Holden Caulfenstein And Absurdity - 772 Words

In The Catcher and the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield confronts the absurdities of life, identical to those of Albert Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus tells â€Å"of an apartment-manager who had killed himself I was told that he had lost his daughter 5 years before, that he had changed greatly since, and that that experience had ‘undermined’ him.† Just as the absurdity of the apartment-building manager’s daughter had undermined him, so has the absurd death of Allie undermined Holden. Holden loses sight of the meaning of absurd objects such as money, jobs, and school and the meaninglessness of the world begins to overtake him. In the end, Holden finds meaning in life through Phoebe and his love for her.†¦show more content†¦Just as the boulder returned to the bottom for Sisyphus again, so did each day for Holden Caulfield. In The Catcher and the Rye, the endless patterns of human interactions are the absurdities that are used to beg the question: what is the purpose of life? Holden has his faith rooted in the goodness of life before Allie dies. The absurdity of Allie’s death was to call to Holden’s attention the multiple absurdities of living in the earth. Holden has tried to escape the meaninglessness of life through living in the woods, running away with Sally Hayes, prostitutes, drinking, smoking, and even suicide. Yet each was a temporary solution that left him for worse, ruining his relationship with Phoebe and Sally, getting himself beat up, and leaving himself for worse. With no meaning in life, Holden contemplates suicide. â€Å"What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably wouldve done it, too, if Id been sure somebodyd cover me up as soon as I landed,† Holden says when he is reflecting on his life in the hotel (116). Holden is completely willing to commit suicide if it was not for all the phony people that would gather just to look at him when he â€Å"was all gory† (117). Holden was completely undermined, and like the apartment-manager almost throws the last thing he owns away. In spite of losing practically everything he owned and every friend he had, Holden finds meaning

Essay on The Terrorists Attack on the World Trade Centre...

The terrorists attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 9, 2001 which changes the western concept about Islam and Muslims. Moreover, Islamic concept â€Å"Jihad† is criticized and it is questioned among Non-Muslims. 9/11 attack not only effects non-Muslims but also the Muslims who have no connections with the terrorist groups. As well as they do not support these terrorism. These Muslims face the hatred of the non-western people. They feel guilty about the Sin, they neither commit nor support. After 9/11, The Muslims all over the world called as terrorist and Islam is considered as religion which provokes terror. Although, the Muslim terrorists attempted these attacks on the name of Jihad, Islam does not encourage†¦show more content†¦According to the article, â€Å"The concept of Jihad†, Now-a-days, Many Muslims are engaged in the movements on the basis of â€Å"Islamic Jihad†. Thought calling themselves as Jihadi. Actions are needed a s Jihad to meet all circumstances. However, these battles on the behalf of Jihad does not meet the criteria. As they are promoting Fasad (opposite of Jihad) in the world and will not be rewarded by the Lord. Instead they will be punished for their evil deed. (Khan 81) An important question rises about the Islam which is â€Å"Does Islam promote violence?† The criticizers said that Islam advocates peace and it does not maintain peace. According to the Islamic history, The Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) never preached violence nor did he urge the Muslims to do brutal killing of people on the name of Islam. He always preferred the choice which did not raise fierceness. His enemies always abused him, their kids threw stones on him. They also plotted the murder against him. Instead of fighting back, he migrated to Medina. He gave several chances to his enemies. He also signed the treaties with Non-Muslims. The most of treaties points are in favor of Non-Muslims. If Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) anticipated to provoke violence, he would start brutal killing and did not sign any of these treaties. Why would he spent thirteen years in Mecca to preach the Islamic teachings? Because, he wanted to set an example for people that Islam is the nameShow MoreRelatedThe September 11th Attack on the World Trade Center1743 Words   |  7 PagesIn the early 1960’s, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Austin J Tobin, brought forward the proposal for a giant skyscraper complex in order to accommodate for much needed office space in Lower Manhattan. The plan was met with considerable opposition at first, but Tobin’s proposal eventually succeeded, and Japanese-American Minoru Yamasaki was commissioned to design the building. Yamasaki projected a novel design for a development that included two 110 storey ‘twinRead MoreTerrorist Attacks And Its Impact On The United States Of America Essay1295 Wor ds   |  6 PagesOn September the 11th 2001, a series of ‘terrorist attacks’ struck the main cities of the United States of America. This is more commonly known as 9/11, hence the 11th of September. The story of this incident is that these deadly attacks were performed by Al Qaeda extremists. This event has been recorded in the pages of history as a clear act of terrorism war and has impacted many people’s daily lives, even here in New Zealand. But was it really these extremists who attacked the United States ofRead MoreThe Merits And Merits Of Media Coverage Of Terrorism Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesIn 1983 the world woke up to the breaking news that terrorists bombed the United States Embassy in Beirut and killed 63 people. 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An early example of homegrown terrorism would be the Haymarket Affair which occurredRead MoreThe Political, Social, and Economic Changes Following 9/11 Essay examples1553 Words   |  7 PagesOn September 11 2001, an attack was made on United States. Four systematic terrorist attacks were pulled off by the group al-Qaeda sim ultaneously bringing down the World Trade Centre in New York and damaging the Pentagon in Washington D.C. As extensive and in depth as the cause for the attack may have been, September 11 is an event that has undoubtedly left its mark in American history. A turning point, as some would call it, of the political, social, and economic systems of the United States. QuicklyRead MoreAl Qaed Terrorist Groups Essay1690 Words   |  7 PagesFounded by Osama bin Laden around the late 1980’s, one of the largest, most terrifying, terrorist groups known worldwide is the Islamist organization, Al Qaeda. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Jayshree Bajoria and Greg Bruno examine Al Qaeda as an international terrorist network that seeks to free Muslim countries of profane influence, and replace governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Originating back to around 1988, Al Qaeda grew out of a Service Office, run by Osama binRead MoreInternational Terrorism - the Worlds Greatest Challenge Today?680 Words   |  3 PagesToday Today the threat of terrorism is becoming more and more serious. Terrorism is considered the greatest threat against the safety of the world, and especially the USA, today. The extent of the terrorism has increased significantly over the last couple of years, since the terrorist attacks against the US on the 11th of September 2001. After these attacks former president of the US, George Bush declared a war against terrorism. There are various opinions about what can be defined as terrorismRead MoreImpact Of The On American Society Essay1120 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to The New York Post, the number of cancer cases of 9/11 first respondents had hugely increased from 1,140 to over 2,500 within a year. However, the epidemiologists from Mount Sinai hospital do not agree with the double of this case as it is crucial to ‘be careful and try to understand what you are comparing.’ The hospital also conducts research and finds out that, comparing to the general population in America, there is an approximately 20% increase in cancer incidence in 9/11 rescue andRead MoreDid 9 / 11 Change The Way We Travel?1024 Words   |  5 Pages1.How did 9/11 change the way we travel? Before the 9/11 attacks, which changed how we travel, airport security was minimal, with just X-rays and metal detectors. No one got a body search, and almost no one’s carry on bag got checked. No aircraft was required to shut the cockpit door, and air marshals weren t everywhere, only 33 Federal Air Marshals were active on 9/11. Friends and Family were authorized to go all the way to the gate, and people were allowed Swiss Army Knifes on flights. EveryoneRead MoreThe Disaster Of The 9 / 11 Disaster3545 Words   |  15 Pagesinterchangeably because they are similar but not the same. ‘Though both emergencies and disasters present situations that demand quick action, one can prepare for emergencies but not disasters.’ (Online, 2010) Due to the scale of the disaster, New York would not have had the resources to deal with the situation themselves, this is where the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) comes in. The main purpose of the agency is to coordinate the response to a disaster in America that overwhelms

Dell Hbr Case Study Free Essays

string(90) " start working with prepayment for its orders which will help to collect the cash faster\." INTRODUCTION Dell Computers was started by Michael Dell in 1984. Dell’s primary differentiator was its business model. It sold primarily on the B2C market and custom built personal computers on demand. We will write a custom essay sample on Dell Hbr Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, it had very low inventory by comparison to its competitors. As a result of this, Dell was able to operate quite efficiently and profitably in its niche market. By the late 1980’s – early 1990’s, Dell noticed that its market share was only 1% of total and that industry amalgamations could potentially force Dell out of the market. It was time to make a decision; it could remain status quo or pursue an aggressive growth strategy. The latter option proved to be favourable and Dell expanded into the B2B marketplace through a growth plan that focused on selling to retailers to improve its market share. The plan worked and Dell saw subsequent revenue increases of 268% within two years, compared to industry growth of 5%. 1 The good times came to an end in 1993 when Dell posted its first loss after eleven subsequent quarters of profit. Dell decided to more efficiently manage its liquidity, profitability and growth and was exited the indirect retail channel where margins were exceptionally low . The retail channel had served its purpose, however, in assisting Dell as a brand to become well known throughout the market place. Following these measures, and the fact that Dell had exceptionally low relative inventory, they were able to become the first company to launch the new Pentium chip computers and maintain first mov er status with subsequent upgrades. Michael Dell was now in a position to forecast future growth for his company. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Michael Dell predicted that the company’s growth rate for the next year would again outpace the industry. Dell needed to focus on how its working capital policy could assist in financing future growth. Further, what other internal and external financing options might assist Dell in reaching their goals? RECOMMENDATION Assuming Dell’s sales will grow at 50% in 1997, h ow would you recommend that the company fund this growth? How much capital would need to be reduced and/or profit margin increased if the company were to fund its growth by relying only on internal sources of capital? What steps would you recommend the company take? Dells attempt to increase its sales by 50% in 1997 will require 2 major types of investments: Investment in working capital We estimate this figure to be $345M (please refer to Exhibit 1 for the detailed calculation). Investment in fixed assets Expansion of production will most likely require the purchase of the additional equipment. There is no data available in the case on depreciation expenses or capital expenditures made by Dell in 1996 to support the 52% growth of sales. However, if we refer to Dell’s full financial statements for 1996, we see that Dell spent $100M on capital expenditures and we assume it will spend approximately the same amount in 1997. 1 2 Richard Ruback, â€Å"Dell’s Working Capital,† Harvard Business Review 9-201-029 (2003): 3. Ibid 1|P a ge EDHEC MBA – Dell Business Case From the projected figures in the Exhibit 1 we conclude that Dell will be able to finance the above investments using the following funding sources: Profit margins and management of the working capital cycle Assuming that there is a certain percentage of fixed costs in Dell’s cost structure, the company will be able to increase its net profit margin from 5. 1% in 1996 to 5. 6% in 1997, generating a net profit of $448M. Net margin should be sufficient to cover additional working capital of $345 M if Dell is able to maintain its Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) at 1996 levels of 47 days. Maintaining the CCC at the same level is crucial for this type of financing to be sufficient. An increase in DSO by 5 days will increase working capital delta up to $453M (refer to Exhibit 2) and will force Dell to increase margins, which may reduce revenues, or look for other sources of funding. Debt or use of the short term investment funds The use of these resources might be necessary for the financing the purchase of the equipment to expand the production capacity. Two scenarios could take place: 1. A one-off investment is required to be made in the beginning of the year. Since the company will have no possibility to generate profits or free up its working capital, it could either liquidate some of its short term investments of $591M or get a loan. The decision will depend on whether the rate of return on investment is higher or lower than the interest rate on the loan, taking after tax effects into consideration. If the rate of return is higher, Dell should finance the purchase of fixed assets through the loan, if it is lower , it should use its investment account to finance the capital expenditure. 2. Gradual investment in capital expenditure is possible. This could be done only by using margins generated within the year and decrease in CCC by managing receivables-days cycle. If the company can manage to decrease its DSO days from 50 to 40 days, it can reduce its working capital delta to $126M (Exhibit 2), thus making the remaining net profit available for capital expenditures. How, if at all, would your answers to Question 3 chang e if Dell also repurchased $500 million of common stock in 1997 and repaid its long-term debt? If Dell decides to repay its debt of $113M and repurchase stock of $500M, the following steps could be undertaken. Stock repurchase A decrease in DSO by 10 days and increase in DPO by 10 days will release working capital of $44M in addition to cash profit based on $448M in accounting profit (most likely it is higher by the amount of depreciation). These cash amounts will then allow Dell to repurchase its stock. As Dell expands its customer base and brand penetration in the market it can start working with prepayment for its orders which will help to collect the cash faster. You read "Dell Hbr Case Study" in category "Essay examples" Further, as the size of its orders to suppliers grows, it will be able to exercise its buyer power and negotiate more favourable payment terms. However the following action should be taken only if Dell shareholders could earn better return at a similar level of risk in the market. In the current situation it seems that Dell performs better than its competitors thus it would be more appropriate to invest the $500Mof free cash in further expansion. Debt repayment If Dell increases its margin up to 6. 8% it will be able to make an additional $110M in net profit to repay the debt. Another option is to free up some funds from short term investments. The decision will depend 2|P a ge EDHEC MBA – Dell Business Case on whether increase in price will lead to a significant loss of customers. If this is the case, the company should use its current cash reserves to perform the repayment. We also note, that 0% debt in the capital structure is most likely to be not optimal for the company and by using leverage Dell will be able generate better returns for its investors. DISCUSSION Explain how Dell’s working capital policy is a competitive advantage for the company? Strategy Built-to-Order Just-In-Time Delivery Distribution Channels (Retail Stores) Early Adoption of New Technology DELL ? ? X ? Apple X X ? X Compaq X X ? X IBM X X ? X Built to Order: Unit production only begins after receiving customer orders over phone or via email. This significantly reduced the outstanding inventory and hence reduced working capital requirements for funding inventory warehousing and inventory financing. Just-in-time Delivery: Dell’s factory had close physical proximity to its suppliers. Suppliers would ship parts only after customers placed orders, for just-in-time delivery. This helped to maintain accounts payable to a minimum. No Retail Distribution Channels: Since orders were only taken via email or phone, Dell was able to cut down on the costs of maintaining distribution channels and reduce accounts receivable from distributors and retailers. This reduced working capital requirements. Early Adoption of New Technology: Low inventory levels helped Dell to quickly switch to newer product upgrades and reduce the cost of existing inventory turnovers compared to competitors. This further reduced working capital requirements. DSI Advantage: As a result of above strategies, Dell achieved an average DSI of 40 between 1993 and 1995, compared to Apple’s 64, Compaq’s 68 IBM’s 56. How did Dell fund its 52% growth in 1996? Please be sure to distinguish between internal and external sources of funding, and to discuss the trade -off between the use of external funds in order to maintain high growth rates. The 52% growth was a result of the new Pentium chip introduction (Exhibit 3 from the case). Regarding working capital management, we noticed from Exhibit 2 from the case, excellent performance in maintaining CCC at 40 days; while product switches required double stock management. As the Pentium introduction was already launched in 1995, we assume that growth was constant and continuous during 1996 period. Compared to 1995, the 1996 financial performance for gross margin is lower by 1%, but net profit has increased by 1%. 3|P a ge EDHEC MBA – Dell Business Case To improve the availability of cash, Dell can implement factoring on receivables (internal) or negotiate with banks for short term credit lines and overdraft accounts (external). Even if CCC remains constant during this period of growth, balance sheets analysis shows that CCC changed from $428M in 1995 to $689M in 1996. As the debt level remained constant during these two periods, this extra $261M was financed with internal funds. The two main sources of internal funds used to finance working capital and CAPEX (not detailed in case information) were: The $272M 1996 net profit and the capital increase at $74M (total stock value difference between 1995 and 1996). Even if Dell decided to not reduce its amount of debt, this process will allow the company to reduce the Debt/Equity ratio keeping constant level of debt while significantly increasing equity. This strategy will bring Dell more flexibility for the future. The firm will be able to consider different options for future growth; either the same strategy the issuance of more debt due to their low leverage being relatively unleveraged. 4|P a ge EDHEC MBA – Dell Business Case APPENDIX Exhibit 1 Projected Income statement and balance sheet items for the year 1997 Item Sales Cost of sales Gross Margin Operating expenses Operating income Financing and other income Income taxes 30% Net profit 1996 (actual) 5 296 4 229 1 067 690 377 6 111 272 Growth Coefficient 1,5 1,5 1,4 1997 (projected) 7 944 6 344 1 601 966 635 6 192 448 Ratios : 37 1 37 DSI 50 1 50 DSO 40 1 40 DPO 47 1 47 CCC Balance sheet items : 429 644 Inventory 726 1 089 Accounts receivable 466 699 Accounts payable 689 1 034 Working Capital 345 Additional working capital required Projections for the year 1997 were built based on the following assumptions: 1. Growth coefficient of 1,5 was applied to income sales and cost of sales to reflec t the projected 50% growth in operations 2. Growth coefficient of 1,4 was applied to operating expenses. The assumption was made that part of operating expenses are presented by fixed costs thus they don’t grow at the operations growth ration. 0% rate was taken based on the year 1996 increase. 3. Income taxes were calculated using 30% rate being the rate on income tax in 1996 (calculated as Income taxes/(Operating income + Financing income)) 4. Ratios for the year 199 were calculated using the following formulas: DSI=Inventory*365/COS DSO=Accounts Receivable*365/Sales DPO=Accounts Payable*365/COS 5. We assumed that company will main tain the average ratios for the year 1997 6. Using the reverse formula for ratios calculations we derived accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventory for 1999 from the projected sales and COS figures. . We calculated Working Capital for both years using the formula: Inventory + Accounts receivable – Accounts payable 8. Additional working capital required: Working capital 1997 – Working Capital 1996 5|P a ge EDHEC MBA – Dell Business Case Exhibit 2 Variations in working capital requirements 37 50 40 47 37 55 40 52 37 40 40 37 -10 days on DSO; + 10 days in DPO 37 40 50 27 Inventory, $mln Accounts receivable, $mln Accounts payable, $mln 644 1 088 699 643 1 197 695 643 871 695 643 871 869 Working Capital 1997, $mln Working Capital 1996, $mln 1 033 689 1 145 689 818 689 645 689 344 456 129 -44 Item DSI, days DSO, days DPO, days CCC, days Additional working capital required, $mln Ratios at 1996 level +5 days in DSO -10 days in DSO Exhibit 3: Detailed calculations relative to question N °2 6|P a ge EDHEC MBA – Dell Business Case 1 – CCC worth calculation: (see figures in red rectangle) CCC = DSI + DSO – DPO From above table, CCC = inventories + Accounts receivables – Accounts payable CCC1995 = 293 + 538 – 403 = 428 M$ CCC1996 = 429 + 726 – 466 = 689 M$ 2 – Total stocks value: (see figures in blue rectangle) Total value = Preferred stocks + Common stocks 1995 = 362 M$ 1996 = 436 M$ 7|P a ge How to cite Dell Hbr Case Study, Free Case study samples

Business Strategy of Barnes and Noble-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Analyze the sector in which the Company Operates.What are its competitive advantages? We have to use Micheal Porter Model. Answer: Introduction International business contains all the commercial transactions which take plays between two or more cultures, ethics, and countries beyond their political boundaries. In terms of definition, it is all those business activities that contain the cross-border trades of goods, services, and the possessions among two or more nations. As international business is about transporting the goods and services to another country, it helps in earning foreign exchange. It helps in the optimum utilisation of resources as it creates goods on a large scale of the international market. This study will outline the international business strategy of Barnes and Noble, which is the worlds largest bookseller and chief retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The stated establishment functions more than 630 stores and 50 states and offers premier e-commerce websites and also offers a line-up of popular NOOK tablets and eReaders. This study will analyse the sector in which company operates and will use the Porters Model for its competitive advantage. The strategies of the company will also be outlined by using PESTEL analysis. Furthermore, the study will highlight the companys international strategy by using transformative business models. At last, the study will portray the six features of transformative business model. Company Overview Barnes and Noble Inc., is the worlds largest bookseller and leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products (Barnes Noble, Inc, 2003). The stated company operates more than 630 stores and 50 states and offers premier e-commerce websites and also offers a line-up of popular NOOK tablets and eReaders. Barnes Noble is a fortune 500 listed companies and has the largest number of retail outlets in United States. The organisation mainly operates through its Barnes Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores. The businesss stores are open seven days a week and with an average of 26,000 square feet, it features the best service, depth of selection and confortable locations ("Barnes Noble, Inc.", 2014). It also offers its customers with delicious food and beverages so that customers can enjoy their time. Mission Statement Barnes Noble mission statement is to drive the best Omni-channel speciality trade in America in order to benefit both its consumers and booksellers to reach their ambitions while being a credit to the societies or societies they serve. As the booksellers, the company is ascertained to be the very best in the trade, irrespective of the size or business of its participants ("Barnes Noble, Inc.", 2014). The company expect to be a credit to the society it serves, to be a valuable resource towards the customers it serves and to be a place where its devoted booksellers could grow and flourish. Porters five forces New entrants- The discovery of digitalization and the devices that everyone can get in their phone like reading material rather than having a physical copy of it, has appeared to be an occurrence of new entries in the market. New entrants like, the kindle and ipad are the two devices that conducts vast population of buyers (Mick, 2012). And the device like the Android tablet is also entered as a new entrant in the market and gives high competitive challenges to Barnes and Noble. Bargaining strength of customers- Barnes and Noble is considered as the specialty markets thats gives vast ranges of products in bricks and mortar segment. The market is basically relies on how much money customers have left after purchasing requirements and demands (Mick, 2012). The company is now facing recession so the customer contribution has now become scarce when it comes to purchase the products as they are continuously shifting towards eBooks which are cheaper in costs. Bargaining strength of suppliers- Barnes and Noble basically does not have strict safety and safeguard when it comes to good on which the company rely on suppliers like the services, contents, product availability, certain payment and the credit limit extensions. There is even no guarantee of the long term relationship developed among Barnes and Noble and the suppliers. Because of this company can be at a huge risk (Modi, Durkin, Kass Ulin, 2017). If many of these suppliers have to stop selling the products to the company when they required for carry on sales then constant services can be maintained. Almost 50% of their purchased products value comes from Barnes and Nobles five main suppliers. Substitute threats- rather than visit to book stores or shops, consumers can even visit to the other firm which provides their preferred books at a rate of 50% off price cut. This involves firms like Amazon and Walmart. The company is even threatened by these two companies which is another way of getting books because of them they have quite less pricing strength for controlling it (Modi, Durkin, Kass Ulin, 2017). The company also experiencing a same kind of substitute threats when it comes to its Kindle electronic reader and also the digital devices. Competitors- Barnes and Noble and its rivalries are combating to be in the top in terms of source of getting reading materials. There are mainly two competitors groups which pretense a threat against Barnes and Noble. These two groups are specialty shops and bookshops. Bookshops which compete with Barnes and Noble are mainly Books-A-Million Borders. The company has even exceeds these bookshops and congealed themselves as the top book store in the country. Specialty shops which are competing with Barnes and Noble are mainly Walmart, Costco and Amazon (Phillips, Henry Der Wal, 2007). The company is even not congealed as large of a market position when it comes to this retailers group. This is because of conducting less pricing strength unlike the specialty shops that are popular for giving discount price which many firms would struggle to compete. Pestel Analysis Political- E-commerce, Internet taxation, government reserves in ICT. Economic- Adverse economic downturn, Economic growth in China and India, money fluctuations (Svensson Wagner, 2011) Social- online and social networking, ethical and religious issues, exaggeration and centralization Technological- Three dimensional books tech, virtual libraries boom, e-book wars Environmental- People are now more concern about ecological friendly issue and thus shifting towards eBook, more and more campaigns for green printing or eco printing for utilisation of recycle paper printing. Legal- Law for protection of copyright of books are in favour of booksellers, product labelling and consumer rights and laws International strategy of Barnes Noble The strategy of Barnes and Noble is getting better. But there are still many issues to handle for the largest bricks-and-mortar book retailer as it battles with its largest rival Amazon for the minds, hearts and wallet of the readers (Best, Zeigler, Smith, Whitley Cornwell, 2010). Barnes Noble wants to become more than just books. It is evident that people always have a soft spot for the physical books. With rise in the Amazon and losses from the companys Nook e-reader division and closing of many stores, Barnes Noble has surely something to worry about. According to Mr Boire, CEO of Barnes Noble, there is lot of opportunity for the brand as everything that company does fits the brand. For its expansion, the stated company is probing for the ways to enhance the foot traffic and to initiate the sales (Best, Zeigler, Smith, Whitley Cornwell, 2010). For Barnes Noble, the main problems in its international strategy are the pressures on the bricks and mortar retail business, fierce competition from Amazon and others and lack of international foothold. With rivals like Amazon, Apple, Google, the completion for the companys device Nook is not getting easier. But the stated company could increase its international business. The management of Barnes and Noble have to make a difference abroad. The company have to be a content company and it would have to scale up across nations as it cannot rely on the physical locations. Barnes and Noble have to sell tons of Nooks in other countries and it has to be done quickly. Barnes Noble should also aggressively look for partners across the international markets. Another benefit for the company is its deal with Microsoft for its international expansion ("Barnes Noble, Inc.", 2014). The company also have opportunity from the falling of e-book sales and stability of print could reverse and help the customers to get back towards the brick and mortar bookstores. Business model Business model can be defined as the theoretical tool that contains set of substances, concepts and their dealings with the purpose to portray the commercial idea of a precise establishment. A business model can be referred as an effort by a firms organization to define the value that commerce could offer to one or more consumers or one or more marketplaces (Fehrman, 2015). It is also the explanation of a way in which a firm need to be considered to configure its resources to deliver its value. There are four main elements of a business model. These elements are described below: Figure 1: Elements of Business model Source: (Gorissen, Vrancken Manshoven, 2016) Customer Value Proposition This element is the means by which a business enterprise has achieved to arrange its capitals in order to offer values to its customers in a methodical and maintainable manner. This element usually includes the capability offer products and services which are either dissimilar due to innovation and vale addition and delivering it in a much lower costs than the rivals (Bilton Cummings, 2010). Barnes Noble could start the customer value preposition by dividing its customers into some logical elements which are based on the things such as level of expenditure per purchase, buying behaviour, and industry sector. Once Barnes Noble identifies its customers, the company would manage to learn on how to satisfy its all segments. Profit Formula Profit model is the second element of the business model. This element describes to the procedure utilised by a business firm that recognises how it will create or produce revenues for its shareholders while offering value to the customers at the same time. One of the important characteristics of profit formula is the revenue model (Fehrman, 2015). The revenue model defines what price an organisation should charge to a given quantity of sales for covering the overhead and fixed costs and to achieve the profit margins. Barnes Noble while considering its profit formula must recognise the revenue that could be produced for each of its product or market area and must also identify what fixed and variables cost it will incur while producing the sales. Resources The third division of a business model is related to the key possessions which are acquired by a business firm to deliver the customer value preposition. The resources mainly include the equipments, funding, people, services and amenities required to manufacture the products and to deliver the services. While recognising the resources, Barnes Noble must consider its core competencies and what alliances and partnership they should form. The stated firm must list all the services, aptitudes and resources that it needs to deliver its customer value preposition to the customers and the market sectors. Procedures The fourth element of a business model is related to the key procedures that a industry firm must follow to transport its customer value preposition. Such procedures need to be embedded in the firms administrative and operational systems. Barnes Noble in order to address the procedures in its operations must draw a list of the types of customer relationship it needs to develop with each target market segment. As for illustration, some customers of Barnes Noble may want to take a specific book on rent or some want an online version of a book. A survey of the key customers and their feedback will surely help the Barnes and Noble business strategy and will also help the company in finding the gaps and the steps to improve it. For Barnes Noble, the overall aim of the company will be to identify the target customers needs and then configuring the companys resources and procedures to offer its customer value preposition in a consistent and sustainable manner. Transformative business model In the success of a business, the core element in it is the effective matching of the novel technologies towards the need of the customers by a compelling commercial offering. People subordinate a business alteration through the acceptance of the new knowledge, but it surely doesnt transform an industry of its own. Transformative business model is about linking the new technology with the emerging needs of the market (Gorissen, Vrancken Manshoven, 2016). Just implementing the technology surely doesnt create success in Barnes Noble but depends on how the company executed it and linked it with the market trends. It is important to have to be meeting as these are non-static over time. Figure 2 Link between Technology and Market Source: (Kavadias Ladas, 2015) From the above diagram, it can clearly identify that the dynamics of biological fitness recognises the dynamics of business innovation. It happen when the unpredictable experiments around new technologies match the changing demands or requirements of the customers markets (Svensson Wagner, 2011). Thus the important features of transformational innovations happen over the industries as a result of broad technological trends. Here are the features that create a business model transformative: The Six keys to success: Personalised products or service There are many new models that propose products and services which are developed healthier than the customers individual needs and requirements. For gaining the competitive prices, organisations often influence technology (Gorissen, Vrancken Manshoven, 2016). Personalised products or service develops successful matching due to enhancement in the variations in the customers preferences. The amount of data collected through the emerging technological trends permits to customize the solutions to the need of a particular individual. As for illustration, the advertising made by Barnes Noble tries to grab the customers for their needs. Organisations could practise cost-effective one to one customers for the concept of personalisation as it quickly assimilating the online marketing mix. A closed loop process This feature is about the products that are made, used and then disposed of. This model replaces a linear consumption process which is used when the merchandises are recycled. This shift decreases the general resource costs (Gupta, 2004). The emerging prices of many commodity materials and its consequences effectuate an indirect constraint for the design and development of any new offering. The concept of a closed loop process is challenging the traditional model where the products were produced, consumed and then discarded. In the current business context, the procedure of recycling is something that benefits both organisation and customers. Asset Sharing Asset sharing is another feature in transformative business model which is driven by the rising costs of commodities and also of the transportation and labour costs with the effective utilisation of the assets (Gupta, 2004). These kind of innovations success as it enables companies like Barnes Noble to share the cost of costly assets. Barnes Noble could also divides the shares of costly assets with booksellers in the same way in which Uber shares assets with the car owners. With shared assets, there will be decrease in the total cost of ownership which is very significant during the rising cost of commodities. Usage based pricing There are many industries in which there are shared ownership and are accompanied by time or volume driven pricing agreements. Shared utilisation enhanced for such revenue generating mechanisms. This feature charge customers when they use the product or service rather than purchasing them (Kavadias Ladas, 2015). It is certain that there are books which are very costly; in that case, Barnes Noble could implement the strategy of charging customers according to the usage of books. Customers benefit from this approach as they incur costs which are only for generating value and company benefits as the customers number will surely grow. More collaborative ecosystem In the current business context, the importance of collaboration has enhanced. The emerging constraining landscape in respect to costs but also increase in the demand volume on global basis develops a complicated and uncertain value chains. When e-commerce re-shaped the industry, the barriers in entering in to a new market were very high (Kavadias Ladas, 2015). Barnes Noble was able to keep the new entrants out of competition with the help of aggressive price tactics and unbeatable inventory. The stated firm enhances its collaboration with its supply chain partners and helps to allocate the business risks. An agile and adaptive organisation New technologies permit access to a gathering of statistics that incline to be discrete among dissimilar stakeholders of an establishment. It is evident that innovators sometimes develop and use technology that move away from the traditional hierarchical models of decision making to make better conclusions which reflects the marketplace trends (Kavadias Ladas, 2015). Barnes Noble can reduce the product cycle by considering the purchasers feedback and that could be a successful innovation for the company. All these features stated above are knotted to long-term trends in both technology and request. Many companies are recognising the new decentralised forms of innovation in order to become more flexible and also to investigate the market potentials in the new product and services. The six keys of innovation advocate the six matching patterns between the trends in technology and market needs that occur with transformative business model. Conclusion It has been found in the study that business model can be labelled as the theoretical tool that contains set of substances, concepts and their relations with the objective to portray the commerce idea of a specific establishment. A business model can be referred as an attempt by a firms management to label the value that a trade could offer to one or more consumers or one or more marketplaces. The study identified that for Barnes Noble, the overall aim of the company will be to identify the target customers needs and then configuring the companys resources and procedures to offer its customer value preposition in a consistent and sustainable manner. References Barnes Noble, Inc. (2003). [London]. Barnes Noble, Inc. (2014). Retrieved from https://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BKS/0x0xS1193125-14-253539/890491/filing.pdf Best, S., Zeigler, J., Smith, C., Whitley, J., Cornwell, J. (2010). A Case Analysis of Barnes Noble. 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