General Motors Analysis: SWOT and Porters Five Forces Analysis

General Motors Analysis: SWOT and Porters Five Forces Analysis Automotive legend of the last century, GM, is one of the biggest corporations in the world. Although GM had big turmoils in its business, it still operates successfully in all over the universe. The aim of this assignment is to determine the GMs business strategies with rises and falls by looking into their history, having the data of what and how did they do in their businesses and analysing their company activities. Being a leader and pioneer of the automobile industry since this sectors infancy times , General Motors Corporation still keeps its successful place in this competitive business. Since 1908, General Motors Corporation (GM) is one of the largest auto producer in the world as measured by global industry sales, whose headquarters is in United States of America. William C. Durant was the founder of General Motors Company with being an innovator in automobile technology. As being a multinational automobile manaufacturer General Motors employes about 280 million people all around the world with the total assets of 149 billion US Dollars. The company manufacturers the cars and the trucks in 55 different countries (exluding US and Canada). General Motors has sub-brands under its management. Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, Vauxhall, Holden, Saturn and Wuling are some one the names of General Motors brands. The General Motors Company placed into a global market throughout the 1920s. Meanwhile, the company built itself as a firm which provided prestige, power and the other options. As a competitor, Ford, that focused on lower costs and lower prices, reversely GM targeted customers who had likely money to spend on more featurative products. During the World War II, General Motors Company manufactured armament and military vehicles,both for Allied and Axis forces. GM had improved its business level and becomed the largest corporation in the United States after the world war II. During the 1950s, style, desing, and engineering innovations are applied into the companys production line. In 1960s, GM also focused on insurance, home appliances, financing, electronics, locomotives and banking etc. In request for the smaller cars of European producers , GM introduced Chevrolet Corvair, that was ciriticized for safety issues in following days. In the next decade, oil prices went up and as well as the oil costs , environmental problems are taken into consider at those times. Therefore, there were a shift from huge oil guzzling cars to smaller European cars increased with the first energy crisis. After that , second crisis followed quickly by rising the concern for pollution and controlling of over emission and safety problems resulted GM lose of its market share to more economical and smaller vehicles. Especially between 1980s and 1990s , the Japanese imports rocketed ( See Appendix 1) ,so that, that time of a period was a hardship for GM, which was plagued by high competition with Japanese companies. As a result of this, GM had chenged its strategies like redesingining and reengineering of its car models. However , because of the high production costs , GM had continioued its high losses in the market with huge numbers. In 1990s, General Motors Company had started to close many of its plants and also cut the jobs. With these turmoils among the company, GM followed different strategies ,like buying Saab and Daewoo, and a little portion of Subaru and Suzukis shares, that were sold later for increasing the money. As follows, GM merged with FIAT car company which lasted five years. In the late-1990s, General Motors Company seemed on the way to big recovery, with sales stabilizing and stock increasing. However, end of the 2001 September, the company started to have challenges, and the system was changed again. In the following next few years, General Motors became a survivor in the highly competitive automobile industry with the economic recession in 2008, therefore the company had bailed out by the government for avoiding bankruptcy. (bbc.co.uk, 2010) In the first quarter of 2009, the auto giant posted a 6 billion dollars loss and said that it burned through 10.2 billion dollars of cash in the first three months of the year as revenue plummeted by 20 billion dollars'(about.com, 2010). However, besides these hard circumstances, in the first half of 2010, the General Motors sold more vehicles in China than in the US. (Constantini,2010) 3. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF GENERAL MOTORS Analysing the companys internal and external environments, there are many different frameworks and models exist for companies. By having some strategies enables the firms to get better understanding of the critical factors for their future success. Some sof the strategic analysis methods are Dunnings Eclectic Paradigm (Cavusgil et al., 2008), Porters Diamond and Five forces, Directional Policy Matrix, Mintzbergs School of Thoughts (Mintzberg et al., 2003) Value Chain Analysis (Johnson et al., 2008), SWOT analysis (Kotler and Keller, 2009), etc. The suitable frameworks choosing is depends on what the company needs to address and in what circumstances it needs to do so (Johnson et al., 2008). This is because many firms today operate both on a national, regional and global basis and as such need appropriate strategy for each individual environment (Schlie and Yip, 2000). As being a multinational enterprise, GM operates in approximately 57 countries, including Canada and US, and they serve and operate in variety of services from improvement, marketing, manufacturing of cars, trucks to economy and insurance services (Datamonitor, 2009). A potent tool and a flexible framework that could assist in describing and assessing competitive pressures in an industry and industry attractiveness is the Porters five forces (FF) model (Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen, 2008). The model helps a company to decide how and where to make strategic changes for gaining and sustaining competitive advantages over rival firms and thereby generating above-average return on investments (Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen, 2008). In addition, one the school of the Mintzberg Ten School of Thoughts, The Design School, gives us another highly essential analysis for the firms. According to Mintzberg, The Design School sees strategy formation as achieving the essential fit between internal and external aspects'(Mintzberg et al., 2003:p23). Meanwhile, strenghts and weaknesses are given as the internal capabilities, on the other hand, opportunities and threads are seen as the external possibilities. Therefore, in this assignment, the General Motors Company will be analysed through company strategies. Firstly competitive advantage and analysis will be done according to Michael Porters five forces. Secondly, internal and external analysis will be given according to Mintzbergs Design School by applying the SWOT analysis. Finally, in the last to secion Value Chain and BCG Matrix Analysis will be examined. 3.1. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ANALYSIS OF GM ACCORDING TO MICHAEL PORTERS FIVE FORCES The competitive analysis of a company is an essential element of identifying components which are a threat to reduce profitability. For assesing over the competitive problems , Michael Porters five forces analysis is the one of the most efficient way. Porter (2004) has brought the light of five such factors: (1) Rivalry between existing competitors, (2) Barriers to entry, (3) Pressure of price from Substitutes/Complementaries, (4) Bargaining power of buyers, (5) Bargaining power of suppliers. Therefore, General Motors Corporations competitive advantage analysis will be done according to Michael Porters five forces . 3.1.1. Rivalry Between Existing Competitors: Rivalry occurs, because one or more competitors either feels the pressure or sees the opportunity to improve position (Porter, 2004 :p.17). Additionally, The strategies pursued by one firm can be successful only to the extent that they provide competitive advantage over the strategies pursued by rival firms. ( David, 2011 :p.107-108). Therefore, if we look at the GM motors in this section, in the 1970s and 1980s, competition in the US automobile industry had become much more strong with the increase of foreign rivals such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan (See Appendix 2). Although GM was a leader of the automobile industry at that period of time, its rivals had started to compete with GM providing some different offers. For example, Toyota started to produce cars with lower price than GM cars , whereas the quality of cars were high. So that, the competitros of GM became well-known brands ,while GM had difficulties with competing with them. 3.1.2. Barriers To Entry: According to Porter, new capacity may be brought to an industry by new entrants. Furthermore, gaining the market share, and getting high proportion of resources can be achieved by new entries. Meanwhile, the presence of of new corporations in an any industry can push the prices down and may decrease the profitability. Although these entries may seem as a threat, those may protect the established companies. During the both world wars, GM made a high profit, and it enlarged its business. Being a leader of the sector and being a well-known brand placed the GMs competitors very difficult positon to entry the industry. Especially for the smaller firms, competing with the GM was very hard. In early 20s, GM invented self-starters by differentiating itself from Ford, later on , in 1970s, Japanese and European companies introduced their fuel-efficient models to the industry. 3.1.3 Pressure of Price From Substitutes/Complementaries : All of the companies are in the competition broadly with the industries manufacturing substitute and complementary products (Porter, 2004). In this highly competitive automobile industry, any change in the prices on complementaries such as gas, tires, could have a important effect on the demand for automobiles. If we look at the GM, recent rising gas prices are highly to get a bigger effect on GM. Because, generally GMs cars are energy inefficient. Therefore, this will have great impact on GM. 3.1.4. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Buyers compete with the industry by forcing down prices, bargaining for higher quality and more services, and playing competitors against each other, all at the expense of industry profitability'(Porter, 2004 p:24). As a result of highly improved information technologies, and as well as with globalization, customers of the GM (like for the other companies) became more aware of the what were they buying and how much were they paying. Furthermore, getting the information the rivals of GM from the internet increased the bargaining power of dealers of GM. 3.1.5. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers of an industry plays a significant role for their businesses. They may reduce the quality of the products, or may raise the prices up. For GM, raw materials and machine parts suppliers threat is very low, because there many suppliers for those sections (Nytimes, 2011). However, the powerful labour union, United Auto Workers (UAW), is a potential threat to GMs economical capability and endurance. For example, the liability of pension and health-care costs acquired an additional 1,400 to the cost of every vehicle comes from GM place compared with competitor products (The Economist, 2008). This is a magnificent amount and GM needs to search ways to cut this liability, therefore, GM may get more economical improvement and the growth of the company. 3.2. INTERNAL EXTERNAL ANALYSIS OF GM ACCORDING TO MINTZBERGS DESIGN SCHOOL Mintzberg explained The Design School as in the following: The Design School sees strategy formation as achieving the essential fit between internal and external aspects'(Mintzberg et al., 2003:p23). In this definition, internal factors are given as strenghts and weaknesses. Besides this, opportunities and threats are described as external factors. Therefore, for analysing the GENERAL MOTORS external and internal factors we should do a SWOT Analysis with the light of Mintzbergs Design School. 3.2.1. Strengths: During the 20th century, GM has been the automotive leader in car industry. Although the company had some turmoils, its market share is still very much competitive in the sector. GM is well established not only in US but all around the world. Moreover, GM also have an rising share in the Chinese market (See Appendix 3). If GM takes the right decisions, there will be no reason for GM becoming a boss of the car industry again with. In addition, GM has wide range of brands such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Vauxhall. Company operates in more than hundred countries in the world with employing the approximately 250,000 people (gm.com, 2010) . Therefore, General Motors, with its global experience and its huge market share in the world, is still keeps the professional place in the automobile industry. General Motors Corporation uses OnStar Satellite Technology. This technology provides its customers security and safety facilities. For example, in the event of emergency , the system allows the driver to communicate with OnStar personnel just away a button immediately. GM has been controlling the costs by alliance and partnership with corporations like Shanhai Automobile Industry Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Daimler AG. So that, GM improved its cost reduction system by sharing the company costs. 3.2.2. Weaknesses: For analysing the GMs weaknesses, first, we should consider that, this company is an US firm. So that, from its early years until present times, it is still over dependent to US market. The company should take the benefit for expanding globally. According to an article issued by Associated Press (2010), GM had low credit ratio which is determined as junk-credit (BB-). On the other hand, another problem is downsizing. GM put on the market some of its brands and it closed them completely. Additionally, the inactive profitability is the other issue of GM. After the global economic recession in 2008 , companys profit margins and sales went down dramatically. Staying one step behind on alternative energy movement is the biggest weakness for General Motors Company. The competitors of GM like Honda, Toyota, are using fuel efficiently, and also that are producing more ecological and environment friendly vehicles. Therefore, this may led problems such as decrease of market share and loss in company profit. GMs organizational structure is designed vertically. This causes a lack of information between the levels in the company, from bottom to top. So that, many problems can be occur because of the operational and top managerial levels uncommunicative situation. 3.2.3. Opportunities: One of the lightly opportunities of GM is maintaining the Global Expansion. In the last few years, GM achieved a substantial rise in the Chinese market, that made the GM alarm to major on the foreign markets. The other advantage for GM to take is the catching up the hybrid technology cars. Although they had lagged behind the alternative energy, it is not late for the automotive giant becoming again once it was. Recently, GM started to operate Green-Manufacturing systems, such as water-borne technology, reduction goals for hazardous and non-hazardous waste at source ( See Appendix 4). Developing new vehicle models and designs is the big advantage for GM. Because, as we know, what is in today will be out tomorrow. Therefore, focusing on innovations should be the urgent mission through the GM company. 3.2.4. Threats: The threat of the increase in the supply costs is very common in automobile industry like as the other industries. This threat pushes the firms to reduce manufacturing and production costs as much as possible, without carrying away the product quality. For instance, the fluctuation in the steel prices between 2005 and 2010 had a negative impact on GMs production costs, especially as a result of the economic crisis , the rise in 2008, put a negative impcat on GM ( See Appendix 5). The other danger for GM is the increase in fuel prices (See Appendix 6). As same with the rising in the steel prices, after the economic recession in 2008, the sales have plummeted considerably. Therefore, soaring in fuel costs has played a magnificant role in enhancing the advantage for development of hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles respectively. The increasing competition factor is the another big threat for General Motors. Because, GM is not a leader once it was, currently there are many different brands in the industry, which are working hard for competing with their rivals. Therefore, GM should always keep the innovation on top for competing in the industry. 3.3. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF GM Value Chain is called to add value to the product and remove excess waste of resource consumption, in other word, to maximize the value of work done by the systematic and asset management. Supplier of products and processes that increase the effectiveness of all stages up to final customers and to maintain, so used to gain competitive advantage. Value Chain Management focuses on the destruction of waste inside the company and also focuses on the customers satisfaction inside the company . Value Chain assits to the companies to identify activities where it may well apply its presence potentials (Diez-Vial, 2009) and also identify which activities to outsource in order to decrease prices by getting opportunity of country-specific advatages. One of the compenent of manufacturing is outsourcing which is congress the features of GMs activities that needs a much more labour to the other countries where labour costs are cheaper, and this could relieve GM from employment responsibility . Additionally, recently GM could be able to resolve problems with United Automobile Workers. Michael Porter (2004) examined a set of interconnected generic activities common to a variety of companies. GM, for instance, gives highly importance on its customer relationships. For the theory part, Service activities are the activities that continue and enhance the products value including customer support, repair services, etc. Meanwhile, for the GM strategy, they are using OnStar Technology which enables the customers get in touch with the call center of GM in an emergency situations. 3.4. BCG MATRIX ANALYSIS OF GM The BCG Matrix method is based on the product life cycle theory that can be used to determine what priorities should be given in the product portfolio of a business unit ( Lancaster and Reynolds, 2004) . To ensure long-term value creation, high-growth products and low-growth products should be undertaken by the companies in need of cash inputs and generate a lot of cash respectively. As I mentioned above, determining the factors of industry and as well as firms businesses is playing an essential role for gaining competitive advantage in the global market. Till before the two decades, oil prices had gone up with high percentages. So that, this and the environmental factors had oushed the automobile sector to the fuel efficiency vehicles. With the consideration of BCG Matrix applied to the GM, GM should pull off the brands like Pontiac, Hummer which are fuel-efficiency and oil-guzzling cars. Furthermore, more investment should put into producing smaller fuel-efficient vehicles, and also HEVs ( Hybrid Electric Vehicles). 4. CONCLUSION In conclusion, analysing the General Motors Corporation is done by using some strategical analysing methods, such as Porters FF, Value Chain, BCG Matrix, and Swot Analysis. Searching and applying the systems into the GM is quite broad because of the companys long time history which is more than a hundred years. In to the this content, the Company is analysed in detail according to factors of competitive advantage, internal and external. Therefore , I reached up a conclusion for GM. Of course, every single company and firm can make mistake in their business life cycle, however, minimizing those mistakes is one of the essential area for the firms. If we turn to GM, they had been really successful in the industry when there were no any other competitors. However, once GMs rivals entered to the business, GM started lose its market share globally. Because they overlooked at them, they didnt do many things until they lose their profits. After that , they changed some system, they started to struggled with their rivals. So that, with consideering all the analysed strategic forces above and the company, some recommendations should be done. For forthcoming improvements, first of all, General Motors should describe possible and suitable sector to serve. And also GM should concern about arrangement application and differentation strategy. For example, Focus strategy may assist GM to enable to reduce the costs as GM diverge from broad-line manufacturer to another varieties. By doing his, GM will be able to differntiate its product from the other rivals , because of focusing on a specific niche market that may perform much more better . The other one is to stay ready for even every hard and difficult circumstances, such as financial crisis. Although , generally it is an unexpected factor, companies, and also GM, should gain their SWOT analysis under the line of Threats. Staying in prepare positon always gives high competitive advantage with the other competitirs in the global industry. Last but not least is maintaining the speed of rivalry environment, GM should enhance and improve its product development. Alongside with the product development, environmental factors should be considered as well for gaining the high quality of business. 5. RECOMMENDATION In my opinion, General Motors should follow some strategies such as restructuring, product development, liquidation and market development. If GM does the product development, this would allow them to sustain the speed of rivalry environment. As a pratic example of this theory is Hybrid SUV vehicles, which matches the GM shape with continuing the portion of SUV, basically that allocate the company to keep on with trend models. My another recommendation for GM is reevaluation of the market. Global market is a market that which changes frequently. First GM vehicles had got tradition style, however, among the changing industry, they started to produce big cars, especially for the US market. One practical example for that case is to produce ultra-modern vehicles. If they manufacture that futuristic cars before the Honda or Toyota Company, they would gain an advantage in competitive industry. Lastly, liquidation is very essential for GM. The reason for that is, its assets are much more than its incomes. If General Motors can get the assests through the cash, therefore, GM could be more available finance. Moreover , when they achieving that process, GM wouldnt have to rely on US market, they could be independent in global industry. 6. APPENDIX Appendix 1 Imported Japanese Cars Develoopment: Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlshow=html Appendix 2 Auto Sales Monthly Change: Source: http://www.wstreet.com/investing/stocks/19359_gms_fire_sale_and_auto_sales_preview.html Appendix 3 -China Car Market Soars: Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/243737-outlook-2011-china-says-no-more-cars-down-goes-auto-industry Appendix 4 Green Manufacturing Processes: Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractshow=abstract Appendix 5 Steel Prices Between 2005 and 2010: Source: : http://www.ttiinc.com/object/ME_Materials_Steel Appendix 6 Rise in Fuel Prices Between 2009 and 2010: Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12098981 7. REFERENCES 1. Associated Press, 2010. General Motors Gets Junk Credit Rating From Fitch. Michigan Live LLC. [Internet] Available at: http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/10general_motors_gets_junk_credit.html [Accessed 28 January 2011] 2. BBC News, 2011. Petrol Duty and VAT Rises To Increase Price Of Fuel. Business. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12098981 [Accessed 28 January 2011] 3. Cavusgil, S. Knight, G., and Riesenberger, R., 2008. International Business, Strategy, Management, and the New Realities. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 4. Chu, D.L., 2010. China Says No More Cars, Down Goes Auto Industry. Outlook 2011. [Online] Available at: http://seekingalpha.com/article/243737-outlook-2011-china-says-no-more-cars-down-goes-auto-industry [Accessed 31 January 2011] 5. Constantini, F., 2010. General Motors. The New York Times. [internet] . Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/general_motors_corporation/index.html [Accessed 10 February 2011] 6. Datamonitor, 2009. General Motors Corporation. Company Profile. [Online] Available at: www.datamonitor.com [Accessed 28 January 2011] 7. David, F.R., 2011. Strategic Management Concepts. 13th edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 8. Diez-Vial, S., 2009. Firm Size Effects on Vertical Boundaries, Journal of Small Business Management, 47 (2): 137-153. 9.Generals Motors, 2010. Company Profile. [Online] Available at: http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/company.isp [ Accessed 10 February 2011] 10. Hamer, T. Hamer, M., 2010. General Motors-It Wasnt Always This Bad. Learn About Classics. [Online] Available at: http://classiccars.about.com/od/classiccarsaz/a/GM.htm [Accessed 10 February 2011] 11. Johnson, G. Scholes, K. and Whittington, R., 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th edn. London: Prentice Hall. 12. Kotler, P. Keller, K. L., 2009. Marketing Management, 13th edn. New Jersey: Pearson Education. 13. Mintzberg, et al., 2003. The Strategy Process: Concepts Cases. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 14. Niederhut-Bollmann, C. Theuvsen, L., 2008. Strategic Management in Turbulent Markets: The Case of the German and Croatia Brewing Industries. Journal for East European Management Studies, Vol. 13, No.1, pp. 63 88. 15. Nunes, B. Bennett, D., 2010. Green Operations Initiatives in the Automobile Industry: An Enviromental Reports Analysis and Benchmarking Study. An International Journal. [Online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractshow=abstract [Accessed 13 February 2011] 16. Nytimes, 2011. United Automobile Workers. Organizations. [Online] Available at: www.nytimes.com [Accessed 31 January 2011] 17. Porter, M.E., 2004. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Indystries and Competitors. New York: Free Press. 18. Seidenfuss, K. Kathawala, Y., 2005. Voluntary Export Restraint (VER) Without Market Restraints?: The Case Study of the Monitoring Agreement (1991-1999) Between the Japanese Car Manufacturers and the European Union. European Business Review. [Online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlshow=html [Accessed 10 February 2011] 19. Silver, D., 2009. GMs Fire Sale Auto Sales Preview. Wall Street Strategies. [Online] Available at: http://www.wstreet.com/investing/stocks/19359_gms_fire_sale_and_auto_sales_preview.html [Accessed 8 February 2011] 20. Schlie, E. Yip, G., 2000. Regional Follows Global: Strategy Mixes in the World Automotive Industry. 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Flagstaff, Arizona :: Flagstaff Personal Narratives Essays

Flagstaff, Arizona Could a town really change me as much as I think? Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the coolest towns that I have ever been, but at the same time; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a small mountain town, a big city, a hip university town, or a large industrial center? The environment and culture of Flagstaff is extremely diverse, making it difficult for outsiders to find their place in Flagstaff. I often wonder how I ended up in this little town in the mountains. I came from a relatively large city in Indiana, but knew that I had to escape the Midwest’s conservative grasp. I never really intended to end up in Flagstaff. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I obviously didn’t end up in Tucson. From the first time that I visited Flagstaff, I knew that this town was special. Perhaps it holds more draw for outsiders than locals, but its environment and culture has definitely drawn me in, changed me, and changed my life. When I decided to attend Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was initially due to its reputation as the best teachers college in Arizona, but ironically, I have never been an education major, or taken any education courses. Education was an overcrowded field, so I entertained the idea of being a Computer Science major. Ha! That lasted less than a month before I knew that was going to fail. Early on the path towards graduation, I still held a primarily etic point of view of Flagstaff. For about the first two years in Flagstaff, I viewed Flagstaff as a cool town, but still considered Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t realize or wasn’t allowing myself to become a part of this town. Once I realized that I was part of this town, my notion of Flagstaff changed, and the town began to change me. As I began to understand how this town ticks I wanted to find a way to become a bigger part of this town. I understood that this town was heavily reliant on tourism for it economy. This is how I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major. Flagstaff, Arizona :: Flagstaff Personal Narratives Essays Flagstaff, Arizona Could a town really change me as much as I think? Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the coolest towns that I have ever been, but at the same time; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a small mountain town, a big city, a hip university town, or a large industrial center? The environment and culture of Flagstaff is extremely diverse, making it difficult for outsiders to find their place in Flagstaff. I often wonder how I ended up in this little town in the mountains. I came from a relatively large city in Indiana, but knew that I had to escape the Midwest’s conservative grasp. I never really intended to end up in Flagstaff. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I obviously didn’t end up in Tucson. From the first time that I visited Flagstaff, I knew that this town was special. Perhaps it holds more draw for outsiders than locals, but its environment and culture has definitely drawn me in, changed me, and changed my life. When I decided to attend Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was initially due to its reputation as the best teachers college in Arizona, but ironically, I have never been an education major, or taken any education courses. Education was an overcrowded field, so I entertained the idea of being a Computer Science major. Ha! That lasted less than a month before I knew that was going to fail. Early on the path towards graduation, I still held a primarily etic point of view of Flagstaff. For about the first two years in Flagstaff, I viewed Flagstaff as a cool town, but still considered Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t realize or wasn’t allowing myself to become a part of this town. Once I realized that I was part of this town, my notion of Flagstaff changed, and the town began to change me. As I began to understand how this town ticks I wanted to find a way to become a bigger part of this town. I understood that this town was heavily reliant on tourism for it economy. This is how I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major.

10-Perseverance Essay

To our beloved President and Cavite School Life founder, Mr. Ernesto V. Yu, to our adorable Cavite School of Life director and Finance Officer, Ms. Maybelle O. Yu, to the man with a big heart, our Principal, Mr. Roberto G. Dumali, to our efficient student affairs coordinator Mr. Francis H. Mangrobang, to our handsome Discipline Coordinator, Mr. Rogelio T. Chavez, to our school board members, faculty and staffs, parents, family, fellow graduates, guests, ladies and gentlemen. Good day. There is a Latin dictum which says and I quote, â€Å"Ex abundancia cordis, os loquitur† which means, â€Å"From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks!† Today, allow me to speak of Angelic words, of words of wisdom, of words of love and of words of joy and thanksgiving. For today, in this very historical place, and in this very important moment in our very lives as graduates of 2013, we have witnessed the fruits of our labor! Today, I stand before you not as a superhero, nor a genius, and not even the best of all but as one with you who can truly prove the proof of success despite of nothingness. See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay Yes, nothingness or poverty is never a hindrance to a true success! Once more, we have proven that. Once more, I have proven that. As you may all have known, my parents are never rich. You must have known and learned how my father, Papa Boy, labored so hard to send me to this wonderful and spirit filled school. You must have known as well, how my mother, Mama Paz has to give up some of her wants just so that I can pursue my studies. When Papa Boy got a stroke that almost send him to eternal rest, I almost lose hope for he is the only one who provides us with our basic needs especially my school needs. Thinking that I might stop from schooling really sends shivers down my spine. As I look at Mama Paz crying, I could not but feel the tremendous pain of a mother who was not only thinking of how could Papa survive much more to her fears of asking me to stop from schooling. Despite that, my family stood still with faith and trust and even inspired me more to study well. It took us months of really praying and holding of our hands together, sharing whatever little we have for none in my family would allow me to stop from schooling. Even if Mama Paz did not tell, I knew then that she had to do so many things (call it part time jobs) just to make ends meet. Papa Boy on the other hand fought so hard to regain health the soonest. â€Å"Alam kong nahihirapan ng husto si Papa pero nilalabanan niya ang kanyang sakit para maiwasan ang nag aambang kamatayan dahil alam ko sabi niya sa sarili niya, andiyan pa si Jasmine na kailangang makapagtapos ng pag-aaral.† Indeed I was and am so lucky to have parents like them—di man mayaman pero hindi nila ako pinababayaan. Papa Boy and Mama Paz, maraming salamat po sa lahat lahat. Hindi ako darating sa kinaroroonan ko ngayon kung hindi dahil sa inyo. I love you po! I am also grateful to Cavite School of Life because though my father was sick at that moment, they didn’t abandon him, they still gave him a chance and hope to live and work for his family, most especially for me, his daughter. This we owe so much to Mr. Ernesto V. Yu and his family, we will forever give thanks to them, Words are not enough to express how blessed we are to have you Mr. and Mrs. Yu in our life. Needless to say, how grateful I am too to all of my teachers, especially my adviser, Ms Maricar, my classmates and my friends who are so supportive and understand my situation. They have always been there in times when truly I needed them most. When I first came to Cavite School of Life, I didn’t expect that I will be changed and be improved for the better, because in my previous school, our Principal seems didn’t care about us, unlike here I really felt that I’m a part of the family and here, our teachers wanted us to learn not just for school but for life, I’m very overwhelmed by the people here, because they helped me to prepare not just for college but also for our future. I was a second year student when I started studying here in Cavite School of Life, at first I was only a girl in the corner, doesn’t care what around or what’s happening, I also can’t understand why I’m here in Cavite School of Life. A lot of questions in my mind such as why I’m studying? What’s God’s plan for me? I have no idea at all. But after two months, I just woke up then I realized that everything seems at place, I’m growing, I’m learning and I’m happy. The next thing I know is that, my relationship to God became better, and I found out that the school philosophy, â€Å"WE LEARN NOT FOR SCHOOL BUT FOR LIFE† is true. This school shelter and taught us not only for school, they also prepared us to live our life outside. After this night, we will be leaving the school but the lessons that we learned will remain in our hearts forever, Thank you Cavite School of Life for that. That is the thing we will surely treasure the most. Indeed my very own life is a living testament of success despite scarcity. That indeed behind the hills of sacrifices lay the valley of success. If we stand together as I, we could do anything. Now I could say that the greatest gift my parents give me, besides life, is education. The same thing I believe is what every parent here now is giving to each one of us. May I invite you all therefore to be one with me in giving the greatest and deepest expression of our gratitude to them who have labored so hard and worked so well so that we may become what we are today. Fellow graduates, let us all stand therefore and give the loudest and sincerest to our dearly beloved parents! As we leave the portals of our dear Alma Matter, let us always remember not only the good and funniest memories but life’s learning experiences we have gained. Let us treasure them and bring them to whatever we go so we can also become the bearers of light and life. Let us always remember that what we are now is God’s gift to us and what we became of ourselves is our gift to Him.

Common Application Essay Option 4 Tips Solve a Problem

The fourth essay option on the 2019-20  Common Application  remains unchanged from the previous four years. The essay prompt  asks applicants to explore a problem they have solved or would like to solve: Describe a problem youve solved or a problem youd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. Quick Tips: An Essay on Solving a Problem You have lots of leeway. The problem you identify can be local, national, or global.You dont need to have an answer to the problem. Its fine to show your interest in a challenging and unresolved issue.Dont focus too much on describing the problem. Spend more time discussing and analyzing.If you worked with a group or plan to work with a group to solve the problem, dont hide this fact. Colleges love collaboration. Although this option is not nearly as popular as the topic of your choice or personal growth options, it has the potential to lead to an outstanding essay that reveals your passion, curiosity, and critical thinking skills. We all have problems wed like to see solved, so this question will be a viable option for a wide range of applicants. But the prompt does have its challenges, and like all of the Common Application essay options, youll be required to do some critical thinking and self-analysis. The tips below can help you break down the essay prompt and set your response on the right track: Choosing a Problem Step one in tackling this prompt is coming up with a problem youve solved or a problem youd like to solve. The wording gives you a lot of leeway in defining your problem. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query or an ethical dilemma. It can be a huge problem or a small one (no matter the scale). And it can be a problem for which youve come up with a solution, or one for which you hope to come up with a solution in the future. As you brainstorm this essay prompt, think broadly about the types of problems that might lead to a good essay. Some options include: A community issue: Do local kids need a safe place to play? Is poverty or hunger an issue in your area? Are their transportation issues such as a lack of bike lanes or public transportation?  A design challenge: Did you (or do you hope to) design a product to make life easier for people?  A personal problem: Did you have (or do you have) a personal problem that prevented you from achieving your goals? Anxiety, insecurity, hubris, laziness... All of these are problems that could be addressed.A personal ethical dilemma:  Have you ever found yourself in a seemingly lose-lose situation? Have you had to choose between supporting your friends and being honest? Have you had to decide whether to do what is right or what is easy? The way in which you handle a challenging ethical dilemma can make an excellent subject for an essay.A health problem:  There is no shortage of health issues that you could address in this prompt whether those issues are personal, familial, local, national, o r global. From promoting sunscreen or bicycle helmet use in your community to curing cancer, you could explore an issue that youve addressed or one that you hope to address in the future.A problem in your high school:  Does your school have a problem with drug use, cheating, underage drinking, cliques, gangs, large classes, or some other issue? Does your school have policies that you find unreasonable or antithetical to a positive learning environment? Many of the issues you face in your school could be transformed into an illuminating essay.A global problem: If youre someone who likes to think big, feel free to explore your dreams in your essay. Youll want to be careful with huge issues such as religious intolerance and world hunger, for such essays can easily be reductive and trivialize huge, seemingly unsolvable problems. That said, if these are the issues that you love to think about and that you hope to devote your life to solving, dont shy away from going after the big probl ems in your essay. The list above offers just a few possible ways to approach prompt #4. There are no limits to the problems in the world. And if youre interested in astronomy or astronautical engineering, your problem can extend far beyond our world. A Few Words on a Problem Youd Like to Solve If you choose to write about a problem for which you dont yet have a solution, you have a perfect opportunity to discuss some of your academic and career goals. Are you going into a biological field because you hope to become a medical researcher and solve a challenging health problem? Do you want to become a materials scientist because you want to design cell phones that bend without breaking? Do you want to go into education because you want to address a problem that youve identified with the Common Core or another curriculum? By exploring a problem that you hope to solve in the future, you can reveal your interests and passions and help the college admissions officers get a clear sense of what drives you and makes you uniquely you. This look at your future aspirations can also help illustrate why a college is a good match for you and how it fits into your future plans. What Is an Intellectual Challenge? All of the Common Application essay prompts, in one way or another, are asking you to demonstrate your critical thinking skills. How do you deal with complicated issues and situations? A student who can grapple with difficult problems effectively is a student who will succeed in college. The mention of an intellectual challenge in this prompt signals your need to choose a problem that isnt simple. An intellectual challenge is a problem that requires the application of your reasoning and critical thinking skills to solve. The problem of dry skin can typically be solved with the simple application of moisturizer. The problem of bird deaths caused by wind turbines requires extensive study, planning, and designing to even begin arriving at a solution, and any proposed solution is going to have pros and cons. If you want to write about an intellectual challenge, make sure it is more like the latter problem than dry skin. What Is a Research Query? When the folks at the Common Application decided to include the phrase research query in this prompt, they opened the door to any issue that can be studied in a methodical and academic way. A research query is nothing more than the type of question you might ask as you set out to write a research paper. It is a question that doesnt have a ready answer, one that requires investigation to solve. A research query can be in any academic field, and it can require archival study, field work, or laboratory experimentation to solve. Your query could focus on the frequent algae blooms at your local lake, the reasons why your family first immigrated to the United States, or the sources of high unemployment in your community. Most important here is to make sure your query addresses an issue for which you have passion--it needs to be of personal importance. What is a Moral Dilemma? Unlike a research query, the solution to a moral dilemma is not likely to be found in a library or laboratory. By definition, a moral dilemma is a problem that is difficult to solve because it has no clear, ideal solution. The situation is a dilemma precisely because the different solutions to the problem have pros and cons. Our sense of right and wrong is challenged by a moral dilemma. Do you stand up for your friends or your parents? Do you obey the law when the law seems unjust? Do you report illegal actions when doing so will create difficulties for you? When faced with behavior that offends you, is silence or confrontation the better option? We all face moral dilemmas in our day-to-day lives. If you choose to focus on one for your essay, make sure the dilemma and your resolution of the dilemma highlight both your problem-solving skills and an important dimension of your character and personality. Hold Back on that Word Describe Prompt #4 begins with the word describe: Describe a problem youve solved or a problem youd like to solve. Be careful here. An essay that spends too much time describing is going to be weak. The primary purpose of the application essay is to tell the admissions folks more about yourself  and to show that you are self-aware and good at critical thinking. When you are merely describing something, youre demonstrating none of these key elements of a winning essay. Work to keep your essay balanced. Describe your problem quickly, and spend the bulk of the essay explaining why  you care about the problem and  how  you solved it (or plan to solve it).   Personal Importance and Significance to You These two phrases should be the heart of your essay. Why do you care about this problem? What does the problem mean to you? Your discussion of your chosen problem needs to be teaching the admissions folks something about you: What do you care about? How do you solve problems? What motivates you? What are your passions? If your reader finishes your essay without gaining a strong sense of what it is that makes you the interesting person that you are, you have not succeeded in responding to the prompt effectively. What if You Didnt Solve the Problem Alone? Its rare that anyone solves a significant problem alone. Perhaps you solved a problem as part of a robotics team or as a member of your student government. Dont try to hide help you received from others in your essay. Many challenges, in both college and the professional world, are solved by teams of people, not individuals. If your essay demonstrates that you have the generosity to acknowledge the contributions of others  and that you are good at collaboration, youll be highlighting positive personal characteristics. A Warning: Dont Address This Problem One of the problems you are currently facing, and one that youd clearly like to solve, is how to get into your top choice colleges. It may seem like a clever choice to spin the question back on itself and write an essay about the application process that currently dominates your life. Such an essay might work in the hands of a truly expert writer, but in general, its a topic to avoid (along with these other bad essay topics). Its an approach others have taken, and the essay is likely to come across as glib rather than thoughtful. A final note:  If you successfully show why your chosen problem is important to you, youre on the right path for a successful essay. If you really explore the why of this question and go easy on the describing, your essay will be on track to succeed. It might help to rethink prompt #4 in these terms: Explain how you grappled with a meaningful problem so that we can get to know you better.  The college looking at your essay has holistic admissions  and really does want to get to know you as an individual.  Aside from an interview, the essay is really the only place in your essay where you can reveal the three-dimensional person behind those grades and test scores.  Use it to display your personality, interests and passions. To test out your essay (whether for this prompt or one of the other options), give it to an acquaintance or teacher who doesnt know you particularly well, and ask what that person learned about you from reading the essay. Ideally, the response will be exa ctly what you want the college to learn about you. Finally, good writing is also important here. Be sure to pay attention to style, tone, and mechanics. The essay is first and foremost about you, but it also needs to demonstrate a strong writing ability.