Analyzing Change - Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Change - Business - Essay Example their environment; climate change; enemies; changes in friendly trading partners; and the societys political, economic and social responses to these shifts. (Diamond, 2005) The collapse of the Yucatan Empire included decline in economic and political aspects of the nation. Initially this empire was considered as New World’s most advanced civilization before Columbus discovery of America. The government organization of rulers and kings were overthrown, masses of lands became unused and barren while an estimated ninety percent of the citizens vanished. This occurred around 2,500 years ago. The main reason attributed to this failure of the Yucatan Empire was the environmental degradation caused by the activities of the people in the tribes. They overused and abused the forests which led to land erosion and lack of water supply. Scarcity of food during their time was a result of their harshness to the environment. Since there was little food and water, men fought over the remaining amounts of resources which even caused wars for survival. Japan, Tonga, Tikopia, the New Guinea Highlands and Central and Northwest Europe were among the countries that were able to preserve the richness of their culture throughout the years. This time, the environment was used to their advantage unlike the fate of the Yucatan Empire which was destroyed due to the adverse effects of their abuse of their natural resources. The reason for their survival is due to their ability to adapt to the needs of their environment. Japan, during the 1600s, also experienced deforestation but they were able to address the problem by reducing their consumption of wood and by planting more trees that the future generations can use. Japan was able to stand on its own for they had the capacity to sustain the basic needs of their people such as the peasants without the help of other nations since they had closed- door policy then. Iceland had to experience the same environmental concerns with the Yucatan

Two Companies in Economic Downturn Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Two Companies in Economic Downturn - Essay Example For about four years General Motors have been losing in the market but Harley Davis has been gaining. Ultimately GM has failed after a loss of about $82 billion in 2008 and Harley is still survived with a net gain of $3.6 billion. Both are in the automobile manufacturing business and based in USA.( Branding Strategy August 09) Harley too has faced the slowdown recently in the period of recession but it did not close down. GM is multi-brands company and Harley has a single core product. It competes with brands like Honda, BMW. GM also competes with these brands in the market. The main difference behind the Harley’s success is that the company has built a strong brand image in the market focusing on its heavy duty motorcycles. GM on the opposite went on adding to its brands without focusing them on any single segment. GM had twelve brands in the market Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Opel, Pontiac, Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall, and Wuling. These vehicles were not free from problems. Customers were not happy about the performance of these vehicles. GM had put the focus on these brands in order to sell them and not at all on how to solve the problems. Customers remained dissatisfied and that eventually put GM into problem. This is case of ‘Supply power’ that Porter in his theory P orter’s 5 forces mentioned explaining how erosion of brand loyalty penalizes a big company.( Brand Position workshop) Harley always projected the brand HOG to prospective customers and explained what the brand stands for. HOG grabbed 46% of the Heavy-duty motorcycle market and entered the name among the world’s 50th most valuable brand. GM was nowhere in the list. In 2007 GM made about 7,450.000 vehicles and lost $4141 on every vehicle. GM never projected what their brands stand for except dreamy and vague captions such as â€Å"See the USA in your