The Inquisitorial System of Criminal Justice free essay sample

This paper details the debate over the proposal to introduce the inquisitorial system of justice used in the European Union to Britain. This paper is an in-depth examination of the key arguments in the debate currently going on in Britain over whether or not to replace its adversarial system of justice and replace it with the inquisitorial system of justice now used in the European Union. The paper begins by defining both the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of justice. It then presents arguments in support of the Inquisitorial Model including that the system promotes equality; decreases miscarriages of justice; seeks to find the truth; argues that the judges in the adversarial system are poorly trained while its judges are chosen on merit. The author then presents their arguments against the use of the Inquisitorial Model and makes the following points about the inquisitorial system including that it ignores human dignity; that it will cause false imprisonment; argues that the European Union will be allowed to prosecute British Citizens and will therefore render British Law powerless; argues that it will l ead to the destruction of the Magna Carta and finally, argues that the system can be costly. We will write a custom essay sample on The Inquisitorial System of Criminal Justice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The author then presents a final evaluation of the materials presented and details their own conclusions as to which system is better suited for use in Britain. Opponents of implementing the inquisitorial system argue the efficacy of the adversarial system. These opponents note that there are clear advantages to the current British system which include. The right of Habeas Corpus (that the accused must be taken to a public court within a very short period of time, usually 24 hours, and the accusers must produce their evidence then and there. The right to Trial by Jury at which jurors can in fact even disregard the law if they think it would give an unjust conviction. The jurors are thus sovereign. If found innocent, the accused cannot be tried again on the same charge. (Corpus Juris and the Effect on British Common Law Rights)

The Power of Fuel Cells essays

The Power of Fuel Cells essays As the scientific world progresses and the over-consumption of fossil fuels continues, scientists, environmentalists, and businessmen alike seek alternate forms of energy production and usage. One such alternative is viable through fuel cells. Fuel cells can power cars, trucks, and buses without emitting harmful tailpipe emissions. Such vehicles will be cleaner and more energy efficient than those powered by an internal combustion engine. Fuel cells also may provide energy to factories and homes without creating smokestack pollution. They offer significant improvements in energy efficiency as they remove the intermediate step of combustion and mechanical devices such as turbines and pistons. Unlike conventional systems, their high efficiency is not compromised by small sizes. Fuel cell cogeneration plants have demonstrated unprecedented reliability and durability that is significantly better than conventional competitive equipment. The absence of combustion and moving parts means tha t fuel cells can run continuously for long periods of time before servicing and that they are far less prone to breakdown or forced outages. A number of fuel cell systems operating in "real world" commercial conditions have run continuously at full power for more than a year and over thirty have exceeded six months. One of the most exceptional qualities about fuel cells is that they promote energy security as they can use hydrogen derived from a variety of sources, including methane, propane, coal, and renewables such as biomass or, through electrolysis, wind and solar energy. In fact, hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe, most commonly found on earth as H2Owater. Hydrogen is also the fuel of choice for energy-efficient fuel cells. Furthermore, hydrogen boasts many important advantages over other fuels: it is non-toxic, renewable, clean to use, and packs much more energy per pound. In a fuel cell, hydrogen gas from the fu...

AVIATION SAFETY MANAGEMENT Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

AVIATION SAFETY MANAGEMENT - Term Paper Example This rise in air traffic negatively affects the normal operations of the air traffic organizations. For instance, the air traffic congestion can significantly threaten the aircrafts safety which is the ultimate aim of the civil aviation authorities and airlines around the world. The safety of the aircraft is the primary concern for any airline and the civil aviation authority as it contains hundreds of passengers at a time. Upon accident, the aircraft will be destroyed however, with it hundreds of lives will also be lost. This aspect makes the air traffic flow a top priority and concern for the civil aviation authorities around the world. Though there are various independent factors that affect an aircraft resulting into the loss of lives. Prominent ones are: natural disasters or causes, technological fault developed in the aircraft, human error by pilot or the air traffic controller, human error by the engineering maintenance staff before giving the clearance for take-off, communication and related barriers that limit the understanding and comprehension of pilots and air traffic control officers, etc. Barnier and Brisset (2002) undertook a research to devise a strategy to increase the capacity of airspace apart from reducing the challenges that the Air Traffic Controllers have to face while handling unlimited number of flights landing and taking-off every minute. Furthermore, Barnier and Brisset (2002) focused on the dire need of the airlines to cut down their operational costs by receiving faster clearances to land or take-off which consumes their most of the flights time. They focused on the Air Traffic Flow Management (AFTM) technique to resolve this problem that the European Air Traffic Flow Management has to encounter every day. Since 1960, more than hundred aircrafts have met a fatal accident in the United States alone. There are various factors that were involved in these accidents. However, air traffic controllers play the most significant

Passing by Nella Larsen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Passing by Nella Larsen - Essay Example The selection and the portrayal of the thematic issues in the novel just as is the case with many other types of literature relies on the selection of the literary elements as the below analysis of Passing portrays. Key among the literary elements is the use of first person narration in the novel. A voice is always essential in a novel since the author adopts a particular voice in conveying his or her message through the plot. In the Passing, the author adopts the first person narration technique. The author narrates the story through the experiences of the lead character, Irene Redfield. Living in the Harlem area of New York, Irene Redfield is a mixed race woman who strives to integrate in the racial discriminate American society at the time. The story in the novel thus recounts he life and experiences of Irene Redfield and her numerous white and African American friends as they face numerous challenges. The action in the novel opens up with Irene receiving a letter from her long lost friend, Clare Kendry. The letter reminds her of their times together and the experiences they had in the city. The author of the novel therefore stylistically transfers her audience back into the history of the characters through a literary device known as flash back. Irene remembers her relationship with Clare the two women are both of mixed ancestry. They therefore underwent similar treatments by the society. Their passionate friendship broke soon after Clare’s father died since she went to live with her aunt in a different state. The separation implied that the two would grow up differently (Wall 101). As such, they became two different women a feature in the novel that validates the tension that Irene experiences once she receives the letter. The flashback is a strategic literary device that the author employs deliberately with the view of providing an adequate platform for comparison. Just as the name suggests and the plot of the novel portrays,

Internet: How It Changes Traditional Marketing

Internet: How It Changes Traditional Marketing Nowadays, the technology and telecommunication are non-stop developing. These developments lead to the changes of different sectors in different industries. The appearance of search engines such as Google, Yahoo or shopping online with eBay, Amazon is gradually changing the customer shopping trend and it also changes the marketing models to E-marketing instead of Traditional marketing models. The posed question is what E-marketing is all about. According to one of the most famous Marketing authors, Philip Kotler, Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. In other words, marketing is not only the activities to make products come closer to customers, it also creating the awareness of customer about the products, stimulate the purchase, consolidate positive feeling, keep tracking customer complain to adapt the products in order to best suit the customers tastes. E-marketi ng is an element of marketing. The prefix e in eMarketing is considered as electronic. E-marketing uses electronic devices such as computer with Internet, interactive ness or mobile marketing channels. to understand completely about E-marketing matter, lets delve into this topic. II. Critical impact of Internet and the difference between traditional and E-marketing: As well as traditional marketing, eMarketing does all things of marketing but in the electronic sectors. However, traditional marketing has some disadvantages that eMarketing can surmount and improve them. Talking about traditional marketing methods, the first names which are considered immediately will be advertisement on the press, radio, TV or publication. Marketing by ads on newspaper has appeared for a long time and still exists. Although that is a long-standing model of marketing but it has some disadvantages that can be easy to list. A newspaper is updated everyday and information will be the same. It means that all the information of a yesterday newspaper will be old and it can not be the trend if its information is not updated. If a company puts their advertisement on a newspaper, it will be valuable or has validity in the day when that newspaper is published. To refresh and make their advertisement still be closer and attracts customer, the company must to pay more for the updated and keep the place of advertisement on newspaper which they has paid for it before. Thus, today, many companies choose eMarketing as their main marketing strategy instead of traditional marketing like the years ago. Take an example of Tokyo hair salon Mano Mano. For an advertisement on Tuoi Tre newspaper with full page and the text of their promotion al programs , Mano Mano must to pay more than 3 million VND but it just exist for 1 day. To appear on Tuoi Tre again with the same position, Mano Mano must to pay again, at the same price. Now, they change their mind and choose www.tuoitre.com.vn with advertisement section to put their advertisement. Although the space for their ad is not the full site of the web but it appears in customer first look. Obviously, the cost for this marketing method is decreased significantly. Furthermore, Mano Mano ad is available 24/7, a thing that traditional marketing can not do. The next popular method of traditional marketing is Radio. In 198 0s, 1990s, radio is one of the most favorite entertaining channels of human. Based on that, businesses chose radio to do marketing was very commonly used. Among the programs, stations broadcasted the advertisement of products from any industries such as cuisine, fashion, technology, etc. However, like the press, radio programs and advertisement on radio was just one day information and need to be updated. This changing leads to the changing of cost. Companies paid too much for their marketing plan. Nowadays, radio is replaced by audio and podcast. Besides, TV is the most popular device to put advertisement on and it can make products com closest to customer. Thus, the price to make ad on TV is extreme high. Instead of choosing TV, businesses can choose video files to introduce their products and it will be shown on the websites and of course, companies do not need to pay much. The advantage of this method is help businesses to reach closer to clients and also help producer to worldw ide their market and potential clients, also. Take example of Vietnam Idol program. This is the Vietnamese version of the very famous program from USA, American Idol. Although Vietnam Idol appeared the first time 3 years ago but organizer still does marketing as best as possible. They made the clip in their own way and put it on the popular website. Beside the main website, www.vietnamidol.com.vn, the organizer also buys the space in the entertaining websites which have the high turn of accession in Vietnam such as www.mp3.zing.vn , www.24h.com.vn or in the most famous networking in Vietnam, Facebook. The other example is YourSingapore.com. This is the website of Singapore Tourism Board which supplies all information and news about Singapore tourism with so many functions for customer to choose. Like Vietnam Idol, this website choose Facebook to reach closer to global customer. In customer side, eMarketing or marketing online helps them to search their favorite products faster and m ore exactly. As mentioned above, internet development has lead to the appearance of search engines that Google is the best evidence ever. Google is known as the best website for searching information in any sectors. People go online and type google.com for news, global financial news and of course, the products. It is the fastest way to look for the interesting goods. To satisfy this practice of customer, almost the companies, suppliers or producers have their own website to do eMarketing for their goods for products. Besides, they also put advertisements on the other websites which have a good accession to promote their products. This is the good way for companies to reach to customer. With these argument, it is easy to see the advantages of eMarketing. It can help companies control the exact number of customer who interest in their products by checking the number of visitor. In addition, companies can also get information about customers ability to pay for a product or their behav ior to upcoming product. Furthermore, eMarketing support companies to make surveys easily and based on that, companies can get customer information, interests and comments that can help them to improve their product. The companies can control the attractiveness customer easily and also ensure business running. Therefore, eMarketing has changed the traditional marketing of companies and also changed the habit of customer. III. E-marketing and Segmentation: Discuss about the segmentation that Internet can change the traditional marketing in the aspect of, as mentioned above; Internet has changed the trend of choosing and purchasing of customer. However, it does not mean that everybody will use Internet as their engine to find the products or services information. It depends on geographic and demographic of consumer. With customers, who live and work in urban areas, using Internet to search and purchase goods is the best way for them to save their time and their money, also. In the developed countries such as USA, Japan or EU, internet marketing is commonly used and people has accustomed with searching online for their interested goods. Based on that, doing E-marketing in the developed countries is the smart choice for companies to enlarge their market and make their products reach customer. Take example of E-marketing in USA. This is the country which is known as one of the powerful countries in the world. With the developed economy and technological development in USA, E-marketing seems to be an important method in doing marketing. The famous website and the large number of customer around the world that can be listed as eBay Corp. at www.ebay.com , Wikipedia at www.wikipedia.com or tourism in USA at www.USAtourism.com can be the best evidences for E-marketing is this country. Although marketing on Internet is very common in the world but there are some countries, where people do not how to use computer, still exist and Bangladesh is an example. Known as a country which has the third Islam in the world and the economy is under-developed. With the per capita income in 2008 was US$520 compared with US$10,200 of the worlds average, it can be recognized easily that almost people who live here have the low livings (Wikipedia, 2010). Because of those low livings, people do not have ability to have the general idea about purchasing online or marketing on Internet. With Bangladesh people, before purchasing a product or u sing a service, they must to try it first and if it satisfies their needs, they will decide to choose it then. Thus, to the companies in Bangladesh, doing E-marketing will be the worst method and they can not do that. Although not all Bangladeshi can not use computer and online services but the number of people who can do they is small and it just happens in the head offices. Thus, E-marketing will not develop in the countries like Bangladesh. Those arguments above are concerned with geographic and now will be the concerns with demographic of consumer. Depends on the age, gender or income, customer will have different identifications and behaviors about marketing online. Normally, consumers who are younger will be interested in learning about favorite online and shopping online than older. In young peoples opinions, internet can support them to search all details of goods faster and the information is updated. Beside that, with younger people, who are living in the developing times, time is very important and all they want to do is must convenient for them to save their time, as much as possible. In other words, with Internet, young people just need to stay in their place, take the mouse and make a search for the term that they interest, then, burdensome of information will appear. They just click and buy, and after that, the goods will be delivered. Customer may be charged the shipping fee or not depends on the location. Unlike to young people, the older has the different idea that internet just show the general information about product. After deciding to purchase one kind of goods, they will go to the store, take a look and touch directly to their interested product and try it on. If it works well and satisfies all their needs, they will buy it. In other words, the older want to choose the product directly that they ensure it will not have any mistakes in general. Besides the age, different gender can make different behavior to E-marketing. Almost the men l ike gadget and digital equipments. These goods are updated and almost of them are advertised on internet that their loyal and potential customer can get the updated information or updated of products. In other side, women, their interest is all about fashion and with this item, customer must to touch directly and try it on their bodies to get the exact and perfect product for them. Women go online and search for the new trends or prestige tailor or fashion designer that they can get the gorgeous ones from. Therefore, to the men, internet can help them to find out and purchase the best products ever but, to women, its just the engine to get information only. IV. E-marketing and Targeting: With the things have just been mentioned above, its easy to see the target of E-marketing or marketing on Internet will focus on the objects which are the younger customers, customers who have the income from middle level, officers and people who do not have enough time to go real shopping. V. E-marketing and Differentiation: Differentiation is how companies make the difference among the competitors. With the support from Internet, many companies build the website for their own. Making differentiation is the action that concerns with products, services, personnel, channel and image. To impress customer who visit website, companies must to give them alternative as much as possible that they can make decision. Besides, companies must give customer the attractive price of products or packages that they can make comparison with other competitors. The more customization the website has, the more different they are. VI. E-marketing and Positioning: Mentioning about the positioning of companies when using E-marketing, it is how they embed their brand in customers mind. Take Apple as evidence. With the very famous products such as iPod after generations, iPhone, Mac or iTunes, Apple has the numerous customer for its own. There are three reasons why Apple can do that. They are well-known with high technological products and services; the innovation in digital devices and user friendly products. Therefore, whenever a new product of Apple is upcoming, it always receives the best attention of customer ever. Today, Apple has its own position in customers mind and its always the first choice in some decisions of customer. VII. E-marketing and Product: With the convenience of E-marketing is the function of leaving comments of customer, companies can learn more from customer comments and then, they can improve their products to be better. In other side, with using E-marketing, companies can support their customer to taste the new products via betas or trials. Take example of Advance Device Lock Pro. This is a software product to protect mobile device from hackers or make them be safe with passwords. This software appeared a couple year ago it has attracted more customers. For people who know about this software for the first and interest to try, Advance Device Lock Pro will give them trial version in 7 days that customer can try it free in those days. After 7 days, if customer is interested in this software, they will pay about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬15 to have full version. Furthermore, E-marketing can help companies to have the multiview about customer needs, and based on that, the new products will be appeared to satisfy all customer tas tes VIII. E-marketing and Price: In traditional marketing, companies must to pay much for overheads like store, transportation, delivery or maintenance cost, etc. If using E-marketing instead of traditional marketing, companies can save lots of money. Take example of hotel booking online. With the customers information on booking online, hotels can manage the quantity of coming customer and they can be proactive in coordination of staffs, foods and the others. In other aspect, E-marketing support hotels compare their prices to the competitors. Ho Tram Beach Resort is a 4-star resort which is located in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. In their website at www.hotramresort.com , room rate for a Sea View Suit is US$ 303 and customer can book room immediately after checking the rate. However, the price will be discounted a little bit if customer call directly to resorts reception. The point is, the rate on website is competitive price with other resort in same location. Thus, customer can check and compare the price among comp etitors. The competitive and attractive price combine with the impressive design and services will be the plus point for Ho Tram Beach Resort in customers mind. IX. E-marketing and Distribution and CRM: The kind of online products as E-books, E-consult, E- learning or software reach the world wide in accepted conditions such as politic, technology and infrastructure. In CRM aspect, E-marketing helps companies adjust their marketing offering fit to customer individual need. Moreover, it can understand the changing taste of customer, and then, prepare to launch the new products. Take Amazon.com as an example. This is the world wide retailer with numerous brand names and million accession everyday. To purchase goods on www.amazon.com , customer should sign in so they can receive the recommendation to your choice. By signing in, www.amazon.com can know which product their customers are most interested in. If customer has changed their interest, Amazon.com can also manage that and give them the suit recommendation for them. X. Conclusion: Technological development which specific is internet has not only changed a issue but also the whole world. The appearance of internet and Marketing on internet, E-marketing, has changed a habit in selling and purchasing. Although some disadvantages still exist but E-marketing has contributed to the global economic development and its also the bridge between customer and companies and make them reach closer.

black lung disease :: essays research papers

Black Lung Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every year, almost 1,500 people who have worked in the nation’s coalmines die from black lung disease. That’s equivalent to the Titanic sinking every year, with no ships coming to the rescue. While that disaster which took place so long ago continues to fascinate the nation, black lung victims die an agonizing death in isolated rural communities, away from the spotlight of publicity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Black lung is the legal term for a man-made, occupational lung disease that is contracted by prolonged breathing of coalmine dust. Some call it miner’s asthma, silicosis, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, or black lung. However, they are all dust diseases with the same symptoms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Only the smallest particles of the coal dust make it past the nose, mouth, and throat into the alveoli found deep in the lungs. The alveoli, or air sacs, are responsible for exchanging gases with the blood, and are located at the end of each bronchiole. Microphages, a type of blood cell, gather foreign particles and carry them to where they can either be swallowed or coughed out. If too much dust is inhaled over a long period of time, some dust-laden microphages and particles collect permanently in the lungs causing black lung disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main symptom of the disease is shortness of breath, which gets worse as the disease progresses. In severe cases, the patient may develop cor pulmonale, which is an enlargement and strain on the right side of the heart caused by chronic lung disease. Eventually, this may cause right-sided heart failure. Some patients develop emphysema as a complication of black lung disease. Others develop a severe type of black lung disease in which damage continues to the upper part of the lungs even after exposure to the dust has ended called progressive massive fibrosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Black lung disease can be diagnosed by checking a patient’s history for exposure to the coal dust, followed by a chest x-ray to see if the characteristic spots on the lungs are present. A pulmonary function test may help in the diagnosis. However, all coalminer’s should have chest x-rays every four years so the disease can be detected early.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Congress placed strict limits on airborne dust and ordered operators to take periodic air tests inside coalmines in 1969.

Home Depot Case Study Analysis Essay

According to the case study, Home Depot Incorporated: The Specialty Retailer of Building Materials, Home Depot, Inc has been incorporated since 1978. The company functions in the home improvement retail industry, which includes multiple markets as do-it-yourself, professional, and renovation home improvement. At the end of 2000, the company had 1,190 brick and mortar retail stores, mainly located in the United States, but slightly less than 100 retail outlets were distributed between Canada and South America. The retail sales of Home Depot are various, and include building materials, home improvement and renovation, lawn and garden, as well as household appliances, supplies, and tools. Other retail sales at Home Depot include cabinetry, tiles and flooring, lighting fixtures. In services, Home Depot offers installation, design assistance, and even instruction/installation assistance. The case study, Home Depot Incorporated: The Specialty Retailer of Building Materials, further shows how Home Depot segments its products into Fix It, Build It, Grow it, Decorate It, and Install it. These segments are based on the three consumer markets, the do it yourself, buy it yourself, and professional customers. This allows Home Depot to seek competitive advantage in specialized retail outlets by defining the characteristics of consumers by their purchase type and buyer characteristics. Home Depot Incorporated: The Specialty Retailer of Building Materials shows that Home Depot’s long-term debt reached $1. 55 US billion in 2002, and total liabilities were at $6. 37 US billion. Home Depot had $177 US million in cash and short term investments as of January, 2001. Their inventory value was at $6. 56 US billion, and the cost of goods sold was $31. 46 US billion, leaving Home Depot with inventory turnover every 76 days. This means that Home Depot incurred more inventory costs in warehousing and distribution, than retail sales supported. Issues in Strategic Management The case study, Home Depot Incorporated: The Specialty Retailer of Building Materials explains that Home Depot’s management issues have several dimensions. First, the increase in retail stores and implementation of specialty stores in response to customer segmentation led to the speculation that Home Depot was having an ‘identity crisis. ’ The diffusion of the core home improvement domain was extreme and initially occurred over a short time line, thus operating expenses climbed. This was combined with a slowing of the do it yourself industry and markets, as well as competition from Lowe’s. In response to this, the CEO at the time, Robert Nardelli, shifted away from the exponential growth strategy and towards reducing warehousing of low-purchase items and boosting in-store item differentiation and sales. Nardelli’s strategy chain was, according to the case study, envisioned as gaining ground in installation and services growth before the competition cornered these markets. The company’s focus then changed from one of brick and mortar growth to one of service industry growth. Thus, Nardelli moved from the traditions of the home improvement industry and towards innovation. In growth strategy, the senior vice president of Home Depot’s management team felt that increasing operational efficiency and maintaining the strength of brick and mortar growth was more important than implementing new service dimensions. The basis of this argument was that traditional growth strategy had a huge success rate since the company’s inception, and multiple trade areas in the Northwest and Southwest United States were largely ignored by major competitors, specifically Lowe’s. The case study, Home Depot Incorporated: The Specialty Retailer of Building Materials, examines that the second management strategy was also in contention, where the executive vice president believed that instead of focusing on the service strategy, or the retail market strategy, Home Depot should maintain its segmentation of consumers into specialty stores, which would allow Home Depot to gain competitive corners of the market that it had not yet explored. In this strategy, Home Depot would be able to market towards the appeal of specialized services. In closing the management strategy analysis, the case study emphasizes the decision of Nardelli as being difficult, as both strategies presented held risk and benefits. Nardelli’s decision making process, therefore, had to be one that focused on the growth initiative of Home Depot, as overcoming competitors, establishing the domains, and segmenting (or not segmenting) the retail outlets. Based on this, the pertinent issues facing management processes at Home Depot are directly related to the growth initiative, growth strategy, and implementation of the growth strategy. Analysis and Evaluation of Issues The concern of Home Depot is to develop a management strategy that enhances growth. There are two main conclusions, as presented in the above case study. First, Home Depot can rely on its traditional method of retail brick and mortar store development with a focus on the under-marketed North-western and South-western United States. Secondly, Home Depot can focus on the development of specialty stores which are geared towards the segmented consumer markets. Key Concepts Lippert, Schwieger, and Schweiger (p 13 2005) examine that options to help a company achieve strategic growth are highly relative to the ability of the company to take action and rely on financial viability. Thus, a strategic growth initiative has the objective to be consistent with corporate growth and profit objectives through the development of key individuals in the organization (Lippert, Schwieger and Schweiger 3005). The focus of the growth strategy should be in the ability of Home Depot to maximize efforts with respect to investment opportunities, gather valuable and real-time data on existing market opportunities and strive for industry-changing innovations on an ongoing basis (Lippert, Schwieger and Schweiger 2005). The concern of either strategy presented to Home Depot is relative to that of all corporate entities. The basic concern is to maximize growth while reducing the risk of the strategy (O’Leary p 37 2005). The underlying strategy of corporate growth initiatives is largely based on innovation, and the engine for innovation is the creation of an efficient connection between technologists, funding, and scale is its abilities (O’Leary p 37 2005). The growth strategies should therefore include diversity in innovation, rather than relying on the older ideals. Based on these key concepts, Home Depot’s optional growth strategies will be evaluated through a SWOT analysis, with a focus on the financial viability and strategic innovation presented. Strengths Home Depot has a strong market position as one of the largest home improvement retail stores in the United States. The sales volume allows Home Depot to maintain strength in domestic and foreign markets. The strong market position inidicates that the traditional growth initiatives have facilitated consumer support. Furthermore, Home Depot has a diversified and balanced brand mixture. The company stocks major branded appliances and a wide range of its own store-branded products. While there has been some worry regarding financial viability, Home Depot has remained the top domestic retailer in the home improvement market, and has a wide range of resources it can use for supporting corporate growth and new market entry. Weaknesses The weaknesses in Home Depot can be identified as a lack of customer service and support, the store has little initiative towards customer service that is easily visible to customers other than the retail store ‘customer service’ line. This shows that Home Depot has lagged behind its competition in providing high customer service quality, and raises a concern for the ability of Home Depot to maintain specialty service stores. The other identifiable weakness of Home Depot is the multiple brick and mortar extensions, which created a diffusion from the central home improvement retail business, and is exemplified by the management decision to ‘cut back’ on building new retail outlets. For the retail store, this creates a loss of square footage, which is vital to maintaining supplier relationships and meeting consumer demands. Opportunities Home Depot’s opportunities lie in the acquisition of new businesses. The company has the financial stability to acquire multiple businesses to further its growth strategy. This could include the service industries and specialized markets. As an opportunity, acquisitions have the ability to save costs over implementing ‘new’ growth strategies. Threats Home Depot’s business is highly competitive. Home Depot must compete against multiple market segments: other home improvement stores, electricity and construction stores, plumbing and lighting stores; cabinet-makers and lumber yards. In the retail segments such as paint, appliances, and tools, Home Depot also competes with discount stores, local, regional and national hardware stores, mail order firms, warehouse clubs and independent building supply stores.