Summative assessment - Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Summative assessment - Part 2 - Essay Example Thus, it is socially responsible and supports the entire market in order to ensure that the best products are available in the market. The company uses the most recent technology to run all its operations; every section or rather department of Anisa International has gone digital, starting from the marketing, management, communication and distribution of its products (Yahoo Finance, 2004). To start with, Anisa International, Inc. has gone digital in marketing of its products. There are a number of social websites that have allowed platforms for advertisements and other marketing procedures for various companies. Sites such as Facebook, twitter, YouTube and Google have made it easy and cheaper for business organizations across the globe to effective market their products. For instance, Anisa International has a Facebook page whereby all the news about the new products, changes in the existing products, prices of particular products and general company operations are posted. This style of marketing is somehow effective as it is easily accessible by any individual irrespective of age, gender, race or social class. With the current level of technology, there are hundreds of millions internet traffic daily; people access or rather visit various sites with diverse aims. Thus, for fashion lovers, Facebook pages for famous companies and other fashion websites are their destin ations. Information in Anisa’s Facebook pages is accessed or rather read by thousands of individuals daily. Therefore, the company easily spreads the news about its products via this medium. In addition, management of firm’s operations in todays’ world has gone digital. Many organizations have transformed from paper work or rather manual way of transacting and recording information to the digital way of handling all the operations of the companies. For instance, Anisa International, Inc. has all the information about the company’s operations stored and handled

What may be the 'Best Practices' so far as Action Planning is Assignment

What may be the 'Best Practices' so far as Action Planning is concerned - Assignment Example Non-discriminatory policies increase the rate of work commitment (Australian Human Rights Commission 2014). Delivering real value to customers helps them realize that they are valued by the provider of services which increase customer loyalty. The more customer loyalty there is, the higher competitive edge is achieved by an organization over rival companies. This is why making wise investments in this area is highly valuable making it one of the best practices of an action plan (Bradt, Check & Pedraza 2011). Employers and employees should continually strive to enhance their organization’s image. This helps the people realize that focus is not only concentrated on maximizing profit. Rather, the organization is conscientious enough to protect its reputation also (Nagy & Fawcett 2013). Customers have more confidence in those companies which have a very healthy image compared to those which have cracks in their images. Australian Human Rights Commission 2014, Developing an effective Action Plan, viewed, 07 June 2014, Nagy, J & Fawcett, SB 2013, Proclaiming Your Dream: Developing Vision and Mission Statements, viewed, 07 June 2014,

Space race had a significant impact on United States' Hisotry Term Paper

Space race had a significant impact on United States' Hisotry - Term Paper Example About four months later, the US navy launched a rocket to compete with the Soviet’s initial rockets. The first US rocket was inferior compared to the Soviet’s as it crumbled and exploded into fire. The US felt humiliated and blamed the military and the all the specialists behind the rocket launch. President Dwight later approved the National Aeronautics and Space Administration despite the country having little knowledge in space program. He reasoned that the US will one day require the space technology since the Soviet already had it; in other words, he did not want the US to remain inferior (Thompson 89). Currently, one can comfortably say that the US is the super power due its advanced space program among other factors. This discourse tends to explain how space race has affected the US history. Space technology has improved the security of Americans in some complex ways. Americans have their rockets in every orbit of the earth attached to the satellite. This means that they can sense any strange and harmful substance on space then send the signals to the satellite so that responsible personnel can take the next step to ensure the safety of its citizens. Although the country recently faced some attacks like the 9/11, none of them was linked to space attack. This implies that the space program is in work. The US was not scared of the Soviets until the former first set a space station despite the fact that the Soviets were more steps ahead. The meeting between the president and NASA among other professionals changed everything. The bottom line is that the US is respected and feared by other developed nations because of its sophisticated and advanced space program. President J.F Kennedy will forever be remembered for the first attempt to initiate a successful trip to the moon (Turner 91). It removed the country from the inferiority wagon as the president compared the scenario with that

Political conditions of the Cold War Era Essay Example for Free

Political conditions of the Cold War Era Essay The Cold War is increasingly treated as a historical period that customarily begins in 1947, when the Truman Doctrine sought to contain communism and the expansion of Soviet influence, and ends with the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc in the late 1980s. My thoughts are that this event occurred after war world II between the Soviet Union and the United States of America due to a conflict about political, ideological, military, and economic values because the United States was capitalist when the Soviet Union was communist. During this time there was a fair that they were going to destroy each other with the arsenals of gigantic artillery. Germany was separated into 4 sections controlled by Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States and the Cold war started because there was a disagreement on unifying Germany. There were events that happened during the cold war the first was the foreign aid policies, which were able to divide the superpowers after that treaty organizations and alliances started forming up again one of these alliances was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as the Warsaw pact. The superpower were always involved in a conflict the mayor political crisis was that Soviet blockade on Western Berlin they block off supply routes to Western Berlin so the people were dying because they did not have how to cover the firs needs. Another conflict was the Cuban missile crisis it was the closest the world ever came to all-out nuclear war. Following the first sightings of the missiles being placed by Soviets, additional Russian vessels were seen heading towards Cuba carrying more missile components. Thus began what became known as â€Å"the 13 days,† a period of extremely high tension in which the Kennedy administration tried to find a way to get the missiles out of Cuba without starting World War III. Kennedy and his advisers had to walk a very tight line in order to achieve that end. In the end, Kennedy followed the path of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower as a leader determined to prevent the further spread of Communism in the world by all reasonable means. He had campaigned on the issue of a missile gap  between United States and the Soviet Union, and even his plan to place a man on the moon in the decade of the 1960s was, to a large extent, aimed at defeating the Russians in space. The military implications were obvious. It was during Kennedys administration that the most dangerous point in the Cold War was reached: the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. http://www.academicamerican.com/postww2/coldwar.html Presidents and Prime Ministers on either side came and went but the war never ended. Every President of the United States took the war personally as a Commander in Battle and it became a competition of who would do better. Finally, it was the Republican George W. Bush who called the final shots and that too because Mikhael Gorbachev backed down. http://www.historyking.com/World-War/cold-war/Summary-Of-The-Cold-War.html Explain the specific threats to American citizens One threat that is becoming more severe in the post-Cold War world is the proliferation of chemical, biological, nuclear, and missile technology. The probability of a retaliatory strike on the U.S. homeland by rogue states or terrorist groups using such weapons, however, can be reduced by ending unneeded and provocative U.S. military intervention abroad. Politicians of both parties often tapped into that fear and ran for office based on how strong they would be against communists. Fighting communism always involved the threat of nuclear war since both the U.S. and Soviet Union had nuclear weapons trained on each other. President Dwight Eisenhowers military plan relied on nuclear stockpiles rather than land forces. He hoped the threat of nuclear destruction would restrain the Soviets. http://www.tn4me.org/minor_cat.cfm/minor_id/23/major_id/10/era_id/8 Describe the preparations you would make to protect your family Those are my thoughts , it is important to have things that are going to be necessaries to survive in this situation as water medical and food the family can survive if they go to the close shelter they usually have a wonderful staff to help those who need them. It s important to keep the medication close and accessible. Conclude with one question for further study on the Cold War era What effect did the Cold War have on the political, economic, social, and  military conditions of the world’s nations? Conclusion Cold War as a period which began with the rivalities of the superpowers The effort to contain communism and capitalism (and covertly subvert the other), however, entailed a larger containment or channeling of the flow of possible change in various areas of political, social, and cultural life within its political imagination. The Cold War rivalry sustained an equilibrium which tended to freeze not only the power relations between hegemonic and client states but also the political contours of nation-states in the two camps backed by economic inducements, military power, and nuclear threat.

Use of Magical Realism in Chronicle of a Death Foretold Essay examples

Use of Magical Realism in Gabriel-Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold   Magical realism is clearly present throughout Gabriel-Garcia Marquez's novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold.   Magical realism is the juxtaposition of realism with fantastic, mythic, and magical elements. A secondary trait was the characteristic attitude of narrators toward the subject matter: they frequently appeared to accept events contrary to the usual operating laws of the universe as natural, even unremarkable. Though the tellers of astonishing tales, they themselves expressed little or no surprise.   Obviously the most concise definition of magical realism is that it is the combination of magical and real elements. The magical elements that exist in works of magical realism are; superstitions, exaggerations, dreams that come true, universal humor and the coincidence of bizarre events. All of these Elements are present within Chronicle of a Death Foretold.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Placida Linero, Santiago's mother is one example of superstition with is the book.   "She had a well earned reputation as an accurate interpreter of other people's dream, provided they were told to her before eating, but she hadn't notice any ominous augury in those two dream of her son's" (1-2) Santiago's character also represents this element of magical realism. The statement   " Nor did Santiago Nasar recognize the omen" not only reveals his superstition but also the common faith put in superstition. There must have been some sign of the, foreshadowing or coming of his death that he could have seen. It is funny how these omens are more readily accessible after it is too late. Marquez uses exaggeration in Chronicle of a Death Foretold more than any other element... ...on, which General Petronio San Roman was a hero of. The dialogue throughout the book stays believable, even though the reports were unordinary the characters responded as if they were ordinary. Such as the narrator saying that he believed that Pedro was awake for months. It is this reality-based core with real people and places, a recognizable setting and believable conversation that enables Marquez to twist in the magical details giving this novel the genre of magical realism. "What came to dominate the story and to leave a lasting impression was the view of man as a mystery surrounded by realistic data. A poetic divination or denial of reality. Something that for lack of a better word could be called magical realism."   -Uslar Pietri Works Cited: Gabriel Garcia Collected Novellas: Chronicle of A Death Foretold. New York[:] Harper Collins Publishers, 1990.

Appendix E Strategies for Gathering and Evaluating Sources

Associate Level Material Appendix E Strategies for Gathering and Evaluating Sources |Source |What makes the source credible or what does not make it |Explain in at least two to four sentences | | |credible? Consider the following when addressing the |what information you can gather from this | | |source: |source? | | | | | |What is the author’s affiliation to any organization | | | |related to the subject of the article? Does he or she have| | | |an ulterior motive? | | | | | | |What is the author’s experience with the subject, | | | |including academic or professional credentials related to | | | |the subject of the source article?Does she or he have | | | |what it takes to understand the complexities of the | | | |subject? | | | | | | |Does this article report on information that the author | | | |experienced personally, or is it a summary or retelling of| | | |information from other sources? How close is the author to| | | |the actual information? | | | | | | |I s the information current? When was the information | | | |published or last updated? Might there be resources with | | | |more current information? | | | | | | |In general, does the information in the source article | | | |match the information found in other sources? Or is the | | | |information different or unique?Can this information be | | | |confirmed by more sources than just this one? | | | | | | | |Does the source make any claims without having evidence to| | | |support them? | | |Source name |I do believe this is a credible source.The author Erich |This article explores the significance of | | |Goode has provided an ample amount of evidence to support |the self-control, and the relationship | |Authors: Goode, Erich |his claim. One source of evidence is through the Youth |between drug use, crime and the effect on | | |Behavior Risk Surveillance study, a nationally |our society. It states that individuals who| |Source: DRUG abuse & crime. Out of|representative survey. The author has also used sources, |use drugs are more likely to commit crimes. | |Control: Assessing theGeneral |such as Jo Anne Grunbaum from the Centers for Disease |People who engage in criminal or delinquent| |Theory of Crime; 2008, p185-199, |Control and Prevention for |behavior are statistically more likely to | |15p |assisting in obtaining the raw data for this study. This |use drugs, drink alcohol, and smoke | | |source provides Gottfredson and Hirschi’s views on this |cigarette. More than individuals who do not| | |matter, who are criminologists and drug use specialists. engage in criminal or delinquent behavior. | | |So the information provided by this source is confirmed by|The more frequently individuals use drugs | | |specialist and experts in the field. The content is up to |for recreational purposes, the | | |date, for example, the collection of position papers and |greater the likelihood that they engage in | | |their references in Toward a Drugs and Crime Researc h |criminal behavior. | |Agenda for the 21st Century. | | |Source name |I do believe this source is credible with up to date | | | |information. The author has the proper credentials related|This article examines the process of | |Authors: |to this subject through the Boise State University, Boise,|becoming addicted to drugs via epigenetic | |Walsh, Anthony |ID, USA. Also the source comes from an academic journal. processes. Frequent drug usage leads to an | |Johnson, Hailey |The information provided by the author is not claims, but |allosteric (the changing of a physiological| |Bolen, Jonathan D. |is the actual process the brain goes through when a person|system by the calibration its set points) | | |uses drugs. |brain changes in its pleasure centers. This| |Source: Journal of Contemporary | |is the evidence needed to explain why | |Criminal Justice; Aug2012, Vol. 8| |people addicted to drugs, engage in | |Issue 3, p314-328, 15p | |criminal behavior. | | | | | |Source name |I have found this source to be credible. Both authors have| | | |the proper credentials related to this topic.Julie M. |This article examines whether drug use and | |Authors: |Ford, Ph. D. , is an Assistant Professor in the Department |the presence of visible drug sales lead to | |Ford, Julie |of Sociology at SUNY-Brockport. Her research includes |elevated levels of three types of crime: | |Beveridge, Andrew |urban and disadvantaged communities |assault; burglary and theft. For crime | | |and substance use. Andrew A. Beveridge, Ph. D. is a |victimization rates by neighborhood, it is | |Source: Neighborhood Crime |Professor in the Department of Sociology at Queens College|found that for burglary, neighborhood | |Victimization, Drug Use and Drug |and the Graduate Center of CUNY. His research includes |disadvantage, the presence of visible drug | |Sales. Conference Papers/American |historical population change and the analysis of |sales and drug use are related to | |Sociological Associa tion; 2006 |neighborhoods and other geographic factors. This paper |victimization.For assault, only | |Annual Meeting, Montreal, p1, 37p |provides evidence through data from the Fighting Back |neighborhood disadvantage and visible drug | | |evaluation to examine the empirical relation between drug |sales are statistically significant; and | | |use and the neighborhood-level presence of drug |for theft, only visible drug sales | | |dealing, and burglary, theft and assault rates and |influence the rate of criminal activity. | |victimization. | | |Source name |I cannot find that this source to be completely credible. | | | |Although the authors do have some credentials through |The purpose of the proposed article is to | |Authors: |University of Delaware, Emeritus. This source has done |improve the understanding of the | |Anderson, Tammy L. research to back their theory, but have yet to provide the|relationship between drug use and violence | |Harrison, Lana |evidence or results in thi s paper. The information is |among youth in the early 21st century. This| |Freeman, Charles |unique and does differ from other sources, but does not |paper takes an unique conceptual approach | | |have the resources to confirm it. by integrating ideas from Agnew’s general | |Source: General Strain Theory and | |strain theory (GST) with Goldstein’s | |the Drugs/Violence Nexus. | |tripartite model to advance scholarship on | |Conference Papers — American | |the relationship between drugs and | |Sociological Association; 2003 | |violence.This article specifically, | |Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, | |explains the types of strain-induced | |p1-29, 29p, 4 Diagrams | |emotional states that are motivated by | | | |drugs leading to violence and crime. | |Source name |I found this article on the web, and was not able to find | | | |the authors name.I do believe it is credible, because the|The consequences of drug use or abuse in | | |article provides a large amount of evidence to confirm the|society take a profound toll on families, | |DRUG USE AND RELATED ADVERSE |facts they have provided. The evidence provided are from a|schools, and other community institutions | |BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES|number of different studies on the adverse social and |and burden the criminal justice, health | | |behavioral consequences of drug use |care, and social welfare systems.Evidence | |National Institute on Drug Abuse |or abuse need to integrate both community and individual |has shown that not only does drug abuse has| | |level factors. The facts provided are also very similar to|detrimental effects on youth lives but also| | |what I have found from other credible sources. The |has adverse ramifications for their | | |research provided is also update throughout the article. transition into adulthood. Such as | | | |marriage, continuity of employment, | | | |criminal activities, parenting behavior. | | | |. | | | | |Source name |I have found thi s source to be credible. All the authors |The psychological factors that contribute | | |have the proper credentials related to this subject. They |to and characterize | |Authors: |have proven they have experience in this field and are |criminality are numerous. They include: | |David Deitch, Ph.D. |able understand and explain the complexities of the |manipulation, | |Igor Koutsenok M. D. Amanda Ruiz, |subject. They have also provided the proper references, |impulsivity, low tolerance for frustration,| |M. D. |which can be affiliated with this field. They have |the propensity and | | |researched areas of the information in the article, but |the need for danger or thrill seeking, poor| |Source: The Relationship Between |have yet to provide the results.I do think it is a |consequential | |Crime and Drugs: What We Have |credible source because of all the other reasons, and they|thinking, poor option generation, poor use | |Learned in Recent Decades |are not throwing out any ridiculous information about the |of leisure time, affiliation in terms of | | |subject. |social identity with the criminal class, | | |easy dissatisfaction or boredom with | | | |conventional activity alienation from | | | |general socialization, identifying with | | | |whole groups of people who have been | | | |socialized into gang behavior. |

Consumer Securities Trading in United States

The following is an in depth look at the effects the Internet has had on trading securities in the United States. Its purpose is to define the impact of the Internet by determining specific changes in the structure of the trading market as a result of the numerous online brokerages that have surfaced in the past few years. A brief look at traditional brokerages and market characteristics prior to the advent of the Internet provides a foundation with which to measure many of its impacts. The arrival of the online brokerage model has not only introduced an entirely new vehicle with which to trade securities, but it also beginning to effect the way traditional brokerages view their own business models. Specifically, it appears that both the online/discount model and full service model of brokerages will both succeed in the next few years, with the top firms exhibiting characteristics somewhere between the two extremes. New Ameritrade television commercials debuted early this year with a twenty-something-year-old punk extolling the virtues of his new brokerage account to various business men and women. Perhaps the witty E*trade commercial featuring monkeys that first aired during the 2000 Super Bowl was more notable. These commercials are quite a contrast to the traditional brokerage commercials of Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Fidelity among others. This contrast is for good reason. Online brokerages have uprooted the traditional model of consumer securities trading and have attracted a critical mass of followers. Before brokerage fees were deregulated 1975, eliminating fixed commissions, trading was something only done by the wealthy. Since then, fees have dropped considerably among the full-service firms making it possible for more and more people to manage portfolios. Until 1995 there was still a fundamental restraint for many consumers: access to timely and accurate information at any time from their own computer. With the arrival of online brokerages in 1995 came a slew of options for investors, new and old, to access an abundance of information and research, and to initiate their own trades all at considerably discounted fees. According to Deutsche Banc, as of 2Q00, online brokerage accounts represented approximately 25% of all accounts in the United States. Furthermore, by 2003, online brokerage accounts are estimated to control 50% of the brokerage market. The online model has already attracted nearly 20 million investors, initiating an increase in overall trading volume. An brief examination of the brokerage industry pre-arrival of the Internet and an in depth look at the brokerage industry now illuminates the many differences and possible implications for the future of consumer securities trading in the United States. Traditional brokerages have been operating freely since 1975. The deregulation of brokerage fees at this time allowed new firms to enter the market, marking the first major alteration in the way Wall Street traditionally offered its services. Before 1975, the market consisted solely of â€Å"full service† firms, those firms who offer trading, research, and financial advice through brokers or financial advisors at a considerable fee. After fees were deregulated, â€Å"discount† firms began to appear, offering consumers smaller fees, but at the cost of less research and financial advice. The market slowly split between these two types of business models, but they were fundamentally similar for 20 years: generate revenue by providing consumers the ability to trade and receive financial advice based upon firm research. The concept of having a broker, or financial advisor who acts as an agent for consumers, was the prevailing idea of stock trading in between 1975 and 1995. Many of those who had portfolios would leave its management entirely up to their brokers, others would call periodically for advice, and some would be actively co-managing their portfolios with the broker. The prevailing model for securities trading was still professionally managed, although different levels of management and cost evolved at this time. Wall Street was altered again in 1995, probably more significantly than in 1975, when securities trading and the Internet converged. According to the Securities Industry Association, K. Aufhasuer & Company was the first to execute securities trading online in 1994. However, it was not until 1995 that the first online brokerages debuted their new business model. Momentum mounted quickly, as many investors flocked to the lure of extremely discounted prices and quick trade execution. Without the â€Å"brick and mortar† presence typical of the traditional brokerages and a significantly less extensive network of research and financial advice, online brokerages can offer transactions at fractions of the costs of traditional brokerages, even of the traditional discounters. The first online investors were, and still are, predominantly â€Å"a mix of young, first-time investors and older, more experience ones,† according to a McKinsey & Company study. When online brokerages first surfaced, they introduced an entirely unique channel for delivering securities trading to consumers. No other brokerage firms offered the ability to trade securities over the Internet; it was exclusively reserved for those companies referred to as â€Å"online brokerages. † This has changed however over the past couple of years. Traditional full-service brokerages are beginning to adopt their own online components. The two most frequently cited reasons for the scramble of full service firms to enter the online market were customer pressure, and the fear of asset flight to online brokerages, according to a Deloitte & Touche Survey. The ability to distinguish these early online brokerages from full service firms is no longer a matter of whether or not they offer online services. The distinguishing feature now is between the cost of their services, segregating firms into a classification again of â€Å"discount† or â€Å"full service. In a sense, the online model has redefined â€Å"discount,† moving the discount brokerage to a much further extreme. Indeed, it is true that most of the firms that are classified today simply as â€Å"discount† are founded on an online business model or have quickly adopted online capabilities, but many of the full service firms, as mentioned, are turning to the online channel in hopes of competing with the discounters. Therefore, when an â€Å"online brokerage† is referred to, it implies both the discount firms and the few full service firms with online capabilities. The evolution of the online brokerage market has been explosive in growth, catapulting from just one online brokerage in 1995 to an estimated 170 in 2000, totaling 19. 5 million online accounts (refer to Figure 1 below). The first online brokerages to emerge were predominantly â€Å"deep† discount, followed by mid discount firms, and finally some of the traditional discount incumbents adopted an online strategy and are now classified as mid-tier firms. To illustrate this trend, consider the emergence of 5 of today's top 6 online brokerages: In 1996, two major deep discount firms emerged, Datek and Ameritrade. Over the next two years, two major mid-discount firms appeared, E*trade and DLJdirect. In 1998, Charles Schwab made their presence felt in the online market which was one of the few traditional discount firms before the online model developed. Fidelity quickly followed suit. This upsurge of online brokerages and the trend for some of the traditional brokerages to go online has had some lasting effects on the securities trading market, which will be explored in the next two sections. The impact of online brokerages is manifested in nearly every aspect of the securities trading market today. Trading volume increase is one of the largest impacts, as a result of the ease and availability of trading that online accounts bring to consumers. It is worth examining the numbers to determine if the large increases in trading volume are actually a result of online accounts, or merely pure correlation with a booming bull market. Over the past decade, the volume of shares traded on the NASDAQ stock market has grown at a compound annual rate of 26%, but since the arrival of online brokerages in 1995, it has grown at a rate of 30%. Although this is not an enormous increase, it is certainly quite significant. To look at it in another light, online accounts represented 15% of all brokerage accounts in the US, but more than 37% of the trading volume. Based upon past experience in the stock market, it may seem that this increase in trading volume is an entirely productive result. However, much of the trading volume from online accounts is a result of day trading, which raises concerns with the SEC. Day trading was not possible before online brokerages made it possible to quickly and effectively trade securities multiple times daily. It is a speculative business, more so than the traditional brokerage business. As Deloitte & Touche describes it, â€Å"Customers usually [trade] in and out of several securities positions every day hoping to earn a positive spread on their transactions. † The SEC is responsible for maintaining fair and orderly markets, to protect investors, and to enforce securities laws that were established upon principles that day trading discards. According to a Deloitte & Touche survey, 62% of discount firms said they would offer services to day traders versus 0% at full service firms. Most online brokerages recognize that day traders make up an integral portion of their customer base, and do not wish to sacrifice the relationship. Day trading is one negative result of the advent of online brokerages that will remain a challenge for some time to come. Another notable consequence of online brokerages is the further development of after hours trading. The New York Stock Exchange first expanded its hours to â€Å"off hours† trading in 1991. The NYSE added a modest extension extending the after hours from 4pm to 5:15pm. It is now possible, with an online account to trade at any time. This can be advantageous to many investors in giving them more flexibility regarding time availability and for investors overseas who have holdings in US securities and cannot trade at regularly scheduled hours. After hours trading in 1999 represented 50% of all online transactions. Online brokerages have improved execution time quite dramatically to an average of 20 seconds per trade versus nearly 60 seconds for full service firms. In addition to improved execution time, the reliability and accuracy of online executions at discount firms is generally considered to be far superior to full service firms' online counterparts. The reasons most frequently cited for this are two-fold. First, most discount firms are built upon an online model, it is their core competency, allowing them to devote all of their efforts to perfect the core of their business model. Discount firms rely on trade volume for revenue, not asset accumulation, so it is imperative that their trade execution is the best that it can be. The second reason for superior trade execution at discount firms is that full service firms simply do not devote the same technological resources to their online channel. Full service firms focus primarily on performing cutting edge research, and providing sound financial advice through its network of brokers. The speed and reliability in execution at discount firms has been one of the top attractions of investors, along with largely discounted prices. The online brokerage market has also greatly impacted the availability of brokerage services to those who were previously unreachable. This hinges upon Internet penetration in the US, which is approaching 120 million active adult Internet users, or a penetration rate of 50%. As was mentioned previously, the first investors to move online were mainly those who were brand new to securities trading, or those who were experienced enough to feel confident trading with little or no professional advice. Most of them brought below average asset values online. In fact, in mid-1999, although online accounts represented 15% of all brokerage accounts, they only represented 5% of the total assets. As stated previously, these accounts also accounted 37% of the trading volume. That would indicate that the online brokerages do not focus on producing revenue through asset accumulation, but through trading volume. This has some major implications to be discussed in the next session. The majority of discount firms rely on trading volume to create revenue through their online offerings. This means they depend on accumulating customers who trade frequently in order to collect fees for trades made. Trade volume has been increasing quite dramatically over the past few, as the percentage of online trades increases as a proportion of total. This bodes well for the online brokerages who are accumulating customers, although those players who are at the bottom of the pack will likely fall out soon. The market is remarkably consolidated after just 4 years in existence. In fact, the top ten online brokerages comprise 90% of the online assets and accounts, and the top 4 comprise 86%. Those brokerages who are having a tough time accumulating customers and trade volume even while the online brokerage market is hot, will likely fall out soon. Referring back to Figure 1, it can be seen that the number of online brokerage firms is expected to decrease over the next few years while the number of online accounts increases. The online industry is consolidating quickly while continuing to grow. Although there is still a large disparity between discount firms and full service firms in terms of how they operate and what they offer, this is likely to change in the coming years. Already, the trend for full service firms to go online is in motion, and there are even some discount firms that are beginning to complement their trading services with plans for banking, insurance, and bill payment services. Currently, discount firms have approximately 74% of their transactions online versus 18% online at full service firms. In a Deloitte & Touche survey, 100% of full service firms said they planned to use online trading to enter new businesses, create alliances, or shift the business model, and 74% of discount firms said they planned to add additional services that are typically offered only by full service firms. It appears that the two extremes in brokerage services are headed towards a common middle ground. As the author of the Deloitte & Touche study put it, â€Å"the distinction between discount brokers and full service firms is becoming less evident. There is distinct evidence that the brokerages that will prevail in the next decade will have features of both a discount brokerage and a full service brokerage. A 50/50 hybrid model of online and full service could prevail, but it is more likely that the future constituents will be based on one core competency (online vs. full service) and have significant characteristics of its counterpart. This is because each business model appeals to different segments of the population. It is generally agreed that full service firms have a distinct advantage in advertising dollars and brand equity, and appeal to investors with more money and/or less knowledge of investing. Online brokerages appeal generally to investors with less money and/or more knowledge of investing. At this point in time, they are quite distinct, but the gap is closing. Another salient example of this phenomenon is that the top focus of current marketing strategies for 18% of online brokerages is to build brand equity, a la the full service firms. Each model, discount and full service, is moving to a common ground. The question that now stands is, who will win out? It is not an easy task to predict the future, or the future of brokerage services in the United States for that matter. One thing is for sure: the online channel will succeed. The top brokerages of the future will certainly incorporate online components very significantly. Those that will continue to succeed will be able to be flexible and adjust to the changing demands of consumers and technology, just as the top firms today are able to embrace the online channel. As Deloitte & Touche put it, â€Å"firms that cannot be innovative will find themselves niche players or acquisition targets. â€Å"