Netflix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Netflix - Essay Example What Type Of Competitive Advantage Is Netflix Trying To Achieve? Being the largest online movie rental in the world, Netflix is trying to increase the number of clientele to more than 6.3 million that will be able to access more than 70,000 DVD titles. They are also expanding their markets throughout United States by having a cheaper physical presence than their competition, as well as a good customer base for the same. Their other advantage was differentiation where they delivered and charged their movies differently from their main competitors (Netflix, Inc., 2012). Though the strategy could only work for short term basis, it was trying before they came up with other ideas. The strategy made them dominate the markets, and they got loyal customers who still subscribed to them even after few changes were made. Netflix also invested in a unique design referred to personalization that further differentiated their services and helped maintain most of their customers. This design helped Netflix strengthen their relationship with their customers in var ious ways especially by giving them smarter services than other competitors. Question 2 How Strong Are The Competitive Forces In The Movie Rental Marketplace? Competitive forces in the movie market world are not very strong at the moment because there are only three competitors, Redbox, Netflix and Blockbuster. Majority of the people around the world prefer recording movies from their televisions, or prefer watching movies from sites where subscription is not required or watch them online giving most of the movie renters to shut down. This leaves few competitors who have been in the business long enough to know what is required to still have people using their services on a daily basis. They ensure that for every lost client, there is a new one by introducing various strategy of beating the competition and keeping up with technology. Providing best qualities of movies, as well as the latest DVDS has made the three renters stay in business. Knowing the needs of customers is key to success and the three companies have endeavored to know the requirements of thei r customers and endeavored to provide all their needs. Do Five-Force Analysis To Support Your Answer? By using Porters five forces analysis which includes: rivalry, from research there not much competition in the movie rental world with competitors being; any local vendors, Blockbuster, Netflix and Redbox. Secondly there is the threat of substitutes where it can only be websites that allow people to watch movies online for free. Satellite companies and cables allow people to pay the required fee and watch anything they want from the comfort of their homes (Netflix, Inc., 2012). The third force is the buyer power where it indicates that it is up to the buyer to make a choice of whether they want to rent a certain movie or not and if they have the capability to do so. If they chose not to rent any films there is nothing the renters can do about it. Supplier power is another force which indicates that the more films they have the more power they get over their competition. The last for ce is the barriers to entry where specific rental

Life along the silk road ( tang dynsaty) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Life along the silk road ( tang dynsaty) - Essay Example Merchants and traders both traveled and did business on the Silk Road and faced numerous challenges that always confronted them. Harsh Weather Conditions One of the more obvious challenges that merchants faced along the Silk Road was the harsh weather conditions. In fact, the Silk Road is surrounded by the Taklimakan Desert, whose severe and hostile climate would cause temperatures to soar to as high as 50 degrees Celsius in the summer or fall to as low as minus 20 degrees in the winter. Aside from this, strong winds brought about numerous dangerous sandstorms in the Taklimakan Desert (Mon). Moreover, the Taklimakan Desert had fewer oases than the neighboring Gobi Desert (Wild). Lastly, clouds of dust and silt may blow with the wind and persist for days (Wood 16). Wars and Conflicts There were numerous routes along the Silk Road, and because of this, â€Å"The issues caused by the development of the route included invasion and robbery by nomadic tribes and increased merchant costsâ €  (What is the History of the Silk Road?). the increased merchant costs were necessary as the need for escort and protection increased through the years. Based on the account of a robbery as retold by the Sogdian merchant Nanaivandak, a number of his fellow merchants who wandered along the routes in smaller groups were ambushed, robbed and killed by bandits (Whitfield 48). There was indeed a great risk of traveling along the Silk Road in small groups as Central Asian bandits would often seize the opportunity to inflict harm on the merchants and steal their goods and kill them if they resisted. Besides, it was not only silk that was being traded along these routes but also â€Å"jewels, ivories, pearls†¦corals, diamonds†¦bronze ware, porcelains† whether being sold by merchants or carried home by them (The Great Tang Dynasty). These products from various parts of the world would be very attractive to all robbers and bandits of Central Asia. Disease According to Wi lliam McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples, there was â€Å"diffusion of diseases via the Silk Road† (Rossabi). Even before the Black Death ravaged Europe, there may have already been several diseases that have come from Europe and which may have spread throughout China and Asia through the Silk Road. Nevertheless, there was little evidence on this. However, one of these diseases that may have spread through Asia through the Silk Road was Behcet’s disease. Behcet’s disease, which currently affects Far Eastern and Middle Eastern countries, may have come from Western Europe and affects 4 for every 1,000 people even now. Behcet’s disease is a vascular disease characterized by an overactivity of the body’s inflammatory immune response thus resulting in the destruction of blood vessels, severe mouth and genital ulcers, skin lesions and in severe cases, blindness (Disease genes that followed the Silk Road identified). According to medical experts, the ge nes for this disease may have come from the interactions of infected people along Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty. Negative Influences There was also an exchange of religious ideas along the Silk Road in addition to trading (Culture). However, this was the introduction of new religions to