categories. The company has a huge investment in Research and Development (RD), nearly about $4 billion. This has fuelled the invention of new products, technologies and solutions (Datamonitor, 2004). Step 1 Following are the three forces from remote environment, which Influence the company are: Technological factor Political factors Ecological factors Technological factor Technological factors comprises of the factors that are associated with applied knowledge, machines, materials those are used for the production of goods and services that greatly has a impact on the business. Important factors that influence technological environment are technological sources like company source, foreign source, external source, and cost of acquiring technology. Another factor is development in the technology, rate of change of technology and research and development. In Todays world technology plays a vital role. This factor has a great relevance to the company, as it has a great impact on human beings and also effects communication in management. It is used as strategic weapon in order to fight the competition in a long run. The technology of HP addresses in China, Russia, Brazil, and India. It has successfully adapted to various needs; for example to the non-Western languages, infrastructures, that are unique. Researchers are striving for creating such a technology that can leverage a role of mass communications medium instead of television. As compared to internet, TV is much more persistent as more than 130 private channels are available. HP Labs researchers are looking for the ways to complement TV broadcasts with synchronized printed material that is used for education and other important applications (kotler, 2003). The strategic implication of technological change has lead to change in competitive cost position, creating new markets and also refined business segments. The companys major goal is to assist customers across the world by enhancing the access to information and communications technologies which can satisfy their needs in best possible manner; this can help the company to capture its next billion customers. HP has the ISS Technology that gives information about new updated technology innovations and their implementations in the Industry Standard Server (ISS) product line. Conventionally management products were built on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which became a persistent management technology. However, relative to current alternatives SNMP-based management solutions has gained scrutiny for their simple structure. A new product which is based on Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) was introduced by HP, that consist of management and Internet standard technologies which help to unite the management of distributed computing environments. HP Insight Management WBEM Provides Many advantages for Windows. Ecological Factors The major global concern is the deteriorating environment. The concern arises because many global cities have crossed the dangerous level of air and water pollution. The greenhouse gases are the major cause of these environmental hazards. In many countries strict rules have been imposed in order to reduce industrial pollution. Many clubs and NGOs have also came forward as watchdogs. New regulations being imposed on companies have proved expensive to them. The industries like steel, auto, IT, FMCG, have invested billions of dollars in environment pollution control equipments. Many other industries had to increase their products biodegradability (Misra Puri, 2007). The companies have to be more conscious about various opportunities and threats arising due to ecological degradation. Some of the areas of concern for the companies are shortage of raw material, increased energy cost, increased level of pollution and change in government rules. (Kazmi, 2002).HP was using Brominated flame Retardant (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for computing products which are harmful to the nature. It has resorted to eliminate all uses of Brominated flame Retardant (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its computing products which are to be launched in 2009 because of the availability of technologically feasible alternatives, which will not negotiate product performance and quality and will not adversely impact health and the environment. HP eliminated more than 95 percent of the BFRs used in the external case parts of its products more than 10 years ago, including two, PBDE and PBB, which were subsequently among the substances restricted by the Restrictions of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. During the same timeframe, HP also eliminated polyvinyl chloride from the external case parts of its products. It is further working with suppliers and identifying such materials which will have no/reduced adverse impact on the environment and the customers as well. They are in the process of evaluating the whole life cycle of the products, cost and environmental impact of new products and identifying alternative materials which will have less impact on the environment. In spite of their best efforts, it is difficult for them to confirm the claims for new materials used because the new materials may not have been researched as thoroughly as existing materials. Political Factors All the company decisions are very much affected by the political and legal developments taking place in the countries it is operating. This environment comprises of the pressure groups, laws and government agencies which influences and limits various companies and their working. It consists of factors related to management of public affairs and their impact on the businesses. Industrialist shows keen interest in the politics of both home and host countries. The reasons may be several. Legislations affecting business are set by political parties. The government despite of taking liberalization measures, exercise enormous regulatory powers that can make or destroy any organization. Political funding of elections is widespread among the business houses. Several of them come openly in favor of a particular political party while a few join politics. Political stability in the country also attracts multinationals, because the stability in the country is directly linked to the economic development of the country as a whole. Hewlett-Packard is also liable to follow the regulations regarding hazardous substances, such as the EU restrictions of Hazardous Substances and Japan J-MOSS. These restrictions have forced the company to use substitutes of hazardous materials. The other regulation REACH, which replaces the existing EU legislations of chemicals with a single system for all chemical substances, has also to be followed by the company. These regulations give greater responsibility to the company to assess the properties of chemicals and manage the environmental and health risks, and at the same time communicate information to suppliers and users for the supply of the materials of such specifications only. While complying with all regulations, HP is supporting the overall objective of REACH to improve and protect human health and the environment. The long standing policy of Hewlett-Packard is to provide such products and services which are safe to use and environmentally favorable throughout their lifecycle. The company is planning to meet all the specifications of such rules and is committed to provide its customers with the required information about the chemicals which are being used in their products, in order to comply with REACH. The company is also working with government and industry to ensure a workable system which satisfies the primary goal of REACH. The suppliers are also convinced to ensure that the companies products mach the needs of the regulations. Step 2 HP has gained Strategic adaptability through Sustainable competitive advantage, which helps the company to maintain and improve the competitive position in the market. Customer plays a key role in todays world as they want the products quicker, cheaper, and also want it their way. The company has built its sustainable competitive advantage around the following: The corporate capabilities: Competitive advantage can be determined in two ways- firstly based on distinctive capabilities and second reproducible capabilities. People also act as the Main Source for Competitive Advantage. Corporate Culture plays a vital role in achieving competitive advantage HP has gained it through intricate interactions between individuals, organizations and environmental factors. Environmental analysis of HP through SWOT analysis For making the overall environmental analysis of Hewlett-Packard we analyze the companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses of the company constitute the internal environmental analysis while the opportunities and threats constitute the external environmental analysis. Strengths of HP Its customer loyalty is the main strength of HP. Apart from this; HP is the leading innovator for nearly seven decades as it invests almost $4 billion annually on RD. Other strengths lie in Printer business, Brand, Technology Knowledge, relationships, Sales compensation. It has been able to supply the different features that consumers want at competitive prices. HP has been able to retain the customer loyalty because they are strongly attracted to the unique features of products. Technical superiority and quality products have kept the company at the top of the computer printers market. Weaknesses of HP Its wide range of operations all round the world possesses the problem of communication in the organization. Its manpower team of about 142000 employees round the world sometimes paves the way to cultural differences. Other weaknesses lie in Distribution of inventory, Culture, internally focused, incur excess Costs Opportunities of HP With its high and focused research team, it can make more innovative products and develop products of customer requirements. Its huge size and scope of operations will enable it to reach new markets and serve them with comparatively lower costs. Its supply chain of $52 billion will also help the company expand its business. Threats of HP The company being ranked at 11 positions in the world poses the competition from other big and small companies like DELL (producing cheap, quality, no inventory), IBM, Microsoft, Starbucks etc. Its main area of concern is to focus on a small segment of electronic goods only. It has been observed that other threat is weaken manufacturing system. Remote environment The Remote environment consists of Economic factors, Social factors, Political factors, Technological factors and Ecological factors. Economic factor: It involves factors related to production and tells about the distribution of wealth. A year ago, the revenue in third quarter rose to $21.9 billion, up 5%. In 2005, the quarter was greatly affected by a larger-than-normal provision for taxes of $960 million which resulted from the companys decision in order to send home $14.5 billion in cash from foreign earnings. Company reported a 65.4% improvement that is in terms of operating income. According to the analyst of Goldman Sachss, HP does not seem to be tripping over out of its way to cite problems in the overall economic environment. According to the beat analyst of HP, the company announced to buy back $6 billion in stock, which is larger repurchase and represents more than 6% shares at current prices. The computer division in the competitive market is very profitable for the company. Due to this the revenue of the company has grew 8% to $6.9 billion. Technological factors: Development in the technology, rate of change in technology and research and development are the major factors. The latest technologies announced by the company are:- Gesture keyboard: Roman alphabet was the prominent feature in Traditional keyboards; recently HP researchers have produced a stylus-and-tablet solution, which is easy for people to study and use. For filling out forms, Pen-based solutions: it consists of digital ink which can be transferred to central location, here handwritten input gets converted to machine-readable text which helps in storage and processing . TV broadcasts that are Print-supplemented: HP researchers are focusing on developing technology which can deliver print material in synchronization with TV programming. Multimedia education centers: HP researchers are working on a technology that can provide on-demand broadcast education programming for learning institutions which can enable multimedia access. Secured paper documents: Company is extending its public services to small towns in remote areas with the help of Internet cafes instead of local government offices. The problem in the secured paper documents is the authenticity of the transmitted documents. Political Factors: Hewlett-Packard is also liable to follow the regulations regarding hazardous substances, such as the EU restrictions of Hazardous Substances and Japan J-MOSS. The other regulation like REACH, which replaces the existing EU legislations of chemicals with a single system for all chemical substances has also to be followed by the company. Ecological Factors: The companies have to be more conscious about various opportunities and threats arising due to ecological degradation. Some of the concerning areas for the companies are shortage of raw material, increased energy cost, increased level of pollution and change in government rules. HP was using Brominated flame Retardant (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for computing products which are harmful to the nature. It has resorted to eliminate all uses of Brominated flame Retardant (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its computing products which are to be launched in 2009 because of the availability of technologically feasible Political Factors This environment comprises of the pressure groups, laws and government agencies which influences and limits various companies and their working. Hewlett-Packard is also liable to follow the regulations regarding hazardous substances, such as the EU restrictions of Hazardous Substances and Japan J-MOSS. These restrictions have forced the company to use substitutes of hazardous materials. The other regulation like REACH which replaces the existing EU legislations of chemicals with a single system for all chemical substances has also to be followed by the company. These regulations give greater responsibility to the company to assess the properties of chemicals and manage the environmental and health risks, and at the same time communicate information to suppliers and users for the supply of the materials of such specifications only. Social factors HP is involved in various social issues. For e.g. it is engaged in various soil and ground water conservation products. It also recycles the PCs and other electronic goods which it produces. This helps to safeguard the society. It also takes cares of its employees health and safety. Global Environment Reasons for firms going Global In few years more companies are venturing into global operations in order to achieve the benefits of economies of scale and widen their customer base. The home country market becomes saturated after a period of time, which forces the company to search for new markets in order to enhance its revenues. Companies also venture foreign markets in order to take the advantage of cheaper sources of material and other resources. Going global also reduces the dependency on any on market. Complexity of the global environment When company goes global various complexities are faced by it, these include the differences in culture or know how to deal effectively with the national of other country, difficulty in understanding the preferences of the customers of that country, the company might also to offer a product which is competitively attractive. Various legal regulations also put forth many problems in front of the companies going abroad. The devaluation of currency, Political instability, property which is expropriated and huge cost involved in setting up plants and basic infrastructure are the other factors which creates complexities for the companies. Control problems of the global firm Major control problems of the firms include the differences in way of handling the issues and problems by the employees. For example the companies of US follow the X theory while the Japanese follow the Y theory of dealing with employees. Global strategic planningIt is essential for every business in order to attain the growth of the business. Its future depends on the strategic plans it made I its die course of operations. In order to exploit various environmental opportunities and limit the adverse effects of environmental threats strategic planning is essential. Industry environment HP most complex global supply chain IT industry. Approximately $50 billion it spends annually in order to procure materials, components, manufacturing, and distribution. HP is investing in supply chain, social and environmental responsibility (SER) which reflects the global citizenship principles committed and shows whether supplier diversity meets stakeholder expectations. HP main foundation lies in the protection of international human rights HP is committed towards the lives of the workers who manufacture the products. Competitive forces that helped HP in gaining competitive advantages HP has gained Strategic adaptability through Sustainable competitive advantage which helps the company to maintain and improve the competitive position in the market. Customer plays a key role in todays world as they want the products quicker, cheaper, and also want it their way. The company has built its sustainable competitive advantage around the following: The corporate capabilities. Competitive advantage can be determined in two ways- firstly based on distinctive capabilities and second reproducible capabilities. People also act as the Main Source for Competitive Advantage. Corporate Culture plays a vital role, in achieving competitive advantage HP has gained it through from intricate interactions between individuals, organizations and environmental factors. Contending forces Threat of entry: new entrants decrease profitability. The profit rate will fall unless the entry of new firms is blocked by incumbents. HP can focus on patents, rights, economies of product, brand equity, switching costs Powerful suppliers: it can be described as the market of inputs. Raw materials, components, and services which are provided by suppliers can exercise power over the firm Powerful buyers: it refers to final consumers or the distributors of the firm or the market of outputs. There bargaining power of customers puts the firm under pressure to change prices. Substitute products: these are the alternatives available to the consumers; their availability enhances the propensity of customers to switch to other products (Ramaswamy Namakumari, 2007). Operating Environment Competitive position: HP is the worlds largest computer and electronics company. It ranks 11th in the fortune 500 companies. The company is known for the first Silicon Valley start up. Its goodwill in the market is very good. Customer profiles: As the company is working worldwide it has a large customer base which is loyal to it. The customers include both the direct customers and business houses as it customers. Suppliers: Suppliers are the most important part of the organization. Without them no organization can survive. The supplier base of HP is of around $52 billion which is the largest in the IT industry. The company chooses them on the merit base of their products. Creditors: The creditors constitute a very important part of the company. They are the firms and individuals which provide company with funds on credit. The suppliers also form a part of the creditors. Human resources: The Company has a wide employee base with about 142000 workers working all round the world. Its employees are highly innovative and culturally diversified. Vision and values of HP Vision and values of HP has helped in achieving long term objectives. For about 7 decades, HP has proved to be a leader in innovative products. Its objectives and mission being aligned with its size and scale help the company to offer customers competitively priced products at lower costs. The company has a $52 billion supply-chain which is the largest in the IT industry. The company focuses on improving its customer relations and tries to make them learn about the company. Its strategies for supply are successful because it supplies competitive products at low prices. Its customer loyalty has also been excellent. References Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing management. 11th Edition, New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India. Ramaswamy, V.S. Namakumari, S. (2007). Strategic Planning Formulation of Corporate strategy. New Delhi: MacMillan India Ltd. Misra, S.K. Puri, V.K. (2007). Economic environment of business. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House. Kazmi, A. (2002). Business policy and Strategic Management. 2nd Edition, Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. Wheelen, T.L. hunger, J.D, (2007), Strategic Management and Business Policy. 9th Edition. Delhi: Pearson Education Pte. Ltd. H. R. practices. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from www.hp.com