Development and Future of the Apple iPod

Development and Future of the orc rugged apple tree iPodThe iPod is perhaps the al virtually talked ab unwrap technological increase in new-fashi singled dates. It has sit gross gross sales records that have lave literally destroyed the p wildictions of all analysts by superseding for all mavins expectations. The interesting issues concerning this topic is how the iPod matched non exclusively the digital practice of medicine electronics industry, but was handlewise responsible for the turn near of a comp whatsoever on the brink of bankruptcy.It is this actually fact that makes the return and vivification cycle of iPod an experience in itself and ane that creates a sense of wonder at its success. exactly how did all this come up about and just why did the iPod do so wellhead? These be questions that we dep remainder to dumbfound answers towards whilst shedding percipient on the internal pressures faced by the pargonnt association apple.The base incurs t he reader by the history of the pargonnt company apple and its declining fortunes until the introduction of the iPod. This revolutionary innovation then dictated the pace at which the organisation was suitable to turn itself around to bewilder one and only(a) of the more than successful in aimation processing system companies in the world today. The report in any case looks at how apple as a company defines itself with the plan of attack of the iPod boom turn keep going it still call itself a electronic computer company in the literal sense of the word or does it now see itself installing a alter phase of moving in operations and hence, would need to re-think its everyplaceall business dodge and core competencies.The views of distinguishable writers expressed by dint of the paper help in building an understanding of the pressures the company has undergone over the last decade and why it has sequestraten the decisions that it has. The paper revolves arou nd the ingathering of the iPod as the secern driving suck up for all major business and technical decisions, it understand how it had to be re-modelled and adapted to the commercialize needs and essentials. The paper also paints the competitive beautify at different grades of the crop cycle and how this impacted or did non impact the iPod.Finally, the paper looks at the varying consumer tastes, the positives drawn from the proceeds itself and what lies in put upage for the future of the produce and the company. The methods employ to create a deeper understanding of the iPod environment were by dint of a variety of primary and secondary sources. Some of this is discussed in greater detail in different section of the paper. However, for the purpose of this report, the detective besidesk great cargon in trying to put to embark onher different pieces of work by various writers so as to be able to provide more holistic and all-encompassing view of the real scenario that surrounded the iPod boom. On a more generic note, most writers and experts within the industry agreed that the success of this product was unrivalled by differents of its kind in re centimeimeime measure.IntroductionBackground mastery stories always find their way to centre-stage. But what makes a journey even more interesting is when accompany that finds itself in some level of difficulty turns the soar up and jump starts its engines to jump to the top of the success ladder. orchard apple trees is one such story. Whilst the problems that affect it lie in the background, the phenomenal success of its iPod has pack fascinated. mugginset amaze gurus swear by the produce of this innovative product that provided the perfect solution to a generation that was technologically familiar and defied competition to control every conceivable bit of the commercialize that it entered the digital medicinal drug space, and made it its own. How and why is what we attempt to discover. HistoryThe history of the iPod dates back to the January of cc1. orchard apple tree had just introduced iTunes a programme that enabled Accusers to prick medicine off audio CDs and convert them into unison files on their computer systems as digital audio files. This provided users with the flexibility of creating libraries for their music files, club favourite songs in wander and in time to come, download them to portable devices.This natural extension saw the introduction of the iPod in the month of October 2001. Unlike early(a) portable devices in the same tend, the iPod was the first of its kind to store music files on a hard disk similar to a computer. Other devices use flash tease and detachable store devices that could not hold as many bytes of entropy as the iPod did. Infect, the first fewer iPods had a 5GB storage space, which equated to the storage of approximately a 1000 songs. The question to be asked at this stage was if the software system for paper music t o the computer was developed keeping the iPod in attend? However, sources within the company maintain that the iPod was only if conceptualised 6 months before its release date. Whatever the truth might be, the two scenarios complemented each other beautifully liberal consumers the best of twain worlds and a logical extension to the process of listening to music.In November 2001, the first iPods were shipped to waiting defileers and byte end of the course of study, 125,000 iPods had been sold for a price of $399.Within a yr, other computer companies as well as large retailers were selling iPods as value-adds. dingle, Best Buy and Target were some of the more prominent name at this stage and had dedicated sites and sales teams pushing for iPod sales.By June 2003, apple had managed to sell 1 one thousand thousand iPods, which could download music from both mackintoshs as well as PCs. Interestingly, by the end of 2003, one of its largest resellers Dell had decided not to sell anymore iPods and instead launch its own version of the iPod called the DJ(Digital Jukebox). In enunciate to download songs from the Internet, Dell partnered with a company called Music Match that offered that service.By mid-2004, 6 months subsequently it hit the 1 cardinal mark, apple crossed the 2 one million million mark in iPod sales but the peripheral food market was just getting warmed up to the portable devices segment. In addition to crump by Dell, HP announced that it was repackaging the 4G iPod and selling it as a PC friendly device. Motorola launched its next generation phones that would be iTunes compatible. In one of the more recent statistics of the iPod wave collated in October 2004, on that point were some interesting findings. orchard apple tree held 82 per cent of the digital market across all music players and 92 per cent of all hard-disk ground music players.The nearest competitor to the iPod was the device launched by Creative. They had a 3.7 per cent market share. In addition, 2 million iPods are be sold every 3 months. The music industry too has gained immensely through these sales. The integrality number of downloads have been clocked at a 150 million which equates to 4 million per week. The modish iPod has a mechanism that enables the storage of digital photographs as well as music. Today, apple figures have registered total of 6 million iPod sales. Thats a fascinating elicitth path, which would make any merchandise professional envious of replicating that kind of success.On careful consideration though, it took very long for iPod to rightfully convey its sales figures to the kind that it was able to achieve in the eld 2003 and 2004. Until then, the figures were good, but not something to write home about. The turning stop for orchard apple tree came with the introduction of the terzetto generation iPods. This is ap nourish since it took more or less 2 years for iPod to register its first million in sales and pr esently after the launch of the 3G iPod in capital of Japan less than 6months afterwards apple was able to register its second million in iPod sales.Interestingly, the sales figures recorded over the 3-year period were opposed to any form of competition from companies such as Creative, Dell, river etc. They sold cheaper products but not for a moment, did they encroach upon the market share that was and is still monopolised by iPod. Apple has also holdd an aggressive marketing strategy towrope in different age groups by using the draw of celebrities and song choices. For instance, in late October 2004, Apple unveiled what was called the U2 iPod. Apple conducted a promotion exercise in sync with the release of U2s song Vertigo.The new iPod was designed with shameful casing, a red wheel and a back cover that had the engravings ofU2 with the band signatures. It is little things such as these that have made the iPod such a business office model for marketing strategists. The uniqu e blend of having a great product and infusing the right level of awareness and visibility to sell it to the masses. In the chart below, the growth path of the iPod from its inception, to the end of 2004shows how sales surged in 2003 after the release of the 3G iPods as mentioned earlier.Not to mention, as the iPod sales soared, so did the number of downloads for music. Initially, the software iTunes needed pipe bought in order to write songs from audio CDs to the computer, following which they could be downloaded to the iPod. In 2003, Apple introduced an online music store that enabled iPod users to download music right away from the Internet. This worked in 2 ways it provided users with an increase in choice of music that they would like to have downloaded as well as simplified the procurement of iTunes. No more papa user have to buy a software, install it onto the computer and then use it to burn music off a CD and finally onto the hard disk of the iPod. Simplifying this proc ess for millions of users had its positives as can be seen from the graph above.The first big jump in sales was in October 2003 when the PC version of the music store went live. This enabled far more users to be able to download songs onto their computers and diluted the monopoly of Accusers. 2 months later, in December 2003, following a draw poker of media hype and trouble beingness given to the iPod and a corresponding increase in Christmas sales, more and more people began downloading songs from iTunes. And in between July 2004 and October 2004, Apple registered growth of song sales from a 100 million to a 150 million. (http//www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=4280_0_8_0_M)It must be noted that in many instances within the paper, the use of iPod and Apple is synonymous. After more deliberation, the researcher decided that it was important to approach the paper from the perspective of the parent company Apple. Any impact that the environment would have on Apple would be reflective in the iPod strategy. At the same time, in circumstances that would affect the company both positively and blackballly, would subsequent effect the iPod and vice-versa.Aims and ObjectivesThe pay back of this paper is to understand the growth of the iPod through the years. It all began in the year 2001 and it has been a short journey to success. But how long exit this be able to continue, what is the future for the product, how will it fend off competition and how will it impact Apple in the longer run. We all know that it has been apathy-breaking journey for Apple as it picks itself up from the doldrums of declining computer sales with its innovative invention that saw it spring back into the limelight. It is also the endeavour of this paper to highlight how important an impact the iPod has had on Apple alone and why cant other companys model the same success story.Literature ReviewThe advantage of the iPod check to Haddad, Charles (2002),the iPod is one of the most revolutionary products to hit the computer and electronics market turn up. He believes that the only way forward for Apple is to diversify its product outrank and move from being a niche computer shaper to providing applied science that understands the gap between technology and enjoyment. He quotes how the market share for Apple in 2002 had remained at 3 per cent for a number of years. In order to move it from there, it was imperative that they looked beyond the computer industry since it was reaching a strength point in most developed markets and the level of competition from across the globe was making it extremely difficult for large computer manufacturers to survive.Digital hold music players were a ontogenesis market in 2002. There were few players in the market place and industry experts such as ID Chad stated that demand would grow by 74 per cent over the next 3 years. In retrospect, they werent right but only because the demand has recorded trinity digit growth si nce 2002. In addition, the anticipated sales for 2002 were pegged at 12 million units of all kinds of portable digital music devices. Haddad brings up an important point about how the level of competition within the digital handheld music products industry was still at a minimalistic stage in comparison to other industries where companies such as Microsoft and Intel who had striken over the PC market.He believed that the next generation of buyers were more interested in a product that was different, satisfied their requirements and at the same time, was serene and suave to have. Especially in the case of handheld devices where consumers would cart it around with them, this need for trendy and sophisticated gadgets was of the utmost importance.At the time of writing his article, Haddad had researched the iPod when music files were downloadable only from a Mac. The iPod sales were still consistent and looking positive during that stage but Apple had not introduced downloading files onto PCs at that stage. at a time that happened, iPod sales grew dramatically. The iPod was never intended to lift the flailing computer business of the parent company but overtime, Haddad statements would hold good, as the iPod would grow to become one of the most successful products ever launched by a computer company. (Haddad, Charles, iPod, You Pod, Will We All Pod? trade Week Online 7/3/2002) odontiasis problems with Strategy?With the course of success that the iPod has seen over the years, there have been few instances that writers have been able to find a chink in the armour of this tremendously successful product. angiotensin-converting enzyme such writer is Salk ever, Alex (2004). In the first of his articles Apples slow boat to China, he discusses how the Chinese economy is one of the most mercenary investment decisions for businesses the world over and how Apple has failed to take advantage of this huge opportunity. He begins by using the views of consultants who have worked within the Chinese market place for decades now and seen it evolve over the years.He quotes Merrill Weingrod who works with a marketing consultancy China Strategies. When Salk ever asks Weingrod how lucrative the Chinese market is for product such as the iPod, he answers saying that the market potential for mens electric shavers is $300 million annually. Weingrod believed that the Chinese have the get superpower to spend $200 to $250 on highlife shavers today which are not a necessity by any standing. This was just an indication of their mind-sets and how more they were unforced to spend and for what. He reiterates this by stating that the Chinese race measures 300 million in terms of the number of cell phone subscribers across the country. They pay an middling of $200 for their handsets and connectivity.In addition, the average Chinese employee earns far less than his / her American counterpart and yet, he / she is willing to pay larger proportion of their salar y towards purchasing luxury goods. This equates to the purchase potential and eagerness amongst the population and above all a prospective consumer. One who is constantly on the lookout for the infusion of luxury goods into the market so that he /she can go in the lead and purchase it, provided there is a need of course.In addition, the Chinese economy is the unshakableest emergence economy in the world with its GDP growth rate pegged at 9 per cent annually. It has one of the largest gist-class societies in the world with disposable income that is growing as fast as their growth rate. With every factor in the book of marketing pointing towards the Chinese market, Salk ever is dismayed at Apples strategy to plosive speech sound out of this market and not undertake an aggressive marketing strategy that would tap its he potential.The only real travel that Apple has taken towards entering this economy is to ensure that iTunes Music software is downloaded onto every Manufactured by Chinas second largest computer manufacturer Founder Technology. It is an juiceless decision considering the consumer who would purchase the machine would have little access to the iPod on which he could have downloaded his / her music. Besides this decision with the Chinese industry, Apple hasnt taken any more steps towards making any investment decisions in this region. There was one instance when they almost toyed with the idea of muster an iTunes Music shop but then retracted any steps made in that direction.The figures that Salk ever quotes are astounding to the reader. check to him, at least .3 present of the population of China has disposable income that equates to that of an individual in the US who would earn approximately $25000 to $30000 annually. That figure translates to approximately 60 million people today and will grow to 3to 4 times that number over the next decade. With the change magnitude middleclass and the ability to buy products that others around th e world can afford, very soon the Chinese middle class would equal the entire population of the United States.So what do the Chinese see these new gadgets in the market place as? According to market analysts Bryan Mama company that tracks the buying of cell phones in Asia, but establish in Singapore, the number of cell phones that are replaced are astounding. The Chinese people like to replace their cell phones 6 to 12 months earlier than consumers in North America and Western Europe. Gadgets are seen as a status image of sorts. Owning the latest models makes individuals feel like they are popular and wanted, according to the company.Chinese consumers also tend to go for gadgets that are sleek, suave and trendy. According to Salk ever those are the kinds of words that would define the iPod but they dont find any place in the market. He tries to look at the opinion from Apples perspective. As a company, Apples strategy is to consolidate and preserve its position in the markets that it is strong in. In the bargain, it would not look to invest in new markets such as China. In fact, Apple has a miniscule presence across the entire length and breadth of Asia. If lacquer is taken out of the equation, Apple draws less than 10 per cent of total sales from this region.Naturally, it is not an area of too much interest for the moment. Whilst Apple takes a back lav to proceedings in this region, competition in the form of Sony, Motorola and Creative have made inroads into the Chinese market. As an example, Motorola entered the Chinese handset market early and in the first quarter of2004, it was proud to declare that it has achieved a market share of 40per cent. It had the first movers advantage introducing a technology that few others were persist enough to take into this country many years back and today it has paid off. The Chinese market is known for its penetration problems. The researcher agrees with the insights that Salk ever has provided into this untapped re gion and understand the problems that Apple faces in the future lest it not take steps in this direction. The level of investment required at a later date where the market is abuzz with competition would be authoritatively higher. It makes completes sense for companies to invest in China at this stage and there is no land why Apple should not be one of them. (Salk ever, Alex, Business Week Online 7/22/2004)In another article by Salk ever albeit on a different issue, he adopts similar stand on the problems that will plague Apple. In his article, iPod Leader, but Not Ruler, he states that the sales figures by Apple are either over-exaggerated or are inaccurate since there isnt enough essay that the data being collated is validated. Apparently, data in countries in Latin America, India, South Korea, Eastern European Taiwan are difficult to validate and not easy to obtain. There are also other areas across Asia, including China where data retrieval and collation is not as accurate a s it is made out to be. So when Apple boasts of global sales and achieving market shares across the world in excess of 50 per cent across the electronic market (MP3 players), they may very well be over the top.To evidence his findings, Salk ever looks at the various methods that companies use to collate market data that can be passed onto consumers and other business prospects. On one hand, they can utilise the services of US market research companies such as the NPD group that solely dedicates its efforts to the US retail economy. On the other hand, companies such as Apple can resort to asking OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and component manufacturers how many pieces they are taking to the market place. Whatever may the case be, according to Salk ever, Apple doesnt quite have accurate information omits global market share.He confirms that Apple is authenticly a global leader but not dominant. This could have been a very interesting report but the only flaw with his resea rch is that he fails to document enough evidence either through statistics or through credible sources that can allow him to judge with some level of certainty that Apples iPods are infect facing spoiled times ahead.To be fair to Salk ever though, he does introduce the reconcile of the growing competition of iPods outside the borders of the US from Asiatic electronics companies. In the advance years, cheaper campaign costs of the Asian companies will allow them to create inexpensive models of the iPod and compete on price aggressively. In addition, Salk ever states that the Asian consumers who are growing to the largest consumers of entertainment products, prefer littler sized iPods. This is not in sync with Apples strategy since they plan to introduce larger and heavier models of the iPod in the coming few months. And even if iPod does take the cue and invests in smaller models in time, it would have lost outing comparison to other digital music manufacturers. But Salk ever do es summarise his studies by admitting the dominance of iPod within the digital market place, yet cautions against rising competition and price sensitive market in the near future. (Salk ever, Alex (2004) Business Week Online 5/27/2004)Curzon (2005) has an every bit interesting point of view. He believes that the iPod boom would not be able to sustain the success that it has experienced for much longer. His rationale is based around stock prices and other statistics that he discovers about Apple which point towards changing tide in the coming years. Curzon promotes the concept that Apple as a company is on the decline once again and encourages people to sell their shares now since they would lose property in the coming few months lest they hang onto them. He begins by mentioning the usual success stories of the company the last 2 years have seen iPod sales rise more than twenty times from 219,000 units towards the end of 2002 to over 4 million units at the end of last year. In fac t, Lehman Brothers had initially vomited iPod sales to be approximately 3million units at the end of 2004.They had to revise their figures appressed to the end of the year and pegged it again at 4 million units for the year 2004. Apple on the other hand clocked 4.5 million units for the year ending 2004, ahead of anybodys expectations. Another indication of the progressive rate of success is how the number of downloads from the iTunes rose from 50 million to 200 million. Finally, the biggest turnaround statistic lies in how the company almost went bankrupt after the dotcom era a decade ago and last year, recorded sales figures in excess of $3 jillion with no debt on their financial statements.What makes very interesting reading is how Ken Curzon describes the decline in the demand of iPods and correspondingly, with the parent company as well. He states that after the Christmas rush for buying iPods, in all probability consumers will not be willing to spend as much money on it. As he puts it spend shoppers are more enthusiastic about higher prices, but once the holiday season ends, they usually dont like to spend money on products that are priced at a premium. In keeping with the same, Curzon predicts that in the first few months of 2005, the rate at which consumers buy iPods would drop in stages at first and then, more drastically later in the year. Lehman Brothers too have declared that they expect a 14 per cent drop in sales figures over the course of the year.In another case, Curzon talks about how on one hand, the sales of iPods have certainly been increasing in meeting of minds with an increase in market share, but the parent company Apple has seen a decline in its market share from 2 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The Apple Stores are an over-riding success because of the iPod and its driving consumers tithe stores. But although the number of footfalls across these stores has doubled, the number of consumers buying Apple PCs has remained constant. Addi tionally, Apples tax income figures in comparison to other computer companies are very average. For a company that is on the biggest ride of its business life, it records a growth rate of 33 present in comparison to HPs 29 per cent. And what makes this look more dismal according to Curzon is that the operating margins for the previous year were declared at 3.94 per cent. This was far level in comparison to HPs 5.2 per cent and Dells 8.56 per cent. (Curzon, Ken, Esquire Mar 2005, Vol. 143 Issue 3, p112)Somehow, Curzon does shed light on certain statistics that project Apples performance in a questionable light but on closer observation, it appears that the facts have been manipulated to project a negative perspective to the progress of Apple. The researcher believes this tube the case since there are many individuals who constantly try and influence the market forces through published writing such as this to ultimately try and manipulate the performance of the stocks. For every ne gative statement that Curzon was able to highlight, there appears tube an equally positive exposition for the same.For instance, decline in market share by .1 per cent is not necessarily a negative impact on the company. It faces on the marketing strategy of the company is it trying to move out of certain markets and invest in others. Additionally, in saturated market places such as the US, any form of product diversification would have an impact on the market share as well. So there are considerations that need to be taken before any conclusions can be made. At the same time, the researcher believed it important to include Curzons work since it was one of the most recent articles on the iPod that sounded warning bells and tries to get the reader to see the success story from a different perspective.So where exactly is Apple headed towards now? According to Murphy(2004), a significant contribution of Apples success can be attributed to the iPod and hence, any future success param eters would also be defined by the iPod. The competition amongst the computer industry is very intense with players such as Microsoft for software, Dell, HP undim for computer hardware and a host of other system integrators and competitive channel partners. Due to a diminishing market share as mentioned earlier of under 2 per cent, the total business worth of the company has fallen to half that of its sales receipts.The only light in this dark tunnel is the fact that the stock price at Apple has almost doubled over the past 2 years. But can the parent company depend on single product offering and expect to piggyback ride it all the way tithe bank? Its not possible says Murphy. There will come a time in the near future when sales of iPods begin to decline, competitive forces take over with lower priced products and existing markets begin to get saturated.Some of these products would come from companies such as HP,Dell, Sony, Creative, Gateway and Rio, each offering a product that is importantly cheaper and has greater retention storage in comparison tithe iPod. For instance, Creative has launched a new product that also has a longer battery life and also has fair earplugs similar to those of Apple, taking a leaf out of Apples trendy design. At the same time, it has been seen that consumers have complained about the lack of availability of iPods in the stores. And to make matters worse, Apple hasnt been able to confirm a deadline by when they would be made available.Times will change gradually. As Murphy mentions the price of the iPods over time will fall significantly and Apple would need to sell more and more iPods just to maintain the revenue figures. For instance, there is an laying claim based on pricing that Apple would need to sell at least 20 per cent more iPods in the coming year to be able to sustain the same level of growth over the year. This should not be a problem currently considering growth is predicted to rise to 70 per cent but in time, this could certainly become an issue. If looked at differently, Murphy argues that falling prices of products are fine as long as business efficiencies were rising. 4 years ago, when the sales figures of Apple were 4 per cent higher than they are today, the operating profits of the company were at 9 per cent of total sales. Today, that figure has come down to 3 per cent. In addition, the number of employees added over the past 4 years has gone up by 32 per cent and the sale per employee has significantly decreased from $930,000 to$674,000.For apple to be able to sustain its growth and maintain a leading position in the market place, it cannot depend wholly on the iPod revolution. Its notebooks and desktop products account for 64 per cent of its current sales as a company. But except for the month of June that recorded a 14 per cent increase in revenues, the rest of the year remained much the same in terms of sales. This is worrying for Apple since it doesnt have too many back up mea sures to fall on should they land in trouble. To tackle some of this problem, Apple had introduced a series of Apple stores across the US, UK and separate of Western Europe.These stores hosted the latest introductions by the company including all models of the iPod and its peripherals. The rationale lay in ensuring that consumers would walk into these stores with the excuse of looking at the iPods and at the same time, channel-surf around and take look at the range of other Apple products as well. Unfortunately though, this move didnt bring in the kind of sales that Apple attention had predicted. When Apple was asked about this stagnancy that was creeping into their product lines, they said that 50 per cent of all buyers at their new stores that they have introduced are new consumers and they give notice to build relationships through their product quality and peripherals and increase their market share of repeat buyers.Interestingly, Murphy is one of the only writers on this sub ject who believes that the main daub of Apples moderate performance lies with its CEO Steve Jobs. Over the course of its business history, Apple has always ensured that its software configures only with its hardware and no others. For instance, the Mac operating system can only be run on Mac computers. In comparison, the Windows Operating systems can be used on a variety of different hardware systems making it a more universally accepted operating system. The time for niche solutions in not the way forward. Apple must realise that the money lies in the numbers and they can in no way get to those numbers by alteration access to their software.It really is a Catch-22 situation for them. In much the same way, the iPod can only play music that has been downloaded from iTunes. What happens when the iTunes faces intense competition from other music download software companies in the near future? Are we saying that the iPod would only have limited access to music and perhaps, not the ent ire range of musDevelopment and Future of the Apple iPodDevelopment and Future of the Apple iPodThe iPod is perhaps the most talked about technological product in recent times. It has set sales records that have lave literally destroyed the predictions of all analysts by superseding everyones expectations. The interesting issues concerning this topic is how the iPod impacted not only the digital music electronics industry, but was also responsible for the turnaround of a company on the brink of bankruptcy.It is this very fact that makes the growth and life cycle of iPod an experience in itself and one that creates a sense of wonder at its success. But how did all this come about and just why did the iPod do so well? These are questions that we look to find answers towards whilst shedding light on the internal pressures faced by the parent company Apple.The paper takes the reader through the history of the parent company Apple and its declining fortunes until the introduction of the iPod. This revolutionary innovation then dictated the pace at which the organisation was able to turn itself around to become one of the more successful computer companies in the world today. The report also looks at how Apple as a company defines itself with the onset of the iPod boom can it still call itself a computer company in the literal sense of the word or does it now see itself entering a diversified phase of business operations and hence, would need to re-think its overall business strategy and core competencies.The views of different writers expressed through the paper help in building an understanding of the pressures the company has undergone over the last decade and why it has taken the decisions that it has. The paper revolves around the growth of the iPod as the key driving force for all major business and technical decisions, it understand how it had to be re-modelled and adapted to the market needs and demands. The paper also paints the competitive landscape at di fferent stages of the growth cycle and how this impacted or did not impact the iPod.Finally, the paper looks at the varying consumer tastes, the positives drawn from the product itself and what lies in store for the future of the product and the company. The methods used to create a deeper understanding of the iPod environment were through a variety of primary and secondary sources. Some of this is discussed in greater detail in different section of the paper. However, for the purpose of this report, the researcher took great care in trying to put together different pieces of work by various writers so as to be able to provide more holistic and all-encompassing view of the real scenario that surrounded the iPod boom. On a more generic note, most writers and experts within the industry agreed that the success of this product was unrivalled by others of its kind in recent times.IntroductionBackgroundSuccess stories always find their way to centre-stage. But what makes a journey even m ore interesting is when accompany that finds itself in some level of difficulty turns the tide and jump starts its engines to climb to the top of the success ladder. Apples is one such story. Whilst the problems that affect it lie in the background, the phenomenal success of its iPod has people fascinated. Marketing gurus swear by the growth of this innovative product that provided the perfect solution to a generation that was technologically familiar and defied competition to control every conceivable bit of the market that it entered the digital music space, and made it its own. How and why is what we attempt to discover.HistoryThe history of the iPod dates back to the January of 2001. Apple had just introduced iTunes a programme that enabled Accusers to burn music off audio CDs and convert them into music files on their computer systems as digital audio files. This provided users with the flexibility of creating libraries for their music files, clubbing favourite songs in order and in time to come, download them to portable devices.This natural extension saw the introduction of the iPod in the month of October 2001. Unlike other portable devices in the same range, the iPod was the first of its kind to store music files on a hard disk similar to a computer. Other devices used flash cards and detachable storage devices that could not hold as many bytes of data as the iPod did. Infect, the first few iPods had a 5GB storage space, which equated to the storage of approximately a 1000 songs. The question to be asked at this stage was if the software for writing music to the computer was developed keeping the iPod in mind? However, sources within the company maintain that the iPod was only conceptualised 6 months before its release date. Whatever the truth might be, the two scenarios complemented each other beautifully giving consumers the best of both worlds and a logical extension to the process of listening to music.In November 2001, the first iPods were ship ped to waiting buyers and byte end of the year, 125,000 iPods had been sold for a price of $399.Within a year, other computer companies as well as large retailers were selling iPods as value-adds. Dell, Best Buy and Target were some of the more prominent names at this stage and had dedicated sites and sales teams pushing for iPod sales.By June 2003, Apple had managed to sell 1 million iPods, which could download music from both Macs as well as PCs. Interestingly, by the end of 2003, one of its largest resellers Dell had decided not to sell anymore iPods and instead launch its own version of the iPod called the DJ(Digital Jukebox). In order to download songs from the Internet, Dell partnered with a company called Music Match that offered that service.By mid-2004, 6 months after it hit the 1 million mark, Apple crossed the 2 million mark in iPod sales but the peripheral market was just getting warmed up to the portable devices segment. In addition to thud by Dell, HP announced that it was repackaging the 4G iPod and selling it as a PC friendly device. Motorola launched its next generation phones that would be iTunes compatible. In one of the more recent statistics of the iPod wave collated in October 2004, there were some interesting findings. Apple held 82 per cent of the digital market across all music players and 92 per cent of all hard-disk based music players.The nearest competitor to the iPod was the device launched by Creative. They had a 3.7 per cent market share. In addition, 2 million iPods are being sold every 3 months. The music industry too has gained immensely through these sales. The total number of downloads have been clocked at a 150 million which equates to 4 million per week. The latest iPod has a mechanism that enables the storage of digital photographs as well as music. Today, Apple figures have registered total of 6 million iPod sales. Thats a fascinating growth path, which would make any marketing professional envious of replicating that k ind of success.On careful consideration though, it took very long for iPod to really drive its sales figures to the kind that it was able to achieve in the years 2003 and 2004. Until then, the figures were good, but not something to write home about. The turning point for Apple came with the introduction of the third generation iPods. This is apparent since it took almost 2 years for iPod to register its first million in sales and soon after the launch of the 3G iPod in Tokyo less than 6months later Apple was able to register its second million in iPod sales.Interestingly, the sales figures recorded over the 3-year period were averse to any form of competition from companies such as Creative, Dell, river etc. They sold cheaper products but not for a moment, did they encroach upon the market share that was and is still monopolised by iPod. Apple has also utilised an aggressive marketing strategy towrope in different age groups by using the draw of celebrities and song choices. For in stance, in late October 2004, Apple unveiled what was called the U2 iPod. Apple conducted a promotion exercise in sync with the release of U2s song Vertigo.The new iPod was designed with black casing, a red wheel and a back cover that had the engravings ofU2 with the band signatures. It is little things such as these that have made the iPod such a role model for marketing strategists. The unique blend of having a great product and infusing the right level of awareness and visibility to sell it to the masses. In the chart below, the growth path of the iPod from its inception, to the end of 2004shows how sales surged in 2003 after the release of the 3G iPods as mentioned earlier.Not to mention, as the iPod sales soared, so did the number of downloads for music. Initially, the software iTunes needed tube bought in order to write songs from audio CDs to the computer, following which they could be downloaded to the iPod. In 2003, Apple introduced an online music store that enabled iPod users to download music directly from the Internet. This worked in 2 ways it provided users with an increase in choice of music that they would like to have downloaded as well as simplified the procurement of iTunes. No more dada user have to buy a software, install it onto the computer and then use it to burn music off a CD and finally onto the hard disk of the iPod. Simplifying this process for millions of users had its positives as can be seen from the graph above.The first big jump in sales was in October 2003 when the PC version of the music store went live. This enabled far more users to be able to download songs onto their computers and diluted the monopoly of Accusers. 2 months later, in December 2003, following a lot of media hype and attention being given to the iPod and a corresponding increase in Christmas sales, more and more people began downloading songs from iTunes. And in between July 2004 and October 2004, Apple registered growth of song sales from a 100 million t o a 150 million. (http//www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=4280_0_8_0_M)It must be noted that in many instances within the paper, the use of iPod and Apple is synonymous. After much deliberation, the researcher decided that it was important to approach the paper from the perspective of the parent company Apple. Any impact that the environment would have on Apple would be reflective in the iPod strategy. At the same time, in circumstances that would affect the company both positively and negatively, would subsequent effect the iPod and vice-versa.Aims and ObjectivesThe aim of this paper is to understand the growth of the iPod through the years. It all began in the year 2001 and it has been a short journey to success. But how long will this be able to continue, what is the future for the product, how will it fend off competition and how will it impact Apple in the longer run. We all know that it has been apathy-breaking journey for Apple as it picks itself up from the doldrums o f declining computer sales with its innovative invention that saw it spring back into the limelight. It is also the endeavour of this paper to highlight how important an impact the iPod has had on Apple alone and why cant other companys model the same success story.Literature ReviewThe Success of the iPodAccording to Haddad, Charles (2002),the iPod is one of the most revolutionary products to hit the computer and electronics market place. He believes that the only way forward for Apple is to diversify its product range and move from being a niche computer manufacturer to providing technology that understands the gap between technology and entertainment. He quotes how the market share for Apple in 2002 had remained at 3 per cent for a number of years. In order to move it from there, it was imperative that they looked beyond the computer industry since it was reaching a saturation point in most developed markets and the level of competition from across the globe was making it extremel y difficult for large computer manufacturers to survive.Digital handheld music players were a growing market in 2002. There were few players in the market place and industry experts such as ID Chad stated that demand would grow by 74 per cent over the next 3 years. In retrospect, they werent right but only because the demand has recorded triple digit growth since 2002. In addition, the anticipated sales for 2002 were pegged at 12 million units of all kinds of portable digital music devices. Haddad brings up an important point about how the level of competition within the digital handheld music products industry was still at a minimalistic stage in comparison to other industries where companies such as Microsoft and Intel who had taken over the PC market.He believed that the next generation of buyers were more interested in a product that was different, satisfied their requirements and at the same time, was cool and suave to have. Especially in the case of handheld devices where con sumers would cart it around with them, this need for trendy and sophisticated gadgets was of the utmost importance.At the time of writing his article, Haddad had researched the iPod when music files were downloadable only from a Mac. The iPod sales were still consistent and looking positive during that stage but Apple had not introduced downloading files onto PCs at that stage. Once that happened, iPod sales grew dramatically. The iPod was never intended to lift the flailing computer business of the parent company but overtime, Haddad statements would hold good, as the iPod would grow to become one of the most successful products ever launched by a computer company. (Haddad, Charles, iPod, You Pod, Will We All Pod? Business Week Online 7/3/2002)Teething problems with Strategy?With the degree of success that the iPod has seen over the years, there have been few instances that writers have been able to find a chink in the armour of this hugely successful product. One such writer is S alk ever, Alex (2004). In the first of his articles Apples slow boat to China, he discusses how the Chinese economy is one of the most lucrative investment decisions for businesses the world over and how Apple has failed to take advantage of this huge opportunity. He begins by using the views of consultants who have worked within the Chinese market place for decades now and seen it evolve over the years.He quotes Merrill Weingrod who works with a marketing consultancy China Strategies. When Salk ever asks Weingrod how lucrative the Chinese market is for product such as the iPod, he answers saying that the market potential for mens electric shavers is $300 million annually. Weingrod believed that the Chinese have the buying power to spend $200 to $250 on luxury shavers today which are not a necessity by any standing. This was just an indication of their mind-sets and how much they were willing to spend and for what. He reiterates this by stating that the Chinese population measures 300 million in terms of the number of cell phone subscribers across the country. They pay an average of $200 for their handsets and connectivity.In addition, the average Chinese employee earns far less than his / her American counterpart and yet, he / she is willing to pay larger proportion of their salary towards buying luxury goods. This equates to the buying potential and eagerness amongst the population and above all a prospective consumer. One who is constantly on the lookout for the infusion of luxury goods into the market so that he /she can go ahead and purchase it, provided there is a need of course.In addition, the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world with its GDP growth rate pegged at 9 per cent annually. It has one of the largest middle-class societies in the world with disposable income that is growing as fast as their growth rate. With every factor in the book of marketing pointing towards the Chinese market, Salk ever is dismayed at Apples str ategy to stay out of this market and not undertake an aggressive marketing strategy that would tap its he potential.The only real steps that Apple has taken towards entering this economy is to ensure that iTunes Music software is downloaded onto every Manufactured by Chinas second largest computer manufacturer Founder Technology. It is an ironical decision considering the consumer who would purchase the machine would have little access to the iPod on which he could have downloaded his / her music. Besides this decision with the Chinese industry, Apple hasnt taken any more steps towards making any investment decisions in this region. There was one instance when they almost toyed with the idea of opening an iTunes Music Store but then retracted any steps made in that direction.The figures that Salk ever quotes are astounding to the reader. According to him, at least .3 present of the population of China has disposable income that equates to that of an individual in the US who would e arn approximately $25000 to $30000 annually. That figure translates to approximately 60 million people today and will grow to 3to 4 times that number over the next decade. With the increasing middleclass and the ability to buy products that others around the world can afford, very soon the Chinese middle class would equal the entire population of the United States.So what do the Chinese see these new gadgets in the market place as? According to market analysts Bryan Mama company that tracks the buying of cell phones in Asia, but based in Singapore, the number of cell phones that are replaced are astounding. The Chinese people like to replace their cell phones 6 to 12 months earlier than consumers in North America and Western Europe. Gadgets are seen as a status symbol of sorts. Owning the latest models makes individuals feel like they are popular and wanted, according to the company.Chinese consumers also tend to go for gadgets that are sleek, suave and trendy. According to Salk eve r those are the kinds of words that would define the iPod but they dont find any place in the market. He tries to look at the picture from Apples perspective. As a company, Apples strategy is to consolidate and preserve its position in the markets that it is strong in. In the bargain, it would not look to invest in new markets such as China. In fact, Apple has a miniscule presence across the entire length and breadth of Asia. If Japan is taken out of the equation, Apple draws less than 10 per cent of total sales from this region.Naturally, it is not an area of too much interest for the moment. Whilst Apple takes a back seat to proceedings in this region, competition in the form of Sony, Motorola and Creative have made inroads into the Chinese market. As an example, Motorola entered the Chinese handset market early and in the first quarter of2004, it was proud to declare that it has achieved a market share of 40per cent. It had the first movers advantage introducing a technology that few others were brave enough to take into this country many years back and today it has paid off. The Chinese market is known for its penetration problems. The researcher agrees with the insights that Salk ever has provided into this untapped region and understand the problems that Apple faces in the future lest it not take steps in this direction. The level of investment required at a later date where the market is abuzz with competition would be significantly higher. It makes completes sense for companies to invest in China at this stage and there is no reason why Apple should not be one of them. (Salk ever, Alex, Business Week Online 7/22/2004)In another article by Salk ever albeit on a different issue, he adopts similar stand on the problems that will plague Apple. In his article, iPod Leader, but Not Ruler, he states that the sales figures by Apple are either over-exaggerated or are inaccurate since there isnt enough evidence that the data being collated is validated. Apparen tly, data in countries in Latin America, India, South Korea, Eastern European Taiwan are difficult to validate and not easy to obtain. There are also other areas across Asia, including China where data retrieval and collation is not as accurate as it is made out to be. So when Apple boasts of global sales and achieving market shares across the world in excess of 50 per cent across the electronic market (MP3 players), they may very well be over the top.To evidence his findings, Salk ever looks at the various methods that companies use to collate market data that can be passed onto consumers and other business prospects. On one hand, they can utilise the services of US market research companies such as the NPD group that solely dedicates its efforts to the US retail economy. On the other hand, companies such as Apple can resort to asking OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and component manufacturers how many pieces they are taking to the market place. Whatever may the case be, acc ording to Salk ever, Apple doesnt quite have accurate information omits global market share.He confirms that Apple is certainly a global leader but not dominant. This could have been a very interesting report but the only flaw with his research is that he fails to document enough evidence either through statistics or through credible sources that can allow him to judge with some level of certainty that Apples iPods are infect facing tough times ahead.To be fair to Salk ever though, he does introduce the subject of the growing competition of iPods outside the borders of the US from Asian electronics companies. In the coming years, cheaper labour costs of the Asian companies will allow them to create inexpensive models of the iPod and compete on price aggressively. In addition, Salk ever states that the Asian consumers who are growing to the largest consumers of entertainment products, prefer smaller sized iPods. This is not in sync with Apples strategy since they plan to introduce la rger and heavier models of the iPod in the coming few months. And even if iPod does take the cue and invests in smaller models in time, it would have lost outing comparison to other digital music manufacturers. But Salk ever does summarise his studies by admitting the dominance of iPod within the digital market place, yet cautions against rising competition and price sensitive market in the near future. (Salk ever, Alex (2004) Business Week Online 5/27/2004)Curzon (2005) has an equally interesting point of view. He believes that the iPod boom would not be able to sustain the success that it has experienced for much longer. His rationale is based around stock prices and other statistics that he discovers about Apple which point towards changing tide in the coming years. Curzon promotes the concept that Apple as a company is on the decline once again and encourages people to sell their shares now since they would lose money in the coming few months lest they hang onto them. He begins by mentioning the usual success stories of the company the last 2 years have seen iPod sales rise more than twenty times from 219,000 units towards the end of 2002 to over 4 million units at the end of last year. In fact, Lehman Brothers had initially projected iPod sales to be approximately 3million units at the end of 2004.They had to revise their figures closer to the end of the year and pegged it again at 4 million units for the year 2004. Apple on the other hand clocked 4.5 million units for the year ending 2004, ahead of anybodys expectations. Another indication of the progressive rate of success is how the number of downloads from the iTunes rose from 50 million to 200 million. Finally, the biggest turnaround statistic lies in how the company almost went bankrupt after the dotcom era a decade ago and last year, recorded sales figures in excess of $3 billion with no debt on their financial statements.What makes very interesting reading is how Ken Curzon describes the decline in the demand of iPods and correspondingly, with the parent company as well. He states that after the Christmas rush for buying iPods, in all probability consumers will not be willing to spend as much money on it. As he puts it Holiday shoppers are more enthusiastic about higher prices, but once the holiday season ends, they usually dont like to spend money on products that are priced at a premium. In keeping with the same, Curzon predicts that in the first few months of 2005, the rate at which consumers buy iPods would drop gradually at first and then, more drastically later in the year. Lehman Brothers too have declared that they expect a 14 per cent drop in sales figures over the course of the year.In another case, Curzon talks about how on one hand, the sales of iPods have certainly been increasing in conjunction with an increase in market share, but the parent company Apple has seen a decline in its market share from 2 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The Apple Stores are an over-ri ding success because of the iPod and its driving consumers tithe stores. But although the number of footfalls across these stores has doubled, the number of consumers buying Apple PCs has remained constant. Additionally, Apples revenue figures in comparison to other computer companies are very average. For a company that is on the biggest ride of its business life, it records a growth rate of 33 present in comparison to HPs 29 per cent. And what makes this look more dismal according to Curzon is that the operating margins for the previous year were declared at 3.94 per cent. This was far lower in comparison to HPs 5.2 per cent and Dells 8.56 per cent. (Curzon, Ken, Esquire Mar 2005, Vol. 143 Issue 3, p112)Somehow, Curzon does shed light on certain statistics that project Apples performance in a questionable light but on closer observation, it appears that the facts have been manipulated to project a negative perspective to the progress of Apple. The researcher believes this tube th e case since there are many individuals who constantly try and influence the market forces through published writing such as this to ultimately try and manipulate the performance of the stocks. For every negative statement that Curzon was able to highlight, there appears tube an equally positive explanation for the same.For instance, decline in market share by .1 per cent is not necessarily a negative impact on the company. It depends on the marketing strategy of the company is it trying to move out of certain markets and invest in others. Additionally, in saturated market places such as the US, any form of product diversification would have an impact on the market share as well. So there are considerations that need to be taken before any conclusions can be made. At the same time, the researcher believed it important to include Curzons work since it was one of the most recent articles on the iPod that sounded warning bells and tries to get the reader to see the success story from a different perspective.So where exactly is Apple headed towards now? According to Murphy(2004), a significant contribution of Apples success can be attributed to the iPod and hence, any future success parameters would also be defined by the iPod. The competition amongst the computer industry is very intense with players such as Microsoft for software, Dell, HP undim for hardware and a host of other system integrators and competitive channel partners. Due to a diminishing market share as mentioned earlier of under 2 per cent, the total business worth of the company has fallen to half that of its sales revenue.The only light in this dark tunnel is the fact that the stock price at Apple has almost doubled over the past 2 years. But can the parent company depend on single product offering and expect to piggyback ride it all the way tithe bank? Its not possible says Murphy. There will come a time in the near future when sales of iPods begin to decline, competitive forces take over with lower priced products and existing markets begin to get saturated.Some of these products would come from companies such as HP,Dell, Sony, Creative, Gateway and Rio, each offering a product that is significantly cheaper and has greater memory storage in comparison tithe iPod. For instance, Creative has launched a new product that also has a longer battery life and also has white earplugs similar to those of Apple, taking a leaf out of Apples trendy design. At the same time, it has been seen that consumers have complained about the lack of availability of iPods in the stores. And to make matters worse, Apple hasnt been able to confirm a deadline by when they would be made available.Times will change gradually. As Murphy mentions the pricing of the iPods over time will fall significantly and Apple would need to sell more and more iPods just to maintain the revenue figures. For instance, there is an assumption based on pricing that Apple would need to sell at least 20 per cent more iPo ds in the coming year to be able to sustain the same level of growth over the year. This should not be a problem currently considering growth is predicted to rise to 70 per cent but in time, this could certainly become an issue. If looked at differently, Murphy argues that falling prices of products are fine as long as business efficiencies were rising. 4 years ago, when the sales figures of Apple were 4 per cent higher than they are today, the operating profits of the company were at 9 per cent of total sales. Today, that figure has come down to 3 per cent. In addition, the number of employees added over the past 4 years has gone up by 32 per cent and the sale per employee has significantly decreased from $930,000 to$674,000.For apple to be able to sustain its growth and maintain a leading position in the market place, it cannot depend wholly on the iPod revolution. Its notebooks and desktop products account for 64 per cent of its current sales as a company. But except for the mont h of June that recorded a 14 per cent increase in revenues, the rest of the year remained much the same in terms of sales. This is worrying for Apple since it doesnt have too many back up measures to fall on should they land in trouble. To tackle some of this problem, Apple had introduced a series of Apple stores across the US, UK and parts of Western Europe.These stores hosted the latest introductions by the company including all models of the iPod and its peripherals. The rationale lay in ensuring that consumers would walk into these stores with the excuse of looking at the iPods and at the same time, browse around and take look at the range of other Apple products as well. Unfortunately though, this move didnt bring in the kind of sales that Apple management had predicted. When Apple was asked about this stagnancy that was creeping into their product lines, they said that 50 per cent of all buyers at their new stores that they have introduced are new consumers and they propose to build relationships through their product quality and peripherals and increase their market share of repeat buyers.Interestingly, Murphy is one of the only writers on this subject who believes that the main fault of Apples moderate performance lies with its CEO Steve Jobs. Over the course of its business history, Apple has always ensured that its software configures only with its hardware and no others. For instance, the Mac operating system can only be run on Mac computers. In comparison, the Windows Operating systems can be used on a variety of different hardware systems making it a more universally accepted operating system. The time for niche solutions in not the way forward. Apple must realise that the money lies in the numbers and they can in no way get to those numbers by limiting access to their software.It really is a Catch-22 situation for them. In much the same way, the iPod can only play music that has been downloaded from iTunes. What happens when the iTunes faces inte nse competition from other music download software companies in the near future? Are we saying that the iPod would only have limited access to music and perhaps, not the entire range of mus

Effect of Surveillance on Autonomy and Greed

Effect of Surveillance on Autonomy and GreedDiscussionThe investigate hypothesis of this theme stated that when individuals were at a dis may place direction, they would feel a lack of autonomy or more than(prenominal) potencyled. Therefore, participants would subsequently demonstrate a higher take aim of rapacity, in comparison to those not infra care. This was supported by the ideas of SDT practiceive autonomy being a fundamental psychological need, and so resulting in adverse consequences when not attained.The results derived from this research were not important, indicating that no effects were found in either contain and and so do not support the initial research prediction. Although not significant, data suggestive of a trend was found for decision and condition on negative affect. This demonstrate that participants who were in the experimental condition and kept all of their tickets (indicating a higher level of greed) showed increased levels of negative af fect, compared to those who gave some tickets. This could be interpreted as the individuals feeling guilt or other negative emotions about their decision when on a lower floor surveillance. This may indicate that surveillance has an effect on negative feelings, following demeanor.Similarly, although no significant results were found, a trend suggests that participants who kept all their tickets in the experimental condition experienced a decrease in their just world beliefs. This demonstrates that those individuals who showed higher levels of greed under surveillance subsequently lacked beliefs in a just world, in comparison to the other participants. This may coincide with the trend found for negative affect implying that those participants under surveillance, who kept all tickets, had more feelings of negative affect and lower beliefs in a just world. Regardless of these trends, it has to be emphasised that the effects are not significant so the alleged effect is not concrete. superstar explanation for the lack of significance found within the trends may be due to the sample size, which was limited to eighty participants. If a larger sample size was obtained then the trends found may potentially be more powerful. A realistic recommendation for future research could be a replication of this study using a greater sample size, to test whether this trend is more prevalent.As the initial predictions are not supported by the results, they do not support the notions implied by SDT stating that autonomy is one of the crucial needs that needs to be attained. The latest results may also suggest that surveillance is not as controlling as previously implied (Lepper and Greene, 1975), as individuals may motionlessness feel autonomous when under surveillance. Alternatively, it may be that the individuals did not notice the cameras. During the study phase, participants were asked whether or not they noticed surveillance both the cameras and signs. When they did not take notice, which occurred frequently, participants often added comments implying that they had grown accustomed to this surveillance. This aligns with the initial thoughts that there is an abundance of cameras in society, perhaps suggesting an over-usage of the surveillance. These comments on board the lack of awareness of the cameras can be interpreted as an element of desensitisation to the surveillance. As the originally quote by Home Office mentioned, individuals plough so familiar with the cameras, that they are no longer something out of the ordinary therefore if unnoticed, their purpose may not be as effective. This also corresponds with findings from the earlier mentioned studies where the surveillance became ineffective after a time lag (Web and Laycock, 1992).In addition to this, a study conducted by Tilley (1993) observing the power of surveillance in various car parks found that publicity of the surveillance was necessary for it to be effective. Therefore the use of CCTV needs to be directly brought to an individuals attention for an effect to occur. This coincides with the notion of familiarity with the cameras earlier stated, suggesting that individuals may need some sort of reminder or prompt to be aware of the surveillance.Prior research has supported the assumptions made by SDT and the general prediction that a lack of autonomy will affect behaviour. Particularly, Cozzolino et al., (2015) used the same measure of greed as the ongoing study, alongside a measure of indirect aggression, finding that surveillance elicited higher levels of greed and aggression. However, Cozzolino et als., (2015) study included the usage of more than one experimental task, which may explain the results. The antecedent task provoking aggression may enhance the general demeanour of the participant, prompting individuals to display greed. This may provide an explanation as to why results differed from this current research, as the economic trust task was measured independently.Self-concept is an important phenomenon to be observed in simile to this primary study. Individuals tend to seek approval from others and feel the need to ensure that they have a positive self-concept, as they prefer to feel better about themselves. This was illustrated by Swann Jr. and Read (1980) who observed the values of self-concept over a series of experiments. Their results indicated that self-concept was of high significance to individuals as participants sought to verify it through others. cut levels of greed are likely to contribute to a positive self-concept therefore this need for verification of self-concept may be a contributing factor to their behaviour in the current study. Thus, individuals may have altered their answers intentionally for this reason. Despite being ensured confidentiality, experimenter effects may have occurred, causing the individual to be more sceptical of possible judgement from the experimenter. They may not have wanted to displ ay their actual desire to show a higher level of greed, afraid(predicate) of the impression they may make on the experimenter, therefore portraying actions that they think may be expected of them, more accepted, or more aligned with their self-concept.In addition to this the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1980) may contribute to the notion that individuals behaved in a way that they believed met societal expectations. This theory proposes that individuals have two several(predicate) types of motivation, one of which is subjective norms this is sensed fond pressure to execute certain behaviours. In this case, subjective norms would point to acts of less greed (as this is more kindly acceptable) which may explain the decision made by individuals in this study. Participants may be more influenced by their subjective norms than any other factors, causing them to behave differently.interestingly Haley and Fessler (2005) observed the effect of evoked observability on pro-social behaviour through various different methods. These researchers measured levels of generosity using an economic game task, similar to that of the current study. This study provided a visual cue to make individuals feel as though they were being observed. This was in the form of stylised eye representations on the ambit of the computer they were completing the task on. Although this differs to the primary study conducted, the use of eye spots may make individuals feel as though they are under control, or that they are being watched. They found that in the eye spot condition, in comparison to control, allocations were 55% higher, therefore displaying higher levels of generosity. This illustrates alternative effects to those initially predicted in the primary study, Haley and Fessler expected individuals to be more generous when in the eye spot condition, which was found. Perhaps it should be reconsidered which types of behaviour are usually demonstrated when being watched a s pro-social behaviour may be more prevalent than anti-social behaviours predicted by this primary study.While it has been strongly implied that surveillance can be perceived as a form of social control (causing individuals to lose their autonomy), this control itself may infer different effects. When being watched, individuals may feel that they need to act in a certain way. They may be reluctant to portray their genuine feelings or actions as they are afraid of what those surveying may think. When not under surveillance individuals are likely to act more freely as a result of feeling less pressured by subjective norms, and therefore are able to behave more genuinely. Moreover, individuals actions may be more likely to be of an authentic nature, reflecting their intrinsic motivations. This coincides well with the trends found, implying that surveillance may inflict feelings of negative affect. Individuals may only feel guilt about their decision because of the judgement they may fa ce from being watched.Another possible limitation which may have arisen with this study may be placed with the methodology. As stated the study involved an economic trust task, measuring levels of greed on the basis of the raffle tickets. Firstly, this task may lack an element of ecological validity as the situation that individuals were placed in with this task may be perceived as unrealistic. It is unlikely that individuals would be asked to decide the allocation of raffle tickets therefore it may not reflect real life behaviour. In addition to this, the environment in which the task was completed may also be considered less ecologically valid, being in a room with a computer and an experimenter close by. This may be a possible explanation as to why significant results were not found, as the task was not object lesson of a real-life situation, mirroring real behaviour.Furthermore, another methodological concern may be the format of the study. Participants were told that they were matched with another participant who made the tickets available to them however they may not have believed that there was another participant involved. The sample included a generous amount of psychology scholars, who may have more insight and so are aware that these studies often involve an element of deception. Therefore they may have displayed a higher level of greed, regardless of surveillance, if they realised that there was no other participant. To improve this further studies could account for this in different ways. Firstly, using a sample of students from different departments, or not using a student population may affect findings, as they are unlikely to have prior background knowledge about experiments of this nature. Additionally it could be made more plausible that there is another participant involved. Future studies may have the other participant wait in the same area as the current participant, or have a confederate pretend to be the other participant. This may mak e it more believable to the participant, and may evoke the effect initially expected.Trying to gain the insight of someone else is a difficult task, which is one that has been challenged in this study. The order found for these various measures used such as the feelings of control involve introspective awareness, observing the understanding of others. As earlier stated, the Cronbachs alpha for these measures were not consistent, therefore it has to be questioned whether it is possible to rely completely on the use of these measures as they tend to involve an element of inconsistency.Despite a consistent level of non-significance in the current study, the notion of social control is still very plausible. Previous research has delved into this phenomenon, such as the well-known obedience experiment by Milgram (1963). It was found that participants obeyed the instructions of those who they perceived as having authority. This illustrates that this form of social control can have an eff ect on individuals behaviour, altering it significantly. In the same way that surveillance works as social control in altering individuals behaviour.It can be argued, from an alternative viewpoint that there is an evolutionary basis for greed. Evolution emphasises the importance of survival, to the following(a) generation and to continue to pass down genes. Therefore greed can be interpreted as a means of survival, gaining the resources necessary from an evolutionary standpoint. This could be an alternative explanation for higher levels of greed being prevalent individuals may not be affected by surveillance but have evolutionary needs that guide their behaviour.Frustration of psychological needs can be fatal and lead to adverse consequences, especially when observing the analysis of certain disorders. For vitrine it has been suggested that a frustration of autonomy can lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Individuals feel they are being controlled or are unable to be in chill of themselves, so they control their environment instead. Similarly eating disorders is another form of the regaining of this control from an experience of lack of autonomy, as they tend to come from a very controlling environment. With more controlling and strict parents, individuals are more vulnerable to eating disorders. Without autonomy, individuals are more likely to develop psychopathology, as they press against difficult experiences rather than overcoming them. Therefore it is important that further research is done to observe the implications that may derive from the thwarting of these needs, specifically autonomy.While no significant effects were found to support the suggested hypotheses of this current research, it is still crucial that further investigation takes place. An array of prior research has found prevalent effects demonstrating that surveillance can evoke feelings of powerlessness and that this lack of autonomy can be detrimental to individuals. Therefore addi tional research is necessary to find concrete evidence for the effects of surveillance.

Comparing the Brothers Antigone and Ismene in Antigone :: Sophocles

The personalities of the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, are as different from one a nonher as night and day. Antigone acts as a free spirit, a defiant individual, while Ismene is content to recognize her limitations as a woman in a potent dominated society.In the Greek tragedyAntigone, by Sophocles, Antigone demands that King Creon has refused to give a proper burial for the slain Polyneices, brother of Ismene and Antigone. Infuriated by this, Antigone shares the tragical news with Ismene. From her first response, No I, havent heard a word(13). Ismene reveals her passivity and helplessness in the light of Creons decree. Thus, from the start, Ismene is characterized as traditionally effeminate, a helpless woman that pays no mind to political affairs. Doubting the wisdom of her sisters plan to break the law and bury Polyneices, Ismene argues Remember we are women, not born to contend with men . (75) Once again Ismenes words clearly state her weak, feminine character and help lessness within her own dimensions. Antigone, not gifted with her sisters response chides her sister for not participating in her crime and for her passivity, saying, Dont fear for me. Set your own life in order(97). For Antigone, no law could stand in the way of her strong consideration of her brothers spirit, not even the punishment of an early death. Ismene is more practical, knowing the task is impossible, she feels the situation to be hopeless.It is a wonder, which of the two sisters are really guilty of these chronic charges. Of course, Antigone acted so quickly, and failed to take the advice of the moderate sister, Ismene. Instead, going against Creons words, Antigone rashly goes ahead and breaks the law. Antigone is a fool, she must learn that such defiance, even when justified, is not conductive to longevity. Although Antigone is foolish, she is also courageous and motivated by her morals. Proper burial of the dead was, according to the Greeks, prerequisite for the souls entrance into a permanent home. Therefore, perhaps Ismene is also foolish for her quick refusal to help Antigone perform the duty of Polyneices proper burial. Ismene definitely seems hasty in her toleration of personal weakness. Perhaps in some way, both(prenominal) sisters are guilty of the same tragic sins. Perhaps it is this rashness, more subdued in Ismenes case that leads both sisters to their own destruction.

Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

In Charlotte Brontes, Jane Eyre, Jane goes th gross numerous self-discoveries, herself-realization and discipline leads her to a biography she chooses to make her happy. Jane Eyre has a rough life from the start. Forced to stay with people who despise her, Jane can only help herself. Jane must overcome the odds against her, which minimal brain dysfunction to more. Jane is a woman with no voice, until she changes her destiny. The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte consists of continuous journeys through Janes life towards her final happiness and freedom. From the beginning, Jane possesses a sense of her self-confidence and contentment. Her oneness is continually tested over the course of the novel, and Jane must learn to balance the frequently conflicting aspects of her so as to find contentment. There are many ways in which Bronte shows Janes tribulations, through irony, honor, and tone. Charlotte Bronte includes many different aspects to this novel. One of the keys to power of Jane Eyre is Brontes deployment of multiple genres (Clarke 2). Clarke says that there are many levels to the view as the book can have a greater depth than a love story, but as a tale of strength and endurance. 2Jane Eyre has a rough start to her foundation, to begin she is orphaned at a young age. This sets up many problems for the young girl and her fragile identity. The people around worsen the stance as Jane grows. They challenge her patience, integrity, and intelligence. As a female Jane must deal with the caste system of her time as a threat, and as an orphaned barbarian she must deal with the cast system as an obstacle. The family of Reeds that she lives with reminds her everyday of her low position. She suffers precisely because she knows the value of caste She may be poor, but she does not hope to belong to the poor (Bell 2). This makes Jane want to thrive more because she realizes the odds against her. Originally, Jane comes from a middle-class family but when her f ather dies she is left to the pity of the Reeds. The Reeds mistreat Jane and she grows to long the outback(a) world. Jane clearly shows her position when she says, It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, as submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved.

The Epidemic of Steroid Abuse in America Essay -- Athletic Athletes Sp

The Epidemic of Steroid tread in AmericaWe as a people be preoccupied with the notion of greatness. Our role models are athletes, actors and actresses, and other figures in the public eye. Many of us often desire to be better off than our flow rate state to look better, to be in better shape, etc We compete with each other for jobs, for mates, for grades, for parking spots, and in sporting activities. This competitive nature is a track of life, especially in sporting activities, often learned as a child and built upon throughout adulthood. But where do you draw the line? At what point do the costs of winning or being better outweigh the benefits? Maybe its too much when you start putting your hold health in serious jeopardy just to look better or run faster. The use of steroids, other than for medical purposes, has extremely negative personal effects on ones health. Nonetheless the use of steroids, to enhance athletic performance and increase muscle mass, is on the rise . There needs to be mandatory steroid testing in all professional, and where applicable, amateur sports. Steroid testing is a good as start as any to help crucify steroid abuse.Anabolic-Androgenic steroids, often solely called anabolic steroids, are chemicals that act like hormones--substances normally in your body that regulate bodily functions (Kowalski 1). They are synthetic substances, convey man-made, which have two functions the anabolic effect which causes an increase in the growth of muscle mass and the androgenic effect which causes, or increases, the development of male intimate characteristics. Its the anobolic effect that most steroid users, or abusers, are after. Steroid abusers take steroids for a couple of different reasons.... ...pac.library.csupomona.edu/.Sherman, William. Growing Nightmare of Steroid Abuse Athletes Cocktail Big in NationsGyms. Daily News (New York). 28 July 2002, Sports Final ed. p. 4. Lexis Nexis 4 Nov. 2002. .United States. Consume r Affairs, Tourism and Foreign Commerce Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Hearing. working capital D.C. SenateOffice Building, 2002. Lexis Nexis 4 Nov. 2002. .Verducci, Tom. Totally Juiced. Sports Illustrated. 3 June 2002, V. 26 No. 93. Wilson Web Article Index 4 Nov. 2002. .Yesalis, Charles E., and Virginia S. Cowart. The Steroids Game. Illinois Human Kinetics, 1998.

The Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family Essa

The Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family Functionalists focus on the roles of the family as an institution and its interaction with some other institutions, such as the ratio of functions the family has to perform comp bed to those that other institutions such as schools and the NHS perform. Functionalism sees the use of the family in society and how it can take pressure from the government by becoming an almost dependent institution that lead help support its own members. George Murdock analysed 250 societies and studied the purpose of the family, he came up with a final definition that the family performs several main functions. These functions help the individuals within the family Murdock believed the functions are sexual, educational, economic and reproductive. However, Murdock did not consider that the family may have a detrimental affect on members of the family as he seemed to assume that all families are harmonious a nd do not have any arguments or problems. He also overlooked alterna...

Urban Legend of The Boo Hag Essay -- Urban Legends

The Boo HagBackgroundUrban legends survive done time by having three elements a strong basic story-appeal, a foundation in actual belief, and a meaningful message or moral (Brunvand 10). These characteristics are non only inherent in the content of the story, but also in the performance of the story to an audience. Like an actor on stage, storytellers have the responsibility of guardianship a story entertaining, yet believable, through their gestures and attitude while telling the story. One particularly interesting legend involving magic and witchcraft, which was performed to me by an old supporter from high school, is entitled The Boo Hag. The storyteller was an eighteen-year old male attending the University. Currently a sophomore, he was raised as a Catholic in Maryland. Upon visiting me a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday night, we relaxed over some calzones in my dorm as we began to watch television and listen to music. Flipping through the channels, we came across the Sci-Fi network, sparking a sudden interest in both of us to talk about scary stories. We began to discuss the local urban legends, myths, and horror stories that we knew, and he began to tell a story that he heard from a friend down in South Carolina during his freshman year. It went like this. StorySo at that place was this man named Phil who lived in South Carolina. He was a nice, simple man who worked hard as a farmer. Though he was doing well for himself, he matt-up lonely. You see, he had been divorced two times already, and he really wanted some companionship in his life. He decided to travel into the town square. It was on that point that he saw one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Desperate to meet someone, he approach... ...rall appeal as an entertaining and engrossing story, and the morals that it conveys, all of which can be related to our society, that it has the potential to remain a folk tale in our culture for many years to come. Works CitedBrunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker American Urban Legends & Their Meanings. New York W. W. Norton, 1981.Dominey, Craig. The Boo-Hag Gullah. The Moonlit Road. 5 April 2008 http//www.themoonlitroad.com/archives/boohag/boohag_cbg002.html. Dominey, Craig. The Boo-Hag Origin. The Moonlit Road. 5 April 2008 http//www.themoonlitroad.com/archives/boohag/boohag_cbg001.html.McKissack, Patricia C and Onawumi Jean Moss. Precious and the Boo Hag. Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, 2005.Schlosser, S.E. Boo Hag. American Folklore. 5 April 2008 http//www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/tx7.html.