Analysing Personality and Organizational Growth †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Analysing Personality and Organizational Growth. Answer: Personality influence on personal and professional lives The big five personality model helps to identifies and analyse an individuals behaviour at workplace or in their personal lives. There are five personality traits known as OCEAN forms a strong basis for analysing the personality of an individual (Rothmann Coetzer, 2003). After taking the personality test the results found were as follows: In the organization open mindedness level is very important as it shows the flexibility in adapting new things and have an ability to listen to new ideas but in my case it was found to be average which implies that an individual is hesitant to adapt changes and try something new. It is a major hurdle in any organizational growth. In personal life I am reluctant to try out new things and want to follow the conventional routine (Bailey, 2014). The high conscientiousness level signifies that as a professional I am well planned and set realistic goals and very persistent in achieving them and when it comes to the personal life, I am capable of dealing with lifes tough situation and my lifes decisions are governed by values and principles. The extraversion level was below average which means in professional life, I am very resistant when it comes to communicate my views on certain issues. In personal life I am an introvert and not socially active. The agreeableness level was found to be very high which means I cannot break trust or deceive anyone for my personal benefit. Also I am good listener and very concerned about others problem and their well-being. The negative emotionality level was very low. In case of any issues in my professional life, I tend to be calm and handle the stressful situation efficiently. Also I have less anger issues. Personality traits and core values of the role model The role model that I have chosen is Late Steve Jobs, who was the cofounder of Apple Inc. The personality traits of Steve Jobs are: He was a visionary leader; with his innovative products from iPod to iPhone to MacBook he changed the future of technology (Kalla, 2012). He made everyone believe in his vision and delivered something beyond everyones expectations. Perseverance and Passion was reflected in Steve Jobs journey. When he was thrown out from the Apple Inc. he started his own companies Pixar and Next whose shares were later purchased by the Apple. This gave him a way to enter into that organization again and accomplish his dream of making innovative and technologically advanced products. The core value of Steve Jobs was innovation. He and his team were responsible for making revolutionary products which have changed the way how we use the smartphones and computers. He believed in the philosophy of Stay Hungry and Stay Foolish which means an individual should always be hungry for learning and innovating something new and staying foolish so that one can always learn from their mistakes. Steve Jobs surprised everyone with its voice assistant Siri and their famous iPods changed the music listening experience of everyone. He believed in breaking the stereotypes and innovating something unconventional. IPods are the clear example. When Sony was ruling the music player department with Walkman, Steve Jobs dared to launched his IPods and in no time they replaced Walkman and captured the market. The core values of Steve Jobs have helped Apple to become a Global Leader in Technological products. References Bailey, S. (2014). Can Personality Predict Performance? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastianbailey/2014/07/08/can-personality-predict-performance/#11a74b5a5499 on 5 May 2017. Kalla, S. (2012). 10 Leadership Tips from Steve Jobs. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susankalla/2012/04/02/10-leadership-tips-from-steve-jobs/#3ea5d9a3667f on 5 May 2017. Rothmann, S. Coetzer, E.P. (2003). THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE. Retrieved from https://www.ianrothmann.com/pub/psyc_v29_n1_a9.pdf on 5 May 2017.

Intellectual Property Rights free essay sample

Intellectual Property Rights: Music Piracy and Technology J. A. Taylor University of Maryland University College 0902ECON2017983 Dr. Charles Nwaka May 09, 2009 Intellectual Property Rights: Music Piracy and Technology The focus of this research paper is to examine the history of Intellectual Property Rights, with an emphasis on the authorized and unauthorized digital downloads of copyrighted music. Intellectual property rights and its relevance in the policing the music industry has been debated by many for years. With the increasing rate of advancements in technology, most certainly outpacing the policing of music piracy, the violation of intellectual property rights will continue on a global scale. The state of the music industry has drastically changed over the last ten years due to advancements in technology and the prevalent utilization of the internet and the popularity of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Today, the availability of audio and video content is available to the masses. Where consumers used to purchase compact discs of their favorite artist, now with an internet connection and a few clicks of the mouse, they can enjoy the music of their favorite artist without having to leave the comfort of their home. We will write a custom essay sample on Intellectual Property Rights or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With compression technologies, such as MP3s, electronic distribution of music is quick and easy, legally and illegally, with the later being the case much of the time. The arguments as to how much the music industry has been affected by music piracy are varied but consistently the numbers are large in scale. To begin, I will provide a brief history of Intellectual Property Rights, discussing its origin. I will then discuss how advancements in technology, specifically the internet, have outpaced intellectual property rights and the protection that they were designed for. There has been much empirical literature on this subject, so I will discuss some of these findings as well. I will then present statistics on music piracy and their purported effects on music sales, whether intellectual property rights are effective in preventing illegal and unauthorized downloads, and initiatives in place and some that are being discussed to limit or combat copyright infringement. The U. S. Congress enacted the first copyright legislation with the Copyright Act of 1790 designed to provide exclusive rights to authors of maps, charts and book. The act provided American authors exclusive rights to their works for a term of 14 years, with the right of renewal for an additional 14 year term if the author was still alive. While American authors had laws in place to protect their works, the Copyright Act of 1790 did not provide the same protection to foreign authors. This United States refusal to recognize the works of foreigner continued for over 100 years, when in 1891 Congress passed an international copyright act. Additionally, no protection was afforded to works such as musical compositions or newspapers during the initial copyright act. The Copyright Act of 1790 has undergone many revisions over the years. It has been modified many times to encompass new technologies such as music recordings. It has also been modified to extend the length of the term of protection and the length of the extension one receives when the initialterm expires. In 1909, the U. S. Copyright Act was revised to include all works of authorship, including music. From sheet music to the player piano and the compact disc, mechanical rights cover the mechanical reproduction of music. In this case, the copyright holder usually administers these rights directly, but mechanical rights are unique in that anyone is allowed to record a song once the copyright owner has done so or has allowed it to be recorded by others. Once this is done, a fee or royalties is paid to the copyright holder. The compulsory rate is currently 6. 95 cents per song per recording, or 1. 3 cents per minute, whichever is larger. ()Inevitably, whenever a new technology is introduced, it is soon followed by the extension of copyright laws to deal with the new technology and protect the works. The advancements in information technology have been rapid. With the introduction of the personal computer in 1977, the World Wide Web in 1989 and the first mass-market web browser, Netscape in 1994 the information highway has expanded. Now that most information is born digital and this digital information is typically very easy to copy and disseminate, it is conceivable that copyright laws may become almost impossible to enforce in the world of music. () The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has taken the lead on trying to enforce copyright laws for the music industry with 500,000 infringing links removed in 2007. The IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide, with 1400 members in 72 countries and affiliated industry associations in 44 countries. The IFPI, collating separate studies in 16 countries over a four-year period, estimated unauthorized file-sharing at over 40 billion files in 2008 alone. This means that globally around 95 percent of music tracks are downloaded without payment to the artist or the music company. () Even with this staggering report of the amount of illegally downloaded digital music, the RIAA has reported that the sales of digital music continued growing at a rapid pace in 2008. In fact, the RIAA states that digital music now constitutes 32 percent of the total market value, and $2. 7 billion in total shipments. So, how accurate can the assessment by IFPI really be? There is much empirical literature on this subject all with different opinions as to the effect that music piracy has on the overall sales of CDs or legally purchased digital downloads. The main empirical papers in this area are Blackburn (2005), Oberholzer and Strumpf (2004), Rob and Waldfogel (2004) and Zentner (2006). Blackburn (2005) examines the effect of on-line downloads in music retail sales and finds that on-line downloads work as demand advertisements for small artists, but they work as demand substitutes for big artists. Rob and Waldfogel (2004) collect data on album purchase and download, and find that each download decreases purchase probability by 20 percent. They also find, thanks to valuation data, that downloading decreases expenditure and increase the welfare of those downloading except for the musician. Zentner (2006) uses a European cross section data set to estimate the effect of music downloads on purchasing probability. He finds that peer-to-peer usage reduces the probability of purchases by 30%. Finally, Oberholzer and Strumpf (2004) find that downloading has no statistical or significant economic impact on music purchases. ) Boldrin and Levine, both professors of economics in Arts Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, argue that there is plenty of money in the distributing and selling of digital content via the Web without the obstacles created by DRM for consumers who legally purchase the digital files. () Hui and Png estimate losses from piracy to be lower than claimed by t he industry. They also find that publishers would have reduced prices in order to dissuade piracy, suggesting that the true revenue loss would have been higher than reported. ) Based on the numerous journal articles and papers I have read on the subject, I tend to agree with Hui Png. With music purchases in 2008 reaching 1. 5 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year music sales have exceeded 1 billion, one would have to come to such a position. To believe the IFPIs purported statement of 95 percent of downloaded music to be of the illegal nature with the remaining 5 percent being legal and contributing to 1. 5 billion in sales is quite a stretch. Another more recent study found that internet music piracy does not hurt legitimate CD sales and it may in fact boost the sales. The rationale behind this way of thinking was that the consumers who downloaded music on P2P networks were college students who would not have bought a CD anyway. By access to P2P network, they can sample music for free and then buy the legal copy if they like, so in affect the file-sharing network stimulates demand and profits. () Adding to the complexity of enforcing the copyright laws for the music industry is the equally accessible black market. The black market for music is astounding. From the mom and pop shops, to the local barber shop, the street entrepreneurs of the urban communities trying to make a profit are in abundance. The products of choice for many of these entrepreneurs are bootleg CDs and movies. As a military member I have had the opportunity to travel to many countries. If there is one thing that is the same from Korea to Japan to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, it is the black market is alive and well. What I have also found, is that these countries do not think the selling of bootleg CDs, as piracy. They only see it as they are a firm or business with a good or service to provide to the consumer and with no law enforcement to regulate, they operate unabatedly. Enforcement of copyright laws or the lack of enforcement depending upon who you ask has not been for lack of trying. The case brought against the creator and owner of Napster for one highlighted the lengths to which the government would go to protect the copyrights of musicians. The original Napster was the first major file sharing tool and popularized file sharing for the masses. While it was a P2P network, it was not considered P2P in the same sense of websites such as Kazaa. This was because Napster relied on central servers to maintain lists of connected systems and the files users provided. This meant that actual transactions, the transferring of MP3s, were occurring machine to machine. The drawback to this type of infrastructure was that if the computer in which your computer was communicating with shut down, then the transfer of your requested file would terminate. () This case also shined a bright light onto what at its infancy seemed to be harmless and something created for friends who loved music. When Shawn Fanning created Napster in early 1999 while attending Bostons Northeastern University, an idea born out of frustration with MP3. om and others, no one could have foresaw the attention, to which the sharing of MP3s on P2P networks would bring, especially the legal ramifications the sharing of copyrighted music would bring. More than 60 million users took notice and advantage of this new internet sensation. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) also took notice and in December 1999, on the behalf of every major record label in the music industry, i nitiated legal actions against Napster for copyright infringement. Napster did not dispute the allegations leveled against them, therefore the court held that at least some of the Napsters users were direct infringers. The district court ordered Napster to monitor the activities of its network to block access to infringing material. Napster consequently shut down its service in July 2001, and the trademark name was sold to Roxio in October 2003 amid bankruptcy. () As a result of thisand other cases, digital reproduction, international commerce, and digital music sampling have exposed gaps in the laws ability to deal with new forms of production and new technologies. Powerful interests have argued for stronger restrictions that intimidate artists, musicians, and computer hobbyists into respecting property rights at the expense of creative liberty. Others have abandoned all hope of legally constraining piracy and sampling, and have instead advocated a system of electronic locks and gates that would restrict access to only those who agree to follow certain strict guidelines. (Vaidhyanathan, 2001) One such lock or gateemployed to combat music piracy, is the implementation of the Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. DRM is a technology most will recognize from digital music files downloaded legally from ITunes. DRM allows copyright holders to control how music is distributed online. DRM technologies also can restrict the number of times a user can play a certain file, prevent the file from being copied and passed to others, restrict the number of copies that can be made, or prevent the copying of the file altogether. (Jaisingh, 2007) Along with DRM technologies, the music industry has been calling for the creation of proprietary formats, including ompression, encryption and rights management technologies. The thought process being to make the copying of the original digital copy so expensive that it discourages the consumer from making the copy available for download or hardcopy by using a combination of encryption and digital rights management system. A more recent initiative at the urging of the IFPI, is enlisting the assistance of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in order to track the of fenders at the source. The principle that ISPs should play a greater role in protecting online content is moving from concept to implementation. The music industry first proposed a solution to the online piracy problem extending responsibility for copyright protection across the value chain to include ISPs in 2005. Three years later, government-backed systems of ISP cooperation are being advanced or considered in many countries. (Kennedy, 2009)The government of France is one of the first to require steps by ISPs to deter piracy. In 2008 France adopted a law called Creation and Internet Law which sets up a graduated response for ISPs to warn copyright abusers. The system targets persistent abusers who ignore the warnings and are then punished with loss of internet access for one to twelve months. The governments of the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia are all moving towards adopting similar systems of graduated response, with other government soon to follow. My research as it pertains to intellectual property rights, its applicability within the music industry and the effectiveness of the initiatives in place to combat copyright infringement, has led me to believe that you can never really rid the industry of music piracy. One has to wonder whether or not when CDs are sold in the stores, whether the record companies put them out and price them as such with a reasonable expectation that piracy will occur. I truly believe that there is a certain amount of unauthorized copying that is expected. How else can you explain level of illegal downloads, especially when it comes to the pre-release downloads that occur with increased frequency. Pre-release copies are leaked days and weeks before the official release date and the number of files containing this music spreads like wildfire. Who else but the record companies would leak these records earlier than advertised? It is a calculated method to gauge the interest and potentially selling power of their product. It is a fact that consumers typically have a higher regard for a good or service if other consumers hold the good or service in the same regard. Because of this, firms can charge a higher price for the good or service with the expectation that it will eventually be pirated. The initiatives being discussed to combat illegal download and distribution of music such as encryption and DRM may reduce the level of music piracy but will not eliminate it all together. With every new technology, there is equal money and time by software designers by profession orhobby in the developing of measures to defeat safeguards such as encryption and DRM technologies. It is these individuals with the technical knowhow, which will continue to make the products available to the masses. Additionally, companies such as ITunes that employ this type of technology on music downloads will eventually abandon the practice, evidenced by statements from Steve Jobs.

When to Walk Away

When to Walk Away A few years ago I saw an announcement for the Tony Hillerman contest. Named after the great mystery novelist, the contest has very specific rules, including where the novel must take place. The winner receives a publishing contract with St. Martins and a nice advance. With the deadline three months away, I dove in and wrote Wink of an Eye like a madwoman. But forty-thousand words into the manuscript, I realized there was no way I could complete it, have it edited, and polish it for submission in such a short time. I was not going to submit a very rough first draft. So I chucked the contest but kept the manuscript, kept working with it, hoping to submit somewhere, someday. My critique group edited the story, but I wound up shelving the book for a while as I moved on to other projects. Then two years ago at a conference, I had the opportunity to pitch to an agent. The agent loved Wink of an Eye, saying the voice had tremendous potential. But her next words made me blink. â€Å"I know I can sell this to a small press.† At the risk of sounding arrogant, I knew I could sell it to a small press. But when the agent told me to send the entire manuscript, excitement urged me to oblige. A week or so later, I received an email from the agency intern saying, yes, she loved it too! But we had a few problems. Good voice, but too much dialogue. Excessive description because it was too visual; per the intern, having readers say they can â€Å"see it as a movie† isnt a good thing. Oh, and the beginning had to change. But they loved it and knew it would sell to any number of small presses. I scratched my head at what was supposed to be my big break. A real agent wanted to represent my work. So why wasnt I doing back flips? I went to work on the suggested revisions and soon had several documents named Wink rewrite, Wink rewrite2, Wink rewrite3, and so on . . . until I said enough. Some of the changes I agreed with- like changing a passive verb- but the dialogue and descriptive imagery stayed. This story was my ba So what happened to Wink of an Eye? I submitted it to the St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books Best 1st Private Eye Novel Competition and the darn thing won. With all its dialogue and descriptive imagery and even the occasional passive voice. It will be released November 18, 2014. I knew I had something good, and I stood

The Many Cognates of Cede

The Many Cognates of Cede The Many Cognates of Cede The Many Cognates of Cede By Mark Nichol The word cede and words with the syllable -cede share an origin with other similarly spelled words that in some sense refer to withdrawal. This post lists and defines those terms. Cede, meaning â€Å"assign,† â€Å"grant,† or transfer, is just one of multiple words descended from the Latin verb cedere, meaning â€Å"go† or â€Å"yield.† The term cession, which refers to an act of ceding, or yielding is rare. Concession is more common in that sense; the verb form is concede, and concessional and concessionary are the uncommon adjectival forms. (â€Å"Concession stand† and the plural form of the noun describe business operations in which one party grants another party the right to sell goods on the first party’s property.) Accede (â€Å"go to†) means â€Å"agree,† â€Å"approve,† or â€Å"consent,† with the sense of doing so reluctantly, or â€Å"take an office or position,† and the noun form is accession. To intercede (â€Å"go between†) is to intervene or mediate; the act of doing so is called intercession. Precede (â€Å"go before†) can refer to being ahead of or in front of, earlier, or more important. The noun form precedence applies to the quality of priority; another noun form, precession, is rare but is seen in â€Å"precession of the equinoxes,† a reference to an astronomical phenomenon. To recede (â€Å"go back†) is to move away or slant backward, or to decrease (it can also mean â€Å"give something back to the former owner†); most references to the noun form recession pertain to a general decline in economic prosperity. Recedence is a rare term for the act of going back. To secede (â€Å"go apart†) is to separate, as part of a nation from the whole; the noun form is secession. Several other words share the root -cede, but with altered spelling, such as proceed (â€Å"go before†), which means â€Å"advance,† â€Å"come forth,† or â€Å"continue.† The noun procedure describes a set of steps, or a way, to accomplish something, and proceeding can be both a form of the verb or, in plural form, a noun describing a sequence of events. The noun proceeds refers to money brought in, and procedural serves both as an adjective and as a noun describing a work of written or recorded fiction that focuses on a sequence of procedures such as the steps taken in solving a crime. Two other nouns derived from proceed are process, a synonym, as a verb, of proceed and, as a noun, of procedure (in addition, the noun process refers to a prominent part of an organism), and procession refers to a forward movement, especially an orderly, often ceremonial parade of people. (It can also be a verb referring to such a movement.) Processable and processability, meanwhile, refer to the capability or suitability of something to be processed. Succeed (â€Å"go after†) means to do well (and the act of succeeding is called success), but it also pertains to inheriting from or following another person in order; this action is known as succession, and one who follows is a successor. To exceed (â€Å"go from†) is to go beyond or extend outside of or to be greater than; excess refers to the act of going beyond but has a negative connotation. Words that don’t seem at all related but are include abscess (â€Å"go away†), which refers to pus collecting in a cavity within inflamed tissue, and ancestor (â€Å"one who goes before†), which means â€Å"one from whom one is descended†- the adjectival form is ancestral, and the noun ancestry refers to one’s forebears- and antecedent (â€Å"go before†), which means â€Å"something that precedes.† To cease (â€Å"hold back†) is to stop (and cessation refers to the act of stopping), and decease (â€Å"go from†) means â€Å"death,† though it is much more often used as a verb to mean â€Å"die.† (One who dies is a decedent.) Predecessor (â€Å"one who goes before†) refers to someone who has preceded another person in a position; it is an antonym of successor. Necessary (â€Å"not go†), too, derives ultimately from cedere; it means â€Å"inescapable† or â€Å"required.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1The Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetOne "L" or Two?

Fast Food Rulers in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fast Food Rulers in China - Research Paper Example KFC offered food items common in most Chinese restaurants ( Lroche, Kalamas &Huang, 2005). This strategic approach depicts KFC as part of the Chinese community rather than a fast food joint selling low priced westernized food. The company capitalized on small Chinese cities and the establishment of a national business with food joints spread across the country. As a result, the company cut down some of it cost due to economies of scale and distribution of risk. KFC engaged the services of Chinese hotel managers to provide advice on the food tastes. It also established partnership with local food chains and employed more Chinese to operate its emerging branches. So far, the company commands 40% stake in Chinese fast food market with 3300 food outlets in the 650 cities in China. In 1999, KFC developed a distribution chain by building warehouses and managing a fleet of distribution trucks. The trucks were fitted with refrigerators that ensured the foodstuff remain fresh while transporting them from the farm to the restaurants. Though it was an expensive affair, it was vital for the company’s rapid expansion to other cities (Schroder & McEacher, 2005) On the other hand, McDonalds a key rival of KFC holds a 16% stake in the Chinese fast food market. Its approach was far different from it competitor. It chose to stick to its core strategy adopted in the US market. MacDonald menu had no additional dishes that matched the local taste. The layouts of MacDonald’s food outlet depicted a westernized culture. Its target market was the stylish wealthy status-conscious Chinese that sought to imitate the American lifestyle. The McDonald now boasts of 2000 outlets spread across the Chinese cities. It emerged as a global leader in the fast food industry, based on sales, market capitalization, number of employees and revenues (Shen & Xiao, 2014). Its success is attributable to the quality standards the company has maintained globally

Project Management Individual Coursework Assignment Essay

Project Management Individual Coursework Assignment - Essay Example In addition, the field also provides comprehensive guideline to project managers to complete project with successfully meeting challenges (Larson and Gray, 2011). Underlying report is the critical assessment of the factor the surrounding the project management of the new Super Prison Project as announced by Ministry of Justice in England. The report assesses various aspects of the project in detail. BACKGROUND Ministry of Justice in England has announced to close down seven jails in full along with two partial closures for greater valued use of tax-payers money. The plan aims to close the old uneconomic capacity of prison for approximate saving of ?63m per year in running costs. Further, the cost of keeping the prison in new project will be half to the cost being currently incurred. The proposed Super Prison project plan is aimed to provide 2000 places in contrast to the closure of 26000 places in the prisons to be closed. It would affect the 1776 prison staff with certain percentage to be re-deployed while also appreciating voluntary elimination of redundancies. The proposed project, being 25% bigger than the UK’s currently largest prison is facing concerns. ... Howard League for Penal Reform discredited the ideas as no prospects of new building’s contribution to control crime was evident and hence considers it a mere waste of tax payers money. Mr. Grayling has also proposed the planned four new mini-prisons naming house blocks. In addition, to the proposed project that is to be followed by closure of certain jails has not achieved the favorable consensus and many others have given discrediting remarks to the idea. KEY STAGES OF THE PROJECT The project undergoes various phases from initiation to completion. The project lifecycle consists of following phases as conceptual phase, planning phase, defining and designing phase; implementation phase and conversion phase (Cleland and Gareis, 2006). MoJ has just conceptualized the plan. Time and cost factor increases as the project reaches to defining and designing. Implementation phase requires maximum time and cost as the project moves on. Therefore, while establishing Super Prison building the project will requires maximum time and efforts. This phase also increases challenges such as in case the relative of prisoners may raise voice against the shifting etc. Therefore, while implementing plan, the project along side has to undergo the phase of meeting challenges. On completion, the project is evaluated. The evaluation of the Super Prison Project will be based on the cost saving from shifting the prison in new building. In addition, it will also be evaluated if being completed within planned resources. WORK BREAK DOWN STRUCTURE The work breakdown chart outlines the plan for the project stepwise from initiation to completion. WBS benefits project to identify every detail that needs attention and hence ensures that project does not skip

Asos, a Company History Essay Example for Free

Asos, a Company History Essay ASOS was created in June of 2000 by UK natives Nick Robertson and Quentin Griffiths. ASOS, an acronym for As Seen On Screen, was a small online business based out of the UK that duplicated celebrity inspired products. Today they have over 1000 employees and over 50,000 items of fashion. From emulating celebrity fashions, they now are setting the trends. In 2001, the company was admitted to the London Stock Exchange, and the company quickly grew from there. In 2004, ASOS developed their own label for Women and in 2005, launched a beauty line. In 2007 they launched their own mens line as well as the extremely popular publication ASOS magazine. In the ten years after the business was first created, the company became extremely successful becoming the number one independent retailer in the United Kingdom. In 2010, started to branch out of the UK . ASOS launched websites in France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Germany and the USA, which made them an international well-known brand. Just in this past year they also launched their site in Russia. Today their website brings over 17. 5 million visitors month and as of 2012, they have 4. 4 million active customers from 160 countries. ASOS offers products under its own label as well as third party brands. These brands offer products in womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewelry as well as beauty. ASOS appears to be in a perpetual state of growth as their company seems to expand by the minute offering over thousands of new products a month.