Marketing & Entrepreneurship What makes entrepreneurs successful Is it Essay

Marketing & Entrepreneurship What makes entrepreneurs successful Is it skill or luck - Essay Example In this paper, the researcher will use example of Sir Alan Sugar who is not only the founder of consumer electronics giant Amstrad but also the example for entrepreneurs across the world. Sir Alan Sugar established the company at the age of 21 when majority of his classmates were learning in the colleges in order to get job. Before retiring from the organization, Sir Alan Sugar transformed Amstrad from start up venture into electronics giant which is synonymous with innovation, value for money offering and customer loyalty. Was Sir Alan Sugar a magician who is blessed with sheer amount of luck or Sir Alan Sugar was a hardworking individual who used skill and intuition to build the Amstrad Empire? At this point, the essay is not mature enough to answer the question but it is expected that at the end of this essay, the answer will be revealed. One has to understand theoretical underpinning of entrepreneurship before answering the above question whether luck is important or not in makin g an entrepreneur successful. Hence, in the next section, the researcher will try to figure out pertinent variables that affect the success of an entrepreneur. Modern research scholars such as Coulter (2001) and Kirby (2004) defined entrepreneurship as the process with which a particular individual or set of individuals try to fulfil their objectives by creating value for people in the society. Nixon (2004) and Van Praag and Cramer (2001) argued that it is not necessary for entrepreneurs to create value for society rather it is more important for an individual to fulfil existing needs through innovation and unique offer in order to classify as entrepreneur. It is understandable, why management scholars tried to identify the role of luck for an entrepreneur, because giving importance on luck factor will probably disregard the importance of management skill in developing a successful enterprise. Research scholars such as Kaplan and Schoar (2005) and Hochberg, Ljungqvist, and Lu (2006) nullified the importance of luck in helping an entrepreneur to become successful. These research scholars have given examples of successful enterprises that are funded by more experienced venture capitalists in comparison to enterprises that failed due to inexperience of venture capitalists. Hochberg, Ljungqvist, and Lu (2006) strongly argued that a more experienced and skilled entrepreneur has more probability to succeed in comparison to a novice entrepreneur. Eesley and Roberts (2006) raised question over role of luck in helping an entrepreneur to succeed in a competitive environment. According to them, people often mistakenly identify the skill, experience and strategic intelligence of the entrepreneurs as the sheer amount of luck. Eesley and Roberts (2006a and 2006b) amusingly pointed out that there is no such thing as luck for an entrepreneur because an entrepreneur can move ahead in business by understanding the market need and fulfilling the need of customers by offering them value. Research scholars such as Eesley and Roberts (2006a) and Kaplan and Stromberg (2003) found that successful entrepreneurs are those who do not stop estab lishing new enterprises after failure in the previous start-ups. It is evident from the research works of previous research scholars that luck plays very little role in helping an entrepreneur to establish successful enterprises. In such context, Chatterji (2005) showed that experience in working in a particular

Allocation of Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Allocation of Resources - Essay Example The work breakdown structure of the company’s server upgrade will be as follows: Having looked at the WBS for the company’s project, it is important to explain the various work packets data that will emanate from the already formulated WBS. Work packets will determine the scope of the projects in terms of the costs involved as well as the time in hours that will be employed for the success of the project. The total work packets will be embodied in the six key areas of the intended system upgrade. They will include project launch, installation and troubleshooting and finally evaluation for changes before the final roll out to the other departments. First, the project launch will include the initiation of the project, education on the need for change in the organization and mobilization of the relevant personnel for project roll out. This will take an average of 10% of the project costs and an equal amount of time relative to the allocated project duration. Secondly, the verified programs and physical hardware will be installed into the system to gradually phase out the older system. Since the purchase and installation of the newer version of windows and other networking essential into the main server will take a lot of resources in terms of finances and time, the bulk of the project’s allocation (60%) will be assigned to this packet. This stage will also involve troubleshooting any problems associated with usage or compatibility of the newly installed system. Evaluation will involve the collection and analysis of data on usage, system capabilities and efficiency for the organization. The data collected will be utilized for the purposes of analysis that will culminate to the project’s adoption and full integration in the company’s operational systems. All the issues relating to customer usage, system requirement’s satisfaction and sustainability will be corrected at this stage to ensure a steady and running system. Since this is also an important

GBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

GBM - Essay Example What is known is the expected value to the distribution of Brownian motion at time =2. Therefore, the centre of the distribution is known, i.e. what the expected value of the distribution is and this will be the expected value of W2= 0. It will always be zero, regardless of what point in time we view the Brownian motion. The expectation of Brownian motion at all points on a plain at any time is 0 as per property one. Not only will the expected value at any time be 0, but also normally distributed. The peak of the normal distribution is centred at 0, meaning that the Brownian motion will be distributed as a normal variable with expected value 0 and variance t. Property three relates to the concept of property number two, i.e. the Brownian motion increment, which is the difference between the two Brownian motions (Wt - Ws). Therefore, the difference between the two Brownian motions is also normally distributed and the variance of the Brownian motion increments (Wt - Ws) is (t-s), where t stands for time and s stands for a point in time which differs from t. (t - s) is the difference in two time periods between measurements of our Brownian motion. Consequently, looking at the Brownian motion at two different points in time, the expected increment , the expectation of the difference of these two Brownian motions ( E [Wt - Ws])=0 and the variance of this difference ( Var [Wt-Ws]) = t-s. It emerges that the variance is proportional to time. Other properties of Brownian motion state that the process Wt has stationary and independent increments. What does it mean to say that the Brownian motion has stationary increments? Looking at an example of a Brownian motion at time = 0 (W0) and the same Brownian motion at time = 1 (W1) and then looking at a graph of our Brownian motion , it moves the Brownian motion increment further in time by a constant amount (a). This will be W0+a and W1+a and what this means is that

The importance of vocabulary knowledge

The importance of vocabulary knowledge Introduction CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and motivation The aim of the present thesis is to investigate the relationship between EFL learners depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge[1] and the extent to which vocabulary knowledge contributes to listening comprehension in English as a foreign language[2]. Over the last 20 years vocabulary has assumed a more prominent role within the field of second language acquisition research, and vocabulary is no longer a neglected aspect of language learning as it was designated by Paul Meara in 1980. While researchers in applied linguistics were previously concerned mainly with the development of learners grammatical, and to some extent phonological, competence, more attention is now being paid to their lexical competence. This has happened as a consequence of the growing realisation that lexical competence forms an important part of learners communicative competence in a foreign language. As observed by McCarthy (1990: viii) in the introduction to his book Vocabulary: No matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way. The importance of vocabulary knowledge in communicative competence has similarly been stressed by Meara who has argued that lexical competence is at the heart of communicative competence (1996a: 35) and that vocabulary knowledge is heavily implicated in all practical language skills (Meara and Jones, 1988: 80). In order to fully uncover the role of vocabulary knowledge in second language use, we therefore need to explore the extent to which it contributes to different language skills. The above claims by Meara have been solidly supported by findings from a considerable number of empirical studies investigating the relationship between learners vocabulary knowledge and their reading comprehension. Such studies have found that vocabulary knowledge is a significant determinant of reading success in L1 as well as L2. However, as will be come evident in the present thesis, very little research has addressed the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and the skill of listening in L2 and, at present, we can only tentatively assume that vocabulary knowledge will also play some kind of role in learners listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. Research of the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening is important as findings from studies of reading cannot automatical ly be applied to listening despite the fact that reading and listening are both receptive skills. The present study is thus motivated by a critical lack of empirical research on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension and by the resultant need to explore the extent to which learners vocabulary knowledge will contribute to their listening success in L2. A prerequisite for exploring the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening, or any other language skill, is a clear notion of what is involved in being lexically competent in a foreign language. A further motivation behind the study therefore springs from the need to gain more insight into the nature of learners vocabulary knowledge. As evidenced in the research literature, the field suffers from a lack of consensus as to ways of defining learners vocabulary knowledge, partly due to the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the construct. Very often the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and L2 performance has been addressed simply from the perspective of vocabulary size. However, as other dimensions of learners vocabulary knowledge have been recognised, notably the dimension of depth, we need to empirically investigate how such dimensions interact and how they can make individual contributions to learners language use. 1.2 Aims and research questions The overriding aim of the thesis is to empirically investigate the relationships between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. The point of departure for this investigation is the construct of vocabulary knowledge, specifically depth of vocabulary knowledge. Although the notion of depth in L2 learners vocabulary has received an increasing degree of attention in recent vocabulary research, the construct severely lacks conceptual clarity. For this reason an analytic aim of the thesis is to provide a clear and consistent theoretical framework for describing and operationalising the construct of depth of vocabulary knowledge. This is done by drawing on research within the field of L2 vocabulary acquisition and testing. The analytic aim then serves as a prerequisite for empirically investigating the following two main research questions: To what extent are EFL learners depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge interrelated? To what extent is vocabulary knowledge associated with successful listening comprehension in English as a foreign language? While the first research question addresses the interrelationship between two dimensions of learners vocabulary knowledge, namely a qualitative and quantitative dimension, the second research question is concerned with the extent to which these two dimensions will contribute to successful listening comprehension in English as a foreign language. The above research questions will be addressed through an empirical study comprising 100 Danish advanced learners of English. The theoretical basis and the methodology of this study will be introduced below. 1.3 Theoretical basis Although the present study draws on research in different fields, it is first and foremost a study rooted within the field of second language vocabulary knowledge and acquisition. The widely recognised theoretical distinction between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge will serve as a theoretical basis for reviewing different ways of defining and operationalising L2 learners vocabulary knowledge and for empirically investigating the relationship between quantitative and qualitative aspects of learners vocabulary knowledge and their listening comprehension. In exploring whether vocabulary knowledge is associated with successful listening comprehension in L2, the study also draws on theory and research from the field of L1 and L2 listening. Prevalent theoretical models of listening and listening comprehension will be outlined, and factors assumed to influence successful listening will be described, but this account is far from exhaustive and will only serve as a backdrop for examining the role of vocabulary in listening comprehension. This will furthermore be evident from the theoretical framework developed to describe and explore the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in the study. This framework draws on concepts from vocabulary as well as listening research, but the pivotal factor of the framework is vocabulary knowledge, emphasising that this is the main area of research in the study. In attempting to operationalise vocabulary knowledge and develop instruments that can tap learners depth of vocabulary knowledge within the context of the present research design, the study furthermore draws on concepts from testing theory and language testing research. However, the study will limit itself to primarily draw on research within the field of vocabulary testing and in particular focus on the assessment of depth of vocabulary knowledge. As will become evident, depth of vocabulary knowledge is frequently conceptualised in relation to what is made possible by assessment instruments, and the construct often becomes an artefact of the instruments used to assess it. This means that an important aspect of reviewing how this construct has been defined in various research contexts is to examine the way in which it has been operationalised. In view of this, concepts mainly related to vocabulary testing will be drawn upon in the present study. In addition to this, it is important to note that the vocabulary tests developed in the study are intended entirely as research tools that can be used for the investigation of learners vocabulary knowledge within the context of the present research design. No attempts have been made to develop generic and practical vocabulary tests that might be used for other kinds of research or pedagogical purposes. 1.4 Data and methodology The empirical study comprises 100 Danish EFL learners who are all first-year students of English at the Copenhagen Business School. These participants are given a range of tests intended to tap the depth and breadth of their vocabulary knowledge as well as their listening comprehension in English. While some of the tests are standardised measures of vocabulary size and listening comprehension, others have been designed specifically for the present study to assess the participants depth of vocabulary knowledge. Hence, a central aspect of the methodology is the operationalisation of depth of vocabulary knowledge. Different theoretical approaches to the construct will be discussed and these will serve as a basis for operationalising the construct from two distinctly different perspectives. The quantitative data collected through these tests will be subjected to different kinds of statistical analyses to explore relationships between the different variables of the study. SPSS[3] is chosen as the statistical program used for the analysis of the data and the principal statistical methods will be correlational and multiple regression analyses. As noted above, very little research has been done on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in L2 and none of this research has addressed the role of depth of vocabulary knowledge in listening. This means that there is little solid ground for the present study to build on and it must therefore be characterised as an exploratory study. 1.5 Structure of the thesis The thesis falls in two main parts. The first part, comprising Chapters 2 and 3, provides the theoretical background for the thesis, while the second part, comprising Chapters 4 to 7, describes the theoretical framework of the empirical study as well as the research design, and presents and discusses the results of the study. Although Chapter 4 is included in the empirical part, it can be viewed as a bridge between the two parts of the thesis. This will become evident from the description of the chapters below. Chapter 2 constitutes the main theoretical chapter of the thesis. This chapter provides an account of different ways in which the constructs of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge have been defined and operationalised in the research literature. Furthermore, the chapter presents two comprehensive conceptualisations of lexical competence and ability that attempt to integrate different dimensions of vocabulary of knowledge and explain their interrelationships. Chapter 3 examines the role of vocabulary knowledge in listening comprehension. While the first part of the chapter presents key concepts related to listening, the second part focuses explicitly on the role of lexis in listening comprehension. This includes a brief description of word recognition models, followed by a more elaborate review of findings from empirical studies investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in L2. Chapter 4 outlines the theoretical framework underpinning the empirical study. Drawing on theoretical approaches and empirical findings dealt with in Chapters 2 and 3, the key constructs of the study will be defined and the rationale for including them will be provided. Moreover, the chapter proposes a framework for describing the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension and presents a number of more specific research questions that will be addressed in the study. Chapter 5 presents the research design of the study, describing how the theoretical framework is operationalised. This includes information about participants, research instruments, the data collection and the data analyses. Furthermore, a pre-testing phase involving native speakers of English will be described and the results of a pilot study will be reported.   Chapter 6 describes the statistical analyses conducted and presents the results of the study in six phases. These phases address the various, specific research questions of the study. Chapter 7 interprets the findings of the study, discusses implications for theory and assessment and suggests directions for future research. Furthermore, the chapter addresses a number of limitations of the study and includes suggestions for further analyses of the data collected. Chapter 8 sums up the main findings and contributions of the thesis. [1] The concepts of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge will be defined in the chapters to come. However, at this point, it should be noted that the terms breadth of vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary size will be used interchangeably in the thesis. [2] No distinction will be made between English as second language and English as foreign language (EFL). The terms second language and foreign language will be used interchangeably. [3] Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

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Gay men, lesbians and bisexuals would be granted many of the same rights as married couples under UK Government plans for legally-recognised civil partnerships. Barbara Roche, the Minister for Social Exclusion and Equalities, says there is a strong case for allowing same-sex couples to register their relationships. This seems to be equating gay relationships with marriage and I think that is very wrong Colin Hart Christian Alliance Co-habiting couples do not receive the same tax breaks or entitlements that married couples enjoy, including access to a partner's pension. Civil partnerships could give homosexual couples property and inheritance rights for the first time. Under the plans, those who register their partnership will also receive next-of-kin status, without which partners cannot be consulted about hospital treatment. The government is set to unveil detailed proposals for change next summer and consult on the issue before bringing in legislation. Any bill would be likely to run into opposition in the House of Lords. Britons support unmarried couples Click here to read Panorama report There is already a register for gay couples in London - but it does not confer legal rights. Mrs Roche says the idea is not about being politically correct but about recognising how society has changed. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There are a number of people in gay relationships, in lesbian relationships, who are in loving relationships but their partnerships have no recognition in law. Roche: Change would send a strong message against homophobia "What I am seeking to do is to say I think there is a strong case for considering a civil partnership registration scheme." Earlier, she told the Independent newspaper the change would also send a powerful message that homophobia was unacceptable and still far too widespread. Mrs Roche said that many gay people had been refused hospital visits or excluded from funerals, while others had had to sell their homes to pay inheritance tax. Eight European Union countries, Canada and several American states already gave legal status to civil partnerships, said Mrs Roche. A new survey of British social attitudes this week suggested a "dramatic" shift in the way the public view homosexuality. We certainly welcome it and would hope that the government will go on and recognise these relationships in full David Allison, spokesman for OutRage! In 1985, 70% of people thought homosexuality was "always" or "mostly" wrong. Now that view is shared by under half (47%) of people, while a third of people says it is "not wrong at all", suggested the National Centre for Social Research survey.

Live in the Present with Memories of the Past Essay

Human Society is a long period of building and developing. From the time man lived in dank caves to nowadays when he lives in such a modern life with a lot of excellent facilities. The modern life, the excellent facilities was not a present from god. It was made by people of all generations who always learned from the past and developed everything they had learned from it. Thus, I totally disagree with the statement above that learning about the past has no value. The first reason for this is that learning about the past brings us all the knowledge and information in the past. Without yesterday, there is no today. A society can develop only when its people inherit and understand the achievements of the precursors because the precursors’ achievements were the foundation for everything to develop.. For example, before 1964 there was only black-and-white television but until now there are kinds of colour televisions that are slim and innovative such as LCD TV†¦ The black-and-white television made the basis and gave inventors idea to develop the modern TV nowadays. Consequently our knowledge, success today is the result of constant work of our ancestors before. Secondly, learning about the past is very essential because it makes us doubt and take consideration into earlier assumptions. For that reason, people will find out mistakes that were made in the past. This will show us which roads not to ever go down again and put human in a right way to develop. Learning about the past is not only learning about the history but also is learning from our and the others’ mistakes. By this way of learning, people will become more and more experienced and never make the same mistakes again. Additionally, if learning about the past has no value, people in the world could speak, could write by themselves without learning from anyone. This is impossible so the value of the past, in this case are the parents, are undeniable. In a nutshell, the past is always a good teacher and we are still bad students who crave for knowledge. Denying the past also means that we are destroying the present and our future because no one can jump without ground to stand on.

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay

Economic †¢ Market analysis by Insight Research predicts that telecommunications-industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the end of next year, and grow by a compounded rate of 5.9 percent to $1.6 trillion by 2010. †¢ Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry’s revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product. †¢ Mobile phones have had a significant impact on telephone networks. Mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in many markets. Sales of mobile phones in 2005 totaled 816.6 million with that figure being almost equally shared amongst the markets of Asia/Pacific (204 m), Western Europe (164 m), CEMEA (Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa) (153.5 m), North America (148 m) and Latin America (102 m) †¢ In terms of new subscriptions over the five years from 1999, Africa has outpaced other markets with 58.2% growth †¢ Size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years. Big companies that own extensive networks – especially local networks that stretch directly into customers’ homes and businesses – are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for interconnect more often to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big some day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation can be monumental. †¢ During the late 1990s, the telecommunications industry experienced very rapid growth and massive investment in transmission capacity. Eventually this caused supply to significantly exceed demand, resulting in much lower prices for transmission capacity. The excess capacity and additional competition led to either declining revenues or slowing revenue growth, which has led to consolidation within the industry, as many companies merged or left the industry. Socio-Cultural †¢ Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged as important for economic success in the modern world on micro- and macroeconomic scale. †¢ On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the business of online retailer Amazon.com but even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from superior telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In modern Western society, home owners often use their telephone to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh’s Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote d’Ivoire coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly v ariations in coffee prices and sell at the best price. †¢ On the macroeconomic scale, in 2001, Lars-Hendrik Rà ¶ller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal. †¢ However from any perspective the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure are undeniable and, for this reason, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. †¢ The September 11 attack reinforces the need for robust, interconnected networks that have a high probability of survival in the event of natural or man-made disaster. That argues for a consolidated base of carriers operating with agreed-upon disaster protocols Technological †¢ The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telephone service via wires and cables that connect customers’ premises to central offices maintained by telecommunications companies. The central offices contain switching equipment that routes content to its final destination or to another switching center that determines the most efficient route for the content to take. While voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires, wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of all types of graphic, video, and electronic data mainly over the Internet. †¢ These new services have been made possible through the use of digital technologies that provide much more efficient use of the telecommunications networks. One major technology breaks digital signals into packets during transmission. Networks of computerized switching equipment, called packet switched networks, route the packets. Packets may take separate paths to their destination and may share the paths with packets from other users. At the destination, the packets are reassembled, and the transmission is complete. Because packet switching considers alternate routes, and allows multiple transmissions to share the same route, it results in a more efficient use of telecommunications capacity as packets are routed along less congested routes. †¢ One way wired carriers are expanding their bandwidth is by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than tra ditional copper wire lines. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line. However, the high cost of extending fiber to homes has slowed deployment. In most areas, wired carriers are instead leveraging existing copper lines that connect most residential customers with a central office, to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) Internet service. Technologies in development will further boost the speeds available through a DSL connection. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers, many of which are subsidiaries of the wired carriers, transmit voice, graphics, data, and Internet access through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signal is transmitted through an antenna into the wire line network. Other wireless services include beeper and paging services. Because wireless devices require no wire line connection, they are popular with customers who need to communicate as they travel residents of areas with inadequate wire line service, and those who simply desire the convenience of portable communications. Increasing numbers of con sumers are choosing to replace their home landlines with wireless phones. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access that should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technologies. Wireless carriers are developing the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission. Another technology is called â€Å"fixed wireless service,† which involves connecting the telephone and/or Internet wiring system in a home or business to an antenna, instead of a telephone line. The replacement of landlines with cellular service should become increasingly common because advances in wireless systems will provide data transmission speeds comparable to broadband landline systems. †¢ Changes in technology and regulation now allow cable television providers to compete directly with telephone companies. An important change has been the rapid increase in two-way communications capacity. Conventional pay television services provided communications only from the distributor to the customer. These services could not provide effective communications from the customer back to other points in the system, due to signal interference and the limited capacity of conventional cable systems. As cable operators implement new technologies to reduce signal interference and increase the capacity of their distribution systems by installing fiber optic cables and improved data compression, some pay television systems now offer two-way telecommunications services, such as video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. Cable companies are also increasing their share of the telephone communications market both through their network of conventional phone lines in some areas and their growing ability to use high-speed Internet access to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). †¢ VoIP is sometimes called Internet telephony, because it uses the Internet to transmit phone calls. While conventional phone networks use packet switching to break up a call onto multiple shared lines between central offices, VoIP extends this process to the phone. A VoIP phone will break the conversation into digital packets and transmit those packets over a high-speed Internet connection. Cable companies are using the technology to offer phone services without building a conventional phone network. Wireline providers’ high-speed Internet connections also can be used for VoIP and cellular phones are being developed that use VoIP to make calls using local wireless Internet connections. All of the major sectors of the telecommunications industry are or will increasingly use VoIP. Demographic †¢ The telecommunications industry offers steady, year-round employment. Overtime sometimes is required, especially during emergencies such as floods or hurricanes when employees may need to report to work with little notice. †¢ Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations account for 1 in 4 telecommunications jobs. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, one of the largest occupations, work in a variety of places, both indoors and outdoors, and in all kinds of weather. Their work involves lifting, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, and crawling. They must work in high places such as rooftops and telephone poles, or below ground when working with buried lines. Their jobs bring them into proximity with electrical wires and circuits, so they must take precautions to avoid shocks. These workers must wear safety equipment when entering manholes, and test for the presence of gas before going underground. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, generally work indoors—most often in a telecommunication company’s central office or a customer’s place of business. They may have to stand for long periods; climb ladders; and do some reaching, stooping, and light lifting. Adherence to safety precautions is essential to guard against work injuries such as minor burns and electrical shock. †¢ Most communications equipment operators, such as telephone operators, work at video display terminals in pleasant, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings. If the worksite is not well designed, however, operators may experience eye strain and back discomfort. The rapid pace of the job and close supervision may cause stress. Some workplaces have introduced innovative practices among their operators to reduce job-related stress. †¢ The number of disabling injuries in telephone communications, the principal sector of the telecommunications industry, has been well below the average for all industries in past years. †¢ The telecommunications industry offers employment in jobs requiring a variety of skills and training. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma or an associate degree in addition to on-the-job training. Other jobs require particular skills that may take several years of experience to learn completely. For some managerial and professional jobs, employers require a college education. †¢ Due to the rapid introduction of new technologies and services, the telecommunications industry is among the most rapidly changing in the economy. This means workers must keep their job skills up to date. From managers to communications equipment operators, increased knowledge of both computer hardware and software is of paramount importance. Several major companies and the telecommunications unions have created a Web site that provides free training for employees, enabling them to keep their knowledge current and helping them to advance. Telecommunications industry employers now look for workers with knowledge of and skills in computer programming and software design; voice telephone technology, known as telephony; laser and fiber optic technology; wireless technology; and data compression. Political/Legal †¢ Telecommunications Act: Enacted by the U.S. Congress on February 1, 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the law’s main purpose was to stimulate competition in the United States telecom sector. †¢ FCC controls the wireless spectrum allocations among the various broadcasters and service providers. This allocation is through a competitive auction at high cost to service providers, which result in an increase of debt burden of these companies, eventually trickling down to consumers. †¢ FCC as a watchdog regulates that there be no monopoly of a single player in the telecom market. Mergers and consolidation among companies is closely watched and evaluated before being allowed Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 1. Threat of New Entrants – No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier-to-entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. In the US, for instance, fledgling telecom operators must still apply to the Federal Communications Commission to receive regulatory approval and licensing. There is also a finite amount of â€Å"good† radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. 2. Power of Suppliers – At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. 3. Power of Buyers – With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Let’s face it; telephone and data services do not much vary regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity. This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat among market segments. Customers can be as small as individual residential users like you or me, or be as big as an ISP like America Online or a large university. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. 4. Availability of Substitutes – Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband Internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Railways and energy utility companies are laying miles of high-capacity telecom network alongside their own track and pipeline assets. Just as worrying for telecom operators is the Internet: it is becoming a viable vehicle for cut-rate voice calls. Delivered by ISPs – not telecom operators – â€Å"Internet telephony† could take a big bite out of telecom companies’ core voice revenues. 5. Competitive Rivalry – Competition is â€Å"cut throat†. The wave of industry de-regulation together with the receptive capital markets of the late 1990s paved the way for a rush of new entrants. New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.