Throwing Life on a Wheel... free essay sample

Shoulders throbbing, eyes aching, I held on. I kept on telling myself let go, but I couldn’t. Was it time already? My muscles were crying for relief. I finally did it. I finally let go: of both air and the vessel at my fingertips. I had done it at last†¦ I had thrown life on a wheel. The first step, as is the case in anything, was to prepare. Analogous to the piece of clay needed to throw, life needed to be well rounded. Little did I know that the multitude of classes, and lessons taken and track practices attended, would prepare me for life. Eventually, the time to center came. In order to center, with as much force as possible, I had to throw a well-rounded sphere of clay as close to the center as possible. Similar to clay being centered on the wheel, it was essential that at one point in my life I threw myself with full force towards something I knew my passion wouldn’t die for: Pharmacy. We will write a custom essay sample on Throwing Life on a Wheel or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Akin to the piece of clay, sometimes the target is hit, sometimes it misses. However, just like the piece of clay that can be guided back to the center, if need be, these passions can be redirected as well. The third step in throwing is â€Å"opening† the clay. With the wheel on full speed, I used my fingers to â€Å"open† the sphere of clay. Once the clay is opened, the ability to create is held solely in my hands. Opening myself up to options in life is similar to opening a piece of clay on the wheel, since decisions like choosing a career and the college I am to attend are solely my responsibility. Actions like these â€Å"force† me to be â€Å"open† to options that were once never viable. I believe a career in pharmacy offers me a master key that â€Å"opens† the doors to many unexpected opportunities. Always after opening, comes the time to pull. With a wheel on slow speed, I must work to sculpt the clay into a desired shape and size. Pullin g is usually the hardest part. It involves making imagination a reality. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Similarly, pursuing a career involves bringing an idea to existence. What happens is determined at that very moment. When life is pulled open, a great risk is indeed taken. Grabbing a modeling tool, I trimmed away any excess clay that could take away from the aesthetic beauty of the vessel. Likewise, life needs to be trimmed as well. The past four years of my high school career was spent trimming the excess, which took time away from the activities that mattered the most. Trimming helped me concentrate on activities, such as volunteering at the local library, and participating in clubs, such as Interact, and the Asian Cultural Society. I realized even more so that quality matters more than quantity. My final step was using a wire cutter to release the newly formed vessel. As I prepare to graduate, and free myself from high school, I realize that â€Å"throwingâ €  life is a cycle. I may be almost done for now; however, my college career is another chapter of my life that deserves another vessel to be thrown†¦

Nature, Scope and Importance of Business Policy free essay sample

Mansi Arora Madan (JIMS faculty), for helping me in giving me all relevant information about the product and service. I would hereby, make most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest thanks to all my faculties whose teachings gave me conceptual understanding and clarity of comprehension, which ultimately made my job more easy. Credit also goes to all my friends whose encouragement kept me in good stead. Their continuous support has given me the strength and confidence to complete the project without any difficulty. Finally I would like thank all lecturers, friends and my family for their kind of support and to all who directly or indirectly helped me in preparing this project report and special thanks to Wikipedia. org. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Electronic commerce or e-Commerce as is known today evolved as businesses (end to end process) started to shift from real time market to digital market. All of the business today as we see is done over the internet and anything which is not there is meant to be wiped off. Ecommerce, the online shopping system has brought down political and physical barriers giving everyone in the world an equal playing ground for their market, everyone can put their products on sale through the e-stores(website dedicated to selling of product, a virtual store). Speaking about the last decade we saw a great market, rise over the internet, online shopping was introduced wherein firstly computer scientists got interested in then it came to general public and gradually became a substitute for the real market place. Ecommerce, as is generally thought of, is not the birth child of â€Å"The Web† but it just got kick’ started by â€Å"The Web†. Online shopping developed with B2B as well as with B2C since everybody is on internet, and development is going on each and every second for grabbing a better share of the market. Even as we write this article on Ecommerce with our exhaustive research!!! May just be not enough. In this study I’ve tried to capture the highlights in the area of e-commerce industries , How it started and Milestones India has achieved in e-commerce history. I’ve also done a brief report on the top 3 players in e-commerce sector in India i. e. ebay, flipkart ,snapdeal like marketing strategies, Value cost analysis which includes Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of all the 3 players, plus measured the Risk taken by these companies through SWOT analysis. INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY India has an internet user base of about 137 million as of June 2012. The penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the United States and the United Kingdom but is growing at a much faster rate with a large number of new entrants. The industry consensus is that growth is at an inflection point with key drivers being: Increasing broadband Internet and 3G penetration, Rising standards of living and a burgeoning, upwardly mobile middle class with high disposable incomes ,Availability of much wider product range (including long tail and Direct Imports) compared to what is available at brick and mortar retailers, Busy lifestyles, urban traffic congestion and lack of time for offline shopping, Lower prices compared to brick and mortar retail driven by disintermediation and reduced inventory and real estate costs , Increased usage of online classified sites, with more consumer buying and selling second-hand goods , Evolution of the online marketplace model with sites like ebay , flipkart, and snapdeal . Indias e-commerce market was worth about $2. 5 billion in 2009, it went up to $6. 3 billion in 2011 and to $14 billion in 2012. About 75% of this is travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, on line mobile recharge etc. ). Online Retailing comprises about 12. 5% ($300 Million as of 2009). India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 30% CAGR vis-a-vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales. Indias retail market is estimated at $470 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $675 Bn by 2016 and $850 Bn by 2020, – estimated CAGR of 7%. According to Forrester, the e-commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a CAGR of over 57% between 2012–16. Indias e-tailing markct -post/indian-e-tailing-market/ Indian Retail Market Size and Growth Estimates. HISTORY One of the most popular activities on the Web is shopping. It has much allure in it — you can shop at your leisure, anytime, and in your pajamas. Literally anyone can have their pages built to display their specific goods and services. History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of sell and buy, electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites. At first, the term ecommerce meant the process of execution of commercial transactions electronically with the help of the leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for users to exchange business information and do electronic transactions. The ability to use these technologies appeared in the late 1970s and allowed business companies and organizations to send commercial documentation electronically. Although the Internet began to advance in popularity among the general public in 1994, it took approximately four years to develop the security protocols (for example, HTTP) and DSL which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the Internet. In 2000 a great number of business companies in the United States and Western Europe represented their services in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word ecommerce was changed. People began to define the term ecommerce as the process of purchasing of available goods and services over the Internet using secure connections and electronic payment services. Although the dot-com collapse in 2000 led to unfortunate results and many of ecommerce companies disappeared, the brick and mortar retailers recognized the advantages of electronic commerce and began to add such capabilities to their web sites (e. g. after the online grocery store Webvan came to ruin, two supermarket chains, Albertsons and Safeway, began to use ecomme rce to enable their customers to buy groceries online). By the end of 2001, the largest form of ecommerce, Business-to-Business (B2B) model, had around $700 billion in transactions. According to all available data, ecommerce sales continued to grow in the next few years and, by the end of 2007, ecommerce sales accounted for 3. 4 percent of total sales. Ecommerce has a great deal of advantages over brick and mortar stores and mail order catalogs. Consumers can easily search through a large database of products and services. They can see actual prices, build an order over several days and email it as a wish list hoping that someone will pay for their selected goods. Customers can compare prices with a click of the mouse and buy the selected product at best prices. Online vendors, in their turn, also get distinct advantages. The web and its search engines provide a way to be found by customers without expensive advertising campaign. Even small online shops can reach global markets. Web technology also allows to track customer preferences and to deliver individually-tailored marketing. History of ecommerce is unthinkable without Amazon and Ebay which were among the first Internet companies to allow electronic transactions. Thanks to their founders we now have a handsome ecommerce sector and enjoy the buying and selling advantages of the Internet. Currently there are 5 largest and most famous worldwide Internet retailers: Amazon, Dell, Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard. According to statistics, the most popular categories of products sold in the World Wide Web are music, books, computers, office supplies and other consumer electronics. Amazon. com, Inc. is one of the most famous ecommerce companies and is located in Seattle, Washington (USA). It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and was one of the first American ecommerce companies to sell products over the Internet. After the dot-com collapse Amazon lost its position as a successful business model, however, in 2003 the company made its first annual profit which was the first step to the further development. At the outset Amazon. om was considered as an online bookstore, but in time it extended a variety of goods by adding electronics, software, DVDs, video games, music CDs, MP3s, apparel, footwear, health products, etc. The original name of the company was Cadabra. co m, but shortly after it become popular in the Internet Bezos decided to rename his business Amazon after the worlds most voluminous river. In 1999 Jeff Bezos was entitled as the Person of the Year by Time Magazine in recognition of the companys success. Although the companys main headquarters is located in the USA, WA, Amazon has set up separate websites in other economically developed countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and China. The company supports and operates retail web sites for many famous businesses, including Marks Spencer, Lacoste, the NBA, Bebe Stores, Target, etc. Amazon is one of the first ecommerce businesses to establish an affiliate marketing program, and nowadays the company gets about 40% of its sales from affiliates and third party sellers who list and sell goods on the web site. In 2008 Amazon penetrated into the cinema and is currently sponsoring the film The Stolen Child with 20th Century Fox. According to the research conducted in 2008, the domain Amazon. com attracted about 615 million customers every year. The most popular feature of the web site is the review system, i. e. he ability for visitors to submit their reviews and rate any product on a rating scale from one to five stars. Amazon. com is also well-known for its clear and user-friendly advanced search facility which enables visitors to search for keywords in the full text of many books in the database. One more company which has contributed much to the process of ecommerce development is Dell Inc. , an American company located in Texas, which stands third in computer sales within the industry behind Hewlett-Packard and Acer. Launched in 1994 as a static page, Dell. com has made rapid strides, and by the end of 1997 was the first company to record a million dollars in online sales. The companys unique strategy of selling goods over the World Wide Web with no retail outlets and no middlemen has been admired by a lot of customers and imitated by a great number of ecommerce businesses. The key factor of Dells success is that Dell. com enables customers to choose and to control, i. e. visitors can browse the site and assemble PCs piece by piece choosing each single component based on their budget and requirements. According to statistics, approximately half of the companys profit comes from the web site. In 2007, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as the 34th-largest company in the Fortune 500 list and 8th on its annual Top 20 list of the most successful and admired companies in the USA in recognition of the companys business model. History of ecommerce is a history of a new, virtual world which is evolving according to the customer advantage. It is a world which we are all building together brick by brick, laying a secure foundation for the future generations. OBJECTIVES  ·To study the performance of ecommerce Industry in India  ·To study the strength, weakness threats of the player’s in ecommerce Industry.  ·To study the customer profile of the player’s in ecommerce Industry.  ·To study the market share owned by the player’s in ecommerce industry in India. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Methodology is the basic framework and the approach that has to be followed to carry out the approach used to collect the data, the sources of primary data, i. e. from where and how it has been collected. Research is a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications etc. Methodology is system of methods followed by particular discip line. Thus, Research Methodology is the way how we conduct our research. In the present project report type of research conducted is Quantitative research. Exploratory research is undertaken which involves extensive scanning of secondary data. The best websites are considered which gives all the efficient and effective information. References for the project are from the websites and books and the company’s . COMPETITORS India has the fastest growing ecommerce sector with its high population and development potential. flipkart, snapdeal ,yebhi. com , ebay, amazon, fashion and you, myntra, jabong, naaptol, homeshop18 are major sites in India. In this project report I’ll be discussing the top 3 sites in ecommerce sector in India. Flipkart was founded in 2007 by Sachin and Binny Bansal, both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. They worked for Amazon. com before quitting and founding their own company. Initially they used word of mouth marketing to popularise their company. A few months later, the company sold its first book on flipkart. com—John Woods Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. Today, as per Alexa traffic rankings, Flipkart is amongst the top 20 Indian Web sites and has been credited with being Indias largest online bookseller with over 11 million titles on offer. The store started with selling books and in 2010 branched out to selling CDs, DVDs, mobile phones and accessories, cameras, computers, computer accessories and peripherals, and in 2011, pens stationery, other electronic items such as home appliances, kitchen appliances, personal care gadgets, health care products etc. Further in 2012, Flipkart added A. C, air coolers, school supplies, office supplies, art supplies life style products to its product portfolio. As of today, Flipkart employs more than 4500 people. Marketing Strategies Flipkart has been mostly marketed by word of mouth advertising. Customer satisfaction has been their best marketing medium. Flipkart very wisely used SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google Ad-words as the marketing tools to have a far reach in the online world. Flipkart. com official Facebook page has close to 9 lac likes. Flipkart recently launched a series of 3 ads with the tag line No Kidding No worries. Kids were used to create the adverts to send out the message if a kid can do it, you can also do it. The message is very clear to make people more comfortable with Flipkart, to generate a great customer relationship and loyalty on the basis of great product prices and excellent customer service. All in all to create a great ustomer experience. | Foundation date|2007| Headquarters[-gt;0]|Bangalore[-gt;1], India| Area served|India[-gt;2]| Founder(s)[-gt;3]| ·Sachin Bansal ·Binny Bansal| Key people|Sachin Bansal Binny Bansal| Industry[-gt;4]|Internet[-gt;5], Online retailing[-gt;6]| Products[-gt;7]|Flipkart. com, Electronic Wallet[-gt ;8], Mime360. com, Chakpak. com, Flyte Digital Music Store| Services[-gt;9]|Electronic commerce[-gt;10]| Revenue[-gt;11]| 500 crore[-gt;12] (US$92 million) (FY[-gt;13] 2011–12)[1]| Employees[-gt;14]|4500| Slogan(s)[-gt;15]|The Online Megastore| Website[-gt;16]|Flipkart. com[-gt;17]| Alexa[-gt;18] rank| 209; India: 12 (April 2013)[2]| Type of site|Online shopping[-gt;19]| Advertising[-gt;20]|yes| Registration|Optional (required for buying Digital Content)| Available in[-gt;21]|English[-gt;22]| Launched|2007; 6 years ago| Current status|Online| Snapdeal. com was started in February 2010, as a daily deal platform, but later expanded into product retailing across various categories. Snapdeal claims to have a subscriber base of more than 20 million and has a presence across 4000+ towns and cities. Snapdeal. com is a online retail website, headquartered in New Delhi, India. The company was started by Kunal Bahl, a Wharton graduate and Rohit Bansal, alumnus of IIT Delhi, in February 2010. In January 2011, Snapdeal received a funding of $12 million from Nexus Venture Partners and Indo-US Venture Partners. Subsequently, in July 2011, the company raised a further $45 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, along with existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Indo-US Venture Partners, taking the total investment in the company to $52 million. In June 2010, Snapdeal acquired Bangalore-based group buying site, Grabbon. com. In April 2012, Snapdeal acquired esportsbuy. com, an online sports goods retailer based out of Delhi. Marketing Strategies Snapdeal does three things effectively which pretty few start-ups do. The following simple strategies could help you promote your new company with good results. 1. Customer Data is GOLD! Using Facebook and history of customers purchases helps a lot for a small business to target effectively. In the Sponsored Ads category of Facebook, different ads of Snapdeal appear in different user-profiles. Personalization helps in gaining positive attention and real customers. 2. Effective Social Media Marketing! I would mention one example here. Earlier one social media enthusiast blogged about Snapdeal’s cheap advertising strategy in one of her blogs. The brand got a lot of negative buzz due to this. After the negative buzz, Snapdeal replied back apologizing for such advertisements. It was so positive that is created good vibes for the brand. To ERR IS HUMAN. But, how quick you (the brand / business) are to admit, accept and rectify it makes the difference. Snapdeal also created a lot of buzz on the Valentines Day of 2011 with an innovative Date With Me-Gul Panag campaign. It created a lot of excitement and positive word of mouth for the brand. Thus, effective social media marketing[-gt;23] is absolutely essential for a start-up to gain awareness. 3. Personalized E-mail Marketing! Effective usage of customer-data to personalize e-mail messages has also helped Snapdeal gain a lot of momentum. For example, Snapdeal has used my preferences and interests to target particular offers to me. Thats why, I lways get weekly travel offers from Snapdeal. Thus, start-ups who use mass-emailing tools beware your emails will be rarely opened and more often than not, theyll land in the Spam folder. These three simple methods could take your small business to the top. If you are a start-up and want help in marketing, or want to suggest anything, you are w elcome to connect with us. | URL[-gt;24]|www. snapdeal. com[-gt;25]| Type of site|Online shopping[-gt;26](Online marketplace[-gt;27])| Available language[-gt;28](s)|English| Users[-gt;29]|18+ Million Users| Owner|Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal| Launched|2010; 3 years ago| Alexa[-gt;30] rank| 508 (April 2012)[1]| Headquaters| New delhi| AuctionWeb was founded in San Jose, California, on September 5, 1995, by French-born Iranian-American computer programmer Pierre Omidyar (born on June 21, 1967) as part of a larger personal site that included, among other things, Omidyars own tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Ebola virus. One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a broken laser pointer for $14. 83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. In his responding email, the buyer explained: Im a collector of broken laser pointers. The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyars fiancee trade Pez candy dispensers was fabricated by a public relations manager in 1997 to interest the media, which were not interested in the companys previous explanation about wanting to create a perfect market. This was revealed in Adam Cohens 2002 book, The Perfect Store, and confirmed by eBay. Chris Agarpao was hired as eBays first employee and Jeffrey Skoll was hired as the first president of the company in early 1996. In November 1996, eBay entered into its first third-party licensing deal, with a company called Electronic Travel Auction to use SmartMarket Technology to sell plane tickets and other travel products. Growth was phenomenal; in January 1997 the site hosted 2,000,000 auctions, compared with 250,000 during the whole of 1996. The company officially changed the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997. Originally, the site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyars consulting firm. Omidyar had tried to register the domain name echobay. com, but found it already taken by the Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, so he shortened it to his second choice, eBay. com. In 1997, the company received $6. 7 million in funding from the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital. Meg Whitman was hired as eBay President and CEO in March 1998. At the time, the company had 30 employees, half a million users and revenues of $4. 7 million in the United States. eBay went public on September 21, 1998,and both Omidyar and Skoll became instant billionaires. eBays target share price of $18 was all but ignored as the price went to $53. 50 on the first day of trading. As the company expanded product categories beyond collectibles into almost any saleable item, business grew quickly. In February 2002, the company purchased IBazar, a similar European auction web site founded in 1998 and then bought PayPal on October 14, 2002. By early 2008, the company had expanded worldwide, counted hundreds of millions of registered users, 15,000+ employees and revenues of almost $7. 7 billion. [15] After nearly ten years at eBay, Whitman decided to enter politics. On January 23, 2008 the company announced that Whitman would step down on March 31, 2008 and John Donahoe was selected to become President and CEO. Whitman remained on the Board of Directors and continued to advise Donahoe through 2008. In late 2009, eBay completed the sale of Skype for $2. 75 billion, but will still own 30% equity in the company. In July 2010, eBay was sued for $3. 8 billion by XPRT Ventures that accused eBay of stealing information shared in confidence by the inventors on XPRTs own patents, and incorporated it into features in its own payment systems, such as PayPal Pay Later and PayPal Buyer Credit. On December 20, 2010, eBay announced its acquisition of a German online shopping club, brands4friends. de, for â‚ ¬150 million ($197 million) to strengthen the companys interests in the fashion industry in Europe. It is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close it in the Q1 2011. Marketing Strategies Bay India one of the largest e commerce stores in India has launched a price challenge an age old marketing trick wherein they are challenging people to find prices lower than those advertised by eBay India. The challenge is focused on a select range of gadgets, including mobile handsets, MP 3 players and digital cameras. Most young Indian men are passionate about three things women, cars/bikes and gadgets . This campaign is targeted at tech savvy young men who take an interest in gadgets and reside in the top 10 metros of the country. Men in the age group of 18-35 years account for 70-75 per cent of the traffic on eBay. The site claims that men prefer buying gadgets, while women prefer buying jewelery from the site. According to afaqs eBay will use outdoor extensively in cities such as Lucknow, Coimbatore, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai while Radio advertising will be used in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. While it will also use display advertising across major portals such as Yahoo. co. in and Rediff. com. Search marketing will also be used. Very recently Subhiksha used a TV campaign to highlight lowest prices for mobiles and they pulled it off quite well and that might have been motivation for EBay to launch this campaign. Indians being so price conscious I am sure this one month long campaign is definitely going to give eBay a good boost. If you are going to go for this campaign do keep a look out for Terms and Conditions wherein lies the catch Vodafone (Highlights) Type|Private| Industry|Telecommunications| Predecessor(s)|Hutchison Essar| Founded|1994| Headquarters|Mumbai, Maharashtra, India| Products|Mobile telephonyWireless broadband services| Owner(s)|Vodafone GroupTakshi Group| Parent|Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIH)| DEMAND AND SUPPLY RELATIONSHIP MARKET SHARE CUSTOMER PROFILE SEGMENTATION TARGETING ANALYSIS FLIPKART STP Segmentation:  ·All internet users and shoppers Target:  ·Flipkart concentrates on more Psychographic, which helps in deciding where to display ads online  ·They target online shoppers and people who don’t online shop (thus TVC to encourage them) Positioning: Customer delight (low price, free shipping, replacement of faulty products)  ·No kidding no worries  ·Online megastore  ·one stop solution snapdeal Snapdeal is Indias leading online marketplace. It offers shipping to over 4000 towns and cities in India covering 3000 plus brands in close to 200 different categories. It sells over 25000 units per day from more than 50000 different merchants. Snapdeal has been growing exponentially in customer base too with close to 1. 8 crore registered users in September 2012. Employee base of Snapdeal has also grown from 20 in February 2010 to over 1500 in September 2012. Let us now look at the STP strategy followed by Snapdeal. Segmentation : Identify desirable market segments Segmentation involves grouping consumers based on certain criteria. Snapdeal has done a very broad segmentation by grouping people who have internet access into one segment. There are other parameters for segmentation based on demographics, location, psychographic and behavioral pattern of people. Demographic segmentation Teens and young adults are grouped together into one segment. People in the age group of 16 to 30 years typically forms this segment. These people are either college students or people who have recently started earning. People having moderate to high family income are segmented together. Geographic segmentation Indian urban class Psychographic segmentat People in upper middle class Behavioral segmentation  · Internet savvy users  · People who are not afraid of online shopping  · People who love to get discounts  · People who want to try new products or services Targeting : Target your product for that segment Snapdeal focuses on mass online marketing but uses customer history to give a more personalized experience. Some of the strategies followed by Snapdeal are:  · Large base of internet users easily reached via o Customized email based on historic data o Social media o Online advertisements o Word of mouth Use of mobile apps to increase customer base  · Target people relying on internet for shopping  · Increase target market by partnering with corporate houses for bulk selling  · Target small and medium enterprises to showcase their product / service online for greater visibility. Besides following these strategies Snapdeal plans to target new marke ts by tying up with retailers in smaller towns and rural areas. Customers reluctant in shopping online can also be persuaded by keeping customer transactions data secure. Positioning : Position your brand to segment’s desires Snapdeal is currently positioned as best advertising and discount platform in the online Indian market. For product and service providers it acts as a great advertising platform and for consumers it acts as a low price online market. Snapdeal is trying to reposition itself with greater focus on quality. All the products showcased on the website are genuine. Each and every product is quality checked before being delivered to the customers. Even after repositioning its marketing strategy, Snapdeal aims to offer good value for money to consumers and remain highly competitive in the market. By following above mentioned STP strategy Snapdeal has been able to grow at a fast pace and has increased its customer base exponentially. ebay RISK SWOT ANALYSIS Vodafone have better technology so it can capture the customers of the other networks as well. | RECOMMENDATIONS By virtue of its service, customer satifaction and advertising strategy ebay. inc is successful in grabbing the highest market share in India, but there are still some recommendations from my study point of view is that ebay. inc needs to make its customer service more stronger than other service providers to dominate the market in future too. ebay. inc should introduce fast delivery service than the other because its competitor flipkart. com had introduced it. Low supports in promotion have lead to fluctuation in sale. It has affected the sale service brand image of ebay. inc especially in Cities. Persuasive Advertising, Advertising, Technical Expertise, Media, Sales promotion and Occasional discount can help snapdeal to give a tuff competition to ebay. inc and flipkart. com. The future of flipkart. com is getting brighter day by day. Their immense customer based services are adding to the value and goodwill of the company. Their services such as flyte music and electronic wallet etc. are very much capable of gathering interest of their customers and even attracting new customers. Their sense of innovation can be seen in their innovative ads, which takes them distinctly ahead of their competitors. They engage innovators all over the world to bring the customers the best communications technologies and products. Innovations in mobile advertising are gaining momentum, along with developing mobile TV services. Further interest for the future is in rich ecommerce within community and other applications, which will allow their customers to make calls, share pictures and other media all within single application. CONCLUSION The Indian Telecom Service provider industry is gearing for a revolution. The customer is driving this revolution and will see more unique and sophisticated offerings coming his way. The 3G which will pave the way for 3. 5G, 3. 75G and the next big thing-4G and the VAS services will keep the customer asking for more. The rural areas which have remained untapped will see an insurgence of services.

Recent Developments In National Arbitration â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Recent Developments In National Arbitration? Answer: Introducation A free trade area refers to the region entailing a trade bloc for those member countries that have entered into a free trade agreement (FTA). These agreements include cooperation between two countries with a view to reduce trade barriers, import tariffs and quota and enhance trade of goods and services with each other. These agreements are significant as it establishes a free trade area that enables to conduct trade with respect to commerce in goods and services across the common borders of those countries without any form of hindrances or tariffs. However, in such trade area commerce in goods and services are permitted to be conducted without any hindrances but free movement of capital or labor is prohibited, in contrary to a common market. A free trade area is permissible under article XXIV of GATT 1994 and the creation of such free trade areas are permitted provided they are not in conflict with any broader principles of the International trade law[1]. The members of World Trade Organization are required to fulfill their obligations under the WTO agreements. A WTO member is entitled to join a regional trade agreement (RTA) or free trade agreement (FTA) and such agreements may be bilateral or unilateral. Free trade is a policy that is followed by some international markets in which the parties to the agreement do not restrict exports to or imports from other countries[2]. The European Economic Area that has established open markets is an example of free trade. Majority of nations are parties to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements. The reduction of trade barriers to trade under free trade agreements has a positive effect on economic growth unlike the protectionism policies introduced by certain governments demonstrating a negative effect on the economic growth of the respective nations[3]. The significance of free trade agreements lies in the fact that such agreements enables to trade goods and services without taxes or other trade barriers such quotas on imports[4]. The nonexistence of the policies that distorts trade such as subsidies, taxes etc places the firms, households and other production factors at an advantageous position. According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2014, China was Australias largest export market for both services and goods which amounts to a third of total exports and is a growing source of foreign investment. After 10 years of negotiation regarding the free trade agreement between Australia and Republic of China, the negotiation was concluded and the ChAFTA was commenced on 20 December 2015. China is considered the top market for Australias agricultural, export services and resources. There has been a steady incline in the investment made by China in Australia that has reached $A65 billion in the year 2014[5]. The Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb and Chinas Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng have signed the ChAFTA with an intention to comply with the agreement and act accordingly. The implementation of the agreement would make 95 percent of the Australian export goods tariff free, which includes the agricultural products such as dairy and beef. The benefits of ChAFTA to China would include the following: Chinese exporters of goods will enable China to save billions of taxes; It would increase Visa approvals for the Chinese; There will be an increase in the FDI facilities in Australia; The benefits of the agreement to Australia include the following: The Australia exporters shall be entitled to export goods at 95% duty free; There shall be removal of tariffs on Chinese imports benefitting the Australian businesses and consumers; There shall be an increase in the mobility of the Business and skilled workers with an enhancement in the visa approvals for the holiday makers and the workers to 5000 per year and improvement in the temporary entry access; The primary objective of ChAFTA is to secure the competitive position of Australia with its largest trading partner and create a foundation for a stronger and deeper long-term planned partnership between the two countries. This Free Trade Agreement aims at developing a stronger engagement socially, politically and economically between both the countries. The agreement has granted Australian Businesses with unprecedented access to the rapidly growing markets in the world, giving the nation an opportunity to earn billions of dollars through its exports and other investment opportunities[6]. The implementation of the ChAFTA is not only the responsibility of the governments of both the countries but it is necessary for the business communities of both the countries to support the agreement and cooperate with the respective governments to successfully implement the agreement[7]. In order to attain the primary objectives, the countries are required to come together for exploring opportunities for developing integrated partnership models that include the complete value chain from research and development to marketing and sales[8]. Advantages of ChAFTA for Australia are as follows: The Australian consumers shall enjoy Chinese Manufactured products such as white goods and electronic goods at cheaper price with 5 percent tariff; Tariffs on Australian manufactured goods has been eliminated up to 3-14 percent; There has been a decline in some processed foods such as orange juice, canned fruit etc.; The Australian tourism and hospitality operators are guaranteed that they can operate wholly-owned subsidiaries including hotels and restaurants in China; The Australian firms shall be entitled to bring legal action against Chinese governments for making any change in their policies that would have an adverse impact upon the interests of Australia; Australia is subjected to the following disadvantages due to implementation of the ChAFTA: There has not been any decline in the tariff for wool, cotton, rice, maize or canola; If the Chinese imported products such as beef or milk powders exceeds the stipulated limits, China shall be entitled to impose additional customs duties; The Chinese firms shall be entitled to bring legal action against Australian government for incorporating any changes in the policies that adversely affects the interests of China; The Chinese investors making investment in projects that values over $150 million shall be entitled to exercise additional rights of bringing in temporary migrant workers to Australia without undergoing any local labor market testing; In case of a breach of the terms stipulated under the Investment Chapter of the ChAFTA, the disputed parties to the agreement may claim for Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). The ISDS claim can only be made in the event of a breach of either Partys obligation to provide non-discriminatory treatment with respect to established investments of the other Party. The Investment Chapter and ISDS provisions aim at safeguarding the legitimate government regulation in the field of environment and public health. A claim for ISDS cannot be made for commission of breach of obligations in any other chapter of ChAFTA. The parties to this agreement are required to agree on the interpretation and application of this Agreement and shall attempt to come to a satisfactory resolution regarding any matter pertaining to this agreement. However, in case of disputes, the parties may resort to arbitration, conciliation or mediation. Australia v Japan: New Zealand Intervening Whether Japans whaling program under the second phase of Japanese Whale Research Program under JAPRA II was a conduct against its obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) The ICRW was developed in Washington with a view to conserve whale stocks and make development in the whaling industry. JAPRA II was created to estimate the number of Antarctic minke whales and Japan was ordered to reduce all lethal research. Australia alleged that Japan breached its obligation under ICRW. The basis of jurisdiction of the ICJ was the Optional Clause Declaration under Article 36(2) of the Statute of the ICJ. It states that the state parties to this statute is entitled to declare they recognize the jurisdiction of the Court in relation to any other state that accepts the same obligation, in every legal disputes regarding interpretation of treaty involving any question of international law. Australia invoked the jurisdiction of the ICJ on the ground of reservation (b) of the Australias declaration which was invoked by Japan on the ground of reciprocity. Article VIII Para of the ICRW prohibits state parties to put zero catch limits for whaling for commercial purposes under para 10(e)[9]. The state parties are prohibited from undertaking commercial whaling of fin whales under Para 7(b). The state parties must treat the whales properly and must not kill them. The ICJ had jurisdiction to examine the application under Article 36 para 2 of the Statute of the ICJ. The International Whaling commission allowed a reasonable amount of whales to be used for conducting scientific research and to obtain permission this legislative intent of Article VIII, Para 1 of ICRW to JAPRA II, which is to permit use of certain whales for scientific research, must be fulfilled by the applicant. The special permits that Japan granted was in contravention of Article VIII Para 1 of the ICRW and have acted against the moratorium stiulatd under Para 10(e), 7(b) as well. Japan must cease its whaling program in the southern ocean and the program can be continues in compliance with the articles stipulated in ICRW. Australia- Automotive Leather II (WTO) Whether Australian governments assistance and loan contract to Howe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Leather Upholstery Pty Ltd that is owned by the Australian leather holding Limited were subsidies under Article 3.1(a) A dispute under the World Trade Agreement (WTO) arises when a member of the WTO opines that another member is contravening the WTO. Article 4 of WTO allows member to consult with another meber regarding any measures that is affecting any agreement of the person consulting. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days, the complainant may request for a panel. Article 6 states a panel must identify the measures at issue and if panel is requested, DSB must establish a panel. After considering oral and written arguments, the panel issues its facts and arguments in the form of repot to the disputing parties. The panel submits its findings and conclusions to the disputed parties as an interim report under Article 12 of the WTO. Article 3.1(a) of ASCM defines prohibited subsidies and export subsidies. According to Article 4.7 of eh ASCM a recommendation may be made by the Panel established in the Dispute settlement body under the WTO to withdraw a prohibited subsidy within 90-day period from the date the report of the panel is adopted by the DSB. The United States made a complaint against Australia as the measures adopted by Australia was in contravention of Article 3.1(a) of the ASCM in relation to the grant contract and loan contract assisted by the Australian government to Howe. The dispute was not resolved within 90 days as a result of which US requested for a panel to identify the measures at issue. As per the findings of the Panel, with respect to the grant contract, the payments that were made under such grant contract amounted to subsidies that are prohibited under Article 3.1(a). the findings were based on the ground that such payments made to the granted contract were actually tied to export performance. The Panel concluded that payments made with respect to the loan contract did not contravene Article 3.1(a) as the terms of the contract did not contain anything that would suggest a specific link for anticipating earnings from exportation. The Panel further recommended as per Article 4.7 of the ASCM that Australia should withdraw the subsidies within 90 days from the date it adopts the reports issued by the DSB as such subsidies are prohibited subsidies under Article 3.1(a) of the Firebird Global Master Fund II Ltd v Republic of Nauru Anor [2015] HCA 43 Whether Foreign States Immunities Act 1985, (Cth) applied to registration and enforcement of the Tokyo judgment Australia is a signatory of the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. The Convention aims at ensuring that service is effected successfully between the parties to such Convention. Under The Hague Evidence convention, A letter of Request is required to obtain assistance with the taking of evidence under the International agreement. Judicial co-operation through the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments is essential in order to determine concerned cases[10]. Section 9 of the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (Cth) entitles immunity from jurisdiction that is recognized under the Statute and that the exception under section 11(1) of the Act as commercial transactions is not applicable to the proceedings for registration under the Foreign Judgment Act[11]. Firebird, the appellant, was the holder of bonds guaranteed by Nauru and Firebird obtained judgement from Tokyo District Court for default in the bonds along with costs and interests against Nauru as guarantor. Subsequently, the appellant also obtained an order from the Supreme Court of NSW that the foreign judgment shall be registered under the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth[12]). The appellant obtained a garnishee order against the Australian bank where Nauri had kept the accounts. Nauru filed motions to set aside the registration of the foreign judgment and the garnishee order, which was set aside. The High Court dismissed the appeal and held that proceedings for the registration of the foreign judgment under the Foreign Judgments Act are recognized under section 9 of the Foreign States Immunities Act. Hence, Nauru is entitled to immunity from execution against the bank accounts held in Australia under the Foreign States Immunities Act, as the purpose of the accounts was not commercial in nature. Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) Issue Caledonie Sarl v Vale Inco Nouvelle Caledonie SAS excluded UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration Section 21 of the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) (IAA) allowed the parties to the dispute to resolve their disputes without applying the Model Law[13]. The change in the section shall not allow the parties in dispute to contract out of the model Law in relation to International Arbitration in case, there is no selected Australian procedural law. The amendments to the IAA suggest that no arbitration law except the Model Law can ever apply to an international commercial arbitration when the seat of arbitration is in Australia. The NSW Supreme Court held that selecting to apply the ICC rule to resolve dispute does not imply that Model Law has been excluded under section 21 of the Act. With the implementation of the amendment, the decision whether international commercial arbitration in Australia is governed by the Model Law is to be determined as per the legislative intent of section 21 of the IAA 2010 (Cth)[14]. It states that the parties to dispute do not have any option to exclude Model Law and decide which arbitration rules should be applied to resolve commercial disputes[15]. Conclusion The parties have excluded the Model Law under section 21 of the IAA by referring to the NSW Commercial arbitration legislation to resolve their disputes Reference List Australia- Automotive Leather II (WTO) Australia v Japan: New Zealand Intervening [2014] Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) Dispute settling Body WTO Firebird Global Master Fund II Ltd v Republic of Nauru Anor [2015] HCA 43 Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth) Foreign States Immunities Act 1985, (Cth) Hoekman, Bernard M., and Petros C. Mavroidis.World Trade Organization (WTO): Law, Economics, and Politics. Routledge, 2015. International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) International Arbitration Act 2010 (Cth) International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) Matsushita, Mitsuo, et al.The World Trade Organization: law, practice, and policy. Oxford University Press, 2015. McQueen, Peter, John Cooper, and Damian Watkin. "International commercial arbitration in Australia: Today and tomorrow."Ethos: Official Publication of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory234 (2014): 22. Morrison, James, and Mary Flanagan. "Recent Developments in International Arbitration in Australia 2015/2016."Journal of International Arbitration33.6 (2016): 723-737. Newman, Lawrence W., and Richard D. Hill.Leading Arbitrators' Guide to International Arbitration. Juris Publishing, Inc., 2014. Petrovic, Jadranka, and Benjamin Grunberg. "Intersecting Trade, Politics and Human Rights: The Negotiation Phase of the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement."Journal of World Trade51.1 (2017): 67-104. VanGrasstek, Craig.The history and future of the World Trade Organization. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2013. Wagners Nouvelle Caledonie Sarl v Vale Inco Nouvelle Caledonie SAS Wang, Yi.Australia-China relations post 1949: sixty years of trade and politics. Routledge, 2016. World Trade Agreement (WTO

How to Write a Sample Essay on Volunteering Experience

How to Write a Sample Essay on Volunteering ExperienceHave you ever wanted to learn how to write a sample essay on volunteering experience? If so, then you will be interested in this article. In this article, I'm going to tell you about two ways to do this.The first way to do a sample essay on volunteering experience is by going to the internet and using a site that offers sample essays for volunteer experiences. You can find these sites through search engines like Google and Yahoo. Look for sites that are geared towards writing experience. These sites will often give you examples of essay subjects that other people have written.The second way to do a sample essay on volunteering experience is by writing an essay yourself. This requires you to put in a little time, and a little effort, but it will be well worth it in the end. You can hire someone to write a sample essay for you. The only downside to hiring someone to write a sample essay for you is that you won't get to ask the write r any questions, but if you are able to make your payments on time, this isn't a problem.Writing a sample essay on volunteering experience involves looking at other people's essay subjects, and then applying your own style to your essay. Although you want to write an essay that shows how dedicated you are to volunteering, this should not look like a copy of another person's essay. That would make it difficult to understand and hard to take seriously. Your essay should be a unique creation that stands out from the crowd.When you start looking for essay samples online, make sure that you check out various sites. Some sites are better than others. Some offer sample essays for free, while other sites charge you to access the sample essays that they offer.Inaddition to getting free sample essays, you will also find that many sites offer tutorials that help you learn more about the subject matter. You can learn to use key terms in your essay, how to organize your essay, and how to break u p your essay for easy reading.A word of caution, though: if you are unable to find a sample essay on a site that you are thinking of using, it is still possible to write your own essay. Just make sure that you keep the same general structure as the sample essay that you choose.Writing a sample essay on volunteering experience is not difficult, and it's just as important to write a unique essay as it is to write one that looks like anyone else's. You must remember that your essay must stand on its own two feet.

Animal Farm Chapter Xi Essays - British Films, Cold War Films

Animal Farm Chapter Xi CHAPTER XI A YEAR PASSED. The seasons came & went, the short animal lives fled by. A time when no one remembered the old days before the rebellion, except Clover, Benjamin, Moses the raven and a number of pigs. One day in early summer, the animals woke to the sound of a loud explosion from the Truman Farm. Which, in the past Napoleon, had forbid the animals to have any contact with. The animals ran out to see what had happened, there was a big black cloud looming above the farmhouse, it was on fire, the animals were all wondering what had happened. Napoleon appeared, raising his trotter for silence, he said we have been woken an hour early, with all this commotion we will have no chance of more rest, so we will start working now. I will get dressed then I will go to the Truman Farm to determine what has happened. The animals were scared, Napoleon and Squealer had always cautioned them about the Truman Farm, and they did not know why they were not to go there, they just knew they shouldn't, but the reason couldn't be too serious because the farm had only been built about a year ago. Clover said What is happening Benjamin, what is that smoke? And what is Napoleon going to do? No one has ever ventured to the Truman Farm before. Benjamin replied, that is a Great Fire Clover, t he animals will not be safe there. Fortunately, we have not had the anguish of a Great Fire in our life times'. Squealer once told us Great Fires travel to farms where the animals do not do enough work, they kill everything that gets in their way, and they wreck the crops and barns as well. There was a Great Fire right here at the Manor Farm about two years before I was born. And as for Napoleon, he is the leader he does what he wants, when he wants. Squealer ordered the animals to work straight away. Napoleon returned wearing a suit, a top hat and carrying a cane. He was so fat he could scarcely walk. He walked out of the Manor Farm gate, slowly making his way to the Truman Farm. It was only two hundred metres down the road, but it took Napoleon ten minutes to get there, after all pigs aren't quite familiarized to bipedal walking. On arrival, Napoleon inspected the blazing buildings from the gate; he decided it was too risky to enter through the front gate, so he trekked to the side gate. As he was entering something caught his eye. It was the farmer rounding up the animals, shooting his gun at the ground next to them. He finally got most of the animals into a small fenced in area, then he ran to the hose and tried to control the fire. He was not doing much good though. Napoleon approached the farmer, you should wet the ground and crops around the barn, and the fire will then burn out. The farmer looked around he was stunned, you're?you're a pig, yes, Napoleon replied. But your wearing clothes, and your walking, and, and, and talking, Napoleon reminded the farmer about the fire; quick wet the ground before the fire spreads. The farmer did as Napoleon said. When the fire finally burnt out the farmer proceeded towards Napoleon. Where are you from?, Napoleon explained that he was from down the road, at the Manor Farm and also about what had happened with Mr. Jones. I am now the owner of the farm, the other animals abide by my rules and work the crops. I teach the younger pigs and do all the farms paper work. The farmer was astonished, he had never seen a pig walk, let alone speak with such intelligence. Napoleon asked if he could see the animals, the farmer took him towards the fenced in area, where the scared animals were waiting. Napoleon talked to the animals, and to the farmer's disbelief his animals talked back. Napoleon noticed one pig in particular who was extremely intellectual. The farmer invited Napoleon inside for coffee; they talked for hours about the revolution. He asked many

Acid Rain Essays - Inorganic Solvents, Mineral Acids, Acidic Oxides

Acid Rain Acid rain is a serious problem with disastrous effects. Each day this serious problem increases, many people believe that this issue is too small to deal with right now this issue should be met head on and solved before it is too late. In the following paragraphs I will be discussing the impact has on the wildlife and how our atmosphere is being destroyed by acid rain. CAUSES Acid rain is a cancer eating into the face of Eastern Canada and the North Eastern United States. In Canada, the main sulphuric acid sources are non(c)ferrous smelters and power generation. On both sides of the border, cars and trucks are the main sources for nitric acid(about 40% of the total), while power generating plants and industrial commercial and residential fuel combustion together contribute most of the rest. In the air, the sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can be transformed into sulphuric acid and nitric acid, and air current can send them thousands of kilometres from the source.When the acids fall to the earth in any form it will have large impact on the growth or the preservation of certain wildlife. NO DEFENCE Areas in Ontario mainly southern regions that are near the Great Lakes, such substances as limestone or other known antacids can neutralize acids entering the body of water thereby protecting it. However, large areas of Ontario that are near the Pre(c)Cambrian Shield, with quartzite or granite based geology and little top soil, there is not enough buffering capacity to neutralize even small amounts of acid falling on the soil and the lakes. Therefore over time, the basic environment shifts from an alkaline to a acidic one. This is why many lakes in the Muskoka, Haliburton, Algonquin, Parry Sound and Manitoulin districts could lose their fisheries if sulphur emissions are not reduced substantially. ACID The average mean of pH rainfall in Ontario's Muskoka(c)Haliburton lake country ranges between 3.95 and 4.38 about 40 times more acidic than normal rainfall, while storms in Pennsilvania have rainfall pH at 2.8 it almost has the same rating for vinegar. Already 140 Ontario lakes are completely dead or dying. An additional 48 000 are sensitive and vulnerable to acid rain due to the surrounding concentrated acidic soils.? ACID RAIN CONSISTS OF....? Canada does not have as many people, power plants or automobiles as the United States, and yet acid rain there has become so severe that Canadian government officials called it the most pressing environmental issue facing the nation. But it is important to bear in mind that acid rain is only one segment, of the widespread pollution of the atmosphere facing the world. Each year the global atmosphere is on the receiving end of 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide, 130 million tons of suffer dioxide, 97 million tons of hydrocarbons, 53 million tons of nitrogen oxides, more than three million tons of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc and other toxic metals, and a host of synthetic organic compounds ranging from polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) to toxaphene and other pesticides, a number of which may be capable of causing cancer, birth defects, or genetic imbalances. COST OF ACID RAIN Interactions of pollutants can cause problems. In addition to contributing to acid rain, nitrogen oxides can react with hydrocarbons to produce ozone, a major air pollutant responsible in the United States for annual losses of $2 billion to 4.5 billion worth of wheat, corn, soyabeans, and peanuts. A wide range of interactions can occur many unknown with toxic metals. In Canada, Ontario alone has lost the fish in an estimated 4000 lakes and provincial authorities calculate that Ontario stands to lose the fish in 48 500 more lakes within the next twenty years if acid rain continues at the present rate.Ontario is not alone, on Nova Scotia's Eastern most shores, almost every river flowing to the Atlantic Ocean is poisoned with acid. Further threatening a $2 million a year fishing industry. ? Acid rain is killing more than lakes. It can scar the leaves of hardwood forest, wither ferns and lichens, accelerate the death of coniferous needles, sterilize seeds, and weaken the forests to a state that is vulnerable to disease infestation and decay. In the soil the acid neutralizes chemicals vital for growth, strips others from the soil and carries them to the lakes and literally retards the respiration of the soil. The rate of forest growth in the White Mountains of New Hampshire has declined 18% between 1956 and 1965, time of increasingly intense acidic rainfall. Acid rain no longer falls exclusively on the lakes, forest, and thin soils of the Northeast it now covers half the continent. EFFECTS There

The Legitimacy of American Democracy essays

The Legitimacy of American Democracy essays In any system which claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. A truly democratic political system has certain characteristics which prove its legitimacy with their existence. One essential characteristic of a legitimate democracy is that it allows people to freely make choices without government intervention. Other necessary characteristics which legitimate government is that every vote must count equally: one vote for every person. For this equality to occur, all people must be subject to the same laws, have equal civil rights, and be allowed to freely express their ideas. Minority rights are also crucial in a legitimate democracy. No matter how unpopular their views, all people should enjoy the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. Public policy should be made publicly, not secretly, and regularly scheduled elections should be held. Since "legitimacy" may be defined as "the feeling or opinion the people have that government is based upon morally defensible p rinciples and that they should, therefore, obey it," then there must necessarily be a connection between what the people want and what the government is doing if legitimacy is to occur. The U.S. government may be considered legitimate in some aspects, and illegitimate in others. Because voting is class-based, it may not be classified as a completely legitimate process. Although in theory, the American system calls for one vote per person, the low rate of turnout results in the upper and middle classes ultimately choosing candidates for the entire nation. Class is determined by income and education, and differing levels of these two factors can help explain why class bias occurs. For example, because educated people tend to follow politics more, they are more likely to vote. People with high income and education also have more resources, and poor people tend to have low political efficacy. Turnout, therefore, is low and, since the early 1960s has been de...