Porsche Cayenne

JOHN DEIGHTON JILL AVERY JEFFREY FEAR op yo Porsche: The Cayenne Launch In March 2003 the Porsche brand faced a challenge without precedent in 55 years. Since the e launch of the Porsche 356 in 1948, the brand had stood for expensive, high-performance sports cars. Its designs, varying little over the decades, formed and then came to reflect the notion of a classic n sports car. It was a connoisseur’s racing vehicle, engineered for speed and maneuverability. But it was also a rebel’s car; the car James Dean died in and that Tom Cruise ditched in the motion picture Risky Business.Always and everywhere, Porsches were sports cars. tC 2003 marked the end of this single-minded focus. In March of that year, it launched a sports utility vehicle (SUV), the Porsche Cayenne. The extension of the brand to a new product category posed many challenges. Looking ahead, the company had to think about how to position the Cayenne while protecting the Porsche parent brand. How much and in what ways would the Cayenne change Porsche’s image and brand identity? The company also had to decide what to do about the on oing consumer-to-consumer ng conversations in online Porsche brand communities.Some argued that online brand communities were an important source of consumer research. Others argued that the consumers who participated in the online conversations held views more extreme than the average consumer. Were they of any value in deciphering the market’s renegotiation of Porsche’s brand meaning? n No The Legacya Do Ferdinand Porsche was born on September 3, 1875 in Bohemia, part of the former AustroHungarian Empire. After a brief stint as Daimler-Benz’s technical director, he left the company, which did not want to build small, fast cars for the public.Unemployed at 55, Porsche started his own design firm. The staff grew to include some of the luminaries of German automotive engineering, Porsche’s son, Ferdinand Anton Ernst â€Å"Fe rry† Porsche, his son-in-law, Anton Piech, whose son became chairman of Volkswagen, and a handful of key en ineers. Ferr became head of ng ry research and development. a This section draws from Jeffrey R. Fear and Carin-Isabel Knoop, â€Å"Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG† (A) and (B), HBS Nos. 706-018 and 706-019 (Harvard Business School Publishing, 2006). _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HBS Professor John Deighton, Jill Avery (Simmons School of Management), and Jeffrey Fear (University of Redlands) prepared this case. This h case was developed from published sources. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2011 President and Fellows of Harvard College.To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5 45-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www. hbsp. harvard. edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch rP os t 511-068In 1934, Adolf Hitler asked Porsche to develop a family car that was both cheap and reliable—thus the â€Å"people’s car† or Volkswagen, was born. Its design was intended to evoke the German infantry helmet and honor National Socialist ideals. During wartime, Porsche focused on tank design, including the formidable â€Å"Tiger. † In June 1948, the company launched the 356, the first automobile to carry the Porsche brand mark. A Volkswagen factory manufactured the 356b, with its tubular spaceframe chassis, aluminum body, and rear-mounted four-cylinder engine, until Porsche opened its own production facility in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen in 1950. See Exhibit 1 for company milestones. op yo In 1953, Porsche produced its first racing car, the 550. In 1964 came the iconic 911, also a racing car. Designed by Ferry’s eldest son, the rear-engine vehicle became a twentieth-century design landmark. In the 1970s, Porsche and Volkswagen collaborated on launching the 914. In 1972, Porsche became a joint stock company (Porsche AG) with the Porsche and Piech families on the board. Porsche AG was nearly derailed by the U. S. stock market crash in 1987.Sales volume collapsed from a peak of 50,000 cars in 1986 to 14,000 in 1993. 2 At the time Ferry Porsche commented: â€Å"I certainly have not given away my family name to sell off and cash out the company to the highest offer. This philosophy might hold true for Americans, but not for us. †3 tC In 1991, Porsche launched the first of several cars at price points lower than traditionally associated with the Porsche brand. The 911 RS America was a no-frills version of the long-running rear-engine 911 model; priced at $54,000, it ran about $10,000 under traditional Porsche prices.This was followed by the entry-level 968 at about $40,000, close to the $37,000 Nissan 300ZX Turbo or the $33,000 Mazda RX-7. 4 Design and production changes continued in 1992 with the introduction of a revamped, water-cooled 911, the 996. The decision to break with the past and replace the traditional air-cooled engine with a water-cooled engine was seen as a sacrilege to many Porsche purists. No Wendelin Wiedeking became Porsche’s executive director (CEO) in 1992. In the mid-1990s he steered Porsche through one of its most noteworthy turnarounds.He staved off bankruptcy by cutting costs, paring the product line to two models, bringing Japanese manufacturing processes to Porsche’s plant s, and expanding into 70 global markets—30 more than in 1993. 5 Do In 1996, Porsche launched the $40,000 Boxster, a zippy two-seater with an â€Å"entry-level† price. In departures from tradition, the Boxster shared 40% of its parts with the 9966 and was assembled by a third party contract manufacturer, Valmet Automotive, in Finland, rather than at b Porsche 356 Photograph Courtesy of Stephen Hanafin, http://www. flickr. om/photos/shanafin/432562761/, Porsche Racing Photograph Courtesy of James Emery, http://www. flickr. com/photos/emeryjl/4620731098/, Porsche 911 Photograph Courtesy of Collector Car Ads, http://www. flickr. com/photos/[email  protected]/4586382193/, Porsche 996 Photograph Courtesy of lacomj, http://www. flickr. com/photos/[email  protected]/3813925902/, Porsche Boxster Photograph Courtesy of The Car Spy, http://www. flickr. com/photos/thecarspy/2641636681/, Porsche Cayenne Photograph Courtesy of The Car Spy, http://www. flickr. com/photos/thecarsp y/47216338591. This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch Porsche’s legendary Zuffenhausen plant. â€Å"We had no choice,† said Wiedeking, stressing that on-site German assemblers and engineers ensured that the Boxsters assembled in Finland were â€Å"100% Porsche†7 and just as good as those made in Germany. 8 The SUV Betc op yo In 1998, Porsche announced its plans to develop an SUV.By then, the 50year old firm was back on solid financial footing and its stock price was outrunning the national DAX index by 180% (see Exhibits 2 and 3 for stock and financial information). The Porsche Cayenne SUV would be the company’s third model series, joining the 911 and Boxster sports cars, and the first developed and launched entirely under Wiedeking’s watch. He wante d the vehicle to combine traditional Porsche styling and performance with off-road driving capability and a spacious interior, placing more emphasis on â€Å"sport† than â€Å"utility. The new car had to retain the brand’s style and panache while accommodating family, outdoor, and transport activities. Wiedeking felt that SUVs were â€Å"nearer to the sports car business than sedans. We also looked at minivans, but we do not want an eighth ‘me-too’ product. It has to be a real Porsche in terms of chassis, performance, and design†Ã¢â‚¬â€Porsche’s core strengths. 9 The average Porsche customer already owned three cars: an SUV, a sedan, and a Porsche sports car. 10 Wiedeking saw an opportunity: â€Å"We know from our surveys that a lot of our customers are waiting for a Porsche SUV.Then there will be no doubt that customers can proudly park their SUV next to a Mercedes S-Class and other cars like that. †11 tC Porsche wanted to leverage its premium brand to enter a hot, new market to capture incremental growth and to diversify the business to hedge against potential declines in the sports car segment due to economic fluctuations. The company observed other car manufacturers like BMW and MercedesBenz successfully leveraging their brands across a wide range of product categories and wanted to do the same.SUV optimists argued that Porsche had creatively found a way to diversify its aging model range in an oversaturated market. They estimated a breakeven number of 10,000 units priced between DM 100,000 and DM 120,000. By building 20,000 SUVs a year, Porsche could boost its total sales by 50%. 12 The SUV Market Do No In the late 1980s, the Ford Explorer legitimized the SUV as the quintessential American family vehicle. The SUV’s popularity with U. S. drivers was attributed to the nation’s historic affinity for larger cars and trucks that could serve for both work and personal use.This new breed of vehicle was viewed as innately â€Å"American. † Its rugged and powerful appearance, and the promise to combine the carrying capacity of station wagons with the off-road capability of pick-ups, offered an alternative to old fashioned family suburban and rural utility vehicles. The sporty and aggressive design appealed even to those who would never dream of taking a car into rough terrain, namely preppy, youthful professionals, including working women and stay-at-home mothers (colloquially known as â€Å"soccer moms†) who preferred not to be associated with station wagons and minivans.After Ford’s successful launch of the Explorer, other leading manufacturers both in the U. S. and abroad (Japan, Germany) followed with their own models. By the late 1990s, the SUV market was deemed intensely competitive,13 as many manufacturers strove to offer SUVs with car-like agility, the space of a mini-van, and the utility options of a sport vehicle. Fortunately for owners of such lar ge c This section draws from Jeffrey R. Fear and Carin-Isabel Knoop, â€Å"Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG† (A) and (B). 3 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013.Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch rP os t 511-068 cars (SUVs weighed 4,000 to 6,000 pounds; cars 2,000 to 4,000 pounds), gasoline prices in the U. S. remained very low by global standards. In 1998, light trucks, including SUVs, captured 51% of the new U. S. vehicle market, double the share they had 20 years before, propelled by a strong economy, demand for roominess (some even had 10 cupholders) and the perception of enhanced driver visibility and safety. op yoPorsche’s SUV would join an already crowded market, estimated at about two million units in early 1998. Still, the category ranged from pick-ups, light trucks, and small jeeps to high-end entries such as the Range Rover—the only SUV with a base price over DM 100,000. 14 A successful high-end, high-performance Porsche SUV could trigger me-too followers within two to three years, thanks to the compression of development intervals within the automobile industry. Already, Mercedes Benz was considering an M-Class SUV vehicle with a 300-plus horsepower engine. BMW was also rumored to be interested in developing what would later become the X5.Other European, Japanese, and American brands were looking into developing luxury SUVs, including Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, Lincoln and Cadillac. The potential for such new entrants threatened the sustainability of Porsche’s sales forecasts of 20,000 SUVs each year. 15 By 1996, the premium SUV market was proving its success. Sales of the 1996 Mercedes off-roader M-Class demonstrated a demand for luxury SUVs (see Exhibit 4 for SUV market information). Luxury/crossover SUVs targeted the high-end market with top quality interior amenities such as stylish materials (wood and leather) and lowered suspensions.Sales of high-end SUVs—those costing between $43,000 and $49,000—were expected to reach 300,000 in 1998 (up from 75,000 in 1995)16. Exhibit 5 shows SUV sales forecasts by region. Cadillac was expected to launch an SUV in 1999, and Ford was testing a 19-foot â€Å"crew wagon† with a V10 engine. tC Competition in luxury SUVs was intensified by major Asian players. Lexus, Toyota’s luxury auto division, saw its small LX 450 SUV grow to nearly 30% of all U. S. Lexus sales in just a few years. Acura (Honda), Infiniti (Nissan), and Mitsubishi already had luxury offerings in the U. S. arket. Nissan’s Xterra SUV was planned for 2000. 17 Launching a luxury SUV was an expensive bet for Porsche. R&D alone amounted to â‚ ¬300 million, and capital expenditures for new plant and equipment tripled between 2000 and 2002. 18 No Wiedeking was confident in his SUV strategy: â€Å"Our new sport utility ve hicle will not only correspond in full with Porsche’s high technical and visual standards, but will also pave the way for future growth potential in the sales, turnover, and earnings areas† he promised. 19 An SUV would give Porsche â€Å"a new dimension in both profit and revenues. 20 Fred Schwab, President of Porsche Cars North America explained, â€Å"What is going to distinguish us from them [Porsche’s competitors] is that they are making practical vehicles that are good off-road, but are essentially there to get your groceries and take a ride on Sundays. Porsche is in the business of making fun cars. The Cayenne will go faster, handle better and you will be more comfortable in it. It won’t swing and sway†¦ It will go from zero-to-sixty in 5. 4 seconds. This SUV will be fun to drive. It will be an SUV sports-car lovers will love. †21 Do By 2002, SUVs were under attack in the U.S. by cultural critics. Starting in 1997, Keith Bradsher, a prom inent reporter for the New York Times, spent four years writing scathing critiques of SUVs that culminated in a book launched in 2002 entitled â€Å"High and Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV. † In his articles and book, Bradsher debunked the widely held notion that SUVs were safer than cars and held up SUVs as a prime example of how American consumerism was contributing to global warming. Some began to question the long-term attractiveness of the SUV segment, predicting a move towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. 2 4 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch Bradsher also painted an unflattering portrait of SUV buyers, â€Å"Who has been buying SUVs since automakers turned them into family vehicles? They tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills.Above all, they are apt to be self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities. †23 Bradsher criticized SUV owners for buying SUVs with functionality that they didn’t need, citing auto-industry surveys that showed that less than one in 100 SUV owners took their SUVs off-road. Bradsher connected the SUV to â€Å"soccer moms† who were rejecting minivans and opting into SUVs as their vehicle of choice. Exhibit 6 shows consumers’ perceptions of SUV drivers and Porsche drivers. Listening to Consumers in Online Communities The Rennlist Community op o Web communities provided an opportunity to observe how Porsche owners reacted to the announcements and actions of the company in the months leading up to and following the Cayenne launch. The launch lit up the numerous and diverse online brand communities devoted to Porsche, as enthusiasts around the world came together to talk about this cataclysmic event in the life of their brand in chat rooms, web discussion forums, and blogs. One such community was Rennlist. tC Rennlist, www. Rennlist. com, was an international online community of Porsche enthusiasts founded in 1998.At the time of the Cayenne launch it had 36,000 active posters of comments and a lurker population of 200,000, a silent audience who read but did not participate in the discussions. Rennlist provided a virtual communal gathering place for Porsche enthusiasts, as highlighted in the site’s mission statement: â€Å"[Our members] look to Rennlist as their community, their international club—and their ‘daily dose’ of what we are all bonded by—an uncommon sense of loyalty to the Porsche marque as well as to other Rennlist members throughout the world. Rennlist was independently owned and run by Porsche enthusiasts and was not affiliated with Por sche, although some local Porsche dealerships enjoyed commercial sponsorship through advertising banners on the site. No One of the most used features of Rennlist was its web forums, online discussion boards where members engaged in ongoing dialogues with each other by first initiating topics of conversation with a seed post, and then listening and responding to others’ comments in asynchronous conversations. All posts were public and were archived on the website for posterity.In the words of a Rennlist member, the web forums simulated a virtual fraternity: â€Å"I haven’t had as much fun talking about cars in many years, than I’ve had on these forums. Many times it’s like sitting around a big roundtable with everyone having beers and telling war stories & giving each other help. It’s fraternity; and I appreciate it. † While anyone who joined could post to Rennlist’s discussion forums, the majority of posters claimed to own at least o ne Porsche vehicle. Most posters used a virtual signature which contained a list of their Porsche cars.The Porsche Brand as an Identity Marker Do Rennlist posts painted a picture of Porsche as an ego-expressive brand. While postings seldom addressed the issue directly, a sense of Porsche as a masculine identity marker was palpable in the kinds of topics discussed: the focus on performance metrics, engineering standards, and admiration for Porsche’s manufacturing and racing prowess. Occasionally, however, posts like this appeared: There’s super hot women everywhere, ignoring us†¦tons of hotties, no love (and in some cases a bit of attitude and contempt) from any of them†¦ ntil we walk outside and head to my 996. When it is apparent as to which car we are going to, I hear, ‘Mr. bald guy’ (I have 5 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch rP os t 511-068 no hair) ‘Where are you going? Come back’ from a group of about 10 absolutely drop dead beautiful, tightly clothed, amazingly sexy women on the patio. (Rennlist post)Porsche as a socio-economic status marker was seldom expressed directly, and often expressly denied: I’d like people to see me in my Porsches and think ‘there goes a person who really appreciates his sports cars,’ not ‘there goes another yuppie with more money than brains. ’ (Rennlist post) Initial Response of Porsche Enthusiasts to the Prospect of the Cayenne Launch op yo Hostility to the launch of the SUV was intense. A scan of Rennlist showed conversations about the Cayenne reaching a fever pitch as the launch approached.Exhibit 7 shows the number and valence of posts over time. In the New York Times, the founder of Porsche Pete’s Boxster Board (another Porsche online brand comm unity), claimed â€Å"No other Porsche – past, present, or future – comes close to generating the kind of [on-line conversation] response that the Cayenne has. †24 Some posts suggested that a source of pride was about to become a source of shame. It makes me embarrassed of owning a Porsche†¦kinda like that relative you don’t want to admit sharing the same bloodline.Ugh! (Rennlist post) I am actually ashamed of Porsche stopping to be a pure sports car company†¦A SUV (SlowUgly-Vehicle)!! The ANTI-SPORT CAR, a heavy, slow, clumsy, and roll-over happy SUV will share the same emblem on its hood than our sportscars. Sad times for Porsche. (Rennlist post) tC Some Porsche owners posted that they were leaving the brand for rivals Ferrari, Aston Martin, or Maserati, after claiming that Porsche had â€Å"sold out. † Others collectively mourned the loss of the brand they knew and loved.As key design, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing decision s were released by Porsche, consumers used Rennlist as a place to vent displeasure. There just aint nothing Porsche in a SUV. (Rennlist post) No I have been exposed to Porsches since the age of 10. I have seen all the models come and go, but the Cayenne is the first non-sports car to come up and I really don’t like this direction at all. Porsche has always been synonymous with ‘sports car’ and now somebody can say ‘I have a Porsche†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and mean a Cayenne! I could not imagine a Ferrari SUV for example! (Rennlist post)Do Just as they had done with earlier models, enthusiasts criticized design and engineering attributes of the SUV. The Cayenne’s front-mounted, water-cooled engine offended â€Å"real Porsche† purists. Early photographs of the Cayenne were met with ridicule in the online community, and sparked many conversations about how ugly the Cayenne was and how it resembled the Hyundai Santa Fe. Some argued that the Cayenne’ s design was feminine and lacked the manly stance of competitors like the Hummer and the Jeep. Porsche enthusiasts were also dismayed that the Cayenne included unnecessary† amenities such as cupholders and a tiptronic automatic transmission, which suggested that the Cayenne was designed for drivers who valued luxury over driving performance. These features confirmed that the Cayenne was not designed as a driver’s car, but rather, that it was designed to appeal to what Porsche owners called â€Å"suburban, yuppie, soccer moms. † In online conversations, Porsche owners repeatedly called the Cayenne a car for â€Å"poseurs,† people who did not understand the history, 6 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013.Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch heritage, and performance of a Porsche, but who bought the brand merely for its status or imageappeal. 20 years ago, when you said you had a Porsche, people looked at you with envy. 10 years ago, when you said you had a Porsche, people looked at you with envy. Today, when you say you have a Porsche, people will reply: oh, those trucks? I got one of those too. (Rennlist post) I just felt really sad.Now ‘soccer moms’ can drive their kids around in a Porsche. Pretty sad. Look at the level that Porsche has been brought down to. BIG MISTAKE (Rennlist post) op yo And the people who will use it!!! Suzy-Housewife, as well as Dorky Dick who’s been beaten up through high school finally bought his first – ahem, PORSCHE got the A-OK from the wife – ‘so long it’s practical dear’!!!!!!!! (Rennlist post) The Cayenne will be bought as a car for the poser wife to take the kids to school, the only time it will go off road will be when it goes up on the curb.Come on how many real rear engined Porsche e nthusiasts will buy one. (Rennlist post) Product Development and Manufacturing Criticism No tC Porsche’s product development and manufacturing decisions figured prominently in the â€Å"real Porsche† debate and became fodder for arguments against the Cayenne. By spring 1998, Porsche was negotiating with Volkswagen to jointly develop and manufacture SUVs. Under the proposed arrangement, Porsche would undertake the research and development of the SUV and Volkswagen would invest about $657 million in the project. 5 The new SUVs would share close to 65% of their parts and modules—the same chassis and some technologies—but showcase different exterior styling, engines, and chassis tuning. Porsche would develop the two models as well as the common platform. VW would be responsible for major aspects of production, with final Cayenne assembly to be conducted by Porsche. 26 Partnering with VW was â€Å"an ingenious coup,† an observer noted: â€Å"Half of Po rsche’s profits come from the Cayenne. That model was developed in collaboration with VW and was built in VW plants. The car is 90 percent VW and 10 percent Porsche. 27 Skeptics worried about paying Porsche prices for a VW, but were assured that the R&D of the new model was purely Porsche’s domain, while its partner would oversee only the production of some major components, excluding the engine. 28 But as one financial analyst opined, the Cayenne would â€Å"push Porsche’s brand credibility to the absolute limit. †29 Porsche’s partnership with Volkswagen caused consternation among Porsche enthusiasts. Earlier Porsche cars produced with Volkswagen, such as the 914 and 924, had been criticized by enthusiasts as â€Å"faux† Porsche vehicles. Many claimed that the Cayenne was a â€Å"Porsche-ized VW† built with too muchVolkswagen content. When Porsche launched a V6 model of the Cayenne which contained a Volkswagen engine, instead of the Porsche engines featured in the V8 and Turbo models initially launched, Porsche consumers cried heresy. When some independent testers chose the Volkswagen Touareg over the Porsche Cayenne in performance tests, consumers cemented their skepticism and claimed that, suddenly, â€Å"there was a substitute† for a Porsche, and it was a Volkswagen Touareg. Do Porsche and VW do not seem to be in bed on this project, they are in bed on this project. They are both exactly the same basic vehicle.VW gave Porsche the chassis and said go and design a SUV if you want to be our partner on this†¦So the VW Toureg and Porsche Cayenne are both Porsche designed on a VW chassis and when they are pulled off the line to go up to Leipzig you will not be able to tell the difference. Only when the Cayenne leaves Leipzig will it look any different. When it has been Porscherised with engine and cosmetics. (Rennlist post) 7 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY unti l August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch P os t 511-068 Sorry, the Cayenne is a Porsche†¦ While some of the design is shared with VW and some components built @ VW factories, Quality Control was still supervised by Porsche†¦ A good analogy to your argument would be having Emeril Lagasse prepare you a dish at his restaurant and then prepare the same dish at your home. Still the same dish, just produced elsewhere†¦ (Rennlist post) Enthusiasts were distressed to find that the Cayenne had a Japanese transmission. They saw this as a further decline in build quality that came when Porsche switched to Japanese manufacturing processes and away from its handcrafted heritage.In their online conversations, enthusiasts yearned for the days when their Porsche cars were Porsche designed, constructed from German-made parts, and manually assembled in Germany by racing engineers. op yo I was reading in Panorama last night that the Cayenne has a 6 speed tip tranny which is produced in Japan. Is this true? Seems like Porsche is just outsourcing as much as possible to keep profits high. Both my cars have Japanese parts (A/C), but nothing so substantial as a transmission. What's next, engines from the Far East? I'm less and less impressed every day I read more. Rennlist post) IMHO a German car with German Ing should have German parts, especially for something as major as the tranny. Isn't that part of the identity of the brand? oops.. forgot, Porsche doesn't value the brand identity that was built over the last 50 years anymore. The old professor [Ferry Porsche] dies and look what happens†¦ an SUV. (Rennlist post) No tC Personally the thought of purchasing a Porsche with some of its major components outsourced to the Far East is analogous to buying what you think is a fine Swiss time piece that turns out to have a cheap(er) Japanese movement inside.To me t hat would be unacceptable. Yes, both work, and work well, but the reason you bought the Swiss one in the first place was to get the hand crafted Swiss quality and workmanship that dates back hundreds of years†¦I certainly hope this will not be the future for Porsche cars. Those who know the real definition of build quality know exactly what I am talking about. Most Japanese stuff isn't even worth rebuilding, because it is designed to be replaced when it is done. The old German design and build philosophy was much different than the modern Japanese design (if there is such a thing) and build philosophy.Porsche cars used to be about hand crafted high quality performance, but all that seems to have gone out the window these days just to make more profits. (Rennlist post) Wiedeking defended his design and manufacturing decisions, claiming that Porsche focused on its core competencies: engine manufacturing, R;D, body shell work, assembly, quality control, and â€Å"highly professio nal† distribution, while relying on â€Å"extended work benches† at Valmet, VW, and its network of suppliers. It reduced its in-house production depth to one of the lowest in the industry, shared some components with VW such as electronics, and split R;D costs with VW. 0 Do Finally, Porsche’s decision to build the Cayenne in Leipzig, in the former East Germany, put into question whether the Cayenne could be a â€Å"real Porsche. † Rennlist members who visited the Leipzig plant brought back bad news. The Leipzig plant was little more than a final assembler, with most of the assembly work being done by automated machines. To enthusiasts, the Cayenne’s assembly in Leipzig put into question its â€Å"Made in Germany† moniker. Leipzig did not carry the German manufacturing heritage of Zuffenhausen; its location in East Germany was associated with the Communist era.Nice try, but aren't our Cs actually built out in some Skoda plant in Eastern Europe and then final assembled in Leipzig? This may explain some of the initial build quality problems. 8 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch I've read that the Eastern European manufacturing workforce has some of the attitudinal and work ethic habits of 1970s era Detroit car builders. God forbid. (Rennlist post)Here is a firsthand report of someone who visited the Leipzig factory on March 19, 2004: What amazed me most was how small it was. They really were just integrators and assemblers there. Much of the car (the upper shell and interior) comes in from Bratislava, and the power plant from Zuffenhausen. The tranny from Asia and it is all put together and â€Å"married† with 18 BOLTS! That’s it! Funny. After it is put together, they test drive EACH ONE on the track. I fou nd that to be very interesting quality control, and also a testament to the difference between a VW and a Porsche. Clearly, the Cayenne is not built in Leipzig.Leipzig is where the final assembly and final QC are done. I'm sure that the quality control of Porsche is much better than that of VW. But it is not a car manufacturing plant. (Rennlist post) op yo Having toured the factory in Leipzig two weeks ago, I can assure you that the Cayenne final assembly is mostly by machine, NOT by hand. The level of automation is amazing. It takes 170 production workers per day to produce 130 Cayennes per day. It takes 80 production workers per day to produce 2 Carrera GT's per day! (Rennlist post) And on their website they are boasting about how it's Made in Germany and what that means.Maybe the thing should say kinda-put-together in Germany. (Rennlist post) tC Wiedeking defended his decision to assemble in East Germany: â€Å"The Leipzig location brings our firm advantages, otherwise we would have never built the plant there. But we also create jobs in an economically weak region. †31 However, a Porsche spokesperson confirmed the importance of manufacturing location to Porsche enthusiasts, â€Å"[Location] is not an uncritical issue. People think that as a car comes off the line at Zuffenhausen, Ferdinand Porsche comes by and caresses the car with his hand, and that makes it an official Porsche.Of course, Ferdinand Porsche hasn’t been doing that for some time. †32 Hostility Toward Cayenne Buyers In December 2002, European dealers began to sell the Cayenne, and in March 2003 it was on sale in the United States. Postings by some Porsche owners took on a threatening tone. Try owning a Cayenne and see how you’re treated by other Porsche owners. (Rennlist post) No Oh and just so you guys know†¦you are the laughing stock of all other Porsche owners. (Rennlist post) One thing is for sure: the SUV is NOT my brother! I always accepted the other mod els in the family – the 928s, 924s, Boxsters, etc.They were all sports cars. But the SUV: never! (Rennlist post) Others echoed the earlier concern that the new car would shame them. Do People will buy these Porsche S. U. V. ’s because they’re a fad, and they’ll embarrass the real Porsche crowd. They’re not going to know how to drive and they’ll do stupid things. It’s scary to think about. (Rennlist post) There was a wish to purify the community by exclusion or ostracism. On the road, Porsche owners refused to extend their fraternal greeting to Cayenne owners, limiting it to sports car owners only.They tried to block Cayenne owners from joining local Porsche clubs and refused to allow them to race alongside sports cars in club-sponsored racing event. 9 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch rP os t 511-068 So how about the Cayenne? Seems kinda funny flashing lights at an SUV even if it has a Porsche badge†¦Don’t think I can†¦ (Rennlist post) I’m with you guys on the Cayennes. I don’t wave to drivers of re-badged VW Touregs either. Rennlist post) Please don’t flash your lights or honk your horns at me. You will only see my longest finger back at you. (Rennlist post) My point it that all SUV owners should take their toys and play in their playground. NOT in mine. Find other SUV’s go to the track and have fun together. (Rennlist post) op yo There’s still one problem: A Cayenne, driven by the owner of other Porsche cars may be able to perform miracles that would embarrass all competitors in an autocross situation but the scary thought is that PCNA [Porsche Cars North America] are betting that many Cayenne owners will not be previous Porsche drivers.Having these people who could be un accustomed to a vehicle of such power, may very well overstep their abilities in trying to keep up (or prove themselves) to the rest of us and cause some real damage. Yes, I’m biased against the Cayenne. Yes, I think the whole idea of a Porsche SUV is a mistake. (Rennlist post) The newcomers would not understand the values of the community they sought to join. They have little of no feeling of belonging, no understanding of the lineage of Porsches and where their cars were derived from. They don’t care about that, most are probably just poseurs. Rennlist post) tC It’ll be piloted by folks who woulda bought the Mercedes Benz/Range Rover if there weren’t five of them in the subdivision already, who wouldn’t consider a Lexus because it’s ‘jap crap’ and who think BMW/VW is beneath them. They’re not enthusiasts, they’re consumers. They won’t know or care that old time P-snobs will shun them. (Rennlist post) Cayen ne Buyers Respond Some Cayenne buyers sought to broaden the Porsche community to include themselves as members of good standing, or at least to appeal to the better natures of the old guard.No This sense of kinship is getting lost due to lines being drawn between one group to another. (Rennlist post) I thought being a Porsche owner was like joining some sort of fraternity of something†¦ but it’s more like [Boxster, Cayenne] owners are the red-headed step child of some dysfunctional Porsche family. Did all entry level Porsche owner’s get this much crap when they bought their new Porsches? (Rennlist post) Do So am I to understand that you are allowed to rail against and hurl invective and others are not? Look. You like your car, I like mine.I’m not going to bash yours, and I go out of my way to salute yours. Why do you continue to bash my choices? (Rennlist post) Please start being nicer to each other. This is not the correct time to start having a go at each others throats. (Rennlist post from a site moderator) Sadly, the ranks of Porsche owners seems to be populated by those into model specific devisiveness and comparison pissing matches. Where once a camaraderie of enthusiasm existed, now lies a state of SUV owners looking for the next status symbol and those remaining 10This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch few who love the maker of their dream cars fight with one another over which model is best and how effeminate or inadequate another model is compared to theirs. (Rennlist post) Spillover into the Offline World While the â€Å"real Porsche† debates raged on Rennlist, Porsche enthusiasts began to take their criticisms into the offline world.Consumer-generated-advertising spoofing the Cayenne made its way around the Internet ( see www. flickr. com/photos/alecmcint/447172 for a sample). Consumers circulated bumper stickers, license plate frames, and t-shirts for the Cayenne with slogans like â€Å"My other car is a REAL Porsche. † Cayenne’s advertising featuring headlines such as â€Å"Only one sport utility vehicle has bloodlines like these† and â€Å"Another twisted branch on the family tree† set off online rants. An article in Internet magazine Autoextremist captured the mood: op yoPorsche’s advertising campaign for the new Porsche Cayenne is the latest attempt to link its ungainly SUV to its greatest sports car and traditions, and in doing so it achieves a new low for the once-bulletproof brand by at once dismissing its own legacy and insulting the intelligence of every auto enthusiast—Porsche, or otherwise—in the process†¦A stretch that only delusional Porsche marketers could possibly attempt—and a flat-out insult to every great Porsche spor ts car that has come before it†¦To link it [the Cayenne] in any way to some of motordom’s most historic and legendary machines is an outrage. 3 tC What was said and done on Rennlist traveled beyond the online community. Compelling posts were often copied and pasted to other online communities and to personal and professional blogs. Press reporters used online brand communities like Rennlist to find consumers who were willing to talk about the brand in the press. Porsche owners quoted in news stories about the launch were longstanding, active online brand community members. The mainstream press began to reflect the online zeitgeist of the Porsche enthusiasts.Autoextremist warned that â€Å"[The SUV] threatens to destroy the very soul of the company,†34 while the Los Angeles Times announced that â€Å"Snowballs are rolling uphill in Hades. Porsche—shudder—will build an SUV. † 35 Porsche probably has the purest DNA of any sportscar maker. I donâ €™t care how good an allwheel-drive wagon is, it’s not a sportscar. If you add a car that does not fit with your brand’s image, you must reduce the power of that image. (Porsche consumer quoted in Herald-Sun)36 No Everything about the Cayenne is completely the opposite of what Porsche is and does.It will be the death of a tradition. (Porsche consumer quoted in the New York Times)37 It’s blasphemy†¦I’m not hot on the idea at all. I’ve lived with Porsches all my life and the marquee has always been Porsche sports cars. To bring out an SUV doesn’t sit well with me. (Porsche consumer quoted in the Los Angeles Times)38 Any truck made by Porsche deserves to be a failure. It’s a disgrace to the Porsche name. (Porsche consumer quoted in Autoweek)39 Do Cayenne Owners Become Assertive Cayenne owners began to speak in support of their vehicles.They deflected soccer mom, yuppie, and poseur stereotypes, claiming to be fellow Porsche enthu siasts. They told stories about how they would take their SUVs off-road, or use them to tow their Porsche race cars or boats, or to access adventure sports like skiing, hiking, hunting, and fishing. They bragged about the performance of their Cayennes and wrote of beating other sports cars, including the Porsche Boxster, off of the line at traffic lights. They described positive reactions they received from others. They referred to their 11This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch rP os t 511-068 SUVs as â€Å"sports cars† and circulated a revisionist history of Porsche in which the Cayenne is a logical descendant of Porsche classics. They reminded readers that Ferry Porsche was the driving force behind the Cayenne: By now, I gotta say the C [Cayenne] is a winner. It’s not really even an S UV in the traditional sense.It’s primary focus, like all porsches is performance, and with a straight face, I can tell you it’s pretty much a sports car with some suv traits. (Rennlist post) op yo You may not need a vehicle that can carry kids, go to the snow, haul a few things and is fun to drive, but that doesn’t mean no one does. The Cayenne may not match the 996 (almost nothing else does) but if it outhandles and outbrakes 90% of the vehicles out there, has great power, is fun to drive, offeres good utility, and has room for more of your stuff (including the dog) if that is required, why on earth wouldn’t you want one if you were ooking for that type of vehicle. Why wouldn’t ANYONE want one who can afford the price of admission? (Rennlist post) The Sports Car Owners Respond Not all sports car owners were hostile to the Cayenne. Indeed 18% of the first wave of buyers owned Porsche sports cars. As time passed, postings began to appear on Rennlist embracing the Cayenne. The posters noted that, unlike many SUVs built for the road, it handled like a sports car with sports car acceleration and nimbleness, yet had the ability to perform like a true off-roader and had impressive towing capacity. C All this over an SUV :rolleyes: And all this talk about how the newer porsches aren’t true to their sportscar heritage, seems to me all new cars are going this way, in the end a car company has to worry about selling new cars a lot more than selling old cars and new car buyers for the most part want all those luxuries†¦If Porsche thinks it needs a SUV to remain strong in the marketplace let them build it. Mercedes has an SUV for chrissakes are they any less of a luxury car company because of it? (Rennlist post) NoIf you’re really a Porsche enthusiast, you recognize that they’re first and foremost the world’s best automotive engineering firm, and the Cayenne looks to be more proof of that. Conceptually, I don’t see it as being that far away from the 928. I can’t imagine a reason in the world why anybody would care that it has four doors. (Rennlist post) Pity you feel that way. Do you wave to 914 owners? How about 924 owners? Who decides which Porsche are worthy and which are not? I know plenty of enthusiasts that have Cayennes as second vehicles. While the Cayenne is not my cup of tea I've driven a few and they are pretty impressive for an SUV.Do you really want to be one of those drivers that wave to some Porsche's and not others? No flame intended†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ just something to consider. After all there are some out there that don't think a 986 or a 928 are real Porsche's either! (Rennlist post) Do I have to say that negative opinions (regarding what is and is not a real Porsche) DO, in fact, piss me off. Who the hell is ANYONE, other than Porsche, to say what is and is not? I, personally, would NEVER buy a 924. I don't like them. I don't like how they look. I think they are underpowered and somewhat boring. Is it a real Porsche? Of course it is!!!! You know why?Because PORSCHE built it and SAYS it is!!! Some shmuck who owns a 911 decides that a 944 isn't real. Show me how he is qualified to make that assesment. Does it have a Porsche badge placed there, at the factory, by PORSCHE Then it is!!!!! (Rennlist post) 12 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch However, the majority of the community continued to attack the Cayenne, relegating it to the bottom rung of the group’s status hierarchy.Feeling the pressure, Cayenne owners posted their feelings. So SICK OF THIS, like the Cayenne, and plan to buy one. I come to this forum to get updated info, whats new. What I find is the same people making post after post of the same thing, Its ugly, I d on’t like the name, why isn’t Porsche racing Bla Bla Bla. Do these same people go to the 914 forum and tell them their cars have VW motors, or the 924 forum and harp about Audi truck motors? (Rennlist post) op yo I have the V8 Porsche [Cayenne] and guess I get a little defensive when people call it a VW and I paid close to 69K for a quote un-quote VW.I know deep down in my heart that I have a Porsche (Rennlist post) †¦well, maybe the ‘bashing’ was mild this time†¦but its being going on day in day out for the past year†¦Yeah, I shouldn’t let it bother me†¦but after a while anything starts to wear thin†¦trust me. (Rennlist post) Any of you guy’s ever hear the expression ‘if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say it. ’ Almost every time someone is excited about purchasing this vehicle some of you guys have to post something negative. Please next time post what you drive so I can use ever y opportunity to tell you what junk you drive. Rennlist post) Looking Ahead No tC Porsche’s senior management shrugged off the negative buzz from consumers. Despite the withering criticism from consumers, shareholders, and the press, Wiedeking claimed he was not concerned, though he admitted that the decision to build the Cayenne â€Å"was certainly not selfevident. † He said that Porsche was â€Å"richly scolded† for moving away from its â€Å"brand core† so it knew that it had to be a success. Wiedeking argued that launching the Cayenne took the same courage that Porsche’s founder had demonstrated when he founded Porsche in 1931 during the Great Depression. 0 Schwab, Porsche’s North American President, labeled consumers’ response naive, â€Å"Those in the Porsche Clubs of America will castigate us for the SUV decision, but they just don’t know business. For them to keep having their beloved 911s, we have to find a niche else where. That is modern business. †41 Do Wiedeking and Schwab were already looking ahead to their next big launch, the Porsche Panamera, the company’s first ever four-door sedan. Envisioned as a rival to Maserati, BMW, Audi, and Jaguar sedans, Panamera would further diversify Porsche’s product portfolio and customer base. The Panamera is a perfect fit for Porsche,† Wiedeking professed, â€Å"It has all the typical DNA characteristics of a genuine sports car. In terms of performance, design, and driving dynamics, it meets Porsche’s high standards in every respect. †42 13 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch Exhibit 1 Porsche Milestones rP os t 511-068 Ferdinand Porsche born Sept. 3 in Maffersdorf, Austria-Hungary. 1909 Ferdinand Anton Ernst (â€Å"Ferryâ€Å") Porsche born Sept. 9, in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. 1950 Porsche begins 356 production in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. 1951 The senior Ferdinand Porsche dies at age 70. 1953 Porsche introduces the 550, its first racing-specific car, which meets immediate success. 1964 Porsche introduces the 911. The company had produced 78,000 Type 356s in 14 years. 1972 Porsche KG becomes a joint stock company (AG). Ferry Porsche, chairman of the supervisory board, precludes all family members, including himself, from direct management roles. 1978 Launch of the front-engined 928 touring car. 1982 Launch of the 944 sports car. 1984A third of Porsche AG’s capital is offered to the public in the form of nonvoting preference shares on April 25. On Sept. 19, his 75th birthday, Porsche receives the honorary title of â€Å"Professor. † 1990 Butzi Porsche (Ferdinand A. ) succeeds Ferry Porsche as chairman of Porsche AG’s supervisory board. Butzi began his own firm, Porsche Design, in 1972. 1992 Wendelin Wiedeking becomes CEO of Porsche. 1996 Launch of the Boxster two-seater sports car. 1997 Porsche introduces its all-new, water-cooled 911 (the 996) at the Frankfurt Motor Show. 1998 The company prepares to celebrate 50 years of building sports cars with the Porsche name.Ferry Porsche, honorary president of the Porsche AG supervisory board since 1990, dies March 27 at the age of 88. 2001 Porsche releases its plans to build an SUV. 2002 European launch of the Cayenne in December. 2003 U. S. launch of the Cayenne in March. No tC op yo 1875 Do Source: â€Å"Porsche Timeline,† AutoWeek, April 6, 1998, and casewriters. 14 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Exhibit 2 511-068 Porsche Relative Stock Price Performance 600 500 rP s t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch January 1998 US$168 300 200 100 January 1997 US$87 Ja nM 90 ay -9 Se 0 p9 Ja 0 nM 91 ay -9 Se 1 p9 Ja 1 nM 92 ay Se 9 2 p9 Ja 2 nM 93 ay Se 9 3 p9 Ja 3 nM 94 ay Se 9 4 p9 Ja 4 n9 M5 ay -9 Se 5 p9 Ja 5 nM 96 ay -9 Se 6 p9 Ja 6 nM 97 ay -9 Se 7 p9 Ja 7 n98 0 op yo 400 DAX 30 tC PORSCHE DATASTREAM GERMAN AUTOMOBILE INDEX Do No Source: Thomson Financial Datastream, accessed February 13, 1998. 15 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 83. 7860. Porsche: The Cayenne Launch Exhibit 3 Porsche Group Highlights 1995–2002 rP os t 511-068 1995–1996 1996–1997 1997–1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million 1,437. 7 527. 7 910. 0 2,093. 3 671. 9 1,421. 4 2,519. 4 735. 5 1,783. 9 3,161. 30 955. 6 2,205. 70 3,647. 70 893. 2 2,754. 50 4,441. 50 1,001. 30 3,440. 20 4,857. 30 1,121. 00 3,736. 30 5,582. 00 1,482. 50 4,099. 50 Vehicle Sales Domestic Porsche Export Porsche Other Models Vehicle Sales Porsche 911 928 944/968 Boxster Cayenne Units Units Units Units Units Units Units Units Units Units 19,262 ,873 13,346 43 19,219 19,096 104 — 19 — 32,383 9,670 22,713 — 32,383 16,507 — — 15,876 — 36,686 9,174 27,512 — 36,686 17,869 — — 18,817 — 43,982 10,607 33,375 — 43,982 23,090 — — 20,892 — 48,797 11,754 37,043 54,586 12,401 42,185 54,234 12,825 41,409 66,803 13,896 52,907 48,797 23,050 54,586 26,721 54,234 32,337 66,803 27,789 25,747 27,865 21,897 18,411 20,603 Production Porsche total 911 Carrera GT 928 944/968 Boxster Cayenne Other Models Units Units Units Units Units Units Units Units Units 20,242 20,242 20,132 — 28 — 82 — — 32,390 32,390 16,488 — — — 15,902 — — 38,007 38,007 19,120 — — — 18,887 — — 5,119 45, 119 23,056 — — — 22,063 — — 48,815 48,815 22,950 55,782 55,782 27,325 55,050 55,050 33,061 73,284 73,284 29,564 7 25,865 28,457 21,989 18,788 24,925 Employees Personnel expenses At year-end â‚ ¬ million 7,107 392. 1 7,959 464. 4 8,151 528. 2 8,712 574. 9 9,320 631. 3 9,752 709. 9 10,143 799. 4 10,699 849. 5 Balance Sheet Total Assets Shareholders’ Equity Fixed Assets Capital Expenditures Depreciation Extended Cash Flow Net income before taxes Net income after taxes Dividends â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million â‚ ¬ million 951. 4 239. 1 482. 5 213. 6 67. 7 ,249. 7 298. 1 565. 3 234. 8 107. 6 27. 9 24. 6 1. 8 84. 5 71. 3 13. 0 1,490. 9 415. 8 579. 6 175. 8 157. 1 413. 1 165. 9 141. 6 21. 9 1,916. 10 587. 4 525. 6 155 183. 7 592. 5 357 190. 9 21. 9 2,205. 40 782 577. 7 243. 7 196. 6 506. 5 433. 8 210 26. 4 2,891. 60 1,053. 30 731. 8 293. 8 132. 7 764. 4 592. 4 270. 5 45 5,408. 70 1466. 80 2,207. 70 1,119. 50 278. 80 1,067. 30 828. 90 462. 00 297. 00 6,315 1,754. 50 2,663. 30 1,295. 20 392. 20 1,389. 60 933. 00 565. 00 59. 00 Do No tC op yo Sales Domestic Export Source: Casewriters, compiled from data listed in Porsche Annual Reports, 1995-2002, http://www. orsche-se. com/pho/en/ investorrelations/mandatorypublications/, accessed December 2005. Note: HGB and IFRS denote accounting standards. In 2003 Porsche adopted IFRS, or International Financial Reporting Standards. 16 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. 511-068 rP os t Porsche: The Cayenne Launch Premium SUV Market Information (1996–1998 forecast) (in units) Exhibit 4 400,000 350,000 300,000 op yo 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 0,000 0 1996 tC Luxury 1997 Upper middle class 1998 Middle class Do No Source: C asewriters, compiled from data contained in IHS Global Insight Report, â€Å"World Light Truck Industry Forecast†, 1999. 17 This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. This document is authorized for use only by Uma Jaidev at VIT UNIVERSITY until August 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. – –

Poverty in the United States Essay

Poverty is a serious issue not only in third world countries but also here in the United States. Discussing the nature of poverty in the United States is important because through understanding we will find solutions. Gaining insights into the issue of poverty can be used to understand the complexity of the subject. Poverty has been defined as a state of deprivation of goods and services that essential to the maintenance of an adequate standard of living in a given society. Although the concept of poverty is considered relative, it cannot be denied that it magnifies the problem concerning inequality in a particular society (Levitan). The struggle of poverty impacts people’s day-to-day life. It is easy to hide some things in life but, poverty is not one of them. There are 633,782 homeless people in cities throughout the United States (St. Francis). Poor people have no place to live and are being exposed to nature’s elements, bacteria, and harmful illness can cause threat to the health of these individuals. The environment is being impacted as well, because there is nowhere to put waste or garbage other than on the ground. This is why it is important to gain insight and understand poverty so that we can help these people and the earth. When a person is living in poverty it is humiliating and weighs on an individual’s self-esteem as well as their families and is very difficult to overcome. Poverty is not always a choice, but it is a situation that can be prevented. If people everywhere take something from every book, article or essays that has been written and are willing to recognize and do something about it then it is a problem that can be fixed. There is not a perfect plan or a perfect solution to the poverty problem but, the aim is to decrease the number of individuals and families living in poverty drastically. There are many families living in poverty and there are an equal amount of thoughts and opinions on why people live in poverty such as drug and alcohol use, domestic violence and foreclosure just to name a few. Individuals have a difficult time taking care of themselves can you imagi ne having to try to provide for a family on next to nothing every day. Without a street address these families do not qualify to get welfare assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid, or housing assistance. Without housing assistance people are forced to stay in shelters and if they don’t make to a shelter by a certain  time they go without a warm place to sleep and without food that night. Some people wait in long lines all day for a spot at the shelter only to be turned away because there is just not enough space for everyone. A good way to alleviate or even eliminate this problem is to build more shelters or use some of the abandoned buildings in poverty stricken neighborhoods for the poor people to sleep in. Have stipulations in these shelters that individuals and their families are guaranteed more than one night as long as they abide by guidelines provided, kind of like a contract. So they are not just getting help they are in a sense helping their selves. Different situations have different solutions, there is a difference between a person living in poverty because you’re a war veteran and just having a hard time and living in poverty because you are and addict and everything you have is spent on drugs and alcohol. In these newly built or refurbished shelters with these stipulations, programs can be offered to help transition into a better way of living. Yes, then there is the issue of money and where will it come from. Nobody has money lying around just to give away so charity events, fundraisers, donations, volunteers and maybe even some help from government agencies would help. The children of these families living in poverty suffer most. Research shows that poverty in the first five years of a child’s life changes the life of a child compared to if they were to live in poverty later in life. This is because poverty is associated with poor nutrition; poor nutrition leads to lower intelligence, bad physical development, and poor immune systems. â€Å"Children deprived of proper nutrition during the most informative years score much lower on tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension, arithmetic, and general knowledge. The more severe the poverty a child faces, the lower his or her nutritional level is likely to be (Brown&Pollitt).† Many children that are labeled bad kids with behavioral problems are really just lacking nutritional value. A child that is hungry is more likely to act o ut and have greater difficulty focusing than a well fed child. There are government programs that offer assistance with nutrition such as W.I.C and Healthy Schools but the guidelines are very strict and fall short in making sure that every child living in poverty has adequate nutrition. So, this problem can be solved by changing the guidelines and making it easier for a family living in poverty to feed our future. People might say this is not my problem, I’m not living in poverty  so what does this have to do with me? Truth be told everyone is affected by poverty. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, â€Å"There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society, with a large segment of people in that society, who feel they have no stake in it; who feel they have nothing to lose. People, who have stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don’t have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it (Dr.MartinLutherKingJr.).† According to the history of our nation, the safety and equality of the people of our society relies on everyone individually and as a whole nation as one. If that’s the way the world is meant to be then why are people living in poverty treated so differently? Upper class doesn’t make you better than a person living in poverty, money doesn’t make you bad or good and the same goes for poverty. The founders of our nation fought hard for a country where everyone is treated as a person equally but, that is not the case when thousands of people still live in poverty every day. â€Å"Anybody that has ever spent a morning at the Department of Motor Vehicles or stood in the line at the Post Office should understand that simply because the government is handling the problem, doesn’t mean it’s being handled properly (St. Francis)†. The next time you see someone a little down and out stop to give them a minute and see if you can help them in any way, remember that poverty does not make them any less a human than you. I believe the proposed solutions will work because if its believable than its achievable and our system has proven in other situations to be reliable so let use it for the good of the people of our country that could use a hand up not a hand out. For people to be sick on the street, forced to sleep on cardboard or dirt, and have to beg other people to help them is not humane or the American way and should not be tolerated any longer. Works Cited Brown&Pollitt. â€Å"Malnutrition, Poverty and Intellectual Development.† Pollitt, L. Brown & E. n.d. Dr.MartinLutherKingJr. â€Å"†Letter From Birmingham Jail†.† April 1963. Levitan, Sar A. â€Å"†Poverty† In the Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia.† 1990: pages 478-480 Vol. 15. St. Francis, Nancy. â€Å"Homelessness in America 2013.† 2013.

Effects of Junk Food

Junk Food Sucks Eating  junk food  can have a significant impact on one's health. Though many people enjoy eating  junk  food  and think it tastes great. The term â€Å"junk  food†Ã‚  typically refers to foods that are relatively high in caloric content, but low in nutritional value. Junk  food  is often high in sugar, salt, white flour, and fat. A few examples of foods often considered to be  junk  food  include fast  food, sweets such as ice cream, candy, donuts, and prepackaged treats, soda, and  potato  chips, among many others.The effects of eating too much junk food are lower energy levels, can weight gain  and led to illness and diabetes. The first effect of  eating  junk  food  is its impact on energy levels. Many people skip breakfast or other meals throughout the day, choosing instead to grab a quick snack or a soft drink. The junk  food  causes energy levels to spike, which people like, but then energy levels will quickly dr op, sending one back into the kitchen for another quick snack.The high levels of sugar in junk food puts your metabolism under stress; when you eat refined sugar, your pancreas secretes high amounts of insulin to prevent a dangerous spike in blood sugar levels. In addition,  junk  food  can cause moodiness, and make it difficult to get enough sleep at night, so energy levels are never restored to normal. (Junk Food) Second effect from eating junk food is weight gain.People who eat a lot of  junk  food  tend to gain weight quickly, which can lead to obesity over time; this extra weight then has an impact on the health of the rest of the body. It can raise  cholesterol  and blood pressure, contributing to  heart disease. The high levels of fat and sodium in junk food can cause high blood pressure or hypertension. Excessive dietary sodium can also have a negative effect on renal function, even leading to kidney disease. High levels of dietary fat lead to poor cognitiv e performance.You'll feel tired and have trouble concentrating because your body might not be getting enough oxygen. (Nutrition) Third effect of eating too much junk food is Diabetes. Over time, the high levels of sugar and simple carbohydrates in junk food can lead to type 2 diabetes. This occurs because eating too much sugar puts your metabolism under stress; when you eat a lot of refined white sugar and simple carbohydrates, your body has to pump up insulin production to prevent a dangerous spike in blood sugar levels.Because junk food doesn't contain the protein or complex carbohydrates that your body needs to maintain consistent blood sugar levels, your blood sugar levels will drop suddenly soon after eating. You'll crave sugar and likely end up eating more junk food. Over time, this stress damages your body's ability to use the insulin secreted by your pancrease. A healthy diet can help maintain your body's insulin sensitivity. (Nutrition) When the body does not get proper nut rition, it can become difficult to concentrate.It can also cause depression. Keep all of these health  effects  of  junk  food  in mind before  eating anything; a healthy diet can lead to greater energy levels, improved mood and concentration ability, weight loss, and decreased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Though  junk food  may be easy and fast, its health impacts are too great to ignore. Work cited â€Å"Fast Food Nutrition† Fitday. com Tuesday, January 22, 2013 B, Miller. â€Å"Effects of Junk Food† Wisegeek. com Tuesday, January 22, 2013

From onstructivism to social realism Research Paper

From onstructivism to social realism - Research Paper Example Constructivism was the final and most dominant movement of contemporary art to thrive in Russia in the 20th century. It developed immediately as the Bolsheviks came to supremacy in the Revolution of October 1917, and primarily it performed as a rod of lightning for the expectations and proposals of a lot of the highly developed Russian artists who propped up the goals of the revolution It took ideas from Futurism, Suprematism, and Cubism. However, at its core was an entirely novel approach to creating substances, one which sought after eliminating the conventional artistic interest with composition, and substitute it with structuring. Constructivism necessitated a cautious technological investigation of contemporary equipment, and it was expected that this analysis would in due course produce ideas that could be placed to make use of in mass creation, helping the ends of a contemporary, society of Communist. In due course, nevertheless, the pressure group broke down in attempting to make the evolution from the artist's studio to the industrial unit. A number of them went on to be adamant on the significance of abstract, systematic work and the significance of art by itself; these artistes had a key influence on thinning out Constructivism all over Europe. Some of them, in the interim, pushed on to a novel; however, transitory and unsatisfactory period referred to as Productivism, whereby artists operated in industry. Russian Constructivism was in turn down around the mid 1920s, partially a victim of the increased antagonism of Bolshevik's regime to avant-garde art. Nevertheless, it would carry on being a motivation for Western artists, upholding a pressure group known as International Constructivism which thrived in Germany around 1920s, and whose bequest carried on into the 1950s. Constructivism enlarged alongside with Suprematism, the two foremost contemporary forms of art to emerge out of Russia in the 20th century. However, different from Suprematism, whose interests with outline and notion time and again appeared tinged with spirituality, Constructivism steadfastly took on the novel societal and cultural progresses that emerged out of First World War and the Revolution in October 1917 (Haifa, 2009). Interested with the exploitation of ‘materials that are real in actual space’, the pressure group sought after to make use of art as an instrument for the ordinary commodity, a lot in line with the principles of Communists of the new regime in Russian. Many of the works of Russian Constructivists from this phase entailed schemes in architecture, internal and fashion design, earthenware, print and graphics. El Lissitzky was vital in thinning out Constructivism outside Russia. In 1922, he co-planned the Congress of Dusseldorf of Global Prolific Artists, in conjunction with Theo van Doesburg of the Dutch faction DeStijl, and Hans Richter and here the intercontinental Constructivist pressure group was legitimately established (Ki mmelman, 2009). The artists at the Congress in Dusseldorf publicized a proposal that asserted art as an "instrument of development," changing Constructivism into a representation of the contemporary era. Though the global interest group did not bring to light functionality, it stretched out on the initiative of art as an item, and made use of novel materials to bring to light progresses in equipment and industry. Germany turned out to be the hub of the novel interest group owing to the presence of El Lissitzky, who utilized time in Berlin operating on galleries at the Grosse Berliner Ausstellung and the Van Diemen Galerie in the commencement of 1920s. He also worked in partnership on a number of periodicals. Kurt Schwitters and Hans Arp were both engrossed to the contemporary, technical standards of Constructivism regardless of their participation in the more revolutionary interest group Dada. Lissitzky's forms of Proun also shaped the effort

Thinking and Decision Making Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thinking and Decision Making Paper - Essay Example Sound decisions are made without violating religious or cultural beliefs. This Paper will focus on the spiritually guided, the realist, and the analyst. Although most people use only one style when making a decision it is possible to train oneself to use other styles in different situations. The Spiritually Guided individual depends on guidance from God and believes that any result is because: that's what God wants for that person. These individuals believe that anyone can receive guidance from God. When decisions have consequences the Spiritually Guided individual believes that it is the will of God. In addition, these individuals are deeply committed and are confident in their ability to makes decisions based upon their spiritual beliefs. These individuals are hard to sway to another point of view because their beliefs/values are held deeply in the core of the individual. The Spiritually Guided also believes that they can change other's lives for the better by sharing their beliefs with others. The Realist believes that facts are facts2. They make decisions based upon the facts available. They also make decisions based upon observation and personal experiences. The realist is often perceived as hard headed or stubborn. They rarely change their opinion based on another's input. And, the Realist has a "let's get going" point of view and is aggravated when a project is delayed. The Analyst is the thoughtful one who takes his/her time making a decision. They have a "let's take a look at the situation" point of view. Their results are predictable because of the thought and information gathering put into the solution. The analyst is the information gatherer who seeks out as much information as possible to make a logical decision. This type of decision maker takes a great sense of pride in the results of his decision making and views his way as the best way. These three types of decision makers would be a nightmare in a boardroom meeting where an actual decision had to be made. The Realist would already have the decision made, the Spiritualist would be evaluating the situation based upon his beliefs, and the Analyst would be asking for more information so that they carefully plan their decision. The realist would be arguing that he has done this many times and that his approach will work. The Spiritualist would be looking for spiritual guidance (praying) and would act as mentor or arbiter in the meeting. The meeting would end with the Analyst asking for a follow-up meeting to allow time for information gathering and analysis. 2. It is easy to imagine different scenarios and what would happen if a different type of decision maker were in charge. In the corporate world the best way to approach problem solving at the corporate level is to have as many different style decision makers present. Remember that boardroom There is one person that sits and listens to all parties and guides the group through the decision making process. That person is most likely the chairman of the board. He spends most of his time listening and writing questions down on his tablet. Another member of this team is the scribe/note-taker who writes

Process and site design techniques Research Paper

Process and site design techniques - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the process and site design techniques. The page design techniques have also been explained. Two websites have been critically analyzed for process, site design and page design.The outcome of this analysis is provided in this paper. The positive and negative aspects of the first and second generation websites have been observed and described.This report seeks to evaluate the design and construction of two websites based on conventional principles used in the designing of websites. This report also highlights the principles that have been used for the evaluation.Ware et al. (2003) states "you need a good eye for design". First generation websites largely focus on displaying static content that users could either view or download. The characteristic trait of second generation websites is communication, information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration. Ware et al. (2003) says Javascript manipulates the client browser.The schoolnet.com we bsite has been chosen because it is a second generation website which deals with social networking site for the K-12 community which caters to students, parents and teachers. It deals with interactive user experience, collaboration between people, and web 2.0 principles. It is a rich internet application.The cfcindia.com website is a first generation website mainly used to host content that people can view and download. This website has a varied audience and may include people from various communities and cultures. This critique report will analyze the two websites on aspects such as site planning, overall layout and theme. The report will also analyze the design for ease of use of target audience, typography, cross browser compatibility, content relevance, organization and functioning of links on the page and overall usability. Process and site design The important factor while designing a website is the purpose of the website and the audience who will view the website. The font, color combination of the content, structure, navigation and language used must be user friendly. HTML is broadly used to describe the content of web pages in the World Wide Web (Raggett, 1998). The critical analysis of the process and site design techniques of the schoolnet.com website is discussed as follows. This is a well planned site and the theme of the site has been architected well as seen in the layout of the navigation menus and the pages. Numerous images slow down the site. Large images are used on the home page, resulting in long page load times and important site content has been pushed to the lower portion of the screen. The navigation has been well designed with on hover menus. Bread crumbs makes navigation to previously visited pages easier. The choice of vibrant colors makes the site attractive for the younger audience. The critical analysis of the process and site design techniques of the cfcindia.com website is discussed as follows. This site is a little less well planned than Schoolnet.com. This site offers end users Christian digital media for download. The site is not very user friendly for non technical users as options for download are not intuitive with no ability to sort advanced search for content. The home page has well segmented content and content specific user categories. The weaker areas include lack of search on inner pages, no metadata for the digital media and no clear options for download. The on-hover drop down menus enables easy navigation. Lack of bread crumbs makes navigation to previously visited pages cumbersome. The color theme has been kept simple for the varied audience that might visit this site. Page design The user interface must be designed to help the users follow the web pages. Related content must be

Listening activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Listening activity - Essay Example Specifically, I noted that the ability to engage and provide active participation and listening within calculus class was the most difficult of all that had been measured. This does not come as much of a surprise due to the fact that calculus itself is one of the least engaging subjects that I currently engages within this semester. However, when it came to developing a key theme or rational for what topics were distracting or in what way the participant was ultimately led astray of the main topic, the fact was that there was no solitary reason. Instead, the fact that was analyzed centered upon the fact that merely because the subject matter was dry, it was ultimately easier to simply zone out and choose not to engage with the given topic or discussion that may have otherwise been taking place within the classroom. Once a clear determination has been made with regards to what subjects and/or topics provide the greatest level of â€Å"zone outs†, the reasonable question for the author to consider must then become – in what ways would it be possible to effect a positive change on these negative habits. Naturally, the first answer to such a question is simplistic and states merely – â€Å"pay attention†. However, the fact of the matter is that paying attention and not zoning out is merely a byproduct of a series of mental choices (Hamouda 5). Therefore, instead of merely stating that the byproduct itself should be avoided, the better point of attack would be to seek to understand and minimize the thought processes that ultimately lead to zoning out or lack of attention. As the analysis that has been performed illustrated, the main determinants to this byproduct were the inherent personal understanding that the subject matter is boring, rather useless in the grand scheme of things, and overly laborious. As a means of combating such a point of view, the better

Types of Organization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Types of Organization - Research Paper Example In contrast to the classicalschool of thought,behavioral management holds the belief that employees work for inner satisfaction and are not motivated by material remuneration. It argues that productivity is driven by employee satisfaction and not the material benefits that one stands to gain. 2. Relate how today’s management environment differs from that of the management environment of the early 1900s. Today’s management environment is characterized by globalization, use of technological innovations, deregulation, and fierce competition from rival companies, diversified workforce and service specialization.This has driven innovation and the use of scientific models to improve production and decision making in general. In contrast, 1900s were characterized by mainly farm based activities where there was little or no dependency. Businesses were mainly small scale and did not operate beyond their regions thus there was little or no completion to fuel innovations. The gove rnment was barely involved in economic matters and there was little regulation on business process as observed in this age. Management environment today is able to better plan and forecast production through data collection and analysis because specialization through division of labor allows more time for process development. ... Employees are now drawn from different races, age groups, cultures and social backgrounds to bring on board people with fresh ideas and personal outlooks to problems facing their people0. There are several methods which organizations can use to manage diversity. This includes recruitment of a strong leadership which represents the diverse cultures of the employees and can effectively prevent prejudices and discriminations based on differences. Another method to manage diversity is to offer training and education which promotes embracing of different cultures or ways of thinking to create an open minded work force. A change in the culture and management system to incorporate diversity is also effective in managing diversity in the workplace. It not only creates a sense of belonging for all in the workplace but also fosters good relations and open communication channels needed for a company’s growth. 5. Briefly discuss the individual steps of the decision-making process. The for emost step of decision-making involves a description of the problem (Dessler, 2007). An initial assessment of the problem is clearly defined to understand why it is a problem and why you want to find solutions. The second step is clarifying your objectives. This step involves listing all concerns and converting them to precise objectives that lay the foundation of seeking possible solutions to the problem at hand. It also involves counterchecking the objectives to ensure that they seek to capture their interests of the process. The third step is identifying alternative solutions to the problem presented. Alternatives provide different options to choose from while making a decision. The fourth step is analyzing the consequences of the

Look at the attachments not thought of a topic yet Research Proposal

Look at the attachments not thought of a topic yet - Research Proposal Example The analysis shall enable establishment of the connection, thus a foundation for the eradication of the variables researched on. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fact sheet number 364, approximately 16 million girls aged between 15 and 19 give birth every year. In addition, one million girls aged fewer than 15 also gives birth every year (Hamilton et al., 2012). Most of these teenagers come from low and middle-income nations. The World Health Organization also stated complication during pregnancy and childbirth as the second cause of death among teenagers, globally. The research also indicated that almost three million girls aged 15 to 19 undergone unsafe abortions, yearly, and that babies born to these teenage parents face a higher risk of infant deaths (Gibb et al., 2014). Teenage years are marked by rebellion and disagreement between teenagers and their parents. During this period, they are less likely to trust their parent. Becoming pregnant at this age will probably serve to strain the already complicated relationship. Parents will mostly view the pregnancies as the epitome of the childrens rebellion. The prospect of a fallout with the parents may end causing the teenager to conceal their pregnancies or running away from home (Coleman, 2006). Teenage girls are likely to hide their pregnancies for the longest time possible because they are afraid tell their parent. In a majority of cases, teenage girls point at their mothers potential reactions in explaining their deception. Although the stigma associated with these pregnancies is declining in modern days, most teenage girls are still afraid of the disapproval that their mothers are likely to have. It is worth noting that, some fathers will tend be bitter and unforgiving. This is true especially when the teenager is still in school (Ferre et. al., 2013). The stigma and the strain the relationships can be attributed to the fear of

Impact Of Ww2 On Children (The Forgotten Victims Of World War II) Essay

Impact Of Ww2 On Children (The Forgotten Victims Of World War II) - Essay Example Youth showed strength and unity in face of adversity. The hardships that children had to bear during World War II are beyond imagination. Restriction of diet, evacuations to be safe from air raids and bombings, loss of family members, and disruption of education systems are only a few of the problems faced by these brave souls. World War II, as often called as â€Å"War against children†, saw kids who were hungry, displaced, murdered, abused, and kidnapped. Post war humanitarian movements to protect these children were initiated very late. This paper focuses describing the different ways these precious minds were affected by World War II. The monumental effects will be briefly explained in order to give a rough idea of how horrifying the war experiences were for these kids. Table of Contents 1.1 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 1.2 Impact of ww2 on children’s daily lives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 1.3 Child Soldiers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...5 1.4 Physical impact on war children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...5 1.5 Moral and spiritual impact on war children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 1.6 Psychological impact on war children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 1.7 Social and cultural impact on war children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 1.8 Educational impact on war children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9 1.9 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..11 Works cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...12 Effects of World War II on Children 1.1 Introduction World War II established a whole new meaning to lives of not only the soldi ers fighting over it but also those at home front, especially children. It was a critical time which resulted in reorganization of the whole society. For many children, World War II was the defining experience of their lives. Some associated the times with patriotism while some with intense consciousness of being part of a generation distinct from others. Others saw the era with great anxiety, a period of family separation or bearing heavy personal and financial losses. The pressures exerted on these children affected their daily lives as well as their way of thinking. Children along with elders were voluntarily or involuntarily forced to not only exert their every move towards war efforts but also solve day to day problems on their own. This paper is an attempt to explore the variety of effects World War II created on the youth. 1.2 Impact of World War II on Children’s Daily lives Juliet Gardiner asserts that â€Å"the forgotten victims of World War Two were the children.â €  ("Children and World War Two") It did not matter to which country they belonged to, whether they were American, British, and Japanese or from Poland, youth of all regions were massively affected by it. In Britain alone, nearly 2 million children were evacuated from their homes at the start of the War. ("Children and World War Two") An uncountable number of killings gave rise to many orphans. Otherwise, as most of the men of a family entered war, daily life of the younger ones was mostly affected. They had to face time away from not just fathers, uncles, and brothers but also long hours away from mothers, who took place of husbands in factories. Once the bombing

Gender issues in America today Essay Example for Free

Gender issues in America today Essay Women of the whole world face problems on their way to have equal rights with men. These problems differ and depend on the laws of the country they live in. By the last 40 years in the US, thanks to the activity of women’s rights movement, women succeed in the struggle for equal rights, but till the complete equality with men in the aspects of professional practice, salary and policy, there are far more left to gain. American women who want to raise their children in the world with more equality try to change the situation and find some people who have the same position on the issue among representatives of different political parties and members of nongovernmental organizations. When in 1960 drugs which help to control the birthrate came into existence it became possible for women to choose their own life journey. Marriage, children and housekeeping stopped to be the only opportunity. Harmless and more trusting contraception provided women with possibility to appreciate the alternative to all their traditional roles in society. At the same time in the 60s the movement for civil rights, demanding to put an end to racial discrimination and the act about civil rights of the year 1964 undermined the gender discrimination too. This is why the verdure of women’s movement in 70s was not just a case of fortune. Representatives of women’s movement were demanding equal professional opportunities and law defense for all American women. As a result in 60s – 80s the Congress constituted several laws oriented to protect women’s rights. Among them injunction of the Supreme Court of 1965 which opened for women the access to professions earlier considered as men’s ones, the injunction of the Supreme Court of 1971 which forbid the employers to deny women with preschool children, and a law published in 1970 which prohibit gender discrimination in all educational programs financed by government. By the end of 70s among labor force were more women than ever before in peace history (during the Second World War a lot of women went to work, when their men were on battlefields but after 1945 they returned to household chores). But as women were making progress in the career their possibilities were gradually restricted. A term â€Å"glass ceiling† describe the invisible barrier which faces a lot of women on their carrier ladder whilst their men-colleagues with the same professional skills and experience avoid all these problems. In the 80s in the US were accepted several laws oriented to ease the affect of â€Å"glass ceiling† so, for example, in 1984 the injunction of the Supreme Court prohibited to oppose to women’s joining clubs. Earlier these clubs gave to men the capacity of intercommunication for the purpose of further career development. In the same year the Supreme Court resolved that legal services have no right to restrain the career development of their employees in virtue of gender. However the problem of â€Å"glass ceiling† is still exist in the US. In 2002 two members of the House of Representatives – a man and a woman – submitted a report on the problem. The report dwells upon the fact that still too few women occupy administrative positions almost in all spheres. In the report it was also mentioned that the wage gap now is 80 cent earned by woman for every dollar earned by man. â€Å"The wage gap is a statistical indicator often used as an index of the status of womens earnings relative to mens. It is also used to compare the earnings of other races and ethnicities to those of white males, a group generally not subject to race- or sex-based discrimination. The wage gap is expressed as a percentage (e. g. , in 2005, women earned 77% as much as men) and is calculated by dividing the median annual earnings for women by the median annual earnings for men. The Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who hold the same job and do the same work. At the time of the EPAs passage, women earned just 58 cents for every dollar earned by men. By 2005, that rate had only increased to 77 cents, an improvement of less than half a penny a year. Minority women fare the worst. African-American women earn just 69 cents to every dollar earned by white men, and for Hispanic women that figure drops to merely 59 cents per dollar. The wage gap between women and men cuts across a wide spectrum of occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2005 female physicians and surgeons earned 60. 9% of the median weekly wages of male physicians, and women in sales occupations earned just 63. 4% of mens wages in equivalent positions. If working women earned the same as men (those who work the same number of hours; have the same education, age, and union status; and live in the same region of the country), their annual family incomes would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half. † It is also interesting to follow up how the wage gap was changing through years : â„â€" Year Percent â„â€" Year Percent â„â€" Year Percent 1 1951 63. 9 20 1970 59. 4 38 1988 66. 0 2 1952 63. 9 21 1971 59. 5 39 1989 68. 7 3 1953 63. 9 22 1972 57. 9 40 1990 71. 6 4 1954 63. 9 23 1973 56. 6 41 1991 69. 9 5 1955 63. 9 24 1974 58. 8 42 1992 70. 8 6 1956 63. 3 25 1975 58. 8 43 1993 71. 5 7 1957 63. 8 26 1976 60. 2 44 1994 72. 0 8 1958 63. 0 27 1977 58. 9 45 1995 71. 4% 9 1959 61. 3 28 1978 59. 4 46 1996 73. 8 10 1960 60. 7 29 1979 59. 7 47 1997 74. 2 11 1961 59. 2 30 1980 60. 2 48 1998 73. 2 12 1962 59. 3 31 1981 59. 2 49 1999 72. 2 13 1963 58. 9 32 1982 61. 7 50 2000 73. 3 14 1964 59. 1 33 1983 63. 6 51 2001 76. 3 15 1965 59. 9 34 1984 63. 7 52 2002 76. 6 16 1966 57. 6 35 1985 64. 6 53 2003 75. 5 17 1967 57. 8 36 1986 64. 3 54 2004 76. 6 18 1968 58. 2 37 1987 65. 2 55 2005 77. 0 19 1969 58. 9 Here we may see how year after year American women were fighting and wining cent by cent nowadays amount of their salary. There are also periods when they were losing positions but on the whole we see gradual percentage growing from 63. 9% in 1951 to 77 in 2005 and the struggle continues. What do women do now? First of all more and more women enter colleges and universities and work within the chosen profession. Women have the opportunity to act participating in operations of nongovernmental organizations as Fund of businesswomen and women-professionals, American association of businesswomen, American association of women with university education, National association of working women ect. Activity of women from nongovernmental organizations is diverse. Some of them collect money for promotion of more women in government. Others like members of American association of businesswomen offer to create unions for experience exchange and improving of professional skills for women who dream about successful career. Many of these organizations try to influence the US government in order to pass laws oriented to support the campaign against women’s discrimination. Some of them like National women’s organization conduct national protest actions drawing attention to the most vexed women’s problems. More and more men and women get involved in movement for gender equality, send e-mails to the members of Congress or contribute money to nongovernmental organizations, because they want their daughters to have more opportunities of choice. Women in national policy. Quantity of women represented in national policy grows but that is still not equality. In the year 2004, for example, women occupied 14 out of 100 seats in the US Senate, 59 out of 425 seats in the House of Representatives (the number of women in legislative body of the US is more than 22. 4%), 2 out of 9 seats in Supreme Court, 3 out of 15 seats in the Presidential Executive Office but there was no woman in the Cabinet. The example of nongovernmental organization working in order to increase the number of women in the US government is the Emily’s List, famous for having collect money for election to the US Senate of 6 women – which is still remains a record. Women also write letters to the elected representatives, expressing their opinion on topical issues, aggressively intervene in local centers of republican and democrat supporters all over the country, assist to many nongovernmental women’s organizations and take part in mass political actions. One of the mass action, oriented to gain gender equality is the program â€Å"Take Our Daughters to Work†. It was started about 10 years ago in order to show to the next generation of American women the importance of education, professional women’s abilities and to organize forum for girls. Companies permitted to the employees to bring their daughters to work at one day so that they could see the professional life of the parents. Now this day received a name â€Å"Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day†. Women’s rights movement which was so active in 60s and 70s provided millions of American women with the access to education, opportunity of career development, economical independence and strengthened their influence in political sphere. Nowadays US women are able to achieve much more and have more opportunities to choose than 40 years ago. Major part of American women feels their responsibility to create equal society for their children. To have equal rights for American women doesn’t mean to be less feminine or less caring for their children. This is something much deeper and more global, that means they should be treated as humans whose ideas are to be taken seriously, who have the opportunity to show their power and who are respected.