Influence Of International Culture On The Fashion Industry

Influence of International Culture on the Fashion Industry The author’s curiosity towards the Fashion industry, and all the different sub sectors in and amongst it, was ignited at an adolescent age through the phenomenal approbation they felt for the Walt Disney motion pictures and viewing for the first time all the heroes, protagonists and villains that were featured on the animated screens wearing fabulous, flamboyant costumes and garments, that projected high fashion, couture in the most over embellished manner. Introduction The fashion industry is a multibillion global initiative, circulating around the design, manufacture, supply, marketing and retail of clothing, it is one of the most lucrative industries throughout the biosphere. It exemplifies an imperative fragment towards individuals expressing their identity. (Vidyadharghate 2015) Fashion is a replication of societal, monetary, dogmatic and cultural vicissitudes. It articulates avant-gardism, signifying the essence of the eras. (Zegheau, L 2014) Fashion, accommodates to everyone, men, women, children and infants. It can be differentiated into subdivisions; high fashion, couture, haute, mass apparel, fast fashion and ready to wear. (Steele, V 2015) Clothing allows individuals the opportunity to differentiate themselves, whilst fulfilling a chief part in the societal edifice of distinctiveness. Apparel adoptions allow people the opportunity to construe culture in their own way. Over the generations clothing hasShow MoreRelatedThe Effect of Globalization on Fashion with Special Reference to the Impact of Japanese Designs on the European Scene1527 Words   |  7 Pagesct Analyse the effect of ‘Globalization’ on fashion with special reference to the impact of Japanese designs on the European scene. The definition of globalisation is quite complex and extremely controversial. However globalization with reference to the fashion industry helps defines the development of what has been termed as „world fashion‟. Preferred garments of young people is quite often the same. A phenomenon made possible by the exploitative mechanisms of globalization. The globalizationRead MoreThe Effect of Globalization on Fashion with Special Reference to the Impact of Japanese Designs on the European Scene1521 Words   |  7 Pagesct Analyse the effect of ‘Globalization’ on fashion with special reference to the impact of Japanese designs on the European scene. The definition of globalisation is quite complex and extremely controversial. However globalization with reference to the fashion industry helps defines the development of what has been termed as „world fashion‟. Preferred garments of young people is quite often the same. A phenomenon made possible by the exploitative mechanisms of globalization. The globalization ofRead MoreAnalysis of the Fashion Industry1301 Words   |  6 PagesFashion is one of the world’s most important creative industries. It has provided economic thought with a canonical example in theorizing about consumption and conformity. Social thinkers have long treated fashion as a window upon social class and social change. Cultural theorists have focused on fashion to reflect on symbolic meaning and social ideals. Fashion has also been seen to embody representative characteristics of modernity, and even of culture itself. Everyone wears clothing and inevitablyRead MoreFashion Is A Big Part Of Society And It Is Indispensable For Us1208 Words   |  5 PagesI. Introduction Fashion is a big part of society and it is indispensable for us. Without fashion our life have no tastes because fashion has a lot of possibilities of changing our life. According to The Telegraph, A spokesman for clothes giant Matalan which polled 2,491 women and was based on 16 to 60 age. They found that women spend an average 16 minutes deciding what to wear on every morning and 14 minutes on weekend in front of their closet. You just did not notice that our life is influencedRead MoreGlobalization Is The Key Of Success For All Countries1183 Words   |  5 Pagesexplore the definition of globalization, advantages and disadvantages of globalization and explore the way globalization can influence on people. 2.1What is globalization â€Å"Globalization is the worldwide movement toward the information, financial, economics, and trade as well as communication integration†. It is a crucial process, where people do business on an international scale. 2.2History The industrial revolution is the most important period in the history of globalization because thereRead MoreLiterature Review of Global Fashion Branding and Marketing1445 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Literature Review This literature review examines the process of global fashion branding and marketing by looking at historical trends and methods used by different companies. The articles were chosen for their appropriates as global source materials which reflect some aspect of fashion branding and marketing. The attempt was to gain a comprehensive view of branding and marketing as they occur in the fashion industry and the how both are achieved. Review Marketing departments look to trendsRead MoreBritish American Influence on Australia1015 Words   |  5 PagesDuring this period of Australias history, our modes of entertainment, food, fashion, sporting culture and our social values and attitudes were largely dictated by British culture. One of the most significant changes to have taken place in Australian society since the end of WWII, has been its drift towards American, rather than British culture. As the American way of life was projected further into Australia via popular culture, it would rapidly alter the ways we spent our money, entertained ourselvesRead MoreWhat is Hip Hop?1057 Words   |  5 Pagescannot downplay the cultural influences that hip-hop has impressed on the world. Merriam-Webster defines hip-hop as the stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rap (citation). Although the conventional definition of hip-hop is generally correct, it does not adequately portray the gravity of the movement. Coined by the urban youth, Hip-hop has forced its way to the pinnacle of mainstream America. Hip-hop’s massive influence on the English language, the fashion industry, and world peace warrantsRead MoreDoes the Caribbean Contribute to the Americanization of Its Media?1322 Words   |  6 Pagesâ⠂¬Å"Do you believe Caribbean Media are victims or causal factors of the Americanization of Caribbean Culture?† There has been an ongoing debate as to whether The Americanization phenomenon, has been perpetuated by the media across the Caribbean. It must be stated, that the Americanization phenomenon, can be synonymous with Globalisation. Hence it very pertinent to the discussion, to first defines the denotative meaning of the term Globalisation. (Dr.Maria Alfaro) defines Globalisation as: â€Å"ARead MoreDoes the Caribbean Contribute to the Americanization of Its Media?1336 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Do you believe Caribbean Media are victims or causal factors of the Americanization of Caribbean Culture?† There has been an ongoing debate as to whether The Americanization phenomenon, has been perpetuated by the media across the Caribbean. It must be stated, that the Americanization phenomenon, can be synonymous with Globalisation. Hence it very pertinent to the discussion, to first defines the denotative meaning of the term Globalisation. (Dr.Maria Alfaro) defines Globalisation as: â€Å"A

Real Business Cycles Hypothesis Sees Cycles - 1839 Words

Introduction Real Business Cycles hypothesis sees cycles as starting in frictionless splendidly focused economies with for the most part finish markets subject to genuine stuns (irregular changes in innovation or efficiency), it makes the contention that cycles are predictable with aggressive general harmony situations in which all operators are levelheaded maximizers (The Economist). In opposition to what Keynesian, Monetarist, and new traditional business analysts trusted, RBC scholars, beginning with Nelson and Plosser in 1982, found that the theory that GDP development takes after an arbitrary walk can t be rejected. They contended that a large portion of the adjustments in GDP were perpetual, and that yield development would not†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Changes in the work supply or livelihood. RBC models were for the most part fruitful in representing diligence and co-movement, yet less effective in offering persuading clarifications for changes in occupation (Real Business Cycle Theory). The Baxter and King paper, Fiscal Policy in General Equilibrium concentrates on four exemplary financial approach tests inside a quantitatively confined neoclassical model. The creators primary discoveries are as per the following: lasting changes in government buys can prompt short-run and long-run yield multipliers that surpass one; perpetual changes in government buys instigate bigger impacts than transitory changes; the financing choice is quantitatively more critical than the asset expense of changes in government buys; and open venture affects private yield and speculation. These discoveries stem from critical element collaborations of capital and work truant in prior harmony investigations of monetary arrangement (Baxter King 1993). In the event that business cycles are brought about for the most part by changes in efficiency, instead of by money related and budgetary unsettling influences, what part do financial and monetary arrangements play? In Satyajit Chatterjee s article he examines the likelihood that countercyclical money related and financial arrangements have assumed a vital part in

Essay on Open Source Software Free Essays

string(275) " cost are essential factors in software development and they can be exploited by using of OSS which reduces the number of programmers employer has to pay himself, provides a ready tested code from other projects and thus reduces the time it takes to build, test and develop\." Introduction: The concept of open source affects many fields of study from computer software and hardware to architecture, health, science, robotics and even politics. Linus Torvalds predicted this proliferation of source openness when he said: â€Å"the future is open source everything†. But another founder of open source movement, Eric Raymond, refused the using of this concept about applications outside software (Wikipedia, 2009). We will write a custom essay sample on Essay on Open Source Software or any similar topic only for you Order Now Free/open source software (F/OSS) is accessible software where end source code is available for the user. It is not limited to software as applicable ones, it exceeds to allow beneficial to read, modify and recreate the source code (V. Hippel, V. Krogh, 2003). So F/OSS is usually provides users with source code and information needed to apply their changes on them. The ability to run the program as the user wishes is one of the essential freedoms which Richard Stallman, the founder of free software and defender of open source, was confirmed in an interview. These freedoms are: the freedom to study how these software works, the freedom to change it according to project’s requirements, the freedom to redistribute it and the freedom to distribute your modified copy to others (Reilly 2008). In Raymond opinion â€Å"good programmers know how to write, great ones know what to rewrite†, and he illustrated that it is almost easier to use an already existing solution to start with than to start from nothing at all. But this involves developer in difficult-to-be-solved problems if choice is not suitable. Linux operating system was not written from scratch where Linus Torvalds started by studying ideas from Minix â€Å"a tiny Unix-like OS† and then reused it according to project’s purposes (Raymond, 1999) Beginnings: It was a big surprise for those who used to pay for software to be told that groups of volunteers create high quality software and produce it to the community for free. The idea of FOSS began in 1960s. In this decade commercial software was not available and researchers were in need to share software code. As a result, they started to share source code in a limited framework. â€Å"Open sharing of software code was a common practice in the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the early 1960s and in similar laboratories such as Stanford and Carnegie Mellon† (Moon Sproull 2002). After that developers and users gave the idea more attention. Consequently, foundations of free software have been established in 1980s when Stallman called for free software and claimed that software should be common. In an interview, Stallman confirmed that computer users could not use the proprietary software come with most computers in the 1980s. So, such software keeps users â€Å"divided and helpless†. Stallman was dissatisfied with that situation and he started the free software movement in 1993 when he wrote the GNU open source operating system (M. Reilly, 2008). The general public license of GNU operating system allows users receive all their rights in essential freedoms mentioned above. In 2005 the idea achieved its goals in software filed and became more trusted by users and developers (Raymond 1999). Wikipedia is a known example of F/OSS. It is a free encyclopedia started in the beginnings of 2001 by means of highly qualified contributors. It provides 19 free encyclopedias in 19 different languages and its content has been created by user contributions. Many other examples like Apache web server, BIND name server and Linux operating system kernel are free for any user to use, amend and share. Motivations: The motivations of Stallman to produce free software are his strong belief in freedom, particularly â€Å"the freedom for individuals to cooperate† (2003). But what are the incentives other developers have to become contributors in open source projectsIn other words, why do programmers volunteer their time and experience without any financial returns to create free software? Raymond is one of the first GNU contributors, a developer of many net open source software and a significant participant in Linux operating system development. He indicated that Linux project was going from â€Å"strength to strength† and the reason was the â€Å"bazaar† model of the Linux development style in which all contributors worked hard as at individual projects. He added that the democratic atmosphere in bazaar model motivated him and his partners to work hard regardless of financial returns (Raymond 1999). The Linux creator, Linus Trovalds, says: â€Å"I am basically a very lazy person who likes to get credit for things other people actually do† (Raymond 1999). Torvalds , as he stated in his book ‘Just For Fun’, has an early interest in computing, he does not seem to take himself too seriously, he is a lucky guy who can provide a career for himself, and he finds a lot of fun when he writes software code. It is surprising that hackers are also a significant motivating factor; they lead developers to impress their peers, gain a better reputation and raise their ranks in society (Zaleski et al. 2001). Wikipedia showed, in a study made up by Wikipedia administrators, that the reason for their participants to be a part in such free work is the desire to create a benefit thing that helps others and meets their requirements (Wikipedia 2010). While the basic motivations for corporation in learners open source community are learning specific topics, learning how to be future learners and projects creating. Advantages: Software is characterized by many factors: Its cost, where the lower price is more preferred and thus free is the most. Voluntary work, where volunteers are motivated towards the project and they are interested in, which means that they do their best. Continuously tested by all participant and users, hence it is almost free of bugs and errors. These factors refer that open source software is likely to be the best solution for any project if needed features are provided. Besides, developers have created it according to own needs which means that it is in a high level of quality and efficiency. F/OSS has many advantages related to development cost and time, bug correction and independency. Time and cost are essential factors in software development and they can be exploited by using of OSS which reduces the number of programmers employer has to pay himself, provides a ready tested code from other projects and thus reduces the time it takes to build, test and develop. You read "Essay on Open Source Software" in category "Essay examples" Besides that creating software by many developers, each has revised and corrected its errors and each has a different background, leads to less bugs and faster detection and correction. Linus’ law refers to this idea ‘Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow’ (Answers.com, 2009). Openness of source code provides communication paths and interactive communities. F/OSS community in schools consists of researchers, learners and teachers; each listens to others and respects their opinions. It is expected in this style of community to switch roles among its members, where students may be assigned particular roles to take on for the studied project. So they can share their ideas in all project’s aspects. On the other hand, sense of control is uncommon in most classrooms, so one of learner’s community’s advantages is to prepare students for future life by involving them in the experiment of leadership (H. Baytiyeh, J. Pfaffman, 2010). Another advantage for open source software, which Zaleski stated in his article, that open source innovation was the reason for Linux operating system to move quickly from being an ambiguous operating system used by programmers and hackers to an essential operating system in business area (2001). On the other hand, open source technology resolved the problem of knowledge transfer in developing countries. Direct import of software not only costs these countries high amounts of money, but also puts them in complex troubles where they do not know how to develop this software to meet the local needs (Alkhatib 2008). Why do some organizations still buy commercial software instead of using free ones? The voluntary of open source projects and the relative lake of financial support make them far from marketing and advertising. This means that many organizations have not been informed that free solutions relevant to their needs are available freely. This â€Å"knowledge gap† cause many other barriers. Some managers do not know how to implement and use open source applications and they may be unaware of the range of services provided with such applications like support services and consultations. To cover this knowledge gap, an â€Å"up to date† archive of open source applications is available in SourceForge.net website. This website consists of more than 131,000 open source applications with their latest software updates where the accessibility is allowed for any organization to find suitable free software according to its requirements. Further, assistance with the technical issues of open source applications implementation is available by many open source consultants like IBM, Red Hat, and Open Sky Consulting. Forking is another reason for not using F/OSS. The independency between open source software developers groups leads to different versions of same software. Although these versions started with the same source code, they are not able to interoperate because these groups create their own versions without coordination. This phenomenon is called â€Å"forking† and it is the responsible for open source software fragmenting. As a result, the open source BSD-Unix community was divided into three portions in early 1990s, and Emacs text editor and NCSA web server are other examples where both forked into two divisions in 1992 and 2995 respectively. In Nagy’s opinion, forking is dangerous because it causes inherited fragmentation for both of the original software adopters and marketing of relative applications. Many versions of one software leads adopters to choose one to support, consequently, software will not gain the critical mass of adopters it aims to do. On the other hand, venders will be put in a point of choosing to support one of forked versions or all of them in their own applications. In this case, some adopters and vendors decide to wait for a standard version or to stall their adoption and supporting (NAGY et al. 2010). Conclusion: No one can predict the future of software, but developers can expect that open source software will be stronger and gain increased faith from traditional software industry. Historically, one can recognize the discontinuities appeared between IBM System in the 1960s, first PC in the end of 1970s and the open source movement in the 1990s. So it is expected that this technology gap will take place in the next 10-15 years for a new software innovation (Campbell-Kelly 2008) Green IT Introduction: IT has brought many significant solutions for environmental sustainability, but at the same time, it caused a lot of problems especially in data centers where energy is consumed enormously (Murugesan 2010) Hopper, a professor of computer technology at the University of Cambridge and head of its Computer Laboratory, claimed that â€Å"the system we now employ is hugely wasteful† and he proposed to create new systems which are more efficient, less expensive and help in reducing energy consumptions; because he believed that moving data is cheaper than energy (Kurp 2008) Computers impact environment from the first stage of producing to the last stage of disposal. Moreover, increased consumption of energy leads to more greenhouse gas emissions because the main source of energy is coil, oil or gas burning (Murugesan 2010) Since environmental problems come from each stage of computer’s life, green IT must covers all of these areas, from designing to manufacturing and use end with disposal. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines green computing as â€Å"the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems -such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems- efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.† (Murugesan 2008) Suggested solutions: Dell and Hewlett-Packard are two computer manufacturers. They decided to solve the problem by retooling their products. On the other hand, the solution from the standpoint of David Wang, the data center architect for Teradata, is not to replace all old computers by others which are more environments friendly. He confirmed that attention must be drawn to increasing power consumption as well as to heat removal in data centers (Kurp 2008). Murugesan has illustrated areas and activities which are involved in green IT solutions as the following: – Environmental friendly designing; – Energy-efficient computing; – Power management; – Location and architecture of data centers; – Server virtualization which has been explained before; – Responsible disposal and recycling; – Regulatory compliance; – Green metrics, assessment tools and methodology; – Environment-related risk reducing; – Use of renewable energy sources; and – Eco-labeling of IT products (2008). Other solutions have been produced by Hasbrouck and Woodruff. They suggested two strategies for green computing: Reduce computing technology’s contribution to the problem by producing energy-efficient computers, take reusability into account during computers’ designing, use less materials and work toward computers’ and related systems’ recycling. Moreover, they indicated that truing off inactive computers, using energy-efficient devices and reduction of emissions emitted from computers’ manufacturing are significant parts of this strategy. Give computing a role in resolving the issue by creating green applications which enable design green objects and green processes such as design green buildings, invent source of renewable energy and design fuel-efficient aircraft (2008). Most efforts in green IT are directed towards the first strategy to solve environmental problems which have increased along with computers’ using increase. As a result of these problems caused by computers, many associations are turning to green computing to save money and reduce waste. To do so, Dick Sullivan listed five major trends: Virtualization in all forms especially for servers, storage and network environments. In other words, transform entire machines into software-based entities. For instance, a room with five servers can be replaced by an efficient server provided with high performance software. Utilize the cloud computing where no need to have own data centers, own big servers or storage systems. Many organizations need only a small amount of proprietary equipment and functionality. In this case, they can basically purchase what they need from someone else who will be responsible for the security, power and maintenance. Sullivan confirmed that â€Å"a huge amount of data is basically an exact duplicate of other data†, so converting to intelligent compression or single instance storage can eliminate this waste and cut the total data storage needed. Solid-state disk (SSD) has no moving parts and is not magnetic, so it is a stronger, safer and faster way to store and access data. Everyone can make impact and be a part of green computing project when s/he has more awareness of her/his direct and indirect daily computing habits. Employees, for example, can support green computing if they use to turn off computers not in use, banning screen savers and shorten the turn-off times when computers are inactive. On the other hand, printing waste a lot of papers, so managing this daily process by printing only as needed and adopting double sided printing will make a significant impact (Clarke 2009) Many efforts have been made to support the idea of green IT. Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) is one of these efforts. It seeks to reduce electric power consumption of PCs and it has established a catalogue of green products from organizations involved with, in addition to helpful information about reducing PC energy consumption. This initiative is a group of consumers, businesses and conservation organizations formed in 2007, it has gained brilliant results where 50 percent of energy consumed by computers was economized by 2010, and it was able to reduce global CO2 emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons a year (Wikipedia 2010). Motivations: To enforce computer users to subject to green IT solutions and apply them on their daily routines, government can face them with more green taxis and rules. But it is better, in my opinion, to raise people awareness toward the danger that threatens the Earth if they continue using traditional computers in traditional methods, and to teach them the benefits of green IT. Applying green IT issues in all affected areas offers individuals and organizations financial benefits where IT operations achieve better energy efficiency through green initiatives. In a survey made by Sun Microsystem Australia, 1500 responses have been collected from 758 different-size organizations. Almost of these responses illustrated that the main reasons for using green IT practices are reducing energy consumption and get lower costs. As a result, most companies started to prioritize environmental issues. Moreover, institutions and corporate ask their suppliers to take into account how to â€Å"green up† their products and manufacturing processes. Not only companies but also people began to adhere to environmentally friendly issues of IT (Murugesan 2008). Green IT approach: As it has mentioned above that environmental problems caused by computing should be addressed by a holistic approach which include solutions for all areas affected by using computers. This approach, as it has been explained by Murugesan, consists of four concepts: Green use that aims to reduce energy consumption and use computers in an environmentally friendly manner. Green disposal where computers, related system like printers and electronic equipments should be reused, refurbished or recycled. Green design where new computers, servers and cooling devices can be designed to be more energy efficient. Green manufacturing which aims to adopt the process of computers and sub-systems creating that minimize or get rid of its impact on the environment (2008) References: 2003. Richard Stallman: Freedom–His Passion Both For Work And In Life. Electronic Design, 51(23), 112. Answers.com, what are the advantages and disadvantages of open source software and why?, [Internet]. Available from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_ disadvantages_of _open _source_software_and_why, [Accessed 30th November 2010] Campbell-Kelly, M., 2008. Historical Reflecions Will the Future of Software be Open SourceCommunications of the ACM, 51(10), 21-23. Clarke, K., 2009. Green computing trends you should know. Associations Now, 5(8), 19. Hasbrouck, J. Woodruff, A., 2008. Green Homeowners as Lead Adopters: Sustainable Living and Green Computing. Intel Technology Journal, 12(1), 39-48. Kurp, P., 2008. Green Computing. Communications of the ACM, 51(10), 11-13. Michael Bloch, Open source software in your online business -advantages/ disadvantages, 1999-2010 Moon, J.Y. Sproull, L., 2002. Essence of distributed work: The case of the Linux kernel. In P. Hinds S. Kiesler, eds. Distributed work. Cambridge, MA US: MIT Press, pp. 381-404. Murugesan. S., 2008, â€Å"Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices,† IEEE IT Professional, January–February 2008, pp 24-33. Murugesan, S., 2010. Making IT Green. IEEE Computer Society, Vol. 12, No. 2. NAGY, D., YASSIN, A.M. BHATTACHERJEE, A., 2010. Organizational Adoption of Open Source Software: Barriers and Remedies. Communications of the ACM, 53(3), 148-151. Raymond, E., 1999. The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Knowledge, Technology Policy, 12(3), 23. Reilly, M., 2008. Interview: Richard Stallman, one of the founders of â€Å"free software†. Vidyasagar Potdar and Elizabeth Chang (2004) Open source and closed source software development methodologies. Proc.of the 4th Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, pages 105-109, Edinburgh, Scotland, May 25 2004. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia (2001) Open source [Internet]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source, [Accessed 4th November 2010] Zaleski, J. et al., 2001. JUST FOR FUN (Book Review). Publishers Weekly, 248(17), 60. How to cite Essay on Open Source Software, Essay examples

Mt. Everest case study free essay sample

At the time of the 1996 attempt to summit Mount Everest, Adventure Consultants was a four-year old company that had enjoyed financial success in spite of the death of one of its’ cofounders, Gary Ball. Mountain Madness, founded by Scott Fischer in 1984 was an older, but somewhat less successful, company. In retrospect, the adverse weather conditions, combined with logistical and other issues during the time preceding the ascent, combined to form a very challenging external environment for both teams. Each group possessed strengths and weaknesses and had both opportunities and threats present, but the greatest threat faced by each team member was the possibility of death. Corporate and business level strategies for each company included using strategic spacing of guides during the ascent, the use of technology to aid in the mission, and a defined turnaround time to lessen the chances of being trapped on the mountain after dark. The structure and control systems of each company were focused on their leaders, Hall and Fischer. Due to some poor decisions made during the summit attempt and a lack of delegation by either leader, these systems ultimately failed, leaving the team members in danger. One major recommendation that may have saved lives would be to have adhered to an agreed-upon turnaround time in order to avoid descending from the summit at night. History, Development, and Growth of Companies Over Time At the time of the 1996 attempt to summit Mount Everest, Adventure Consultants was a four-year old company that had enjoyed financial success in spite of the death of one of its’ cofounders, Gary Ball. Mountain Madness, founded by Scott Fischer in 1984 was an older, but somewhat less successful, company. Each of the two groups in the case study had at least some team members who had high-altitude mountain climbing experience and had a good reputation in climbing. However, more and more climbers with little or no experience in climbing began to aspire to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The main reason why people wanted to conquer Mount Everest was that this mountain is very famous because it stands at 8,850 meters above sea level and it is one of the most challenging mountains in the world to climb. Based on this high level of challenge, climbers know that, once they reach the peak, they will have cemented their reputation because not many people have successfully summited Everest. The two companies, Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants, described in the case study, were started because some expert mountaineers decided to become guides to lead people to reach the top of Everest. This provided the founders of these companies with not only a good opportunity to earn money, but also the chance to help people who want to conquer Everest make their dreams come true. Each of these two companies had a professional leader, assistants, and auxiliary personnel. The company leaders were full of experience and they felt comfortable that they were familiar with the extreme and challenging environment on Mount Everest. However, for a number of different reasons and also due to the leadership styles employed by Hall and Fischer, the captains of each of the two groups, the 1996 expeditions resulted in very unfortunate consequences (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Identification of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Company Adventure Consultants Adventure Consultants was founded in 1992 by Rob Hall and Gary Ball. After Ball’s death, Hall continued to lead the company, including leading expeditions to climb Everest. One of the main strengths of the Adventure Consultants group was the professional mountaineering experience of Rob Hall. However, one of the primary weaknesses of this team was that Hall’s clients were less experienced or not experienced in climbing high-altitude mountains. Another potential weakness of the Adventure Consultants team was that Hall also charged the highest fee to guide his clients on their summit bid to Everest (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). This may have increased the pressure to succeed on Hall, one weakness that could have led to him ignoring the turnaround time rule that he put into place. On the other hand, some clients might have considered this a strength, as it indicated that Hall had more confidence to lead people who didn’t have any experience to successfully reach the peak of Everest. Another potential weakness of the Adventure Consultants team was the somewhat dictatorial managerial style used by Hall, which led to his inability to successfully delegate tasks, another weakness exposed on the summit attempt. Mountain Madness Scott Fischer founded Mountain Madness in 1984. In terms of experience, Fischer climbed up to the peak in Everest in 1994 without supplemental oxygen. This is the primary reason (and strength) why Fischer had confidence that he could handle the extreme environment on Everest. Scott Fischer was known as an ambitious and charismatic personality; that is to say Fischer was emotional in his leadership. While this is a potential strength, his desire for recognition from his peers, especially in retrospective analysis of the outcome of the 1996 expeditions, was a weakness that may have led to his poor decision making during the summit attempt. Another strength of the Mountain Madness team was that several of the clients and guides had at least some experience in high-altitude mountain climbing . In addition, Fischer also hired eight Sherpas to assist the whole team. Even though Fischer was very confident of his ability and that of his customers, this confidence alone did not guarantee the success of the Mountain Madness team in this challenge. Fischer’s overconfidence in his abilities is another example of a weakness. Nature of the External Environment Surrounding the Company Any analysis of the nature of the external environment surrounding the companies involving in attempting to summit Mount Everest in the spring of 1996 must, of necessity, include the actual environmental, or weather, conditions that confronted these climbers. The climate of the upper reaches of Mount Everest is extreme enough that it prevents sustained human occupation (Ludecke Kuhle, 1991). In other words, members of both the Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants teams, in spite of their previous experiences, were intentionally putting themselves into one of the most severe and challenging weather environments on Earth. As noted by Anatoli Boukreev, one of the guides on the Mountain Madness team, good weather is one of the critical requirements needed for a successful summit of Mount Everest (Boukreev DeWalt, 1999). The two expeditions targeted the early days of May for their summit attempts due to the fact that this time frame seemed to provide the best possibility for mild weather conditions at the higher altitudes of the mountain. Leaders of both teams recognized that there existed only a brief window of opportunity poised between the strong winds that typically occurred each April and the rainy season that would come later in the spring. The decision to select this timing was, in large part, based on the past several years of collective experience on the upper altitudes of the mountain. During the early 1990s, those attempting to ascend Mount Everest had enjoyed relatively calm weather conditions during each climbing season. However, this had not always been the case. As noted by David Breashears, who successfully summited Everest previously, there were times in the more distant past in which harsh weather conditions on the mountain prevented climbing attempts for entire seasons (Coburn, 1997). While there is no single factor that can be blamed for the tragic outcome that occurred in 1996, there is no doubt that adverse weather conditions played a key role. Other environmental factors also played a role in the catastrophic failure of these two climbing teams, as well. These factors include the polluted air and unsanitary conditions in the villages in which members of the teams stayed on their way up the mountain. Exposure to these conditions led to multiple team members becoming ill, which had a negative impact on team performance. Another major issue had to do with the logistics of the supplies for the Fischer team (Mountain Madness). Shipping delays, weather-related issues, and other problems slowed the delivery of critical supplies and diverted Fischer’s energy and attention at the beginning of the expedition, a critical time during which the team leader should have been involved in preparing and acclimating his team. These diversions prevented Fischer from focusing his full attention and energy on the successful preparation of his team, another factor that, in retrospect, proved to have a very deleterious effect on the success of the mission. SWOT analysis Strengths The primary strengths, or distinctive competencies (Griffin, 2011), of each of the two teams were focused in the high-altitude climbing skills and expertise of their leaders and guides, although this was offset somewhat by the lack of experience of some of the clients who were part of each group. Another notable strength of the teams was their attitude regarding the summit attempt and confidence that they would be successful in their efforts. This is demonstrated in both Hall’s offering of a 100% guarantee policy and by Fischer’s response to a journalist prior to his departure: I believe 100 percent that I’m coming back. My wife believes 100 percent that I’m coming back. She isn’t concerned about me at all when I’m guiding because I’m [going to] make all the right choices. When accidents happen, I think it’s always human error. So that’s what I want to eliminate. (Krakauer, 1998) Weaknesses The primary weaknesses of the two teams centered on the overconfidence of the team leaders in their ability to successfully lead groups of inexperienced, physically unfit, ill-prepared climbers to the summit of Mount Everest and safely back again. Another key weakness exposed during this ordeal was that the performance of each team was ultimately only as good as the performance of the â€Å"weakest link† of each team, a critical factor when so many team members lacked experience in high-altitude climbing. Another weakness was the lack of the efficient use of technology during the climb. Having a greater number of phones available for group members might have facilitated communication during the descent and the presence of lighter, more current, phones would have lightened the loads that were being carried. Finally, one critical weakness outlined in the case study was the lack of clarity regarding the turnaround time rule. Given the lack of adherence to this rule exhibited by both teams, perhaps simply being clearer may not have made a difference in the tragic outcome. However, given the nature of the potential dangers, both Hall and Fischer should have drawn a clear line for the turnaround time, ensured that each team member understood the critical importance of this deadline, and then rigidly enforced to this cutoff time for the sake of the safety of each group. Opportunities The primary opportunities present for each group involved the chance for the less-experienced team members to work with and learn from some of the best high-altitude climbers in the world. Another key opportunity was the involvement of the Sherpas, many of whom demonstrated heroic efforts to assist the teams in their attempt to reach the summit and return safely. For example, the case study notes that Lopsang Jangbu personally towed client Pittman for six hours after leaving Camp IV. Other Sherpas, upon learning that both teams were in danger during the descent, left Camp IV in extremely poor weather conditions in attempts to find and rescue members of both teams. Threats The adverse weather conditions, as noted earlier, served as a primary threat to the success of the mission of each team. Another threat present, but perhaps not emphasized, was the pressure that each team leader felt to succeed. In part, this pressure arose from the pride and egos involved. However, it also involved the amount of time and financial resources expended in making a summit attempt, as well as the competition between the two teams and their leaders. Finally, the threat that ultimately claimed the lives of five of the members of the two teams was an existential one: death. Corporate Level Strategy Adventure Consultants Founded in 1992 by Rob Hall and his partner Gary Bell, Adventure Consultants was in the business of guiding individuals to the top of the highest summits in the world. Both men were successful until Bell passed away in 1993, after which Hall continued to run the business by himself. After successfully guiding many to the summit of Everest, he decided to issue a 100% guarantee to Everest peak in 1995 (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Giving out a 100% guarantee by any company relays one of two things: justified confidence in their product or service, or overconfidence by the company in its product or service. In the case of Adventure Consultants, in dealing with one of the most deadly and unpredictable mountains in the world, overconfidence was backing their 100% guarantee. After failing to satisfy that claim in 1995, Hall set out to prove himself again in 1996. Hall recruited eight climbers: three doctors, two climbers who had previously failed to summit Everest, a journalist, and two climbers who had only Everest left to climb to complete climbing the seven summits. The majority of the group lacked any experience with high-altitude climbing (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Adventure Consultants believed that they could get anyone to the top of the mountain despite their background, or lack thereof, in climbing. The final summit climb would be led by one guide in the front, a second in the middle and finally Hall at the back to assist climbers as needed. Each guide would carry a radio. Perhaps the most important practice was turning around by one o’clock or two o’clock no matter how close to the summit the climbers were. Hall knew this to be a very important and needed rule, as noted by the fact that he relayed to his team that they should be, â€Å"abiding by it no matter how close we were to the top† (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Mountain Madness Scott Fischer founded Mountain Madness in 1984. Fischer summited Everest without supplemental oxygen in 1994 after failing three previous times, and organized his first guided expedition to the summit of Everest in 1996 (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Fischer, like Hall, recruited climbers who also lacked the high altitude climbing experience demanded by Everest. A journalist, a sixty-eight year old mountaineer, and his nephew (a downhill skier), a Wall Street trader, a ski patroller, and two others who had previous climbing experience rounded out Fischer’s team of clients. Although Fischer recognized the inexperience of his team, he did not foresee a problem arising from the group’s lack of experience, but instead he focused on the attitude of the group to try to successfully get them to the top of the world and then back down again. Fischer decide to imitate Hall’s climbing plan for the guides to climb spaced out between the clients, as well as specifying a turnaround time at either one or two o’clock (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Nature of Business Level Strategy Commercializing Everest Despite, or perhaps because of, the vast climbing experience that both leaders had amassed throughout the years, they began to become overconfident in their guiding and climbing abilities. One key fact was that the client base had also changed dramatically. Instead of experienced climbers seeking to finish off the seven summits, these two groups instead included several somewhat narcissistic and entitled customers who wanted to pay for the chance at fame and accomplishment (Elmes Barry, 1999). It became apparent that, for Hall and Fischer, summiting Everest was no longer just about the achievement, but had rather shifted to the acquisition of wealth and increased stature in the mountaineering community. Although this stature could still be achieved through guiding experienced climbers, by offering these services to the public, these companies were more likely to be more profitable as this shift gave them access to a wealthier clientele. Climbing Without Oxygen Climbing at high altitudes without supplemental oxygen puts a huge strain on the already exhausted human body. Two of Fischer’s guides, lead Sherpa Lopsang and guide Boukreev, were climbing without supplemental oxygen, (Elmes Barry, 1999). According to a study done in the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal: The use of supplemental oxygen was found to be strongly correlated with success in summiting Mt Everest. It has been common practice since the first ascent of Mt Everest to use supplemental oxygen because of the extreme altitude of the mountain. Although using supplemental oxygen involves carrying a heavier weight, its benefits include an increase in physical strength and stamina, as well as mental clarity, better decision-making, and a more positive attitude. (Wiseman, Freer, Hung, 2006) One of the primary responsibilities of a guide for an Everest expedition is to be accountable for making decisions for a group of people. Thus, having the physical and mental capacity to make decisions accurately is crucial. It only makes sense that guides and leaders should always use supplemental oxygen as well as being strongly recommended for use by clients, as well. Adhering to the Turnaround Time Despite both leaders discussing the importance of the turnaround time agreed upon before summit day, neither team leader actually enforced this rule. By one o’clock only three of the climbers had reached the summit and by two o’clock only three more climbers had joined them. Seven other climbers joined the group at two thirty. (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). This rule was in place to prevent climbers from being on the mountain after nightfall, yet because it was not observed, climbers found themselves stuck on the mountain through the night. Adhering to this rule alone could have possibly saved the entire group from the tragedy that ensued. Structure and Control Systems of Each Company and Analysis of Fit to Strategy Structure of Adventure Consultants The Adventure Consultants team consisted of the owner (Rob Hall) along with several managers (or guides) and assistants (Sherpas). As the owner and co-founder, Rob Hall was in charge of almost everything for this group. First of all, he employed Mike Groom and Andy Harris as guides and also employed seven Sherpas as assistants. Secondly, he recruited eight clients for the 1996 summit attempt. Thirdly, he also served as a team guide along with Harris and the Sherpas. Finally, he designed the climbing route and schedule and was in charge of the safety protocols and training for his team. Structure of Mountain Madness The Mountain Madness team had a structure very similar to that of the Adventure Consultants group. Scott Fischer had two guides, eight assistants, and several clients. It is notable that Adventure Consultants seemed to have rear servers (other than Hall), which can inferred by the final contact to base camp by Hall; in the other group, Scott Fischer worked as a rear server for the Mountain Madness team alone. Analysis of Fit to Strategy As noted above, the structure of the two teams described in the case study was very straightforward. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer not only led each respective team but also recruited clients to join each of the teams. Client recruitment occurred regardless of a person’s climbing experience or physical conditioning. In fact, Hall’s death was directly related to his recruitment of ill-prepared clients. If Hansen had not been a part of the group, Hall would probably have not stayed on the summit and perished as a result. As mentioned previously, Fischer was exhausted at the beginning of the summit bid because he had to deal with lots of unexpected problems that would normally not be things that a guide would have to deal with. In other words, Fischer should have made a strategic decision to delegate some responsibilities so that he could focus on his responsibilities as a guide. Along the same lines, neither team had technical support. This left them badly prepared for the change in the weather, limited in their communication, and facing a shortage of bottles of oxygen. Based on the structure of each team, they used the following strategies: First of all, after they arrived at Base Camp, the two teams shared their schedule and the planned route to the summit of Everest. Thus, the leaders of these companies had begun to cooperate with each other. However, this cooperation alone did not guarantee good decisions. For example, on the summit day, when Krakauer and Ang Dorje found that there were 500 meters long ropes that needed to be deployed in order to get to the top of the mountain, they made a wrong decision that led to spend over an extra hour in climbing. Second, Fischer and Hall set up instructions that they required others to strictly obey. The most important rule was that the rule about turnaround time which had been emphasized many times by both Fischer and Hall. Another was the rule that the three guides would be located in the front, at the middle, and in the end of each group, respectively. Even though the time (1 pm or 2 pm) at which the climbers should turn around and begin to descend was specifically emphasized, it turned out that most of them, including Fischer and Hall, did not follow this very rule. Another evidence of not following the agreed-upon rules was that Jangbu, a Sherpa, instead of Boukreev or Beidleman, had the radio. Third, the vital decision that directly impacted the two whole teams’ survival was a result of the vote among Hall, Fischer, Boukreev and Kasischke. Kasischke recalled: It was a roaring storm out there at high camp, and I remember in our tent we were arguing . . . and it was three to one that we ought to be waiting. We were concerned that we really hadn’t had a full day of good weather, and we just . . . thought it would be smart to wait a day. I mean, if it were this way 24 hours later, we were going to have a problem trying to get down. (Roberto Carioggia, 2003, p. 10) It is unclear why the other three guides did not participate in this vote or why Kasischke, as a client, had the right to vote. Overall, some of their strategies did not effectively fit the teams’ structures. For example, the group leaders, Hall and Fischer, were not clear about responsibilities and limits of power for each position and they did not set up highly effective ways of communicating among the leaders, guides and assistants. This lack of communication had a negative impact on the success of each team. Recommendations Our team recommends the following changes that should positively impact the future performance of these two groups: 1. Increase the use of delegation by the leaders of each team 2. Employ a technical support staff to assist with weather notification, logistical details, and the use of the most current technologies 3. Clear communication of the importance of and strict adherence to the turnaround time and other safety protocols 4. Use of a baseline cutoff for client physical conditioning, health, and experience