American History Since 1865 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American History Since 1865 - Essay Example It was partly successful in doing so for some years but the future events showed that the treaty was a complete failure. The harsh terms of the treaty instilled a desire for revenge in the hearts of Germans and promoted the rise of Nazism which ultimately led to the Second World War. 2. The primary issues of the Scope Trial were education and science v. religion. What were the broader social implications? What did this trial reveal about the American public at the time? How are these issues relevant today? The Scopes trial primarily represented a conflict between science and religion, but it had broader social implications. It triggered a debate on social issues like liberalism, freedom of speech and censorship. The fact that Dayton received massive support across the country even after he was convicted guilty was a clear indication that the American public favored freedom. People favored modernism and liberalism and the freedom of choice over conservative ideology. Regarding any con troversial topic, the general public was of the opinion it should only be a matter of personal choice about what is right. The Scopes trial took place years ago but the issue is still fresh in the present era. The public still debates on the issue of freedom over topics like abortion, gay marriages and sex education in schools. Works Cited Bailey, Thomas, Lizabeth Cohen and David M Kennedy. The American Pageant- Vol. II.

Costco Wholesale Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Costco Wholesale Corporation - Case Study Example Though less readily measurable, it is apparently accompanied by a shrinking of activities for the few remaining general merchandising wholesalers and a loss of sales for small stores carrying women's and children's apparel, particularly in low and medium-quality lines. Costco is a closed-door store which allows only "members" access to the store through membership eligibility as defined by rather broad classifications of government employees, teachers, union members, or employees of government contractors (see Appendix 4). The chain carries a wide range of soft goods and apparel, but also gives major attention to furniture, appliances, food, and automotive supplies. Several of the closed door operations have recently opened their doors to the general public. "Examples of Costco's incredible annual sales volumes included 96,000 carats of diamonds (2006), 1.5 million televisions, $300 million worth of digital cameras, 28 million rotisserie chickens (over 500,000 weekly), 40 percent of the Tuscan olive oil bought in the United States, $16 million worth of pumpkin pies during the fall holiday season, $3 billion worth of gasoline, 21 million prescriptions, and 52 million $1.50 hot dog/soda pop combinations" (Thompson p. 2008, p. C5). Low operating margins achieved through volume sales and limited service expenditures for clerks, delivery, credit, and so on have allowed prices which average about 15% below those of the department stores and specialty shops with which discount stores compete in the sale of soft goods. Full-size food supermarkets are being established within many of the new large discount stores. Because of consumers' long experience in comparing food values between stores and because of the frequency of food store visits by the average family, these food departments are attractive to the soft-goods stores as traffic builders, and are frequently operated with planned narrow margins (or even planned losses) to maximize their drawing power (Costco Home P age 2008). Chief Elements of the Costco's strategy The uniqueness of Costco strategy is that it proposes advantages and benefits to its members only, except gasoline and beverage products. The closed-door stores depend primarily on word of mouth and on mail promotion to their members to publicize the attractive values offered. Costco does not make extensive use of advertising media to give publicity to the low prices and special values which they offer. Major retail innovations involve an "invention" of new means of performing the retailing function. They are dependent on concomitant developments in products, in physical handling technology, and in organization at the wholesale supply level; but, most important of all, they are dependent on changes in the income, location, and style of life of consumers (Drejer 2002). In contrast to other retailers, Costco proposes wide product rage: "Whereas typical supermarkets stocked about 40,000 items and a Wal-Mart Supercenter or a SuperTarget might have as many as 150,000 items for shoppers to choose from, Costco's merchandising strategy was to