ACT Syllabus What’s on the Exam and How to Prep

ACT Syllabus What’s on the Exam and How to Prep SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you preparing for the ACT but aren’t sure which topics the exam covers?We’re here to help! This guide will give you an in-depth look at the ACT syllabus and explain exactly what you can expect to see on the test. For each of the five ACT sections, I’ll explain the format of the section, the types of questions you’ll see, and the skills that section tests.Afterward, I’ll also go over the top three tips you need to know when studying for the ACT to help you achieve your highest score. ACT Syllabus Overview Let’s first take get a broad overview of what the ACT covers before diving into the specific sections. There are four required sections on the ACT: English, Math Reading, and Science, as well as the optional Writing section. To be an expert on the ACT syllabus, you’ll have to be comfortable with each of these sections. Section Minutes Given Number of Questions English 45 75 Math 60 60 Reading 35 40 Science 35 40 Writing (Optional) 40 1 essay Total 3 hours, 35 minutes (2 hours, 55 minutes without the essay) 154 (+1 essay prompt) The ACT sections will always go in this order, beginning with English and ending with Writing (if you choose to take it). Below, for each section of the ACT, I’ll explain which subjects it covers and the skills it requires. ACT English Syllabus Number of Questions Minutes Given Time Per Question 75 45 36 seconds Format The ACT English section contains five passages along with 75 multiple-choice questions, so there will be about 15 questions per passage. All questions will be based on the passages. Some of the questions will ask about specific phrases or sentences in the passage, and others will ask about a paragraph or the entire passage as a whole. Skills Tested ACT English tests two main content areas:Usage and Mechanics andRhetorical Skills.Usage and Mechanics tests your knowledge of punctuation, grammar, usage, and sentence structure and requires a solid understanding of punctuation and grammar rules. Rhetorical Skills focuses on your comprehension of the passage as a whole and your ability to understand and improve the passage's organization and style. Questions Types There are six main types of questions on ACT English: three types of Usage/Mechanics questions and three types of Rhetorical Skills questions. Below, the three Usage/Mechanics question types are listed first, then the three Rhetorical Skills question types. Punctuation Punctuation questions test your knowledge of internal and end-of-sentence punctuation. To get these questions correct, you’ll need to know comma, apostrophe, period, and semicolon rules. Grammar and Usage These questions test your knowledge of grammar rules such as subject/verb agreement, agreement between pronoun and antecedent, and agreement between modifiers and the word modified. There are also questions on verb formation, pronoun case, idioms, and adverbs. Sentence Structure Sentence structure questions focus on your knowledge of relationships between and among clauses, placement of modifiers, and shifts in construction. Strategy These types of questions test your ability to develop a given topic by choosing words or phrases that fit with an essay's audience and purpose. You’ll need to take the whole passage into account and consider whether the possible revision clarifies or confuses the passage's message. Organization Organization questions measure how well you organize ideas and choose effective opening, transitional, and closing sentences. These questions tend to focus on the beginning and ends of paragraphs. Style Style questions test your ability to choose an appropriate word, maintain the level of style and tone in an essay, and avoid unclear pronoun references, wordiness, and redundancy. ACT Math Syllabus Number of Questions Minutes Given Time Per Question 60 60 1 minute Format ACT Math has 60 questions, all of which are multiple choice. You’ll be able to use a permitted calculator for this entire section. Skills Tested and Question Types ACT Math tests six major skill areas. They are listed below, along with the percentage of questions asked about them and the more specific topics each area focuses on. Pre-Algebra (20-25%) Basic operations using whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and integers Place value Square roots and approximations The concept of exponents Scientific notation Factors Ratio, proportion, and percent Linear equations in one variable Absolute value and ordering numbers by value Elementary counting techniques and simple probability Data collection, representation, and interpretation Understanding simple descriptive statistics Elementary Algebra (15-20%) Properties of exponents and square roots Evaluation of algebraic expressions through substitution Using variables to express functional relationships Understanding algebraic operations The solution of quadratic equations by factoring Intermediate Algebra (15-20%) The quadratic formula Rational and radical expressions Absolute value equations and inequalities Sequences and patterns Systems of equations Quadratic inequalities Functions and modeling Matrices Roots of polynomials Complex numbers Coordinate Geometry (15-20%) Graphing and the relations between equations and graphs, including points, lines, polynomials, circles, and other curves Graphing inequalities Slope Parallel and perpendicular lines Distance Midpoints Conics Plane Geometry (20-25%) Properties and relations of plane figures, including angles and relations among perpendicular and parallel lines Properties of circles, triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids Transformations The concept of proof and proof techniques Volume Applications of geometry to three dimensions Trigonometry (5-10%) Trigonometric relations in right triangles Values and properties of trigonometric functions Graphing trigonometric functions Modeling using trigonometric functions Use of trigonometric identities Solving trigonometric equations As you can see, the majority of the questions, over 50%, focus on algebra and pre-algebra. About 40% of the questions are on geometry, and the remaining 5-10% are on trigonometry. ACT Reading Syllabus Number of Questions Minutes Given Time Per Question 40 35 52 seconds Format The ACT Reading section contains four passages or passage pairs and 40 multiple-choice questions, meaning that there will be about ten questions per passage. All questions in this section are based on passages, and there will be three single passages and one passage pair.The Reading passages will always include four different subject areas: humanities, natural science, social science, and literary fiction. Skills Tested For ACT Reading, you’ll be using skills often required in your English classes, such as critical reasoning and referring skills. You’ll need to be able to use these skills to accomplish the following: Understand main ideas Locate details within a passage and interpret them Interpret sequence of events and flow of ideas Make comparisons Understand cause-effect relationships Determine the meaning of words, phrases, and statements in context (these are usually straightforward, but may be used in an unusual or significant way in context) Draw generalizations Analyze the author's or narrator's tone and purpose Question Types There are five main types of questions on the ACT Reading section. Main Idea Main idea questions ask about the main point or theme of the passage. Detail These questions will typically refer you to a specific line in the passage and ask what it means. Vocabulary These questions will select a specific word or phrase in the passage and ask what it means or how it functions in context. These questions often point to a common word or phrase that might be being used in an unusual way. Function and Development Function and Development questions test your ability to describe a phrase, sentence, or paragraph in the context of the entire passage. Implied Ideas These questions ask you to infer the meaning of a line, paragraph, or complete passage. ACT Science Syllabus Number of Questions Minutes Given Time Per Question 40 35 52 seconds Format Like the English and Reading sections, all of ACT Science’s questions are based on passages. This section contains 40 multiple-choice questions and seven passages.Each of the passages can include diagrams such as graphs, charts, and tables. The passages could focus on topics such as biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space sciences (including geology, astronomy, and meteorology). Each passage will be followed by four to seven questions. Skills Tested Although ACT Science includes questions on a wide range of scientific topics, this section tests your scientific skills more than your knowledge of specific facts or subjects.So, while you won’t be tested on specific facts, your science classes will teach you important analysis and reasoning skills you need to understand the scientific method and language and do well on this section. The ACT website recommends you take at least three years of science in high school, including at least one biology course and one physical or earth science course by the time you take the exam. By taking science courses, you’ll learn about the scientific method, how to collect and analyze data, and how to evaluate a theory or hypothesis. These skills will help you do well on ACT Science. Question Types There are three main types of questions you’ll see on ACT Science. Data Representation (30-40% of questions) Data Representation questions require you to read graphs, interpret scatterplots, and explain information presented in tables. Research Summaries (45-55% of questions) These questions require you to interpret the design and results of experiments discussed in passages. Conflicting Viewpoints (15-20% of questions) Conflicting Viewpoints questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and compare alternate viewpoints or hypotheses. These questions will center around a single situation or issue, and you’ll read two different viewpoints and analyze the similarities and differences. ACT Writing Syllabus Number of Questions Minutes Given Time Per Question 1 essay 40 40 minutes Format The ACT Writing section is the only optional section of the exam. If you choose to take it, you’ll have 40 minutes to plan and write one complete essay. Skills Tested The major skills you are graded on for the essay are your ability to analyze different arguments and combine different opinions and viewpoints into a coherent essay.While you’ll want your essay to be clear and easy to understand, a few minor spelling and grammar errors won’t lose you points, so you don’t have to worry about your essay being technically perfect. Question Types On the Writing section, you’ll see a short passage on a given topic, followed by three different perspectives on that topic. Your task will be to evaluate the three perspectives and relate them back to the original issue. This can involve analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each argument, comparing and contrasting them, and explaining how they could be improved. How Does This Information Help You Prepare for the ACT? Now you're an expert on the ACT syllabus, but how does this information help you on the exam? First, knowing what's on the ACT will make you feel more comfortable on test day. You'll know the format, content, and types of questions you'll be asked. This can help you feel more prepared and help reduce test anxiety. Second, understanding the ACT syllabus can also help during your ACT prep. When you know what subjects are tested on the ACT, you'll know what to focus on during your studying, and you'll be less likely to overlook material you should go over or study material that won't be on the test. Additionally, when you take practice ACTs and review your answers to see where you made most of your mistakes, your knowledge of the ACT will help you pinpoint the specific area(s) you should work on. Maybe your ACT Math score was lower than you wanted it to be, but where exactly did you make mistakes? Did you get all the geometry questions correct but struggled with algebra? Then you can focus primarily on studying algebra topics. Knowing what's tested on the ACT will help you pinpoint the areas where you need to improve and increase the effectiveness of your studying. Tips forGetting Your Best ACT Score Knowing what subjects the ACT covers will help you become more familiar comfortable with the test, which can help boost your score. Follow these three tips to help ensure you’re getting the most out of your ACT prep and achieving your highest score. Create a Study Plan Before you really dive into your ACT studying, you should first create a study plan. Planning out your studying in advance can help you know when you’re supposed to be studying and can keep you on track. Setting aside a regular time to study each day or week, such as weekdays from 8:00-9:30 or Saturdays from 12:00-4:00, will make it easier to study because you’ll know ahead of time when you should be studying and can fit the rest of your schedule around it. You should also include regular goals in your study schedule that you hope to meet, such as, â€Å"I want to understand how to answer trigonometry questions by the end of the weekend,† or â€Å"I want to raise my ACT Science score ten points by the end of the month.†Setting these goals can help motivate you to study and help you stay on track. Use High-Quality Study Resources Your studying will only be as effective as the prep materials you use, so be sure to use high-quality ACT study material.A high-quality prep book can be one of the best resources you use. Check out our guide to the best ACT prep books available. A good prep book will effectively explain the content tested on the exam, have high-quality practice questions similar to those on the real ACT, and include full-length practice exams (discussed more below). Take Complete Practice Exams During your studying, you’ll want to take at least one (and ideally at least three to four) complete practice ACTs.Taking full-length practice ACTs is important because it gives you the most accurate idea of what the real ACT will be like.You’ll learn how taking a test for several hours affects you and if you get tired and distracted towards the later sections. Also, after you score your exam, you’ll have a good idea of how well you’d do on the actual test, and you can use this information to identify which topics you should focus on for future studying. Be sure to take your ACT under realistic testing conditions. This means take the exam all in one sitting, timed, and with minimal distractions.Try to use official practice tests since they’ll be the closest to the real ACT. We have links to several free and official ACT practice exams you can use. Conclusion: Understanding the ACT Syllabus Knowing the syllabus of the ACT will help you know what to expect for the test and how to prepare for the exam.Each of the four main sections of the ACT covers multiple subject areas and contains several question types. There is also an optional Writing section with an essay at the end of the test. To help you prepare for the ACT, be sure to create a study schedule early on, use high-quality study resources, and take full-length practice tests to get a good idea of the progress you’ve made and where you can improve. What's Next? Looking for more practice tests? We have links to free and official practice ACTs you can use during your studying! Trying to get a top score on the ACT? Learn everything you need to get a perfect 36 on the ACT by reading our guide, written by a full-scorer. What score should you be aiming for on the ACT? Learn what a good ACT score is and how to set a goal score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial:

EVIDENCE ASSIGNMENT 2015 Essays - Evidence Law, Criminal Law, Doubt

EVIDENCE ASSIGNMENT 2015 Essays - Evidence Law, Criminal Law, Doubt Introduction In British, the phrase the burden of proof has two meanings. Firstly, the risk of not persuading the jury and second the duty of going forward with the evidence to satisfy the judge. The presumption of innocence is the fundamental rule is criminal cases in which means the defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. There are in fact two different types of burden recognized by the law. These burdens are commonly known as legal burden and evidential burdens . A legal burden in criminal trials generally falls on prosecution to prove the elements of offence charged beyond reasonable doubt. This was decided by House Of Lords in the case of Woolmington v DPP .Here Viscount Sankey LC declared not the trial judges decision of reversing the burden of proving the defence on the accused was wrong and this burden should be borne by prosecution. Meanwhile, evidential burden is burden of adducing sufficient evidence to convince the judge there is an issue to put before court. This burdens is usually carried by the defendant to raise reasonable doubt by pointing to or adducing evidence in order to make his defence live issue. Once the defence is made, the prosecution must disprove the defence in order to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. However it is doubtful how far it has had either effect, even after the Human Right Act 1998 Exceptions of the presumption Through the web of English Criminal law, one golden threat is always to be seen that is duty of the prosecution to prove prisoners guilt. Viscount Sankey in Woolmington case referring in reverential terms to the golden thread while even the acknowledging two sets of exceptions one ,the defence of insanity based on the common law and other based on statute, either by express or implied provision. The first exception insanity to the Woolmington can be traced back to the advisory opinions of the judges in MNaughtens Case. Whenever the accused raises the insanity defence, therefore it is for him to establish on a balance of probabilities that at the time of the offence he was labouring under such defect of reason, from disease of mind, as not to know the nature and quality of his act or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong. However, it should be noted, in H v UK (1990) the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the insanity exception didnt breach Art 6( 2) since the rule didnt concern the presumption of innocence, but the presumption of sanity. Looking at the statutory exceptions to the reversal of legal burden , the accused will bear the legal burden if the parliament intends in statute. It can be either implied or express reversal of burden . All form of reversals will raise issue of compatibility with the presumption of innocence as stated in the Art 6 (2) of ECHR. Many statutes expressly impose a burden of proof on the accused to prove his case. When express statutory provision obliges accused to prove his defence, it will automatically swift a legal burden on him to prove his defence on the balance of probabilities without any assessment attached. Its deemed regardless of the principle set down in Woolmingtons case. In situation of implied reversals, the parliament tend to be silent as did not suggest who holds the burden. Therefore, the judges required to interpret Parliaments intention by using various tools of interpretation. There are number of cases where an enactment may be constructed as impliedly imposing a legal burden on the accused. S101 of the Magistrates Courts Act 198013 lays down the general principle in respect of summary offences and where the statute does not expressly state who bears the legal burden . The effect of the section is that where the conduct of the accused creates an offence but in circumstances where the statute creates a defence in respect of an exception, exemption, proviso, excuse or qualification, the burden of proving of the defence will be placed on the accused. The principle originates partly from the notion that it is easy or easier for the accused to prove that he fall within the scope of defences

Informal proposal Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informal - Research Proposal Example For instance, there has been a significant decrease in the employee retention rate within the company which stands at 40 percent, a scenario that impact negatively to the branch. The main purpose of this proposal is to identify ways in which Roanoke Branch can motivate its employees and reduce the unprecedented employee turnover. This paper will solve the problem of employee dissatisfaction and high turnover through training of both the employees and the management on effective communication, job evaluation, and a review of the existing compensation for the employees. There is no denying that the employee retention rate has been on a declining trend for the past three months. I have noted that two of the branch’s senior managers have in the recent past resigned from their positions. My investigation has informed me that the senior managers, the art director, and one of the accountant executives, are currently working for a rival company. Furthermore, I have received information from three of the graphic designers and four of the copywriters of their dissatisfaction with the company citing the manner in which their innovations are being modified by the senior management without their knowledge. Moreover, I noted that over 40% of the employees recruited in our branch will leave within the next two years. These unfortunate scenarios within our branch threaten our existence, particularly our ability to create a competitive advantage in the advertising industry. Unarguably, a highly motivated human resource is a valuable asset to an organizatio n. It is therefore important for Roanoke Branch to develop a retention plan to retain its human resource, thereby keeping the employee turnover as minimal as possible. As such, I am convinced that Roanoke Branch is able to restore its reputation by achieving the following objectives: After carrying out an investigation on the causes of employee dissatisfaction at Roanoke Ranch, I realized that the main

Does Teaching Kids To Get 'Gritty' Help Them Get Ahead Annotated Bibliography

Does Teaching Kids To Get 'Gritty' Help Them Get Ahead - Annotated Bibliography Example In this respect, the grit concept helps instilling life skills on the students. This helps in preventing students from becoming slaves to education. However, it is hard to establish the extent to which grit is a determinant of a success among students. This is because it is hard to assess this concept. The concept of grit enhances the performance of students. It works best for students like the virtue of curiosity and courage. Grit is also associated with risks. These include the academic mistakes students are subjected to, in their daily tasks. The fortitude enables the students to stay through the course with regard to their academic performance. This helps students learn and make appropriate improvements. In the long-run, grit becomes a culture, which is based on the self-drive and excellence. Students are bound to learn from the success and failures of other people, who have applied grit in their academic endeavors. It is true that grit helps people to appreciate and explore their potentials in their academic

Recommendation report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Recommendation report - Assignment Example The director of the Global Client Collaboration department at Steelcase, Inc. asked for a research that would analyze the effects of current global economic crises (2012) on multinational corporations and evaluate possible solutions for the case of Steelcase, Inc. that would assist it to survive this economic environment. Steelcase is a company that manufactures furniture whose head office is in Grand Rapid, Michigan and is the biggest manufacturer of office furniture in the globe. The company has about eighty locations and over eleven thousand employees all over the globe in locations including Malaysia, Mexico and Romania, which are responsible for supporting the local Steelcase dealerships and offices. It also operates show rooms referred to as WorkLife Centers all over the US, Asia and Europe with manufacturing facilities being located in Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia. The company is mainly involved in designing and producing furniture , wall surfaces, technolog y tools, architectural products as well as ergonomic among other products. It sells its products online through more than eight hundred dealers in various locations while also offering workplace consulting services in some of its locations of operation. The economic and financial crisis resulted from issues in the US’s financial sector in 2007 that were characterized by unsound lending activities by financial institutions as well as unsatisfactory management of risk that prompted an extraordinary devaluation of assets along with credit squeeze as far as interbank lending was concerned. In a short time, the calamity escalated into a worldwide economic tremor that soon affected the real economies. In numerous economies, the crisis was an imported aspect since the countries in regions outside the US were affected in mid-2008 largely through export markets collapsing. The

Driving Forces For Smartphone Marketing Essay

Driving Forces For Smartphone Marketing Essay The mobile Internet is growing so fast. There is about 500 million people use the mobile internet worldwide in 2009. The Smartphone will be the most popular method to access the internet than PCs in the next few years. There are more and more people want to have Smartphone instead of desktop or laptop. In Egypt and India this is 70 percent and 59 percent of mobile internet users are mobile-only. Even in the US it is 25 percent. (MobiThinking 2010). Now there are about 150 million presently users log in Facebook from mobile devices. People use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.(Mobithinking 2010) These make the reason of the Smartphone growth very fast recently. Product innovation is always the important part of industry life. Customers always want to have the new and efficient products and industry always need to develop and innovate the products that meet the customers needs. In the mobile phone industry, People used to use the mobile phone as oral communication. After that people start to use the mobile phone to memory some of the data such as pictures, songs, phone book and address book. Mobile phone was becoming a small personal memory book. Now mobile phone is also called as Smartphone that combine with operating system and become very small PC in your pocket. Smartphone can be use as GPS, access the internet, download, games, and translate language. Therefore, the Smartphone industry should be always consider innovation as primary objective. (Nokia Corporation, 2011) Changes in who buys the product and how they use it The target market of the Smartphone is young generation. There are two parts of the young generation that are college students and fresh graduates. College students want to have Smartphone. According to the researcher at Ball State University, there are 49 percent students own a Smartphone at college in 2010, compared with 38 percent in 2009. The 97 percent of students use text messages for their primary communication method and 30 percent of students will use email to communicate to each other. There are about 90 percent of Smartphone users that use their phone to surf the internet. About 97 percent of the users will take and upload photos and 87 percent of the owners will look at videos and upload videos by their Smartphone. (Kelly Truong). Fresh graduates need a Smartphone, too. Fresh graduates continue their habits from the college, but they use their Smartphone on the different way. They use their Smartphone for their work in order to have more efficient than others. The Smartph one can help them check their email anywhere, stay in touch with their office and update the news from office quickly. Increasing globalization of Smartphone industry The demand of the Smartphone is growing rapidly worldwide, because of mobile internet becomes more popular. Gartner expects the worldwide touch-screen mobile device market to top 362.7 million units in 2010, an increase of 96.8 percent over 2009 sales of 184.3 million units. (Michelle Maisto). More and more people start to buy a Smartphone, because of the trend market. Smartphone is going to instead of the traditional phone. Changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles Smartphone changes the way people used to be. First, the communication between the people is changing. People use social media to communicate to each other. Facebook user base has risen to 430 million year-over-year, roughly the same increase as QQ in China. Twitter, while sporting only 58 million users experienced a 1238% year-over-year growth rate. Facebook now dominates in chat, messaging, video sharing, games, VoIP and more. (MobileBeyond). People want to check the social media instead of text message and give a phone call. For example, Facebook shows a lot of information that people want to express for their days and also upload their photo to their friends. Smartphone can give people to see the latest news from the social media anywhere and anytime. Second, the lifestyle is going to change. People used to go to the bank to make transaction and deposit the check. After we have Smartphone and internet, we can just take a photo with check and upload to your bank. Finally, the atti tude is going to change. People used to buy the products and compare the price in the different stores. It was not convenient and efficiency way to shop. Now you can easily to check the price of the product by using Smartphone that can help you make the right decision to shop. Smartphone is changing our lifestyles, attitudes and societal concerns. Industry life cycle There are five stages of the industry life cycle. In the embryonic stage, the industry starts to begin and develop the product to the public. In the growth stage, the company produces more products and increases the market share. In the shakeout stage, some of competitors start to see the opportunities in this market. In the maturity stage, the product price is stable and more competition comes to market. In the decline stage, the sale of the product decreases until the product innovation or discontinue in the market. (Hill Jones, 2008). The Smartphone industry is in the growth stage. The demand of the Smartphone industry is growing rapidly. The sale of the Smartphone was 174 million units in the 2009; there were 270 million units sold in 2010. In 2011, the sales forecast is going to be double from 2010 to 2011 that means about 500 million units. (Oliver Van Dervoort). The demand of the Smartphone is going up twice than 2010 that make the Smartphone industry is in the growth stage, because of the strong demand of the Smartphone. Internal Analysis Value Chain The value chain is that an organization creates value by performing a series of activities and it represents how each competitive advantage created via an organization adds value to the service or product for each customer. In the HTC Company, RD, Production, Marketing Sales, Customers Service and Human Resource are adding the value to their company. (Hill Jones, 2008). Research and Development HTC extremely concerned about research and development department. In 2009, HTC has nearly one-third of RD personnel which in total HTC personnel. They also invest in R D development about 5% to 7% of the total revenues. HTC also pay attention on their innovation and design. HTC introduced the worlds first Android Smartphone in the Android operating system. After that, HTC also develop the new 4G high speed Smartphone that customer can download or upload their games, picture, video and mobile multimedia fast than before. (HTC Annual Report) In 2010, HTC introduce the worlds first windows phone which is HTC HD2. HTC HD2 has a capacitive touch screen interface and 1 GHz processor. (HTC Annual Report). It allows consumers to enjoy the fast and smooth touch experience and quickly respond to every touch of the action which is a major breakthrough for Windows Mobile phones. It is the worlds first embedded HTC Sense for Windows Mobile; make the phone more intuitive operation. HTC Sense has three core principles for the design -Make it Mine, Stay Close, Discover the Unexpected. The ideal of the HTC Sense is easy to operate in order to attract more customers to buy their Smartphone. HTC develops the product designs to meet china market with China Mobile. In China, TD-SCDMA is Chinas telecommunications industry with independent intellectual property rights of international communications standards. Each of the phones needs to have TD- SCDMA in order to use in china. In 2008, HTC launched their first TD-SCDMA Smartphone in china i n order to extend their market into China. à ¨Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ Ã‚ ½ à ¤Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ©Ã… ¸Ã‚ ³Ãƒ ¦- ¹Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¼Ã‚ Ãƒ ©- ±Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ®Ã¢â€š ¬ à ¥Ã‚ ­-à ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¸ à ¦Ã‚ ªÃ‚ ¢Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¦-à ¨Ã‚ ©Ã‚ ³Ãƒ §Ã‚ ´Ã‚ °Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ­-à ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¸ à ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ©Ã… ¾ attract draw fascinate Production HTC is growing so fast. According to the annual report, with worldwide demand for mobile phones expected to continue rising through 2010, we can expect the tight supply situation to continue as well. (HTC Annual Report) HTC needs to make sure their suppliers to increase productivity in order to meet the demand of the market. HTC also needs more manufacturing plants and facilities to meet the increasing demand of HTC products. HTC pay attention on their quality from each of the product that they produce. HTC introduces their new HTC Hero to the market In June 2009. After that HTC Hero has win a lot of awards which are Stuff Magazines -Gadget of the Year award, Mobile Choices- Phone of the Year, T3 Magazines Phone of the Year. During the worlds largest annual Telecommunications industry event, the 2010 Mobile World Congress, HTC Hero was further recognized with the 2010 Best Mobile Handset or Device Award. (HTC Annual Report) As HTC is growing so fast in order to meet the demand of the market, they still focus on their high quality control. Marketing and Sales HTC business is focus on European and North America markets in 2009. There are 48.8% of revenues from North American, 30.4% from European and 20.8% from Asia and other regions. Especially, the annual growth rate is 28.6% in North America which is the most potential markets. HTC development strategy is the current worldwide brand positioning HTC have a good development and increase HTC brand image in order to create long-term competitive advantage HTC. (HTC Annual Report) HTC has different products to meet the different level of the markets. For example, HTCs HD2 is the luxury and high-end product. Second, they have mid-price products which are HTC Tattoo and HTC Touch2 in order to have competitively in their market segment. HTC focus on the Smartphone industry, wireless communication technologies and become more sophisticated in this market. HTC Cooperate with Telecommunication Company to place their phone in the store in order to increase sale of their phones such as Verizon, Sprint and T-mobile. HTC mobile phone now, through Europe, America, Asia, sales of leading carriers and distributors, and has gradually penetrated into the Smartphone market in developing countries such as the Middle East, Central and South America and Russia. (HTC Annual Report) Customer Service HTC opened the worlds first HTC Care Customer Service Center in Taiwan Taipei in 2007. Fred Liu, Chief Operating Officer of HTC said HTC believes that providing superior after-sales support is important to our continuing success, which is why we place such a high degree of importance on HTC Care. In the future, a number of HTC Care centers will be launched in Taiwan and overseas, allowing our customers to enjoy their mobile lifestyles without missing a call, (HTC Annual Report). Customer service center is very valuable for customers. Customer service center can save time and more efficient to solve the problems from customers. Customers can just walk into the center and get personalized consultations by HTC products, Warranty repairs and buy HTCs products. HTC also provides a loaner phone during repair time. Customers do not need to worry about the alternative phone during that period. Human Resources The most valuable asset in HTC is employees. In recent years, HTC hires recruits outstanding talent to its ranks in the areas of product design, user interface, brand promotion and sales and marketing. HTC also hire the professionals employees from Europe and American that make HTC increases their diversity, challenging, vital and encouraging. As of the close of March 2010, HTC employed 8,948 staff worldwide. The 169 non-Taiwanese staff employed by HTC filled 30% of all HTC managerial positions. Non-Taiwanese managerial and technical staff filled 8.3% of all HTC positions worldwide. Women hold 21.4 %of HTCs 557 current managerial positions. (HTC Annual Report) Functional Analysis RD Production Marketing Customer Service Efficiency High Mid Mid Mid Quality High High Mid Mid Innovation High High Mid High Customer Response High High Low Mid VRIO Analysis Is it Valuable? (V) Is it Rare? (R) Is it difficult to Imitate? (I) Does the Organization use it well? (O) RD- Spend 5%to 7% of total revenue Yes No No Yes Production Increase facilities to meet the market demand Yes No No Yes Marketing- Brand Image Yes No Yes Yes HR Different culture background employees Yes No Yes Yes Customers Service Service center Yes Yes No Yes

American Agriculture Needs a Free-Market System Essay -- Argumentative

American Agriculture Needs a Free-Market System The words to the famous old children’s song â€Å"Old MacDonald Had a Farm† are due for a revision. The new lines should read â€Å"Old MacDonald had a farm . . . with a lawyer here, and an accountant there, and everywhere a new federal program and regulation.† Not quite as poetic, but definitely more appropriate. The current state of agribusiness consists of an incredibly complex mix of subsidies, price supports, and bureaucratic regulations that could confound the most knowledgeable business minds. Underlying this tangled web of rules and regulations are political battles that pit normally allied groups against each other, and bring normally adversarial groups into allegiance. One bizarre outcome of federal farm policy is that consumers and tax-payers (usually one and the same) are set at cross-purposes. In this paper, I will highlight some of the unusual policies that exist today and will try to present some rational alternatives to alleviate the nightmare tha t is U.S. agribusiness. E...I...E...I...Ohhhhhhh..... The United States Government and agriculture have had a working relationship for most of the twentieth century. In 1916, Congress established the Federal Land Bank to provide farmers with easier access to credit. Then, during the Great Depression, many New Deal programs came to the aid of the farmer (Rapp, 1988). A system of price supports and production quotas was established to ensure price stability. For the first time, farmers were being told not to grow as much as they could. After World War II, the government found that prices were a very difficult thing to stabilize, so it focused its attention on income supports. That is, it attempted to guarantee a farmer ... ... prosper, while those who are marginal will not continue to be a drain on the economy. We cannot continually advocate free trade around the world (the GATT talks) while protecting our farm industry at home. I believe that when the government gets out of the food-growing business, farming efficiency will increase, consumers will benefit, and the economy will be better for it. And after the shakeout, Old MacDonald’s son or daughter will have a chance for greater prosperity. References Rapp, David. How the U.S. Got Into Agriculture and Why it Can’t Get Out. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1988. Rawlins, N. Omri. Introduction to Agribusiness. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1980 Robbins, William. The American Food Scandal. New York: William Morrow, 1974. Tweeten, Luther. â€Å"The Economics of Small Farms,† Science 219 (4 March 1983): 1037-41.