Predicting Individual and Group Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Predicting Individual and Group Behavior - Essay Example ndividual and Group Behavior in Schools is vital, Principal Harris went the opposite direction, he should have established a prudent connection with Mrs. Harmon, the other faculty heads and staff in general immediately after noticing the negative vibe emanating from them and considered their alternative proposals closely. The last meeting would have given him an insight about Mrs. Harmon and the likes wants namely; additional pay for the extra task delegated to them and flexible time allocation that would facilitate the research hence improving the schools instructional platform (Senge, 2001). These were important connotations that Principal Harris would have taken care off at the first light to get a better result oriented scenario. Principal Harris lacked a proper time management platform in achieving instructional plan for the school amongst the available human resource at his disposal. He should have effectively delegated the tasks that involved the whole school fraternity; faculty, staff and community so as to be more thorough in obtaining the right information for best model formulation and in the process saving time, a very valuable tool in task execution in any organization. Instead he only gave the task to his immediate deputies Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Harmon leaving out the rest of the workforce and stakeholders. Task delegation scenario is put at risk here because of only entrusting a fraction of the entire workforce and interested parties like the parents and the community at large that supposedly the teachers were against. The internal environment of the school seemed to be discordant and not influential for best performance and productivity. A culture of uniformity in values and the school’s go als and objectives needs to be revisited and the faculty together with the staff trained either through workshops, seminars or webinars, the importance of uniformity in the school’s core value of always improving students’ performance in accordance with the

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary - Essay Example As such, America has a right to torture terrorist suspects but under exceptional circumstances (Hickey, 2012). Crucial is the fact that terrorism does not take an isolated approach. This is to say that terrorism does not restrict to breaking of a law. Acts of terrorism inflict harm on third parties most of whom are innocent law abiding citizens. Terrorism is a crime against humanity because it causes harm to individuals and undermines the sanctity of freedoms such as the right to life. Moher (2004), advocates for the use of torture using the argument â€Å"a lesser of the two evils†. In the event that one person stands in the way of saving millions from harm by with holding information, then extreme measures are likely to suffice. However, sanctified the rights of an individual, the government is likely to protect the masses rather than one person (Hickey, 2012). While describing the phrase â€Å"a lesser of the two evils†, utilitarianism is in play. This is the idea th at a policy is as relevant as the extent to which it protects, to a greater advantage, the masses, as opposed to an isolated few. Nonetheless, there is a need to establish under what situation torture is valid and what form this torture will take. Currently, America utilizes the policy of torture under the Radar screen. This technique encompasses underground torture methods such as rendition. This is where the suspect is subject to interrogation in a nation that has less restrictive rules on torture by using torture lite methods. Moher (2004) holds that it is more appropriate to accept that torture exists and find a way to regulate it using the justice system. As such, he proposes utilizing a judicially sanctioned torture system. Under this judicial guise, torture will procure information from suspects with more advantages than disadvantages. First off, Moher (2004) reports on Professor Alan Dershowitz’s theory who suggests that torture be medically supervised to ensure that the process only causes pain and discomfort but not permanent body damage. Secondly, there will be some form of due process. This is because the suspect’s guilt is subject to the scrutiny of a neutral magistrate. Proofing beyond all reasonable doubt that a suspect has information is part of judicially sanctioned torture. Finally, in case of a fatality, the judicial system has the power to demand an explanation and, therefore, reducing the chances of extreme brutality on the suspects (Hickey, 2012). Moher (2004) argues that judicially sanctioned torture is, therefore, more humane than the current underground system. Moreover, it is imperative to note that his stand on torture is in regard to the ticking bomb scenario. That is the suspect is holding information needed sooner rather than later, and the lack of this information could result in greater damage than torturing would cause. In summary, these arguments call for the use of logic rather than the inclination towards moral ity and its related emotional entanglements. Utilitarianism in this case is a logical approach (Hickey, 2012). Though most torture methods do not have a scientific basis, their success in obtaining information has proven adequate for the most part (Clarke, 2007). Expert interrogators claim that humans tend to avoid pain and discomfor

The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby Essay In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the character of Nick Carraway as his mouthpiece, his own little spy in the lives of the characters in the novel to relate back the events happening. Because of this, there are a number of things which we need to bear in mind about his narration such as to what degree it could be biased and how the first person descriptive effects the way that we portray Nick. First being introduced into the novel, Fitzgerald has Nick Carraway talk about some advice that his father had given him when he was younger, therefore enlightening us to the way that he was brought up and how it has affected the way he is now. He still remembers the words: â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had. † This reveals to us that Nick is not of lower class and is very well educated, which is further reinforced by the fact that he went to Yale, one of the most highly esteemed colleges in the country. Nick explains how doesn’t judge a person, which has therefore â€Å"opened up† people to him as they shared their troubles with him. However, we also get the impression that he is uninterested in the petty problems of people’s lives, as the comparison of â€Å"curious natures† to â€Å"veteran bores† is used, suggesting that while some of the people who confided in him intrigued him, others may have just left him sitting there offering mild condolences, a â€Å"victim† who’s subject to listen to their inconveniences when they were â€Å"unsought†: he didn’t look for people to come and talk to him, they came to him. Whether this proves that he is a trustworthy character is debatable; if he told everyone about the â€Å"secret griefs† that he was privy to then he wouldn’t be trusted and have people coming to speak to him, and yet he frequently deceived the people who sought after him, feigning â€Å"sleep, preoccupation or a hostile levity† when they tried to speak, which makes you wonder what else he could have done in the lines of deception, and whether or not it went further than just lying to avoid people. It would seem that he is very good at getting along with people in public and on the surface, whilst analysing them in private, to us, the readers. The reader learns soon on that Nick is from the Middle West, but moved further east to West Egg where he’s living now to learn the bond business. West Egg and East Egg are both enormously wealthy suburbs of New York City, located on Long Island where they face the ocean, but there is a clear differentiation between the two. East Egg is the home of the aristocratic people with inherited fortunes gathered over generations, roots running deep in American society. These people place great value on tradition, family background, manners and social convention, and look at people who weren’t born into their kind of wealth – â€Å"old money† – with contempt. Those who live in West Egg are also very wealthy but they lack the sense of entitlement that those in East Egg have, as they earned their money and weren’t born into it. They aren’t as ‘polished’ or ‘refined’ in their manners, and can therefore never fit in with those from the East Egg; they lack the background of a well established family. Nick himself is â€Å"descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch†, so therefore has a rather esteemed lineage in his own right, and yet he lives a rather modest life in the West Egg in a small house he describes as an â€Å"eyesore† next to the large mansion next door belonging to Gatsby; he isn’t drowning in wealth himself, but he is connected to people like his neighbour, Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Because of this, he has an insight in to what happens in the lives of these people, and this is what Fitzgerald will have intended: Nick relates what goes on from the inside, acting as the eyes, ears and mouthpiece for Fitzgerald. Although the intention of using Nick as the narrator may have been for him to give a rather objective viewpoint of the story’s events, that wasn’t truly the way that it was portrayed. Yes, he’s an outsider compared to the rest of the characters, having only recently moved to the West Egg himself and therefore not knowing too much about the lifestyles that these people are living, other than the fact that they are rich. However, he has former opinions of the characters he meets in chapter one which may or may not have clouded the way in which he describes them. Daisy Buchanan is his second cousin once removed, and it is clear that he is taken by her: he describes her as â€Å"charming† with a â€Å"low, thrilling voice† that was difficult to forget, which is a rather biased opinion of her; of course, we are still shown some of her carelessness and snobbish ways, but they are mainly through her actions, little things between the lines that could be easily overlooked if one didn’t know what to look for. Tom Buchanan on the other hand is introduced differently; through Nick, Fitzgerald first describes how he is a wealthy, athletic figure, listing his achievements and purchases before describing the man himself: he is portrayed as an arrogant man, having a â€Å"supercilious manner† and â€Å"established dominance†, thinking he’s superior to everyone around him and especially the black race as he describes how thinks it’s up to themselves, â€Å"the dominant race† to make sure that they keep the control and not any other races. He is generally described much more negatively by the narration of Nick, and this influences the way in which we perceive Tom as the automatic ‘bad guy’ in Chapter One. This perception is only accentuated when the reader finds out that he is cheating on Daisy with a woman in New York, and that men at New Haven (the college that he and Nick both attended) â€Å"hated his guts. † It is clear that he is a powerful man as his physique is referred to numerously, like the â€Å"enormous power† of his body and the â€Å"great pack of muscles† he had. He filled his boots until he â€Å"strained at the top lacing†, which could be likened to the saying that someone is too big for their boots – Tom is, both in the literal sense and the way in which he thinks that he is more important and powerful than everyone else. Heck, Fitzgerald even describes how Nick seems to think he radiates the â€Å"I’m stronger and more of a man than you are† vibe! Considering the fact that Fitzgerald has Nick introduce himself as an honest man who is â€Å"inclined to reserve all judgements†, we as readers don’t really get this impression from him in the first chapter. Not only does he already have – possibly subconscious – opinions of the Buchanans, he also has â€Å"unaffected scorn† for his neighbour Jay Gatsby, and all that he represents. However, he also says that there is â€Å"something gorgeous† about him, highlighting the fact that not only is he contradicting his previous statement when he said that he reserves judgements, but he’s contradicting his own opinion of the same man in only the next sentence! Because of all these things combined, it is uncertain to what degree the narration of Nick Carraway is actually reliable, as his own opinions can get in the way and make the narration biased. Overall, I think that Nick is portrayed as a fairly honest man in this first chapter of the novel, The Great Gatsby, but because of a few underlying things that could be picked up on, that may not be the full extent of his character. His opinion of things, even in the first chapter, contradicts itself; this not only puts into question which opinion we should agree with, but also makes us doubt his reliability as a narrator, which then in turn makes us wonder to what extent the story is accurate and in how much of it has had the illusion of the lifestyle the characters are living take over the actual reality.

Are Computers Really Intelligent?

Are Computers Really Intelligent? Are computers really intelligent? Computer Intelligence has been in hot debate since the 1950’s when Alan Turing invented the Turing Test. The argument over the years has taken two forms: strong AI versus weak AI:. That is, strong AI hypothesises that some forms of artificial intelligence can truly reason and solve problems, with computers having an element of self-awareness, but not necessarily exhibiting human-like thought processes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_AI). While Weak AI argues that computers can only appear to think and are not actually conscious in the same way as human brains are. (http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/pom/pom_functionalism_AI.htm). These areas of thinking cause fundamental questions to arise, such as: ‘Can a man-made artefact be conscious?’ and ‘What constitutes consciousness?’ Turing’s 1948 and 1950 papers followed the construction of universal logical computing machines, introducing the prospect that computers could be programmed to execute tasks which would be called intelligent when performed by humans.(Warner 1994: 118). Turing’s idea was to create an imitation-game on which to base the concept of a computer having its own intelligence. A man(A), and a woman (B), are separated from an interrogator, who has to decipher who is the man and who is the woman. As objective is to trick the interrogator, while B tries to help the interrogator in discovering the identities of the other two players.(Goldkind, 1987: 4). Turing asks the question: What will happen when a machine takes the part of A in this game? Will the interrogator decide wrongly as often when the game is played like this as he does when the game is played between a man and a woman?’ (Quoted from Goldkind 1987: 4). Turing’s test offered a simple means test for computer intelligence; one that neatly avoided dealing with the mind-body problem. (Millican, P.J.R., 1996: 11). The fact that Turings test did not introduce variables and was conducted in a controlled environment were just some of its shortfalls. Robert French, in his evaluation of the test in 1996, stated the following: ‘The philosophical claim translates elegantly into an operational definition of intelligence: whatever acts sufficiently intelligent is intelligent.’ However, as he perceived, the test failed to explore the fundamental areas of human cognition, and could be passed ‘only by things that have experienced the world as we have experienced it.’ He thus concluded that ‘the Test provides a guarantee not of intelligence but of culturally-oriented human intelligence.’ (Ibid : 12). Turing postulated that a machine would one day be created to pass his test and would thus be considered intelligent. However, as years of research have explored the complexities of the human brain, the pioneer scientists who promoted the idea of the ‘electronic brain’ have had to re-scale their ideals to create machines which assist human activity rather than challenge or equal our intelligence. John Searle, in his 1980 Chinese Room experiment argued that a computer could not be attributed with the intelligence of a human brain as the processes were too different. In an interview he describes his original experiment: Just imagine that youre the computer, and youre carrying out the steps in a program for something you dont understand. I dont understand Chinese, so I imagine Im locked in a room shuffling Chinese symbols according to a computer program, and I can give the right answers to the right questions in Chinese, but all the same, I dont understand Chinese. All Im doing is shuffling symbols. And now, and this is the crucial point: if I dont understand Chinese on the basis of implementing the program for understanding Chinese, then neither does any other digital computer on that basis because no computers got anything I dont have. (Free Inquiry 1998: 39). John Searle does not believe that consciousness can be reproduced to an equivalent of the human capacity. Instead, it is the biological processes which are responsible for our unique make-up. He says that ‘consciousness is a biological phenomenon like any other and ultimately our understanding out it is most likely to come through biological investigation’ (Searle, 1990 :58-59. Quoted from McCarthy, 2001, http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/’). Considered this way it is indeed far fetched to think that the product of millions of years of biological adaptation can be equalled by the product of a few decades of human thinking. John McCarthy, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at Stanford University advocates the potential for computational systems to reproduce a state of consciousness, viewing the latter as an ‘abstract phenomenon, currently best realized in biology,’ but arguing that consciousness can be realised by ‘causal systems of the righ t structure.’ (McCarthy, 2001, http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/ ) The famous defeat of Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion, in 1997 by IBMs computer, Deep Blue, promoted a flurry of debate about whether Deep Blue could be considered as intelligent. When asked for his opinion, Herbert Simon, a Carnegie Mellon psychology professor who helped originate the fields of AI and computer chess in the 1950s, said it depended on the definition of intelligence used. AI uses two definitions for intelligence: What are the tasks, which when done by humans, lead us to impute intelligence? and What are the processes humans use to act intelligently? Measured against the first definition, Simon says, Deep Blue certainly is intelligent. (http://whyfiles.org/040chess/main3.html). According to the second definition he claims it partly qualifies.(Ibid). The trouble with the latter definition of intelligence is that scientists don’t as yet know exactly what mechanisms constitute consciousness. John McCarthy, Emeritus professor at Stanford University explains that intelligence is the ‘computational part of the ability to attain goals in the world.’ He emphasises that problems in AI arise as ‘we cannot yet characterise in general what computational procedures we want to call intelligent.’ (McCarthy 2003: 3). To date, computers can perform a good understanding of specific mechanisms through the running of certain programs; what McCarthy deems ‘somewhat intelligent.’ (McCarthy 2004: 3). Computing language has made leaps and bounds during the last century, from the first machine code to mnemonic ’words’ In the 90’s the so-called high-level languages were the type used for programming, with Fortran being the first compiler language. Considering the rapid progress of computer technology since it first began over a hundred years ago, it is likely that unforeseeable developments will occur over the next decade. A simulation of the human imagination might go a long way to convincing people of computer intelligence. However, many believe that it is unlikely that a machine will ever equal the intelligence of the being who created it. Arguably it is the way that computers process information and the speed with which they do it that constitutes its intelligence, thus causing computer performance to appear more impressive than it really is. Programs trace pathways at an amazing rate for example, each move in a game of chess, or each section of a maze can be completed almost instantly. Yet the relatively simple process of trying each potential path fails to impress once it’s realised. (Reed, 2003: 09). Thus, the intelligence is not in the computer, but in the program. For practical purposes, and certainly in the business world, the answer seems to be that if it seems to be intelligent, it doesnt matter whether it really is. (Reed 2003: 09). However, computational research will have a difficult task to explore simulation of, or emulation of, the areas of human cognition. Research continues into the relationship between the mathematical descriptions of human thought and computer thought, hoping to create an identical form.(Wagman, M., 1991: 2). Yet the limits of computer intelligence are still very much at the surface of the technology. In contrast, the flexibility of the human imagination that creates the computer can have little or no limitations. What does this mean for computer intelligence? It means that scientists need to go beyond the mechanisms of the human psyche, and perhaps beyond programming, if they are to identify a type of machine consciousness that would correlate with that of a human.. References Goldkind, J., 1987, Machines and Intelligence: A Critique of Arguments against the Possibility of Artificial Intelligence. New York: Greenwood Press Inquiry. Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism. Volume: 18. Issue: 4. . Page Number: 39+. McCarthy, J., 2001, ‘What is Artificial Intelligence?’ Available online from: ‘http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/’ [Accessed 14/11/06] Millican, P.J.R., 1996, The Legacy of Alan Turing. (Volume1). Oxford: Clarendon Press Online Encyclopedia. Available online from: ‘http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_AI.’ [Accessed 17/11/06] Reed, F., 2003, ‘Artificial Intellect Really Thinking?’. The Washington Times. May 1, 2003. p. B09 Wagman, M., 1991, Artificial Intelligence and Human Cognition: A Theoretical Intercomparison of Two Realms of Intellect. New York: Prager Warner, J, 1994, From Writing to Computers. New York: Routledge URL’S ‘http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/pom/pom_functionalism_AI.htm’ [Accessed 17/11/06] ‘http://whyfiles.org/040chess/main3.html’ [Accessed 14/11/06] Further Reading DeLancey, C., 2002, Passionate Engines: What Emotions Reveal about Mind and Artificial Intelligence. New York: Oxford University Press Wagman, M., 2000, Scientific Discovery Processes in Humans and Computers: Theory and Research in Psychology and Artificial Intelligence. Westport, CT: Praeger

The Character of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest Essays -- Tempes

The Character of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest Caliban is one of the most interesting of Shakespeare’s characters. For centuries, scholars have puzzled over the meaning and importance of this central character. Who or what is this creature? Is he a man or a beast (Peterson, p.2)? Most of the people who have debated this question take the question itself at face value. Caliban is either a man or a beast. The other characters in the play dismiss him as a "poisonous slave," "savage," and "hag-seed" (Act 1, Scene 2), but that does not mean that the reader must do so as well. Let us take a closer look at Caliban the individual and evaluate the question of his humanity. In the end, I think we will see that Caliban is just as human as the other characters in the play. The first charge against Caliban is his shape. Prospero beckons him come by shouting, "What ho! Slave, Caliban!/ Thou earth, thou, speak!...Come thou tortoise!" Prospero does not even deign to place him among humankind; instead he is called "earth" as if he is part of the very ground-- the dirt that Prospero rules. Later, Trinculo calls him "A strange fish" and Stephano refers to him as a "monster of the isle with four legs." (2,2) Indeed, Caliban is never spoken of without some dehumanizing adjective added to the address. I would, however like to challenge the notion of his ugliness. During Shakespeare's day, there was a very narrow, very specific concept of beauty. For example, a woman was usually considered most beautiful if she was very fair. This showed that she was not exposed to the sun through any type of common labor and thus signified her gentility. To most of Elizabethan England, this concept of beauty was the only concept of beaut... ...ight not all be good ones, are, nevertheless, very human ones. In fact, most of Shakespeare's characters exhibit attributes far worse than Caliban's, yet their humanity is ever called into question. Consider Iago of Othello. Iago exhibited a startling lack of redeeming qualities, yet he was never called a monster. The only reason that Caliban should be called a "monster" lies in the only way he differs from the other characters-- his appearance. It is a shame that, while a modern audiences may question the treatment of Caliban, they do not often question the reason behind it, and by failing to do so, they, along with Prospero become slaves to their own preconceptions. Dale Peterson and Jane Goodall encompassed the lesson that we must learn from Caliban. They said, "By enslaving Caliban, we enslave ourselves. Only when we free Caliban will we free ourselves."

A New View on Writing :: Essays Papers

A New View on Writing As long as I can remember, I have always been opposed to writing. All through my school career, I have written mediocre papers just to get by. Every time I would hear a teacher say that we had a writing assignment in the near future, I would immediately plan the short cut, the easy way out. My senior year began as no exception. During my senior year at Schuylkill Haven High School my English teacher was a colorful, middle-aged woman named Ann Barton. She was without contest the most personable teacher I have ever had the pleasure of learning under. She actually cared how her student’s lives were going and would give sound experienced advice. She loved to teach and that passion was obvious to everyone who knew her. As my senior year progressed, Mrs. Barton and I became very close. She had noticed that as the year waned, I seemed to be more and more wary of graduation. Always able to sniff out the truth, of course she was right on. Everyday that passed I lamented every aspect of my life to come: college, family, careers, everything. Then the final week of school arrived, and even for Mrs. Barton an unexpected thing happened. My fellow seniors and I were sitting in her room before class discussing how we were going to manage yet another English class when Mrs. Barton walked in with her usual intense and disturbed look. She said in her heavy Scottish accent, â€Å"I’m done with class. I’m tired of this bloody school†. â€Å"It’s your decision. What do you want to do?† We looked one to the other for a moment, but no one had any idea what we should do. Then finally she said, â€Å"If no one decides than I will.† Immediately the plan became the appreciation of the beautiful day. We were all going out to compose an outdoor journal. Everyone sighed and slowly trudged toward the door. As I headed in the same direction Mrs. Barton stopped me and explained how she would love to read my views on graduation and my future, and that this would be a perfect opportunity to release my burdens by writing of the tensions I had been facing.

Porter five forces Essay

Content 1. Introduction 2. Explanation of the Porter Model 3. Porters five forces Automobile industry 4. Conclusion and weaknesses 1. Introduction Audi History It all began with August Horch, one of Germany’s pioneering personalities automobile engineers. He set up business on his own in 1899, establishing Horch & Cie. Motorwagen Werke in Cologne on November 14 of that year. August Horch left the company in 1909 and immediately established a second car company in Zwickau. Because his surname was already in use and was protected by trademark, he chose its Latin translation for the new company. So â€Å"horch!† – or â€Å"hark† – became â€Å"audi!†. The Audi brand established a tradition of sporting achievement from the very outset. Thanks to his victorious involvement in the Austrian Alpine Runs between 1911 and 1914, August Horch succeeded in making Audi internationally known within just a few years. The Audi four-ring emblem symbolises the merger in 1932 of four previously independent motor-vehicle manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. In 1969 Auto Union GmbH amalgamated with NSU Motorenwerke AG. [1] Audi Financial situation The revenue in 2013 is 49,880 ERU million, which is higher than that in 2012(48,711 ERU million). Operating income in 2013 is 1,952 ERU million, which is also higher than 2012. With 1,575,480 Audi vehicles sold over the course of the past fiscal year (2013), the volume target of 1.5 million deliveries originally envisaged for 2015waseasilly Exceeded, two years ahead of schedule. [2] The reason I choose to analyze porter five forces of Audi, because I like the appearance of Audi SUV Q5 and Q7. And I deserve to own my car in the few years when I have enough money. Thus, for me, it has some help that I have the knowledge of the background. 2. Explanation of the Porter Model Porter five forces analysis is a framework for industry analysis and business strategy development. It draws upon industrial organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness in this context refers to the overall industry profitability. An â€Å"unattractive† industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching â€Å"pure competition†, in which available profits for all firms are driven to normal profit. This analysis is associated with its principal innovator Michael E. Porter of Harvard University (as of 2014). 3. Porters five forces Automobile industry Barriers to Entry Capital requirements The amount of capital required to start a car company is enormous. For the average person, they can’t come along and start manufacturing automobiles. As to build an auto firm, they need many factors like the site, labor and the support of technology, which be obtain by capital. Thus, the capital is the biggest factor for the creation of auto firm. Technology Technology also is an import factor to build the auto firm. It is complicated not only for the auto firm itself, also for the parts suppliers. As we know, production of the cars can’t complete by the auto firm, which has significant influence by the automotive suppliers. Meanwhile, ideas and technology that provides competitive advantage over others when patented, preventing others from using it and thus creates barrier to entry. Competition There are already significant well established competitors. Globalization the tendency of world investment and businesses to move from national and domestic markets to a worldwide environment, is a huge factor affecting the auto market. Thus, many auto firms are able to compete with the others from domestic markets to the world. Competition will become more violent than the past. Government regulations and policies Although government’s job is to preserve free competitive market, it restricts competition through regulations and restrictions. Thus, government regulations are a big part of barriers for the auto industry. Automobile firms need to observe safety design, emission standards and fuel efficiency by government. And different countries have various policies and restriction on automobile industry for instance Economic Commission of Europe. Marketing a new brand Marketing a new brand can be difficult. Not only distribution costs and marking costs are very expensive, but people cannot easy to accept a new brand especially auto brand. People will be worried on the performance and safety of cars. For this reason, marking a new brand is a barrier to entry automobile industry. Bargaining Power of Suppliers For automotive suppliers, there are two different situations which due to different bargaining power. Firstly, some strong suppliers (e.g. BOSCH, DENSO) have big discourse power to auto companies and the market, as they supply many products for a number of auto companies (not only Audi). The suppliers have more market share than the others and much revenue. And the products of the suppliers have patents and are not able to replace through changing the suppliers. If there are few suppliers providing material essential to make a product then they can set the price high to capture more profit. Powerful suppliers can squeeze industry profitability to great extend. Thus, auto companies are vulnerable to the suppliers. Secondly, some suppliers are often small and medium size, whereas car companies are large and globalized. Many suppliers are dependent on a single car manufacturer, as they just have the capacity of supplying a litter product. Moreover, as  we know, globalization has greatly increased the possibility to lower-cost but suitable suppliers. If an automaker decided to switch suppliers, it could be devastating to the previous supplier’s business. As a result, suppliers are extremely susceptible to the demands and requirements of the automobile manufacturer. For many years, the relationship between assemblers and suppliers has been straightforward. Because each car was designed from scratch and seen by the automaker as a unique product, all investments in solutions and technologies for new models were undertaken by the automaker. Given this market setting, it is easy to conclude from the above discussion that no role existed for the supplier at the development level. At the manufacturing stage, particularly for simpler parts where there was a well-developed market, subcontracting would naturally occur. [3] For this reason, Audi AG has significant power to these suppliers. Bargaining Power of customers For Audi cars, customers may be distinguished by the power of economic function. While consumers are very price sensitive, they don’t have much buying power as they never purchase huge volumes of cars. However, the price is not a main factor for the people who have capacity of buying luxury cars. The customer can freely choose the product that best fits its preferences, status and lifestyle among many. Customers can find many different brands and car models in the market, paying attention to widely differing performance, quality, appearance, pricing, additional features. Customers have substantial power, mainly because of the large variety of luxury brands and product to choose from, and because of the presence of substitutes. The presence of many substitutes to luxury cars enhances significantly the bargaining power of potential customers. Buyers have the power to demand lower price or higher product quality from industry producers when their bargaining power is strong. [4] On the other hand, it is positive to help the auto firms develop and promote themselves. Threat of substitute products Substitute products have two different types. Other types of transport can fulfil the commuting of demand, such as motorbikes, bicycles, public transportation systems, planes. To personal considerations, people will find substitute products. Jogging and bicycle can give people a healthy  lifestyle, while protects environment by choosing transport. While we analyze porter five forces of Audi, we should consider not only other types of transport for substitute products, also concern cars themselves. As customers choose cars of other brands in the marker, which replaces the cars of Audi. If we consider the problems which use other brands to substitute the Audi, we will find the relativity between bargaining power of customers, threat of substitute products and competitive rivalry. With increasing number of substitute products, bargaining power of customers and competitive rivalry will become increase at the same time. For Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are the most obvious substitutes in the market of mid-luxury cars. Or either higher-end cars which ultra-luxury brands (such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Bentley)and the other end of the spectrum, less expensive cars from non-luxury brands (such as Toyota, Ford, Fiat, GM) are able to participate in the competition. Actually, the distinction between luxury cars and non-luxury cars itself is rather blurred sometimes. Pressure of the bad economic climate induces customers to choose less expensive cars, as their income decreases and expectations on the future worsen. Thus, threat of substitute products change with demand of our lives and the situation of economy. Competitive rivalry The rivalry between companies is rather intense, especially between the three global leaders: Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It is not simple that three companies have competitive rivalry. Because trends that are not radical that you lose touch with the market, but that go far enough that the market is prepared to follow. [2] It means a little mistake will make the auto firms lose its market. The three companies explicitly recognize each other as competitors, and their public statements and advertising campaigns make provocative comparison between the cars as to performance and innovativeness. Technological innovation is one of the fields of fiercer competition, as each of them claims to be technological leader in the industry. As previously said, substitute products will intensify competitive rivalry. With the development of Asian market, there are new luxury brands taking part in competition, such as Lexus, Infiniti and Acura. As we can see, competitive rivalry will be more intense t hat the past. Audi weaknesses Audi is clearly aiming to be a leader in automotive sustainability and is therefore stronger for it. Investment into production and vehicle technology can only increase the carmaker’s potential to become carbon-neutral. Investment into new technology could also be the cause for Audi’s biggest weakness: its cars’ reliability issues. Fitting complex electronic systems to every single one of its new cars, Audi has received a poor rating in many aspects of reliability. [5] The other weakness is about design language of cars of Audi. For the normal people who are not really into cars, they can’t really point out the differences between the A4 and the A6. Therefore, Audi need to make their productions diversified. In Audi annual report 2013, trends that are not radical that you lose touch with the market, but that go far enough that the market is prepared to follow.[2] Thus, Audi need to find a balance between trends, technology and design. Conclusion For the average person, they can’t come along and start manufacturing automobiles. The barriers are so high to the average person. Of course, Audi is not worried about barriers to entry. For Audi, bargaining power of suppliers are mutative depend on different suppliers, but overall bargaining power of suppliers at low position. As the suppliers and automotive firms they support each other. Then when we focus on bargaining power of customers, threat of substitute products and competitive rivalry, there is an interesting phenomenon. As previously said, if we consider the problems which use other brands to substitute the Audi, we will find the relativity between bargaining power of customers, threat of substitute products and competitive rivalry. Thus, when people find they have many substitute products to Audi cars, bargaining power of customers, threat of substitute products and competitive rivalry are high. Auto industry has many barriers and violent competition rivalry which not be limited in mid-luxury cars market. Meanwhile, there are many difficulties and challenges, as the situation of global economy is not well that the past. However, with appearing the burgeoning Asian market, such as China and India, auto industry has many chances to develop themselves or walking away from  difficulties. Reference [1] Audi History (n.d.) [online], available: http://www.audi.com/corporate/en/company/history/videos.html [accessed 18 May 2014]. [2] Audi Annual Report 2013 (n.d.) [online], available: http://www.audi-reports.com/ar2013/ [accessed 18 May 2014]. [3] Fixson, S. (2010) ‘Make–Buy Decisions in the Auto Industry: New Perspectives on the Role of the Supplier as an Innovator ’, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, pp. 239–257. [4] Porter’s five forces model (2013) Porter’s Five Forces [online], available: http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/porters-five-forces.html [accessed 21 May 2014]. [5] Sam Sheehan (2014) The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Audi [online], available: http://auto2014.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-audi/ [accessed 19 May 2014].