Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas california. Steinbecks novels can be classified as social novels, dealing with the economic problems of rural labour in America in the 1920s and 30s. Of Mice and Men is set in the farmlands of the Salinas valley, the country side described in the opening chapter of the novel and the ranch itself, may have been familiar to Steinbeck as he grew up in the area where his father owned a farm. The two main themes in Of Mice and Men are loneliness and dreams. These themes are interwoven in that, people who are lonely have the most need of dreams to help them through life. The lonliness theme is evident in many of the characters, Candys long time companion is his dog , Had him since a pup. He said proudly. (pg 47) He cannot bring himself to shoot the old cripped dog, even though he knows its for the best, Whynt you shot him candy asks Carlson. No, I couldnt do that, I had im too long (pg 47) With his dog gone candy will have lost his long time companion. Crooks the nigger ranch hand lives in enforced solitude away from the other men. Here Steinbeck introduces the predudice black people encountered around the time in which the novel is set. I aint wanted in the bunk-house, and you aint wanted in my room Crooks tells Lennie. Although at first crooks is upset by Lennies apperance, he invites him into his room. [long as you wont get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down ] His lonliness is evident when he tells Lennie A guy needs somebody to be near him this is also evident when Candy enters the room Come on in if everybodys coming in you might as well it was difficult for Crooks to hide his pleasure. (pg 79) The theme continues when we meet Curlys wife. She is the only women on the ranch. She tries to befriend the men by hanging around the bunkhouse. When she talks with Lennie in the barn she tells Lennie I never get to talk to nobody, I gets awful lonely She has married a man she doesnt raelly love. We know this when again talking with Lennie she tells him Well I aint told this to nobody before, I dont like curly he aint a nice fella. George and Lennie are not lonely during the novel as they have each other. George will be lonely afterwards as he will not have Lennie by his side. Lennie, because his character has a childlike innocence about him he may not fear lonileness like the others. The only evidence we have to show Lennie has some concept of being alone is when he is with crooks and Crooks teases him that George is hurt and may not come back. George gonna come back Lennie reassured himself in a frightened voice (pg 77) The other theme the novel focuses on is the American dream Where many aspired to obtaining a better and more properous life. Many of the farm labourers during this time would have dreamt of buying their own land to work themseleves. The symbol throughout the novel for the dream is rabbits. 2 George and Lennie share a dream to own a little place of their own and live on it. We are introduced to this very early on in the novel when Lennie asks George tell me like you done before about the rabbits (pg 14) George tells Lennie some day we gonna have a little house and a couple of acres and lennie will have his rabbits. Throughtout the book whenever Lennie talks about their dream he always talks about the rabits george will get him. Candy joins them in the dream and could help make it a reality when he offer his savings as downpayment in return for being included. Crooks dreams of being equal to the others. He is skeptical at first you guys is just kiddin yourself. He tells Lennie and Candy But you wont get no land he tells them (pg 80) He rembers his childhood when his father owned a arm and he played with the white children and longs for a similar relashonship with white people again He is drawn into the dream when he hears Candy candy has some money to help buy the land. He asks if the guys would want a hand to work for nothing just his keep, why id come a lend a hand ( pg 81) Curlys wifes continues the theme, all be it a different dream. She has draems of leaving the farm and being in the movies She tells Lennie she met a guy that was gonna put her in the pitchers. The novel focuses on many contrasts. George and Lennie are contrastec on the way they look and behave. Lennie is decribed as a huge man, shapeless of face, with wide sloping shoulders walking heavily, we percieve him to be slow ( in mind and body). George in contrast is small and quick with sharpe features. The more able of the two. Lennie can also be compared to several animals a bear , immensly strong, he is innocent and helpless like the mouse and puppy. Candy can be compared to his dog, both of them old, both of them good workers in their youth, but now worn out and past their usefulness. The people on the ranch with power can also be contrasted. Slim who is respected for his wisdom and competence and Curly who only has power because he is the farm owners son not from respect. The Title of the book OF MICE AND MEN comes from a poem by Robert Burns. The best laid shem Jayne Stupple Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Yahoo Advantages Disadvantages

Yahoo Advantages Disadvantages Yahoo In APA Style Strategic Management and Policy In the growing world of technology we often see many advantages and disadvantages associated with the growing population of Internet companies with there advertising techniques and strong thresholds on the American society through innovation and design. In the case of Yahoo it is apparent that there is an emerging culture growing inside the walls of the technological structure that allows Yahoo to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage through Internet applications and services provided by the Internet giant. Yahoo has a structure unlike any other internet provider in which they are able to maintain a strong barrier against new and emerging providers to enter the market world of technology and over throw the internet giant. Also, they have the sustainability to achieve a mass bargaining power through the buyer and seller who use the services of Yahoo to achieve an overwhelming curve in the market place. With the advantages that Yahoo holds with the products and services it allows a strong barrier to increase so that substitutes can not and will not grow within the walls of the technological structure. With this in mind Porters five forces was the best resource to improve on my analysis of the corporations growth and competitive advantage in the internet society. The threat of new and emerging entrants in the internet society is very low in these circumstances because of the product differentiation, capital requirements, and the access to distribution channels (Strategic Management, 2007). Product differentiation under these circumstances would cause a new entrant who wants to publicize an internet publication on the World Wide Web to spend a fortune to achieve what Google and Yahoo have spent a decade achieving through product loyalty and customer satisfaction. A new entrant also does not have the capital needs to achieve there desired results because of the extreme overhead and production cost included with beginning a new and emerging service. Also, the availability of distribution channels needed to publicize the internet page owned by the new emergent would quite possibly be owned solely by there strong competitor Yahoo or Google and dominance could cause a crushing blow to the competitors technological advancements. The bargaining power of buyers has made an everlasting impact on Yahoos financial stability and advantage on market growth because of the strong leadership shown by CEO Terry Semel. Terry has integrated the internet service to become a virtual shopping guide know to all man kind through smart acquisitions and also mergers with top communication leaders such as SBC global, Verizon communication and Overture Services. This has allowed for service providers to advertise there many products and services on the World Wide Web and gain the advantage that Yahoo has provided, as being the next step generation in technological advancements. This in return has allowed Yahoo to charge a fee accompanied with advertisements so that the firms financials statements will increase in value and also will look extremely enhancing to those looking to purchase Yahoos stocks on the exchange. These advantages have done nothing but encourage the advertisement industry to buy their advertisements with Yahoo because of the well known technique and broad market that it connects with, but also to gain the top market share price that every corporate executive is trying to achieve. With the bargaining power of buyers in mind we will now turn to the suppliers bargaining power so that we may introduce some factors that encourage supplier power. In this cause the supplier for Yahoos internet access is the American public that continues to thread the needle that sews Yahoos financial stability and continued growth throughout the world. Suppliers in this instance would be similar to the buyer when they are looking for a service that can generate a market power for the products and service that are being advertised on the Yahoo site. It is extremely difficult for the supplier to gain and advantage in this instance because of the strong control and marketing capabilities that Yahoo has over other leading advertisers such as television and radio. But, since yahoo has been able to form acquisitions with SBC and Verizon it is able to communicate over a much more â€Å"mobile† coverage area than before and therefore will enhance the suppliers to use the services of fered by Yahoo extensively for product and service development. The threat for new or substitute products and services is extremely high for Yahoo because they have the competitors AOL and MSN to always compete with and trying to overturn any investment opportunities that Yahoo has been involved with. The one major advantage that Yahoo has acquired is that they have the capabilities and resources to expand there service realm across many divisions of the consumer wants. Yahoo has the virtual reality of diminishing AOL and MSN by overturning the technology through broad band communication at the tips of your fingers with the cell phone industry. And also by acquiring a major search engine component which allows many consumers to search multiple things and acquire a result plus a solution for there disrupted efforts of confusion. With this being the situation in all business efforts we will now turn to the intense rivalry within the industry. In every business unit we will always have a rival picking at our feet to see what integrative tactics we have in store for the future. In this case the customer base has lead to believe that Yahoo and its executives are in a win win situation because of the barriers it has created within the organization. Including the differentiation that Yahoo has created a commodity and not just a service it is something all Americans depend upon when they are travel so that when they get to there hotel they may pull up on the search engines on places to dine within the city that they are staying and get listings as well as suggestions. Also, they can use the service offered by the wireless internet on the mobile phones to get reservation for a room while the consumer is still in flight. In this situation Yahoo has gained an extraordinary advantage against MSN and AOL in the service aspect of the business unit. We have discussed all the forces that can and might drive an industry into an undesired state for which its products will not be desired and the business units will strongly fade away we as corporate leaders need to find a foundation of formulation. This will encourage our buyers and suppliers to continue to operate with our services and allow us at Yahoo to overcome the forces and achieve excellence within the market and service realm. Formulation in this situation will increase the power that Yahoo has over the other competitors in the industry and it will also give them a stepping stone or building block to creating an implementation for their business strategy. First, would be the forming of the overall cost leadership within the firm to allow Yahoo to create that barrier between AOL and MSN. The issue of human resource management has lead me to realize that it would be in the best interest of Yahoo to continue to allow the casual dress for its employee base so that the employees are in a continual state of comfort while they are working and can provide the best and top quality service at an affordable rate. This statement may seem off the wall but just take for instance an employee who is always demanded of for service and top quality production at a high level industry, do you think that they are going to produce more under high pressure and uncomfortable atmospheres or are they going to perform under the most relaxing conditions imaginable. The structure of overhead costs has reduced a huge amount of dollars because there have not been a large number of administrators at Yahoos corporate level and this in return has gained the advantage over the competitors who have that large overhead expense involved with creating value for its customers. Along with the control of the organizations administrative cost, Yahoo should use the service realm to produce high quality technicians who are constantly monitoring progress or down time within the browser to ensure that all users are pleased with the experience they are receiving from Yahoo. Along with the service that Yahoo delivers to there clients I that is so well known Yahoo also, delivers a unique parity to there clients with a speedy and creative innovation through there brand image which in turn will result in a powerful differentiation effort towards pleasing there customer base. Yahoos brand image that has attracted millions in my opinion is â€Å"with a click of a mouse you can have the world† and is very true to some aspects. The main strategy of Yahoo is to create a â€Å"virtual Disney land†(Jamal Shamsie, 2007) says CEO Terry Semel by engaging in numerous links that any American can access through one web mail address which enhances the convenience sector and also enriches the dealers networks that have advertised with the world service provider Yahoo that has continually strived to bring success as well as an invisible feature of differentiated search engines that allows individuals to look for any piece of information around the world at a quick response rate and also receive a suggestive comment back as to the best possible choice for the convenience of the consumer. And as we have discovered through the discussion of differentiation was that the focus strategy for Yahoo was simply to be above all the rest and capture the consumer eyes through technological, innovative, and brand image strategy to gain all competitive advantages in the market world. Yahoo has maintained a unique strategy of â€Å"being different† from all the rest by not concerning itself with profitable area but to allow its customers to have a service that produce more output than all the others combined. Focus strategy in Yahoos case would be considered a differentiation focus that strives to targets a segment of the market world by allowing its users to choose from a wide variety of services from financial consulting to broad band internet access from the convenience of the cell phone. This gives the Yahoo firm the advantage it needs to gain and keep market shares increasing by dissolving the new entrant gap of trying to achieve the dominance factor to make an internet providers dream come true. With this statement from the core of the analysis has concluded that the strategy that has been chosen to completely analyze and formulate the Yahoo firm has been done to establish a broad base on how the Yahoo firm can initialize a base mission and statement and keep turning the eyes of AOL and MSN so that Yahoo stands one step ahead of the competitor to achieve competitive advantage. The philosophy of Yahoo was to â€Å"work within a framework and if it is free for all we wont take advantage of the strengths of our company†(Jamal Shamsie, 2007) says CEO Semel which allows the company to achieve great deeds on the weakness of the firm because we all know that one hundred percent of a strong company is a lot better than fifty percent of the strengths and fifty percent of the weaknesses. Meaning, fix the bad and leave the good alone because the good got there for a reason and they dont need to be adjusted but the bad has issued needing to be addressed. References Dess, Lumpkin, and Eisnor (2007). Porters Five Forces, Business level Strategy, McGraw and Hill Strategic Management. Shamsie, Jamal (2007). Yahoo Case, McGraw and Hill Strategic Management p. 792-797

Another Andrew Jackson :: essays research papers fc

Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United states, was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaw settlement on the western frontier of South Carolina. Jackson was orphaned at the age of 14 and was brought up by his uncle. Jackson was born into a poor family. When his parents died, he went to live with his Uncle, who was a wealthy slave and land owner. As a result, Jackson moved among wealthy people and property owners, who monopolized the prestige and political influence in the back country. So now he could see what the different lives between the rich and the poor, he became really popular by the common people and also was considered part of the political movement and he led what was know as the Jacksonian Democracy. He could see that the wealthy were huge land owners or industrialized families, and the poor families were small farmers. Jackson was the type who wanted the land to be all American. Dealing with the Native American policy, he forcibly removed southern tribes from lands guaranteed then by federal treaties and the United States Supreme Court decisions. Doing this gave him great power and led the United States to a bigger nation, but what does that say about the United States words. Because of them, the Indians could not trust them any more. Jackson was also against slavery. Even Modern historians observe that Jackson was a large slave owner and that his party was the enemy of free blacks and their rights. He was so against African Americans, they denied anti-slavery pamphlets in the United States Postal Service. I think the reason that he liked slavery so much was because that his Uncle was a large slave owner and he found that they are very useful and could help make money a whole lot faster and cheaper then regular labor. If Jackson was against slavery, I feel that the Slavery issue would have ended a lot faster then it did in the American History. Jackson did do a lot for the country and also made the common people feel like they have a place in today society. If it was just rich people running the country,

Classification of Characters Bill and Boyd Meet :: essays research papers

Billy and Boyd come in contact with many interesting characters through out their journeys. There are six characters that Billy and Boyd meet who seam to impact their lives the most. Those six characters can be broken up into two groups to describe how they impacted Billy and Boyd’s lives. The two groups are the characters that helped them along their journeys, and the characters that did not help them along their journeys. The first character who impacted their lives and ultimately their journeys is the Indian. Billy and Boyd were down at the river when they met this character. The Indian did not like them from the beginning. The Indian did not like them knowing he was there, so he used them. The Indian got them to bring him food. Then he asked for coffee and other good. Billy and Boyd decided not to bring the items back to the Indian because they did not want anything to do with him. The only problem was the Indian knew where they lived. The Indian did not help Billy and Boyd in the journeys. The Indian ended killing their parents, burning part of their house, and slitting their dog’s neck, which made him mute. Another character who did not help in Billy and Boyd’s journeys is the Mexican deputy. Billy and Boyd were trying to find their stolen horses that they had papers for. They knew that the deputy knew information about the horses. When they showed the deputy the horse’s papers, he told them to put them away, that the papers would not help them get the horses back. The other character(S) that did not help Billy and Boyd’s journeys is the two kidnapers. Along their journeys they run into a girl who is around Boyd’s age, she is traveling alone. They kind of scare her so she does not let them help her. They go on their way, down the rode they run into to guys. Billy and Boyd know that these guys are going to give her trouble. So they wait till sun down and they go back and find her. The kidnapers have in fact given her trouble. They have also raped her. Billy and Boyd decide that they are going to get her away from the kidnapers.

Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther Kings I Have A Dream Speech

Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech was made to thousands of people at the Washington Monument while facing the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. Dr. King called upon Americas to consider all people, both black and white, to be united, undivided and free. His rhetoric harkened back a hundred years past when the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted during Abraham Lincoln’s term as president which abolished slavery and allowed all people living in America to be equal and have equal rights. Unfortunately, in 1963, America had lost sight of this key Constitutional component instilled in the lives of many. For many years, African Americans suffered from persecution and segregation in a class-oriented society. Martin Luther King, a preacher, born in Atlanta, Georgia, tore down racial barriers that blocked effective communication in a society that ultimately led to mistreatment of high-ranking citizens. His speech brought inspiration and hope to not only African Americans, but white communities as well. His precise diction and passionate words reflected a humble and principled demeanor, which led him to deliver a message to the American people, considered as one of the greatest events in history (â€Å"Dream,† n.d.). An ordinary man, Martin Luther King Jr had an extraordinary message in his speech â€Å"I Have A Dream† that called for human equality and changed social justice, that impacted Americans for many generations to come by using Aristotle’s literary devices of ethos, pathos, and logos, historical and literary references, metaphors, and poetic devices. First, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, â€Å"I Have a Dream† accomplished what the founding fathers in American history could not: a call for all people to receive ... ...cted his message. Since then, segregation in all public places that includes America’s schools and government institutions has been abolished. African Americans commonly receive scholarships and equal opportunity for employment. America also elected the first black president of the United States, Barrack Obama. King’s â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech fulfilled his vision of human equality. His focus on the ordinary man to achieve extraordinary things is much like the stamp of his own character as a gift to the masses he would never personally know. References King, M.L. Jr. (1963, August 28). I have a dream—address at March on Washington. Martin Luther King Speeches. Retrieved from http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html Martin Luther King Online (Producer) I have a dream speech video. Retrieved from http://www.mlkonline.net/video-i-have-a-dream-speech.html

Day In Your Life When You Felt Really Happy Essay

â€Å"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.† ~Norman Cousins â€Å"What is happiness?† What a completely dense and loaded question this is. If I were to write a paper about happiness, I would then need to operationally define happiness in terms that allowed everyone to understand what I was referring to. The problem with this, however, is that we then merely repeat the best definition we come by, thinking we understand the meaning while never truly questioning our own thoughts on the matter; therefore never truly experiencing it. I believe this happens in the majority of circumstances, and know that I did this for many years. It is much simpler to just go along with life rather than ask yourself those true and deep questions that will rattle your world. I believe happiness is the complete mindful attention and bliss found in the present moment; the present moment is beautiful and fundamentally perfect. Therefore, one must choose to be happy right now in the present, because this is all that exists. Many years ago, I read a quote by the Dalai Lama, which I think is very applicable to this. He reported that when something is wrong, you can either fix it, and therefore it will work out and there is no need to worry, or there is nothing you can do, and therefore worrying about it is moot. When one truly and with every fiber of their being accepts death and the mystery of the future, there is nothing left but to appreciate the present moment. I believe this is where happiness stems from because it really puts things into perspective. I have been experimenting with this, and as a person who frequently worries, thinks too much, and feels often overwhelmed by life, I have found immense peace and tranquility from this acceptance. For me, it completely shifted my perspective on everything. I have been able to stay calm and resilient in situations that would normally bring on a panic attack or devastate me. This, of course, doesn’t mean that my life is now all roses and butterflies, but that this new perspective aids me in gauging situations and reacting to them as I think I should rationally, not instinctively. Ultimately, there is no way to know how your life will play out in ten minutes, and hour, or a week. Happiness is the value of every moment and the full attention paid to it.

Eat2Eat Strategy

Eat2Eat. com 27th of November 2012 Strategic Management – Questions 1. What are the key success factors for competing in the online restaurant booking industry ? 2. What are the fundamental aspects of Eat2Eat's strategy ? Which of the 5 generic strategies do you believe Eat2Eat is pursuing ? Has the strategy evolved since the company's conception ? 3. Perform a SWOT analysis for Eat2Eat. 4. What role have strategic alliances played in Eat2Eat's success ? What types of partners are most valuable to Eat2Eat ?Which partners does Eat2Eat have the greatest potential to benefit ? Which partnerships should Eat2Eat focus on forming in the immediate future ? 5. Provide recommendations concerning Eat2Eat's future strategy. 1. What are the key success factors for competing in the online restaurant booking industry? * Quality of restaurants contracted * A large network of restaurants in strategic places * Good interface with relevant criteria (Place, time, ambiance, cuisine price, rating, †¦) * Clever communication * Favorable reputation * Good knowledge of the market Ability to respond quickly to shifting market conditions * Technical capability to make innovative improvements * Fast, accurate, technical assistance * Superior information system * Access to financial capital 2. What are the fundamental aspects of Eat2Eat's strategy? Which of the 5 generic strategies do you believe Eat2Eat is pursuing? Has the strategy evolved since the company's conception? First let’s say that Eat2Eat. com is an internet based restaurant portal, promoting fine dining in Asia pacific region, through twelve cities.The website is a guide to the region’s best restaurants with an online reservation service. The founder of this website believed that there was a value proposition in connecting dinners both corporate and personal with restaurants, with the help of a highly automatic process like the airline bookings, hotel reservations or car rentals. He also believed tha t restaurants could benefit by having a presence on the internet. And we think it is important to precise also that the revenue generated by Eat2Eat is different from other restaurants portal on the internet. 0% of their total revenue came from their commissions on the restaurants (between 7% to 10% of the customer’s bill); 20% of the company total revenue are from banner advertising on the website, and the last 40% came from the preferred arrangements between credit cards companies and restaurants. Whereas most of other portals derive revenues from advertising alone. Therefore one of the major customers for Eat2Eat remains the restaurants’ owners (through the commission and the advertisements), Eat2Eat signed them up as suppliers, but also there can’t be any commission without any bookings. Corporate strategy Looking at Eat2Eat present corporate strategy, it is following a growth strategy and more specifically an internal growth. Eat2Eat strategy is to capitali se on its core competencies, expanding its existing resources. We have the example in the case when the company wants to increase its geographic coverage, launching in Kyoto, Melbourne and Phuket. We can also add that this choice of strategy follows Aggarwal’s desire to conserve full ownership and control on his company. * Generic strategyThe reason why we think Eat2Eat is following a broad differentiation strategy is the augmented services and their high quality. First, let’s say that comparing to other websites Eat2Eat is offering a wealth of supporting information, these extra features include: restaurants reviews, recipes, interviews with leading chief and list of tops establishments in various categories. To propose this service in a more convenient way, the restaurant can be search according to various criteria including location, ambiance and accessibility for disabled diners, smoking preference, cuisine, price range, quality rating and hotel affiliation.The lau nch of the content and the booking function through the WAP system improved also the accessibility of the service for the user. * Leader offensive strategy Eat2Eat can be considered as a leader because comparing to the other Asian pacific portals which are only city specific, Eat2Eat. com is offering regional coverage. Google and Yahoo! , search engines consistently ranked Eat2Eat. com first in search results for Asian restaurant reviews and reservations. And also the Smart Diners Organisation in the United-States has rated Eat2Eat. om as the top restaurant information and reservation site in the world. * A transnational strategy Because Eat2Eat is dealing with cross-country variations in buyer preferences and market conditions, it is very important to notice the differences between those markets (as market observations in exhibit 4) . Eat2Eat employed a combination of global local strategy. Eat2Eat has the same basic competitive strategy in all country market, but it is also able t o develop the capability to customise service offerings in different countries.To illustrate this point, the launch of equivalent sites in Japanese and Korean to cover the restaurants in Tokyo and Seoul is an example of this â€Å"think global, act local† strategy. Focusing on Tokyo again, another example could highlight this strategy: when Japanese corporations were reluctant to encourage their employee to sign up for the service and also because many first-tier restaurants in Japan had their own website but not the technology to support on-line reservations, Eat2Eat. com enabled the reservation for the restaurants’ website. This is clearly an example of a small adjustment for a specific market. Has the strategy evolved since the company conception? In a way, we could say, yes the strategy evolved, because first Eat2Eat was focusing its promotional efforts on corporate customers. It seems at the beginning the best way to reach customers, and this strategy worked well because both the corporation and Eat2Eat were wining (except in Japan as we observed previously, and the cultural adjustment were the first step to an increase in personal dinners booking in Tokyo). The strategy evolution from corporate customers to individual customers probably occurred with the success of the adaptation of Eat2Eat. om for mobile phones for Japanese and Korean customers. In order to reach its potential, Eat2Eat had to do all it can to increase the customer base in the personal market. The partnership with The Asian Wall Street Journal seemed the best way to reach the customer base. And even if the Eat! had little immediate impact on Eat2Eat. com reservations and revenue, it allowed the company to expand its restaurant base in current cities and established the business in new cities. With the same idea to reach more individual customers, Aggarwal thought of an agreement with credit card companies.We can also add that due to the lack of time and resources it may app ear now to Aggarwal’s mind, that an external strategic alliances might be taken into consideration and may be the best way to improve Eat2Eat efficiency. 3. Perform a SWOT Analysis. * * Strengths * Highly rated Eat2Eat. com was the most highly rated Internet based restaurant reservation service covering major cities in the Asia Pacific region. * Airline booking The airline booking is highly automated process. * 12. 000 customers After only five years of operations, the company already has 12. 00 customers from differents countries. Eat2Eat. com covered 823 restaurants in Bangkok, Hong Kong etc. * Team members Vikram Aggarwal hired 1 chief officer, 1 programmer, 2 other people in order to help with the workload. It was a little company, with competent personal and easy to manage. Moreover, the personnel costs should not be high. * Revenues The company makes 40% of total revenues with 7-10% of bill's customer. Then, in 2005, advertisements on the website contributed an addition al 20% of the revenues. * Recognition The company had received considerable recognition.A poll taken by the Smart Diners Organization in the United Staes had rated the company as the top restaurant information and reservation site the world. Moreover, Google and Yahoo ranked Eat2Eat. com first in search results for Asian restaurant reviews and reservations. * On mobile phone In 2004, the company was adapted to make its content and booking function accessible on mobile phones. This added accessibility would significantly extend the company's reach and utilization, considering the high penetrationof mobile phone in the region. * Weaknesses * Enable on certain cities The service became popular but lagged elsewhere.The service had not found greater acceptance in cities like Hong-Kong or Singapore. * Approach customers Vikram Aggarwal approached himself their customers but this technique is much too long. May be he can ask to professionals to make it A SA PLACE. * No time As we have just said before, Vikram Aggarwal had no time to convince all partners. * Second-tier restaurants Eat2Eat. com dealt exclusively for first-tier restaurants, there were moderately expensive or very popular and busy. Because second-tier restaurants did not accpet reservations and therefore were of no to Aggarwal. Resources The company did not have the employees or finanacial resources needed to pursue such a vast market. * Opportunities * Third party The company engaged in another complementary business : negotiated arrangment between credit card companies and restaurants for the benefit of credit card holder This third-party negotiations contributed the remaining 40% of revenues. And a partnership with a single credit card company might expose Eat2Eat. com to millions of new customers. * Discounts He negotiated discounts for corporate customers and commissions for Eat2Eat. Easy to access The website was an easy to access for secretaries and personal assistants. * Corporations Aggarwal fo cused his promotional efforts on corporate customers. Because he thought personal diners were too numerous and consequently, too dificult and expensive to reach. So, this approach would bring more value for Aggarwal efforts and would be the best way to reach customers. Roughly 80% of the companies he approached endorsed the program. * Partners Aggarwal wanted to find partners as hotels, local or regional newspapers and airlines companies. * Investment 0% of the new capital would be spent on public relationss and marketing activites to reach the personal dining market segmetn. And 10% would be spent on a technology upgrade. Only if the company raise $2 million in additional capital. * Threats * Equivalent sites There were other restaurants portals on the Internet, covering Adia Pacific and other regions but Eat2Eat. com was different, in fact the company offered regional coverage compare to competitors which derived revenue from advertising alone. * Languages The original website app eared in English. * Bank LoanEat2Eat had not yet established a profitable track record, so, it would be difficult to obtain bank loan. * Cost of maintenance The cost of maintenance of a website can be more and more expensive * Conclusion The situation of the company is quite good because the company is the most highly rated Internet based restaurant reservation service, and they have a real recognition. Moreover, they can find some partners to improve their service. Perhaps Vikram Aggawal has to be careful about potential new entrants, their resources and he has to find some solutions about his investment to improve his strategy. . What role have strategic alliances played in Eat2Eat's success? What types of partners are most valuable to Eat2Eat? Which partners does Eat2Eat have the greatest potential to benefit? Which partnerships should Eat2Eat focus on forming in the immediate future? * What role have strategic alliances played in Eat2Eat's success? First of all, strategic allian ces are short or long-term partnerships of two or more firms working on a specific project or cooperating in a specific business area. Those alliances can be in form of joint ventures, franchises or licensing agreements, which are the main alliances.Actually, Eat2Eat has made several strategic alliances. First, the core alliances, on which the business model is based, are the alliances made with each restaurant. Indeed, Eat2Eat brings customers to the restaurants and those latters pay a commission to Eat2Eat. Thus, this first type of alliance has played a key role on the revenue of Eat2Eat. Then, the second alliance was one with a regional newspaper : The Asian Wall Street Journal. In the long-run, it had a tremendous impact on Eat2Eat revenue. In addition, the number of the website users increased thanks to the Eat! romotion put in the well-known critics’ pages. Now, Eat2Eat needs a new strategic alliance. Indeed, the issue that Eat2Eat faces is to find a way to get an incre ase in the capital of the company : exactly, US$2 million more than actually. * What types of partners are most valuable to Eat2Eat? One of the most valuable partners would be an Internet company such as Yahoo. Indeed, it would provide the recognition needed for the growth of Eat2Eat. In addition, another valuable partner could be credit card companies. This alliance would allow Eat2Eat to get access to larges customer’s databases.That would have a great impact on the number of the website users. Even if it takes time to create a relationship, those types of companies would have a serious and positive impact on the Eat2Eat success. Then, given that no Internet company was interested in Eat2Eat, they had to think about potential venture. There were two possible types of ventures : venture with capital firms and one with entrepreneurial companies. In the first venture, the companies expect a return around 30% within 5 years, but with a minimum investment whereas in the second o ne, they only want to maximize their profit.Therefore, the most valuable partner between the two options above is the last one : the venture with entrepreneurial companies. Indeed, the main reason is that they have the same business expectation on the investment than Eat2Eat. Furthermore, this latter wants to do a venture with only entrepreneurial companies which cover the entire Asian region. * Which partners does Eat2Eat have the greatest potential to benefit ? Eat2Eat will probably make several partnerships. In fact, Eat2Eat knew that, in order to increase its success, they will need to do some partnerships with firms in other businesses.As an example, Eat2Eat wanted to work with firms such as hotels chains or airlines companies. However, they can continue working with other companies in the sector as themselves. In other words, it could be some other websites, but which cover only limited areas. In addition, we think that Eat2Eat will undoubtedly benefit from local Asian restaur ant website partners. Even if the Asian website partners cover a limited area, they are already implanted in a specific town. * Which partnership should Eat2Eat focus on forming in the immediate future?The current problem of Eat2Eat company is to get recognition. Indeed, this lack of recognition is a crucial issue for the company at the time being. It leads the companies to face problems in the process of making deals such as valuable partnerships with other corporations. Therefore, in the immediate future, Eat2Eat should focus on the partnership with all the Asian restaurant websites. Then, when Eat2Eat had covered enough key towns, their coverage provided from it will give them the credibility to do ventures with some banks.And then, in this way, they will get the database of customer needed to grow. 5. Provide recommendations concerning Eat2Eat's future strategy. Brigitte CISS As we could see, the company Eat2eat has a great concept which pleases a lot of consumers. The idea and the way it is implented is are good, and the only remaining issue, is the recognition. Indeed, Eat2eat has a problem being considered by â€Å"serious† companes such as banks, and trusted by businesses. Therefore, to be more recognized, the company needs to have contacts with big websites such as Yahoo! or Google, to be more available on the Internet, to increase the awareness and the knowledge of people. As the case said, also, Eat2eat has to be in a relationship with credit card companies to facilitate the online payment, and to create joint ventures with such companies. To increase the recognition, the company has to broaden its services to big cities, outside of Asia. Why not ? There are no infrastructures to take care of since it is an online operation, and it might be well known internationally. We would also recommend to the CEO to hire people specially for public relations.Going to every potential partner himself is a long process, and the opportunity cost is quite hi gh, with the amount of time lost. With more people available, the company could bring to her much more clients. After creating a more efficient network, maybe Eat2eat. com should now spend a bit on advertising. A quick ad on the Internet, not for businesses but directly destined to end consumers who are looking for restaurants, would increase the awareness and therefore the profits. On the long run, the company could even try to advertise on television.