China Airlines Flight 611 Engineering Essay

China Airlines Flight 611 Engineering Essay China Airlines Flight 611, Boeing 747-200 aircraft, was flying from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Taoyuan Originally named as Chiang Kai Shek International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, a regularly scheduled flight on 25 May 2002. The aircraft was reported to be disintegrated in mid-air, and crashed into the Taiwan Strait just after 25 minutes after taking off, killing all 225 people aboard. The aircraft was popular around the world and was widely used for over 20 years. After which the accident happened, Taiwanese Authorities quickly launched one of the largest rescue mission of the country aviation history. The incident of the crash occurred between 15:37 and 15:40, local time, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens, assuming that it has experienced and in-flight breakup at FL350 (approximately 35,000 feet), in the Taiwan Strait, near the Penghu Islands. It was spotted by a military C-130 aircraft, approximately 23 nautical miles northeast of makung. The aircraft consists of total 19 crew members and 206 passengers. All was found dead after the crashed and the first body was found at 18:10. Some passengers were found floating on the surface of the ocean, while some remained strapped in their seats. Pieces of the aircraft were also found in the ocean and on Taiwan, as well as the city of Changhua. No signs of burns, explosives or gunshots were found on the wreckage by searchers, except that oil slicks were spotted. Section 2 Event The aircraft was popular around the world and was widely used for over 20 years. After which the accident happened, Taiwanese Authorities quickly launched one of the largest rescue mission of the country aviation history. More than a thousand people took part in it. Fishing boat, coast guard and Taiwan military race out to the sea. The aircraft was found 55km away from the Taiwanese shore, north of the Penghu island where it disappeared. Great amount of wreckage, including landing gear wheels, are found on the ocean. Wreckage of the plane was spread far and wide. Some items are found on land, and some were more than a 100km away in Central Taiwan. As the rescue team continues, Taiwan Aviation Safety Council begins its investigations into the crash of the 22 year-old plane. It was reported that, there is typically one major accident happens every four years, for China Airlines, and this particular accident was so far the most difficult one. The search for survivors goes around the clock. There were 225 people on the airplane, however, none was found alive. Bodies were taken to the Penghu Island to be identified and examined. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) then joins the investigation, and a team of investigators was dispatched to Taiwan. Investigators wants to know how one of the most successful and popular airplane simply fell off the sky. 25 days after the crash, of flight 611, two Black Box were found, in which, one contains the voice recording of voice conversation in the cockpit and the other, data from the flight computer. However, either could give what happened. After trying to retrieve the conversation in the cockpit, there are no unusual sounds before the crash, only after which, the sound of the plane crashing apart was recorded and the recording stopped. Wreckage examinations were the only option left for investigations. At a cruising altitude of 34,900 feet, the aircraft experienced an in-flight break-up. After which, it approaches to its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. Before the breakup, the thrust of one of the aircrafts four engine began to subside. Concurrently, the engine was the only one recovered from the sea floor. It was likely due to the structural failure in the aft lower lobe section of the fuselage. The final investigation report indicates that the accident was caused by improper repair and maintenance after a previous incident, happened in 1980. It is the result of metal fatigue of the aircrafts tail. On the 7 February, 1980, China Airlines Flight 611 had a tailstrike accident while landing in Hong Kong. Part of the planes tail was damaged in the incident. A temporary repair on the airplane was done the day after.  A more permanent repair was conducted by a team from China Airlines from 23 May to 26 May, 1980. However, during the permanent repair of the tailstrike, it was not carried in accordance with the Boeing Structural Manual (SRM). The area of the damaged skin on the planes tail was not trimmed or removed properly. In addition, the repair doubler plate that was supposed to cover in excess of 30% of the damaged area did not extend beyond the entire damaged area enough to restore the overall structural strength. The cause of the metal fatigue had evidences of brown nicotine stain, caused by the smoke from the cigarettes of people, about seven years before the disaster (smoking was allowed in a pressurized plane at that time). The engineers detected brown nicotine stain all the way around the doubler plate during the inspection. It is concluded that due to the nicotine to had been seeping out because of the pressure that built up when the airplane is in cruising altitude, then stained the part around the doubler plate of the tail. However, there is no proper maintenance done to the doubler plate, which then causes the plane to fall apart in mid air. Section 3 Maintenance Error The accident for the crash is due to improper structural repair. Day after the tail strike, China Airline did a temporary repair, engineers attached a large aluminum plate over the damaged area but a more permanent repair was to be carried out within four months. Engineers of China Airline placed doubler plates right over the scratched material, but the doubler plate that they used was not 30% larger than the affected area. In fact, it was barely or maybe not even larger than the scratched area in certain area. According to the Boeing Repair Manual, many of the scratches on plane were too deep to be repaired. The entire damaged section should had been cut out and replaced by a new one. However, it was not done so, as evidence indicates that the repair was not done according to the Boeing repair Manual. After much investigations, it appears that the maintenance technician failed to replace the damaged pieces, which causes the scratches to remained. China Airline engineers told the investigator that the scratched area was too large to be cut down, so they sanded the scratches down instead. Even though the repair was not done accordingly to the Boeing Repair Manual instructions, they made it seemed like it was. China Airline Engineers documented that they had repaired according to the Boeing standard, and that made the damage impossible to detect as anyone reading the entry would assumed that the damaged area had been cut out as it should had been done so. Thus, metal fatigue of the instrument caused a maintenance error of improper structural repair by the China Airline engineers was disastrous. Section 4 Contributing Factors 4.1 The China Airlines Flight 611 accident was caused by improper use of information/ incorrect modified information/ improper work process. The China Airlines Flight 611 suffered a tail strike while landing on runway on the 7th of February 1980, 22 years before the accident, at the time when the airplane was only six months old. On the day after the tail strike China Airlines did a temporary repair by attaching a large aluminium plate over the damaged area. A permanent repair was scheduled for the aircraft four months later. According to Boeings Structural Repair Manual, a light scratch on the structure of the aircraft can simply be sanded down. But the tail strike that occurred left a deep scratch on the skin of the fuselage that cannot be repaired by sanding it down. The correct procedure was to cut out the damaged area and replace it with a doubler patch that is 30% larger than the original affected area. China Airlines told that the area was too large to be cut out. They did not follow the procedure and carried on sanding down the scratches and finally covering it with a doubler plate. Unfortunately the repair wasnt sufficient nor was the doubler plate large enough. This shows that the engineer tasked with this did not use the information given to him by the Boeings structural repair manual nor did he followed the work process/ procedure but instead modified the manufacturers Structural repair manual incorrectly. With the doubler plate perfectly concealing the improper repair from ever being detected by anyone, the scratches were left to deteriorate into cracks and allowed to spread out for 22 years, until the pressure in the plane was too large for the structure of the plane to withstand that the plane tore apart in mid-air. 4.2 Another contributing factor includes the complacency of engineers. According to Boeings recommendations, the scratches on the skin of the fuselage were too deep to be repaired. The proper action was to cut out the damaged area and replace it with a doubler patch 30% larger than the removed area. The engineer in charge of the task was probably complacent and thought that it was okay to simply sand the scratched area and put a doubler plate on it. He probably thought that the scratch was nothing serious and the doubler plate was strong enough to support the skin and hence did the repairs following his own false judgments. After the Aloha Airlines Flight 243 accident on April 28 1988, the Federal Aviation Administration laid out inspection procedures to be done on older planes. The inspection of China Airlines Flight 611 was carried out on 2001, a year before the accident. This would have been an opportunity for China Airlines to detect the improper repair that was done 21 years back when they found a brown stain on one of the 31 doublers found on the aircraft. This could have warned them of the catastrophic crack that lies behind the doubler and forced them to take immediate action. The China Airlines overlooked this to be something minor and moved on to the second part of the Federal Aviation Administrations procedure which was a detailed inspection of the repaired areas scheduled to be done on the 2nd November 2002. Unfortunately the Boeing-747 never made it to the specified date. 4.3 Another contributing factor includes improper work process and procedure. The repair done was on the damage caused by the tail strike four months later was not logged in truthfully. The way that the engineer logged the repair done to the damaged area made it seem like it was in accordance to the Boeings recommendations and structural repair manual. This lead the improper repair to be oblivious to anyone as anyone who read the entry would have thought that the damaged area had been cut out as it should have been. 4.4 Amount of supervision The repair job might have lacked supervision when it was done and logged. There was no one to witness and re-check the repair that was supposed to be done, how it was done and how it was logged in the entry. If there was someone watching over their actions then hiding such a big mistake would have been impossible. At the very least the engineer would have had to schedule for another proper repair to be done on the next scheduled check. Section 5 Error Prevention Strategies Aviation agencies around the world to inspect their plane more thoroughly for any hidden damages that might develop into a major structure failure. Operators should take the doubler plates off and do a visual inspection to the structure underneath. Develop a tool that allows mechanics to easily detect hidden damages behind the doubler. Such tools are used today. Using ultrasound, sound wave travels through metals and it can reveal damage underneath the doubler. It is the same technology that allows doctor to see the foetus inside the mothers womb .The disadvantage is that it requires a lot of time. Reinforce importance to perform structural repairs according to the Structure Repair Manual or other regulatory agency approved methods, without deviation, and perform damage assessment in accordance with the approved regulations, procedures, and best practices. For any structural damages beyond existing approved data, operators should seek assistance and consultation from the manufacturer(s) for appropriate repair procedures. Categorize structural repair as a major repair Describe defect type and location clearly Step by step instructions and signature requirements Detailed drawings of the damages, locations on the aircraft, doubler dimensions, material specifications, applicable Structure Repair Manual sections, and any special instructions Review the record keeping system to ensure that all maintenance activities have been properly recorded. No longer accept any quick writes of the repair work was done properly if the repair does not have all the necessary documentation that show the repair was done properly in order to provide a clear view for inspector/auditors conducting records reviews. Assess and implement safety related airworthiness requirements, which consists of the Repair Assessment Program(RAP) and Corrosion Prevention and Control Program, at the earliest practicable time and ensure they are completed in conformity with the approved maintenance documents. When implementing the programs, information such as, operational factors, safety aspects, and the uncertainty factors in workmanship and inspection should be fully documented. Increase maintenance crews awareness with regard to the irregular shape of the aircraft structure, as well as any potential signs that may indicate hidden structural damage. 7. Operators to maintain healthy relationship with the manufacturers field service representative so as to actively seek assistance and consultation from manufacturers field service representatives in maintenance and repair operations. 8. Consider the implementation of stand-alone power sources for flight recorders and adding of cabin pressure as one of the mandatory Flight Data Recorder parameter to improve effectiveness in investigations.

Callisto the Satellite of Jupiter Essay -- Astronomy

It’s easy to see why not much attention is paid to Callisto. For four hundred years, Callisto appeared only as the fourth dot away when gazing at Jupiter through a telescope. It also didn’t help Callisto gain attention by orbiting Jupiter. Jupiter may be one of the most intriguing objects that astronomers have yet to study. Jupiter is the king of the planets. With its complex bands and zones, Great Red Spot, and sheer size, Jupiter has captured our imaginations and has pushed us to learn and explore all we can about it. Now, with our Pioneer, Voyager, and especially Galileo spacecrafts, we have uncovered mysteries of Callisto that give our minds and imaginations quite a workout. John D. Anderson used Radio Doppler data collected by the Deep Space Network from five encounters of the Galileo spacecraft with Callisto. From this data him and his team found that Callisto has a mean radius of 2410.3 km, with no detectable deviation from sphericity. They assembled this data measuring three principle axes, and all three axes were equal to the mean radius with a realistic error of 1.5 km (Anderson et al., 2001). This places Callisto as the third largest satellite in the Solar System, slightly smaller than Mercury, but 1330 km in radius larger than Pluto. Callisto does have an atmosphere. This is not comparable to the atmosphere of Titan or any other planet with a significant atmosphere. Nonetheless, an off-limb scan of Callisto was conducted by the Galileo near-infrared mapping spectrometer in hopes to detect a carbon dioxide atmosphere. Airglow in the 4.26 ÃŽ ¼m carbon dioxide band was indeed observed up to 100 km above the surface. This indicates the presence of a tenuous carbon dioxide atmosphere with surface pressure o... ...820 - 821. Dutch, Steven. "Crater Forms." Natural and Applied Sciences. 10 05. 1999. University of Wisconsin. 07 12. 2005 . Kivelson, M. G. et al. (1999). Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Science, 104, A3, 4609- 4625 Moore J., and Malin M. (1988). Geophys. Res. Lett., 5, 225. Schenk P. (1993). Journal ofGeophysics Research, 98, 7475. Spudis, Paul. The Geology of Multi-Ring Impact Basins. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Thomas, C. and Ghail, R.C.. "The Internal Structure of Callisto." Lunar and Planetary Science 2002: 1196-1197. Thorarinsson, S. (1957) The JÃ ¶kulhlaup from the Katla area in 1955 compared with other JÃ ¶kulhlaups in Iceland. JÃ ¶kull 7, 21-25 Wagner, R., Wolf, U, and Neukum, G.. "Crater Size Distribution on Callisto." Lunar and Planetary Science 2004: 1964-1965.

Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans :: History

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans were characterized as strict constructionists. Which explains why they wanted the United States to be controlled by the states, not a central government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August thirteenth eighteen hundred, Thomas Jefferson addressed the nation to let individual know that The United States was much too large to have a central government to direct the affairs of the nation. Meaning that we have the need of state officials and not just the national leaders. Therefore, we have independent states to handle the events and laws within the boundaries of each state. Although at the international level we are as one United Nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January twenty-third eighteen o eight, Jefferson informed Samuel Miller, who was a Presbyterian minister that the United States government could not interfere with a citizen’s religious beliefs. According to what was written in the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights â€Å" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.† This became effective on December fifteenth seventeen ninety-one. There was nothing that can make one participate in religious exercises.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cartoon illustrates the embargo of eighteen o eight and was confusing to the citizens. Because it was stated as the â€Å"Ograbme†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On December ninth eighteen fourteen, Daniel Webster a federalist from New Hampshire, gave a speech to the House of Representatives. His speech addressed the draft. Webster argued that it was not right to â€Å"take children away from their parents, and parents from their children. Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans :: History   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans were characterized as strict constructionists. Which explains why they wanted the United States to be controlled by the states, not a central government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August thirteenth eighteen hundred, Thomas Jefferson addressed the nation to let individual know that The United States was much too large to have a central government to direct the affairs of the nation. Meaning that we have the need of state officials and not just the national leaders. Therefore, we have independent states to handle the events and laws within the boundaries of each state. Although at the international level we are as one United Nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January twenty-third eighteen o eight, Jefferson informed Samuel Miller, who was a Presbyterian minister that the United States government could not interfere with a citizen’s religious beliefs. According to what was written in the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights â€Å" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.† This became effective on December fifteenth seventeen ninety-one. There was nothing that can make one participate in religious exercises.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cartoon illustrates the embargo of eighteen o eight and was confusing to the citizens. Because it was stated as the â€Å"Ograbme†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On December ninth eighteen fourteen, Daniel Webster a federalist from New Hampshire, gave a speech to the House of Representatives. His speech addressed the draft. Webster argued that it was not right to â€Å"take children away from their parents, and parents from their children.

Just War and Pacifism Essay -- War Pacifism Peace Essays

The question "Can war be justified?" plagued mankind since the first war. The Just War Theory holds that war can be just. The theory has evolved for thousands of years and modern theorists, such as Michael Walzer, author of Just and Unjust Wars, puts forth criteria for a just war, such as jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Jus ad bellum includes reasons for going to war, and jus in bello deals with the people who wage war. The criteria in jus ad bellum include; just cause, declaration by a proper authority, right intention, a reasonable chance of success, the end proportional to the means, and war as a last resort. Jus in bello includes keeping innocents outside the field of war, and limiting the amount of force used. Just War Theorists hold that all of these criteria must be followed for a war to be just. I will analyze The Just War Theories most debated arguments, self-defense, pre-emptive strikes, and the killing of innocents. In the second half of this paper, I will briefly explain Pacifism, and provide a counter argument for each Just War argument. Walzer includes self-defense in the just cause section of jus ad bellum. Walzer holds that states have the right of self-defense by making an analogy to individual rights. He contends that individuals have the right to self-defense. From this he infers that states also have that right of self-defense. Walzer's inference is based on the logic that the state is a collection of individuals. He reasons that individuals cannot defend against an invading army, the military is a tool that the state uses to defend itself and it's way of life. The right of self-defense for states also is justified by the premise that it is the duty of the government to protect the people. John Locke'... ...ve for a more perfect world rather than give up and accept hatred and death. Works Consulted Clark, Mark. The Paradox of War and Pacifism. ULeadership. 7 Oct 2002. <www.leaderu.com/socialsciences/clark.html> Holmes, Robert. On War and Morality. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. Moseley, Alex. Just War Theory. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 3 Oct. 2002. <www.utm.edu/research/iep/j/justwar.htm>. Moseley, Alex. Pacifism. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 3 Oct. 2002. <www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/pacifism.htm>. Orend, Brian. War. Stanford Enyclopedia of Philosophy. 5 Oct 2002. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/war/> Teichman, Jenny. Pacifism and the Just War. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1986. Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. New York: Basic Books, 1977. Just War and Pacifism Essay -- War Pacifism Peace Essays The question "Can war be justified?" plagued mankind since the first war. The Just War Theory holds that war can be just. The theory has evolved for thousands of years and modern theorists, such as Michael Walzer, author of Just and Unjust Wars, puts forth criteria for a just war, such as jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Jus ad bellum includes reasons for going to war, and jus in bello deals with the people who wage war. The criteria in jus ad bellum include; just cause, declaration by a proper authority, right intention, a reasonable chance of success, the end proportional to the means, and war as a last resort. Jus in bello includes keeping innocents outside the field of war, and limiting the amount of force used. Just War Theorists hold that all of these criteria must be followed for a war to be just. I will analyze The Just War Theories most debated arguments, self-defense, pre-emptive strikes, and the killing of innocents. In the second half of this paper, I will briefly explain Pacifism, and provide a counter argument for each Just War argument. Walzer includes self-defense in the just cause section of jus ad bellum. Walzer holds that states have the right of self-defense by making an analogy to individual rights. He contends that individuals have the right to self-defense. From this he infers that states also have that right of self-defense. Walzer's inference is based on the logic that the state is a collection of individuals. He reasons that individuals cannot defend against an invading army, the military is a tool that the state uses to defend itself and it's way of life. The right of self-defense for states also is justified by the premise that it is the duty of the government to protect the people. John Locke'... ...ve for a more perfect world rather than give up and accept hatred and death. Works Consulted Clark, Mark. The Paradox of War and Pacifism. ULeadership. 7 Oct 2002. <www.leaderu.com/socialsciences/clark.html> Holmes, Robert. On War and Morality. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. Moseley, Alex. Just War Theory. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 3 Oct. 2002. <www.utm.edu/research/iep/j/justwar.htm>. Moseley, Alex. Pacifism. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 3 Oct. 2002. <www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/pacifism.htm>. Orend, Brian. War. Stanford Enyclopedia of Philosophy. 5 Oct 2002. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/war/> Teichman, Jenny. Pacifism and the Just War. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1986. Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. New York: Basic Books, 1977.

Globalisation and English Essay

According to the researchers from the Levin Institute, globalisation is defined as â€Å"a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world.†1 Coleman (2006: 2) considers that globalization is characterized by the compression of time and geographical distance, the reduction of diversity through intensified trade and communication, and new social relationships marked by reduced local power and influence. Gray (2002: 152) considers that a series of factors are associated with this phenomenon, including the rise of transnational corporations (which challenge the autonomy of the nation-state), the interconnection which goes beyond national boundaries, the development of technologies which compress space and time and make communication instantaneous and increasing cultural hybridization. The combination of these factors generates two visions on the present and future, an apocalyptical dystopia or the image of the humanity at the beginning of a new era of civilisation. Berger (2003: 2) describes the utopian perspective as the promise of an international civil society, conducive to a new era of peace and democratization. The dystopian nightmare implies â€Å"the threat of an American economic and political hegemony, with its cultural consequence being a homogenized world resembling a sort of metastasized Disneyland (charmingly called a â€Å"cultural Chernobyl† by a French governme nt official).† As Berger and many others rightfully notice, there is indeed an emerging global culture, with an American origin and content, which Berger describes using a phrase belonging to the Chilean historian Claudio Veliz: â€Å"the Hellenistic phase of Anglo-American civilization†. The formulation is clearly dissociated from any interpretation in terms of imperialism, as Greece had no imperial power by the time the civilized world was described as Hellenistic. Even though the United States have today a great deal of  power, its culture is not imposed globally be means of force. During the Hellenistic times, the main vehicle for cultural propagation was language, the basic and vulgar Greek, Koine. The nowadays koine seems to be English, that new lingua franca for the new emerging global culture, which the world population learn for practical reasons. English has become the medium of international, economic, technological and scientific communication, however much this may enrage intellectuals in certain places or the world, such as France or Quebec. Millions of people all over the world learn English because they want to take part in this global communication, not because they want to read Shakespeare in the original. As Fishman puts it, â€Å"whether we consider English a â€Å"killer language† or not, whether we regard its spread as benign globalization or linguistic imperialism, its expansive reach is undeniable and, for the time being, unstoppable. Never before in human history has one language been spoken (let alone semi-spoken) so widely and by so many.†(cf. Fishman, 1999: 26) Crystal (1997: 13) notices that the reason why a language becomes a global language does not have much to do with the number of people who use it. It is much more important who those speakers are. Latin became an international language throughout the Roman Empire, but this was not because the Romans were more numerous than the peoples they subjugated. The writer goes on arguing that language has no independent existence, living in some sort of mystical space apart from the people who speak it. Language exists only in the brains and mouths and ears and hands and eyes of its users. Consequently, when they succeed, on the international stage, their language succeeds. When they fail, their language fails with them. A language does not become a global language as it possesses special intrinsic structural properties, or because of the size of its vocabulary, or because it has been a vehicle of a great literature in the past, or because it was once associated with a great culture or religio n. These factors can motivate someone to learn a language, of course, but none of them alone, or their combination can ensure a language’s world spread. A language has traditionally become an international language for one chief reason: the power of its people – especially their political and military power. Still,  according to Crystal, the international language dominance is not entirely the result of military might. It may take a militarily powerful nation to establish a language, but it takes an economically powerful one to maintain and expand it. This was the case in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, when economic developments began to operate on a global scale and supported the new communication technologies – telegraph, telephone, radio – and fostered the emergence of massive multinational organizations. The development of a competitive industry and business led to an explosion of international marketing and advertising. Also, the technology, chiefly in the form of movies and records, fuelled new mass entertainment industries which had a worldwide impact. As Crystal rightfully underlines it, any language at the centre of such an explosion of international activity would suddenly have found itself with a global status. English, he sustains, was in the right place at the right time. During the nineteenth century, Britain had become the world’s leading industrial and trading country. At the end of the century, the population of the USA was larger than that of any of the countries of Europe, and its economy was the most productive and the fastest growing in the world. During the twentieth century, this world presence was maintained and promoted through the economic supremacy of the American superpower. Politics was replaced by economics the chief driving force. And the language behind the US dollar was English. The American English, as any other language, carries with it a cultural freight of cognitive, normative and emotional connotations which insinuate themselves in the consciousness of those who speak it. According to Berger (2000: 427), it makes sense to assume that the attractiveness of English, especially of its American form, is due at least in part to its capacity to express the sensib ilities of a dynamic, pluralistic and rationally innovative world. The prospect that a lingua franca is needed for the entire world emerged powerfully during the twentieth century, when various international bodies (such as United Nations, UNESCO or UNICEF) came into being. The need to adopt a unique lingua franca in order to facilitate communication in such contexts is obvious, as the alternative would be expensive and impracticable multi-way translation facilities. The need for a global language is particularly appreciated by the international academic and business communities, composed of members with a large variety of mother tongues, as well as in the  thousands of individual contacts being made daily around the world, as people nowadays have become more mobile, both physically and electronically, due to the invention of the Internet. There are many considerable benefits which would flow from the existence of a global language; but several commentators have pointed to possible risks which may emerge from the existence of a unique lingua franc a. Johnson (2009: 132) has identified three paradoxes of thought regarding the status of English as a so-called lingua franca, each of these conflicts being interlinked with the others. The first paradox is an illustration of the widespread disagreement on whether English should be considered a powerful economic tool for development and commerce, or its rise is a dangerous mechanism which reinforces and creates new inequalities based on English-proficiency. There is also a risk that that those who speak English as their mother tongue will automatically be in a position of power compared with those who have to learn it as an official or foreign language. For example, a scientist with another native language than English will need more time to assimilate a report in English and consequently, less time to carry out his or her own scientific research. Moreover, if his or her work is written in other language than English, there is a chance that he or she will have his or her work ignored by the international scientific community. A different scenario could be that of the senior managers who do not have English as their mother tongue and find themselves working for English-language companies; these persons could find themselves at a disadvantage compared with their mother-tongue colleagues, especially when meetings involve the use of informal speech. Crystal (2007: 16) claims that there is already anecdotal evidence to suggest that these thi ngs happen. Knowledge of English is a powerful tool for development and advancement throughout the world and fluency in English is seen as a step forward in the people’s struggle for self-sufficiency and success. The increase in global interactions has stimulated demand for more efficient communication across lingual borders. A second reason for the popularity of English among the world population is the language’s association with all things â€Å"modern†, most likely thanks to American pop culture. But recently, observers of the spread of English have pointed that English is not only helpful but is becoming increasingly necessary for success in the nowadays world, leaving those who do not speak  it behind. Researchers have noted that publications written in languages other than English have a considerably lower impact, being less cited than English-language works. Various advertising companies make intensive use of the lingual imagery, using English when they want to express globality, modernism, and progressivism. In this manner, the English language continues its growth, owing its popularity to the financial benefits of those using it and to the attractive lifestyle images attached to it. For many, from rich business executives to low-income students, English and its command has been constructed as â€Å"language power of opportunity, free of the limitations that the ambitious attribute to their native languages† (cf. Johnson, 2009: 134). The English-only systems are accused of violation of the equality of opportunity and lingual rights should be protected like other human rights, instead of being left to market forces, but on the other hand, the role of English in bringing pr osperity to those who use it cannot be ignored. English, like any other economic tool, is not equally and universally available and may function as a new dividing line in the quest for progress. Fishman argues that â€Å"spreading languages often come to be hated because they can disadvantage many as they provide advantages for some.† (1999: 28). The analysis devoted recently to the spread of English has got precisely to the point that English is not only helpful but is becoming increasingly necessary for success in the working world, leaving those who do not speak it behind. This system which rewards English-speakers and leaves the rest outside is highly questionable. On the one hand, all skills, including lingual ability, should be awarded; on the other hand, the ability in a language which is native to some and the educational access to which is nor fairly spread should not count for more than one’s field-related expertise. A second conflict Johnson draws attention upon has emerged with regard to culture. There are voices claiming that English language is an imperialist and homogenizing force detrimental to the world’s diversity of cultures, while others consider that the English language is separating from its culture of origin and actually facilitating cross-cultural dialogue. English is considered the carrier of the images of globalization, threatening not only to make those who speak it more alike, but to mould them in the culturally-specific American image that it carries in its syntax. English  may be the tool for communicating used by the international elite, and consequently the language of choice for those who aspire to gain this status, but languages are more than mere modes for communication. They are also the carriers of entire perspectives upon the world, the containers of culture and identity. â€Å"While this means that decreasing lingual diversity can lead to the loss of irrepl aceable bodies of knowledge and tradition, it also reinforces the influence of those who hold such power.† (Johnson, 2009: 137) As there is a direct but also a subtle connection between the way the speakers understand the world around them and the language they speak to communicate, using lingual power is a particularly effective modality to spread one’s influence. Many scholars fear that the brand of Americanized â€Å"cosmopolitanism† threatens not to celebrate diversity, but to destroy, or dilute in the best case-scenario, the cultures in its path. On the positive side, the rise of English is considered a positive development for culture, linking people who come from a wide range of backgrounds and allowing speakers to share their culture and ideas with a larger audience. But many of modern English students are not very interested in becoming culturally American but more eager in learning English for international purposes, many times related to their careers. International communication through English is more and more characterized by interactions between those who speak it as a second language rather than by communication between native speakers. It is true that the balance of power may have determined that English would become the dominant global language, but the language in itself can no longer be understood as functioning exclusively to serve the interests of English-speaking states. In sport, business, entertainment or advertising, English is being more and more used as a communication tool, and various scholars in the field claim that this is only strengthening global cultural awareness and the appreciation of diversity. But, according to Graddol, (1997: 3) the language is at a critical moment in its global career: within a decade or so, the number of people who speak English as a second language will exceed the number of native speakers. The implications of this shift are very important: the centre of authority related to the lan guage will move from speakers to the global resource. Their literature and television may no longer provide the focal point of a global English language culture, their teachers no longer form the unchallenged authoritative models for  learners. The increasing adoption of English as a second language by people belonging to various communities, where it takes on local forms, is leading to fragmentation and diversity. The third conflict noticed in the analysis of the rise of English has to do with the permanence of its ascendancy. Many observers believe that English is â€Å"just another lingua franca† but there are persons who worry that its rise with the rapid globalization means that it is a more permanent, and probably more dangerous, phenomenon. Phillipson (1996: 429) notices that English has acquired a narcotic power in many parts of the world, an addiction that has long term consequences that are far from clear. For some scholars the pre-eminence of the English language is nothing more than a passing phase. Johnson (2009: 141) cites Fishman, who claims that â€Å"historically, languages have risen and fallen with the military, economic, cultural or religious powers that supported them.† Russian, for example, was the indisputable language of power from Berlin to Beijing until the fall of the ideological system that supported it. Since then, English has taken its place, supporte d by the political and economic forces behind it. But there are many reasons to believe that the heyday of the English language will not long outlive the powers that have propelled it. Other languages, large or small, may gain more importance, and one sign of this future development is that the widespread popularity of English means that ability in other languages will become equally, if not more, valuable for employment in specific fields. Even though English is the tool of today’s global communication, regional lingua francas like Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, or Swahili are more effective modes to reach greater, even if less affluent, groups of people. Fishman claims â€Å"Indeed, for all the enthusiasm and vitriol generated by grand-scale globalization, it is the growth in regional interactions —trade, travel, the spread of religions, interethnic marriages— that touches the widest array of local populations. These interactions promote the spread of regional languages.† (1999: 39) Regional languages are gaining more importance as the societies who speak them gain economic influence and power on the global level. It is agreed that it wonâ €™t be long before they become major competitors to the English language. Johnson (2009: 142) also sustains that lasting English language dominance is  unlikely because of the basic human tendency to resist domination. According to her, â€Å"trends that are perceived as hegemonic can have the indirect effect of producing a backlash, prompting groups to hold on more tightly to their local identities.† Fishman (1999:40) explains that languages â€Å"serve a strong symbolic function as a clear mark of ‘authenticity’ †and are inextricably tied to a community’s sense of identity. Still, no other language in recorded history has ever been spoken as widely as English. Many of the languages existing in the world have lost the vocabulary to describe certain realities and the non-adaptation of new or technical English terminology to other languages can mean the disappearance of many scholarly traditions belonging to these cultures. As Crystal (1997: 139) underlines, there has never been a language so widely spread or spoken by so many people as English. There are therefore no precedents to help us see what happens to a language when it achieves genuine world status. The way the global use of English will influence the world is not an answer to be found easily, but being aware of its importance will help us maximize the benefits and minimize its costs. Graddol (1997: 3) describes two competing trends which will give rise to a less predictable context within which the English language will be learned and used: on the one hand, the use of English as a global lingua franca requires intelligibility and the setting and maintenance of standards; on the other hand, the increasing adoption of English as a second language, where it takes on local forms, is leading to fragmentation and diversity. Therefore, there is no way of precisely predicting the future of English since its spread and continued vitality is driven by s uch contradictory forces. The future of English is likely to be a complex and plural one. The language will probably grow in usage and variety, yet simultaneously diminish in relative global importance. We may find the hegemony of English replaced by an oligarchy of languages, including Spanish and Chinese. In economic terms, the size of the global market for the English language may increase in absolute terms, but its market share will probably fall. Fishman (1999: 39) tries to look ahead into the future making guesses about the future of the global language of the contemporary world. In his opinion,  English may well gravitate increasingly toward the higher social classes, while the members of the lower classes will turn towards regional languages accepting more modest gains. He fears that most non-native English speakers may come to like and accept the language far less in the twenty-first century than most native speakers are ready to anticipate. The premises are already obvious: the Germans are alarmed by the fact that their researchers are using overwhelmingly English in order to publish the results of their studies. Also, France seems to remain highly resistant to English in mass media, diplomacy, and technology. Much as English may be learned today, it could become even more widely disliked. Resentment of both the predominance of English and its tendency to spread along class layers could in the future prove a key factor against its further globalization. After the regional rivals of English experience their own growth, there is no reason to assume that the language will still be necessary for technology, higher education, and social mobility. Fishman rightfully comments that civilization will not sink into the sea if and when that happens. When French language experienced a decline from its peak of influence this did not mean an irreparable harm on art, music, or diplomacy. Similarly, the decline of German did not harm the exact sciences. The scholar brings into discussion the examples of ancient Greek, Aramaic, Latin, and Sanskrit which were once world languages representing military might, sophistication, commerce, and spirituality and which are mere relics in the modern world. Likewise, the power of English will not outlive for long the technical, commercial, and military supremacy of the Anglo-American giant, when a stronger power appears to challenge it. Fishman concludes that the fact that the use of English around the world might decline does not necessarily determine the values associated today with its spread to decline at the same time. Ultimately, democracy, international trade, and economic development can flourish in any tongue. Bibliography: Berger, P., 2000, Four Faces of Global Culture, in O’Meara, P., Mehlinger, H., Krain, M. (eds.) Globalization and the Challenges of the New Century: A Reader, Indiana University Press, Bloomington Berger, P., Huntington, S. 2002, Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, New York Coleman, J. A. 2006, English-medium  teaching in European Higher Education. Language Teaching, 39(1), pp. 1–14. Available at http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1017/S026144480600320X Crystal, D. 1997. English as A Global Language. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Fishman, J. A. 1999. The New Linguistic Order. Foreign Policy, 113 : 26–40 Graddol, D. 1997. The Future of English? The British Council. Retrieved at http://www.britishcouncil.org/de/learning-elt-future.pdf Gray, J, 2002, The Global Coursebook in English Language Teaching, in Block D, Cameron, D (eds.) Globalisation and Language Teaching, Routledge, London Johnson, A. 2009, The Rise of English: The Language of Globalization in China and the European Union. in Macalester International: Vol. 22, Article 12. Available at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/macintl/vol22/iss1/12 Phillipson, R. 1996. English Only Worldwide, or Language Ecology. TESOL Quarterly 30: 429–452.

Ebay Market Share

How to dominate the online auction market Jeffrey Phillips †¢ Brian Somok †¢ Xiaoke Zheng Executive Summary Background eBay Inc history: September 1995: funded as a sole proprietorship. May 1996: incorporated in California. April 1998: reincorporated in Delaware. September 1998: completion of initial public offering October 2002: acquired PayPal Product Online Auction: Every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, millions of people from all over the world go shopping at online auctions. This is not an exaggeration – eBay, with a 76% share of the auction site market, reports 42. million users and a growth factor of 100% per Year Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Rivalry Rivalry is very intense. Yahoo had to give up Japan and Australia online auction sites in 2003 because of low margin in this market even if Yahoo made great investment in these two sites beforehand. Number of firms Online auction firms: www. eBay. com, www. overstock. com, www. ubid. c om, www. yahoo. com, www. amazon. com, www. CQout. com, www. bidville. com, etc. The large number of firms in this market reflects the intense competition among those sites. Margin profit is decreased to a relatively low level. Bay could still survive because of its scale of economy and good reputation. However, eBay’s growth in 2004 was much smaller than in 2003. Shareholders put much pressure on eBay, and eBay had to readjust its pricing on varied services on the short run in order to satisfy people’s short term expectation. However, he is risking his long term revenue and reputation. Fixed costs Essentially, fixed costs on online auction market are rather low: purchasing programming technology patents, web, administration, credit, accounting, staff, and daily operations. Product differentiation Differentiation depends on how the transaction is performed. There is not too much difference among different online auction companies in web processing efficiency and shipping efficiency, but eBay is more convenient than others, due to their lengthy expertise in the market. eBay differentiated itself by integrating PayPal payment system, which is famous for its security, cheap rate and network utility. eBay offers a cheap transaction fee rate, as well. It has greatest number of users by far, which offers excellent network utility. Amazon used to be a substitute product provider. However, since 1999 Amazon added auction module in its business. eBay likewise encroached on Amazon’s niche by adopting fixed price functions like â€Å"buy it now† button and purchasing www. half. com. eBay and Amazon have been less different and therefore rivalry has increased a little. However, there is still an obvious gap between them in terms of business model and software development. Amazon built its reputation with high-end users. It has a friendly and succinct transaction interface, which offers superior product mix. Amazon is utilizing Porter’s value strategy and has not changed this for years. On the other hand, eBay is a large community of small buyers and sellers who deal with single-item transactions at negotiable prices. It has a created cost advantage by scale of economy. Most goods traded on eBay are secondhand, and eBay’s inventory changes more rapidly than Amazon’s. eBay is actually taking Porter’s cost strategy. Different business models result in different financial performance. eBay generated $441 million profits in 2003 on $2. 17 billion revenue compared with Amazon's much smaller $35 million profit on far more revenue — $5. 3 billion. eBay has a more liquid and efficient financial structure. Besides, these two companies are both valued by their own network/community. Most customers don’t switch between auction and fixed price retail very often partly because they are rooted in the community culture of either network. They don’t have incentives to change their current method of transaction if it is satisfactory. Different business models and different networks are enough to place these two companies in different niches without too much rivalry. Barriers of New Entrants New entrants seize every opportunity to expand their market share. eBay still has a dominant market share of online auction. His reputation is a sweeping force in maintaining his good performance. However, eBay has to be cautious in every marketing decision. His mistakes will be taken advantage by these new comers. For example, www. bidville. com , an online auction site, recently experienced a dramatic increase in new member registration after eBay announced they would raise their listing fees for sellers. eBay took a prompt response by resuming the listing fee back to the original level. eBay didn’t win anything in this price adjustment and readjustment, but eroded his reputation. Essentially in this online auction market, whoever has the most name recognition, wins the game. Right now, Bidville’s disadvantage in name recognition puts Bidville out as a possible alternative to eBay’s market space temporarily. eBay should think about more to maintain his name recognition on the long run. Patents eBay does not hold any key patented technology. A new entrant could easily emulate eBay’s interface. High cost of entry eBay’s most effective barriers are its large network and credible reputation. It is rather difficult for a new entrant to build a new network starting with no users. We can verify this by how new air ticketing companies grow. ) The only way to start a network from a reasonable size is to derive an online auction market from an existing online website company which already has a network, just as Yahoo and Amazon did. A new entrant must also demonstrate creditability and capability to customers and payment providers (credit car d, PayPal, eWallet, etc. ). New entrants must prove their guarantees of efficient and safe transactions, to both buyers and sellers. Why would buyers and sellers bother to switch from a sound existing online auction site to a new one? Incentives to switch include discounts, coupons, accumulative reimbursement like frequent miles, complements from other services an entrant or their cooperating company offers, and higher-quality service in terms of timely and elegant shipping. All of these are trivial but not necessarily effective sales methods. Effectiveness depends on a comprehensive sales strategy which is based on keen insight of business dynamics and human group dynamics. It is hard for a new entrant to find an experienced strategist, and even if it does, there is still no guarantee to gain market share. This market is basically first-mover dominant. Furthermore, it is unlikely for payment companies like credit card companies or other electronic payment providers to support a new entrant, because profitability is unclear. The revenue for successful new entrants will be low at the beginning and stable on the long run. However, expenses will be extremely high at the beginning. A new company rarely survives within a short term unless it has a very generous percentage of leverage or a large amount of venture capital, and leverage is only available for public companies. Therefore, a new entrant can likely only be an existing company that operates in other markets. It should either be sufficiently self-funded or have a very strong, persuasive income statement and business plan to prove liquidity and gain leverage. Since the internet bubble, venture capitalists are very cautious in investing in IT companies, especially Business-to-Customers or Business-to-Business ecommerce companies. (Check the performance of eBay during and after internet bubbles. ) Essentially, the scale of economy is very obvious in the online auction market. The value of an online network is proportional to the number of users squared. The scale of economy will naturally lead to a monopoly. A new entrant should either license a fraud prevention system or employ a third-party payment platform company that already integrates fraud prevention system in its service. Brand loyalty First of all, eBay has been operating in this market since the beginning of e-commerce. A lot of e-commerce companies have failed since the internet bubble. eBay has successfully survived because of the convenience and simplicity of its service. It has gained popularity and built loyalty among customers. It has a secure identity system, and every user has a record of past transactions. eBay has a sound rating system for every buyer and seller to establish credibility amongst the users. eBay’s user accounts work like passports of their personal credit and reliability. Most customers of eBay are long-term users; therefore, they will not attempt fraud in their transactions. If they do, their rating suffers. All customers tend to trust each other because transactions are transparent to the 3rd party supervisor, eBay. eBay has successfully turned their online auction site into a community which has a cohesive culture. Photos of items to be sold greatly enhance the community value and establish amiability and trust between sellers and buyers. (eBay’s success has influenced Amazon to adopt a similar policy in its online transactions recently. ) New entrants are competing against a community as well as a company. It is rather difficult to build a new culture and a new community. There might be some other specialized auction niches available, but eBay offers nearly any product available. For example, eBay has online auctions for cars. However, since cars are large purchases, people tend to be cautious in purchasing them. They must inspect the cars in person, and the buyers and sellers tend to haggle in person. Online auctions don’t seem conducive to the secondhand car market. As one would expect, eBay doesn’t have much revenue from car transactions, and any other online car auction websites are not likely to generate high revenues. Such specialized auction markets have uncertain viability. In the example of a car transaction, there are two types of creditability involved. One is buyers’ trust of eBay: Will eBay protect the buyers’ privacy? The other is buyers’ trust of sellers: Will sellers defraud the buyers or exaggerate the quality of their cars? Shipping is also a major cost in this transaction. Most buyers obviously favor in-person transactions. There is little market space for online auction providers. In fact, there are free online bulletin boards that provide used car sale information. They make it difficult for paid online car auctions to exist at all. Mostly, the viability of such specialized auction markets is doubtful. Therefore, there is limited chance for new entrants. Substitute Products The most important merit of fixed-price online retail is that a buyer does not have to wait for an auction to end. It is appealing to shoppers who prefer straightforward sales. They value their time more than the small price change. It is basically a tradeoff between time and price. Since online auction and fixed online retail target people with different personalities, these two products essentially don’t conflict with each other. eBay expanded its market by adding fixed-price features to its online transactions, such as â€Å"Buy It Now†. Half. com is a fixed price online retail web site which is owned by eBay. This shows that eBay is flexible in its business model. On the other hand, Amazon, a traditional online fixed-price retail web site, launched its auction feature in 1999. Here, fixed-price retail acts somewhat like a complement. However, it is a complement only when a company is involved in both types of sales. It is especially beneficial for the company’s network utility. eBay expanded its community (network) by adding fixed price retail feature, as Amazon did by adding auctions. Both of them successfully combined these two functions together, which merged these two markets into one, and gave customers greater convenience by allowing them to decide which way to purchase goods impromptu. However, there is less differentiation between eBay and Amazon. Traditional retail is more prevalent when the buyer must check the product in person or shipping is difficult or expensive. eBay has had to build a strong creditability by making sure all the descriptions of online items to be sold are precise, complete and correct. Without this reliability, customers would switch to traditional retail stores. For those goods which are hard to price without observation, eBay cannot supplant traditional retail. This is particularly true for specialized items such as cars, jewelries, and plastic surgeries, all of which have too many details to be taken care of online. Online transactions seem impossible for these goods. The switching cost from online auction to traditional retail or fixed-price online is essentially high. For fixed-price online, sellers have to pay the storage fee for Amazon’s storage plant. For traditional retail, sellers have to pay for the storage fee and shelf rental fee. These extra fees, which are switching costs, are enough to discourage single item sellers, who are main customer category of eBay, to switch. Buyer Power Customer’s price sensitivity Online auctions don’t charge sellers for storage of their goods. Fixed-price sites might charge sellers for storage. Traditional retailers incur overhead costs. Sellers have incentives to sell via online auction. On the other hand, online auctions mainly deal with unpackaged new products or secondhand products. Most buyers of such products are familiar with eBay, so sellers are more prone to sell via online auction. Buyer bargaining power is weakened. Customer’s negotiating power As I analyzed above, eBay is a large network of small buyers and sellers who mainly deal with single-item sales. A seller generally sells one item to one buyer on eBay, so eBay has high prices and high margins when providing services for many buyers and sellers. Online auction site, recently experienced a dramatic increase in new member registration after eBay announced they would raise their listing fees for sellers. eBay took a prompt response by resuming the listing fee back to the original level. eBay didn’t win anything in this price adjustment and readjustment, but eroded his reputation. Essentially in this online auction market, whoever has the most name recognition, wins the game. Right now, Bidville’s disadvantage in name recognition puts Bidville out as a possible alternative to eBay’s market space temporarily. Bay should think about more to maintain his name recognition on the long run. Patents eBay does not hold any key patented technology. A new entrant could easily emulate eBay’s interface. Buyer Power Customer’s price sensitivity Online auctions don’t charge sellers for storage of their goods. Fixed-price sites might charge sellers for storage. Traditional retailers incur overhead cost s. Sellers have incentives to sell via online auction. On the other hand, online auctions mainly deal with unpackaged new products or secondhand products. Most buyers of such products are familiar with eBay, so sellers re more prone to sell via online auction. Buyer bargaining power is weakened. Customer’s negotiating power As I analyzed above, eBay is a large network of small buyers and sellers who mainly deal with single-item sales. A seller generally sells one item to one buyer on eBay, so eBay has high prices and high margins when providing services for many buyers and sellers. Supplier Power Suppliers to eBay offer technology patent, legal support for intellectual property, and fraud prevention systems. eBay has great pressure to prevent fraud, since its reputation is at stake. Buyers and sellers care about very much about their security. Online auction fraud in 2004 made up 16% of all consumer complaints last year, and 48% in the subset of internet-related complaints, topping the list. eBay has 0. 01% fraud rate of all transactions, but these isolated incidents receive wide media coverage, which discourages many potential customers. eBay is still improving its fraud prevention system. The fraud prevention system is launched by Microsoft Inc. and Visa International Inc. As this system is necessary to eBay, it has little leverage to negotiate a better price. Many online retail systems need fraud prevention system, but there is only one supplier in the market. It has great bargaining power. Complements PayPal, as an online payment solution, is a good complement of eBay’s online auction business. PayPal is a neutral intermediary based on the financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards, supported by a proprietary fraud prevention system. Transactions on PayPal are of low risk to both sellers and buyers. PayPal accepts money from the buyer in one of the three ways. Charging the buyer’s credit card Debiting the buyer’s checking account Charging from the buyer’s PayPal account. The buyer can always send check to his/her PayPal account. Then PayPal will email the seller about the payment made by the buyer. The seller will receive money in one of the three ways. The seller might have his own PayPal account. The payment will directly transfer to his/her account. The seller might receive a check from PayPal. PayPal directly deposits the payment into the seller’s checking account. Buyers care about security. Buyers’ credit card numbers are only shown to PayPal. That is safer than online payment directly by credit card. Buyers also care about the cost. For transactions between PayPal customers, there's no transaction fee. PayPal makes money on the float – when customers’ money sits in their account, PayPal is collecting interest on it. Customers generally don’t care about the interest that PayPal collects on their deposits. Customers also care about ease of use. PayPal is one of the simplest services for online transactions. All a buyer has to do is to provide his/her name, e-mail address, credit card information, and billing address. For business accounts on PayPal, merchants are charged a 2. 2% discount rate + 30 cents on the transaction. It is better than the rate charged by merchant banks for accepting credit cards, in most cases. eBay Micro Strategies Increase brand recognition Expand the auction market by introducing PayPal to more online auction markets Credit card companies charge more for Internet-enabled merchant accounts (the accounts the merchants need to accept credit card payments on the Internet), because of the high cost to main security. Therefore, credit cards become too expensive for smaller purchases. PayPal might negotiate with credit card companies for smaller fees for their subscribers. They can cooperate to share the market in the following way: Merchant accounts on PayPal will be charged less by credit companies than those on other online payment platforms. Therefore it can increase the number of small purchases on eBay auction. Nowadays, credit cards are the primary means of purchasing air tickets and recording frequent flier miles. eBay should enter the air ticketing markets. It definitely can offer the same service with PayPal. PayPal should cooperate with more airlines and online ticketing websites. If they can integrate PayPal into ticket sales websites, eBay will have a huge potential market in air ticketing and also increase its network utility. eBay should acquire a greater online auction market share by educating online customers that PayPal is the online currency. Yahoo’s wallet failed in the online marketplace. It was not easy to establish their own online payment platform, partly because the online payment concept goes against Yahoo’s traditional business model. PayPal should make use of its competitive advantage and offer Yahoo and other websites its specialized solutions. Perfect its proprietary fraud prevention system, which is essential to its success. eBay should let its customers, cooperative online transaction sites, online airline ticketing sites, and credit card companies all feel that transactions through eBay will lower their costs and be more valuable. Bay should cooperate with shipping companies, and make its online transactions more lucrative eBay should work with Phish Report Network and other anti-phishing organizations more efficiently in order to prevent fake online auction sites taking its market share and damaging the whole market’s reputation eBay should work with software developers to improve the s ecurity, efficiency, and adaptability of its database. eBay should convince customers that there is no intentional bidding up behavior involved in its online auction practice Develop real name feature for customers. Put some restrictions on new sellers in expensive merchandise transaction or large volume sale until they have a good track record. Expand to international market, decrease national boundary barriers in terms of payment (credit card/PayPal) and shipping. Cooperate with local equivalent companies or localize by itself. Mediate between buyers and seller at Security Center. Respect both sides’ privacy. Solve conflicts in conservative way. Don’t take risk of eBay’s reputation. eBay Today eBay is the world’s foremost online marketplace. Through reliable customer service, efficient information exchange, and by utilizing the latest technology, eBay has created an auction-based market community of an efficiency unheard of prior to the internet revolution. Competitive Advantage eBay has used its first-mover advantage to establish itself as the most reliable and, more importantly, largest auction house on or off the internet. In 2003 alone, more than 30 million people exchanged over $20 billion. Due to the size and diversity of its user base, eBay is able to offer a wider selection of merchandise than any online retailer. This is made feasible by the virtual nature of eBay’s market: sellers can market obscure items to a global market as easily as and more cheaply than they could put an ad in their local paper. Famous for matching buyers and sellers across the world with the most extreme items, eBay has developed incalculable value in its brand name. eBay has become a household word synonymous with an eclectic online marketplace. eBay comes to the mind of any buyer looking for that rare or rarely-cheap item; any seller hoping to get rid of practically anything knows a buyer is lurking somewhere on eBay. The site has become an easily identifiable rallying point akin to a popular dance club on a global scale: everyone who’s anyone is there—and everyone else too. eBay’s Macro Strategy eBay seeks to maintain a high level of consumer patronage by capitalizing on its unique positioning as an internet marketplace. Globalization. Since eBay is a virtual marketplace, eBay can establish language localized sites in other countries that have access eBay’s full auction database. Since the seller handles the shipping details, each seller may determine the extent to which they enter the global market. Bay has already expanded into 150 countries around the world. International transactions require little additional bookkeeping cost while their benefit to the consumer is enormous: every buyer and seller has access to the largest market possible. Communication By allowing buyers and sellers to meet and communicate online, eBay is able to minimize the costs of remote market research and individual exchanges of information across states and borders. This interplay is essential to mutually amicable transactions on which eBay is based. To encourage fair transactions eBay provides an efficient feedback system to allow buyers and sellers to benefit from collective experience, giving customers a strong social incentive to honor each transaction. Integration Through its acquisition of PayPal eBay gained not only market share, but also vertical integration key to its long-term success. By embracing the payment method most commonly used on its site rather than forcing an unpopular one on its user base, eBay has not only retained the existing PayPal user base but expanded to those consumers previously unsure of which method to use. In 2003 there were 40 million PayPal accounts—almost twice as many as the previous year—and these customers transferred $12 billion across 38 countries. Diversification In addition to normal auction bidding, eBay now offers a Buy-it-Now option. Sellers set fixed maximum prices at which the auction will close before it begins. This attracts auction-wary consumers from other e-commerce sites outside of the strict auction market and effectively competes with amazon. com and froogle. com for fixed-price transactions. By allowing independent sellers to maintain storefronts online, eBay seeks to extend its position to include an even wider range of transactions, thus not only broadening its appeal but securing ties to more conservative consumer bases. The Future of eBay Industry Trends What originally began as a small industry of auctions for collectibles has mushroomed into a behemoth encompassing individual sellers, small businesses, and large retailers. The e-commerce industry is constantly growing, and many businesses rely on the reputation of eBay or one of their competitors to sell their products. As the market grows, a wider demographic range of consumers will be purchasing an increasing number of products online. For example, teenagers are the target consumers of very recent products such as cell phone ring tones and games, many of which are available exclusively online. As such varied consumer groups are emerging in the online market, there is more room for differentiation; perhaps some niches are being created. Therefore, the barriers to entry will decrease as the market expands. Competitive Trends eBay has a solid foothold as the canonical online auction site. They have a niche as an enormous community with an extremely high success rate of matching buyers and sellers. eBay is distinguished by its availability of single, used, and/or rare items, and for its floating prices. They are adequately differentiated from their competitors, and they possess roughly 70% of the online auction market share. However, due to the relatively low switching costs and entry barriers inherent in a web market, eBay must continue to be rather defensive of their position, against current competition and potential new entrants. Current Competitors Amazon and Yahoo Auctions are the main competitors of eBay. Ubid. com has 14% of the market share, but they have a different niche than eBay by appealing to business-to-consumer transaction. Amazon may pose a threat to eBay’s utter dominance; they are consistently bringing retailers into e-commerce. However, this comes with a great burden. Whereas eBay has virtually no overhead, Amazon needs to store and move vast quantities of inventory. Currently, Amazon’s revenues are considerably greater than eBay’s (about twice as much), but their costs are so high that eBay’s annual profits are roughly ten times Amazon’s. Alternatively, Amazon might choose to expand its auction operations, trying to nudge eBay from its niche. Amazon would have to establish a network, a community, on the scale of eBay’s in order to challenge them directly. Although this could be time consuming and costly to implement, focusing on transactions in which they are merely the broker and bear no cost could greatly increase their long-term profits. Yahoo poses little threat to eBay. While they theoretically have potential for growth similar to Amazon, they lack Amazon’s reputation. They also lack the cost-free transactions in which eBay luxuriates. New Entrants Online auctioning doesn’t have high costs of entry, especially the way eBay operates: All a new entrant needs is merchant software; there is no need for warehouses or expensive machinery. However, many companies have tried to enter this lucrative market and have failed. New entry is difficult because eBay has an enormous community, which gives tremendous network value to both buyers and sellers. Any entrant would have to build up a network from scratch. Conceivably, if a new company entered a niche market, e. g. uctions of teenage clothing and cell phone accessories, they could survive, but such a market would likely be too small to gain any measurable market share. Alternately, a website that already has a large community would be able to enter more easily. For example, Craig’s List has a network of millions of users, who rely on it for matching them up with people who can fulfill their sp ecific needs. It would be simple enough to add an auction section to the site, and take advantage of this existing network to compete with eBay. Froogle, a new service from Google, may forever change the way online shopping is done. While it currently is a beta version, it looks to be a promising engine for online shoppers to quickly search nearly all online stores for the products they desire. While Froogle isn’t an entrant to the online auction market (yet), it is certainly the beginning of a powerful new substitute service. Froogle may be very dangerous to eBay for many reasons. Google already has a huge network of search-users and advertisers. If vendors (especially specialized vendors, as many on eBay are) can set up their own online stores and be found for free on Froogle, they have less of a reason to pay eBay for its high access. Bay certainly still has a lot going for it, (security and reputation) but may soon find its network challenged by Froogle users. eBay’s Response eBay recently started Business. eBay, a new business-to-business online auction that spans all sectors, from mining to farming. eBay is aware that they may need to accommodate larger retailers in order to grow, and to chal lenge Amazon’s growth in this direction. If Amazon decides to challenge eBay’s community appeal, then eBay must block this attempt any way they can. A simple method would be to start a price war. Bay’s costs are so negligible compared to Amazon’s that Amazon could not possibly survive a price war. EBay could almost give away auctions to sellers, whereas this sort of competition would bankrupt Amazon. If a new entrant emerges, eBay’s best bet is to rely on the value of their community. Even a company trying to enter into a niche market would have a difficult time building a network large enough to attract eBay customers. In the rare case of an established community site entering into online auctioning, eBay should engage in a price war if they believe this site’s community is comparable to theirs. Bay is famous for their extreme efficiency, and any entrant would likely be somewhat inefficient due to their inexperience. eBay’s best resp onse to Froogle is to assert their security and reputation to their users: If you buy from eBay, you know you will have a safe and fraud-free transaction, especially if you pay with PayPal. On the other hand, if someone buys from an online shop found on Froogle, he has no idea how reliable the vendor is, or if his credit card information will be safe. If buyers are reluctant to engage in potentially insecure transactions outside of eBay, buyers and sellers alike will continue to complete their transactions through eBay. Summary eBay virtually monopolizes the online auction market, due to their large network value, extremely low costs, reputation for security, and efficient operations. When confronted with competition, eBay either relies on its community niche, or buys out the competition (i. e. Half. com and PayPal). They have created a market where entry is very difficult, and competitors are relatively powerless, particularly given the threat of a price war. These advantages should ensure eBay’s continued domination of online auctions in the future. However, they should court larger retailers, as Amazon has, to expedite their growth. eBay is likely to stay the leading online auctioneer for quite some time, as long as they remain adaptable to the ever-dynamic online market. eBay has proven to be a successful chameleon in the past, making lucrative acquisitions and modifying its business model, depending on the state of the online market. As long as eBay continues to aggressively maintain its community and reputation of security, it will dominate the online auction market. References 1. Crockett, Roger O. â€Å"No Plastic? No Problem. † BusinessWeek | online. . October 23, 2000. 2. â€Å"eBay 2003 Annual Report. † . 3. Hof, Rob. â€Å"Meet eBay’s Auctioneer-in-Chief. † BusinessWeek online. . May 29, 2003. 4. Hof, Robert D. â€Å"The eBay Economy. † BusinessWeek | online. . August 25, 2005. 5. Lewis, Marilyn. â€Å"eBay and Amazon. † webservicespipeline. . December 22, 2004. 6. Perez, Juan Carlos. â€Å"Online auction providers grapple with fraud. † Computerworld. . Februrary 17, 2005. 7. Roberts, Paul. â€Å"Microsoft, eBay, Visa form Phish Report Network. † Computerworld. . February 14, 2005

Automobile Repair and Mechanics Essay

Automobile repair is not only an interesting field to me, also I feel automobile maintenance is necessary knowledge to have in today’s auto market. Like studying for school or learning the skills of a job; I feel knowing how to repair a vehicle will produce a cost effective lifestyle, and take out all the hassle anyone who owns a vehicle encounters everyday. How many Americans can change their own oil that don’t work as mechanics, or what is the average repair bill for a same day repair are questions that bring concern to how becoming my own handyman makes a productive choice. I decided to explore the topic a little more to get a better understanding of the requirements to become an auto mechanic, for I have decided to become certified in Automotive Technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(definition)- â€Å"an auto mechanic is a technician that inspects, maintains and repairs automobiles and light trucks that run on gasoline, electricity or other alternative fuels; like ethanol†. Auto mechanics play a very important role in maintaining and keeping vehicles running efficiently. The field of auto mechanics reveals a long history, specialized schooling and strong career objectives for anyone that would like to choose this field as a career. There are certain requirements to become an auto mechanic, and a student can get the basics of automobile repair by taking a vocational class in high school. The course is not really considered training, but the class gives a basic knowledge of what mechanics do. To be considered a qualified auto mechanic; completing training at a post- secondary school like Pinellas Technical Education Centers or at a community college are the best choices, but the college aspect is not as much hands on as the secondary school. â€Å"PTEC consists of 2 years of intense training†(brochure), and the community college usually offers an associate degree for this field that also takes 2 years to complete the coursework. With these types of training, getting the most up to date training needed is essential; like using computer systems to detect problems with cars. Another form of training involves working as an apprentice to a master technician so questions are answered from experience . When all the formal training is completed a mechanic is considered certified when receiving a ASE Certification. This stands for Automobile Service Excellence Certification. The Bureau of Labor statistics suggests that individuals who live in large cities should get certified to help them with their search for jobs. An auto mechanics basic job function is performed in some type of repair shop, and working 40 plus hours a work is expected with such high volume of vehicles to work on. Sometimes work can continue into the weekend, along with performing work on the side to help earn some extra money. The working environment for the job involves identifying and fixing problems that deal with the car in a repair shop. Most of the time repairs are done indoors in a large, open garage like facility, including mechanics to get dirty due to all the grease repairs performed daily. These functions are real important that this does not bother someone who might want to do this as a job, for some of the grease and dirt is almost impossible to get completely rid of. Many shops have now included electrical technology as part of their services due to the fact that most cars have specialized computer systems. â€Å"This new service has increased the mechanics skill level greatly† (resource). â€Å"Many repair shops rely on these computerized systems to help in identifying problems related to the car† (Ly). The term auto mechanic is slowly fading away, and many mechanics are now being labeled as service technicians. The change in the name comes from the fact that working on many different parts of the car, and computer systems that require additional and more advanced training. Auto mechanics make a pretty good living. Starting out as a new auto mechanic the annual income will range between $25,000 – $35,000. The next level mechanic could make $35,000- $45,000. After that the pay can be anywhere from $45,000 up to $100,000, for the higher pay range is for a Master Mechanic. It would be best to try and achieve the highest level of pay to make this job worthwhile. This is not exactly a goal that I am going to set forth for myself to achieve because simply auto work is all I’m interested in. Many Master Mechanics work for luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche. The future for service technicians looks very bright. For the next 3 years the auto mechanics field will see an increase close to 10- 20%. This increase is due to many technicians retiring, and due to an increase in cars being purchased. Dealerships and independent car repair shops will be the main employers of service technicians. The outlook continues to look positive for auto mechanics even though economic downfall is predicted to continue. In conclusion, auto mechanics is a very diverse field that requires complete dedication and skill to help become successful. Mechanics involves a long history, specialized schooling and the desire to achieve. Auto mechanics has evolved into a very complex and sometimes challenging field, and the future job outlook for this field is great and it is a very good choice for anyone interested in pursuing this career.