The Precedence of Perseverance free essay sample

During my eighteen years of existence I have been subjected to countless advisements, proposals, teachings and guidance. And though I am extremely grateful for all the lessons have I have encountered, one specific piece of advice triumphs over the rest. A British author known as Samuel Johnson once declared, â€Å"Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.† The significance and impact that this quote had over me was enough to form and shape my behaviors for the duration of my high school career. I spent all four years attempting to maintain an aura of diligence and understand the components of perseverance. If one were to look up the definition of perseverance they would simply see a cluster of large synonyms that have little purpose and lack compelling denotation. Nevertheless, over the years I have learned that perseverance is more of a state-of-mind than it is a simple adjective. In 2007 when I became a high school student I quickly realized a lot of things about myself. We will write a custom essay sample on The Precedence of Perseverance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I became aware that success was an important part of my education and in order to obtain my desired success, I was going to have to develop an incredibly persistent work ethic. I made a plan to always take notes in class and never miss a homework assignment. Little did I know, however, that those were only the beginning steps in becoming an accomplished student. I needed to demonstrate my ability to remain determined, focused, and devoted. Even being slightly stubborn and relentless proved itself helpful when it came to challenges in my education. In specific subjects such as Math and Science the words of Johnson seemed to have a surprising effect on me. Algebra and Chemistry contained some of the hardest concepts I’ve ever had to deal with. It was in these two classes that I learned I did not possess the natural strength that these subjects required. What I did possess, however, was perseverance. I worked unbelievably hard, spending many of my lunches, studies, and afternoons obtaining extra help in both classes. I became focused on not just learning the material, but actually understanding it. The notes and homework assignments went beyond normal school work and I treated every task like it was a test. I soon realized that I was no longer treating these courses like a high school class, rather a personal assessment taxing my endurance. I had now entered a state-of-mind. The exact state-of-mind that is perseverance. The quote by Johnson has taught me that to persevere is to maintain the highest level of motivation that one has. High school was a time for me to perfect my capability to persevere and I plan to use my capabilities starting the first day I walk through the college campus doors. The ability to remain motivated and maintain immunity against defeat is perhaps the most important ability that one can acquire. For me, I was able to begin my journey towards this ability due to the insightful words of Samuel Johnson.

Walmart Market Structure

Walmart Market Structure A market is said to function depending on the number, size and the power which is held by producers/firms which are operating in that particular market.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Walmart Market Structure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Products are bought and sold differently in the market and they are bought and sold under different conditions. These prevailing conditions that products are bought and sold determine the market structure in which a particular firm is to operate. There are four market structures namely; perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly each with its distinct characteristics. Founded in 1962, Walmart is a major grocery retailer in the United States of America with its headquarters in Arkansas (Fishman, 2006). The company’s sales account to billions of shillings, for instance, in 2009, the compared recorded sales of $258 US Dollars. The companyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s stores are in 55 different countries with the leading ones being in the US. The company also operates Mexico, UK, Brazil and Canada among others under different names. The company had to exit markets like Germany because it did not do well. When Walmart is judged from a bird’s eye view, it has the characteristics of an oligopoly. One of the reasons as to why Walmart may be referred to having an oligopoly market structure is because it is operating in an industry where there are other few competing firms which are offering the same products that Walmart is offering. These major competitors are Kmart and Target (Zhu, Singh, Manuszak, 2009) which have tried to cut a niche in the market. When discussing oligopoly market structure, the emphasis is not entirely on the market structure but also on the way the firm will relate with other firms in the industry. When we look at Walmart as an oligopoly, does it anticipate the reaction of its competitors before the firm makes m ajor decisions owing to the fact that it is the largest grocery retail stores in the US? One of the major characteristic of an oligopoly market structure is that there has to be interdependence among firms (Zhu, Singh, Manuszak, 2009). Organizations in oligopolistic markets also at times will agree to work together in order for them to benefit jointly. Another distinguishing feature of firms in oligopolistic markets is that there exists price rigidity because changes in the price of the commodities of one firm/organization may lead to price wars among the other firms in the industry (Fishman, 2006). Therefore oligopolistic market organizations are price rigid which is not the case with Walmart for it gains its competitive advantage over other firms in the industry through lowering its prices and therefore driving up the sales of its commodities. This introduces the concept that Walmart is a monopoly in the industry, operating in an oligopolistic market structure.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Walmart leads in terms of grocery retail in the US and competitors do not offer stiff competition and the reason why the organization has been able to offer low prices for its products despite the existence of other competing firms in the same industry (Zhu, Singh, Manuszak, 2009). Walmart is never largely affected by the pricing strategies of its competitors but instead its competitors are the ones who have to adapt their prices to match the prices of Walmart. The size of Walmart in comparison to its competitors gives Walmart the characteristic of a monopoly. The organization has approximately 8500 stores. In 2009, the company ranked the greatest in terms of its revenue and therefore the large capital base makes the organization to enjoy internal economies of scales and therefore able to reduce its operational costs. This acts to the advant age of the organization through offering its customers low prices for its products and thus able to create customer loyalty. Competitors, the examples of Target and Kmart are unable to produce and sell at the prevailing market conditions offered by Walmart giving Walmart dominance in determining the prices of the commodities (Zhu, Singh, Manuszak, 2009). For other grocery retailers which are trying to come in to the market, are simply forced out of the way by the giant corporation making Walmart a monopoly in the grocery retail business. Effectiveness of monopoly structure for Walmart is that the company is the ring leader in relation to setting the prices of grocery products. Competitors simply have to adjust their prices to the tune of Walmart prices for the competitors fear getting into wars over prices with Walmart (Fishman, 2006). Another advantage is that the corporation through its large capital base can afford to operate more and more retail stores to offer competition to c ompetitors. Where competitors cannot penetrate, Walmart can penetrate and thus Walmart organization is able to make the most of whatever demand exists in the market. Also Walmart, being a giant organization, has the advantage of being able to maintain prices to the level that it wants for the small sized corporation in the grocery industry are unable to compete with it. From the above analysis, the organization (Walmart) has an oligopolistic market structure due to the existence of competitors which are trying to curve a niche in the market but its monopolistic market structure has outdone the oligopolistic nature of Walmart (Zhu, Singh, Manuszak, 2009), therefore in presence of these competitors, Walmart is still a monopoly. References Fishman, C. (2006). The Wal-Mart Effect: How the Worlds Most Powerful Company Really Worksand How Its Transforming the American Economy.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Walmart Market Structure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Zhu, T., Singh, V. Manuszak, M. (2009). Market Structure and Competition in the Retail Discount Industry. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR)