Freedom of speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Freedom of speech - Essay Example It is also illegal to create graffiti on legal artistic surfaces such as canvas and wood. Young artists such as Lindsey Vincenty cannot express themselves through their art since the New York law does not allow them to, and yet the constitution of the US allows them to express themselves freely (Miller and Jentz 55). I think that the New York law makers should re-examine their anti-graffiti laws to enable young artists like Vincenty to enjoy their freedom of speech and expression. Vincenty and many other like her only want to legally enjoy what the constitution entitles them to, they are not after creating harmful graffiti. In any case, if what Vincenty and the other young artists in New York are doing is wrong, that is, if their form of self-expression is wrong, then all other forms of expression should be banned as well. It is not fair that other people in the city can talk and write about their opinions and ideas, whereas young artists are not given the same chance to express them selves. In my opinion therefore, the court should grant Vincenty and others their request to be allowed to legally express themselves in the form of graffiti, as long as the graffiti is not harmful. Work Cited Miller, Roger L. and Gaylord A. Jentz.

The Handmaids tale Essay Example for Free

The Handmaids tale Essay Moreover, Offred is constantly looking for a way out, as she is hopeful that there is a resistance fighting back. She refers to this in one of her many daydreams, where she hopes for her husband, who disappeared during the overtake: â€Å"He made contact with the others; there must be a resistance, a government in exile. Someone must be out there, taking care of things. I believe in the resistance, I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather no shadow unless there is also light. † (Atwood 130) Though she does not know anything for certain, the thought of him, her husband, fighting back and the hope that she may one day join him and the others – combined with her rebellious actions gives Offred strength to move forward with her life. Very much also a non- conformist is Offred’s long lost friend Moira. Moira was also forced into the role of a Handmaid; though, after a short period of time she became lethargic and, through a faking an illness, snuck out of the household that she had been staying at and found herself at Jezebels (an illegal strip club). Moira found her drive in becoming her own person, very unique from the conformed people, especially women that the government created. She was a powerful female character who stood up for herself and did what she had to, to get her way: Moira had power now, shed been set loose, shed set herself loose. She was now a loose woman. (Atwood 167) Moira goes against all norms, breaks free from the conformity and overall, participates in illegal activity – all in order to look for resistance and show that she is not owned by anyone, officially, or not. These two women, Offred and Moira, do not follow the conformity placed upon them; instead, they fight back, and from there gain willpower to stay happy and to push forward into situations that have the potential to make a difference in society, not only for themselves but also for the people around them. Atwood’s portrayal of both conformists and non-conformists serves as a commentary of women’s role in society. By contrasting the two types of characters, Atwood demonstrates the differences women are able to make in society if they oppose the conformist pressures of the male dominated world. In the novel, as discussed earlier, both the aunts and the wives are conformists; Atwood does not even give them personal names – they are usually referred to as a whole, with no distinctive characteristics. These women are dismissed as little more than bystanders, as they do not make their own decisions or stand up for their beliefs; instead, they merely go along with what others tell them. Contrary to these women are Offred and Moira, the non-conformist characters. These women are not afraid to take charge and fight against what is being forced upon them as ‘right. ’ In their roles, Offred and Moira are making, or attempting to make, a difference in their society by standing up for their morals and opinions. This therefore makes them strong female characters. Ultimately, it is not clear whether or not Offred is successful in finding the resistance; but, unlike the women who conformed, Offred at least attempted to make changes in her life so that she could be happy. Atwood thus uses the contrast between the conformist and non-conformist characters to demonstrate the effects of following the rules and the effects of going against them. The Handmaid’s Tale serves as a commentary about the role of women in society and the chances that they have to make a difference. Atwood’s overall theme is that women need to stand up for themselves in order to be happy and be in control of their lives. Works Consulted: Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Print. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Margaret Atwood section.

The Critical Legal Studies Movement

The Critical Legal Studies Movement The Critical Legal Studies (CLS) movement came to the fore in the United States (US) in the 1970s. This movement is a body of like-minded thinkers who claim to attack the virtues that they say are proclaimed by the liberal legal system. It is a radical theoretical movement which rejects the distinction between law and politics and the notion that law can be neutral and value free. The movement proposes the integration of law and social theory. Since the Critical Legal Studies movement is relatively new, its value as a theory of law is still being assessed, but despite its continual development it has given much of interest to thinking about the law. Indeed, like other sceptical theories it may undermine the coherent world of law which legal academics and practitioners tend to portray. In Britain, the Critical Legal Conference was formed in 1984.  [1]   Although CLS has been largely a US movement, it was influenced to a great extent by European philosophers, such as nineteenth-century German social theorists Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Max Weber; Max Horkheimer and Harberd Marcuse of the Frankfrut School German social philosophy; the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci; and poststructuralist French thinkers Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, representing respectively fields of history and literary theory. CLS has borrowed heavily from legal realism, the school of legal thought that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. Like CLS scholars, legal realists rebelled against accepted legal theories of the day and urged more attention to the social context of the law. Among noted CLS scholars Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Robert W. Gordon, Mark Kelman, Peter Gabel, Morton J. Horwitz, Dunkan Kennedy and Katherine A. Mackinnon.  [2]   The founders of CLS found a yawning absence at the level of theory, fundamentally convinced that law and politics could not be separated. How could law be so tilted to favour the powerful, given the prevailing explanations of law as either democratically chosen or the result of impartial judicial reasoning from neutral principles? Yet how could law be a tool for social change, in the face of Marxist explanations of law as mere epiphenomenal outgrowths of the interests of the powerful? CLS scholars have influenced try to explain both why legal principles and doctrines do not yield determinate answers to specific disputes and how legal decisions reflect cultural and political values that shift over time. They focused from the start on the ways that law contributed to illegitimate social hierarchies, producing domination of women by men, nonwhites by whites, and the poor by the wealthy. They claim that apparently neutral language and institutions, operated through law, mask relationship s of power and control. The emphasis on individualism within the law similarly hides patterns of power relationships while making it more difficult to summon up a sense of community and human interconnection. Joining in their assault on these dimensions of law, CLS scholars have differed considerably in their particular methods and views.  [3]   One of the characteristic of CSL is that it has been rejected formalism. Formalism has tended to be the fall back position of liberal legal thinking when forced to confront the question: how can a legal system give the kinds of neutral decisions expected of it. Formalists, as CLS characterise them,  [4]  circumvent this problem by insisting that the judge is not imposing his or anyone elses values but merely interpreting the words of the law. By separating core and penumbra Hart could be taken to admit the problem by his indulgence that the judge had to have recourse to discretion in interpreting the penumbra of legal rules. CLS theorists also share the related view that the law is indeterminate. They have shown that using standard legal arguments, it is possible to reach sharply contrasting conclusions in individual cases. The conclusions reached in any case will have more to do with the social context in which they are argued and decided than with any overarching scheme of legal reasoning. Moreover, CLS scholars argue that the esoteric and convoluted nature of legal reasoning actually screens the laws indeterminacy. They have used the ideas of deconstruction to explore the ways in which legal texts are open to multiple interpretations. The CLS thesis refutes the claim that traditional legal scholarship produces rules and principles of law which guide human behaviour. Both legal formalism and positivism, which look upon law as a system of rules which are rationally made, are repudiated. Traditional legal scholarship treats the law as objective and neutral. The CLS claims that law can not be objective because human and social realities always manifest themselves in the legal discourses. Roberto Mangabeira Unger, who teaches at Harvard Law School and is widely regarded as the intellectual leader of the movement, now offers the public a short manifesto he describes as more a proposal than a description. It is an ambitious and impressive undertaking. It also defies summation. It is a carefully crafted statement with ideas interlocked like a chain-link fence that stretches as far as the eye can see. And the full purport of his message can only be appreciated by an attentive reading. Even so, five themes seem central to his argument. There were two distinct stages in the role of law in western societies before the modern era. First it served to establish and defend social hierarchies and social class divisions. Toward the end of the 18th century, however, it was put to the revolutionary task of protecting rights of individuals irrespective of their social rank or class. In this country the founding fathers relied on democracy (created by our public law, the Constitution) and the market (fostered by private law, notably contract) to give form and limits to those rights.  [5]   By the 20th century the context in which American law operated had drastically changed. Social arrangements sanctioned by law had come to include an array of hierarchies of economic power and pernicious social distinctions protected as rights by the very legal system created to establish individual freedom and equality. The politics of democracy and the blind forces of the market proved woefully inadequate to govern a society increasingly dominated by modern science and technology. Hence there is a compelling need to restructure our social order to make it compatible with freedom and equality. The way to accomplish this reconstruction, according to Roberto M. Unger, is not through classical revolution of the kind Marx advocated, brought about by an alliance between disaffected elites and the downtrodden. Rather law must be reinvented to give it a revolutionary new purpose: to lead the dismantling of the various hierarchies of power and privilege that through perversions of the legal process have come to threaten the higher values of our society.  [6]  Of property law, he says that it has its own inbuilt legal market which is a constitutional interest with its own legal structure in a democracy. According to him, the situation is fraught with ambiguity and indeterminacy, because of the abstract nature of the concept of rights. With respect to contract law, Unger explains that contract law allows freedom to contract, but that this is promptly contradicted by other principles which say that people can only bind themselves in contract for what the law allows. Unger present s an argument on formalism which states that every doctrine relies on some view of human associations which are right and realistic in social life. The lawyer needs a theory as his guiding vision, which prevents him from seeing legal reasoning as a game of analogies. To Unger, reliance on analogies leads to analogy-mongering, and this must stop. He claims that this received wisdom is challengeable as wrong, and to do this one should rely on a normative theory of a branch of law supplied by the CLS. This is Ungers deviation doctrine, which embellishes the CLSs nihilistic view of law. Mark G. Kelman examines the importance to criminal law of the stage that precedes legal analysis. His argument is that legal argument has two phases: interpretive construction and rational rhetoricism, and that the former, a vital step which undercuts the authority of the latter, goes virtually unexamined.  [7]  For example, the result of a case may depend on weather the defendants act is set in a board or narrow time frame. This issue has come to a head with a series of cases where battered women have murdered their husbands and the scope of the provocation defence has been tested.  [8]  If a broad time frame as been used she may have defences of provocation, even self-defence; in a narrow time frame she has committed murder. There is no meta-theory to determine the appropriate time frame; the decision accordingly is unreasonable. There are some techniques which the CLS have deployed in analyzing legal texts, namely Trashing, Deconstruction, Genealogy, etc. Leading CLS scholar Mark G. Kelman defends trashing against mainstream academic critics, claiming that the discrediting of accepted legal argument is good According to him the most frequently recurring theme in the attacks on our technique, the more-or-less hysterical counter-Revolution against Trashing. It is abundantly apparent that the vast preponderance of mainstream American legal academics were told (repeatedly) by their moms and dads, If you dont have anything nice or constructive to say, say nothing at all.  [9]   Again he stated that law-and-economics studies of private law rules have not actually analyzed the concrete implications of rule choices on particular occasions, pretensions of policy relevance to the contrary. Instead, they have again and again simply derived apologies for existing arrangements from a highly general and theoretical economic vision. There are two politically central insights of mainstream private law and economics scholarship: (1) In situations involving strangres (where markets cannot work because of transaction costs), proper legal rules that establish implicit fees for harming others can be applied to concrete cases so that parties who interact to create a joint cost will take all cost-justified, damage-averting precautions; and (2) in situations involving those in contractual relationships, competitive markets function in such a way that buyers inevitably get whatever they desire at the lowest possible price a [*308] price that is the sum of the production cost of the desired good and a normal profit sufficient to prevent industry exit. One goal, if not an inevitable effect, of trashing is to destabilize a variety of theoretical world views (and thus, one would hope, related [*328] commonsense world views) that imply the beneficence or inexorability of social life as we see it. Of course, asserting that there must be a causal connection between the high-level apologetics of the intelligentsia and the everyday mediating political ideals that help us organize and make sense of daily interactions would be patently ridiculous. But one can discern at least a close family resemblance between elaborate, mandarin apologetics and the more ordinary, complacency-inducing, commonsensical bits of wisdom without straining credulity.  [10]   According to Robert Gordon Decontruction is one of the CLS techniques best work is a familiar work kind of left-wing scholarship, unmasking the often unconscious ideological bias behind legal structures and procedures, which regularly makes it easy for business groups to organise collectively to pursue their economic and political interests but which makes it much more difficult for labour, poor people, civil rights groups to pursue theirs.  [11]   CLS claims that mainstream legal thought acts to reify; it does this by translating social practices into things. For example, the relation between employer and employee brings about a range of consequences and expectations for both parties. The terms confirm or foster an implicit hierarchy; both employer and employee will expect the latter to follow instructions and generally defer to the former. Another way to heighten awareness of the transitory, problematic, and manipulable ways legal discourses divide the world is to write their history under the Genealogy technique. Some critics charge that CLS work hampers progressive political movements by challenging the idea of the subject and human agency. Others view CLS work as unimportant or failing because of inadequate development of specific policies, strategies, or constructive direction. CLS is faulted for implying that simply changing how people think about law will change power relationships or constraints on social change, although a fair reading indicates that Crits simply treat changes in thought as a necessary but insufficient step for social change. Feminists and Critical Race Theorists object that conventional critical legal studies employ a critique of rights that neglects the concrete role of rights talk in the mobilization of oppressed and disadvantaged people. Robert Gordon has responded with a warning that even such mobilization efforts must be done with an experimental air and full knowledge that there are no deeper logics of historical necessity that can guarantee that what we do now will be justified later. Total Word Count: 2110.

Cross Cultural Negotiations :: essays research papers

Cross cultural negotiation is one of many specialized areas within the wider field of cross cultural communications. By taking cross cultural negotiation training, negotiators and sales personnel give themselves an advantage over competitors. There is an argument that proposes that culture is inconsequential to cross cultural negotiation. It maintains that as long as a proposal is financially attractive it will succeed. However, this is a naà ¯ve way of approaching international business. Let us look at a brief example of how cross cultural negotiation training can benefit the international business person: There are two negotiators dealing with the same potential client in the Middle East. Both have identical proposals and packages. One ignores the importance of cross cultural negotiation training believing the proposal will speak for itself. The other undertakes some cross cultural training. He/she learns about the culture, values, beliefs, etiquette and approaches to business, meetings and negotiations. Nine times out of ten the latter will succeed over the rival. This is because 1) it is likely they would have endeared themselves more to the host negotiation team and 2) they would be able to tailor their approach to the negotiations in a way that maximises the potential of a positive outcome. Cross cultural negotiations is about more than just how foreigners close deals. It involves looking at all factors that can influence the proceedings. By way of highlighting this, a few brief examples of topics covered in cross cultural negotiation training shall be offered. Eye Contact : In the US, UK and much of northern Europe, strong, direct eye contact conveys confidence and sincerity. In South America it is a sign of trustworthiness. However, in some cultures such as the Japanese, prolonged eye contact is considered rude and is generally avoided. Personal Space & Touch: In Europe and North America, business people will usually leave a certain amount of distance between themselves when interacting. Touching only takes place between friends. In South America or the Middle East, business people are tactile and like to get up close. In Japan or China, it is not uncommon for people to leave a gap of four feet when conversing. Touching only takes place between close friends and family members. Time: Western societies are very ‘clock conscious? Time is money and punctuality is crucial. This is also the case in countries such as Japan or China where being late would be taken as an insult. However, in South America, southern Europe and the Middle East, being on time for a meeting does not carry the same sense of urgency.

Lifestyle Change Assignment

We would also look to see how his behaviors in the morning can influence behaviors later In the day. Does he eat a large lunch because the donuts and coffee TLD hold him till noon? Does he drink another three cups of coffee at work because he Is feeling sluggish? After assessing his behavioral chain, we could then determine what the consequences are and construct strategies to help him to break one, or multiple, areas of the behavioral chain. 3. What cognitive strategies wants to be a size 8 for her high school reunion in three months' time?I would let her know that although I could possibly help her lose some weight in three months, to drop down to a size 8 would be more of a long-term goal. I would reassure her that she would be Just as beautiful at the high school reunion whether a size 22 or size 8. I could help her try and reach a goal of a size 18 or 20, and tone up a body part that she can show off (such as arms or legs). I would also refer her to a nutritionist who could prob ably help her, more than me, with the quick short-term weight loss that she wants. 4.Name three metaphors you could use to make a client feel okay about having relapses in their efforts to switch too healthier diet. One is a metaphor about a baby walking. Babies fall a lot when learning to walk, but we keep encouraging them. We don't tell them â€Å"forget it-?you will never walk†. A second metaphor is using football to demonstrate relapses. In football the team's long-term goal is to win. But the team also has a short-term goal of gaining yardage. Even though the team may not gain any yardage they don't give up the game; they keep playing working towards he long-term goal of winning.I will tell the client to think of the other times he has relapsed, and think how he still came back, and how much he has gained in that period of time. My favorite metaphor from the internet is: saying â€Å"Oh Eve already ruined my good eating today I'll Just eat crap† is like saying â⠂¬Å"Oh I dropped my phone on the floor I'll Just smash it till it breaks†. 5. The three-step protocol for behavior management/ lifestyle coaching is: ; Assessment ; Teaching ; Evaluation Why are these steps important? The only way to establish the clients concerns or goals is with an assessment.It also helps establish rapport between the lifestyle coach and client. The lifestyle coach needs to gather information from the client to learn about his stages of change, behaviors, situation, and family history, expectations, previous behavior change attempts, and exercise history. These help the lifestyle coach to modify plans and support especially for that client. Because most of a person's behavior are behaviors they have learned, they must learn how to change their negative behaviors. It is essential for the coach to teach the client.The teacher may give the client verbal feedback or describing observations. With the verbal feedback and/or enlightened by observations, the studen t can learn behavior modification. Evaluation is also important. Evaluation should be continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching and client efforts. It is used to adjust and modify the goals, implementation, strategies, and effort. Without evaluation there is no way to establish if goals have been met or if the process is successfully working or helping.

Employment responiblities and right in health Essay

1.1 Disciplinary procedures Discrimination Minimum wage Hours worked Health and safety Holiday’s entitlements Redundancy and dismissal Training Union right and consultation 1.2Employment rights Equalities and Discrimination Health and safety 1.3There has to be rules and protection for workers, owners of businesses and factories have never given anything to the workers without being forced to, shorter hours, paid holidays, proper safety protection, rising the age a child can be employed. All these above have to be legislated for the owners to obey the laws. It also helps us the employer and the employee. 1.4looks at your contract Handbook, Job description, Policy documents, Terms and conditions Basic rights Discrimination issues Information source Health and safety Work experience Bullying in the Workplace 2.1 My contract shows me the start date of my contract started. What hours I will be doing in the week. How much I get paid an hour and when it will get paid in my bank. What holidays I am entitled to, For the sickness pay and conditions there is no contractual sickness/injury payment scheme in  addition to SSP, if there is a capability/disciplinary issues it explains what how you should look in the handbook and what part of the hand book you need to look at. If you have a grievance it tells you to raise it with your manager either verbally or in writing. It tells you how many week notice you have to give for termination for you and the employee. 2.2 On my pay statement it shows the breakdown of all the hours I have worked thought out the month. It also shows how much national insurance and tax I have paid, what tax period it is. How many days holidays I have taken and have left. It also tells me my pay roll number. It has the gross pay which is how much you have earned before tax and at the bottom off the wage slip it tells you how much you come out with after the tax has been taken off. 2.3 Submit a formal written grievance to the line manager, who will make every effort to hear your grievance within five working days, if we need help putting are point across we can ask a colleague or an accredited trade union official to be present to help explain. If you are not happy with the outcome, tell the person who dealt with the grievance that you would like to take it further. Submit a formal written appeal to the director within five working days of receiving written confirmation you need to include an explanation of why you are unhappy with the original decision. Once a decision is made at the appeal stage is final. 2.4Your name Address/telephone number 2.5The aim of the policy is to ensure no job applicant or employee is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on any unlawful ground. The managing director has overall responsibility for ensuring that this policy is implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant code of practice. Day to day training is the responsibility of the management who can call on specialised skills and knowledge within the home and from external sources for advice on training matters. Training will be arranged during normal working hours whenever possible but there may be occasions when employees will be required to attend training outside their normal working hours. All employees will be given a copy of the handbook at the beginning of their employment with the home. A copy of the handbook will always be on the premises. The home  recognises your rights either to join or not to join a trade union of your choice. You are required to take reasonable care of your own well being and that off your employees. The relevant health and safety notice are posted around the premises and you are expected to be familiar with their requirements. 3.1 Care assistant play a key role in supporting qualified professionals in hospitals, care homes and other health care environments. Depending on the individual role and setting, a care assistant may assist therapists or specialists by setting up equipment and providing hands on support by working directly with the patients in carrying out routine personal care duties. 3.2 I need to be monitoring the wellbeing of the clients. Making sure that they are eating well, making sure they are not losing any weight as this could be a medical condition and a doctor may need to be called, their personal hygiene as this could mean they are not capable to do this themselves. To ensure their medication is being taken correctly and if they are not to inform the office. Making sure they are safe in their own if there any safety issues the we need to ring the office and let the co-ordinator so they can get hold of the social work to find the best way to sort it out. 3.3 We need to be making sure that the individuals are proved with the right care for example making sure personal care is done, making sure they have taken their medicine and eating correctly support in their intellectual, social and emotional needs. Carrying out treatment or therapy. 3.4 Their roles are to regulate health and adult social care providers to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of people who use health and social care services. They undertake the role for the general purpose of encouraging three things, the improvement of health and social care services, ensuring services focus on people who use services, and all that resources are used effectively and efficiently. To do them thing they need to register providers a common set of standards. These are the standards providers have a legal responsibility to meet and that people have a right to expect whenever or wherever they receive care. Monitor and inspect providers against regularly, at anytime in response to concerns. Undertaking themed inspections, themed reviews and specialist investigations base on particular aspects of care. 4.1 Home care manager Outreach worker Doctors Nurses Social worker Dental Health care scientists Care co-ordinator Team leaders 4.2 Hospitals Carehomes Careworkers Library Work placement 4.3 Pathway for a team leaders are: Well organised Positive attitude Able to work with plant equipment and complete some office work with computers Problem solving skills Good time management skills Able to provide management support with good communication skills which include motivational skills and decision making abilities 5.1 Winterbourne view was meant to help by assessing and treating patients so that they could have ordinary lives in their own home, but in 2011 some of the staff at winterbourne view got filmed slapping, hurting patients getting them on the floor. They also sat on them and lay on them so that the patients could not move; sometimes they would trap them under chairs to stop them from getting up. The patients were bullied, had water thrown at them. One lady was put in the shower with her clothes on, they swear, pulled hair and poking their eyes. After this was broadcasted on panorama there were 11 of its former care staff were sentenced to court. Some of the 11 got a jail sentence. 5.2 As the public have lots of concern about winterbourne view and other care homes one person said â€Å"the absence of transparency &  accountability is terrifying†. There was a lot of concern on the care sector and thinking there not just isolated instances as one lady said â€Å"there aren’t isolated instances, its cultural and its grown out of what happened in the care sector† but most of the public views on what happened was to see justice and the after care of the residents a gentlemen said â€Å"not only do I want to see justice to be seen but what is the after-care being given to the victims It’s not as simple moving them out, they have been throw hell they will need a lot of care to try and build their trust, heal the abuse and bad memories†. 5.3 The changes that have happened since winterbourne view is that CQC now take whisleblowing calls to ensure each one is tracked and chased until resolved. They now receive 500 calls a month. They also now carry out more unannounced inspections of high risk services, similar to winterbourne view. CQC carried out an extra 150 inspections of similar services and found out that almost half didn’t meet national standards. They focus on personalisation and prevention in social care and that commission should ensure services can deliver a high leave of support and care to people with complex needs or challenging behaviour. Also that services /support should be provided locally where ever possible. 5.4 The changes that have happened since Winterbourne View is that CQC now take whisleblowing calls to ensure that each one is tracked and chased until resolved. They now receive around 500 calls a month. Also they now carry out more unannounced inspections of high risk services similar to Winterbourne view. CQC carry out an extra off similar service and found out that half did not meet the national standard. They also focus on personalisation and prevention in the social care and that commission should ensure service can be deliver a high level of support and care to people with complex needs or challenging behaviour. Also the services/ support should be provided locally where possible.

Flipkart Case Study Essay

Flipkart.com is a story of the two young computer science graduates brothers Sachin Bansal (26) and Binny Bansal (25) from IIT-Delhi 2005 batch who left their jobs in amazon.com (an American multinational E-commerce company) in 2007 with a dream to become India’s top retail Outlet In E-commerce Industry. They came up with an idea to sell books including novels online. Flip kart’s timeline shows it was to start as a price comparison platform, but there weren’t enough e-commerce sites to compare. So, both the Bansals, who were colleagues at IITDelhi, and then at Amazon.com, thought, â€Å"why not start an e-commerce site?† That was the genesis of Flip kart. From an initial investment of Rs. 4 Lakh this So they started to make a website, although it was a bigger task to create a website with 50,000 titles but wouldn’t be impossible for IITians†¦ so finally they created which took about a month and a half to start a basic working website with 50,00 0 titles and grown our catalogue to over 1 Lakh available titles. On 5th September 2007 they launched the company’s URL i.e. Flipkart.com for the first time in just an apartment room. . The website was launched on 15th Oct 2007. Flip kart is an Indian ecommerce company headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. From a start-up with an investment of just four lakh rupees, Flip kart has grown into a 100 million revenue online retail giant in just five years. Flip kart focused on online sales of books initially. The process involved in online shopping for books has gone through drastic changes and is more secure right now. A customer could use our user-friendly web page to place an order, once the order is placed online – the book is taken off the online inventory. In case of unavailability – it will be purchased from a supplier. The Book will then get packed and couriered on the same day. Flip kart is currently tied up with around 12 courier service providers. Flip kart also use Indian Postal services to reach areas without courier providers. Logistics play an important role in our business. But it later expanded to electronic goods and a variety of other products. The key differentiators are Availability of variety of goods of various categories, online shopping experience on the site and post sales experience. Apart from this the Cash on Delivery service is also one of the main reasons which keep it apart from  other E- commerce portals. The cash-on-delivery model adopted by Flip kart has proven to be of great significance since credit card and net banking penetration is very low in India. . Flip kart offers multiple payment methods like credit card, debit card, net banking, e-gift voucher, and Cash on Delivery. IDEA Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal saw a good opportunity in the market around e-commerce. Also, regular job was not as challenging. The excitement and satisfaction that comes with building something of a long lasting value is addictive enough for them to continue this. They started flipkart.com because they themselves felt the need for a good online book store. E-commerce sector is one of the toughest to get into in India. They believe that they can make a difference here. They wanted to create something which has a long lasting value and which we can be proud of. An attractive neutral name is what they looked for. Good domain names were hard to get. They were looking at names that did not just speak of books alone, but one that could suit any category of Products that we may add in future. Also, they wanted to have a catchy name with high recall potential. Flip kart could in simple terms mean ‘Flipping things into your Kart’. CURRENT POSITION OF FLIP KART Flip kart started with selling books. In 2010, they added to their catalogue media (including music, movies and games) and mobile phones and accessories. In 2011, product launches included cameras, computers, pens & office supplies, computer accessories, home and kitchen appliances, personal care, health care, gaming consoles, audio players and televisions. In 2012, product launches includes health & beauty products, Life style products which includes watches, belts, bags & luggage. In November 2011, Flip kart launched a new Electronic Wallet feature that allows shoppers to purchase credit to their Flip kart account using credit or debit cards, and can subsequently be utilised to make purchases on the site, as and when required. From June 2012, Flip kart allowed people to buy toys, posters and from October 2012, Flip kart entered into apparel retailing. ACQUISITIONS MADE BY FLIPKART.COM 2010 â€Å"WE READ†, social book discovery tool 2011 MIME260, a digital content platform com 2011 Chakpak.com is a bolly wood news site that offers updates, news photos and videos 2012 Letsbuy.com is India’s second largest e-retailer in electronics. Flip kart has bought the company for an estimated US$25 million. ACHIEVEMENTS MADE BY FLIPKART.COM Flip kart owners have been featured in Business Today as one of the top 25 start-ups of 2009.They have been also nominated for Ernst and young award for the best entrepreneur of 2010. Apart from that they have been featured multiple times in start up news as well as mainstream news. Today, they are recognized as number one in the industry. As a testimony to the superior customer experience, the company has consistently recorded repeat purchase rates of more than 50%. They have also managed to get a registered buyer in every small town and city and hope to constantly improve their service standards. Flip kart’s reported sales as follows:- IN FY 2008–2009- > 40 million IN FY 2009–2010- >200 million IN FY 2010–2011- > 750 million IN FY 2011–2012- > set to cross the 5 billion As Internet usage in the country increases and people get accustomed to making purchases online. Flip kart projects its sales to reach US$1billion by year 2014 and is aiming at generating a revenue of 50 billion (US$1billion)2015. Ranks among the countries top 30 website. Customer base of more than 2 million. 30 shipment on daily basis Daily sales have increased to 2.5 crores. POPULAR PRODUCT CATEGORIES 1. Clothing: T-shirts, Jeans, Sports Wear, Trousers, etc. 2. Footwear: Casual Shoes, Formal Shoes, Flats, Heels, etc. 3. Beauty & Personal Care: Trimmers, Shavers, Soaps, Brushes, etc. 4. Mobiles & Tablets: Samsung, Micromax, Nokia, Sony, etc. 5. Laptops & Accessories: HP, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Pen Drives, etc. 6. Books: Literature & Fiction, Biographies, Novels, EBooks, etc. 7. Baby Care & Toys: Vehicle & Action Toys, Stuffed Toys, Diapers, etc. 8. Sports & Fitness: Cricket, Football, Basketball, Badminton, etc. TOP BRANDS 1. Clothing: Adidas, Puma, Reebok, Lee, etc. 2. Footwear: Puma, Adidas, Reebok, Fila, etc. 3. Watches: Casio, Fastrack, Citizen, Timex, etc. 4. TV: Sony, LG, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, etc. 5. Sports & Fitness: Speedo, Nivia, Yonex, Cosco BUSINESS MODEL Creating and maintaining a person-to-person trading community Function as a value added facilitator Provide a supportive infrastructure Zero inventory & without having traditional sales force Profit centers: Domestic business International business and Payment Largest online trading forum Compelling and entertaining environment Establishing trust & safety programs Cost effective and Convenient trading Strong community affinity An intuitive user interface ORDER LIFECYCLE Get the item Procure from Supplier (Just-in-time) (Supplier selection) Keep Inventory (Inventory Prediction, Planning) Clean & Check for sanity Pages missing, MRP printed lesser than told to you Pack the item Tamper proof, weather proof, breakage proof Select courier & hand-over Courier performances vary across regions a LOT Get tracking id & communicate to customer Follow-up for timely delivery Take care of returns (faulty product/user changes their mind) Minimize returns MARKETING STRATEGY Flip kart 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 Face book page has close to 9 lakh ‘likes’. Flipkart recently launched a series of 3 ads with the tag line – â€Å"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. All in all to create a great customer experience. EXPANSION PLANS They aim at 10 times growth and eyes at $ 1Billion sales by 2015. They will look at bigger investments in their supply chain and technology. Investment will be made in large warehouses and increased automation of their process, so that the product is not delayed. They intend to enter in to various new categories and expand their current categories as well. Everything except for groceries and automobiles will be available on Flipkart in future. To go further in the value chain, Flipkart is looking at associations with a larger number of suppliers and partners, both nationally and internationally. PERSONEL ANALYSIS Great customer service Easy to use website, hassle free payment system Cash on delivery/Card on delivery mode of payment Focused on user experience ADVANTAGES Attract users to the site Provide selection Make it easy to Find & Discover products Provide details to evaluate a product Description, Specifications, UGC. Price well Have to be competitive to the most obvious options Provide convenient payment options Online, COD Confirm payment CONCLUSION They started off in 2007 by setting up three centres across India without funding. Six months ago, they reached number one status. They are also four times bigger than their nearest competitor. The company started off small; today they have grown ten times over the last one year and aim to touch the Rs 400 crore mark by March 2013.