The religious factors that led to the clash between Native Americans Essay

The religious factors that led to the clash between Native Americans and early Euro-American settlers - Essay Example However, not everything in the Native American/White relations was entirely gruesome. Oppression and conflicts with white people turned Native Americans into a nation with remarkable adaptation potential. The development and change touched all the areas including culture and religion. As a result, while European colonialism was pushing Native American populations westwards, the latter were developing the degree of flexibility, adaptability and cohesion that had been unknown to native populations before 1607. The difference between the frontier line of America and the frontier line of other countries is the following: the other countries knew their boundaries and they knew which countries were beyond these boundaries. The North America frontier underlined the unknown land beyond it. In accordance with Calloway: â€Å"†¦fertile valleys, meeting friendly people bedecked in turquoise, and hearing wondrous accounts of the towns to be found in the north† (p. 133). As far as we can see, the diversity of the North frontier is evident. The nature of the diversity can be found in the first settlers’ necessity to deal with natural challenges and remain self-sufficient. Indian cultures are really unique and peculiar in America. Some Indian tribes have survived, although other tribes have been vanished and completely destroyed. Many of them continued their traditional cultures, while others fully lost their cultures and communities. The history of American Indians in their relationship with Americans is full of brutality and intent destruction and discrimination. (Erchack 1992) Some scientists mention that the history of American Indians is something similar to labyrinth of different opinions and ideas. Indians resides from the cold regions of the Intuit in northern Alaska to the Yahgan. Many Americans consider Indian Americans as noble savages. It became an

Has Affirmative Action had any positive results Should the policy be Essay

Has Affirmative Action had any positive results Should the policy be abandoned - Essay Example In the real sense, Bacchi (1996) indicates that the women and other marginalized groups are the most affected by discriminatory practices in organizations. It is in this light, as a result, that there is need to make sure that a proper rationale is effected to ensure that all persons in the workplace are handled as equally essential, and that all are represented well in the workplace. In addition, Crosby et al. (2006) are of the thought that, affirmative action allows for provision of equal opportunity of all persons, especially in terms of employment, promotion, and access to opportunities of attaining higher education. However, Fairclouch (2001) and Martin (2001) warn that it is vital to assess to what extent discrimination and bias prevails in an organization, and if promotion of equality is workable for all institutions. This is to mean that policy makers must be wary of this fact, and apply a proper guideline in the quest to provide equal treatment of all. This paper shall attem pt to assess if affirmative action has yielded any positive results, and if not, whether it would be advised to abandon the policy. Positives of the affirmative action With an increase in the groups championing for the rights of the minority groups, notable the girl-child and the persons with special needs, it is evident that though the world has not created a leveled playing ground for all the interested parties, the cases of discrimination have reduced greatly (Pincus, 2003). In the world today, the women for instance have been extremely vocal when it comes to them fighting for their rights in the law courts, government, and the social world amongst others. It is at this point of argument that we would argue that there has been a great change from the naive, apprehensive and misguided woman to the modern day woman. A good example is Tyra of the Tyra Banks Show. This is to mean that the women are slowly gaining a prestigious position in the society that was once overshadowed by the prowess of the men. From the work of Bacchi (1996), the ‘new’ woman can be accredited as a product of affirmative action in the society. Through this action, the women have been given opportunities in the government; they have also been consulted prior to making any form of decisions that touch on the society amongst other leadership roles. Despite the numerous debates on the move by women groups to claim position in the society; that they are indeed poor decision makers and are only fit for ‘odd’ jobs, it is evident through the women leaders that there is a great likelihood that women might completely take over in the society. In the argument of Rabe (2001), though affirmative action has been questioned on its ability to reduce discrimination among the races, a huge difference can be seen as compared to the earlier years. In fact, Rabe (2001) insists that affirmative action should not be abandoned on the basis of it not being able to shun all forms of dis crimination in the society. In the event that the affirmative action allows the black race improve their economic ability through leveling the employment protocols, it is possible that in the long run, the blacks will be accepted in the society (Rabe, 2001; Collins, 1993; Sitkoff, 1981). In his work, Rabe (2001) continues to argue that in the case of admission to universities, the affirmative a

Rawls vs. Nozicks Essay Example for Free

Rawls vs. Nozicks Essay Entitlement Theory. Stated simply, the theory states that any distribution of â€Å"holdings,† as he calls them, no matter how unequal, is just if (and only if) it arises from a just distribution through legitimate means. One legitimate means is the appropriation of something that is un-owned in circumstances where the acquisition would not disadvantage others. A second means is the voluntary transfer of ownership of holdings to someone else. A third means is the rectification of past injustices in the acquisition or transfer of holdings. According to Nozick, anyone who acquired what he has through these means is morally entitled to it. Thus the â€Å"entitlement† theory of justice states that the distribution of holdings in a society is just if (and only if) everyone in that society is entitled to what he has. Any distribution is only just if it arises from a distribution of legitimate means. 1) The act of taking something (with no disadvantage to others) that is un-owned a.   2) The voluntary transfer of an object to someone else. (an agreement is setup) b. You sell someone your car with an agreement of monthly payments. 3) the rectification of past injustices in the attainment or transfer of holdings. c. You agree to sell your car to someone with an agreement of monthly payments setup. The purchaser fails to pay the payments so you take back the car. You are considered morally allowed to own that car. According to Nozick, anyone who acquired what he has through these means is morally entitled to it. Also, distribution of holdings is allowed only if everyone in that society is entitled to what he has. Principle of Justice: each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.

An Analysis Of The Asean Regional Forum Politics Essay

An Analysis Of The Asean Regional Forum Politics Essay The end of the Cold War brought a fundamental change of security environment in Asia. As the East-West confrontation ended, US security policies became unclear. A power vacuum had been created in the region after the Soviet armed forces withdrew from Far East and Indochina, and the Chinese political influence was rapidly increasing. A multilateral forum for regional security was therefore ASEANs solution to the challenges that arose. In spite of the end of the Cold War, Asia still had problems such as tension on the Korean Peninsula, territorial disputes over the Spratly Islands, civil war in Cambodia and tension across the Taiwan Straits. These were problems that posed the threat of becoming severely destabilizing factors in the region. Although the United States had become the worlds only military superpower, in terms to burden sharing, its domestic economic problems as well as the global nature of all its affairs placed more demand on Asian countries. Therefore, Asian nations were preoccupied with this new set of circumstances in terms of security and how to get through the post-Cold War transitional period, while maintaining stability in Asia and ensuring its further development. The fundamental views of that emerged in the context of the above security threat were: In an uncertain post-Cold War era, promotion of confidence-building measures among Asian countries will be increasingly necessary. The Asia Pacific region will soon be facing new global issues such as the environment, terrorism, and drug trafficking. In order to address such issues, a regional cooperative framework is crucial and should be enhanced. The late 1980s and early 1990s marked a period of strategic shifts and uncertainty for Southeast Asia. Incorporating China and Japan into the web of interdependence with the rest of the region became imperative. It was recognised that United States engagement in the Asia Pacific region is indispensable for the stability and prosperity of the region. Thus, the ARF emerged. The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is the principal forum for security dialogue in Asia, complementing the various bilateral alliances and dialogues. It provides a setting in which members can discuss current regional security issues and develop cooperative measures to enhance peace and security in the region. It draws together 27 countries which that include the 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). To begin with, it is not hard to miss that the ARFs scope in terms of its member states goes far beyond South East Asia such that it includes a large number the developed and emerging powers of the world. In my view, this is an important characteristic of the ARF, which makes it unique compared to other security forums around the world. The reason behind this could be the idea of collective security. Most conflicts tend to involve national interests of major powers of the world. Therefore, their inclusion in the forum in a way ensures their consent or commitment towards peace and stability in the region. Formation of the ARF The ASEAN Regional Forum was primarily the outcome of states response to regional security problems that emerged post Cold War. The reasons for its formation can be looked via the two contrasting lenses of Realism and Idealism in order to grasp a wider interpretation. According to Realism, state action is a result of it national interests and a constant security dilemma that it faces. The concern for security motivates states to behave in a certain way, which in this case, was to come together and form a multilateral institution. Post-Cold War, there was a concern about changing strategic situation of South East Asia, wherein there was the fear that the attention and aid that the United States had showered during and before the Cold War would wane away. Moreover, the rapidly rising power of China was extremely worrisome and there was still a trust deficit that existed among the ASEAN countries and Japan- a hangover of Second World War ASEAN saw the ARF as a way to keep the US in, and China and Japan down. Moreover, the ARF could be seen as ASEANs way to maintain a balance of Power among the South East Asian Nations themselves. However, the realist interpretation of ARFs formation has a serious limitation. While it explains why the ARF was formed, it fails to explain why the forum was formed in spite of different interests that persisted among the ASEAN nations. What motivates countries to come together and trust each other, in spite of having varying goals and the constant security dilemma that was mentioned above. This limitation in explaining ARFs formation can be overcome by the explanation provided by the Idealist School of Thought. Idealists hold the view that shared norms and principals, as well as shared security concerns is what brought the ASEAN countries together to conjure up the idea of this forum. In an uncertain post-Cold War era, promotion of confidence-building measures among Asian countries became increasingly necessary. A serious threat was perceived to be posed by new global issues such as the environment, terrorism, and drug trafficking. In order to address such issues, a regional coope rative framework is crucial and should be enhanced. However, it is important to note that these nations didnt come together based on the above realization by themselves. Important track 2 level actors were involved to bring about this realisation about these shared norms, mutual benefits of forming ARF such as ASEAN-ISIS (Institutes of Strategic International Studies). Even so, besides the above reasons behind ARFs formation, what was it that motivated the major powers to join this forum? The consensus of the US is believed to be a result of US strategic reorientation post Cold War. The United States viewed ARF as a useful device to rein in China. Also, it saw the forum as an alternative way to deal with Asia-Pacific regional security without invoking bilateral ties which may have provoked China. Chinas joining is attributed to the fact that Beijing no longer saw multilateralism as a noose around its neck, but as an opportunity to make itself heard and understood by its neighbors on security and economic matters. This was a major change from Chinas view in the early 1990s. It is important to look deeply into the intricacies involved in the formation of the ARF because it gives us a deeper insight in the organizations role in Conflict Prevention and Confidence Building, which are important elements of Peacebuilding. The idea of forming a policy-oriented, security related dialogue with ASEAN at the centre- first proposed at ASEAN-Post Minstrel Conference (PMC) in Kuala Lumpur in July 1991. In January, 1992, an agreement was reached to strengthen political and security dialogue with non-ASEAN countries. In July, 1993, an agreement was reached to establish ARF, to include China and Russia. Finally, in July, 1994, 1st ASEAN Regional Forum was held in Bangkok. The Deepening of the ARF- Guiding Principles At the inaugural ARF in 1994, eighteen foreign ministers conducted a free discussion, without a prepared agenda or speech text. It served well to increase mutual understanding among the participants. Russia was unexpectedly active, while the Chinese attitude was cautious. China negatively reacted to the idea of using ARF to deal with specific security issues such as North Korean nuclear capability. After the discussion, though, all involved shared the view that the time was ripe to have security talks at the government level. They agreed to adopt the following as guiding principles for future dialogue. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia: It was signed in Bali Summit of 1976, responsible for changing ASEANs vision and future course. The United Nations Charter The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which are as follows: Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all participating nations;  · The right of every state to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion;  · Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;  · Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means;  · Renunciation of the threat or use of force. The Zone Of Peace, Freedom And Neutrality (ZOPFAN) in Southeast Asia: This Declaration committed all ASEAN members to exert efforts to secure the recognition of and respect for South East Asia as a Zone of Peace, free from any manner of interference by outside powers. The Declaration called upon all members to broaden the areas of cooperation which would contribute to their strength, solidarity and closer relationships. The concept of the South East Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ): At the Bangkok Summit (1994), the ASEAN leaders signed the Treaty on the South East Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, stressing its determination to contribute towards general and complete disarmament and the promotion of international peace and security. The Treaty also aimed at protecting the region from environmental pollution and the hazards caused by radioactive waste and other toxic materials. In its first sixteen years, the ARF has focused on confidence building measures and has made modest gains in building a sense of strategic community. But efforts to develop tools of preventive diplomacy and conflict management are still at an early stage. At the ARF Ministerial Meeting in July 2009, a Vision Statement was endorsed providing a roadmap to guide the direction of the ARF to 2020.   The Statement includes an undertaking to develop an ARF preventive diplomacy capacity.   In order to achieve this, ARF Ministers agreed that a Work Plan for Preventive Diplomacy be developed in the 2009-10 ARF cycle. ARF meetings and processes The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has responsibility for ARF policy, in consultation with the Department of Defence. ARF meetings are held at Foreign Minister level, annually in July/August in conjunction with the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC). The chair of ASEAN, which rotates on annual basis, is also the chair of the ARF. The principal formal ARF document is the ARF chairs statement issued after every ARF Ministerial meeting. The ARF is supported by the ARF Senior Officials Meeting which meets annually in May or June. Two ARF Intersessional Support Group (ISG) meetings on Confidence Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy are also held at officials level each year, co-chaired by one ASEAN and one non-ASEAN member. Recommendations and outcomes of these ISG meetings feed into the ARF Senior Officials Meeting. The ARF conducts four Inter-Sessional Meetings (ISM) annually that represent focus areas of the forum. These are ISMs on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, Disaster Relief, Maritime Security, and Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Second-track (non-official) institutions, such as the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) and the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN ISIS), have been instrumental in generating ideas and inputs for ARF (first track) consideration. The second-track institutions and networks conduct a number of seminars and working groups on regional security issues, involving academics, security specialists and officials participating in a personal capacity. Through its discretionary grants program, the Department supports the activities of AUS-CSCAP (the Australian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific). The merit of track two level institutions is that they manage to deal with sensitive issues without creating tensions among states. This leads to fresh approaches, early warning mechanisms, etc. The inclusion of Track 2 level diplomacy is a unique feature of the ARF as a security forum. No other major security forum in the world employs this approach. ARFs Role in Conflict Resolution In ARFs 1995 concept paper it was recognized that the forum is relatively new and would take a gradual evolutionary approach towards building a conflict resolution capacity, rather than trying to tackle security challenges without having the appropriate capability to engage itself in the same. A consensus was reached on how this evolution can take place in three stages: Stage I : Promotion of Confidence-Building Measures Stage II: Development of Preventive Diplomacy Mechanisms Stage III: Development of Conflict-Resolution Mechanisms In the first 16 years since its inception, the ARFs activities have mainly revolved around building trust and confidence in the region, a practice whose basis lies in ASEANs well established practices of consultation and consensus (musyawarah and mufakat) The participants of the first ARF Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in July 1994 agreed on the need to develop a more predictable and constructive pattern of relations for the Asia-Pacific region. In its initial phase, the ARF committed itself to therefore concentrate on enhancing, the trust and confidence amongst participants and thereby foster a regional environment conducive to maintaining the peace and prosperity of the region. In promoting confidence-building measures, the ARF adopted two complementary approaches. The first approach derives from ASEANs experience, which provides a valuable and proven guide for the ARF. ASEAN has succeeded in reducing, tensions among, its member states, promoting region cooperation and creating a regional climate conducive to peace and prosperity without the implementation of explicit confidence-building measures. ASEANs well established practices of consultation and consensus (musyawarah and mufakat) have been significantly enhanced by the regular exchanges of high-level visits among ASEAN countries. This pattern of regular visits has effectively developed into a preventive diplomacy channel. The second approach was the implementation of concrete confidence-building measures. The first ARF meeting, in Bangkok entrusted the next Chairman of the ARF, Brunei Darussalam, to study all the ideas presented by ARF participants and to also study other relevant internationally recognised norms, principles and practices. After extensive consultations, the ASEAN countries have prepared two lists of confidence-building measures. The first list spells out measures which can be explored and implemented by ARF participants in the immediate future. The second list is an indicative list of other proposals which can be explored over the medium and long-term by ARF participants and also considered in the immediate future by the Track Two process. These lists include possible preventive diplomacy and other measures. It was decided that given the delicate nature of many of the subjects being considered by the ARF, there was merit in moving the ARF process along two tracks. Track One activities will be carried out by governments. Track Two activities will be carried out by strategic institutes and non-government organisations in the region, such as ASEAN-ISIS and CSCAP. To be meaningful and relevant, the Track Two activities focus, as much as possible, on the current concerns of the ARF. The synergy between the two tracks would contribute greatly to confidence-building measures in the region. Over time, these Track Two activities should result in the creation of a sense of community among participants of those activities. This is another unique strategy adopted by the security forum in addition to its controversial strategy of non-interference. There remains a residue of unresolved territorial and other disputes that could be sources of tension or conflict. If the ARF is to become, over time, a meaningful vehicle to enhance the peace and prosperity of the region, it will have to demonstrate that it is a relevant instrument to be used in the event that a crisis or problem emerges. The ARF meeting in Bangkok demonstrated this by taking a stand on the Korean issue at the very first meeting. This was a signal that the ARF is ready to address any challenge to the peace and security of the region. Over time, the ARF must develop its own mechanisms to carry preventive diplomacy and conflict-resolution. In doing so, the ARF will face unique challenges. There are no established roads or procedures for it to follow. Without a high degree of confidence among ARF participants, it is unlikely that they will agree to the establishment of mechanisms which are perceived to be intrusive and/or autonomous. This is a political reality the ARF recognises. Conclusion It is clear from the above analysis that the ARF must be accepted as a sui generis Organisation. It has had no established precedents to follow and has carved out a unique path for itself as a security organisation. A great deal of innovation and ingenuity will be required to keep the ARF moving forward while at the same time ensure that it enjoys the support of its diverse participants. This is a major challenge both for the ASEAN countries and other ARF participants. The UN Secretary-Generals Agenda for Peace has recognised that just as no two regions or situations are the same, so the design of cooperative work and its division of labour must adjust to the realities of each case with flexibility and creativity. It has been 16 years in the formation of the ARF and in its first fifteen years, the ARF has focused on confidence building measures and has made modest gains in building a sense of strategic community and having achieved the status of being one of the most peaceful regions of the world. But efforts to develop tools of preventive diplomacy and conflict management are still at an early stage. And one can only wait and watch how the vision 2020 moves towards the 3rd stage of Conflict Resolution. ARFs approach has of course earned a lot of flak, especially for its policy of non interference. It is often argued and wondered as to how a security organization can ensure security in a region if it does not make efforts to stop internal conflicts. After all, in the present age of globalisation, even conflicts no longer restrict themselves to boundaries and are bound to become transnational sooner or later. The ARF has even earned the nick name of a talk shop in certain critiques. However, it is imperative to recognize that the ARF by running on the basis of ASEAN values has played a much more important role with regard to creating a basis of trust and confidence in order to achieve mutual benefits in the region. In the words of Winston Churchill, To jaw-jaw is better than to war-war. And this is where the ARF has scored. The fact remains that today, the region of South East Asia remains one of the most peaceful and stable regions in the world, and it has managed to do so, on the basis of shared norms and values rather than realpolitik. And the world can learn a lesson from that.

Classical Criminology Essay -- Crime Deviance Psychology Essays

Classical Criminology The classical school of criminology was around in the eighteenth century. It came abount in a time when the previous dominent spiritual look at defining crime and criminal behaviour was being challenged by a newer naturalistic approach of the social contract theorists. The classical school was the established ideas of monarchs, fedual lords and the fathers of the church. The main pioneers of the classical school were Cesar Beccaria ( 1738-1974) from Italy and Jeremy Bantham from Britain (1948-1832). From them writing their theories in the eighteenth century they established the essential components of the rational actor model. They both shared the idea that crime and criminal behaviour could be understood and controlled by human nature. The classical school was not intrested in studying crime and criminals, it got its theorys from law making and legal processing. The new ideas of '' enlightenment'' philoshefers were Montisque, Rasseau, Voltaire, Thomas Aquins and Locke. The fundermental principles of the classical school are made up of four main things. These are, free will, rationality, self-intrest and responsibility. Free will - People thought that god made people commit the crime, the classical school thought that people are not forced into commiting crimes. They believe that its our choice to behave in a criminal or non criminal way. We have a range of choices, and it is up to us if we want to break the law. Rationality,- This is where we think about each pro and con of each action we take, and we think about what we are doing. Self-intrest.- The classical school believed that we were all born s... ...present the state. In proportion to all this, the law must specify the relationship between law and the punishment given. The Punishment must come very soon and as quick as possible after the crime has been commited. The judge's and the jurys administer the law and punishment and interprate the law. Beccaria's theorys have a huge impact on modern criminal law. The idea of free will is built into many legal codes. Jermy Bantham was a philoshopher and a leading disciple of Beccaria. He too thought that human nature had some place in people becoming criminals. He too was a believer in that people would commit crime to minimalise pain and maximise pleasure. Bantham believed that it was incorect up-bringing that caused people to commit crime. Works Cited Roger Hopkins Burke. An Introduction to Criminological Theory

Technology and Education Essay -- essays papers

Technology and Education When I first stepped foot into a Towson University classroom I was surprised by what I saw. What I saw was something I thought only belonged in corporate meeting rooms. This device I speak of was a digital overhead projector. For me this was something new and very exciting. Where I went to school the idea of technology was a television with a VCR on a rolling stand. This change in technology was far superior than I had ever imagined and this is why I was I chose this topic to research. With all of the new technology that is being produced daily and so much of it beneficial to our education system what topic could be more interesting. The three topics I would like to cover in my research are the pros and cons of technology in education, current technology being used in education, and the future of technology in the classroom. When debating on whether or not technology in education is a useful resource there are many arguments from both sides of the argument with the pro’s outweighing the cons. There are many ways that technology can improve the education of children all over the country. Using technology can improve a student’s performance when all of these factors are present, when technology provides the student a chance to work with the technology being used to teach the class. Also when the technology is directly tied into the course and when the parents and other people in the community support the technology being used. There is also the convenience factor that makes technology so useful in the classroom. With digital projectors teachers can put all of their notes onto power point slides and teach straight from those instead of having to take time to write everything on the board and if a studen... ...many more online classes and schools. Right now there are a few online schools that have proven to be very successful and many schools are offering online classes. In the upcoming years the amount of these schools and classes will without a doubt increase. Technology has and will play a vital part in education. In the past it was very difficult to teach students something other than what was in the text book or in the local library. With the advancement of technology and the internet teachers can now teach a broader range of topics that students could research on the internet. Also with all of this technology it makes the learning process simpler and somewhat more enjoyable. I don’t the world would be where it is and go where it is going without this technology, it creates a very heterogeneous society and allows people to study things they never thought they could.

Environmental Scan Essay

The week three assignment for Strategic Management MGT 498 involves researching the environmental scanning practices of two to three real-world companies’ internal and external environments and describe their internal and external environments. This assignment provides a brief overview on the competitive advantages of each identified company and what strategies these companies use. Included in the assignment is information on how each company creates value and sustains their competitive advantage through business strategies and what measurement guidelines each company uses to verify their strategic effectiveness. Last, the assignment provides the effectiveness of these measurement guidelines. This paper contains the environmental practices of Domino Pizza, Inc. versus Pizza Hut, Inc. Stakeholders, customers, and members of an organization’s board of directors expect executive leaders to balance the strategic fit of a company to what the environment wants and what the corporation has to offer. The expectation necessitates executives to strike a balance between what the corporation needs to what the environment can provide. The organizational balance involves both the internal and the external stakeholder. Environmental scanning allows an organization to identify possible external opportunities and threats, and look within the organization’s internal environment for strengths and weaknesses (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010). The fast food culture in the United States has grown from a $6 billion-a-year industry in 1970 to a massive corporate franchising empire earning more than $170 billion in annual revenue (Food Empowerment Project, 2010). Leading the way in the fast food culture is the pizzeria industry. The pizza industry is a highly competitive market. Although there are many pizza makers ranging from local pizzerias to international franchises, Domino’s Pizza, Inc. , and Pizza Hut, Inc. are two major restaurants within the industry. In 2009 Pizza Hut, lead the industry with $29 billion and 18% of pizza sales, whereas Domino’s Pizza took 10% of this market with approximately $290 million in sales revenue (Young, 2009). The two competitors battle for consumer appetites, consumer dollars, and consumer attention. Before launching into a major marketing campaign, using valuable corporate resources each company implements a strategic plan with an analysis to identify the weaknesses and threats of their competitor. When Domino’s conducted an organizational analysis to identify strengths and weaknesses, the company recognized their biggest strength is in name recognition, pizza delivery, and take-out pizza. The company understands the importance of brand image and further understands a strong brand image creates customer loyalty and helps the company when introducing new products into the market. Domino’s enjoys a strong business network with franchise owners and boasts a diversified franchise market. Because of the diversification and strong network capabilities with franchisees, Domino’s can increase domestic and global market share, and increase sales opportunities. In contrast, Domino’s weakness relates to a decline in domestic store sales affecting brand image and company’s profits (Henry, 2010). Consequently, Domino’s opportunity over competitors is their focus on pizza delivery services. Pizza delivery for Domino has improved operating effectiveness with minimized spending. Another opportunity for Domino’s is the mobile device industry. Threats to Domino’s include competition in the pizza delivery industry, consumer health awareness, and an increase of labor and food prices (Henry, 2010). On the other hand, Pizza Hut, Inc. is the number one pizza manufacturer in the pizza industry enjoying strong brand image and recognition, and their organizational analysis revealed some of the same strengths as with Domino’s. In addition to a strong brand name, their organizational strengths include a competitive advantage in developing a large network of full service pizza restaurants with delivery service, targeting different segments with a broad range of products, and a strong franchisee network. The organizational analysis shows Pizza Hut maintains high overhead costs with their full service restaurants, high cost of pizza products leading, and an internal conflict among franchisee owners. In contrast, the external environmental analysis reveals Pizza Hut’s opportunities remain in pricing by creating and offering innovative pizza selections, increased brand loyalty through good customer service, updating customer online ordering system, expanding home delivery services, and entering new markets. Threats, facing Pizza Hut come from Domino’s Pizza as the number one competitor in delivery service. Because Pizza Hut boasts claims as the number one pizza manufacturer, the organization faces threats of competitors matching their products and imitating their strategy methods to gain market share (â€Å"Scribd. om,† 2012). The competitive advantage used by Domino’s Pizza is in their delivery service market and the fact Domino’s does not incur the overhead costs associated with sit-in dining restaurants. The competitive advantage Pizza Hut has over Domino’s is in name recognition, brand- in-store dining, and a variety of menu selections. The external environmental factors used by each organization to determine environmental scanning and strategic planning are societal, task, and natural environment reports. Societal environment scanning influences long-term strategic planning and takes into consideration economic forces, technological forces, political-legal forces, and sociocultural forces. Task environmental scanning involves remaining aware of the trends and changes within the respective industry, and natural environmental scanning involves those factors affecting the ecological system and how the organizations carbon footprint affects the ecological system (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010). Both Domino’s and Pizza Hut value and understand the power of the consumer and are attentive to trends affecting consumers. The business strategy applied by each organization focuses on the customer and making each operation more efficient. For instance, Domino’s focus is on the fast-food side of the pizza industry and places emphasis on take-out and delivery services. Pizza Hut on the other hand, prefers to offer consumers the option of take-out, delivery, or dining-in. Each has created value with advantages of the Internet. With online ordering and delivery services offered by both, placing value on consumer personal time is a value added. However, Pizza Hut sustains a competitive advantage over Domino’s with customer service, upgrading customer online ordering systems, expanding home delivery services (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010). Both restaurants use various advertising strategies as a measurement guideline to verify how their strategic effectiveness brings a return on investment. Both restaurants rely heavily on television advertising campaigns, which account for 92% of Pizza Hut’s paid media advertising, and 94% of Domino’s paid media advertising (Young, 2009). In using social-media as a strategy, Pizza Hut implemented a broad-range of programs across social media outlets. According to reports, nearly 400,000 people view Pizza Hut advertising through social media. Domino’s social media efforts, reaches 370,610 potential customers with both Domino’s and Pizza Hut tripling their investment in online advertising. Domino’s primarily promoted delivery service across a broad range of sites, including Amazon, Ask, Yahoo! , MySpace, Facebook, College Humor, Yellow Pages, and local newspaper sites. Pizza Hut used their key product calendar to push online sales, sending users to the company’s website to place delivery orders targeting a younger and more female-skewed audience to sites, including ETonline, Cosmo Girl, Elle, Fandango, and Fox News. Each restaurant uses mobile device apps to reach consumers. Pizza Hut’s app allows customers to order menu items directly from their mobile devices by using an intuitive touch-screen interface. The Domino’s mobile-ordering application is an iPhone optimized web app. By visiting Dominos. om, customers use an ordering system designed specifically for iPhones or an iPod Touch. Domino’s Pizza used an outdoor campaign, whereas Pizza Hut did not (Young, 2009). The effectiveness of the guidelines used by each company to measure their ability to grab the attention of consumers is in the tale of sales receipts. According to Young, Domino’s use of TV ads directed toward recession-related advertising, and value-based offers showed good focus and resulted in a positive impact on traffic and sales. Their online and search activity supporting those promotions led to increased uptake with online delivery. A recent market share report ranked Domino’s Pizza number one in online sales with an increase of 28% in market share, up from 11%. On the other hand, Pizza Hut’s use of smart media programs, particularly in social media did not increase sales. In fact, Pizza Hut’s receipts were down by 8% (Young, 2009). In conclusion, environmental scanning allows companies to dissect the competition to determine opportunities and threats allowing management to create a strategic plan to propel their organization in front of respective competitors. The process allows organizations to look within to understand internal strengths and weaknesses and look at changes needed to support identified opportunities and threats of competitors. In the case of Pizza Hut and Domino’s, Pizza Hut has brand and name recognition above Domino’s Pizza. However, Domino’s environmental scanning identified an opportunity against Pizza Hut with online sales, thus propelling Domino has to gain valuable market share increasing sales by 11% whereas Pizza Hut’s sales fell by 8%.