Growth strategies and key fundamentals

Growth strategy is a tactical plan devised and executed for the purpose of business expansion. Growth strategies should be part and parcel of every business whether small or big.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Growth strategies and key fundamentals specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Expansion strategies are specifically essential for small business ventures which get easily influenced even by the slightest alterations in the market. Changes in the customers, price and competition can negatively affect the growth of any business. Having a strategic plan of growth provides a sense of direction for a business and helps a lot in the minimization of the effects of market place changes (Sabharwal, n.d). This paper compares and contrasts different growth strategies and key fundamentals that should be considered before embarking on an important strategy of growth and wealth building. Every organization has the responsibil ity of formulating its specific expansion strategy according to its own uniqueness in order to function more competitively. The main growth strategies include expansion, diversification and modernization. Expansion entails escalation of the market share and increasing profits and sales returns of present products and services. This can be successfully done through increased production of existing products and services so as to satisfy a larger market hence increase in sales and profit. The expansion strategy is beneficial especially for those businesses that have a smaller share in the market (Sabharwal, n.d).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Besides expansion, diversification is a good growth strategy which involves the development of fresh products and services for fresh markets. It reaches a point where a business can no longer expand its existing products and services. Th erefore, for the purpose of increasing sales, the business should opt for diversification as a growth strategy. Moreover, diversification is not only about changing the outlook of a product or service but also adding completely different products and services. It is evident that there is a major difference between expansion and diversification. Expansion involves an increase in the production and sales of existing products while diversification entails the addition of entirely fresh products and fresh markets. A business can also use modernization as a strategy to realize growth. Modernization involves the improvement of technology to intensify production, enrich value and to trim down wastage and production expenses. The dilapidated and old-fashioned machines and equipment are exchanged with recent ones in order to guarantee efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, modernization enables a business to become more competitive and enhances acquisition of up to date skills by employees. In addition, modernization enhances growth by ensuring that the profitability of a business is increased because of heightened efficiency and minimized wastage (Sabharwal, n.d). There are key fundamentals that should be considered in any business before embarking on the important strategy of growth.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Growth strategies and key fundamentals specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They fundamentals include the people that make up the business, the purpose for operating the business, the business processes that are undertaken to fulfill the purpose, the physical resources required to accomplish the processes and the customer who is willing to buy the products and services of a business. All these factors should be considered in order to determine the success of any growth strategy (McKaskill, 2010). Conclusion Every business should have a strategic action plan for the purpose of achieving a competitive advantage and to acquire a good share in the market. Therefore, growth strategies should be included in future plans of a business in order to enhance efficiency. A business without a growth strategy will be unable to survive in the market in this technological era. Businesses always choose their growth strategies depending on their individual needs. For instance, a business that faces the risk of its products becoming obsolete should opt for diversification as a way out. It is evident from the research that there are key aspects that should be in place in order to ensure a successful implementation of a growth strategy. The aspects which include the people, the resources and the customers work hand in hand in ensuring the survival and success of any business venture. Reference List McKaskill, T. (2010, February). Ultimate Growth Strategies. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Sabharwal, S. (n.d). Alternative Growth Strategies for Small Business. Web. This essay on Growth strategies and key fundamentals was written and submitted by user Gloria F. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Death of a Salesmen

Death Of A Salesman: Willy and Biff The play Death Of A Salesman, the brainchild of Arthur Miller was transformed and fitted to the movie screen in the year 1986. The play itself is set in the house of Willy Loman, and tells the melancholy story of a salesman who is in deep financial trouble, and the only remedy for the situation is to commit suicide. In the stage production of this tale that I saw last summer in Wisconsin, the specific lighting, set, and musical designs really gave the story a strong undertow of depression. For example, when Willy was alone in his room talking to himself, they would only use a spot light and would focus more of it on his face causing a shadow effect on his eyes, making him look even older. Logically the screen and stage productions both differ greatly in regards to the mood they set. Moreover the movie production can do many things that just cannot be done on stage, with reference to the setting of course. For example in this case a stage production cannot flash back without ha ving to reset the stage or reset the scene with different characters whereas in the film production they could just fade out and reshot the next scene without the audience seeing this. To generalize, the play gives us a good hard look at the great American Dream failing miserably through the character Biff and Willy Loman. Death of a Salesman specifically focuses on four characters, the first being the main character Willy Loman, and his wife Linda, and their two sons Hap and Biff Loman. As mentioned, the focal point of this play is Willy Loman, a salesman in his early sixties. Throughout the story we are told the hard life, emotions and triumphs of Willy the salesman. Early in the play we learn that he has recently been demoted to working for commission, which later in the play, translates into Willy getting fired. As the plot unfolds we discover that Willy had a rich brother who recently died named Ben, who... Free Essays on Death of a Salesmen Free Essays on Death of a Salesmen Death Of A Salesman: Willy and Biff The play Death Of A Salesman, the brainchild of Arthur Miller was transformed and fitted to the movie screen in the year 1986. The play itself is set in the house of Willy Loman, and tells the melancholy story of a salesman who is in deep financial trouble, and the only remedy for the situation is to commit suicide. In the stage production of this tale that I saw last summer in Wisconsin, the specific lighting, set, and musical designs really gave the story a strong undertow of depression. For example, when Willy was alone in his room talking to himself, they would only use a spot light and would focus more of it on his face causing a shadow effect on his eyes, making him look even older. Logically the screen and stage productions both differ greatly in regards to the mood they set. Moreover the movie production can do many things that just cannot be done on stage, with reference to the setting of course. For example in this case a stage production cannot flash back without ha ving to reset the stage or reset the scene with different characters whereas in the film production they could just fade out and reshot the next scene without the audience seeing this. To generalize, the play gives us a good hard look at the great American Dream failing miserably through the character Biff and Willy Loman. Death of a Salesman specifically focuses on four characters, the first being the main character Willy Loman, and his wife Linda, and their two sons Hap and Biff Loman. As mentioned, the focal point of this play is Willy Loman, a salesman in his early sixties. Throughout the story we are told the hard life, emotions and triumphs of Willy the salesman. Early in the play we learn that he has recently been demoted to working for commission, which later in the play, translates into Willy getting fired. As the plot unfolds we discover that Willy had a rich brother who recently died named Ben, who...

Strategic management assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic management assignment - Essay Example Now-a-days the organizations are bringing rapid, volatile and discontinuous changes. It makes strategic management more multifaceted and challenging. There are two principal drivers that influence the nature of competitors’ background. These will help the organizations to adopt and maintain that change. Technology and global economy are two important drivers of businesses. Therefore, substantial changes in these drivers can affect the strategic management process of an organization. Several models can help the CEOs to respond to the discontinuous changes. The combination of those two change approaches is suitable for the transformation of the organizations. This approach is considered as holistic approach. This holistic approach will help to produce effective flexibility to the businesses to counter the uncertain situations. It is necessary to have a strategic change plan that can be learned in order to relieve the fear of this change among the employees. Critical learning is indispensable. It will help to create a knowledge based work environment of understanding the critical problems. Moreover, transfer of knowledge will help to enhance the decision making ability in a situation of sudden change. Rapid, Volatile and Discontinuous Change Rapid and volatile organizational change is an intentional and structured approach that helps to transit the employees, groups and organizations from a current position to a significant future position. On the other hand, discontinuous change can be defined as sudden, unintentional and non-incremental change that threatens the power structure and existing traditional authority (Hubbard, 2004). The organizations implement rapid and volatile changing process to improve the internal structure of an organization. This process helps the management of the organization to capitalize on the potential opportunities and to meet with the changing customer demand rapidly by effective redesigning of product and services (Foster & Br owne, 1996). On the other hand, the objective of the discontinuous change process is to identify and rectify the current organizational problems. The organizations implement this change to establish new strategies to improve the organizational performance. Leading organizations around the globe are trying to capitalize on the potential opportunities by implementing these changes. Moreover, continuous changes in the organization required for any changes in external environmental factors help the organization to maintain a healthy work environment and achieve competence in the industry. It is important for the information managers to review the environmental factors and identify the current trends. This strategic audit planning will help the organizations to understand the external and internal information services (Sutton, 1999). PEST analysis is a common tool that helps the organization to assess the external factors, such as political, social, technological and economical changes. Another important common strategic audit tool is SWOT analysis. It helps the organization to assess the internal factors. This SWOT analysis considers internal strengths, weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Following is the strategic management model that used to assess the role, impact and implication of rapid, volatile and discontinuous organizational change. An important principle of strategic managem

Institutional Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Institutional Investment - Essay Example The discussion will, however, start by providing background information on the two plans. These plans are abstractly simpler and involve the employer (and in some cases the employee) making regular contributions to the retirement account of the employee. The amount of contributions is predetermined, usually a specified fraction of the salary. This fraction is, however, subject to alterations in the course of the employee’s career. In this plan, the both contributions are tax-deductible although the investment income accumulates tax-free. In most cases, the employee decides on his/her choice of account investment. This may include investing in stock markets, bonds or any security that pleases them. At retirement, the employee can either receive an annuity or a lump sum, and the size of this money depends on the value of the accumulated funds in the employee’s retirement account (Poterba et al., 2007). The employee bears the risk of their investment and thus the employer has no any extra obligation beyond contributing to their employee’s retirement pla n account. The valuation of defined contribution plans is simple and involves measuring the market value of the assets created in the retirement account. In most cases, the employee is guided in their personal financial planning by their defined contributions plan’s sponsor (Clark 1999). Unlike the defined contributions plan which focuses more on the value of retirement account’s created assets, defined benefits plan focuses on the flow of benefits received by the employee at retirement. Typically, a defined benefits plan uses the employee’s wage history and the years of service as the determinants of the value of the benefit (Huberman, Iyengar & Jiang 2007). Upon retirement, the employee receives a defined monthly amount that is guaranteed for their life and that of their spouse. In some cases, the plan allows room

H.W 8 GSC125-01 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

H.W 8 GSC125-01 - Essay Example Answer: Coriolis Effect reverses direction between the hemispheres so that the large scale winds in the Southern Hemisphere swerve to the left rather than to the left. This reversal is related to the difference in an observer’s sense of earth’s rotation in the two hemispheres. To an observer looking down from high above the North Pole, the planet rotates counterclockwise, whereas to an observer high above the South Pole, the planet rotates clockwise. For the observer measuring motion relative to a coordinate system anchored to the rotating Earth, this reversal in the apparent direction of rotation between the two hemispheres translates into a reversal in the direction of the Coriolis Effect. Answer: The counterclockwise and inward spiral of cyclone in Northern hemisphere converge surface winds towards the center of the low. Air ascends in response to converging surface winds and diverging winds aloft. The adiabatic expansion of ascending air within a cyclone lowers the temperature and saturation vapor pressure, thereby increasing the relative humidity of unsaturated air. Clouds and precipitation may eventually develop, so that cyclones are typically stormy weather

Evolution Of Coffee Culture In United States

Evolution Of Coffee Culture In United States Introduction O Coffee! Thou dost dispel all care, thou are the object of desire to the scholar. This is the beverage of the friends of God. In Praise of Coffee, Arabic Poem (1511). Everyone knows what a coffee is. Especially since coffee became a essential drink in everyday for most of the people in the world. Nowadays when we walk down any street, we see at least two or more coffee shops with full of people drinking coffee. Since I was very little, I always wondered, how coffee made and how it become the coffee business became one of the most valuable commodity industry in the world. When you search it, you find that this commodity we call coffee is a basicly a berry containing seeds. Yet coffee is the second most valuable exported legal commodity on earth (after oil of course), providing worlds most widely taken psychoactive drug. Coffee provides a livelihood for over twenty million humans beings around the world. It is an incredibly labor-intensive crop, with all but very small percentage requiring the individual human hand. The irony of the coffee industry is that the vast majority of those who perfom repetitive tasks work in the most beautiful places on earth, with tropical volcanic peaks as backdrop in a climate thtat have a temperature of 27  °C but these laborers earn an evarage of 3 dollars a day. The coffee they prepare travels halfway around the world and lands on breakfast tables, officer and cafes of the England, Germany, United States and and other developed countries, where these cosmopolitan consumers pay half a days Third World countries wages for a good cup of coffee. People who make money from coffee doesnt stop in just producing. There are also the exporters, importarts, amd roasters. There are the expert slurping, savoring, and spitting coffee. There are the retailers, the vending machine suppliers, the marketers, the advertising copyrighters, the consultants. This is why it is the second most valuable commodity on earth because they are many opportunities to earn money just from a sack of coffee beans. Beginning as a medicinal drink for the elite group of people, coffee became the favored modern stimulant of worker during their break, the gossip starter in kitchens. Coffeehouses have provided places to plan revolutions, write poetry, do business and meet friends. For example United Statess first black presidents inaugural speech was written by a young man, age 27, in a Starbucks. Without noticing, he wrote a historical speech, which will probably be analysed in future,was written in a common coffeehouse. Around the world we are currently witbessing a coffee revival as miniroasters revive the art of coffee blending and customers rediscover the josy of fresh-roasted, fresh brewed coffee made from the best beans in the world. Coffee has assumed a social meaning that goes far beyond the simple black brew in a cup. The worldwide coffee culture is more than a culture-it is psychological addiction. There are newsgroup on the subject, along with countless number of sites on World Wide Web, and Starbucks outles populate every street corner, fighting for space with other coffeehouses and chains. And after all is said and done, its just a bag of berry from an Ethiopian shrub. This essay is about the coffee culture and its effect in United States. Coffee is a term used to describe a social atmosphere that depends heavily upon coffee shops, espressoin particular, to act as a social lubricant. It is a common tradition in American culture to spend their time in coffeeshops. I will explain the impacts of coffee and its culture in American people and media. History of Coffee Coffee makes us severe, and grave and philosophical Jonathan Swift, 1722 Possibly the cradle of mankind, now called Ethiopia, is the birthplace of coffee. Situated at the conjunction of the African and Arab worlds known as the Horn of Africa, the mountainous country has a biblical quality. There are lots of story of how coffee discovered with different perspectives thus we do not know exactly when or by whom coffee discovered. Between the various Ethiopian and Arab legends, the most appealing story involves dancing goats. A goatherd named Kaldi loved following the wandering paths made by his goats as they combed the mountainsides for food. His job didnt require him to do much, so he was free to make up songs and to play his pipe. In the late afternoon, when he blew a special, piercing note, his goats scampered from their browsing in the forest to follow him back home. One afternoon, however, the goats did not come. Kaldi blew his pipe again. Still no goats. Puzzled, the boy climbed higher, listening for them. Finally he heard bleating in the distance. Running around the corner of a narrow trail, Kaldi suddenly came upons the goats. Under the thich rain forest canopy, which allowed the sun to sift through in suddent bright splotches, the goats were running about, butting one another, dancing on their hind legs, and bleating excitedly. As he watched, one goat after another chewed doff the glossy green leaves and red berries of a tree he had never seen before. The goats refured to come home with hià ¶ until hours later. The next day, they ran directly back to the same grove and repeated the performance. This time Kaldi decided it was safe to him to join them. First, he chewed on a few leaves. They tasted bitter. As he masticated them, however, he experienced a slow tingle, mocing from his tongue down into his gut, expanding to his entire body. Next he tried the berries. The fruit was midly sweet, and the seed that popped out were covered with a thich, tasty mucilage. Finally, he chewed the seeds themselves. Soon, according to legend, Kaldi was dancing and playing with his goats. He felt that he would never be tired or grouchy again. Kaldi told his father about the magical tree, the word spread, and soon coffee became an integral part of Ethiopian culture. By the time Rhazes, an Arabian physican, first mentioned coffee in print in the tenth century, it probably had been deliberately cultivated for hundred of years. It is likely that, as in the legend, the beans and leaves of bunn, as coffee was called, at first were simply chewed, but the inventive Ethiopians quickly graduated to more palatable ways of getting their caffeine fix. Probably in the sixteenth century, someone roasted the beans, ground them and made a infusion. Coffee as we know it came into being. Once the Ethiopians discovered coffee it was only a matter of time until the drink spead through trade with the Arabs across the narrow band of Red sea. The Arabs took to the stimulating drink. They began culvivating the trees, complete wit irrigation ditches calling it qahwa, an Arab word for wine-from which the name coffee derives. At first the Arab monks adopted coffee as a drink that would allow them to stay awake for midnight prayers more easily.While coffee was considered a medicine or religious aid, it soon enough slipped into everyday use. As the drink gained popularity throughout the sixteenth century, it also gained its reputation as a troublemaking social brew. Many rulers decided that people were having too much fun in coffeehouses. In the end rulers and religious leaders denounced coffee during this century. But these bans didnt took long. Coffee provided an intellectual stimulant, a pleasant way to feel increased energy without any apparent ill effect. Coffeehouses basicly allowed people to get together for conversation, entertainment, and business, inspiring agreements, poetry, and irrevenrence in equal measure. So important did the brew become in Turkey that a lack of sufficient coffee provided grounds for a woman to seek a divorce. The Ottoman Turks occupied Yemen in 1536, and soon afterward coffee bean became an important export throughout the Turkish Empire. Then through the Ottoman traders coffee beans came to Europe. At first Europeans didnt know what to make of the stange new brew. In 1610 travelling British poet Sir George Sandys noted that the Turks sat chatting most of the day over their coffee, which he described as blacke as soote, and tasting not much unlike it. Then I can briefly that coffee beans went through many places. Coffee went to France through the Turkish ambassador. Later on coffee came to Vienna through Turkish army while threatening to invade Europe. When Turkish troops failed in the siege of Vienna, Franz George Kolschitzky took all the coffee and opened the first Viennese cafe. After coffee became a famous drink in Europe, the North American colonists emulated the coffe boom of the mother country, with the first American house opening in Boston in 1689. Here, over many cups of coffee and other brews, John Adams, James Otis, and Paul Revere met to foment rebellion, prompting Daniel Webster to call it the headquarters of the Revolution. This is the first proof of that coffees effect to American Culture. Coffee in America We have joined in many a march in old Virginia, when the days were long and hot, and the power of the soldiers to endure the fatigue of the march and keeop their places in the ranks was greatly enhanced by an opportunity to brew a cup of coffee by the wayside Captian R.K. Beecham- Gettysburg: The Pivotal Battle of the Civil War The American thirst for coffee was slow to develop in a new country whose citizens preferred booze. Most colonial drinking was utilitarian, with high alcohol consumption a normal part of personal and community habits observe the author of Drinking in America. Still, coffee was popular enough to cause over a hundred Boston women to raid a food warehouse in 1777. Throughout the first half of the 1800s the American taste for coffee swelled, particularly after the war of 1812, which temporarily shut off access to tea just when all things French, including coffee drinking, were stylish. By that time Brazilian coffee was easy to get and cheaper in anyway. Perhaps price was counted even more than political ideology when Americans came to choose their favorite caffeinated beverage, coffee. Once introduced to the black brew, Native Americans adopted it as well. Indeed, the Indians attacked many wagon trains specifically to get coffee- along with sugar,tobacco, and whiskey. On the other hand, white traders took advantage of the Indians, trading one cup of coffee for a buffalo robe. Thus the coffee became a trade item between two races. American coffeehouses, which continued the British coffeehouse traditions as penny universities and enhanced their feared and celebrated status as seminaries of sedition. At first they were simply taverns serving ale, port and rum, as well as coffee. But soon these coffeehouses featured in American official civic life in ways that had been unknown even in England. The Green Dragon, a coffeehouse tavern and inn established in 1697, which Daniel Webster called the headquarters of the Revolution, was frequented in the next century by other rebels and remained open in Bostons business center for 135 years. Throughout this time, the Green Dragon, remained a center of activity, hosting from the first, Red-coated British soldiers, colonial governors, bewigged crown officers, earls and dukes, citizens of high estate, plotting revolutionist of lesser degree, conspirators in the Boston Tea party, patriots and generals of the Revolution. The Grand Lodge of Masons, under the leadership of the fi rst grand master of Bostons first Masonic group, convened there as well. Today in the United States more than 80 percent of adults consume caffeine on a dailt basis. The average daily consumption among all adults is approximately 200 mg per day and among coffee consumers is approximately 280 mg. By appying the standards and definitions about caffeine, this would mean 75 million people fit the criteria for moderate caffeine dependence. How Coffee Evolved in America In many ways WWI marked the beginning of the modern world. It introduced the technological advanced weapons and the term shell shock but also accelerated a global outlook and increased international commerce. For coffee men, the war shifted the focus of Latin America to United States as its most reliable customer. While Euroe suffered through the war, U.S. roasters took full advantage of a favorable business situation created by the war. In the cofused wartime economy, the New York Coffee Exchange closed its doors for four months. In 1914 an editorial in a coffee trade journal called for American coffee men to act. Because the Europe were fighting for their home territories and independence, they were compelled to neglect established trade in South America. Moreover, coffee prices were bound to decline, since United Stattes now represented the only major market for the beans. The vending machine helped make the institutionalization of that most venerated American tradition, the coffee break. In fact the phrase was the invention of the Pan America Coffee Bureau in 1952. The bureau launched a radio, newspaper, and magazine campaigns with the theme, Give Yourself a Coffee Break- And Get What Coffee Gives to You. They used ads and fliers to encourage the spread of the coffee break beyond factories and offices. Hospitals started to use them. After Sunday worship services, people started to met for a coffee break with their pastors. The bureau also launched a Coffee Stop campaign on the roads to encourage motorists to pull over regularly for coffee as a safety measure. Role of Coffee in American Media Professor Prescott speaks of the influence of coffee as a beneficent exhilaration and as tending to increase the power of do muscular work as well as the power of concentration in mental effort In a sad word, and especially in a country like ours, recently and constitutionally deprived of wine the functions of coffee in bringing serene delight is an important one Boston Transcript -18 October 1923. While Brazil and other coffee growing countries vied to supply their share of caffeine to the the industrialized countries of the north, the jazzed-up North American entered a golden age of hustle in which business, advertising, and consumption defined a decade. Coffee emerged as a widely accepted drink, the scourge only of the most ardent health faddist, and it fueled the energetic decade of the twenties. Coffee consumption in fact did climb slowly through the 1920s. Even though the idea of coffeehouse was not expanded as rapidly as some anticipated, coffee cafes and lunch counters have supplanted hundreds of saloons. As Americans became more mobile with technological developments on expanding roadwats, they chose coffee as the drink for driving. At that time and still the truck stop means the coffee shop. Yet the most positive effect was by the first national adversiting campaign which was funded by the brazilian growers but executed by an American advertising firm. The campaign got under way in 1919 with spots in popular weekly magazines. Most of the ads were bland and predictable. Your Uncle Sam provided his boys with COFFEE. Coffee was the drink of intellectuals. All ended with the slogan, Coffee- the Essential drink. The national advertising campaign undoubtedly helped boost coffees image and sales. In the first few years of 1990s, the major roasters continued to battle one another without much to show for it, other than an innovative Tasters Choice campaign- and was even The commercials featured mini soap operas in which Tony, a soulful bachelor, meets By the mid-1990s it was clear to industry observers that major coffee roaters companies had lost their way, while small-scale coffees were booming. In 1995 Forbes summarized the fate of the big coffee merchants in a one-word healine: Oversleeping. The message the businesss magazine conveyed to Maxwell House, Folgers and Nestle: Wake up and smell the freshly ground coffee. Later on another company answered the call: Starbucks Starbucks Coffee Company According to legend, Merlin was born in the future and lived backward in time, moving toward the past. He must have often felt out of step with his contemporaries, filled as he was with unconventional notions of what might be. Im no sage, but sometimes I think I know how he must have felt. My vision for the future, my aspirations for what kind of company Starbucks should be, are so easily misunderstood Howard Schultz,1997

Japans Post War Economic Journey Essay -- Japanese History

On August 6th, 1945, America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later on August 9th, a second was dropped on Nagasaki. This effectively was the definitive end to World War II. The catastrophic damage caused by this vulgar display of power killed over 100,000 people in Hiroshima alone and left both cities as practically nothing more than radioactive ash. The unimaginable destruction caused by these attacks had obvious economic repercussions. Japan was a closed country that upheld a strict policy of isolationism. For nearly 300 years under the Tokugawa regime the country's population was not permitted to leave and foreigners were not welcomed upon its shore. There were instances when Europeans are known to have been on the archipelago, such as weapons dealers and religious missionaries, but these unwelcomed visitors usually met their demise at the end of a samurai's blade. The country was vehemently against any type of outside influence that could permeate and alter the traditional values and way of life the proud nation's occupants held so dearly to their culture. Any embracement of western ideals or beliefs was seen as an inexcusable betrayal of the very fabric of their national identity. This began to unravel however in 1686 with the Meiji Restoration, and the inevitable opening of ports along the eastern coast for trade with Americans that was brought about by the persistence of the American naval office, Commodore Matthew Perry. The cultural traditionalism was still intact to a large extent nearly 80 years later when the two of their cities were decimated by bombs dropped by the very foreigners who forced open their country with military intimidation. The subsequent US occupation that followed and their ... .... Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Frost, P. (2003). Postwar japan, 1952-1989. New York, NY: About Japan: A Teacher's Resource. Retrieved from http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/postwar_japan_1952-1989 Johnson, R. (2005). Six men who built the modern auto industry. Motorbooks. Katsu, K., & Craig, T. (1991). Musui's story, the autobiography of a tokugawa samurai. Univ of Arizona Pr. Nakata, Y., & Mosk, C. The demand for college education in post war japan. University of Alabama. Retrieved from http://www.cba.ua.edu/assets/docs/efl/WP_114.pdf Murata, S., & Stern, S. "Technology Education in Japan." Journal of Technology Education. Fall 1993. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. . "Sony History" Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20061128064313/http://www.sony.net/Fun/SH/1-1/h2.html