Luxury Good and Gucci Essay Example for Free

Luxury Good and Gucci Essay Gucci‘s overall strategy was to vertically integrate to strengthen its overall brand image. After vertically integrating they acquired other luxury retailers to continue to grow horizontally and to increase economies of scope. The economics of the luxury goods industry changed forcing Gucci to modify its strategy. Consumers demand shifted from classic style buyers to style conscious buyers. Gucci not only had to change due to the economics of the industry but they also had several problems with their existing structure. Hence Gucci made the following moves to reposition it to compete in the new economics of the luxury goods industry. Gucci The partnership between DeSole and Ford addresses the company’s inability to have streamlined decision making and consistent branding throughout the company. By partnering product design and strategy, Gucci can now make product and business decisions that deliver a consistent message externally. All products and communications will support the brand image of a luxury goods retailer that Gucci wants to deliver to the marketplace. The cost cutting and targeted layoffs address Gucci’s poor cost structure. While profit margins were healthy, the extravagant spending by the former CEO was reducing profitability. The company had excess headcount in some areas and less in others. The layoffs improved Gucci’s cost structure and streamline the organization. Secondly, Gucci lacked the management talent to run a high end luxury company. By laying off underperforming managers and hiring experienced business executives, Gucci significantly improved the quality of its management team. The cash investment by PPR protects Gucci from hostile takeovers by competitors. The improvement in Gucci’s capital structure enables Gucci to move from an acquisition target to a potential acquirer of substitutes and new entrants. This is critical because in the fashion industry, new brands are always emerging in the market. The $3 billion dollar cash investment enables Gucci to protect its core market better. Additionally, the acquisition of YSL through the merger diversifies Gucci’s product portfolio and creates high barriers to entry. Buyers Due to changing consumer demands, Gucci started to focus on fashion in particular the â€Å"glamorous edge. † Since switching cost for consumers are low and consumers are now demanding new fashions every season focusing on seasonal trends competitively positioned Gucci against its rivals and impeded consumers from finding substitutes. Gucci changed its target consumer from an older more conservative buyer to a modern, youthful, fashion conscious one. Since all of Gucci’s competitors had the same target (30-50 year affluent women) going after a modern, youthful spirited consumer allows Gucci to focus on a different segment of the luxury market, capturing a different slice of the pie. To create loyalty, give consumers options, and to prevent consumers from switching and buying a substitute product Gucci decided to revolutionize their product assortments to correspond with the seasonal trends. In addition they increased the quality of their products comparable to Hermes and offered these products at a value to meet the consumer’s needs. Furthermore, Gucci tailored their product assortment in each DOS to local customers to attract more consumers in the local markets. To better forecast product demand for seasonal goods and to keep inventory costs down Gucci added customer intelligence to the decision making process to better understanding consumers buying behavior. In order to obtain higher profit margins and offer a comprehensive line of products it was necessary for Gucci to diversify its portfolio. Hence Gucci introduced items from scarves to fur coats. To remain focused and maintain its â€Å"luxury status†, Gucci did not introduce diffusion product lines. Gucci had initially set its prices too high hence reducing their retail prices by 30% was necessary to attract and maintain customer loyalty. In order to generate demand for the product Gucci doubled their advertising and turned Tom Ford into a celebrity hoping to attract media and attention from around the world. To restore Gucci’s image as a high end luxury goods retailer they renovated all of their stores to support this new image. In addition all internal and external communications had the same look and feel to convey a consistent brand identity. Furthermore, they reduced distribution through retail stores that didn’t support the new brand image regardless of sales. Gucci launched an official web site to create awareness and exhibit new product lines and to position themselves against their competitors. Suppliers Suppliers are a key driver of profitability—a key competitive force. Suppliers are responsible for delivering a premium product that satisfies the company’s standards in quality and that reflects Tom Ford’s creative vision. Without fast turnover to meet fashion forward trend demands and a quality product, the repositioning of the Gucci brand could not have taken place. To fulfill this vision Gucci created an incentive program to keep suppliers loyal to ensure a quality product was manufactured, on time delivery, and it would prevent the suppliers from forging relationships with Gucci’s competitors. In addition, Gucci made suppliers more efficient through technology and logistics investments, provided training for suppliers and built an EDI network allowing Gucci to efficiently communicate with partner suppliers through the production process. As more fashion products will be produced every season along with the classic products, delivery and meeting demand could become an issue if production processes are not efficient. Investing in suppliers ensures that supplier threat, which is high, is controlled and suppliers have incentives to stay with Gucci. Supplier threat is high because of there is an absence of substitutes suppliers. Switching costs are high for Gucci other suppliers may be producing for their rivals. Other suppliers may not deliver the quality and craftsmanship Gucci is expecting. In addition, other suppliers do not have experience in producing Gucci products (current suppliers have been with Gucci for long time). Hence they will have a longer learning curve slowing down the production process. There are few suppliers in specific regions: Gucci suppliers had production capacity to meet Gucci’s growth (20-30% a year). However, finding new suppliers would be going into Prada’s territory. With more growth, suppliers gained bargaining power with sub-suppliers and with Gucci. Initially, Gucci had power because suppliers worried that Gucci would go overseas for suppliers. Complementors Complementors are a not a high threat to Gucci because there only a few of them, media and advertising. Competition There are many firms in this industry because profit margins are high. However with the number and volume of MA activity on the rise, consolidation is imminent with a few big players left in the market. Consolidation among competition has given competitors lower cost structure resulting in a competitive advantage such as ad purchasing discounts and supplier negotiating power. The competitors have a diversified product portfolio to target multiple segments of the market. They dominate in particular segments, for example Hermes and leather bags. Since there is slow industry growth precipitating fights for market share is certain to occur. This may result in a high threat from competitors such as LVMH and Prada. Threat of Entry The threat of entry is low because brand identity and product differentiation has been well established in this industry. In addition, access to distribution channels is limited and the new entrant would be competing with already established channels of distribution for Gucci and others firms. Gucci and other competitors have substantial resources to fight back because they of their monetary resources and could obstruct the new entrant or buy them out.

Child Labor Paper Essay Example for Free

Child Labor Paper Essay Child labor reached new heights during the Industrial Revolution. Due to this, it lead to an increase in the â€Å"percentage of children ten to fifteen years of age who were gainfully employed. Although the official figure of 1.75 million significantly understates the true number, it indicates that at least 18 percent of these children were employed in 1900. In southern cotton mills, 25 percent of the employees were below the age of fifteen, with half of these children below age twelve† (History). Businesses forced children to work excessive hours in dangerous factory conditions with minimal payment. At an attempt to combat child labor a few steps were taken. The creation of new technologic machinery limited the need for children to fulfill tasks. In addition, businesses required higher levels of education in order to be even considered for the job. Congress created the child labor law in 1938 as another way to combat this issue. Although child labor has mostly been eliminated it still poses a problem in other areas throughout the world, especially in developing countries. For example, in China children between the ages of 5 and 17 are being taken advantage of through what their government calls â€Å"Educational Labor.† This means that schools would have the ability to make their students grow and harvest crops, but instead most schools â€Å"abuse this law and they end up forcing the children to do a heavy amount of labor† (Sites). The ILO’s Statistical Information and Monitoring Program on Child Labor recently submitted their estimates that 211 million children, or 18 % of children aged 5-14, are economically active worldwide. The two major components of this statistic is Asia, which consists of 60% those working children and Africa, which has 23% child labor. Non-governmental organization, commonly referred to as NGO’s, strongly disapprove of child labor and engage in strong efforts in order to give the children their freedom. They view it as a just act and most people would agree, but they do not think of the negative aspects that arise when the children are no longer employed. As a result, the children and family members go hungry, since they heavily rely on their employment to contribute to the family’s well-being. Additionally, once the NGO’s shut down the sweatshops there are no further actions taken afterwards. Meaning nothing is done in order to ensure the children are taken care of, go back to school, or financially compensated. They simply celebrate the factory closing as a victory and do not realize the big picture. history.com/topics/child-labor sites.google.com/a/tapa.tp.edu.tw/modern-day-slavery/child-labor/child-labor-in-china

Looking At Imperial Identity In Rudyard Kipling English Literature Essay

Looking At Imperial Identity In Rudyard Kipling English Literature Essay The work of Edward Said has long been fuel for much critical debate; In Orientalism, Said argues that the whole notion of the Orient is a body of culture, academic and political work that tries to identify the East as them in terms that have evolved through Western Imperialism. In Orientalism, Said quotes Rudyard Kiplings work as exemplifying colonial attitudes to Oriental peoples. (REF) The aim of this essay is to explore the critical material written about the work of Kipling, in particular Kim and The Jungle Books. By using the work of Said as a foundation and starting point to critique Kiplings work, I plan to explore how Kipling presents his young heroes, Kim and Mowgli. According to Saids analysis, there are two factors that must be kept in mind when interpreting Kim. One being that, its author was writing not just from the dominating viewpoint of a white man in a colonial possession but from the perspective of a colossal colonial system whose economy, functioning, and history had acquired the status of a virtual fact of nature. (162) Kipling assumes an essentially uncontested empire of colonies made up of inferior humans. The division between white and non-white was absolute in India and other colonial areas, and is alluded to throughout Kim as well as the rest of Kiplings work: a Sahib is a Sahib and no amount of friendship or camaraderie can change the rudiments of racial difference. (162) According to Said, Kipling would no more have questioned that difference and the right of the white European to rule than he would have argued with the Himalayas. (163) Similar to Said, S. P. Mohanty in his essay, Kiplings Children and the Colour Line, explores this division between the white and non-white. Mohanty argues that Kim has to be read in terms of racial positions and the imperial project. In particular he focuses on issues of spying, scouting, observing and managing: a distinctly political project shaping racial meanings, identities and possibilities. He suggests that Kim is a white hero who can discard his colour as he wishes: He lives and sleeps and east in the open social world of colonial India against a backdrop of an inter-Imperial war between Britain and Russia, but his identity is never something that ties him down. (241) Kim is of white heritage, yet grew up as a street urchin in Lahore, in the care of a half caste Indian woman. Mohanty argues that it is when we begin to take Kims cultural identity seriously as the character can become real and the reader begins to pay attention to the narratives elusive and mystifying cultural vision and wonder about the sources of its motivation. (242) The critic explains that once we being to question Kims education, direct parallels can be drawn to Kims ancestor, Mowgli. Both Kim and Mowgli learn to adapt to strange surroundings and attain a knowledge that enables them to survive their harsh worlds. (242) Mowgli is adopted by the wolves and befriended by the rest of the jungle animals, yet still holds a level of superiority. However in an example that Mohanty gives, taken from the opening of The Kings Ankus, Mowgli and Kaa the python are playing: the fantasy is here not so much of pure freedom as of involvement without any real implication. Kaa could crush Mowgli with the slightest slip; and what Mowgli plays with, in fact, is precisely this. Their inequality reduces to a game. From the beginning of the story, Kaa acknowledges the young human as the Master of the Jungle, and brings the boy all the news that he hears. (243) It is suggested by Mohanty that Mowgli like Kim reveals the capacity to not only inhabit the jungle through a wishful allegorical fantasy, but also to chart and track it as well both of them have the ability to read the world around them and often better than the natives. The native boys Kim is compared with somehow lack the facility that make reading possible, remarks the critic. Another example he gives of this inequality is when Lurgan Sahib teaches Kim and the Indian boy how to observes peoples faces and reactions, to interpret their behaviour and identify motive, Kim seems to learn it quickly, whilst the native boy is left mysteriously handicapped (244) The second factor is that Said recognises is that Kipling was a historical being as well an author; Kim was written at a specific moment in his career, and at a time when the relationship between the British and Indian people was changing. When we read it today, Kiplings Kim can touch many of these issues. Does Kipling portray the Indians as inferior, or as somehow equal but different? Obviously, an Indian reader will give an answer that focuses on some factors more than others (for example, Kiplings stereotypical views some would call them racialist on the Oriental character) whereas English and American readers will stress his affection for Indian life on the Grand Trunk Road. Sandra Kemp in her 1988 study entitled Kiplings Hidden Narratives, tries to understand and link the relationship between the authors psychology and the authors work. She notes that Kipling was strongly opposed to Indian Nationalism (2) and used his public figure as a writer to draw attention to politics and the political climate in India. Like Said recognises, India was entering a post-Muntiny state and both critics propound the influence of this on Kipling. (2) Baa Baa, Black Sheep, Kiplings semi-autobiographical account of childhood, he reveals recurrent preoccupations as the story dramatizes the difference between the East and West. Throughout his writings Kipling seems to be searching for a structure of belief that would recognise the reality of both love and hate, and the reality of their co-existence. Kemp encapsulates the search for identity within Kim, stating that this structures the action: Who is Kim-Kim-Kim? Quoting this extract from Kim again is Zorah T. Sullivan, who notes that this inner quest and search for an identity suggest possible self-discovery. Sullivan examines Kim and Mowglis mutual [division] between their desire to be loved and their need to control and be feared. (i) Quoting from The Second Jungle Book all the Jungle was his friend, and just a little afraid of him (130). This coincides with Mohantys point regarding Kaa and Mowlgis play fighting. Sullivan identifies that the India Kipling created helped to construct a mythology of imperialism by reflecting both the real and the imaginary relationship between the British and their Indian subjects. (8) By acknowledging the work of Kemp, Sullivan expands upon how Kemp illuminates Foucaults and Saids earlier work on the problems of representing Others: knowledge of others reflects the power of the knowing coloniser who represents natives because they cannot represent themselves. (9) Sullivans work counters Kiplings reputation as bard of empire whose voice represents unproblematically and transparently the discourse of imperialism. Peter Havholm suggests that Saids demonstration of the Orientalism assumed by the implied authors of important English and French novels has set the parameters for much other recent discussion about Kiplings fiction. (2008, 5) According to him, fellow critics such as Sullivan and Moore-Gilbert line up against Saids conclusions; They read ambivalence, anxiety, and a range of complexities in the discourse that may be abstracted form Kiplings stories. (5) Although Saids work added colonial discourse analysis to the art and life of Kipling, this analysis focuses more on the rhetoric of Kiplings fiction than its form. However Havholm observes that the discussion Said started is both productive and fascinating. (4) Bart Moore-Gilbert is another critic who is synonymous with Kipling. In his 1986 study Kipling and Orientalism, Moore-Gilbert seeks to explore Kiplings relationship to the characteristic discourses of Anglo-Indian culture, principally the literary and the political in the 19th Century, as well as providing a critique on Saids Orientalism. Edward Said believes that every form of orientalism is based on simplistic stereotypes that help justify the Wests imperialistic goal of restructuring and dominating oriental cultures. Moore-Gilbert suggests that Saids writing is inadequate and generalises the British relationship to India and Kiplings outlook in his Anglo-Indian writings. Moore-Gilbert acknowledges Saids position. Despite his sympathy for Indian ways, as aforementioned, Kipling feared native rule and was in full support of the British Raj. Moore-Gilbert treats this as a regrettable short-coming, proving that Kipling was a prisoner of his cultural values and proposes that Anglo-Indians and Kipling were not always bigoted imperialists as Said may suggest. Through Moore-Gilberts work, a reassessment of Saids hypothesis of Kiping is formed. John McBratneys article Imperial Subjects, Imperial Space argues that the ordering element of Kiplings vision of empire is the native-born Westerner who inhabits his fictions so insistently. Surrounding the native born is felicitous space or a narrative area in which arising social constraints are suspended and where one can engage in a free experiment of personal identity and social role: Given the tension between juvenile freedom and imperial duty, what finally is the nature of Mowglis identity? (279) Similar to some of the other critics discussed in this essay, McBratney too draws upon Kiplings own identity, and his ability to float between the Anglo-Indian and Indian societies, without religious or social sanctum (282) just like Kim and Mowgli. The special abilities that allow the native-born to play these roles derive from his identity as neither exclusively British nor simply native. This study also provides the most thorough analysis of that figures hybrid, casteless selfhood in relation to shifting attitudes toward racial identity during Britains New Imperialism. illuminates both the complexities of subject construction in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods and the struggles today over identity formation in the postcolonial world. Moore-Gilbert has critiqued the work of McBratney, regearding it as a fine critical text (2000, 100). The focus of the native born which features heavily within McBratneys article leads to Moore-Gilbert praising him for highlighting that Mowgli is in fact Indian born and there a native himself. However studies from Mohanty and Sullivan highlight that regardless of whether Mowgli is Indian, the jungle become an allegorical platform and he is still an outsider in a strange world. From the critical material explored here, the issue of identity in Kim and The Jungle Books can be seen to be a highly debated topic, of which I have only scraped the surface, with the reoccurring issues of race and cultural factors being behind and self-confusion. Kemp, as many of the other critics concur, uses Kiplings self-reflexivity of his stories, and his stories interrogate the other-self of his childhood (1) Kiplings own confusion of racial and cultural identity is reflected within his writing, not only in Kim and The Jungle Books, but across all of his Indian fiction. This is something that maybe needs to be taken into consideration, as Moore-Gilbert does, when assessing the work of Kipling, using Said as critical foundation.

Analysis of Air Deccan :: essays research papers

Analysis of Air Deccan Air Deccan was established in 2003 and started operations in August that year with regular scheduled flights from Bangalore to Mangalore and Hubli. The following month, it opened a second hub at Chennai. Air Deccan became the first private Indian operator to fly Airbus aircraft when it deployed the first of 5 leased Airbus A320s in July 2004. It was the first airline in India to link second rung cities like Coimbatore, Hubli, Madurai and Visakhapatnam to metros like Bangalore and Chennai. Barely two years into its operation the no-frills airline, Air Deccan, has grown from one aircraft to 19 and from one daily flight to 123. It has placed a $1.1 billion order with Airbus and will get an aircraft a month for the next 64 months. In its first full year of operation, ending in March, the company flew 1 million passengers and had revenues of $75 million. Projected revenue for this year: $250 million. Also, in 2004 the company raised $40 million in private equity from ICICI Venture Funds Management, India's largest private- equity player, and Capital International, an arm of the huge Los Angeles money manager Capital Group. Air Deccan is looking to go public over the next few months. "This is not the story of Air Deccan's growth--it's the story of the growth of India," says Gopinath. His success in the fast-growing aviation industry has set off a gold rush. Two new airlines--Delhi-based SpiceJet Limited and beer baron Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines--started flying in recent months. Several new players are waiting in the wings--including Indigo, backed by U.S. Airways' former chief Rakesh Gangwal, and GoAir, which is backed by Jeh Wadia from the controlling family of the giant Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing. "Everybody knew that India was a big market--but Gopinath went out and actually proved it," says Kapil Kaul of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, a consultancy. "He led the way--and led it successfully." The man behind the upstart airline traces his roots to a village in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, where his father was a schoolteacher. His own education veered into nearly eight years in the Indian army. Tired of regimentation, he veered again, into silk farming on a family plot. The transition from the cocoon to the cockpit came in 1995 when he teamed up with a friend from his army days, Captain K.

Comparing Abortion in Morrisons Beloved and in America Today :: comparison compare contrast essays

Abortion in Morrison's Beloved and in America Today      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison, the main character, Sethe, commits a crime unthinkable and incomprehensible to most people today.   She murders her own child, her own flesh and blood.   The institution of slavery drove Sethe to make this drastic decision.   Comparing the situations of slavery to today's society is impossible.   Yet, we still see mothers killing babies (or fetuses).   The issue of abortion has been a constant in our society for years.   Is the emotional struggle to kill a baby made out of love or selfishness?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The cruelties of slavery from which Sethe plans to save her children are manifold in Beloved.   Sethe was living in a time completely different from our own.   She and other slaves experienced things that none of us could ever imagine; having breast milk stolen from her own body, being whipped by a chokecherry tree to the point of leaving permanent scars.   Other cruelties for Sethe are to know that her friends were hurt.   Sixo was roasted alive and Paul A hung.   Paul D is locked onto a chain for eighty-three days in a prison camp in Georgia.   These pains for her friends can be just as painful for Sethe.   All in all the life of a slave is dehumanizing.   Constant hiding and being on the run plays tricks on the mind of slaves.   Shown by Paul D in his most discouraging conflict comes in contact with a rooster, Mister.   Humiliated by the fact that an animal was walking around with more power, he doesn't understand how an animal can have a better life, and place judgement on a human.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the time of slavery the love between a mother and her children dims.   Through scars mothers and children were to have secret relationships.   In Sethe's only memory of her mother she was introduced to a scar underneath her breast which could always identify her mother.   After her mother was hung, Sethe did examine her corpse, but was unable to locate the symbol on the decaying flesh.   Imagining how these images design a psyche for a child, this memory would bruise them for eternity.   These morbid rememories for Sethe are reminders for her that she is living in an

Are calculators as effective as they were intended to be? :: Technology Education Mathematics Essays

Are calculators as effective as they were intended to be? I can remember when I was in elementary school, we were never allowed to use calculators. I always seemed to excel in math, so I never really found it necessary to use one, usually. It was when I got into junior high when I first found myself looking for a calculator to help me do my math homework. I was taking pre-algebra, and I was struggling with learning the concepts. I just could not seem to get all the steps in the right order ever. My dad, who is a math genius in my opinion, showed me how to use a sophisticated calculator that would help me check my answers. He would not let me do my homework with it, but he allowed me to check it with his calculator. The teachers always made us show all of the steps, and if we used calculators the steps would be missing on the paper. So, I found it very helpful to use a calculator to check my answers. But I also thought that the calculators were somewhat confusing and complicated. I always felt like I was doing so much work to get to an answer than if I did it on my own on paper. I felt that it was easier to do the steps on the paper, than to remember all the buttons that I would have to push on the calculator. This is when I started wondering if calculators were as effective and efficient as they were intended. I think that the way I was taught in elementary school really effected the way I thought in junior high. I always assumed that it was "bad" to use a calculator for math problems, because that is the message that the teachers in elementary school sent to all the students. By them not allowing us to use us them and experiment with them, I feel that we were "turned off" by them really. This may have been caused by the lack of experience the teachers actually had. Also, they had been doing math for so long and they never used calculators. They did not see the need for the use of them.

Steven Levitt

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner shows that in life, everything has a hidden side. The book also discusses many topics, such as: incentives are the cornerstones of modern life, the conventional wisdom is frequently wrong, dramatic effects often have distant causes, â€Å"experts† often use their informational advantage to serve their own agenda, and knowing what to measure and how to measure it makes a complicated world much less so. (Levitt & Dubner 12).In this essay, I will be focusing on how incentives are the cornerstones of modern life, conventional wisdom is often wrong, and how â€Å"experts† often use their informational advantage to serve their own agenda. â€Å"An incentive is always a tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation. † (Levitt and Dubner 17) All incentives can be categorized by three types of incentives: moral, social, and economic. Some of which, may have adverse effects, such as with daycare in Israel de cided to start charging people a $3 fine per child for anyone that was more than ten minutes late.One would assume that in response to this, parents would be more likely to pick up their kids in a timely fashion, but instead, the opposite happens. The amount of late pick-ups increase dramatically. The logic behind this is parents were able to pay off their guilt for being late. In other words, they saw paying the extra $60 a month as a way to substitute a moral incentive. (Levitt & Dubner 19-20). These adversaries, nevertheless, can be predicted and used to the advantages of others.In illegal drug-dealing countries, such as Brazil, the government is legalizing all drug use and treating it as an addiction problem, rather than a crime. Surprisingly, this has lowered the amount of drug-related matters. In the United States, we try to crack down on drug use with strict laws and police enforcement. Consequently, this has caused the amount of drug-related delinquencies to sky-rocket in th e past decade. It is like a teenage kid. If you tell them not to do something, they are most likely going to do it anyways just to spite you and rebel; opposed to allowing them to do it and them just not doing it.Most incentives though, can be predicted and used to stimulate or punish people, but like in the â€Å"Daycare Dilemma,† are stronger and more enhanced for some circumstances than others. For example, police departments started posting pictures of johns and prostitutes in local papers and news stations to shame the guilty party. As Levitt & Dubner put it, â€Å"Which is a more horrifying deterrent: a $500 fine for soliciting a prostitute or the thought of your friends and family ogling you on www. HookersAndJohns. com? † (Levitt & Dubner 18).In this case, a social incentive was more humiliating and punishing to them than an economical one. Another key value in Freakonomics, is that â€Å"conventional wisdom† is often wrong. We form certain â€Å"notion s† about how things and people should be. Such as a women’s rights activist. Studies have shown that they actually dramatize the statistics they give to guilt more people into standing behind their foundation. Most people would think that if anyone wanted to the right thing it would be activists, but that’s not always the case. In chapter 6, we learn about two boys named Winner and Loser.Some might think â€Å"Well, with a name like Winner, he is better off to succeed. Unlike his brother, Loser, who is set up to fail. † Conversely, Loser went on to thrive. â€Å"He went to prep school on a scholarship, graduated from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and joined the New York Police Department, where he made detective and, eventually, sergeant. † (Levitt & Dubner 182) Winner however, was not so â€Å"inspired† by his name. He grew up to be a criminal with more than thirty arrests. Most people would think that with a sure-fire name like â€Å" Winner† he was bound to succeed, so how did he end up in jail?Well, another example of someone not quite living up to their â€Å"destiny† is Ted Kazinsky, also known as the Unabomber. Kazinsky grew up in a white-suburban neighborhood with two parents. As a child he was known to be incredibly bright, like his parents. He later went on to attend and graduate from Harvard. In this case, he had everything going for him, yet, he became an infamous terrorist. These are just a few instances of orthodox thinking and knowledge being proven to be mistaken. W. C. Fields once said, â€Å"A thing worth having, is a thing worth stealing.† (Levitt & Dubner 21)In this case, knowledge is used to exploit consumers. It happens every day, to almost everyone; professionals use their information to their benefit. A common example is in autorepair shops. Most people have gone in to get an inspection or to have a small problem fixed, and gotten a bill for WAY more than expected. Even a fter the mechanic has assured you that it won’t be costly. Furthermore, another example of it is in real estate. One would think that since real estate agents work off commission that they would want to get you the maximum profit  possible; which they do, but they don’t at the same time.Studies have shown that real estate agents will hold out for the best deal possible when selling their own home, but encourage you to take the first decent deal to come along. (Levitt & Dubner 8). The best way to stop this, is to do a little research on your before consulting an â€Å"expert. † In conclusion, economics is the study of incentives and how people react to them. Freakonomics, however, studied the hidden meanings beyond that and the cases where incentives not only reacted as expected, but where they were reacting differently as well  Levitt and Dubner did that by sticking to five main philosophies in their book, knowing what to measure and how to measure it makes a complicated world much less so, â€Å"experts† often use their information to their advantage, dramatic effects often have more subtle causes, â€Å"conventional wisdom† is often wrong, and incentives are the cornerstones of modern life. (Levitt & Dubner 12).Three of which, I believed to be the most important: â€Å"specialists† often use their information to their advantage, â€Å"conventional astuteness† is recurrently false, and incentives are the keystones of contemporary life.