west wing essays

west wing essays April 21sts episode of West Wing had many different topics and stories playing side by side simultaneously. Of the many running stories, there were three that played the largest role and had the most significance in the show. All three of the major stories ran simultaneously so there is no particular order in which I will summarize them. The first issue in The West Wing was the issue of the FCC regarding large corporations monopolizing the media by buying large chunks of air time, thus having the power to sway peoples decisions on important events like elections and so forth. The main character who was investigating the matter found out that the years before it was illegal for large companies to buy a majority of air time, and now, for this year they have made it so that no single company can have share larger than 39.7%. This number is relevant because the year before a large company had had that exact number and the FCC accommodated for that company so they do not fall into trouble; thus there is some kind of corruption in the FCC regarding the media and monopolies. At the end of the show it looked like the main advocate of the show who was after the truth of the FCC media scandal was going to call a white house press meeting to address the issue. The next important issue in The West Wing is the issue with outsourcing American jobs to India. The character who was the lead in this plot was not too comfortable with the contract that was going to be made even though he was in charge of getting it set up. When a group of the characters are in a room discussing this issue they all say simultaneously say Free trade creates better paying jobs. This quote is relevant in that there idea of how the economy should work is that in the long run, it will be better if America outsources middle-class jobs, computer programming in particular, because we get the information we n ...

13 Jobs With The Biggest Pay Increases in 2016

13 Jobs With The Biggest Pay Increases in 2016 in the past year, the average american worker’s salary has gone up 2.5%. but that’s the average. some workers in certain fields actually saw much larger increases in 2016. here are the 13Â  jobs that saw the highest pay increases.1. communications managercommunication managers saw an average salary increase from 2015 to 2016 of 5%, raising their median base pay from $80k to $84k. communications managers need a bachelor’s degree in communications or pr plus several years experience, and spend their time overseeing internal and external messaging for their organizations.2. underwriterunderwriters decide who gets a mortgage, based on the applicant’s credit, capacity, and collateral. the job requires a high school diploma, plus an education program and the passing of an exam. they also saw an average pay increase last year of 5%, from $57k to $60k.3. case managercase managers work in health care to provide guidance and action plans for people coping with comp lex medical situations. they can be rns, social workers, pts, and most employers prefer at least an associate’s degree in human services or social work. this position saw an average increase of 6%, from over $42k to $45k.4. marketing coordinatorthis position also saw an increase of 6%, from over $42k to $45k. these folks assist marketing managers in different ways, from company to company. to get this job, you’ll want a bachelor’s degree in marketing and have some experience at the entry-level or as an intern.5. claims adjusterclaims adjusters assess damages done to properties for insurance companies. they need a bachelor’s degree in finance, insurance, or business, plus intern or entry-level experience in the field, and to pass a licensure exam. but this position saw a 6% pay increase, from $45k to nearly $48k.6. admissions representativea bachelor’s degree (in education, admissions, customer services, or sales) is required to recruit and inform p otential applicants for colleges, but this position saw a 7% increase in median base pay, from $42k to nearly $45k.7. data analystdata analysts work across a wide variety of industries, interpreting data and providing insight to companies on how to make informed business decisions. the average pay increase last year was 7%, from just under $61k to $65k per year.8. media plannermedia planners are in charge of digital media campaigns- from soup to nuts- and often work within ad agencies. they need a bachelor’s degree in the liberal arts, plus experience starting out in the field, usually as an assistant media buyer. the average pay increase last year was 7%, from over $42k to $45k.9. registered nurse (rn)registered nurses also saw an average increase of 7%, from over $63k to $68k per year. this position requires an associate’s degree in nursing, and applicants must pass a national licensing exam.10. recruiterrecruiters put job seekers into jobs, working to please both fu ture employees and their employers. think of them as the matchmakers of the business world. they typically have a bachelor’s degree in hr, or a certification in that field, plus some experience. but their pay increase last year was 7%, from $42k to $45k per year.11. implementation consultantanother 7% increase, from $70k to $75k per year. this position requires several years’ experience, plus a bachelor’s degree in computer science or it, but can work across a wide variety of industries, helping them to develop their software or hardware applications.12. sales managersales managers saw a whopping 11% pay increase from 2015 to 2016, from ~$66k to $73k per year. they need a bachelor’s degree and a few years experience as a sales rep, but then they oversee their own teams and start raking in the cash.13. certified nursing assistant (cna)certified nursing assistants report to nurses, giving hands-on care to medical patients. they don’t need a college d egree, but they do need to go through an accredited cna program to get credentialed. they also saw an amazing 11% increase in pay, from $45k to $50k per year.

The Principles of Delivering Remarkable Service in the Hospitality Essay

The Principles of Delivering Remarkable Service in the Hospitality Industry - Essay Example It is important to adopt positive attitude when dealing with customers because this is the key practice towards achieving remarkable service delivery in the hospitality industry. Therefore it can be argued that organizations in the hospitality industry need to embrace the culture of remarkable customer service delivery. Organizations need to empower itself to ensure that exceptional customer service delivery is made possible. Remarkable service delivery enhances the identification of customer needs and how to customize the service delivery approach. This will ensure that all members in the entire organization fully embrace and develop the culture of effective and efficient remarkable service delivery. To achieve this organization need to incorporate principles of remarkable service delivery in its operations, vision and the entire corporate culture. These principles basically provide guidelines and procedures on how organizations in hospitality industry can have remarkable service delivery (Kusluvan 2003). It notably helps teams and leaders in hospitality industry have an insight understanding on remarkable excellent customer service delivery. The principles of delivering remarkable service in the hospitality industry entail the following. There are various attributes in hospitality industry which significantly contribute to these organizations delivering remarkable service. These attributes compliment the remarkable service delivery skills which are very essential in the industry. These attributes ensure that the remarkable service delivery skills are focused on the satisfaction of customer needs. It establishes a core foundation in establishing strong relationship with the customers based on trust and loyalty. It is notable that all the attributes contributes collectively on the customer retention, loyalty and overall success in the hospitality industry (Kusluvan 2003). The

Prices of Palladium Metal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prices of Palladium Metal - Assignment Example The diagram given below explains the phenomena: D` D S P1 P2 D D` The diagram exhibits that when alternative metals are found to be usable in manufacture of automobile converters, then Platinum and Titanium are no longer needed for use in automobile converters (Sharma, 2009). Hence, there is a consequent movement in the aggregate demand curve for automobile converters, shown with the movement of curve DD to D`D`. The shift in aggregate demand curve shows there is lesser inclination of buyers of Platinum and Titanium buyers to purchase these metals at a given price level (Agarwal, 2007). The shift in aggregate demand curve alters the equilibrium point at which aggregate demand curve DD intersects with aggregate supply curve SS (Mendes, 2011). It is important to note that the supply curve remain unchanged because suppliers are willing to supply Platinum and Titanium metals at the same price and quantity as before. The new equilibrium point corresponds to a lower price of the metals and reduced quantity of metal being traded in the market (Baurnol, 2011). The elasticity of both demand and supply curve is taken as being ‘unit elastic’ because both suppliers and buyers have alternative materials available. Hence, at the new equilibrium point both price and quantity consumed of the two metals is lower than it was before. The net outcome is a fall in both prices and quantity consumed of the two materials. ii) The above mentioned change took place merely due to the reduced demand for the physical metal in the market. However, another effect takes place in the market after the news of alternative metals become public (Henderson, 2003). The second effect is termed as speculation effect. The speculators in the metal market either maintain a physical stock in their possession or futures contracts of these metals with the hope of selling these metals at a profit. When the news of alternative metals becomes public, these speculators will try to rid themselves of their possession of metal immediately. Their attempt would be motivated by the urge to go out of market before market goes down to a very low level. D S S` P1 P2 This second effect of the decisions of these speculators will change the supply in the market of the alternative metals. There is going to be a short-term increase in the supply of Platinum and Titanium due to unloading effect of speculators. This movement is depicted the diagram above with the rightwards movement of the supply curve. The net effect of this movement is a further decrease in the price of the commodity in the market (Fisher, 2007). However, the effect of reduced quantity consumed will be partly compensated by a partly increase in consumption. Those manufacturers which used to find Titanium and Platinum as too costly would now be able to afford these metals in manufacture of automobile converters. Therefore, the net effect of the above two phenomena in the market for precious metals would be a significant dec rease in the prices of the metals (which could certainly be referred to as a ‘market crash’) and a partly decrease in consumption of Titanium and Platinum. Impact on the Market for Nissan and Mazda The impact of technological breakthrough will also be felt on the market for automobiles as well. In this section, the impact on the market demand and prices of both Mazda and Nissan is discussed. The graphical

Modern and Contemporary Essay Example for Free

Modern and Contemporary Essay This paper deals with two things in relation to pantheism: first a few samples of the contemporary literature, which argue very little and unpersuasively, However, two major historical theorists of pantheism, Spinoza and his later follower, Schelling, serve to rescue the theory and place it on a firmer, more scientific ground. Pantheism has taken many forms throughout its history, and no one definition will suffice to take in all particular manifestations of this phenomenon. One of the main disconnects concerning pantheism as an ontology is to what extent Pantheism can be called a religion: this is the real issue. The modern, contemporary pantheists seem to have no religion whatsoever: no God, no doctrine. The contemporary readings on this question seem to â€Å"socialize† the vague â€Å"interconnections of all living things. † (Russell, 2008, 2). To merely attach a vague feeling of the â€Å"sacred† to a purely secular view of natural interconnections is not to create a religion. And hence, the problem. One might take the view that there are generally two forms of pantheism over time: the modish, trendy version that seeks to sacralize the secular phenomenon of nature, and a far more sophisticated form of pantheism made famous by Baruch Spinoza and his later pupil (of sorts) Friedrich Schelling. Both of these questions will be dealt with in this paper. First, we will deal with the contemporary readings on this subject, and then, the far more substantial questions of pantheism brought up by the Dutch philosopher. Standing in the Light is a book that says very little. It is heavy in vague emotive connectiveness, very light on definition and ontology. Ultimately, the â€Å"light† is whatever you want it to be: it can be a religious figure, a philosophical idea or merely a feeling, hence reducing it to nothingness by attempting to cover every emotive reaction (Russell, 2008, 3-4). In this view, she seeks to redefine atheism (cf page 4) as a view where the â€Å"universe† is seen as not sacred. But since the concept of the sacred is never defined, there are no atheists. Or, better, that this vulgar view of pantheism, which is reduced to a feeling of awe in the face of nature (as representing both good and evil, as she holds, 87ff), is itself atheism in that there is no God, but there is an awe in the face of nature’s grandeur. Few atheists would recoil at awe when looking at nature. In this same vein lies the work of Paul Harrison (2004). Again (35), he holds that â€Å"nature is to be revered. † It is unclear whether he thinks nature of â€Å"god,† since god is an elastic term that covers the object of one’s awe or respect. His dispensing with philosophical rigor is typified in his manipulation of Anselm’s famous ontological argument for god’s existence. In Harrison’s case, he mutilates it beyond recognition. The original argument was, to summarize, that god is that about which nothing greater can be conceived. But since this object must have existence (since to have existence is to be greater) god must exist, since that would be the greatest thing conceptualizable. Harrison does not seem to understand the nature of this controversial view. He assumes (Harrison, 36) that nature is the greatest thing that can be conceived, and hence, is god. This has no bearing on the argument ascribed to Anselm of Canterbury. He also seems to completely misunderstand Aristotle’s argument from causality. On page 38, Harrison holds that the â€Å"skeptical† answer rejects the necessity of a first cause, there is no need for one. If one can imagine a limitless future, one can imagine a limitless past. Since no one can imagine or visualize a â€Å"limitless† future, the same might be said of the past. Harrison seems to posit an actual religious element to pantheism in that it holds that matter is eternal, ever existing, always changing, and hence, it is a belief to be taken on faith, and hence, religious. A mildly interesting argument is his philosophy of history. He holds that history contains three movements: the hunter gatherer stage, agricultural and technological (Harrison, 50-53). It goes like this: at one time, man lived in full accordance with nature as hunter’s and gatherers. Then he decided to become settled. This was the great evil: settled agriculture places man as master of nature. Only in the technological phase was nature reintroduced, permitting a rational eco-centrist to rebuild our planet. Making sense of this argument is difficult: there are several fallicies: first, that the hunter gatherer lives in accordance with nature. He seems to have the hidden premise that all things primitive must be eco-friendly. Second, that agriculture means that man masters nature. This seems hard to swallow, since the agriculturalist mind, up until the 20th century, worked as a partner of nature, not its master. The explicit Baconian idea of dominating nature is precisely the beginnings of the industrial revolution. The argument is that when people no longer had any connection to nature, no longer lived off the land, they could then romanticize nature, and hence, see it â€Å"for its own sake† (Harrison, 52). In other words, when the technological revolution created urbanization and rape the landscape, the now alienated urbanite could make of nature of object of romantic devotion. It is precisely in the leaving of the land that one can then see it as an aesthetic object. Lastly, the author refuses to deal with the question of determinism (60). The pantheist determinism argument might look like this: all things are interconnected, the force, the unity of the interconnection is â€Å"divine,† human beings are part of this divine interconnection and hence, to conclude, humans are determined by these connections. It is difficult to wiggle out of this argument, an argument that is not found in Harrison’s book, but dismissed regardless. If freedom exists, it cannot be material. If it is not material, it is spirit. If it is spirit, then it must have a cause. But the concept of pantheism presented by Harrison posits no cause. Hence, human beings are merely determinations of material reality and hence determined. Harrison denies that human beings are determined, but does not explain how one can get out of the pantheist argument, unless one posit’s human beings as, to some extent spiritual beings and hence outside of the natural, universal causal chains that are so evocative of reverence. This is another serious flaw. Next, we have the short piece by Wood (2005). Wood is not so much arguing here for pantheism as for evolution, upon which all contemporary theories of pantheism seem to rest. This piece is basically an attack on fundamentalism, which is defined as that belief system that rejects evolution in that it rejects the principle of change inherent in all things. Pantheism has no belief system, only evolutionary ecology. One need not be a pantheist to accept everything that Wood says, it is a non-philosophical piece. Far more substantial is that work by Steinhart (2004) on the question of ontology. This is an interesting survey piece dealing with the nature of pantheism from the point of view of materialism, Platonism and Pythagoreanism. But just as interesting is his idea of the nature of god: God, in traditional theology must be: supernatural, complex (in the sense of maximal inclusivity), God must represent Himself to man, and God must be holy (Steinhart, 2004, 65-66). Of course most of these can be challenged. In Christianity, for example, God is not complex, he is simple. He is not merely supernatural, but exists within nature as its designer and guide (thought this is never an ontological connection). Nevertheless, the key to the argument is maximum inclusivity, which is not an attribute of God in traditional theology in the sense Steinhart means it, and it is question begging in terms of pantheism, since the argument presented her is that the nature god of the pantheists is by definition all inclusive, and hence, comes closest to the â€Å"traditional† idea of God. He seems to engage in the same logical fallacies as Harrison. Steinhart fails on several levels. First he fails to explain how the materialist whole can be â€Å"holy,† in any sense. Second, he fails to show how the disembodied forms of Plato can be associated with pantheism in the definition he provides. In fact, the relationship between the forms and matter is precisely Plato’s rejection of earlier Greek pantheism (referenced by Russell, 2008) and, more importantly, is nearly identical with the early Christian and Augustinian view of the relationship between God and creation. God is identified with nature as its guide and creator, but is not identified with nature simpliciter. This is a severe logical flaw. He has better luck with Pythagoras, though it is possible to see a similar objection arising. Nevertheless, it remains the case that this work also fails to do justice to pantheism. The greatest and most interesting approach to pantheism is the creation of Baruch de Spinoza. Here is an intelligent, logical and extremely interesting of the idea. Nearly all the works surveyed reference him, but only for a short time, as it is clear that few of the above authors have spent the large amount of time necessary to master the difficult system of the Dutch metaphysician. Spinoza is the greatest and most intelligent manifestation of the Pantheist idea, and hence, should be treated at length. Spinoza begins with the concept of Substance, which is to be identified with god. Substance is the â€Å"in itself. † That is, it is something that defines both affirmation, since affirmation requires negation (Parkinson, 1977, 451). Substance has gone beyond affirmation/negation because it is the whole, the everything. Hence,. Substance is its only name, and that incomplete. If substance in the Aristotelian sense is that which remains unchanging, that which survives change, for Spinoza, since all Aristotelian substances are part of a larger sphere of interconnections, the only real substance is Substance, or god. All things are determinations of God. There is no external reason for its existence. It is eternal causality. Of this Substance there are two Attributes, thought and extension, experienced as different but making reference to two forms of expression os substance relative to the limited sense experience of human beings. Further, these attributes are divided into a huge multiplicity of modes, which might be called all particular things, which are incomplete existences by definition. What is worth mentioning is that Spinoza holds that these attributes that subdivide into modes are not real. They are experienced, but this experience derives from the limited abilities of the human observer. But God in Himself is Substance that contains infinite attributes, only two of which are available to human beings. The attributes must be infinite because, given the nature fo Substance, there is nothing to constrain their development. A fully understood attribute of an infinite Substance is by definition infinite (Spinoza, 1927, 124-125). Science might struggle with this. First, it suggest that science is only a tiny form of knowledge in a sea of infinity. In other words, science can only deal with incomplete experiences relative to the limited observational capacities of the person. A â€Å"fact† in the truest sense of Spinoza’s pantheism is that which contains all reality, it must be Substance and only Substance. Anything less would be limited, and hence abstract, outside of its true context and contingent. Even Spinoza’s epistemology is limited in the sense that sense data is only the persistence of a pattern of perception. Hence, there is no direct human mode of perceiving God. God is full interconnectedness (the phenomenon, th international of Modes relative to both attributes, i. e. thought and extension make up the same Substance relative to humans) that has its root in the Substance itself (the noumenon, outside of experience) (Rocca, 1996, 192). Spinoza writes: Hence it follows, firstly, that there is no cause, either external to God or within Him, that can excite Him to act except the perfection of his own nature. It follows, secondly, that God alone is a free cause; for God alone exists from the necessity alone of His own nature. Therefore He alone is a free cause (Spinoza, 1927, 132) . Several things come from this: first, that human beings are determined, being themselves manifestations of the divine nature, containing in themselves the two attributes of thought or extension, the only two forms of experience permitted to man. That this determination is a good thing in that all things are pre-determined in the infinite nature of God, and hence, there is little to be done but live peacefully. But it should also be clear that there is no emotive attachment to this will-less and thought-less entity (Spinoza, 1927, 132). God is God only in that He is Substance. He is a metaphysical principle, not a cause of awe or worship. He is substance deduced logically in the following way: A cause of a thing must exist either inside or outside the object being caused. The reason for a square to exist is not to be found in the square itself. There must be a cause, then, outside it, a cause that has made it necessary to exist. Hence, Substance, which exists necessarily, is uncaused. This is because if Substance (that which survives all change) has a cause outside itself, then it is not Substance; that Substance must be it. Hence, there is a cause that is uncaused, Substance, and this is what survives all change, existing necessarily and the (logical) cause of all things (Spinoza, 1927, 124, â€Å"On the Essence of God. † also cf. Bennet, 1997) Friedrich von Schelling is another metaphysician who skirted the concept of pantheism, and is often considered one. Here we have a post-Spinozistic idea of the Spinozian concept of God, taking liberally from Spinoza and yet another interesting approach to the concept of pantheism. Schelling’s basic metaphysic is the spiritual exists as such in nature. Putting this differently, nature is the physical expression of the spiritual, but constantly limited by materiality. Even further, the pantheism derives form the idea that nature eventually creates the conditions necessary for the spirit, or conscious life. Here, the idea of spirit deriving from nature is posited from the circular concept that nature is spirit in expression in matter (Bowie, 2001). The development of the spirit in nature moves like this: 1. The absolute principle is the ground, just as in Spinoza, between the conscious and sub-conscious life, that is, sprit and matter respectively, since here, matter is merely â€Å"slumbering spirit. † 2. Nature and spirit are identical to Spinoza’s two modes, extension and thought respectively. Nature tends to objectification, while spirit tends to subjetification, but there is no ultimate distinction between the two. 3. These are held together in actual life by force: attraction/repulsion; light, gravity, while in spirit these forces take the form of knowledge, will, etc. 4. Both these forces are attributes (in Spinoza’s sense, not modes, since they are not â€Å"particular† and hence unreal, things) derive from the single Substantial source, not called Substance, but the Absolute. (Snow, 1996) 5. The movement of Substance then, is the reconciliation of opposites: thought and extension, matter and spirit, object and subject. Spirit will suffuse matter, matter will be saturated with spirit. This is the evolutionary picture of Schelling prior to Darwin (and is interesting on that account alone). In other words, Schelling differs from Spinoza in granting some limited â€Å"will† to the otherwise abstract absolute: the will for interpenetrating and the end of philosophy with a spiritualized matter. God will be present in matter in full when consciousness and matter merge, or more accurately, nature is suffused with consciousness. This paper has done two things: first it basically dispensed with the contemporary literature in pantheism is non-scientific and hence non-philosophical. Instead, this paper has briefly summarized two major pantheistic writers and metaphysician who are highly related in terms of basic ideas, Spinoza and schelling. In their view of pantheism, the absolute/substance is necessary existence. This is posited and proved because it is impossible to imagine a cause without origin, or a causal chain with ether no purpose or no beginning. Spinoza does not believe that causes exist eternally, but that Substance does: time, and hence, cause, is a human, mental construct. A serious, philosophical pantheism avoids the problems mentioned above, and posits a Substance or Absolute that is conscious experienced in forms or modes. All things are God in that all things are expressions of God. References: Russell, Sharman. Standing in the Light: My Life as a Pantheist. Basic, 2008. Harrison, Paul. Elements of Pantheism. Media Creations, 2004. Wood, Harold. â€Å"Practice of Pantheistic Mindfulness. † Pantheistic Vision 24, 2005. Steinhart, E. â€Å"Pantheism and Current Ontology. † Religious Studies 40: pp 1-18 Parkinson, HGR. â€Å"Hegel, Pantheism and Spinoza. † The Journal of the History of Ideas. 38, 1977: 449-459 Spinoza, Baruch de. Ethics and Other Writings. Joseph Ratner, Trans. Modern Library, 1927. Bennett, Jonathan. â€Å"Spinoza’s Metaphysics. † in The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pps 61-89 Della Rocca, Michael. â€Å"Spinoza’s Metaphysical Psychology. † in The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pps 192-267 Bowie, Andrew. â€Å"Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University Press, 2001. Snow, Dale. Schelling and the End of Idealism. SUNY Press, 1996.

Biography of Adolf Hitler :: essays research papers

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th 1889 in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria. Adolf grew up with a poor record at school and left, before completing his tuition, with an ambition to become and artist. Between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, Hitler neither worked nor studied, but had gained an interest in politics and history. At the age of nineteen when his mother had died he had no relatives that were willing to support him and for about four years he spent his time on the streets and in shelters. In 1913 Adolf Hitler, still homeless, moved to Munich in southern Germany. At the outbreak of the first World War, in 1914, he volunteered for service in the German army. He spent some of his time as a prisoner-of-war, at a camp at Traunstein before returning again to Munich. When he went back to Munich he had been involved with politics, his responsibilities given to him was for publicity and propaganda. Hitler had success with this drawing thousands of people to his speeches and the group had changed their name to the National Socialist German Workers Party( or Nazi for short ) on April 1st 1920. By 1921 Hitler had virtually secured total control of the Nazi party. Hitler later had run into some trouble with Munich police. He was charged of treason in 1923 and sentenced to five years in jail. This gave Hitler very much needed publicity for his party and he was released only spending six months in prison. The collapse of the Wall St. Stock exchange in 1929 helped the Nazi party. Hitler campaigned hard for Nazi candidates, promising the public a way out of their current hardship. He did not win this campaign but four years later he was appointed Chancellor in a coalition government. By July Hitler had proclaimed a law stating that the Nazi Party was to be the only political party allowed in Germany. Churches were prosecuted and ministers he preached non-Nazi were frequently arrested by the Gestapo and carted off to concentration camps. Anyone opposing of the Nazi party or of Hitler’s ruling was killed after the party was notified. These occasions happened frequently and the secret police (the Gestapo) were killing many people for this. The Jewish population was increasingly persecuted and under the Nuremburg laws of September 1935, Jews were no longer considered to be German citizens and therefore no longer had any legal rights.

Case Study Papa John’s International, Inc. Twenty-First Century Growth Challenges Essay

1) What is your assessment of Papa John’s differentiation strategy? On what bases does the company differentiate? There are a number of bases on which Papa John’s differentiates itself, many of which are interrelated. First and foremost is Papa John’s offering of a higher-quality pizza, which not only allows them to differentiate on the basis of a product feature (i.e. the high quality ingredients used in the pizza), but, even more importantly, on the basis of reputation. While most other pizza chains have their sights set on more of a cost-leader/low-price strategy, and make an less genuine statement of quality, Papa John’s entire organizational culture is focused squarely upon the pursuit of â€Å"better ingredients, better pizza†. This commitment has in turn endeared it to customer base, and has resulted in a long string of high customer satisfaction ratings. Papa John’s early adoption of online and mobile ordering technologies allowed it to differentiate itself on the bases of both timing of introduction and distribution channels. Papa John’s was in fact the very first pizza chain to offer both internet- and text-based ordering, and it was able to generate tremendous revenues as a first-mover in these then-untapped channels. Being that Papa John’s is a part of the larger fast food industry, and consumers seek out fast food in large part on the basis of its convenience, the value of such a distribution system obviously lies in how easily accessible it made Papa John’s products. 2) Is Papa John’s strategy sustainable? What is your assessment based on a VRIO analysis? Obviously the most sustainable base of Papa John’s differentiation strategy is its reputation as a producer of high-quality pizzas. Such has been earned through years of commitment to the goal of producing a â€Å"perfect pizza†, which is an outgrowth of a strong organizational culture and well-communicated vision. The relationship between Papa John’s and its dedicated customer base is socially complex, and these customers could not be taken away overnight by a rival who suddenly began using better ingredients. However, the underpinning of this reputation – the product feature of high quality ingredients – is not nearly as sustainable, as it is not too costly for Papa John’s rivals of comparable size to ultimately imitate. In fact, Domino’s and Pizza Hut have demonstrated a shift towards  higher-quality ingredients in recent years, and so this point of differentiation is no longer as rare as it once was. However, it will take many mo re years of making pizzas of similarly high quality for either to actually cement the same reputation as Papa John’s, and reputation does remain a very sustainable base of differentiation. However, it is worth considering at which price point the value of this reputation begins to diminish, given the nature of the product category itself. Papa John’s is, after all, a fast food pizza chain, and price does play a significant role in the fast food market. Obviously, part of the value of having a differentiated product is the ability to command premium prices for it, and to easily pass increased costs on to a customer base which is relatively price-insensitive. However, the question here is what price ceiling exists on fast food pizza, regardless of its quality. Papa John’s may have a reputation for the highest-quality fast food pizza, and loyal customers may be willing to pay more for this high-quality fast food pizza than a lower-quality fast food pizza, but the price disparity between the two is unlikely to be anywhere near as great as that between, say, a car made by Rolls Royce and one made by Hyundai. Papa John’s may be able to charge a premium, but it must still exist within what is an essentially narrow price range acceptable for fast food. Should Papa John’s prices exceed this reasonable range – perhaps in the event that they cannot continue staving off ingredient cost volatility as well as they have to this point – then even their most loyal customers will turn to other brands or substitute foods of higher quality which warrant a higher price. The essential point is that price still does play a significant role in Papa John’s reputation – sure they make high-quality pizza, and sure it costs a little more than Domino’s, but that price premium is commensurate with its greater quality, and it strikes the right balance between affordability and quality. However, the value this reputation provides in allowing for higher prices – while it does exist, and thus leads one to conclude that reputation is a source of sustained competitive advantage – does indeed have its constraints. It creates value, but only until reaching a price ceiling which is lower for this product category than for premium products in most other product categories. Regarding Papa John’s other, interrelated bases of  differentiation – timing of introduction and distribution channels – it is evident that these were merely temporary sources of competitive advantage along a base which has given way to compe titive parity. Every other pizza chain (and pretty much every restaurant, chain or independent) now offers online and/or mobile ordering, and thus Papa John’s offering of increased convenience is no longer rare. Furthermore, Papa John’s has not been the first to market with any further similar innovations in the years to follow, and its base of differentiation as a pioneer of clever innovations is in many ways currently dormant. This is perhaps owed to a shift in organizational focus away being the first-to-market with novel propositions as Papa John’s looks increasingly to extending the business they have already perfected to foreign markets. 3) What do you recommend Papa John’s do to achieve its growth goals? Papa John’s has encountered challenges in its attempt to balance its focus on producing a higher-quality pizza with expanding its product mix enough to keep up with competitors who offer broader product mixes. Papa John’s does not want to stretch its focus and resources too thin, and consequently dilute the quality of its pizza by shifting attention away from it. However, many of Papa John’s competitors, namely market leaders Domino’s and Pizza Hut, have broadened their product mixes to include items such as pasta dishes, and Papa John’s has in turn been pressured into adopting similar additions to their menu. Because all of these pizza chains have begun matching each other with regard to product mixes, adding menu items is acting more as a base of competitive parity than competitive advantage. However, in expanding its product mix through co-branding strategies, Papa John’s can forge a far more sustainable base of differentiation. Papa John’s has already partnered with Nestle in adding additional dessert items, and such is a strategy they should continue to pursue aggressively, not merely with Nestle but with many other companies. Obviously Papa John’s can free up its resources and attention in partnering with another company to develop and produce menu items for it, and it can focus more on maintaining its high level of pizza quality. More importantly, if Papa John’s could enter into exclusive deals with these other brands and companies, and in turn be the  only one in the industry to offer products by a given brand of high repute (and even possibly a product made exclusively by that brand for Papa John’s), then its competitors will have much more trouble attempting to match the combined brand equity of Papa John’s and its partn ers. In terms of more of a corporate-level strategy, Papa John’s should consider integrating backward into the production of its high quality ingredients. Obviously it has already done this to some extent with BIBP Commodities, Inc. in combatting cheese price volatility, but they should consider going a step further in actually producing cheese and other ingredients themselves. They would be much better poised to insure a steady stream of consistently-priced ingredients in handling production themselves to some extent, and they would also be able to directly maintain the quality of its ingredients. It has already been stated that the product feature of high-quality ingredients is not very sustainable, and that other pizza chains are already moving to match the quality of Papa John’s ingredients. However, should Papa John’s lock in a supply of high quality ingredients at affordable prices whilst others are still encountering significant price volatility, then it will be more costly for Papa John’s competitors to imitate its pizza quality. Additionally, Papa John’s could act as supplier of ingredients to other restaurants (excepting of course its competitors), just as it originally expanded into the printing industry to produce its own print advertisements, but now also provides printing services to other companies. Expanding into the production of ingredients it already uses so heavily and, by nature of its expertise in producing high-quality pizzas, of which it already as a strong understanding makes greater sense than creating a Hispanic restaurant as is suggested in the text, being this such is a specific category of food with which Papa John’s has no prior experience. In entering a restaurant category so dissimilar, Papa John’s will have to spread its attention thin – far thinner than in expanding its product mix – and, in turn, will likely be distracted from its heretofore steadfast pursuit of â€Å"better pizza†, setting in motion an eventual loss of its hardfought reputation. As stated, Papa John’s reputation is its strongest point of differentiation, and, regardless of whatever move it makes next, it must maintain its high level of brand equity.